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 The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) increased in February this year in both the European Union (EU) and the euro area by 1.1 points to 97.1 and by 1 point to 96.3 respectively, according to the European Commissions Business and Consumer Survey results for the month. The employment expectations indicator (EEI) turned down in both areas: by 1.2 points to 98.1 in the EU and by 1.5 points in the euro area to 97. Both indicators scored below their long-term average of 100. The strengthening of the ESI in the EU stemmed from improved confidence in industry and among consumers, which was moderated by a decrease in construction confidence. Confidence in retail trade remained broadly unchanged and services confidence was stable. The economic sentiment indicator rose in February in both the EU and the euro area by 1.1 points to 97.1 and by 1 point to 96.3 respectively. The employment expectations indicator turned down in both areas: by 1.2 points to 98.1 in the EU and by 1.5 points in the euro area to 97. Retail trade confidence remained broadly stable and Industry confidence rose for the second month in a row. The improvement in economic sentiment was reflected in most of the largest EU economies, with the ESI increasing significantly in Poland (plus 3.4), and noticeably also in France (plus 2.3), Germany (plus 1.2) and the Netherlands (plus 0.8). Italy (minus 0.4) and Spain (minus 2) registered a decline in their respective ESIs. Industry confidence increased for the second month in a row in February (plus 1.4), as all three componentsmanagers production expectations and their assessments of the current level of order books and the stocks of finished productsimproved. Consumer confidence improved slightly (plus 0.4) in the month as consumers became less pessimistic about the general economic situation in their respective country and increased their intentions to make major purchases. Their views on both their households expected financial situation and past financial situation remained essentially stable. Retail trade confidence remained broadly stable (minus 0.2). Retailers business expectations for the next three months and their views on the past business situation worsened moderately, but they were almost offset by an improvement in the assessments of the volume of stocks, a release from the Commission said. The Commissions economic uncertainty indicator (EUI) remained stable at 18.2. Managers uncertainty about their future business situation increased in services and construction, offset by lower uncertainty among managers in industry and retail trade. Consumers uncertainty about their future financial situation continued to decline in February. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) The makers have unveiled an intense new poster of Baaghi 4 on the occasion of Tiger Shroff's birthday. Directed by A. Harsha, the the film is set to release on September 5, 2025 . The new look hints at a darker and more intense tone for the fourth part. The new look suggests a darker and more intense tone for the fourth installment of the famous Baaghi franchise. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tiger Shroff (@tigerjackieshroff) Taking to social media, Tiger expressed his gratitude for the makers while dropping the look. He wrote, "The franchise that gave me an identity and allowed me to express my eagerness to prove myself as an action herois now the franchise that is changing my identity. He is definitely not the same this time but i hope you guys accept him the way you did 8 years ago #grattitude #SajidNadiadwalas #Baaghi4. Directed by @nimmaaharsha." For those unaware, Kannada director A Harsha is making his Bollywood debut with this Tiger Shroff movie. While the Baaghi franchise began in 2016, it was originally inspired from the Telugu movie Varsham (2004) and the Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption (2011). Baaghi 2 released in 2018 while Baaghi 3 hit the theatres in 2020. Baaghi 4 took some time to be confirmed, but it will finally release on September. Previously, Sanjay Dutt's first look from the movie was also released. Dutt is starring as a menacing villain. He is seen sitting on a throne, with bloodstained clothes and holding a lifeless woman. Apart from Shroff and Dutt, the action-packed sequel is also slated to star Sonam Bajwa in a leading role. Apart from the release date, other major details from the movie haven't been unveiled yet. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 2, 2025) - Valleyview Resources Inc, (TSXV: VVR) (soon to be renamed Homeland Uranium Corporation with the ticker symbol TSXV: HLU) ("Homeland" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has released its new website which can be found at www.homeland-uranium.com. The website will also have links to Homeland's social media pages including Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. Homeland is also pleased to announce that the Company will be attending its first ever PDAC Conference from March 2nd through March 5th. Shareholders and potential investors are encouraged to meet the Company's management team all four days of the conference at our booth #2623 located in the Investors Exchange Pavilion. About Valleyview Resources Inc./Homeland Uranium Corp. Valleyview Resources Inc. (soon to be Homeland Uranium Corp.) is a mineral exploration company focused on becoming a premier US-focused and resource-bearing uranium explorer and developer. The Company is in the process of acquiring the Coyote Basin and Red Wash uranium projects in northwestern Colorado. Homeland also has an ownership stake in the Fraser Lake Au-Ag-Cu project in British Columbia. For further information, please contact: 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 press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to a proposed updated mineral estimate for the Coyote Basin Project. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events and that future metal prices and the demand and market outlook for metals will remain stable or improve. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including, but not limited to, the general risk factors related to exploration and development as are set out under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recently filed management's discussion & analysis. 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 outlook 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/242984 SOURCE: Valleyview Resources Ltd. BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Infinix, a trendy tech brand crafted for young consumers, takes a bold stride into the future at ShowStoppers MWC 2025. Reinforcing its vision of 'Empowering Tomorrow with AI, Eco-Tech, and Personalized Innovations', Infinix unveils two pioneering advancements: SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology, a concept designed to extend battery life using ambient light, and the E-Color Shift 2.0, an AI-powered customization feature that dynamically adjusts smartphone aesthetics. Pioneering Sustainable Power with SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology With a strong focus on sustainability and efficiency, Infinix's SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology explores new possibilities in mobile energy management. By combining advanced perovskite photovoltaic technology with intelligent AI algorithms, this innovation harnesses and optimizes light energy, making charging more efficient and adaptable to different environments. Designed for modern, fast-paced lifestyles, this concept technology captures light energy from both indoor and outdoor sources, converting it into electricity stored within a prototype smartphone and phone case. The case seamlessly transfers power to the device through discreet contact points, ensuring smooth energy flow. AI-driven algorithms fine-tune power acquisition in real-time, allowing for efficient energy storage of up to 2W, with potential for future advancements. An integral part of this innovation is the AI-driven "Sunflower" Wireless Charging Technology, inspired by heliotropic plants that naturally orient toward light. Using intelligent light positioning and transmission techniques, the system dynamically adjusts the transmission path based on indoor lighting conditions and the device's position, ensuring efficient power reception within a 3-meter optimal range. Future iterations aim to extend this range and enhance precision. These concept technologies combined, fosters a sustainable, safe and dynamic ecosystem that promotes - Key Features: Extended Standby Power By autonomously optimizing energy collection, the device can store power from soft indoor lighting to overcast outdoor conditions, supporting extended standby time. By autonomously optimizing energy collection, the device can store power from soft indoor lighting to overcast outdoor conditions, supporting extended standby time. AI Optimized Energy Management The system integrates AI with MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) to regulate voltage and current in extreme environments, ensuring efficiency while preventing overheating and degradation. The system integrates AI with MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) to regulate voltage and current in extreme environments, ensuring efficiency while preventing overheating and degradation. Emergency Power Access Infinix's AI-driven photovoltaic self-charging technology offers a practical backup in case of power outages or emergencies, ensuring users stay connected when needed most. Expanding Beyond Smartphones While this technology debuts in mobile devices, Infinix envisions broader applications across digital devices and wearables, signaling a new direction for sustainable consumer tech. This future-oriented approach aligns with the growing demand for eco-conscious solutions without compromising performance or convenience. "At Infinix, we believe technology should enhance the way we live and connect with the world around us. Our focus is not just on creating powerful, high-performance devices but on shaping solutions that align with the fast-paced, evolving lifestyles of today's users. Whether it is offering infinite power on the go with our SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology or letting your phone reflect your personality and mood, we want to give users the freedom to express themselves and stay connected-wherever life takes them. That is why we are also excited to introduce the E-Color Shift 2.0, a truly personalized experience that lets your device adapt to you in ways that are as unique as your lifestyle." - Tony Zhao, General Manager of Infinix. E-Color Shift 2.0: Introducing AI Enhanced Personalization Alongside energy innovations, Infinix introduces E-Color Shift 2.0, an advanced AI-driven customization experience that transforms smartphone aesthetics. Expanding on its predecessor, this feature allows users to personalize their device's appearance through dynamic, interactive color transitions based on selected preferences and external stimuli. User Customization and AI-Driven Adaptation: Customize Mode: Users can select from six dynamic patterns and six vibrant color palettes, creating up to 30 unique combinations. Users can select from six dynamic patterns and six vibrant color palettes, creating up to 30 unique combinations. AI-Recognize Mode: Through AI-powered modules, the phone's back cover intelligently adjusts based on factors like weather, wallpapers, and surroundings, offering a seamless, evolving aesthetic experience. With enhanced color depth and improved segmentation, E-Color Shift 2.0 brings Infinix closer to mainstream adoption of interactive, AI-driven smartphone customization. Empowering Tomorrow: AI, Eco-Tech and Personalized Innovations Infinix remains committed to developing groundbreaking solutions that integrate AI, sustainability, and user-centric innovation. With SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology and E-Color Shift 2.0, Infinix is setting the stage for the next evolution in mobile technology-where intelligence, energy efficiency, and personalization converge. While these technologies are currently in concept form, they showcase Infinix's vision for a smarter, more sustainable, and highly personalized future in mobile technology. Finally, with the launch of Infinix's SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology, a new era in mobile charging begins, setting the stage for the future of Infinix's NOTE series. The all-new NOTE 50 range, set to debut at the end of March 2025, will showcase enhanced charging capabilities, next-generation AI features, and a premium metal design - a true flagship, coming soon. For access to Infinix's ShowStoppers e-handbook, kindly click on this link: https://activity.infinixmobility.com/mwc2025 Media Contacts: Infinix Global PR - Global.PR@infinixmobility.com About Infinix: Established in 2013, Infinix is a cutting-edge technology brand tailored for the youth. Committed to delivering cutting-edge technology, stylish design, and outstanding performance, Infinix strives to provide consumers with a superior mobile intelligent experience. In addition to smartphones, Infinix has expanded its product range to include TWS earbuds, smartwatches, laptops, Tablets, smart TVs and more. Currently, Infinix products are available in over 70 countries and regions worldwide, spanning Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. For more details, please visit: http://www.infinixmobility.com Download our media kit here. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2631288/Empowering_Tomorrow_AI_Eco_Technology_Personalized_Innovation.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2631289/Infinix_s_SolarEnergy_Reserving_Technology.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2631290/Infinix_s_E_Color_Shift_Technology_2_0.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2631291/Press_Kit.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2316423/Infinix_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/infinix-showcases-ai-driven-solar-energy-innovation-and-next-gen-customization-at-mwc-2025-302389457.html Javed Akhtar and actress Shabana Azmi have been married for over four decades. In a recent interview with ETimes, the actress spoke about why their marriage has lasted for so long read more Netflixs Dabba Cartel actress Shabana Azmi recently told The Quint in an interview how they had to change clothes behind tress once upon a time. She also said, Rajesh Khanna and I would be shooting the first page of a scene not knowing whats next because Kader Khan is writing it in a different studio. In a recent interview with Radio Nasha, veteran actress Shabana Azmi revealed how she and her husband Javed Akhtar had parted ways in between. She revealed, We didnt speak for three months. Advertisement Azmi also said how her mother warned her against marrying poets, They will trap you with beautiful words. I love how he speaks with humility to people younger than him. His wit and intellect are, of course, unmatched, she added. Veteran writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar and actress Shabana Azmi have been married for over four decades. In a recent interview with ETimes, the actress spoke about why their marriage has lasted for so long. She said, He (Javed Akhtar) says the success of our marriage is that we dont meet too often, we are both busy running in different directions. Azmi added, We come from similar backgrounds our fathers were poets from UP and communists, we have a common view on things so people say considering these factors we should have had an arranged marriage. However, their journey together hasnt been entirely without challenges as Javed was previously married to fellow actor Honey Irani when he and Shabana fell in love. He also had two children, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar, from his previous marriage. During a recent conversation with Curly Tales, Shabana Azmi shared about their challenging experience and expressed that it was incredibly tough. The veteran actress further elaborated that the situation was not only hard for her, but also for the other two individuals involved. Advertisement Donald Trump has announced a new gold card, which would provide wealthy individuals a path to American citizenship. This will replace the existing EB-5 visa programme and comes with a hefty price tag of $5 million. The US president notes that the new scheme will spur investment in the country. However, experts arent sure of it read more United States President Donald Trump has announced a new gold card on Tuesday (February 25), which would be sold to wealthy individuals, giving them the right to live and work in the land of opportunity and offering a path to citizenship. Were going to be selling a gold card, Trump said from the Oval Office. You have a green card. This is a gold card. Were going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million and thats going to give you green card privileges, plus its going to be a route to citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card. Advertisement The US president has suggested that millions of such cards could be sold, helping the country reduce its debt. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also said that the card would replace the governments EB-5 immigrant investor visa programme, which allows foreign investors to pump money into US projects that create jobs and then apply for visas to immigrate to the US. While Trump has touted the huge benefits of this gold card, experts arent so sure. Heres why. Who will qualify for a gold card? US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said Trumps gold card would replace an existing programme in two weeks, so details about who would qualify and what the application process would look like should be available before then. For now, all Trump has said is they will cost $5 million (Rs 43.7 crore). Of recipients, he said, Theyll be wealthy and theyll be successful and theyll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think its going to be extremely successful. He added that companies, not just individuals, will be able to buy gold cards. What does the US already offer? Congress created a programme called EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program in 1990 to create jobs and encourage foreign investment. Under it, investors who spent about $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) on a company that employs at least 10 people can qualify for a visa and a pathway to permanent residency. About 8,000 people obtained investor visas in the 12-month period ending September 30, 2022, according to the Homeland Security Departments most recent Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. What do other countries offer? Henley & Partners, which advises both governments and people on residence or citizenship by investment programmes, says more than 100 countries around the world offer or have offered golden visas to wealthy individuals and investors. That list includes the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy, although some countries have tightened their restrictions or ended such schemes. Under different initiatives in different countries, requirements include buying a house, making a financial investment or creating a certain number of jobs. Basil Mohr-Elzeki, managing partner Henley & Partners North America, said the programmes often help countries meet investment goals. But they dont always last. Spains government scrapped its golden visa to allow people from outside the European Union to obtain residency permits if they invested more than half a million euros ($520,000) in real estate. The program was criticised for causing soaring housing prices. The UK ended its golden visa in 2022 over security concerns. Advertisement Will Trumps gold visa help US investment? Mohr-Elzeki of Henley & Partners said despite the high price tag, there may be an appetite for it, but it remains to be seen what the parameters are. We dont have that much information aside from the investment threshold and the intention, he said. But generally these kind of programmes can help countries meet investment goals, depending on the goal, he said. We do think that there will be significant demand in this program, he said. We are just waiting on on the details of what frameworks that theyre going to be outlining. The key to whether it will be a success or not will less likely be the $5 million investment threshold and more to do with the process. Typically speaking, the lower the residency requirements, the more popular the programme as those wealthy individuals globally, they like options, he said. So they may be investing in the United States, but they may invest elsewhere as well to have access to live in the States, access to live in Europe, access to live in the UAE. So all of these come into play. Advertisement What happens next? If the new programme replaces the existing EB-5 program in two weeks, there are questions over what will happen to people in the existing scheme. Typically those people get grandfathered in to the new programme but theres a possibility they might not be, said Mohr-Elzeki. In 2022, Congress extended the EB-5 visa until 2027, so Congressional action would be needed to change it. But Trump has said gold cards wont require Congressional approval. _ With inputs from AP_ It is one of the biggest diplomatic disasters of recent times. Donald Trump and JD Vance got into a shouting match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office on Friday. But what triggered the spat and what does this mean for Ukraine and its leader? We analyse this and more in our weekly wrap read more Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argues with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House in Washington, on, February 28. The spat at the Oval Office has led to a breakdown of ties between the two allies. Reuters It was one of the lowest points in diplomacy and it unfolded on live television. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House on Friday (February 28), one expected there to be some tension. After all Donald Trump had taken a sudden turnaround, blaming Ukraine instead of Russia for the war and calling the Ukrainian leader a dictator. But no one expected it to turn into a shouting match. The Oval Office saw the showdown between Zelenskyy and President Trump and his Vice President JD Vance. The two American leaders appeared to gang up and corner the Ukrainian president and it ended with him being asked to leave the White House. Advertisement With Trump now clearly veering towards Team Putin, Kyiv and Europe are on edge. Earlier, in the week, French President Emmanuel Macron and then the UKs Keir Starmer met Trump. But now after the infamous Oval Office clash uncertainty looms large, even though Western allies rally around Zelenskyy. Like the world, Trump has also ushered in chaos in the US. First Buddy Elon Musk took centre stage yet again. His what did you get done this week email to federal employees sparked confusion; the Doge leader was also the star of the US presidents first Cabinet meeting. Potus doesnt want illegal immigrants but he wants wealthy ones. He announced a visa programme called gold card, which is offering citizenship for about $5 million ((Rs 43.5 crore). We talk about it in detail. In France, the largest child sex abuse trial is underway. At the centre of it is Dr Joel Le Scouarnec, a surgeon who is accused of sexually assaulting 299 children over the past 25 years. Now, lets move on to news from Asia. In Japan, its the same old story of a falling birthrate but with bigger concerns. In Bangladesh, student activists, who led protests that caused the downfall of Sheikh Hasina, launched their political party. We dive into these big headlines from the week and more in our roundup of world news. Advertisement 1. It was a diplomatic disaster. Zelenskyy had headed to Washington DC to sign a minerals deal and get some security assurances from the US. But it turned into an ugly spat, something the world has not witnessed in modern history. What triggered the argument between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart? What role did JD Vance play? And will this lead to the end of Zelenskyys leadership? We answer the questions. 2. Trumps changing stance on Ukraine saw Frances Macron and UK PM Keir Starmer rush to Washington DC this week. The British leaders visit came after America voted in favour of Russia at the United Nations. So what did Marcon and Trump talk about? Was Starmers White House visit a success? We analyse. Advertisement British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump shake hands during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House, in Washington, DC. Reuters 3. Want to live the American Dream? The more pertinent question is can you afford it? President Trump has announced a visa programme called gold card. As the name suggests, it is only for the wealthy. Aimed at foreign investors seeking permanent residency in the US, this visa comes with a hefty price tag of $5 million. This scheme would replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa programme. We tell you all about the new card and what it means for Indians. 4. Germany has a new chancellor. In the elections held last Sunday (February 23), Germanys conservatives swept to victory, paving the way for its leader Friedrich Merz to take up the top job. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) won 28.5 per cent of the vote. But who is Merz and what does this change of leadership mean for the country and Europe? Advertisement German chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz attends a press conference following the German general election in Berlin. Reuters 5. Japan has a big problem the falling birthrate. The number of babies born has dropped to the lowest since the country began keeping records 125 years ago. The governments efforts to stop this decline have failed, as the birthrate plunged for the ninth year. The countrys population is shrinking and rapidly ageing. This impacts everything from the economy to security. There is growing fear that Japan will struggle to function. Heres why. The number of newborns in Japan in 2024 dropped to 7,20,988, a five per cent from the previous year. Reuters 6. France is witnessing the largest child abuse trial in its history. Retired surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec is accused of sexually assaulting 299 patients, most of them child patients, over three decades. He told a court that he admitted to having committed despicable acts. But how did the cases go uncovered for years? Advertisement Roland and Mauricette Vinet hold a photo of their grandson Mathis Vinet at their home in Saint-Germain near Poitiers, before the opening of the trial in Vannes of French ex-surgeon Joel Le Scouarnec, accused of the aggravated rape and sexual assault against hundreds of children during three decades. Reuters 7. Pakistan has a new airport, the most expensive so far. Financed by China, the $240 million New Gwadar International Airport located in the coastal city of Gwadar was completed in October 2024. Authorities called it transformational. But there is one mysterious thing about it. It is eerily silent there there are no planes and no passengers. Heres why. 8. Talking about planes, horror unfolded on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha. About 10 hours into the journey, a woman died on the plane. What happened next was more nightmarish for passengers, Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin. They were forced to sit next to the body for four hours. Of course, they were traumatised. What do rules say when there is a death mid-air? This story has the answers. Thats our recommendation list for the week. The days ahead are crucial for geopolitics and you can come back here for the latest. Scientists have long studied the size of our pupils to understand attention, emotion and even medical conditions. But now, new research has surprisingly revealed that they change size in sync with our breathing. Heres why this discovery is important read more Just as the pupillary light response is used as a diagnostic tool, changes in the link between pupil size and breathing could be an early sign of neurological disorders. Image for Representation. Pixabay You have probably heard the saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul, but now it turns out that they are also connected to how we breathe. Scientists have long studied the size of our pupils to understand attention, emotion and even medical conditions. But now, new research has surprisingly revealed that they change size in sync with our breathing. Our pupils are never static; they constantly adjust in response to both external and internal factors. The most well-known is that they control how much light enters the eye, just like a camera aperture. Advertisement You can easily test this yourself: look into a mirror and shine a light into your eye, and youll see your pupils shrink. This process directly affects our visual perception. Larger pupils help us to detect faint objects, particularly in our peripheral vision, while smaller pupils enhance sharpness, improving tasks like reading. Indeed, this reflex is so reliable that doctors use it to assess brain function. If a pupil fails to react to light, it could signal a medical emergency such as a stroke. This reflex is so reliable that doctors use it to assess brain function. If a pupil fails to react to light, it could signal a medical emergency such as a stroke. Image for Representation. Pixabay However, it is not just light that our pupils respond to. Its also well established that our pupils constrict when focusing on a nearby object, and dilate in response to cognitive effort or emotional arousal. As the German pupil-research pioneer Irene Loewenfeld once said: Man may either blush or turn pale when emotionally agitated, but his pupils always dilate. For this reason, pupil size is often used in psychology and neuroscience research as a measure of mental effort and attention. How breathing changes your pupil response For many decades, these three kinds of pupil response were the only ones that scientists were sure existed. Now, myself and our team of researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have confirmed that breathing is a fourth. In what will now be known as pupillary respiratory phase response, pupils tend to be largest during exhalation and smallest around the start of inhalation. Unlike other pupil responses, this one originates exclusively in the body and of course happens constantly. Equally uniquely, it covers both dilation and constriction. There had in fact been anecdotal hints of a connection between breathing and our pupils for more than 50 years. But when the team reviewed past studies the evidence was inconclusive at best. Given how widely pupil size is used in both medicine and research, we realised it was crucial to investigate this further. Advertisement We confirmed through a series of five experiments with more than 200 participants that pupil size fluctuates in sync with breathing, and also that this effect is remarkably robust. In these studies, we invited the participants to our lab and recorded their pupil size and breathing pattern while they were relaxing or performing tasks on a computer screen. We systematically varied the other key pupil-response factors throughout the study lighting, fixation distance and mental effort required for tasks. In all cases, the way that breathing affects the pupils remained constant. Whichever way you breathe, the effect on pupil size remains the same. Image for Representation. Pixabay Additionally, we examined how different breathing patterns affected the response. Participants were instructed to breathe solely through their nose or mouth and to adjust their breathing rate, as well as slowing it down and speeding it up. In all cases, the same pattern emerged: pupil size remained smallest around the onset of inhalation and largest during exhalation. Advertisement Why this matters This discovery changes the way we think about both breathing and vision. It suggests a deeper connection between breathing and the nervous system than we previously realised. The next big question is whether these subtle changes in pupil size affect how we see the world. The fluctuations are only fractions of a millimetre, which is less than the pupil response to light, but similar to the pupil response to mental effort or arousal. The size of these fluctuations is theoretically large enough to influence our visual perception. It may therefore be that our vision subtly shifts within a single breath between optimising for detecting faint objects (with larger pupils) and distinguishing fine details (with smaller pupils). In addition, just as the pupillary light response is used as a diagnostic tool, changes in the link between pupil size and breathing could be an early sign of neurological disorders. Advertisement This research is part of a broader effort to understand how our internal bodily rhythms influence perception. Scientists are increasingly finding that our brain doesnt process external information in isolation it integrates signals from within our bodies, too. For example, information from our heart and gastric rhythms have also been suggested to enhance or hinder the processing of incoming sensory stimuli. If our breathing affects how our pupils change, could it also shape how we perceive the world around us? This opens the door to new research on how bodily rhythms shape perception one breath at a time. Martin Schaefer, Postdoctoral Researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience and Behavioral Psychology, Karolinska Institutet Advertisement This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Today India is far better prepared for a conflict than in 1962, and one great advantage over China is that the Indian Army is still able to produce remarkable officers and soldiers, with great motivation, gusto, and devotion to duty read more A few weeks ago, General Upendra Dwivedi, the Chief of Army Staff, termed the situation on the northern border as sensitive but stable, adding that the Armys deployment was balanced and robust. He also spoke of the degree of standoff prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In the meantime, Beijing often threatens New Delhi with a redo of 1962. It is true that for the Indian nation, the 1962 conflict with China has been one of the most traumatic post-independence events; not only for those who fought, for their families, the Indian Army, but also for the general public, the experience has remained a scar. Advertisement China put the blame for the war squarely on India; Beijings historians still call it a counter-attack in the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and Ladakh, as if India attacked China. India of 2025 is not the India of the 1950s or 1960s; moreover, threatening a repeat of 1962 ignores many battles where the Chinese PLA got a befitting reply from Indian soldiers and officers; it is, however, true that 62 years after the event, there are still several unacknowledged Indian heroes who have been neglected by history (and by the government). The Forgotten Heroes Though the official history of the war published by the Ministry of Defence records the prowess of several units, many individual heroes are not (or only briefly) mentioned. Take the 2nd Battalion of the Rajput Regiment; the official history says, Of the units deployed on the Namkha Chu [river], the Rajputs suffered the most. they were caught between the frontal fire of the Chinese guns and the main attack from the rear. Their companies were widely dispersed, and each fought its own battle, taking on wave after wave of the enemy as long as men remained standing. In many cases, entire platoons were wiped out. Advertisement Most of the company commanders were killed; only a wounded Commanding Officer (CO), Lt Col Maha Singh Rikh and his second-in-command, Maj Gurdial Singh (who was eventually awarded a MVC) survived; both were taken to Tibet as POWs; the formers role is unknown even today. The Tale of Maj BK Pant One of the officers of the 2 Rajput, who is hardly mentioned in the official history of the Battle of Namkha Chu, is Major BK Pant. In his memoirs (The Himalayan Blunder) Brig JP (John) Dalvi, the commander of the ill-fated 7th Infantry Brigade, recalled the young majors leadership and indomitable courage, a true epic: When the Chinese shelling commenced, Pant went round the locality bracing the men for the inevitable assault. He told the men that this was the day in which they would write a new chapter in the history of the battalion, and the time had come to show the Chinese the qualities that had made the name Rajput synonymous with courage and tenacity. Advertisement Why his bravery was not recorded in the official history is a mystery. Dalvi explained that Pant was wounded in the leg but continued to insist on exposing himself during the shelling to reassure his men who had never experienced artillery fire. Pants last words were, Men of the Rajput Regiment, you were born but to die for your country. God has selected this small river for which you must die. Stand up and fight as true Rajputs. Out of 112 men in Major Pants force, 82 were killed or wounded. After retirement, Lt Col (then Brig) Rikh recalled his experience while being interrogated by the Chinese in the POW Camp in Tibet: They asked me on several occasions what were the characteristics of the Rajput Battalion as different from that of other troops in the Indian Army. I enquired of them the reason why they were asking me these questions. They finally told me that it was in the first battle on October 20, 1962, that the Chinese Army had suffered the maximum casualties of all the fighting in NEFA. These casualties had been inflicted on them by the battalion. I felt proud to have commanded such a unit. Advertisement It should be noted that the remains of the Indian officers were not found when the area was re-occupied by India in the 1980s. What happened to the bodies of the Indian officers killed on the Namkha Chu and other surrounding areas is still a mystery. One can only assume that they were taken to Tibet and buried there. Another Hero, Lt Col Brahmanand Avasthy Born in the Farukkhabad district of Uttar Pradesh, Lt Col Avasthy was like Maha Singh Rikh and BK Pant commissioned into 2 Rajput. Considered to be one of the brightest infantry officers at the time of the conflict, he was given the command of 4 Rajput Battalion, with whom he fought a heroic battle at Lagyala Gompa (monastery) overlooking the Morshing Valley in NEFAs Kameng Frontier Division. Advertisement The Battle of Lagyala Gompa Once he reached his allotted sector, Col Awasthy decided to defend a particular bridge to allow the remnants of the 65th Infantry Brigade (belonging to the 4th Division) to retreat. On November 18, in the morning, the Brigade HQ asked the battalion to withdraw. According to the website Bharat Rakshak: The track bifurcated with one side climbing towards an old monastery, Lagyala Gompa, and the other following a stream towards Morshing. Lt Col Avasthy decided to take the route to Lagyala Gompa. It was one of the oldest Buddhist gompas in the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). Though a ceasefire had been declared by China on November 22, the Indian troops were unaware of it: [The] steep climb to the monastery making it an ideal place for ambush. The movement of Lt Col Avasthys troops was being tracked by the enemy forces and a 500-strong Chinese unit As Lt Col Avasthy and his troops approached the gompa, they came under heavy fire from the Chinese, says the military website. The narration continues: The battle was fierce, and the Chinese, annoyed by the casualties they were taking, tried to isolate Lt Col Avasthy and cut him off. But Lt Col Avasthys men surrounded their valiant commanding officer and fought to the bitter end. Lt Col Avasthy and all his gallant soldiers were martyred, and the battlefield was littered with the bodies of 126 Indian soldiers and over 200 Chinese soldiers. The Chinese records of the battle say, 209 Indian troops were wiped out, including a battalion commander, Lt Col [Awasti]; 13 LMGs, 114 long & short rifles, two 51 Mortar, one 90 mortar, 3 periscopes, and some ammunition were seized. [The Chinese] 3rd battalion of the 154th regiment suffered 36 casualties: 25 injured and 11 killed. Another Battle, Another Hero This time near Limeking in the Subansiri sector of NEFA, the troops of 2 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (2 JAK) faced the Chinese troops. After they crossed the Subansiri at Gelenshiniak, the confluence of the Tsari and Subansiri rivers, the PLA started to move further south. According to a book, The Fantastic Fifth, the History of the Oldest Infantry Brigade, the first contact between the Chinese and the Indian troops took place on November 4, 1962, north of the river, where the Chinese were constructing bunkers across the river Subansiri and covering the Rio Bridge by fire. Reports were also coming in that the Chinese were trying to outflank Limeking and Taliha [further south]. The Legend of Shere Thapa This record adds, On 18 November at 3 pm, about two hundred Chinese troops came in contact with [a] protective patrol. As soon as the Chinese entered the killing area of the patrol, the latter opened up with 2 Inch Mortar, Light Machine Guns and Rifles. The exchange of fire lasted for over forty-eight hours, and the protective patrol held the ground with courage and determination, despite overwhelming strength and a barrage of supporting fire by the enemy. The patrol withdrew only when its ammunition had been expended. Havildar Shere Thapa lost his life. His act of bravery is enshrined in golden letters in the annals of the Indian Army. He took a heavy toll on the enemy and inflicted a number of casualties with his LMG single-handedly He kept on firing with his LMG till he ran out of ammunition, foiling wave after wave of assaulting Chinese. This brave Havildar received a fatal hit from a Chinese machine gun burst, says the 5th Brigades annals, adding that Shere Thapa managed to delay the Chinese for seventy-two hours. Of course many more such stories could be recounted, as several true heroes have never received an award or even been acknowledged by India. However, the fact remains that today the Indian Army is far better prepared for a conflict than in 1962, and one great advantage over China is that the Indian Army is still able to produce remarkable officers and soldiers, with great motivation, gusto, and devotion to duty. In case of a conflict, new Pants, Rikhs, Avasthys or Thapas will emerge, and that makes the difference. The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (Delhi). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Standing tall in a land where many temples were destroyed, every time a puja is done in these temples, it is a tribute to their fortitude and that of the faithful who have come here for centuries read more A few days ago, Shiva temples across the country witnessed crowds gathering on Maha Shivaratri. However, in a remote corner of Rajasthan, a trio of Shiva temple sites are little visited, despite being filled with architectural glory. In a state known for its mighty forts, elegant palaces and graceful temples, these stand out, for both their design as well as their tranquillity. The first of these, at Baroli, is a group of temples built in the 10th 11th century CE period by the Gurjara-Pratiharas, a dynasty that held sway across a swathe of land across central India. On entering the complex, temples seem to be everywhere, though many appear ruined. Going right in, one finds a grand structure that is intact, at least outwardly so. This is the Ghateshwara Mahadeva. Advertisement With a stunningly carved shikhara that rises high above everything else here, the Ghateshwara Mahadeva is by far the most prominent structure at Baroli. The temple is in two parts, a main sanctum and a pillared halla mandapain front, with a gap between the two. This gap is peculiar and does not conform to the pattern of temples, where the mandapa and sanctum are usually joined. And this oddity makes one think that the mandapa was built later, while emulating the same style as the sanctum. The upper levels of the sanctum are richly embellished with carvings of divine figures. Curiously, the carvings include several depictions of playful monkeys, in an unusually large size. The back of the sanctums exterior shows a figure leaning against the sanctum, with one leg raised, almost as if he were trying to push it. Close to the temple is a huge panel, wonderfully carved. It may have been part of a doorway of a temple but is now a mere fragment of a lost shrine. Another feature of the place is that several idols have been defaced, indicating an attack in some medieval period. In modern times, however, the temples have not been trouble-free. In 1998, a Shiva idol was stolen from the Ghateshwara Mahadeva, apparently by antique smugglers, and taken to Europe. In 2003, the idol surfaced in a private collection in the United Kingdom. Actions taken by the Indian diplomatic mission ensured that the idol was voluntarily returned in 2005 and displayed at India House in London. In 2020, it was announced that the idol would return to India. Advertisement Shiva from Baroli, returned from the UK in 2020-21 Sixty kilometres north-west, outside the tiny town of Bijoliya is another temple complex. Better preserved, and perhaps well-restored, the complex has three temples within. The oldest, dedicated to Mahakaal, is dated to the 11th century CE with the Hajareshwara and Undeshwara Mahadev being added over the next century. The Mahakal temple has two sanctums called garbhagrihas, both having Shiva lingas. One is called the Mahakaal and the other Baijnath. Apart from the two sanctums, the shrine also has a mukha mandapa, a mandapa and an antarala, making it rather elaborate. Among the depictions of various icons on the Mahakaals exterior is a rare onea composite image of Varaha, Narasimha and Hayagreeva. Sadly, it is partially defaced with only Narasimha still having a clear face. Advertisement The Hajareshwara, built in the early 12th century CE, is named after a Sahasralingam withinthis is a Shiva linga with a thousand miniature lingas carved on it. The third temple hereUndeshwara Mahadevwas built at the end of the 12th century. Curiously, its inner sanctum is sunken and as a result, it is below water for several months of the year. As per the priest, the linga here predates the temples and has been in worship since the 9th century. Speaking of water, the reason for these temples being built here is a water bodythe Mandakini Kund. This is considered a sacred pond, and each temple merely added to the sacred space of Bijoliya. Advertisement Bijoliya is also a significant place for Jain pilgrims, with several Jain shrines being built in the 12th century CE. Two inscriptions found here, both dated to 1170 CE, are of significance. One mentions the Chhahamana dynasty and the other a Jain poem called the Uttama Shikhara Purana. Bijoliya is the place where this poem was composed. Even more importantly, a Jain temple here marks the place as the site where the 23rd Jain Tirthankara, Parshvanath, attained divine knowledge. Back to the Shiva temple trail, the third site lies twenty kilometres south-west of Bijoliya. Its nameMenalis a mutation of the temple it is named after, the Mahanaleshwar. Dating to the 11th century CE and also built by the Chhahamanas, the site is said to have been visited by Prithviraj Chauhan himself. Perhaps it is fitting that the Mahanaleshwar is the most magnificent Shiva temple of this zone. Superbly sculpted, the shrines exterior is richly embellished with iconography. Dancing figures run all around the walls, interspersed by divine figures in niches. Advertisement The Mahanaleshwar Temple at Menal An icon of Nandi sits in a small mandapa in front of the temple. Elsewhere in the complex are other buildings, including a matha or Shaiva monastery. There are also some temples that look older than the Mahanaleshwar. The complex is said to contain elements dating centuries prior to the main temple, as early as the 9th century. Perhaps this was a place of pilgrimage long before the Chhahamanas arrived on the scene. All three temple complexes are in interesting locations. The word Mahanal is said to literally mean a rocky clefta geographic feature found here, in the form of a cleft in the rugged terrain behind the temple complex. This becomes a full-fledged waterfall in the wet season. Beyond the waterfall and inaccessible when it is in full flow is another temple. Bijoliya is a regular village, with the usual chaos of rural India. The Baroli temple site is not just close to the Chambal River but also in proximity to the Rawatbhata nuclear reactor. The dynasties that built these age-old temples are long gone. The road to Chittaurgarh on which they lie was one taken by many attacking armies through the medieval era. Standing tall in a land where many temples were destroyed, every time a puja is done in these temples, it is a tribute to their fortitude and that of the faithful who have come here for centuries. The author is a heritage explorer by inclination with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The happenings of the Oval Office are shocking to the supercilious elites of Europe, who are now seeing their cosy world collapse in front of their eyes: no more free-loading, no more Uncle Sam to the rescue read more Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky argues with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House in Washington, on, February 28. Reuters The tongue-lashing received by Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office, in full view of the media, was a point of inflection. It highlighted something that we had suspected: the end of the European Century (or two or three), wherein they had risen to be the Masters of the Universe. Trump is emphasising that the Atlantic was a 19th-century story; with the rise of the US, the Pacific was the story of the 20th century; and the 21st finds the Indian Ocean rising. Advertisement Zelenskys debacle was not the only pointer: Keir Starmer of the UK, despite some polite talk about the mythical special relationship, was told sharply by Vance that there is no more free speech in the UK and that it affects American technology companies and citizens. Let us remember also how Elon Musk lambasted the UK for its Pakistani rape gangs and the limp-wristed reaction of its authorities. Trump also told Starmer, Thats enough! while the British PM was responding to a question related to the issue of Canada. THAT WAS BRUTAL!!! Keir Starmer: "You mentioned Canada. I think you [the press] are trying to find a divide between us that doesn't exist. We're the closest of nations, and we had very good discussions today, but we..." President Trump: THAT'S ENOUGH. pic.twitter.com/uHXO3ZRGE5 George (@BehizyTweets) February 27, 2025 JD Vance, again, spoke some home truths to the Europeans at the Munich Security Conference, telling them their problems are homegrown: excessive migration, lack of democratic values, and censorship. All this is shocking to the supercilious elites of Europe, who are now seeing their cosy world collapse in front of their eyes: no more free-loading, no more Uncle Sam to the rescue. Suddenly, NATO is meaningless, and decades of Greta Thunberg and V-Dem-style lecturing and pontification are coming back to bite them on the backside. Advertisement They must be recalling William Blakes apocalyptic vision in The Second Coming. Their world is indeed falling apart. Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Its hard to blame the Europeans. They have forgotten how it was only yesterday, as it were, that they were being hounded by the Barbary pirates, enslaved and turned into janissaries by the Turks. I read how the author of Don Quixote had been himself captured, enslaved for five years, and ransomed in 1580 for 300 gold coins, worth some $40,000 today. Advertisement The European Century has made Europeans, and us, Fourth Worlders, or those formerly colonised by them (as VS Naipaul put it), forget that Europe is just a backwater, a mere peninsula, an appendage, to Asia. It is now reverting to just Northwest Asia. For most of recorded history, Europe was an uncivilised land of savages; it was only the lucky accident of the Industrial Revolution that gave it the wherewithal to dominate the world. But that is in the past: the economic centre of gravity of the world has indeed moved from the Atlantic to Asia. The illusion that America is obligated to support Europe, and also to fight Russia to the bitter end as part of the Cold War, was nurtured by Atlanticist Eastern Europeans exercised by an age-old blood feud: that between the Russian Orthodox Church on the one hand and Catholics and other Protestant churches on the other hand. Advertisement Those certainties are now falling by the wayside, as Trump pivots to the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as back to isolationist Fortress America. As Zelensky did mention in his tirade, America has the good fortune to have two oceans around it, a serious moat. The US has been gaslighted for a long time by supercilious Europeans, most especially the mischief-makers at the UKs Whitehall (who are the real Deep State). But thats wearing off, and the blinkers are falling from their eyes. Sadly for Zelensky, he will be the first one affected by this newfound clarity. Zelensky also made several rookie mistakes. First, you dont go to your benefactors lair (i.e. the US Oval Office) dressed in a sweatshirt. Second, you dont talk over Trump. Third, when English is your second language, you might miss the nuances of you dont hold any cards, for instance. Fourth, and most importantly, you dont trust Starmer, Macron, etc, and take up cudgels with Trump. Advertisement The near-simultaneous toolkit tweets from a lot of EU grandees suggest they gaslighted Zelensky into his suicidal bit of bravado against Trump in the Oval Office. They used the exact same words! And Trump doesnt take slights lightly. "Be strong, be brave, be fearless" simul-tweets from European Union affliated institutions. Ursula von der Leyen, President of EU Commission. Roberta Metsola, President of EU Parliament. Antonio Costa, President of European Council. Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Commission, pic.twitter.com/gbCYOCD6BI DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) February 28, 2025 The implications are dire. The Ukraine War is as good as over because the Europeans alone cannot (or will not) supply Zelensky with enough weaponry to hold off Russia indefinitely. The most likely outcome is a ceasefire followed by a standstill agreement: what Ukrainian territory Russia currently holds it will continue to hold; Ukraine will be de jure partitioned. The rest is negotiable. If the Europeans had any sense, they would patch up with Russia. NATO as we know it will come to an end, and EU+Russia is a pretty powerful force, and neither will have to kowtow to China. With the US out of the picture, the divided EU and Russia will both fall into the dhritarashtra alinganam of sweet-talking China. To their ultimate detriment, of course. It is good to contrast Trumps treatment of all these Europeans with his much gentler treatment of both the Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba and the Indian PM Narendra Modi, both Quad partners. He was polite and businesslike with them. Also, when a reporter asked about AUKUS, the brain-dead partnership with the UK that Biden dragged another Quad partner, Australia, into, his response was: Whats that? There were early glimpses of a Trump foreign policy taking shape, as I mentioned in two prior columns: Chronicles of a Foreign Policy Foretold and Trumps America and Modis India. Now things are clearer: theres a new Sheriff in town, and things are going to be different. But, William Blake notwithstanding, its not the end of the world. We will all carry on. The writer has been a conservative columnist for over 25 years. His academic interest is innovation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. More than narratives of friendship and cooperation, what is likely to work for Taiwan is ensuring reciprocal benefits for the US in economic and technological domains as Trump endeavours to nip China in the bud read more Donald Trumps second presidency has induced a much-expected sense of uncertainty in the US alliances. One such ally, known only as a robust unofficial partner to the US, is the island of Taiwan. And while the recent removal of the phrase we do not support Taiwan independence from the website of the US State Department has riled Beijing up, it may not mean anything more than continuity in US policy. So does the US now support Taiwans Independence? The short answer is no. The political system of the US grants significant authority to its various executive departments and their heads to differ on policy issues and adopt their own narratives. This must be taken into account while assessing the decision of the State Department to remove the phrase shunning the idea of Taiwans independence from the US-Taiwan Bilateral Relations Factsheet. And so, the decision may just be a reflection of Secretary of State Marco Rubios hawkish China policy, but not necessarily a walk-back on the USs commitments to both China and Taiwan, as specified under the American Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979. Advertisement The TRA specifies that the US only promotes the use of peaceful means for the resolution of the cross-Strait unification issue. Further, even the modified Factsheet does not stand for any unilateral manoeuvres to change the status quo. Unilateral changes pertain not only to the use of force by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army to annex Taiwan and its outlying islands but also to any Taiwanese endeavours to declare independence. What Should Taiwan Expect from Trump? As ambiguous as Trumps Taiwan policy may seem, it is unlikely he will want to concede the US position on aiding the islands defence. While Trump has often remarked that he likes Xi Jinping very much, he has also emphasised the need to create a level playing field in the US-China relationship. He has demonstrated flexibility in his approach to Beijing, which makes it difficult to, in a pinpointed manner, make the case that he is pro or anti-China. Similarly, Trump has criticised Taiwan for stealing the American semiconductor business and has demanded money in exchange for promises of security from the US. And yet, Taiwans policymakers seem to be at ease. Taiwanese National Security Council Secretary General Joseph Wu told audiences in Taipei recently that he finds Trumps support for Taiwan very strong. Uncertainty aside, it is notable that Trump appointed hawks on China across key positions in his government. Unofficial conversations have also revealed that many of these appointees are part of a US Congress grouping known as the Taiwan caucus, which acts as a voice for Taipeis interests in the Senate and House of Representatives. For example, Pete Hegseth has been appointed Secretary of Defence. In his opening remarks to the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on February 12, Hegseth clearly highlighted that the US priority is to deter China with all its resources and not get involved in Europes security. Then there is Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor, who seems to enthusiastically support speedy deliveries of weapons systems to Taiwan. And of course, there is Rubio, who, even in a short call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi right after stepping into office, critiqued Chinas coercive actions vis-a-vis Taiwan. Advertisement In this light, even though Trump is expected to be transactional in his approach and has taken a tough stance on the American alliance ecosystem, his administration as a whole is unlikely to walk back US support to Taiwan. In fact, if precedent is any proof, by value, Trump notified Congress of the highest Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Taiwan during his first term ($18.76 billion). This is as opposed to Barack Obama, who, in his two tenures (2009-17), notified of FMS worth $14 billion. It is likely that arms sales trends will continue to flourish under Trump 2.0. There are two main reasons for this. First, Taiwans defence is closely tied to Chinas preponderance, and second, defence exports are an important component of the US economic growth. Advertisement Moving Forward However, Taiwan must be cautious in its approach towards Trump or on being accused of over-reliance on American defence. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has demonstrated some such caution in his remarks around Trump, promising to act prudently to address Trumps concerns surrounding the semiconductor industry. More than narratives of friendship and cooperation, however, what is likely to work for Taiwan is ensuring reciprocal benefits for the US in economic and technological domains as Trump endeavours to nip China in the bud. And a virtue to hold close would be patience, given that Trump is unlikely to give in to Taipeis demands based on abstract timelines predicting invasion or annexation. Advertisement Anushka Saxena is a Staff Research Analyst (China) with the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme at the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. The views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Firstpost. European leaders have grown increasingly uneasy as Trump pursues direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has largely been isolated by Western governments since launching the war began three years ago read more Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street. The PM said he had absolute determination to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Reuters Serious talk of a ceasefire deal in the Russia-Ukraine war has been a fairly recent phenomenon. The attention on that front has primarily been on statements made by US President Donald Trump. But now, there might be another contender in that field. Europe may finally be ready to be on the front foot as Britain, France, and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire proposal to present to the US. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on Sunday (March 2) confirmed that the plan was in the works ahead of a summit of European leaders to find a path to end the war in Ukraine. Advertisement The summit has been overshadowed by Trumps sharp rebuke of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday (February 28). Trump publicly criticised Zelenskyy for being ungrateful for US support in Ukraines fight against Russias invasiona rare and highly public dispute between allies. Starmer, however, said he is focused on diplomatic efforts to restore peace talks and sees the breakdown in discussions as an opportunity to engage Trump, Zelenskyy, and French President Emmanuel Macron rather than escalate tensions. Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States, Starmer told the BBC. Both Starmer and Macron have spoken with Trump since Friday in an attempt to keep European interests at the table amid shifting US policy toward the conflict. European leaders rally behind Zelenskyy Zelenskyy has received strong backing from European leaders following the tense White House meeting, during which Trumps criticism of the Ukrainian leader was broadcast live. Starmer embraced Zelenskyy upon his arrival in London on Saturday (March 1) for a private meeting, which took place a day earlier than originally scheduled. As you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer told Zelenskyy. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. Advertisement European leaders have grown increasingly uneasy as Trump pursues direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has largely been isolated by Western governments since launching the war began three years ago. Concerns have deepened over Europes diminishing role in the process, particularly after Trump referred to Zelenskyy as a dictator and falsely claimed Ukraine started the war. Collapse of diplomatic momentum Recent meetings had offered some hope of renewed diplomatic efforts. Macron described his Oval Office visit as a turning point, and Starmers subsequent meeting with Trump was seen as another step toward securing European influence in the talks. While Trump softened his rhetoric toward Ukraine during those meetings, he refused to commit to US security guarantees for Kyiv and insisted that European nations would have to provide peacekeeping troops instead. However, the fragile diplomatic progress unravelled within hours of Starmers return from Washington. Vice President JD Vance escalated tensions by criticising Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian leader challenged Trumps claims that Putin could be trusted. Advertisement The latest developments have further fuelled European anxieties over the future of Western support for Ukraine and the broader direction of US foreign policy under Trumps leadership. With inputs from AP Before the fall (of Assads regime), last Ramadan, it didnt even feel like Ramadan. You couldnt really tell. But now, its obvious. Restaurants are closed, people arent openly breaking their fast, Damascus resident Munir Abdallah said read more Residents in Syria's war-battered Jobar neighbourhood, gather for the fast-breaking meal, iftar, on the first day of Ramadan. AP Residents of Damascus are observing the first Ramadan in more than five decades without the al-Assad family in power, following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in a rebel-led coup last December. The coup, carried out by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, led to the installation of an interim government that has since imposed strict religious observances during the holy month. Syrias interim Ministry of Religious Endowments has ordered the closure of restaurants, coffee shops, and street food vendors during daylight hours, barring public eating and drinking. Violators face financial penalties and up to three months in prison, according to government directives. Advertisement While some establishments remained open, most were shuttered as Muslims in the capital observed the first day of fasting, which begins at dawn and ends with the evening iftar meal. Muslims eat a pre-dawn meal, called suhoor, to hydrate and nurture their bodies ahead of the daily fast. The holy month is also a time when Islamic and charitable organisations frequently provide meals for those unable to afford their own. Stricter Ramadan observances This year, after the fall of the regime, there are many confirmations regarding the prohibition of publicly breaking the fast, with violators facing imprisonment, said Damascus resident Munir Abdallah. Mohammad Kousa, another resident, described a noticeable difference in public life. Before the fall (of Assads regime), last Ramadan, it didnt even feel like Ramadan. You couldnt really tell. But now, its obvious. Restaurants are closed, people arent openly breaking their fast, he said. Syrias interim Minister of Religious Affairs, Hussam Haj-Hussein, called this Ramadan a turning point. Ramadan this year comes with a new flavour. This is the Ramadan of victory and liberation, he said in a televised statement. Concerns over future governance The new government, led by former HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, has raised concerns over the countrys direction, with some fearing it could transition into an Islamic state. Al-Sharaa has pledged to respect religious minorities, though how his administration will govern remains uncertain. With inputs from AP In a video now gone viral on social media, Putin said Russia is willing to work with American partners, including private companies, in the rare-earth sector read more Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled openness to cooperating with the United States on rare-earth minerals after a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy derailed discussions on a potential deal. In a video now gone viral on social media, Putin said Russia is willing to work with American partners, including private companies, in the rare-earth sector. We will be open to cooperation with our American partners, and when I say partners I not only mean administrative and governmental agencies, but also private companies if they show interest in working together, Putin said. Advertisement BREAKING: Vladimir Putin hints at offering the U.S. a deal on rare-earth minerals, saying Russia has way more than Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/8l0B4RoWBK Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 1, 2025 The Russian leader said that his country holds significantly larger reserves of rare-earth minerals than Ukraine. Russia possesses significantly higher resources of this kind (rare earth minerals) than Ukraine, Putin said. Russia is one of the uncontested leaders when it comes to rare and rare-earth metal reserves. Putin listed key regions where these resources are located, including Murmansk in the north, the Caucasus region, the Irkutsk region, Yakutia, and Tuva. He added that developing these deposits requires substantial investment, and Russia is open to partnerships with foreign companies, including those from the United States. The same is true for new territories, Putin said, referring to areas Russia has claimed since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. We are ready to work with our partners, including Americans. Trump-Zelenskyy meeting ends in dispute The rare-earth minerals discussion follows a tense meeting at the White House, where Trump and Zelenskyy clashed over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. According to multiple sources, Trump grew frustrated with Zelenskyy and abruptly ended the conversation. Trump reportedly told Zelensky he could return when he is ready for peace, a remark the US president later reiterated in a social media post. Advertisement The meeting had been expected to include discussions on a minerals deal seen as a possible step toward a US-brokered truce. However, after the dispute, Zelenskyy left the White House without an agreement, and a planned joint press conference was cancelled. With inputs from agencies The perpetrators allegedly intimidated election officials and police officers, damaged the ballot box and fled from the scene of the crime read more Masked assailants invaded a polling booth in Georgias separatist province of Abkhazia on Saturday, temporarily halting voting in the second round of presidential elections plagued by concerns over Russias involvement. Most of the world recognises Abkhazia as Georgian territory, although it has been under de facto Russian authority since a short 2008 conflict between Moscow and Tbilisi. At around 7:30 pm (1630 GMT) a group of up to 20 armed masked people attacked a polling station, Abkhazias prosecution service said. Advertisement It further said that the incident happened in a secondary school in the Gantiadi district, which is called Tsandrypsh in Abkhaz. The perpetrators allegedly intimidated election officials and police officers, damaged the ballot box and fled from the scene of the crime. Polling booths closed at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT), according to local media. Aslan Bzhania, the regions pro-Kremlin ruler, resigned in November amid widespread protests over a proposed Russian investment pact. Critics believed it would result in unrestrained development in the lush Black Sea area. He became the third Abkhazian leader to quit due to demonstrations since 2014. The self-proclaimed republics vice president and acting leader Badra Gunba, close to the former pro-Moscow administration, is running against Adgur Ardzinba, who was aligned with the protesters. Results from the first round showed Gunba winning around 46 percent of the vote, while Ardzinba had around 37 percent. A winner from the second round has not yet been declared, according to local media. The combined wealth of the 5.12 million families in China with over six million yuan (USD 824,000) in assets was stated to be about 150 trillion yuan (over USD seven trillion) in 2024, according to a report published by the Hurun Research Institute. read more Chinas wealthiest people are growing richer, exacerbating economic inequality despite the Communist Partys efforts to regulate private businesses and implement policies to increase incomes, according to a report. The Hurun Research Institutes report revealed that the combined wealth of 5.12 million Chinese families with assets exceeding six million yuan (USD 824,000) reached about 150 trillion yuan (over USD seven trillion) in 2024. Among these, the top 130,000 families accounted for 58% of the total wealth, up from 56% the previous year. Advertisement Chinas per capita disposable income rose to 41,314 yuan (over USD 41,314) last year, marking a 5.3% increase from 2023, as reported by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Analysts have cautioned that Beijing must intensify efforts to reduce the wealth gap, particularly as it seeks to stimulate an economic recovery driven by the private sector. The country faces challenges such as weak consumer demand and a struggling property sector, where much of the wealth of the affluent is concentrated. Much of the economic strain is being felt by those in the middle and lower-middle classes, it said. As a result, the overall consumption essential to halt the economic slowdown grew by just 3.5 per cent last year, a rate that was slower than the 5 per cent rise in GDP, suggesting that the income and wealth gaps were holding back spending. The growing inequality was reflected in the national Gini coefficient, which was 0.467 in 2022 when the National Bureau of Statistics last updated the number. A Gini coefficient of 0 reflects perfect income and wealth equality, while 1 reflects maximal inequality, where a single individual has all the income while all others have none. Advertisement The yawning wealth gap was also apparent in data from Shenzhen-based China Merchants Bank (CMB), one of the countrys biggest domestic wealth management-focused lenders. CMB said that about 2.3 per cent of its accounts held roughly 81 per cent of the total private banking assets at the institution in 2023, representing a highly unequal distribution, the Post reported. The Hurun report is published ahead of the upcoming annual Parliament session of the National Peoples Congress (NPC), which begins its two-week-long session from March 5, during which several legislations to boost the countrys economy were expected to be approved. The NPC would meet along with the advisory body, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), to deliberate on the state of the economy and the countrys strategic challenges arising out of US President Donald Trump starting a second stint in power. Advertisement Trump said he planned to slap new 10 per cent tariffs on goods from China, escalating trade fights with Beijing. Already, Chinese goods were hit by 10 per cent tariffs by Trump earlier this month. During his election campaign, he threatened to slap 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods to address US concerns over fentanyl, a potent opioid drug blamed for widespread drug addiction in the US. In a bid to boost the sagging economy, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Feb 17 held a rare meeting with the countrys top corporate leaders, including e-commerce giant Alibaba founder Jack Ma, and urged them to unleash their talents to shore up sagging business confidence in the country to reverse the economic slowdown. Advertisement Xis meeting with leaders of the top corporate houses came amid a severe ebb in private sector morale prompted by a volatile mix of economic issues, including heightened geopolitical tensions with the US and harsh regulatory crackdowns on some of the countrys business firms. With inputs from agencies Earlier on Friday, President Trump warned Zelenskyy that he was gambling with World War Three during a series of heated exchanges, which were broadcast globally. Both Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of lacking gratitude for US military aid read more US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, US, September 27, 2024. File Image/Reuters US President Donald Trump on Sunday (March 2) reposted an opinion by Michael McCune on his Truth Social platform, warning Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to back down and accept his terms to end the war with Russia. The post comes two days after Trumps explosive White House meeting with Zelenskyy, during which the US president and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of not being grateful to US aid. Here is what the message read that Trump reposted on Truth Social: Advertisement Heres the genius part - Trump is actually protecting the Ukraine without dragging the US into war. By negotiating a mineral deal, Trump ensures that Americans will be involved in Ukraines mining industry. This prevents Russia from launching an invasion because attacking Ukraine would mean endangering American lives - something that would force the US to respond. Trump played both sides like a master chess player. In the end, Zelesnky will have no choice but to concede because without the US support, Ukraine cannot win a prolonged war against Russia. And once US companies have mining operations in Ukraine, Putin will be unable to attack without triggering massive international consequences. Dont underestimate Donald Trump. In this game of chess, hes 10 moves ahead of everyone. Earlier on Friday, President Trump warned Zelenskyy that he was gambling with World War Three during a series of heated exchanges, which were broadcast globally. Both Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of lacking gratitude for US military aid, despite his repeated public acknowledgements since the war began in 2022. The meeting ended with Zelensky reportedly being expelled from the White House, and plans to finalise a deal exchanging Ukrainian mineral rights for American arms were put on hold. Trump later wrote on his Truth Social account that Zelenskyy was not ready for peace. Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE, Trump wrote. Advertisement On Saturday (March 1), it was reported that the Trump administration was considering halting all military aid to Ukraine. Washington Post quoted a senior White House official as saying that such a decision would halt billions of dollars of radars, vehicles, ammunition, and missiles awaiting shipment to the war-torn nation. The White House official quoted by the Post adds that the spat between Vance, Trump and Zelenskyy was not preplanned. Meanwhile, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Zelenskyy still had a chance to make a deal. He said, Zelensky has a chance to turn this and choices to make, and that it doesnt mean [the deal] still cant be done. Advertisement Domestic cats could soon face less freedoms in Australia's most populous state. A newly announced review could see tougher restrictions for millions of pet owners. Source: Michele Phillips/Getty A young possum found clinging to a road sign in the scorching heat shows why many Aussies are backing a contentious push to enforce tougher restrictions on pet owners. The native possum was spotted by a young child clinging to the sign outside their school in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne earlier this week, clearly showing signs of distress. "I got called at 3pm when a parent went to pick up their child, that poor possum had suffered all day," wildlife rescuer Michele Phillips told Yahoo News. "It had obviously been attacked during the night and run up there to be safe," she said. She could tell from the injuries to the possum behind its neck that it had "definitely" been attacked by a cat. ADVERTISEMENT "It had to be euthanised because it had horrific injuries," she lamented. "Ninety-nine per cent of the possums I get in are due to their mums being killed by a cat." Push for cat curfew and confinement According to the Victorian Agricultural Department's code of practice for the private keeping of cats, the animals "should be kept indoors at night and preferably confined to the property at all times both for the cat's welfare ... and to protect native wildlife." Cats could soon face less freedoms in Australia's most populous state. Source: Getty "Everyone says 'My cat wont do it'... but they do theyre natural born killers," Michele said. "There are too many irresponsible cats owners." In Victoria, local councils are allowed to mandate tougher restrictions for cat owners and Michele furiously petitioned her council, the City of Monash, which eventually brought in a night curfew domestic pet cats in April 2021. The curfew means cats must be kept inside between either 7pm or sunset (whichever is earlier) and sunrise. ADVERTISEMENT RELATED: Aussie state plans to kill thousands of cats A similar mandate is enforced in a number of suburbs across Canberra. And now, advocates are pushing for NSW to follow suit. NSW to review existing laws for pet owners On Wednesday, the NSW state government announced it will review pet laws for the first time in two decades a move which could open the door for cat containment mandates for millions of pet owners. While the precise number of pet cats in the state is unclear, there are more than 4.7 million dogs and cats kept as pets in NSW. "We need strong laws that hold pet owners to account and make sure owners take responsibility for their pets at home and in public spaces," Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said this week when announcing the review. The review will examine a number of aspects of pet ownership, with the urgent need to prevent dogs and cats entering the pound and rehoming system appearing to be a main priority. It will look at existing regulations pertaining to registration and desexing, preventing dog attacks as well as cat ownership, the government said. ADVERTISEMENT Invasive Species Council Interim CEO Jack Gough has welcomed the news, describing it as an important opportunity for NSW to catch up with other states. "Every year about 66 million native mammals, frogs, reptiles and birds are killed by roaming pet cats just in Greater Sydney. We need a cultural change to stop this and that starts with empowering councils to bring in clear cat containment rules," he said. "Despite strong public backing for cat containment, outdated laws in NSW prevent councils from acting. This is a stark contrast to Victoria which has empowered councils to introduce containment rules, and over half have done so. The ACT has also mandated cat containment territory-wide." Pet owners and other stakeholders can provide feedback for the NSW review here. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. A week ago, the paramilitary RSF and its allies had signed a charter in Kenya declaring the formation of a government of peace and unity in areas under their control in Sudan read more Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a war between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF. - AFP Egypt rejected on Sunday attempts aimed at establishing a rival government in Sudan, warning that such moves jeopardised the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the war-torn country. Sudan has been locked in a war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for nearly two years, plunging the country into what the United Nations describes as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory. A week ago, the RSF and its allies signed a charter in Kenya declaring the formation of a government of peace and unity in areas under their control. Advertisement Egypt expresses its rejection of any attempts that threaten the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of brotherly Sudan, including the pursuit of forming a parallel Sudanese government, a statement from Cairos foreign ministry said Sunday. It added that such actions complicate the situation in Sudan, hinder ongoing efforts to unify political visions and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. Egypt also called on all Sudanese forces to prioritise the countrys supreme national interest and to engage positively in launching a comprehensive political (peace) process without exclusion or external interference. Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty voiced the same stance in a press conference alongside his Sudanese counterpart Ali Youssef. Sudans territorial integrity is a red line for Egypt, he said, adding that his country rejects any calls to establish alternative structures outside the current framework. The paramilitaries move to form a rival government has drawn sharp criticism, including from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who warned it would further deepen Sudans fragmentation. Saudi Arabia, which previously mediated ceasefire talks between the warring sides, also rejected the RSFs move. In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency on Friday, Riyadhs foreign ministry warned against any step or illegal measure taken outside the framework of official institutions. Advertisement Kuwait echoed that position on Friday, saying it rejected any unlawful actions taken outside the framework of legitimate state institutions in Sudan, calling them a threat to its territorial unity. At a UN Human Rights Council dialogue on Friday, Saudi Arabias Gulf neighbour Qatar also expressed its support for Sudans unity and territorial integrity. The United Arab Emirates, which has repeatedly been accused of supplying the RSF with weapons claims it has denied has not commented yet. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday called for the total compliance of the Gaza ceasefire deal, urging both Israel and Hamas to honour their commitments. read more A demonstrator releases a black smoke flare as others gather during a protest calling for action to release the remaining hostages held captive in Gaza since the 2023 October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants, outside the Israeli Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 1, 2025. Image- AFP Egypts Gaza reconstruction plan, designed to ensure Palestinians remain on their land is finalised and will be presented at an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday. Arab states, which quickly rejected President Donald Trumps proposal for the US to take control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians are working to coordinate a diplomatic response to counter the plan. Trumps proposal, unveiled on February 4 during a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, marked a departure from the longstanding U.S. policy supporting a two-state solution, drawing widespread criticism from Palestinians and Arab nations. Advertisement Abdelatty said Egypt would seek international backing and funding for the plan and emphasised Europes crucial role, particularly in the financing of Gazas reconstruction. We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit, he said in a press conference with the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica. He also urged the European Union to exert maximum pressure on the parties, especially the Israeli party, regarding commitment to the ceasefire agreement. As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel backed an extension proposed by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. Hamas, however, has repeatedly rejected extending the first phase, instead insisting on moving directly to the second stage. This would involve the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in Gaza. Israel on Sunday blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated. Abdelatty said the use of aid as a weapon of collective punishment could not be permitted. The first phase of the fragile ceasefire agreement expired this weekend. Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypts commitment to the originally agreed ceasefire that had been scheduled to move into a second phase. It will be difficult, but with goodwill and political determination, it can be achieved, he said. Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said earlier that it had adopted a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods. Abdelatty said after Tuesdays summit, foreign ministers of member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation would hold an urgent meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to present the plans. We will ensure that the results of the Arab summit are presented to the world in the best possible way, he said. With inputs from agencies According to the updated list on March 2, 2025, the country has a total of 12,18,32,274 eligible voters. Out of them, 6,33,61,615 are males and 6,03,69,665 are females. There are 994 voters of the third gender. read more Bangladeshs Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Sunday said that the Election Commissions only agenda is to hold a free, fair, transparent and credible election in the country. Our only agenda is to hold a free, fair, transparent and credible election. We are working to implement the agenda of 18 crore people of Bangladesh, nothing else, he was quoted as saying by the state-run BSS news agency. He made the remarks while speaking at an event to mark the 7th National Voter Day. Advertisement Vote is a right of the people and we had to achieve the right at the cost of immense struggle. Now we are trying to establish the right and arrange a beautiful and acceptable election, Nasir Uddin said. This time, voters should take it as their duty to exercise their franchise and hold a free and fair election, he added. He said that political leaders are giving different opinions and termed it as the beauty of democracy. However, consensus among political parties is very crucial, he added. Someone may win in the election by manipulating the polls. But, finally, they cannot survive history says this, he said, in an apparent reference to deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who won four elections in a row. However, she was forced to quit after massive anti-government protests in August last year. After Hasinas ouster, an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed. Nasir Uddin also suggested that the National Consensus Commission can secure a pledge from all political parties to adhere to the electoral code of conduct during elections, the Daily Star newspaper reported. Im not sure if Im speaking too much, but I want to say that the National Consensus Commission can introduce another agenda obtaining written commitments from political parties to follow the electoral code of conduct and fully cooperate in ensuring a free and fair election, he said. Advertisement According to the updated list on March 2, 2025, the country has a total of 12,18,32,274 eligible voters. Out of them, 6,33,61,615 are males and 6,03,69,665 are females. There are 994 voters of the third gender. Last week, Nasir Uddin said preparations are underway for the general elections, based on the two deadlines set by the interim government December this year and June 2026, in case of major reforms. With inputs from agencies Ukraines allies have been underscoring their steadfast commitment to counter growing concerns that US President Donald Trump is about to sell Kyiv short in negotiations with Russia read more More than a dozen European leaders gather in London Sunday for crisis talks, looking to boost security cooperation and support for Ukraine after an astonishing blowout between Kyiv and Washington. Ukraines allies have been underscoring their steadfast commitment to counter growing concerns that US President Donald Trump is about to sell Kyiv short in negotiations with Russia. The day after he was kicked out of the White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was warmly welcomed to Downing Street on Saturday. Advertisement He twice embraced the British prime minister in front of cameras and secured a loan to strengthen defences depleted by more than three years of fending off Russias invasion. I thank the people and government of the United Kingdom for their tremendous support from the very beginning of this war, Zelenskyy said. We are happy to have such strategic partners and to share the same vision of what a secure future should look like for all. He is due to meet King Charles III on Sunday before joining a cohort of European allies at a security summit. The meeting brings together leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as Turkey, NATO and the European Union. Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security, and secure our collective future, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. Downing Street said Sundays summit would again stress the need for a strong lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace and discuss next steps on planning for strong security guarantees. With fears growing over whether the United States will continue to support NATO, the gathering in the UK will also address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation. Advertisement Very welcome As Zelenskyys convoy swept into London on Saturday, a crowd of supporters cheered. Youre very, very welcome here in Downing Street, Starmer told Zelenskyy before their 75-minute closed-door talks. The pair discussed Ukraines position and how to end the war with a lasting and just peace that will not allow Russia to use the ceasefire to rearm and attack again, according to a statement released by Zelenksys office. They also unveiled a 2.26 billion ($2.84 billion) loan agreement to support Ukraines defence capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilised sovereign Russian assets. The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. This is true justice the one who started the war must be the one to pay. Advertisement While in London he said he was happy to have such strategic partners and to share the same vision of what a secure future should look like for all. Just hours earlier, Zelenskyy was being shouted down at the White House. As cameras rolled in the Oval Office, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance angrily accused Zelenskyy of not being thankful and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms. Trump also accused him of ingratitude and gambling with the potential of World War III. Zelenskyy meanwhile insisted there should be no compromises with Putin as the parties negotiate to end the war. Strategic partners Advertisement Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his abrupt pivoting of Washingtons years-long support for Ukraine. The recently inaugurated Republican has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelenskyy, and has sidelined Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with Putin. In the Oval Office, Trump said that he had spoken on numerous occasions to Putin more than has been publicly reported. Last week, after meeting with Starmer in Washington, Trump said there had been a lot of progress towards a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine and that negotiations were at a crucial stage. Though he refused to apologise after the White House clash, Zelenskyy indicated that he was still open to signing a deal on Ukraines mineral wealth that is coveted by Trump, insisting that despite the tough dialogue Ukraine and the United States remain strategic partners. Advertisement But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals, the Ukrainian leader wrote on X. Russias former president Dmitry Medvedev meanwhile called Zelenskyy an insolent pig who had received a proper slap down in the Oval Office. Moscow branded Zelenskyys Washington trip as a complete failure while Germanys Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Trump of switching the roles of victim and aggressor in the conflict. Yesterday evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun, she said. The center-left SPD has dominated Hamburgs politics for most of the past 80 years, including during Scholzs tenure as mayor from 2011 to 2018 read more The Conservatives of Germany, led by Friedrich Merz, are set to lose in the Hamburg regional polls. File image/Reuters Germanys conservative bloc is expected to suffer a setback in Sundays (March 2) regional election in Hamburg, just a week after Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz led his party to victory over Chancellor Olaf Scholzs Social Democrats (SPD) in the national vote. The center-left SPD has dominated Hamburgs politics for most of the past 80 years, including during Scholzs tenure as mayor from 2011 to 2018. According to a poll released Thursday (February 27) by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for public broadcaster ZDF, incumbent SPD Mayor Peter Tschentscher is projected to win with 33 per cent of the vote, likely allowing him to continue governing in coalition with the Greens, according to Bloomberg. Advertisement The Greens are polling at 17 per cent, just behind Merzs center-right CDU at 18 per cent, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is at 9 per cent and the Left party at 12 per cent. While the SPDs support is expected to decline from nearly 40 per cent in the 2020 regional election, the results indicate the party maintains strongholds in parts of Germany despite its historic defeat in last weekends national election. The SPD secured only 16 per cent nationwide, placing third behind the AfD, which took 21 per cent. However, the party is still expected to play a role in Merzs incoming government as a junior coalition partner. Talks underway for national government Merz has set a mid-April deadline to form his administration, and officials from the CDU/CSU and SPD held their first round of exploratory coalition talks in Berlin on Friday (February 28). In a joint statement, the parties described the discussions as open and constructive and said further meetings were planned this week. Finance Minister Joerg Kukies presented an overview of Germanys fiscal outlook during Fridays meeting, with budget challenges expected to be a central topic in upcoming negotiations. Tschentschers popularity boosts SPD Tschentschers strong personal approval ratings have helped bolster SPD support in Hamburg. Among the 1,046 voters surveyed for the ZDF poll, 51 per cent said they preferred him as mayor. His rivals, Greens candidate Katharina Fegebank and CDU candidate Dennis Thering, trailed with 14 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively. Polls opened at 8 am local time, with exit poll results expected at 6 pm Hamburg, one of Germanys 16 federal states, has about 1.3 million eligible voters and holds representation in the Bundesrat, Germanys upper house of parliament. Voter turnout in the 2020 election was 63 per cent. The first phase of the ceasefire was set to expire over the weekend, and there was uncertainty about the second phase, which is expected to lead to a more lasting end to the Gaza conflict read more Palestinian group Hamas on Sunday (March 2) said that it demands implementing a second phase of the ceasefire after Israel approved a temporary extension of the initial phase. Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi said in a statement to AFP, The only way to achieve stability in the region and to secure the return of the prisoners is to fully implement the agreement, starting with the second phase. The first phase of the ceasefire was set to expire over the weekend, and there was uncertainty about the second phase, which is expected to lead to a more lasting end to the Gaza conflict. Advertisement Israels proposal to extend first phase Israel announced on Sunday that it would temporarily extend the truce in Gaza as a interim measure, following the conclusion of the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas. The extension, proposed by US President Donald Trumps Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to last through Ramadan, which ends in late March, and Passover, which occurs in mid-April, according to the Israeli Prime Ministers Office. According to statements by Israeli officials, the extension would involve the release of half of the hostages still held in Gaza on the day the agreement goes into effect. The remaining hostages would be released at the end of the extension, contingent upon reaching an agreement for a permanent ceasefire. Hamas has previously rejected the idea of an extension, preferring to proceed to the next phase of talks. Negotiations thus far have been inconclusive, leaving the fate of hostages still held in Gaza uncertain and the lives of more than two million Palestinians at risk. The Hamas attack that began the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, while the Israeli retaliation has killed 48,388 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, figures from both sides show. With inputs from AFP The Trump-Zelenskyy meeting began on a positive note, with both leaders speaking politely and even expressing admiration for each other. However, tensions quickly escalated when Zelenskyy voiced concerns about trusting Russian President Vladimir Putins promises read more US President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, DC on February 28, 2025. (Source: Reuters) Ahead of the unprecedented showdown between Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday (February 28), a Republican leader is said to have warned the visiting president against taking the bait. GOP leader and a Trump ally, Lindsey Graham, has now claimed he warned Zelenskyy not to take the bait by getting into an argument with Trump as the US president is known for not taking criticism well. Advertisement Dont take the bait Graham was among the few leaders whom Zelenskyy had met before he met with Trump. I told him this morning, Dont take the bait. Dont let the media or anyone else get you into an argument with President Trump. What hes doing today is resetting the relationship, Graham said. What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I dont know if we could ever do business with Zelensky again. I think most Americans saw a guy that they would not want to go in business with, the way he handled the meeting, said the South Carolina Republican. Trump-Zelenskyy clash The Trump-Zelenskyy meeting began on a positive note, with both leaders speaking politely and even expressing admiration for each other. However, tensions quickly escalated when Zelenskyy voiced concerns about trusting Russian President Vladimir Putins promises to end the war. Vice President JD Vance immediately scolded him for publicly questioning Trump, shifting the conversations tone. Zelenskyy became defensive as Trump and Vance accused him of being ungrateful and disrespectful, warning of potential consequences for future American support. As the situation became tense, Trump abruptly cancelled a scheduled joint press conference with Zelenskyy and ordered him to leave the White House. A highly anticipated minerals deal between the US and Ukraine was left unsigned, and a planned White House lunch was also scrapped. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Senator Lindsey Graham criticised Zelenskyys approach as just over the top while praising Trumps handling of the situation. I have never been more proud of the President. I was very proud of JD Vance standing up for our country, he stated. He also said that either Zelenskyy should resign or send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change. Advertisement (With inputs from agencies) According to Japans Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the fire first broke out on Wednesday, and the authorities are still working to control the flame in the region read more More than a thousand people had to be evacuated after Japan witnessed the largest wildfire in more than three decades. According to Kyoto News, the flames have been estimated to have spread over 1,200 hectares of land in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate. According to Japans Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the fire first broke out on Wednesday, and the authorities are still working to control the flame in the region. Advertisement Were still examining the size of the affected area, but it is the biggest since the 1992 wildfire [in Kushiro, Hokkaido], an agency spokesperson said in a statement. Around 1,030 hectares of land were burned, the last time Japan witnessed a wildfire of this scale. Soon after fire erupted in the region, around 1,700 firefighters were mobilised from across the country to deal with the situation. One died in the wildfire, the cause remains unknown According to NHK, local police found the body of one person who had been burned in the blaze. Apart from this, 1,000 nearby residents have been evacuated, and more than 80 buildings had been damaged as of Friday. As the authorities try to take control of the fire, the cause of the blaze remains unknown. As per the report, two other fires were raging on Saturday. One of them was in Yamanashi, and another was elsewhere in Iwate. Japan is accustomed to wildfires every year. There were about 1,300 wildfires across Japan in 2023. These fires were burning between the period of February to April when the air in the region dries out and the wind picks up. However, the government data suggests that the number of wildfires has declined since the peak in the 1970s. Ofunato has seen only 2.5mm (0.1 inches) of rain in February far below the previous record low for February of 4.4mm in 1967. Last year, Japan recorded the hottest temperature in its record, mirroring other countries as ever-rising greenhouse gas emissions fuel the climate crisis. With inputs from AFP. Israel hopes more hostages would be released during this period. The Israeli PM said Witkoff made the proposal after realising that negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire were not likely to yield any positive outcome read more Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday (March 2) that Israel was fully coordinated with US President Donald Trump and his staff over the proposal to extend phase one of the Gaza ceasefire for another 50 days. Netanyahu was speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. Earlier on Saturday night, Israels PMO said it would endorse a proposal put forward by Trumps special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would extend phase one through Ramadan and Passover. Advertisement Israel hopes more hostages will be released during this period. The Israeli PM said Witkoff made the proposal after realising that negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire were not likely to yield any positive outcome. He even defined his proposal as a corridor for negotiations on phase two, Netanyahu said, adding, Israel is ready for this. The Israel PM assured his nation would enter talks for phase two if Hamas agreed to the extension. If Hamas thinks that it will be possible to continue the ceasefire, or to enjoy the conditions of phase one, without us receiving hostages it is very mistaken, he warned. As his office stated last night, Netanyahu warns that Israel has the right to resume fighting in Gaza if it is convinced that negotiations are ineffective, citing a US letter that affirms this position. Despite this, we agreed to the Witkoff outline because we are committed to bringing our hostages home, Netanyahu said, adding that Israel believes Hamas is still holding 59 hostagesup to 24 alive and at least 35 dead. Regarding Israels decision to halt aid deliveries to Gaza, Netanyahu claimed that Hamas is currently taking control of all supplies and goods sent to the Gaza Strip. It is abusing the Gazan population who are trying to receive the aid, it is shooting at them, and is turning humanitarian aid into a terrorist budget directed against us. Advertisement He also issued a warning of additional consequences if Hamas does not release more hostages but does not specify further details. (With inputs from agencies) The announcement was made minutes after the first phase of the ceasefire came to an end. The statement also brings out the fact that the proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire was pushed by the United States read more Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Jewish nation supports the ceasefire proposal pushed by US President Donald Trumps administration as the second phase of the Gaza truce faces delay. On Sunday, the Israeli government maintained that it would agree to the extension of the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramadan and Passover. However, Hamas is now pushing for the negotiation of the second phase of the truce instead. The confirmation of Israels approval came from PM Netanyahus office. The announcement was made minutes after the first phase of the ceasefire came to an end. The statement also brings out the fact that the proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire was pushed by the United States. Advertisement Israel agrees to the extension through Passover, or April 20. As per the new proposal, on the first day of the framework, half the hostages, alive and dead, would be released. The rest would be released if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, CBS News reported. The statement maintained that it was proposed after US envoy Steve Witkoff got the impression that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire. Hamas laments no progress in the second phase of Gaza ceasefire talks On Saturday, a senior Hamas official said that the latest rounds of talks on the second phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have yet to make any progress. The second phase of the truce entailed the release of dozens of hostages who were still in Gaza and would pave the way for a more permanent end to the war. It is pertinent to note that Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did send a delegation to Cairo which is mediating, said intensive talks on the second phase had begun. Delegations from Egypt, Qatar and the US are also part of the negotiations. But Hamas maintained that there was no consensus. The Palestinian group went on to blame Israel for delaying the negotiation process. The second phase of the ceasefire agreement is supposed to begin tomorrow morning, Sunday but the occupation is still procrastinating and continuing to violate the agreement, the source told Agence-France Presse. Meanwhile, on Friday, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres said that the Hamas ceasefire must hold. The coming days are critical. The parties must spare no effort to avoid a breakdown of this deal, Guterres said in New York. He emphasised that the truce enables more aid to flow into the Gaza Strip where more than 69 per cent of buildings were damaged or destroyed, and almost the entire population was displaced. Advertisement With inputs from agencies. Is it time for Aussies to stop being so afraid of harmless types of snake? An Aussie man has explained why a record number of wild snakes hatched in his house. Source: Reptile Rehabilitation Queensland An Aussie man was stoked after 42 wild snakes hatched from a clutch of eggs he brought into his home. Its the most Ive ever had, this was my record, licensed reptile rescuer Pat Lazzaro told Yahoo News. Pictures show the clutch of soft coastal carpet python eggs incubating and then hatching in his Queensland home. They came into his care on December 2 and they started emerging from their shells on January 28, with video showing his specialised enclosure filled with writhing reptiles. The highest number of Aussie pythons hatching from a single clutch we could find was 54, but Lazzaro's achievement was still a rarity. Because there were so many, Lazzaro didn't have large enough housing for them, so he had to painstakingly separate the sticky clumps so they'd fit in his incubator. Then when they first started popping out their little heads, I was excited and said, 'here they come', he said. ADVERTISEMENT Related: Disgust at tradies' illegal act involving snake at housing site Aussies urged to change their opinions about snakes While he was excited to have given the snakes a second chance, Lazzaro thinks its unfortunate they came into his care in the first place. Tiny pythons like these pose little danger to humans and are an important part of the environment, keeping the natural balance by preying on rats, mice, small possums and birds. The snakes were moved from their natural habitat after a homeowner insisted they couldnt stay. So they were collected by a snake catcher and handed over to Lazzaro, who volunteers for Reptile Rehabilitation Queensland We try to educate the public, ask them to leave them and let mum do her thing. Sometimes it works. A lot of times you just can't tell people. They just want them gone, he said. After the clumps were painstakingly separated, Lazzaro waited patiently for the eggs to hatch. Source: Reptile Rehabilitation Queensland While he understands some Aussies are afraid of snakes, Lazzaro would like to see our mindset change. ADVERTISEMENT We're conditioned to fear snakes. Traditional media and social media dont help because of reports about how dangerous they are, he said. I understand the phobia is there for some people. People jump into the water with sharks, but I wouldnt go swimming with them. But I understand snakes, so I try to educate people about them. What happened to the snakes? To give the 42 baby pythons the best chance of survival, they were quickly released on February 1 at a location close to where they were found. We take them away from houses, in the most suitable habitat, where theyre unlikely to get into trouble, he said. All native reptiles are protected in Australia, and harming or moving them can be punished with heavy fines. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. A whopping 70 per cent of those surveyed said Hamas no longer had power to control the situation from now on. Following the ceasefire, support for Fatah, a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party, rose by 12 percentage points, as per the poll read more Civilians walk in al-Mughraqa in the central Gaza Strip, on February 13, 2025, as displaced people move towards the northern parts of Gaza during a current ceasefire deal in the war between Israel and Hamas. Image- AFP A new poll has found that only six per cent of Gazans think the militant organisation Hamas should continue ruling the Palestinian strip after the war with Israel ends. The poll, published by the Palestinian Institute for Social and Economic Progress (ISEP), revealed that only 5.3 per cent of respondents said they would back Hamas in any future election. The poll further showed nearly 58 per cent of people believed that the hostage-ceasefire deal could only be brokered by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Advertisement A whopping 70 per cent of those surveyed said Hamas no longer had power to control the situation from now on. More findings of the poll Following the ceasefire, support for Fatah, a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party, rose by 12 percentage points, while backing for Hamas increased to 5.3 per cent. More than half of respondents expressed a preference for rebuilding Gaza to a better state than before. The survey took place after President Trumps inauguration but before he announced his Gaza reconstruction plan. A significant 44.1 per cent of people blamed Hamas entirely for the diversion of aid, with two-thirds believing that aid diversion is a major issue in Gaza. The ISEP poll used quota sampling to survey 400 respondents from 34 pre-war locations in the Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis governorates. The participants were generally aged 15 and older. Gazans optimistic about future Another poll conducted by the Arab World Center for Research and Development (AWRAD) in the Gaza Strip last month showed that 60 per cent of Gazans were optimistic about their future. The poll found that 56 per cent of people believed that Palestinian society was moving in the right direction. Regarding the phase one of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, 65 per cent of people gave a positive evaluation of Washingtons role. Additionally, 63 per cent believed that President Trumps election and inauguration played a significant role in reaching the agreement, while 33 per cent thought it contributed to some extent. (With inputs from agencies) The Pentagon officials said that the halt in the operation is temporary and will last only as long as negotiations between Moscow and Washington continue read more As US President Donald Trump cosies up with Russia, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the US Cyber Command to halt offensive cyber and information operations against Russia. One current and one former official familiar with the matter told the Washington Post that the pause was due to the Trump administrations effort to negotiate with Russia to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The Pentagon officials told the news outlet that the halt in the operation is temporary and will last only as long as negotiations between Moscow and Washington continue. While it is not unusual to stop such operations amid high-level talks, the pause is coming as Trump moves to reverse 80 years of US foreign policy. Advertisement The new president has been showcasing an apparent willingness to abandon European allies and make common cause with Russian President Vladimir Putin in regard to Ukraine. Meanwhile, experts warned that the move represents America giving concessions to one of its most active cyber adversaries. Russia continues to be among the top cyber threats to the United States, James A. Lewis, a former diplomat in the Clinton administration and former UN cyber negotiator told the Washington Post. Turning off cyber operations to avoid blowing up the talks may be a prudent tactical step. But if we take our foot off the gas pedal and they take advantage of it, we could put national security at risk," he added. Pentagon keeps mum Meanwhile, the Pentagon declined to comment on the matter. There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the warfighter in all operations, including the cyber domain, a defence official told the outlet. I have seen many times when we are in some type of negotiation with another nation, especially if its considered an adversary, that we stop operations, exercises, we even cancel speeches sometimes, said retired Lt. Gen. Charlie Tuna Moore, former deputy commander of US Cyber Command. Its fairly common to pause anything that could potentially derail the talks," he added. However, one former senior military official made it clear that planning for potential operations against Russian networks has not stopped. The reason you dont stop espionage is you want to know if theyre lying to you, said the former official. The reason you dont stop planning is if the talks dont work out, you want to have options you can use against them. Advertisement However, even a temporary halt runs counter to the US defence strategy of maintaining persistent engagement with top cyber adversaries such as Russia. You need to see if there are vulnerabilities you can exploit, whether you can get through their firewalls, whether you can get access to the targets, a former senior defence official told the Washington Post. Whats the risk of stopping? You lose track of your adversary. If the pause is for days or weeks, its not so serious; if its for months or permanent thats serious, the former official said. It is pertinent to note that Hegseths order came as the administration has signalled that it wants to go harder against adversaries in cyberspace. Advertisement Meanwhile, Democratic Representative Bennie G. Thompson slammed the administrations latest moves that affect the governments ability to counter Russian cyber threats to national security. To capitulate now, as we appear to bail on our allies in Ukraine, is an inexplicable dereliction of duty that puts American critical infrastructure at risk, said Thompson, ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders on Sunday to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. read more Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the European leaders' summit to discuss Ukraine, at Lancaster House, London, Sunday March 2, 2025. Image- AP A day after the UK signed a deal to provide Kyiv with a loan of a whopping 2.26 billion pounds, PM Keir Starmer pledged an additional 1.6 billion in UK export finance to support Ukraine. This funding will enable Ukraine to purchase over 5,000 air defence missiles which will be manufactured in Belfast. This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthening Ukraine in securing peace when it comes. We have to learn from the mistakes of the past. We cannot accept a weak deal like Minsk, which Russia can breach with ease," Starmer said. Advertisement Ahead of the high-stakes discussions earlier today, PM Starmer said that European leaders are facing a once-in-a-generation moment as they gather for crucial talks on Ukraine. The meeting comes amid increasing pressure to strengthen Kyivs defences and ensure long-term support as the war continues. Eighteen allies were gathered on the key question of security guarantees for Ukraine, especially after an unprecedented heated White House debate between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart. Hosted by PM Starmer, who sat alongside Zelenskyy in front of the flags of Ukraine and European nations, the summit was described as a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe, and we all need to step up. Europe to ramp up defence spending More European countries will increase defence spending and the United States remains committed to NATO, the alliances chief Mark Rutte said Sunday after Ukraine crisis talks in London. It was very good news that more European countries will ramp up defence spending, Rutte said of the meeting, adding that the US was committed to NATO despite frequent criticism by President Donald Trump. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Sunday that we urgently have to rearm Europe as leaders from the continent met in London for crisis talks over Ukraine. Von der Leyen said she would present a comprehensive plan at an EU summit on Thursday, adding that we have to have a surge in defence and step up massively. Advertisement Its now of utmost importance we increase spending its important we prepare for the worst, she added. Tusk to Putin: West wont back down Polands Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that no one in the West has any intention of capitulating to Putins blackmail and aggression. Addressing the media, The best way to discourage Putin and other aggressors is to build our own strength, and the best way to convince President Trump to want to strengthen cooperation with Europe, and not weaken it, is our European strength. Everyone will want to work with a strong partner,. Von der Leyen will present a report on rearming Europe European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she will present next week a plan to rearm Europe to bolster the blocs security. Speaking at the end of the summit on Ukraine defense and security in London, the head of the EUs executive branch said she will unveil the plan to heads of state and government during an EU summit in Brussels. Advertisement We all have understood that after a long time of under investment it is now of utmost importance to step up the defense investment for a prolonged period of time. Its for the security of the European Union, she said. Italy stands by Ukraine, seeks just and lasting peace Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni met with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the London meeting on Sunday, reaffirming Italys support for Ukraine. Her office said she expressed support, together with European and Western partners and the United States, to build a just and lasting peace, which ensures a future of sovereignty, security and freedom for Ukraine. It was in line with Italys position through the war while keeping the U.S. in the picture. Meloni spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on the eve on the meeting, but her office did not reveal the contents of the call. Advertisement It is very, very important to avoid the risk that the West divides over Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned in London on Sunday as European leaders gathered for crisis talks. With inputs from agencies During his first term, Trump was a vocal critic of Nord Stream 2, arguing that Germanys reliance on Russian gas strengthened Moscows geopolitical influence while undermining Europes security read more Donald Trump gestures during a bilateral meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. Source: Reuters | FILE. Matthias Warnig is a former East German spy and longtime associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Recently, he has been working to revive the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe. That wouldnt be so unusual, except he has the backing of US investors in this endeavour. An ex-Stasi officer, Warnig led the Nord Stream 2 pipeline company until 2023. Financial Times, citing multiple sources familiar with the talks, reported that he has been behind discussions involving American businessmen and Trump administration figures. Advertisement The efforts are part of back-channel negotiations aimed at brokering an end to the war in Ukraine while fostering deeper economic cooperation between the US and Russia. This move, once unthinkable, has now come to pass thanks to US President Donald Trumps efforts to get closer to Moscow. Several prominent figures within Trumps administration are aware of the initiative, sources said, viewing it as a strategic opportunity to rebuild relations with Moscow. Senior European Union officials were recently made aware of the discussions and have expressed concern. Financial Times reported citing multiple officials who were aware of the situation. Leaders in several European capitals have privately discussed the potential ramifications of such an agreement. A contentious pipeline revival The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, designed to transport Russian natural gas to Germany, has been dormant since sanctions were imposed following Russias invasion of Ukraine. One of its twin pipelines was damaged in sabotage attacks in 2022, while the second remains intact but has never been operational. The latest proposal would, in theory, grant the US substantial control over energy supplies to Europe, sources said, as the continent has moved to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Challenges to the revival However, major obstacles remain. Reviving the pipeline would require Washington to lift sanctions, Russia to resume gas sales, and Germany to approve operations for European buyers. Advertisement Germany suspended the pipelines certification process in 2022 and never issued the necessary operating permits, further complicating any attempt to revive the project. The pipelines ownership structure presents another challenge. Nord Stream 2 is wholly owned by Gazprom, but five European energy firms Shell, Uniper, OMV, Engie, and Wintershall contributed nearly half of its $11 billion construction costs through loans. All five companies have since written off their investments. Trump pivots on Nord Stream 2 During his first term, Trump was a vocal critic of Nord Stream 2, arguing that Germanys reliance on Russian gas strengthened Moscows geopolitical influence while undermining Europes security. The pipeline became a symbol of Europes energy dependence on Russia, which Trump repeatedly condemned. However, members of Trumps team now view Nord Stream 2 as a potential bargaining chip in negotiations with Russia. The talks come as the Trump administration accelerates its push for a peace deal with Russia, largely bypassing European and Ukrainian officials, a move that has alarmed US allies. Advertisement The potential acquisition of Nord Stream 2 by American investors could give Washington a degree of leverage over Russian gas exports to Europe a market that has increasingly turned to US liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments as an alternative to Russian supplies. Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders on Sunday to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. read more Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday lauded US President Donald Trumps pragmatic approach to ending the war in Ukraine while criticizing Europe for prolonging the conflict, Russian news agencies reported. Lavrov warned that deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine would be tantamount to further incitement of Kyiv to continue fighting against Russia. European leaders, Lavrov said in comments published on the foreign ministrys website, want to prop up (Zelenskyy) with their bayonets in the form of peacekeeping units. Advertisement Lavrov also commented on the warming US-Russia relations, describing negotiations between senior Russian and US diplomats and other officials in Saudi Arabia in February as a completely normal conversation between two delegations. We will never think alike on every issue of world politics. We acknowledged this in Riyadh," Lavrov said. Two serious countries simply sat down to talk about where they are going wrong, and what their predecessor messed up in four years, he added, accusing the Biden administration of destroying all channels of contact without exception. With inputs from agencies Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has worked to strengthen ties with Moscow, reaching out to President Vladimir Putin and backing with Russia at the UN read more Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, November 2017. File image/ Reuters In statements broadcast on Sunday, the Kremlin stated that the United States significant change in foreign policy is mostly in line with its own goals. Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has worked to strengthen ties with Moscow, reaching out to President Vladimir Putin and backing with Russia at the UN. The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from state television. Advertisement There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, President Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful, Peskov added. Peskov made the statements on Wednesday, but they were made public on Sunday. Trump has subsequently further allied himself with Moscow, reprimanding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a shocking televised showdown at the White House on Friday. Moscow, which started a full-scale military attack against its neighbour in February 2022, had criticised former US President Joe Bidens unwavering backing for Ukraine. The future of the bases, which are integral to Russias military reach in the Middle East and Africa, is in the hands of Syrias interim President Ahmed Sharaa read more For years, soldiers from Russias Hmeimim Air Base in Syria roamed freely through coastal cities. War planes flew from the complex to bombard Islamist rebels fighting Bashar al-Assads repressive regime. No longer. With Assad gone, at both Hmeimim and at Russias Soviet-era Tartous Naval Base 60 km (37 miles) south, small groups of former rebels guard the entrances, their Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist force now in control of the country. The khaki-uniformed guards escort any Russian convoys that venture out, they told Reuters reporters visiting the area last week. Advertisement They have to notify us before they leave, one of the guards said, declining to speak on record. The future of the bases, which are integral to Russias military reach in the Middle East and Africa, is in the hands of Syrias interim President Ahmed Sharaa. He wants to renegotiate the generous Assad-era 49-year lease for Tartous and an indefinite lease for Hmeimim to secure better terms, but doesnt appear to want Moscow shut out altogether. Instead, it appears the bases may stay in exchange for diplomatic backing and financial compensation from Russia, deeply involved in Syrias economy and defence for seven decades before it joined the civil war in 2015 and wrought devastation that helped keep Assad in power for years. Assad fell in December, fleeing to Russia through Hmeimim. The Islamist Syrian leadership - once the target of relentless Russian airstrikes - is now engaged with Moscow at the negotiating table. For this story, Reuters spoke to eight Syrian, Russian and diplomatic sources who gave previously unreported details from the first high-level meeting between Sharaa and an envoy sent by President Vladimir Putin, including demands related to billions of dollars of debt, the future of Assad, and the repatriation of Syrian money alleged to be in Russia. Advertisement Like others in the story, the sources requested anonymity to speak about sensitive matters. Putting enmity aside has benefits for both parties. Despite the EU and the U.S. easing some sanctions on Syria, the remaining restrictions make it hard to do business with the war-shattered and impoverished country of 23 million. A restoration of Russias traditional supplies of weapons, fuel and wheat could be a life-line. As such, the countrys leaders are willing to make peace, even with their former enemies, one Damascus-based diplomat told Reuters. Moscow still has something to offer for Syria, and is too powerful, too entrenched to ignore, said Anna Borshchevskaya at The Washington Institute. Advertisement Russia simply needs a government in Damascus that would ensure its interests, and it would be willing to make a deal with that government, she said. One U.N. aid source said that Russia has not exported grain to Syria under the new administration. U.S. President Donald Trump has said little about Syria since taking office, but he has sought to repair U.S. relations with Moscow. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said with Assad gone there was an opportunity for Syria to no longer be dominated and destabilized by Iranian or Russian influence. U.S. ally Israel, however, wants Russia to stay as a bulwark against the Turkish influence, Reuters reported on Friday. Advertisement At the January 29 meeting in Damascus, Sharaa sought the cancellation of loans contracted with Russia under Assad, two of the sources told Reuters. Syria, which was largely free of foreign debt before the war, currently has $20 billion-$23 billion in external obligations, Finance Minister Mohammad Abazid said last month, without specifying how much was owed to Russia. During the three-hour encounter with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Syrian officials raised another key issue, the return of Assad to Syria, but only in broad terms, suggesting it was not a major obstacle to rebuilding ties, one of the sources said. Russia will not agree to extradite Assad, and had not been asked to do so, a senior Russian source said. Advertisement Sharaa also urged the repatriation of Syrian funds his government believes were deposited by Assad in Moscow, but the Russian delegation, led Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, denied such funds existed, according to a Syria-based diplomat familiar with the talks. Sharaas office and the White Houses National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement issued after the meeting, Syrias government said Sharaa stressed that new relations need to address past mistakes and demanded compensation for the destruction Russia caused. The meeting went relatively smoothly, all the sources said. A phone call between Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin two weeks ago was described as constructive by the Kremlin. Asked by Reuters on Tuesday whether talks between Moscow and Damascus on the fate of Russias military bases were progressing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: We are continuing our contacts with the Syrian authorities." So, well, lets just say that the working process is underway, he added. Russias Foreign Ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said this month that things were looking good for Moscow. The new Syrian authorities do not see Russia as a hostile country. But Russia will have to do something favourable for the Syrian government in return for these bases, he wrote on Telegram. Syrias dilemma In an interview with Saudi Al Arabiya News in late December, Sharaa acknowledged Syrias strategic interests with Russia, which supplied the countrys now defunct army for generations and financed power plants and dams along with other key infrastructure. In turn, with American troops in Syrias northeast, Turkish forces in the north and Israeli troops newly in southern Syria, Russia is resolute in maintaining its only naval base in the Mediterranean. Doing so would help Moscow retain political leverage amid a diplomatic scramble for sway over Damascus after Assads fall. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Monday. Their talks included Syria, a Turkish source said. Turkeys Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Damascus wants compensation for wartime destruction. Rebuilding costs are projected at $400 billion, according to the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA). Moscow is unlikely to accept responsibility but instead could offer humanitarian aid, said a source familiar with Russias view on the matter, In December, Putin offered the bases as hubs to deliver humanitarian aid to the Syrian people and Russias ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya said Russias alliance with Syria was not connected to any regime. The U.N. aid source said they were unaware of any aid having been moved through the bases. The fate of Assad and associates who fled to Moscow is a delicate matter. Russia remains resistant to surrendering Assad, insisting on continuity in its alliances, the Russian and diplomatic sources said. Russia does not simply give people up because the wind changes direction, the senior Russian source said. Rubble Syrias war, which erupted nearly 14 years ago with protests against Assads autocratic rule, left hundreds of thousands of people dead, some 13 million displaced and swathes of the country in ruins. Driving from Damascus along the highway to the Russian bases, entire areas stand as grim reminders of Syrian and Russian airstrikes. Buildings are gutted or reduced to rubble. Across the street from Hmeimim Air Base, shopowners sat in empty food stalls, lamenting their dire conditions in the dilapidated town. In its markets, store signs are in Russian, but the soldiers no longer visit or linger in cafes, locals said. Russian soldiers used to come here to buy beer, whiskey and other drinks, but thats stopped, said the owner of a sandwich shop opposite the base. Now, they only leave in convoys to their naval base. They dont stop or venture out anymore. The nuclear-powered warship from Carrier Strike Group 1 was accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett, according to the navy read more Flight deck crew members watch jets take off from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. File image/ Reuters The US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson landed near the southern city of Busan, South Korea, on Sunday as a show of force, according to the South Korean navy. According to the navy, the visit was part of the USs ironclad commitment to extended deterrence and demonstrated preparedness by the military alliance between Seoul and Washington against North Korea. The nuclear-powered warship from Carrier Strike Group 1 was accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett, according to the navy. Advertisement According to state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a strategic cruise missile test launch last month and ordered full preparation to unleash the countrys nuclear weapons. It marks the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier has called at the country since June when the nuclear-powered Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Busan to take part in joint military exercises. In November 2023, the U.S. Navys Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson visited in Busan. More from World North Korea boosts naval defenses with nuclear submarine project In the four months since 15 people were killed when a roof collapsed at a newly-renovated train station in Serbias second-biggest city of Novi Sad, mass demonstrations have gathered momentum read more A drone view shows students and opposition supporters lighting up their mobile phone lights as they hold 15 minutes of silence during a protest over the fatal November 2024 Novi Sad railway station roof collapse, in Nis, Serbia. Reuters Thousands stood in silence for 15 minutes in the southern city of Nis on Saturday to commemorate those killed in a railway station disaster, in a student-led protest that has grown into the biggest threat yet to the Serbian presidents grip on power. In the four months since 15 people were killed when a roof collapsed at a newly-renovated train station in Serbias second-biggest city of Novi Sad, mass demonstrations have gathered momentum. Advertisement As many Serbians have blamed the tragedy on corruption they link to President Aleksandar Vucics decade in power, teachers, farmers and other workers have joined the protests that began with a student blockade of classes at state universities in December. We want to have a better country, without corruption in which educated people will be respected, said Ana, a 20-year-old medicine student who drove to Nis from the central city of Kragujevac. Hundreds of students marched, ran or rode bikes to Nis, visiting various towns on their way, and gaining the support of people living outside the countrys urban centres. This is the way to make a revolution, Tarek, a 22-year-old graphics designer from Novi Pazar said. It is the right way to achieve the change, to create a better future, a functional state without corruption. Vucics government has said it will launch an anti-corruption campaign, and has also denied allegations of corruption. Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and two other ministers have resigned over the protests that have taken place in the capital Belgrade as well as in towns across the country. Prosecutors have charged 13 people in connection with the roof collapse. Advertisement But the students have continued daily protests, pressing their demands that authorities publish documents relating to the station roof collapse and justice for those responsible. They also want charges against the protesting students to be dismissed, and an increased budget for higher education. Nenad Maslakovic, a 51-year-old farmer from a village near Nis, and his 21-year-old son Avram, put up a stand offering fruit, coffee, pancakes and barbecued meat to protesters for free. Students are unspoiled souls. We want to welcome them and to support them to sustain in their struggle, Maslakovic said. The Ukrainian leader received a warm welcome from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who reaffirmed his support for the war-stricken nation read more Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street. The PM said he had absolute determination to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Reuters The United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a deal on Saturday to provide Kyiv with a loan of a whopping 2.26 billion pounds, a day after the countrys President Volodymyr Zelenskyys heated clash with US President Donald Trump in the White House. According to The Kyiv Post, the loan was part of the Group of Sevens (G7) Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) credit initiative, signed by Zelenskyy during his visit to London. The Ukrainian leader received a warm welcome from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who reaffirmed his support for the war-stricken nation. The United Kingdom continues to stand in defence of Ukraine. Todays agreement, which contributes to strengthening Ukraines defence capabilities, confirms this, Ukraines Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said in a statement. Advertisement The Finance Minister maintained that the loan will go towards purchasing defence equipment according to Ukraines needs. Back in October 2024, G7 nations agreed and pledged to provide Ukraine a $50 billion loan. The main contributor to the G7 package is the US However, the United States at that time was seen as the main contributor to the loan package, providing $20 billion in assistance, The Kyiv Post reported. The US was closely followed by European Union countries, including France, Germany, and Italy, with a combined $19.4 billion. The remaining $10 billion was divvied up, with Canada providing $3.7 billion, Japan providing $3.07 billion, and the UK providing $2.8 billion in loan funding. This means that Zelenskyy, as of now, has only received the smallest chunk of the loan promised by the G-7 nations. The nations agreed to use frozen Russian assets to fund the loan package. Since the war started, Western countries have frozen $300 billion in Russian assets. However, they can only access the annual income generated by these funds, which is approximately $3.2 billion. The vast majority of these assets are frozen in Europe. The UK gives a helping hand to Ukraine After his public spat with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy received a warm and royal welcome in the United Kingdom. The countrys monarch, King Charles, announced on Saturday that he will hold an official audience at Sandringham with Zelenskyy. Upon arriving, the Ukrainian president told Starmer that he was happy his country had such friends. Starmer announced that the UK will also host a summit of European leaders on Sunday to bring the Russia- Ukraine war to an end, as well as wider European defence. Recently, the British premier has sought to cast himself as a mediator between the US and Europe to ease tensions between the two sides. Starmer himself made a very charming visit to Washington, where he wooed Trump with a letter from King Charles, inviting the Potus for an unprecedented second state visit. Advertisement The UK has been one of Ukraines strongest allies throughout the war. In January, Starmer and Zelenskyy signed a 100-year partnership agreement during their meeting in Kyiv. The wide-ranging deal encompassed cooperation in military, energy, scientific, cultural, economic, and other sectors. Tour guide Matt Lloyd was delighted the group spotted the bird hiding in the bush. Tourists were stunned to find something in the bush at Mount Hypipamee National Park in Queensland. Source: Instagram/adventures_by_matt A group of tourists were lucky enough to spot an "elusive" Aussie animal while hiking in a popular national park this week, and even the tour guide was dumbfounded by how lucky they all were. Alex Lloyd was trekking with a group of international tourists when one of them spotted something rustling in the thick bush at Mount Hypipamee National Park in Far North Queensland. Initially startled, they stopped to figure out what it was and were quickly overcome with delight. "A moment of shock was closely followed by awe and admiration for this phenomenal native bird... we came across a male cassowary with a chick," he told Yahoo News. While Far North Queensland is known cassowary habitat, "it is not common to see one in the Atherton Tablelands so every sighting is extremely special," Lloyd said. ADVERTISEMENT He captured footage of the tourists standing metres away from the bird, who was partially hidden in shade from the thick bush it stood in, as the group excitedly snapped pictures and lapped up the experience. Moment branded 'lucky' as cassowary population dwindles The experience is reminiscent of another recent sighting near Mission Beach where an Aussie dad spotted a male cassowary with two chicks crossing the road. It is the male bird's responsibility to incubate the eggs for roughly 50 days before the eggs hatch and the chicks are raised for nine months before parting way with their parents. Cassowaries are solitary birds, only coming together to mate or rear their young making the sight even more special. The cassowary was barely visible standing in the thick bush. Source: Instagram/adventures_by_matt It is believed there are only 4,000 of these native birds left in the country, according to the Wet Tropics Management Authority, with the species dating back to prehistoric times as one of the earliest birds to develop. They are an iconic Aussie figure and much is being done to aid their survival. ADVERTISEMENT "Thanks to the continued work of local tree planting groups, wildlife corridors have increased the movement of species such as the southern cassowary," Llyod said. The Queensland government continues to fund a recovery plan for the native birds currently listed as endangered under Commonwealth Law. Lloyd encourages Aussies to get out to the wet tropics and keep an eye out for the impressive birds. "Exploring the cloud forests, you never know what you will come across. Walk slowly, listen carefully and keep your eyes peeled, you might just get lucky," he said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, and early on Sunday Israel announced a truce extension until mid-April that it said US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had proposed. read more Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants since October 2023, lift placards during a rally calling on the government for a deal that would bring all the remaining captives back, outside the prime minister residence in Jerusalem on March 2, 2025. Image- AFP The United Nations on Sunday urged Israel to immediately permit aid into Gaza, following the suspension of humanitarian deliveries to the war-torn region as truce extension negotiations seemed to stall. Amid uncertainty over the ceasefire, both Israeli and Palestinian sources reported Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip, which the Hamas-run health ministry said killed at least four people. The initial 42-day phase of the ceasefire concluded, and on Sunday, Israel announced an extension until mid-April, citing a proposal by US West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff. However, Hamas has consistently opposed an extension, advocating for a shift to the truce deals second phase, which could lead to a permanent end to the conflict. Advertisement The Palestinian group, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the fighting, said the decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement. In a statement posted online, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately, urging all parties to make every effort to prevent a return to hostilities and militants to release all hostages. The head of the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA, Thomas Fletcher, said in a post on X that Israels decision to halt aid into Gaza is alarming and may be in violation of international law. Following the announcement of the aid suspension, AFP images showed trucks loaded with goods lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. Since the morning we havent seen any trucks entering, said Umm Mohammad Abu Laia, a resident of Rafah on Gazas southern border. She warned of a crisis as the prices of basic commodities surged as soon as the merchants heard about the closing of the crossing. The first phase of the truce, which took effect on January 19, saw an increase of aid into Gaza, where the war destroyed or damaged most buildings, displaced almost the entire population and triggered widespread hunger, according to the UN. Advertisement Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, asked by reporters about the risk of starvation, dismissed such warnings as a lie. Israel cuts off goods to Gaza, citing ceasefire dispute Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said he had decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended. It said there would be consequences for Hamas if it did not accept the temporary truce extension, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. On a sandy street in Gaza City, Mays Abu Amer, 21, expressed hope the ceasefire can continue forever. We have so much destruction, we need a lot of time for reconstruction, she said. Mediator Egypt and the International Committee of the Red Cross have appealed for the truce to be maintained. Militant group Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, accused Israel of sabotaging the ceasefire. Advertisement According to Israel, the truce extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire. Of the 251 captives taken during Hamass October 2023 attack, 58 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead. Return all of them In Israel, mourners who turned out to farewell Shlomo Mansour, 85, whose body militants had held in Gaza and returned to Israel on Thursday, said more should be done to get the remaining captives home. Return all of them immediately, said Vardit Roiter. Under the first phase of the truce, Gaza militants handed over 25 living hostages and eight bodies, including Mansours, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners. Israelis in Jerusalem welcomed the decision to block aid, describing it as a way to pressure Hamas into making concessions. Advertisement Neria, a 27-year-old teacher who only gave his first name, told AFP it was a smart move that could push forward new things, the release of more hostages and the end of the war. With inputs from agencies The mail was sent via the Office of Personnel Management and bore the subject line What did you do last week? Part II," which was seen as the callback to last weeks email the department sent that caused confusion read more Doge emerged from Musk's musings at a 2023 dinner party, says report. Now, he controls US bureaucracy. AP Despite non-compliance from multiple federal agencies, Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sent out a second mass e-mail to executive branch employees requiring them to list their weekly accomplishments by midnight Monday. The requirements of DOGE hit the email boxes of several federal workers on Saturday night. The mail was sent via the Office of Personnel Management and bore the subject line What did you do last week? Part II," which was seen as the callback to last weeks email the department sent that caused confusion. The email maintained that the new requirement exempted targeted agencies whose employees sought to be exempt from the extra paperwork due to the secretive nature of their work. Advertisement Source: X The respondents were also asked to not send links, attachments or any classified or sensitive information and were given the option to write All of my activities are sensitive. Going forward, please complete the above task each week by Monday at 11:59pmET, the email stated. Will this mail be ignored as well? The last time when the link was sent, several of Trumps newly appointed agency heads told their employees to ignore Musks accountability-minded email initiative. Trumps strongest allies FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told their agencies to ignore the demand. Amid the discomfort among his peers, Musk took to X, to emphasize that the email is mandatory responding to claims that Secretary Pete Hegseth has told the Department of Defense employees to circulate their reports internally as well as to OPM. The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch. Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive, the 53-year-old wrote on X. The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch. Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive. https://t.co/lSyfj8eMzR Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2025 While addressing the first cabinet meeting of US President Donald Trumps second term as President. Musk addressed the assembled secretaries and explained the purpose of the rote task. I think that email perhaps was misinterpreted as a performance review, but it was a pulse check review, Musk said while wearing a Make America Great Again hat. Advertisement But what we are trying to get to the bottom of is we think there are several people on the government payroll who are dead, which is probably why they cant respond, he added. While speaking on the matter on the sidelines of the Oval Office meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said that those who dont answer the email are at risk of being fired. With inputs from agencies. The aggressive meeting also led to protests in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, where hundreds gathered to express their support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy read more Members of the Ukrainian community and supporters on 1 March 2025 in New York City. AP Pro-Ukrainian protests erupted across the United States soon after US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Waitsfield, Vermont, on Saturday morning to oppose the VPs visit to the state for a ski trip with family. According to The Guardian, the demonstration had been planned earlier in the week by the Mad River Valley chapter of Indivisible. It is a grassroots organising group. The group was joined by additional protesters who said they were motivated to join after watching Vance and Trumps combative White House meeting with Zelenskyy on Friday. Advertisement The protesters held up signs reading Vermont stands with Ukraine and International embarrassment. Meanwhile, many waved the Ukrainian flag to express solidarity with the war-stricken Eastern European nation. After what he did yesterday, he crossed the line, protester Cori Giroux told Vermont Public Radio. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Waitsfield on Saturday morning to protest Vice President JD Vance, who is visiting Vermont with his family for a ski trip this weekend. [image or embed] Vermont Public ( @vermontpublic.org) 1 March 2025 at 22:08 Vances family flees to an undisclosed location Meanwhile, the VP, who admitted on Friday that he had never been to Ukraine, fled to an undisclosed location to evade protesters. On Thursday, Vermont Governor Phil Scott, a Republican who refused to vote for Trump in any of his three runs for the White House, issued a statement calling on Vermonters to be respectful of Vance and his family during their visit. Please join me in welcoming them to Vermont and hoping they have an opportunity to experience what makes our state, and Vermonters, so special, he said. Some commentators pushed an anecdote that when Russia started its invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy was returning to Kyiv, which was still under attack. Advertisement Leading Democratic lawmakers have also been expressing support for Zelenskyy. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut went on to describe the Oval Office meeting as an ambush for the Ukrainian leader. The aggressive meeting also led to protests in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, where hundreds gathered to express their support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy. Videos posted on social networks showed hundreds of demonstrators gathered in New Yorks Times Square, many carrying the blue-and-yellow flag of Ukraine on their backs. Meanwhile, in LA, a pro-Ukraine crowd rallied in front of a SpaceX facility, and protesters in Boston held an emergency rally for fair peace for Ukraine at Boston Common. Advertisement Ukraine wants fair peace. Ukraine wants the war to end, the group Boston Supports Ukraine wrote on Facebook. Ukraine wants all of this on fair terms with security guarantees. With inputs from agencies. English-speaking Guyana, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has seen heightened tensions with Venezuela over control of the disputed Essequibo territory, a sprawling region rich in natural resources read more The United States on Saturday denounced what it said were Venezuelan naval vessels threatening an ExxonMobil unit in maritime territory claimed by Guyana. The statement, which warned of consequences if there were further provocation from Caracas, came hours after Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said a Venezuelan patrol boat had approached various assets in our exclusive waters around 7:00 am (1100 GMT). Guyana had put its international partners on alert, he said on Facebook. Advertisement The US State Department warned against any further encroachment. Venezuelan naval vessels threatening ExxonMobils floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is unacceptable and a clear violation of Guyanas internationally recognized maritime territory, said the statement from the departments US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Further provocation will result in consequences for the Maduro regime, it warned. English-speaking Guyana, long one of the poorest countries in Latin America, has seen heightened tensions with Venezuela over control of the disputed Essequibo territory, a sprawling region rich in natural resources. Tensions have flared since 2015, after petroleum giant ExxonMobil discovered enormous deposits that gave Guyana, a country of just 800,000 people and with a tiny military, the largest crude oil reserves in the world. The government in Georgetown granted a new contract in April 2024 to ExxonMobil, further fueling tensions. Ali said on Facebook that the floating production vessels were operating legally within Guyanas exclusive economic zone. Guyana remains committed to peace and the rule of law, he said in a later post. We will continue to seek diplomatic solutions, but we will not tolerate threats to our territorial integrity. Venezuela for its part said it categorically repudiates the unfounded statements by Ali, claiming he was blatantly lying by saying its navy had violated Guyanas territory. Advertisement Those waters are not part of Guyanese territory, since it is a maritime zone pending delimitation in accordance with international law, a foreign ministry statement said. Soldiers wounded Tensions were fanned on February 17 when Guyana said six of its soldiers were wounded when a supply transport was ambushed, allegedly by members of a Venezuelan criminal gang. That happened on the anniversary of the signing of a 1966 agreement between Venezuela and Britain, reached before Guyanese independence, which called for a negotiated solution to the territorial dispute. Guyana, however, insists that an earlier 1899 ruling has fixed the disputed border in its favor. In 2023, Venezuelas socialist President Nicolas Maduro proposed declaring a Venezuelan province in the disputed territory. Ali and Maduro met amid the heightened tensions in December that year for talks on neutral ground, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Advertisement They agreed to avoid any use of force, directly or indirectly. Weeks after the meeting, Britain sent the patrol ship HMS Trent on a port visit to Georgetown, a gesture Maduro deemed a provocation and threat by the United Kingdom. Venezuela then launched a major military exercise in the border region, including more than 5,600 soldiers, F-14 fighter jets, amphibious vessels and patrol boats. The summit came months after Trump signed an executive order which aims to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy read more The White House under the reign of US President Donald Trump is all set to host the first crypto summit, which will be attended by professionals in the cryptocurrency industry. According to The Hill, the summit will be organised on March 7, with the White House calling it a first of its kind. Attendees will include prominent founders, CEOs, and investors from the crypto industry, as well as members of the Presidents Working Group on Digital Assets, the Office of Communications said in a Friday announcement. The Summit will be chaired by the White House A.I. & Crypto Czar David Sacks, and administered by the Working Groups Executive Director Bo Hines," the statement further reads. Advertisement The summit came months after Trump signed an executive order which aims to support the responsible growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies across all sectors of the economy. The order was among several orders signed by Trump on his first day in office. Trump wants to make US crypto capital The American leader has been an ardent supporter of cryptocurrencies for the longest time. In the past, the Republican firebrand has pledged to make the US the crypto-capital. His love for crypto became more intense after his family embarked on a business venture in digital currency, earning Eric Trump a keynote address at Bitcoin Mena 2024 in Abu Dhabi. Youre going to have the most pro-crypto president in the history of America, Eric Trump said to the audience at that time. Meanwhile, the President also served as the primary speaker for the Bitcoin 2024 event which was held in Nashville. Trump attended the event while he was on a campaign trail during the 2024 Presidential race. Vice President JD Vance on the other hand is all set to give similar remarks at 16zs American Dynamism Summit in Washington next month, making Republicans a leading voice in the industry. The Office of Communications announcement of the White House summit noted that the administration will be working towards providing a clear regulatory framework for crypto investors while protecting economic liberty. With inputs from agencies. HONOR today introduced the HONOR ALPHA PLAN at MWC 2025, outlining a bold three-step strategy to evolve from a smartphone brand into a global leader in AI-driven device ecosystems. The company emphasized the need for an open, value-sharing industry approach that enhances human potential and benefits all. AI is reshaping industries, societies, and cultures like never before, said HONOR CEO James Li. We must unite to tackle AIs challenges and opportunities while embracing an open AI future. Lets do it together. Symbolic Meaning Behind ALPHA PLAN HONOR explained that Alpha, the first Greek letter (), represents its pursuit of technological excellence. The lowercase also embeds the Chinese character for human (), symbolizing human-centric innovation. This East-meets-West design reflects HONORs global vision, the company noted. Three Phases of the HONOR ALPHA PLAN Agentic AI Era: Develop intelligent phones with advanced AI to maximize human potential. Physical AI Era: Expand beyond devices to build a seamless AI ecosystem with industry partners. AGI Era: Enhance human potential by co-creating a new paradigm for civilization alongside silicon-based intelligence. AI-Driven Intelligent Phone and Technology Showcase HONOR showcased the worlds first GUI-based personal AI agent, developed with Google Cloud and Qualcomm Technologies. This AI assistant can book restaurant reservations by factoring in calendar schedules and traffic updates. The company plans to roll out agentic AI experiences globally in the near future. Advanced AI-Powered Imaging AiMAGE HONORs AiMAGE technology enhances mobile photography with its AI Kernel, supporting dual AI models: On-device model: 1.3 billion parameters, boosting image clarity by 50%. Cloud model: 12.4 billion parameters, greatly improving telephoto image quality. The AI Upscale feature, which restores old portraits, will launch on the HONOR Magic7 seriespowered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platformstarting in March 2025. First All-Ecosystem File Sharing HONOR unveiled a universal file-sharing technology, enabling ultra-fast transfers across iOS and Android devices, whether to one or multiple users. The company also announced AI Deepfake detection for its latest flagship Magic7 Pro and Magic V3, coming soon to international markets. Industry Collaboration for an Open AI Ecosystem HONOR urged industry players to open AI capabilities for broader collaboration, pledging over $10 billion in the next five years to build a value-sharing ecosystem. Li stated, In the physical AI era, we need to break industry boundaries and co-create a new AI paradigm. At MWC 2025, representatives from Google Cloud, Qualcomm, CKH Group, Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone joined Li in a tree-lighting ceremony, symbolizing a united effort to grow the AI ecosystem. Were shaping a future where AI enhances daily life. Collaboration is key, said Alex Katouzian, General Manager of Mobile, Compute & XR at Qualcomm Technologies. Matt Waldbusser, Managing Director of Global Solutions and Consumer AI at Google Cloud, added, Were integrating Googles Gemini AI models into HONORs solutions, creating new possibilities while prioritizing data security and user privacy. Sustainability Goals HONOR accelerated its sustainability commitments: Achieve operational carbon neutrality by 2040, five years ahead of its initial target. Reach full supply chain and product carbon neutrality by 2050. MWC 2025 Booth Details Visitors can explore HONORs latest AI innovations at Stand 3H10, Hall 3, Fira Gran Via, from March 36, 2025. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024. Screengrab via WWE WWEs 2025 Elimination Chamber will go down as one of the most historic moments in professional wrestling history. After 20 years as a top good guy, John Cena finally turned heel and aligned with Dwayne The Rock Johnson in his feud against WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Also for some reason Travis Scott was there. Wait, what? Lets explain. John Cena won the Elimination Chamber match to headline WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas against Rhodes. But it wasnt the main event of the show. Rhodes came out to congratulate Cena as any top babyface would, but there was the little matter of The Rock wanting Codys soul to become his champion after the pair were locked in a feud leading to last years WrestleMania. Fans were wondering where the whole I want your soul storyline was going to go, and they certainly werent let down by the destination. After Rhodes turned down The Rocks offer, he then gave the cue to Cena, who launched the most famous heel turn since Hulk Hogan formed the nWO at Bash at the Beach almost 30 years ago. SPEECHLESS. JOHN CENA just viciously TURNED on CODY RHODES at #WWEChamber! pic.twitter.com/jSyaCud7Wz WWE (@WWE) March 2, 2025 And also Travis Scott was there? The rap star entered with The Rock for the main event segment and is singing the theme song for this years WrestleMania. Thats great, celebrities make appearances in WWE all the time. But instead of exiting stage left and letting the professional wrestlers handle their business, Travis Scott hung around in the corner burning sage. Then after Cenas heel turn, he incredibly joined in the Rhodes beatdown and posed with Cena and The Rock afterwards like he was the third member of the new Hollywood order. So in other words its exactly like Hulk Hogan forming the nWo, only if he walked down the aisle with Busta Rhymes. It was an iconic moment in wrestling history, one that will be replayed forever and will make this years WrestleMania build enormous. But afterwards as fans were trying to soak in what they just saw, they couldnt help but point out the apparent randomness of Travis Scotts cameo. Wrestling fans are gonna look back on this moment 20 years from now and be like yeah that was awesome but why the fuck was Travis Scott there? Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) March 2, 2025 this picture is so iconic but WHY IS TRAVIS SCOTT THERE pic.twitter.com/W30VsvWdrI mars (@enfamousmars) March 2, 2025 travis scott being involved in the biggest heel turn since hogan is quite hysterical khi (@stymead) March 2, 2025 One of the BEST heel turns of all time Everything about that segment was perfect but I have no idea why Travis Scott was there Brian (@Bri_an2) March 2, 2025 Travis Scott lurking in the back of this whole thing like my cousins new boyfriend while my uncles argue politics at Thanksgiving #EliminationChamber pic.twitter.com/L9vuyN89cR Mike Janela (@MikeJanela) March 2, 2025 Im still laughing Travis Scott was involved in one of the biggest moments in wrestling history Never break kayfabe (@Quadripolar_B) March 2, 2025 John Cena, Travis Scott and The Rock right now: pic.twitter.com/3UfUEckZlR theScore Bet (@theScoreBet) March 2, 2025 Who knows, maybe Travis Scott is the true Final Boss and we just have to see how this all plays out. Whatever the reasoning for it, the rap star will always be there as a permanent fixture in WWE lore. But given the Elimination Chamber PPV took place in Toronto and Drake was in attendance in the front row, you have to wonder what could have been if it was Kendrick Lamar helping the John Cena heel turn to turn up the heat even more. Courtesy of MarillacHealth and Chamberlin Architects This artists rendering shows MarillacHealths new 27,000-square-foot health center at 512 29 Road. MarillacHealth recently launched a fundraising campaign $100K in 100 Days. If the campaign is successful, Marillac will have about 70% of its anticipated campaign expenses; or, nearly $15 million of its $21 million goal. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau March 1, 2025 Ottawa, Ontario Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan about the situation in the Middle East. The Prime Minister and the King reaffirmed the strong partnership between Canada and Jordan and discussed the shared effort to support humanitarian assistance and regional stability. They spoke about the situation in Syria, and both Canada and Jordan's engagements with the transitional government. The leaders also expressed their shared support for an inclusive Syrian-led political governance structure for the country. Prime Minister Trudeau and His Majesty King Abdullah II underscored their concern for the humanitarian situation in Gaza and they stressed the necessity of continued progress on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The leaders also discussed the importance of the Arab League summit in Cairo, Egypt, on March 4, 2025. Prime Minister Trudeau and His Majesty King Abdullah II agreed to remain in close contact as the situation continues to evolve. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement by the Spokesperson on the situation in the West Bank European External Action Service (EEAS) 01.03.2025 EEAS Press Team The European Union expresses its grave concern about the consequences of the Israeli military operation against armed militants in the refugee camps of the Northern West Bank. The operation, ongoing for 40 days, has resulted in scores of casualties, the displacement of some 40,000 Palestinians from their homes, and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. The EU calls on Israel, in addressing its security concerns in the occupied West Bank, to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law by ensuring the protection of all civilians in military operations and allow the safe return of displaced persons to their homes. At the same time, extremist settler violence continues throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The EU recalls that Israel, as the occupying power, has the duty to protect civilians and to hold perpetrators accountable. The EU recalls its condemnation of Israel's policy of expanding settlements. Demolitions, including of EU and EU Member States-funded structures, must stop. The EU also expresses concern over the increased number of checkpoints and tighter movement restrictions across the West Bank, which worsen the economic and humanitarian situation there. As we enter the holy month of Ramadan, we call on all parties to exercise restraint to allow for peaceful celebrations. The EU is committed to the security of Israel and condemns all terrorist attacks or attempted terrorist attacks against Israel or Israeli citizens and is committed to the security of Israel. The EU is committed to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UNRWA chief warns of 'catastrophic consequences' if agency dismantled IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 1, 2025 The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has warned that Israel's attempts to dismantle the agency will not resolve the Palestinian refugee issue and could have catastrophic consequences for the region. In an interview with Israeli media on Saturday, Lazzarini emphasized that UNRWA is the backbone of humanitarian aid operations in Gaza and provides critical healthcare and education services to Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds. Lazzarini framed Israel's ongoing efforts to eliminate UNRWA as not only an assault on Palestinian refugees and their right of return but also an attack on Palestinian history and identity. He stressed that if UNRWA ceases to exist, the issue of Palestinian refugees will not disappear. Instead, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across the occupied territories would lose access to essential services, leading to a humanitarian crisis. The Israeli Knesset passed two measures on October 28, 2024, banning UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. The legislation also revoked privileges granted to the agency and prohibited any official contact with it. Israel has accused UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7, 2023 attacka claim the agency has firmly denied. 3266**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen warns Israel against resumption of war in Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 1, 2025 Leader of Yemen's Ansarullah movement Abdul Malik al-Houthi has reiterated support for the Palestinian people in Gaza, warning Israel that any resumption of hostilities in the strip would plunge the entire occupied territories into conflict. Al-Houthi made the remarks early on Saturday in the run-up to the holy month of Ramadan, according to Ansarullah's official website. He said that the resumption of war in Gaza would plunge into conflict all the areas held by "the Zionist enemy", including Tel Aviv, and Yemen will "support the Palestinian nation through various military means." A phased ceasefire took effect in Gaza on January 19 following a deal announced between Palestinian Hamas Resistance Movement and Israel earlier that month. Al-Houthi's comments come as the first phase of the ceasefire ends on Saturday amid reports that negotiations on the second phase have failed He noted that Yemen is constantly monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, which he said Israel is violating thanks to the support it receives from the United States. 7129**4194 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza truce talks in Cairo fail to advance to second phase: Report IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 1, 2025 The Cairo negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and the Israeli regime have failed, according to a report. Al Mayadeen on Saturday cited an unnamed Palestinian official as saying that Israel is deliberately stalling to prolong the first phase of the agreement while gradually securing the release of its prisoners. The source reaffirmed that the Palestinian resistance would not release any Israeli prisoners without a comprehensive agreement. "The Israeli side is attempting to use blackmail tactics, but we reject any deal that is not part of a full-package agreement," the official stated. The official further said that mediators have been unsuccessful in persuading the Israeli regime to engage in the next phase of talks, adding that Israeli political leaders are pressuring the negotiators to extend the first phase on the condition that Hamas releases more prisoners. Egypt's state information service said on Friday that Israeli officials joined mediators from Qatar and the U.S. on Thursday for "intensive discussions" over the second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in Gaza. The Zionist regime and Hamas announced a three-phase ceasefire deal on January 15, following UN-endorsed indirect negotiations between the two sides. Talks over the second phase of the truce deal are meant to negotiate a comprehensive end to the Israeli regime's war and occupation in the Gaza Strip and release all remaining Israeli prisoners. Hamas has affirmed its commitment to the negotiations for the second phase of the deal, saying that Israel has "no choice" but to engage in talks. 4354**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN chief warns U.S. foreign aid cuts to "run counter to" Washington's global interests People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:26, March 01, 2025 UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The consequences of severe cuts in U.S. foreign aid will be especially devastating for vulnerable people across the world, and the move will "run counter to" Washington's global interests, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday. Guterres said at a press conference that he is deeply concerned about information received in the last 48 hours by UN agencies and aid NGOs regarding severe cuts in U.S. funding. "These cuts impact a wide range of critical programmes. From lifesaving humanitarian aid, to support for vulnerable communities recovering from war or natural disaster. From development, to the fight against terrorism and illicit drug trafficking," he said. "The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people around the world." Besides those hit-hardest countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, and Ukraine, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime will be forced to stop many of its counter-narcotics programmes, including the one fighting the fentanyl crisis, and dramatically reduce activities against human trafficking, Guterres told reporters. "Now going through with these cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe and less prosperous," the UN chief said, warning that the reduction of U.S. humanitarian role and influence "will run counter to American interests globally." Guterres expressed his hope that Washington can reverse these decisions based on more careful reviews. The U.S. Department of State announced Wednesday that it had slashed almost all of multi-year aid contracts after a sweeping pause on existing foreign aid last month. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Paramilitary forces' attempt to form "parallel government" raises concern over deeper division in Sudan People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:35, March 01, 2025 KHARTOUM, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The recent attempt by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to form a "parallel government" in Sudan has sparked domestic and global concern over deeper division in the war-torn country. On Feb. 22, the RSF and its allied political and armed groups signed "a political charter" in Kenya expressing intention to form a "parallel government" in Sudan. The charter was later dismissed by the Sudanese government as "stillborn." The latest development came as Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF for almost two years. The violence, starting from April 2023, has left over 29,600 dead and displaced more than 15 million people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group, and the International Organization for Migration. The signing of the "charter" was a result of the war nearing its second year, with both sides entrenched in opposing stances, political analyst Abdul-Raziq Ziyada told Xinhua. "The failure of political settlement initiatives led to this reality," Ziyada said. The signing showed "an expansion of the conflict and a shift in the balance of power," Khalid Dirar, a political science professor at al-Rasid Center for Strategic Studies, told Xinhua. "The features of division in Sudan have become more evident," Dirar said, warning that the RSF's move to form a parallel government should not be underestimated. This move "will certainly lead to a change in the balance of power. The RSF now has a foothold in areas outside Darfur (region)," Ahmed Ismail, a Sudanese military expert, told Xinhua. It will be unwise to downplay the risks of a "parallel government," noted political analyst Abdul-Rahman Awad. "The existence of two governments will have political, security, and economic consequences on the already dire situation in Sudan," Awad told Xinhua. Meanwhile, political analyst Abdul-Khaliq Mahjoub predicted that forming a "parallel government" will face significant difficulties. "The first obstacle will be developments on the battlefield, particularly the advancement being achieved by the SAF. If the army manages to lift the siege on El Fasher and advance toward the other cities of Darfur, the RSF will find no suitable geographical area to establish its anticipated government," he told Xinhua. Globally, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has voiced deep concern over the signing of the "charter." "This further escalation in the conflict in the Sudan deepens the fragmentation of the country and risks further entrenching the crisis," Guterres said Monday. "Preserving the Sudan's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity remains key for a sustainable resolution of the conflict and the long-term stability of the country and the wider region," he noted. On Friday, Saudi Arabia, which has been patronizing negotiations between the Sudanese warring parties in Jeddah together with the United States since May 6, 2023, also voiced its rejection of forming a "parallel government" in Sudan. Saudi Arabia rejects "any illegitimate steps or measures taken outside the framework of the Republic of Sudan's official institutions that may affect its unity and do not reflect the will of its people, including the call to form a parallel government," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on social media platform X. In the meantime, the signing of the "charter," which took place in Nairobi, has raised concern over escalating tensions between Sudan and Kenya. On Feb. 20, Sudan's Foreign Ministry summoned its Ambassador to Kenya Kamal Jubara for consultations, "in protest against Kenya hosting meetings of rebel militia and its allies in another hostile move against Sudan," according to a report by Sudan's official SUNA news agency. On Monday, the Sudanese government vowed to take escalatory measures against Kenya for hosting activities by the RSF. "We will take economic actions, including banning the import of Kenyan products, especially since Sudan is one of Kenya's largest tea importers," Sudan's Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Hussein al-Amin said at a press conference. Al-Amin's remarks sent a strong message of Sudan's dissatisfaction with Kenya's stance, economic analyst Al-Sammani Abdalla told Xinhua. 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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 Egypt reaffirms 'unwavering support' for Palestinian cause ahead of emergency Arab Summit Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 7:18 PM Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has reaffirmed his country's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation, stressing that Cairo is ready to assist with the reconstruction of Gaza. Madbouly made the remarks during a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammad Mustafa, in the capital Cairo on Saturday, where the two sides discussed key aspects of an early recovery and reconstruction plan for Gaza, which will be presented at the upcoming emergency Arab Summit scheduled for March 4. During the meeting, Madbouly reasserted Egypt's unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, particularly the right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East al-Quds as its capital. He also underscored Egypt's commitment to the Palestinian cause, emphasizing that Cairo is making every possible effort to advance the Gaza ceasefire agreement in all its phases and to achieve the reconstruction of Gaza. Madbouly further noted that in line with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's directives, "the Egyptian government has prepared a comprehensive plan for early recovery and the reconstruction of Gaza while ensuring that Palestinian citizens remain in the Strip during the rebuilding process." Mustafa, for his part, expressed his deep appreciation for Egypt's efforts in supporting the Palestinian people, while acknowledging the contributions of various Egyptian institutions in aiding Palestine. He also emphasized that the joint reconstruction plan with Egypt ensures that Gaza's people will not be displaced, affirming that the plan is ready for implementation. Mustafa also reiterated the necessity of ending the Israeli occupation and achieving Palestinian statehood. President Sisi's government has developed a detailed plan for Gaza spanning over ten years and primarily focuses on rebuilding infrastructure, housing, and residential sectors. The plan aims to craft a unified Arab stance on the Palestinian issue, opposing controversial US President Donald Trump's proposals for the displacement of Gazans. During the early days of his administration, Trump suggested that the people of Gaza either temporarily or permanently relocate out of the strip, including to Egypt and Jordan. On February 4, Trump proposed that the US could take over Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera" of West Asia after clearing the Palestinians out, and resettling them elsewhere. Trump's remarks sparked widespread condemnations, including from Palestine, the UN and the Arab world, as a potentially fatal blow to the so-called two-state solution. Trump's provocative proposal came after the Israeli regime failed to realize its objectives in the war on the coastal strip for over 15 months, during which the regime killed at least 48,348 Palestinians, mostly women and children. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas rejects Israel's proposal to extend phase one of Gaza ceasefire Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 2:12 PM The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected Israel's proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, calling on the international community to pressure the occupying regime to proceed to the second phase of the deal as originally planned. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem made the remarks in an interview with Al Araby television on Saturday, on the day the first stage of the deal was set to expire. "Extending the first phase of the deal in the form proposed by Israel is unacceptable" to the resistance group, he said, adding that the occupying regime bears full responsibility for the failure to begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Qassem also noted that Israel's talk of extending the first phase aims to recover the remaining captives while potentially resuming the war on Gaza. He went on to say that the Israeli regime is evading its commitment to ending the war and fully withdrawing from Gaza, adding that it "is trying to reset matters to square one by shuffling the cards with its proposal to extend the first phase." Qassem further said there are no current talks for a second ceasefire phase in Gaza with the Hamas, stressing that talks must begin on the next phase aimed at securing a permanent truce. He also urged mediators and guarantor states to compel the Israeli regime to adhere to the agreement in all its stages and immediately enter the second phase of it without any hesitation. Qassem's remarks came a day after Hamas expressed its "full commitment" to the Gaza ceasefire deal, emphasizing that negotiations are the only way to secure the release of the remaining Israeli captives. On Thursday, the Israeli foreign minister said, "We said we are ready to extend the framework [of phase one] in return for the release of more hostages. If it is possible, we'll do that." Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,348 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza. Israel accepted Hamas' longstanding negotiation terms under the Gaza truce, which began on January 19. Under the terms of the three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, the two sides were planned to hold indirect talks to hammer out the details of further exchanges. It was planned that during negotiations on the second phase a permanent ceasefire would be established and Israeli forces would make a complete withdrawal as the remaining captives are freed. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said that the existing deal is for a temporary ceasefire and that the regime's military has reserved "the right to return to fighting" at a future date. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel admits 'complete failure' to prevent Hamas October 7 operation Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 9:11 AM The Israeli military admitted that it had "completely failed" to prevent Hamas's October 7 retaliatory operation and underestimated the Palestinian resistance group's capabilities for years. The summary of an Israeli military investigation, published on Thursday, said the perception that Hamas was not interested in a full-scale conflict and that Israel would have ample warning in case of an attack went unchallenged for years. It resulted in a lack of preparedness and ability to respond to an attack, it said. "October 7 was a complete failure, the [military] failed in fulfilling its mission to protect Israeli civilians," a senior Israeli military official told reporters following the publication of the investigation. "Too many civilians died that day asking themselves in their hearts or out loud, where was the [military]?" said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The probe also found that Israel had focused its intelligence and military efforts on other fronts, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and relied too heavily "on intelligence, barriers, and defensive measures alone," and was thus caught by surprise. Citing Israeli security sources, the investigation said only 767 Israeli soldiers had been stationed along the separating fence in the Gaza Strip on October 7, and around 5,000 fighters of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, entered the occupied territories by land, air, and sea in different waves of the attack. The command-and-control of the so-called Gaza Division of Israel's Southern Command collapsed within hours of the attack, and top Israeli officers, including the division's Southern Brigade commander Asaf Hamami and many company and platoon commanders, were killed by the Palestinian resistance fighters. The investigation also found that the Israeli military's regional unit, tasked with guarding the boundary of the Gaza Strip, was overpowered in the first hours of the attack as it had "missed obvious signs of the impending attack and preparations around it." According to the reports, the Israeli military's Gaza Division, which is stationed along the 59km barrier with Gaza, was defeated for around 10 hours. The investigation found that the ground attack had three main influxes of Hamas fighters, while the infiltration via sea using seven speedboats and air using paragliders was carried out by just 38 and eight Palestinian fighters, respectively. The Israeli military's internal investigations also said the regime had "underestimated" the Palestinian resistance group's military capabilities, which led to the al-Qassam Brigades' control over Israeli communities near the besieged enclave and alongside the regime's military posts. In late April 2024, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said in a report, after collecting dozens of testimonies, that the Hamas-led operation on the occupied territories showcased the failure of Israeli security and assistance to the settlers. "All of Israel's intelligence and operational systems collapsed," the report said. "All of its political conceptions were proven false. In the space of 24 hours, Israelis lost faith" that the Tel Aviv regime "could protect them." Israel launched its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas-led resistance groups carried out the historic al-Aqsa Flood operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,365 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza. Israel accepted Hamas's longstanding negotiation terms under a Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on Gaza United Nations Secretary-General New York 01 March 2025 Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General The Secretary-General is closely following developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory as the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal reaches its conclusion. The past six weeks have provided a fragile but vital reprieve, offering a measure of relief to both Palestinians and Israelis. Thousands of trucks carrying life-saving assistance entered Gaza, with aid having reached nearly every person in the Strip. It is imperative that all efforts be made to prevent a return to hostilities, which would be catastrophic. The Secretary-General urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint and find a way forward on the next phase. A permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages are essential to preventing escalation and averting more devastating consequences for civilians. The Secretary-General continues to call for the dignified, immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The parties must ensure humane treatment for all those held under their power. Humanitarian aid must continue to flow, without impediment, be adequately funded, and occur in an environment ensuring the safety and security of civilians and other protected persons, including humanitarian workers. The Secretary-General also calls for an urgent de-escalation of the alarming situation in the occupied West Bank. As Ramadan -- a time of peace and reflection -- begins, the Secretary-General calls on all sides to spare no efforts to end all violence. The United Nations stands ready to support all such endeavours. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel accepts US proposal for temporary ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, Passover holidays Global Times By Xinhua Published: Mar 02, 2025 07:17 AM Israel has accepted a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Jewish Passover holiday, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office around midnight between Saturday and Sunday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement from Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik on reports concerning naval support Government of Norway News story | Date: 02/03/2025 - We have seen reports raising concerns about support for US Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegian government's policy. I can confirm that all requested support has been provided. The U.S. and Norway maintain a close and strong defense cooperation. American forces will continue to receive the supply and support they require from Norway. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kongra-Gel Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan [PKK] Kurdistan Workers' Party People's Defense Force On 12 May 2025, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced that it was dissolving its organizational structure, ending its decades-long armed struggle against Turkey, and calling for the Kurdish issue to be resolved through democratic means. The decision, been made its 12th congress, held the week prior in northern Iraq, marked the end of more than 40 years of conflict. It also followed a call made in February 2025 by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's imprisoned leaderto lay down arms and pursue peace. US President Donald Trump has hailed his surprise decision to withdraw US troops from Syria as "strategically brilliant", declaring that the Kurds were "not angels". Speaking to reporters at the White House on 16 October 2019, Trump said the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long armed campaign against Ankara, were "probably" a bigger "terrorist threat" than the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) armed group. "Now the PKK, which is part of the Kurds, as you know, is probably worse at terror, and more of a terrorist threat in many ways than ISIS," he said referring to the group which has been designated a terrorist group by the US, EU and Turkey. "I'm not going to get involved in a war between Turkey and Syria, especially when, if you look at the Kurds, and again I say this with great respect, they're no angels," he added. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), was founded in 2015 and has helped the United States in its fight against ISIL. Turkey and its Kurdish population have taken a major step toward ending the three-decade conflict that has claimed more than 45,000 lives. On Thursday (21.03.2013), Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the banned Kurdish group PKK, called for a ceasefire and urged his armed followers to withdraw from Turkish soil. "Let guns be silenced and politics dominate," Ocalan said in his declaration, which was read by pro-Kurdish politicians to hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the Kurdish New Year celebrations in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey. "A new door is being opened from the process of armed conflict to democratization and democratic politics, said Ocalan. "It's not the end. It's the start of a new era." The first of an estimated 2,000 Kurdish militants withdrawing from Turkey arrived in Iraq on May 14, 2013 as part of a peace process aimed at ending one of the world's bloodiest insurgencies. The group crossed into the Heror area of northern Iraq. The full withdrawal was expected to take three to four months. The move was one step in a peace deal between jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and Turkish officials to end 30 years of conflict. The Iraqi government on Tuesday condemned the entry of PKK fighters into its territory, calling it "a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and independence." Baghdad said it would file a complaint about it with the United Nations Security Council. The Turkish government started direct talks with Ocalan in October 2012, by instructing Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) to come to a peaceful settlement. In 2010, MIT made contact with PKK leaders in secret, but the so-called Oslo process failed to develop a positive outcome, leading to a new wave of violence in 2011 and 2012. But pressing developments in the region and the civil war in Syria have forced Turkey to try a second attempt. This time, the Erdogan government decided to use a more transparent process, informing the public about the dialogue's main points. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is promising broader political and cultural rights for its Kurdish citizens, together with broader authority for local administrations. While the Turkish government is optimistic for the future, Turkey's center-left and nationalist opposition parties were still expressing distrust. Some critics see Erdogan's move as an attempt to get Kurdish support for his plans to change the constitution and introduce a presidential system, which would further consolidate his power. Turkey's nationalist opposition has backed tighter security measures to eliminate the PKK threat. Nationalist opposition leader Devlet Bahceli has accused Erdogan of "treason" and of "selling out the country to a bunch of bloody bandits." Established in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist insurgent group primarily composed of Turkish Kurds, by the late 1990s the PKK had moved beyond rural-based insurgent activities to include urban terrorism. The PKK sought to set up an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey, where there is a predominantly Kurdish population. Geography, politics and history have conspired to render 30 million Kurds the largest stateless people in the Middle East. The Government of Turkey has long denied the Kurdish population, located largely in the southeast, basic political, cultural, and linguistic rights. The PKK is estimated to have around 2,000 fighters in Turkey, with several thousand more in bases in northern Iraq. Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Background Since 1984 the separatist PKK waged a violent terrorist insurgency in southeast Turkey, directed against both security forces and civilians, almost all of them Kurds, whom the PKK accuses of cooperating with the State. The government of Turkey in turn waged an intense campaign to suppress PKK terrorism, targeting active PKK units as well as persons they believe support or sympathize with the PKK. In the process, both government forces and PKK terrorists committed human rights abuses against each other and noncombatants. According to the Government, from 1984 through November 1997, 26,532 PKK members, 5,185 security force members, and 5,209 civilians lost their lives in the fighting. A state of emergency, declared in 1987, continued in six southeastern provinces facing substantial PKK terrorist violence. Parliament voted in October 1997 to lift the state of emergency in Bingol, Batman, and Bitlis provinces. A regional governor for the state of emergency has authority over the ordinary governors in the six provinces, and six adjacent ones, for security matters. The state of emergency allows him to exercise certain quasi-martial law powers, including restrictions on the press and removal from the area of persons whose activities are deemed detrimental to public order. The state of emergency decree was renewed for 4 months for all provinces in November 1997. Primary PKK targets are Turkish Government security forces in Turkey but also has been active in Western Europe against Turkish targets. Conducted attacks on Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities in dozens of West European cities in 1993 and again in spring 1995. In an attempt to damage Turkey's tourist industry, the PKK has bombed tourist sites and hotels and kidnapped foreign tourists. The PKK committed numerous abuses against civilians in northern Iraq throughout 1997. For example, on August 4, five persons were reportedly kidnaped from the village of Gunda Jour by a PKK band. Iraqi Kurds reported that on October 23, a PKK unit killed 14 civilians (10 of them children) and wounded 9 others in attacks on the villages of Korka, Chema, Dizo, and Selki. On December 13, seven Assyrian civilians reportedly were ambushed and killed near the village of Mangeesh. Many villagers in Dohuk and Irbil provinces, particularly those from isolated areas, were reported to have abandoned their homes and temporarily relocated to cities and lager towns to escape PKK attacks. Abdullah OCALAN, was captured in Kenya in February 1999. The PKK observed a unilateral cease-fire since September 1999, although there had been occasional clashes between Turkish military units and some of the 4,000-5,000 armed PKK militants, most of whom were encamped in northern Iraq. Human rights activists and attorneys for jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the Government to transfer Ocalan from his cell on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara to a mainland prison. They claimed Ocalan was being held in isolation and also said he was suffering from health problems. Relatives and attorneys were unable to visit Ocalan for 15 weeks from November 2002 to March 2003; the Government said stormy weather grounded the boat shuttling visitors to the island. The ECHR ruled in March 2003 that Ocalan's prison conditions were not unlawful. On 12 March 2003, the ECHR ruled that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan did not receive a fair trial in his 1999 conviction in an Ankara SSC. The ECHR determined that the SSC was not an "independent and impartial tribunal," in part because a military judge sat on the three-judge panel at the start of the trial. However, the ECHR determined that Ocalan's prison conditions and the circumstances of his arrest were not unlawful. Both the Government and the defense appealed the ruling. Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan Halu Mesru Savunma Kuvveti (HSK) Kurdistan People's Congress (KHK) People's Congress of Kurdistan Kadek In April 2002 at its 8th Party Congress, the PKK changed its name to the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK) and proclaimed a commitment to nonviolent activities in support of Kurdish rights. A PKK/KADEK spokesman stated that its armed wing, The People's Defense Force, would not disband or surrender its weapons for reasons of self-defense, however. This statement by the PKK/KADEK avowing it would not lay down its arms underscores that the organization maintains its capability to carry out terrorist operations. PKK/KADEK established a new ruling council in April, its membership virtually identical to the PKK's Presidential Council. The PKK/KADEK did not conduct a terrorist attack in 2002; however, the group periodically issues veiled threats that it will resume violence if the conditions of its imprisoned leader are not improved, and it continues its military training and planning. In 1997 the PKK consisted of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 guerrillas and had thousands of sympathizers in Turkey and Europe. The Kurdish separatist movement began disintegrating, with many of its militant members fled into northern Iraq after Ocalan's 1999 capture. In 2002 the organization had declined to roughly 4,000 to 5,000 guerrillas. The PKK operates in Turkey, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The group receives safehaven and modest aid from Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Damascus generally upheld its September 2000 antiterror agreement with Ankara, pledging not to support the PKK. The PKK conducts extensive fundraising in Europe. Kongra-gel In late 2003, the group sought to engineer another political face-lift, renaming the group Kongra-Gel (KGK) and brandishing its "peaceful" intentions, while continuing to commit attacks and refuse disarmament. The organization was said to be involved in drug trafficking and acts of terrorism in Turkey, and it frequently changes its name. In January 2004 the US Government announced that Kurdistan Workers Party and its aliases, the Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress and the Kurdistan People's Congress, were terrorist organizations that were designated as such under US law. The Coalition Provisional Authority, coalition forces and Iraqi security forces would treat the PKK/KADEK/Kongra-Gel as terrorists. When the State Department designates a group as a foreign terrorist organization, it's against the law for someone in the United States or under US jurisdiction to provide funds or other material support to the group. Representatives and certain members of the group, if they are aliens, can be denied visas or can be excluded from the United States. Although Kongra-Gel included some former militants, the group in recent years had developed a political platform that renounced terrorism. Kongra-Gel called off the cease-fire at the start of June 2004, saying Turkish security forces had refused to respect the truce. Turkish security forces were increasingly involved in clashes with Kurdish separatist fighters. Ankara claimed that about 2,000 Kurdish fighters had crossed into Turkey from hideouts in mountainous northern Iraq in early June 2004. Turkey's struggle against the Kongra-Gel/PKK was marked by increased violence across Turkey in 2005. In the Southeast, Turkish security forces were active in the struggle against the Kongra-Gel/PKK. There were a number of bombings and attempted bombings in resort areas in western Turkey and Istanbul, some of which resulted in civilian casualties. A Kurdish separatist group calling itself the Kurdish Freedom Falcons (TAK), widely believed to be affiliated with the Kongra-Gel/PKK, claimed responsibility for many of these attacks. In 2006 alone, the PKK claimed over 500 victims. In October 2006, the KGK/PKK declared a unilateral cease-fire that slowed the intensity and pace of its attacks but attacks continued in response to Turkish security forces significant counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, especially in the southeast. In March 2006, clashes between the PKK and Turkish security forces led to several deaths, many injuries, and the destruction of property in Diyarbakir, an area frequented by travelers to and from the Turkey/Iraq border. Roads to the airport were closed periodically and many businesses and schools were closed. Police and military forces responded to large crowds of people by using tear gas, high-pressure water, and firearms. Tanks and other heavily armored vehicles were brought into the area in response to the violence. On 10 May 2006, five members of the PKK were arrested by the Turkish National police in possession of 7.5 kilograms of A-4 explosives. Between August 25 and 28 of 2006, there were several terrorist attacks in Turkey that were attributed to the PKK. On 25 August 2006 there were two coordinated low-level blasts targetted at a bank and an office building in Adana. On 27 August 2006 there was a low-level package bomb near a school in Istanbul. On 28 August 2006, there were three coordinated attacks in Marmaris targetted at the tourist industry and another attack in Antalya targetted at a shopping center housing Turkish restaurants in a popular tourist area. From these attacks at least 40 were injured. These attacks follow several other low-level attacks that occured in August 2006. On 22 May 2007, an explosion in Ankara occurred during rush hour near the entrance of the Anafartalar shopping center in the Ulus district across from the first Parliament building killing at least six people and injuring more than 100. The area was the busiest commercial neighborhood in Ankara, known for its tourist sites and bazaars. The device, an A-4 plastic explosive, was detonated by a suicide bomber at a bus stop near the shopping center. The blast was the second explosion in Turkey in ten days. On 12 May 2007, a bomb exploded in an open bazaar in the Izmir's Bornova district, killing at least one person and injuring nearly 14 others. While it was not entirely clear whether or not these attacks were carried out by members of the PKK, A-4 type bombs have historically been used by suspected KGK/PKK militants. As of June 2007, these incidents led to the question of whether or not the Turkish military will cross the border into Iraq in order to track down members of the PKK responsible for terrorist attacks in Turkey. There were reports of an increase in Turkey's military presence along the Iraqi border. However, at that time the Turkish government denied any intentions of crossing into Iraq. Several thousand Turkish troops have been in Iraq since the 1990s. These troops generally stay on their base and gather information about the guerrillas' activities. Their movements are coordinated with US and Iraqi forces, and with the Kurdish regional government in Northern Iraq. By mid-2007 around 3,500 PKK militants were believed to be based in Iraq. Over nearly a quarter of a century, since 1984, the conflict had claimed about 40,000 lives. On 07 October 2007 rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party killed the 13 Turkish soldiers in an ambush in Sirnak province near the Iraqi border. Turkish troops responded by shelling areas near the Iraqi border to try to prevent the attackers from reaching their bases in northern Iraq. The Turkish government blamed rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party based in Iraq for attacks that killed some 30 soldiers and civilians in the first two weeks of October 2007. On 17 October 2007 the Turkish government won parliamentary approval for possible military raids into northern Iraq. Hours before the vote, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called his Turkish counterpart to say that his government was determined to halt the "terrorist activities" of the PKK on Iraqi territory. Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said he was relying on the US to stop the Turkish armed forces from invading. Turkish media reported that about 40,000 Turkish troops, comprising helicopter, artillery and special forces units, were ready to launch a full-scale operation against the Kurdish militants on the Iraqi border. On 17 October 2007 Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Iraq was already dealing with what he called "at least two meddlesome neighbors," which he identified as Iran and Syria. "As we deal with those meddlesome neighbors on either side of Iraq, we do not think this is the time to open up a potential third front in which you then have military action coming over from our good friends the Turks into what is now, arguably, the most stable region of Iraq," he said. "I also do not think there is a great deal of appetite to take this next step," he added. "It would an enormous step. It would have enormous implications not just for us, but the Turks, and I don't think there is any rush to war for the Turks. Complicating the situation was a resolution before the US Congress to brand the 1915 murder of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide. On 21 October 2007 PKK rebels killed 12 Turkish soldiers and captured eight in fighting in Turkey's Hakkari province. The rebels blew up a bridge as a 12-vehicle military convoy was crossing it. Turkey's military said it killed 32 rebels in a counter-offensive. Turkey's leadership gathered for an emergency meeting after the deadly attack. On 22 October 2007 some two thousand Turkish protesters rallied against the PKK in Istanbul and criticized Mr. Erdogan for not taking military action. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said that Ankara would first pursue diplomatic means to resolve the crisis. And Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had asked the United States to take "speedy" action against Kurdish rebels. On 24 October 2007 units of the Turkish army crossed the Iraqi border in a special operation against Kurdish militants. Turkish commandos supported by helicopters were chasing militants from the PKK, while F-16 Falcon fighters and artillery were delivering strikes at militant bases about 50 kilometers (30 miles) deep into Iraqi territory. In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino warned against the escalation of tensions between Turkey and Iraq. She urged the two sides to exercise restraint, saying both Iraqis and Turks agree the common enemy is the PKK. According to the government, 49 civilians were killed and 252 were injured, 143 members of the security forces were killed and 256 were injured, and 657 terrorists were killed in armed clashes related to the struggle against the PKK during 2008. Most of the clashes occurred in the southeast. The numbers of civilian deaths and injuries significantly increased from 2007. In April 2008 the government reduced limitations on freedom of expression by amending Article 301 of the penal code to more narrowly define the circumstances under which speech may be criminalized and prosecuted. In June 2008 the government amended the law to reduce restrictions on non-Turkish language broadcasts on state-owned television. On 25 December 2008, the government expanded Kurdish language broadcasts with the introduction of a pilot, 24-hour state television channel in the Kurdish language. In its October 2008 report, the NGO Societal and Legal Research Foundation (TOHAV) reported an increase in torture cases during the year. Based on a study of 275 surveys from individuals who submitted credible reports of torture from 2006 through February 28, TOHAV found that 210 of the victims were ethnic Kurds, 55 ethnic Turks, and 10 ethnic Arabs. A total of 217 victims claimed that they were tortured for their political views, 36 for their sexual orientation, and 22 for criminal reasons. According to the security forces (military, Jandarma, and the Turkish National Police (TNP), 36 civilians were killed and 115 were injured, 77 members of the security forces were killed and 385 were injured, and 105 terrorists were killed and five were injured in armed clashes related to the struggle against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during 2009. There were positive developments during 2009 with respect to freedom of expression and the use of Kurdish and other non-Turkish languages, including the following: a substantial decrease in the number of prosecutions and convictions based on article 301, which prohibits insults to the "Turkish state"; the formal launch of a 24-hour Kurdish-language state television station on January 1; new regulations on November 13 allowing for 24-hour private television stations to broadcast in languages other than Turkish; new prison regulations in November allowing prisoners to speak languages other than Turkish with their visitors; and approval in September of a university department to teach the Kurdish language among other "living" languages. During 2010 police routinely detained demonstrators for a few hours at a time. Police detained more than 1,000 members of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on various occasions. Police continued to detain and harass members of human rights organizations, media personnel, and human rights monitors. Police continued to detain persons on suspicion of "membership in an illegal organization" and for "promoting terrorist propaganda." Osman Baydemir, the mayor of Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast, continued to face multiple administrative, civil, and criminal charges and investigations for use of the Kurdish language, spreading terrorist propaganda, and promoting terrorism. During 2011 prosecutors opened 13 new investigations or cases against Baydemir. Most of the cases involved Baydemirs expression of his political views or speaking Kurdish at public events. During 2011 he received at least two acquittals and four convictions but he remained in his position as mayor. Many cases and appeals were pending at years end. For example, in February the Ankara 10th Civil Court of First Instance ordered Baydemir to pay 30,000 lira ($16,800) in compensation to Prime Minister Erdogan for a 2009 statement that We tell the ones who divide us into hawks and doves to go to hell, which the court decided constituted an attack on Erdogans personal rights. In August 2010, the PKK said it called its ceasefire out of respect for Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. The ceasefire followed a major increase in fighting in the previous few months, which killed more than 100 Turkish solders. That escalation prompted fears the country was sliding back into full-scale conflict. In October 2010 the government began the trial of 153 persons, including several elected mayors, political party officials, and a human rights activist in Diyarbakir. The defendants were charged in a 7,578-page indictment with disrupting the integrity of the state; being members and/or administrators of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the umbrella political organization of the PKK; and assisting and sheltering a terrorist organization, among other charges. HRW stated that the case raised concerns about the right of individuals to participate in political activities. The defendants request to defend themselves in Kurdish instead of Turkish was denied by the court, which called Kurdish an unknown language. Reports from the security forces (military, Turkish National Police (TNP), and Jandarma) indicated that approximately 31 civilians were killed and 53 were injured in armed clashes related to the struggle against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist organization in the first 10 months of 2011. Approximately 220 members of the security forces were killed and 475 were injured, and 303 alleged terrorists were killed and five were injured in the first 10 months of 2011. Most of the clashes between terrorists and security forces occurred in the Southeast. The number of civilian deaths and injuries rose from 2010, while the number of security forces deaths and injuries more than doubled. On 28 December 2011, military aircraft killed 34 civilians near the town of Uludere in an airstrike intended to kill members of the PKK. By 2012 there had been an upsurge of clashes between the PKK and Turkish government forces after a decade of relative calm. Turkish security forces said a large-scale military offensive has killed some 115 Kurdish rebels in the south of the country. Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said the rebels were killed as part of an air and ground offensive that began on 23 July 2012 near the town of Semdinli. A local television station said up to 2,000 troops were involved in the operation. The restrictions have been eased in the past decade - part of what the government says is an unprecedented tide of liberties and education given to Kurds. But Kurds say arrests and court cases continue and hundreds of artists had been jailed for expressions that are perceived as anti-Turkish. Since March 2013, the PKK has largely observed a cease-fire with the Turkish state as part of a peace process with the Turkish government. The process seeks to end a three decade conflict by the PKK for greater Kurdish minority rights. By by late 2014 no concrete steps had been taken by the government to advance the so-called peace and solution process. PKK military leaders based in neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan have linked the fate of the peace process to the fate of the Syrian border town of Kobani. Ankara refused to allow the delivery through its territory of a shipment of arms from Iraqi Kurds to Kurds besieged in Kobani. At least 35 people were killed in riots in October 2014 when members of Turkey's 15 million-strong Kurdish minority rose up in anger at the government for refusing to help defend Kobani from an assault by Islamic State militants. Turkish aircraft pounded Kurdish rebel bases in Turkey on October 14, 2014 for the first time since a peace process began almost two years earlier. The attacks followed major unrest across Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast over what Kurds saw as Ankara's inaction while the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani is under siege by the Islamic State militant group. The air attacks against the Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, were reported to have occurred in Hakkari province on Iraqs border. In a statement, the Turkish military said the action was in response to attacks on one of its bases. On March 21, 2015 imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan called for an end to decades of fighting by the PKK. The call was made in a letter to Kurds celebrating Nowruz, or new year, in Turkeys predominantly Kurdish southeast. "We find it necessary for PKK to convene a congress to end the 40-year-long armed struggle against Turkish Republic and adapt itself to the spirit of new era," he said. The letter also said that they were at an historical threshold in which history and peoples demand peace. The PKK had been fighting for greater Kurdish rights since 1984 in a struggle that had claimed over 40,000 lives. But for the past 30 months there had been a peace process with the government and a largely observed cease-fire. The ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed in July 2015, and the predominantly Kurdish southeastern region of the country had been mired in conflict since. Turkey was hit by a series of bombing attacks as fighting escalates with the PKK following the breakdown of the ceasefire and the NATO member experiences blowback from the war in neighboring Syria. In February 2016, Kurdish militants carried out a bomb attack targeting a bus carrying military personnel, killing 29 people. The bombing was claimed by TAK, an offshoot faction of the PKK, in retaliation for ongoing military operations. Turkish authorities on 15 March 2016 identified Seher Cagla Demir as the person responsible for an explosion that killed at least 37 people in Ankara the day before. The Interior Ministry said Demir, who was born in 1992 in eastern Turkey, had ties to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria. Ankara considers the group a terrorist organization. According to authorities, Demir joined the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), another terrorist organization, in 2013, and then crossed over into Syria to train with YPG. The PKK traditionally targeted military targets. A brazen attack on civilians in the heart of the capital would signal a significant change in tactics. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) condemned the attack. The condemnation was significant because the party, which is viewed as close to the PKK, had been criticized for not speaking out against the militant Kurdish group's violence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 01 March 2025 - Day 1102 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The UK Ministry of Defence reported that after 3 years of conflict, Russia's Aerospace Forces, despite technological and numerical advantage, have failed to gain air superiority over Ukraine. Russia has resorted to using their tactical level aviation such as SU-34 aircraft as airborne artillery. Russia's consistent use of One Way Attack Uncrewed Aerial Systems (OWA UAS) has likely allowed Russia the space and time to recuperate its Long Range Aviation fleet, and their associated Air Launched Cruise Missile and Air Launched Ballistic Missile stocks. While Russia retains the ability to use these assets, the ultimate effect is that the Air Defence picture for Ukraine is increasingly busy, complex and challenging. With this combination of systems the Russians have consistently targeted Ukrainian critical national infrastructure and air bases. Ukraine has successfully used UAS against military targets and infrastructure in Russia with increased regularity, including multiple recent strikes on Russian oil refineries. In September 2024 Ukraine also struck four Russian strategic ammunition depots, including Toropets (see imagery), hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine. The total tonnage of ammunition destroyed across the sites represents the largest loss of Russian, and North Korean supplied, ammunition during the war. Such Ukrainian successes highlight Russia's continued inability to protect strategic military sites from attack, as well as indicating the challenge confronting Russia to protect its infrastructure balanced against protecting its operations at the front line. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that since the beginning of this day, 83 combat encounters have taken place. Ukrainian defenders continue to decisively interrupt the attempts of the Russian enemy to advance into the depths of Ukrainian territory, giving him a fiery impression. Russian troops launched two missile and 76 aviation strikes today, launched two missiles and 95 guided bombs, fired 987 kamikaze drones and carried out more than 4,000 shells on the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements. In the Kharkiv direction, the Russian opponent inflicted airstrikes of kabama on ohrimivka, makarov, bugayivka and granov. In the Kupyans komu direction, Russian forces carried out three offensive actions near Novoosinovoye and Zagrizovoye, received a cut-off. In the Lyman direction Russian invaders 10 times attacked the positions of Defense Forces near Novoy, Novomikhailivka, Yampolivka and in the direction of Katerynivka, eight attacks have already been repelled, two are ongoing. Borova and Boguslavka were under the airstrikes of the Russian enemy. In the Toretsky direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled 13 Russian attacks in the areas of settlements of Crimea, Dachne, Toretsk and Diliyivka. Air strikes were suffered by Konstantinivka and Toretsk. In the pokrovsk direction, from the beginning of this day, the opponent 21 times attacked in the areas of new poltavka, ilizavetivka, promenya, kotlyarivka, nadezdinki, pokrovska, pi anogo, udacnogo, preobrazhenki, bogdanivka, andriyivka and ulaklivka. Opponent's aviation struck kabama on pokrovsk, udachnomu, hrodivci, novopavlivci and novoukrainci. Today in this direction, according to preliminary data, Ukrainian soldiers have destroyed 236 Russian invaders, of them 116 - irrevocably. Also destroyed four vehicles units, a D-30 cannon, 14 BPLAs, eight motorcycles, two ATVs, two BTRs, a mortar, a BMP, an armored tractor, seven BPLA control antennas and six communication antennas, also damaged a tank, a combat armored car, a self-propelled artillery rig, a mortar and the Russian occupiers' motorcycle. In the Novopavli direction, Russian forces made eight attempts to break through Ukrainian defense towards the settlements of Konstantinopil and Skudne. Currently, one fight is being sharpened. Air strikes were suffered by Komar and Shevchenko. In the direction of Gulyajpils komu, the Russian zagarbniki attacked three times in the direction of Privilny and Charming. Air strikes were suffered by ternove, gulyajpole and zaliznycne. In the Orihiv direction, the Russian zagarbniki, supported by aviation, tried to advance in the areas of Pyatihatok, Nesteranka and Kamiansky, Ukrainians repelled all four Russian attacks. In the Pridniprovsk direction, Russian occupation troops carry out one offensive action, the battle is ongoing. In the Kursk direction Ukrainian defenders today repelled 16 Russian attacks. At the same time, the enemy launched 22 air strikes, dropped 30 controlled bombs in total, and carried out 383 artillery shells, including 4 from jet systems of salvage fire. In the rest of the directions, the operational environment of special changes did not experience. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces hit formations of two territorial defence brigades close to Litvinovo, Karasyovka, and Volchansk (Kharkov region). The AFU losses were up to 55 troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, and one artillery gun. Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Petropavlovka, Kupyansk-Uzlovoy (Kharkov region), and Novoye (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses were up to 190 troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, eight motor vehicles, and six field artillery guns. One electronic warfare station and five ammunition depots were neutralised. Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops hit formations of three mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, one aviation complex brigade of the AFU near Konstantinovka, Belokuzminovka, Druzhkovka, Platonovka, Kleban-Byk, and Yablonovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses were 170 troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, five motor vehicles, and six field artillery guns, two of them were Western-made ones. One electronic warfare station was eliminated. The Tsentr Group of Forces' units improved the situation along the front line. Russian troops inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of one infantry brigade, one jaeger brigade, one unmanned aerial vehicles brigade of the AFU, one marine brigade, and two National Guard brigades close to Zverevo, Dimitrov, Moskovskoye, Krasnoarmeysk, and Udachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses were up to 345 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, and four field artillery guns. As a result of active offensive actions, units of the Vostok Group of Forces liberated Skudnoye and Burlatskoye (Donetsk People's Republic). Russian troops delivered strikes at formations of one mechanised brigade of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, and one National Guard brigade near Zeleny Gai, Poddubnoye, Iskra (Donetsk People's Republic), and Yanvarskoye (Dnepropetrovsk region). The AFU losses were up to 160 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, ten motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns, including one Polish-made 155-mm Krab self-propelled artillery system. Two electronic warfare stations were destroyed. Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade, two coastal defence brigades of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades close to Malaya Tokmachka, Novopokrovka, Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), Tokarevka, Antonovka, and Pridneprovskoye (Kherson region). The AFU losses were up to 95 troops, 11 motor vehicles, one artillery gun, and one electronic warfare station. One ammunition depot was destroyed. Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged power industry facilities ensuring operation of Ukrainian defence industry enterprises, the infrastructure of military airfields, attack unmanned aerial vehicle depots as well as clusters of AFU manpower and hardware in 136 areas. Air defence systems shot down six U.S.-made JDAM guided bombs and 190 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 656 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 45,024 unmanned aerial vehicles, 600 anti-aircraft missile systems, 21,946 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,523 MLRS combat vehicles, 22,170 field artillery guns and mortars, and 32,349 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region. In the course of offensive actions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, five mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one assault brigade, two air assault brigades, two territorial defence brigades, and two assault regiments of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Gogolevka, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Oleshnya, Rubanshchina, Sudzha, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye. Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and artillery engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Agronom, Bondarevka, Gornal, Guyevo, Dmitryukov, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kositsa, Kolmakov, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Martynovka, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, Cherkasskaya Konopelka, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Yuzhny as well as Basovka, Belovody, Zhuravka, Novenkoye, Obody, Sumy, and Yunakovka (Sumy region). During the day, the AFU losses were more than 220 troops, one infantry fighting vehicle, one armoured personnel carrier, 11 armoured fighting vehicles, 13 motor vehicles, seven artillery guns as well as seven UAV command posts and one ammunition depot. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 64,295 troops, 382 tanks, 291 infantry fighting vehicles, 249 armoured personnel carriers, 2,095 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,264 motor vehicles, 502 artillery guns, 52 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and seven of MLRS made by the USA, 25 anti-aircraft missile launchers, one self-propelled anti-aircraft system, ten transport-loading vehicles, 118 EW stations, 15 counter-battery warfare radars, nine air defence radars, 51 units of engineering and other materiel, including 19 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, five bridge launchers, one engineering reconnaissance vehicle as well as 14 armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle. The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's drills reflect 'gunboat diplomacy' to counter U.S.: Scholars ROC Central News Agency 03/01/2025 04:44 PM Taipei, March 1 (CNA) The Chinese military is engaging in "gunboat diplomacy" by holding unannounced live-fire drills near Taiwan as well as Australia and New Zealand to demonstrate its intent on counterbalancing the United States, scholars told CNA. A zone was set up by the Chinese military in international waters about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) off the coasts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung County on Feb. 26 for "shooting exercises" without giving Taiwan prior notice, the Ministry of National Defense said that day. Prior to that, on Feb. 21 and 22, three Chinese warships conducted a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, also without notifying the authorities of the two Oceanian nations in advance, according to an Associated Press report. Live rounds were actually fired in the drills near New Zealand but were not in the drills near Taiwan, but arrangements had to be made in both cases to reroute civilian aircraft, including some in mid-flight, around the zones. Lin Ying-yu (), an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, told CNA on Friday that such moves could be seen as a response to recent military and diplomatic events related to the U.S. These include a U.S.-Japan-France joint naval drill in the Philippine Sea, a removal of a line stating the U.S. does not support Taiwan's independence on the U.S. State Department's website, and the release of previously frozen U.S. foreign aid with US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, Lin noted. The drills conducted by the Chinese military in international waters without prior notice were a form of "gunboat diplomacy," Lin said, with Beijing using military actions to send political signals to those countries and beyond. He argued that whether or not the Chinese military issues a prior announcement before a drill depends on the exercise's scale and its associated political intent, with Beijing more likely to publicize larger-scale exercises. Lin cited two examples of large-scale drills that were announced beforehand -- the "Joint Sword-2024" exercises and the military encirclement of Taiwan following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit in 2022. Having Chinese warships carry out exercises off Taiwan's southern coast and conduct drills near Australia and New Zealand also signaled China's intent to show its ability to block U.S. military intervention in Taiwan-related affairs from the western and southern Pacific, he said. The maneuvers could also be seen, he said, as a reaction to the U.S. military's longstanding policy of "freedom of navigation operations" -- which asserts the U.S. right to "operate wherever international law allows." The Chinese military wanted to show that its warships could also assert their rights to such freedoms of passage in international waters, as well as back up the claim that "China is now capable of keeping up with the U.S.," Lin said. Echoing Lin, Su Tzu-yun (), director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at the Taiwan military-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the Chinese military is increasingly engaging in "gunboat diplomacy" as its fleet continues to expand and mature. In the past, when regional tensions arose, U.S. aircraft carriers would typically move into the area as a response, Su said, and the Chinese military currently appears to be mimicking that approach. Regarding the timing of the Chinese military setting up an exercise zone off Taiwan's southern coast, Su said it could be linked to recent deepening military cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S. In the short term, China wants to project military strength and intimidate Taiwan by conducting the drills at specific times, while from a long-term geopolitical perspective, it is attempting to shift from a land-based to maritime power, Su said. While similar unannounced drills by the Chinese military in international waters may occur more frequently in the future, Su said there are no binding international regulations requiring prior notification of such exercises to other countries. He criticized such actions by the Chinese military in international waters, however, as highly irresponsible and potentially posing a threat to maritime navigation. (By Li Ya-wen and Sunny Lai) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Anti-corruption purges raise serious questions about China's military readiness By Saibal Dasgupta March 01, 2025 China is in the midst of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that has seen a growing number of high-ranking military officials removed from their posts. The campaign has been so expansive that when China hosts the Two Sessions next week - Beijing's biggest political event of the year - more than a dozen military officials will not be able to attend. In late February, just days before the Two Sessions begin on March 4, authorities in China announced that Tan Ruisong, former chairman of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC, was the latest target of the government's anti-corruption campaign. AVIC is a major defense contractor and aircraft manufacturer that is on Fortune's Global 500 list. The anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), said Tan took huge bribes and "lived off the military sector." There has been no public response from Tan or AVIC. Analysts say the purges are part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts to ensure personal loyalty towards himself within the rank and file of the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, and less about corruption. More than 14 senior officials have been punished in the past two years. There have been several reports that China's Defense Minister Dong Jun, a naval officer, may have been put under investigation, although the Foreign Ministry previously denied that was the case late last year. Analysts say they will be watching closely to see if Dong attends the Two Sessions meetings next week. China's leader has also fired General Li Yuchao, the head of the PLA's Rocket Force unit which is responsible for the country's rocket and missile systems as well as his deputy. Those sacked are part of the ongoing second wave of disciplinary actions that have included four generals, eight lieutenant generals and two major generals. At least three more aerospace defense executives have been expelled from China's top political advisory body. In his remarks to senior military leaders last June, Xi was clear about the intention of the crackdown. "We must uphold the party's absolute leadership over the military," he said, adding that "the gun barrel must always be grasped by people who are loyal and reliable to the party." Xi's remarks echoed a phrase that Communist Party's founder Mao Zedong coined, "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun." Some see the ongoing anti-corruption campaign as a sign of political struggle within the party. "Purges are likely a manifestation of growing challenges against Xi by other party leaders. Those military leaders suspected to be less loyal to Xi are likely to be subjected to pre-emptive removal," Yoichiro Sato, a professor at the College of Asia Pacific Studies in Japan's Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, told VOA. "Corruption in the military is nothing new. Corruption charges are a tool of Xi for going after potential challengers to his rule," he said. The anti-corruption drive is also causing a good amount of political confusion because the targets include those regarded to be close to Xi. They included Miao Hua, who held one of China's most powerful positions as a member of the Central Military Commission and was head of its Political Work Department. Two consecutive ministers of defense, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, also were removed and punished in 2023. Li was removed while in office, and Wei after he had stepped down. Wei served as China's Defense Minister from March 2018 to March 2023. Before that, he was the commander of the PLA Rocket Force. Miao's suspension showed that the drive had expanded to the Political Work Department, which acts as the Communist Party's eyes and ears within the military force. Previously, the anti-corruption campaign concentrated on military departments involved in defense procurement like the Rocket Force unit and the Equipment Development Department, which are regarded as hotbeds of corruption. Analysts say the purges may further strengthen Xi's position, but they may have negative implications for China as well. They would not just affect the military's morale but could also hamper its ability to fulfil the party's plans to take over Taiwan. "If Xi cannot be sure that the PLA would be able to prevail in the case of a conflict, he is less likely to take on the risks that an operation against Taiwan or in the South China Sea, for example, would entail," said Helena Legarda, lead analyst at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute of China Studies. "In the short run, and at least while this second anti-corruption drive takes place, Beijing's appetite for initiating an open conflict might be reduced." Rocket Force hit hard Xi has himself raised questions about the PLA's ability to accomplish essential functions of a modern mission command and accused it of suffering from "peace disease," said Roy Kamphausen, senior fellow for Chinese security at the Washington-based National Bureau of Asian Research. "The decade-long campaign against corruption in the PLA has had a negative impact on morale and thus ability to accomplish its missions, despite technological advances," Kamphausen told VOA. "All of this suggests that whatever inclination Xi might have to take Taiwan by force is reduced," he said. The Rocket Force - which would play a critical role in a potential Taiwan conflict - has been hit hard by anti-corruption purges, Mohan Malik, a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, told VOA. "Morale and capability suffer when leaders skim off the top or push subpar gear. This suggests the PLA may be less effective than it appears on paper, even as China fields advanced missiles, stealth fighters, and an expanding navy," he said. Xi cannot permit dissenting generals to continue in crucial positions because of the evolving international situation and the potential for a future global conflict, said Evan Ellis, a Latin America research professor at the U.S. Army War College. "Xi is conscious that he will have to call on the PLA in a global war with the U.S. in the not distant future. It is vital that he eliminate any risk of dissent or challenge to his political authority on the military," Ellis told VOA. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of C.C., WPK Meets Russian President Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, March 1 (KCNA) -- Ri Hi Yong, Politburo member and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the Central Inspection Commission of the WPK, on a visit to Russia as head of the WPK delegation, met Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of the Russian Federation, at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 27. On the occasion, President Putin asked Ri Hi Yong to convey his warmest greetings and best wishes to Kim Jong Un , president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Ri Hi Yong courteously conveyed the militant greetings of Comrade Kim Jong Un to Vladimir Putin. Noting that Kim Jong Un has paid deep attention to the development of the Russia-DPRK cooperative relations, Putin warmly welcomed the WPK delegation's current visit to Russia. He highly appreciated once again the historic meaning of 2024 in which the traditional Russia-DPRK friendly relations were remarkably developed into the comprehensive strategic partnership. The two countries are firmly linked with the excellent tradition of friendship and good neighborliness and militant friendship, he said, expressing thanks to the DPRK for its positive support to the Russian Federation. He expressed the belief that the 2025-2027 protocol on the expansion and development in depth of multi-faceted cooperation between the Workers' Party of Korea and the United Russia Party, concluded this time, would make a great contribution to the development of the relations between the ruling parties of the two countries. The talks proceeded in a comradely and friendly atmosphere. Present there were Kim Song Nam, director of the International Department of the WPK Central Committee, Yuri Ushakov, aide to the president of Russia for Foreign Policy, Vladimir Vladimirovich Yakushev, secretary of the General Council of the United Russia Party and first vice-chairman of the Russian Federation Council, and Alexandr Kozlov, minister of Natural Resources and Ecology. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EXERCISE DESERT HUNT 2025 India - Press Information Bureau Ministry of Defence Posted On: 01 MAR 2025 9:50AM by PIB Delhi An integrated Tri-Service Special Forces exercise named Exercise Desert Hunt 2025 was conducted by the Indian Air Force at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 24 to 28 February 2025. The exercise involved elite Para (Special Forces) from the Indian Army, the Marine Commandos from the Indian Navy along with the Garud (Special Forces) from the Indian Air Force, participating together in a simulated combat environment. This high-intensity drill was aimed at enhancing interoperability, coordination and synergy among the three Special Forces units to ensure swift and effective response towards emerging security challenges. The exercise included airborne insertion, precision strikes, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism operations, combat free falls and urban warfare scenarios wherein the combat readiness of the forces was tested under realistic conditions Senior military officials supervised the exercise to validate joint doctrines. and it also provided a platform to foster the commitment of the Indian Armed Forces to strengthen national security through seamless inter-service cooperation *** VK/JS/SM (Release ID: 2107177) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. greenlights $3b arms sale to Israeli regime IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 1, 2025 The Trump administration has greenlighted a nearly $3 billion arms deal with the Israeli regime without the usual congressional review process. This arms sale includes the provision of over 2,000-pound bombs, which the regime utilized during the recent war on the Gaza Strip. On Friday, the United States Department of State informed Congress of the approval for over 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs, as well as 4,000 Predator warheads, totaling $2.04 billion, to the Israeli regime. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, said that there is an urgency to provide Israel with this sale, claiming it is crucial for U.S. national security interests, according to the Department of State. The Department of State also said that the deliveries of these arms are scheduled to begin in 2026. Moreover, Rubio authorized another arms sale to the Israeli regime, valued at $675.7 million, which is expected to commence in 2028, the department said. The secretary of state also approved an emergency sale of D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers, valued at $295 million, to the regime. It is important to note that the U.S. as the main arms provider to the Israeli regime, should be held accountable for the killing of at least 48,346 Palestinians and the injury of more than 111,759 others during the over 15-month-long war in Gaza. 4208**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Skipping US Congress, Trump approves $3b in arms sales to Israel Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 8:18 AM The Trump administration has given the go-ahead for a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, sidestepping the standard congressional review process to expedite the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs widely used by the Israeli military in its ongoing onslaught in the Gaza Strip. In a series of notifications sent to Congress on Friday, the State Department has reported it has approved the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth $2.04 billion to Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio "has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and defense services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements," the department said. Deliveries are set to begin next year, it said. According to the same statement, Rubio has also approved another munitions sale to Israel worth $675.7 million to be delivered starting in 2028. The Israeli regime has extensively used the MK 84, also known as the 2,000-pound bomb, in its genocidal wars against the people of Lebanon and Palestine, including the assassination of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Last May, the previous US administration attempted to curb Israel's military aggression in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, by imposing a temporary ban on the sale of 2,000-pound bombs. This effort, however, proved futile in halting the invasion, as the US continued to supply other weapons to the Israeli regime. On February 25, Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, rescinded the ban to allow the State Department to resume the sale of the bombs to the regime. Ramy Abdu, founder and chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean human rights monitor, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, expressed anger over the use of American weapons and policies in acts of violence and oppression against Palestinians. "We are being killed with American weapons. Genocide is being committed against us with American weapons. We are being starved by American decisions. Our children are being burned with American weapons. We will never forget. We will never forgive," he wrote. The State Department has also approved the sale of Caterpillar D9 Bulldozers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $295 million to Israel. The Israeli regime has used D9 bulldozers to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. D9 has been involved in several incidents of civilian deaths, including in 2023 when it was used against the refugees sheltering outside the Kamal Adwan Hospital. The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights has advised Caterpillar Inc. that by supplying the bulldozers to the regime, it is complicit in human rights violations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hunger, disease loom for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh amid Trump's aid cuts: UN Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 2:22 PM UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says the Trump administration's decision to terminate foreign aid budgets would put thousands of persecuted Rohingya Muslim refugees, currently sheltering in southeastern Bangladesh, in hunger and insecurity. Bangladesh has been hosting more than one million Rohingya in the southeastern Cox's Bazar district since the Muslim community fled their homes in Myanmar following a military-led genocide in 2017. The Muslim-minority Rohingya community mostly depends on foreign aid as they do not have access to employment in the world's largest and congested refugee camps. The US is the largest donor of humanitarian aid for the Rohingya refugees. Last year, it contributed $301 million, or 55 percent of all foreign aid, for more than 1.3 million Rohingya living in camps in Cox's Bazar. The aid is feared to stop soon as President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid in January to conduct a sweeping review to ensure that all the projects were aligned with his "America First" policy. Grandi, who visited the Rohingya in Cox's Bazar on Friday, said in a post on X after the visit that the possible aid cut will put "thousands at risk of hunger, disease and insecurity." Currently 1.3 million Rohingya Muslim refugees are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox's Bazar the world's largest refugee settlement. According to Bangladesh health officials, several hospitals in the camps would be forced to close if no funding was available by the end of March. The health care crisis would be further exacerbated by limited access to food in the settlements, where the majority of refugees are already malnourished. Rights groups also warned that even if Washington's aid cuts continue for a year, the humanitarian losses could be irreparable. Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh's transitional government, also warned earlier this month in a meeting with US officials in the capital Dhaka that Washington's funding is the most crucial aid to Rohingya refugees. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Moscow, Washington agree on joint steps to restore diplomatic missions People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:37, March 01, 2025 MOSCOW, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Moscow and Washington have agreed on joint measures aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted financing of diplomatic missions in both countries, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday. Russian and U.S. delegations held talks in Istanbul, Turkiye on Thursday. The closed-door meeting held at the U.S. consulate general there lasted over six hours. The ministry said the two sides discussed ways to resolve "numerous irritants" in bilateral relations. "Joint steps were agreed upon to ensure the unimpeded financing of the activities of the diplomatic missions of Russia and the United States on a reciprocal basis, and to create the appropriate conditions for diplomats to perform their official duties," it added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel pushes for Russia to keep Syria bases, wants Damascus 'weak, divided': Report Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 11:38 AM The Israeli regime is exerting pressure on the United States to ensure that Syria remains weak and divided, with Russia maintaining its military presence in the country, according to a recent report Israelis are lobbying the US by various means in the aftermath of foreign-backed militants' takeover of the Arab country, according to a report published by Reuters on Friday. One way to stop Damascus from regaining its strength is to let Russia keep its military bases in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts were cited in the report as saying. The report noted that the "lobbying points to a concerted Israeli campaign to influence US policy" in Syria. It also noted that the presence of Russian forces in Syria would help counter Turkey's growing influence in the Arab state. Under the pretext of curbing Turkey's increasing clout in Syria, Israeli officials have sought to persuade the Americans that Russian forces should maintain their military presence in the Mediterranean by keeping the naval base in Tartus province and the air base in Latakia province, the sources said. In a meeting between US officials and the Israelis, some of the American attendees were surprised after the Israeli side requested that the Russians continue to have a military presence in Syria, seeing this as a positive factor beneficial to them, two US sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. Earlier this month, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said his government is open to letting Russia keep its air and naval bases as long as any agreement with Moscow serves the country's interests. Israeli officials have claimed to their US counterparts that Syria's new rulers pose a threat to Israel's borders, the sources said. Since 2011, the Israeli forces have been secretly arming and funding the anti-government groups that were fighting against the administration of Bashar al-Assad. After the fall of Assad's government in December, the Israeli regime occupied large swathes of Syrian territory. However, Damascus has refrained from deploying what is left of the country's armed forces to fight against the Israelis' expansionist occupation of Syrian lands. The commander of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group, which overran Syria amid intense Israeli strikes against the Arab country last December and has been named as the country's new "president," stated his administration poses no military threat to the Israelis. In the meantime, it is still unclear to what extent US President Donald Trump will consider adopting Tel Aviv's suggestions regarding Syria, the sources told Reuters. However, Western political analysts have described the new Trump administration as "wildly pro-Israeli." Aron Lund, a fellow at US-based think-tank Century International, said the Israeli lobbying stands a good chance of succeeding in influencing the Trump administration's decisions regarding Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address P.K.K. announces ceasefire with Turkish government IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Mar 1, 2025 Kurdish militant group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (P.K.K.), has announced a ceasefire with the Turkish government, following a call from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan who urged the group to lay down its arms. The P.K.K. executive committee announced the ceasefire in a statement on Saturday. "In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo's call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today," said the statement quoted by the Kurdish ANF news agency. Ocalan, who is referred to as Apo by the P.K.K., called on the group this week to dissolve itself with the aim of ending four decades of armed conflict in southeastern Turkey. The P.K.K executive committee emphasized in the statement that none of its forces "will take armed action unless attacked," expressing hope that Turkey would release Ocalan who has been in jail since 1999. The P.K.K. is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey. It began its armed conflict in 1984. Last October, a coalition partner to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Ocalan could be granted parole if his group renounces violence. 4208**4194 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PKK militants declare ceasefire with Turkey to end 40-year bloodshed Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 10:59 AM The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group has declared a ceasefire with Turkey after a call by its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan to disarm, a major step towards ending a 40-year conflict and bloodshed with Ankara. The announcement was made on Saturday after Ocalan called for the dissolution of PKK and asked the militant group to lay down arms to terminate fighting with the Turkish state for over four decades, which has claimed over 40,000 lives. "In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo's call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today," the PKK executive committee said in a statement quoted by ANF news agency, referring to Ocalan. "We agree with the content of the call as it is and we say that we will follow and implement it," the committee said. "None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked." The militant group expressed hope that Ankara would release 75-year-old Ocalan, jailed since 1999, so he can lead the process of disarmament, underscoring the necessity of establishing political and democratic conditions for the process to succeed. The group also said Ocalan's prison conditions must be eased, adding he "must be able to live and work in physical freedom and be able to establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants, including his friends." The statement stopped short of specifically setting a timeline for when the PKK will disband. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Ocalan's call for the dissolution and disarmament of the group, describing it as a "historic opportunity" for peace. Stressing that Ankara would "keep a close watch" to make sure the peace talks were "brought to a successful conclusion," Erdogan said, "When the pressure of terrorism and arms is eliminated, the space for politics in democracy will naturally expand." The group has waged an insurgency since 1984, intending to carve out a homeland for Kurds, who account for about 20 percent of Turkey's 85 million people. More recently, the PKK claimed an October attack on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) headquarters near Ankara, which left five people dead. The PKK's presence in Iraq has been a recurrent source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara. The group holds positions in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, where Turkey also maintains military bases and often carries out ground and air operations against the Kurdish militants. The militant group is banned as a terrorist group in Turkey, the European Union, the UK, and the US. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kurdish PKK Militants Declare Cease-Fire To End 40-Year Conflict By RFE/RL March 01, 2025 Kurdish militants who have been fighting in Turkey for 40 years have announced a cease-fire, two days after their imprisoned leader said that the group should put down their weapons. The Firat News Agency, a media outlet affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group, published a statement saying, "We declare a cease-fire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo's Call for Peace and Democratic Society," a reference to Abdullah Ocalan, who has been detained by Turkey since 1999. The group added that, "None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked." Kurdish militants have fought for some 40 years for an independent state or autonomy, mainly in the east of Turkey. On February 27, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his militant group to lay down its arms, a plea that was welcomed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the start of a new phase in Ankara's campaign to create a "terror-free" nation. The Kurdish YPG, which leads U.S.-backed SDF fighters against the Islamic State extremist group in Syria, said Ocalan's message did not apply to them. Turkey accuses the YPG of being linked to the PKK. With several of its mayors ousted and replaced by government appointees in recent months, the cease-fire came as pressure mounted on Turkey's main pro-Kurdish political party. Ocalan established the PKK in 1978 and launched an armed struggle in 1984, often from hiding places inside Turkey and in Syria, where he took refuge before being forced out in 1998. He fled to Russia, Italy, and Greece before he was arrested in 1999 after being tricked into entering a vehicle by Turkish security forces outside the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. An estimated 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict -- some through PKK attacks on military and civilian targets, and others in Turkish military operations against the group and communities where it found support. In the PKK's statement, the group also called for Ocalan to be released from prison. With reporting by AFP, Reuters, AP, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/erdogan-ocalan-turkey- pkk-syria-sdf-ypg/33332390.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Rubio's Meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Lammy US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson February 28, 2025 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce: Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on February 27, following President Trump's meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. They discussed the need to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both emphasized the importance of European burden-sharing in defense and security efforts and positively noted the UK government's recent decision to boost defense spending. They also explored ways to improve U.S.-UK trade relations and discussed the need to secure peace in the Middle East and parts of Africa. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Trump, VP Vance Are Standing Up for Americans Articles February 28, 2025 President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance will always stand up for the interests of the American people and those who respect the United States' position in the world and will never allow the American people to be taken advantage of. President Trump: "Let me tell you, you don't have the cards. With us, you have the cards but without us, you don't have any cards." More than half (52%) of Ukrainians want a quick end to the war and believe Ukraine "should be open to ceding some territory in exchange for peace," according to a November Gallup poll. Since martial law was declared in Ukraine, 1,000,050 Ukrainians have been drafted into military service. In October 2024, Ukraine announced it would be drafting another 160,000 bringing the total number of conscripted Ukrainians to 1,160,050. The average age of Ukrainian troops is 43 years old. "Even if the West did come through with all the weapons they have pledged, 'we don't have the men to use them,' one of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's close aides told Time's Simon Shuster, revealing that the average age of a Ukrainian soldier has already reached 43." One of Zelenskyy's closest aides told TIME in 2023 that he is "[deluding] himself ... We're out of options. We're not winning. But try telling him that." The Ukrainian army is facing rising desertions as "ill-trained and exhausted soldiers [go] AWOL," with the military further strained by struggles in recruiting and the "arrests of respected and popular combat officers." President Trump: "You're gambling with World War III." Zelesnkyy himself has acknowledged that the situation in Ukraine could lead to WWIII, and that without U.S. aid, they would lose: "A third world war could start in Ukraine, continue in Israel, and move on from there to Asia, and then explode somewhere else." President Trump: "I gave you the javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets." President Trump gave anti-tank javelin missiles to Ukraine, while Obama gave non-lethal aid only, including blankets. EURACTIV: " Poroshenko asks Obama for weapons, obtains blankets" President Trump approved lethal weapons sales to Ukraine in 2017: "The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles, U.S. officials said." President Trump approved a $39 million sale of defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine in 2019: "The new package will include Javelin anti-tank weapons, with one U.S. official saying it includes 150 missiles and two launchers." Vice President Vance: "You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October." Zelenskyy was called out for campaigning against President Trump in Pennsylvania. "Zelenskyy was flown to Pennsylvania in an Air Force C-17 plane." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Tsahkna: It is time to act now Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 01.03.2025 In light of the news from the United States yesterday, it is clear that it is time for Europe to move from words to actions, and to show and prove that we can support Ukraine and counter Russia's aggression. It is more important than ever. If the USA decides to halt its aid to Ukraine, Europe must step in to replace it and we have the necessary resources. To achieve a lasting and just peace, we need to put pressure on the aggressor and support the victim of the aggression. We must increase our military assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible, improve the sanctions imposed on Russia, and mobilise the nearly 300 billion worth of frozen sovereign assets of Russia located in Europe. Estonia has already expedited the increase of its military aid to Ukraine by 25 million, mainly in ammunition shipments, and soon, military support worth 100 million will be shipped, making Estonia the largest proportional supporter of Ukraine. We expect other Allies to increase their military support proportionately and quickly. A lasting and just peace is possible only if Russia stops fighting. If Ukraine is forced to stop fighting, the aggressor will have achieved its goal. However, this would only be the beginning of its demands. Equally important to helping Ukraine to a position of strength is to work out long-term security guarantees that must ensure that the aggression does not recur. Estonia is ready to take part in these discussions with Allies and apply the guarantees together. We expect tomorrow's meeting in London with European leaders to yield clear and strong messages, and more importantly, actions. Ahead of the meeting, the Baltic States will have a video call with the British prime minister and we will make our positions clear. A special European Council will also take place next week. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Germany Federal Foreign Office 01.03.2025 - Press release Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, Many of you will have slept badly last night after watching the unspeakable video from the White House. Me too, to be honest. Unfortunately, it was not just a bad dream, it is harsh reality. Today, we are more horrified than ever, but also more committed. More committed to the people in Ukraine, to our own security and to peace in Europe. Yesterday evening really made it clear that a new age of ruthlessness has begun. A ruthless time, in which we have to defend the rules-based international order and the strength of the law more than ever against the might of the strong. For otherwise no free country with more powerful neighbours will ever sleep well at night again. It has been clear for a while that things have been moving in this direction, and therefore we have for quite some time been forging new, reinforced alliances with all international partners who are willing to continue defending a rules-based international order and the strength of the law instead of the law of the strong. We must, as Europeans, lead more strongly ourselves than ever before and defend our interests and international law with determination - with no ifs or buts. For us, it is thus clear that we stand unwaveringly shoulder to shoulder with the sovereign and free country of Ukraine. Ukraine is part of the free and democratic Europe. There is absolutely no question as to who in this war against Ukraine is the brutal aggressor, and who the courageous defender, about who is the culprit and who the victim. Three years ago, Putin's Russia attacked Ukraine without reason, contrary to international law, murdering people in horrific ways, brutally raping women, kidnapping children, separating parents from their children - and this terror continues to this day. A renowned Ukrainian journalist was only recently killed by a drone in her own home in Bucha, close to Kyiv. This latest wave of aerial warfare continues unabated every day and every night. I thus state unequivocally, also addressing those across the Atlantic, that what is right and what is wrong must never be a matter of indifference to us. Nobody needs and nobody yearns for peace more than the Ukrainians. The diplomatic efforts of the US are of course important in this regard - but any such peace must be just and lasting, and not simply a pause before the next Russian hostilities. Nobody should be unclear as to who the enemy is. The only enemy is in the Kremlin, not in Kyiv or in Brussels. Reversing the roles of victim and culprit is something we can never accept. Such a reversal of roles is the opposite of security. It is the opposite of peace, and therefore cannot be a good deal at all. Such a role reversal would spell the end of international law and thus also the end of security for the vast majority of states. And, thinking it through, it would also be fatal for the future of the United States. Because it would then be hard to find a country willing to rely on the word of the oldest democracy and the strongest military power in the world, if the roles of culprits and victims were to be reversed. That is precisely what we do not want. We want to preserve the transatlantic partnership and our joint strength. But yesterday showed once again that we Europeans must not be naive, especially as transatlanticists. We must take responsibility for our own interests, our own values and our own security, for the sake of our people in Europe. Six elements are now key: - Firstly, we must increase our German support for Ukraine once again - without delay. I thus call on all democratic parties in the Bundestag to approve the blocked 3 billion euro in aid for Ukraine. - Secondly, next Thursday, the European Council, the Heads of State and Government of the EU countries, will meet in Brussels. Decisions must be taken there on a comprehensive European financial package for Ukraine, for humanitarian, economic and especially defence support. - Thirdly, we must finally not only coordinate matters hand in hand with our close partners France, the UK and Poland, but must also take closely coordinated action. We must stand absolutely united. That is true as regards enhancing Ukrainian air defence, as well as for the delivery of long-range arms systems for defence purposes. These three elements will help Ukraine continue to withstand Russia's aggression, even without the announced US support - or the potential loss thereof -, in order to achieve peace and not capitulation. - Fourthly, our best defence again Putin's aggression is united European strength. That alone will establish and safeguard peace in Europe. If we fail to achieve this, Putin's forces might soon be in the Baltic region or even directly on the doorstep of our Polish neighbours. We cannot ignore this reality any longer. At the European Council, therefore, decisions on massive investments are needed with regard to our common European defence capabilities, among other things. That is why I am deeply committed to ensuring that the European Council takes appropriate action by increasing the flexibility of the Stability and Growth Pact. For some countries that already have a high level of national debt and little leeway in their budgets, this will not be enough, however. As Europeans, we therefore should also discuss a European defence fund that reflects the gravity of these challenges. But we cannot stop there. Further action will be necessary and will be taken in the coming months - both at the national and European level. We must send a powerful signal of European resolve no later than at the NATO Summit in The Hague. - Fifthly, I believe this means that democrats in Germany need to come together to discuss the fundamental reform of the debt brake, as was already planned in the National Security Strategy as part of security considerations two and a half years ago. I am aware that there is currently a discussion about creating another special fund. However, as experience has shown - since we already have a special fund - it is the less favourable option: it will not help Ukraine. And we cannot use it for all the aspects that are critical to our defence, such as countermeasures against hybrid attacks or cyber threats. In the Federal Government's National Security Strategy, we explicitly stated what this ongoing hybrid warfare means for our security. To be precise, hybrid attacks also aim to divide our free and democratic society. In other words, investments in our infrastructure, in the cohesion of our society, and in our democracy, are all in fact investments in our security, because Putin has reiterated in recent times that the objective of his hybrid warfare is also and specifically to sow division among the liberal and free societies in Europe. - Sixthly, even though this may be the most heated moment since the end of the Cold War, we must continue to act with restraint and a cool head. That means, among other things, that we will continue to regard investments in our European security to be investments in our transatlantic relations as well. A lasting peace for Ukraine is far more likely to be achieved with Washington rather than without it, let alone in opposition to it. In all of this, we have no time to lose. We must now act quickly - both at the European and national level. We cannot afford to wait until a new Federal Government is formed, as the situation is serious. Germany must assume leadership at this historic juncture. In the weeks leading up to the transfer of power in Berlin, all democratic parties should act accordingly with the closest possible coordination between the outgoing and the incoming Federal Government. The world is watching us, especially in Europe, but no one in the world will wait for us to conclude negotiations here in Germany. We are living in uncertain times, ladies and gentlemen. In these moments, in these days, however, if we set the right course again in Germany and in Europe, as we did three years ago, then Europe will show what truly defines it at its core: a strong peace project. Peace in liberty for its millions of citizens. A peace project that shines as an example for the world. Slava Ukraini. Long live Europe! Joint Ukrainian-Lithuanian Defence Industry Initiatives to be Developed in Lithuania Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2025-03-01 International cooperation | Security and defense policy The strategic agreement on the development of Ukraine's defence industry in Lithuania, reached during the meeting of Lithuanian and Ukrainian Presidents Gitanas Nauseda and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, is moving forward. The preliminary agreement on key weapon systems to be manufactured in cooperation with Ukraine was concluded during a meeting between Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene, Oleksandr Kamyshin, Senior Adviser to President Zelenskyy on Strategic Affairs and Herman Smetanin, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine. "Ukrainian defence industry has incredible potential to become a global player due to its high level of expertise based on direct battlefield experience, motivation and competence of engineers, and forward thinking of key industry decision makers. Lithuania will continue to invest in Ukrainian defence industry beyond the 20 mln Eur already allocated for high-end weaponry. However, we shall be very happy to develop our cooperation further into joint Lithuanian-Ukrainian production both in Ukraine and Lithuania," Dovile Sakaliene, Lithuanian Defence Minister announced. "We will be always grateful to Lithuania for standing with us since day one. And building together defence industry in Lithuania is a strong next move, solidifying the eastern flank of NATO", Oleksandr Kamyshin, Senior Adviser to President Zelenskyy said yesterday, 28 February. Due to security reasons, specific details about the types of weapons that will be covered by the agreement will not be disclosed. However, in the near future, joint Lithuanian-Ukrainian meetings will be held in Lithuania to discuss the agreement implementation related details. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump rules out immediate in-person talks with Zelensky after White House shouting match People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 11:16, March 01, 2025 WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out any chance of immediate in-person talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after their tense shouting match at the White House on Friday. "Well, he says he wants it now. He wants to come back right now. But I can't do that," Trump told reporters on Friday evening as he was leaving the White House to spend the weekend in Florida. Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on Friday night, Zelensky repeatedly said he would not apologize to Trump for the unexpected blowup between the two sides. "I think that we have to be very open and very honest, and I'm not sure that we did something bad," he said. But he noted that this kind of spat "is not good for both sides." Earlier in the day, a press conference at the White House where Trump and Zelensky were scheduled to sign the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal was canceled, following the stunning clash between the two inside the Oval Office which ended with Zelensky leaving the meeting. Shortly after the chaotic confrontation, Trump posted a statement on Truth Social, saying: "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace." For his part, Zelensky took to social media platform X and posted: "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you (President Trump), Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that." Citing a White House official, media reported that Trump currently is not interested in revisiting or reviving the minerals deal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelensky leaves White House without signing minerals deal after shouting match People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 11:08, March 01, 2025 WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked to leave the White House after a chaotic Oval Office confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, and the signing of a minerals deal between the two sides was called off. Following the tense shouting match in the Oval Office earlier in the day, Trump said that he wants an "immediate" ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, and that he believes his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is ready for a peace deal. Trump warned Zelensky to make peace or lose American support. "I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace," Trump posted a statement on the social platform Truth Social. Zelensky said in a Fox News interview that Ukraine won't enter peace talks with Russia until it has security guarantees against another offensive. After a spat with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office, who demanded the Ukrainian leader be thankful for Trump's effort to get his country out of its three-year conflict with Russia, Zelensky wrote on the social platform X: "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you (President Trump), Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that." What should have been a normal press pool spray before the high-stakes Trump-Zelensky bilateral meeting transpired into a fireworks-filled blowup aired on TV that no one would expect, all starting with an interjection by Vance. "You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict," Vance told Zelensky during the unprecedented public confrontation, which later saw the three of them -- Trump and Vance versus Zelensky -- repeatedly race to talk over one another. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelensky should apologize for 'fiasco' with Trump: US state secretary Iran Press TV Saturday, 01 March 2025 7:09 AM US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on the visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to apologize for clashing with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Friday. In an interview with CNN, Rubio called on Zelensky to "apologize for turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became," after his White House meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance turned into a shouting match. The top US diplomat also questioned whether Zelensky wanted to end the Ukraine war that started in February 2022. "When you start talking about that aggressively - and the president is a deal maker, he made deals his entire life - you're not going to get people to the table," Rubio said. "And so you start to perceive that maybe Zelensky doesn't want a peace deal. He says he does, but maybe he doesn't," Rubio added. Zelensky had come to the White House to finalize an agreement granting the US access to Ukraine's lucrative rare-earth minerals. However, the meeting between Zelensky and Trump quickly turned into a verbal clash. Vice President JD Vance intervened, suggesting to Zelensky to try "diplomacy" as a means to resolve his wartime problems. The Ukrainian actor-turned-president disputed the effectiveness of Vance's suggestion, asking, "What kind of diplomacy?" prompting the US vice president to accuse him of being "disrespectful" in the White House. The US president then retook the reins, backing his vice president by further humiliating and scolding Zelensky for his ingratitude for all the $350 billion in military aid sent to Kiev. "You're not acting thankful," Trump said, before saying he is "gambling with World War III" by refusing to negotiate with Russia. "You're gambling with the lives of millions of people," Trump stated. Trump then delivered an ultimatum to Zelensky: "You're either going to make a deal, or we're out. And if we're out, you'll fight it outand I don't think it's going to be pretty." He told the Ukrainian president to come back "when he is ready for peace." The US president had invited the Ukrainian president to seal a deal on Ukraine's money-spinning rare-earth minerals. Trump has said the mineral resources deal is the first step towards a ceasefire agreement he seeks to broker between Russia and Ukraine. Zelensky left the White House early, and a press conference to announce the minerals deal was canceled. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Day After White House Clash, Zelenskyy Gets 'Warm' Welcome, Big Loan From British PM By RFE/RL March 01, 2025 Volodymyr Zelenskyy was welcomed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for one-on-one talks, a day after the Ukrainian leader had an unprecedented White House clash with the U.S. president that threatened the future of U.S. support for Kyiv. Starmer and Zelenskyy met behind closed doors at 10 Downing Street on March 1 for a little more than an hour before emerging. They gave no comments to the press outside before Zelenskyy drove away. However, the two countries' finance chiefs - Britain's Rachel Reeves and Ukraine's Serhiy Marchenko - announced they had signed a loan deal worth 2.26 billion pounds ($2.84 billion), aimed at boosting Kyiv's defenses. London said the agreement was a sign of "our unwavering and ongoing support for the Ukrainian people" and added that the funds would be paid back through profits derived from frozen Russian sovereign assets. Later, Zelenskyy posted on X that the session with Starmer was "a meaningful and warm meeting." "During our talks, we discussed the challenges facing Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with partners, concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine's position, and ending the war with a just peace, along with robust security guarantees," Zelenskyy said. He added that the loan "funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine. This is true justice - the one who started the war must be the one to pay." The warm welcome from Starmer was a major contrast to the acrimonious confrontation the previous day at the Oval House, between Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump, which was broadcast around the world. Zelenskyy had traveled to Washington, D.C., with the expectation of signing a mineral deal aimed at opening up Ukraine's mineral resources to U.S. investment. The agreement would have also smoothed the way for continued U.S. support for Kyiv in its defense against Russia's three-year-old all-out invasion. But the Oval Office meeting turned extraordinarily tense, as Trump and Vice President JD Vance confronted Zelenskyy, suggesting he was undiplomatic and ungrateful for U.S. support. Afterward, Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged him to apologize for turning the White House meeting into a "fiasco." Key U.K. Summit To Start Zelenskyy, who arrived in London earlier in the day March 1, was greeted by Starmer outside of 10 Downing Street. The pair hugged, and smiled for news cameras, before entering Starmer's residence. On the streets outside, hundreds of people jammed sidewalks, most appearing to be in support of Ukraine and Zelenskyy. "You're very, very welcome here in at 10 Downing Street," Starmer told the Ukrainian leader in comments broadcast by the BBC before their meeting. "That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and how much they support Ukraine," Starmer said, and our absolute determination to stand with you, unwavering determination, to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace, a lasting peace for Ukraine, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine." "We count on your support, and we really remain happy that we have such friends," Zelenskyy said in response. The meeting concluded after about an hour, with neither leader making comments to media before Zelenskyy drove away. The Ukrainian leader was also scheduled to meet on March 2 with King Charles III -- the same day that the United Kingdom will host a key summit on Ukraine. More than a dozen European leaders, as well as NATO and EU representatives, were expected to discuss support for Ukraine and increasing economic pressure on Russia. EU leaders were also expected to meet later next week to discuss an increase in defense spending. Despite receiving support from European leaders, Zelenskyy's tense meeting at the White House has complicated Ukraine's desire to secure the United States as a reliable partner in helping the country's defense against Russia and ending the war on terms acceptable to Kyiv. In an interview with Fox News just hours after the fiery exchange, Zelenskyy said that he respects Trump and, "of course," he believes the relationship can be fixed as Ukraine does not want to lose its partner. 'Thankful To President Trump' In a series of posts on X, Zelenskyy also wrote: "We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I'm thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and [the] American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion." Days before Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, Starmer also traveled to meet Trump and he urged the U.S. president to guarantee Ukraine's security should a deal be reached to end the conflict, now in its fourth year. Starmer also hailed the U.S. and U.K.'s so-called special relationship in what analysts said was an attempt to play the role of a "bridge" between Europe and Trump. The U.K. prime minister also spoke separately with Trump and Zelenskiy, and expressed his "unwavering support" for Ukraine. However, when asked about U.S. security guarantees after meeting with Starmer, Trump said it was too early to discuss as a cease-fire had yet to be reached. Though European allies have collectively supplied more aid to Kyiv, the United States is by far the largest single supplier of weaponry, which has bolstered Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion. During his election campaign, Trump repeatedly expressed skepticism about U.S. aid for Ukraine. At the same time, he indicated that resolving the conflict with Russia was a major priority for his administration. Last month, a top-level delegation of U.S. officials met with Russian counterparts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- the first such meeting since before the February 24, 2022, invasion. Ukrainian officials were not present for the talks, stoking concerns that Washington and Moscow could seek to end the conflict to the detriment of Ukraine. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-london-starmer-white- house-trump/33332749.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pride, Horror, And Concern: What Ukrainians Think About The Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office Standoff By Serhiy Stetsenko March 01, 2025 KYIV -- The heated White House exchange between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance has touched many Ukrainians in many different ways. Some felt a surge of pride in their wartime leader, while others tempered that pride with growing unease over the future of U.S.-Ukrainian relations -- and what that could mean for their country's three-year war against Russia. 'Raising Your Voice In The Oval Office' For Andriy Veselovskiy, the former Ukrainian ambassador to the European Union, however, the dominant emotion was sheer horror. "I'm sorry I agreed to do this broadcast with you, because I'm in a very bad mood after what I saw," Veselovskiy told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on February 28. "Raising your voice in the Oval Office at the vice president and the president and interrupting both of them is not a style that can help Ukraine's interests." Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump on February 28 ended in acrimony after a tense exchange of words in the Oval Office. Shortly afterwards, Zelenskyy left and Trump said the Ukrainian leader was disrespectful and could "come back when he is ready for peace." Before the meeting broke up, Trump said that Ukraine would have to make compromises and that Kyiv should be more appreciative of U.S. assistance in the country's war against Russia. Zelenskyy pushed for U.S. security commitments and said that there should be "no compromises with a killer," a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Oleksiy Honcharenko, a parliamentary deputy for the center-right European Solidarity Party, shared Veselovskiy's sense of horror, saying it was the "end of relations with Trump." Those opinions were echoed on the streets of Ukraine. A woman in Rivne, a city in western Ukraine, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that the widely broadcast White House meeting left a "super negative" impression of Ukraine, "because we are a country at war and we need aid from the U.S." Ukraine's diplomacy, she added, "should have been professional." Pride In Their President But for other Ukrainians, however, they felt only pride watching their president's exchange in the White House. "Honestly, I don't know what the consequences will be for Ukraine, but I am sure that we have shown our strength," another woman told RFE/RL in Rivne. "Our president showed that we are strong, we will not bend, and we have our own opinion." Natalia Serhiyenko, a pensioner in Kyiv, told the Associated Press that "Zelenskyy fought like a lion." "They had a heated meeting, a very heated conversation," she said, but Zelenskyy "was defending Ukraine's interests." Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv region that borders Russia, also praised Zelenskyy, telling AP that the Ukrainian president stuck to his guns that there could be no peace deal without security assurances for Ukraine. "Our leader, despite the pressure, stands firm in defending the interests of Ukraine and Ukrainians," Syniehubov said. "We need only a just peace with security guarantees." As well as pride, for some Ukrainians there was a sense of anger at how they thought Zelenskyy had been treated. "We are striving for democracy, and we are met with total disrespect toward our warriors, our soldiers, and the people of our country," Artem Vasyliev, originally from Russian-occupied Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, told Reuters. How Can Relations Be Fixed? Trump, according to Vasyliev, "doesn't understand that people are dying, that cities are being destroyed, people are suffering, mothers, children, soldiers." Whether their reaction was one of pride or horror, most Ukrainians had one common concern: how to repair Ukraine's strained relationship with its most important wartime ally. "We have to consistently strengthen our ties with Europe and focus on Europe and on ourselves," a woman told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service from Dnipro, a city in central Ukraine. Former ambassador to the EU Veselovskiy said that Zelenskyy's response should have been more restrained and now doubts that the Ukrainian president will be able to get into the White House at all. Oleksandr Merezhko, a parliamentary deputy from Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party, told RFE/RL that, despite any difficulties, Ukraine had to work with Trump because the stakes were so high. "We have to reduce the tensions," Merezhko said. "There are some connections -- congressmen and senators who have influence on Trump.... We need to immediately get in touch with these people." Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in a post on Telegram that he hoped that "Ukraine does not lose the support of the United States, which is extremely important to us." "Today is not the time for emotions, from either side. We need to find common ground," Klitschko wrote. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-zelenskyy-vance-oval- office-clash-white-house/33332631.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Can The EU Stay Relevant In Ukraine Talks? By Rikard Jozwiak March 01, 2025 The Briefing: The Sidelined EU's Gameplan On Ukraine After two weeks on the sidelines, with the United States and Russia now in direct talks over the future of Ukraine -- and, in many ways, the continent itself -- the European Union is scrambling to stay relevant. With European leaders, including non-EU Britain, meeting in various formats -- twice in Paris (February), online on February 26, in London on the weekend (March 2), and an extra summit in Brussels scheduled for March 6 -- the contours of a strategy are beginning to emerge. According to EU diplomats I have spoken to, the main line of approach is to support "peace through strength," meaning that Ukraine should be in the best possible position for eventual talks with the Kremlin. And there is not much time to make this happen, with European officials telling me that their American interlocutors have indicated they want to see the war concluded within a month. What does this mean in practice for the bloc? Ideally, to secure a seat at the table, even though this seems unlikely. One European Union ambassador told me that Donald Trump isn't "dealing with institutions." As a result, French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped up by hosting the Paris meetings and being the EU leader to secure a formal sit-down with the U.S President in Washington. European officials concede that no European leader -- institutional or otherwise -- is likely to participate directly in the peace talks, at least initially. However, there is ongoing discussion about appointing a "Ukraine talks envoy," though a candidate may not be named at this week's EU summit. For now, the bloc is instead focusing broadly on four key areas: planning for European boots on the ground in Ukraine, boosting Ukrainian and European defense, reassessing sanctions on Russia, and advancing Ukraine's path toward EU membership. Finding Money For Ukrainian Defense... Ukraine has put forward a concrete figure for its battleground needs this year -- 66 billion euros ($68.5 billion). This is the sum Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha proposed when he addressed EU foreign ministers on February 24. Previously, an informal deal had been in place, in which Ukraine would stump up 40 percent of that money, with the EU and the United States sharing the remaining 60 percent equally. Now, with the United States possibly stepping back entirely, Ukraine has offered to pay 50 percent, with the EU footing the bill for the other half, meaning some 33 billion euros is needed from Brussels. A concrete plan is already on the table, presented to member states by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. According to this plan, which has been seen by RFE/RL, most of the funding would come from EU member states, proportionate to their gross national income (GNI), while the rest would be sourced from windfall profits generated by frozen Russian assets within the bloc. Since the scheme is voluntary, it can circumvent any potential vetoes from countries like Hungary, for example, which has blocked previous EU initiatives to send cash to Kyiv. The idea is to finalize the details and agree on a sum at the upcoming Brussels summit. The diplomats I have spoken to are hopeful of securing a commitment of at least 25 billion euros ($26 billion). ...And For European Defense But what about the EU's own defense spending? Under pressure from the new Trump administration, European nations need to increase domestic defense spending by several percentage points. While many doubtless will try to find space for this in their national budgets, there are ongoing talks in Brussels on various creative solutions for how the EU can help member states with funding. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has opened up the possibility of investing more in various European defense projects, but the bank is wary about splashing too much cash, because this could jeopardize its triple-A credit rating, which it is using to raise money in the first place. Another idea that has been circulating is to use the estimated 93 billion euro ($96.5 billion) of post-COVID-19 recovery funds that are still available in the EU's coffers. There are two obstacles to this, however. The first one is Germany's powerful Constitutional Court. When the facility was created via joint EU borrowing, the court green-lighted it with the proviso that it should be spent on pandemic recovery and could not be repurposed for other spending. Secondly, a repurposing of the funds would need consensus from all member states, and few officials I have spoken to believe that the Moscow-friendly governments in Bratislava and Budapest would agree to this. Perhaps the most promising solution would be to use the cohesion funds that are still available in the seven-year EU budget, which ends in 2027. Only 6.5 percent of more than 300 billion euro ($311 billion) in this budget envelope has been spent so far. The question, however, is whether EU member states are willing to forego this cash, which is essentially a money transfer from Brussels to the poorest regions in the bloc. Boots On The Ground In Ukraine? One issue that European nations hope could keep them relevant in the peace talks is the idea of deploying troops in Ukraine to oversee a potential cease-fire settlement. There aren't many concrete details yet, but so far France and the United Kingdom, as well as Turkey, have toyed with the idea of sending troops there. There is also hope that Berlin will consider such a move once a new German government is formed following the February 23 general elections. However, other bigger European countries, such as Italy and Poland, have voiced clear reservations about this, with Warsaw's hesitancy being shaped by its upcoming presidential elections in May. The two issues to consider here would be what exactly the troops would do and what role the United States would have, if any. One European diplomat dealing with defense issues said that the main question now is: "What are we sending our boys into?" And the answer to that question will determine the scale of any troop deployment. Another admitted that there could be at least 20,000 military personnel deployed in urban areas and around critical infrastructure sites in western Ukraine. The key factor, however, is the American role, even if it appears that no U.S. soldiers will participate. Despite this, the Europeans would need what they call "a U.S backstop" -- essentially intelligence, air defense cover, and capabilities for moving troops around, such as airlifts. Is Ukraine's EU Membership Path Opening Up? While it seems clearer that the United States has ruled out Ukrainian NATO membership for now, the path to EU membership is still very much in play and it has been potentially shortened. Speaking in Kyiv on February 24, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine could join the club by 2030. This is very ambitious, but is it realistic? It is worth noting that von der Leyen's mandate ends in 2029, so it's not really her call. And she is far from the only decision-maker in this matter, with the 27 EU member states free to veto every stage of the accession process. But it is true that Kyiv is inching closer. Next year the country's electricity market will be incorporated into the EU's and accession negotiations should start in earnest as early as this spring. In total, there are 33 policy chapters with laws and regulations that Kyiv has to incorporate into its national legislation. These 33 chapters are divided up into six clusters, and the current plan in Brussels is that at least three clusters could be opened in 2025. But there are obstacles. Notably, Hungary is blocking the opening of the first cluster, which deals with what is known in Brussels as "the fundamentals," such as the rule of law and human rights. Budapest is insisting on the inclusion of protections for ethnic minorities, particularly the Hungarian community in Ukraine, as part of the opening benchmarks. So far, this issue remains at a stalemate. Sanctions As A Negotiation Tool? The EU recently adopted its 16th sanctions package against Moscow, hitting Russia's aluminum exports to the bloc as well as the Russian shadow fleet and the country's media, among other things. A new package is already being talked about, but it is unlikely to include hard-hitting measures, such as targeting Russian liquefied natural gas and nuclear power, as many EU member states are wary of skyrocketing energy prices. But the EU is also facing increased difficulties with extending the Russia sanctions by unanimity. Budapest threatened to nix the rollover of sectoral economic sanctions against the Kremlin at the end of January, and it secured assurances that Russian oil would continue to flow to Hungary. By March 15, the bloc needs to agree on another six-month prolongation. This time, in order to green-light the extension, Hungary wants to remove eight names from the list of more than 2,400 individuals and companies that the EU has subjected to asset freezes and visa bans, including oligarchs such as Pyotr Aven, Mikhail Fridman, Dmitry Mazepin, and Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor. The ensuing uncertainty over these punitive EU measures is endangering one of Brussels' biggest bargaining chips vis-a-vis Moscow -- the scaling up and down of sanctions that are hurting the Russian economy. Take, for example, nearly 200 billion euros' ($207.5 billion) worth of frozen assets in the club, located mainly in Belgium. While some member states want to confiscate this money immediately to bolster Ukrainian or European defense, big countries like Germany and France see it as valuable leverage for potential future negotiations. With the Kremlin in need of liquidity, it's likely Russia will be asked to cover part of Ukraine's reconstruction costs. Looking Ahead EU home affairs ministers are meeting tomorrow on March 5 to finally agree on a gradual rollout of the bloc's Entry/Exit System (EES). The system -- expected to take effect in the final quarter of this year -- will require non-EU citizens who cross any border or enter any airport or harbor in 25 EU countries (all member states apart from Cyprus and Ireland) and four non-EU countries (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein) would have to register their full name, nationality, and have their fingerprints and photograph taken. The scheme was first proposed in 2017 and was supposed to be rolled out last year. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-ukraine-peace-talks- strategy-relevance-wider-europe-jozwiak/33332636.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comment on Vladimir Zelensky's voyage to Washington, D.C. 1 March 2025 15:27 329-01-03-2025 Head of the neo-Nazi regime Vladimir Zelensky's visit to Washington D.C. on February 28 is an epic political and diplomatic failure of the Kiev regime. The Russian side has repeatedly made it clear at all levels that Zelensky is a corrupt individual who lost his grip on reality and is unable to reach and honour agreements. The Kiev regime refused to continue talks on a political and diplomatic settlement in the spring of 2022, using lies and fake claims to justify continued hostilities and to continue to receive Western military and financial aid. With his outrageously rude behaviour during his stay in Washington, Zelensky re-affirmed his status of the most dangerous threat to the international community as an irresponsible figure that can stir up a big war. It must be clear to everyone that this kind of attacks coming from a terrorist leader are quite unambiguous. This cynical individual will stoop to anything in pursuit of his goals and is obsessed with preserving the power he has usurped. This is why he has destroyed the opposition, built a totalitarian state and is ruthlessly sending millions of his fellow citizens to their deaths. Under the increasingly deteriorating political conditions, this figure is unable to show a sense of responsibility and is therefore obsessed with continuing the war and rejects peace, which means death to him. Unprecedented in the history of international politics and diplomacy, a dressing down given to Zelensky by the US president in the White House is also indicative of the political weakness and extreme moral degradation of the European leaders who continue to support the maniac leader of the Nazi regime who has lost touch with reality. As before, we continue to operate on the premise that a truly just and durable peace is not possible unless the root causes of the Ukraine crisis are completely eliminated. The main ones among them include the West breaking its promises not to expand NATO and the alliance's absorption of Europe's entire geopolitical space all the way up to Russia's borders, as well as the Kiev regime's systematic elimination of everything Russian, including language, culture, and church, just like the German Nazis did in the past. The demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, as well as recognition of existing realities on the ground remain Russia's unchanged objectives. The sooner Kiev and the European capitals in question come to realise this, the closer to a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis we will be. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM meeting with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 1 March 2025 Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed President Zelenskyy to Downing Street this afternoon. 1 March 2025 The Prime Minister welcomed President Zelenskyy to Downing Street this afternoon. The Prime Minister reiterated his unwavering support for Ukraine, adding that the UK will always stand with them, for as long as it takes. The Prime Minister re-stated his determination to finding a path that ends Russia's illegal war and ensures a just and lasting peace that secures Ukraine's future sovereignty and security. The leaders looked forward to continuing these discussions at tomorrow's leaders' summit in London. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint European Position and Security Guarantees: Volodymyr Zelenskyy Meets With Keir Starmer President of Ukraine 1 March 2025 - 22:56 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy began his working visit to the United Kingdom with a meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "I want to thank you and the people of the United Kingdom for the tremendous support you have provided since the very beginning of this war. In Ukraine, we are very happy to have such strategic partners," the President said. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude for the organization of the upcoming meeting of European leaders in London, scheduled for tomorrow. The future of Europe and transatlantic unity is being shaped right now. Russia's war in Ukraine, the direct threats to all of Europe, and the search for pathways to peace are the key topics of today's bilateral talks as well as tomorrow's broader meeting with partners. The Ukrainian President and the British Prime Minister also shared details of their recent visits to the United States. The leaders held extensive discussions on coordination with partners, the implementation of a joint action plan, and concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine's position and bring the war to an end with a lasting and just peace. A peace that will not allow Russia to use the ceasefire to rearm and attack again. That is why Ukraine, Europe, and the United States must be at the table for any potential peace negotiations. A separate focus was placed on robust security guarantees and the role the United Kingdom is ready to play in them. The leaders reaffirmed a shared vision of what confidence in the future should look like for all. Keir Starmer reiterated that the United Kingdom will stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary. He emphasized that this was the reason why so many people in London took to the streets today to express their support in this way. "They came out to demonstrate just how strongly they support you, how strongly they support Ukraine. And also our unwavering determination to stand with you and achieve what we both seek - a lasting peace for Ukraine, built on sovereignty and security for Ukraine. This is crucial for Ukraine, for Europe, and for the United Kingdom," the British Prime Minister said. Additionally, in the presence of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Keir Starmer, Ukraine's Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko (online) and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves signed a loan agreement between Ukraine as the borrower and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as the lender. In October last year, the EU and G7 countries jointly decided to provide loans totaling up to 45 billion to support Ukraine's urgent budgetary, military, and reconstruction needs. The United Kingdom plans to contribute up to 2.258 billion, which can be used for purchasing defense materials for Ukraine. The loan is provided for a period of 30 years and will be repaid using revenues generated from frozen Russian assets. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address People in Ukraine Must Know That They Are Not Alone - Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Meeting with the Ukrainian Community in the United States President of Ukraine 1 March 2025 - 11:13 At Ukraine house in Washington, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the Ukrainian community and war veteran Andrii Smolenskyi, who is undergoing treatment in the United States. The Head of State expressed his gratitude for the support during this difficult time, for all the efforts made for Ukraine and Ukrainians, and for the assistance - not only diplomatic and financial, but also political and spiritual. "It is crucial for us that Ukraine's voice continues to be heard and that no one forgets about it - both during the war and after. Thank you for representing our state and our interests in the United States with such dignity. People in Ukraine must know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world," the President emphasized. In particular, during the meeting, they discussed the U.S. support for Ukraine and the concern of the American people throughout all three years of Russia's full-scale invasion, unity with European partners, the role of the Ukrainian community in backing our country, and efforts to bring back Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia. The meeting was also attended by Andrii Smolenskyi, former commander of the 47th Magura Separate Mechanized Brigade's aerial reconnaissance group, who is undergoing treatment in the United States after sustaining severe injuries at the front. He shared that he is not just receiving treatment himself but also assisting other wounded warriors. "You are a hero. Heroic people like you are truly inspiring. I am grateful to you for preserving our independent Ukraine. You saved our nation, people, and unity - these are extremely important things," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK PM Starmer meets Ukrainian President Zelensky Global Times By Xinhua Published: Mar 02, 2025 07:27 AM British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting at Downing Street, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. Zelensky and Starmer, together with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, held a video call with Marchenko Saturday evening. Zelensky hailed "a meaningful and warm meeting" with Starmer and thanked him for the support Britain has shown to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Confirming the loan agreement, Zelensky wrote on social media X: "This loan will enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities... The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine." Zelensky's visit came ahead of a defense summit Britain is hosting, with European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Starmer has said he believes such a deal will have to involve the United States. Zelensky said on social media X shortly before his plane touched down in London earlier Saturday that Ukraine is "ready to sign the minerals agreement" with the United States, but "a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine." Zelensky's visit to Britain followed his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday evening in the White House, where a routine presence in front of a press pool erupted into an unexpected shouting match. The fiery exchange between the two sides started with an interjection by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who demanded that Zelensky be thankful for Trump's efforts to get his country out of its three-year conflict with Russia. After the public clash, Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House early, leaving the planned minerals deal between the two sides unsigned. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address European Leaders To Hold Crisis Talks In London After Zelenskyy's Clash With Trump By Ray Furlong March 02, 2025 LONDON - The lavish interiors of Lancaster House in London will host crisis talks on March 2 as European leaders seek to recover from collective shock and horror after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's disastrous visit to Washington this week. On the eve of the conference, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Zelenskyy at his Downing Street residence, followed by the announcement of a 2.26 billion pounds ($2.84 billion) loan to Ukraine. "This loan will enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets," Zelenskyy posted on social media after the talks. It's not a game-changing sum but offers some consolation for Zelenskyy after an unprecedented and angry row with U.S. President Donald Trump that saw him leaving the White House on February 28 early -- and empty handed. The London conference has taken on a new significance since the confrontation in the Oval Office, and resuscitating the Trump-Zelenskyy relationship is likely to become a key item on the agenda. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte -- who is in London -- said Zelenskyy must find a way to restore the relationship. It's unclear whether that's a realistic prospect. But Trump said Zelenskyy could come back "when he wants peace." Ahead of the conference, Starmer will hold bilateral talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She could be an important figure in Europe's ongoing attempts to convince Washington of the need to support Ukraine. A staunch Ukraine supporter, she is also ideologically close to Trump and he has warmly praised her. Even before Zelenskyy's trip to Washington, European leaders demonstrated a growing sense of urgency to make themselves relevant to the Trump administration. This was spurred by statements from senior U.S. officials suggesting Europe would not be directly involved in Ukraine peace negotiations -- and by signs of warming U.S. ties with Moscow. Previous crisis talks in Paris last week focused on whether Europe could muster a credible military force to deploy to Ukraine after a cease-fire or peace deal, as well as a longer-term aim of pledges to boost defense spending. Some progress was made but there was no decisive breakthrough announcement. The challenge for the London talks, after the debacle in the Oval Office, is to achieve something more tangible and impressive. Alongside this, some European leaders are raising the prospect that this goes beyond proving their worth to Washington. Instead, it's about preparing for a possible scenario in which they cannot rely on the U.S. security umbrella. The winner of the recent German elections, Friedrich Merz, declared a week ago that Europe needed to achieve "independence" from the United States. After Zelenskyy's Washington trip, German Foreign Minister Annalene Baerbock said she would back measures to help Ukraine "withstand Russia's aggression even if the United States withdraws support." "Europe is standing before a historic test," said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on March 1. "It must take care of its own security." Zelenskyy's schedule later includes a meeting with Britain's King Charles III. Although the British monarch has only a symbolic role, the meeting is also a way of telegraphing a political message to Washington. Starmer's flourished invitation to Trump from the king to come on a historic second state visit to the U.K. was widely seen here as a key moment during the prime minister's visit to Washington on February 27. A royal audience for Zelenskyy underscores Britain's support for him, and its desire to act as a bridge and peacemaker between Washington and Kyiv. Here in Britain, Starmer's position has been echoed across the political spectrum. Prominent figures who have been close to Trump urged him not to burn bridges with Zelenskyy. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party and vocal Trump admirer, said: "This is not the end of the story, far from it. A peace deal is essential, and Ukraine needs the right security guarantees." Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "The best way forward now is for the minerals deal to be signed as soon as possible. There is still a path to peace." He was referring to an agreement that was supposed to be the great diplomatic prize of Zelenskyy's Washington trip, heralding a renewed relationship with the United States. Those high hopes have been dealt a body blow. In London, leaders are desperately seeking a response. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/london-starmer- europe-ukraine-zelenskyy-loan-summit-russia/33332840.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address As Trump Ramps Up Pressure For Peace Deal, The War in Ukraine Grinds On By Reid Standish March 02, 2025 From high-stakes U.S.-Russia talks to a potential cease-fire, the conversation around ending the war in Ukraine is rushing forward as U.S. President Donald Trump looks to make good on his campaign promise to quickly strike a deal to stop the fighting. But despite recent diplomatic momentum, tensions flared in Washington on February 28, when a heated exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy exposed deep divisions over how to achieve that goal. Analysts say that a concrete agreement -- let alone a lasting peace deal -- remains elusive, and the three-year, all-out war looks set to keep grinding on. "There is a disconnect between the situation on the ground and the political discourse that we are hearing about cease-fires, peacekeepers, and even a settlement," Janis Kulge, a Russia expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, told RFE/RL. "All of those things are still a long way off." On the ground, Russian and Ukrainian forces are still fighting a brutal war of attrition with few territorial gains and high casualties. Biting winter weather has slowed the fighting lately as Russian forces have looked to replenish equipment and soldiers after months of crushing combat that's led to steady but incremental gains. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, remains outflanked and is struggling with manpower shortages but has adapted by employing new tactics and technologies to blunt Russia's attacks. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, Russian forces have made small advances on Ukrainian positions in Kursk, the small swath of Russian territory taken by Kyiv in August 2024, in recent days. The Ukrainian military has also reported fresh Russian attacks in all directions along the front, such as near the city of Pokrovsk and the village of Nadiivka along the western edge of the Donetsk region. Nearby, Ukrainian forces said they recently regained control of the village of Kotlyne after launching a counterattack at the end of February. "The fundamental situation on the battlefield has not changed and that is that Moscow is still in a relatively strong position," Kulge said. "Russia is advancing -- although very slowly and at a high cost." Where Do Things Stand On The Front Line? The sweeping territorial gains by Ukrainian or Russian militaries in the early days of the war have mostly transitioned into high-casualty assaults with heavy artillery and drone attacks. Russian forces currently control around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory and claim to have annexed four regions -- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson -- despite some parts of those areas remaining under Kyiv's control. Ukrainian forces are currently holding more than 1,500 kilometers of front lines against Russian troops, as well as about 400 square kilometers in Kursk. On the battlefield in Ukraine, Russian forces have maintained the upper-hand and largely controlled the tempo of fighting in the last year as they've looked to gain new advances thanks to the use of glide bombs and explosive-loaded drones that fly with the use of fiber-optic cables. But those limited territorial gains have come at a great cost for Russia. George Barros, who leads the team that monitors battlefield developments at ISW, says that Russia's operations on the ground have slowed considerably, especially since it captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka in February 2024. That advance came after Ukraine had defended the city since the beginning of the invasion but withdrew as wave after wave of Russian assaults left its depleted forces nearly surrounded. "Since taking Avdiyivka a little over a year ago, Russia has not managed to advance their front line by very much," he told RFE/RL. "That's come with staggering losses in terms of soldiers and equipment." Russian forces gained 4,168 square kilometers of land in 2024, according to ISW, and that came with a high cost of life on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. Exact battlefield casualties are difficult to ascertain, but since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has lost 46,000 soldiers in combat and 380,000 have been wounded, Zelenskyy said during a recent speech, although many experts believe the total number to be higher. Russian casualty estimates range from 600,000 to 750,000 killed or wounded soldiers since the beginning of the war and estimates compiled by ISW say that Moscow could be losing around 25,000 to 30,000 troops per month, or roughly 1,000 soldiers a day. The sheer size of Russia's military has allowed it to absorb high losses -- as well as the addition of thousands of soldiers from North Korea in Kursk. Estimates by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) say that Moscow also lost more than 1,400 tanks to Ukrainian attacks in 2024 but has still managed to sustain its war effort on Soviet-era stockpiles and ramped-up domestic manufacturing. Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that while holding the upper hand on the battlefield, Moscow likely remains "disappointed" that it hasn't been able to achieve "an operationally significant breakthrough." "Despite the fact that they retain a very significant advantage in terms of materiel and overall manpower, they've not been able to turn those advantages into big gains on the battlefield," he told an online panel to mark the war's third anniversary. What Will 2025 Bring To The Battlefield? Despite talk of winding the war down, the fighting continues. Reports from the open-source monitoring group DeepState show that Russian forces have been concentrating nearly half of their attacks so far in 2025 in the area around Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. "Neither side is able to conduct large operational maneuvers right now, but the Russians are burning through a lot more resources than the Ukrainians are," Barros said. In the absence of a likely breakthrough of each other's front lines, experts say that the war has become less about taking large swaths of territory and instead about forcing the other side to suffer high losses in terms of equipment, ammunition, and casualties. Ukraine's main weaknesses have been a shortage of soldiers to replace its losses and uncertain supplies of Western military aid, especially given the Trump administration's stated reluctance to keep supporting Kyiv on the battlefield as it has in the past. That raises vital questions for Ukraine on the battlefield should the war continue to grind on while U.S. military assistance stops. According to data from the German-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy, European governments -- including non-EU members Britain and Norway -- have contributed almost $64 billion in military aid to Ukraine up until the end of 2024 compared to $66 billion from the United States in the same span. Zelenskyy, following his difficult trip to Washington, received a warmer welcome in London on March 1 as European leaders prepared to meet on March 2 to discuss Ukraine and European security. But Julia Friedrich, a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, says that European militaries will need time to ramp up production in order to adequately supply Ukraine, possibly even years. "We are definitely looking at a gap between what the Ukrainians need and what the Europeans can supply," she told RFE/RL. "There is hope that investing in Ukrainian production will help, but more funds will need to be raised for that, which also takes time." How quickly -- or if at all -- European governments will need to bridge that gap remains to be seen and will be affected by the success and speed of diplomatic talks to end the war. In the meantime, the war looks set to continue. "Russian negotiators are experienced and will be aiming to get everything they can," said Friedrich. "Moscow has put everything into this war, so it's going to take a lot more than a friendly phone call and meeting to make Russia stop." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-trump-ukraine- pokrovsk-drone-military-frontline/33331620.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SOFIA, Bulgaria, March 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GOSH , the core developer behind Acki Nacki, has announced today the successful completion of its pre-launch Node Sale, securing backing from validators including Kingsway Capital, Blockchain.com, Hack VC, K5 Global, and Original Capital. As a result of the networks recently launched decentralized starter protocol, Gossip Ignite, the Acki Nacki mainnet will go live once a critical mass of node operators are active. Acki Nacki is an asynchronous blockchain protocol that reaches probabilistic consensus in two communication steps. At the heart of GOSHs vision in supporting Acki Nacki is solving blockchains most fundamental technical challenge: transaction speed, scalability, and time to finality. The networks Node Owners all share the Acki Nacki vision from beginning to end, said Mitja Goroshevsky, GOSH founder and Acki Nacki architect, leading the team who spent the 4 years prior building the technology stack for TON blockchain. The values behind the tokenomics, how we see decentralization, as well as technology, adoption, and how we go to market, are supported thoroughly by all network participants. This level of collaboration defines the future of the decentralized world. With a community of over 5 million users in testnet, Acki Nacki is primed to support use cases that include payments, gaming economies, IoT networks, and AI applications. The early ecosystem already includes Popits, an on-chain content-sharing platform, and Die Last, a Web3 real-time strategy game running entirely on-chain. A diverse group of aligned validators and Acki Nackis approach ensures the network emerges organically owned and secured by its decentralized community from the first block. There is no pre-mine, airdrop, token generation event, investor, or team allocation. Beyond its technical advancements, Acki Nacki introduces a radically decentralized economic model. Node Licenses allow owners to validate transactions and mine $NACKL tokens which guarantees decentralization regardless of network state. All $NACKL are distributed as block rewards through a 60-year mining schedule following a deflationary curve. Validator Quotes Alexander Pack, Managing Partner at Hack VC, commented, Acki Nacki with its innovative consensus aims to have sub-second finality for transactions. This allows new applications to move on-chain and open up the design space. Peter Smith, CEO and Cofounder of Blockchain.com, commented, We were impressed to see that Acki Nacki has generated a loyal community of developers, followers, infrastructure providers and now investors. Were excited to play a part in this journey. Ramnik Arora, partner at Original Capital, said, One of the constraints to more things moving on-chain is the lack of general purpose block space with high throughput and low finality. Were happy to back Mitja and the Acki Nacki team - early pioneers in asynchronous blockchain design space and aiming to be the fastest blockchain possible. The networks Bitcoin for Proof of Stake design and a 60-years mining schedule means that we view Acki Nacki to be a permanent fixture in global coordination and property rights, similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum, says Kingsway Capital. About Acki Nacki Acki Nacki is one of the fastest blockchains. Based on a breakthrough consensus protocol, the Acki Nacki network reaches consensus in 2 communication steps, the lowest number possible in any interactive network, meaning that by design Acki Nacki finalizes transactions faster than any other blockchain that can be built. Acki Nacki has a community of over 5 million users in its mini-app that allows anyone to verify blocks by playing a simple interactive game on their mobile phones. This means players contribute to network security and mine Acki Nacki network coins as block rewards. Acki Nacki is a decentralized blockchain. There is no token pre-mine, airdrop, token generation event, investor, or team allocation. Media contact: M Group Strategic Communications (for GOSH) GOSH@mgroupsc.com Contact Media pjordan@mgroupsc.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Latin Metals Inc. (Latin Metals or the Company) - (TSXV: LMS) (OTCQB: LMSQF) is pleased to announce the identification of significant geophysical anomalies at its Cerro Bayo project (Cerro Bayo or the Project), located in the Deseado Massif, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The Company has completed purchase of historical exploration data collected by a previous operator at the project, including a 130-line-km gradient array Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey. The survey highlights pronounced chargeability and resistivity anomalies, spatially associated with historical drill targets identified by Barrick, and there is a strong correlation of chargeability anomalies with previously mapped mineralized structures. Importantly the anomalous geophysical trends are open to the northwest (Figure 1). Figure 1: Interpretation of gradient array IP data at Cerro Bayo showing chargeability (left) and resistivity (right) anomalies coincident with mapped mineralized veins and open to the northwest. Geophysical survey interpretation Gradient array IP is a well-established geophysical technique widely used in the exploration of low-sulfidation epithermal vein deposits, such as those found in the Deseado Massif. In these environments, chargeability anomalies typically indicate the presence of sulfide mineralization, while high resistivity values are often associated with quartz-rich and chalcedonic vein systems. Coincident high chargeability and high resistivity is the classic geophysical signature that geophysicists want to see in the Deseado Massif. We see this geophysical signature at Cerro Bayo (Figure 1) where outcropping structures and veins correlate well with high chargeability and high resistivity zones. The trend seen in the outcrops and the geophysical data is N30W, which is not only observed at Cerro Bayo, but also at other exploration projects and producing mines in the Deseado massif. Notably, the Eugenia and Gabriela target areashistorically outlined by Barrickalign with the highest-intensity geophysical anomalies. Additionally, while the historical survey covers only a portion of the Cerro Bayo property, all major anomalies remain open to the northwest, suggesting further potential. New exploration targets, including the Julia/Elena and Lara zones, have also emerged, revealing unrecognized strike extensions that warrant additional follow-up. Cerro Bayo and Regional Significance Cerro Bayo is situated within the highly prospective Deseado Massif, a prolific mining region known for its world-class gold and silver deposits. The area has a strong history of mining activity and hosts several producing and past-producing mines, underscoring its significant exploration potential. The mineralization at Cerro Bayo is consistent with epithermal gold-silver systems, which have yielded high-grade deposits across the region. Latin Metals exploration efforts at the project benefit from an extensive historical dataset compiled by previous operators, including Barrick Gold, providing a strong foundation for ongoing and future work. Argentinas mining sector continues to attract growing foreign investment, driven by its rich mineral endowment and an evolving regulatory framework. The Santa Cruz province, in particular, plays a key role in the countrys gold and silver production. Latin Metals Cerro Bayo and La Flora projects align with this broader industry trend, reflecting the Company's commitment to systematic exploration and value generation through strategic partnerships. Latin Metals recent exploration work at Cerro Bayo builds on Barricks historical data. In late 2024, the Company expanded mapping efforts at Cerro Bayo and initiated exploration at La Flora for the first time. This work has standardized lithological interpretations across both areas, reinforcing the potential for further discoveries. Latin Metals Attends PDAC 2025 Booth #2329 Latin Metals is currently attending PDAC 2025 in Toronto from March 2-5, 2025, engaging with investors and industry leaders to discuss its prospect generator model and exploration projects in Argentina & Peru. Visit us at Booth #2329 or schedule a meeting at info@latin-metals.com About Latin Metals Latin Metals is a mineral exploration company acquiring a diversified portfolio of assets in South America. The Company operates with a Prospect Generator model focusing on the acquisition of prospective exploration properties at minimum cost, completing initial evaluation through cost-effective exploration to establish drill targets, and ultimately securing joint venture partners to fund drilling and advanced exploration. Shareholders gain exposure to the upside of a significant discovery without the dilution associated with funding the highest-risk drill-based exploration. Stay up-to-date on Latin Metals developments by joining our online communities on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. QA/QC The geophysical survey conducted over a total of 133 linear kilometers following a southwest to northeast orientation (N50E). Within the Project, the surveyed lines range in length from 380 meters to 7.9 kilometers, with a separation of 250 meters between each line. The geophysical survey was executed utilizing an IP transmitter IRI VIP 3000 (3.0 kW), with electrodes deployed in direct contact with the ground via stainless steel rods. The survey employed a Gradient Array configuration, featuring a 25-meter spaced Dipole, with Bipole lengths set at 2,000 and 3,000 meters per designated zone. Qualified Person Keith J. Henderson, P.Geo., is the Company's qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release. He has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Henderson is not independent of the Company, as he is an employee of the Company and holds securities of the Company. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of LATIN METALS INC. Keith Henderson President & CEO For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company's web site ( www.latin-metals.com ) and its Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com. For further information, please contact: Keith Henderson Suite 890 - 999 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6C 2W2 Phone: 604-638-3456 E-mail: info@latin-metals.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Property and otherwise, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, and the Company's expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral properties, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves on the Properties, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, market fundamentals will result in sustained precious and base metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of the Companys Argentine projects in a timely manner, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of the Company projects, and the Companys ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. 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 information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development and mine development activities at the Properties, including the geological mapping, prospecting and sampling programs being proposed for the Properties (the "Programs"), actual results of exploration activities, including the Programs, estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, the availability of a sufficient supply of water and other materials, requirements for additional capital, future prices of precious metals and copper, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays or the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, any current or future property acquisitions, financing or other planned activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, risks related to joint venture operations, and risks related to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors discussed under the heading as well as those factors discussed under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys annual managements discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Companys profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release or incorporated by reference herein. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a005c63-e9f7-40b8-8e9f-8307d76953d0 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thinca Co., Ltd. (TSE: 149A), the developer and provider of the communication platform Kaikura, is pleased to announce that Voytek Podobas (Wojciech Jakub Podobas), founder of Podobas Global Investments , a major shareholder holding over 5% of the company's shares, visited Thincas Tokyo headquarters. During his visit, he met with CEO Takahiro Ejiri and CFO Yusuke Ishikawa. Mr. Podobas, a seasoned global investor known for his strategic investments in high-growth companies, has been actively supporting Japans emerging software sector. Through this visit, he gained deeper insight into Thinca Co., Ltd. (TSE: 149A)'s vision and strategy, reinforcing his confidence in the companys long-term growth potential. Following the visit, Mr. Podobas increased his stake, raising his ownership to 6.00%. As a publicly traded company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Thinca Co., Ltd. (TSE: 149A) continues to attract strategic investors who recognize the value of its expanding business model. Thinca expresses its deep gratitude for Mr. Podobass continued support and remains committed to strengthening its market leadership. His growing involvement reflects a strong endorsement of Thincas innovation-driven approach and global potential. Voytek Podobas commented on his visit: "Currently, I am involved in approximately ten investment projects, many of which focus on Japan's software sector. After evaluating every software-related company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Thincas business stands out, and I highly appreciate its future growth potential. I find many similarities between Thinca and a highly successful Swedish SaaS company I previously invested in." "I am confident that Thinca's Kaikura service has immense potential to reshape Japans business communication landscape. By seamlessly integrating multiple communication tools, it enhances efficiency while respecting Japans business culture. Furthermore, the companys innovative use of AI-driven features makes it a standout player in Japans rapidly evolving SaaS industry." "This visit allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Thincas vision, reaffirming my investment decision. I am particularly impressed by the professionalism and innovative mindset of the Thinca team. Their pursuit of excellence aligns with Japans Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement. I am excited to support Thincas next phase of growth." About Kaikura Kaikura is a next-generation communication platform that centralizes interactions across various channels, including phone calls, emails, web conferences, and SMS. Since its launch in August 2014, Kaikura has been adopted by over 2,700 companies across more than 5,200 locations. The platform has received multiple industry awards, including recognition as the "2023 Winter Leader" in the CTI category of the ITreview Grid Award and the "Most Customizable" SaaS in the Call Center System category of the BOXIL SaaS AWARD Winter 2023. For more information, users can visit the official Kaikura website: https://kaiwa.cloud/ Japans software market is currently undergoing rapid transformation, with Thinca Co., Ltd. at the forefront of this digital evolution. As businesses across Japan accelerate their digitalization efforts, Kaikura is leading the way with cutting-edge AI-powered features designed to optimize workflows, enhance customer interactions, and automate communication management. The company has recently introduced advanced AI-driven call analysis, automated transcription, and real-time sentiment tracking, further solidifying Kaikuras position as a game-changing SaaS solution. As Voytek Podobas and other global investors continue to recognize Thincas potential, the company remains committed to driving innovation in Japans enterprise software industry. Contact Caesar Tabota CPaper Media LLC office@podobas.global A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2232eec3-025d-4b6f-812c-afe034794263 NEW YORK, March 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it is investigating potential breaches of fiduciary duties by the directors and officers of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH) in connection with a report of an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into UnitedHealths billing practices. If you currently own shares of UnitedHealth stock, please visit the firms website at https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25195 for more information. You may also contact Phillip Kim of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at case@rosenlegal.com. 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/. 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 achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. 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. 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 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com Initial drilling of the Potro SE target on Sobek North intersected a new polymetallic mineralized system: 17.4m at 0.72g/t gold Eq. including 3.0m at 2.39 g/t gold Eq and high silver, lead, zinc with indications of copper The drill hole ended in strongly altered porphyritic rock and the system remains open laterally and at depth The mineralized intercept is directly associated with a large IP-PDP geophysical chargeability response which underlies a cylindrical magnetic susceptibility anomaly localized along a major structural corridor A second drill hole is currently in progress 200m to the east to test the core of the magnetic anomaly and confirm the continuity of mineralization Sobek Potro SE target is located 3 km southwest of NGExs Lunahuasi discovery in the Vicuna District, Chile At Sobek Central, the access road to reach the Sobek 46 South target is now complete Ground based electrical geophysical survey is currently underway to refine the geometry of the porphyry target for drilling at Sobek 46 South The Sobek 46 South target is the southern extent of a 4 km trend of porphyry targets located 7 km directly west of Filo Minings Filo del Sol Project Mirasol is exhibiting at the 2025 PDAC Booth 2118 Potro SE drill core on display VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ) (OTC: MRZLF) (the Company or Mirasol) is pleased to announce that initial results from drilling confirms the presence of a mineralized hydrothermal breccia system of gold, silver, zinc and lead with indications of copper on the Companys 100%-owned Sobek Copper-Gold Project (Sobek or the Project) in the Vicuna District of Chile. Located at the southeast corner of the Sobek North property block, the Potro SE target is strategically situated just 3km southwest of NGExs Lunahuasi discovery in an area that has not previously been drill tested. These initial drill results from Potro SE are a major breakthrough for the Sobek project and demonstrates the potential for a significant new discovery in the Vicuna District on our 100% owned Mirasols property, Mirasols President and CEO Tim Heenan stated. The gold-silver-zinc-lead mineralization was intersected along the edge of both a large magnetic anomaly and an IP chargeability response suggesting the drilling has just reached the outer margins of a much larger, higher-grade mineralized system. A second hole into the hydrothermal system is currently in progress to test for an underlying copper-gold porphyry at depth. Figure 1: Vicuna District - Sobek Property package including the Potro SE Target and Sobek 46 South Target Highlights from Initial Sobek North Potro SE Drilling: DDH-PSE-001: Hydrothermal Breccia Zone 17.4m (784.60 802.00m) with 0.68 g/t gold equivalent 87 (gold Eq) (0.25 g/t gold and 38 g/t silver), with 1.28% zinc and 0.52% lead. This includes: 6.10m ( 787.50 793.60m ) with 1.40 g/t gold Eq (0.25 g/t gold and 68.16 g/t silver ), with 1.81% zinc and 0.75% lead. (0.25 g/t gold and ), with 1.81% zinc and 0.75% lead. 3.00m (788.50 791.50m) with 2.39 g/t gold Eq (1.11 g/t gold and 111.00 g/t silver), with 1.98% zinc and 0.82% lead. Lead and Zinc values are in close association with the enriched gold/silver zone and continue further to depth (zinc and lead are not considered in the gold equivalent calculations). 28.75m (770.05 778.80m) with 0.69% zinc and 0.28% lead These results from the first hole at Potro SE clearly highlight the presence of a strongly mineralized system, with elevated gold, silver, zinc and lead values and background copper in the range of 10-280ppm with one spike of 0.10% copper. The highest gold Eq grade of 2.39 g/t over 3.00m, hosted within the overall intersection of 17.4m (784.60 802.00m) with 0.682 g/t gold Eq corresponds to the highly siliceous polymictic core of the breccia, reinforcing the potential for metal enrichment within the hydrothermal system. Table 1: Sobek North - Potro SE - Select Calculated Geochemical Intercepts from Initial Drilling Notes: Reported interval length are down hole widths and not true widths All assay intervals represent length weighted averages Some figures may not sum exactly due to rounding Gold equivalent 87 (gold EQ) calculation using a ratio Gold Eq87 = gold g/t + (silver g/t /87). Lead/zinc are not included in the gold Eq calculations. The presence of significant gold values within the central core of the hydrothermal breccia, which also hosts visible sphalerite (zinc sulphide) and galena (lead sulphide), suggests a late-stage hydrothermal event that introduced gold alongside silver-zinc-lead mineralization. This higher-grade mineralization may be associated with the introduction of quartz-sulphide veinlets, indicating a potential overprint by a later gold bearing epithermal silica-rich fluid pulse. Further evaluation will aim to determine the relationship between this gold enrichment and the broader base metal rich intermediate epithermal mineralized system, as well as its possible connection to a deeper porphyry center. Table 2: Sobek North - Potro SE - Individual Mineralized Drillhole Intervals This mineralized breccia is interpreted to be part of a deep-seated hydrothermal system, potentially linked to a larger porphyry-related environment. Below 809.50m the breccia is in direct contact with a porphyritic intrusion, which shows evidence of hydrothermal alteration and late-stage veining. The presence of secondary potassium feldspar in some intervals suggests that deeper portions of the system may have been influenced by magmatic fluids. Importantly, this mineralized hydrothermal breccia was intersected precisely at the edge of a strong magnetic anomaly, identified through 3D modeling of magnetic susceptibility, which also correlates with a large zone of high IP-PDP chargeability, strongly supporting the potential for a broader mineralized system. The mineralized interval was intersected at 4,900m above sea level, which falls within the elevation range of other known Andean porphyry and high-sulfidation systems. This elevation is consistent with the broader Vicuna District (Filo del Sol) suggesting a shared geological framework, further supporting Sobek as part of the highly endowed mineral belt. The lateral and vertical extent of this system remains open, warranting further drilling. Figure 2: Sobek North Potro SE Target - Sobek North - Potro SE Maiden Drillhole Results: Confirmed Gold-Silver-Zinc-Lead mineralization along margin of coincident magnetic anomaly & IP-PDP chargeability response The Potro SE drill hole intersected a stratigraphic sequence of volcaniclastic and intrusive rocks, overprinted by hydrothermal alteration and structural deformation in the upper section. A mineralized hydrothermal breccia was encountered at depth along a major structural corridor (Ventana Fault), potentially linked to a larger mineralized system. 432 488m: Regional Fault Zone: A major fault zone at 432m marks a significant lithological transition, with alternating volcaniclastic sediments and granitoids. This interval shows structural deformation, including brecciation, fracturing, and low-temperature hydrothermal alteration. 488 767m: Chollay Plutonic Complex Granitoids (monzonites and granodiorites) dominate this section, intruded by andesitic dikes of varying thickness. 767 809.50m: Hydrothermal Breccia Main Mineralized Interval: A hydrothermal breccia characterized by a MnOx-carbonate matrix was intersected. The breccia exhibits intense hydrothermal fluid activity and a silica-rich core, which hosts higher gold/silver grades. It transitions from monomictic on the margins to polymictic in the central regions. 809.50 838.40m (EOH): Contact with Porphyritic Intrusion: Below 809.50m, the breccia transitions into a porphyritic intrusion with hydrothermal alteration and weak mineralization. The presence of secondary potassium feldspar suggests a magmatic-hydrothermal influence. The hole abruptly ended at 838.4m due to difficult drilling conditions, leaving the hydrothermal system open at depth. Figure 3: Sobek North - Potro SE Drill Core Photos - Key Mineralized Intervals Coincident Geophysical, Geochemical and Structural Attributes The Potro SE target is associated with a cylindrical 3D magnetic high anomaly which continues to depth was previously identified from an airborne-magnetics (RTP) survey. An Induced Polarization (IP), Pole-Di-Pole (PDP) geophysical chargeability response is also spatially associated and underlies the Potro SE cylindrical magnetic high anomaly. Both the chargeability response and magnetic anomaly are located at the intersection of two major structures, the Maranceles Fault and the Ventana Fault (which continues 3km north-northeast passing by Lunahuasi). Coincident copper-molybdenum geochemical anomalies sourced from both soil grid and rock chip sampling overly the geophysical anomalies (news release dated May 13, 2024). These coincident geological, geophysical, geochemical and alteration attributes reinforce Potro SE as an attractive concealed porphyry target. Second Follow-up Drill Hole to Test Extensions of Potro SE Mineralization The diamond drill rig has been relocated 200m to the east to drill test the strongest response of the cylindrical 3D magnetic anomaly and penetrate deeper into the IP PDP chargeability responses (>20VmV). The second diamond drill hole is anticipated to reach the top of the IP target and the coincident magnetic anomaly at approximately 750-800m downhole at an elevation of approximately 4800m ASL and continue to a potential depth of 1000m. It is expected to take 4-5 weeks to complete the planned drilling. Figure 4: Sobek North - Potro SE Target - Proposed Follow-up Drillhole: To test center of coincident magnetic anomaly & IP-PDP chargeability response Progress to Drilling the Sobek 46 South Target Situated in the southern end of Sobek Central, the Sobek 46 South target is interpreted as the southern continuation of an extensive hydrothermal system hosting multiple porphyry targets that continues for more than 3km north (news release dated May 13, 2024). The North-South trend of porphyry targets is located along a structural corridor that trends parallel to Filo Minings Filo del Sol Project located 7km directly east. While drilling progressed at Sobek North, exploration continued at Sobek Central focused on advancing towards drilling at the Sobek 46 South target. The construction of a 2.5km- access road has now been completed w facilitating continued exploration and future drill mobilization. A systematic grid-based geochemical soil survey has outlined an approximate 1.1-by-0.7km-wide geochemical anomaly which coincides with both an airborne magnetic and MT (conductive) porphyry targets. Tourmaline breccias have been identified on surface that are spatially associated with both the geochemical and geophysical anomalies. These breccias are commonly seen above Andean porphyry systems and can form pipe-like bodies related to buried porphyry systems at depth and commonly contribute considerably to the contained metal in porphyry hosted copper deposits. With the new access road now complete, the next phase of exploration includes detailed geological mapping and sampling of these breccias. Additionally, a ground-based electrical IP geophysical survey is ongoing to refine the porphyry targets for drill testing. Figure 5: Sobek Central - Sobek 46 South Drill Target: Tourmaline Breccias on surface coincident with cylindrical shaped MT conductivity and Mag anomalies at depth High-Profile Vicuna Copper-Gold-Silver District Mirasol staked the Sobek Project in 2016 based on prospective local geology and attractive structural architecture prior to the 2021 discovery of the high-grade feeder zone at the Filo del Sol gold-copper deposit and the 2023 discovery of Lunahuasi. The continually expanded and consolidated Sobek Project is located on the same regional N-S trending structural corridor and just 3km to the west of the Filo del Sol deposit and 3km to the southwest of NGEx Minerals discovery at Lunahuasi. Sobek is located within a prospective geological environment with a compelling north-northeast trending mineralized structural corridor crosscut by a north-northwest trending deep-seated trans-cordilleran lineament. This is a common structural configuration hosting numerous Andean metal deposits in both Chile and Argentina. Mirasol Exhibiting at PDAC 2025 Select pieces of drill core from the Sobek North Potro SE drill campaign will be on display at the PDAC 2025 convention in Toronto. Visit us at Booth 2118 (Investors Exchange) in the South Building, Metro Toronto Convention Centre from March 2-5, 2025. About Mirasol Resources Ltd Mirasol is a well-funded exploration company with 20 years of operating, permitting and community relations experience in the mineral rich regions of Chile and Argentina. Mirasol is currently self-funding exploration at two flagship projects, Sobek and Inca Gold, both located in Chile and controls 100% of the high-grade Virginia Silver Deposit in Argentina. Mirasol also continues to advance a strong pipeline of highly prospective early and mid-stage projects. For further information, contact: Tim Heenan, President & CEO or Troy Shultz, Vice President Investor Relations Tel: +1 (604) 602-9989 Email: contact@mirasolresources.com Website: www.mirasolresources.com Qualified Person Statement: Mirasols disclosure of technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Tim Heenan (MAIG), the President for the Company, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101. QAQC: Mirasol applies industry standard exploration sampling methodologies and techniques. All geochemical rock chip, soil, and stream sediment samples are collected under the supervision of the companys geologists in accordance with industry practice. Geochemical assays are obtained and reported under a quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program with insertions of controls (standards, blanks and duplicates) submitted to the laboratory. Samples were dispatched to ALS Global - Geochemistry Analytical Lab, in Santiago, Chile, an ISO 9001:2015 accredited laboratory, which is independent from the Company. Drill core samples were cut and prepared on site and transported to the reception facility of ALS in Copiapo, all under direct supervision of Mirasol personnel Drill core samples (1.5-2.5kg) were prepared with PREP31, and analysed for Au with fire assay and Ag-Cu-Zn-Pb and Mo AA62 with multi-acid (4) digestion and Atomic Absorption finish (HF-HNO3-HClO4 Digest, HCl leach). Assay results from drill core, rock chip, soil and stream sediment, channel, and trench, samples may be higher, lower or similar to results obtained from surface samples due to surficial oxidation and enrichment processes or due to natural geological grade variations in the primary mineralization. Forward Looking Statements: 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 and to policies linked to pandemics, social and environmental related matters. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. 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. Mirasol disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/da69d931-490b-4100-8488-948d46488775 VANCOUVER, March 02, 2025 - American Salars Lithium Inc. ("AMERICAN SALARS" OR THE "COMPANY") (CSE: USLI, OTC: USLIF, FWB: Z3P, WKN: A3E2NY) announces it has entered into a Letter Of Intent Agreement (the "Agreement") with an arm's length vendor to acquire up to 100% of the Salar De Pocitos Project (the "Project") consisting of 10 mineral tenements spanning approximately 13,080 hectares and contiguous to the Company's 800 hectare Flagship Pocitos 1 Project in Salta Province, Argentina. This represents a property size increase of 1635% to a footprint combined total of 13,880 hectares on the Pocitos Salar, within the prolific Lithium Triangle. The closing of this transaction will culminate in American Salars having the second largest property asset on the Salar de Pocitos. The Company's existing 800-hectare Pocitos 1 claim has an NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") prepared by WSP Australia. The MRE infers 760,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent ("LCE") on the combined Pocitos 1 (800 Ha) and neighbouring Pocitos 2 block (532 Ha). On a pro-rata basis Pocitos 1 has 456,000 tonnes of LCE insitu. (American Salars does not currently own the neighboring 532 Hectare Pocitos 2 block - See Press Release Dated June 17, 2024). The NI 43-101 MRE was estimated on an inferred basis using a block model with 6% and 14% porosity respectively for the clay and sand lithologies. Completing borehole magnetic resonance surveys will provide continuous and higher accuracy allowing an upgrade of the resource. The new 13,080 hectare Salar De Pocitos Project being acquired has been the subject of numerous historic exploration campaigns including drilling, surface sampling and geophysics. The initial work program will be a data compilation to tie together the existing drill holes on Pocitos 1 with all the historic drill holes and update the Company's NI 43-101 MRE. Scoping and feasibility studies will follow the data compilation and move the Salar De Pocitos Project through to commercial production. The Salar De Pocitos Project is located approximately 100 kilometers west of San Antonio de Los Cobres which is the largest city at the top of the puna plateau and approximately 250 kilometers west of the Provincial Capital of Salta. The Pocitos Project benefits from some of the best infrastructure on the puna including Provincial Highway Route 17 and the Pocitos industrial Park settlement that has a natural gas pipeline and near the railway that runs through the salar to the Port of Antofagasta on the Chilean Pacific Coast. American Salars CEO & Director R. Nick Horsley states, "This acquisition represents the culmination of tremendous work by the whole American Salars team and is a game changer for the Company and our stakeholders. Having consulted with some of the largest lithium mining companies in the world, we clearly understand the prerequisites for a takeover or production scenario. Today's acquisition provides our engineering and exploration team a district scale footprint to execute on." Figure 1. Area map of Salar de Pocitos Please click to view image The Agreement American Salars has entered into a letter of intent agreement whereby the Company will acquire a 75% interest immediately with Vendors with the potential to earn up to 100% undivided interest in the Property by paying to the Vendors the following cash payments totaling USD $2,000,000 and issuing 20,000,000 shares and issuing a royalty and Buy-Out Bonus based on the table below: ?DATE FOR COMPLETION Cash USD(b) COMMON SHARES(b) On or before the date that is 10 days after signing of the Definitive Agreement $100,000 2,500,000(a) On or before the first anniversary of the definitive agreement $100,000 2,500,000(a) On or before the second anniversary of the definitive agreement $300,000 5,000,000(a) On or before the third anniversary of the definitive agreement $500,000 5,000,000(a) On or before the fourth anniversary of the agreement $1,000,000 5,000,000(a) TOTAL $2,000,000 20,000,000(a) Subject to a 6-month escrow/restricted period. After the initial 6-month lock-up the Optionors agree to sell no more than 100,000 shares in a normal 5 day business week. USLI agrees to keep the claims in good standing by completing any required work programs. Additionally, USLI may accelerate the payments at its election at anytime. Subject to a 1% Net Smelter Royalty If USLI is subject to a takeover / buyout >$25,000,000 USD then $6,000,000 USD is payable to the Vendor The transaction is subject to a 10% finder's fee Pocitos 1 Claim The Company's existing Pocitos 1 claim had WSP Australia complete an update of the NI 43-101 report initially written by Phillip Thomas QP in June 2023 and estimated on an inferred basis using a block model with 6% and 14% porosity for the clay and sand lithologies respectively and a Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") of 760,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent ("LCE") on the combined Pocitos 1 (800 Ha) and neighbouring Pocitos 2 block (532 Ha). American Salars does not own the neighboring Pocitos 2 ground which comprises 40% of the gross land package that makes up the resource however it is notable that all drilling to date has been completed on American Salars' Pocitos 1 block. Lithium values of 169ppm from drill hole PCT22-03 packer test assayed from laboratory analysis conducted by Alex Stewart were recorded during the project's December 2022 drill campaigns. A packer sampling system was used in HQ Diamond drill holes that were drilled to a depth of up to 409 metres. The flow of brine was observed to continue for more than five hours with all holes exhibiting exceptional brine flow rates. An NI 43-101 updated report completed by WSP Australia has been released on the Pocitos 1 project. Ekosolve Ltd. a DLE technology company was able to produce 99.8% purity lithium carbonate and extraction was above 94% of the contained lithium in the brine i.e. 158.86ppm of lithium would have been recovered from 169ppm. The higher magnesium values in the brine did not impact the extraction efficiency. Figure 2. Drilling at Pocitos 1 Lithium Brine Project (Salta, Argentina) Please click to view image Qualified Person Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM (CPVal), MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release regarding Argentina properties, and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr Thomas is a shareholder of American Salars lithium shares. PDAC 2025 American Salars will be attending the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday, March 2 to Wednesday, March 5, 2025. The Company encourages attendees to meet the American Salars team at Booth #3210 in the Investor's Exchange. Additionally, the Company has terminated its Candela II, Incahuasi Salar option. About American Salars Lithium Inc. American Salars Lithium is a public exploration company focused on developing lithium resource projects. The Company's ultimate objective is the production of battery grade lithium carbonate to meet the growing demands of the battery industry. The Company's has a diversified portfolio of Lithium Brine and Hardrock projects in North and South America. All Stakeholders are encouraged to follow the Company on its social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, "R. Nick Horsley" R. Nick Horsley, CEO For further information, please contact: American Salars Lithium Inc. ? ?Phone: 604.740.7492 ?E-Mail: info@americansalars.com ? Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange 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. Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding American Salar's intention to continue to identify potential transactions and make certain corporate changes and applications. Forward looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits American Salars will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect managements' current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including American Salars results of exploration or review of properties that American Salars does acquire. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and American Salars assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Next article: Juliet Asante writes about her tenure as National Film Authority Executive Secretary Bank of Ghana cleared the money I raised for NFAs office- Juliet Asante reveals Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Mar - 02 - 2025 , 17:41 2 minutes read On Friday, March 1, actress Kafui Danku was officially announced as the new Executive Secretary of National Film Authority (NFA). Her appointment meant she has replaced colleague actress, Juliet Asante who was appointed in 2020. While congratulating Kafui Danku on her new role, Juliet Asante has also opened up on the numerous challenges she faced as Executive Secretary of NFA. In a Facebook post, Juliet mentioned that at the initial stages of her appointment, she had to run the authority with her own money and office space. She disclosed that despite the surmounting challenges, she was able to raise little money for an office and car for the Authority which has unfortunately been cleared from the accounts by Bank of Ghana (BOG). The little money I raised for office and car by the end of last year has been cleared from the accounts by the Bank of Ghana before we could get the office and get the office vehicle, she wrote in her long post. She also mentioned that she faced significant resistance from the board, which she described as "antagonistic." The board blocked her initial efforts to gather data on the film industry and challenged many of her subsequent decisions. Asante also shared personal struggles, including being attacked and insulted online and offline, while dealing with her mother's illness and hospital bills. Despite these challenges, she persevered, driven by her passion for the film industry. She expressed her gratitude to those who supported her during her tenure, including staff volunteers who worked without pay. She also congratulated her successor, Kafui Danku, and offered words of advice. See Juliet's post below: Next article: Bank of Ghana cleared the money I raised for NFAs office- Juliet Asante reveals Previous article: I didnt realise how privileged I was while growing up DJ Cuppy NFA appointment: Kafui Danku replies Juliet Asante Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Mar - 02 - 2025 , 19:26 3 minutes read Of what could best be described as a show of solidarity, the newly appointed Executive Secretary of National Film Authority (NFA), Kafui Danku has graciously responded to her predecessor, Juliet Asantes post on Facebook. Earlier today, Juliet Asante lamented about the challenges she faced in her role including using her home to operate as an office. In the long post, Juliet shared personal struggles, including being attacked and insulted online and offline, while dealing with her mother's illness and hospital bills. She expressed her gratitude to those who supported her during her tenure, including staff volunteers who worked without pay. She also congratulated her successor, Kafui Danku, and offered words of advice. (Related articles: Juliet Asante writes about her tenure as National Film Authority Executive Secretary, Bank of Ghana cleared the money I raised for NFAs office- Juliet Asante reveals) She, however, noted that her only regret was that she couldnt finish her work. Kafui Danku wrote under the post. Sis... It's rather unfortunate, we'll definitely reach out. Our industry will thrive again. Right after Juliets post, Association of Ghanaian Creatives, a group of arts stakeholders, is petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to revoke the appointments of Kafui Danku and James Gardiner to the National Film Authority. However, in a change.org petition, Association of Ghana Creatives is requesting that the President rather considers other options. According to them, Kafui and James don't have the competent skills to handle the position. We, the undersigned members of the Association of Ghanaian Creatives, urge the government to appoint qualified, visionary leadership at the NFA. The institution must be helmed by a technocrat with deep industry knowledge, supported by a board of experienced creative professionals who can steer the sector toward revitalization and global competitiveness, the petition states. The petition also expressed that, neither Kafui Danku nor James Gardiner possesses the industry experience or expertise required to lead such a vital institution. Their backgrounds, limited to low-budget productions and social media branding, fall woefully short of the strategic vision needed to navigate Ghanas film sector toward growth." The group intimates that "the appointment of an underqualified CEO signals a departure from excellence, particularly when contrasted with the legacy of Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, a Harvard-trained industry leader who brought groundbreaking initiatives to the NFA and successfully brokered distribution deals with major players like MTN." They suggested the following film professionals to be given the positions: 1. George Bosompin (National Film Institute, GAFTA) 2. Jim Awindor (Film and television strategist) 3. Akofa Edjeani Asiedu (veteran filmmaker and policy maker) 4. Professor Linus Abraham (Media and communication expert) 5. Akosua Abdallah (Film education and policy expert) 6. Ms. Nicole Amarteifio (Pioneering filmmaker and industry advocate) However, three members of the Academy of Film and Television Arts (GAFTA), Dr. Jim Fara Awindor, George Bosompim, and Professor Linus Abraham, have distanced themselves from a petition calling for the cancellation of two recent appointments to the National Film Authority, despite being listed as potential candidates for the positions. According to a report by myjoyonline.com, the above mentioned names have disclosed that they were not privy to any discussion regarding the petition. They describe the said petition being signed by some industry people as mischievous and scandalous. Kofi Amankwaa: Former Bronx attorney sentenced to 70 months for large-scale immigration fraud GraphicOnline International News Mar - 01 - 2025 , 18:00 2 minutes read A Bronx-based former immigration attorney, Kofi Amankwaa, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for his role in a multi-year immigration fraud scheme involving fraudulent filings under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York announced the sentencing on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, following Amankwaas guilty plea in September 2024. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla. According to court documents, Amankwaa and his associates filed thousands of fraudulent immigration applications falsely alleging that his clients were victims of abuse by their U.S. citizen children or family members. He did this without informing his clients, charging them between $3,000 and $6,000, plus administrative fees. Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky described Amankwaas actions as an abuse of the immigration system. Kofi Amankwaa, a former immigration attorney, made a mockery of the U.S. immigration system and VAWA a law that provides noncitizen victims of domestic abuse a path to lawful permanent residence status by filing thousands of immigration documents falsely alleging that his clients were victims of abuse by their children or other family members. Amankwaa used these fraudulent VAWA applications to obtain advance parole travel documents for his clients, allowing them to travel abroad and re-enter the United States. He then used these documents to apply for permanent residency, despite knowing that his clients had not actually been victims of abuse. Disbarment and Financial Penalties Due to numerous complaints from victims, Amankwaas law license was suspended in November 2023, and he was disbarred in August 2024. In addition to his prison sentence, Amankwaa has been ordered to: - Serve three years of supervised release - Forfeit $13,389,000 - Pay $16,503,425 in restitution to his victims Authorities have urged victims of Amankwaas fraud to contact the U.S. Attorneys Office at [email protected] for potential restitution. Ongoing investigation The Newark Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation, with support from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Fraud Detection and National Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Z. Margulies, with the General Crimes Unit, prosecuted the case, assisted by Paralegal Specialist Samantha Roberts. Amankwaas conviction highlights ongoing efforts by U.S. authorities to crack down on immigration fraud and protect the integrity of the legal system. This year's version of the "right to work" legislation that has bedeviled organized labor groups session after session was killed off in a Saturday morning committee hearing. Senate Bill 376, sponsored by Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, would have prohibited union membership as a condition of employment. Friday's initial hearing drew a mass of union members and their supporters to testify against the bill. On Saturday morning, SB 376 failed to pass out of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs on a 5-7 vote. Noland reiterated ahead of the vote that he brought the bill to give workers the option of not joining the union just to get a job. "I don't have a problem with unions (or) those who want to join them," he said. Noland made one last attempt to revive the bill on Saturday with a procedural maneuver that would have lifted the bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor. That motion failed on an 18-32 vote, with 14 Republicans joining all Democrats against it. Organized labor groups in Montana took to the Capitol steps on Friday to rally against the last bill standing aimed at disrupting union efforts. The groups have rallied the last several sessions against "right to work" legislation and this year also faced down two other bills they say could hobble a unions ability to organize and bargain with employers. The legislation tends to come from GOP lawmakers, but opponents laborers, nurses and teachers emerge from all political stripes. "Were all red-blooded Americans," said the AFL-CIOs Adam Haight during Friday's rally in front of the state Capitol. "Were just not bootlickers for billionaires." This session's "right to work" bill would have prohibited union membership as a condition of employment. Bill sponsor Sen. Mark Noland told the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee during the Friday hearing that Senate Bill 376 is about protecting workers freedom to associate or not to associate. "I believe there are certain liberties that cant be bargained away at the negotiating table between labor and management, and that includes the worker's individual right to decide whether or not a union merits their financial support," Noland testified. Randy Pope, executive director for Montana Citizens for Right to Work, and his counterpart at the national level both testified in support of the bill, saying Montana would benefit from an inflow of workers if the policy was passed. Those two supporters were eclipsed by more than 100 opponents who signed on to testify against SB 376. Testimony trumpeted the benefits unions have brought to the average worker, like higher wages and training opportunities, but also picked out provisions of Nolands bill they said were overt attempts to block new union membership. Those provisions include criminal penalties for "any strike, picketing, boycott or other action by a labor organization to induce or attempt to induce an employer to enter into an agreement." "We are facing potential criminal and civil penalties for exercising our constitutional rights to free speech and to peacefully protest," said Carter Marsh, representing Montana Professional Firefighters. Nolands SB 376 is the third bill labor organizers have gathered against this session. Senate Bill 94 from Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, would have prohibited public unions from holding events, like trainings or conferences, or even bargaining with employers during work hours. Fuller claimed some of those trainings for public school employees had scheduled events aligned with left-leaning ideologies, like critical-race theory and LGBTQ support. Eleven Republicans joined all Democrats to defeat that bill on the Senate floor on Feb. 19. Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, opted to kill his own Senate Bill 277, which would have prohibited public employers from deducting union dues from a members pay. Regier told the Montana Free Press he still supports the policy but did not feel it would have sufficient support this session. More than a hundred union supporters gathered outside of the Capitol at noon on Friday following the hearing for SB 376. Jason Small, a former Republican legislator and current executive secretary for the Montana AFL-CIO, led the event. "Every session this comes up, right? Theres been a 'right to work' bill for just as long as anybody can remember," Small told the crowd. "In being the check and balance on capitalism, we earn our little piece of the pie. And we dont get it generally by owning businesses, running businesses. Most of us here are doing it with our hands and our heads." "Right to work" legislation has had varying degrees of support at the Legislature before its eventual demise. In 2021, it reached the floor of the House of Representatives, where it was struck down. Republicans had a supermajority in the 2023 Legislature but the proposal did not survive its initial committee hearing. The Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee did not take action on SB 372 on Friday. Have you found love at your workplace? John Boakye Life Mar - 01 - 2025 , 19:49 4 minutes read Love comes when you are not looking for it. People, therefore, find love anytime, anyhow and anywhere, including churches, supermarkets, gyms and conferences. Consider a man who drove into a pothole and accidentally splashed water on a lady. He apologised and offered to take her home because she was badly soaked in dirty water. They found love on the way and later got married. Today, the workplace is among the leading spots where Ghanaians find love. In fact, global studies show that almost half of most workers get emotionally involved with someone at the workplace. Why love at the workplace? Yesterday, the man was the breadwinner, while the woman was the homemaker. Today, due to equal educational opportunities and interventions, Ghanaian women match men boot for boot. It is, therefore, common to find that in most organisations, there are fairly equal men and women in informal verbal and non-verbal communication. Sexual hormones just cant shut down. Imagine a lady who works at the bank who leaves home at six in the morning and gets home at eight in the evening. At the weekends, she hardly finds time to clean her home. Sunday is for church and rest. The workplace is where she spends most of her time. It gives her the best option to find potential lovers. Advantages of workplace affair You see colleagues in all moods; tensed, relaxed and anxious as you do what you both enjoy. The workplace is non-threatening and comfortable. You deal with someone who is not a stranger. You have adequate time to share and know your partners interests, habits and ideas better. You have breaks together and talk. Chances are great to step up your relationship to a romantic affair. Disadvantages of workplace affair Love at the workplace affects either work, love or both. This may spill over to your colleagues and damage the dynamics at the workplace. A boss may make concessions for his girlfriend at the cost of the organisation. Studies show most romance in the workplace is based on erotic love which easily tapers off to leave behind pain, bitterness and jealousy. If things go wrong and you keep seeing your former lover, you may lose the motivation to work. Romance at the workplace would almost always be found out. Ridicule and gossip can ruin your chances of progression. Colleagues may feel cheated and deliberately cause financial loss to the organisation. One bad move by one partner will be linked to the other. It is also known that no matter how a girlfriend works hard, people will attribute her promotion to bottom power. Today, many workplaces have become fertile places for infidelity. Some directors offer appointments and promotions only to choose who compromises. A boss supposed to be working long hours in the office may be in a lungu-lungu hotel with his secretary. This may break down family life. Have you found love at the office? You cant prevent someone from having a crush on you at the workplace. Sometimes, you cant help falling for an office colleague. First, admit what is happening and then make a decision. If you decide not to get involved, take it off your mind. Stop working or taking breaks together. You must also avoid discussing personal difficulties in your relationship. A man may get close just to help you because men are born with the instinct to help women. You may decide to go in for a workplace affair because love works in mysterious ways. Find out the tradition at the workplace. Some places strictly forbid workplace affair Be honest with yourself and make sure you are not in for personal benefit to ease tension or cover up difficulties at home Ensure that you are professional about work and romance. Try to keep the affair secret. Dont use time for work for romance, e-mails and notes. Also, maintain a good friendship with your colleagues. It is advisable not to change your habits at the workplace. A significant change in routine like frequent visits to your boss and lover may annoy your colleagues. Avoid getting too close or attending social gatherings together. You mustnt change lovers at the workplace. Two affairs at your workplace may be one too many to maintain your integrity and reputation. Studies show only a very small fraction of workplace affairs end in fulfilling relationships. Studies also indicate most workplace affair comes at great financial and professional cost to lovers. These show workplace affairs may not be good for you because you may lose more than you gain. Love may be hot to handle. You meet this beautiful lady at the workplace. She has all the qualities you want in a future wife. You genuinely love her and the chemistry is right. What do you do? Well, happiness comes from work and love. If you find both at the workplace gratefully accept it, but drive with care. . [email protected] 0208181861 Next article: Ghana rolls out second phase of TDDA programme to improve disease response Previous article: Ghanaian babies grow up speaking two to six languages - Study Attorney General has begun interrogating suspects in corruption cases - Felix Kwakye Ofosu Mohammed Ali Mar - 02 - 2025 , 09:46 2 minutes read The Attorney General has directed security agencies to begin questioning individuals implicated in corruption investigations, paving the way for possible prosecutions. The move follows a review of findings from government-led inquiries into financial irregularities, Minister for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu has said. Speaking on JoyNews Newsfile programme on Saturday, March 1 2025, Mr Kwakye Ofosu stated that the Attorney General has assessed the evidence and identified cases that warrant legal action. As a result, security agencies have begun questioning suspects while legal processes continue. At least three cases have attracted public attention, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said. The first is the National Service Scheme (NSS) scandal, where two individuals, including an accountant and a former deputy executive director, have been taken in for questioning. This has been done lawfully, and so far, I have not heard any complaints from their lawyers about rights violations. Another case under investigation is the SkyTrain project, in which $2 million was allegedly paid to a company without any clear evidence of work done. Mr Kwakye Ofosu confirmed that Professor Ameyaw Ekumfi, board chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), former Minister Joe Ghartey, and other officials have been questioned regarding their involvement. The Attorney General will not take a case to court unless there is strong evidence of wrongdoing, Mr Kwakye Ofosu stated. But when there are clear signs of financial loss to the state, investigations must be carried out, and those responsible must answer for their actions. He also revealed that some suspects have left the country, taking refuge in nations that do not have extradition agreements with Ghana. Efforts are underway to bring them back to face legal proceedings. The Attorney Generals directive marks the latest step in the governments anti-corruption efforts, with several high-profile prosecutions expected in the coming months. Mr Kwakye Ofosu stressed that the Mahama administration remains committed to holding public officials accountable. The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind efficiently, he said. Next article: Watch the moment the Asantehene asked for the Church of Pentecosts appreciation token to be used as offertory Charismatic Believers Church International celebrates 25-years of God's grace and impact Beatrice Laryea Mar - 01 - 2025 , 23:36 4 minutes read Hundreds of members from Charismatic Believers Church International (CBCI), representing branches from across Ghana and other African countries, gathered for a thanksgiving service on Sunday, February 23, to commemorate the ministrys 25th anniversary at Ogbojo in Accra. The spirit-filled event also saw the participation of CBCI branches from the US and UK, along with reverend ministers, politicians and traditional leaders from the community. With all church departments Clergy, Mens Ministry, Womens Ministry, Youth, Childrens Ministry, Choir and Protocol Team fully present, the ceremony kicked off with a dynamic worship session led by renowned evangelist and worship leader, Uncle Ato. The atmosphere was thick with an undeniable sense of divine presence as worshipers were immersed in a powerful outpouring of praise and adoration. The energy was palpable, with the congregation experiencing a deep sense of unity, faith and the moving of the Holy Spirit. Rev. Mrs Florence Owusu-Amoah led some members of the Women's Ministry to cut the anniversary cake Some of the dignitaries in attendance were General overseer of CBCI, Rt. Rev. Kwabena Owusu-Amoah, National Women's Director, Rev, Mrs Florence Owusu-Amoah, Country Director, Global Leadership Network, Rev. Philip Tutu, General Secretary, Rev. Sampson Onwona Asare, CEO of Oil Corp Energia, Frederick Appertey, who chaired the occasion and Head, CBCI Afienya Area, Rev. Mrs Lydia Adzisam. A delegation representing the Chief of Ogbojo, Nii Torgbor Obodai II, also joined in the celebration, adding to the significance of the occasion. Theme The General Overseer of CBCI, Rt. Rev. Kwabena Owusu-Amoah, in a heartfelt message, urged the body of Christ in Ghana and around the world to remain vigilant and ensure that the fire and revival of the church never fades. He emphasized that the churchs focus should remain on the message of salvation, which can only be realized when Gods fire continues to burn within the church. Reflecting on the anniversary theme, "Keeping The Fire Burning in the Power of His Might," he advised the global church, particularly in Ghana, to stay watchful and maintain the fire and revival of the Spirit. We must ensure that the fire keeps burning. The church must not let it go out, he said. He also highlighted the alarming trend of churches veering away from the core message of the gospel. Today, many churches are engaging in activities that contradict the true gospel. We're selling all kinds of things in the church. This is not to say that one church is better than another, but I implore the churches in Ghana to keep fueling the fire through evangelism, he stated. Challenges Rt. Rev. Owusu-Amoah shared that the journey of ministry over the past 25 years has been filled with both joyful and challenging moments. He revealed that nearly half of that time was spent battling legal issues over land and dealing with pastoral breakaways. However, by Gods mercy and guidance, the church has persevered and reached this milestone. He expressed his hopes for the future, stating, It is my prayer that the next 25 years, should Jesus tarry, will see even greater growthboth qualitatively and quantitativelyin every area of our ministry. We are committed to mobilizing efforts for the evangelization of our communities, planting more churches, winning more souls, and supporting various socio-economic activities for the benefit of our members and those around us. Anniversary Project Rt. Rev. Owusu-Amoah shared that as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, CBCI plans to construct a children's block that will include a library, classrooms, and offices, all aimed at training the children in the fear of the Lord. "Ebenezer! Look at how far the Lord has brought us," he said. "In the past 25 years, we have accomplished so much, and we pray that God continues to give us the strength to do even more. Our childrens ministry has grown, and their current space can no longer accommodate them. We want to build a new children's block with a library, classrooms, and offices to provide them with better training in the Lord." Sermon Country Director of the Global Leadership Network, Rev. Philip Tutu preached a powerful sermon based on Leviticus 6:12-13, sharing five key truths for experiencing the fire of God. He emphasized the importance of keeping the fire on the altar burning, ensuring it never goes out, and the priests responsibility to add fresh wood to the fire each morning. Rev. Philip Tutu, Country Director of the Global Leadership Network The time has come when, if the church of God is to remain strong, we must fuel the fire daily. When the fire of God fades, human thinking takes over. If we want Gods fire to continue reigning in the church, we must keep praying, he said. We are all priests in the house of God, he continued. It is our duty, as priests of God, to add fresh wood to the fire every morning. You are not just a member attending churchyou are a priest of God, he added. Next article: Mahama urges clergy to speak up on governance issues Church must take the lead in Ghanas moral and economic revival Mahama Mohammed Ali Mar - 02 - 2025 , 21:13 1 minute read President John Dramani Mahama has called on the Christian community to play a stronger role in shaping Ghanas moral values and economic growth. Speaking at a thanksgiving service with the clergy in the Ashanti Region on Sunday, March 2 2025, Mr Mahama acknowledged the churchs influence on society but urged religious leaders to take an active part in addressing national issues. Theres an argument that while more than 90% of Ghanaians profess faith, immorality and crime are on the rise. My answer to that is simple, things would have been worse without the church, he said. Mr Mahama encouraged churches to invest in agribusiness and other ventures that generate income, assuring them of government support. The church can contribute to the economic transformation we all seek. Any church that ventures into agribusiness will receive government support, he stated. He also called for unity among Christian denominations, cautioning that divisions within the church weaken its influence in national development. Next article: Muslims to get two-day Eid holiday as Mahama directs amendment to Public Holidays Act Ghana rolls out second phase of TDDA programme to improve disease response Mohammed Ali Mar - 02 - 2025 , 09:45 1 minute read Ghana has launched the second phase of the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa (TDDA) programme to strengthen disease surveillance, prevention, and response. The initiative, supported by the UK Government, was announced by the Ghana Health Service on its official Facebook page on Saturday, March 1, 2025. The programme is part of efforts to bolster Ghanas health system in partnership with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and five other African countries. Speaking at the launch, Health Minister Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said the UK Government remains committed to improving health security in Africa. He stated that the programme would support early disease detection, improve response efforts, and contribute to Ghanas National Integrated Health Security Framework. Acting Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, underscored the need for community involvement in public health. He stressed that rapid response measures are crucial in containing outbreaks such as cholera, meningitis, and measles. The TDDA Phase Two programme is expected to strengthen Ghanas ability to detect and contain disease outbreaks within seven days, reinforcing both national and global health security. Previous article: Muslims to get two-day Eid holiday as Mahama directs amendment to Public Holidays Act Government pre-finances Hajj expenses, sets March 13 deadline for payment Mohammed Ali Mar - 02 - 2025 , 09:37 1 minute read The government has secured a pre-financing arrangement with a local bank to cover major Hajj expenses, allowing a smoother payment process for Ghanaian pilgrims travelling to Mecca. President John Dramani Mahama announced this on Friday, February 28, 2025, during the sod-cutting ceremony for a permanent Hajj Village in Accra. Mr Mahama stated that all deposits for accommodation, transport, and other essential services have already been settled, ensuring that no pilgrim will be required to pay beyond GH5,000 at this stage. To prevent last-minute payments that often disrupt travel plans, he said the government has set March 13 as the final payment deadline. He urged prospective pilgrims to meet this deadline to avoid logistical challenges. This year, we do not want a situation where people make late payments and expect to be airlifted. We have set up a task force to manage Hajj operations effectively, he said. Mr Mahama also revealed that the government had cleared outstanding debts from previous Hajj operations, preventing financial setbacks that have disrupted past pilgrimages. He assured Ghanaian Muslims that his administration is working to make the pilgrimage experience more dignified and well-organised, with measures in place to ease the financial burden on pilgrims. KNUST student murder: Police retrieve crucial evidence as suspect remanded GraphicOnline Mar - 01 - 2025 , 20:26 2 minutes read Authorities investigating the tragic death of Joana Deladem Yabani, a student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), have made a significant breakthrough after recovering her laptop and mobile phone, which were hidden behind the Flint Hostel on campus. A statement issued by the university's Office of the Registrar on February 28, 2025, confirmed that the retrieval was made possible through CCTV footage obtained from the hostel's security surveillance system. The items are now in police custody and are expected to provide crucial evidence for prosecution. Suspect remanded into custody Meanwhile, 21-year-old final-year student, Daniel Tuffuor, who has been arrested in connection with the alleged murder, appeared before the Prempeh District Court. Prosecutors requested his remand into police custody to allow for further investigations, and the court granted the request, setting his next appearance for March 17, 2025. KNUST reaffirms commitment to campus security KNUST management expressed gratitude to security personnel and law enforcement agencies for their swift action in handling the case. The University continues to prioritize the safety and security of its students and is taking further steps to enhance surveillance measures within and around campus, the statement read. The university also urged students, staff, and the public to remain calm and allow the legal process to take its course while expressing solidarity with Joanas family and friends during this difficult time. This tragic incident has sparked renewed concerns over student safety on Ghanaian campuses, with calls for improved surveillance and security measures to prevent similar occurrences. Read the entire statement below; Suame Interchange, Kejetia Market projects will resume soon - President Mahama Mohammed Ali Mar - 02 - 2025 , 22:37 1 minute read President John Dramani Mahama has assured residents of the Ashanti Region that his government will restart several stalled infrastructure projects in Kumasi and other parts of the region. Speaking at a thanksgiving service with the clergy in Kumasi on Sunday, March 2 2025, Mr Mahama outlined projects such as the Suame Interchange, Kumasi Kejetia Market Phase Two, and the Sewuah Hospital as priorities for his administration. He disclosed that negotiations with contractors and creditors were ongoing to facilitate the resumption of work. I have spoken to the managers of Euroget De-Invest, the contractors for the military hospital, and they have assured me that work will restart soon, he said. Mr Mahama noted that the Kejetia Market project had been delayed due to Ghanas debt exchange programme but said recent negotiations with international creditors had cleared the way for its completion. The Suame Interchange and other road projects were initiated without dedicated funding, but we are actively seeking financial support to ease congestion and improve road conditions in Kumasi, he added. He reaffirmed his governments commitment to infrastructure development in the Ashanti Region, describing it as a major economic hub that must not be overlooked. Next article: Church must take the lead in Ghanas moral and economic revival Mahama Mahama calls for stronger church-government partnership, unity among Christian leaders Mohammed Ali Mar - 02 - 2025 , 21:24 2 minutes read President John Dramani Mahama has called for a stronger partnership between the church and the government in national development, urging Christian leaders to set aside denominational differences and work together to expand the churchs reach. Speaking at a thanksgiving service with the clergy in Kumasi on Sunday, March 2 2025, Mr Mahama said churches are not just places of worship but also institutions that shape values, support communities, and contribute to national progress. He urged religious leaders to extend their outreach, particularly in rural areas, by investing in projects that create jobs and improve livelihoods. The church has always played a major role in Ghanas development, and we must strengthen this partnership to bring about positive change, he said. By investing in businesses that empower members economically while upholding ethical practices, churches can help create jobs. Mr Mahama cautioned against rivalry among Christian groups, saying competition weakens the churchs collective impact. Instead, he encouraged unity in establishing new congregations in areas that lack a strong Christian presence, particularly in the Ashanti Region, which he described as Ghanas Christian spiritual capital. Ashanti has the highest number of churches and men and women of God. We must use this blessing to reach communities that still do not have a strong Christian presence, he said. The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Lets pray for more labourers instead of competing. He also urged churches to work together on social initiatives such as education and healthcare, while continuing to advocate for policies that protect the vulnerable and promote social justice. The church has a voice that must be heard in national discussions. By working together, we can build a Ghana where justice and prosperity prevail, he said. Next article: Court jails job seeker who stole mobile phone from CHRAJ office Pastor in court over alleged GH310,000 visa fraud GNA Mar - 01 - 2025 , 19:49 2 minutes read Cris Karl Ofori, a pastor, was on Friday put before the Dansoman Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding a businessman of GH310,000. Ofori is said to have collected the amount from the complainant (businessman) under the pretext of assisting him to secure visas for him and his family. Charged with defrauding by false pretences, Ofori pleaded not guilty. The court admitted Ofori to bail in the sum of GH350,000 with three sureties. Two of the sureties are to be public servants earning not less than GH5,000. The remaining surety is to be justified with title deed. The case has been adjourned to April 25, 2025. The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Kwadwo Aboagye, told the court that the complainant, Amadu Seidu, was a resident of Sampa in the Bono Region. The accused is a branch pastor of a charismatic church at Tema. In 2023, prosecution said the complainant expressed his intention to travel to Canada with his family to resettle there. The complainant discussed this with one Nana Abena Sika, who introduced the accused as someone who could assist him (complainant) with the visa acquisition processes. In October 2024, the accused informed the complainant to make a commitment of GHC80,000, which the complainant promptly did and added three passport booklets (his own, that of his wife and daughter) to start the documentation process. Prosecution said the accused succeeded in collecting various sums of money totaling GH310,000 from the complainant. Later the accused called the complainant that he was not successful with the Canadian visa acquisition but rather obtained visas for the United Kingdom (UK). Based on that, the accused invited the complainant and family to Accra for the trip to the UK. Prosecution said the accused went into hiding and for three days when the family got to Accra. He was nowhere to be found. The court heard that the complainants family returned to Sampa. A report was made to the police at James Town and accused was arrested from his hideout. Ofori, in his caution statement, admitted the offence, prosecution said. Santa Comes Early This Year! Turbine Delivering 'Bumblebee' 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' & 'Sing 2' to 3D Blu-ray on December 19th Pan-African Cardio Summit calls for cheaper, accessible heart surgery in Africa Kweku Zurek Health Mar - 02 - 2025 , 15:39 3 minutes read The inaugural Pan-African Cardiothoracic Surgery Summit has concluded with key recommendations aimed at making heart surgery more affordable and accessible in Africa. Leading experts agreed on the need for specialised working groups to guide cardiovascular treatments, bulk procurement of medical supplies to lower costs, and early screening programmes to improve early detection and treatment of heart diseases. Additionally, re-sterilisation of certain surgical consumables was proposed to enhance access to life-saving procedures. The summit, held from February 21 to 24, 2025, brought together leading specialists from across Africa and beyond to address the growing burden of cardiovascular diseases and explore solutions tailored to the continents unique healthcare challenges. The closing ceremony featured prominent figures in the field, including Prof. Charles Yankah, Director of Humanitarian Cardiac Surgery Ghana, who outlined the summits resolutions and future initiatives. Key outcomes and recommendations Prof. Yankah emphasised the urgent need for Africa to develop its own robust cardiothoracic surgery programmes instead of relying on overseas medical treatment. Ghana has the potential to develop a comprehensive cardiac programme, and we are here to support our Ghanaian and African colleagues in discussing the way forward, he stated. One of the summits major resolutions was the establishment of specialised working groups focusing on critical areas such as valve surgery and coronary artery bypass surgeryprocedures increasingly necessary in Africa due to the rise in heart-related emergencies. We have come to the conclusion that there are many locally specific problems that we must tackle ourselves. These working groups will provide guidelines for the cardiovascular community in Africa to effectively address these issues, Prof. Yankah explained. Lowering cost of heart surgery in Africa A central concern raised was the high cost of heart surgery, which remains a significant barrier to treatment for many Africans. To combat this, the summit recommended the bulk procurement of medical supplies for cardiovascular centres across the continent. If hospitals purchase consumables in bulk, the cost of surgery can be significantly reduced. This approach has proven effective in other regions, Prof. Yankah noted. Additionally, the summit proposed re-sterilisation of certain surgical consumables, a practice already implemented in India and South America. For example, in Brazil, they re-sterilise some consumables up to three or four times. This can improve access to life-saving procedures for more patients, he added. Prof. Yankah also stressed the importance of early screening programmes to detect cardiovascular diseases before they become life-threatening. A screening programme is crucial to detecting diseases early and treating them properly, he stated. Furthermore, the summit underscored the need to invest in post-surgical intensive care to improve recovery outcomes, particularly for complex cases. Recovery is just as important as surgery itself. Intensive care is critical for ensuring that severely ill patients regain their health after surgery, Prof. Yankah emphasised. The German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, expressed his admiration for the initiative, noting that early detection and heart surgeries for children are vital for improving survival rates. If we want to save children from heart disease, we must implement preventive measures early. I urge everyone to support this crucial programme to give many children a better future, Ambassador Krull stated. A fundraising dinner was held as part of the summit, with proceeds dedicated to diagnosing, treating, and supporting patients with cardiovascular diseases in Ghana. Tables were priced at $50 per person or $500 for a group of ten, and the funds will be used exclusively within Ghana. This fundraiser is about inspiring the public and participants to support our charity work. Civil society, businesses, and communities must rally together to make quality heart care accessible, Prof. Yankah appealed. The event attracted over 250 participants from across Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with significant representation from Germany, the United States, and South America. Next article: Reflections on the State of the Nation Address Parliament holds MPs' orientation workshop as Minority boycotts over cost concerns Mohammed Ali Politics Mar - 02 - 2025 , 10:33 1 minute read Parliament has commenced a three-day orientation workshop for Members of Parliament (MPs) at the Volta Serene Hotel in Ho, despite a boycott by the Minority caucus over cost concerns. The event, organised by the Parliamentary Training Institute (PTI), began on Saturday, March 1, 2025 and is expected to end on Monday, March 3. The Minority, made up of New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs, refused to attend, citing concerns over the venue and associated expenses. The Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, questioned the decision to hold the workshop outside Accra, arguing that using Parliament House would have been more cost-effective. He referenced President John Mahamas recent austerity measures, which include reducing ministerial appointments and scaling back Independence Day celebrations as reasons to prioritise fiscal discipline. Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin described the boycott as regrettable and unjustified. Mr Bagbin defended the choice of venue, stating that a thorough assessment was carried out before selecting the Volta Serene Hotel. The programme includes training in parliamentary procedures, lobbying, advocacy and debating techniques to equip MPs for legislative work. Samsung just introduced the Galaxy A56, which brings 45W wired charging support - four years after the company first adopted that rate. Other new features include the Exynos 1580 chip and a bigger 6.7" Super AMOLED screen with smaller bezels on all four sides. The phone is also thinner than its predecessor at 7.4 mm profile and features a redesigned camera island; there are no longer protruding lenses. Samsung Galaxy A56 This is the first phone to sport the Exynos 1580 chipset, despite Samsung's introduction of the SoC back in October. The 1580 is a major upgrade over its predecessor, giving the Galaxy A56 a big performance advantage over the A55. Here, we have a 2.9 GHz CPU, AMD-based GPU with 2x WGP and an NPU with 14.7 TOPS, meaning performance should be up 37% from last year. Sadly, the rumors about 12 GB RAM were not true and here we have only 8 GB. The display also got revamped, as it is now 1200 nits bright HBM and 1900 nits bright at peak brightness. It keeps the Full HD+ resolution and the Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. Speaking of strength, the Galaxy A56 also has Victus+ on the back and an aluminum frame. Samsung Galaxy A56 The cameras did not change - the back has a 50 MP f/1.8 main shooter, a 12 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide snapper and a 5 MP f/2.4 macro lens, and the front has a 12 MP f/2.2 selfie cam. What changed is the algorithm, which is now driven by AI. The Galaxy A56 features context-aware image enhancement, better nighttime photos and videos with a low-noise mode, and quicker continuous shooting. The seamless zoom between the main and ultra-wide cameras has also doubled in speed, and now the switch takes less than 430 ms. Samsung Galaxy A56 Consumers will be glad to hear that Samsung is launching the Galaxy A56 with the promise of six years of security updates and six OS updates. The phone will launch with Android 15 and One UI 7.0, which brings a redesigned UI and more personalization options. The phone also comes with Circle to Search, which allows users to search for anything on their screen with one gesture immediately. Samsung Galaxy A56 This is the first time the Galaxy A series gets the 45W wired charging, which was previously reserved only for select Galaxy S flagships. Samsung calls it Super Fast Charge 2.0, and it should fill 65% of the 5,000 mAh cell in 30 minutes, while 0-100% should take 68 minutes. Samsung Galaxy A56 The Samsung Galaxy A56 comes in four Awesome colors: Graphite Gray, Light Gray, Olive, and Pink. The price for the 128 GB version is 479/$499, while the 256 GB is 529/499. If you were an uninformed passerby at the Guam Womens Clubs 69th anniversary celebration, you might think you just stepped out of a time machine. The club held their annual Mardi Gras celebration on Feb. 22 at Hyatt Regency Guam with the theme, The Roaring 20s. Several guests showed up in clothing inspired from that era, while others elected to wear modern, festive and blingy outfits to match the Mardi Gras celebration. Joiz Salas, president of the club, said the event was dedicated to their scholarship program. The club initially started giving $150 to scholarship recipients but now recipients receive a four-year scholarship to the University of Guam. Getting back to the fashion of the night many guests clearly looked like they did research to recreate looks from about a century ago. The website, thehouseoffoxy.com, explains that at the start of the 1920s the fashionable womens silhouette was no shape at all, in stark contrast to the extreme lines of the Edwardian matronly S shape era. Styles also included heavily decorated and beaded dresses with a high hemline and low neckline. The flapper style, however, cannot be singled out in one way the flapper was interested in dancing and being a free spirit and so her dress reflected that. There wasnt a singular style. Meanwhile, men of the era wore tailored suits while suspenders and various hat styles were often used as accessories. Attendees at the event certainly understood the theme and presented some nostalgic and memorable looks. Federal agents are on Guam and Saipan investigating businesses for immigrants working and living in the U.S. illegally, as part of the Trump White Houses nationwide worksite crackdown. Foreign nationals on Guam and Saipan were caught in the deportation dragnet as early as Jan. 31, the Pacific Daily News reported, though local officials until now have highlighted potential drug traffickers and foreign spies as the subjects of arrests. But federal agents also have their sights set on illegal aliens working on Guam and those who employ them, confirmed John Duenas, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, HSI, for Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Micronesia. HSI Guam has been conducting worksite enforcement operations on Guam and the CNMI, Duenas told the PDN in an email. The worksite enforcement inspection is being conducted to identify illegal aliens not authorized to work in the United States and identify employers who knowingly employ illegal aliens. Duenas said HSI, the investigation arm of the Department of Homeland Security, has been with the FBI, DEA, ATF, the U.S. Marshal Service and local law enforcement. They will apprehend and remove aliens in line with presidential executive orders and federal law, he said in an email. Due to on-going investigations and officer safety, I am not able to identify the businesses that were subjected to a worksite enforcement inspection or discuss the number of arrests made, he told the PDN. HSI and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, ICE, have been publicly disclosing details of immigrants apprehended at workplace raids across the U.S. Just last week, HIS and ICE announced 280 immigrants were administratively arrested at tech repair businesses in Allen, Texas, and 680 removable aliens were detained at processing plants in Jackson, Mississippi. HSI Honolulu social media pages also announced worksite enforcement action in the CNMI on Feb. 24, though details on any arrests or businesses raided have not been announced. Employers reporting ICE visits Some employers in the Marianas also reported having visited by ICE agents. On Feb. 20, for example, Atkins Kroll Saipans Toyota and Lexus Sales and Service Center on Saipan confirmed they were recently visited by ICE in what it described as voluntary inspection. The Saipan Chamber of Commerce, in a statement, encourages its members as well as all CNMI businesses to comply with all local and federal laws and regulations, including those administered by the USCIS and enforced by ICE. Even if you employ all U.S.-qualified workers, at a minimum, every employer is required to fill out Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification and keep a copy for inspection by USCIS at any time, Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Joe C. Guerrero said. On Guam, most removals and arrests documented in recent years have been of Chinese nationals violating their visas in the CNMI and unlawfully entering Guam, with over 118 documented between 2022 and 2024. Arrivals have spurred security concerns at the Office of the Governor and in Congress, given U.S.-China competition and the islands strategic military bases, the PDN has reported. But Guam also has a substantial foreign-born population, with some 50,374 local residents as of 2020nearly a third of the islands population that yearborn in another country, according to the Guam Statistical Yearbook. Statistics dont reveal how many of those foreign-born residents are naturalized U.S. citizens, permanent green card holders, or long-term residents here on a visa. Proof of legal stay in US Attorney General Douglas Moylan told the PDN he was not aware of any worksite investigations, but advised residents to be fully cooperative with the federal government. Moylan said his office has been in contact with the U.S. Department of State about immigration crackdowns, though mostly about Chinese infiltration from Saipan, which often involved smuggling of drugs and people. As for non-U.S. citizens residing lawfully on Guam, the AG said they should ensure that they are able to prove that they are in the U.S. legally. That included permanent residents of the U.S. who have a green card, he said. There is an obligation for a non-U.S. citizen to ensure that, number one, that they are acting lawfully at all times because theyre a guest, until such time as they become a U.S. citizen, Moylan advised. I think its incumbent, and its just part of being an immigrant applicant to the United States of America to have those documents ready when requested, he said. FSM citizens updating documents There has been a noticeable increase in citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia looking to update their documents in the past three weeks, said Clayton Eliaisar, foreign service officer with the FSM Consulate-General in Guam. Weve been really busy, Eliaisar told the PDN. Weve just been advising them to update their documents, so their passports, and I-94, Eliaisar said, referring to an I-94 proof of legal entry into the U.S. Residents from the FSM are the second-biggest group of foreign-born residents on the island, according to government stats, with 8,609 living on Guam as of 2020. Citizens of the FSM and other states with Compacts of Free Association with the U.S., like Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, have a unique residency status in the U.S., and are able to live, work and study in the country without a visa or limit on their stay. But its also become a concern for COFA migrants amidst stricter scrutiny from the feds, according to Pacific Center for Island Security chairman Robert Underwood, who met with FSM and RMI ambassadors in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. Compact citizens have the right to freely migrate to the United States, but their documentation may be a little weak, he said. You need an I-94. If you first went to the United States in 2005, you have a paper I-94. Its not computerized. You dont see it anywhere. And all of a sudden youre looking for that. And the Trump administrations solution for issues with a migrants I-94 was you go to Mexico, he said. Guam, where a COFA citizens residency would be more widely understood, was a little different from stateside, FSM foreign service officer Eliaisar said. We are closely monitoring these issues, he told the PDN. Citizens were taking the time to update their documents, and there were no serious reports of any FSM citizens running into trouble with federal law enforcement, Eliaisar added. Philippine Consulate General: Seek legal advice The Philippine Consulate General, Agana said undocumented Filipino migrants living in Guam and the CNMI faced with Trump White House order on immigration should seek legal advice from reputable immigration lawyers to help them understand their options to gain legal status in the United States. All Filipinos in the United States have rights, regardless of their immigration status, and should respectfully assert their rights in an encounter with law enforcement. Those facing immigration concerns should remain informed, seek legal counsel, and understand their options, the Philippine Consulate General added. (See separate story) The vast majority of the 50,375 foreign-born residents on Guam in 2020 were from the Philippines, 31,058, according to the Guam Statistical Yearbook. And that number could be much higher now, with the Guam Department of Labor reporting 5,549 H-2B visa workers on Guam last November, about 98% of whom came to Guam from the Philippines. Labor from the Philippines has been critical for civilian and military construction on the island, but the country was kicked off the eligible H-2B country list during the first Trump administration over concerns about overstays. In fiscal 2017, Homeland Security estimated that nearly 40% of H-2B visa holders from the Philippines overstayed their authorized stay period across the U.S., PDN files show. The Philippines was removed from the list of H-2B eligible countries in 2019, and the ban was not lifted until 2021. (With reports from Mark Rabago, a freelance journalist based in the CNMI.) Malesso residents on Thursday shared their initial thoughts, ideas and concerns that would help shape the villages plan to revitalize its historic sites. The Guam Preservation Trust and American Institute of Architects Marianas kicked off the first of several focus group sessions Thursday evening, drawing the attendance of village residents. While still in conceptual form, the Malesso Revitalization Plan is estimated to take 12 months to develop and costs about $50,000. According to the Guam Preservation Trust, the plan will be the tool that guides village growth and is an opportunity to focus resources towards community goals documented. Its these types of tools, we call it a tool, that make it much easier for the community to develop products. It makes it much easier for the community to communicate to the government, to communicate to developers, to communicate to ourselves, according to Guam Preservation Trusts chief program officer Joe Quinata. The historic Merlyn G. Cook School, registered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, was a previously funded project of the Trust. The restored building, located along Route 4, was built sometime before 1931 and is one of Guams first schools built during the U.S. Navy administration of the island. In the neighboring southern villages, the Trust also completed the Inalahan Revitalization Plan, which includes the rehabilitation of old historic homes, the Humatak Revitalization Plan, and the ongoing $3.5 million rehabilitation of the former F.Q. Sanchez Elementary School in Humatak. Malesso residents will have other opportunities to share their comments with the group through online surveys and at the upcoming 17th annual Gupot Chamoru/Crab Festival on March 28 to 30. The Guam Preservation Trust was established as a nonprofit public corporation in 1990 by Public Law 20-151 and re-codified in 2024 by Public Law 27-89. Their mission is to preserve and protect Guams historic sites, culture and perspectives for the benefit of our people and our future. The AIA Marianas chapter, meanwhile, was established in 1971, and represents the areas membership of licensed architects, interns and affiliates. Their mission is to promote the value of an architect, design healthy, sustainable and equitable communities and preserve the islands cultural heritage. For more information visit www.pacificpreservation.org/malesso. Attorneys in the clergy sex abuse and defamation cases against former Archbishop Anthony Apuron are seeking more time to finalize schedules for depositions. Plaintiffs attorney Delia Lujan Wolff and defense attorney Jacqueline Taitano Terlaje appeared before District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Thursday to discuss the status of the case. Terlaje, who represents Apuron, cited personal matters as a cause for delay. We didnt have the opportunity and I had a family emergency, Terlaje said. In addition to the emergency, Terlaje noted that their expert witness has not been available. She also filed a motion for reconsideration a couple of weeks ago, which Wolff is still reviewing. I was given the 10 business day time frame to have something in writing to explain our objections, Wolff said. Right now, we have three depositions. Tydingco-Gatewood ordered an expedited briefing for the motion for reconsideration, and has already received plaintiffs responses from Wolff. I will look into those responses, Tydingco-Gatewood said. The next hearings are scheduled for March 3, 6, and 14, with jury trials set for Sept. 17, Oct. 1, and Oct. 20. When asked about Apurons current condition, Terlaje said hes status quo. On behalf of my client, hes prepared to follow whatever the rules are, she added. Tydingco-Gatewood encouraged both attorneys to collaborate to move the case forward efficiently. I highly suggest, because this is a highly emotional and costly case, work together to get the pressure on, she said. If you guys can resolve this without coming to court, I ask the both of you to not be stuck in. The hearing followed the courts Feb. 14 order setting new deadlines and scheduling depositions in the civil case filed by former altar boys. According to court documents, the in-person depositions of four plaintiffs and the defendant are scheduled to take place on the mainland during the weeks of March 24 to 28 and March 31 to April 4. The deposition of another plaintiff, Ramon Afaisen De Plata, was tentatively set for March 6 on Guam, while an unidentified witnesss deposition was Feb. 20. The court extended the deadline for filing discovery motions to April 30. Wolff was to provide Terlaje with information regarding any compensation the plaintiffs may have received from other entities related to their claims, with redacted information for non-plaintiff claimants. During the Feb. 14 hearing, both attorneys agreed to limit Apurons deposition to no more than 2.5 hours per day over two five-day sessions. These remote sessions will take place in Las Vegas from March 24-28 and March 31-April 4. When Tydingco-Gatewood asked if Apuron would truly be deposed for 25 hours, Wolff responded that she wasnt sure. Terlaje clarified that Apurons earlier case involving a Vatican tribunal was a canon procedure using canon lawyers, and she was not authorized to possess any documents from that process. However, she agreed to provide Wolff with the names and contact information for Apurons canon lawyers to facilitate obtaining tribunal documentation. Wolff also agreed to provide compensation paperwork showing amounts paid to her seven clients, with redactions to protect non-client identities. Construction of the islands largest solar farm to date can move forward on a 627.6 acre parcel off Cross Island Road in Yona, with the Public Utilities Commission approving the project. The solar facility is a joint venture of the Samsung-KEPCO-EWP consortium, doing business as KES Yona Solar LLC, which will build the 132-megawatt, estimated 250,000 panel solar farm. When complete it will be the largest solar farm for the island by far, with more than twice the output of the current largest, the 60 MW Mangilao Solar Project. By comparison, the Guam Power Authority reported power demand for the whole island hit a peak of about 267 MW at one point last August, the highest in years. At full output, the Yona facility will deliver close to half of that. And the facility will also come with a 66 MW battery, capable of storing about 50% of energy produced during the day and shifting it for use during the evening hours, when power demand shoots up, GPA General Manager John Benavente has said. GPA just this week finalized a contract to buy energy from the KES Yona Solar Project for 25 years, with the option for a five-year extension, PUC Administrative Law Judge Fred Horecky said at a Thursday night commission meeting. Energy produced in Yona will then be sold by GPA to power customers. Commissioners in November had conditionally approved the deal between GPA and the firm, Horecky said Thursday. And with Horeckys certification that the contract met all prior agreed upon terms, the deal is considered final, he told the PUC. Completion time is about three years, with the solar farm expected to go online by Feb. 28, 2028, GPA assistant general manager for operations Jennifer Sablan said Thursday. According to Horecky, KES Solar will have to put up a development bond of about $20.9 million. If the plant doesnt go online by the 2028 deadline, the bond will be forfeit. Horecky said theres also a $41.87 million performance bond KES Solar will post, to secure the performance of the facility over the life of the 25-year contract. Alternatively, they can also offer a lien on the solar farm, he said. Based on the terms of the contract, GPA will pay about $41.8 million in the first year of operation, if the Yona solar farm delivers its estimated output. Joint venture The Yona project is a joint venture between several South Korea firms: Samsung E&C America Inc, parent company Samsung C&T, Korea East-West Power Co. Ltd., and Korea Electric Power Corporation, KEPCO. Two of the companies involved, Samsung E&C and KEPCO, previously settled with the government of Guam for a sum of $950,000 related to major erosion issues at the Mangilao Solar Project in 2021 that left Marbo Cave under a layer of sludge. Companies did agree to clean up Marbo Cave and the surrounding area, as a condition of the settlement. They admitted no wrongdoing. Local representatives of the project told the Guam Land Use Commission in January that steps will be taken to protect the wetlands around the Yona site. They said problems at Mangilao were due to a contractor, not design flaws. While the entire 627.6 acre is covered in a conditional use permit for the solar farm, the facility will only take up about 273 acres, and much of the grass and vegetation in the area is anticipated to stay intact, the Pacific Daily News reported. The 132 MW Yona Solar Project is part of the Guam Power Authoritys larger Phase IV solar projects, which will add 330 MW of renewable energy production to the electrical grid by 2028. GPA has also announced its intention to award a deal for a 60 MW solar project along the Tanguisson Beach cliffline to Core Tech Solar. The project was approved for rezoning on Thursday. But a contract was not finalized with Core Tech as of Thursday night, GPA legal counsel Marianne Woloschuk told the PUC. She said negotiations with Core Tech were ongoing. Sen. Telo T. Taitague advocated for cost efficiency and health initiatives at the 64th board of directors meeting of the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures, APIL, held in the Marshall Islands. She introduced Resolution 64-BOD-09 to consolidate both the board and general assembly meetings into a single trip. This strategic move is expected to save substantial funds and mitigate rising operational costs, according to Taitague, the oversight chair for regional affairs in the Guam Legislature. While these changes help reduce costs for our individual offices, they ultimately strengthen APILs ability to deliver meaningful legislative outcomes, Taitague said in a statement. The APIL board adopted Taitagues resolution. In a statement, Taitague said she felt successful in her efforts to promote financial conservatism and maintain legislative effectiveness within the APIL. In addition to financial efficiency, Taitague said she called upon APIL members to unite to address the critical issue of nuclear fallout and its impact on downwinders in the islands. During her address, Taitague referenced the insightful presentation by Dr. Neal Palafox and Dr. Wilfred Alik on Improving health systems and healthcare access for underserved populations. The presentation shed light on the long-term effects of nuclear fallout and the potential dangers posed by leaking contamination sites, which could be exacerbated by severe weather events. Taitague continues to advocate for stronger collaboration with neighboring legislative leaders, underscoring the belief that unity and collective efforts are key to achieving sustainable growth for the islands. Together, we are stronger and united, together we can achieve sustainable growth for our island communities, Taitague added. Showing up on time. Excellence in soft skills. Pay inequity and disparate costs of living and qualities of life. Artificial intelligence. Problem solving and conflict resolution. Passion, drive and initiative. Those were some of the big topics covered at the 2025 Career and Technical Education or CTE Summit, which started Friday evening at the University of Guam Lecture Hall. The summit was geared toward island educators, and there were plenty of Guam Department of Education classroom staff hanging on to every word. The theme for this year: the state of the working economy. From the takeaways from keynote speaker, economist Roseanne Jones, dean of the UOG School of Business and Public Administration; and the lively discussion from the various experts on the panel, it did not take long to realize that Guam has plenty of job openings in every department of every industry. Whether Guam had the qualified bodies to fill those openings was another matter. Attorney Vince Camacho reiterated some sobering facts from the Guam Department of Labor. There are 62,000 people in the workforce, but theres 55,000 people who are employable who are not looking for work. Thats 45%, he said. And 33% of those people are between the ages of 18-24. How do we got those 55,000 people to work? Because that will help. Camacho acknowledged that some Guam employers will steal talented employees from other employers, and some of them take those employees and their families elsewhere, contributing to a brain drain. He doesnt at all blame people for wanting whats best for their families. We need to do something as a community to help the businesses better their benefits and compensation packages. We need to lower the cost of living on Guam for them to stay, he said. But if someone has a better cost of living, a better quality of life, then we cannot compete. Weve lost a lot of good people. We cant lose anymore. The panelists agreed that while top students are bound to get the better jobs as a general rule, they told the teachers present to help the students hone their non-technical, or soft skills. What were looking for is showing up on time. The other thing is the soft skillset as well. Being able to communicate cross-generation, cross-contractors, throughout some of the different commands and specialties that we work with, said Cmdr. Jamie Rivas, professional engineer and executive officer for OICC NavFac Pacific. She said she isnt necessarily looking for every technical competency. Those are some of the things that they train whether they are for the sailor or for the tradesmen. We dont need them to know everything, we can help them develop that. But I cant train initiative. I cant train to care about the job and performing well. As well as being able to understand failure and being able to fail safely by asking questions showing partial progress before asking, Am I doing this right? Rivas said. Kenneth Rekdahl, a professional engineer with Duenas, Camacho and Associates, said that his company has taken to hiring high school students. They take pictures and shadow jobsite inspectors, he said, and they will learn and ask questions. Soon enough, they will be young experts. Mel Mendiola, from the Guam Economic Development Authority, businessman Tae Oh who chairs the Guam Chamber of Commerce, and other panelists all offered poignant remarks too. Tiyan High School Principal Sophia Duenas said she enjoyed the summit and felt validated that her school incorporates soft skills training across all grade levels. The summit was informative in both directions and I really hope with the conversations we had today we can really bridge that gap, she said. Provide the experiences for the high school students, provide a pathway for our students to straight into the industry. And for the educators to make our students more skilled workers, and so that we therefore build that economy for Guam, and keep our people on our island. In addition to Mes CHamoru, March is Ethics Awareness Month. While these two occasions may seem distinct, they both offer opportunities to reflect on values that guide how we live and interact with the world around us. On Guam, the CHamoru value of inafa maolek working together for the common good offers a vital contribution to conventional ethical reflection on how we engage with one another and our environment. Ethics is about more than following laws; it is about how we decide to live, the values we hold, and the principles that shape our choices. Laws are created to keep order and prevent harm, but they do not always address the nuances of right and wrong in every situation. Morality and ethics, on the other hand, require deeper reflection and are concerned with the good of individuals, communities, and society as a whole. While laws might forbid certain actions, ethics asks whether those actions are truly right or wrong, considering not just the immediate consequences but also broader implications for well-being. One way to approach these questions is through ethical systems, which provide frameworks for thinking about right and wrong. Consequentialism, for example, asks us to consider the outcomes of our actions. It judges the morality of an action by looking at the results it produces, advocating for choices that lead to the greatest overall good or happiness. In contrast, deontology focuses on the actions themselves, emphasizing that moral actions fulfill our duties to ourselves and others, regardless of the outcome. For deontologists, some actions are right or wrong in themselves, no matter the consequences. Finally, virtue ethics focuses on the character of the individual making the decision. Instead of prioritizing actions or outcomes, virtue ethics asks whether a person is embodying virtues such as honesty, courage, or compassion, and whether these virtues align with the good of the community. The six traditional values that make up inafa maolekrespect for family authority and familial ties, social positions and institutions, and elders; the sharing of gifts to lighten anothers burden; reverence for nature; and a sense of shameconstitute a distinctly CHamoru virtue ethics. These ethical frameworks also provide useful perspectives on pressing global and local concerns, such as environmental sustainability. Consequentialism might advocate for sustainable practices to ensure the long-term health of the islands ecosystems. From a deontological perspective, we might have a moral duty to protect the environment, regardless of the immediate costs or benefits. But CHamoru virtue ethics underscores the need to balance this respect for nature with another dutyrespect for each otherso that all creatures can live in harmony. Similarly, issues like homelessness and substance use disorder call for ethical reflection. A consequentialist approach might focus on policies that improve the well-being of the most vulnerable members of society, while a deontologist might stress our duty to help those in need, regardless of the outcomes. A virtue ethics based on inafa maolek might explore how to tend to those on Guam who are experiencing homelessness or substance use disorder in a way consistent not only with the law, but also with traditional CHamoru values. Philosophy courses at the University of Guam encourage this kind of ethical reflection. Students in courses such as Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Asian and Non-Western Philosophy, Contemporary Ethical Problems, and Ethical Theory engage with foundational ethical systems and explore how they apply to real-world challenges. The philosophy program at UOG emphasizes critical thinking, moral reasoning, and cross-cultural perspectives, helping students analyze problems creatively and express their ideas with clarity and precision. These courses prepare students to engage thoughtfully with a range of issues, both local and global, and to contribute meaningfully to their communities. In addition to classroom instruction, the UOG philosophy program offers extension programs such as EthixQuest and Our Island, Our Future. Engaging middle- and high-school students in real-world ethical dilemmas, these programs encourage participants to think deeply about complex issues while working collaboratively toward thoughtful solutions. By promoting ethical reflection in dynamic, community-focused settings, these programs empower individuals to become more engaged and thoughtful citizens, equipped to navigate the challenges of a complex, interconnected world. I Chalan Mona is an exciting new opportunity for high school students offered by the UOG philosophy program. A two-week seminar this July will offer rising juniors the chance to explore the theme of self-determination, particularly as it pertains to Guams history, while engaging in philosophical discussions and civic activities. Participants will also receive a school year of college support with admissions, financial aid, and scholarship applications, as well as engage in a civics project, addressing real-world ethical dilemmas in the community and working toward solutions grounded in the common good. This program challenges students to deepen their ethical reflection and encourages them to become thoughtful, active contributors to society. This March, as we reflect on ethics and CHamoru culture, we are reminded that ethical thinking is not just about personal choices but about fostering inafa maolek. By engaging in ethical study, whether in the classroom or through community programs, we can strengthen our ability to address difficult questions and make thoughtful decisions that benefit both individuals and society as a whole. Haiti - Training : Graduation of 400 young professionals As part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Youth (MJSAC) and the Matana Foundation, more than 400 young people from various municipalities in the Nord department have successfully completed a vocational training program in tiling, plumbing, electricity, cosmetology and agricultural techniques, provided at the Grand Pre Training Center. The graduation ceremony, held at the MJSAC Training Center in Grand Pre, illustrates the commitment of Minister Niola Lynn Sarah Devalis Octavius to promote the professional integration of young people and strengthen their contribution to national progress. After 6 to 9 months of training, these young people are now equipped with the professional skills necessary to enter the job market and actively contribute to the socio-economic development of the country. The first cohort, called "Promotion Genesis 2024-2025", demonstrates the joint desire of the Ministry and the Matana Foundation to promote the socio-professional integration of Haitian youth, by offering them concrete alternatives to the challenges of juvenile delinquency and banditry. Thanks to this partnership, the Matana Foundation benefits from access to the Grand Pre Training Center to welcome young people from the Far North and extend its action to all departments of the country. In order to support the empowerment of these new graduates, a microfinance program was set up by the Matana Foundation, allowing young people to launch their own business and embark on the path to entrepreneurship. HL/ S/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... 5 Haitian influencers received gifts from a gang leader 5 Haitian "TikTok" influencers, all living in the United States : Tatie Mendel, Parolla, Belle-Enfant, Trapalman and Commandant are cited in the United Nations quarterly report on drugs and crime in Haiti. According to the document dated February 6, 2025, these influencers allegedly received gifts from the leader of the "Gran Ravin" gang, Renel Destina, aka "Ti Lapli". Health : Taiwanese cooperation Bertrand Sinal, the Minister of Public Health, met with the Taiwanese ambassador, Cheng-Hao HU. This meeting was an opportunity to take stock of several ongoing issues. In particular, the imminent opening of a hospital built with Taiwanese funding in Terrier-Rouge was discussed, as well as preparations for the launch of the cancer center. Large-scale strategic operation "As head of the Justice, Public Security and Rule of Law project within the Presidential Transitional Council, I would like to confirm that the security units of the National Palace are currently engaged in a large-scale strategic operation aimed at slowing the advance of criminal groups [...] This weekend, following this operation, several bandits were neutralized, and favorable news is expected. I am waiting for confirmation... Presidential Advisor Emmanuel Vertilaire. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44387-haiti-flash-offensive-of-the-pnh-with-drones-and-explosives.html Les Cayes : airport renovation work The renovation work at the Antoine Simon airport in Les Cayes has begun. This project will allow the repair of 1,370 meters of runway and its extension of 500m. The expansion of the counter space will allow the improvement of passenger services. The company Vorbe et Fils is in charge of this work. Paraguay appoints a non-resident ambassador to Haiti The President of Paraguay Santiago Pena, signed Decree #3113 appointing Raul Alberto Florentin Antola, based at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Paraguay to the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., as non-resident Ambassador of Paraguay to Haiti. The American Embassy honors Reggie Fils-Aime The American Embassy in Haiti honors, on the last day of Black History Month (February 28), Reggie Fils-Aime, an American businessman of Haitian origin, and former Director of Operations at Nintendo of America from 2006 to 2019. Reginald Fils-Aime was born on March 25, 1961 in the Bronx, New York, to Haitian parents. HL/ HaitiLibre Anzeige As it has done for several years now, Xiaomi is once again using the MWC 2025 as a major stage for a whole series of new products. The spearhead is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, whose camera the Chinese manufacturer has once again developed together with the Hessian specialist Leica. The design of the smartphone is very similar to its predecessor; Xiaomi has merely rounded off the edges and transitions slightly. The back is adorned with a leather-look plastic layer and a silver stripe, while the bold camera element protrudes from the back. Nevertheless, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is well-balanced and not as top-heavy as you might expect from its appearance. Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, one of the most powerful smartphone processors, which can access 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB or 1 TB of storage. The 6.73-inch OLED display has a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels and achieves a pixel density of 522 dpi. In the control range, we measured a maximum brightness of a very strong 1920 cd/m, with over 3000 cd/m possible in some scenarios. This makes the display of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra easy to read in all positions. Wifi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, dual SIM with nano and eSIM and a 5410 mAh battery are also included in the casing, which is IP68 protected against dust and water. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra charges at 90 watts with a cable and barely slower at 80 watts wirelessly with the proprietary charger. There is room for four cameras in the circular camera element: the main camera with 50 megapixels and f/1.6 aperture Xiaomi has removed the variable aperture in the predecessor , a triple telephoto with 50 MP, a second, horizontally mounted telephoto with a magnification of 4.3x and 200 MP sensor for further digital zoom and an ultra-wide angle with 50 MP. The selfie camera takes pictures with up to 32 MP. Xiaomi 15 Ultra (Image: heise online/wod) The Xiaomi 15 Ultra reveals clear gaps in the measured values of our usual benchmarks, and this is due to the firmware of the test devices. Xiaomi blocks internet access for the GFXBench and 3DMark apps and the tests cannot be run. Geekbench at least works and delivers the expected high results that the Snapdragon 8 Elite also achieves in other devices. It is all the more strange that Xiaomi does not release the benchmarks, as this is not a brand-new, secret chip whose performance is not yet known. Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera test Anzeige During a photo tour in the run-up to the MWC in Barcelona, we subjected the camera of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to an initial test. Taking photos with the smartphone is fun because the camera reacts quickly, catches the focus in a flash and delivers very respectable pictures shot from the hip. It is striking that switching from the natural Leica color mode to the vibrant mode ("Leica Vibrant") not only changes the color intensity, but also the general brightness of the images. The images taken in vibrant mode are generally brighter, which is not always conducive to the image effect. If in doubt, it is best to take two pictures if the situation allows, as the Leica mode cannot be changed afterwards. At night, other smartphones sometimes do a better job than the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Street lighting often creates an unnatural yellow cast in the images. The Xiaomi smartphone then captures scenes with different lighting elements very atmospherically. The Xiaomi does not have a dedicated astro mode like the Google Pixel, but it does have its own mode for photographing the moon. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra reliably captures portrait shots, the recognition and separation of subject and background also works reliably with fine structures such as the fur hat of a street musician (in the picture gallery). The background blur is sometimes almost a little too pronounced, so that the images no longer look so natural when you look closely. For selfies, skin tones and details in the subject fit very well, the background should show a little more detail. But that's complaining on a high level, the first impression of the camera, which has yet to visit our test lab, is excellent. Bild 1 von 30 Xiaomi 15 Ultra im Hands-on (30 Bilder) Xiaomi 15 Ultra Kameratest Xiaomi 15 Ultra Kameratest (Bild: heise online/sht ) The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is not cheap. With 16/512 GB of memory it costs 1499.90 euros, with 16 GB/1 TByte it is even 1699.90 euros. The photography kit with camera grip costs an additional 199.90 euros. The compact Xiaomi 15 is a little slimmed down and visually more discreet. It has almost the same main camera as the Ultra, but with seven instead of eight lenses. The periscope telephoto lens does not fit in here, while the 50 MP telephoto lens has a slightly shorter focal length of 60 mm. The ultra-wide angle has the same key data as the Ultra, but a different sensor (JN1 instead of JN5). The Xiaomi 15 is also equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Elite, which has access to 12 GB of RAM. At 5240 mAh, the battery is hardly weaker than in the Ultra, but should provide better endurance due to the significantly smaller 6.36-inch display. The screen of the Xiaomi 15 is certified by TUV Rheinland for Low Blue Light, Flicker-Free and Circadian Friendly. The Xiaomi 15 will also receive the latest security patches and four Android upgrades for six years. Xiaomi 15 (Image: Xiaomi) The Xiaomi 15 with 12/256 GB storage costs 999.90 euros. If you prefer the version with 12/512 GB, you will have to pay an additional 100 euros. New tablets, headphones and more In addition to the two smartphones, Xiaomi is also presenting two new tablets, the Pad 7 and the Pad 7 Pro. Both have 11.2-inch screens with a resolution of 3200 x 2136 pixels and 8850 mAh batteries, while the Pro has slightly higher-resolution cameras. The processors come from Qualcomm, a Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 in the Pad 7 and a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 in the Pro. The tablets cost from 399.90 euros for the Pad 7 and 499.90 euros for the Pad 7 Pro. Xiaomi also offers the Pad 7 Pro with matte glass, which costs 649.90 euros with 12/512 GB of storage. There are also two new in-ear headphones, the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro and the Buds 5 Pro (Wifi), the second model also connects directly to the smartphone via Wi-Fi, which should ensure better sound quality. They cost 199.99 and 229.99 euros respectively. The Xiaomi Watch S4 (from 159.99 euros) and the Smart Band 9 Pro (from 79.90 euros) complete the wearable range. The Xiaomi Electric Scooter 5 Max rounds off the offer at a price of 599.99 euros. (sht) Don't miss any news follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication. League presents program on preventing juvenile crime The League of Women Voters of Henderson County will host a program on preventing juvenile crime from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, in the Kaplan Auditorium at the main library, 301 N. Washington St. Related Stories Preventing Juvenile Crime: Everyones Concern, Everyones ResponsibilitySupporting our At-Risk-Youth in Henderson County will be presented by Henderson County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Chair Sally Buchholz. The program presents a global look at juvenile crime not only in Henderson County, but also how we compare to other areas. Buchholz will outline what the JCPC goals are and how they work to prevent juveniles from ever entering the system. A review of available services and what people can do to help kids today will also be included. The event is free and open to the public. LWVHC welcomes all members of our community. For more information, visit www.lwvhcnc.org. FREDDIE van Mierlo has lobbied four government ministers in a bid to accelerate the repairs and reopening of a public footbridge. The Henley MP has also called on Steve Reed, the Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to increase the funding available for bridge replacements and refurbishments in the next spending review. The rotting Marsh Lock horsebridge was shut by the Environment Agency in May 2022 following complaints about its condition. Repairs were originally expected to take two months but were delayed when the agency denied it was responsible for maintaining the river crossing. It said that the bridge, which has more than 100 defects in the deteriorating hardwood, will have to be replaced in its entirety and this was reliant on partnership funding. In October, the Henley Standard revealed that the repairs may now not take place until 2026 and could cost about 1.3m. In a letter to Mr Reed he said that he is deeply concerned that a solution has not yet been found. He said: I truly appreciate the fiscal inheritance you have been left by the Conservatives who woefully overlooked their responsibilities towards adequately funding the Environment Agency. However, as part of the Chancellors spending review, I would like to call for increasing funding for bridge replacement/refurbishment projects, in line with sums allocated to weirs, and locks as part of a holistic approach to the maintenance of river infrastructure. Mr van Mierlo said he wanted to discuss working towards a resolution so that partnership funding can be simplified or expedited, adding: It is critical that we find a solution that will benefit both the local community and the many visitors who rely on this route to explore our beautiful countryside. He has also written to Lisa Nandy and Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as Baroness Sue Hayman, Minister of Access at Defra. To Baroness Hayman he asked how the Thames Path National Trail will fit into the governments plans for a new National Rivers Walk, saying restoring the horsebridge is essential to improving public access. Mr van Mierlo wrote: The Thames Path winds its way through my constituency, stretching from Henley and Shiplake to Benson and Dorchester. This iconic route is deeply valued by both my constituents and visitors, offering access to some of the most scenic and picturesque stretches of what is one of Britains most renowned rivers. With this in mind, I would like to ask how the Thames Path National Trail will fit with the government's plans for the new National Rivers Walks. He invited Lady Hayman to join him and his two Shiba Inu dogs for a walk to see the challenges that members of his constituency face first-hand. In his letter to Mr Streeting, he shared his ongoing frustration regarding the bridge closure and that this was affecting the mental and physical wellbeing of the community. He said: National Trails UK estimates the annual savings to the NHS of the UKs national trails amount to 300m. It is therefore in the interests of the NHS and wider health goals to reopen the bridge in a timely way. I invite you to consider the importance of national trails in achieving the goal of prevention, and in particular the Thames Path within the Henley and Thame constituency. The restoration of the horsebridge would not only improve safety and accessibility but would also allow residents and visitors to reconnect with nature, improving their mental and physical health. In his letter to Ms Nandy, Mr van Mierlo said the bridge's closure jeopardises access to a critical historical and cultural feature and its importance should be recognised. He wrote: The earliest recorded use of a lock at this location dates back to 1580. What makes the horsebridge truly unique is that the lock is situated on the opposite side of the river from the towpath, necessitating the construction of a long wooden bridge to carry the path out of the lock island below the weir, and then back again to the riverbank above the weir. This feature is unlike any other on the River Thames. Last month, Henley Town Council pledged to take legal action to accelerate repairs to the bridge. It served notice on Oxfordshire County Council to force it to state whether the bridge is considered a public highway and who is liable to maintain it. The Environment Agency has said that the decision on the safest and cost-effective options for the bridge will be made as soon as possible. A NEW permanent barrier is being installed to stop toads from crossing a busy road on the outskirts of Henley. Volunteers with the Henley Toad Patrol are putting up 250m of plastic fencing to halt the amphibians so that they can then be carried across the busy A4155 Marlow Road during their annual migration period. The barrier is made up of panels, each 1m long, which had been gifted by ACO, a surface water management company that also produces a range of wildlife refuges such as tunnels, gully ladders and wildlife kerbs. It adjoins a 100m barrier that the Bedfordshire-based company installed on the site in the Eighties and will replace a temporary plastic barrier volunteers have to put up and take down each year. The Toad Patrol has been running for more than 25 years and last year helped a record 11,500 toads, 464 frogs and 225 newts. Each evening from February to April, patrol members check the barrier which lines the road running through the Culden Faw Estate, next to the Henley Showground. They carefully collect any amphibians and carry them across the road to their spawning pond on land near the Henley Business School. Volunteers from the toad patrol and ACO have been working together to install the barrier starting since December and the project is now halfway to completion. The fencing is installed by digging it into the ground, with posts screwed into each panel for support. Civil engineer Terry Wilkinson was one of a number of ACO staff members who were helping to install the barrier. He said that the site was home to one of the first toad tunnels in the country. We have a bit of a long-standing history on the site, he said. There are a couple of tunnels here and the original fencing was all put in around 1987. Professor John Sumpter, a member of the Toad Patrol, got in contact with us to say they were keen to extend the fencing and our senior managers agreed to provide 250m. Every year before the migration period they come and put the temporary fencing up but now it can stay up all year round and they are able to extend the fencing further. I think its the largest monitored toad population in the country and, because weve got so many toads, there is a benefit in extending the fence to prevent as many as possible from getting on to the road. Mr Wilkinson explained that the barriers shape is designed to prevent toads from reaching the busy roadbut the curved top of the panels allows them to return from the spawning ponds and climb back into the woods. He added: Ive been in the company for about 10 years and wildlife is an area Im very passionate about. Its really nice to be able to come and see it on a site like this. Prof Sumpter, a biologist and environmental science lecturer who lives in Southend, has been helping the toads cross the road since he first moved to the area in 1998. He hopes that the new barrier will be much sturdier than the temporary one volunteers had been using, which was made of plastic sheeting. Prof Sumpter said: Previously we had to put up a temporary barrier at the end of January or the start of February. It was a bit unsightly and sometimes it could be blown down in strong winds. We have found it in the woods and once across the road. So this new barrier should last for decades. The original, which was put in around 1987, is still there and still working fine. So I would hope that this will last us a long, long time. Its going to be 350m in total. We will go right from Benhams Lane, all the way across the wood and just on the edge of the Henley Showground and because the majority of the toads spend their lives in this wood, it will intersect the vast majority of the toads. Each year, Prof Sumpter collects and analyses data from the volunteers findings. He described a repeat of last years record number of amphibians as unlikely. Prof Sumpter said: Here the population is definitely holding up and if anything it might be increasing but it's difficult to know because it does go up and down. Last year was the best year in 30 years with 11,000 adult toads, which is a huge number. About eight years earlier we had 2,500. So, it goes up and down and you have to be careful about not getting over depressed if its not a great number. I mean, the chances of getting 11,000 again this year are probably quite slim. The average over nearly 30 years is about 5,500 but that is still a lot of toads. Toads migrate in the evenings under the cover of darkness and when the temperature rises above approximately 8C. If it is raining, volunteers can expect to find nearly double or even triple the number of toads. Last year, the Henley Toad Patrol celebrated its 25th anniversary and was recognised at the Proud of Bucks awards, hosted by the South West and North West Chilterns Community boards, where it received a commendation for Best Community Group. Nicola Taylor, of Makins Road, has been volunteering with the toad patrol for about 10 years. She said she was encouraged to join the group by one of its organisers, Angelina Jones, with whom she went to Gillotts School in Henley. Ms Taylor said: My grandparents lived in Marlow when I was tiny and I used to come along the road and see all the squashed amphibians it was quite revolting. I also knew Angelina from school, so I said, Yeah, Ill come along and come and help. You just get swept away with the loveliness of saving them. They are lovely little creatures. They are really cute, really friendly, really gentle. The frogs are bouncier and the newts are always quite exciting because you dont see newts that often. Ms Taylor, who works as a baker, said that she had also persuaded her daughter Victoria, 24, to come along and help out. Jane Bosley, who lives in Valley Road and works in asset management, said she found the volunteer work therapeutic. She said: I had been driving along this road, and I had seen the signs and people out and about. Then I read the article in the Standard and thought, Yeah, why not? Its quite peaceful and therapeutic and it takes me out of my busy mind sometimes. Its nice to know Im helping in some way. The dramatic changes we are experiencing from a geopolitical perspective have caught Europe, but also Romania, off guard. The US is not only signaling a geostrategic and military decoupling from Europe, but its leaders seem motivated to encourage nationalist and anti-European political parties, thus shaking the entire edifice that was the basis of peace and prosperity in Europe after the Second World War. Under these circumstances, both Europe and Romania must hope for the best, that is, preserving the strategic relationship with the US, but prepare for the worst. This essentially means two things: saving the European ideal of prosperity through unity and integration, and, on the other hand, developing an European military alliance, including Great Britain and Norway. But the rapid achievement of such existentially important objectives has no chance of success as long as society, the political world, countries, but especially decision-making centers remain divided, making any decision-making process slow or impossible to complete. European political elites are at a moment when, more than ever, they must put aside endless debates and prioritize the truly important objectives, the huge stakes, which require appropriate leadership. But this reset of the way of doing politics to counter existing threats, to build a relevant geopolitical position, cannot be done without a consolidation of European countries that want to take their integration to a new level. This means that for Europe it becomes imperative to build a hard core. In the current, extremely tense and unstable context, it is increasingly evident that the EU is incapable of taking important decisions in an efficient manner, and when it does, either the low speed is exasperating or the need for compromise leads to insufficiently ambitious decisions. The EUs objective of becoming a geopolitical force, a military force, has no chance of succeeding without deeper integration on all dimensions: political, economic, military. It is obvious that not all countries are ready for this or even consider it appropriate. For this reason, a group of countries sufficiently representative in terms of size and economic power will have to start a process of deep integration. Yes, this would create a two-speed European Union. But it is increasingly evident that the current fragmentation of the European Union makes it dysfunctional in relation to the responsibilities and challenges that face it. A strong Europe can only be built by relying on a much deeper trust than the one that exists currently in such different doses between EU states. A trust that would allow for the adoption of trans-European decisions by majority vote, that would allow an Italian bank to buy a German bank without nationalist obstacles or that would not motivate each country to produce its own howitzer or tank. To give just three examples If today there are countries that have enough confidence to further integrate their political decisions, fiscal policies, economies, defense industries and armies, then they should do so without waiting for everyones consensus. There is no time to waste. The power of example, of leadership, is needed, and others will join in. Signs in this direction are beginning to appear, but they are still too timid and too hesitant. The illusion is still maintained that the EU will be able to rise to the level of current challenges with narrow, somewhat improvised formats, which, lacking clear criteria for membership, undermine the European construction by creating confusion and frustration. Such an antidote is also valid in the case of Romania. A hard core would mean a tight and unconditional coordination of all parties that support Romanias membership in the Western world, both economically and militarily. The first sign that such a coalition of pro-Western forces is emerging would be the support of a single candidate in the presidential elections, that pro-European candidate, regardless of his political affiliation or non-affiliation, with maximum chances of being voted for by most Romanians. Once the parliamentary elections are over, the motivation for the traction of the parties by the presidential candidates no longer has any justification. It is a moment when petty, political ambitions, egos become totally insignificant relative to the objective that Romania re-become a solid and respected member of the European Union and NATO. The next step after the presidential elections would be that, regardless of their outcome, a unity government of all pro-Western parties would be created. Political struggles are the key to any healthy democratic society, but now, all pro-Western parties must put aside their disagreements and focus on the common objectives they have and which, behold, require broad political support to be promoted. The creation of a comprehensive pro-European unity government would send an important signal to the country that all the pro-European parties really do make the geopolitical orientation and the solidity of Romanias security their zero priority, which outweighs any other differences of opinion on domestic policy issues. But it would not be just about symbolism. As I said on another occasion, Romania desperately needs to secure the financial resources necessary to increase the defense budget, up to a doubling of the amount currently allocated. Given the already very large budget deficit, its rapid correction in parallel with the prioritization of defense spending will require a series of unpopular solutions that will only be able implemented with broad political support. In a NATO with a diminished or disappearing US presence, the importance of each member and, especially, of the large countries will increase significantly. Romania will have to assume increasing responsibilities as well as the related costs. Real solidarity always works only both ways. Romania will not be able to be a security beneficiary without also being a security provider. And this means difficult decisions and substantial resources for which a broad political consensus is needed. Finally, a question that, following the above considerations, might appear in the readers mind. What chances does Romania have to be part of a future hard core of Europe? I think that, in a first phase, chances are rather limited. I say this because size is an advantage, but it is far from being sufficient, other assets being absolutely necessary. The size and solidity of the economy will matter, a criterion that Romania does not meet yet, given that it currently has a major vulnerability in terms of its record budget deficit and its inability to absorb European funds. The willingness to accept decisions taken on the basis of the majority principle in the integrated forums of the hard core will also be important, such a decision-making system being essential for eliminating the blockages that appear today in European decisions. Is Romanian society ready for this? Respecting and cultivating European and liberal democratic values related to democracy, the separation of powers in the state, an independent and efficient judiciary, and the fight against corruption will be equally essential qualifying criteria. No one in Europe today has the time and patience to be the guardian of democracy in Romania or other European countries, which will rather be left outside a hard core with consolidated liberal democracies. Finally, the quality of leaders will be of great importance. As European countries close ranks, and especially in a hard core, relationships between leaders will be increasingly personal, more informal. Communication will be more direct, more spontaneous and faster. This will require leaders with similar know-how, skills and seniority who respect each other and have the comfort of teaming together from equal positions. Without creating consolidated nuclei of resistance to nationalism, isolationism and the concerted attack on liberal values, neither Europe nor Romania will have a chance to defend themselves and become stronger. But the difficulty of achieving such ambitious and unprecedented mechanisms of governance is similar to the stakes that require them. Very high. *** The man accused of stabbing and critically injuring another man at a Charlottesville church Thursday prompting the University of Virginia to issue its second shelter-in-place order in as many days may have previously attempted to acquire a gun by omitting a crucial detail about his criminal history. Court records show that officials settled a charge that 44-year-old Edward Conlin Lee falsely claimed no prior felony record by getting him to sign an affidavit acknowledging his inability to possess a firearm. "I understand," Lee wrote in the December 2021 affidavit, "that if I attempt to purchase or possess a firearm in the future I will likely be prosecuted and that this affidavit may be used to establish that I know that I am barred from purchasing or possessing firearms." In exchange for that acknowledgement, Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Hingeley motioned the county's general district court to dismiss a felony charge against Lee for making a false statement. Hingeley's office had initially charged Lee after Lee, despite being found guilty of forgery in 2004, claimed no felony convictions on the background form he submitted to Walmart when attempting to buy a firearm. Virginia law bars felons who haven't had their rights restored from owning firearms. However, it wasn't a firearm that nearly cost the life of 44-year-old Clayton William Donne at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church on Thursday afternoon. Instead, it was a knife in the hands of Lee, according to the investigating officer. The Thursday afternoon violence prompted UVa officials to issue multiple emergency alerts and order those in the area to shelter in place. One alert told students who encountered Lee to "RUN HIDE FIGHT." This was just two days after the UVa issued a salvo of emergency alerts via text, social media and loudspeaker as police pursued a man who fled a traffic stop across Grounds. The hunt for Lee ended in front of 215 Stribling Ave. on the border of Charlottesville's Jefferson Park Avenue and Fry's Spring neighborhoods about 1 1/2 miles from the scene of the stabbing. He has listed an apartment in the vicinity as his address. Lee has been charged with malicious wounding. Detective Arron Arreguin contends in a criminal complaint that Lee was found with a knife on his person and agreed to speak with detectives after waiving his Miranda right to remain silent. "Lee admitted to retrieving a knife from his waistband and stabbing Donne twice, once in the abdomen and once in the chest," Arreguin wrote. At the time of the incident, church officials were likely preparing for overnight guests, as the church was in the middle of two-week run as an overnight shelter for homeless men. While a precise motive for the stabbing was not specified, Lee allegedly told the detectives that Donne had been "irritable" because someone had stolen his bag and that Donne would kill someone. According to the lead detective, before the bloodshed began, Lee formed an intent. "Lee admitted to detectives that he knew he was going to stab Donne before pulling his knife out," Arreguin wrote. In a public message sent the evening of the attack, UVa President Jim Ryan said that neither man had a university connection and that Donne, in critical condition, was getting treatment at UVa Medical Center. "Todays incident was frightening, especially coming on the heels of Tuesdays events," Ryan wrote, "and I recognize that the emergency alerts and shelter-in-place orders have been alarming and disruptive. The safety of our community remains my top priority." Court papers indicate that Lee gets income from disability payments and a $12-an-hour job at the Whiskey Jar restaurant on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. He was convicted in 2022 in Charlottesville Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court of battering a family member. Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church at 1901 Thomas Road is one of multiple houses of worship that, on a rotating basis, hosts an overnight shelter during the colder months of the year in partnership with an organization known as PACEM, or People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry. "Please be our guest, arrive 5:30pm-7pm, but do not wait for us earlier than 5pm," the shelter advises. The stabbing, according to Charlottesville police spokesman Kyle Ervin, occurred before a 4:33 p.m. emergency call. While neither the Wesley Memorial church pastor nor PACEM officials would discuss the operation, they tout their shelters as a "last resort" shelter for those who have run out of options. "We do not require photo ID, breathalyzer, drug tests, or background check," PACEM advises overnight guests on its website. Held without bail at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, Lee has been assigned Jessica Phillips as his lawyer and has a hearing slated in Charlottesville General District Court on April 10. "The only comment I have to make," church pastor Matt Seaton told The Daily Progress via email, "is that we at Wesley Memorial are praying for all those affected by this terrible tragedy." U.S. President Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting was a spectacle for the world as Elon Musk, the president's close advisor, admitted that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) canceled the U.S. Agency of International Development's (USAID) Ebola prevention program in the process of cutting down federal spending. The tech titan said the program was immediately restored after the unofficial presidential unit realized it was a "mistake" to cancel the program. However, some current and former officials beg to disagree, saying there was "no effort" from Musk's part to restore the program that played a crucial role in fighting Ebola outbreaks. Musk Makes Careful Statements in Cabinet Meeting Appearance Unlike his usual bombastic appearances alongside the U.S. president, Musk appeared to be more toned-down Wednesday night as he spoke before watchful, veteran politicians in the Trump cabinet. "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect," Musk told Trump's cabinet members, who were intently listening to the business mogul as he explained the work the DOGE is doing in slashing government expenditures. Elon Musk: "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect ... so for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola prevention." pic.twitter.com/bq4Ipp4Zvj Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 26, 2025 He noted that the department he is leading "will fix it very quickly" when it does make mistakes, including the cancelation of the USAID's anti-Ebola program. "One of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention," he said, adding that it was "restored immediately" following the incident. USAID Officials Deny Musk's 'Claims' of Restoring Initiative Dan Diamond of The Washington Post said that according to current and former agency officials, Musk did not really restore the program. "There have been no efforts to 'turn on'" Ebola prevention, said Nidhi Bouri, who oversaw the team's work on the initiative through January, as per the report. Elon Musk said DOGE made a mistake by cutting USAIDs Ebola prevention but it had been restored. Thats not true, current and former officials told me and @John_Hudson. There have been no efforts to turn on Ebola prevention, said Nidhi Bouri, who oversaw team til January. pic.twitter.com/drvh5x1vac Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) February 26, 2025 Bouri went on to reveal that her former team of 60 people working on response toward Ebola prevention "had been cut to about six staffers as of earlier this week," Diamond wrote in a series of tweets. X Users Divided Over The Issue Users on Musk-owned X are divided about the issue, with some saying Musk and DOGE were just doing their best to reduce unnecessary government spending, while others argued making such "mistakes" would eventually evolve into bigger scandals. One user said there shouldn't be a problem with the Ebola program, since Musk canceled it only "for a day." For a day. He said theyre going to make mistake mistakes and theyll fix them quickly. What exactly is your problem with that? Keith Ainsworth (@AinsworthKeith) February 26, 2025 Another user said one of the "mistakes" the DOGE makes in the process of its aggressive approach will, at one point, "involve access and control of the nukes." At some point soon one of these "mistakes" will involve access and control of the nukes, and it will not be funny when Elon tells us they didn't realize it happened and now the russians control them or something like that. Derlis A. Gonzalez | Composer (@DerlisAGonzalez) February 26, 2025 One user observed that Trump's cabinet members looked "tired" while listening to the tech billionaire's speech," adding that it appears Musk "doesn't understand that you can't make cuts without Congress's approval." Some 1,600 USAID personnel have been fired from their positions and thousands of others were placed on leave earlier this week. It remains to be seen whether Musk will push his earlier call to "kill" the USAID, which he referred to as "a criminal organization." Originally published on IBTimes Pope Francis experienced a sudden episode of respiratory difficulty on Friday, requiring mechanical ventilation, according to the latest medical update from the Vatican. The episode was further complicated by vomiting, some of which he aspirated, prompting immediate medical intervention. Vatican officials confirmed that doctors addressed the aspiration issue before placing the pontiff on a breathing machine. Despite the severity of the situation, the Vatican reassured that Pope Francis "remained alert and oriented at all times." However, a spokesperson later noted that he is not yet out of danger. This marks the pope's fourth and longest hospitalization since he assumed the papacy in 2013. He was first admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital two weeks ago following a series of lung-related ailments, including bronchitis and pneumonia. Pope Francis has a long history of respiratory issues, dating back to his youth when he suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of one lung removed. The Vatican has been providing twice-daily updates on the pope's condition. On Thursday, officials reported that while his health was showing signs of improvement, his prognosis remained uncertain. In response to his deteriorating condition, the Argentinian-born leader's schedule has been cleared to prioritize his medical treatment. Earlier on Friday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis would not preside over next week's Ash Wednesday service, which marks the beginning of Lent. This will be only the second time in his 12-year tenure that he will miss the event. Instead, a cardinal is expected to lead the service in his place. The world continues to watch closely as the 87-year-old pontiff battles his latest health challenges, with prayers pouring in from across the globe. Tesla manager Jared Ottmann was fired in a "retaliatory" move for calling out CEO Elon Musk for name-dropping Nazi murderersand Tesla for staying silent. Last month, Ottmann, a longtime Tesla engineering manager, took to LinkedIn to publicly condemn his employer. He shared a screenshot of Musk's tweet, laced with antisemitic wordplay: "Don't say Hess to Nazi accusations! Some people will Goebbels anything down! Stop Goring your enemies! His pronouns would've been He/Himmler! Bet you did nazi that coming," Musk wrote. Alongside a link to an article detailing Musk's history of antisemitic rhetoric, Ottmann expressed his frustration with Tesla's inaction: "Well, we have seen it coming. Elon's behavior, whatever the underlying motivations, are well documented (https://lnkd.in/gcUCzRxy)," he wrote. "Starting in 2022 and especially the last week I've raised the issue internally multiple times, with managers, HR, legal compliance, investor relations. And while overwhelmingly people offer personal support, Tesla as a company has remained silent. This post by Tesla's current CEO name drops genocidal assholes as a joke and has 308,000 likes. The silence from Tesla is deafening. What's a mensch to do?" His comments came after Musk was seen making a stiff right-armed gesture at Trump's inauguration, a motion widely deemed as a Hitler's Nazi salute. Tesla employees and colleagues were quick show Ottmann support. "Yesterday, January 27, was Holocaust Remembrance Day - the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz extermination camp. I spent the day seeing articles, comedy skits, and debates over whether it was a heil or just a 'joke.' There is no joke to be had here. I too am anxious and concerned, and see the fear and silence. I am glad you are also speaking up," Diana Rosenberg, a technical lead at Tesla commented. "I'm happy to see you both speaking up. It takes courage, especially in a retaliatory environment," another LinkedIn user responded to Ottmann and Rosenberg. Within days of his post, Ottmann was canned. He later confirmed his firing to The New York Times but declined to share further details. Musk's influence in the White House and his pattern of retaliatory firings raise questions about free speech and retributionnot just within his companies, but the country. In 2022, eight SpaceX employees who circulated an internal letter criticizing Musk's behavior were dismissed. They later sued for wrongful termination. "Anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, we'll throw them out of here," President Trump said during a cabinet meeting Wednesday. Originally published on IBTimes Microsoft has announced that it will be shutting down Skype, the internet-based phone and video service that was once a dominant player in digital communication. The company confirmed on X that Skype will "no longer be available" starting in May, with users encouraged to transition to Microsoft Teams' free tier in the "coming days." The decision marks the end of an era for Skype, which Microsoft acquired in 2011 for $8.5 billion in what was its largest acquisition at the time. Over the years, Skype was integrated into Microsoft's ecosystem, including Office and the now-defunct Windows Phone. However, its relevance has diminished due to increasing competition from services like Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, Apple's FaceTime, and Meta's WhatsApp. Even during the pandemic, which boosted many video conferencing platforms, Skype struggled to regain its former prominence. "Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honored to have been part of the journey," Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, said in a blog post. "We're excited about the new opportunities that Teams brings and are committed to helping you stay connected in new and meaningful ways." Skype was founded in Estonia in 2003 and quickly gained popularity as a way to make free calls worldwide, a major advantage at a time when international phone calls were costly. Its early success led eBay to acquire it in 2005 for $2.6 billion, but the partnership proved unsuccessful. eBay sold a 65% stake in Skype to an investor group for $1.9 billion in 2009, before Microsoft fully acquired it two years later. As Microsoft shifts its focus toward Teams, the company is ensuring a smooth transition for Skype users. However, the shutdown signifies the end of an iconic service that once revolutionized digital communication. A jury has found 73-year-old Chicago man Joseph Czuba guilty of first-degree murder and hate crimes in the "gut-wrenching" stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadea Al Fayoumi and the brutal attack on his mother, Hanan Shaheena crime politicians believe was triggered by "one-sided media coverage of Palestinians" and "Trump's calls for ethnic cleansing." Czuba targeted the Palestinian-American family because of their Islamic faith and as a reaction to the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023, authorities said. When the verdict was read, he reportedly showed no emotion. Prosecutors revealed that just days after the Hamas attack on Israel, Czubawho had rented part of his home to the victims for over two yearsturned on them in a violent rage. In a chilling video played in court, he is heard in a police car speaking unprompted about the attack. "I was afraid for my wife. I was afraid they were going to do Jihad on me," Czuba said. He went on to describe Shaheen as "a trained fighter" and dehumanized Palestinians, saying, "They are like infested rats." Shaheen, who survived the attack, testified that Czuba had recently become withdrawn and angry after watching news coverage of the war. She recalled him telling her, "You, as a Muslim, must die," per local news. Forensic experts confirmed that Czuba's DNA and blood evidence tied him to the crime, with the murder weapon still lodged in the child's body when police arrived. "If it wasn't enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy's body," Prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald said. During the trial, Czuba waived his right to testify. His defense team sought to challenge evidence by calling three sheriff's deputies to the stand, but the jury ultimately convicted him on all counts. After the verdict, Illinois State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (D-Bridgeview) condemned the attack as a symptom of rising anti-Palestinian rhetoric. "Wadea's murder was and remains a gut-wrenching, preventable tragedy for the entire Palestinian community in Chicago," said Rashid. "Wadea's murder didn't happen in a vacuum it was the result of decades of dehumanizing, one-sided media coverage of Palestinians and irresponsible statements from elected officials of both parties. From the Israeli government claiming there are no innocent Palestinians to Netanyahu boasting about driving Palestinians from their homes to Trump's calls for ethnic cleansing there is no red line that they won't cross." He continued, "For decades, Democratic and Republican administrations haven't just stood by as Israel has instituted apartheid rule and committed a genocide they have provided Israel with billions of American taxpayer dollars for weapons and bombs, and they repeated Israel's racist propaganda about Palestinians." "It was in this climate that Joseph Czuba was radicalized into killing a child he had once embraced. If we want to honor Wadea's memory and stop tragic crimes like this from happening again, we must hold our government accountable for the failed policies and dehumanizing rhetoric that catalyzed his brutal murder," said Rep. Rashid. Czuba was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two counts of committing a hate crime. With the conviction settled, focus now turns to Czuba's sentencing, where he could face life in prison. Originally published on Latin Times Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet European leaders at a crucial summit in London on Sunday, following a dramatic confrontation with President Donald Trump that has left Western allies unsettled and raised questions about the future of the Russia-Ukraine war. King Charles has also accepted an invitation to meet Zelensky during his visit, the Ukrainian leader confirmed. Zelensky arrived in Britain on Saturday ahead of the high-stakes talks, which Western officials hope will reinvigorate momentum toward a peace deal. Initial optimism earlier in the week crumbled after Friday's intense Oval Office exchange between Trump and Zelensky. In a show of continued British support, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Zelensky at Downing Street on Saturday, where the two leaders signed an agreement to expedite $2.8 billion in loans to Ukraine. According to the UK government, the first portion of this funding is expected to be released next week. However, leaders at Sunday's summitincluding presidents and prime ministers from across Europewill face a formidable challenge as they seek to chart a path forward. "It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support," Zelensky stated in a series of posts on X on Saturday morning. "He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do." "We've been fighting for three years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side," he added. The dramatic Oval Office encounter, in which Trump and Senator JD Vance accused Zelensky of ingratitude for American military support and of "gambling with the lives of millions," shocked European officials and likely pleased the Kremlin. The unexpected clash has now added heightened stakes to Sunday's summit, initially intended to build on progress made during a similar meeting in Paris last weekend. Just one day before the confrontation, Starmer had managed to persuade Trump to walk back earlier false claims that Zelensky was a "dictator." Trump also expressed "respect" for Ukraine's leader and suggested that Ukraine could reclaim occupied territories in a ceasefire agreementsignificant shifts in his rhetoric. However, the situation has now seemingly reset negotiations to square one. "Three years on from Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, we are at a turning point. Today I will reaffirm my unwavering support for Ukraine and double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training, and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position," Starmer said in a statement ahead of the summit. "In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees, alongside continued discussions with the United States," he added. "Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security, and secure our collective future." Downing Street outlined three main objectives for the summit: addressing Ukraine's immediate needs, securing a "lasting deal" to end the conflict, and planning robust security guarantees for Ukraine's future. While European leaders scrambled to reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine on Friday evening, Starmer initially remained silent. Hours later, Downing Street revealed that he had spoken privately with both Trump and Zelensky following their tense meeting. "He retains his unwavering support for Ukraine and is playing his part to find a path forward to a lasting peace, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine," Starmer's spokesperson said. Greenhouse Coffee + Plants, already a fixture of downtown Corvallis after less than four years on the scene, just got a makeover. Its expanded into the space next door, previously a private studio business under the same ownership. Customers now have freedom to sprawl, as the expansion features sleek tables, cozy nooks and a moss green couch seemingly straight from a Pinterest board. The new space is in keeping with the shops original aesthetic, which owner Bryon Neal Daniels describes in part as dark, moody floral. The star of the show is perhaps the new bathroom, hot pink and littered with disco balls a bit of a departure from the so-called moodiness. When customers press an emergency button on the wall, the disco bathroom lights up, with cascading lights circling the space and the familiar techno-beat of dance anthem What is Love playing over the speaker system. Its kind of a Pink Pony Club vibe, Daniels said, referencing pop icon Chappell Roan's hit song. But the journey to expansion wasnt all disco and glitter far from it, in fact. In September 2024, Daniels home, along with that of his two then-roommates, burned down. The night of the fire, with nowhere to go, he slept in the gutted space that is now filled with community members sipping coffees and matchas. Despite his personal life turning upside down, Daniels worked hard to bring the expansion to fruition. If nothing else, he said, it provided a huge distraction from what he was going through. I entered a rebuilding phase for myself as we were building out this space, he said. Room to grow The original Greenhouse Coffee + Plants, supplying plant-based drinks and houseplants to the Corvallis community, opened in September 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic left an unfortunate but convenient opportunity for new business, Daniels said, with lots of places available for lease and property owners eager to usher in businesses. With his background in marketing, Daniels was confident he could create something that people would want to frequent an assessment thats held true so far. At the time, Daniels owned and worked in several business spaces that he had filled with plants to liven them up. He had so many, in fact, that it would take three or four hours to water them all, he said. It got to a point where my favorite part of every week was the day I would go do all of the plant watering, he said. While his initial idea for the Greenhouse space was just a plant store, he realized it should also be a coffee shop, as coffee and plants kind of go hand-in-hand, he said. Daniels didnt have preliminary ambitions to expand the space. But for the last several years, he said, customers have wished for more room. People want to hang out, conduct meetings, meet up with friends or do homework in the space. Every day before the expansion, he said, at least four people walked in with backpacks or suitcases, looked around and walked out because there was nowhere to sit. The other side of the space was previously Daniels photography business, which he originated in Salem. When his five-year lease was up there, he felt ready to leave that building behind, but couldnt find a different location. So he walked away from the business altogether. Since the one in Salem was closing, it didnt make a lot of sense to keep the one here, he said. It felt like a good time to kind of change it up. Rising from the ashes Daniels had everything for the expansion in order hed gone through the permitting process, figured out funding, and hired an architect and engineer when the fire happened. Everything was already in motion, he said, yet in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, he was completely checked out. But the community rallied around Daniels and his roommates, he said, and the outpouring of support he received was insane. Ive never experienced anything like that in my life, he said. A handful of business owners put on an event for Daniels and his roommates, he said, and almost every downtown business donated some kind of auction item to raise money. Ultimately, the expansion became something Daniels could throw himself into for respite, he said. Everything kind of sucks, he recalled thinking, but Ive got to get some shit done. Right now, hes living in Albany at his friends place. One of his former roommates, the previous owner of Corazon Wine Bar & Kitchen, moved back to the Boise area to be closer to family, and the other, whos also very involved in downtown as well as local politics, got his own place in Corvallis. Optimistically, Daniels said, hes holding out for a studio downtown, because he loves the little community there and wants to be closer to the shop. Plus, he said, hes already paying for a parking spot. Losing his home and expanding the business felt like a combined chapter, Daniels said. Now that the expansion is complete, it feels like that chapter is coming to a close. And he views the new space as a way to give back to the community, after everything it did for him. A hopeful future Its not just the space thats expanded the Greenhouse food menu has also grown beyond pastries, adding other bites and eats, Daniels said. Hes also expanding the team in addition to the current four employees, hes in the process of hiring one of two more. And there are going to be evening events Daniels wants to get into live music showings, and hes already lining up some comedy nights. He also loves campy, stupid stuff, he said, so hes planning to set up a projector for watch parties of reality shows like The Bachelor and Love is Blind. The expansion has been open to the public for over two weeks, and theres been noticeably increased traffic to the shop since it came online, Daniels said. I feel really confident in what weve been doing; I get so much positive feedback from people, he said. I want to continue to do that to a larger audience, for more hours and more events and activities. The luxurious urban retreat Hotel Arts Barcelona is proud to announce the appointment of Renato De Oliveira as general manager. With an impressive, two-decade career in the hospitality industry, De Oliveira brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role. De Oliveira's career began at Hotel Arts Barcelona in 2004, where he started as an intern and swiftly progressed to assistant director of the Rooms Division. Motivated by his desire for new opportunities and growth, De Oliveira moved to Asia in 2011, where he assumed the role of executive assistant manager, Rooms Division at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong. He later held various senior leadership positions at The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur, The Ritz-Carlton, Santiago, and The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia. Most recently, De Oliveira served as the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Maldives, Fari Islands, where he successfully led the resort through a critical phase of its ramp-up and established the property as one of the leading brands in the Maldives. Throughout his career, De Oliveira has demonstrated strong, results-oriented leadership skills in managing complex, high-performance hotels. In 2023, he was named General Manager of the Year for APEC, a testament to his exceptional leadership and performance. Since his initial tenure at Hotel Arts Barcelona, De Oliveira has become a true ambassador of The Ritz-Carlton brand, championing its legacy of excellence wherever he has worked. Now, he returns to the place where it all began, bringing with him an enriched perspective and extensive experience gained from years of leadership across the globe. In his new role, De Oliveira will oversee all aspects of the property to ensure that Hotel Arts Barcelona continues to be the benchmark of service and product quality in the hospitality industry. De Oliveira holds a diploma in tourism studies from Brazil's Anhembi Morumbi University and a graduate degree in hotel management from the Swiss Hotel Association Hotel Management School in Switzerland. The Otonomus Hotel, the worlds first fully AI-powered hotel, is set to open its doors in Las Vegas in the summer of 2025. This futuristic 303-suite property will begin accepting reservations on March 3, 2025, via its website, otonomushotel.com. The hotels leadership claims it will deliver a revolutionary hospitality experiencebut is this a technological marvel or just another way for corporations to monitor and track consumer behavior under the guise of convenience? Philippe Ziade, the founder and CEO of Otonomus Hotel, proudly states, At Otonomus Hotel, were revolutionizing hospitality through our proprietary AI technology, crafting a truly tailored five-star experience for every guest who walks through our doors. Thats corporate-speak for, Were gathering as much data on you as possible to optimize profits. Using advanced artificial intelligence, the hotel boasts an ability to predict and cater to guest preferences before they even check in. Everything from room temperature to dining choices will be algorithmically determined to enhance the guest experience. Sounds impressivebut what does it mean for personal privacy? According to the hotels announcement, the AI-driven system will analyze publicly available data about guests before their stay and pair that with a gamified onboarding questionnaire. Translation: Youre handing over your personal preferences, habits, and perhaps even behavioral patterns before you even step through the doors. Otonomus offers a proprietary AI-powered booking engine that enables attribute-based reservations, allowing guests to select amenities and their level of human interaction. But heres the questionare we willingly walking into a world where even face-to-face interactions are dictated by algorithms? Is a personalized experience really worth trading away the human element of hospitality? Read the full article at thenevadaglobe.com It was a perfect spring Los Angeles day in 2005 when Paris and Nicky Hilton walked, hand in hand, into a throng of waiting paparazzi. The cameras clicked and popped as the socialites turned to one another with knowing giggles, safe in the knowledge theyd soon be in every gossip column thanks to their T-shirts. Nickys bore the words Team Aniston while her sister Pariss read, Team Jolie. The shirts had been acquired at cult Beverly Hills boutique Kitson, whose owner Fraser Ross had hastily monopolised on a growing celebrity story: the split of Brad Pitt and Friends actor Jennifer Aniston, and his rumoured new romance with his sultry Mr & Mrs Smith co-star Angelina Jolie. Those Kitson T-shirts were just the start of a tabloid narrative that pitted Jolie and Aniston against one another for well over a decade. Even when Jolie and Pitt announced their own divorce in 2016, attention turned to Aniston, with reports pondering her reaction (which she, of course, never gave). Their A-list love triangle has proven irresistible to tabloids and magazines. Aniston and Jolie were painted as bitter rivals, despite neither of them ever commenting on the other. In fact, Aniston had said in 2005 that she never overtly blamed Jolie for her divorce, only remarking, Its just complicated (you can say that again). A leather-clad Brad Pitt now graces the latest cover of GQ magazine alongside his F1 film co-star Damson Idris and producer Lewis Hamilton. It is predicted to be the film of the summer, and his buff appearance as the magazines cover star has been heralded as ushering in an Alpha man era. Filming took place during the finalisation of his divorce from Angelina and the star told the publication: My personal life is always in the news...Its been in the news for 30 years, bro. Or some version of my personal life, lets put it that way. When asked if filming F1 acted as a refuge from public scrutiny, Pitt responded: Its been an annoyance Ive had to always deal with in different degrees, large and small, as I do the things I really want to do. So, its always been this kind of nagging time suck or waste of time, if you let it be that. And as for whether it was a relief that he is on the other side of the divorce finally being finalised, Pitt responded: No, I dont think it was that major of a thing. Just something coming to fruition. Legally. It is clear that while not immune to the storms that have surrounded his personal life, somehow Brad Pitts nice guy image remained largely intact. Aniston herself helped Pitt close the chapter on any post-split bad blood when she was photographed with her hand on his chest at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards, where he won an award for his turn in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Later that year, they both appeared on Zoom for a pandemic charity event, during which she called him honey. Yet his protracted divorce battle from Angelina Jolie, which was only just finalised on 30 December, eight years after they announced their split, told a different story. Since 2022, Jolie has filed a series of legal documents detailing claims of emotional and physical abuse. Her lawyers alleged Pitt grabbed and pushed Jolie during a physical altercation, during which it was claimed Pitt also assaulted two of their children. Pitt denied those allegations and, in 2021, was awarded joint custody of the children after a long and acrimonious court battle over their living arrangements. In June, their daughter Shiloh submitted a petition to a Los Angeles court to drop Pitt from her surname, and two more of the couples children have reportedly stopped using their fathers name too, in solidarity with Jolie. These, at times, shocking court allegations have somehow barely registered on the usually sensitive public cancel-ometer for Pitt. Indeed, he has maintained a cheerful presence on the publicity circuit especially during awards season. A recent interview for GQ magazine, alongside best pal George Clooney, to promote their latest film Wolfs, was a celebration of their best buddy status and Hollywood clout. open image in gallery Jolie is reportedly devastated after her role in Maria was snubbed by the Oscars ( Netflix ) As Pitt promoted Wolfs, Jolie attended the premiere of her critically acclaimed Maria Callas biopic, Maria. At the time, it was confirmed by an organiser that the event had been planned with meticulous care to ensure that Jolie and Pitt would never come face to face. It was there that Pitt made his red-carpet debut with non-celeb, thirtysomething girlfriend Ines de Ramon. Allegedly, they are keen to get married, and Pitt wants a fresh start. Jolie, who turns 50 this month, is getting back into her Hollywood career after stepping away to heal. Sources close to Jolie, who has eschewed A-list cliques for most of her life, said earlier this year that she was embracing a newfound solidarity with fellow awards-circuit actors such as Demi Moore, Salma Hayek and Kate Winslet, whom she was seen hugging at the Critics Choice ceremony in LA. She was said to have been devastated at her snub in this years Oscar nominations, with reports suggesting that Hollywood has sided with Pitt, and that the voting could be a reflection of industry pals not wishing to upset Pitt by putting Jolie in the run for Best Actress for which she had been so hotly tipped. open image in gallery The former couple at the gala screening of Inglourious Basterds in 2009 ( EPA ) So how has Brad, now 61, kept his Hollywood boy next door status intact? Tabloid snark is, of course, always quicker to pinpoint any women at fault; Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston learned this the hard way. It was just five years after their intimate (by Hollywood standards, anyway) $1m, 200-person wedding on a Malibu clifftop, during which Aniston promised to always make Pitts favourite banana milkshake, that the most golden of A-list couples announced they were over. Their rather pointed statement added, We would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any of the speculation reported by the tabloid media. The speculation was, of course, the flurry of rumours about Pitt and Jolie, who were said to have fallen for one another while shooting Mr & Mrs Smith, in which they played a bored married couple who discovered they were both assassins. Just a month after Aniston filed for divorce, US Weekly had the first exclusive paparazzi pictures of the new couple, sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, as they walked on a beach in Kenya with Jolies adopted son Maddox. open image in gallery Jolie with five of her children at the UK premiere of Eternals in 2021 ( Getty ) Then, in July of that year, a sexy shoot for W magazine to promote Mr & Mrs Smith dropped. Entitled Domestic Bliss, the shoot provocatively depicted Brangelina as a devoted married couple, with children, at a time when they had been skirting romance rumours. During an interview with Vanity Fair in August, Aniston said of that shoot, Theres a sensitivity chip thats missing. She added, I just dont know what happened ... I feel as if Im trying to scrounge around and pick up the pieces in the midst of this media circus. Arguably, that media circus cast a long shadow across the womens professional lives, while leaving Brads untouched. In the years that followed, despite working a lot, neither appeared in a film that compared to their previously critically acclaimed films like The Good Girl (Aniston) and Girl, Interrupted (Jolie). Brad Pitts career, however, went from strength to strength, with turns in the lauded Moneyball, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Inglourious Basterds all coming in the immediate aftermath of the romantic controversy. He also retained control of Plan B, the extremely successful production company he and Aniston founded with partner Brad Grey, which has gone on to make Oscar-winning films like Moonlight and 12 Years A Slave, strengthening Pitts Hollywood clout. open image in gallery Jennifer Aniston and Pitt pictured just months before their divorce in early 2005 ( Getty ) Jolie, meanwhile, was regularly painted as the villain in all this, the cold, and achingly cool other woman. Brad Pitt was still seen as Hollywoods approachable leading man, with his sunny midwestern charm. There was a sort of belief that Jolie, mostly known for wearing vials of blood and kissing her brother [James Haven] on a red carpet, had cast some kind of spell on Brad for him to leave Jen like that, says one Hollywood insider. Brangelina may have finalised their divorce in December last year, but the tussle over their French vineyard Chateau Miraval is ongoing. It has been a stage for an onslaught of intimate details of their relationships demise to play out, dubbed the War of the Rose. A short explanation of the extensive legal wrangle: the couple bought the French winery together in 2011 and were even married there. Years after their split, however, Jolie sold her shares to a subsidiary of the Stoli Group the parent company of the famed vodka brand which Pitt saw as an action that sought to inflict harm because the sale blocked Pitt from obtaining majority-shareholder status. Jolie, according to legal filings, says that Pitt was trying to silence her with an NDA before he would agree to sell up. open image in gallery Pitt attends the Wolfs red carpet during the 81st Venice International Film Festival in September 2024 ( Getty ) In one set of papers, Jolie claims that Pitts final words in their marriage were, F**k you. F**k you all. Jolie added that he had called her a b***h and shook her by the shoulders. All allegations were denied by Pitt, who has accused Jolie of seeking to deliberately undermine his businesses. Their children Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox, have taken their mothers side, much to Pitts anguish. In 2022, news surfaced that Brad and Angelinas adopted son Pax had shared a scathing account of how he felt about his father on his private Instagram story on Fathers Day in 2020. In the leaked screenshot, Pax wrote over a photograph of Brad accepting an Oscar for his performance in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Happy Father's Day to this world-class a**hole! the post read. The teenager allegedly claimed the Hollywood star made his four youngest children tremble in fear and made the lives of those closest to [Pax] a constant hell. Reports suggested that Pitt has been heartbroken about the fallout with his children. Now, in the wake of their long-awaited divorce, Pitt and Jolie are both finding their new normal, something that was demonstrated by their near-miss appearances at the Venice Film Festival. While Pitt claimed in 2022 that his own could be on its last legs, he currently has a number of upcoming projects listed on IMDB and his recent GQ cover appearance suggests that is far from the case. A report by New York magazine explained that Pitts lovability is down to the idea that audiences feel they know him. It is certainly inevitable that there are many more chapters to come for the man who has dominated pop culture for a generation. The Oscars are two weeks away. Normally, wed be watching glamorously attired insiders feverishly compare predictions, their noses pressed up against screens as they watch the Baftas, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and other various pit stops leading up to the moment an industry veteran rips open an envelope and announces our new Best Picture. But, this year, theres one conversation, and one conversation alone, being had: how do we solve a problem like Emilia Perez star Karla Sofia Gascon? At the end of last month, journalist Sarah Hagi unearthed a digital nuke in Gascons online history. Tweet after tweet from her X account, dating roughly from 2019 onwards, now all deleted, began to circulate. Each new statement seemed more atrocious than the last. Almost every kind of bigotry was wheeled out (though mostly racism more specifically, Islamophobia). Gascon, who pre-Emilia Perez, had largely only starred in unremarkable parts in Spanish-speaking telenovelas, then embarked on a uniquely unsuccessful apology tour. She delivered the minimal effort, I sincerely apologise to everyone who has been hurt along the way statement, before sitting down with CNN en Espanol anchor Juan Carlos Arciniegas to insist she is not a racist, and that when I have a spider in my house I put a little glass on it so as not to kill it and take it out to the street. This was done entirely without the involvement of the films distributor, Netflix. Gascon had not only tweeted the indefensible and failed to take responsibility for it shed also gone rogue. Netflixs reaction was, essentially, complete severance. Gascons name and face were swiftly erased from the distributors For Your Consideration campaign adverts. According to Variety, Netflix also ceased direct communication with the actor (her agent now serves as an intermediary) and rescinded all expenses for travel, accommodation, and styling. She hasnt been seen at an awards event since. We await to see if shell turn up to the Oscars. Her collaborators quickly distanced themselves: director Jacques Audiard, speaking to Deadline, said, I havent spoken to her, and I dont want to, while co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez respectively told Q&A audiences, it makes me really sad because I dont support [it] and some of the magic has disappeared. Following Audiards comments, Gascon seemed to finally throw in the towel. She declared, in an Instagram post, that, from now on, shed let the work talk for itself. This sounds solid from anyone who sees cinema as a restorative, empathetic, human art form and wants to see Oscar nominations discussed on those terms. But, in reality, it is hard to view this as much else than hyperactive damage control. Netflix put all their energy behind Emilia Perez. That was their first mistake as this is only the latest chapter in the films long, problematic history. Its also, ultimately, a fairly terrible film. Someone really needs to ask the people at Netflix: is any of this crisis management actually worth it? How did it even end up with 13 Oscar nominations in the first place, one less than the record jointly held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016)? Emilia Perez is a brash musical about a trans cartel leader (Gascons Emilia) in Mexico, who enlists a lawyer (Saldana) to orchestrate her gender-affirming surgeries and ferry her wife (Gomez) and children out of the country so they can all start life anew. It was acquired by Netflix, after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. open image in gallery The Emilia Perez cast at the 82nd Golden Globes in January ( AP ) Here, it received largely positive reviews and won the Jury Prize, plus the Best Actress award for its female ensemble. And it was acquired for one reason only: to win Netflix their first Best Picture since they formally entered the race with 2018s Roma. Every year since, theyve acquired a handful of titles per year from respected directors, among them Martin Scorseses The Irishman, Jane Campions The Power of the Dog, and Bradley Coopers Maestro. It had already been poorly received in Mexico, due to its flippant treatment of drug-related violence, its cultural stereotypes, and its lack of Mexican talent in front of or behind the camera (in the main cast, only Adriana Paz, who plays Emilias romantic interest, is Mexican, while Gomez is of Mexican heritage). It was also shot entirely in France. Creator and activist Camila Aurora nicely summarised the nations mood when she created the viral YouTube short, Johanne Sacreblu, filmed entirely in Mexico City and featuring a cast dressed in striped shirts, berets, and fake moustaches. Glaad, the LGBT+ advocacy organisation, meanwhile derided the film as a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman, while Drew Burnett Gregory, in a review for Autostraddle, stated: Certainly, this shallow understanding of trans people cant still be interesting to cis people. How many times do cis people have to learn about us before a portrayal like this one rings as false to them as it does to me? open image in gallery Karla Sofia Gascon has been absent from press events after old tweets were unearthed ( AP ) Audiard, it should be said, has previously found success in making films about other cultures in their own languages, specifically his 2015 Tamil-language drama Dheepan. But if you look at the way he approached Emilia Perez, its fairly evident what went wrong. The director visited Mexico but did almost no research. Gascon, reportedly, had significant input into the films trans storyline. In short, Emilia Perez shows little interest in the authentic experiences it purports to depict. Audiard views his film as opera, his story as one of symbolism and metaphor. Mexico, then, is nothing more than a backdrop of violence, while trans identity is nothing more than a narrative prop for the director to explore his own ideas of rebirth and second chances. Its neither thoughtful nor tactful but it at least explains his choices. Id argue what attracted those early Cannes critics, and now all these industry early voters, is the veneer of transgression: it looks and moves like a statement movie. Theres a certain relentless to its discordant music (not a catchy chorus in sight and an entire song about vaginoplasty take that, Wicked!), rhythmic dance, and aggressive camerawork. Its a movie that screams! About what? Well, if you look at it from far away enough like the very back of the auditorium its a musical led by a trans woman that Netflix can neatly file away under its LGBTQ category and call it a day. open image in gallery In short, Emilia Perez shows little interest in the authentic experiences it purports to depict ( PA ) Closer inspection, however, suggests that its a mess of a film and if these media giants genuinely cared about representation they would have written a big, fat check to Jane Schoenbrun, the trans director instead. Her movie from last year, I Saw the TV Glow, is a film of real substance and delivers a story about the trans experience that is honest and daring in all the ways Emilia Perez is not. But they didnt. And thats because films are made, acquired, and distributed under the same rules that see corporations give their logos rainbow stripes during Pride month. This is performative allyship signalling one thing, while doing everything else in their power to ignore or silence queer activists. Thats probably why no one thought to check Gascons X account. Publicity teams at Netflix are large and powerful machines. Its an embarrassing oversight. Hollywood got what they needed from her and never thought beyond that. It was never about truth just about the showcase narrative. And with Gascons offscreen behaviour now threatening the Oscar chances, maybe Emilia Perez got what it deserved from the beginning. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Any belief that the Oscars award the right films, directors and performances has faded over the years. While every ceremony has a smattering of correct decisions trophies handed to the right people for the right films more often than not, the pervading feeling is one of pessimism caused by a deluge of undeserving recipients. The Oscars are a far cry from what they claim to be a celebration of the previous years cinematic offerings. But this does not stop people from trawling the internet the following morning in the hope that maybe, just maybe, the winners list impresses rather than disappoints. With the 2025 ceremony taking place in March, we have highlighted 15 films that really should not have been awarded Oscars. 15. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) How many did it win: Eight This might be a controversial one, but its sometimes good to hold your hands up and admit that a film is nowhere near as good as you recall. Sadly, Best picture winner Slumdog Millionaire is one of those. While the Danny Boyle films win no doubt put smiles on the faces of commuters reading the morning papers the next day, the shine wears off its success with every rewatch. The rightful winner The Dark Knight wasnt even nominated for Best Picture, an omission that led to the Academy increasing the number of nominees in that category. 14. The Imitation Game (2014) open image in gallery Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game ( The Weinstein Company ) How many did it win: One There are many reasons why The Imitation Game is a bust. It plays at being a progressive film about the father of theoretical computer science Alan Turing, but the awful screenplay which won! has barely any interest in unpacking his queerness or social aloofness in any way that shows a smidgeon of nuance. The term Oscar bait gets bandied around incorrectly quite a lot, but it would be apt to describe The Imitation Game as a perfect example of being such. Its win for Adapted Screenplay, beating Inherent Vice and Whiplash, still feels like a prank. 13. Irma la Douce (1963) How many did it win: One In 1963, director Billy Wilder reunited with his Apartment stars Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon, and boy does the result pale in comparison to their wondrous 1960 Best Picture winner. Irma la Douce might have its moments Lemmon and MacLaine could make a recital of the alphabet entertaining but the film, based on the 1956 French musical of the same name, would have been better off left on the stage. A must for Wilder, Lemmon or MacLaine completists and Wilder, Lemmon or MacLaine completists alone. Its win for Andre Previns score was the result of a weak year; Maurice Jarres emotive music for the bleak Sundays and Cybele should have won. 12. Out of Africa (1985) How many did it win: Seven Sydney Pollacks Best Picture-winning drama unsurprisingly boasts decent performances from Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, but much of its 161-minute runtime remains interminable. This isnt helped by its rather outdated romanticisation of colonialism, told through the eyes of Streeps Karen. Quite simply, you can do without it. However, if you do decide to plough on, John Barrys score and the beautiful scenery save it from being a complete waste of time. But its a far cry from being the best film of 1985. Wed have opted for Peter Weirs moving Witness. 11. In Old Arizona (1928) How many did it win: One It can be fun to pluck out a random Oscar-winning film you havent watched to see what all the fuss was about. Sometimes, youll finish the film and still be wondering. One such film is early victor In Old Arizona, which secured Warner Baxter a Best Actor win in the late 1920s. The performance is... fine, but the film surrounding it is monotonous and too reliant on uninspired dialogue. Wed recommend avoiding it. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. 10. Chariots of Fire (1981) How many did it win: Four While Chariots of Fire is precisely the type of film the Academy likes to take under its wing, the fact it won was a big surprise on the night; everybody present expected Warren Beattys Reds to take home Best Picture. It was a far more worthy candidate. Frankly, Chariots of Fire is as musty a winner as they come and worth watching only for the electrifying Vangelis score, which also took home a trophy. 9. Green Book (2018) How many did it win: Three To those who dont care about awards ceremonies, Green Book is a crowd pleaser that boasts decent performances from Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. To everyone else, its the damp squib that somehow came out of nowhere to snatch Best Picture from under Romas nose. 8. How the West Was Won (1962) How many did it win: Three Making an Oscar win for How the West Was Won even more ridiculous is the fact that, should you go by Academy Award count, this would position it as one of the best Westerns of all time. It doesnt even touch the top 10 of its three directors, Henry Hathaway, John Ford and George Marshall. The colourful epic might be a technical marvel (it won for Sound and Editing and somehow Original Screenplay) but its also a turgid slog and a far cry from the genres classics. 7. The Iron Lady (2011) open image in gallery Meryl Streep won Best Actress for The Iron Lady ( The Weinstein Company ) How many did it win: Two Meryl Streep has won enough Oscars for the world to know shes one of the finest actors wholl ever live. Her win for The Iron Lady, though, was one Oscar too many. Although Viola Davis has since spoken out against the film she was nominated for that year The Help hers was easily the better performance. In an ideal world, biopic performances would have their own category. It would certainly mean that more interesting performances could win Academy Awards. 6. Suicide Squad (2016) How many did it win: One David Ayers Suicide Squad a mashup of DC villains starring an out-of-his-depth Jared Leto is as bad as you remember it, but our theory is that it kinda knows it is. While this actually helps the viewing experience, it still has no business being able to throw around the Academy Award winner label (it won for its makeup and hairstyling). But its amusing to think that a film featuring Jai Courtney as a beer-guzzling reprobate named Captain Boomerang has won an Oscar. Good for it, we guess. 5. Thunderball (1965) How many did it win: One Bond films usually win at the Oscars for their aural aspects Goldfinger won Sound Editing, while Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die all won Original Song. But Thunderball, Sean Connerys fourth and weakest 007 outing, took home the prize for Visual Effects. They look shoddy watched through a modern lens, but the effects are the least dated thing about Thunderball: Bond may not be known for his feminist attributes, but one scene, in which the spy tries to seduce a nurse, will leave you wincing. 4. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) How many did it win: Four open image in gallery Rami Malek won Best Actor for Bohemian Rhapsody ( Warner Bros Pictures ) What a bore it was seeing Bohemian Rhapsody win a bunch of Oscars. The Queen film, overseen by Brian May, was a paint-by-numbers biopic that, in its closing stretch, evolved into a cheap jukebox musical all part of Rami Maleks (successful) campaign to win Best Actor. The film, for shame, was a terribly edited, watered-down exploration of the life of one of musics most exciting frontmen. Mercury had more creativity in his little toe. It was admittedly a weak year for nominees, but Bradley Coopers tender turn in A Star is Born had far more integrity. 3. CODA (2021) How many did it win: Three The first half of CODA probably ranks as the worst 45 minutes of any film that has ever won Best Picture. Its filled with frustrating characters who commit frustrating actions, and it makes for you guessed it an immensely frustrating watch. The final half improves, but its too little too late. CODA meant well, but it could have been so much more if itd had a bit more clout to it. It was lucky to win over The Power of the Dog and Drive My Car. 2. Crash (2004) How many did it win: Three Viewers of the Oscars have grown accustomed to unexpected victories, but none was more famously ill-judged than when Paul Haggiss drama Crash beat Ang Lees Brokeback Mountain to Best Picture. Crash not to be confused with David Cronenbergs seminal 1996 film of the same name relied on stereotypes to combat racism in a rather unhelpful way. The fact it played white Academy members like a fiddle was emblematic of a diversity issue within the voting body, which was drastically shaken up after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of 2015. 1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) How many did it win: One Its no surprise that the Fantastic Beasts franchise doomed itself to oblivion with increasingly substandard films. However, the first instalment of the Harry Potter prequel spin-off inveigling its way onto that years Oscars win tally, even if it was for Costume Design, is a blot on the Academys record. The film is dreadful the less said about those sequels the better and makes Eddie Redmaynes other questionable Oscar-winning vehicle, The Danish Girl, look like The Godfather in comparison. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The 97th Academy Awards are about to be more accessible than ever before. For the first time ever, the 2025 Oscars ceremony will air on ABC and be streamed live on Hulu at the same time. The annual awards show, which has aired on the broadcast network for a whopping 50 years, can be streamed by all Hulu subscribers starting at 7 p.m. ET on March 2, 2025. The Oscars will also be available to stream on Hulu the next day. Both ABC and Hulu are owned by The Walt Disney Company. Meanwhile, fans in the UK can watch the festivities unfold on ITV1 and ITVX from 10:30 pm, with the ceremony expected to finish around 3 am on Monday morning. Conan OBrien will serve as the host of the 2025 Oscars. The comedian and TV personality, 61, who is known for presenting the talk shows Late Night and Conan, will take over from fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who hosted the last two years in a row. America demanded it and now its happening: Taco Bells new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, Im hosting the Oscars, OBrien joked about his hosting gig. Edward Bergers Conclave, Sean Bakers Anora, and Brady Corbets The Brutalist are among the favourite films expected to pick up several awards on the evening having been nominated across numerous categories. Nominations were announced in January with Netflixs divisive musical Emilia Perez leading the pack on 13 nominations, setting a record for a non-English-language film. Meanwhile, The Brutalist and Wicked tied with 10 nominations apiece. A Complete Unknown and Conclave followed with eight mentions each. Conan OBrien will serve as the host of the 2025 Oscars ( Getty Images ) Demi Moore is also poised to potentially win a long-awaited Academy Award for her leading role in Coralie Fargeats body horror comedy-thriller, The Substance, as well as Ariana Grande for her supporting role as Glinda in Jon M. Chus epic movie musical, Wicked. In the acting categories, Demi Moore (The Substance), Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), and Ariana Grande (Wicked) are among the nominees. Emilia Perez star Karla Sofia Gascon is also set to attend after sitting out most of the awards season due to her racist tweet controversy. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. There is likely to be some kind of tribute to film icon Gene Hackman, whose death under suspicious circumstances at 95 is currently under investigation. The 2024 Oscars ceremony saw four-year high audience numbers, with 19.5 million people watching the awards show in the U.S. Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, sweeped the ceremony with seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. The 2025 Oscars will air live on ABC and stream on Hulu beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 2. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Rob Lowe has shared his confusion over the response to the sex scenes in Nicole Kidmans film Babygirl. The movie, which arrived in UK cinemas in January, sees Kidman star as a high-flying CEO who becomes embroiled in an affair with a younger intern, played by Harris Dickinson. Lowe, 60, said that although he thought Babygirl was a pretty great movie, he was puzzled as to why Kidman, 57, was hailed as brave for filming the erotic moments when sex scenes had previously been required as part of an actors job. Theyre like, Oh, its so brave, shes so brave, he said during a conversation with Sex and the City star Kristin Davis on his podcast Literally! With Rob Lowe. Shes brave because she has a sex scene. Thats brave now. And in our day, it was required. The West Wing star went on to explain a concept he described as the page 73 rule, whereby a scripts 73rd page would often tend to feature a sex scene as a way of getting through a tricky part of the movies narrative. open image in gallery Lowe suggested that filming sex scenes had once been required of actors ( Getty Images ) In the day, the sex scene was always on page 73, Lowe said. You get a script and youre like, Oh my God, how gratuitous. Do I have to be naked in this? Let me check. And you didnt have to read the whole script. You just went to page 73. That middle second act What do you do? Its the toughest sledding in storytelling so they Blue Lagoon it. But now, its so brave. Lowe did concede, though, that Hollywoods wariness towards sex on screen wasnt an entirely new phenomenon, claiming that one of his Eighties movies was kind of dumped because it was too sexy. Kim Cattrall and I did a movie called Masquerade together, I love that movie, he said. It got good reviews, but the studio kind of dumped it because they thought it was too sexy. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. It was pretty gratuitous, but it was great. open image in gallery Babygirl sees Kidman play a CEO having an affair with her intern ( Niko Tavernise/A24 ) Babygirl director Halina Reijn previously explained that using an intimacy coordinator allowed her and the cast to achieve sex scenes that appeared way more risky. You can get more extreme sex scenes that look way more risky than when youre thinking, No, let the actresses find out themselves, Reign told IndieWire. Thats such a dated idea of what sexuality is and how to approach it. I really am against it. She also criticised directors who claim that their performers dont want to work with intimacy coordinators, who help to choreograph sex scenes and ensure that they are performed safely. That makes no sense, she said. It is also for your safety as a director and for everyone. What if there is a misunderstanding? Its just amazing to have a person like that on set. And if you are creative and talented enough of a director, you can pull it off. Trust me. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Michael Caine has given a blunt three-word response to Donald Trump over his row with Ukraines President Zelensky. Alongside author Stephen King, the British actor, 91, made his thoughts known on Trump and US Vice President JD Vances treatment of Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader was visiting the White House in the hopes of securing safety guarantees amid his countrys ongoing war against Russia. Follow all the latest updates after Trump clash What started out civilly enough descended into open acrimony as both Republicans demanded Zelensky show gratitude. It started when Vance told Zelensky: With respect, I think its disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. When Zelensky tried to defend himself, Trump started raising his voice, telling the visitor: Youre gambling with the lives of millions of people and repeatedly insisted: Youre not in a good position right now. Trump forcefully told his Ukrainian counterpart: Youre gambling with world war three, and what youre doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country thats backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have. While Kremlin officials reacted with glee, Western leaders have voiced their support for Zelensky, who was allegedly kicked out of the White House soon after. open image in gallery Zelensky and Trump butt heads in the White House ( Getty Images ) One such person who shared their thoughts on the incident was Get Carter and Interstellar actor Caine, who simply wrote on X/Twitter: Calm down Trump. He followed this up with a post referencing one of the most famous quotes from his 1969 film The Italian Job, which saw him memorably utter: You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off! Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Caine wrote in the second post: Youre only suppose to sign a cease fire [sic]. Many concurred with the actors words, celebrating its succinctness, with one person stating: Excellent, no notes. open image in gallery Sir Michael Caine shared his thoughts on the Trump-Zelensky row ( @themichaelcaine/X ) Caine has a habit of telling people to calm down during times of heightened tension. In August 2024, he shared the same post during the race riots that broke out in the UK after misinformation regarding the killer of three young children in Southport. Thousands of police officers were deployed to prepare for further action after racist and Islamophobic attacks led to stabbings, street beatings, and mosques under siege. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Songwriters spend their whole lives trying to hone and craft their music in such a way that it will strike a chord with listeners, but sometimes they just end up getting on their own nerves. Often its the song that becomes an artists most popular hit that can drive them to frustration, especially if they start to feel like their entire oeuvre has become reduced to a one-hit wonder punchline. Whether its Nirvana hating the scent of Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Radiohead getting the creeps from Creep, here are 19 songs that wound up winding up the musicians who wrote them. Oasis Wonderwall (1995) Liam and Noel Gallagher are clearly thrilled to be getting the band back together for new shows (not to mention the associated payday), but the brothers may not be quite as excited as their fans about one particular singalong moment. Back in 2008, while promoting Dig Out Your Soul, Liam Gallagher remarked of their new record: At least theres no Wonderwall on there. I cant f***ing stand that f***ing song! Every time I have to sing it, I want to gag. He particularly lamented the songs cultural predominance in the United States, adding: Problem is, it was a big, big tune for us. You go to America, and theyre like: Are you, Mr Wonderwall? You want to chin someone. In a rare example of sibling agreement, Noel also isnt the biggest fan of the song. He said in a 2017 interview: Wonderwall has become a worldwide hit, and I will get stopped all over the world, in any city you care to name, and people will sing Wonderwall. I dont particularly like that song I think Cigarettes & Alcohol is a far superior song. Kevin E G Perry open image in gallery Blunderwall: the brothers struck gold with their 1995 hit, its a shame they cant stand it now ( Simon Emmett ) Billy Joel We Didnt Start The Fire (1989) Its his biggest song, yet Billy Joels distaste for the melody of We Didnt Start the Fire goes back almost to the time of its release. Its really not much of a song, he said in 1993, sitting at the piano for a filmed interview. If you take the melody by itself, terrible. Like a dentists drill. While he hasnt said he hates the entire song, more than 10 years later, he went on The Howard Stern Show and called it probably the worst musical thing Ive ever written before demonstrating the tune on the piano. Roisin OConnor open image in gallery Billy Joel has previously been dismissive about his melody for We Didnt Start the Fire ( AP ) The Pretenders Brass in Pocket (1979) The Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde famously said the bands most popular hit, Brass in Pocket, would be released over my dead body. I did not like it at first, she told American Songwriter in 2019, reserving praise for the catchy riff created by their original lead guitarist, James Honeyman-Scott, who died of a drug overdose in June 1982, aged 25. Hynde later said she felt as though the track didnt know what it was, adding: I thought it sounded like it was trying to be a Motown song, but it didnt quite make it for me. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. open image in gallery Chrissie Hynde apparently once said The Pretenders song Brass in Pocket would be released over her dead body ( Getty ) It seemed she was on her own, however, as the song remains one of the bands biggest to date, reaching No 1 in the UK and No 6 in the US. I enjoy singing it these days, Hynde said. If someone wants to hear it, its always a pleasure But the best thing about the song is that it always reminds me of Jimmy Scott. He was a fantastic guitar player. ROC Charli XCX Break the Rules (2014) open image in gallery Not a rule-breaker: Charli XCXs 2014 hit was written at a writing camp and felt fake ( Getty ) The British artist is regarded as one of the most innovative pop stars around, setting trends with her Grammy-winning 2024 album Brat. While shes spoken about how proud she is of Brat, shes been less favourable towards some of her earlier songs. In 2017, for instance, she told Q magazine that she made some rash decisions with her second album, Sucker, singling out the single Break the Rules. That was so bad. I hate it, she declared. I wrote it at a writing camp and I was like, Whoever sings this song is an idiot. In 2018, she told The Guardian that parts of Sucker felt fake when she listened back to it: It was definitely a confusing experience, after Fancy, when things didnt really go my way, she said. I didnt become, like, this huge big artist or whatever. That was definitely hard at points for sure. ROC Guns N Roses Sweet Child o Mine (1987) Sweet Child o Mine gave the band their first and only No 1 single but guitarist Slash was never a fan. I was f***ing around with this stupid little riff, he recalled to Q magazine in 2005. Axl said, Hold the f***ing phones! Thats amazing! Turning the riff into an actual song proved challenging. Writing and rehearsing it to make it a complete song was like pulling teeth, remembered Slash. For me, at the time, it was a very sappy ballad. KP Madonna Like a Virgin (1984) open image in gallery Madonna has been critical of several of her biggest hits ( AP ) Madonna is never shy of opinions, not least when it comes to her own music. The queen of pop has disowned her own hits on a number of occasions, including in a 2008 interview with New Yorks Z100 FM where she claimed shed need to be paid like $30m or something to sing Holiday or Like a Virgin again. A year later, she doubled down on her Like a Virgin stance: For some reason people think that when you go to a restaurant or you are going shopping that you want to hear one of your own songs. Its usually Like a Virgin - and that is the one I dont want to hear. Fortunately for fans, Madonna has continued to perform the song live, most recently during her world Celebration tour. ROC Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991) open image in gallery Kurt Cobain said he was trying to sound like the Pixies when he wrote his biggest hit ( Rex ) A classic example of a band setting out to write a hit and succeeding well beyond their expectations. I was trying to write the ultimate pop song, Kurt Cobain told journalist David Fricke in 1994, adding that he was heavily inspired by the loud-quiet-loud dynamics of Pixies. When the song became a monster success on radio and MTV, Cobain began to refuse to play it live or else intentionally butchered it. Once it got into the mainstream, it was over, he remarked. Im just tired of being embarrassed by it. Im beyond that. He was self-aware enough to know that his loathing came because of the songs success, not despite it. The reason it gets a big reaction is people have seen it on MTV a million times, he pointed out. Its been pounded into their brains. But I think there are so many other songs that Ive written that are as good, if not better than that song, like Drain You. Thats definitely as good as Teen Spirit. I love the lyrics, and I never get tired of playing it. Maybe if it was as big as Teen Spirit, I wouldnt like it as much. KP Bruno Mars The Lazy Song (2010) open image in gallery Bruno Mars seemed unimpressed by fans who actually liked The Lazy Song ( Getty Images ) Kudos to the artist who can own up to releasing a truly terrible song, which is (sort of) what Bruno Mars did a few years ago. Posting to X (Twitter), he shared a video of himself looking very unimpressed and captioned it: When someone tells me they actually like The Lazy Song. Released in 2010, the track is a reggae-lite earworm of the nursery rhyme variety, branded by one critic as the most annoying of the year, along with Marss other track, Marry You. ROC Warrant Cherry Pie (1990) The story of how the glam rock anthem Cherry Pie was baked is a tale as old as time. The second album by LA rockers Warrant was about to come out but the label insisted it didnt hear a single and wanted something more like Aerosmiths Love in an Elevator. Frontman Jani Lane quickly wrote and submitted Cherry Pie, and Columbia Records couldnt have been happier. All of a sudden, the albums called Cherry Pie, the records called Cherry Pie, Im doing cherry pie-eating contests, Lane recalled to VH1 in 2006. My legacys cherry pie. Everything about me is cherry pie. Im a cherry pie guy. I could shoot myself in the f***ing head for writing that song. By 2007, however, Lane was feeling more circumspect. Im happy as a clam to have written a song that is still being played and still dug by so many people, he told a radio interviewer. Its hard enough to write a song, let alone one that sticks around. KP open image in gallery Kate Pierson joins Michael Stipe and REM on Saturday Night Live in 1991 ( NBC ) REM Shiny Happy People (1991) Included on REMs classic album Out of Time and the bands first top 10 hit in the UK, this upbeat single was also considered as a potential theme song for Friends before frontman Michael Stipe turned the sitcom down. The lyric of the chorus was lifted from a translation of a Chinese government propaganda poster published after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, while the song itself was the bands attempt to write a bubblegum pop song. Stipe has since described it as being primarily written for children. The frontman also openly said the song has limited appeal to him but always stopped short of outright denigrating it. I try to never say anything bad about the songs I dont particularly like, because there might be somebody out there who hears it to whom the song means everything, and represents something in their life that is essential, he said. I dont want to take that from them. KP Radiohead Creep (1992) open image in gallery Thom Yorke has often refused to play Creep live ( Getty ) Radioheads debut single launched them into the public consciousness, but they went years without playing it live. In fairness, recording the song hadnt been their idea in the first place producers Sean Slade and Paul Q Kolderie encouraged them to do so, and the band ended up using enough elements of the 1974 Hollies hit The Air That I Breathe, written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, that they were eventually required to share the songwriting credit. In recent years, the song has started to worm its way back into their setlists. Its a good song, guitarist Ed OBrien told Rolling Stone in 2017. Its nice to play for the right reasons. People like it and want to hear it. We do err towards not playing it because you dont want it to feel like showbusiness. But we started throwing it in last year. Frontman Thom Yorke added: We only did it once or twice this year. The first time Im feeling the fakes well stop. It can be cool sometimes, but other times I want to stop halfway through and be like, Nah, this isnt happening. KP Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven (1971) Robert Plant was in his early twenties when he sat down to add lyrics to Jimmy Pages idea for the epic song that became Stairway to Heaven. As he got older, he began to view his efforts more critically. If you absolutely hated Stairway to Heaven, no one can blame you for that because it was so... pompous, he told Q in 1988. Lyrically, now, I cant relate to it, because it was so long ago. I would have no intention ever to write along those abstract lines any more. That same year, he added in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: Id break out in hives if I had to sing that song in every show, I wrote those lyrics and found that song to be of some importance and consequence in 1971, but 17 years later, I dont know. KP Willow Whip My Hair (2010) open image in gallery Willow Smith changed her mind about Whip My Hair ( Invision ) In the years after Willow Smith released her debut single, aged nine, she often spoke about it in regretful terms: For so long, I wanted to condemn that time of my life and forget it, just kind of push it under the rug, she told LOfficiel in 2021. Part of this was to do with the onslaught of attention she received as the song made its way into the charts, causing her to suffer panic attacks: That was crazy, she told The Independent in 2022. I was brainwashed into thinking, No, youre being a brat, suck it up. Then I grew up, and I realised it was something that needed to be dealt with. However, more recently, shes come to recognise that the themes in Whip My Hair echo those heard in her more recent, rock-influenced work, ones centred around self-love and the universe and our humanitys divine path, about expressing oneself and being unapologetic, she said. I listened to Whip My Hair not too long ago, after many years, and realised that its the same message. ROC Metallica Escape (1984) Escape was a late addition to Metallicas second album Ride the Lightning, and frontman James Hetfield was never truly won over by the hastily written song. The band had never once played it live before they performed the album in full at their own Orion Music + More Festival in 2012. This is groundbreaking right here, Hetfield told the audience. This is historical for those of you who might know whats coming up next. The song that we never wanted to play live ever is now on the setlist. Were not afraid, we just hope it is good. And well do our best. You can sing along if you want, all right? That might help. KP open image in gallery Beastie Boys: Mike D, Adrock and MCA in 1980 ( Freeberg/Mediapunch/Shutterstock ) Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right (To Party) (1986) Beastie Boys member Mike D later recalled that their rabble-rousing hit Fight For Your Right (To Party) was written in about five minutes in the art-filled Michael Todd Room at the Palladium nightclub in New York. If they intended the song to satirise a certain jock-y, bro-y, segment of their fanbase, that message got lost in translation. The only thing that upsets me is that we might have reinforced certain values of some people in our audience when our own values were actually totally different, Mike D complained in 1987. There were tons of guys singing along to [Fight for Your Right] who were oblivious to the fact it was a total goof on them. Irony is often missed. KP Cyndi Lauper The Goonies R Good Enough (1985) open image in gallery Cyndi Lauper on the Pyramid Stage at the 2024 Glastonbury Festival ( PA ) The Girls Just Wanna Have Fun star has admitted in interviews that she hates the song released in support of Steve Spielbergs 1985 film, The Goonies. I think she felt it was an infringement on her creativity, which I agreed with, music supervisor Joel Sill told the Willamette Week of a tussle over the original song name, which was simply, Good Enough. But all of us had a bigger responsibility to the movie. It was a big investment we all had in utilising the music to sell the film, and the film would then sell the music. Lauper apparently pushed back on changing the lyrics to make them more heavily reference the film, but relented (albeit unhappily) on changing the song title. However, in recent years she appears to have conceded to fan demand when it comes to performing the track live, as it has appeared on some of the setlists for her recent farewell tour. ROC Pink Dont Let Me Get Me (2001) open image in gallery Pink said she wished she could burn her hit song Dont Let Me Get Me ( AP ) Pinks cry-for-help single Dont Let Me Get Me was critically acclaimed and an international chart hit when it was first released, but a decade later the songs creator had completely had enough of it. I wish I could burn that song and never sing it again! she told the Los Angeles Times in 2012, although she did manage to laugh about it. KP The Who Pinball Wizard (1969) Pinball Wizard is regarded by many as the centrepiece of The Whos 1969 concept album Tommy, but its held in somewhat less regard by the man who wrote it, Pete Townshend. I knocked it off. I thought, Oh, my God this is awful, the most clumsy piece of writing Ive ever done. Oh my God, Im embarrassed. This sounds like a music hall song, he recalled later. I scribbled it out and all the verses were the same length and there was no kind of middle eight. It was going to be a complete dud, but I carried on. KP Ariana Grande Put Your Hearts Up (2011) open image in gallery Ariana Grande was unhappy with her debut single ( Invision ) These days Ariana Grande is a pop behemoth. With over 98 billion global streams the Florida-born singer is one of the most listened-to artists in the world, but her transition from Nickelodeon child star to musician didnt get off to the smoothest start. Her debut single Put Your Hearts Up, co-written by 4 Non Blondes Linda Perry, was a bubblegum pop song that Grande later told Rolling Stone she felt was inauthentic and fake. She added: For the video, they gave me a bad spray tan and put me in a princess dress and had me frolic around the street. The whole thing was straight out of hell. I still have nightmares about it, and I made them hide it on my Vevo page. KP Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Saturday Night Live pulled no punches in its opening with a replay of the notorious Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the show mocked the world leaders. But the opening didnt stop there. The cast also took shots at Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency - with alum Mike Myers playing the tech mogul. In a reenactment of Fridays White House meeting that SNL described as going really, really well, Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, introduced himself as the CEO of Gaza hotel, referring to the real presidents plans to make the war-torn region a Riviera of the Middle East. He then turned to Zelensky, played by Mikey Day, and sarcastically thanked him for dressing like casual Star TrekI love Star Trek because theres no DEI. In reality, the Ukrainian leader wore a black sweater and black pants to the Oval Office meeting; Trump seemed to be peeved by his outfit choice. The show then leaned into Trumps tiptoeing around his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The fake Trump urged the fake Zelensky to tell Putin how much you loved him and youre sorry. Thats when Bowen Yang, as Vance, came in. You havent said thank you for the past 15 seconds since Ive been yelling at you, Yang said. open image in gallery SNL ripped the recent Trump-Ukraine taking shots at politicians, including Vice President J.D. Vance. Elon Musk, played by Mike Myers, also made an appearance ( NBC ) At Fridays meeting, the real vice president pressed Zelensky: Have you said thank you once? Zelensky replied: A lot of times. Even today. Vance clarified his question: No, in this entire meeting. Every time the SNLs Zelensky tried to speak, the fake president and vice president kept interrupting in a way not too dissimilar from their real life counterparts. At one point, the fake Vance said: You have been talking this entire time. Does the sign outside say Ukraine House? No, it says America House. The cold open also reenacted the cards portion of the meeting which really happened. The real Trump told the Ukrainian president: You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now with us. Zelensky insisted: Im not playing cards right now, Im very serious Mr President. I am a wartime president. In the skit, Trump insisted he had all the cards: I have skip. I have draw four. I have reverse. I have get out of jail free the Supreme Court gave me that one. open image in gallery Fridays tense meeting between Zelensky, Trump and Vance devolved into a shouting match - and became perfect fodder for SNL ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) The fake Zelensky then suggested they should visit Ukraine. Ive been to Ukraine on Google Maps. Its a mess, the fake Vance stated. It wasnt just the Ukraine meeting in SNLs crosshairs. In the skit, Mike Myers, as Elon Musk, entered the gathering and sported a tech support T-shirt, which the real Musk wore in a cabinet meeting. The fake Musk also had a chainsaw, a reference to when the tech billionaire waved the tool around the stage at a right-wing conference. The fake Musk told the fake president: What are you doing in my office? Im the president now. Im kidding. Maybe Im not Im so comfortable with all of that, the fake Trump said. SNL then made fun of how DOGE, led by Musk, has upended the federal government. Theyre doing mass firings of the government. We love mass firings because we dont need to know what their names are or what they do, the fake Trump said. We are firing all nonessential employees, like air traffic controllers, Myers as Misk said. In real life, despite a series of aviation disasters in recent weeks, the Trump administration laid off hundreds of people at the Federal Aviation Administration but none of them were air traffic controllers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. Myers then introduced the fake next steps for DOGE - the Department of Undoing Child Healthcare and Education, or DOUCHE. DOUCHE is going to be epic. Its going to really clean everything out, he said. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Mike Myers took a swipe at Donald Trumps calls to make Canada the 51st state during an appearance on Saturday Night Live. The comic, who hails from Toronto, appeared in the comedy shows curtain call on Saturday (1 March) after making a surprise cameo in the opening sketch, playing Elon Musk. Standing with host Shane Gillis and musical guest Tate McRae, the 61-year-old SNL alumnus wore a black t-shirt featuring the slogan Canada is not for sale alongside his home nations red and white flag. He also mouthed the words elbows up as the credits rolled on the episode, which marked Myers first SNL appearance in 10 years. Myers pointed fashion choice comes after the president has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States of America, claiming that the country would be better off. open image in gallery Myers, right, made his feelings clear with a slogan t-shirt ( NBC ) In an interview with Fox News last month, Trump said: I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And Im not going to let that happen. Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada? Its thought that the $200 billion figure referenced by Trump refers to defence spending and a trade deficit. The president has also imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, which are set to go into effect this month. Myers, who was a cast member on SNL from 1989 to 1995, donned a tech support t-shirt and grabbed a chainsaw to take on the role of Musk in the episodes opening scene, which re-imagined Trumps heated White House meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. open image in gallery SNL parodied the meeting between Zelensky and Trump during the opening scene ( NBC ) In the sketch, Myers Musk burst into the Oval Office while James Austin Johnsons Trump and Bowen Yangs JD Vance were in the middle of a fraught discussion. What are you doing in my office? Myers then asked, adding: Im the president now. Im kidding. Maybe Im not. Tech mogul and Twitter/X owner Musk is currently Trump's senior advisor, but last month, the White House clarified that he has no actual or formal authority to make decisions. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Saturday Night Live comedian, Michael Che has joked that he could be the next Black employee to depart from NBCUniversal after the network lost two of its most prominent figures this week. Following a series of reports last weekend that Joy Reid was out at MSNBC amid a programming overhaul, new network president Rebecca Kutler made it official on Monday (24 March). Besides Reid losing not only her weeknight show but also her job, the liberal cable news channel also dropped programs hosted by Alex Wagner, Katie Phang, and others while rearranging much of the networks lineup. On the same day, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt announced to network staff that he was stepping down from the show hes hosted since 2015. As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has, he told staffers in his memo. What an amazing ride. In the latest SNL episode (1 March) Che joked on The Weekend Update that a similar fate could be heading his way. The 41-year-old said: This week, MSNBC fired its only non-white primetime host, and Lester Holt announced he is stepping down as the anchor of NBC Nightly News. Well, NBC, only one more to go, baby, Che added, as he pointed to a photo of himself on screen. Joy Reid joined MSNBC more than ten years ago ( Getty Images for ESSENCE ) Che has co-anchored The Weekend Update with Colin Jost since 2014. Che and Jost also worked as co-head writers on SNL from 2017 until 2022. Watch the full segment below: Elsewhere, the episodes cold open replayed the notorious Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the show mocked the world leaders. In a reenactment of Fridays White House meeting that SNL described as going really, really well, Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, introduced himself as the CEO of Gaza hotel, referring to the real presidents plans to make the war-torn region a Riviera of the Middle East. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. 8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. Try for free ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. He then turned to Zelensky, played by Mikey Day, and sarcastically thanked him for dressing like casual Star TrekI love Star Trek because theres no DEI. In reality, the Ukrainian leader wore a black sweater and black pants to the Oval Office meeting; Trump seemed to be peeved by his outfit choice. Every time the SNLs Zelensky tried to speak, the fake president and vice president kept interrupting in a way not too dissimilar from their real life counterparts. But the opening didnt stop there. The cast also took shots at Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency - with alum Mike Myers playing the tech mogul. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Channing Tatum appears to have moved on after his breakup with ex-fiance Zoe Kravitz. On Friday, the Magic Mike actor, 44, was seen attending talent agency CAAs exclusive pre-Oscars 2025 party with 24-year-old Australian model Inka Williams. In pictures published by E! News, Tatum is seen in a beige collared jacket, a black T-shirt, and matching pants, walking arm-in-arm with Williams, who wore a strapless fringe gown. Kravitz, 36, also attended the glitzy soiree hosted at the Living Room bar in Los Angeles. The Big Little Lies actor was photographed solo outside the venue before later being photographed with fashion designer Anthony Vaccarello, Polish model Anja Rubik, and K-pop star Rose at the Saint Laurent x Vanity Fair party. This wasnt the first time Tatum and Williams have been spotted together. Pictures of the two walking together in February made waves on social media, with many guessing who the Hollywood stars new love interest was. open image in gallery Channing Tatum, 44, and Inka Williams, 24 are spotted leaving a glitzy, pre-Oscars party together in Los Angeles on Friday ( Getty ) Citing sources, People confirmed Kravitz and Tatum had parted ways in October 2024, calling off their engagement after nearly one year. Their romance started on the set of the 2024 thriller film, Blink Twice, Kravitzs directorial debut, in which Tatum assumed the role of tech billionaire Slater King, who invites a cocktail waitress to his private island. open image in gallery The pair met on the set of the 2024 thriller film, Blink Twice, after Tatum split from his wife Jenna Dewan ( Getty ) Kravitz only recently broke her silence on her three-year relationship with Tatum in an interview with Elle. The filmmaker reflected on how the end of her romance hasnt affected how she feels about the movie they made together. I love this thing that we made together, and I care for him very much, she told the magazine. Even when you bring up how great his performance is, it warms my heart to hear that, and Im so happy that all of it happened. I just feel so grateful that we got to go on that journey together, Kravitz continued. He has so much more coming, and I think hes in a place as an actor where hes feeling really confident and people are seeing different sides of him. Hes got a lot to offer, so Im excited for people to keep witnessing that, she finished. Before Kravitz, Tatum was married to 44-year-old Step Up actor Jenna Dewan for 10 years, from 2009 to 2019. The pair welcomed their 11-year-old daughter, Everly, before divorcing in 2018. By 2021, Tatum and Kravitz had made their first red carpet appearance as a couple. En route to the airport at 8 oclock on a weekday morning, a young woman made a surprising pit stop: Madison Avenue Furs, where she declared: Im leaving here with a fur. This store, on a nondescript street in midtown Manhattan, is apparently TikToks latest viral discovery. Ever since a string of 20-something influencers shopped there and posted about it, there has been a steady stream (and occasional swarm) of Gen Z shoppers, according to owner Larry Cowitt. I've never in 42 years seen so many young women coming in and wanting to have something, anything, in fur, Cowitt tells me as I sit across from him in his office, a few feet away from the early morning customer. He adds: Theyre from all over the world, too. I got 20-year-olds coming in from Columbia (University), New York University, and out of the country. For decades, real fur has been taboo to the point of being banned across much of the fashion industry. Anti-fur groups coordinated international campaigns featuring graphic imagery, protesters hurled red paint at wearers and stormed catwalks, PETA ran a decades-long celebrity-backed movement in the 1990s and 2000s featuring nude models and actresses photographed under the slogan Id rather go naked than wear fur, and luxury fashion houses such as Gucci, Prada, Versace and Marc Jacobs outlawed it. But now, the culture seems to be shifting. Influencers are posting photos and videos of themselves in real fur, and younger consumers are being, well, influenced and theyre dropping hundreds of dollars on vintage upcycled furs. So, is the stigma of real fur over? open image in gallery Model Anna Nicole Smith poses on Rodeo Drive next to her poster promoting a new "Gentlemen Prefer Fur-Free Blondes" PETA ad in 2004 ( Getty ) Gen Zs craving for vintage fur and the viral mob wife aesthetic Gen Z is on the hunt for real, vintage fur. Theyre digging through their grandmothers closets, lining up around the block for cut-price sales and trawling resale sites like eBay and The Real Real. But why? Neri Sillaman, an NYU adjunct professor and fashion historian, says fur became a marker of wealth in the 1950s when it became a status symbol. Several old money TikTok trends have recently emerged with anti-progressive undertones and conservative views of femininity like MAGA makeup and the trad wife influencers. The Mob Wife craze a satirical style model for the fictional, self-assured partners of tough men (think Carmela Soprano) in stilettos and mammoth fur coats has been one key in the resurgence of animal hide garments. In the Oscar-nominated 2024 film Anora, actor Mikey Madison plays a 23-year-old Brooklyn stripper who marries the 21-year-old son of a Russian oligarch. The first thing she demands with her new money (after her 5-carat diamond ring) is a black Russian sable fur coat. Eloise Dufka, a beauty and style influencer with more than 612,000 followers, cited the mob wife trend as part of her style inspiration. She bought a $1,600 full-length vintage coyote coat and posted a video on January 23 that added to Madison Avenue Furs popularity. Eloise, 25, told The Independent: I remember the Mob Wife. T here was just this level of confidence and appeal that came with owning a fur. Now, stepping into being more confident, independent, I was like, this really just fits with the energy that I want to portray and also feel inside. open image in gallery Influencer Eloise Dufka, 25, on the subway in her $1,600 vintage coyote coat from Madison Avenue Furs, said: There was just this level of confidence and appeal that came with owning a fur. ( Eloise Dufka ) open image in gallery Madison Avenue Furs has been selling brand new, second-hand, and vintage fur garments and accessories for 42 years ( Eloise Dufka ) I spoke with 22-year-old Sophia Rofe, who went shopping at Madison Avenue Furs on her lunch break. Her visit was inspired by the luxury style influencer Audrey Peters, who has more than a million social media followers. After Peters (whose word on style, Sophia says, is Bible) posted about the store on her Instagram story, Sophia and her two friends made the pilgrimage to midtown Manhattan. Within an hour, they had each bought a coat. Sophia bought a $980 marble mink and posted about it on TikTok while her friends spent between $600 and $700 on theirs. Sophia has since been back and spent $850 on another mink coat and a rabbit fur coat. One of my best friends is getting married soon, and I was like, You need a fur, Sophia told me. When I got there, it was game over for me. I feel like fur adds that air of wanting to look expensive. Mob definitely brought this all back, but I think it took a second for it to translate into (fur) coats for people. At first, it was makeup. open image in gallery Sophia Rofe and her two friends at Madison Avenue Furs, Gen Zs viral discovery in midtown Manhattan ( Sophia Rofe ) 22-year-old Sophia Rofe shops at TikTok's viral store Madison Avenue Furs Madison Avenue Furss owners, brothers Steve and Larry Cowitt, have adjusted their stock to accommodate Gen Zs demand for pre-owned and vintage items. Larry said: They're coming in for oversized, long hair, usually mink. They're buying foxes, they're buying raccoons, they're buying anything that's in-your-face or out there. Theyre not caring as long as it is upcycled, he continues, referring to used garments thatve been repurposed and updated. We do sell new furs, but I feel that the younger people coming in are looking for more upcycled and more pre-owned. open image in gallery Madison Avenue Furs owners Steve (left) and Larry (right) Cowitt ( Kaleigh Werner/The Independent ) Celebrity influencers and Instagram dressing Instagram this winter has been a catalogue for fur. Picture influencers in Aspen gliding through the snow in heels and an enormous fur coat. Kendall Jenner has become the poster girl for this opulent, cold-weather style aesthetic after she was recently seen strolling through the ski town in a 2011 Balenciaga fox fur coat. Many young girls, with a penchant for instantaneous purchasing, are following their algorithm like its a winter wardrobe builder that shows theyre in the know (cue the fashion girlies will understand captions). Professor Sillaman explained that fur is still viewed as a marker of social standing. She said: It (fur) represents you as cool and as trendy now, as fashionable as the influencers. It's quite ironic, though, because fashion is about being individual and having your own voice and your own individuality expressed. But almost everyone looks the same because social media tells you if you wear this coat, you will look cool. Walking through downtown Manhattan, you can see the Instagram dressing in action, with Gen Z women pairing their furs with Adidas Samba sneakers and balaclavas to make it more streetwear. A fur is just so nice, Sophia said. You could just cover up everything you're wearing, and you could be in sweatpants and still look so chic. I wear mine everywhere. I wear mine to the gym. I have one that I wear specifically to Barry's Bootcamp because if I'm a little sweaty, then I don't want to wear the more expensive ones. open image in gallery Sophia Rofe, 22, snaps a picture of herself in her mink fur coat from Madison Avenue Furs ( Sophia Rofe ) Ashley Byrne from PETA thinks Gen Zs habit of replicating styles they see online is why it seems like theres more of a fur resurgence than there actually is that and the fact that the fur industry has been pushing this narrative, too. I think the amount is exaggerated, Byrne said. The fur industry is kind of always trotting out the same tired PR saying that fur is back and sending out press releases, saying that it's back. It's a little more visible right now because of TikTok, because of social media, but it's not more prevalent. Byrne said the fur industry has been plummeting through the floor. If you look at the numbers, production dropped by 60 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to recent reports. Even in China, which really is probably the biggest for a producer, the decline has been extreme, she said. According to Statista, global fur production sank to 15 million in 2023, down from 81 million in 2012. While Byrne admitted she wasnt too concerned about the future implications of Gen Zs taking to real vintage fur, Mark Glover, the director of Respect for Animals, believes its bothersome considering the garments are still animal hides. Even if it is so-called 'vintage' fur, it is still skin that was once a part of the body of a living animal and perpetuates the idea that real fur is acceptable in fashion. Vintage fur is bad news for animals: the cruelty and suffering doesn't diminish with time, he said. Influencer styles outfit based on the Mob Wife fashion trend The origins of fur Fur coats and wraps were a necessity before they became the pageantry garments of today. Humans started wearing animal hides to keep warm when they began migrating out of Africa over 180,000 years ago. By 1327, King Edward III had declared fur the fashion of royalty. Anyone who was not a diplomat, head of state, or blood relative, was prohibited from wearing stoat skin specifically. Fast forward to the Golden Age of Hollywood (the 1920s to the 1950s), consumers continued to view fur as a token of prosperity, worn by icons Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, and Audrey Hepburn. After World War II ended, luxury fashion maisons Christian Dior and Givenchy amped up the use of fur in their haute couture collections, further extolling it as a marker of wealth. Things changed during the 1980s. PETA worked in tandem with other animal activist groups to question the ethics of fur manufacturing. Sillaman described this period to The Independent: We see fur being made a little bit more controversial here. People werent aware of the amount of animals being harmed and killed. The start of the 21st century was a wake-up call for many in the industry. Vogue published countless stories on the social concerns behind the material, and Kering, the parent company to Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Yves Saint Laurent, banned all its brands from producing fur in 2022. But the inevitable pendulum swing has gone the other way, with a radical shift around morals and individualism in fashion that seems to align with wider politics. In the Cruel Kids Table, New York Magazines cover story about the rise of a young MAGA elite the week of the inauguration, real fur appears throughout. Earlier this month, Tim Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the return of bikini models to Carls Jr ads: Clearly with the new administration what is acceptable conduct is changing. The same could be said about fur. However, there are some Gen Z-ers who never saw an issue with wearing fur. I feel like my perception of wearing fur hasn't changed because it wasn't a big deal to me, Eloise said. Now when I see people with fur, I love it. I'm like, this is so cool. I think it's also so fun that every piece is so unique. It's like a snowflake. The politics of fur also extends to climate change. Gen Zs interest in vintage isnt much of a surprise considering they are a generation seeing the real-time impact of climate change on their daily lives. Because of this, were seeing an overall rise in sustainable second-hand shopping. A 2021 survey of 2,000 Gen Z Depop users, a second-hand clothing resell website, found 70 percent of respondents said they buy second-hand to reduce consumption and help the planet. I think that people are finally realizing that having Shein, Zara, and Mango making things for them is worse for the planet than just repurposing things that are already on the planet, Sophia said. In reality, faux alternatives are being purchased, with people grabbing cheaper alternatives from the likes of Zara, H&M, and Shein, and higher-end options from luxury brands like Burberry. This fashion season alone saw many designers such as Gucci, Prada, and Simone Rocha ushering in more faux fur in the form of trench coats and jacket collars, noticing a rising demand in the industry. Faux fur keeps getting better, Byrne noted. Not just more luxurious and indistinguishable visually from the real thing, but it also keeps getting more eco-friendly. But many Gen Z women do want the real stuff particularly if its vintage, meaning 30 years or older. Eloise decided to invest in her vintage $1,600 coyote coat from Madison Avenue Furs because it was unlike anything else she had. I don't have a coat like this, she explained. It's a statement piece, it's not like I'm going to be wearing it every day. Certain things in my mind, I reserve solely for buying secondhand, she continued. I also love the idea of it being an heirloom of sorts. I like that they've been worn in and they come from someone. Back at the store, next to a $1,295 white fox fur long collar coat, I hear Larry ask what the woman from earlier ended up buying. A blue fox, his associate says. For how much? Larry questions. $975, and she wore it on her way out. Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A woman who purchased a painting from a charity shop for $3 (2.40) was left amazed after discovering the true value of the artwork. Marisa Macy, who bought the picture from a second hand store in Cincinatti, Ohio, shared the surprising story on TikTok, telling users the artwork had been the most insane thrift find ever. Speaking in a voice over on her video post, Macy explained: I picked up this painting strictly for the frame, but after I got in the car I realised it was a painting and not a print. Thanks to a label on the ornate frame, Macy knew the painting was by the Danish-American impressionist painter Johann Berthelsen. So, I decided to do some research and found that it was purchased in an art gallery in St. Louis in 1912, the woman said, adding she had the painting authenticated via an art appraisal Facebook page. After having the painting authenticated, Macy was put in touch with Caza Sikes art gallery in Cincinnati, where she drove to alongside her husband to have the work valued. When we arrived, Will the art curator told us our painting would likely sell for somewhere in the region of $3,000 to $5,000 (2,374 to 3,957, she said. We got a final picture with the painting and hit the road. It will be featured in their February auctions. Macy returned with a follow up video days later, telling her followers: Bidding took place yesterday, but it only lasted 30 seconds [and] there was a serious bidding war. She revealed: It finally sold for $2,300 (1,821). After the auction house took their 15 per cent commission, well be bringing home just over $2,000 (1,584). All that just from a thrift store find, Macy celebrated. You never know what hidden gems are out there waiting to be discovered. Users on TikTok were seriously impressed by Macys charity shop skills. Honestly a win-win situation. You made some money and the painting will be appreciated by its new owner, one person said. Reminding myself I need to look at art at thrift stores, another commenter added. Meanwhile, another person pointed out: Imagine if you held onto it for another decade or so. Back in 2008, BBC Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans caused a frenzy in Surrey after he announced hed accidentally donated a signed Damien Hirst dot piece to charity while moving house. The presenter revealed at the time: Some of the stuff goes in boxes to stay, and some to go. In one of the boxes to go was a signed Damien Hirst. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Israels defense ministry on Saturday said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was under attack by Syrian forces. The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighboring Syrias new government and the insurgent group that led last years ouster of former President Bashar Assad should not enter the area south of Damascus. Saturdays statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt. Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syria's new forces. We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us, the statement said. There was no immediate response from Syria's government. The Druze are a religious minority who live in southern Syria and in Israels Golan Heights, where they navigate their historically Syrian identity while living under Israeli rule. Israels statement followed the outbreak of unrest Friday in the Druze settlement of Jaramana, when a member of the security forces entered and started shooting in the air, leading to an exchange of fire with local gunmen that left him dead. On Saturday, gunmen came from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha to Jaramana, where they clashed with Druze gunmen. That left one Druze fighter dead and nine other people wounded, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. The Israeli warning last Sunday to Syrian forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main former rebel group, made clear that Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period. We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida from the forces of the new regime, that earlier statement said. Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria. After the fall of Assad in December, Israel seized the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory. The zone was set up under a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Syrias new authorities and U.N. officials have called for Israel to withdraw. Meanwhile, Netanyahus government has been under pressure to protect Israelis living near border areas in the north as it tries to return residents of the north to their homes. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A four-year-old girl has died and a woman has been arrested following a house fire in Manchester. Emergency services were called to the blaze at a property in the Rusholme area of the city at around 12.35pm today. Crews rescued the girl but she later died in hospital from her injuries. The woman, aged 44, has been arrested on suspicion of arson with the intent to endanger life. A smashed, blackened window could be seen on the top floor of the semi-detached home. Churchgoers from the nearby Celestial Church of Christ helped the family of the girl who neighbours said loved playing in the quiet cul-de-sac. One of them, called Samuel, told the Manchester Evening News: "The service just stopped. "Everybody came out to see how they could be of help to the family. Even the preacher stopped and we began to pray for the family of the deceased. Some were even crying. Its a child. Its difficult to lose a loved one, but when its a child... We are very sorry for what happened. Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley said there was no wider threat to the community after the awful incident in Gateshead Close. She added: These tragic incidents will of course naturally cause concern, but I want to reassure the public that we are fully investigating all circumstances of the fire, and will leave no stone unturned as we carry out this work. Specialist officers at the scene are continuing to investigate the full circumstances of the fire. Ben Levy, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services area manager, said they would work closely with police to investigate the death. He added: I want to pass on the condolences of everyone at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to the family and friends of the young girl who tragically lost her life following this incident. Our thoughts are with them during this sad and difficult time. We will work closely with Greater Manchester Police to support their investigation into this tragic incident." Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer has arrived for crunch talks on the war in Ukraine with political leaders. The Prime Minister is welcoming leaders from across Europe and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also expected at the meeting at Lancaster House in London. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be among those in attendance at the summit before he heads off to meet the King. He travelled to the UK on Saturday after his Oval Office confrontation with Donald Trump which has created a divide between the US and its European Nato partners. French President Emmanuel Macron was pictured arriving at the summit around lunchtime on Sunday. He was embraced by the Prime Minister before heading inside. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has also arrived, as well as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. They were followed shortly afterwards by other leaders including Mr Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Before the meeting, Sir Keir spoke to the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and agreed that Europe must unite and drive forward urgent action that will secure the best outcome in Ukraine. Issuing a readout of the call with president Alar Karis of Estonia, prime minister Evika Silina of Latvia and president Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, a Downing Street spokesperson said: The Prime Minister updated them on his discussions with the leaders of Ukraine, France and the United States in recent days and underlined his focus on securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that ensures their future sovereignty, backed up by strong security guarantees. Sir Keir had said earlier on Sunday that the UK will work with France and possibly one or two others on a peace plan for Ukraine that will be discussed with the US. He told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States. European leaders rallied round to support the Ukrainian president after the scenes in the Oval Office on Friday evening, which saw Mr Trump publicly berating Mr Zelensky. Sir Keir told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the encounter made him feel uncomfortable, adding that nobody wants to see that. The important thing is how to react to that, said Sir Keir. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said her heart went out to Mr Zelensky following his clash with Mr Trump. She told the same programme: I watched it and I couldnt believe what was happening, he was being humiliated. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Supermarkets have issued an urgent recall for a popular childrens cereal after manufacturers spotted a potential choking hazard. Shoppers who bought Nestles Frosted Shreddies are being urged to return the cereal after fears lumps of sugar forming in the packets could make the malt squares unsafe to eat. The recall applies to 500g packs with batch codes 42870952, 42880952, 42890952 and 42900952 expiring in July. Specific batches of the popular cereal have been recalled ( X/@NestleUKI ) Another urgent recall applies to 40g boxes sold as part of the Nestle Box Bowl Mixed Cereals with boxes featuring the batch codes 42913451, 42923451, 42933451, 43173451, 43183451, 43193451, 43203451, and 43233451 set to expire in June and July. The codes can be found on the top of the product packaging. Nestle apologised to customers before assuring shoppers that no other batches of Frosted Shreddies or any other Nestle cereals were affected by the recall. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) notice announcing the recall said: Cereal Partners UK and Ireland are recalling Nestle Frosted Shreddies because they may contain small hard lumps of sugar which have formed in the product. This makes the product unsafe to eat and may present a choking hazard. A spokesman added: If you have bought any of the above products do not eat them. Instead return them to the store from where they were bought for a full refund. Alternatively, you can contact Nestle. On Wednesday, Cheshire Farm recalled batches of its Caramelized Biscuit Ice Cream and Biscoff Ice Cream because they contain hazelnuts. The FSA, which published the alert, said the products are a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to nuts. Customers can contact Nestle, with their pictures of their affected batch code, via the contact form on its website or via phone on 0080007890789 to receive a refund. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer spoke with US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron after welcoming Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street. The calls took place after the Prime Minister insisted Ukraine had full backing across the United Kingdom in a No 10 meeting with the countrys president, the PA news agency understands. Sir Keir also told the Ukrainian leader that Britain stands with his nation for as long as it may take. The Prime Ministers call to Mr Trump comes after the US presidents unprecedented public clash with Mr Zelensky in the White Houses Oval Office. During the diplomatic blowout broadcast around the world, Mr Trump claimed his Ukrainian counterpart was gambling with World War Three. The Ukrainian leader was also accused of not being thankful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his vice president JD Vance, after he attempted to question some of their claims. The spat has shaken the foundations of Nato, with European allies rallying to Ukraines side, while Mr Trumps American backers have insisted he was standing up for their countrys interests. Media reports from the US suggested Mr Trump considered cutting off all aid to Ukraine following their clash. The Prime Ministers call with Mr Trump is the second in two days, as he seeks to act as a bridge between Europe and America and keep the transatlantic Nato alliance together. In contrast with the terse exchange in the Oval Office, Mr Zelensky praised his meeting with the Prime Minister as meaningful and warm. Sir Keir, who usually stands at the doorstep of No 10 to greet world leaders, walked towards Mr Zelensky to meet him as he arrived. They then shared a hug before approaching the famous black door of No 10 together. A group of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators could be seen outside the gates of the street, and were heard to cheer as Mr Zelenskys convoy drove by. That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and how much they support Ukraine, Sir Keir later told Mr Zelensky at the top of their meeting in Downing Streets White Room. At the end of their meeting, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and her Ukrainian counterpart Sergii Marchenko signed a 2.26 billion loan agreement to support Kyivs military and the costs of rebuilding after the war. Ministers expect the loan will be repaid with the profits from frozen Russian assets. European leaders will join Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky in central London on Sunday for a defence summit. The gathering, which has gained renewed impetus after the Oval Office clash, is aimed at preparing Europe for how it will police any future peace in Ukraine. The Prime Minister believes a deal will have to involve US military assets providing surveillance, intelligence and potentially warplanes giving air cover to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching another bid to conquer his neighbour. The King will also meet with the Ukrainian leader on Sunday as part of his visit to Britain. Ahead of the summit, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the Prime Minister should push European leaders for concrete things to help Ukraine, such as Germany granting Kyiv permission to use its Taurus missiles. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The family of a teenager killed by an XL bully-type dog have spoken of their heartbreak. Morgan Dorsett, 19, suffered fatal injuries when she was attacked at a semi-detached terraced property in south Bristol on Wednesday. The pet, believed to have been an 8st XL bully, was seized and sedated before being euthanised, police said. The force added that work is continuing to identify the breed. open image in gallery A neighbour said she believed Morgan Dorsett from Shropshire had been visiting a relative when she was attacked ( Avon and Somerset Police/PA ) Her stepfather Matthew Travis wrote on social media: Words cant describe how much our hearts are breaking at the moment. The loveable rogue who knew what she wants and also how to get it. That cheeky smile would win me over every bloody time even to the point you would have me making you pasta at 2am. You could do no wrong in my eyes and will always be my favourite as you would enjoy telling everyone. In our hearts you will hold a place no one else will ever fill. open image in gallery Morgan Dorsett died after the attack at a flat in Bristol last week ( Avon and Somerset Police/PA ) Emma Dorsett posted a tribute to Morgan, whom she described as her beautiful sister, on Facebook: You will forever and always be in my heart. The memories we had together will always be with me and I will never forget the impact you had on my life. I love you forever and always, my beautiful sister. Caelia Dorsett posted a montage of pictures of the pair taking selfies and striking poses in a mirror on Facebook. She said: My sweet angel, there are no words that describe this feeling. open image in gallery Police outside the property in Bristol where the teenager was killed ( Laura Gray ) I am so grateful for all the memories we made together and having you as my built in bestie. You truly were an amazing person inside and out. She added: Taking some time to spend with family and friends, I appreciate all the support. A fundraiser has been launched to support the family. Organiser Sharon Harris wrote: The tragedy of losing a loved one is painful, that pain must be unimaginable when you lose someone so young and in such a tragic way. open image in gallery Inspector Terry Murphy speaks to the media on Cobhorn Drive, Hartcliffe ( PA ) Morgan was a truly beautiful girl. One of the blonde bombshells. She was strong, kind, and so full of life. A man and a woman, both aged in their twenties, were arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death and possession of a prohibited breed of dog. They have since been released on bail. An Avon and Somerset police spokesperson said: Morgans family continue to be updated on the investigation and are being supported by a specially trained officer. They have thanked members of the public for their support and those who have left flowers. They have asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. open image in gallery Flowers placed outside the scene of the attack ( Alex Ross/The Independent ) If you have any information you think could help our investigation, please contact us. Since last February, it has been illegal to own an XL bully without a certificate of exemption. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice King Charles met Volodymyr Zelensky at Sandringham on Sunday in an overt show of solidarity with the Ukrainian president. The meeting came after Donald Trump and the US vice-president JD Vance berated Mr Zelensky over his conduct during the Ukraine war and apparent lack of gratitude for American donations during a televised conference in the Oval Office. Mr Zelensky had been in London to attend a summit of European leaders which saw them discuss a peace plan for Ukraine and security on the continent, a day after Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Zelensky had "full backing across the United Kingdom" as he welcomed him to Downing Street. The decision to invite the Ukrainian president to Sandringham is the most conspicuous political act the King has made since succeeding Queen Elizabeth II, who went to great lengths to keep out of politics. The gestures by both the King and the prime minister are bound to be seen as the clearest possible signal that Britain is backing Mr Zelensky after his bitter fall-out with Mr Trump. The prime minister is attempting to bridge the gap between Ukraine and the White House, which was more evident than ever when Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of not being ready for peace in the heated White House show down. Cabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said it is entirely appropriate that Mr Zelensky met the King, rejecting suggestions that the move is a provocation to the White House. Charles and Zelensky in Norfolk on Sunday ( PA ) The meeting comes just three days after Mr Trump accepted an invitation from the King for an unprecedented second state visit to Britain delivered to him personally by Sir Keir. I think it's up to the White House how they see the diplomacy of the moment", Mr Thomas-Symonds told Sky News on Sunday morning. The prime minister is in regular contact with President Trump, but I think it is entirely right that there is a recognition given of the role President Zelensky has played in defending the sovereign nation of Ukraine over the past three years. So it's entirely appropriate he sees His Majesty the King. Speaking on Sunday, Sir Keir admitted the clash between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump made him feel uncomfortable. "Yes, I felt uncomfortable. Nobody wants to see that," he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. "The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. "The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. "Because my reaction was, we have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Rachel Reeves has announced plans to loan more than 2bn worth of frozen Russian assets to fund weapons in Ukraine as the prime minister warns that we are at a turning point in the war. It comes ahead of a major summit in London on Sunday where European leaders will meet to thrash out a response to Donald Trumps erratic stance on Ukraine and his catastrophic meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. The 2.26bn package will be given to Ukraine as a loan and will be paid back using profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets. Follow latest updates as Starmer hosts Ukraine summit The formal agreement was signed by Ms Reeves and Ukrainian finance minister Sergii Marchenko on Saturday, with the first tranche of funding expected to reach Kyiv later next week. open image in gallery Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves holds a video meeting with Ukraines finance minister Sergii Marchenko, as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky watch (Toby Melville/PA) ( PA Wire ) The loan which will be earmarked for military spending to bolster Ukraines defences - forms part of the UKs contribution to the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans to Ukraine scheme, through which G7 countries will collectively provide $50bn to support Ukraine. Announcing the package of support, Ms Reeves said a safe and secure Ukraine is a safe and secure United Kingdom. This funding will bolster Ukraines armed forces and will put Ukraine in the strongest possible position at a critical juncture in the war. The funding, which will be delivered in three equal annual payments of 752m, comes on top of the 3bn a year commitment by the UK to provide military aid for Ukraine. It follows Sir Keir Starmers announcement last week that the UK will boost its own defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, up from 2.3 per cent. European leaders will meet in London on Sunday to thrash out a response to a chaotic meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky, which shook the foundations of the transatlantic Nato alliance. Sundays meeting will also involve crunch talks on how European nations can boost their defence spending to bolster their own security and reduce their reliance on the US. Meanwhile, Downing Street is hoping Sir Keir can be the one to bridge the gap and bring the US and Ukraine back to the negotiating table. It comes after a clash between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, in which the US President claimed his counterpart was gambling with world war three. It resulted in Ukraines president being kicked out of the White House, and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support placed on ice. open image in gallery ( AFP via Getty Images ) Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting, in which he and his vice president, JD Vance, engaged in heated exchanges with Mr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president is expected to meet King Charles at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk on Sunday, after attending the summit. The embattled Ukrainian leader will meet with Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US presidents support. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Anna Wojcicki, the CEO of DNA testing app 23andMe that was sold for $6billion, is trying to buy the company back for just $75million. The troubled company was worth billions six years ago but now, for the second time in two years, Wojcicki has proposed buying out the companys shareholders at $2.53 per share, valuing it at $74.7million. The CEO has joined forces with venture capital firm New Mountain Capital in the bid to take the company private. We believe the best course of action is for the company to go private, which will enable it to focus on executing long-term value creation initiatives, Wojcicki and New Mountain Capital wrote in the letter to the companys board of independent directors at the end of February, Fortune reports. The deal requires approval from the board and the majority of minority shareholders and is likely to raise red flags for investors, the outlet reported. Wojcicki holds 49 percent of the companys voting power. She also selected the companys three directors after all seven of her independent directors resigned on the same day in September. Wojcickis genetic testing company laid off 40 percent of its workforce last year ( Getty ) Charles Elson, the founding director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, told Fortune that this kind of deal is a classic conflict of interest transaction. 23andMe declined to comment when contacted by The Independent. In November 2024, the company laid off 40 percent of its workforce as the struggling genetic testing company attempted to slash costs. In a statement at the time, Wojcicki said the company was taking these difficult but necessary actions as it focuses on the long-term success of our core consumer business and research partnerships. The restructuring arrived during a period of turmoil at California-based company, which also suffered a high-profile data breach, several rounds of previous layoffs and piling losses that plunged the company's stock over recent years. 23andMe went public in 2021 and has struggled to find a profitable business model since particularly with most buyers of its saliva-based testing kits only needing to purchase once. The company reported a net loss of $667million for its last fiscal year, more than double the loss of $312million for the year prior. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Bill Murray and Bob Woodward had a tense standoff at a documentary film screening shortly after the Ghostbusters star revealed his anger towards the Washington Post scribe over a 1984 book during an interview with Joe Rogan. The book in question, Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi, was roundly criticized upon its release by among others, Dan Aykroyd, John Landis and Belushis widow, Judith Pisano. The issue was raised when Rogan began speaking about conspiracy theories involving Richard Nixons ousting as president in 1974, including one that involves the notion of Bob Woodward being a CIA asset. Murray took that as bait to echo the feelings of others who knew Belushi. So when I read Wired by whatshisname, Bob Woodward, about John Belushi, I read like five pages of Wired and I went, Oh my God, they framed Nixon. If he did this to Belushi, what he did to Nixon is probably soiled for me too. On Monday night, Murray and Woodward were pictured standing close to each other before a screening of Becoming Katharine Graham, a documentary about the legendary Washington Post publisher. New York Magazines Ben Terris took the picture of the pair, who were in a group. Terris said the pair got into a little quarrel and described the meeting as being a little tense. At the height of his fame, thanks to his appearances on Saturday Night Live as well as hit movies Animal House and The Blues Brothers, John Belushi died of a drug overdose after taking a heroin and cocaine cocktail known as a speedball. He was 33 years old ( 1978 AP ) The Groundhog Day star told Rogan that he was approached by Woodward to be interviewed for the book but refused, saying it smelled funny. The book was released just two years after Belushis untimely death. At the height of his fame, thanks to his appearances on Saturday Night Live as well as hit movies Animal House and The Blues Brothers, Belushi died of a drug overdose after taking a heroin and cocaine cocktail known as a speedball. He was 33 years old. It was reported that around the time of his death, Belushi was spending $2,500 per week on drugs. Murray also said in the interview that he believed that John Belushi was the most famous person to ever come from Wheaton, Illinois, and that Woodward was the third. Chicago Bears legend Harold Red Grange was named as the second. He spoke of Belushis generosity in convincing so many of his fellow comedians from Illinois to come and join him in New York, allowing them to sleep on his couch for extended periods. Murray also credited Belushi with launching a blue revival which in turn led to the emergence of the House of Blue franchise concert venues. The Golden Globe went on to say: Woodward does other things, Ive seen him on TV and be smart and everything but, you know, hes going to have to answer for that, you dont get away with that, you dont get a free pass. Not with my friend. Murrays appearance came just after Tesla CEO Elon Musks interview on Rogans hugely popular show. During that appearance, Musk made wild accusations about Jeffrey Epsteins infamous client list, which Trumps Attorney General Pam Bondi said would be released this week. Known Epstein clients who are obviously extremely powerful powerful politically and very wealthy are Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and Reid Hoffman, Musk alleged. And some others, too. But those three. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An 8th grader who refused to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance says she was told she should go back to your country by a teacher. Danielle Khalaf, 14, a student at East Middle School in Plymouth, Michigan, said that she did not want to stand on January 10 because of whats happening in Palestine. After the Pledge was over the teacher addressed the class and said that anyone that was sitting down was being very disrespectful to soldiers, to America, Khalaf told 7 News Detroit. The teenager said that she went to speak to her teacher after class to explain her reasons but claims she was told: Since you live in this country and enjoy its freedom, if you dont like it, you should go back to [your] country. I was sobbing, and I ran out of the room crying, Khalaf said in an interview. The Independent has contacted Plymouth-Canton Community Schools for comment. Khalaf and her father, Jacob Khalaf, joined a press conference given by the Arab American Civil Rights League about the incident Thursday. As a father, it was heartbreaking to see my daughter come home in tears because of what she had to deal with in school, her father said. open image in gallery FILE IMAGE: Danielle Khalaf had a constitutional right to remain seated, the Arab American Civil Rights League said ( Getty Images/iStockphoto ) Danielle was exercising her constitutional right when she chose to remain seated during the Pledge of Allegiance. Instead of respecting her decision, the teacher humiliated her in front of her classmates and peers. And made a deeply offensive comment, essentially telling my daughter that she does not belong to this country. My daughter, an American citizen, being told she does not belong to this country. The organization said it was demanding action after the 8th grader was publicly humiliated in class for exercising her constitutional right to remain seated during the Pledge. What happened to Danielle is a failure of the system to protect our children. Educators should uplift, not humiliate students, said Nabih Ayd, the organizations founder. In a statement to 7 News, the school said it had taken appropriate action but added it could not share specific details about the teacher. We want to be clear that discrimination in any form is not tolerated by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools and is taken very seriously, the statement said. The district became aware of this incident after it occurred. As with all complaints, an investigation was conducted, and appropriate action was taken in alignment with district policies and procedures. Because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to share specific details regarding the employee involved. It added that restorative practices between Khalaf and the teacher had been facilitated. Khalafs father has called for the teacher to be fired. Trumps 2025 US tariffs25% on Canada and Mexico, 10% on Chinese goods, and 25% on steel and aluminumare hitting Australian SMEs hard, especially those tied to the $19 billion in annual exports to the US, including $1 billion in steel and aluminum now facing higher costs. Shipping delays from the Panama Canal and potential Trump-led changes are jacking up expenses, squeezing tight SME margins, and disrupting schedules, while a possible 10-20% surcharge looms. The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) offers a lifeline, boosting Aussie-made goods over tariff-hit rivals, but SMEs must act fastsourcing new suppliers, shifting production onshore, or lobbying for government helpto protect their slice of that $19 billion market. The tariff shift The USs tariff war is forcing companies worldwide to rethink their strategies. Australian businesses, particularly those in industries like steel or e-commerce, are already feeling the heat. PwCs analysis highlights that many Aussie companies rely on imports from markets like Canada and Mexico25% tariffs on those goods will push up costs, hurt margins, and slow down supply chains. Even if youre not directly importing from these countries, the ripple effect can affect everything from shipping to pricing. E-commerce sellers, in particular, are under pressure, as the US has removed the $800 tax exemption for small shipments, meaning more costs for online sellers trying to break into the US market. But heres the twisttheres potential to turn this disruption into an opportunity. Australias trade agreement with the US (AUSFTA) still gives us an edge. In fact, PwC suggests that US buyers may be more inclined to purchase Australian-made goods to avoid these new tariffs. If your products are locally sourced, you might just find yourself with a competitive advantage in the US. The EU: A new frontier? While the US market has long been attractive for Aussie businessesboasting a GDP of close to $US30 trillion and a population of more than 335 milliontheres a growing concern about how the tariffs will affect future growth. While Australia hasnt yet been singled out for tariffs, theres potential for additional costs down the line that could diminish the markets appeal. With that uncertainty in mind, its worth considering alternative markets. One market that stands out is the European Union. With a population of nearly 450 million, the EU is even larger than the US and offers a simpler regulatory environment for Australian businesses. Chris Calverley, Head of Sales and Partnerships at Avalara, suggests that the EU could be an ideal destination. The region benefits from a harmonized VAT system, making it easier to navigate for businesses selling across multiple countries. In comparison, the US tax system, with over 13,000 sales and use tax jurisdictions, can be a logistical nightmare for exporters. Expanding into the EU comes with logistical benefits. As Chris points out, countries like the Netherlands are home to well-established 3PL hubs that can service all 27 EU member states. This makes it easier for businesses to manage distribution without needing to establish local warehouses. With its proximity to highways and airports, the Netherlands, in particular, offers significant advantages for Aussie businesses trying to scale quickly in Europe. When it comes to tax compliance, the EUs system is more straightforward than the USs. VAT, fixed at a minimum of 15%, is applied consistently across member states, which simplifies the process for exporters. However, getting it wrong can result in delays and negative customer experiences. To avoid this, its crucial to use automated tax compliance platforms. These tools can ensure that taxes are applied correctly and in real-time across the EU, streamlining your export process and reducing the risk of costly errors. Chris emphasizes that, with the right technology in place, Aussie businesses can confidently sell in multiple EU countries, ensuring that all compliance details are covered. An automated tax compliance platform is essential for businesses planning to scale globally, as it takes the guesswork out of navigating complex tax systems and customs regulations. So, should Aussie businesses keep pushing into the US or pivot to Europe? The answer isnt necessarily either-or. While its still possible to take advantage of the US market using the AUSFTA deal, the tariffs and trade uncertainty make it wise to consider alternative markets. The EU presents a promising opportunity, especially for businesses that can offer premium or Australian-made products. And with emerging markets in Asia, like Japan and Singapore, now growing faster than ever, its worth exploring new regions as well. ALSO READ: In the volatile trade environment of 2025, the key will be flexibility. Businesses that can pivot quickly and manage costs efficiently will be best positioned to succeed. And with the right digital tools in place, Aussie businesses can thrive in international markets, whether thats in the US, Europe, or beyond. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A young Florida panther's death in January marked a grim start to the year for the endangered species. The male panther, known as UCFP479, was killed in a vehicle collision on a rural road in southwestern Florida, highlighting the increasing threat of human development to the vulnerable population. Sadly, UCFP479, just under two years old, is unlikely to be the last panther lost this year. 2024 saw a record 36 panther deaths documented by state wildlife officials, the highest number since 2016. Vehicle collisions accounted for the majority of these fatalities, including one instance involving a train. The growing human population and accompanying development in southwestern Florida are encroaching on the panthers' habitat. Current estimates suggest only 120 to 230 adult Florida panthers remain in the wild, concentrated in this increasingly urbanized corner of the state. Loss of habitat The Florida panther, which is similar to but smaller than the Western cougar or mountain lion, once roamed across a large swath of the southeastern U.S. Hunting and habitat loss have decimated the species' numbers and confined them to a shrinking space of about 2 million acres, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Indeed, along what were once narrow country roads in eastern Collier and Lee counties there are numerous major projects under way that will create tens of thousands of homes and the traffic that comes with them. Were at a critical juncture now, said Michael McGrath of the Sierra Club, which recently led a tour of panther country for journalists and activists. Were going to see more and more deaths. Sprawl kills. Environmental groups have been fighting an uphill battle to curb some of the development and vow to continue those efforts. You can see all of that land is primary panther habitat, said Amber Crooks, environmental policy manager at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. We have to fight until that last decision is made. Conservation efforts open image in gallery A placard displays locations of panther habitats inside the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Florida ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) The Florida panther is the only established population of pumas east of the Mississippi River, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. They have been listed as federally endangered since 1967. A 26,600-acre (10,700-hectare) panther refuge was established in 1989 next to the Big Cypress National Preserve, west of the Everglades. In 1981, the state began capturing panthers to check their health, administer vaccines, take genetic samples and fit them with radio collars to track them. The panther population at one point in the 1990s dropped to around 50 animals, in part because of inbreeding that caused numerous health problems. That led officials to import eight female Texas pumas to Florida to breed with males, helping boost panther numbers and improving their genetic diversity. The offspring are considered to be Florida panthers and are protected under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Characteristics of panthers open image in gallery A Florida panther ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) Florida panthers resemble the cougars and pumas found in the American West, with beige or tan fur and white markings underneath. They eat various types of prey, especially deer and raccoons. Males tend to roam more than females in search of territory and sometimes are spotted near the Orlando area. One male was shot and killed by a hunter in Georgia in 2008, wildlife officials say. Because males roam more, they are more prone to being struck by vehicles. Panthers face the threat of disease, including a form of feline leukemia transmitted to them by domestic cats. Bobcats also are prone to the disease. A 2002 outbreak of feline leukemia killed at least five panthers, federal wildlife officials say. Another emerging disease appears to cause weakness in the rear legs of panthers and bobcats, many of them seen walking unsteadily on trail video cameras. "We encourage the public to continue to submit footage and pictures of wildlife that appear to have problems with their rear legs, the Florida wildlife commission said in an online post. Some are killed through fights among themselves, especially males. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice MyPillow CEO and close Donald Trump confidante Mike Lindell is being taken to court by FedEx over nearly $9 million worth of unpaid delivery fees, according to a recently filed lawsuit. The documents say that MyPillow and FedExs business relationship began in February 2021. Since then, Lindell has run up a bill of $8.8 million in delivery and late fees. His failure to pay constitutes a breach of contract, the company says. The two companies relationship was reviewed in 2024 and since then, MyPillow has been slow to pay its bills, the documents say. In December, FedEx stopped shipping the pillows of its failure to pay. At that point, FedEx said it was owed $8.5 million. The current figure owed is due to late fees. Lawsuits and billing disputes are nothing new for the MyPillow Guy. open image in gallery Mike Lindell, seen here with President Donald Trump during his first term in office, was one of the foremost figures in the campaign to deny the results of the 2020 election ( AFP via Getty Images ) In January, a Minnesota judge ordered MyPillow to pay nearly $778,000 for unpaid bills and other costs to package delivery service DHL. The award included over $48,000 in interest and over $4,800 for DHLs attorneys fees. The order, signed last month by Hennepin County Judge Susan Burke, said MyPillow had agreed in October to pay DHL $550,000 but failed to do so and did not send anyone to a hearing last month on DHLs effort to collect. Lindell said after the lawsuit was filed that MyPillow stopped using DHL over a year earlier in a dispute over shipments that he said were DHLs fault. The MyPillow Guy is also being sued for defamation by two voting machine companies, Dominion Voting Systems in Washington, D.C., and Smartmatic in Minnesota. Lawyers who were originally defending him in those cases quit over unpaid bills. A credit crunch last year disrupted cash flow at MyPillow after it lost Fox News as one of its major advertising platforms and was dropped by several national retailers. A judge in February affirmed a $5 million arbitration award to a software engineer who challenged data that Lindell said proved that China interfered in the 2020 election. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez branded Elon Musk a leech on the public in her latest jab at the tech billionaire-turned-senior adviser to the president. Musk has been behind the Department of Government Efficiency sweeping staff cuts, reduced real estate footprint and slashed contracts as the Trump administration aims to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. But the New York Democrat, along with some of her colleagues in Congress, have expressed concern about Musks unwieldy overhaul of the federal government. This guy is a leech on the public. No matter how many billions he gets in tax cuts and government contracts, it will never be enough for him, the representative wrote on X Saturday. Now hes going after the elderly, the disabled, and orphaned children so he can pocket it in tax cuts for himself, Ocasio-Cortez continued. Its disgusting. open image in gallery New York Congresswoman branded Elon Musk a leech on the public in her latest jab at the tech billionaire after he called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. ( Getty Images ) Ocasio-Cortezs remarks were in response to Musks appearance on Joe Rogans podcast where he called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. Roughly 69 million Americans retired workers and people with disabilities receive Social Security benefits each month. Musk also repeated a false claim made by President Donald Trump, stating that millions and millions of people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security benefits. The tech billionaire told Rogan: We found just with a basic search of the Social Security database that there were 20 million dead people marked as alive. In reality, a 2024 report showed that from 2015 through 2022, only 1 percent of the payments made by the Social Security Administration were improper and most of those improper payments went to living people, the Associated Press first reported. Ocasio-Cortezs comments Saturday are part of a long-standing feud with the Tesla CEO. Days earlier, she called Musk a billionaire conman. open image in gallery Musk repeated false claims about the Social Security Administration during an appearance on Joe Rogans podcast ( YouTube ) After the DOGE-led effort to lay off dozens of employees from the FDAs medical devices division some of whom were later reinstated, the New York Congresswoman told her colleagues last week in the House Energy and Commerce Committee: Elon Musk is not a scientist. He is not an engineer. He is a billionaire conman with a lot of money. She then pleaded: I sincerely ask you all to examine what expertise he has in medical devicesThese are peoples lives that are on the line. Last month, Ocasio-Cortez pointed out Musks companies contracts with the U.S. government. If you want to start with waste, start with Elons defense contracts at the Pentagon, she wrote. In fact, we should start with transparency around defense contracts in general, which take up an enormous sum of public funds. But they wont do that, will they? In response, the SpaceX founder said: Do you actually write these or am I replying to your intern? Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed aside complaints from Donald Trumps critics about the latters handling of US-Ukraine relations on Sunday, his first public interview since the US president clashed with Ukraines president in the White House. He also took issue with Ukraines president presenting himself in the Oval Office as an expert in his own countrys affairs. Rubio appeared Sunday for an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week, where he called on the presidents opponents to grow up and recognize that the war in Ukraine risked spilling into a much larger conflict. It was a somewhat ironic statement, given that the US president and his sidekick, JD Vance, were ruthlessly mocked over Friday and Saturday and depicted as petulant children after their dust-up with Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president left Washington and immediately received a show of support across Europe from frustrated EU and Nato members disatisfied with his reception at the White House. The sooner everyone grows up around here and figures out that this is a bad war that's heading in a bad direction, with death and destruction and all kinds of danger surrounding it that could spiral into a broader conflict, the sooner people grow up and realize that, I think the more progress we're going to be able to make, Rubio asserted on Sunday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defends Trump's handling of the Ukraine war, insisting negotiations are the only way forward. "This is a war that would have never happened had Donald Trump been in the White House, and it needs to end."https://t.co/naPDhqKTJy pic.twitter.com/942puSAL6Y This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 2, 2025 The secretary also identified what he thought Zelenskys biggest sin was in his meeting with Donald Trump and JD Vance: Ukraine-splaining. What Zelensky did, unfortunately, is he found every opportunity to try to Ukraine-splain on every issue, Rubio told Stephanopoulos. Then he confronts the vice president. When the vice president says the goal here is diplomacy, he immediately jumps in and challenges the Vice President. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump after an awkward dust-up with Ukraine's president in the Oval Office led to Volodymyr Zelensky leaving Washington without signing a rare earth minerals agreement. ( ABC News ) Republican allies of the president, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) say they dont know if Zelenskys relationship with Trump is salvageable. But European allies are rallying in support of Ukraine, while increasingly speaking of the necessity to end reliance on US leadership. Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. Its up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge, Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security, wrote on social media on Friday. Germanys newly-elected chancellor also vowed last week to achieve independence from the U.S. on the issue of defense capability. Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday hosted European leaders in London to discuss continued support for Ukraine in the absence of continued support from the Trump administration. This is a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe, and we all need to step up, Starmer told those gathered Sunday. The Trump administration appears to be in damage control mode as a number of Republicans on Capitol Hill have joined their Democratic rivals in sharply denouncing the treatment of Zelensky in the Oval as well as the general trend of the US presidents favorable remarks about Vladimir Putin and Russia. In numerous occasions over the past weeks, months and even years Trump-aligned figures have refused to label Russia the aggressor in its conflict with Ukraine. It was a trend that became official US policy this past week as the US voted against a UN resolution in support of Ukraines territorial integrity a vote that isolated the Trump administration on the side of Russia, North Korea, and few others. Trump himself also labeled Ukraines president a dictator in a social media post blaming Zelensky for a law in place which suspends presidential elections during wartime. Several Republican senators including Lisa Murkowski, John Curtis, Thom Tillis and Kevin Cramer had already publicly rebuked the president over the disparaging of Zelensky before Fridays meeting. Rubio responded to Murkowski, who wrote on Twitter that she was sick to [her] stomach over the on-camera clash with Ukraines leader, and denied that the US was placating Russia. We're a free country. People have a right to these opinions, said Rubio of his former colleague. I would just say to you, what have we done to placate the Russians? The only thing we've done is say, are you guys willing to talk about peace? Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Rounded up and detained in facilities largely in the South, a map of where tens of thousands are being held in states across the U.S. paints a striking picture of the vast Trump administrations hardline immigration crackdown. With Immigration Customs and Enforcement detention facilities at capacity, The Independents map shines a light on where 43,759 people are being held in the centers across the country as of February 8 and more than half do not hold criminal records, according to data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Many will have to wait in the facilities for weeks and, in some cases, months before their cases proceed. Detention centers in Texas and Louisiana have by far the most number of people overall, with one Mississippi center privately-run Adams County Detention Center in Natchez holding over 2,100 detainees on average, according to the data. Border states have detained the most people for years but under the first Trump administration, experts noted a shift to facilities in other southern states, reflected in the most current data. Texas has detained the most, with 12,259 being held in ICE detention centers across the state on average. Eight facilities in Texas out of the top 20 nationwide were each holding more than 800 people for ICE, according to the data. The Lone Star state was followed by 6,878 in Louisiana, 3,024 in California, 2,382 in Georgia, 2,300 in Arizona and 2,169 in Mississippi. After Mississippis Adams County center, run by private prison company CoreCivic, the facility with the second largest population was the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, averaging 1,680 detainees. There are also more than 188,000 families and individuals in the system who are in the Alternatives to Detention programs of January 11, meaning they are being monitored via ankle monitoring, home visits and checks in at ICE offices. But the ICE figures only scratch the surface in Texas because of the number of migrants also in Customs and Border Protection detention and the states Operation Lone Star program, explained Daniel Hatoum, senior supervising attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Projects Beyond Borders program. Hatoum described Operation Lone Star, the border security initiative launched by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, as the states attempt to carry out immigration enforcement via a constitutional loophole. They charge folks with things like trespassing, specifically trying to target immigrants with state-level criminal violations, and so you have a lot of detention coming from that as well, he told The Independent. President Donald Trump has the mandate to go after migrants without criminal records after rescinding several Biden administration limitations on ICE arrests. Among the thousands in lock up, nearly 55 percent have no criminal record, the data shows. Often in some of these facilities, they hold people who have been convicted of crimes alongside people who are there simply because of their immigration case, said Jesse Franzblau, a senior policy analyst with the National Immigrant Justice Center, which provides legal services for people detained throughout the Midwest. While the White House has declared all undocumented migrants criminals, there is no law that makes it a crime to live in the U.S. as an undocumented migrant and it is treated as a civil violation by the courts. Given that immigration detention is civil in nature, it really doesn't have anything to do with anybody's past infractions, Franzblau told The Independent. open image in gallery South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, which holds an average of 1,680 ICE detainees. It is one of the most populated holding facilities with immigrants being held on detainers ( Google ) The reason for the concentration of detention facilities in the South is down to a number of states phasing out immigration centers. With that comes a myriad of challenges for the people being held. A lot of these facilities are far from cities and that makes it difficult for access to legal counsel and for people to able to be in communication with family members, Franzblau said. It raises a lot of issues with these facilities being placed in remote regions in this way, he said. They are concentrated in the South and in states where you have a particularly strong influence from private prison contractors, the analyst added. Immigration advocacy groups have long warned about the conditions inside detention facilities where people face egregious abuses. While these abuses - such as holding detainees in solitary confinement and depriving them of medication - were also prevalent in previous administrations, there are fears that things will deteriorate more rapidly inside facilities under Trump. ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in the agencys custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments under appropriate conditions of confinement, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent. ICE continues to review its immigration detention centers nationally, monitoring the quality of life and treatment of detained individuals among other factors relevant to the continued operation of each facility. open image in gallery Port Isabel Detention Center in Texas, which is currently holding 980 ICE detainees. Detention centers in Texas and Louisiana have by far the most number of people overall ( Getty Images ) ICE under the Trump administration is only just getting started. Its network of detention centers in county jails and for-profit prisons had around 38,000 beds at the beginning of February, according to internal Department of Homeland Security data. Tom Homan, Trumps border czar, wants 100,000 detention beds. The ICE spokesperson told The Independent that its significant number of arrests do require greater detention capacity. ICE is reopening an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, it was announced Thursday, after securing a $1.2 billion contract lasting 15 years with private prison company The Geo Group. The Delaney Hall facility in Newark will have 1,000 beds, making it the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its a sign of whats to come, campaigners said. What we're seeing now is something like over 110 percent capacity in ICE detention, Hatoum said. When you have overcapacity in detention, in prison, anything like that, conditions worsen. The Trump administration wants to detain more folks, Hatoum warned. Homan has called for things like tent cities and so the concern is that we're trying to build potential tools quick, without the resources...and the conditions are going to be so terrible that people are harmed. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring English the official language of the United States, reversing a policy from the Clinton administration. The order, signed on Saturday, grants federal agencies and organizations receiving federal funds the autonomy to decide whether they will continue offering services and documents in languages other than English. This effectively rescinds a mandate established by former President Bill Clinton that required these entities to provide language assistance to individuals who do not speak English. Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society, the order said. In welcoming new Americans, a policy of encouraging the learning and adoption of our national language will make the United States a shared home and empower new citizens to achieve the American dream, the order also states. Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society. open image in gallery Signs in Spanish and English are displayed in Brooklyn ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) More than 30 states have already passed laws designating English as their official language, according to US English, a group that advocates for making English the official language in the United States. For decades, lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation to designate English as the official language of the US, but those efforts have not succeeded. Within hours of Trumps inauguration last month, the new administration took down the Spanish language version of the official White House website. Hispanic advocacy groups and others expressed confusion and frustration at the change. The White House said at the time it was committed to bringing the Spanish language version of the website back online. As of Saturday, it was still not restored. The White House did not immediately respond to a message about whether that would happen. Trump shut down the Spanish version of the website during his first term. It was restored when President Joe Biden was inaugurated in 2021. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice More than half of all Americans believe that President Donald Trump will attempt to go for a third term, according to a new poll. Survey participants were asked if they think Trump "will attempt to serve a third term" 21 percent said "definitely" and 31 percent said "probably." Trump cannot run for a third term as a constitutional amendment states that presidents aren't allowed to "be elected to the office of the President more than twice." That hasn't stopped the president from musing about the possibility. In the campaign, Trump said he wouldn't run in 2028 if he lost. But, now that he has won, he has floated a third term. "Should I run again? You tell me," Trump said at a Black History Month event last week. open image in gallery More than half of Americans in a recent poll say they believe that Donald Trump will try for a third term, despite it being banned by the Constitution ( AP ) Trump also posted on his Truth Social platform that New York was "saved" after his administration announced that it was rescinding a congestion pricing proposal. "LONG LIVE THE KING!" he added. In the YouGov poll, 16 percent said Trump is "probably not" going to try to serve a third term, with 18 percent saying that he's "definitely not" going to do it, The Hill noted. However, a constitutional amendment was recently put forward by Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Oagles that would allow Trump to serve a third term so the U.S. can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs. The recent poll, which included 2,900 people, was conducted on February 25. open image in gallery The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that presidents can only serve up to two full terms. Trump started his second term in January 2025 ( via REUTERS ) The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that presidents can only serve up to two full terms (eight years). Trump has said he may feel entitled to more while also suggesting he doesnt want to run again after his next term ends in January 2029. Congressional Democrats have proposed a measure to clarify that the 22nd Amendment expressly forbids a third term in office, and the 78-year-old Trump has at times admitted defeat to the constitutional guardrails hes up against, despite his rhetoric. The 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelts four terms in office helped inspire the 22nd Amendment in the first place. Ratified in 1951, the amendment came after Roosevelt had been elected four consecutive times, from 1932 to 1944. He died in office in April 1945, shortly into his fourth term. The amendment states that presidents can serve a maximum of two full terms. If a vice president becomes president during the term of their predecessor, which has occurred nine times in U.S. history due to death or resignation, they can still serve two full terms as long as they serve less than half of their predecessors remaining term. Before Roosevelt, whose time in office coincided with the twin international crises of the Depression and World War II, presidents had observed an unofficial tradition of not serving more than two terms. Despite Trump bucking constitutional guardrails in his first presidency, he would face a tall order in getting a constitutional amendment through Congress to try to secure a third term. A proposal for a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers. Ratifying an amendment would require the support of three-fourths of all state legislatures. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders on Sunday to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. The London meeting has now taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and boosting the continents defenses. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is hosting the leaders of more than a dozen countries and other officials, embraced Zelenskyy on his arrival in London on Saturday, saying he is determined to find an end to Russias war on Ukraine. Heres the latest: Starmer says the UK, France and Ukraine will draft a ceasefire plan to present to the US The British prime minister says the Unted Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. Starmer says the plan emerged after talks among the four countries leaders following President Volodymyr Zelenskyys spat with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday. The prime minster told the BBC he believes the U.S. president wants a durable peace in Ukraine. He repeated his assertion that American security guarantees will be needed to make it stick. London summit welcomes Europe leaders after stunning Oval Office spat The meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old elegant mansion near Buckingham Palace, follows a charm offensive last week to engage with Trump to tilt his allegiances toward Europe. That offensive, however, devolved into a meltdown on live television from the Oval Office on Friday with Trump's extraordinary scolding of Zelenskyy. It seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping fend off, and conclude, Russias three-year onslaught on Ukraine. Sunday's summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council. The summit on Sunday will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council. NATO chief says he told Zelenskyy to restore relationship with Trump NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to find a way to restore his relationship with the American president after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday. Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that he really had to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine. He was referring to the first Trump administrations decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion. Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy unfortunate, Rutte said he knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace with Russia. Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Protests have erupted outside Tesla stores across the United States, as demonstrators speak out against CEO Elon Musk and his advocacy for government spending cuts in collaboration with President Donald Trump. The demonstrations reflect a growing wave of discontent in both North America and Europe regarding Musk's influential role in Washington. Critics of both Trump and Musk aim to discourage the purchase of Tesla cars and tarnish the automakers reputation. Liberal groups have been instrumental in organizing these anti-Tesla protests, aiming to rally opposition to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and energize Democrats still reeling from Trump's victory in November. Nathan Phillips, a 58-year-old ecologist from Newton, Massachusetts, who participated in the Boston protest, said: "We can get back at Elon. We can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas." Musk, guided by Trump, is advocating for significant reductions in federal spending and workforce, saying that Trump's victory grants them a mandate to restructure the US government. Officials from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have swiftly gained access to sensitive databases, initiated thousands of federal job cuts, terminated contracts, and shut down agencies, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Musk's critics say his actions defy Congress's power to control the US budget and present a host of ways for him to enrich himself. open image in gallery Protesters outside a Boston Tesla dealership ( AP ) Musk leads several other companies, notably SpaceX, which conducts launches for NASA and the intelligence community, and the social media platform X. Tesla and the White House did not respond to emailed requests for comment Saturday. More than 50 demonstrations were listed Saturday on the website Tesla Takedown, with more planned later in March from coast to coast in the United States along with England, Spain and Portugal. News reports showed demonstrations in recent days in U.S. cities including Tucson, Arizona; St. Louis; New York City; Dayton, Ohio; Charlotte; and Palo Alto, California. Some Tesla owners have also reported their vehicles vandalized with spray painted swastikas amid what Jewish groups and observers fear is a rise in antisemitism. open image in gallery Demonstrators are arrested by NYPD officers during a protest outside a Tesla showroom Federal prosecutors charged a woman in connection with a string of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, which included Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words Nazi cars spray painted on the building. Saturday's demonstration in Boston had a festive atmosphere, with a brass band playing music as protestors carried signs and chanted. Several of the signs mocked Musk and DOGE, with one reading: Stop Elon and his despicable Muskrats. This government led by Trump and Musk, its gone completely off the rails and we are here to stop that, said Carina Campovasso, a retired federal worker. And I hope they listen. About 300 demonstrators protested at a Tesla dealership in New York City on Saturday. Police said nine people were taken into custody but did not elaborate on the charges they faced. Tesla's share price has fallen by nearly a third since Trump took office, though it is still higher than it was a year ago. Musks current net worth is an estimated $359 billion, according to Forbes, which calculated his 2024 net worth as $195 billion. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Britains prime minister has no choice. In saying I do not think the US is an unreliable ally, Sir Keir Starmer is showing that hope is winning over recent experience. Whether he is being diplomatic, or naive, will be put to the test when he presents a multinational plan for peace in Ukraine to Donald Trump. Whatever the French and British-led multinational proposals are, they will have to avoid sliding into the death trap of a ceasefire. Starmer painstakingly avoided using the dreaded term. But its one that would delight Vladimir Putin. And it has already been used by Trump. [Ukraine] didnt want to talk about a ceasefire. A ceasefire could take place immediately, Trump said shortly after the spectacular breakdown of his talks with Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. Oleksandr Morezkho, chair of the Ukrainian parliaments foreign affairs committee said, after Starmer chaired the multinational meeting, a ceasefire would only be a delayed death for us. A ceasefire is not a peace treaty. open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron at Lancaster House in London ( PA ) While being shouted down by JD Vance in the Oval Office, Zelensky tried to remind the US presidential team that Russia had violated multiple ceasefires. He pointed out that both Angela Merkel, then German chancellor, and Emanuel Macron, the French president, has assured him Putin would stick to ceasefire terms in late 2021 and then invaded a few months later. The biggest problem is that it will be used by Putin as a tool of war. He might agree to ceasefire only when it creates conditions allowing him to destroy Ukraine maybe a little bit later, Morekho told The Independent. Zelensky had already set off for an audience with the King at Sandringham after attending the Lancaster House summit, but he appeared to have driven home the importance of language in defence of his country. Starmer said: We've agreed that the UK, France and others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting. Then we'll discuss that plan with the United States and take it forward together. The purpose of today's meeting was to unite our partners around this effort to strengthen Ukraine and to support a just, and enduring peace, for the good of all of us. Our starting point must be to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position. That does not mean a ceasefire. Putin badly needs time to retrain, rearm, and resupply his forces. So does Ukraine. But Russia is isolated, reliant on a coalition of rogue states like Iran and North Korea, has a smaller economy than Italy and is being outgunned in drone warfare by Kyiv. Trump has not, yet, signalled whether the US will cut aid to Ukraine. He has threatened to. The UK has been quick to signal that Europe may need to fill the gap left by an even more drastic pro-Russian shift from the White House. open image in gallery European and Nato leaders in London on Sunday ( AFP or Licensors ) So that they [Ukraine] can negotiate from a position of strength and we are doubling down in our support. Yesterday evening the UK signed a 2.2bn loan to provide more military aid to Ukraine, backed not by the British taxpayer but by the profits from frozen Russian assets. And today I'm announcing a new deal which allows Ukraine to use 1.6bn of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, Starmer said. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen insisted that we want the US to know that we are ready to defend democracy. There was a lot of talk of providing, or thinking about, peacekeeping or protection forces for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia. But there is no peace proposal on the table that Ukraine has signed up to and therefore no peace to keep or protect. The London conference has galvanised German chancellor Olaf Scholz to declare that we need to financially and militarily support Ukraine and his outgoing administration is trying to negotiate a series of packages that would increase spending on defence and on Ukraine. Starmer laid out a course towards a peace deal. Not a ceasefire. It is at odds with every signal that has come from the Trump administration, but it could allow the White House to remain the lead in talks with Putin if Trump were to agree to strengthening a nation hes accused of gambling with world war three. The prime minister said there had been an agreement at Lancaster House that we will keep the military aid flowing and keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia. Second, we agreed that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the table. Third, in the event of a peace deal, we will keep boosting Ukraine's own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion. Fourth, we will go further to a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace, he added. Trump has said that Ukraine wont get all its territory back from Russia and that the US would not be part of a security guarantee in any peace deal either. If Europe can present Trump with a cast iron European plan for the safety of Ukraine and protection for its sovereignty he may endorse their efforts. But that assumes, as Starmer hopes, that the US under the 47th president remains a reliable ally. A sure sign that it is not would be to demand a ceasefire from Ukraine ahead of talks. Russia wants one urgently but it would be suicide for Kyiv. And Trump knows it. BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 3. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran, Ali Alizade, held a meeting with the head of the Iran-Azerbaijan interparliamentary friendship group, Sudayf Badri, and members of the group, Trend reports. The Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran shared this information on its social media platforms. "During the meeting, an exchange of views took place on bilateral relations and ways to further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation between the friendship groups," the embassys press service stated. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Israel has stopped the entry of aid into Gaza as it seeks to force Hamas to agree to a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire covering the periods of Ramadan and Jewish Passover. Hamas, which has sought instead to move to a second phase of the existing ceasefire deal, is yet to respond to the proposal. After stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Israel warned of additional consequences if Hamas did not accept the US proposal. US president Donald Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff proposed the extension after it became apparent that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire, Reuters reported. The ceasefire extension would run throughout the Islamic Ramadan fasting period, which ends around 31 March, and the Jewish Passover holiday, which concludes around 20 April. People gather for the iftar, or fast-breaking meal, on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan ( AFP via Getty Images ) Israel said it would immediately start negotiations on Mr Witkoffs plan if Hamas agreed to it. Under the deal, Israel seeks to have half of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza both alive and dead released on the first day. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahus office announced the ceasefire extension hours after the first phase of the previously agreed one expired. The initial phase, beginning on 19 January, halted a 15-month Israeli ground invasion in Gaza and enabled the release of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais captured by Hamas during its deadly 7 October attack, in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinians detained and held by Israel. The ceasefire deal included a mechanism to move to negotiations for a lasting peace, with Hamas seeking a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip during phase two. Israel's Tel Aviv Explodes In Anger Against Netanyahu After Hamas Drops Bombshell Hostage Video While the Israeli delegation sought to extend the first phase by 42 days, Hamas seeks to move to the second phase, Reuters reported, citing Cairo officials privy to the matter. But Palestinian officials told Reuters that Israel refused to enter the second phase of the deal. Instead, Israel reportedly requests an extension of the first phase with a conditioned handover of a specified number of living prisoners and bodies for each week of extension. Hamas rejected an extension of the first phase, and insisted on adhering to the agreement. It seeks to enter the second phase, obliging Israel to what was agreed upon. Both sides have accused each other of violating the first phase of the deal, and since the initial ceasefire has technically expired, there may be renewed violence. According to the agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective, Mr Netanyahus office said in a statement. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said the statement was confirmation that Israel disavowed the deals it previously signed. This continued manipulation will not return the hostages to their families... But on the contrary... it will lead to their continued suffering and endangering their lives, Mr Mardawi said. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Get Simon Calders Travel email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Batik Air flight began to be filled with smoke from a burning power bank minutes before it landed in Bangkok, with videos posted to social media showing panic among passengers. One nearly four-minute clip, posted on TikTok, shows smoke spreading from the overhead luggage compartment, filling the cabin space. Flight attendants can be seen in the video checking overhead baggage compartments to look for the source of the smoke. Passengers seated close to what seems like the affected part of the cabin can be seen leaving their seats before the attendants opened the compartment to put out the fire using an extinguisher. Some time later, the crew can be seen opening the compartment completely as white smoke pours out. A passenger seated opposite the affected compartment retrieved a black bag and was escorted to the rear of the plane by an attendant carrying the extinguisher. In a follow-up video, TikTok user kentmaherr said the smoke initially looked like steam but was soon accompanied by a strong chemical-like smell as the smoke thickened. Thankfully, no one on the flight panicked, everyone was calm, kentmaherr said, according to The Strait Times. He said he and a few others followed the passenger as he carried his black bag to the back of the plane to see him take a power bank out of the bag, which was finally fully extinguished using three mineral water bottles. Luckily the aircraft, which took off from Johor Bahru, was only 30 minutes away from its destination Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok when the smoke started spreading. All passengers were shocked by the thick smoke coming out of the luggage compartment, with the smell of fire stinging their noses, the TikTok user wrote in the videos caption. This is the first time I experienced such an incident. I thank Allah for the chance to still be alive! he said. "Very scary": Airplane crashes into another plane with its wing Several airline operators in Asia have begun enacting changes to their luggage carry policy after an incident involving a fire in the rear of an Air Busan Airbus A321 before takeoff. While no one was killed in that incident, the plane was badly damaged. Korean Air, Asiana, China Airlines, as well as Eva Air, headquartered in Taiwan, have joined the airline in banning power banks, vapes and lithium-ion batteries from overhead compartments. Starting from Saturday 1 March, such items must be kept on a passengers person at all times. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Get Simon Calders Travel email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Rail fares in Britain are among the highest in Europe, and with a 4.6 per cent increase set for March 2, many passengers are questioning whether theyre getting value for money. Despite Labours move to renationalise key train operators, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has made it clear: fares will not be coming down anytime soon. Our travel correspondent Simon Calder has argued that rail is set to fail unless ministers are honest about sharp price rises, writing: It is plain that the process of rationalisation will mean some fares will rise sharply. No minister wants to be the one called out in the media for trebling the cheapest Manchester-Stockport fare (currently just 70p). But rise it must, while others fall, or rail will fail. Supporters of renationalisation argue that public ownership will improve service reliability, reduce inefficiency, and cut out private sector profits. However, critics warn that without significant investment, simply changing ownership wont fix the delays, cancellations, and overcrowding that frustrate commuters daily. With three train operators set to return to public control later this year and the creation of Great British Railways to oversee the system, the future of rail travel is at a crossroads. We want to know what you think. How can the UK make rail travel value for money? Should renationalisation be paired with fare reductions to ease the burden on passengers? Or is higher pricing a necessary trade-off for improving Britains struggling rail network? Share your thoughts in the comments well feature the most compelling responses. All you have to do is sign up and register your details then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking log in on the top right-hand corner of the screen. JD Vance protesters line the streets of Vermont as the vice president takes a ski holiday following his clash with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky. Footage filmed by local residents captures protesters lining Route 100 in Waitsfield on Saturday (1 March). They can be heard cheering and can be seen holding anti-Donald Trump signs. The protests follow an unprecedented clash between Mr Zelensky and the US president and vice president at the Oval Office on Friday (28 February), where they accused the Ukraine president of being disrespectful. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned the West is at a crossroads in history, following crunch talks with European leaders on the Ukraine crisis. The prime minister held a press conference following the talks with European leaders on Sunday (2 March). The London summit followed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskys unprecedented Oval Office meeting with Donald Trump and JD Vance on Friday, in which he was accused of being disrespectful. Following the meeting on Sunday, Sir Keir said: We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. Its time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace. Marjorie Taylor Greene's boyfriend mocked Volodymyr Zelensky for not wearing a suit during the Ukrainian leader's chaotic meeting with Donald Trump at the Oval Office on Friday, 28 February. Real Americas Voice host Brian Glenn, who is dating the MAGA congresswoman, was part of a group inside the White House as the chaos unfolded. Mr Zelensky wore a black sweater with the Ukrainian trident, a departure from his usual military fatigues. "I will wear [a suit] after this war finishes. Maybe something like yours, maybe something better," Mr Zelensky retorted. The unprecedented and premeditated outburst of President Trump and Vice-President Vance against President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday shocked the world. But it should not have come as a surprise. Prime minister Keir Starmer the day before had given a pitch-perfect performance with Trump, even if the substance of their encounter is still to be decided. Starmer had elected to listen to his foreign policy experts who know how a prime minister does diplomacy. Had he listened to similar voices on domestic policy, he would have largely avoided wasting his first six months. Harsh, maybe but true. The Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, in contrast, was a car crash. The Ukrainian president came across as naive. Unlike Starmer, he hadnt studied how to hold the high ground against the irascible and unpredictable Trump. But he was not the one at fault; Trump and Vance are wholly to blame. We might fulminate about how unpresidential and inappropriate Trumps behaviour was for the most powerful man in the world. But it wont change anything. The expressions of horror and indignation across the world at Trumps explosions are water off the ducks back. Trump, a force of nature, is a million miles apart from the great US presidents of the last century: Woodrow Wilson, who committed his country to the First World War; Franklin D Roosevelt, who brought the US into the second; John F Kennedy, who travelled to Berlin at the height of the Cold War to say this is the USs front line; or Ronald Reagan, who looked Soviet leaders in their eyeballs and saw off them (and their taunts of a third world war). No American president had less understanding of history and liberty than Trump. And he doesnt care. The free West now needs a new leader. The message for Britain is clear. The special relationship, for all the warm words, is over. Yes, there will continue to be selective genuflections towards Britain, and more generally to Europe. Yes, Starmer needs to cosy up to Trump, not least to ward off tariffs. But Trump and his administration have their eyes fixed elsewhere, on China and the Pacific. Like Hitler signing the non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in 1939, he wants to square off Russia while he turns his attention west. Whoever succeeds Trump as president likely JD Vance, who could be in office until 2036 will not alter this fundamental reorientation of US policy: Europe will be useful in this quest only in so far as Europe is useful. Everything in history comes to an end. The Concert of Europe that kept peace across the continent after the Napoleonic wars eventually fell apart. Some 150 years later, the overly bureaucratic and anti-entrepreneurial European Union is also now falling apart. The prize will go to the European leaders who realise it, and who articulate a new, looser and wider union. Change in history comes at times of disruption: now is such a time. They will be the heirs of figures like Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, who devised the EU out of the still-burning embers of the Second World War. Keir Starmer, hosting a conference of European leaders in London this Sunday, is ideally placed to lead this process. Hes not a natural at domestic party politics but his lawyerly mindset is adept at large structural change. To get him ready as I have previously suggested here he should convene a day-long seminar of historians and thinkers at his country residence, Chequers. Ex-head of MI6 John Sawers, historian Margaret MacMillan and former EU supremo Cathy Ashton should be on his list. Lead Starmer, lead. Youve just had your best week since youve become prime minister. Make it only the beginning, and do something magnificent for Britain, Europe and for peace in the world. The prize is there for the grabbing. Anthony Seldon is walking across Europe, creating a path of peace: his next book on the quest, The Path to Light, is published in October Ever wonder if the guy next to you in the office is getting paid more for the same work? Now you can find out ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 2. Trade between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan hit the ground running in January 2025, soaring to $67.2 millionmore than double the figure from the same time last year, which stood at $29.3 million, Trend reports, citing the Statistics Agency under the President of Uzbekistan. The primary expansion was propelled by a substantial escalation in Turkmen exports, which reached $62.2 million, reflecting a 2.6-fold amplification relative to January 2024. The aggregate value of Uzbekistan's export transactions to Turkmenistan within the specified timeframe amounted to $5 million. In the fiscal year 2023, the metric stood at $6.4 million, whereas in the subsequent fiscal year 2024, it experienced a contraction to $5.2 million, signifying a marginal downturn. In juxtaposition, the aggregate trade volume between the two nations in January 2024 amounted to $29.3 million. The significant uptick in commercial exchanges between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan occurs concurrently with a broader escalation in Uzbekistan's international trade metrics, which experienced a 7.1 percent augmentation in January, surpassing the $4.5 billion threshold. He made his call and then it was up to me to make my call and I did Joey OBrien on decision to take over from Damien Duff and nervy win over Cork Businesses insist that Government be prepared for any potential tariff war WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 25: U.S. President Donald Trump, joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (L) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (R), signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House on February 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump signed an executive order on price transparency requirements for the health care industry and directed the Commerce Department to open an investigation into potential tariffs for copper imports. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Big multinational employers have warned local business representatives that their employees are nervous as US president Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs on goods coming from the EU. One official at a local chamber of commerce that represents a large number of big tech and pharmaceutical firms told the Sunday Independent that she had been asked separately by site leads at two different plants to come in to talk to staff, and help steady employee nerves. About 1,800 Irish investors paid 100m into whats been called a pan-European Ponzi scheme Liquidators of a key part of the Irish operation of the collapsed Dolphin property investment have received information from an English financial firm that they say would allow them to issue proceedings. Shane McCarthy and lan Barrett of KPMG are joint liquidators of Dolphin MUT 116, which with MUT 103 was one of two Irish-registered financial vehicles (both in liquidation) which were used as investment vehicles in what has since been described as a pan-European Ponzi scheme. AI and the Oscars: Will the Academy reward artificial intelligence-infused movies The Brutalist and Emilia Perez or cold-shoulder them? Ahead of tonights 97th Academy Awards ceremony, we look at the role of AI in some of the hottest Oscar movie contenders and asks whether the Hollywood institution will reward or penalise its use Two of the main Oscar movie contenders, The Brutalist and Emilia Perez, have used AI technology. Graphic: Clare Meredith Rory Cashin Sun 2 Mar 2025 at 01:30 Im stunned. So began the social media post that, if you were to guess, might have originated from some soulless tech bro, or maybe a money-before-art Hollywood executive. Every idea ChatGPT came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out. Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when artificial intelligence (AI) can provide one in seconds? Its not about the money, its just having to do it all again home that had 600,000 Room to Improve makeover is damaged in blaze BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 2. Turkiye to export natural gas to Nakhchivan, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, Trend reports. According to him, work on the Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline is in its final stages. The minister added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend the opening ceremony of the gas pipeline, which will be put into operation next week. The event will also be attended by high-ranking officials of the two countries. Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed a memorandum of understanding on Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline on December 15, 2020. The project envisaged cooperation between Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR and Turkiyes BOTAS. The Igdir-Nakhchivan pipeline will not only allow for the diversification of Nakhchivan's gas supply but also eliminate its dependence on a single source. The project is among the priority initiatives outlined in the "State Program for the Socio-Economic Development of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic for 2023-2027". The pipeline stretches 97.5 kilometers from Igdir to the Sadarak district, including a 17.5-kilometer Azerbaijani section and an 80-kilometer Turkish section. The pipeline is capable of transporting 2 million cubic meters of gas per day and 730 million cubic meters annually. This will fully meet Nakhchivan's gas needs. Furthermore, the pipeline's capacity can be more than doubled in the future. A groundbreaking ceremony for the gas pipeline took place on September 25, 2023. We are not encouraged to talk about how we feel. And that needs to change Rape victim urges male victims of sexual assault to break the stigma and seek help if they have been abused. He was befriended by two men in their early 20s in a local cafe who would chat to him and his schoolmates. After a few months of friendship, the men invited the boys to a party. The teenagers happily accepted. Martin cycled over to the party on his bike. When I got in the door, one of the men handed me a drink. After a couple of swigs, my legs went to jelly. They must have slipped something in my drink. The room was spinning, the now 71-year-old recalls. The two men, they got my arms across their shoulders, and said to my friends: Dont worry, well take care of him. They took me to a bedroom, laid me down on the bed. Next thing I heard was the door clicking behind me. Martin was then raped by the two men in an attack he remembers vividly. One of them pulled down my jeans and jocks and started raping me. I was conscious but couldnt move or speak. It was very painful. At some point, I went unconscious. I woke up at 4am and escaped through a window. I was so sore I couldnt sit on my bike seat to get home. I told no one what happened. The trauma, the severity of it, I just buried it. But it had an immediate impact. Within a short space of time, he made two serious suicide attempts. Martin Vernon in Ennis, Co Clare. Photo: Eamon Ward Martin, who lives in Ennis, Co Clare, went on to have two children. He successfully managed to keep the memory of the rape suppressed for decades. Then, in 2003 at age 49, a terrible accident began to unravel his memory. He was lucky to survive a high-speed crash, when a young man driving on the wrong side of the road smashed into his van. Martin was left with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He ended up in a psychiatric hospital for three months, taking mountains of medication to deal with his condition. At some point, he told a psychologist about the rape, but the conversation did not continue in depth. Martin, originally from Sussex in the UK, again pushed the memory to the back of his mind and continued with his recovery from the crash. I began a process of trying to understand it, that it wasnt my fault It wasnt until a decade later that what happened to him as a teenager once more came to the forefront of his mind and this time it could no longer be ignored. A regular volunteer in Ennis, he was supporting Rape Crisis Mid-West as part of a bucket collection team with others. Hed been helping the charity for a few years, without ever making a connection with his own experience. A woman put some notes in the bucket and said: Thank you for doing this. It happened to me. As she walked away, I burst into tears and said to myself: It happened to me, too. A colleague that day urged him to ring the helpline and seek support. He soon began to attend counselling. The counselling I received from Rape Crisis Mid-West was life-changing. I cant be un-raped. But it allowed me to move on in my life. I began a process of trying to understand it, that it wasnt my fault. The blame entirely always lies with the rapist. He was involved in setting up the first Mens Shed in Co Clare in 2013 and went on to co-found Talking Man-to-Man a confidential mens talking circle in Ennis. The group comes together to discuss all kinds of issues affecting them. Martin never saw the two men who raped him again. They moved from the town and the house where he was raped was later demolished. In recent years, he did try to track them down unsuccessfully. The main reason he is speaking out now is to raise awareness that men can also be victims of rape and that they should not feel shame. Martin Vernon in Ennis, Co Clare. Photo: Eamon Ward It is not a sign of weakness to talk about it. Part of the problem is how were brought up. Men are meant to be rough and tough. Boys dont cry, all of that. Men are meant to be fixers, to mind our families. Were not encouraged to talk about how we feel. And that needs to change. Im happy to speak out about my experience if it helps one person pick up the phone. And if anyone feels moved to donate to Rape Crisis Mid-West, or to any Rape Crisis Ireland branch, itll be very much appreciated. I have a lot of joy in my life now, Ive my children and grandkids. All I do know is that men being raped needs to be talked about more than it is. A major report published three weeks ago by Rape Crisis Ireland (RCI) highlights the difficulties for men reporting sexual attacks, compared to women. Statistics show there are key and impactful differences in the way male and female survivors are targeted, said Dr Cliona Saidlear, executive director of RCI. The report reveals that for those who experienced sexual violence between the ages of 13-17, if the abuse was not disclosed within a year of the incident, there was a significant time lapse between males and females before they eventually made a disclosure. It found 33pc of male survivors waited 10 years or more, compared to 16pc of females. Boys aged under 13 were also six times more likely to have been abused by an authority figure, such as a clergyman or teacher (18pc among boys, compared with 3pc for girls). Men are targeted differently and the difficulties they face following sexual violence are different, too Similarly, for men who experience sexual violence in adulthood, if they do not disclose it within a year, there is a significant gap before disclosure. Among females, 39pc made their first disclosure to a parent, compared with 25pc among males, while 25pc of males made their first disclosure to a medical professional, compared with 7pc among females. The overall pattern is that women felt safe accessing a much broader set of opportunities and choices for disclosure, Ms Saidlear said. All 17 rape crisis centres in Ireland welcome male victims and offer counselling and other supports. While acknowledging that 88pc of sexual survivors were women, the 12pc of male survivors must not be forgotten, Ms Saidlear added. Men are targeted differently, and the difficulties they face following sexual violence are different, too, which means how we think about creating safety, healing and justice for men must be different. The National Rape Crisis Helpline is open 24 hours a day. It can be called on 1800 77 88 88 The Governments review of Irelands response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been allocated a 1m annual budget with a panel of assessors due to be appointed imminently. The Covid-19 Evaluation, led by Professor Anne Scott, confirmed this weekend that panel members are in the process of being identified and/or confirmed and said that its 1m budget for 2025 includes staffing costs. Work is still in the initial stages but will scale up over the coming weeks and months, a statement said. The statement comes three months after then taoiseach, Simon Harris, announced that the governments decision to evaluate rather than interrogate its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, promising that it would be up and running within weeks. The decision to hold an evaluation of the governments performance rather than a proposed statutory inquiry was widely criticised by advocacy groups for those impacted by the pandemic as a betrayal of the bereaved and a missed opportunity. The advocacy group, Care Champions, renewed its criticisms of the soft approach to the inquiry this weekend and has accused the Government of ignoring more than 10,000 families that the group now represents. Majella Beattie, of Care Champions, said: Families who lost relatives in nursing homes are still five years on trying to find out exactly what happened and what treatment they received if any. Nursing homes are still not releasing records to families. GPs are not releasing records. They cannot move. A public inquiry with statutory powers would get that information for families, and it would give them closure. This evaluation will not provide families with transparency around decision-making in the lead up to their loved ones deaths, and it does not give families the right to get their loved ones records, she said. We need a government process that will facilitate families to get the information that they need and in turn improve the sector going forward. The governments response to Covid-19 in nursing homes at the start of the pandemic has also come under scrutiny While other countries instigated their own inquiries, the Irish government has stood over its performance during the pandemic and believes a statutory inquiry is not necessary. Mr Harris said an evaluation with a fact finding and lessons learned approach would have a far greater chance of success, with wide co-operation of relevant players in a non-adversarial atmosphere. A statutory inquiry with powers of compellability would change the dynamic and could curtail participation, he suggested. The government has defended its performance during the pandemic, with Mr Harris saying that it got a lot of things right. However, the then governments decision to give the public a meaningful Christmas in December 2020, by reopening pubs and restaurants after a protracted lockdown period, was blamed for causing preventable deaths by former public health chief, Dr Tony Holohan. More than 1,500 people died of Covid the following month the single worst month for deaths in the pandemic. Dr Holohan said a lot of deaths should have been prevented. The governments response to Covid-19 in nursing homes at the start of the pandemic has also come under scrutiny, with a special Oireachtas Committee on Covid-19 calling for a public inquiry into deaths in nursing homes. It criticised delays in the States response to the spread of the virus in nursing homes, and said a public inquiry was necessary to investigate and report on all circumstances relating to each individual death from Covid-19 in nursing homes. The Governments Covid-19 Evaluation has no statutory powers and no powers to compel witnesses to attend. Its terms of reference include a module to examine the response to Covid-19 in nursing homes. Its chair, Anne Scott, a retired NUIG professor, can decide whether hearings should be in public and livestreamed. The panel has the ability to hold some events in public, which would feature roundtable discussions with key decision-makers on issues which arise during the evaluation. The final report will be submitted in 12 to 18 months time, however, under its terms of reference, the research panel is allowed to submit interim reports. Draft law would remove the power of the UN Security Council to stop the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas Mr Harris wants to increase the number of troops sent on peacekeeping missions from 12 to 50 Opposition described the plan as an attack on our neutrality Draft legislation to amend Irelands triple lock on the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas will be brought to Cabinet this week, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said. The triple lock is the mechanism under which more than 12 members of the Irish Defence Forces can be deployed in overseas peacekeeping missions. Such operations have to be approved by the Government, by Dail Eireann and by the UN Security Council. Mr Harris said he was proposing increasing the number of troops who could be sent on peacekeeping missions without triggering the triple lock from 12 to 50. He told the RTEs This Week programme: The idea of the UN Security Council having a veto on where we deploy Irish troops in relation to peacekeeping is something that needs to be modified. The UN Security Council hasnt found itself in a position to authorise a peacekeeping mission since 2014. I think everybody in this country is very proud of the work done by the men and women of Oglaigh na hEireann overseas in peacekeeping but we cannot have a situation where any one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia or anybody else, can veto that decision. Mr Harris said missions would have to be in line with the UN Charter, instead of "the UN Security Council and effectively Putin or others having a veto on where our troops go". He said wanted to emphasise that the plans have "nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality" and Ireland remains militarily neutral. "We are removing in all circumstances the idea of the UN Security Council having a mandate," he said, adding that Ireland must have the flexibility to evacuate Irish people from hostile areas and new legislation will provide "legal clarity" on those issues. On whether it opens up the possibility of Irish soldiers participating in EU or NATO missions, Mr Harris said: "In EU missions, yes. Not in NATO missions, we are not a member of NATO." He said it is important to work with other countries on the issue of peacekeeping, which is a "proud tradition of this country". "We cannot allow the paralysis in the UN Security Council stop us participating proactively." Asked whether Irish peacekeepers would then be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, Mr Harris said: "If there was peace or a peace agreement, I don't think Ireland can recuse itself from being willing to consider playing a part in a peacekeeping mission. But we're not at that point yet." Mr Harris said the draft legislation would remove the requirement for the UN Security Council authorisation which, otherwise, would "effectively be saying Vladimir Putin would have to give us permission to assist Ukraine and that, to me, seems to be rather a bizarre situation". The proposals have been criticised by Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney, who described the plans as an attack on our neutrality and called on the Government to reconsider. "The UN charter is extremely lengthy and runs to 111 separate articles. Stating peacekeeping missions must be in line with the UN charter is a prerequisite so broad as to be meaningless, she said. Ms Gibney said it would provide almost free-range given to the Government of the day in relation to Irish troops being deployed to EU or NATO missions. She added the the UN mandate to peacekeeping missions gives them legitimacy which will be impossible to replace from elsewhere. She continued: There is currently an attack on the UN with Elon Musk this weekend stating the United States should leave the institution. The proposed plans from the Government are a further undermining of the UN The UN undoubtedly needs to be reformed, but the government should be doing that from the inside instead of throwing in the towel." Ms Gibney said the proposal to increase in the number of troops from 12 to 50 so the defence forces can act more swiftly in emergency situations, is something the Social Democrats can work with the Government on. "Removing the requirement of a UN mandate, for Irish peacekeeping missions, is an attack on our neutrality. The government must reconsider, she added. The Government has long had an issue with the fact that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) including China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, have powerful vetos which can stop the Security Council from agreeing to peacekeeping operations. The UN has not agreed a new peace keeping mission since 2014. A government source said the measures proposed will reinforce Irelands ability to pursue an independent foreign policy. Given current global instability, there has unfortunately in recent years been a growing requirement to be able to despatch our troops quickly and have the necessary flexibility to urgently respond to any crisis where, for example, Irish citizens require assistance abroad, such as what occurred in Kabul in 2021, and in Sudan in 2023, the source said. They said that the Government is very clear that it has no desire to alter Irelands policy of military neutrality and it wont change our relationship with the United Nations. Should there be future peace support operations for example in either Ukraine or Gaza, Ireland couldnt even consider participation unless they had a UN mandate, which in both these cases would be unlikely, the source added. Meanwhile, Mr Harris also confirmed that he will bring plans to Cabinet this week that will double Irelands spend non-lethal military aid package to Ukraine from 50m to 100m A meeting of the European Council this Thursday will decide a package of supports for Ukraine, which member states, including Ireland will contribute to. Mr Harris told RTE the figure remains a matter for the European Council but that Ireland will pay a little more than 2pc of the final sum. He said the cost of not paying is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, adding that it time to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN Charter. The plans follow an unprecedented attack on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky by US president Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance in the White House on Friday. During the meeting, Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of gambling with World War Three and Mr Vance said the Ukrainian leader was being disrespectful. Speaking today, Mr Harris described the scenes in the Oval Office as deeply unsettling and it is clear that a gulf has emerged between the United States and the European Union on the issue of Ukraine. He said Taoiseach Micheal Martin will know exactly what to do when he meets Mr Trump in 11 days, but added that time period is a very long time given the world in which were living now. On whether he support an invitation for a state visit to Ireland being extended to Mr Trump, Mr Harris said US presidents have often visited Ireland. "We always take the approach that youre better to engage with people where you have points of differentiation rather than take yourself off the pitch, so I have no difficulty if and when that should arise. When I welcomed President Zelenskyy to Ireland, I met a leader working around the clock for his people and his country. I assured him of our support then and that support stands today. Europe must and will remain united. Slava Ukraini. pic.twitter.com/ZuaeTUXotV Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) March 2, 2025 It comes as Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly said Mr Martin should use his face to face meeting with US President Donald Trump to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, as well as long-standing links between Ireland and the US, including trade. "It is important not just what happens in front of the cameras, that is only a small part, she told RTEs The Week in Politics. There will be engagements with the State Department, there will be direct engagement with the president, and the Taoiseach needs to use those engagements to highlight those things that are important to the people of Ireland. I do believe when we hear Trump talking about the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians that actually yes, Micheal Martin should use every opportunity to speak up for the people of Gaza and to speak up for the people of Ukraine. Starmer meeting Meanwhile, UK prime minister Keir Starmer has arrived for crunch talks on the war in Ukraine with political leaders. Mr Starmer is welcoming leaders from across Europe and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also expected at the meeting at Lancaster House in London. Mr Zelensky will be among those in attendance at the summit before he heads off to meet the King. He travelled to the UK on Saturday after his Oval Office confrontation with Donald Trump which has created a divide between the US and its European Nato partners. French President Emmanuel Macron was pictured arriving at the summit around lunchtime on Sunday. He was embraced by the Prime Minister before heading inside. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has also arrived, as well as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. They were followed shortly afterwards by other leaders including Mr Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Before the meeting, Mr Starmer spoke to the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and agreed that "Europe must unite and drive forward urgent action that will secure the best outcome" in Ukraine. Issuing a readout of the call with president Alar Karis of Estonia, prime minister Evika Silina of Latvia and president Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, a Downing Street spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister updated them on his discussions with the leaders of Ukraine, France and the United States in recent days - and underlined his focus on securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that ensures their future sovereignty, backed up by strong security guarantees". Mr Starmer had said earlier on Sunday that the UK will work with France "and possibly one or two others" on a peace plan for Ukraine that will be discussed with the US. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: "My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. "And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. "We've now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we'll discuss that plan with the United States." European leaders rallied round to support the Ukrainian president after the scenes in the Oval Office on Friday evening, which saw Mr Trump publicly berating Mr Zelensky. Mr Starmer told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the encounter made him feel "uncomfortable", adding that "nobody wants to see that". "The important thing is how to react to that," said Sir Keir. "There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. "The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said her "heart went out" to Mr Zelensky following his clash with Mr Trump. She told the same programme: "I watched it and I couldn't believe what was happening, he was being humiliated." Taoiseach Micheal Martin is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on March 12 In giving the green light for journalists to attend a press conference in the White House, the travelling British media corps were told they were accredited for a conference with President Donald Trump and the prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Keir Starmer. It may have seemed like an inadvertent, silly mistake by White House press handlers, until their own president, sitting beside Starmer in the Oval Office, reflected on the investments he has in the UK. Fine Gael leader said it would be "very peculiar" to reopen a matter that had been closed some years later Tanaiste Simon Harris has said he is conscious of "not wanting to over comment" on the controversy over senator Martin Conway due to the disciplinary process that began after Mr Conway was arrested on O'Connell Street earlier this year. The senator resigned the Fine Gael party whip following his arrest after he was found intoxicated on OConnell Street in January, ahead of the latest Seanad elections. An investigation into the matter has since been launched by the party and is currently underway. Mr Conway also previously apologised to a female staffer who worked for the party over inappropriate behaviour during an incident that took place in 2018. After an investigation by the party, the senator apologised in early 2020. Speaking to RTEs This Week, Mr Harris said he did not want to over comment on that matter due to the ongoing disciplinary process that was initiated following Mr Conways arrest, and the privacy of the individual impacted by the incident in 2018. He said he first learned of that incident late last year, I think, towards the end of November. "I'm very conscious in speaking to this issue that when a person comes to Fine Gael with an issue and asks to keep that process confidential, that is a real responsibility, protecting people's confidentiality," Mr Harris said. "I'm also very conscious that it was an issue that predated my leadership. I did have to satisfy myself that the matter had been addressed at the time, had been considered at the time and that no further action was required at the time." It was revealed by the Irish Independent earlier this week that two of Mr Harris senior officials met with Mr Conway in December, some weeks before he was ran for the party again and was re-elected to the Administrative Panel of the upper house. Asked why a meeting between Mr Conway and the senior officials took place, Mr Harris said: "My officials meet with many people who are running for election and obviously it was important to me that I satisfied myself in relation to this matter having been dealt with and fully dealt with at the time." He added that he had a decision to make in relation to "the fact that this matter had been deemed addressed and no further action required quite a number of years ago". He said it would be "very peculiar" to reopen a matter that had been closed some years later. Mr Harris denied the purpose of the meeting was to ask Mr Conway not to run in the Seanad elections, adding that Mr Conway, as a Fine Gael candidate, received an outside nomination from Vision Ireland. "He was a candidate because the matter was deemed to have been addressed a number of years ago." On why he allowed Mr Conway to run in the election, despite being aware of the complaint at the centre of the matter, Mr Harris said it would be "very unusual" for him to have re-opened the process as it was considered closed before he became party leader. He added that he was conscious of "not wanting to over comment" due to the ongoing disciplinary process that began when Mr Conway was arrested on O'Connell Street earlier this year. "The matter was closed back quite a number of years before I became leader. Since then, Senator Conway has been suspended from the Fine Gael parliamentary party, he said. "He found himself being arrested on O'Connell Street. That has now initiated, under my leadership, a full investigative process. And of course, as with any investigative process, it looks at somebody in the round, has a person come to the party's attention before and the likes, I don't want to say anything that cuts across the due process there. Mr Harris said his "principal, primary responsibility here is to respect the wishes of the person involved, to keep all parts of the process confidential" and would not comment on whether a sum of money was paid by Martin Conway to a charity in respect of the incident involving a female staffer some years ago. Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly and Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy clashed in the Dail last month when the Fingal West TD demanded time be allocated for Mr Harris to answer questions. Ms OReilly also tried to raise a media report of a 10,000 charity payment made by Mr Conway as part of his apology to the female staffer. Speaking today on the matter, Mr Harris said: "I accept that it's been said in the Dail, but I also know that when a person repeatedly asks for their privacy to be respected, repeatedly asks for confidentiality, repeatedly asks for people, including me, to not comment publicly further on the matter, I'm very respectful of that. That's where my first duty has to lie." Asked whether people had a right to know whether a sum of money was paid out in relation to the incident, Mr Harris said he could not comment further on the process. "I don't do that to be in any way difficult. In fact, I do it to be very respectful of the individual involved the process that was undertaken many years before I became a leader, and the fact that there now will be a broader disciplinary process." The Fine Gael leader has come under pressure from Sinn Fein to make a Dail statement on the matter in recent weeks. On whether he would make a statement in the Dail, Mr Harris said he has answered questions from the opposition and the media. He added that the internal process "will run it's course" and he wants to respect the confidentiality of the person involved. "The process is going to run it's course in terms of an investigative process, and indeed, the wishes of the person involved are going to be absolutely paramount in my mind. This is something that predated my time as a leader of Fine Gael." Jamie Diver was one of those killed One of two young men killed in a tragic road crash in Co Donegal will be laid to rest later this week. Shaun McClafferty (17) and his friend Jamie Diver (20s) both died and two other men were injured when their vehicle collided with the gable wall of a house in the townland of Baltoney, Gortahork, at around 9.30pm on Friday night. The injured men are both in a serious condition in Letterkenny University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin. Mr McClaffertys funeral will be held this Thursday, March 6 and tributes have been flowing in for the young man online. Tragic Shaun McClafferty who was fatally injured. Today's News in 90 seconds - 2nd March 2025 One person wrote: Heartfelt condolences to Shaun's Mum, Dad, little sister and all who loved him. Heartbroken for you all. Another said: Deepest condolences to all Shaun's family, my thoughts and prayers are with you all, may his gentle soul RIP. Jamie Diver was one of those killed A funeral notice posted online by Kieran Roarty Funeral Directors reads: Predeceased by his grandparents; John and Maire McClafferty, his aunt Cait McFadden and his papa Martin Darcy. "Deeply regretted and missed by his heartbroken parents; Michael and Sharon, sister Sara, nannie Sheila Darcy, aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family and friends. A private removal from the Eternal Light Chapel of Rest, Mountain Top, Letterkenny, will take place on Monday at 5pm, going to the family home in Baltoney, Gortahork. The family home and wake is strictly private however, all mourners are welcome to attend the funeral mass. The funeral will be held in Teach Pobail Chriost Ri, Gortahork on Thursday, March 6, at 11am, with burial afterwards in the adjacent cemetery. The final months of Jason Corbett as told by his daughter: I saw the fight drain out of Dad. He slumped in the doorway, looking defeated An exclusive extract from the devastating new book by the daughter of Jason Corbett Jason, Jack and Sarah as a young family Sarah Corbett Lynch Sun 2 Mar 2025 at 03:30 Sarah Corbett Lynch, now 18, has written a astonishing account of her life and the moments leading up to when her father's death in the North Carolina home he shared with his wife, Molly Martens in August 2015. Sarah's memoir, A Time for Truth: A Daughters Search for Justice and Healing, was published this week and the Sunday Independent is publishing an exclusive extract below. Photo: Website of the President of Kyrgyzstan BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 2. Kyrgyzstan launched eight small hydropower plants in 2024, with a total capacity of 48.84 megawatts of electricity, Trend reports. This was announced at a meeting of energy companies and institutions at the Ministry of Energy, which reviewed the results of the year. In addition, it was noted at the meeting that capsules were laid for the construction of a 400-megawatt solar power plant, a 100-megawatt wind farm, and a 25-megawatt small hydroelectric power plant at the Papan Reservoir. Active construction is also underway for the Orto-Tokoy reservoir and the small hydropower plant Kara-Kul. Simultaneously, work is being done on the reconstruction of the Lebedinovskaya hydropower station. It is also planned to build six solar power plants with a total capacity of 2.5 GW. Kyrgyzstan's total electricity consumption in 2024 amounted to 18.3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh). Hydropower plants produced 12.77 billion kWh, while thermal power plants generated 1.76 billion kWh. Meanwhile, the country imported 3.63 billion kWh of electricity from neighboring countries. Private small hydropower plants contributed 156.2 million kWh, and solar power plants produced 170,000 kWh of electricity. Donald Trump welcomes Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House before humiliating him in front of the cameras. Photo: AP Remember when a week was a long time in politics? In the world of Trump 2.0, half-an-hour can feel like an eternity, especially in the shoes of Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader was carrying the weight of his country on his shoulders to Washington. By the time his meeting with Donald Trump ended, it looked like he was carrying the weight of the world. Overnight, Mr Trump had flipped from calling him a dictator doing a terrible job to accepting he was very brave. He was confident he would also get the rights for the US to dig, dig, dig in Mr Zelenskys homeland. But there would have to be compromises. Recognising he could in fact be dig, dig, digging his own grave, politically and possibly literally, Mr Zelensky held out for security guarantees. The US president accused him of risking World War III. Yet it is the US that has been discarding the alliances that have becalmed the diplomatic storms of the last seven decades. Many had predicted Mr Zelensky should be braced for a shakedown. With his back to the wall, an agreement allowing access to his countrys rare-earth minerals was his only choice. And there was no disguising the strain on his face when greeted by a glad-handing Mr Trump at the White House. He knew he was no longer a partner, but a pawn in a new game of dual advantage. The parameters of the accord were hammered out between Moscow and Washington, behind closed doors, but Kyiv needed those security guarantees to deter future Russian invasions. I dont think youd be a tough guy without the United States. Do a deal or we are out All that was offered was the presence of US mining concerns in Ukraine. That would be enough to stop attacks, Mr Trump said. I am in the middle, I am for both Ukraine and Russia, he added. I want to get it solved. If Mr Trump was also focused on securing reserves of uranium and lithium, Mr Zelensky had to concentrate on securing a future for his people. He had signed a deal with Vladimir Putin in 2019, but that did not stop Russia invading in 2022. In a statement, Mr Trump told him to come back when he was serious about peace. But containing Moscows empire-building needs more than words. Mr Zelensky was not being very thankful, Mr Trump said, adding: The problem is, Ive empowered you to be a tough guy, and I dont think youd be a tough guy without the United States. Do a deal or we are out. With his nation in the firing line, Mr Zelensky finds himself in the cold without a vital shield against further aggression. He left without any assurance, accused of disrespecting the US. This was a strategic and political disaster. Hopefully, a critical diplomatic bridge has not been burnt. The norms of international relations cannot be so quickly sacrificed along with the sanctity of borders. In a world without rules, power alone determines survival. Peace needs balance and justice it is not sustainable where the winner takes it all. For poet Seamus Heaney, peacemaking happens when hope and history rhyme. The scenes in the White House on Friday, when Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance publicly bullied and humiliated Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky, could not have been farther from that ideal. Hope and history were replaced instead by an ugly display of hate and hysteria, with no rhyme or reason, except as a display of brute power. This, however, has been said many times since that shameful press briefing sank into rancour. It is still worth saying again, if only to underline the dismay with which the Ukrainian leaders treatment was greeted by his nations allies; but words are not enough. European leaders may be tweeting solidarity with Kyiv, but tweets will not change the course of this cruellest of wars. Right now, the future looks bleak for Ukraine. So how should the Taoiseach play the room when he meets President Trump in 10 days time in that same office? No Irish leader has ever gone to Washington for St Patricks Day under such challenging circumstances. Todays Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll shows a large majority of us (71pc) support Micheal Martins attendance anyway, however unpredictable. That is the pragmatic course of action. A small nation does not lightly turn down an invitation to the White House, whoever is in the Oval Office. When it comes to the question of whether the Taoiseach should criticise President Trump face to face during his visit, opinion is more divided. Half the respondents in the poll do not think he should; 43pc would like him to do so. What is more telling is that, when asked which out of a range of issues the Taoiseach should prioritise when he meets Trump, only 16pc of us believe he should put Ukraine first. Fortunately, the Fianna Fail leader is neither psychologically nor politically minded to look for trouble unnecessarily That is wise too. Were he to publicly berate the president for his heartless attitude to Ukraines plight, he would return home a conquering hero; but any satisfaction would be short-lived. It would, for one thing, invite the obvious riposte namely, how many divisions or billions of euro is Ireland offering to send to the front line? Fortunately, the Fianna Fail leader is neither psychologically nor politically minded to look for trouble unnecessarily. If anyone can find a way to stand by Ukraine without antagonising his host, it is this Taoiseach. Successful visits last week by Frances president Macron and UK prime minister Starmer showed it can be done. The Irish Government will have watched and learned. The issue that more than half of us do think the Taoiseach should raise with Trump is the tariffs he has threatened to impose on the EU. In truth, he is unlikely to get much comfort on economic issues either; and even if he were given some assurances, there is no guarantee that they would last until the Taoiseachs flight touched down again in Dublin. This new unpredictability may help explain why 66pc of people in our poll are now in favour of large increases in defence spending to meet the tests ahead. Support for neutrality remains high, but there is an understanding that the world is now much more dangerous. It got more perilous again on Friday. With the US no longer a reliable ally, Europe must urgently come together to provide the direction needed. The year was 2017 and the most sought-after festival tickets in the world went on sale. Entrepreneur Billy McFarland and music star Ja Rule conceived the concept of the Fyre Festival. Backed by a slick marketing campaign that featured the likes of Bella Hadid, Hailey Baldwin and Kendall Jenner, the hype for the festival ensured that all tickets sold out. Located on Pablo Escobars former private island, the stage was set for some of the world's most popular music acts to perform. Just one problem. There wasnt a stage and there were no big acts booked. The Caribbean Island descended from paradise into Lord of the Flies, with hundreds of people stranded with no beds, no food and no water. Organiser McFarland was eventually sent to prison for multiple convictions following the festival. Back in September 2024, Billy was a free man and announced to the world that tickets were on sale for Fyre Festival II. What could possibly go wrong? Today on this Indo Daily Revisited Kevin Doyle is joined by Irish Independent journalist Tessa Ndjonkou to examine how Billy McFarland has gone from jail time to selling tickets for the Fyre Festival rerun. They also ask why and how the convicted fraudster still has a willing audience today. Billy Kelleher MEP visited Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk, at the invitation of IRD Duhallow through the Communicating Europe Initiative. Mr. Kelleher is pictured with IRD Development Officers Nollaig Murphy and Leonora Kelly, Scoil Mhuire Principal Denis Keating, Maura Walsh CEO IRD Duhallow and Scoil Mhuire Deputy Principal Garvan Queeney. Photos by Sheila Fitzgerald Maura Walsh, CEO IRD Duhallow making a presentation to Billy Kelleher MEP during his visit to the James O Keeffe Institute, with Eileen Linehan, Assistant CEO and Team Members Helen O Sullivan, Nollaig Murphy, Leonora Kelly and Triona Dennehy Billy Kelleher MEP was welcomed to Colaiste Treasa Kanturk by Transition year students Cillian Collins and Rosemarie Moynihan, TY Coordinator Anne Marie Griffin, Principal Veronica Walsh and Teacher Joanne Corkery. Mr. Kelleher was accompanied on the visit by IRD Duhallow CEO Maura Walsh and Development Officers Nollaig Murphy and Leonora Kelly A man of many parts Billy Kelleher MEP turned his hand to a spot of baking during his visit to the Bakery at IRD Duhallow last Monday Billy Kelleher MEP visited Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk, at the invitation of IRD Duhallow through the Communicating Europe Initiative. Mr. Kelleher is pictured with Transition Year students, IRD Development Officers Nollaig Murphy and Leonora Kelly, Scoil Mhuire Principal Denis Keating and Maura Walsh, CEO IRD Duhallow. Staff and students at Colaiste Treasa Kanturk welcomed Billy Kelleher MEP, IRD Duhallow CEO Maura Walsh and Development Officers Nollaig Murphy and Leonora Kelly to the school as part of the Communicating Europe Initiative Students at Scoil Mhuire and Colaiste Treasa in Kanturk welcomed Billy Kelleher MEP when he called in during his visit to the Duhallow area last Monday morning. Mr. Kellehers visit was at the invitation of IRD Duhallow, who through its Communicating Europe Initiative has organised several workshops and events to secondary schools across its catchment area. Throughout the Duhallow region, educational workshops had been delivered by guest speaker Dr. Brendan O Keeffe. As part of these events, students learned about the history of the EU and its impacts on Ireland during the 50 years of Irish membership. Furthermore, the students learned about Irish rural development and the many projects that have been delivered locally with the assistance of European funding. During his visit to Scoil Mhuire, Mr. Kelleher addressed transition year students, outlining the structures of the European Parliament, the party groupings in the Parliament and the committee work attached to his role. The students heard about the challenges facing the European Union and the global changes that are ongoing. Across town in Colaiste Treasa, Mr. Kelleher spoke to the students in relation to the role of the EU in world politics, agriculture and trade. In both schools Mr. Kelleher encouraged students to create positive change in the world by playing an active role in their respective communities and by taking an interest in current affairs. He encouraged students not only to take an interest in global affairs but also to recognise the importance of maintaining an interest in developments impacting their local areas. Students in both schools had very insightful questions prepared for Mr. Kelleher, which demonstrated their engagement in current affairs. Mr. Kelleher later visited the James O Keeffe Memorial Institute Complex, Duhallow Community foods Services, Duhallow Furniture Revamp and IRD Duhallow Offices. IRD Duhallow CEO Maura Walsh along with the IRD Duhallow management team and staff provided an outline of the broad range of programmes that are currently operating in the region and the impacts achieved. Mr. Kelleher was hugely impressed with the array of initiatives undertaken and commended all those he met on their hard work and dedication to the provision of community services. Sinn Fein spokesperson on Transport Pa Daly has slammed the government for presiding over yet another increase in the driving test backlog. Speaking ahead of a Dail motion calling on government to implement a suite of measures to address this crisis, Deputy Daly said through bad planning and mismanagement successive Fianna Fail and Fine Gael-led governments had created a system that was not fit for purpose. 72,000 learner drivers are now languishing on waiting lists, with this figure having grown by 10,000 in the last three months alone. The average waiting time to take a test is now well above the statutory maximum of 10 weeks, with many people waiting six months to take the test and others over eight months. This is totally unacceptable, he said. Deputy Daly said the delays are causing frustration in communities as they push up the costs of learning to drive and trap learner drivers in expensive insurance policies. He said that for some, learning to drive now costs over 3,000. He added that backlogs lead to disruptions in vital services as students, or workers who rely on their licence, are waiting in limbo. As an example, Deputy Daly said there have been delays to the recruitment of Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus drivers as well as to paramedics as they require a licence to start their course. There are not enough permanent driving instructors and many areas are without a permanent, let alone temporary test centre. The government has completely failed to keep pace with increasing demand. This must change. Sinn Fein has developed a suite of measures to address these unacceptable delays, he said. We are calling on them to match the increased demand for driving tests with appropriate resources. This means ending the over-reliance on temporary driving instructors and expediting the recruitment of permanent instructors. The unsatisfactory performance of the Road Safety Authority cant be ignored in all of these. Therefore, we are calling for an urgent review of the mandate, resourcing and programme of work, he added. Lastly, Deputy Daly said the government must once and for all identify all the gaps in driving test centre locations and mandate the RSA and the OPW to fill them. The deepening crisis requires the political will, ambition and resourcing to solve it. Just like the crisis in housing, healthcare and the cost of living, more of the same from Fianna Fail and Fine Gael will only make matters worse, he said. Louth County Council has announced a new Gaeltacht Scholarship Scheme for second-level students in the county who wish to attend Irish language courses in 2025. As part of Louth County Councils Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations, the council will award ten scholarships, each worth 300 to students living in Louth. The initiative marks marks a significant step in the local authoritys commitment to promoting the Irish language. The scholarships will be allocated through a draw, and students of all levels of Irish are encouraged to apply, provided they are enrolled in a Gaeltacht course this year. The funds will be paid to the parent or guardian of the successful applicants, who must submit proof of booking or payment to a Gaeltacht college. Appllications must be submitted online before 4.30pm on Wednesday, March 5, 2025. The selected students will be announced during Seachtain na Gaeilge, which runs from March 1 to Saint Patricks Day. A special ceremony is set to take place at County Hall on Wednesday, March 12 where the winners will receive their scholarships and certificates from Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Cllr Kevin Callan and CEO David Conway. Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Cllr Kevin Callan, emphasised the significance of the initiative, stating: This is a historic moment for Louth County Council as we launch our first-ever Gaeltacht Scholarship Scheme. The Irish language is a cornerstone of our heritage, and through these scholarships, we are ensuring that young people in Louth have the opportunity to engage with and strengthen their connection to it. Louth County Council Chief Executive, David Conway, echoed this sentiment, saying: We are proud to introduce this scholarship scheme, which reflects our commitment to fostering and supporting the Irish language. By providing these opportunities, we hope to inspire a new generation to embrace and celebrate the language in their daily lives. This initiative is part of Louth County Councils wider efforts to support the Irish language and is backed by the Irish language and Creative Ireland programmes. To apply, parents, guardians and students must complete an online application form available at the following link: https://consult.louthcoco.ie/en/content/scol%C3%A1ireachta%C3%AD-gaeltachta-2025 The deadline for applications is 4.30pm on Wednesday March 5, 2025. Late applications will not be accepted. For more information, please contact Susan Deery, Irish Language Officer at susan.deery@louthcoco.ie or 042 9335457.Successful applicants will be informed, following the random draw which is scheduled to take place on Friday 7th March 2025. New Ross Credit Union hosted its annual school table quiz on Sunday, February 9, at St. Marys Secondary School, which saw a resounding turnout from local primary school students choosing to put their smarts to the test that evening. On the night, 41 enthusiastic teams from primary schools across the district came together for what was described as, by the New Ross Credit Union staff, was a fun and competitive atmosphere. After a series of challenging rounds, Raheen National School emerged victorious in Category A, with St. Canices National School securing second place. Meanwhile, in Category B, Marymount National School from The Rower claimed first place, and Cushinstown National School finished as runners-up. The winners and runners-up from both categories will now go on to represent their schools and New Ross Credit Union at the Chapter Level Quiz, which will take place in The Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey, on March 9. We wish them the very best of luck as they take on the next stage of the competition, said a spokesperson for the local branch. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the students, teachers, and parents who took part and supported the event. Congratulations to all the teams for their fantastic efforts, and we look forward to another exciting quiz next year, they added. Sister Brigid Cummins, C.V.I., who was also known by many as Mary B., was born on April 18, 1934 in Horsewood, Campile, where she was one of nine children born to Bridie and Patrick Cummins in South County Wexford, Ireland. She passed away in America on Wednesday, Friday, January 24, 2025, at 90 years of age. At the age of 15, she entered the Congregation of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament on October 6, 1949 in Houston, Texas, and made her perpetual profession of vows on August 15, 1955. She earned a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas and a Master's of Education degree from the University of Houston. With Sister Brigid, her faith in God, prayer life, and commitment to her community always came first. This gave her the strong foundation she needed to serve faithfully. She was a beloved elementary teacher, high school teacher, and principal at Bishop Byrne High School in Port Arthur and Incarnate Word Academy in Houston. In 1965, when the congregation opened a mission in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, she was among the first sisters, serving from 1965 until 1972. The village was so remote that it could only be reached by donkey. While she spoke fluent Spanish, adapting to new customs and culture was still quite an adventure. She could share some wild stories. Even though she was thousands of miles away, she never lost touch with her family. She maintained contact by mail and phone, and more recently by email. She first made the trip back to Ireland in the early 1970s, this being the first time she was allowed to. She came every four years after that. She generally flew to the UK, and would visit her brother John in Redcar and sister Joan in London. Then on to Ireland where, luckily, the rest of her siblings all lived in Wexford, so she didn't have much travelling to do. Her sister, Sr Aidan was a teacher in New Ross, her brother Fr Paddy was the parish priest in Clongeen, Ferns and Clonard respectively. Her sister Peggy, who died in the 1960s, had seven children the Dunphy family in Campile. Edno and his family lived in Balliniry, near Ramsgrange and Toddy lived on the homestead in Horeswood, also near Campile. She would stay with each family for a few days, mixing in with whatever was going on, and did not want any fuss made of her. She made it her business to get to know all of her nieces and nephews, and closely followed their education, careers and lives. She knew all of her great-grandnieces and nephews by name, and followed their education and careers too. The Sisters recognised her leadership skills and elected her to serve as a congregational councillor for many terms, and as the congregational leader from 1994 until 2002. Sister Brigid had a wonderful sense of humour and always loved a good joke. She had the gift of looking out for others, which came in the many forms of words of support, helping you work through a problem, sharing a funny story, or serving you some of her homemade rock buns or wassail on a cold day. She was loved by many. Her parents, three sisters, and four brothers preceded her in death. She is survived by her sister, Joan Cummins Fuller, and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews, and great-grandnieces and nephews who will sadly miss her. Funeral services for the late Sister Brigid took place at Villa de Matel, 6510 Lawndale Street, Houston, Texas 77023. The Mass of Christian Burial was held on Thursday, February 6, 2025, in the Villa de Matel Chapel, while the interment took place at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Incarnate Word Convent Sisters Retirement Fund, 3719 Glen Haven Blvd. Houston, Texas, 77025. The Church of St James, Horeswood, Campile, New Ross, Co. Wexford will hold a mass for Sister Brigid on Sunday, March 2 at 10 a.m.. Anora OTT release date: Sean Baker's film Anora got a lot of attention when it was released. The movie has been nominated for Oscars 2025 and for a while now people have been waiting to stream the movie in India. Now finally the movie has its OTT release date and viewers will be able to watch it very soon. Anora will be streaming on JioHotstar from 17th March 2025. Plot According to the narrative, Anora, a Brooklyn young woman, meets and marries an oligarch's son, providing her with her shot for a Cinderella tale. The parents leave for New York to have the marriage dissolved as the news reaches Russia, endangering her fairy tale. Cast and crew The director, editor, writer, and producer is Sean Baker. It focuses on the tumultuous marriage between sex worker Anora Mikheeva (Mikey Madison) and Russian oligarch Vanya Zakharov (Mark Eydelshteyn). Supporting cast members include Karren Karagulian, Yura Borisov, Vache Tovmasyan, and Aleksei Serebryakov. Neon premiered Anora in theaters on October 18 following its successful showing at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2024. It was Baker's highest-grossing film, earning $40.9 million worldwide on a $6 million budget. Awards It won the Palme d'Or and two British Academy Film Awards, including Best Actress for Madison. It was listed as one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. At the 97th Academy Awards, it was also nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and five Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 2. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will continue to support Tajikistan in the construction of the Rogun hydropower plant (HPP) project in 2025, the new ADB Country Director for Tajikistan Ko Sakamoto told reporters in Dushanbe, Trend reports. Sakamoto also mentioned that the ADB has been invited to join a consortium of international financial institutions involved in financing and implementing the project. As part of this collaboration, the Tajik government has requested financial assistance of approximately $500 million, which is currently under review. He further noted that ADB is preparing four new projects for 2025, with plans for approval by the end of the year. One of these projects aims to improve food security through digital agricultural management. In 2024, ADB's support to Tajikistan totaled $220 million, which was allocated to six new projects across sectors such as agriculture, energy, healthcare, public administration, and transport. The Rogun HPP on the Vakhsh River is designed to consist of six power units, each with a capacity of 600 MW. To date, two units are already operational, and the third is expected to come online in 2025. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to generate over 17 billion kWh of electricity annually, significantly boosting Tajikistan's energy supply and helping to meet growing demand. The Rogun HPP is seen as a critical project for the country, as it will provide electricity to nearly 10 million people, alleviating chronic winter power shortages. Furthermore, approximately 70 percent of the plant's output will be exported to neighboring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at competitive rates, enhancing regional energy cooperation and trade. Kuberaa OTT Release: Lights, camera, and a whole lot of dramaDhanush and Nagarjunas much-awaited social thriller is all set to hit the big screens on June 20, 2025. But if youre the kind who loves the comfort of your couch and a bucket of popcorn, dont worry, the OTT release is already locked and loaded. Once the whistles settle in theatres, Kuberaa will make its way to Amazon Prime Video. Though the exact OTT release date hasnt been revealed yet, based on industry trends, expect Kuberaa to stream approximately 4-6 weeks after its theatrical release, which means somewhere between late July and early August 2025. More to know about Kuberaa Directed by Sekhar Kammula, the mastermind behind Happy Days and Fidaa, Kuberaa promises to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. The film brings together two powerhouse performers, Dhanush and Nagarjuna, in what looks like an electrifying face-off. Other than them, the film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Jim Sarbh, Dalip Tahil, Sunaina, Divya Dekate, Koushik Mahata, Saurav Khurana and Col Ravi Sharma in key roles. Set in the lanes of Mumbai, Kuberaa is rumored to follow a rags-to-riches story, with Dhanush possibly playing a beggar-turned-mafia kingpin. Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Nagarjuna will be seen as the man hunting him down. This Devi Sri Prasad will mark the first-time collaboration between Dhanush and Nagarjuna and is Sekhars 10th directorial venture. While some movies are made for OTT, Kuberaa is the kind of film that thrives in theatres. The grand visuals, intense face-offs, and adrenaline-pumping moments deserve the larger-than-life experience. Mark your calendars for June 20 and get ready for a cinematic rollercoaster with Kuberaa! Whether you watch it in a packed theatre or from your cozy couch, this is one ride you dont want to miss. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Oscars 2025: Anuja, the poignant documentary directed by Adam J. Graves, was nominated for an Academy Award this year since it not only won over viewers but also the Oscars 2025 jury. Since this is the only Indian film this year, people are really optimistic. Since learning that the film has received a nomination, people have been eagerly awaiting to know if the movie makes the cut. However, will Anuja win the Oscar in the end? Here are the possibilities explained and explored. Movies Anuja is in competing with The fact that Anuja is up against some really excellent documentaries is one of the primary reasons it's a little difficult to win. A Lien, I'm Not a Robot, The Last Ranger, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent are among the titles on the list. Winning among this group won't be simple because each of the other nominees has a compelling plot and a lot of fan support. A heartfelt narrative The fact that the film is heartfelt and direct gives Anuja a distinct advantage. The story, which is set in India, centers on two sisters who should ideally lead life to the fullest and prioritise their studies, but because they are orphans, they must continue to struggle to support themselves. And anyway, we don't live in an ideal world, do we? The magnificent backing The Salaam Baalak Trust, an Indian non-profit and non-governmental organization that supports working and homeless children in the Delhi-NCR, was one of the community partners that helped develop and shoot the movie alongside Graves Films and Krushan Naik Films. The non-profit production business Shine Global joined the crew to assist with the film's social impact campaign. I know you'll be just as moved by Anuja as I was I am and beyond thrilled to share that it's coming to Netflix on Feb 5! The film has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Watching Sajda and Ananya bring this powerful tale to life is an pic.twitter.com/Bo90JLb3oG PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) February 1, 2025 Executive producer Guneet Monga joined the production team in October 2024. Priyanka Chopra Jonas became an executive producer of the movie in January 2025. The film has also received support from Mindy Kaling and others. The common review When the movie was released on Netflix it was met with the most amazing response. People from around the world only had a rush of emotions while watching the movie. Ask me about it? Well, Anuja is a heartfelt and short film that makes you feel the emotions that sometimes a 3 hour long film fails to do. The topic it covers and the way it tells the story is sure worth an Oscar. #Anuja #Netflix In just 22:57 minutes the #movie conveyed to me that there is God for everybody in this world. Inspiring, motivational and heart-wrenching. As it comes from the streets of Delhi, it will always be special to me. Every child deserves to be educated. #mademecry Gurpreet Dhariwal (@authorgurpreetd) February 27, 2025 Sorry o please how does anuja end? @netflix we cant just leave it like that I mean, I know we can but I need to know what choice she made and what happened to her sister T. (@maroon_rage) February 14, 2025 But will it win the Oscar? Time will tell. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10 OTT release date: Solo Leveling season 2 has kept anime fans on the edge of their seats. The show has had 9 episodes so far and each episode has only brought action and beyond. Using the Elixir of Life, Sung Jinwoo awakened her mother from Eternal Sleep in the previous episode. Now that its time for the new episode, heres all you need to know about what to expect from Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10, where to watch and more. Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10 OTT release date Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10 will be released on Crunchyroll on 8th March at 08:30 PM. Global release dates: Pacific Time (PT): Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 07:00 AM Eastern Time (ET): Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 10:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 03:00 PM Central European Time (CET): Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 04:00 PM Indian Standard Time (IST): Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 08:30 PM Philippine Time (PHT): Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 11:00 PM Japanese Standard Time (JST): Sunday, March 9, 2025, at 12:00 AM Australian Central Time (ACT): Sunday, March 9, 2025, at 01:30 AM What to expect from Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10 We Need A Hero is the title of Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10, according to SportsKeeda. The Hunters of Korea and Japan will engage in a tough match in the upcoming episode, as suggested by the previous episode's climax. Additionally, Thomas Andre, who was hinted to as a threat in the previous episode, may make his debut in Solo Leveling season 2 episode 10. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Thandel OTT Release Date Confirmed: Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi recently starred together in this Telugu romantic that won hearts globally for its pure narrative. Released theatrically on 7th February 2025, this actioner is written and directed by Chandoo Mondeti. After a successful theatrical run, Thandel is ready to stream on Netflix from March 7 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. Thandels plot summary Thandel is set in a small fishing village by the coast in Srikakulam and is about the love story between Raju (played by Naga) and Satya (played by Sai). Raju is a fisherman who becomes the leader of his village, just like his father was before him. Satya is worried about the dangers of the sea, but Raju decides to go on a nine-month fishing trip with other villagers. Things take a turn when their boat accidentally drifts into Pakistani waters, and they end up getting captured and thrown in prison. The story follows what happens to them while they're stuck in a foreign country and whether they'll ever make it back home to India. Thandel is based on a real-life incident from 2018 that shook the entire nation. Thandels review The Times of India rated this film 3.5 out of 5 and a part of their review read, Thandel is an engaging romantic action drama that delivers on its promise. While there are moments where the narrative could have been tighter, the films decent storytelling, moving music, stunning visuals and brilliant lead performances ensure it leaves an impact. If youre looking for an intense love story with drama, action, and a touch of patriotism, Thandel is worth a watch. Produced by Bunny Vasu under Geetha Arts, Thandel is a DSP musical that enjoyed a worldwide collection of Rs 88.25 crore. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Patna Ramadan 2025 Sehri And Iftar Timings: Ramadan 2025, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, will begin on March 1, 2025, in Patna, India. During this holy month, Muslims in Patna will fast from dawn to sunset. They will start their fast with Sehri (a pre-dawn meal) and break it with Iftar at sunset. Ramadan 2025: Sehri and Iftar timings in major towns in India Kolkata Mumbai Delhi Jammu Kashmir Srinagar Bengaluru Lucknow Hyderabad Chennai Noida Gurgaon Ahmedabad Patna Aligarh On the second day of Ramadan, March 2, 2025, the Sehri time in Patna is set for 04:55 AM, and Iftar will be at 05:53 PM for the Fiqa-e-Hanafia sect. The Fiqa-e-Jafria (Shia) community may have slightly different timings, with Sehri a few minutes earlier and Iftar a few minutes later. What is Sehri and Iftar? Sehri and Iftar are two important meals during Ramadan that mark the start and end of the daily fast. Sehri, also called Suhoor, is eaten before dawn, before the Fajr prayer. It provides energy and hydration for the day and usually includes nutritious foods like grains, proteins, fruits, and fluids. Iftar is the meal that breaks the fast at sunset, usually after the Maghrib prayer. It traditionally starts with dates and water, following the practice of Prophet Muhammad. Iftar is often a joyful meal shared with family and friends, featuring a variety of dishes based on cultural traditions. Meta AI Importance of Charity in Ramadan 2025 Charity is very important during Ramadan because it is a time when Muslims give more and think about their faith. Zakat is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and it requires Muslims to donate 2.5% of their savings every year to help poor people. This helps make wealth pure and creates fairness in society. Besides Zakat, Muslims also give Sadaqah, which is extra charity, to help those in need. In the United Kingdom, Muslims donate around 100 million during Ramadan, and each person gives about 371 on average. This not only helps people in need but also brings communities closer. Ramadan 2025: Sehri and Iftar Timings in Patna Roza Date Sehr Iftaar 1 02 March 2025 04:55 AM 05:53 PM 2 03 March 2025 04:54 AM 05:54 PM 3 04 March 2025 04:53 AM 05:54 PM 4 05 March 2025 04:52 AM 05:55 PM 5 06 March 2025 04:51 AM 05:55 PM 6 07 March 2025 04:50 AM 05:56 PM 7 08 March 2025 04:49 AM 05:56 PM 8 09 March 2025 04:48 AM 05:57 PM 9 10 March 2025 04:47 AM 05:57 PM 10 11 March 2025 04:46 AM 05:58 PM 11 12 March 2025 04:45 AM 05:58 PM 12 13 March 2025 04:44 AM 05:59 PM 13 14 March 2025 04:43 AM 05:59 PM 14 15 March 2025 04:42 AM 06:00 PM 15 16 March 2025 04:41 AM 06:00 PM 16 17 March 2025 04:40 AM 06:01 PM 17 18 March 2025 04:38 AM 06:01 PM 18 19 March 2025 04:37 AM 06:02 PM 19 20 March 2025 04:36 AM 06:02 PM 20 21 March 2025 04:35 AM 06:03 PM 21 22 March 2025 04:34 AM 06:03 PM 22 23 March 2025 04:33 AM 06:03 PM 23 24 March 2025 04:32 AM 06:04 PM 24 25 March 2025 04:31 AM 06:04 PM 25 26 March 2025 04:30 AM 06:05 PM 26 27 March 2025 04:28 AM 06:05 PM 27 28 March 2025 04:27 AM 06:06 PM 28 29 March 2025 04:26 AM 06:06 PM 29 30 March 2025 04:25 AM 06:07 PM Source: Urdupoint.com Ramadan 2025: Important Duas Below are important duas to recite during Ramadan 2025: Dua for Beginning the Fast (Suhoor) : Dua for Breaking the Fast (Iftar): Dua for Seeking Forgiveness (Laylat al-Qadr): Dua for Guidance and Righteousness: Dua for Protection from Hellfire: How Fasting is Observed in Ramadan 2025? Ramadan 2025 starts on the evening of March 1, and ends on March 29. After Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated on March 30. Fasting lasts 29-30 days, depending on the moon sighting. Muslims fast from dawn (Sehri) to sunset (Iftar). The fasting hours vary from 11 to 16 hours, depending on the country and time of year. Rules of Fasting: No eating, drinking (even water). Avoid negative actions like gossiping, lying, or arguing. Key Practices: Sehri (Suhoor): A meal before dawn to give energy for the day. A meal before dawn to give energy for the day. Iftar: The meal at sunset to break the fast, usually starting with dates and water. The meal at sunset to break the fast, usually starting with dates and water. Increased Prayers: Includes special nightly Tarawih prayers. Includes special nightly Tarawih prayers. Reading the Quran: Muslims read the Quran throughout the month. Justdial Children, elderly people, pregnant or breastfeeding women, travelers, and sick individuals do not have to fast. They can make up for it later or give to charity. Ramadan Mubarak Wishes, Messages & WhatsApp Status 2025 Ramadan Mubarak! May this holy month bring peace and blessings to your life. Wishing you a month filled with kindness, patience, and spiritual growth. May Allah accept your prayers and fasting this Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem! Let this Ramadan be a time of forgiveness and self-reflection. Ramadan Mubarak! May your heart be filled with joy and your home with love this Ramadan. Wishing you strength and patience as you embrace the beauty of this sacred month. Ramadan Mubarak! May Allahs blessings shine upon you and your family. May this Ramadan bring you closer to Allah and fill your life with peace. May your fasts be easy and your prayers be accepted this Ramadan. May this holy month bring you closer to your family and strengthen your faith. Ramadan Kareem! May Allah bless you with health and success this year. May this Ramadan bring peace to your heart and fill your home with joy. Wishing you endless joy, prosperity, and success this Ramadan and beyond. May the spirit of Ramadan inspire you to spread kindness and positivity. Wishing you a Ramadan full of love, happiness, and forgiveness. Hoping for countless blessings and unwavering faith for you this Ramadan. May your fasting be easy, your prayers answered, and your heart light. Sending warm wishes for a month of devotion, love, and happiness. Ramadan Kareem! May your sacrifices be rewarded with endless blessings. Let the spirit of Ramadan inspire kindness, generosity, and positivity in you. Wishing you harmony, prosperity, and success during this blessed month. May the divine light of Ramadan guide you to goodness and happiness. Praying that this holy month brings peace to your soul and joy to your heart. Ramadan Mubarak! May Allah bless you with health, happiness, and success. Hoping this sacred month fills your home with love and harmony. May this Ramadan strengthen your faith and purify your soul. Wishing you a fulfilling Ramadan filled with mercy, gratitude, and love. Lets welcome the blessings of Ramadan with open hearts. Ramadan Mubarak! May Allah forgive all your sins and grant you a fresh start this Ramadan. Praying for inner peace, spiritual growth, and countless blessings for you. Wishing you endless joy, prosperity, and divine guidance this holy month. Ramadan Kareem! May love, laughter, and Allahs mercy fill your home. FAQs 1. When does Ramadan 2025 start and end in Patna? Answer: Ramadan 2025 begins on March 1 and ends on March 29, followed by Eid al-Fitr on March 30. 2. What are the Sehri and Iftar timings in Patna on the first day of Ramadan? Answer: On March 1, 2025, Sehri time in Patna is around 04:55 AM, and Iftar is at 05:53 PM for the Fiqa-e-Hanafia sect. 3. Do Sehri and Iftar timings change daily? Answer: Yes, the Sehri and Iftar timings change slightly every day based on sunrise and sunset times. 4. Are Sehri and Iftar timings the same for all Muslims in Patna? Answer: Timings vary slightly between Fiqa-e-Hanafia (Sunni) and Fiqa-e-Jafria (Shia), with Shia Muslims usually ending Sehri a few minutes earlier and breaking Iftar a few minutes later. 5. Where can I find the complete Ramadan 2025 timetable for Patna? Answer: We have provided a complete Ramadan 2025 timetable for Patna above. You can also check from local mosques, or community centers for the full Sehri and Iftar timetable for Patna. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. BTS rapper J-Hope kicked off his highly anticipated and fully sold-out HOPE ON THE STAGE concert, with March 2 marking the third and final day in Seoul. As the fandom, ARMY, enjoyed the first two days to the fullest, they were also on the lookout to see if any BTS members would make an appearance at the KSPO Dome. However, their hopes seemed to be dashed when those they thought were BTS members turned out to be someone else. Yet, Day 2 became even more special when the members' parents were spotted in the crowd, sitting together and showing their support for Hobi. It appeared that SUGA, RM andd Jin's parents alongwith Jungkook's father attended the concert. Did any BTS members attend the concert? On the third day of the concert, fans spotted the eldest member, Jin, entering the venue. It's to be noted that only these two members have completed their mandatory South Korean military service. The rest will be released by June of 2025. Soon enough, photos of the star went viral across social media platforms, especially on X (formerly known as Twitter). To add to the excitement, J-Hope confirmed Jin's presence during a live stream chat, writing: "ARMY! Jin hyung is here!" HOBI CONFIRMING IN THE LIVE STREAM CHAT THAT SEOKJIN IS THERE TOO Army! Jin hyung is here~ pic.twitter.com/rKDjjOBjAF Carolyne (@mhereonlyforbts) March 2, 2025 ARMY's reaction Fans were thrilled to see Jin making an appearance at his member's solo concert. Many took to X to trend "2Seok" the beloved ship name for the two global stars. One fan wrote: "Seokjin is here for Hobis concert!" Seokjin is here for Hobis concert pic.twitter.com/4GfnVDVAnS Seokjinism (Fan Account) (@seokjinism1) March 2, 2025 Another said: "JIN IS AT THE VENUE TO SUPPORT HOBI, MY 2SEOK HEART!" JIN IS AT THE VENUE TO SUPPORT HOBI, MY 2SEOK HEART pic.twitter.com/SYifYu0HtT sharose (@jimnshimochi) March 2, 2025 One fan gushed: "The way Seokjin is cheering for Hobi with his two ARMY bombs my 2Seok heart!" The way seokjin cheering for hobi with his two army bombs.. my 2seok heart pic.twitter.com/JRthxH0RMq lra (@7withluv__) March 2, 2025 And of course, a playful comment added: "Jin is gonna get on stage and Hobi's about to announce the 2Seok collab thats coming soon!" jin is gonna get on stage and hobi bout to announce the 2seok collab thats coming soon pic.twitter.com/hOXtFMT1ft bts is seeing hobi (@attackonhobi) March 2, 2025 About HOPE ON THE STAGE After wrapping up his concert in Seoul, J-Hope will embark on a global tour, making stops in Brooklyn, New York; Chicago; Mexico City; San Antonio; Oakland, California; Los Angeles; Manila, Philippines; Saitama, Japan; Singapore; Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok; Macau; Taipei, Taiwan; and Osaka, Japan. J-Hope had completed his 18-month mandatory military service in South Korea in October last year, becoming the second BTS member to enlist. In 2022, he made history as the first South Korean artist to headline Chicago's Lollapalooza festival. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. As the 97th Academy Awards approaches, all eyes will be on the stars this Sunday. Like every year, this year also the attention is focused on the prestigious Governors Ball after-party, where Hollywood's finest celebrities come together to celebrate. For the 66th year, Oscar winners, nominees, and presenters will gather to eat, drink, and celebrate in the glamorous, gold-accented Ray Dolby Ballroom on the top floor of Ovation Hollywood after the event. While on the other hand, as stars anxiously await the announcement of the winners, culinary expert Wolfgang Puck is getting ready to tantalise their taste buds for his 31st consecutive year as the head chef of the star-studded event. Puck exactly knows the favourites of celebrities like Timothee Chalamet, Zoe Saldana, Colman Domingo, Demi Moore, Cynthia Erivo, and Ariana Grande. Feasting with the celebs: A look at culinary operations at Oscars 2025 At the Academy Awards 2025, the Austrian culinary mastermind knows the drill of having fed the Hollywood royalty for years now. In a recent interaction, Wolfgang Puck, 75, told People.com, "We have a great menu, and we know everybody's really hungry." Upon being asked which dishes are celebrities' favourites, Puck said that for him it is all about innovation, but it is also a tradition. He further said, if he doesn't make the chicken pot pie, then he probably won't get hired again. "I remember when Barbra Streisand told me one day she had the chicken pot pie and she was coming back the next year," he said. Let's have a glance at the food menu at Oscars 2025 The dishes at the star-studded event are no more glamorous than the celebs, like fans of Puck's will be delighted to see that cacio e pepe macaroni and cheese is to be served again. On the other hand, some choose the smoked salmon dish, which is the regular dish served as always on an Oscar statuette-shaped matzo cracker. For this year, Puck has returned a crafted menu that balances the beloved classics with innovative new offerings for the 1,500 expected guests. This year the scale of the culinary operation is quite impressive, as over 400 pounds of smoked salmon and 220 pounds of potatoes are ordered for the occasion. Traditional dishes are a priority As per the report, Puck exactly knows and understands the importance of giving the people what they want, such as the truffle chicken pot pie and cacio e pepe macaroni and cheese. The dish offers a sophisticated twist on the comfort food, combining the creamy cheese sauce with a bite of black pepper. Apart from these, the canapes include miniature Wagyu cheeseburgers, delicate cauliflower toast, and Spago's legendary tuna tartare, which has delighted diners for years. Asian and Thai cuisine at Oscars 2025 Apart from the traditional food menu, the food menu for 2025 also showcases Asian influences with additions of Asian and Thai food items such as pad Thai noodles prepared with garlic, ginger, and a splash of champagne for an elegant Thai twist. On the other hand, another standout is expected to be Miyazaki Wagyu beef, which is Japan's most expensive beef. It is served with wasabi potato puree and truffle ponzu sauce, which is a gentle blend of Japanese and European culinary traditions. For the British cuisine, the London chef Elliott Grover from CUT at 45 Park Lane is expected to bring three classic dishes to the festivals. Sweet dishes and drinks The sweet finale ranges from the tropical 'Kit Kat' bars with passion fruit and rich dark chocolate to peach and elderflower marbled macarons and a strawberry and vanilla profiterole tart. It is prepared by the pastry chefs Kamel Guechida and Garry Larduinat. While the standout dessert at the Oscars is the Oscars Cookies that will feature the Academy Awards logo. Additionally, there are the signature chocolate Oscar statuettes in Noire Reserve Dark Chocolate, Bahibe 46% Milk Chocolate, Yuzu, and Strawberry. This year, the guests can also prepare their own ice cream sundaes with premium toppings like Don Julio-infused chocolate cigars. Drinks menu Meanwhile, the drink menu features signature cocktails crafted by Joly in collaboration with Mexico City's Handshake Speakeasy. This year, the Champagne Lallier is set to make its debut as an official champagne partner. Tequila Don Julio is also set to make its return to offer a sophisticated creation, including 'The Standing Ovation.' This is an espresso martini made with Tequila Alma Miel, rimmed with gold. 'The Clear Winner' combines Tequila Don Julio Reposado with hibiscus tea, tamarind syrup, lime juice, and grapefruit juice. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending. It's 2025, and men are still raving about a workplace with no women in the workforce. A post by a graphic designer has gone viral on X, claiming there's been 'no politics, no drama' after he joined a company with no women. The post has sparked mixed reactions from netizens, igniting a sexism row right ahead of Women's Day 2025. Graphic designer boasts about workplace with no women Anurag Maurya, a Delhi-based graphic designer, took to X on February 28 to share he has recently landed a new job. He added that his workplace does not have any women employees, claiming that it only has men over the age of 40. "No politics, no drama. Apne kaam se kaam (everyone minds their own business)," Anurag said. Finally joined a company with no women, and all my colleagues are 40+ in age. No drama, no politics. Apne kaam se kaam Mauryan (@MauryanPentool) February 28, 2025 When a person in the comments section argued that it's people over 40 who partake in drama, Anurag replied, "Arre nahin mast hai sab (everything is fine)." He then added that all his colleagues, including himself, are married. Maurya, who has previously worked with YouTuber Bhuvan Bam for his YouTube show BB Ki Vines, recently shared a post that he was looking for a full-time graphic designer position in Delhi. While his latest post hints he has landed a new job, he refrained from sharing the name of the company. X post invites backlash Maurya's post has ignited a heated debate on X, with many accusing him of sexism and stereotyping for implying that women are the ones who bring drama to the workplace. One user wrote, "Bhai, politics is not gender based! I guess the only difference is your company won't have to force out a poor pregnant woman." Bhai politics gender based nhi hota! I guess only diff is ur company wont hve to force out a poor pregnant woman Amu$ing_dudette (@AmuDudette) March 1, 2025 Another wrote, "Work is really dull with no diversity. Women give different perspectives that men may not even think of. Sure, work may get done anyway, but it's dull." Work is really dull with no diversity. Women give different perspectives that men may not even think of. Sure, work may get done anyway, but it's dull. shrsddq (@shrsddq) March 2, 2025 A third user added, "Workplace lacks congruency when there are no women. E.g., when in school, if you had an all-boys group for a project, you would achieve nothing or the bare minimum. If there is one girl in the group, suddenly all the boys are alert and working." Workplace lacks congruency when there are no women. Eg when in school you would have an all boys group for a project, you would achieve nothing or the bare minimum. If there is one girl in the group, suddenly all the boys are alert and working. https://t.co/LWv5kK5z0b Praveen Sharma (@commited_indcel) March 2, 2025 Another slammed the alleged sexist nature of the post, writing, "Safe to assume that his mom, if still alive, is still a housewife. Same for wife, if any. Same for daughter, if any. One thing that connects this type of Indian man with their Bangladeshi and Pakistani counterparts is their snowflake fragility." Safe to assume that his mom, if still alive, is still a housewife. Same for wife, if any. Same for daughter, if any. One thing that connects this type of Indian men with their Bangladeshi and Pakistani counterparts is their snowflake fragility. #IndiaBanegaPakistan https://t.co/tELL6gYyRF Mechanical Engineering (@JayCSK10) March 2, 2025 Sir, I was a part of a team of about 20 people with 6 ladies in it, and all of us worked with the same grit and discipline. We cannot generalize in a team. You may be unlucky to not have had team players previously. But believe me, working with ladies in your team is also important, one X user added. One user countered, "There is no difference between a male or female counterpart If he or she is a hardworking person, then he or she will work together; if hard workers find politics, then they will either silently work but professionally or will leave the organization." There is no difference between a male or female counterpart if he or she is hardworking person then he or she will work together if hard workers find politics then they will either silently work but professionally or will leave the organisation. https://t.co/1vhEoil7S2 (@sanakisanatani) March 1, 2025 "Imagine saying nonsense like this in the US. Truly abhorrent," added one user. Imagine saying nonsense like this in the US. Truly abhorrent. https://t.co/r7GLVMXuZP Avi Seth (@UnSethled) March 2, 2025 What are your thoughts on Anurag's post? Let us know. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending. A One Direction reunion didn't happen at the 2025 Brit Awards as earlier speculated, but a touching tribute to the late Liam Payne currently has Directioners, One Direction fans, sobbing. During the Saturday ceremony, the BRITs remembered Payne's contribution to the music world and how he touched many lives in his tragically cut-short life. Payne passed away last year in October at the age of 33. 2025 Brit Awards honour late One Direction member Liam Payne. Host Jack Whitehall took a moment to honour Liam Payne's legacy on Saturday (March 1) at the 2025 Brit Awards. The ceremony paid tribute to Liam's life and legacy with a heartfelt video montage, celebrating his incredible journey with One Direction and as a solo artist with a video montage. Towards the end of the event, Whitehall told the audience that it was time to "take a moment to remember a very special person who meant so much to so many of the people in this room and to millions of you around the world. Last October, we woke to the devastating news that Liam Payne had tragically passed away, he continued. The host added, "He achieved so much in the short time that he was on this Earth and was not only a supremely gifted musician but also an incredibly kind soul who touched the lives of everyone he came into contact with. We have so many amazing memories of Liam here at the Brits. So tonight we celebrate his legacy, look back, and remember the remarkable Liam Payne. The video montage paid tribute to Payne's life, showcasing cherished moments from his time on tour with One Direction, intimate family moments, and even a meeting with the Queen. The video was beautifully soundtracked by One Direction's emotional ballad, Little Things. The #BRITs2025 paying tribute to Liam Payne tonight. ITV1 pic.twitter.com/H0azyWdyrO Remembering Liam Payne (@updatingljp) March 1, 2025 Directioners react to touching Liam Payne tribute at the BRITs Fans of One Direction are pouring their hearts out on social media, especially X, as they react to the emotional tribute to Liam Payne at the BRIT Awards. One fan wrote, "That was so touching, and it made me cry for Liam. He was so young and so talented. I know he is missed by so many, including me!!!" That was so touching, and it made me cry for Liam. He was so young and so talented. I know he is missed by so many, including me!!! Weezie (@whaweez) March 2, 2025 "I cried watching this. Even though we don't see it, Liam (his energy or his soul) will always be here with us. I know it. You meant (still mean) so much for so many people, and we love you. I hope wherever you are, you're safe now. I miss you every day," added another. I cried watching this. Even tough we don't see it, Liam (his energy or his soul) will always be here with us. I know it. You meant (still mean) so much for so many people and we love you. I hope wherever you are you're save now. I miss you everyday Adenif will see Louis!! (@_cherrychair_) March 1, 2025 One emotional fan penned, "I thought I would be sad, but dude, that made me cry. I think the most touching part to me is he was someones family; he will never be forgotten." I thought I would be sad but dude that made me cry. I think the most touching part to me is he was someones family he will never be forgotten Jessica (@jessica_gonzo25) March 2, 2025 "A beautiful tribute. Still hard to believe hes not here. Gonna go have a cry now," added another fan. a beautiful tribute still hard to believe hes not here gonna go have a cry now , danielle (@spreadalotofluv) March 1, 2025 Check out more reactions below: bro I miss one direction so much they filled my childhood with so much fun and excitement. one of the best memories will always be attending one of their concerts. what a timeeee RIP Liam Payne #BRITs2025 pic.twitter.com/8xI8dhFmWK psychopomp. (she/her) (@nowwhyami_innit) March 1, 2025 The Brits Award Tribute for Liam Payne It's so hard to watch You should be here to see all the love we have for you Liam, Rest in Paradise We love you so much pic.twitter.com/nQZNxbjt17 Dannii (@ForeverLouis_28) March 1, 2025 Liam Payne truly was an old soul trapped in a young body. Like all of us he was fightin his demons the difference being his were more public & scrutinised more. The industry needs to be a reminder that theres no safeguarding in place which needs to change.#BRITs2025 #Brits pic.twitter.com/Z1uEwL5XGw A.Angels (@AAngels05) March 1, 2025 He should be up for a Brit Award tonight, not a posthumous homage... The music industry is too used to using and destroying pure souls who have never known how to deal with human evil. Liam Payne you won't EVER be forgotten. I love you forever.#JusticeForLiam Nise_LJPM #JusticeForLiam (@Nise_ZIAM) March 1, 2025 Louis Tomlinson thanks BRITs for Liam Payne tribute After the BRIT Awards broadcast, Louis Tomlinson took to X to express his gratitude for the heartfelt tribute to his late bandmate, Liam Payne. "Beautiful tribute. Miss you always, brother x." Liam Payne died on October 16, 2024, after he fell from the balcony of a hotel room in Buenos Aires. His death case is still being investigated by the Argentinian officials. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. In a heartwarming display of family support, the parents of BTS members Suga, RM, and Jungkook attended J-Hope's solo concert in Seoul on March 1. The special appearance came as J-Hope embarked on his solo tour, which kicked off on February 28. Videos of the proud parents cheering on J-Hope have gone viral, melting the hearts of fans worldwide. The moment highlighted the strong family bonds within the BTS circle, transcending even the group's current hiatus due to military service. The BTS parents' reunion has left ARMYs beaming with joy, celebrating these beautiful little things that make BTS so special. Bangtan parents at J-Hope's concert A heartwarming and beautiful moment has taken over Instagram, as a video of BTS members RM, Jin, Suga, and Jungkook's parents attending J-Hope's concert has gone viral. In the video, the fathers of RM, Jin, Suga, and Jungkook are seen sitting side by side, visibly enjoying the concert and soaking in the vibrant energy of the performance. The mothers of RM, Jin, Suga, and Jungkook sit in front of them, equally captivated, with Suga's mom even carrying the Army bomb. ARMYs react to parents attending J-Hope's concert. This adorable video has made ARMYs worldwide emotional, who have been waiting for a BTS reunion. "They sent their parents knowing that they couldn't be there to cheer for him; this is called brotherhood," one fan wrote. Another fan commented, "This makes me even more emotional than the tannies coming. What kind of amazing support system do they have? Freaking amazing! 8 parents out of 14 and your own arent included. Very impressive. I also never really saw Jins parents like this. They all look so much like their parents. Genes are wild." "Father's in one row and mother's in another row, all sitting together, cheering together for their son," wrote a third fan. "Seeing their parents sitting together makes me so emotional; I'm so glad they're all one big family and support each other's kidsit's so cool!" one wrote. One ARMY added, "He is supported by parents...because the members are unable to come. This is so heartwarming...love you, Hobi...the hope for real...". When RM revealed his and Jin's parents are best friends In 2021, right after their Map of the Soul World Tour was cancelled in the wake of the restrictions posed by Covid-19, BTS members RM and Jin held VLive for fans to keep them encouraged. During the live, the duo also dished out on their familial bonds, revealing how their dads are basically best friends, and their moms love to talk on the phone for hours. Earlier, their parents had attended BangBangCon 2020 together. About J-Hope's World Tour J-Hope is set to embark on an extensive world tour, visiting 15 cities across the globe. The highly anticipated tour kicked off in Seoul on February 28. The K-pop sensation will then travel to North America, performing double nights at prominent arenas in Brooklyn, Chicago, Mexico City, San Antonio, Oakland, and Los Angeles. The tour will also make stops in Manila, Saitama, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Macau, and Taipei, before concluding with back-to-back shows in Osaka on May 31 and June 1. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Wall Street is betting on a quick end to Russia's war against Ukraine, as evidenced by the drop in Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics shares by more than 20% in less than six months. Investors believe that the United States may face problems of overproduction if the supply of weapons to Ukraine is stopped. ADVERTISIMENT This is evidenced by the main shares of the American military-industrial complex. They are considered to be "bets" on the war, i.e., that the US will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. The general state of financial markets, including company stocks, is closely linked to global political and military events. Investors often place their bets based on forecasts of how the world will develop. One such example is investors' attitudes toward the war between Russia and Ukraine and the military situation in Israel. Recent changes in the stock markets, especially among the shares of the largest US arms suppliers, allow us to draw important conclusions about how the financial community sees the future of military conflicts. One of the main indicators for assessing investors' expectations is the dynamics of the shares of leading American arms companies. We are talking about such giants as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing and others. In recent years, their stocks have suffered a significant drop. This was especially noticeable after the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Since the beginning of his presidency, traders, as well as large investors, have been questioning the duration of the war in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT In particular, the shares of such flagships of the military industry as Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics have lost more than 20% of their value in six months. This sends a clear signal to the market: investors have begun to believe that the war between Russia and Ukraine is nearing an end. For arms producers such as these companies, this could mean a significant loss of profits due to lower demand for weapons, as investors do not expect new deliveries or large orders if the fighting stops. Given this situation, it can be argued that, based on the changes in the shares of these companies, investors are betting on a quick end to the war. If this prediction comes true, U.S. arms manufacturers may face problems in the form of overproduction and a decline in demand for their products. In this case, they will have to look for new markets or adapt their production to other needs. ADVERTISIMENT However, the situation on the stock markets is not always as clear as in the case of Ukraine. As for Israel, the situation looks somewhat different. One of the companies that attracts the attention of investors is Raytheon, known for its defense activities. This company is considered a "bet" on a possible military escalation in the region, in particular, on a possible conflict with Iran. Investors view Raytheon as a key player in the market of arms supplies to Israel. However, unlike the US military-industrial complex, Raytheon's shares do not show a decline, but, on the contrary, demonstrate steady growth. This indicates that investors expect the Pentagon to continue supporting Israel in its defense efforts. Moreover, given the instability in the region, these expectations may include a possible increase in military aid to Israel, which in turn stimulates the growth of demand for equipment and weapons for this country. Investors may also believe that U.S. military aid to Israel will not stop in the near future, which will contribute to the stability of Raytheon shares. This increase in share price may be due to a likely increase in the supply of military equipment, as well as to predictions of further military action in the region, which may lead to an increase in demand for the company's products. As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, a player of the American online casino DraftKings won $9.28 million. This jackpot has already been called the largest jackpot in the history of the iGaming industry in the United States. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has initiated an urgent probe into the violent clashes in Egbedi town after reports and videos of unrest emerges online. He reaffirmed the general populace of the Egbedi community of the governments steadfast commitment to safeguarding lives and property, pledging swift and decisive action to restore peace and stability in the community. In a statement released by the Governors spokesperson Olawale Rasheed on Friday, he stated that The governor have tasked the Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and the Special Adviser on Security Matters to probe the incident and swiftly restore peace. Advertisement The situation requires urgent attention, and I have instructed the relevant officials to ensure calm is restored through an inclusive conflict resolution process. Expressing disapproval over the unrest, the governor called for immediate action to prevent further escalation and ensure those responsible are held accountable. Adeleke also dismissed claims suggesting the state governments involvement, warning against politicising the incident. We should avoid politicising every incident. I have no gun-wielding appointee. I didnt send anybody to foment communal crisis. We will get to the root of the matter . The governor reaffirmed his administrations commitment to upholding peace and justice, promising a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter. Adeleke assured the Elegbedi of Egbedi, local chiefs and the communitys residents that those found guilty of instigating violence would face the full weight of the law. He equally urged all parties to remain calm and cooperate with investigators as they work towards a peaceful resolution. Husband of Kogi Central lawmaker, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Emmanuel Uduaghan has issued warning to individuals involving in his wife dispute with Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Mr. Akpoti-Uduaghan on Saturday, raised concerns over the alleged continued harassment of his wife by Senator Akpabio, despite an earlier agreement to settle the matter amicably. He added that he initially refrained from addressing the controversy but felt compelled to speak due to recent developments that he said were diverting attention from the core allegations. Advertisement Mr. Akpoti-Uduaghan said: Without prejudice to the ongoing legal proceedings, I wish to emphasize that my wife was duly elected by her people due to the immense love, respect, and confidence they have in her. She is committed to delivering quality representation to her district and the nation at large. I would never trade her for anything, as she is the greatest joy of my life. My wife has confided in me about her interactions with the Senate President, whom I considered a family friend. In response, I approached the matter with the utmost maturity and responsibility, as it is my duty as a traditional leader who has immense respect for constituted authority and upholds core family values, foster peace and harmony. READ MORE: Help Your Sanity, Let Your Husband Clear His Name Senator Natasha Warns Akpabios Wife I personally met with the Senate President and respectfully urged him to extend the courtesy and respect my wife deserves, while also honoring the friendship between us. We reached an understanding and agreed to resolve the issue amicably. However, despite this agreement, my wife continues to express concerns about the harassment she has endured from the Senate President. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the female lawmaker has been receiving several backlashes after accusing Senator Akpabio of sexual harassment. Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos State has denied a request by human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, to place a ban on public officers, seeking medical treatment outside the country. INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that in July 2010, Mr. Falana sought a court order directing the government to repair and equip the hospitals. He also called for an order restraining public officials from accessing medical checkups in any foreign hospital and being treated at public expense in such hospitals. Advertisement The development is coming amid poor state of medical sector in the country, a trend which has claimed many lives. Mr Falana in his quest to achieve the ban on public officers over the medical trip, dragged Federal Government before the trial court seeking among other things a declaration that Nigerians are entitled to the best attainable state of physical and mental health as guaranteed by law. He added that failure of the Government to repair and equip public hospitals and medical centres in the country constitutes a violation of the right to protect the health of Nigerians and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick. It was learnt that the trial court, after considering the issues, struck out the suit on the ground that the provision of adequate medical and health facilities is not justiciable by virtue of section 6 (6) (C) of the constitution. READ MORE: Buhari Postpones Medical Trip To UK Dissatisfied with this judgment, Mr. Falana appealed in 2021 and in a unanimous judgment delivered Jan. 30th, 2025, the court of appeal agreed with the trial court that, the right to adequate medical facilities in Nigeria is part of the Fundamental Objective and Directive Principles of State Policy, and is therefore non justiciable. The court, in a judgment read by Justice Polycarp Terna Kwahar on behalf of the three man panel of justices on Saturday, said: It is very obvious that the right to adequate medical facilities does not come under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution [as amended], so It will therefore be anachronistic to leapfrog this human right into fundamental right. Notwithstanding that there are cases where the right to life is expanded to include the right to food and shelter, however, since the issue before me is on medical or health matters, I shall not go on frolic to analyse the issue of right to food and shelter in this appeal. How would the matter of Public Officers treatment outside Nigeria be an issue that is linked with the fundamental right of the Appellant. On the contrary, it will be an infringement or breach on the Fundamental Right of Nigerians, be they Public Officers or not, to prevent them from seeking medical attention outside Nigeria when the need arises, this Court will therefore be draconian to grant the prayers. The Osun State Government has relaxed the curfew imposed on Ifon-Orolu and Ilobu communities following communal clashes earlier this year. Initially set from 7 pm to 7 am, the curfew has been adjusted to 10 pm to 4 am, effective March 2, 2025. According to a statement by Kolapo Alimi, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment on Sunday, the decision to relax the curfew by the state government follows gradual return of peace and harmony between the warring communities. The statement reads, His Excellency, Governor Ademola Adeleke has expressed happiness and satisfaction with the gradual return to peace in the embattled communities of Ifon and Ilobu over land disputes. Advertisement Though not yet 100% return to peace, Governor Adeleke however, expressed conviction that, it is just a matter of time for total peace to be attained in the communities. Accordingly, the Governor has directed that the initial 7pm to 7am curfew imposed on the two communities by his administration in the wake of the crisis on the 16th day of January 2025 be relaxed from the hitherto 12 hours to 6 hours daily, beginning from 10pm to 4am with effect from today, Sunday 2nd day of March, 2025 until total peace is seen and noted to have been returned. Furthermore, Mr Governor has directed the contingent of all security personnel, including the Nigeria Army, Nigeria Police, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to continue to maintain a 24 hour surveillance in the warring communities. All stakeholders in the communities are further advised to cooperate with the State Government to resolve the issues amicably. Finally, His Excellency urges all sons and daughters of the two communities, including their traditional rulers and other interested stakeholders, to use the period of the ongoing holy month of Ramadan to pray for lasting peace and harmony . Mr Governor equally renewed his earlier appeal and warning that, anyone or group of persons found or caught doing or masterminding any further breakdown of law and order to truncate the level of peace being gradually achieved in the two communities will be made to face the full wrath of the law. The government has also mandated security agencies to maintain 24-hour surveillance to ensure sustained stability. The adjustment aims to ease restrictions on residents while prioritizing safety. High Chief Emmanuel, the husband of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has publicly supported his wife amid her allegations against Nigerian Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In a recent statement, High Chief Emmanuel revealed that he personally confronted Akpabio, urging him to stop sexually harassing his wife. He claimed that despite an initial agreement with Akpabio to respect Senator Natasha, the harassment has continued. This revelation adds weight to Senator Natashas allegations, which have sparked widespread debate and scrutiny. High Chief Emmanuels decision to speak out underscores the seriousness of the issue and his commitment to standing by his wife. Advertisement The allegations against Akpabio have raised questions about accountability and conduct within Nigerias political leadership. In a statement on Saturday, Uduaghan confirmed that Akpabio made sexual advances at his wife, Natasha. According to him, he personally met Akpabio to stop harassing his wife sexually. He added that despite an agreement by Akpabio to respect his wife, the issue had persisted. My wife has confided in me about her interactions with the Senate President, whom I considered a family friend. In response, I approached the matter with the utmost maturity and responsibility, as it is my duty as a traditional leader who has immense respect for constituted authority and upholds core family values to foster peace and harmony. I personally met with the Senate President and respectfully urged him to extend the courtesy and respect my wife deserves while also honouring the friendship between us. We reached an understanding and agreed to resolve the issue amicably. However, despite this agreement, my wife continued to express concerns about the harassment she has endured from the Senate President. I have unwavering faith in my wifes loyalty and am fully committed to our marriage, which is grounded in love, compassion, and mutual respect. I would never trade her for anything, as she is the greatest joy of my life. I now respectfully urge the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senate President to treat my beloved wife with the respect and dignity she truly deserves while the relevant authorities and the court determine the underlying issues, . The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to upgrading power infrastructure to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply, particularly during Ramadan. Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made this statement on Saturday in Abuja while marking the 2025 Ramadan fast. He described Ramadan as a period of spiritual reflection, self-discipline, and devotion, emphasizing that the government remained dedicated to improving the well-being of Nigerians Mr. Adelabu assured citizens that the government was working tirelessly to upgrade power infrastructure, stabilize the national grid, and expand electricity access nationwide. Advertisement He acknowledged the ongoing challenges in power supply but stressed that efforts were being made to find lasting solutions. I understand that the observance of Ramadan often requires increased energy consumption, especially during the pre-dawn (Suhoor) and post-sunset (Iftar) meals, as well as during nightly prayers (Taraweeh). I want to assure the Muslim community that the Ministry of Power is working tirelessly to ensure stable and reliable power supply during this holy month and beyond. Our goal is to ensure that every household can observe Ramadan with comfort and dignity, Nigeria is a nation blessed with diversity, it is through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation that we can overcome our challenges and build a brighter future for future generations. Let us use this holy month to foster peace, tolerance, and goodwill within our communities and to pray for the progress and prosperity of our beloved country. To our Muslim brothers and sisters, I urge you to take advantage of this sacred month to pray for Nigerias peace, stability, and development. Let us beseech Allah (SWT) to guide our leaders, strengthen our institutions, and bless our nation with abundant resources and opportunities. A lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has issued warning to Ekaette Akpabio, wife of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, not to involve herself in the ongoing allegations against her husband. Recall that Senator Natasha, in a recent interview on Arise TV, accused Senate President of making sexual advances toward her at both his office and residence in Akwa Ibom. Reacting to the allegation, Mrs. Akpabio defended her husband, calling the accusation lie and asserting that he is a disciplined man. Advertisement Following these accusations, Akpabios wife filed fundamental rights and defamation suits against the female lawmaker. However, in a letter dated March 1, Akpoti-Uduaghan, through her lawyer Victor Giwa, urged Ekaette to stay out of the matter. She described the situation as unfortunate and emphasized that she did not wish for the Senate Presidents wife to be involved. The letter reads: Our client is not desirous of calling you out into the unfortunate saga concerning her allegations against the Senate President and wishes that you restrain yourself from delving into the obscene circumstances. While she has tolerated all the harassment from the Senate President, she was constrained to reveal the unfortunate torture and victimization she has endured in the Red Chambers. READ MORE: Saraki Calls For Transparent Investigation Into Akpabio-Natasha Dispute Stay Away from Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghans Sexual Harassment and Intimidation Allegation Against Sen. President Godswill Akpabio; To Safeguard Your Sanity and That of Your Family. Consequently, we would like to state that the allegations of our client are personal to the Senate President, and our client believes the Senate President has the capacity to defend himself and refute any of these allegations against him. Our client has concrete evidence to substantiate her allegations. We will suggest that you leave the defense of the allegations for the Senate President to maintain your sanity and that of your family. Our client remains resolute in the defense of Nigerian women and as a family woman, she will continue to maintain our common heritage and family values. Chairman of Governance Advisory Council in Lagos State, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, has blamed members of the states house of Assembly over the ongoing leadership crisis in the state. Reacting to the removal of former speaker Mudashiru Obasa and electing Mojisola Meranda on January 13, 2025, the GAC Chairman stated that lawmakers have no absolute powers to remove or install their leaders. Prince Tajudeen noted that neither the GAC nor the party was consulted before the House of Assembly took their decision. Advertisement INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that in the last few days, crisis had rocked the Lagos State House of Assembly, seeing the impeached speaker, Obasa, invading the Assemblys complex with armed security, including his four loyalists to preside over plenary session. The lawmaker representing Agege constituency 1, insisted that his removal as a speaker was illegal, adding that due process must take place before anyone can succeed in removing him. Speaking on Saturday over the development, GAC Chairman, during an interview with newsmen in Lagos State, said that proper consultation must be taken before the Assembly could remove or elect its leaders. Prince Tajudeen said: Members of the GAC are not members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to allegedly be behind the removal of Obasa. It cant be true. We read it also that morning. The lawmakers carried it out without consulting the party and those of us in the GAC. That is our position. We invited all of them and insisted that all of them are products of the party. They lodged their complaints and we listened to them. READ MORE: Meranda Slams Obasas Inversion Into Lagos Assembly Complex, Says Security Escorts Not Fully Restored I blamed them for one thing and that is for not lodging the complaints earlier before the party. It is for the party to decide, they (lawmakers) have no absolute power to remove and install their leaders. Nobody can become a member of the House of Assembly unless sponsored by a political party and the sponsors are the inspectors. The problem is the speaker (Obasa) and his colleagues which had led to his removal. It is a disputer among them. Currently, there is a high powered committee of the party led by Chief Bisi Akande and members, including Aremo Olusegun Osoba, and former APC National Vice Chairman, South-west, Chief Pius Akinyelure and others, They are working and making efforts to resolve the matter. I know they are in consultation with the House of Assembly, Obasa and the other Speaker, Mrs Mojisola Lasbat Meranda. Those of us in the GAC and the Chairman of the Party, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi are doing all within our power to assist the committee. Controversial socio-political analyst, Reno Omokri has claimed that lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan had accused him over sexual assault. INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the development is coming, amid ongoing dispute between Senator Natasha and Senate President, Godswil Akpabio, over alleged sexual harassment. Sharing his experience on Saturday, in a post shared via his Facebook page, Omokri explained how an issue between him and an acquittance of Natasha triggered the allegation. Advertisement The former presidential aide noted that he was able to prove his innocence because of the evidence presented that he was not in Nigeria at the time which his accuser claimed that the incident happened. He said: I have been inundated with calls from almost all major media outlets in Nigeria to interview me about the issues involving the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and Senator Natasha Akpoti. READ MORE: Senator Natasha Accuses Akpabio Of Sexual Harassment These media organisations wanted my take, seeing that I was once accused by Senator Natasha Akpoti of the exact grave allegations that she is now accusing the Senate President of. Against my will, I have been trending on various social media platforms, and for the sake of my family, it would be best to put this matter to rest. Rather than speak with multiple media outlets, perhaps I can ease the pressure on me by putting out this statement. I do not know if what Senator Natasha Akpoti accused the Senate President of is true, as I was not physically present when the alleged events took place. However, I can testify that Senator Natasha Akpoti once had an altercation with me on social media over a post where a woman made advances at me and I rejected her and stated that my wife is a beauty queen and is more than enough for me. Apparently the woman is or was a friend of Senator Akpoti. And after I had scorned her friends advances, Senator Akpoti accused me of sexually harassing her at Aso Rock Presidential Villa, during a reception held for the visiting Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, when he visited Nigeria between May 4 and May 7 2014. Unfortunately for Senator Akpoti, during those dates, I was sent to the United States of America as President Jonathans special envoy. I met and was photographed with multiple U.S. officials, including State Department officials, in Washington, D.C. I then published a First Class British Airways ticket and my passport (which was a different class of passport from the regular Nigerian passport and requires a special kind of stamp), proving that I was not in Nigeria on the dates Senator Akpoti alleged I sexually harassed her. After I published that evidence, Miss Natasha Akpoti, as she then was, deleted every trace of her allegations against me and the video she had made insulting me, my wife and my newborn daughter. As I was pondering the next steps to take, a very influential and respectable man from my ethnic nationality, reached out to a prominent Christian clergyman, who mediated between him and I. The gentleman greeted me in my mother tongue, Itsekiri, and was most gentlemanly and expressed regrets over the incident, and I was prevailed on by the clergyman to reach an out-of-court settlement. Thereafter, I dropped the matter since my name had been cleared, and the out-of-court settlement was adequate. That is the extent of my encounter with Senator Natasha Akpoti. I hope the media can now leave me alone, as I am reluctant to grant any interviews or get entangled in this matter, seeing as I have the highest respect for the man who reached out to me to settle the matter. As for the Senate, I have the highest respect and confidence in that institution and its leadership and believe that the right thing to do would be to institute a Senate investigation by the appropriate committee to determine the veracity of the present allegations. Pan Niger Delta Youths has condemned Supreme Court over its recent verdict on Central Bank of Nigeria to seize Rivers allocation. PANDYEF in a statement on Saturday, by its Spokesman Chika Adiele, described the apex Courts judgement as an economic sabotage to the people of the state. The group noted that the court verdict was capable of truncating the peace and sustainable development being provided by the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara. Advertisement PANDYEF also cautioned that judiciary would be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order in Rivers State following the judgment of the apex courts directive that the CBN should withhold the monthly allocation of the state. The statement reads: The attention of the Pan Niger Delta Youths under the leadership of Maobu Nangi Obu, is shocked at the verdict by the Supreme Court of Nigeria ordering seizure of Rivers Allocation is nothing short of economic sabotage against Rivers people. READ MORE: Supreme Court Upholds EFCCs Legality, Dismisses 19 States Suit The Pan Niger Delta Youths, the apex Niger Delta youths body, is dismayed by the infantile antics of anti-democratic forces whose stock in trade is brewing crisis in a bid to topple the peoples governor. We firmly condemn this judgment as it is against the tenet of the constitution of Nigeria. It is an invitation for war and against equity, justice and fair play. We equally condemn the order nullifying the local government election as reckless and vindictive. We reiterate boldly once again that anyone, no matter how highly placed, will face fierce resistance by the majority of Rivers people. Let justice prevail. STATEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA ON CHINESE NETIZENS' SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ON FALSE CLAIMS OVER PALAWAN Lahat na lang, our territorial waters, aerospace at ngayon pati probinsya, inaangkin nila. This latest baseless and inaccessible historical fiction, as asserted by our National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), on Chinese social media platforms over the jurisdiction and ownership of Palawan Island is a blatant affront to our nation's sovereignty and another reckless distortion of historical truth. Palawan was never part of China and the NHCP clearly asserted these false claims circulating in Chinese social media platforms emphasizing its being devoid of any credible historical or legal foundation. Isa na namang fake news ito na pinapakalat nila at mabuti na lang ay maagap ang NHCP sa pag call out sa hindi kapani-paniwala at hinugot sa hangin na salaysay. I call on our government agencies to remain vigilant against dissemination of any form of disinformation or fringe propaganda challenging our territorial sovereignty. Sa atin ang Palawan at malinaw na malinaw ito. No amount of internet trolling can change or rewrite history and create confusion to influence public perception. In Kherson, on the afternoon of March 2, Russian troops dropped a drone on a minibus with passengers. One person was killed, and 10 others sustained injuries of varying degrees and were hospitalized. ADVERTISIMENT The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office announced that a pre-trial investigation into the commission of a war crime (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been initiated. "Prosecutors together with investigators continue to document war crimes committed by the military of the Russian Armed Forces," the office said. The head of the Military Investigative Department, Oleksandr Prokudin, clarified that a 53-year-old woman sustained fatal injuries. Among the victims are men aged 19, 56, 58, 64 and 72 and women aged 58, 61 and 66, 69 and 73. They were diagnosed with mine-blast traumas and shrapnel wounds (in particular, of the head, neck, forearms, chest, back, hips, hands, and shins). ADVERTISIMENT Police said an enemy UAV once again attacked civilian transportation around noon. "The enemy insidiously hit a shuttle bus at a bus stop in the Dniprovsky district of Kherson. After the explosion, the driver directed the bus to a medical facility so that the victims could receive the necessary assistance as soon as possible," law enforcement officials provided details. One of the men is in serious condition. Caution, photo is 18+! As OBOZ.UA previously wrote, 18-year-old Oleksandr Yakushchenko, who lived in an orphanage near Kherson before the full-scale war, was taken from Ukraine to the territory of the aggressor country by the occupiers. The young man committed suicide in a foster home in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. The teenager was found hanging a few kilometers from his home. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has apprehend a 42-year-old Angola businessman, identified as Mbala Abuba, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano State. It was gathered that Abuba was caught attempting to traffic 120 wraps of cocaine, which he had ingested, to Istanbul, Turkey. He was arrested on Tuesday, February 25, at the screening point of the Kano airport while trying to board an Egypt Air flight MS 880 to Istanbul via Cairo. Advertisement In a statement by Spokesman for NDLEA, Femi Babafemi on Sunday, disclosed that a body scan confirmed he had ingested illicit drugs. READ MORE: NDLEA Nabs Thai Lady At Lagos Airport With Illicit Drugs Mr. Babafemi also added that the suspect was then placed under excretion observation, during which he expelled 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilograms in seven excretions. The statement reads: After his body scan result confirmed he ingested illicit drug, he was thereafter placed under excretion observation during which he expelled 120 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.829 kilograms in seven excretions. In his statement, the suspect claimed he was into the business of township delivery services in Angola before delving into the illicit drug trade. At least two travellers have been killed in an accident that occurred along the Sagamu-Ikorodu Expressway. INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that the horrible incident happened on Saturday night, leaving other travellers with degrees of injuries. In a statement by Commandant General of Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, Seni Ogunyemi, disclosed that a DAF truck suffered a brake failure, causing it to hit two cars. Advertisement Mr. Ogunyemi noted that the impact of the collision caused the cars to ram under another truck ahead of them. READ MORE: Driver, Pedestrian Die In Tragic Ogun, Lagos Accidents The statement reads: A reported case of a fatal road traffic accident just occurred at Ogijo, in front of Ile Oba, on the Sagamu-Ikorodu Highway, inbound Sagamu, involving a DAF truck, a Mack truck, a Solara jeep, and a Toyota Camry. The DAF truck suffered a brake failure, hitting the two cars from behind and forcing them under a moving Mack truck. In the process, many were injured, and two were presumed dead. The presumed dead were taken to the General Hospital morgue in Ikorodu, while the injured were rushed to the Health Centre in Ogijo. The DAF truck suffered a brake failure, hitting the two cars from behind and forcing them under a moving Mack truck. In the process, many were injured, and two were presumed dead. The presumed dead were taken to the General Hospital morgue in Ikorodu, while the injured were rushed to the Health Centre in Ogijo. Traffic is seriously affected. TRACE operatives and Papa Oscar (police) are on the ground managing the situation. Tow services have been contacted for the quick evacuation of the accident vehicles. The Sarkin Sasa, Haruna Maiyasin Katsina, a revered leader and Chairman of the Council of Arewa Traditional Rulers in the 17 southern states of Nigeria, has passed away at the age of 125. He died on Saturday evening at his residence in the Sasa community, Ibadan, located in the Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, known for his wisdom and dedication to fostering unity among diverse communities, Sarkin Sasas leadership left an indelible mark on the region. His passing marks the end of an era, as he was not only a symbol of tradition but also a bridge between cultures. The Southern Arewa community and beyond mourn the loss of a remarkable leader whose legacy will endure for generations. Advertisement in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Kunle Olatunji on saturday he described the late Maiyasin as a staunch advocate of good governance and democracy. He was quoted saying: The Sarkin Sasa is a Well-loved and highly respected personality by his subjects and associates across the country, the Sarkin Sasa, will be sorely missed. He was both a political and spiritual leader to many, endowed with exceptional leadership qualities and a peaceful disposition. We will miss his unwavering support, guidance, and wisdom. My heartfelt condolences go to his immediate family, his subjects, and the Hausa communities across Nigeria, even beyond his traditional jurisdiction. May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdaus, The Ifo police division has apprehended six community leaders and hunters for allegedly targeting and killing cattle belonging to a herder named Usman Abubakar. The suspects include Taiwo Obasa, Gbolahan Abdullahi, Ojo Musiliu, Okwu Odey, Zomisin Lulu, and Abiodun Shoyoye. The suspects are accused of attacking the cattle, leading to the death of four cows, which were butchered and shared among them. Two cows were injured, and four others went missing. Advertisement READ MORE: Sophia Was Sexually Defrauded VeryDarkMan Calls For Justice In Burna Boy Scandal Omolola Odutola, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, confirmed the incident to DAILY POST on Saturday, stating that the command was alerted by Usman Abubakar, the owner of the herds, and that investigations are underway. She said, The Ogun State Police Command is actively investigating an incident reported on February 28, 2025, involving local community leaders and cattle herders in the Ifo area. On February 25, 2025, at approximately 0100 hours, Mr. Usman Abubakar of Olorunsogo Village reported that his herders were moving cattle through Oba Karounwi Village near Ifo when they were confronted by local leaders (Baales) from Obas Gidimo and Oba Oseni, accompanied by hunters. Despite the herders appeals, the group allegedly attacked the cattle, resulting in four cows being killed, butchered, and distributed among the assailants; two cows were injured, and four went missing. According to Odutola, officers from the Ifo division responded quickly to the report and detained the culprits. She revealed that during questioning, Obasa and Abdullahi confessed to seeing the attack and receiving meat from a hunter named Terry, which has been recovered. Odutola mentioned that the involved Baales had previously reported a case of assault by the herders at the Agbado division. She added that, suspecting some deceit in the matter, the Ifo divisional police officer would oversee the investigation. To avoid ethnic tensions, the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, has implemented measures to promote peaceful coexistence. Ogunlowo also called on all parties involved and the public to remain calm and avoid actions that might escalate tensions. He stressed that the police command is committed to conducting a comprehensive and fair investigation to ensure justice is achieved. The Jigawa State Police Command has apprehended three suspects in relation to the murder of 19-year-old Ahmad Abdullahi, which stemmed from a 400,000 fraud case. SP Shiisu Adam, the commands spokesperson, confirmed this in a statement released in Dutse on Saturday. The statement revealed that the suspectsMalam Adamu Aliyu (30), Malam Mukhtar Abdulmumin (37), and Malam Nafiu Ibrahim (80)were arrested in Illela town, Sokoto State, on February 8, 2025. Advertisement READ MORE: Six Community Leaders, Hunters Detained For Allegedly Slaughtering Herders Cattle In Ogun Police investigations revealed that the trio allegedly conspired to defraud Abdullahi of 400,000. When he demanded his money back, they lured him to a riverside in Hadejia town, strangled him, and disposed of his body in the river. After committing the crime, the suspects fled to the Niger Republic to evade arrest, but through intelligence gathering and collaboration with security agencies, they were tracked down and brought back to Jigawa State, SP Shiisu said. He promised the public that justice would be served. The case has been charged to court, and the suspects will face the full wrath of the law. This image released by A24 shows Adrien Brody, center, in a scene from "The Brutalist." (Lol Crawley/A24 via AP) Read more Phillys presence will be palpable at tonights Academy Awards thanks to West Phillys own Colman Domingo and director Brady Corbets epic Doylestown-set drama The Brutalist. The Brutalist earned 10 Oscar nominations at this years Academy Awards. Look out for wins in the best picture, production design, music, film editing, original screenplay, cinematography, directing, supporting actress (Felicity Jones), supporting actor (Guy Pearce), and actor (Adrien Brody) categories. Advertisement Only one film, director Jacques Audiards musical crime drama Emilia Perez, topped The Brutalists nominations with 13. The Hollywood adaptation of Broadway hit Wicked also received 10 nominations. Set primarily in Doylestown and Philadelphia, The Brutalist follows Jewish Hungarian architect Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody) following his immigration to the United States in 1947 following the Holocaust. The story centers on Toth working to construct a community center in Doylestown alongside Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), a wealthy industrialist who owns a vast estate in the town. READ MORE: The Brutalist recreates the drama and beauty of mid-century Philadelphia While the film is set locally, it was actually filmed in Hungary. Director and coscreenwriter Brady Corbet told The Inquirer last year that the movie was set in the region because many prominent midcentury designers were based in the Northeast, and Philadelphia remains a hot spot for modern architecture. In January, The Brutalist took home three Golden Globe Awards for best motion picture for drama, best director for a motion picture for Corbet, and best performance by a male actor in a motion picture drama for Adrien Brody. READ MORE: This 1950s pro-Pennsylvania film has a starring role in The Brutalist Brody will also face off against Philadelphia native Colman Domingo at the Academy Awards. Domingo is nominated in the best leading actor category for Sing Sing, in which he portrays John Divine G Whitfield, a central player in the establishment of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program in New Yorks Sing Sing prison. Sing Sing focuses on that program, which produces stage shows with and for incarcerated men. The Inquirer reported last year that the film did not yet have a script when director Greg Kwedar approached Domingo with the role, instead sending him an Esquire article about the program. When I found out about just how important the arts were when it came to rehabilitation, in this container of a prison, I thought it was incredible, Domingo said. And then finding out it had [only] a 3% recidivism rate among the community thats gone through this program, I thought that was outstanding. And I thought they were right, there was some story there. READ MORE: Colman Domingo is a proud West Philly underdog Domingo also received a best actor nomination last year for his role as civil rights icon Bayard Rustin in Netflixs Rustin, but lost out to Oppenheimer lead Cillian Murphy. Now, he faces similarly stiff competition in the category, going up against fellow nominees including Brody, Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice), and Timothee Chalamet for his role as Bob Dylan in the partially Cape May-shot A Complete Unknown. Unfortunately, Cape May locals were none too happy about the Shore towns diminished role in the biopic. The best picture category is also a crowded field. In addition to The Brutalist, other nominees include Emilia Perez, Wicked, and Dune: Part Two. READ MORE: Meet the real Laszlo Toths: 14 mid-century wonders around Philadelphia, and the architects who created them How to watch the 2025 Oscars ABC will broadcast the ceremony live starting at 7 p.m. with Conan OBrien serving as host of the 97th ceremony. It will also be available to stream via ABCs website and app, as well as Hulu, YouTubeTV, FuboTV, and AT&T TV. Full list of Academy Award nominations Best Picture Anora; The Brutalist; A Complete Unknown; Conclave; Dune: Part Two; Emilia Perez; Im Still Here; Nickel Boys; The Substance; Wicked Best Actress Demi Moore, The Substance; Cynthia Erivo, Wicked; Mikey Madison, Anora; Karla Sofia Gascon, Emilia Perez; Fernanda Torres, Im Still Here Best Actor Adrien Brody, The Brutalist; Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown; Colman Domingo, Sing Sing; Ralph Fiennes, Conclave; Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice Best Supporting Actress Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown; Felicity Jones, The Brutalist; Ariana Grande, Wicked; Isabella Rossellini, Conclave; Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez Best Supporting Actor Yura Borisov, Anora; Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain; Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown; Guy Pearce, The Brutalist; Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice Best Director Jacques Audiard, Emilia Perez; Sean Baker, Anora; Brady Corbet, The Brutalist; James Mangold, A Complete Unknown; Coralie Fargeat, The Substance Best Original Song El Mal from Emilia Perez; The Journey from The Six Triple Eight; Like a Bird from Sing Sing; Mi Camino from Emilia Perez; Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late Best Original Score The Brutalist; Emilia Perez; Conclave; Wicked; The Wild Robot Best Sound A Complete Unknown; Dune: Part Two; Emilia Perez; Wicked; The Wild Robot Best Animated Film Flow; Inside Out 2; Memoir of a Snail; Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; The Wild Robot Best International Film Im Still Here, Brazil; The Girl with the Needle, Denmark; Emilia Perez, France; The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Germany; Flow, Latvia Best Cinematography The Brutalist; Dune: Part Two; Emilia Perez; Maria; Nosferatu Best Original Screenplay Anora; The Brutalist; A Real Pain; Sept. 5; The Substance Best Adapted Screenplay A Complete Unknown; Conclave; Emilia Perez; Nickel Boys; Sing Sing Best Documentary Feature Black Box Diaries; No Other Land; Porcelain War; Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat; Sugarcane Best Live Action Short Film A Lien; Anuja; Im Not a Robot; The Last Ranger; The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent Best Animated Short Film Beautiful Men; In the Shadow of the Cypress; Magic Candies; Wander to Wonder; Yuck! Best Documentary Short Film Death by Numbers; I Am Ready, Warden; Incident; Instruments of a Beating Heart; The Only Girl in the Orchestra Best Visual Effects Alien: Romulus; Better Man; Dune: Part Two; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Wicked Production Design The Brutalist; Conclave; Dune: Part Two; Nosferatu; Wicked Best Film Editing Anora; The Brutalist; Conclave; Emilia Perez; Wicked Best Makeup and Hairstyling A Different Man; Emilia Perez; Nosferatu; The Substance; Wicked Best Costume Design A Complete Unknown; Conclave; Gladiator II; Nosferatu; Wicked Steve Pellegrino, 34, an artisanal knife maker whose custom knives were a staple in Philadelphia restaurant kitchens, has died. He was injured in an early morning car crash on Feb. 19 while driving to his home in Upper Black Eddy, Bucks County. Chefs throughout the city expressed shock at the news. I am incredibly heartbroken over this loss, said Chutatip Nok Suntaranon of Kalaya. Not just for myself, but for all of Philadelphia. Advertisement Steve is a beloved craftsman, Michael Solomonov said. There was an intimacy and honesty to working with him in the knife forging world. Its just so sad. Tributes to Mr. Pellegrino flooded the Instagram feeds of Philadelphia chefs, who posted Stories of their most prized kitchen tools and detailed how Mr. Pellegrino worked to create the specific knives they desired. I contacted Steve when I was at Mikes BBQ for a new knife, Fred Muser said. I wanted a combination chopper and slicer, so I could slice brisket, ribs, and chickens without having to waste time switching knives. We decided that it would be a one-of-a-kind prototype as hes never made one like that before. The result was the Frankenslicer, a heavy-duty knife with a long blade, a rounded tip for plating, and a very nonslip handle. He made me a massive swordlike sujihiki, said Jesse Ito of Royal Sushi & Izakaya. He was so acute to all the movements and details things that most people dont pick up on. I will miss him and forever cherish my knives he made me. Steve lived for his work, Rae Pellegrino, his wife, said. All he wanted in life was to create tools that would be used, cherished, and passed down through the generations. A self-taught bladesmith, Mr. Pellegrino grew up in Flemington, N.J. When he was a young boy, he started off by building rockets, his wife said. He always had a curiosity for how things worked and how they came together, the intersection of function and design. Mr. Pellegrino was a graphic designer by training, graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York, where also took shop classes and classes in industrial design. In 2013, he opened a shop in Lambertville, where he did fabrication work, signage, prop design, and set design. There, he began his first forays in knife making. Mr. Pellegrino next worked as an apprentice at Portland Razor Co., a straight razor company in Portland, Ore., where he learned all the technical aspects of creating a sharp blade, his wife said. When Mr. Pellegrino returned to the East Coast, he began making knives on his grandfathers land in Upper Black Eddy. Those early knives looked like hamburgers, he told The Inquirer in 2018. Continuing to hone his skills, he launched Pellegrino Cutlery in 2017, and by 2018, he was supplying knives to chefs including Marc Vetri and Solomonov. To make tools that mean something in someones life, no matter how small a role it plays, is really important to me, he told Fox 29 Philly in January. I dont see myself as an artist, I see myself as a toolmaker. Nothing would bother me more than to hear that someone loved my knife so much they hung it up on a mantel. Mr. Pellegrino was known for his sense of humor and in-person presentation of his work. R. Scott Hanson of the pop-up North by Texas BBQ said he usually delivered finished knives in person, neatly wrapped in black paper with a Band-Aid inside to humorously remind you not to cut yourself and be careful. Ive accomplished so much with this knife, said Matt Budenstein of Liberty Kitchen, who provided a photo of a chefs knife placed on an altar. Steves passion for his craft was and always will be an inspiration in my life. He didnt half-ass anything. He started camp fires with flamethrowers. In July, Mr. Pellegrino opened a workshop in Doylestown, hiring two employees and moving from the single-car garage where he was making knives to a 3,400-square-foot space. He hoped to manufacture knives that could be more affordable to a greater range of customers, specifically line cooks. He was going to scale back on custom pieces and he wanted to be able to make 200 knives a month, his wife said. On Feb. 17, he told his wife that he had installed the power hammer in the workshop, the final piece of equipment the facility needed. Rae Pellegrino expressed a desire to gather Mr. Pellegrinos friends from the maker community to finish a run of knives that he had begun making. He was in the early phases of the first production batch and I would like to see that through for him, she said. Id like to get those knives finished to reach his goal of having a big batch of affordable knives. A GoFundMe started for Mr. Pellegrinos family will remain open. On Feb. 28, Mr. Pellegrino was honored with a flag raising for the gift of donating his organs at the Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton. Mr. Pellegrino is survived by his wife, his parents Linda Ruffa and Donald Pellegrino, a brother, a grandfather, and two dogs, Sumi and Kenzo. A patient who came to a hospital emergency room in Montgomery County was diagnosed with Pennsylvanias first confirmed measles case this year amid a national surge of the highly contagious virus, according to health officials. According to the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Health, an infected patient was seen at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia on Wednesday. No other details about the patient were available Saturday. Advertisement More information will be shared regarding exposure sites, dates and times when available, a spokesperson for the countys public health office said in a written statement. CHOP and the Office of Public Health have been in contact with potentially affected individuals. Measles is a highly infectious virus that spreads through breathing infected air or touching infected surfaces, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness can be especially dangerous for children under 5, pregnant people, and those with weakened immune systems. A measles infection can lead to respiratory failure, inflammation of the brain, and death. The virus can also, in rare cases, cause a yearslong decline of the brain that results in death. Symptoms, which include a high fever, cough, Kopliks spots (lesions on the inner lining of cheeks), and a rash, can appear about a week or two after exposure. The local case is one of 164 across nine states this year as of Thursday, according to the CDCs most recent data. On Wednesday, Texas health officials announced the death of an unvaccinated school-age child in rural West Texas, marking the first measles-related fatality in the nation since 2015. In response to the growing outbreak, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been critical of long-established vaccines, initially expressed minimal concern over the rise in cases. Were following the measles epidemic every day, Kennedy said during President Donald Trumps cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. So its not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year. On Friday, however, Kennedy said in a post on X that ending the outbreak is a top priority and that his heart went out to the families affected. Several measles cases were identified in the Philadelphia region in the 2023-24 winter. Nine people contracted the virus, including five children from a Northeast day-care center. The outbreak began after an infant from another county who contracted the disease while abroad was hospitalized at CHOP. While the United States had eliminated measles in 2000, Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at CHOP, said the ongoing outbreaks are caused by a critical percentage of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children. Based on a new report from Children First PA, the nonmedical exemption rate of Philadelphia kindergartners (those who request vaccination exemptions for reasons other than medical need) quadrupled from 0.6% to 2.4% between 2015 and 2024. Offit said the reason a growing number of families are avoiding the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine is because of the spread of disinformation and the mishandling of cases by figures like Kennedy. You have someone whos the head of Health and Human Services who hasnt stood up and said the one thing you want to hear him say, which is: Get vaccinated and vaccinate your children. Of every 1,000 children who are infected with the disease, between one and three will die, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Nearly 34% of the 164 reported measles cases in 2025 involve children 5 and under, and 48% are between ages 5 and 19, according to the CDC. To prevent the contraction and spread of the disease, health officials highly recommend the MMR vaccine. One dose, which babies can receive when they are a year old, is 93% effective at preventing measles, according to the CDC. Two doses improve that rate to 97%. In Philly, the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is free to all residents at any Philadelphia health center. For an appointment, call (215) 685-2933. Staff writer Abraham Gutman contributed to this article, which contains information from the Associated Press. Michael Jones (left), 35, assistant chief at Abington Fire Company, and Richard Jones, 50, assistant chief, talk about containing the SPS Technologies fire at the Weldon Fire Company in Glenside on Tuesday. Read more Over two decades of fighting fires, never had Michael Jones seen such destruction. The night sky above SPS Technologies was ablaze with a menacing orange glow Feb. 17 as Jones, an assistant chief with the Abington Fire Company, raced with his crew members toward the flames engulfing the hulking factory in the township. Advertisement On the way, the firefighters recounted the training that had prepared them for the possibility of a massive blaze at the 600,000-square-foot manufacturing plant that produced critical bolts and fasteners for aviation companies and the military. But nothing could prepare Jones for the radio call he received in those frantic opening minutes. READ MORE: SPS Technologies was once an anchor in Abington, but the massive fire has prompted questions about its future Six workers remained inside the building. Then, realizing hed misheard the dispatch, Jones heart dropped. Actually, it was 60 people. Smoke continued to consume the structure, creating an ominous cloud that billowed into an even darker winter night. Conditions were deteriorating rapidly, said Jones, tasked with coordinating the search and rescue operation that evening. Just standing outside, looking at those three entrances [fire crews] were going into, you could see that we only probably had minutes before we had to evacuate. Crews extinguished the SPS Technologies fire last Saturday following five days of fighting it. Members of nearly 80 fire companies descended on the Montgomery County community to battle the four-alarm blaze. Many who answered the call are unpaid volunteers, those working everyday jobs in public service or the corporate world. And as Pennsylvania faces a critical shortage of volunteer firefighters, the coordinated, weeklong effort was a Herculean feat in itself. Now those firefighters are sharing their accounts of the chaotic opening moments of a disaster that has decimated the historic factory. Miraculously, no one neither employees nor firefighters was injured or left unaccounted for. Harsh conditions meant Jones crew and other responding companies were only able to last around 15 minutes inside the flaming walls of SPS before having to evacuate. As members of the Abington company made their way to the center of the factory complex where the fire threatened to spread to nearby buildings housing hazardous chemicals they faced walls of smoke that left just several feet of forward visibility. Crews used bolt cutters and brute force to break down doors, while dodging periodic explosions that shook them to their core. Along the way they deployed thermal imaging cameras, searching for heat readings that would hopefully locate the unaccounted for factory workers. But smoke was so thick that it rendered those cameras barely legible, some recounted. You would wipe the lens and get maybe five seconds to pan the room, said Vincent McGurl, assistant chief of the Roslyn Fire Company. Youd keep going to the next section and start over. Meanwhile, the intensity of the explosions coupled with scorching heat made the search particularly fraught. The smoke came down on top of us, said Richard Jones, another assistant chief with the Abington company. You could see the heat rolling over top. Richard Jones and his crew would only make it around 50 to 75 feet inside. His group went left. Bob Woodard, the companys captain, took another group right. We could see nothing, Woodard said, recalling smoke that was down to our knees. The 65-year-olds crew was inside for around 10 minutes, clinging to a search rope that anchored them as they navigated the dense haze. But no employees were found. It felt like an eternity in there, McGurl said. For newer recruits like Ryan Merkel, who joined the Roslyn company in 2023, the experience was a trial by fire. Really, I was following their lead, said Merkel, though the younger firefighter was underselling his role. McGurl said Merkel was instrumental in carrying the blitz line, a stationary hose that doused the flames, affording the crew more time to search before picking up the cannon and moving to the next area. Finally, a call of relief: All 60 employees had managed to safely exit the factory on their own. The bogged-down crews quickly decided to evacuate; their best chance of taming the fire was now from the outside. A tough time for volunteer fighters The SPS fire comes at a critical moment for Pennsylvania fire companies. The state is facing a historic shortage of volunteer fighters, and companies in communities big and small are stuck in a doom loop of understaffing and underfunding. In the 1970s, Pennsylvania once had around 300,000 volunteer firefighters. Today, its around 30,000. Thats because companies are struggling to find younger recruits who can balance volunteer firefightings demanding training load and unpaid duties with a full-time career and other responsibilities. Modern firefighting demands around 200 hours of intensive training. Some who would like to join simply dont have the time. Its a lack of manpower, McGurl said. The numbers are really going down. Its a dying thing. Tom McAneney, chief of the Edge Hill Fire Company and Abingtons director of fire and emergency services, said his company receives around one to two new volunteers per month but those recruits are only filling the place of those leaving the squad. Meanwhile, diminished crews have a tougher time managing a busy calendar of fundraisers that are critical for funding. And equipment costs have only increased coming out of the pandemic. McAneney, standing before a well-polished ladder truck, said his company purchased the vehicle in 2022 for $1.2 million. Today, he estimates the same vehicle would cost $2.5 million or more. The Edge Hill chief now faces another daunting cost: the SPS fire. McAneney said that while some of the firefighters protective equipment had been decontaminated from fire-related toxins, members were wary to put the damaged gear back on. The company is instead pursuing claims through insurance. Still, some firefighters hope that widespread interest in the SPS fire will lead community members to appreciate the work of volunteers and perhaps consider joining themselves. Thats what Merkel, the younger Roslyn company member, did during the pandemic, when he was stuck at home working in corporate asset protection for retailer Burlington and needed an outlet. It is a time commitment, Merkel said, but at the same time, its the most rewarding thing Ive ever done with my life. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he intends to work with France and Ukraine to develop a new plan for a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The head of the British government emphasized that other countries could join this process. ADVERTISIMENT Starmer admitted that the decision was made after a public quarrel between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump at the White House. The British prime minister said this on the BBC. According to him, Britain and France will work on a plan for a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine. The politician also allowed for the participation of several other countries in the process. In addition, Starmer emphasized that European countries want to discuss further actions with the United States. "Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States," Starmer said. Starmer also said that the United States should provide security guarantees if Europe agrees to launch a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT "If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again. That has happened in the past, I think there's a real risk," the British prime minister warned. Starmer noted that he considers it his task to act as a bridge between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States. At the same time, the head of the British government emphasized that he did not consider Zelenskyy's behavior in Washington to be wrong. As a reminder, a summit dedicated to supporting Ukraine will be held in London on March 2. During the event, European politicians want to intensify their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. During the summit, the European countries intend to make decisions on security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Earlier, it was reported that Starmer tried to persuade the US and Ukrainian presidents to return to the negotiating table after their dispute at the White House on February 28. In the end, London "failed" in an attempt to save the Ukrainian-American economic agreement. As reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the signing of a loan agreement between Ukraine and the U.K. This is done to strengthen our defense capabilities, and the loan will be repaid from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The next governor of New Jersey could determine the state's future as a sanctuary state. Read more Amid President Donald Trumps efforts to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and punish governments that dont collaborate with ICE, New Jerseys status as a sanctuary state has emerged as a major issue in the race to win the governorship. One Democratic candidate South Jerseys Steve Sweeney has joined all of the Republicans in the race who say theyll end the policy of limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Advertisement The federal governments going to do what theyre going to do, Sweeney said. " I dont believe in giving people false hope. Otherwise, on the Democratic side, the conversation largely hasnt been about whether to keep the existing policy but rather whether to codify and expand it. As the race moves forward, any candidate who has not made their view entirely clear will face pressure to do so. Sanctuary is not an official term, though it is used by advocates and adversaries alike to refer to cities and states that limit their voluntary cooperation with federal Immigration Control and Enforcement. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphys administration does not embrace the term in the way some jurisdictions do, but that doesnt stop it from becoming a political talking point. Sanctuary state or city does not mean that people are fully protected from the reach of the federal government, said Amol Sinha, executive director of the New Jersey ACLU. It just means that the state isnt going to expend its scarce resources in doing something that is solely the federal governments responsibility. And that is consistent with long-held court precedent and the constitution. On the other hand, some states have anti-sanctuary policies that require such cooperation. The Trump administration has threatened funding for sanctuary jurisdictions and a bill in Congress would also do so. Courts mostly shut down Trumps attempts to deny funding to sanctuary jurisdictions during his first term, but litigation on the issue will continue now that he is back in office. New Jerseys sanctuary state policy When politicians reference New Jerseys sanctuary state policy, theyre referencing the 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive that was implemented by Murphys administration and updated in 2019. Since the policy did not go through the legislature, the next governor-appointed attorney general could end it with the stroke of a pen. The directive limits the states voluntary involvement with ICE for the stated purpose of strengthening trust with local law enforcement so immigrants feel safe reporting crimes. The directive largely prohibits New Jersey police officers from participating in ICE operations, providing ICE with state or local law enforcement resources, or asking someones immigration status unless necessary and relevant to an investigation of their indictable offense. Murphy said the policy uncrosses the wires of immigration enforcement and law enforcement against crimes. If youre here for the right reasons and youre not committing a crime, federal immigration enforcement and authority is just that, with the feds, he said. Thats not our job at the state and local level. He said overturning the policy would be a big mistake, because its worked. But for Republican gubernatorial contenders former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, former conservative radio host Bill Spadea, State Sen. Jon Bramnick, and former State Sen. Ed Durr along with Sweeney, thats exactly what needs to be done. Law and order Courts have repeatedly found sanctuary laws to be legal, but the Trump administration recently launched legal battles with Chicago and Illinois, as well as New York state, over their sanctuary policies. New Jerseys sanctuary policy has survived legal scrutiny, with a federal appeals court determining in April 2021 that it is constitutional. But that hasnt stopped some candidates from framing it as unlawful. Sweeney, the Democrat against the policy, first announced he would repeal the sanctuary directive in the same sentence he said illegal immigrants who commit crimes are not welcome in New Jersey. He has repeatedly suggested the policy is at odds with the law. Were complaining about Donald Trump breaking the law, which we shouldnt let him do, but were going to break the law, too, because were going to say were not going to follow the rules, he told reporters after the Democratic debate in early February. You cant have it both ways. I believe as a nation of laws, you need to follow them. When pressed in an interview about whether New Jersey law enforcement should assist ICE, he said, law enforcement should follow the laws; whatever the law is, it should be followed. Were not gonna be chasing, running around saying, Oh, please, can we help you? he said. But we shouldnt be an obstruction, either. Bramnick, the Republican state senator, similarly suggested at the Republican debate in early February that the directive breaks federal law saying the state needs to follow law and order, and the federal law is that you have to cooperate with the federal government. Bramnick clarified in an interview that he believes its the states responsibility to help the federal government enforce its laws such as by answering ICEs questions about jail detainees but does not know whether its legally required. Look, I feel very badly about certain people who have been here for 30 years, and this is their life, but we have to follow the law as a governor of this state, Bramnick said. A bill to codify and expand the policy Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop have been outspoken about supporting the Immigrant Trust Act, a bill that would codify the states sanctuary directive and expand it. Baraka said at the Democratic debate that you cant say that you support immigrants while not supporting the bill, and Fulop said his support for the bill has been unapologetic. Baraka also said in an interview that it would be stupid to get rid of the policy, in part because of immigrants contributions to the states economy. Sean Spiller, the president of the NJEA teachers union and former mayor of Montclair, was not as gung-ho about the act during the debate but later said in a statement to The Inquirer that he also supports the bill. As an immigrant, and the son of immigrants, I strongly support the Immigrant Trust Act and the Immigrant Trust Directive, said Spiller, who was born in Jamaica. Given the recent actions of Donald Trump, I encourage the legislature to act on this. Nedia Morsy, director of advocacy group Make the Road Action, said it would be devastating if the next governors administration reverses the directive and hopes legislators have the courage to codify it with the bill. Stripping away the Immigrant Trust Directive is handing Trump the keys to deport families, she said. The state has the ability to control its own resources, and should really lean into that power. However, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, of Essex County, argued that codifying the bill could put the states policy back in the hands of an uncertain judicial system and expressed concerns about details of the bill surrounding criminal consequences for those who commit violent offenses. We also know that New Jerseys directive has already withstood judicial review and that additional action, if not precise, could undo important protections which we cannot risk under the Trump administration, she said in a statement. As for whether Sherrill would keep the Trust Directive in place, a spokesperson said that Trump is changing the rules rapidly and that Sherrill would review the states policies and address the circumstances as they exist then. U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who lives in Bergen County, said he supports the directive thats in place but did not comment on the bill. Josh supports the current Jersey policies that boost trust in law enforcement, help protect innocent immigrants, and enable police officers to investigate and solve crimes, his spokesperson Peter Optiz said. Joshs position has been very clear: If the President tries to come into Jersey and round up innocent people in churches and schools, Josh will do everything in his power to protect Jersey families, Optiz said. What would Republicans do to sanctuary cities? Some municipalities in New Jersey have individually declared themselves sanctuary cities, like Barakas city of Newark and Fulops Jersey City. Ciattarelli, the former state representative and GOP gubernatorial candidate, has repeatedly threatened state funding from municipalities that insist on calling themselves sanctuary cities. By not having sanctuary cities or us being a sanctuary state, that means that our local law enforcement communities can work in partnership with any federal agency they see fit to provide for safety in our community, he said at the Republican debate. Former conservative radio host Spadea said his administration will have complete and total cooperation with federal law enforcement when asked about sanctuary cities. He said in a statement that if a local government doesnt cooperate, his administration would call in state police or the National Guard to assist with deportation if necessary. However, he did not say there would be consequences for local jurisdictions who want to identify as sanctuary cities. If a local government chooses not to cooperate, we will not hesitate to utilize all of the tools at our disposal to ensure our federal partners are able to complete their mission, he said. Saturday night's episode of the Tommy Tiernan Show discussed spirituality, the trials and tribulations of being a playwright, and one woman's journey from being born in a direct provision centre to advocating for refugees' rights. Tiernans guests on Saturday included former world champion boxer Chris Eubank, playwright Enda Walsh, and inspirational speaker Elizabeth Zion. In an interview that left some viewers uncomfortable, Chris Eubank spoke to Tiernan about his spiritual journey and attributed his achievements and peaceful demeanor to the spirit within him, which he believes transcends religious labels. Tiernan inquired about specific practices like meditation or religion, but Eubank said he would prefer not to discuss it further, arguing that the inexplicable nature of his personal journey made it difficult to communicate to an audience unfamiliar with spiritual concepts. He suggested that the best way to communicate is through example, citing his conduct and social media presence and claimed that the spirit within him guides his actions and ensures they are always inspiring and never offensive. Eubank recounted his 1991 fight with Michael Watson, where Watson suffered severe injuries that left him in a coma for 40 days. He described the physical and emotional toll of the fight and spoke of the guilt he felt over Watson's condition following the fight. Eubank described himself as a wise fighter, not a tough one, and attributed his success in the ring to his connection with the spirit. When questioned about his ego by Tiernan, Eubank disagreed that he is an egotistical person. What have you seen? I want to know, have I in some way said Im better than you? What are you talking about, ego? What have you seen? Pressing further, Tiernan said: Because youre telling me how egoless you are, which is an expression of ego. In response to Tiernan, Eubank said: If my ego was still in play, I wouldnt be here. When asked about the badge he proudly donned as part of his outfit and the scarf he carried with him into the studio, Eubank mentioned his role as a deputy marshal in Louisiana, speaking to students in schools about chivalry and righteousness. When Tiernan referred to the scarf he brought with him in hand as a blanket, he was quick to correct him, clarifying that it was a scarf. People took to social media during the interview to share their thoughts, with some social media users describing how the interview had left them feeling "uncomfortable" and awkward and others describing Eubank as the most evasive guest who has ever been on Tommy Tiernan. As viewers at home released their shoulders from their ears following the first interview of the night, Tiernans second guest was introduced as playwright Enda Walsh. Walsh spoke with Tiernan about his career and personal life, sharing a poignant story about his wife, whom he met at a theater, and his play inspired by his father. Walsh, who lives in London but spends a lot of time in Galway, spoke about starting stand-up comedy and the financial struggles of being a playwright. He discussed the unexpected success of his play Disco Pigs and how it changed his life, from being on the dole to having productions worldwide. The play had over 40 productions in Germany and was translated into 45 languages. Speaking about his influences and writing style, he shared how he admires Conor McPherson's work, noting his depth and philosophical approach, and humorously contrasted his own play settings with McPherson's. He shared his childhood experiences, including a nervous relationship with his own voice and a supportive English teacher. He also spoke about his chaotic twenties and the support he received from his parents, recounting the typewriter his father bought him. Walsh spoke about a play called Bedbound, which is based on their relationship with their father. He described his father's charismatic and pressured life, running furniture shops during recessions, and explained how his father's behaviour influenced his understanding of theater and character development. So my dad ran a number of furniture shops and its sort of, Ireland every seven years goes through a recession. So, he either had loads of money or he was broke, he said. And having six kids and watching him go through the pressure of that. I think my dad was my introduction to the theatre. He had a shop in Donaghmede, Design Store, and it was an amazing shop, it was huge. I used to rock up with my sandwiches from school that I didnt eat at lunch, and I would sit down watching him sell stuff and watch furniture and all that business. The comedy and the tragedy of the manhe was a shapeshifter and a schmoozer and a charmer. He described the shop floor as his fathers stage and recalled how his father would get up on glass tables and dance. He was a real Delboy sort of guy, he said. He also mentioned his wife and daughter and spoke about the importance of supporting children in their aspirations. He recounted the story of how he met his wife at a party on the night Princess Diana died, and described his wife as incredibly bright, beautiful, and supportive. Walsh also spoke about his health, and shared his fear of Alzheimer's, having seen its impact on their mother and grandmother, and reflected on the emotional toll of his mother's long illness and death. He is currently working on a film reimagining of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and described the creative process and collaboration with producer Barbara Broccoli. Tiernans final guest of the night was Elizabeth Zion, an inspirational speaker and workshop leader, who shared how her faith has shaped her life and why she feels most connected with a partner who shares her Christian beliefs. Born in Clifden, County Galway, to a Nigerian mother seeking asylum, Zion shared her journey from being born in a direct provision center to growing up in Dublin. Her mother, a childcare worker, and her father, who joined them in 2022, faced immigration challenges and Zion experienced moving eight times throughout her childhood. She explained how her mother left Nigeria due to religious persecution and said that in Ireland, her mother sought freedom to worship and better opportunities for her children, including education and employment. Zion spoke about how she identifies as a Christian and believes her faith has been a source of strength and support throughout her life, recounting the challenges of growing up in a lower socioeconomic background and how she experienced homelessness for seven months at the age of 14. She emphasised the importance of her relationship with God and how it has shaped her perspective on life, expressing her commitment to only date Christians, as her faith is central to her life and future plans. When asked by Tiernan if she could ever date a non-Christian, she said: I dont think I could. I think my relationship with the Lord is so important to me. And I think how are we going to raise our kids? I want you to come and enjoy knowing the Lord with me, I want us to pray together, I want us to go to church together. She spoke about representing Ireland for UNICEF and her TED talk on family reunification. She also spoke about advocating for removing bureaucratic barriers to reunification to provide stability for refugees and migrants and shared her strong feelings of empathy for her family members still living in Nigeria and those who have been deported from Ireland. Zion is currently studying politics, international relations, and social justice at UCD and is pursuing a master's in sustainable development. She aims to use her platform to highlight issues faced by migrants and to inspire young people to see their potential. Closing out the show on Saturday night was ROIS performing Caoine, which won best original Folk track at the RTE Radio 1 Folk Awards earlier this week. A bid to convert a hair salon into a casino on Cork Citys northside has been turned down by City Hall. Leeside Leisure Centre Ltd had applied to convert Unit 6 of the Moremiles Business Centre on Redforge Road in Blackpool into a gaming/amusement arcade to complement its two existing casinos located more centrally in Cork City. Objections were lodged against the proposals by the businesses either side of the proposed casino. It included a submission from OConnor Poole Opticians, which wrote it felt it would be completely unsuitable in what is a highly residential area comprised mainly of families and elderly people. We are concerned that a gaming/amusement arcade will encourage antisocial behaviour, it said. From our own point of view as the only optician providing services in this area of the city for the last 18 years, we would fear our loyal customers would be deterred from attending our practice due to the concerns outlined above. Blackpool Travel also lodged a submission and said it requested planning permission be turned down as it was a totally unsuitable area for such a development. It would be impossible for our staff and clients to make a holiday booking with the noise from gaming machines, not to mind the chaos that would ensue outside the door, it said. This change of use would result in anti-social behaviour on our doorstep. A planning inspector for Cork City Council agreed the neighbouring businesses would be disrupted should a casino be permitted to operate there. Given the nature of the adjoining uses I consider that they are likely to be unduly impacted by noise etc should the proposed change of use occur, the inspector said. I also note that the subject site is within 30m of residences on Dublin Hill and is located opposite the Blackpool Library. The inspector recommended permission be refused. In its decision, Cork City Council said the proposed site was in an area that had been zoned for public infrastructure and utilities. It is considered that the proposed use as a gaming / amusement arcade does not conform to the zoning objectives of the area, it said, adding it would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. Last year, Cork City Council also turned down a proposal for a casino in Ballincollig. The council said such a facility was deemed to have a high potential for nuisance in the immediate vicinity. Ireland is to provide hundreds of millions of euro to Ukraine with the Tanaiste warning a failure to do will have a much more devastating cost on European security. It comes as British prime minister Keir Starmer told leaders at an emergency defence summit that they must step up to what is a "once in a generation moment". Mr Starmer also announced a 1.6bn (1.93bn) air missiles package for Ukraine during the summit at Lancaster House, which was attended by European heads of state and Canadian prime minster Justin Trudeau. They welcomed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just two days after an explosive meeting with US president Donald Trump. Leaders agreed a four-point plan including a pledge to maintain military aid and a commitment to establish a "coalition of the willing" to accelerate a peace plan. A number of countries agreed to join the UK and France in sending peacekeepers to defend Ukraine and deter any future invasion by Russia in the event that a peace deal is secured. Calling for further increases in defence spending, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe must "urgently" rearm, adding that Ukraine has to be given the resources to turn it into "a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders". Describing the meeting as "very good", Natos secretary general Mark Rutte said European countries are now stepping up, both in terms of their own spending, and in support for Ukraine. British prime minister Keir Starmer welcomes Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to Lancaster House, London. Picture: Toby Melville/PA He said allies want to make sure that Putin will never, ever again, try to attack Ukraine, which he said will mean "that you will have Europeans active in Ukraine, to make sure that that peace is kept, that its sustainable, that it is enduring, lasting. Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris has confirmed that Ireland is to provide a significant volume of further funding, starting with a 100m package for non-lethal military support, which he will bring to cabinet on Tuesday. "That would basically involve providing money that will be used to purchase things like armoured vehicles that can assist in demining and cyber protection measures, non-lethal use of military equipment," he said. However, Ireland will commit to a much larger tranche of financial aid, which could extend to well over 700m, as part of a wider package due to be agreed by EU leaders when they meet in Brussels on Thursday. Mr Harris said: "Ireland has to pay a little over 2% of the total pot decided by the European Council. So roughly speaking, if 20bn was the figure, it would mean Ireland would have to pay just over 400m. You'd have to go up to 30bn, I think, to see a figure of around 750m, so we need to await the outcome of that. "But can I say this, whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, in terms of the defence of a sovereign country, the largest country on the continent, in Europe. "This is a time now to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN Charter, stand up for freedom. "I can tell you from from engaging intensively with counterparts in the last few days, the consequences of this are well beyond Ukraine, a bad deal, a bad outcome for Ukraine is not just one for Ukraine, it's one for European security," he told RTE's This Week programme. Mr Harris accepted that a "gulf" has now emerged between the US and EU on the issue of Ukraine. He said this was seen both in the Oval office last week, but also at the UN General Assembly, where the US voted with Belarus, Russia, and North Korea, and "not with their European allies". "I think that does give you a sign of the gulf in terms of approach that has developed." He described the encounter between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, after which the Ukrainian president was escorted from the White House, as "deeply unsettling". EirGrid, the operator and developer of Irelands electricity grid, has released new images showing progress on the landmark Celtic Interconnector project , which will allow the exchange of electricity between Ireland and France. Some 15 months into the construction of the 500km subsea link, the company has released aerial photographs showing the scale of progress on the large converter station, which is being built by Siemens Energy at Ballyadam, outside Carrigtwohill in East Cork. The vast complex, located on an 11-acre IDA-owned site, will convert the electricity that comes ashore from France in East Cork from high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology which is used to transfer electricity over long distances to high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) for transfer onwards to a substation in Knockraha for integration into the Irish grid. The Ballyadam complex will also allow the conversion of HVAC electricity generated in Ireland into HVDC for transfer back to France, where a converter station in Brittany will switch it back to HVAC for use in French homes and businesses. Almost all of the HVAC cable has been installed in Cork, with road reinstatement continuing across the route in collaboration with Cork County Council. Trenching and ducting works are also advancing well along the HVDC route, from the coastal landfall site at Youghal to Ballyadam, with an estimated 75% of the work now complete. Michael Mahon, EirGrids chief infrastructure officer, credited the successful advancement of the project to strong collaboration. Meanwhile, work at the subsea cable landfall point at Claycastle Beach in Youghal will pave the way for the commencement of offshore marine cable installation later this year. Once complete, the Celtic Interconnector will allow the exchange of up to 700MW of electricity between the two countries, which is enough to power 450,000 homes. Michael Mahon, EirGrids chief infrastructure officer, credited the successful advancement of the project to strong collaboration. This critical energy project remains on course and that is thanks to the collaboration between teams in both Ireland, and with our colleagues, Reseau de Transport dElectricite, in France. This progress is a reflection of their dedication and expertise, he said. We are also grateful for the continued support of local communities in east Cork, whose input and cooperation have been invaluable in helping us achieve these milestones. And in acknowledgement of that, EirGrids community benefit fund has been established, with the second phase now open for applications. It is estimated that construction will be complete in 2026, and once fully operational, the Celtic Interconnector project will enhance energy security , facilitate renewable energy integration , and serve as Irelands only direct energy connection to an EU member state. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has stood up for his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after a scandalous meeting at the White House. The German leader sharply criticized the behavior of US President Donald Trump during Zelenskyy's visit, noting that what he saw "took his breath away." ADVERTISIMENT Steinmeier emphasized that publicly humiliating negotiating partners in front of the whole world is unacceptable, adding that he could never imagine that Europe would ever have to defend Ukraine from the United States. The German president expressed his thoughts on the Oval Office scandal in an interview with the German news agency dpa, DW reports. Steinmeier, who is usually modest in his diplomatic statements, sharply criticized Trump over the scandalous meeting with Zelenskyy on February 28. "Diplomacy fails when negotiating partners are humiliated in front of the whole world," the German president emphasized. He noted that he could not even imagine such a development and such behavior from the head of the world's most powerful state. "The scene in the White House yesterday took my breath away. I would never have believed that we would one day have to protect Ukraine from the U.S.A," Steinmeier emphasized. The German President emphasized that Europeans remain committed to freedom, democracy and the rule of law. "We must prevent Ukraine from having to accept subjugation," the politician added. According to him, Germany now "urgently needs a strong government" to overcome the unfolding crisis. It has not yet been formed after the recent elections. As a reminder, during a meeting on February 28 in the Oval Office, Zelenskyy and Trump had a heated argument, with US Vice President J.D. Vance taking an active part in the dispute. Afterward, the Ukrainian team left the White House early, and Trump said that Zelenskyy was "not ready for peace." Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! IT WAS as unexpected as the famous upending of that BBC TV report, only not as funny. That report showed Robert Kelly, a professor at Pusan National University, South Korea, in his home office, addressing a camera. He is soberly reporting world events and analysing policy, live, on a serious BBC programme. A US aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea in a show of force, days after North Korea test-launched cruise missiles to demonstrate its counter-attack capabilities. The arrival of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group at the South Korean port of Busan is meant to display a solid US-South Korean military alliance in the face of persistent North Korean threats, and boost inter-operability of the allies combined assets, the South Korean navy said in a statement. It said it is the first US aircraft carrier to travel to South Korea since June. The deployment of the carrier is expected to infuriate North Korea, which views temporary deployments of such powerful US military assets as major security threats. North Korea has responded to some of the past deployments of US aircraft carriers, long-range bombers and nuclear-powered submarines with missile tests. Since his inauguration in January, US President Donald Trump has said he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy. Donald Trump has said he aims to revive diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Luis M Alvarez/AP) North Korea has not directly responded to Mr Trumps overture but alleged US-led hostilities against North Korea have intensified since his inauguration. North Korea said on Friday it test-fired strategic cruise missiles earlier last week to inform its adversaries of its militarys counter-attack capability and the readiness of its nuclear operations. After watching the launches, the Norths fourth missile testing event this year, Mr Kim ordered his military to be fully ready to use its nuclear weapons. Experts say Mr Kim is unlikely to accept Mr Trumps overture anytime soon as he is now focusing on Russia and Ukraine They say Mr Kim could consider resuming diplomacy with Mr Trump when he thinks he cannot maintain his countrys current booming co-operation with Russia Mr Kim and Mr Trump met three times from 2018-19 during Mr Trumps first term to discuss the future of North Koreas nuclear programme. Their high-stakes diplomacy eventually collapsed due to wrangling over US-led economic sanctions on North Korea. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with the King on Monday where he will discuss US president Donald Trumps threats to make Canada the 51st state. Charles has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Mr Trumps threats to annex Canada. Mr Trudeau said in London on Sunday that he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles, and said nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation. Donald Trump meeting Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House (Carl Court/PA) Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. Overall, the anti-royal movement in Canada is small, but the silence of the monarch on Mr Trumps threats have spurred talk in recent days. Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney said for Canadians disappointed that King Charles has not commented on Mr Trumps threats, he can only act on the advice of Canadas prime minister. The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty, Mr Kenney posted on X. The king, who met on Sunday with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, has invited Mr Trump to come to Scotland for a state visit. Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the late Queen, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for 45% of Canadas existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch. Visits by Charles over the years have attracted sparse crowds. Canadians will need to decide what purpose King Charles III serves as King of Canada if he cant even speak up for our sovereignty, Artur Wilczynski, a former Canadian public servant, posted on X. Abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. That is an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 41 million people that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the country refuses to provide Ukraine with financial or military assistance. According to him, Bratislava allegedly does not support the "peace through strength" strategy, considering it only a pretext for prolonging the war. ADVERTISIMENT The pro-Russian Slovak politician voiced his position after the meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States at the White House. The post appeared on his official Facebook page on March 1. In it, Fico stated that Ukraine "does not have sufficient military power" to negotiate from a position of strength. He claims that before the end of the European Union summit on March 6, Slovakia will propose its own initiative for an immediate ceasefire. However, he immediately noted that this approach is not supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and most EU countries. Separately, the head of the Slovak government demanded the resumption of Russian gas transit through Ukraine to Slovakia and Western Europe. He said that the current situation is "absurd" because gas is not being supplied from east to west, and Ukraine, in his words, is "taking European gas." Fico threatened that if the EU summit does not take into account "alternative opinions" on the war, the European Council may not agree on conclusions regarding Ukraine. He also emphasized that Slovakia supports the need to strengthen Europe's defense capabilities. As reported, earlier, Fico wrote an open letter to billionaire Elon Musk, who now heads the US government's Office of Management and Budget. He welcomed the new administration's intention to completely eliminate the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is responsible for non-military U.S. aid to other countries. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Ceasefire Reached Between Kurdish Militants and Turkey After Four Decades Kurdish militants, previously classified as outlaws, have announced a ceasefire with Turkey following a significant appeal from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who urged the group to disband and bring an end to over 40 years of armed conflict. This marks the first response from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since Ocalans call earlier this week for the groups dissolution and the laying down of arms. To facilitate the realization of leader Apos call for peace and a democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective immediately, stated the PKK executive committee, referencing Ocalan, as reported by the pro-PKK ANF news agency. We concur with the essence of this call as it stands, and we commit to its following and implementation, the committee, which operates out of northern Iraq, declared. Kurds in southeastern Turkey react after the PKK leader called on the group to disarm and dissolve Designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, the PKK has engaged in an insurgency since 1984 with the goal of establishing a homeland for Kurds, who represent nearly 20% of Turkeys 85 million citizens. Recently, however, the group has shifted its focus toward seeking increased autonomy and cultural and linguistic rights instead of outright independence. Various efforts to halt the violence, which has resulted in more than 40,000 fatalities, have been made since Ocalans imprisonment in 1999. Following several meetings with Ocalan at his prison on the island, the pro-Kurdish DEM party conveyed his plea for the PKK to disarm and assemble a congress to officially announce its dissolution. The PKK expressed its readiness to convene a congress as Ocalan requested but stressed that a suitable secure environment must be established for this to occur, and Ocalan must personally guide and lead it for the congress success. More stable Syria Moreover, the group emphasized the necessity of improving Ocalans prison conditions, asserting he must be able to live and work in physical freedom and establish unrestricted relationships with anyone he wishes. Experts indicated that reaching a truce with the PKK could be advantageous for both Turkey and Syria, particularly after Bashar al-Assads regime was expelled late last year after a protracted civil war. A peace agreement with the PKK is likely to facilitate the reunification and establish a more stable Syria, stated Anthony Skinner, director of research at Marlow Global, in comments to AFP. This is a central aim for the Turkish government, which is grappling with ongoing challenges like border cross-migration and terrorism, he added. Syrian Kurds demonstrate in 2021 against the Turkish offensive on PKK areas in northern Iraq The Turkish military, which maintains a presence in northern Syria, routinely conducts strikes on areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces deemed terrorists associated with the PKK. Bayram Balci, an analyst at Sciences Po Paris, remarked that the PKK is acutely aware of its waning support as the regional landscape evolves. It no longer enjoys Assads backing, and its support from the Americans has diminished, he noted. The threat from Daesh [IS] is still present, but it is not as formidable as before. Theres also a pronounced sense of fatigue, he added, referring to the IS group. Historic opportunity Since the last peace negotiations broke down in 2015, there has been no further communication with the PKK until October, when a hardline nationalist ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made an unexpected peace overture, conditioned on Ocalan renouncing violence. Mr. Erdogan referred to Ocalans appeal as a historic opportunity, asserting that Turkey would monitor closely to ensure that the discussions aimed at resolving the insurgency were successfully concluded. While Mr. Erdogan endorsed the warming of relations, his administration intensified pressure on opposition figures, detaining hundreds of politicians, activists, and journalists. Iraq has welcomed Ocalans statement, characterizing it as a positive and important step towards regional stability. The PKKs presence in Iraq has consistently strained relations between the Iraqi and Turkish governments. The group occupies positions within Iraqs autonomous Kurdistan region, where Turkey also operates military bases and frequently conducts ground and air operations against the Kurdish militants. The initial phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is nearing its conclusion today, yet discussions concerning the subsequent stage, aimed at establishing a lasting truce, have yet to yield positive results. This ceasefire initiated on January 19, following more than 15 months of conflict triggered by Hamass attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the deadliest incident in the nations history. During the first six-week phase, Gaza militants released 25 living hostages and returned the remains of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. The anticipated second phase of the tenuous truce was meant to facilitate the release of several hostages remaining in Gaza and to lay the groundwork for a more enduring cessation of hostilities. Palestinians in Khan Younis are attempting to clear rubble to celebrate Ramadan. However, this morning, there was no indication of an agreement, and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the group opposed the extension of the first phase in the conditions proposed by the occupation (Israel). He urged mediators to compel the occupation to adhere to the agreement in all its stages. Max Rodenbeck from the International Crisis Group think tank remarked that the commencement of the second phase cannot be expected to happen immediately. But I dont believe the ceasefire will collapse either, he noted. Ceasefire must hold Israels preferred approach, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz, is to release more hostages through an extension of the first phase rather than advancing to a second phase. A Palestinian source involved in the discussions informed AFP that Israel had suggested extending the first phase in successive weekly increments, with the intent of conducting hostage-prisoner exchanges each week, a proposal that Hamas has turned down. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamass assault, 58 remain in Gaza, 34 of whom the Israeli military asserts are deceased. Hamas has, in turn, been advocating strongly for the second phase to commence, especially after incurring significant losses amidst the brutal conflict. A Palestinian child seeks shelter amid rubble in Jabalia, northern Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated yesterday that the Israel-Hamas ceasefire must hold. The coming days are crucial. The parties must exert every effort to prevent a collapse of this agreement, Mr. Guterres emphasized in New York. The truce has allowed increased humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, where according to the United Nations, over 69% of buildings have been damaged or destroyed, nearly the entire populace has been displaced, and widespread hunger has emerged due to the warfare. The Gaza conflict commenced with Hamass October 7 attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,218 individuals, primarily civilians, based on an AFP tally of official data. Israels retaliatory strikes have resulted in the deaths of 48,388 people in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, as reported by the territorys health ministry, a figure that the UN has deemed credible. Nothing but Gods mercy Today marks the beginning of Ramadan for both Gaza and much of the Muslim world, during which adherents observe a fast from dawn until dusk. Within the debris of Gazas war-ravaged neighborhoods, traditional Ramadan lanterns are hung, and people engage in nightly prayers on the eve of the holy month. Ramadan has arrived this year, and we find ourselves on the streets with no shelter, no employment, no finances, nothing, lamented Ali Rajih, a resident of the severely impacted Jabalia camp in northern Gaza. My eight children and I are left homeless, living on the streets of Jabalia camp, with nothing but Gods mercy. Despite the ceasefire largely holding, there have been several Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military claimed yesterday to have targeted two suspects approaching its troops in southern Gaza, where a hospital reported receiving one body as a result of the strike. In exchange for the release of hostages held in Gaza, Israel has freed nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners from its facilities. Additionally, Gaza militants released five Thai hostages outside the terms agreed upon in the ceasefire. Yesterday, the United States announced it has approved the sale of over $3 billion in munitions, bulldozers, and related equipment to its ally Israel. This comes in the wake of a significant military operation initiated by Israel in the occupied West Bank on February 21, two days following the commencement of the Gaza ceasefire. During this operation, the military has demolished numerous homes, and an AFP journalist witnessed an Israeli excavator destroying a house in the largely depopulated Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank. According to the UN, at least 55 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have lost their lives in this operation, which has displaced over 40,000 Palestinians. In the Wake of the Trump-Zelensky Controversy, Europe Must Consider Its Security Alternatives The very public disagreement between US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday is poised to be remembered as one of the most regrettable political press events in recent history. The exchange felt like a public ambush, with Mr. Zelensky responding to Mr. Vances claim that Ukraines current need is diplomacy. The body language, characterized by raised hands from Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance, conveyed a clear message: they want no part in continuing to support Ukraine in its fight against the war initiated by Russia. This must have been a shocking moment for Ukraines president, who had previously been warmly received by former US President Joe Biden in the same setting. In just over two weeks, Mr. Trump and his vice president have completely overturned the previous Biden administrations steadfast support for Ukraine and raised questions about Americas longstanding commitment to Europe. One can only speculate about Russian President Vladimir Putins response, now emboldened by the Trump administrations reconciliation efforts with Kremlin officials. Fridays verbal altercation in the White House also highlights the growing divide between Europe and the US regarding strategies to resolve the war in Ukraine. In response to the extraordinary scene in the Oval Office, European leaders united to support Mr. Zelensky, while Mr. Trump later criticized the Ukrainian president on his Truth Social platform. Later in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will gather more than a dozen European leaders, including Mr. Zelensky, at a summit aimed at discussing the future of European security and Ukraine. This gathering was intended to give Mr. Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron the opportunity to update their fellow leaders on discussions with Mr. Trump in Washington earlier that week. Keir Starmer visited Donald Trump in the White House earlier this week. However, the conflict in the White House is now likely to overshadow the agenda and redirect the dialogue on how Europe and Ukraine can regain the United States support as a security guarantor for any peace agreement with Russia. Mr. Trump, born a year after World War IIs conclusion, possesses little of the transatlantic loyalty that influenced the European policies of the 13 American presidents since 1945. This does not imply that the second Trump administration will completely abandon Europe. Nearly 80 years after World War II ended, Americas military still operates over 30 bases across Europe, from Britain to Bulgaria, where more than 60,000 personnel are stationed. Nevertheless, the new administrations abrupt rapprochement with Russiabeginning with the Trump-Putin phone call that took Europe and Ukraine by surprisehas galvanized European governments into action over the past two weeks. Most European NATO members are now dedicating over 2% of their GDP to defense, meeting the alliances established target. For years, many of these countries, including France and Germany, failed to reach that benchmark, reliant on the US to uphold the alliance. This second Trump administration has made it clear that it anticipates European nations to invest more in their own defense and take the lead in ensuring peace in Ukraine. Its just not fair or sustainable, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked about the disproportionate role the US has played in financing NATO for years in an interview with Fox News this week. However, this situation is on the verge of transformation. Following the Trump administrations re-engagement with Russia, European leaders have recognized that they must prepare for a scenario in which the continent may need to defend itself in the future. Discussions began last week when Mr. Macron convened an emergency summit to formulate a response to American-Russian dialogue concerning the wars conclusion and to deliberate on the future of European defense. The forthcoming summit in London will build upon that initial meeting. Two critical security challenges facing the continent are intricately linked. The first is the fate of Ukraine: ensuring that Kyiv receives a fair peace deal and that Europe actively participates in any negotiations to end the conflict. The cost of that involvementnow appearing as US-brokered peace talksmay necessitate European countries playing a central role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine by deploying their own soldiers as peacekeepers post-ceasefire agreement. A proposal is taking shape for a potential peace monitoring or reassurance force, which could include up to 30,000 European troops. Unsurprisingly, the framework is being developed by the two nations taking the lead in this European awakening: France and the UK, the only European nuclear powers. French President Emmanuel Macron with US President Donald Trump last month. Their leaders have expressed a willingness to contribute troops to a peace monitoring mission in Ukraine. Denmark, Sweden, and Lithuania have also indicated they would contemplate troop contributions. Others, such as Germany and Poland, will require more persuasion. The proposed reassurance force, as reported by The Telegraph, would involve European troops positioned far behind the front lines around the three eastern cities of Poltava, Dnipro, and Kryvyi Rih. It will be a monitoring mission, largely utilizing technical sensors and instruments like drones, stated Mykhailo Samus, a senior Ukrainian defense analyst, in an interview with RTE News. The British-French plan foresees that the mission would be bolstered by an American backstop in the form of US fighter jets stationed in Poland and Romania, ready to act if Russia breaches the ceasefire or threatens European personnel on the ground. Yet, once again, the extent to which the Trump administration is prepared to offer a security guarantee for Ukraine remains in question following Fridays incidents in the Oval Office. Ukrainian and Russian forces would maintain their ceasefire positions along the frozen front lines, which appears to be a vulnerable point in the strategy. Failing to place a peacekeeping force between the two armiesalbeit a risky deploymentwill leave many aspects to chance. If Russia violates the ceasefire agreement, the European reassurance force will face a dilemma on how to respond, as will the US should it agree to provide the security backstop that Ukraine and Europe are requesting. The dilemma for Trump is that he might agree to a commitment that Putin guaranteed him wouldnt involve an attack on Ukrainian forces, said Mr. Samus, director of the New Geopolitics Research Network, a think tank in Kyiv. Thats why French and UK forces might only be positioned to monitor developments, rather than engage in combat. This poses a substantial challenge for Trump. It is understood that Mr. Starmer was meant to discuss the European reassurance force plans with Mr. Trump during their meeting in Washington on Thursday. However, no updates emerged regarding whether the US would offer the force a security guarantee, a development that does not bode well. Without that American backstop, the chances of deterring Russia would significantly decline, leaving European troops in Ukrainestationed at crucial Ukrainian infrastructure sitesmore susceptible to probing actions by Russia. Despite the fallout from Friday in Washington, Ukraine continues to seek that US security guaranteeregardless of negotiations over mineral dealsto prevent Russia from resuming its war in the near future. Fridays altercation has raised doubts about American support for Ukraine. Of course, Russia has consistently opposed the deployment of European soldiers as peacekeepers to Ukraine, despite Mr. Trump asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the concept. Thus, the deployment of a European reassurance force will be one of the primary items on the agenda when discussions eventually commence. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has stated that Ireland could provide peacekeepers to Ukraine if required under a UN-mandated ceasefire agreement. The second, longer-term security challenge confronting Europe is the necessity of constructing an independent European defense structure. European leaders will look at Russia and acknowledge that their governments cannot rival the Kremlins military spending, which approaches 9% of GDP annually. Mr. Macron has long advocated for Europe to attain greater autonomy from the US concerning defense. Britain is also increasingly supportive of this vision, though it is cautious about jeopardizing its special relationship with the US, as its nuclear policy is fully integrated with that of Washington. Germany, under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has pursued a policy of supplying crucial armaments to Ukraine in step with US actions or following the Biden administrations lead. This approach is expected to shift under the next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right CDU-CSU alliance. Although he identifies as a committed transatlanticist, Mr. Merz has emphasized that his primary focus is on European security and ensuring that Europe achieves independence from the USA. These are bold statements from a German leader eager to see Europe establish its own independent defense capabilities. He has also proposed dialogue with the UK and France regarding whether their nuclear security provisions could extend to Germany. Both Merz and Scholz are strong supporters of Ukraine and advocates for a more robust EU-led security structure, stated Sebastian Bollien, an analyst at the German Federal Academy for Security Policy, in an interview with RTE News. One key distinction is that Merz seems to align more closely with the French perspective concerning the potential for a US withdrawal from Europe, he noted. To achieve the kind of security autonomy from the US that Mr. Merz envisions, Europe will need significant financial investment. The European Commission has estimated that the EU will require at least 500 billion over the next decade for defense. One pressing challenge for Europe is the need to rapidly rearm, as many nations have dispatched their newest armaments (along with older equipment) to Ukraine. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. EU governments currently lack the additional funds necessary, and high tax increases are not an appealing option for many. Consequently, borrowing appears to be the only feasible path forward. At present, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is prohibited from financing the production of weapons, military hardware, or ammunition. However, this restriction could soon change due to the existing urgency to enhance defense spending. Nineteen EU member states, including France and Germany, have recently urged the EIB to escalate its lending for Europes defense sector. An initial discussion regarding various funding mechanisms may occur at the upcoming special EU leaders summit on defense and Ukraine next Thursday. Mr. Zelensky has also received an invitation from Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, to attend the summitanother indication that the EU views Ukraines future as integral to the continents long-term security strategy. Overall, Europe recognizes that the moment has arrived to become more self-sufficient from the US regarding defense. However, the notion of entirely relinquishing a US security guaranteewhether to uphold a forthcoming peace agreement in Ukraine or to protect the continent from Russian threatsremains a prospect that European leaders would prefer to avoid. In the aftermath of Fridays unprecedented confrontation in the White House, European leaders are tasked with a delicate balancing act: maintaining support for Mr. Zelensky and Ukraine while avoiding pushing the Trump administration to abandon Europe altogether. The pivotal question, in my view, revolves around the future role the US envisions for itself within Europes defense framework, remarked Mr. Bollien. Israel is set to accept the proposal from US President Donald Trumps envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza during the Ramadan and Passover periods, as stated by the prime ministers office. This announcement came just hours before the initial phase of the previously established ceasefire was slated to end. According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office, on the first day of Mr. Witkoffs proposal, half of the hostages currently held in Gaza, both alive and deceased, will be released, with the remaining hostages to be freed following the establishment of a permanent ceasefire. Mr. Witkoff proposed the extension of the existing ceasefire after recognizing that additional time was necessary for negotiations regarding a permanent solution, as mentioned by Mr. Netanyahus office. Netanyahus office stated that Israel would promptly engage in talks regarding Mr. Witkoffs plan, contingent upon Hamass agreement. Per the agreement, Israel can resume hostilities after the 42nd day if it deems the negotiations to be unproductive, Netanyahus office also noted, accusing Hamas of breaching the terms. Both parties have been exchanging accusations over violations of the agreement. According to two Palestinian officials familiar with the negotiations, Israel has declined to proceed with the second phase of the agreement or to initiate discussions about it. Instead, Israel has demanded an extension of the first phase, contingent upon the transfer of a number of live prisoners and bodies for each week of extension granted. Conversely, Hamas has rejected this and maintained that it will adhere to the agreement, insisting on entering the second phase and holding Israel to its commitments. Hamass military wing released a video yesterday showcasing Israeli hostages still in their custody in Gaza, emphasizing that the remaining hostages can only be released through a swap deal as outlined in the phased ceasefire agreement that commenced on January 19. The ceasefire agreement put an end to 15 months of conflict, enabling the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. This arrangement was intended to facilitate subsequent discussions to build upon the ceasefire agreement. Ceasefire discussions have been ongoing, most recently in Cairo, but have yet to result in a formal agreement. By Emina Cerimovic Associate Director, Disability Rights Division ( Human Rights Watch ) Israeli authorities denied an orthopedic surgeon entry into Gaza last week, preventing her from providing crucial treatment to children with disabilities. One of her patients, Minah, a 3-year-old girl with a clubfoot condition, has been left without necessary treatment for months. As a result, Minahs feet started to turn in again. The orthopedic surgeon had planned surgery to reverse this. Minahs case is one of many. Before October 2023, an estimated 98,000 children in Gaza had disabilities, and since then thousands of children have acquired disabilities due to Israels use of explosive weapons and now require reconstructive surgeries. Newborns have had almost no access to follow-up health care for 15 months, increasing risks of health complications. Despite the mid-January ceasefire, Israels military has denied numerous medical professionals entry into Gaza without an explanation. On the day Minahs doctor was rejected, another orthopedic surgeon on the team was denied entry, according to the doctor. Also, Dr. Mohammad Subeh, an emergency doctor planning to help reopen Shifa hospital and provide medical training, said he and his team as well as four other medical staff traveling with a partner organization were denied entry two days later. On February 12, Victoria Rose, a plastic surgeon, said Israeli authorities denied her entry. She was denied again the following week. Dr. Rose intended to provide reconstructive surgeries and, similarly to Dr. Subeh, train medical students a crucial need given the severe shortage of specialists amid Israels assault on Gazas healthcare system. On February 12, when Israeli authorities denied Dr. Rose entry, she said two other plastic surgeons and one orthopedic surgeon on her team were also denied. File: Wounded Palestinians wait for treatment at the overcrowded emergency ward of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 11, 2023. By Palestinian News & Information Agency (Wafa) in contract with APAimages. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Nabeel Rana, a vascular surgeon was denied entry on February 23 just eight hours before his scheduled deployment. Dr. Rana had received preliminary clearance over a month in advance but was given no explanation for the sudden denial a situation experienced by many of his colleagues. Gazas healthcare system collapsed amid Israeli forces repeated unlawful strikes on hospitals and medical facilities and personnel, unlawful cutting of water, fuel, and electricity, and arbitrary detention and torture of Palestinian health care workers. These denials to enter Gaza exacerbate a cycle of Israeli violations of Palestinians right to health. Israeli authorities control both entry into and exit from Gaza, including medical evacuations. Israels allies should urge the country to comply with its duties as the occupying power and allow health care workers into Gaza. Children like Minah deserve the care they urgently need. Via Human Rights Watch In early 2023, the most far-right cabinet in Israels history launched its war for judicial reforms to replace democracy with autocracy. In fall 2023, it began an obliteration war against Gaza. Now it is readying to decimate the last human rights defenders in Israel. New York (Special to Informed Comment; feature) In the view of the Israeli Prime Minister, amid his own corruption trial, the truth about the Israeli-occupied territories seems to be equivalent to treason. Hence, his determination to destroy BTselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. The effort to decimate the last defenders of human rights in Israel cries for effective external intervention. Why are Netanyahus autocrats after BTselem? BTselem evolved in early 1989, when it was established by a group of Israeli lawyers, academics and doctors with the support of 10 members of Knesset, the Israeli parliament. The name comes from Genesis 1:27, which deems that all mankind was created btselem elohim (in the image of God); in line with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As Jewish far-right extremism was spreading in Israel, BTselem reflected an effort to replace nascent Jewish supremacism doctrines with the original, universalistic spirit of social justice that had marked Judaism for centuries. It was founded after two years of the First Intifada, the Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories and in Israel. After two decades of futile struggle for decolonization and increasing Israeli repression, Palestinians resorted to protests, then civil disobedience and eventually violence. Instead of taking a hard look at the causes of the uprising, the hard-right Likud government led by Yitzhak Shamir, Netanyahus one-time mentor and ex-leader of the violent pre-state Stern group deployed 80,000 soldiers in response, which started with live rounds against peaceful demonstrators. The brutal repression resulted in over 330 Palestinian deaths (and 12 Israelis killed) in just the first 13 months. The objective of the newly-established BTselem became to document human rights violations in both Gaza and the West Bank. Amid a vicious cycle of violence, it sought to serve as the nations voice of conscience. Today, it is led by human rights activist Yuli Novak who had to leave Israel in 2022 due to mounting death threats, and chaired by Orly Noy, left-wing Mizrahi activist and editor of +972 magazine. Despite mounting threats from the government, the Messianic far-right and the settler extremists, BTselem has insistently recorded human rights violations in the occupied territories earning the regard of rights organizations and awards worldwide. In early 2021, the NGO released a report describing Israel as an apartheid regime, which the Netanyahu cabinets have fervently rejected. Yet, the NGO simply codified, with abundant evidence, Israels apartheid rule that had worsened over time. Several Israeli military, intelligence and political leaders had used the same characterization since the 2000s. File. Streets of Jenin Camp, West Bank. By Guillaume Paumier, Flickr. Creative Commons License 2.0 Generic CC BY 2.0 BTselem warned that Israeli governance was no longer about democracy plus occupation. It had morphed into a regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea that is, apartheid. And the kind of military excess that led to the genocidal atrocities in Gaza. How is the Netanyahu cabinet undermining BTselem? Recently, the Knesset passed a preliminary reading of two bills. They are an integral part of a broader shift from democracy to autocracy. The ultimate objective is to eliminate human rights (and other rights) groups from Israel, including BTselem, and to marginalize the autocratic harsh-rights critics. In its efforts, the Netanyahu cabinet is relying on two proposed laws involving NGO taxation and the ICC. In the former case, the proposal slaps an 80% tax on donations from foreign countries, the UN and many international foundations supporting human rights. This will effectively cut off the NGOs funding. The proposal was approved in a preliminary reading. The second bill, which has now also passed a preliminary reading, seeks to criminalize any cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC). It could be seen as the Israeli version of the US Trump administrations sanctions to undermine the ICC, its activities and members. With its diffuse language, the Israeli ICC bill can be exploited to criminalize not only active assistance to the court but the release of any information indicating the government or senior Israeli officials are committing war crimes or crimes against humanity. According to Israeli scholars of international law, the definitions in this dangerous bill are so broad that even someone sharing on social media a photo or video of a soldier documenting themselves committing what appears to be a war crime could face imprisonment. More precisely, half a decade in jail. If the ICC law criminalizes the work of BTselem and other human rights NGOs by making human rights defense a punishable offense, the NGO taxation law is intended to drain the meager financial resources of these NGOs. Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. Whose foreign subversion? BTselem is an independent, non-partisan organization. It is funded by donations: grants from European and North American foundations that support human rights activity worldwide, and contributions by private individuals in Israel and abroad. These donors do not represent the kind of subversion that the Likud governments attribute to human rights NGOs. Nor do they possess major financial resources. Even right-wing NGO critics estimate BTselems annual funding at most about $3 million per year. Things are very different behind the donors of the Kohelet Policy Forum, led by neoconservatives with US-Israeli dual citizenship, and its many spinoffs. These have served as the Netanyahu cabinets thinktanks and authored many of their policies, including the judicial reforms. Totaling several million dollars, Kohelet in particular benefited from multi-million-dollar donations made anonymously and sent through the U.S. nonprofit, American Friends of Kohelet Policy Forum (AF-KPF). For years, these money flows originated mainly from two Jewish-American private equity billionaires and philanthropists, Arthur Dantchik and Jeffrey Yass, the co-founders of Susquehanna International Group (The Fall of Israel, Chapter 6). With a net worth of $7.5 billion, Dantchik is an active supporter of neoconservative Israeli causes. And so is Yass, with net worth estimated at $29 billion. Between 2010 and 2020, his Claws Foundation gave more than $25 million to the Jerusalem-based Shalom Hartman Institute, the Kohelet and other right-wing causes. As the publicity-shy Dantchik and Yass began to suffer from Kohelets negative PR, they took distance, while other money flows offset the difference. By 2021, more than 90% of Kohelets $7.2 million income came from the Central Fund of Israel, a family-run nonprofit that gave $55 million to more than 500 Israel-related causes. It was run by Marcus Brothers Textiles on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, which sponsors highly controversial settlement projects in the West Bank, while supporting the far-right activists ImTirtzu and Honenu, which is notorious for defending Jewish far-right extremists charged with violence against and killings of Palestinians. Toward a unitary, autocratic Jewish state Given the present course, the ultimate demise of human rights in Israel is now a matter of time. The Netanyahu cabinet will decide when to bring the legislative proposals to hearings in the relevant parliamentary committees, to prepare them for final approval. There is no doubt about the final objective: the creation of a state from the river to the water, but not the two-state model enacted almost eight decades ago. Nor the secular-democratic Jewish state with a vibrant Arab minority. The goal is a Jewish unitary state in which both the rule of law and democracy will be under erosion. BTselem is the harsh-rights scapegoat for its own international isolation, but only the first one. There is more to come. Under the watch of and military aid and financing by the Biden and Trump administrations, the protection of human rights in occupied territories will soon be treated as a punishable crime, while the economic resources of the remaining human rights defenders will be decimated. In Gaza, the international community failed to halt the genocidal atrocities. If it fails to protect the last defenders of human rights in Israel, it is likely to become complicit in new atrocities in the West Bank. Some states are landing on a straightforward answer: fossil fuel companies. ( Otherwords.org ) Rebuilding from Californias recent wildfires will cost more than a quarter of a trillion dollars an unprecedented amount. The estimated damage from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast is almost as much, on the order of $250 billion. Who will pay for that damage? Its a question plaguing localities around the country as climate change makes these disasters increasingly common. Some states are landing on a straightforward answer: fossil fuel companies. The idea is inspired by the superfunds used to clean up industrial accidents and toxic waste. The Superfund program goes back to 1980, when Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The law fined polluters to finance the clean up of toxic spills. Thanks to the hard work of groups such as the Vermont Public Interest Research Group and Vermont Natural Resources Council, Vermont recently became the first state to establish a climate superfund in May 2024. Months later, New York followed suit, again in response to pressure from environmental groups. Both bills require oil and gas companies to pay billions into a fund designated for climate-related cleanup and rebuilding. Now California is considering a similar law in the wake of its disastrous wildfires. Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey may take up the idea as well. Its an idea whose time has come, especially now that states are less able to rely on the federal government. The Trump administration is disabling government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with major cuts and putting conditions on other aid. At the recent Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference, Trump aide Ric Grenell unabashedly endorsed squeezing Californias federal funds unless they get rid of the California Coastal Commission. (Trump apparently hates the commission, the Fresno Bee explains, because it prevents wealthy people from turning public beaches into private enclaves.) Photo by Chris Gallagher on Unsplash Fossil fuel companies the lead perpetrators of climate disasters spent more than $450 million to elect their favored candidates, including Trump. In return, Trump has promised to speed up oil and gas permits and stacked his cabinet with oil-friendly executives. Why should taxpayers have to foot the bill to clean up the destruction wrought by this industry, one of the most profitable the world has ever known? As a spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, corporate polluters should pay for the wreckage caused by the climate crisis not every day New Yorkers. Not surprisingly, 22 Republican-led states disagree. Theyve sued to block New Yorks law and protect oil and gas profits at the expense of ordinary people. They have no answer for the question of who pays for recovery from climate disasters or helps people reeling from one disaster after another. Fossil fuel companies can think of paying into a climate superfund as the cost of doing business. If theyre in the business of extracting and selling a fuel that destroys the planet, its only fair they pay to clean up the damage. And the public agrees. Data For Progress found more than 80 percent of voters support holding fossil fuel companies responsible for the impact of carbon emissions. To be fair, a climate superfund is a downstream solution to the climate crisis, one that seeks to raise the costs to perpetrators. A climate superfund can pay to rebuild homes, but it cannot replace priceless family heirlooms or undo the trauma of surviving a disaster. Most of all, it cannot bring back lives lost. It is only one tool in a multi-pronged tool box to end the climate crisis. Upstream solutions centering the prevention of climate change that is, reducing carbon emissions at their source must be at the center of our fight if humanity is to survive. But in the meantime, fossil fuel polluters should pay. Via Otherwords.org Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) In Iran since the presidency of Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021), the ruling elite has debated whether a grand bargain with the United States is possible. Those who believe that the US is not an honest or reliable partner for any deal-making are taking some delight in Trumps humiliating treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday. Jam-e Jam (The Cup of Jamshid), a state organ, simply said on its front page, that Trumps tirade against Zelenskyy and the expulsion of the foreign head of state from the White House in the full view of the media illustrated the undependability of Washington and the West. Fars News used the incident to praise the rejection of negotiations with the U.S. by Irans clerical Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said Zelenskyys humiliation was a stamp of approval for the wise stances of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. This event once again emphasizes the correctness of his views on distrust of America and the dangers of negotiating with this country. As BBC Monitoring notes in commenting on this article, Khamenei ruled out talks with the U.S. in February when Trump reimposed maximum pressure sanctions. Fars wrote that the scandalous treatment of the Ukrainian president demonstrates that negotiating with America is not only unwise, but also inherently dishonorable.' This assertion seems aimed at President Masoud Pezeshkian and the pragmatists in the Iranian elite, some of whom favor talks with Washington. Fars recalls that in 1994 the U.S. and other countries forced Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in return for security guarantees guarantees that Trump just proved were worthless. This remark almost certainly relates to Irans 2015 decision to severely curtail its civilian nuclear enrichment program, which the hardliners believe was an error and it is hard to argue with them since they never received the promised sanctions relief that was the proffered quid pro quo. It is not clear if the Fars writers are going further and saying that both Ukraine and Iran would be better off with nukes. Leader Khamenei forbids nuclear weapons as incompatible with the Islamic laws of war, which prohibit the killing of non-combatants, but some Iranian officers, engineers and scientists wish he would permit a nuclear weapons program. The Ayatollah begs to Differ, Digital, Dream / Dreamland v3 / Clip2Comic, 2025 The hard line Student News Network ran a headline, Humiliation and Betrayal: A story of the mirage of depending on America in the Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting. Zelenskyy, the article says, came with hope and did not expect humiliation, deception, and blatant betrayal by his American host. The SSN quoted Trumps badgering of Zelenskyy, Youre not in a good position. You dont have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards. They observed, This statement made it clear that Washington had never truly intended to support Ukraine but rather saw it merely as a tool for its own interests. The analysis is flawed because it doesnt take account of the change of administrations between Biden and Trump, but as applied to Trump it is hard to argue with. SNN adds, For Ukraine, this meeting was a bitter object lesson. A country that had for years delighted in U.S. support was discarded like an over-roasted nut at a critical moment. What happened at the White House was just one example of Washingtons many betrayals of its allies. History has shown that America has always used other nations for its own interests, only to abandon them when no longer needed. It listed Iraq and Libya, among others, as countries the U.S. used and then tossed aside. Former President Hassan Rouhani had taken the bull by the horns and conducted negotiations with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, which yielded the 2015 Joint Plan of Comprehensive Action. In return for a removal of US and UN sanctions, Iran mothballed 80% of its civilian nuclear enrichment program and accepted restrictions that made it all but impossible for it to weaponize the program in any time relevant time frame. In May 2018 Trump shredded the treaty and slapped the most severe economic blockade on Iran that had ever been imposed by one country on another in peacetime. Iran received no sanctions relief because the Republican Party refused to allow Obama to lift US sanctions, which in turn so menaced European firms that they were scared off from doing business with Iran. And then Trump actually ratcheted up the sanctions even though Iran had until that point faithfully observed the provisions of the JCPOA. So you can imagine Iranian Schadenfreude at Zelenskyys treatment, since they were subjected to the same Washington roller coaster and ultimate betrayal. Europe should start building a broad coalition of countries that want a just peace in Ukraine. What they are now trying to sell under the guise of peace - ending the war on the aggressor's terms - is nothing but capitulation. ADVERTISIMENT If this scenario is allowed, it will encourage all current and future aggressors. This opinion was expressed by Czech President Petr Pavel in his account on X. "The time has come to start considering a broad coalition of willing for just peace in Ukraine. "Peace" on terms of the aggressor is called a capitulation and would only encourage all current and future aggressors. Free world must stand up to the evil," the Head of State is convinced. As a reminder, on March 1, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks in London. They reached an agreement to help Ukraine recover frozen assets from Russia. The parties signed a loan agreement between Ukraine and the United Kingdom to strengthen our defense capabilities, which will be repaid from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. It was also reported that Starmer tried to convince Trump to resume negotiations with Ukraine , but "failed" in an attempt to save the Ukrainian-American economic agreement, which was close to being signed before the "calamitous" press conference. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Sunday, March 2, 2025 - A church service at California Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in Nakuru West descended into chaos on Saturday, as a dispute over financial accountability and allegations of misconduct against the pastor escalated into a violent altercation. Congregants, including church elders and members, exchanged blows inside the sanctuary, forcing the service to be abruptly disrupted. Witnesses reported that tensions had been building for weeks, with a section of the congregation demanding transparency in church finances, while others accused the pastor of inappropriate conduct, including allegedly sending indecent messages and photos to women via WhatsApp. The disagreement spiralled out of control, leading to a physical confrontation that left several people injured. Local police were called to the scene to restore order as the warring factions refused to back down. This latest incident adds to growing concerns over leadership struggles within the SDA Church, coming just weeks after a separate controversy in Homa Bay County. In February, an elder at Ebenezer SDA Church in Suba South was killed in a suspected love triangle involving another elders wife, further drawing attention to internal divisions within the denomination. The SDA Church, traditionally known for its disciplined and structured approach to worship and governance, has found itself in the headlines for internal strife in recent months. Observers say that leadership wrangles, financial disputes and allegations of moral failings are quickly eroding the reputation of the church. Chaos erupt at an SDA church in Nakuru West as congregants accuse the pastor of stealing church funds and preying on female congregants pic.twitter.com/9J0Wu4HlBC DAILY POST (@dailypost_ke) March 2, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, March 2, 2025 - Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has slammed President William Rutos administration for failing to address youth unemployment. Speaking at a public event, Natembeya challenged the Government to channel the same energy and resources used in campaigning for Raila Odingas African Union Commission Chairperson bid into job creation. A vocal critic of Ruto, Natembeya also urged Western Kenya residents to prepare for the next election by registering as voters. He emphasized the need to elect leaders committed to solving their problems, calling for a shift in political priorities to address pressing economic issues. Watch the video below. " Serikali itafutie Vijana Kazi na Nguvu kama vile walikuwa wanatafutia Raila Kazi AU"- George Natembeya Ladies and Gentlemen!pic.twitter.com/dbLLeI9nza The Kenyan Vigilante (@KenyanSays) March 1, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST European countries have enormous potential, but due to disunity, they rely on the United States rather than their own strength. Therefore, Europe should step up and make efforts to ensure peace not through Ukraine's surrender, but through its defense capabilities. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk before departing for London on Sunday for an informal meeting of European leaders. Ukrinform reports that Warsaw assured of solidarity with Kyiv, but at the same time will strengthen relations with Washington. "This is a paradox, listen to how it sounds: 500 million Europeans are asking 300 million Americans to protect them from 140 million Russians. If you can do math, then count on yourself," Tusk said. He spoke of a "lack of imagination and courage" because the armies of European countries (including Ukraine) are 2.6 million, the United States - 1.3 million, China - 2 million, and Russia - 1.1 million soldiers. The situation is the same with fighter jets: Europe, together with Ukraine, has 2091, the United States has 1456, China has 1409, and Russia has 1224. ADVERTISIMENT As for artillery systems, Europe, along with Ukraine, has 14,400, America has 5,000, China has 9,500, and Russia has 5,157. "There is nothing to compare here. As I said: the deficit is the inability to understand that Europe has the potential to be a huge power," the head of the Polish government is sure. He emphasized that "a well-armed, strong Europe can guarantee peace not through Ukraine's surrender, but through its own joint strength." Poland's main message before the summit in London is that "Poland is on the side of Ukraine without any "buts". This, in particular, is required by the Polish national interest. "Today's situation is complicated because, while standing on the side of Ukraine in the interests of our national security, we Poles are also strong supporters of the closest possible alliance between Poland, Europe and the entire West with the United States," Tusk reminded. He admitted that Washington is "not as unequivocal" about Ukraine as Warsaw. The politician added that he would ask the allies to strengthen the EU's eastern flank: Finland, the Baltic states and Poland, so that there are more soldiers on the borders with Russia and Belarus. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Donald Tusk called on European states to act now. He proposed a plan for Ukraine and Europe, which, in particular, involves the use of a new source of funding to help Kyiv. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Sunday, March 2, 2025 - President William Ruto has renewed his criticism of the Catholic Church for rejecting his Ksh 5 million donation, questioning the rationale behind the move. Speaking at Jesus Winner Ministry in Roysambu on Sunday, March 2nd, Ruto defended his generosity, asserting that church donations are offerings to God, not individuals. "I have read the Bible, but I have not seen any verse stating that if you donate to God, a Bishop should return the money," he said. Ruto donated KSh 20 million and pledged an additional KSh 100 million for the churchs construction in a show of continued support for religious institutions. The President emphasized his commitment to the church, saying his efforts would silence critics. "We will build this church to shame the enemies of Kenya," he declared. Rutos remarks come amid growing debate over political donations to religious institutions. Ruto!Ruto!Ruto!Cheers as Ruto attacks Catholic Church for refunding his 5M gives 20M to Jesus Winner Ministry and Vows to organise for another 100M! pic.twitter.com/6DK0RslSXx Mutembei TV (@MutembeiTV) March 2, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST Sunday, March 2, 2025 - A few days ago, President William Ruto was snubbed by some youths when he made an impromptu visit at Mama Ngina Drive in Mombasa while in the company of Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho and other senior government officials. In the video, the Head of State is seen approaching a young man and trying to share a light moment with him. Vipi boss, naona uko area, Ruto was heard telling the middle-aged man, who seemed disinterested in the Presidents stunts. Ruto continued engaging other youths at the busy market, but they also snubbed him. Joho was seen trying to cheer up the young men to avoid embarrassing the President. Watch the video. See how youths snubbed RUTO in Mombasa as he tried to pull some PR stunts at Mama Ngina Drive - Hii Ni Aibu pic.twitter.com/Zh9zy7B7Fy DAILY POST (@dailypost_ke) March 2, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST AS we sit alone in cars or cubicles, listening to our own headset at work or earbuds on the bus, staring at our own screen at work or at home, we find it difficult to imagine how communal and intimate all life was for most people, in most cultures, as long as we have been human. In Ireland as in most cultures, people ploughed fields, footed turf and harvested hay together, making light work of many hands. Everyone celebrated and grieved together, their losses lessened because they were shared, and their joys heightened because they were shared. Living uprooted the way most modern humans do, spending our lives adrift in a sea of strangers and rarely seeing loved ones, was for most cultures the worst punishment imaginable. Ancient Greeks chose death rather than exile, condemned to be a stranger in a strange land. International law today condemns solitary confinement being isolated in an enclosed space as literal torture, but that is how many of us spend our lives. Whether on city streets, on buses and planes, in offices and bars, many of us are alone even in a crowd. In every society, of course, some people left the village or the farm. Even then, though, everyone acknowledged that being cut off from ones blood was a kind of death; when a son or daughter in rural Ireland left for America seeking work, everyone in the village held an American wake, a funereal celebration, as though the departing was already departed. Those who joined the army, or a monastery, or who went to sea as Ishmael did in Moby Dick, then lived with a new family, a brotherhood like the brothers they might have left. Even today, when people look back at the best times of their lives, it was usually when they were thrown together say, in college in the same kind of closeness, when we briefly felt as humans should. When we must deal with others, we have to stretch beyond our inner world, as they are beyond theirs, and create a new living thing a relationship in the space between us. Relationships are more than the sum of the people, but create something new, as the green gas chlorine and soft metal sodium combine to become salt, completely unlike its component parts. Different people bring out different things in us, and our identities subtly reshape to fit them, never completely reverting to their former shape. A collection of relationships forms a community, an organic living thing with its own personality different from the people who comprise it. Those relationships can also demand much of us, which is why we find it so easy to flee from them into screens. They force us to be kind when we dont feel like it, to use diplomacy, and to put ourselves in the place of others -- to practice the qualities that separate humans from other animals. They make us endure the quirky habits of others long enough to build an immunity to them, and perhaps even appreciate them. We have all known people who hated each other at first and then became friends or romantic partners, and when loved ones pass out of this life, we have all fondly remembered the eccentricities that might have once annoyed us. Our modern world of earbuds and phones, of social media and online chats, by contrast, lets us unfriend and shut out anyone that doesnt immediately please us with their first impression, as well as all subsequent impressions. The online mob is ready to attack, slander and cancel any of us, if we even once express opinions not the same as everyone elses. We screen out most of the relationships that would truly help us grow into understanding adults. Between the recent pandemic, the cancel culture that has shattered relationships, and the surge in crime in Ireland, many people I talk to have become isolated in their own homes, and mental illness has skyrocketed. We could turn away from our screens, though. We could knock on the neighbours doors and invite them for tea, to play ball with children instead of allowing them to play a video game, and to revive the kind of communities we once had one relationship at a time. KILDARE community groups are encouraged to apply to the Heritage Councils Adopt a Monument scheme, which aims to help communities protect and conserve local monuments. The scheme offers communities expertise, mentoring and support to help them care for their local heritage. In 2022, Castledermots local history group adopted the Dunmanoge church and graveyard, and have since been working with conservation experts, Kildare County Council Heritage Office and the Community Monuments Fund to carry out vital conservation works on the site. The Dunmanoge ruins are steeped in history and are said to have ancient origins. An early monastic site was founded there by early monastic saint Finnian of Clonard on land granted by the King of Leinster. There is evidence in the form of crop marks, finds of medieval pottery and historical records to suggest that the church had been used as a parish church for a village beside the site in the later medieval period. The village has long since disappeared but the graveyard remained in use up until recently, with many local families having a connection to it. Since the scheme first began in 2016, 30 groups across Ireland have adopted monuments in their locality ranging from ring forts to 19th century industrial buildings to medieval churches as well as a Gaelic castle. The Adopt a Monument Scheme is open to applications from enthusiastic community groups all over Ireland to apply to the scheme to adopt a site that is important to them. The aim is that the chosen monument will serve as a focal point for heritage-related, educational and recreational activities and will encourage a greater appreciation and understanding of local heritage. The Heritage Council is now calling for interested groups in Kildare to apply for the scheme. The closing date for applications 21 March 2025. Further information about the scheme and the application process can be found on: https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/projects/aam A project that aims to improve the water quality on farms across Kilkenny has been awarded a substantial grant. The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), working on behalf of Irelands 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality, is awarding 23,865 to the local project in Kilkenny - Nore Vision - Nature Based Measures for Water Quality on Farms. The Nore River Catchment Trust, part of Kilkenny Leader Partnership, exists so communities in the Nore catchment can collectively take actions that will help improve the quality of the river and its tributaries. Those actions have for the most part been identified by the communities themselves and focus on environment and heritage, land use and enterprise, and recreation and amenity. Overall, 1,047,265.26 has been awarded across 54 projects in 24 counties under the Community Water Development Fund Open Call 2025. Under the fund, local communities and groups were invited to apply for financial assistance to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity. Since 2018, on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, LAWPRO has made over 3.7m available through this funding scheme to communities, assisting in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through Irelands Water Action Plan. The funding provided annually has also increased significantly during this period, from 185,800 in 2018 to over 1 million in 2025. Types of projects approved for funding under this years open call include: River conservation, restoration and rehabilitation initiatives. Nature-based solutions projects. Preparation of reports: feasibility studies, habitat management plans, ecological surveys, and hydromorphology studies. Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher OSullivan TD, welcomed this funding announcement. This funding, of over 1 million, is an investment in the protection and restoration of good water quality nationwide. The Community Water Development Fund provides vital support to the tremendous efforts of local communities and voluntary groups around the country who work hard to raise awareness of their local rivers, lakes, streams and biodiversity. Each and every project supported plays a part in achieving our collective goal to improve water quality under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Director of Services for LAWPRO, Anthony Coleman said: Im delighted to announce over 1m in grants under the Community Water Development Fund 2025, our largest fund to date supporting local community driven projects in Kilkenny and nationwide that will go towards improving water bodies. LAWPRO was set up to coordinate and support efforts to achieve good water quality and these types of projects are at the heart of what we do. Community engagement is fundamental in dealing with local issues and the fund empowers groups to take action to benefit their local water bodies and the surrounding environment. Providing financial support to community groups to develop and grow is an important step in achieving water quality, he added. As well as the Community Water Development Fund, LAWPRO also supports community groups and organisations through its Catchment Support Fund and Small Grants and Events Scheme. Launched in 2024, the Catchment Support Fund awarded 500,000 last year towards the core running costs of non-governmental organisations working in the area of water quality. Whereas the Small Grants and Events Scheme allows community groups to apply for funding to cover small scale initiatives and events related to water quality. Full details of grants awarded and for more information on the work of LAWPRO visit: www.lawaters.ie. Last Thursdays sale at Kilkenny Mart attracted another good yard of cattle with 1050 on offer and at least 70 lots on offer exceeded the 4 per kilo mark. The sale resulted in a 100% clearance for heifers with bullocks achieving a 98% clearance. In the last few months Kilkenny Mart has attracted a number of new buyers, mainly due to the bigger numbers on offer which gives potential buyers a change to fill loads. New buyers Many of these new purchasers have said that they have got fed up attending sales and only being able to secure one or two animals due to the smaller numbers and at least Kilkenny Mart gives them an opportunity to fill a load. The trade has been helped by the presence of feed lot buyers, exporters, farmers and North of Ireland buyers and factory agents all looking for stock. If you are a farmer who normally sells on the farm I suggest you should review the situation. The prices being generated in the mart rings at the moment would not be secured in private deals at home and you could well be losing hundreds of euro. If you have bullocks or heifers to sell and they are tested within the last year and have two tags you should try the mart ring to secure the maximum return. Why not give Kilkenny Mart office a call on 056 7721407 to enter cattle before 3.30pm on the previous Wednesday . Sheep and Dairy On Mondays we hold our sheep sale at 10.15am with our dairy sale at 12.30 pm. The sheep sale is worked on a first come first served basis but for the dairy sale we need entries to be in on the previous Wednesday so we can print off a catalogue and have it up online for potential purchasers to view over the weekend. Last Monday saw fresh calved Fr cows and heifers range from 1400 to 2800 per head. The entry for this sale is online but you can also pick up one in the mart office. On Tuesdays we hold our calf and cull cow sale which takes place on a weekly basis. It is not essential to book them in for these sales but it is helpful for us here in Kilkenny Mart as we can inform potential buyers how many will be on offer. Last Tuesday the calf sale attracted about 300 with an excellent trade for all on offer. This good trade was achieved even allowing for the absence of our usual exporters who were restricted from buying due to boats not operating. This problem has been resolved this week. Excellent Trade The trade for all animals at the moment is excellent and in the short term there is no reason to suggest that things will dramatically change, but it has become very difficult to predict the future. As I mentioned in my last article on these pages a few factors have helped to create the present record prices. A shortage of supply and a buoyant export trade as has been seen with 25,500 animals leaving the country over the first few weeks of this year. The reason for this is the outbreak of blue tongue in UK and mainland Europe which means that Irish exporters are very active trying to fill the void. Hopefully the good times price wise for cattle and sheep will keep rolling along and if an adjustment occurs it will be gradual. Until next time do be careful on the farm and good buying, good selling and good luck. The agri-food industry is a critical component to local economies in rural Ireland and are critical for sustaining communities, according to Fianna Fail TD for Carlow/ Kilkenny, Peter Chap Cleere. However, he warned, the traditional family farms in his constituency are under severe pressure and their survival is at risk if they do not get the support they desperately need. Farmers are in a fight for survival. At stake here is the survival of traditional family farms and hundreds of jobs in Carlow and Kilkenny, said Deputy Cleere. The Irish agri-food industry is a critical industry for our economy. It goes towards 8% of GDP, it employs over 170,000 people and counts for 11% of total exports. Deputy Cleere has highlighted the issue of the nitrates directive and the serious threat to derogation status for many dairy farmers, one he says will have a lasting impact on them. I have spoken to farmers in my constituency about the struggles they are facing, this is a big issue for them. Government must be prepared to go into the trenches on the nitrates directive, Deputy Cleere said. I believe we have to try our very best to convince the EU Commission and the other 26 member states that Ireland must retain the derogation. If it was not to be retained, it would have a devastating and lasting impact on dairy farmers. The Kilkenny TD said government must also support farmers financially to ensure they can achieve reduced emissions and increase diversity. Carbon Dioxide emissions have exploded following a century of industrialisation, urbanisation and massive transport expansion. However, the damage cannot be reversed in a few short years and common sense must prevail, he said. Fianna Fail knows that Irish agriculture can continue to be a world leader in innovation sustainability and value. Our farmers have demonstrated their commitment to innovation by embracing the challenges to reduce the environmental impact of farming, with 55,000 farmers joining the ACRES Scheme. Deputy Cleere said that our niche, compared to other EU countries, is that the farming and food industry is the backbone of rural communities in Ireland, and that is why we must continue to support farmers. Schools, GAA and other sports, local shops and businesses depend on the farming and food industry flourishing. We accept the climate impact on the environment, but there must be a balanced perspective, when legislating for corrective measures, he concluded. Taoiseach Micheal Martin should use his face to face meeting with US President Donald Trump to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, an opposition TD has said. Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly said that what happens in the Oval Office in front of the cameras would only make up a small part of the Irish premiers visit to the US to mark St Patricks Day. Government minister Michael Moynihan said continued Irish engagement with the US was important following the heated exchanges between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Mr Martin has been invited to the White House on March 12. Sinn Fein has said it will not be travelling to the US in protest against Mr Trumps threat of mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, but has said that the Taoiseach should meet the president. Ms OReilly told the RTE The Week in Politics programme: For the vast majority of Irish people, what we want to see is Micheal Martin using the bilateral engagement that he has to speak up in favour of Irish unity, the Good Friday Agreement and protection of peace, to speak up for the Irish diaspora and in particular the undocumented Irish living in America, to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, and to speak up for FDI and those trade links around tourism and jobs and those long-standing links that have been there for decades. She added: It is important not just what happens in front of the cameras, that is only a small part. There will be engagements with the State Department, there will be direct engagement with the president, and the Taoiseach needs to use those engagements to highlight those things that are important to the people of Ireland. I do believe when we hear Trump talking about the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians that actually yes, Micheal Martin should use every opportunity to speak up for the people of Gaza and to speak up for the people of Ukraine. The Taoiseach is not among European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, but will be taking part in an EU leaders summit later in the week. Mr Moynihan, Minister of State for Disabilities, said the Taoiseach was being kept updated on all developments. He said: Every European leader is very much focused on the enormous challenges and the flux in which the world finds itself. The European leaders meeting is on Thursday and there will be serious discussions. But serious discussions will continue, today, tomorrow and right through because of developments and a sense of trying to bring peace to Europe but also to try to find something that will be positive and long-lasting. He added: I think it is very important we engage (with the US) in a meaningful way. We have an opportunity on March 12 for the Taoiseach to meet the President of the United States. There is huge amount of commonality between us. We have to make sure we continue engagement with the United States. It is one of our major trading partners, it is a huge economic stability for us, not just from foreign direct investment, but also investment into the United States. We have to make sure that we look at the ties that bond Ireland and America over the centuries but also to make sure we have economic bonds as well. Mr Moynihan was also asked about Irelands defence spending. The programme for government pledges to increase it from 1.35 billion to 1.5 billion euros by 2028, but Tanaiste Simon Harris has said he would like to see that doubled. The Fianna Fail minister said: At the moment the policy that is underpinning the Government is the programme for government. I think there will be huge engagement in light of what is happening in the world to make sure that we are protected in terms of cyber, in terms of other issues. The programme for government underpins what we are going to spend but I am sure there will be high level engagement not just with Government but across politics and society as well about further spending. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has expressed her support for Ukraine on the eve of the London Summit. She emphasized that EU support can lead to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT She also emphasized that weakness breeds more war. The head of the European Commission stated this on her page on the social network X. According to her, when talking about supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia, it is important not to forget to strengthen European defense at the same time. At the same time, von der Leyen emphasized that the path to true peace can only be through strength. "I am coming to London to emphasize Europe's continued support for Ukraine, which can lead to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. The way to peace is strength. Weakness breeds more war. We will stand by Ukraine while strengthening European defense," the European Commission President said. As a reminder, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he intends to work with France and Ukraine to develop a new plan for a peaceful settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The head of the British government emphasized that other countries could join this process. Earlier it was reported that at the summit in London on March 2, Turkey would repeat its proposal to hold peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Ankara believes that any future peace talks should include both countries. As reported by OBOZ.UA, Russia continues to demonstrate its relations with anti-American forces, despite dictator Vladimir Putin's attempts to demonstrate readiness for negotiations. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Roger Partridge writes: A new submission to the Committee from banking experts Andrew Body and Simon Jensen provides fresh evidence of these costs. Their analysis shows the Reserve Banks capital rules add between 0.25 and 0.375 percentage points to mortgage rates compared with Australia. For a million-dollar mortgage, that means between $2,500 and $3,750 in extra annual interest payments. The Reserve Bank requires banks to hold enough capital to survive a one-in-200-year financial crisis. No other country sets such an extreme standard. Most aim for resilience against a one-in-100-year event. Making matters worse, the Reserve Bank keeps adding requirements to its conservative settings. Banks must now conduct climate-related stress tests and meet complex reporting obligations, even though the high capital requirements already protect against such risks. The central bank also requires banks to hold more capital against farm lending than Australian regulators. A New Zealand farmer faces higher borrowing costs than an Australian farmer, even though both sell into the same global markets. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. High near 85F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. 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. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close In the coming days, the UK will become the scene of important discussions on Ukraine and the support we need. London to organize a series of meetings, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived there on March 1. ADVERTISIMENT On Saturday, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK Valeriy Zaluzhnyi shared a photo with the Ukrainian President on his X account. The former commander-in-chief and now diplomat personally met Zelenskyy at the airport. "This war is a test of our resilience and courage, revealing both our strength and the loyalty of our true allies. The road ahead wont be easy, but together, we will overcome every challenge," the general wrote. As a reminder, on the first day of March, the President of Ukraine held talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. On March 2, Zelenskyy will take part in a summit of European leaders dedicated to supporting Ukraine. Starmer invited more than ten European leaders to the event: Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Romania. In addition, Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with King Charles III on Sunday. As previously reported, on February 24, at a prayer service in London, Valeriy Zaluzhny said that Russia tried to wipe Ukraine off the map, but the people withstood and courageously defended their freedom. Our country will never kneel before the enemy, he added. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! While "peaceful" Russia continues destroying Ukraine and killing civilians with massive shelling, Washington has once again criticized President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's style. They say it was the "wrong approach." ADVERTISIMENT The cynical statement was made by US President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz in an interview with Fox News. By the way, Waltz was an employee of this TV channel in 2016-2018. "Its not clear that Zelensky truly wants to stop the fighting. He came in, even though he was warned not to, determined to litigate all of that This was the wrong approach, wrong time in history, and definitely the wrong president to try to do this," Trump's adviser said. He praised the head of the United States, especially emphasizing the difference between his policy and that of Democrat Joe Biden. "This is not Joe Biden; this is Donald J. Trump. And I think the entire world saw that crystal clear," Waltz said. Earlier, a video by an American veteran went viral online, in which he responded to the claims of Washington representatives regarding Zelenskyy's outfit. In less than a day after its publication, the video garnered more than 12 million views. ADVERTISIMENT During his visit to the White House, reporter Brian Glenn asked Zelenskyy, "Why dont you wear a suit? Youre at the highest level in this countrys office, and you refuse to wear a suit. Just want to see if do you own a suit? A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the office." Trump's fans were reminded by their own compatriots that Zelenskyy's style during a full-scale war has a certain symbolism. By the way, on February 28, when the President of Ukraine met with the US leadership, one civilian was killed and another was injured in a kamikaze drone attack in Odesa region. On the same day, Russian shelling killed three civilians and injured two in the Donetsk region. On February 28, before leaving for Florida, Trump said that Putin allegedly wants to make peace. He added, "This (Zelensky) is a person who wants to force us to sign and continue to fight. We will not do that," the US president told reporters. As previously reported, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on the Donald Trump administration to exercise mature leadership in its relations with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Cooperation must be maintained for the sake of stability in the free world, the politician emphasized. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The scandal during the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on February 28 was orchestrated by the American side. The head of state, who has been defending himself against a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years, was simply lured into a trap to be publicly humiliated live in front of millions of people around the world. ADVERTISIMENT Trump's goal was to convince Americans that Ukraine is "ungrateful" and "unworthy" of further assistance, and that the American president wants to make friends with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but he will be bitterly disappointed. This opinion was expressed by Thomas Jager, a German political scientist, foreign policy expert, and professor at the University of Cologne, in a conversation with BILD. He shares the opinion of many Western analysts that the scandal in the Oval Office was planned in advance by the Trump team. The goal was to publicly humiliate the Ukrainian president. Jager claims that "the scandal was staged," and Washington was preparing a trap for Zelensky from the very beginning. One of the main actors in the pre-prepared scenario was J.D. Vance, Trump's vice president and closest ally. Earlier, he caused outrage and shock in Europe by making accusations against European states at the Munich Security Conference. ADVERTISIMENT "Trump and Vance wanted to humiliate Zelensky. That's why they organized a live broadcast of this spectacle. First they teased him, and then they bit him," Jager said. Zelensky was lured to Washington by Trump and his entourage under the pretext of a possible agreement on rare earth metals. However, the current US administration was of little interest in it. The real goal was to increase the level of support for Trump's pro-Russian course in the United States. Trump, as Jager notes, is trying to convince Americans that Ukraine is "unworthy" of further assistance because it is allegedly behaving "ungratefully." This idea is resisted by most Americans. Only representatives of Trump's "nuclear" electorate are delighted with it, who do not think that their leader is destroying the authority and all the achievements of the United States in the geopolitical plane over the past almost a century. ADVERTISIMENT "Trump is currently undermining the dominant position of the United States in international politics. He has alienated all the allies that the United States has gained over the past 80 years," Jager says. At the moment, according to the expert, Trump is confidently moving towards rapprochement with Putin, but Jager is skeptical about his prospects. "Trump thinks he has found a friend in Putin, but he is just using him," the expert emphasized. Earlier it was reported that the United States conducted a poll on who was responsible for the quarrel in the Oval Office. Half of the respondents named Trump as the culprit, a little more than 40% blame Vance, and only 4% of the respondents saw Zelensky's fault in the scandal. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! A BRAZILIAN national living in Carlow was given time to obtain an Irish driving licence, when he appeared before the local district court on an insurance charge. Marcelo Vanancio, whose address is c/o Flynns Yard, Bennekerry, was found to have no insurance when stopped by gardai in Tullow on 29 July last. Defending solicitor Alexander Rafter told the court his client didnt have insight into how the Irish insurance system works explaining that, in Brazil, individual vehicles are not required to be insured. He noted there were a number of Brazilians up for the same charge. Mr Rafter said his client, who has been living in Ireland for over a year, works in construction and currently has no car. The court was told that Mr Vanancio holds a full Brazilian driving licence and is in the process of obtaining an Irish learner permit. Judge Patricia Cronin said that while five penalty points would normally be applied for such an offence, there was no licence to which they could be attached. She described the special circumstances of being unaware of insurance requirements as tenuous, noting that the onus was on the defendant to know the proper legislation. The judge said she would let the matter stand and adjourned the case to allow Mr Vanancio time to obtain an Irish licence. A 16-YEAR campaign led by deputy Willie Aird and cllr Catherine Fitzgerald bore fruit in 2021, when Irish Rail relented to their demands and installed a pedestrian crossing/footpath on one side of the railway line at Fr Browne Avenue in Portlaoise. At that time, local councillors expressed satisfaction with the work and called for a footpath on the other side. They were informed by council engineer Wes Wilkinson that CIE management are looking at an alternative solution (to providing a footpath on the other side). They are looking at redesigning the crossing because it's the entrance to the (sleeper) depot. Since then, nothing appears to have happened. Now, four years on, cllr Tommy Mulligan has taken up the baton in an attempt to convince Irish Rail to provide a pedestrian crossing/footpath across the other side of the road. At the February meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District, cllr Mulligan proposed that Laois County Council request Irish Rail to install a walkway at the unattended railway crossing on the Old Knockmay Road, similar to the walkway on the opposite side of the road. In a written reply to the motion, director of services Simon Walton stated that the council has previously corresponded with Irish Rail on the issue and would contact them again. So this has come up before, has it? asked cllr Mulligan. Mr Walton said: In recent years there have been some embellishments on the other side. While we had sought enhancement on both sides, that hasnt materialised yet. The pedestrian crossings/footpath and safety gates that were installed across one side of the railway line on Fr Browne Avenue in Portlaoise in 2021. Mr Wilkinson told cllr Mulligan that the side of the road on which the proposed footpath would be sited (along Fr Browne Avenue) was the subject of an examination from their (Irish Rail) point of view in terms of redesigning that area, and that they had a bigger scheme that they were looking at. Cllr Mulligan said: The issue is the unmanned railway crossing along the stretch of road from Telfords to Glanbia. The footpath reaches a fence and you have to step out into the road and go around the fence of the railway line to step back onto a footpath. Its an extremely busy road with a high volume of vehicles and lorries. A lot of cars also travel at speed. Its a serious health and safety issue. A lot of elderly residents live along Old Knockmay Road. As well as that, a lot of walkers and runners use that road. Its a popular route. Its a death trap. Theres going to be a serious accident, if not a fatality, if this is not resolved. We should press on with this and be firm with Irish Rail to provide a safety measure. Cllr Mulligan said there was a stile at that location years ago and it was removed and never replaced. I dont know what the rationale was behind that. It doesnt make any sense. If Irish Rail could put a crossing on one side, why couldnt it put a crossing on the other? Concurring with cllr Mulligan, cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said: The speed of the traffic along that road is absolutely lethal. Its a very busy walking route. Myself and Willie (Aird) have been at this for years and years and years, said cllr Catherine Fitzgerald. We found Irish Rail very difficult to deal with. Getting the one footpath was massive at the time. There were years and years and years of meetings and letters. I fully support the motion and hopefully there will be a change of mind from Irish Rail. AS I WRITE this article, I'm very conscious that the health of Pope Francis seems to be seriously declining. Pope Francis has led the Catholic Church with a deep sense of integrity and humility. A prophet who not just talks a good talk but, more importantly, walks the walk. Throughout life, his pathway has been informed by Jesus Christ. The Gospels repeatedly highlight that Christ deliberately embraced those who found themselves on the periphery. Pope Francis is indeed shepherd to those on the periphery. He is universally recognised as perhaps the most significant world leader. In a turbulent and often polemical world, Franciss voice always brings a sense of reason and balance. Whatever will be regarding his current situation, I have no doubt that his pontificate historically will be significant. Franciss pontificate was tagged as surprising from the start. In February 2013, Benedict resigned, the first pope to step aside in nearly 600 years. Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina was elected the next month: the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas and the first to take the name Francis in emulation of Francis of Assisi, the medieval Italian saint known for holy poverty. Once the new Pope assumed office, he lived in the Vatican guesthouse rather than the Apostolic Palace. He often rode to papal events in a Fiat instead of a Mercedes-Benz and brought an anything-goes playfulness to the regular audience outside St Peters. His rapport with the public suggested that he had been changed by his election that a man known to many Argentinians as dour and circumspect had been infused with what he calls the joy of the Gospel. Since then, Francis has made the unexpected seem obvious again and again. The pope began confessing his sins before hearing the confessions of others; waded into a crowd outside St Peters and embraced a man whose illness had left his face marred; visited a camp for migrants and refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos (and brought some refugees back on the papal plane to settle in Italy); went to a mosque in the Central African Republic in the midst of a civil war fuelled by Christian-Muslim strife and admitted that he was wrong to have defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering up priestly sexual abuse. Though the bishop, Juan Barros, has denied these allegations, the pope accepted his resignation and averred: I was part of the problem. Francis has also brought his knack for the unconventional to the everyday workings of the Vatican. He assembled a council of advisory cardinals, making it clear that he would consult with others; launched an investigation of the Vatican Bank, which was long suspected of corruption and money laundering; made efforts to streamline the Vatican administration, called the Roman Curia; and appointed a woman, Sister Nathalie Becquart from France, to a key role in the Dicastery for Bishops, one of the most influential Curial offices. These were not giant steps, but they were steps beyond those that his two predecessors had taken during their combined 34 years in office. Pope Francis has travelled to about a dozen predominantly Muslim countries; opened the Secret Archive of documents pertaining to the Vaticans diplomatic machinations during the World War II and spoke to the press with an offhand ease that is rare for any public figure. In July 2013, during his first press conference aboard the papal plane, he compassionately reached out to the LGBT community: If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has a good will, then who am I to judge him? and set the tone for a pontificate whose aims he has spelled out in interviews and discussions as much as through encyclicals and other formal documents. Pope Francis is a revolutionary. The revolution he proposes, however, is not a matter of economic or political prescription, but a revolution in the self-understanding of the Catholic Church: a re-energising return to the Pentecostal fervour and evangelical passion from which the Church was born two millennia ago and a summons to mission that accelerates the great historical transition from institutional-maintenance Catholicism to the Church of the New Evangelisation. What happens if the Pope dies or resigns? After a short period of time, a conclave will take place. This is a most intriguing process. In his pontificate lasting just 13 years, Pope Francis has appointed the majority of cardinals who will elect his successor, and they truly represent the universal Church. Pimentel urges gov't support for Marikina Shoe Industry as DOST pushes for innovative Filipino footwear Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III lauded the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) for its recent call for local designers to develop innovative Filipino footwear, emphasizing the initiative's potential to revive the struggling Marikina shoe industry. The DOST-PTRI's 10th Filipino Footwear Design Competition, launched as part of Philippine Tropical Fabrics Month, aims to promote sustainability and Filipino identity in footwear through the use of indigenous materials and creative storytelling. The initiative aligns with the agency's ongoing Shoes and Footwear Accessories R&D Towards Omnibus Solutions (SAFATOS) program, which integrates digital technology and sustainable textile innovations into local shoe manufacturing. Pimentel welcomed the project but stressed the need for stronger government support for Marikina's shoemakers, who have long struggled against cheaper foreign imports, limited modernization, and lack of financial aid. "Marikina was once the backbone of the country's shoe industry. Ngayon, nalulunod sila sa kompetisyon mula sa mga dayuhang produkto. If we want to revive this sector, we must not only encourage innovation but also ensure that our local shoemakers have the resources, funding, and market support to compete," Pimentel said. The decline of the Marikina shoe industry has resulted in job losses and a diminished sense of local pride. Pimentel has outlined a plan to support local shoemakers through training programs focused on modern techniques, access to better materials, and assistance in marketing and branding to help them compete effectively in the global market. Part of Pimentel's platform is the "BTS" initiative, which aims to address flooding, generate jobs, and revitalize Marikina's iconic shoe industry. He emphasized his commitment to reviving the sector, recognizing its importance to Marikina's identity and economy. "Pag sinabi mong Marikina, 'Sapatos.' So bubuhayin po namin 'yan kasi sayang lamang na eh--pagdating sa larangan ng sapatos, lamang na ang Marikina. Saka something to be proud of," Pimentel stated. He urged the government to increase funding for Marikina's shoe industry, provide incentives for local manufacturers, and strengthen anti-smuggling measures to prevent the influx of low-cost imported footwear that undermines Filipino-made products. Pimentel reaffirmed his commitment to pushing for policies that protect and promote local industries, particularly those that hold cultural and economic significance, like Marikina's shoemaking sector. A poll has been conducted in the United States to determine who is primarily responsible for the dispute that erupted during a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance. According to the poll, the vast majority of respondents hold Trump and Vance responsible for the disgusting scene in the Oval Office. ADVERTISIMENT Only 4% of respondents consider Zelensky to be the driver of the conflict. The results of the Smerconish.com poll were broadcast on CNN. Americans were asked who was most responsible for the Oval Office dispute that occurred during Zelensky's visit to the United States on February 28. The survey participants (112,745 people voted in total) answered as follows: Donald Trump (50.33%) J.D. Vance (41.33%) Volodymyr Zelensky (4.34%) all three equally (4.01%) ADVERTISIMENT It is interesting that Donald Trump estimated the support of Ukrainians for Zelensky at 4% before the meeting in the Oval Office. At the same time, he called the Ukrainian president a "dictator." The poll was conducted by the website of American journalist Michael Smerconish, who hosts his own show on CNN. He holds centrist views and is known for analyzing political events without demonstrating any allegiance to any party. At the same time, the channel itself is believed to be more popular among Democratic Party voters. Earlier, CNN counted for Vance how many times Zelensky thanked the United States for its support. We are talking about dozens of public expressions of gratitude. It was the alleged ingratitude of the President of Ukraine that became the key claim with which the US Vice President began his attacks on the head of the allied country. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! PORTLAISE Tidy Towns has been awarded 39,200 for their James Fintan Lalor Landscape and Sustainable Urban Drainage Masterplan project. The funding was awarded from the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), that works on behalf of Irelands 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality Under the fund, local communities and groups were invited to apply for financial assistance to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity. Since 2018, on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, LAWPRO has made over 3.7 million available through this funding scheme to communities, assisting in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through Irelands Water Action Plan. Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher OSullivan welcomed the announcement: He said: This funding is an investment in the protection and restoration of good water quality nationwide. The Community Water Development Fund provides vital support to the tremendous efforts of local communities and voluntary groups around the country who work hard to raise awareness of their local rivers, lakes, streams and biodiversity. Each and every project supported plays a part in achieving our collective goal to improve water quality under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Director of Services for LAWPRO Anthony Coleman said: Im delighted to announce over 1m in grants under the Community Water Development Fund 2025, our largest fund to date supporting local community driven projects in Laois and nationwide that will go towards improving water bodies." Full details of grants awarded and for more information on the work of LAWPRO log onto www.lawaters.ie Several recalls were announced between Feb. 24-28, 2025, ranging from cars to food to products. Canva/Katherine Rodriguez Recalls of food and products have popped up in the news more recently, causing much alarm to those who read about them. These recalls have become more common thanks to increased regulation. Many recalls come as a result of product mislabeling, safety issues or contamination. Here are five recalls in particular that you as a consumer need to know about that have happened or have been updated in the past week alone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued 850,000 recalls this past week for multiple models, including Toyota, Tesla, Ford and Maserati. The NHTSA issued the recalls due to problems with power steering, seatbelts, seat assembly bolts, rearview cameras and low beam headlights. New York-based Ascent Consumer Products Inc. issued a voluntary recall of one lot of SinuCleanse Soft Tip Squeeze Bottle Nasal Wash System due to microbial contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, which could cause a potentially life-threatening infection, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The product was distributed nationwide at brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Walgreens and Walmart, and online outlets, such as Amazon. Consumers who have the product should immediately stop using it and throw it out, or return it to its place of purchase. You might want to check your pantry before making your weekend brunch. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently updated an existing recall of Pearl Milling Company Original Pancake & Waffle Mix from January to its highest level, meaning the product may cause serious adverse health consequences or death. The recall was initiated originally due to an undeclared milk allergen. The product involved in this recall was distributed to 11 states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Utah and Wisconsin. No illnesses or adverse reactions have been reported to date. Customers should throw out the product immediately if they have a sensitivity to milk. Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Quaker Consumer Relations at 1-800-407-2247 from 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST, MondayFriday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recalled 303 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken caesar wraps after failing to disclose a fish allergen because the product contained anchovies. The wraps were distributed to vending machines across Washington state. The agency warned that some vending machines may still have the product even after the recall. Anyone with these products should throw them away or return them to the vending machine owners. Texas-based C&T Produce Wholesale Inc., doing business as L&V Food Supply, recalled 1,152 pounds of peppered, frozen, dried catfish because it was improperly imported from a supplier in Vietnam, according to the USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service. The recalled fish was shipped to nine states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. The problem arose when an FSIS inspector was surveying imported products at a California retailer. No illnesses or adverse reactions have been reported. Consumers who may have the products in their freezers should throw them out or return them to their place of purchase. Those with questions about the recall can contact Chinh Nguyen, Director, L&V Food Supply at 832-381-0293 or chinhnguyen@ctproduce.us. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. An Appalachian Trail sign in Pennsylvania. Delaware Water Gap Borough was approved for a $200,000 state grant for pedestrian safety upgrades to Mountain Road, a critical access route for the trail connecting Maine to Georgia. Dan Gleiter File Photo | For pennlive.com The Lehigh Valley region is sharing in $87 million in transportation grants awarded to more than 220 projects across Pennsylvania. The state Commonwealth Financing Authority on Feb. 24 approved the grants from the Multimodal Transportation Fund. Its sourced from state taxes and fees under Act 89 of 2013. Delaware Water Gap is among the recipients and will see $200,000, state Rep. Tarah Probst, D-Monroe/Pike, announced. The funding is for pedestrian safety upgrades to Mountain Road, a critical access route for the Appalachian Trail. The Monroe County borough is a designated Appalachian Trail Community and a walkable community with commercial services along Main Street (Route 611), borough council President Lisa Paulette told lehighvalleylive.com. It hosts thousands of walking tourists annually, with the trail serving as a main feature of Pocono Mountains tourism. Delaware Water Gaps Mountain Road Pedestrian Safety Project will make improvements to a major intersection and sidewalks, and provide raised medians, ADA accessible ramps and crosswalks, according to Paulette. Additionally, the project is designed to provide streetlights and crossing signage. A $163,257 grant was approved for Skyline Investment Group Easton LLC, owner of the former Dixie Cup plant in Wilson Borough. That money will go toward a proposed pedestrian and bicycle trail connector at the Dixie Cup site, according to state Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton. Skyline plans to refurbish the iconic Dixie Cup water tank atop the plant to display in a plaza along the trail. Its part of the developers vision to redevelop the site into about 300 one-bedroom apartments and 100 two-bedroom apartments. Allentown was awarded $1 million to extend the Martin Luther King (MLK) Trail, according to an announcement from state Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, and Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh/Northampton. The goal is to tie the trail into other city parks. Additional recipients of Lehigh Valley grants awarded in this round of funding include: City of Bethlehem Northside Alive Streetscape Development ($250,000). Forks Township, Frutchey Hill Road Repair Project Phase 2 ($1 million). PD Hellertown LLC, Hellertown Main Street and I-78 Interchange Improvements ($300,000). Hamilton Streetscape Project, to complete improvements along Hamilton Street in Allentown ($350,000). Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) Interior Fit-out Renovation of Allentown Transportation Center ($350,000). Whitehall Township Curb Ramp Improvements ($430,560). Find the complete list of Commonwealth Financing Authority Multimodal Transportation Fund projects approved Feb. 24 at dced.pa.gov. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Stradbally man Donal O'Shea has won a global award for campaigning for people with disabilities at a global education event. Bett 2025 attracted over 35,000 educators, policymakers and industry changemakers, with over 600 EdTechs, and 400 speakers from 130 countries. The organisers describe it as a game-changing event in building better connections, collaboration and conversations within the education technology sector. Mr O'Shea, a disabilities activist and campaigner in his Laois community and nationally, was presented with an award in the Social Emotional, Mental health and Well-being section in the Global Inclusion Awards at the Bett Excel centre in London on Thursday, January 23. He outlined to the Leinster Express / Laois Live his reason for his activism that led to the award. My interest in this area stems from lived experience with ankylosing spondylitis. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are among the most common rheumatic diseases. These chronic progressive inflammatory diseases lead to a reduction in physical ability and increase in joint degeneration, he said. Mr O'Shea campaigns in the area to highlight needs and shortcomings in responses because he feels that others have no choice as it is the only way to force action from the Government and its agencies. Invariably citizens would prefer not to share their medical details in such a public manner, however, that is precisely what far too many advocates have had to do, to influence the necessary cultural reforms and commitments accordingly. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Donal O'Shea was selected as the Laois Unsung Hero at the Laois Community and Voluntary Awards in 2019 which were presented by RTE broadcaster Claire Byrne from Mountrath. Pic: Michael Scully With 1.1 million national citizens declaring to have one or more disability in the 2022 census, 70% of which are of a 'hidden nature', the sector has not been prioritized or policy adequately robust, to comply with the States legal obligations, since ratification of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities in March 2018. There has also been inadequate and ineffective utilization of the infrastructure of the State to represent the sectors medical and varying personal needs. There has been excess misalignment of policies and failings in governance, too readily visible, with fragmentation between the national Government and the local authorities. Mr O'Shea, who hails from Kerry, previously won a global award for Social Impact at the UNESCO HQ in Paris in 2024, He was shortlisted for an Excellence in ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Award for the Think Global People Relocate Award in 2024. He is a past winner of the Unsung Hero Award at the Laois Community and Voluntary Awards. A summit dedicated to Ukraine will be held in London today, March 2. During the event, European politicians want to intensify their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. ADVERTISIMENT During the summit, European countries intend to introduce important decisions on security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. This is stated on the website of the British government. Prime Minister Keir Starmer initiated the summit to reiterate his unwavering support for Ukraine and his determination to find a way to end Russia's illegal war and guarantee Ukraine a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security. A variety of topics, including strengthening Ukraine's position through continued military support and increased economic pressure on Russia, are to be discussed. The leaders will also talk on the need for a strong and long-term agreement that will ensure permanent peace and that Ukraine will be able to deter and defend itself against future Russian attacks. Another topic of discussion will be the next steps in planning for reliable security guarantees. ADVERTISIMENT Ahead of the summit, the UK has already made it clear that it is ready to support Ukraine's future security through a military presence. Prime Minister Starmer said that a critical stage of the war is now approaching, during which it is necessary to support Ukraine and put it in the strongest possible position. To recap, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on March 1. He also spoke on the phone with US and French leaders Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron. Earlier, it was reported that Starmer tried to convince the presidents of the United States and Ukraine to return to the negotiating table after their dispute at the White House on February 28. In the end, London "failed" in an attempt to save the Ukrainian-American economic agreement. As reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the signing of a loan agreement between Ukraine and the United Kingdom. This is done to strengthen our defense capabilities, and the loan will be repaid from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! THE SEARCH is on for the next Miss Limerick, who will compete for the coveted Miss Ireland Crown. The quest to find the 77th Miss Ireland is underway and the Miss Ireland Organisation is searching for the next Miss Limerick, who will represent the county at the Miss Ireland final on June 14. Young women from across Limerick are invited to step into the spotlight and follow in the footsteps of reigning Miss Limerick, 20 year-old Alicia OCallaghan from Ballingarry, who is a nursing student by day and a DJ by night. As Miss Limerick, Alicia chose a charity to work with and endorse, which was Diabetes Ireland. This charity is very close to her heart as a type 1 diabetic herself. She is passionate about creating awareness for new technology that is being made available every year to make Type 1 Diabetics lives just that little bit better. Alicias hobbies include going to the gym, djing, hanging out with friends and family, and road trips around Ireland. READ MORE: Limerick contributes over 12k to record-breaking GOAL Mile fundraiser Since 1947, the Miss Ireland pageant has celebrated intelligence, ambition, and cultural pride, evolving into a platform that champions female leadership and philanthropy. This years competitors will join a legacy of inspiring role models including Former Miss World Rosanna Davison, Pamela Flood, Holly Carpenter, and current Miss Ireland Jasmine Gerhardt to name just a few. In recent years the Miss Ireland Franchise has raised over 350,000 for various charities including Laura Lynn, Temple Street, Alzheimers Ireland, Pieta House, The Cari Foundation, and The Julian Benson Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Each finalist will advance to the national event for a chance to claim the Miss Ireland crown at a spectacular final in the luxurious Knightsbrook Hotel and Resort in Trim Co Meath in June. The 77th crowned Miss Ireland will then have a chance to represent Ireland next year on an international stage at the Miss World Festival which is televised in over 100 countries around the world. The finalists of Miss Ireland are put through their paces in a challenging competitive process testing their skills in debating, public speaking, talent, sports, modelling, and social media with each finalist being tasked with raising much-needed awareness and funds for their chosen charities. Were calling all confident, driven young women in Limerick to seize this extraordinary opportunity said Brendan Marc Scully, director of Miss Ireland. "Miss Ireland isnt just a pageant - its a launchpad for personal growth, advocacy, and making a difference. If youre ready to challenge yourself and inspire others, we want to hear from you. Applications close on March 31 at 5pm See www.miss-ireland.ie for more information. THE ARMY bomb disposal unit was called to Shannon on Saturday evening after a suspected grenade was found in a car. A garda spokesperson confirmed gardai attended following the discovery of a suspect device in a vehicle at Sli an Sionnaigh, Shannon, County Clare, on Saturday, March 1. "A cordon was put in place. The Irish Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit attended and removed the vehicle for further examination. "The road was temporarily closed and has since reopened," said the garda spokesperson who added that "investigations are ongoing". READ MORE: BREAKING: Limerick Lotto player wins 2.6m in Saturday night's draw Limerick Live understands that the grenade was an imitation but looked very authentic and was, thus, treated as a real risk to life. The car that was targeted by the perpetrators was a silver Audi. There was a heavy garda presence in and around the scene in Shannon. An Irish Defence Forces spokesperson said bomb disposal experts from the Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team responded to a request for assistance from An Garda Siochana in relation "to a suspected explosive device in the Shannon area". "Following an assessment by the EOD team this device was deemed to be non-viable, and the scene was handed over to An Garda Siochana. This operation has now concluded," said the spokesperson. A TRUE friend who wrapped us all in her love and care is one of countless tributes paid after the passing of Esther Ryan (nee Walsh). Esther, of Ballincroona, Knocklong and formerly Carraturk, Ballylanders, passed away peacefully on Thursday, after a short illness, at her residence surrounded by her loving family. All of her and husband Dans three sons - David, Donie and TJ - hurled for Garryspillane and Limerick over long and distinguished playing careers. TJ went on to manage both his club and county. A post on Garryspillane GAA clubs Facebook page said they have lost a pillar of our club. One of our greatest volunteers for numerous years, she gave a lifetime of service, supporting and working for the Bouncers. "Her husband Dan played all grades for Garryspillane and her three boys of legendary status graced many fields all over the country with their number one supporter by their side. May heaven be her new playing surface, read the post. Esther will be reposing at Davern's Funeral Home, Hospital (V35XV96), this Sunday evening, March 2 from 5.30pm until 8pm. Funeral cortege arriving at St Josephs Church, Knocklong on Monday morning, March 3 for requiem Mass at 11.30am. Burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery. There have been dozens upon dozens of condolences paid on rip.ie including from Limerick County Board chairman Seamus McNamara on behalf of Limerick GAA; Club Limerick Dublin and Clares Anthony Daly. Esther will have been a familiar and friendly face to many while working for years behind the counter of bookmaker Paddy McAuliffe, who also expressed his sympathies. One of many moving condolences reads: A bright light has left all our lives forever on the sad passing of Esther. She was a true friend who wrapped us all in her love and care. We will cherish the memories, fun and laughter of our annual holidays together. She will be greatly missed. Rest in peace Esther, our dearest friend. READ MORE: PICTURES: Know Your Sport! Limerick pupils excel in inaugural quiz testing their knowledge It has been a very sad week for Garryspillane GAA Club and the wider community as they have now lost two great ladies. Pauline Ryan (nee O'Connell), of Mitchelstowndown, Knocklong and formerly of Ballinacurra, Hospital, passed away on Friday, February 21. Pauline, of the well-known Jap Ryans, was another Bouncers stalwart. Esther is sadly missed by her husband Dan, sons and daughters Martina (Geary), TJ, Donie, David, Jackie (McNamara), sister Mary (Gladman), sons in law and daughters in law Kieran, Louise, Siobhan, Cathy and Maurice, her adored 12 grandchildren Colin, Eoghan, Cormac, Tiernan, Chloe, Aisling, Amy, Emily, Molly, MJ, Ayda and Danny, sister in law Eileen (O'Dwyer) brother in law Les (Gladman), nephew Sean, cousins, family relatives and a wide circle of friends and neighbours. The Ryan family have asked for donations, if desired, to Milford Care Centre. May she rest in peace. A NATIONAL Lottery player in County Limerick has woken up this Sunday morning as a millionaire. They became Irelands newest multi-millionaire after winning 2,655,366 in last nights (Saturday, Match 1) main Lotto draw. Their winning Quick Pick ticket was purchased on February 26. The National Lottery has confirmed that the store location where the winning Lotto Jackpot ticket was purchased will be announced on Tuesday, March 4. The Limerick winner becomes the fourth Lotto jackpot winner of 2025, joining the ranks of other big winners from Dublin, Kerry and Louth. The winning numbers in last nights main Lotto draw were: 2, 6, 7, 10, 28, 32 and the bonus was 19. A total of 12.5m in Lotto jackpot prizes has been won so far this year. READ MORE: 'A pure fighter': Limerick mens shed celebrate stroke survivor Darragh ODwyer, National Lottery spokesperson, said: Its been a phenomenal start to the year with multiple Jackpot wins already. "To have four winners in just two months is remarkable, and were delighted for our latest jackpot winner who has just become Irelands newest millionaire. Its an exciting time for players, and we look forward to seeing where the next big win might land. The National Lottery is urging all players in the Limerick and Dublin areas to check their tickets carefully and if youre holding the winning ticket, be sure to contact the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie to arrange the collection of your prize. 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. When BlackRock joined a U.N.-sponsored climate coalition in March 2021, sustainability groups were thrilled. Having the worlds largest investment firm on board instantly lent credibility to the Net Zero Asset Managers, an initiative committed to support the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Dozens of major investment managers followed BlackRocks lead. BlackRock is proud to put its name behind this initiative," Chief Executive Larry Fink said at the time. Nearly four years later, Fink was distancing himself. NZAM got a phone call on Jan. 9: BlackRock was out. Within days, the coalition was teetering. BlackRocks departure from the coalition and its reversal this week on several diversity, equity and inclusion policies are the latest examples of the companys retreat from advocating for issues related to environmental, social and corporate-governance factors. It has been gradually walking back its ESG initiatives for years after conservatives criticized the movement as being woke" and legal risks grew. BlackRocks recent actions show the reversal is almost complete, though the fallout might not be. The company has been able to maintain strong results throughout the controversy, reporting record inflows last year. Crucially, BlackRock has remained out of the crosshairs of President Trump, who has a personal relationship with Fink. Trump has publicly commended Fink for managing his money well in the past, and Fink and other BlackRock executives still have the Trump teams ear on economic issues, according to people familiar with the matter. Fink, one of the loudest voices on Wall Street, had spoken out about the risks of climate change for the better part of a decade. Few think he was being disingenuous when he warned that climate risk is investment risk" in 2020. But his $11.6 trillion firm, which was eager to discuss how it could lead on environmental and social issues just a few years ago, has largely abandoned such rhetoric after a series of congressional inquiries and red-state lawsuits. This is hardball politics at its best, or worst, however you want to think about it," said Mindy Lubber, CEO of sustainability nonprofit Ceres and one of the leaders of NZAM. The campaign against ESG began in earnest in 2022, with coordinated efforts backed by oil-and-gas lobbyists and Leonard Leo, a longtime leader of the Federalist Society. Anti-ESG groups made BlackRock, and Fink, the poster child for what they call woke capitalism." This woke capitalism thing, two years ago, nobody had heard the term," said Lubber. I still cant really tell you what it means, but its been very effective. One would be foolish not to say that." Red states have passed dozens of anti-ESG laws. More than a dozen state attorneys general have targeted BlackRock over its ESG practices, and the Republican-led House of Representatives has subjected large asset managers to hearings and subpoenas. BlackRocks recent withdrawal from the climate coalition came one day before a deadline for it to respond to the latest House probe. It demanded information from more than 60 U.S.-based asset managers regarding their involvement in NZAM, which the House Judiciary Committee calls a woke ESG cartel." BlackRock, and many legal observers, say the claims on which the state laws and lawsuits are centered are baseless. The company settled an ESG suit with the state of Tennessee in January without admitting wrongdoing or paying any money. Regardless of the claims merit, the anti-ESG movement has won major concessions as BlackRock works to distance itself from controversy. Its membership in climate groups was often cited as evidence in state lawsuits. The companys PR efforts and public statements have changed markedly as well. Executives now rarely mention ESG issues, a favorite talking point just a few years ago. Recent communications have focused on BlackRocks role as the largest steward of Americans retirement assets and how it can play a role in helping people save and spend their nest eggs. BlackRocks ESG fund launches have ground to a halt. It hasnt launched an ESG exchange-traded fund in the U.S. since the first quarter of 2024, after launching 30 over the previous five years, according to Morningstar. The company took further steps to distance it from the movement last week, removing all mentions of DEIwhich was previously declared a corporate priorityfrom its latest annual report. On Friday, BlackRock told employees it was ending aspirational workforce representation goals and would no longer require managers to interview a diverse slate of candidates for open positions, according to an internal memo viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Significant changes to the U.S. legal and policy environment" related to DEI prompted the changes, the memo said. Meanwhile, BlackRock disclosed that it had renegotiated and removed sustainability-linked pricing metrics from a $4.4 billion credit facility it struck in 2021. It ended provisions that linked lending costs to whether it met targets for women in senior leadership and Black and Latino employees in the workforce. The credit facility had been oft-mentioned by political enemies accusing the asset manager of being woke. When it comes to proxy voting on behalf of its fund investors, BlackRock supported 4% of environmental and social shareholder resolutions in 2024, down from 40% in 2021, according to responsible investment charity ShareAction. BlackRocks business just posted a banner year, and executives appear to have concluded that sticking the companys neck out on controversy isnt worth it. ESG was conflated with being woke," said Michael Littenberg, global head of the ESG practice at law firm Ropes & Gray. Many managers have gotten smarter about addressing the backlash." Write to Jack Pitcher at jack.pitcher@wsj.com TAIPEIIn an era of brutal great-power politics, how do lesser powers get by? For this embattled Pacific island, a lifeline comes from landlocked Slavs half a world away. Taiwan and the Czech Republic, living in the shadow of China and Russia, have found common cause when small powers worry about being trampled by bigger rivals. Of roughly 200 countries and independent territories on Earth, fewer than 10 have significant global sway. The issue is gaining fresh urgency as U.S. foreign policy under President Trump becomes antagonistic. Many in Taipei see deteriorating U.S.-Ukraine ties as a warning about Washingtons willingness to defend Taiwan in case Chinawhich regards the self-governed island as its own territoryinvades. Denmark, pressed by Trump to sell Greenland, is seeking support from European and other allies. Colombia acquiesced to Trumps tariff threats and agreed to accept U.S. deportees. The Philippines and other Asian countries worry the U.S. will diminish support in standing up to China. Its about how small countries survive," said Jakub Janda, a Czech international-security specialist who runs the first European think tank in Taiwan, the Prague-based European Values Center for Security Policy. Diplomats and business people say the Prague-Taipei friendshipwhich involves cooperation in intelligence, trade and investmenthelps both sides. For Taiwan, which Beijing works to isolate internationally, Czechs offer a welcome link to the worldeven though the two dont have formal diplomatic relations. The Czech Republic, a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, takes more initiative on Taipeis behalf than other EU members, particularly in building business ties, say officials. Czechs are channeling Taiwanese humanitarian aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia because Kyiv and Taipei dont have diplomatic relations. Czechs are Taiwans most ardent advocates inside NATO, say diplomats. NATO is building links to Asia-Pacific allies including Japan and South Korea amid fears of Chinas malign activities in and near Europe, but is hesitant with Taiwan. Every time we need support, the Czech Republic is always there to support us," said Joseph Wu, the head of Taiwans National Security Council and former foreign minister, on a visit to Prague. Taiwans experience facing China, meanwhile, is valuable to Prague and its neighbors. Every NATO country near Russia wants to talk with us," said Taiwans Deputy Minister for Digital Affairs Chiueh Herming, who oversees cybersecurity, connectivity and digital resilience. He last year attended a conference in Prague on protecting undersea internet cables. Taiwan and Europe since 2023 have faced repeated ruptures in those connections, many of which they suspect were Chinese and Russian sabotage. Czech Cyber and Information Security Agency Director Lukas Kintr said his team has shared with Chiuehs ministry extensive information on Russias influence campaigns in Europe, which China is studying. We can learn from Taiwan about China too," he said. Czechs know they will never be Taiwans top commercial partner because the country of 11 million people lacks economic heft. Some Czechs were disappointed when Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC in 2023 announced plans for a $10 billion factory in Dresden, Germany. But the Czech Republic, 30 miles from Dresden, still benefits. TSMC sees it as a vital part of the plants supply chain and the Taiwanese government is working with TSMC suppliers to start Czech operations and business clusters, government officials say. Nonstop flights to Prague that Taiwans China Airlines launched in 2023 are among its most successful, say officials in Taipei, and the carrier wants to increase frequency. Beijing has worked to cleave the duo and attacked their partnership but holds little leverage: China accounts for less than 2% of Czech exports. Still, Prague treads cautiously. We know the Chinese are interested in Taiwanese activities here," said Czech Counterintelligence Agency Director Michal Koudelka. Under communism, Prague professed socialist kinship with the Peoples Republic of China, not Taiwan. When the Warsaw Pact collapsed in 1989 and Czech dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president, he advocated morality in international relations. The call resonated amid democracys apparent triumph over Moscows totalitarianism and as Beijings crackdown in Tiananmen Square that year drew global condemnation. Havel quickly became a very public friend of the Dalai Lama, whom China in 1959 had exiled from his native Tibet. The two men together preached peace, drawing Beijings ire. Czech ties to the Dalai Lama would repeatedly infuriate China over subsequent decades. When Taiwan in the early 1990s shed its military-backed autocracy, Havel and the Czech transition became a model for President Lee Teng-hui, who led Taiwans shift to democracy. After Havels presidency ended in 2003 he visited Lee, further angering China. Thanks in part to Havels support, Taiwanese tech companies picked the Czech Republic as a European base, even before it joined the EU in 2004. Foxconn, which makes iPhones for Apple, and computer makers Acer and Asus were the biggest names in a wave of investments. But the global financial crisis and Chinas economic ascendance made people start doubting their assumptions" about Western capitalism and Czech-Tawainese ties, recalled Martin Hala, director of Sinopsis, a China-focused think tank in Prague. In Central Europe, China started building highways and rail lines on apparently favorable terms. EU officials worried that Beijing was wooing its newest and poorest members. Czechs in 2013 elected a China-friendly president, Milos Zeman, who in 2016 advocated a restart" of relations with Beijing and hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Prague. Taiwan-China relations separately blossomed. Then, in a stunning twist, China in 2018 arrested its biggest investor in the Czech Republic for fraud, leaving many Czech partners burned. Pragues newly elected mayor, meanwhile, infuriated Beijing by embracing Taiwan, where he once lived. Chinas reprisals included rescinding a promise to send pandas to the citys zoo. Taipei offered Prague a pair of endangered pangolins instead. The Czech case with China is a textbook example of what can go wrong," said Hala. As Czech opinions of China soured further during the Covid-19 pandemic, opposition legislators rekindled Taiwan ties. In 2020 Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil flew to Taipei and, addressing the islands lawmakers, cited President John F. Kennedys 1963 Berlin speech and declared in Mandarin Chinese, I am Taiwanese." Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the time called Vystrcils trip a public affront" that crossed a red line" for which he would pay a heavy price." Lithuania showed the risk of closeness to Taiwan in 2021, when the former Soviet vassal let Taipei open a Taiwanese Representative Office." Beijing considered the name tantamount to recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign country, which it vehemently opposes. Lithuania accused China of retaliating by discriminating against its exports. Vilnius prodded the EU to open a case against Beijing in the World Trade Organization. In 2023, one of the first moves of newly elected Czech President Petr Pavel, a retired senior NATO general, was taking a call from Taiwans president, drawing condemnation from Beijing. The Czechs soon after sent their largest trade delegation yet to Taiwan, led by the parliaments speaker. Also on the trip was cyber agency chief Kintr, to deepen ties with his counterparts. The Taiwanese and Czech military universities separately struck a partnership to conduct joint research and exchange officers for training, among other activities, creating Taiwans strongest link with a European military training institution. Now, with political pressure mounting in both Taiwan and the Czech Republic, the two need to demonstrate that their relations can deliver more, say analysts. High-tech investment doesnt benefit the large Czech agricultural sector, which wants more exports, said Marcin Jerzewski, who runs the European Values Centers Taipei office. Havel quotes dont put bread on the table," said Jerzewski. Czechs, meanwhile, have struggled to broaden Taiwan ties to other European countries, which remain wary of angering China. On one front the relationship has yielded unexpected results: Pragues pangolins from Taipei have had two babies, a rarity in captivity, drawing cheers in both capitals. Write to Daniel Michaels at Dan.Michaels@wsj.com A combative White House meeting has presented Ukraine with the prospect of fighting Russia without the support of its primary military backer through the first three years of the war. Now, the question is whether Europe has the firepowerand the political willto help Ukraine hold off the Russians. Without Washington at its side, Ukraine would have to lean more heavily on its European allies and its own domestic defense production. It could likely maintain its current fighting strength for at least a few months, officials and analysts say. After that, it could face shortages of ammunition and lose access to some of its most sophisticated weapons. A parade of European leaders have expressed solidarity with Ukraine after the meeting in the Oval Office descended into an unusual on-camera clash between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The European officials offered Zelensky and Ukraine their backing and said they would ensure Ukraine doesnt stand alone. We stand with Ukraine for as long as it may take," U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Zelensky as he met him in Downing Street ahead of a meeting with European leaders taking place in London on Sunday. Starmer said he wanted to achieve a lasting peace" in Ukraine and has also been in contact with Trump as he attempts to broker a compromise between the U.S and Europe. The U.K. said Saturday it was making a loan of 2.26 billion, or roughly $2.8 billion, to Ukraine to fund its military. The coming weeks will show whether Europe can back up its rhetoric by stepping up support for Ukraine if Washington walks away. Ukrainian soldiers train in the eastern region of Donetsk.U.S.-provided Bradley infantry fighting vehicles have played an important role in Ukraines defense. Zelensky spoke with several other European leaders by phone after the White House meeting, including Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Antonio Costa, who convenes and plans meetings of European Union leaders. European diplomats briefed on those calls said Zelensky showed an impressive level of calm after the tense exchange with Trump and Vice President JD Vance that stunned senior officials in Washington. In the past, Zelensky has been skeptical of Europes ability to act alone to defend Ukraine. He has consistently said that the U.S. would be needed to deter the Kremlin from attacking his country again in the future if there were a cease-fire deal. He stressed that again on Friday in his meeting with Trump. The U.S. has sent nearly $70 billion in military aiddwarfing contributions from any of Kyivs other alliessince the start of the war, according to Zelensky. But European nations have been steadily stepping up their support throughout the war. The EU and its member states have given over $50 billion in military assistance. Last year, the EU, the U.K. and Norway combined gave Ukraine around $25 billion in military aidmore than the U.S. sent, according to European officials. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with Trump on Thursday, plans to host European leaders to discuss Ukraine this weekend. Meanwhile, Ukraine has vastly expanded its domestic arms industry, producing $30 billion a year in weaponry, according to Ukrainian officials. Last year, the country produced 1.5 million drones, which have played an increasingly important role on the front lines, allowing Ukraine to hold off Russian forces with minimal casualties. Ukraine says it can produce 3,000 missiles and 30,000 long-range drones this year. Former President Joe Biden, before leaving office, sent weapons from existing U.S. stocks and signed contracts with the U.S. defense industry to provide ammunition, air-defense interceptors and other materiel. It wasnt immediately clear whether Trump could halt some of those supplies if he chose to do so. Some advanced U.S. weapons, such as its air-defense systems and surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, will be impossible for Ukraine to replace in the short-term once supplies begin to run out. Europe doesnt make enough of them. Even one year of fighting without the U.S. would be a major achievement, and a major rebuke for Trumps shortsighted approach," said Mykola Bielieskov, a senior analyst at Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian charity that has supplied drones to the military. He added that it seemed as though Trump had been looking for an excuse, if they indeed plan to cut aid to zero." European officials said the clash between Zelensky and Trump in Washington on Friday underscored the urgency of accelerating work to aid Ukraine. On Sunday, European leaders will gather in London to discuss security guarantees that countries are prepared to offer if there is a cease-fire deal. On Thursday, EU leaders meet for an emergency summit on Ukraine and the continents defense vulnerabilities. Two weeks later, they will gather again in Brussels to make or sign off decisions. Ukraines domestically produced drones are already a key part of its arsenal.Front-line cities such as Pokrovsk continue to bear the brunt of Russias advance in eastern Ukraine. On Friday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of Trumps closest European allies, called for a summit between the U.S. and Europe to discuss Europe and other security challenges. The EU has already earmarked 30 billion euros, equivalent to about $31 billion, for Ukraine for this year, and some of that could be used as military aid. But much of that sum is expected to go toward budget assistance that Kyiv needs to pay salaries and keep basic services going as well as potential military aid. Some European diplomats say the EU should commit to at least matching last years 20 billion euros in military assistance for Ukraine. But reaching agreement on that ahead of the meeting in Brussels in two weeks will be a challenge, given the need for most EU leaders to back such a plan. A number of European countries have come out with specific military aid pledges for Ukraine, including Sweden, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Britain and France have already penciled in billions in additional assistance for 2025. Pressure is rising in Europe to seize nearly 200 billion euros in frozen Russian assets sitting mainly in Belgium to bolster support, but the idea still lacks backing from Europes most powerful countries. Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader," the EUs foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on X on Friday. Its up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge." Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics and Ukraines former economic development minister, said that Europe had the capacity to help Ukraineincluding, potentially, buying American weapons to send to Kyiv. But he said it was an open question whether European leaders would continue standing with Ukraine if Trump started pressing them to back away. He noted that Trump had leverage over European leaders, and he could potentially threaten, for example, to cut them off from U.S. intelligence Right now, Europe is showing solidarity and support," Mylovanov said. Theyre less independent from Trump than they think." Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com and Ian Lovett at ian.lovett@wsj.com New Delhi: When the government announced the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors in 2021, with an outlay of around $10 billion, it was perhaps fitting that it was the largest of all schemes to promote hi-tech manufacturing in India announced by the government. The world over, governments love semiconductors, as a target for industrial policy. Semiconductors lie at the core of modern life. Factories to make them can be extremely expensiveto the order of $20 billion or so for a single factory. The ultimate prize can be significantbuilding a scientific and technical eco-system like Silicon Valley. The success of Silicon Valley is one that many other countries would like to replicate," Chad Bown and Dan Wang point out in a 2024 article about the semiconductor industry in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. They too want a self-sustaining ecosystem for generating, producing, and then regenerating cutting-edge technologies." Governments have a critical role to play in this construct, and the Indian government has been trying to progressively position itself for that. As a recent paper by Pinelopi K. Goldberg and others, about industrial policy in the semiconductor industry, points out: government support has been critical for the semiconductor industrys growth, particularly during its initial development phase. This support is evident across all major segments of the value chain, benefiting established leaders at the technology frontier, such as Korea and Taiwan, countries seeking to advance their industry, such as China and the US, and countries attempting to enter the market, such as India." They add: Since 2020, there has been a significant increase in government intervention, with China, the US, Japan, Korea, and India notably ramping up financial support for the industry." Will those efforts bear fruit and see India rise up the semiconductor value chain? Government support As Chart 1 shows, the Indian government has its work cut out, in terms of encouraging a domestic semiconductor industry. Countries such as the US, South Korea and China, all countries with large existing semiconductor manufacturing facilities, have committed multiples of what the Indian government has committed to the sector. Even beyond this, governments such as the US have non-fiscal measures in place, such as specific targeted tariffs, often to ensure that specific chip technologies are not transferred to China. The Indian government has three specific schemes targeted at the semiconductor industry. In addition, there are PLI schemes for electronics and information technology hardware. As originally envisaged in 2020-21, these schemes together commit around $17.5 billion, of which around $10 billion is specifically for semiconductor manufacturing. Actual payouts under the various programmes have been lesser. Over 2023-24 and 2024-25, the total amount actually handed out by the government is to the order of about 16,000 croreor a little less than $2 billion. Apart from the central government incentives, which subsidize costs of setting up a unit up to 50% of the project cost, states individually offer schemes of their own, with varying degrees of additional subsidies beyond what the centre provides. For instance, Tamil Nadu commits to offer 50% of the capex assistance provided by the centre, as does Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka and Gujarat offer 20% and 40%, respectively. In addition, states offer additional benefits such as waivers on stamp duty on land acquisition, electricity subsidies etc. Stage managed The semiconductor industry, globally, has three stages: design, fabrication, and assembly, test, and package. The first two stages are the holy grail, so to speak, for the complexity and specialization they involve. For decades, all three stages were done by vertically integrated firms. But the industry eventually fragmented, with the so-called fabless model gaining currencyhere, companies focus on design, leaving the huge capital investments needed to firms focused on manufacturing. The assembly stage is outsourced as well. A BCG report from 2021, authored by Antonio Varas, and others points out: The dramatic increase in technology complexity and need for scale to afford massive investments to keep the pace of innovation in both design (in the form of R&D) and manufacturing (in the form of capital expenditure) favoured the emergence of specialized players." Thus, different stages in the process have fragmented across geographies. The US leads the world in chip design and research and development, given its huge pool of scientific and technical manpower. East Asia is where the bulk of manufacturing is concentrated. And it is in China, and East Asia, that the assembly, test and package stage is largely done. It is this last stage, where among other processes, wafers are cut into individual chips, that India has started with. The bulk of the payouts under the various semiconductor-oriented schemes have been toward such units. Innovation meets cost Semiconductor imports into India have steadily risen. This is something to be expected, given the increased domestic manufacturing under various PLI schemes such as those for displays or mobile phones. However, the source of such imports has shifted away from China and Hong Kong. In 2018-19, these two countries accounted for about 80% of semiconductor imports into India. In 2024-25, this was down to about 52%. And while together, China and Hong Kong are still the biggest source of chips being sent to India, Taiwan and South Korea now account for close to a third of chip imports, compared with around 3.5% in 2018-19. Notwithstanding attempts by the US to re-shore, much of the global semiconductor manufacturing industry is concentrated in Asia. This is partly due to the fact that end-users of these chipsmanufacturing units that assemble them into computers, phones, television setsare also located in Asia, especially China. But as Bown and Wang point out: The increasing concentration of manufacturing in Asia was not due to only market forces: foreign industrial policy continued to play a role." They quote the Semiconductor Industry Association as estimating that it was 30% more expensive to set up a fab in the US as compared with Taiwan or South Korea, with the differential rising to 50% in the case of China. Further, around 40-70% of that cost differential was due to subsidies. But while states, especially in East Asia and China, have aggressively subsidized and promoted chip manufacturing, international technology transfer is critical. As the Goldberg paper points out: Crucially, beyond making the industry more attractive to entrepreneurs by changing relative prices (through tariffs, subsidized loans, tax breaks etc.), each state was directly involved in the process of international technology acquisition, absorption, and diffusion. Put differently, developing a domestic industry seems to have required some infant industry promotion and, critically, also extensive international technology transfer facilitated by public agencies." Given the massive R&D requirements, none of the governments in East Asia that are technological leaders today succeeded entirely on their own. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan all relied on technology collaborations with American firms. The China factor It is in this context that todays semiconductor geopolitics become significant. With the US attempting to prevent, through various measures, technology transfer to China, it becomes an open question as to the extent to which China can move up the value chain, beyond the assembly stage to fabrication and designthough this has already happened to some extent, despite US restrictions. View Full Image China has had mixed results in moving up the semiconductor value chain. (Photo: Reuters) But whether China can eventually come to dominate semiconductor manufacturing, like it has so many other industries, even cutting-edge ones such as electric vehicle manufacture, is a different matter entirely. As the Goldberg paper argues, China has had decidedly mixed results in moving up the semiconductor value chain. Estimates are that it accounts for 1-5% of the global market share in chip design and R&D, and 7% of the market share in chip manufacturing, despite decades of state support to industry. The BCG report, using data as of 2019, puts Chinas market share in fabrication at 13-16%, not much higher than that of the US itself (11-12%). In contrast, Chinas share of the outsourced assembly, packaging and testing market is around 38%. Why has China been relatively less successful in the global race to dominate chip manufacturing? The Goldberg paper, quoting research done by JD Minnich, points to the fact that much of Chinas production, till recently, has been for international markets rather than its own domestic market. Because of this, it lacked the bargaining power to entice foreign firms, as it couldnt trade domestic market access for technology transfer. China accounts for 1-5% of the global market share in chip design and R&D, and 7% of the market share in chip manufacturing, some estimates state. In recent years, though, it has met with much greater success. This also coincides with shifts within China, towards its domestic market becoming more lucrative than earlier. The authors conclude: Lessons from Chinas efforts are also consistent with lessons from earlier East Asian experiences. In particular, Chinas efforts only highlight the importance of technology transfer for successful industrial policy; outside of the US, our historical analysis has not uncovered a single instance where a domestic semiconductor industry developed without substantial foreign technology. This highlights that developing the industry, even with generous support, is difficult without foreign partners willing to share technology." In this respect, Indias current position in global geopolitics becomes important. Firms such as Apple are looking aggressively at shifting at least a part of their production outside China. So, technology transfer becomes part of the package, at least at the assembly stage. However, the real challenge will come when India tries to move up the value chain toward manufacturing. Key Takeaways Factories to make chips can be extremely expensiveto the order of $20 billion or so for a single factory. Governments, therefore, have a critical role to play. States, especially in East Asia and China, have aggressively subsidized and promoted chip manufacturing. The Indian government has three specific schemes targeted at the semiconductor industry. Given the massive R&D requirements, none of the governments in East Asia that are technological leaders today succeeded entirely on their own. International technology transfer is critical. Indias current position in global geopolitics becomes importantfirms such as Apple are looking at shifting at least a part of their production outside China. So, technology transfer becomes part of the package. howindialives.com is a search engine for public data. Franco was born in 1892 into a Galician family that had long been linked to the Navy at a time when Spain had lost its colonies. Julian Casanova (Zaragoza, 1956) says that history travels down many streets and in many directions and can only be understood through a deep investigation into the events of the past. In Franco, Casanova constructs a portrait of the Spanish dictator for the 21st century in 30 brief and very agile chapters, which he has completed with a photographic album that gives an account of the figures who surrounded him, a rigorous chronology and an extensive bibliographic commentary. There is something about Casanova, professor of contemporary history at the University of Zaragoza, that makes him a rara avis in his profession: the long periods of time that he has taught outside of Spain, in the United States but above all in Budapest and Vienna at the Central European University, and his eagerness to intervene in public discussion, whether on social networks or in traditional media. He has studied and written about anarchism, the Republic and the Civil War, but also about Europe, which was torn apart after the Great War, the Russian Revolution and the violence that has marked the 20th century. He says that it is possible to explore the past without seeking a conviction or an absolution: You cannot put anyone in a courtroom because the goodness or evil of the characters is not a historical concept. He comments on Francisco Franco that he was not a charismatic character, but that unlike others who were, he died in his bed and was afforded a pharaonic burial, and we will have to explain why. Historian Julian Casanova, author of the biography 'Franco,' on February 7 in Madrid. INMA FLORES Question: Where does Franco come from? Answer. He was born in 1892 into a family from Galicia [in northwestern Spain] that had long been linked to the Navy at a time when Spain had lost its colonies and when belonging to the Navy no longer meant any glory. His father, who abandoned the family just as he joined the infantry, was never a reference in his life; his mother was his kindness. His upbringing was typical of what a son of a soldier would have had in Galicia at the turn of the 20th century, a mixture of military tradition and Catholicism. Nothing extraordinary would have happened if Franco had not passed through Africa. Q. So Africa is one of the keys? A. I realized that all the dictators of his time had been through World War I, and he hadnt. And Africa was very similar to that experience for him. Franco has said that the Military Academy of Toledo, which he entered in 1907, made him a man, and his daughter has recalled that he suffered humiliation there. He arrived in Africa in 1912, after leaving the Academy with an unpromising record, and stayed there until 1926, which left an indelible mark on him. Francisco Franco gives orders to his captains during the assault on Ras Medua, in October 1921. EFE Q. In what sense? A. He understood that people were working their butts off for their country and that the politicians had abandoned them, and he began to invent a character who was sustained by heroism, by the idea of I do everything for my country. He rose very quickly on his war merits. Q. He became a general at the age of 33. A. The rapid promotion through battlefield achievements is important to understand the hatred he felt for [Prime Minister Manuel] Azana when, in his military reform, he rejected this type of promotion. He also hated him for closing the General Military Academy, which was created by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and of which Franco was director. Here we enter the area of grievances. He accumulated them and he would release them throughout his life, and he could do so because he had a power that he had never dreamed of. Q. At what point did he achieve that power? A. Without the coup detat, as it turned out, because he was not the main person involved. Without the civil war, as it broke out in October, when he was elected by his people as head of the Spanish government, Franco wouldnt have been so important. Before 1936, he was just another war hero, the youngest divisional general in Europe. Q. How important was it that he was the one who contacted Hitler at the beginning of the war? A. Without being in Morocco, the letter he sent to Hitler would never have existed. He had access to some Germans there who allowed him to reach him. When his emissary arrived to see the Fuhrer with the letter, he didnt tell him that it was sent by Franco, but by a Spanish general who was in trouble after staging a coup against the revolution. And that is when Hitler showed interest. Paul Preston already explained it: the rise to the pinnacle of power of a nobody, more than anybody else involved, occurred because he knew how to play the internationalization card and managed to get troops through the Straits [of Gibraltar] and secure Hitlers help. Two weeks after everything started, the Germans and Italians had already agreed that all weapons would go through Franco. Mola, Queipo de Llano and the others were ruled out. After the capture of the Alcazar [of Toledo], which made him famous, another Franco emerges. Q. The political Franco? A. In Zaragoza, at the Academy, with the many hospitalities he was the recipient of, he began to taste the honey of political power. Which, of course, has to be subordinated to military power. And he no longer thought of anything else. Q. What did his victory mean? A. That he didnt have to prove anything. They wanted him because he won the war and freed Spain from the communists. Q. What kind of regime and character did he construct during the war? A. When he became the undisputed leader, he realized that the Nationalist soldiers had no plan. [Interior Minister Ramon] Serrano Suner told him that he was governing a camp-like state and that he needed a modern state: Nazi, fascist, with a single party. Franco had to combine the military tradition he came from with the very important weight of Catholicism that supported him and with a new force, that of the Falange, which had not become a widely supported party. Franco was building his regime while he was at war. Q. And what importance did that have? A. It made him realize the importance of religion and rituals. It is not only propaganda that is useful, rituals are needed. And rituals are carried out around martyrs. This is what Gentile calls the political religion of fascism. Martyrs are beginning to appear everywhere, as are places of memory. Q. After the end of World War II, Franco reinvented himself again. A. Fascism and the Church: that combination for me is the key, and sharing the spoils, without forgetting the military who backed him. He knew that, no matter how much fascism and how much Church, without the military at his side nothing will last. They were the three great axes that would mark the history of Spain. When one of them had to disappear, with the defeat of fascism, Franco received a report from [right-hand man Luis] Carrero Blanco telling him that they were not going to be overthrown from outside, so what they had to do was to maintain order and hold on. Francisco Franco gives a speech at the second national rally of the Spanish Youth Organization (OJE), at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, on October 29, 1939. EFE Q. What happened in the meantime inside Spain? A. Franco spent six years cleaning up Spain and eliminated the internal enemy, who ended up either in the cemetery or in exile. In the post-war period, in the midst of hunger and repression, Franco managed to convince people that he had nothing to do with all this. And he also managed to convey that the monarchy that Don Juan [former king Carlos I] represented was the liberal monarchy that led Spain to a resounding failure, so he did well to cross the dynastic line. And to retain power. Q. How did he do that? Q. The dirtiest part of dictatorships is not carried out by the dictators. Ian Kershaw, in his biography of Hitler, invented a term that I apply to Franco: At the direction of the Fuhrer. The Fuhrer did not have to remind anyone what they had to do. And the same goes for Franco. Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco greet each other, in the presence of Eberhard von Stohrer, in Hendaye on 23 October 1940. Shawshots / Alamy / CORDON PRESS Q. They say that the 1950s were the golden age of tyranny. A. I attach great importance to the Korean War. It was the turning point that allowed the Western powers to realize that the Soviet Union was an ally against fascism, but that at that moment it was the enemy. Franco understood this immediately. That change was key; the other is the American friend. He understood that Franco plus Salazar plus what happened in Greece were decisive in controlling the Mediterranean. The year 1953 was key: the concordat with the Vatican and the agreements with the United States were signed. He knew that no one was going to touch him and, from then on, he had a free hand, for corruption and for everything else. Q. What happened when Opus Dei gained power in the late 1950s? A. Opus Dei, from a Weberian approach, did in a country without Protestantism what the Protestant ethic produced: rationalize the administration and the state to modernize capitalism, and it did so without abandoning authoritarianism. Q. And in the 1960s? A. Succeeding in keeping up with the great changes that took place at that time is a huge achievement. In addition to resorting to repression, he let Opus Dei do its work and, in addition, there was a golden age of Falangism. That is, until the Matesa corruption scandal came to light in 1969, and a case of corruption affecting the Falange was exposed: the regime was split from above. All studies of dictatorships show that they only fall because of internal struggles between those in charge. I draw a clear conclusion from the dictatorship: all the characters surrounding Franco are male and have double standards. Among his 119 ministers, there was not a single woman, but neither were they relevant in their personal lives: on hunts they sat somewhere else, they did not eat with the men. It was a barracks mentality, but one passed through Africa. There was misogyny in the way of governing, in the laws, in the contempt for and subordination of women. Q. And the opposition? A. Before the appearance of the Workers Commissions, the opposition was in the catacombs. The classic trade unionism of the UGT and the CNT and the political parties was dismantled, they were terribly afraid. What was emerging was a new mentality that was no longer going to fight to oust Franco and start the revolution. Santos Julia understood this, Javier Pradera understood it. The people coming through were left-wing people, but they were no longer fighting to conquer the Bastille. With a united army, that could not be done. The real opposition was in the neighborhood associations, in the worker priests who for the first time spoke of socialism, in the Workers Commissions, and in a dozen small Maoist revolutionary groups that still believed that something could be done. But it was clear that it was not going to be possible. Francisco Franco delivers the traditional Christmas message before the microphones of Spanish National Radio on December 30, 1961. EFE Q. People defend Franco by saying that he was a modernizer. A. The fact that there are those on the far-right today who want to revive someone who most people already know did no good for the history of Spain allows me to believe that a biography like this can serve to make people think. To make them think, not to indoctrinate. The great peculiarity of our history is that during the three decades in which democracy and the social state of law were consolidated in Western Europe, Spain was outside of that. If Franco had died in 1945, today he would be remembered as a fascist. Q. How long did the repression continue? A. Until the end. The Public Order Tribunal, the TOP, was created in 1963 and dissolved in January 1977. All the good things that Franco did were done by Western democracies without the need for torture, prison, exclusion policies, or death sentences. If democracy cannot explain these things, that is another problem: history does. Q. Your biography of Franco appears in the context of a bitter controversy over the events planned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his death. A. I think that 50 years after the death of a person who was in power for 40 years and who marked the life of Spain is a good time to explain many things to citizens. The date deserves commemoration, and for people to be able to know what Francos dictatorship was. A democratic government, whether socialist or not, should not be under any doubt about this in 2025. We have a peculiarity, and it is not in [Prime Minister Pedro] Sanchez, but in a [opposition conservative] Popular Party that will never participate in this, in a right that has never known how to freely address a past that also belonged to the right of other European countries. One could look at Adenauer, at Christian democracy, to understand that at this point anything that is fascism or authoritarianism is not worth it. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition For a novel so steeped in old-school ideas about art and friendship, Annie Zaidis The Comeback is quite sharp when it comes to depicting a decidedly contemporary phenomenonthe passive-aggressive Instagram spiral. When you really, really want one particular person to listen these days, you scream your lungs out in front of millions. I have done it myself and, to paraphrase poet Allen Ginsberg, I have seen the best minds of my generation naked and hysterical in their worship of the online blood-God. Rising Bollywood star John K, the narrator-protagonist of The Comeback, has just found out that his estranged friend Asghar has returned to their shared first love: theatre. Desperate to get into Asghars good books and his troupe again, John starts shooting increasingly elaborate Instagram videos of himself performing classic stage monologuesthe Brutus speech from Julius Caesar on a hilltop, Portias quality of mercy" speech next to the Statue of Liberty, and so on. This sequence rings especially true because this is precisely how millennials, a generation raised on virtual connections", would approach conflict resolution in real time. The Comeback begins with the event that tears John K and Asghar asunderflush from the success of his first major film, John participates in an ill-advised tell-all" interview with a journalist. During the interview, he blurts out that in college, he helped Asghar cheat on an economics exam. After the story is published, Asghar loses his bank job and returns to his native Baansa (in Uttar Pradesh) to resurrect his old theatre troupe, which in turn puts his marriage under serious pressure. As John Kwho is really Jaun Kazim underneath the freshly acquired Bollywood blusterrealises the scale and implications of his blunder, he looks back at his life and thinks, who else might I have wronged along the way? Out of this central conflict, Zaidi gently unfurls several interlocked questions about art, friendship and the perpetually ugly business of making a living. Is true" or honest" art necessarily decoupled from the needs of the marketplace? Is the converse true, then, especially in a vastly inequitable country like India? What does performance" even mean for a person pathologically incapable of being honest with themselves or their closest friends? View Full Image 'The Comeback': By Annie Zaidi, Aleph Book Company, 192 pages, 599. Consider the story of John helping Asghar cheat during a college examination. Zaidi does a great job of describing how John talks his friend (who would rather study for his economics exam) into writing another college play for himJohn makes him believe hes different and special because of his grasp of literature and stagecraft. Its classic abuser methodology, using an honest feeling (Asghar is super-talented, after all) to do dishonest work (nudging Asghar to act against his self-interest). Anybody could write an economics exam but only Asghar could direct a fine play," as John says. One cannot overstate how devastating that last line is, sociologically speaking, especially for Indian millennials like Asghar and John. This is the Great Lie that a generation was told in the wake of Indias economy opening up to the world; that each of them was unique and special and deserved unique, special things in life, if only they could buckle down and grit their teeth through a nebulous process of self-discovery". This is also why every 30-something with a DSLR (or the oxymoronic adult colouring book") loves to pontificate about art, while bristling at those who advise studying the craft first. Art is unique and special whereas craft is what the neighbourhood carpenter does and we cant respect that, surely? Unless said carpenter can make wine from water, of course. As the novel moves on, John realises that amidst his pretensions about art and transparent sense of ambition, he had lost sight of his craft. I loved the passages where John slowly realises how acting is a job like any other in the world, where you have to keep turning up day after day, plugging away at seemingly mundane tasks until a larger goal is accomplished. In other words, John learns the true meaning of making a living". The novels engine room might be all about male bonding and the male tendency to avoid confrontation in friendships but it is The Comebacks women who will leave the reader with a smile, through the sheer strength and robustness of their characterisation. Asghars mother Shakeela, renowned as the 60 percent Maam", is a famed tutor who promises to drag dullards across the pass-mark threshold. Johns ex-wife Sejal continues to be the closest thing to a confidante he has in his isolation. Asghars formidable wife Zubi rebrands nankhatai as Awadhi cookies" with interesting results. The Comeback gives all these charactersand its anti-heroic leading manwell-defined arcs that wrap up satisfactorily in the end, without delving into wish fulfilment territory. This is an accomplished, compulsively readable short novel that may force you to take a good look at your own dormant friendships. Aditya Mani Jha is a Delhi-based writer. If you want a one-liner to put on a T-shirt that sums up the spirit of the times we are living in, I bet you cant find a better one than this droll sentence from the late Philip Roths 1993 novel, Operation Shylock : Its too ridiculous to take seriously and too serious to be ridiculous." I stumbled upon it in writer and activist Naomi Kleins 2023 book, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, where this quote runs like a refrain, much like an anthem you may hum under your breath every time you are scrolling through the internet, especially if you are looking for news or information that is reliably true. The mirror world" that Klein refers to in the subtitle is, in part, a reference to the world wide web, a domain where it is becoming harder each day to tell fact from fiction. Thanks to the flagrant manipulation of tech and AI, it is easier than ever to peddle any number of liesfrom cures for chronic diseases to conspiracy theories that can pull entire democracies down. In all this mayhem, the worst nightmare perhaps is the dread of identity thefta central theme of Kleins book. The difference in her case is there is no actual stealing involved. Rather, it starts as seemingly trivial confusionpeople on the internet mixing up Klein with her namesake, Naomi Wolf, best known, once upon a time, as a liberal feminist and author of The Beauty Myth, her critically acclaimed first book published in 1990, which triggered new conversations around patriarchys manipulation of womens bodies and psyches. But that was in another lifetime. Although Wolf was never known for the soundness of her research, as Klein shows through close reading of passages from her books (including her much-lauded debut), her career underwent a watershed moment in 2019. On a BBC programme, while promoting Outrages: Sex, Censorship and the Criminalisation of Love, the book shed published that year, Wolf was called out by the host Matthew Sweet for making an egregious mistake in her thesisa misreading of the term death recorded" that amounted to her mixing up child abuse with persecution of gay people in Victorian England. (The recording of the programme, for those who have the stomach for cringe, is available online.) Also read: The Comeback by Annie Zaidi: Art and friendship, tainted by some ugly business Needless to say, the controversy blew up spectacularly, leading to Wolfs publishers deciding to stall the appearance of the book in the US as the online community had a field day. There was no way Wolf would have recovered from this shocking unspooling of her career and credibility unless she had sought help from the dark side. And thats precisely what she did by jumping on to the right-wing bandwagon, most notably on the one driven by Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trumps chief strategist (during his first term), who was sacked less than a year into his job. Elevated to the high table of the far right QAnon movement, Wolf wasted no time in spinning conspiracy theories galore, especially about the efficacy of the covid-19 vaccines, which, as a self-proclaimed anti-vaxxer, she opposed vociferously. And so, as her star began to rise in the ecosystem of the ultra-right, Kleins life, ironically, took a turn south. Overnight, it was no longer possible to shrug off the silliness of people conflating two Jewish women writers with the same first name and similar hair colour. Instead, Kleins focus became salvaging and protecting her reputation as a writer from the political left, an image built through the decades of careful research, reportage and activism, cemented by world-changing books like No Logo (1999) and The Shock Doctrine (2007). It became essential to reclaim her identity as a committed environmentalist from the hands of climate-change deniers. In time, her efforts expanded to rescuing political discourse from unscrupulous buffoons" parroting their opposition to Big Pharma and sounding uncannily like a double of the left. By jumping into this rabbit hole of the right, Klein unpacks the single-point agenda pursued by anti-vaxxers and their ilk, driven by self-interest and exclusionary politics, their intentions poles apart from the lefts wider agenda to bring about social justice for the masses. (Its another matter that the left failed to uphold its mission, and Klein is critical of her own tribe, too.) Klein has a neat little equation to sum it up all: Narcissism (Grandiosity) + Social Media Addiction + Midlife Crisis Public Shaming=Right-wing Meltdown. For anti-vaxxers though, as Klein explains, the problem of common people being vulnerable to covid-19 wasnt one that concerned them. Many wellness gurus, who also live on the extreme right of the mirror world, sent out an overarching public message during the pandemic, Klein writes, that individuals must take charge of over their bodies as their primary sites of influence, control and competitive edge... those who dont exercise that control deserve what they get." This position is not substantially different from a neoliberalism of the body, in distilled form," a problem of the so-called liberals, too. Case in point: air pollution. Liberals are perfectly satisfied with raising a storm on social media, but as long as there are air purifiers to protect them, they are unlikely to take to the streets and demand better quality of life from the government for people who are economically weaker than them. For me, the highlight of Doppelganger was being introduced to the concept of diagonalism"a term coined by political scholars William Callison and Quinn Slobodian. It describes to the T a behavioural pattern widely familiar to us, be it the classic trope of the kebab-loving uncle, who, one fine day, began to bombard the family WhatsApp group with hate-laced forwards, or the lapsed journalist, who now spends her days in the studio extolling the cosmic power of faith while the poor are dying in stampedes. Its worth quoting from Callison and Slobodian at length: Both in part from transformations in technology and communication, diagonalists tend to contest conventional monikers of the left and right (while generally arcing towards far-right beliefs) to express (their) ambivalence if not cynicism towards parliamentary politics." In this extreme avatar, diagonalists believe all power is conspiracy and conspiracy theories, as is well known, do not need the heft of reason and logic to take flight. Case in point, once again, the anti-vaxxers warped worldview. As Klein puts it: Covid is a mild coldchill out! Covid is a bioweapon (unleashed by China in collusion with Big Pharma)freak out!" Read Doppelganger not only for a guided tour into the topsy-turvy workings of the mirror world, but also to look into the mirror yourself, and recognise the demonic potential of social media to spawn monsters, among liberals as well as conservatives, who are deluded by the opiate of the masses: a sense of relevance given to them by likes, clicks and shares. Klein has a neat little equation to sum it up all: Narcissism (Grandiosity) + Social Media Addiction + Midlife Crisis Public Shaming=Right-wing Meltdown." Now heres another T-shirt slogan, handy to gift a diagonalist close to you. Also read: What birdwatching can teach us about evolution, ecology and humanity I was running late and the film had started. I entered the hall and unable to locate my friends in the dark, sat down in the first seat I could find. I tried to message them but the woman behind me hissed, Please turn off your phone. The glare is affecting my eyes." I could see her point. Chastened, I put the phone away. The film was Shyam Benegals Manthan (1976). The restored print was gorgeous but it was a version without subtitles. The man next to me and his companion were both French-speaking. Stranded in rural India without subtitles, they started murmuring to each other in French. Right on cue someones phone started ringing in the row behind me. The woman rummaged in her capacious handbag and finally managed to extricate the phone. It glowed as bright as a casino in Las Vegas while it sang its merry tune at top volume. Everyone started clucking and hissing. The flustered woman told the people around her, I am trying to mute it. But I dont really know how. Here, why dont you try?" I realised it had been a long time since I had been in an old-fashioned movie theatre. Id forgotten its little dramas, the rules of etiquette and how things that would not bother me while watching something on TV infuriate me inside a movie theatre. But most of all, I had forgotten how good movies can look on a big screen, the way they were meant to be seen. Until the covid lockdown I regularly went to see films in theatres. Covid changed our viewing habits. We discovered binge watching on OTT. After covid faded we resumed much of what we had been used to. We went out to bars and restaurants and went on vacations again. But somehow I didnt return to the theatres. There was an occasional 3D superhero film that enticed me back, but they were few and far between. Mostly, I would wait for movies to show up on a streaming service. When I went to the theatre, the ads for Lyra leggings and Vicco Vajradanti toothpaste and the interminable intermission annoyed me. The popcorn prices, always high, now felt criminal. And at the end of the film, I felt as if I would not have missed much if I had watched it at home. I could have fast forwarded the boring bits. I wouldnt have to worry about Ubers or parking. Movie-going felt doomed to become increasingly nicheeither reserved for the big budget special effects-laden superhero film or the nostalgia fest marking the 25th anniversary of a Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. But recently I went to see the remastered version of Satyajit Rays Nayak (1966), which had just been re-released in theatres. It was a film I remembered from television. On a big screen, the film, painstakingly restored, was utterly luminous. Some things felt strange. In 1966, the hero didnt think twice about smoking a cigarette in a train dining car or inside a coupe with a sick girl occupying the upper berth. When the hero Arindam Mukherjee, played by Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar, wakes up in the train, his first, almost instinctive action, is to light a cigarette. He leans back, takes a drag and blows out perfect smoke circles and I felt if I just reached out, I could touch them. Looking at those smoke circles, each one a perfect moving image, even I, a non-smoker, understood the seductive power of film. In that darkened theatre, surrounded by the silhouettes of strangers, we were all inhaling deep. Streaming might feel magical because of the power it grants us, but a movie in a theatre can be magic and theres a difference. Some of it is obviously about size and scale. Little details that pass unnoticed on our television screens are magnified on the big screen. In Nayak, the dimple on Sharmila Tagores cheek, the pen stuck in her blouse, Uttam Kumars cool insouciant glance. In Manthan, Smita Patils smouldering eyes meeting Girish Karnads bashful hesitationall of that gets imbued with an extra charge when blown up large on a screen. When I saw Manthan years ago on Doordarshan, as a boy, it had felt almost like a documentary. The story of setting up a milk cooperative had felt very removed from my urban life where milk came in polythene packets. I remember being impatient with its pacing, the story did not have enough drama or romance for me. But on the big screen it felt like a different film. I noticed the expression in the eyes of the secondary characters, the little goat on the corner of the screen. The shadows which were just smudges on the small screen, now crackled with life and tension. Part of the change is because of us, the viewers. Reviewing the restored Nayak in Hollywood Reporter India, Arshia Dhar writes that in that film, Ray examines our relationship with the people we deify whom we are also quick to demonise. Its a sentiment that doesnt change even in the age of social media when we are made to feel closer to the stars lounging in their bedrooms in their pajamas," writes Dhar. But its also about us, lounging in our bedrooms in our pyjamas, watching the stars on our small screens. It changes the gaze somehow because the movies are on tap, available at our convenience. Netflix and Amazon Prime are watching us too, feeding us into their algorithms. As film reviewer A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times when movies just become content, as long as were still watching Netflix, Netflix doesnt care what were watching on Netflix or whether were also texting." (I frequently do the crossword while watching something on OTT). Its business model depends on a state of indifferent attention paradoxically known as engagement." But when we take the trouble to go to the theatre, we must regard it with more seriousness. As Sharmila Tagores character interviews Uttam Kumar in the dining car of the train, we are right there, as if sitting at the tables around them, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. That is true engagement. When the lights come on, we look at each other and smile, silently acknowledging the time spent together. At the French Film Festival in Kolkata where Manthan was screened as part of a section on Indian films that went to Cannes, people lined up before every film for the first-come, first-served entry. They carried printouts of the schedule where they had circled the movies they wanted to see. They talked to strangers about the ones they had seen, solicited suggestions about what they should see. Someone was queuing for The Shameless (2024) because she wanted to see it on screen, not on her laptop and she didnt know whether a lesbian love story set in a brothel would ever get a decent theatrical release in India. Someone else remembered a long-ago film festival where Akira Kurosawas Seven Samurai played at 6. Is it hard at 6pm to get to the Nandan movie theatre from office, someone asked. It was at 6am, he replied. Its fleeting, but for a few hours we are joined together by common purpose, without the mediation of social media. In a masterclass in Kolkata during his recent tour of India, German filmmaker Wim Wenders talked about a deadly form of loneliness, which is digital loneliness." Storytelling is disappearing. Instead of storytelling we now have story-selling," said Wenders. We are all losing the patience for story telling. Because a story needs time." In a darkened theatre we give ourselves that time. It is a precious gift and for a moment it seems that if we all collectively hold our breaths, that perfect circle of smoke from Uttam Kumars cigarette will linger as well, held in place by the magic of cinema. Cult Friction is a fortnightly column on issues we keep rubbing up against. Sandip Roy is a writer, journalist and radio host. He posts @sandipr. New Delhi: The Centre has approved nearly 97% of the amount allocated to states under the Special Assistance scheme, which provides interest-free loans for 50 years to states, during the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year, two people aware of the matter told Mint. The amount approved is 1.22 trillion. "Of the 1.25 trillion allocated (according to the revised estimates), a thirdabout 55,000 crorehas been earmarked to states (for the ongoing fiscal) based on their share of central taxes and duties," said the first person mentioned above, who didn't want to be named. Also read | Indias Q3 GDP grows 6.2%, but Q4 surge needed to meet annual target The remaining 95,000 crore approved for states is based on their progress in implementing reforms, which include initiatives such as developing iconic tourist centres to global standards, incentivizing old vehicle scrappage, stimulating industrial growth, and advancing the National Capital Region, the person added. Last July's budget allocated 1.50 trillion for the Special Assistance scheme, which was later revised to 1.25 trillion in the latest Union Budget. In addition to specific conditions under different parts of the scheme, states must meet mandatory requirements to qualify for funds. These include full compliance with all Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs) and ensuring transparency in fund management. Special Assistance Scheme Launched in FY21 with a 12,000 crore allocation, the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment scheme aimed to support states post-pandemic. The allocation rose to 15,000 crore in FY22 and surged to 1.07 trillion in FY23, with 27,000 crore linked to state-specific reforms. For FY24, 1.3 trillionwas earmarked for the scheme, including 30,000 crore as outcome-based assistance. The remaining 1 trillion carried the same condition as proposed for FY25states must use the loan to supplement, not replace, their capital expenditure. Among the other reforms, states must also implement land reforms, build working womens hostels, improve urban planning, and meet capital expenditure targets to access funds from the central government under the scheme, said the second official cited above, speaking under anonymity. "The Department of Expenditure releases special assistance to states upon meeting prescribed conditions (for reforms), while reform-based allocations are granted based on recommendations from the relevant nodal ministry," the person added. UP, MP and Bihar top receivers Among the states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal are the top receivers of central funds under the Special Assistance scheme during the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal. During the April-January FY25 period, Uttar Pradesh received 13,042 crore, Bihar 12,907 crore, Madhya Pradesh 10,635 crore, and West Bengal 9,729 crore under the scheme. "There has been an acceleration in the interest-free capex loan approval in the second half of the fiscal to spur state spending on infrastructure and capital projects, supporting overall growth," the second person mentioned above said. India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in at 5.4% in the September quarter, its slowest in nearly two years, due to slower government spending and falling consumption, especially in urban areas, among other factors. India's economic growth picked up in the December quarter, rebounding from a September quarter low with 6.2% GDP growth. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance didn't respond to emailed queries. New Delhi: Chhattisgarh is courting defence firms from Russia and the US to set up manufacturing units in the state under its new Industrial Development Policy 2024-30, as it looks to position itself as a key player in Indias defence supply chain. "Numerous companies from Russia, the US, and other countries participated in our investment summit in Mumbai, and these investments will come to Chhattisgarh," chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai told Mint in an interview. He, however, did not disclose specific companies or deal sizes. Read this | Can Indias defence sector fire on all cylinders again? The second leg of the investment summit, held in Mumbai on 23 January, saw Chhattisgarh attract 6,000 crore worth of investment proposals across sectors. The largest commitment came from Ambuja Cement, which proposed an investment of 2,367 crore, according to the state government. However, details on any MoUs signed with defence firms remain unclear. "We expect investments of up to 1 trillion under the new Industrial Development Policy," he added. The new industrial policy, closely tied to job creation, offers a range of financial incentives to manufacturers investing at least 1,000 crore and employing 1,000 local workers. These include concessions in electricity duty, stamp duty waivers, partial Employee Provident Fund reimbursement, and transport subsidies for exporters. The state government is also open to customized incentive packages for large investors, Sai said. Under the policy, defence equipment manufacturers must invest at least 10 crore in plant and machinery to qualify for benefits, while suppliers must invest a minimum of 1.4 crore. Read this | MP greenlights industries to build dormitories and residential complexes on manufacturing unit land: Mohan Yadav Chhattisgarh is positioning itself as a defence manufacturing hub, leveraging its existing Durg-Bhilai-Raipur industrial belt, which houses several defence component makers. Green push and challenges Despite being a coal-rich state, Chhattisgarh is aligning itself with global green manufacturing policies. Sai emphasized that renewable energy is now cheaper than coal-based electricity, making it a viable industry alternative. As of March 2024, about a third of Chhattisgarhs total 9,176 MW power generation came from non-fossil fuel sources, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric plants, according to the Ministry of Power. However, the ministry noted that Chhattisgarh must expand its renewable energy capacity over the next decade to meet growing demand and reduce its total unserved energy count. Read this | India stocking up coal for high power demand, aims 50 mn tn inventory at plants by April Expanding solar power remains a challenge due to dense forests and water bodies, which limit land availability. We are planning to install floating solar panels on water bodies, and efforts are also underway to promote hydroelectric power generation," Sai said. Growth and reforms The states industrial sector was a key growth driver in FY25, with output expected to rise 9.2% from 2.12 trillion to 2.31 trillion, according to the states economic survey. Industry, including manufacturing, contributed nearly 48% to the states economy. Overall, Chhattisgarhs GDP is projected to grow 7.5% in FY25, driven by services and industry. The state has also secured 450 crore from the Centre under an interest-free loan scheme tied to economic reforms. In her budget speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 1.5 trillion outlay for such loans in FY26, along with additional incentives for states implementing structural reforms. Chief minister Sai said his government is working with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to develop Raipur as an international cargo hub, a move aimed at boosting exports of forest produce, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Tourism is another focus, Sai said, with plans to promote destinations such as Chitrakoot waterfalls, historic caves, and the forests of Abujmarh. The government is working on infrastructure upgrades to support the sector. Also read | On tourism, govt's heart is in the right place. Where's the money though? The Industrial Development Policy includes provisions for private investments in amusement parks, hotels, museums, and eco-tourism centres. The state government will offer financial incentives to promote these projects. Apples tensions with the UK over encryption finally reached breaking point last week. Rather than submit to the governments demand for a backdoor to customer data, the iPhone maker instead killed end-to-end encryption for all British customers of iCloud. Its a principled gamble that seems to rely on public outrage, but Apple may discover that privacy matters more in marketing than in reality for its customers. For those unfamiliar, data that is end-to-end encrypted cant be accessed by anyone, not even Apple, except the holder of the encryption keys (in this case the iCloud customer). This is the gold standard for securing data in banking and many online services. But the UK has for several years been making an unreasonable push for special access to penetrate this security layer on the argument that its needed to help its intelligence agencies stop terrorists and for prosecutors to secure criminal convictions. If it didnt comply with the order, made under Britains Investigatory Powers Act of 2016also known as the Snoopers CharterApple faced the threat of criminal charges and financial penalties. But the backdoor London wants would create a portal that can be exploited just as much by the bad guys as the good guys. Thats why Apple has repeatedly resisted efforts by US authorities trying to investigate crimes and even mass murders to break into the encrypted iPhones of alleged perpetrators. As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products or services and we never will," Apple has consistently said. Now, Apple is effectively telling the UK: Fine. You want a backdoor? How about no house at all? British iCloud customers are unable to access Advanced Data Protection (ADP) to give their data the highest possible security. Im an iCloud customer myself, and trying to activate the feature now leads to [disappointment]. For those who already had ADP turned on, it will likely be removed at some point in the near future. Thus the British government is getting more than it demanded. It doesnt need a backdoor to iCloud any more; Apple would technically be able to respond to a court order to supply data stored by any UK citizen on the platform, where people cache emails, photos and documents. But bad actors will have an easier time getting to those files as well. And, as independent analyst Benedict Evans notes, What will the UK government say when China orders Apple to to hand over UK citizens data?" This is a pyrrhic victory for Apple. It has maintained its opposition to backdoors and defended its global iCloud customers from UK government prying, but its British users are losing out. Perhaps Apple hopes to deter other governments from kicking up a fuss like the UK has done, betting that the prospect of killing end-to-end encryption elsewhere will be sufficiently unpopular to deter other governments from also demanding special access. That would be a gamble. Theres been little pushback, much less uproar, from Brits about Apples policy change. The reaction might be bigger if Apple was pulling similar protections for iMessage and FaceTime (it isnt), but the muted response suggests something troubling for Apple: Customers dont care about thir privacy as much as the company seems to think. The so-called privacy paradox, well-documented in academic research, refers to the gap between the concerns people say they have about their data and what they actually do about it. Some 92% of American consumers have said they should be able to control information about themselves on the internet, according to a 2019 PriceWaterhouseCoopers report, but most dont act on that concern. Just 45% said they updated their privacy settings on products, for instance, and only 16% stopped using a companys services because of data misuse, according to another 2019 report by IBM. Apple hasnt disclosed what proportion of its iCloud customers had end-to-end encryption turned on. But if the number is low, that would be another illustration of the privacy paradox. Apple encrypts all notes sent through iMessage by default; would there be a fuss if that was taken away too? Its quite possible that many of its customers dont understand the technology enough to care about it. Perhaps these are the early signs of diminishing returns for Apple on privacy, which until now has been a powerful marketing tool that helped it differentiate its products. But its UK retreat may reveal a hard truth: Privacy features may not be worth the regulatory battles they create if consumers dont care. Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. has announced a significant breakthrough in quantum computing with its new Majorana 1 chip. Stocks of other quantum computing firms, which were already outperforming big tech, have seen a ripple effect. If Microsofts claims are true, the implications are broader: It believes this will lead to commercially usable and viable quantum computers "within years, not decades". Unlike classical computers (which use bitseither 0 or 1), quantum computers use qubits (which can be 0, 1, or both), allowing them to perform a lot more calculations at once. While quantum computing has made big progress in recent years, thanks to investments by tech majors such as IBM, Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft, they have also been struggling with stability issues and error rates. Microsoft used a different approach to solve these issues, using topological qubits built on Majorana particles. Simply put, these are theoretically far more stable and error-resistant. Some have expressed doubt over Microsoft's claim and are seeking more evidence. The scepticism stems, in part, from an earlier claim that the company had made in 2018, only to retract it later on. This time, it could be different. The main US government defence-tech agency has included Microsoft in the final phase of a programme that will determine whether its possible to build an industrially useful quantum computer by 2033much sooner than most predictions. Besides, some believe that Microsoft, which has put nearly two decades of work into it, is unlikely to make the same mistake twice. Quantum effects The news, in turn, could impact many industries as they leverage the power and speed of quantum computing, especially in simulations. As the quality of simulations goes up, mirroring the real world better, it could crunch time to, for example, design new batteries or invent new drugs. It could also adversely impact some segments, such as cryptography. Cryptography relies on complex mathematical problems that are computationally infeasible for classical computers to solve within a reasonable timeframe. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break this encryption in a matter of hours, potentially compromising sensitive data, secure communication channels, and critical infrastructure. It could especially impact blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, which heavily rely on cryptography for their security. Their prices are already volatile. The added concern for investors would be how well they can adapt post-quantum cryptography (PQC)a new generation of cryptographic algorithms designed to withstand attacks from both classical and quantum computers. AI entanglement The breakthrough also comes when artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at great speed. At one level, commercial-scale quantum computing will accelerate that progress, by processing even larger amounts of data. At a societal level, there are concerns that such a combination of AI and quantum computing could widen the divide between people, organizations and countries that have access to these technologies and those that dont. While US-based companies, especially IBM and Alphabet, lead in quantum-computing patents, China has filed almost twice the number of patents as the US between 2004 and 2023, according to IPWatchdog Inc. This is driven by government spending. In a 2022 report, McKinsey said China had committed $15.3 billion in public funds to quantum-computing investmentstwice that of Europe and eight times of the US. It's not clear if the rivalry could democratize quantum computing eventually (the way DeepSeek potentially did in AI) or if it will strengthen the existing hierarchy. Startup challenge Venture capital investments in quantum computing startups saw a big shift in 2020, crossing $1 billion from an annual average of $200 million from 2015 to 2019. A key reason for this change was the demonstration of quantum supremacy" by Google in October 2019 and by a group at the University of Science and Technology of China in December 2020. Microsofts latest announcement could trigger a similar surge in investor interest. There is also greater diversity in the flow of funds. While early investments tended to favour hardware companies, there is growing interest in software, reflecting the need to develop algorithms and applications. The rush to invest in AI companies has raised questions about a bubble. Recently, ace venture investor Vinod Khosla warned that most AI investments would lose money as the market enters the greed cycle. If that becomes the dominant narrative among VCs, they could look at quantum computing in a bigger way. www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for public data. Since 1990, obesity among adults has doubled worldwide and has quadrupled among adolescents. There are identified causes, such as the substitution of food with ultra-processed products, but there are other reasons that still arent so clear. One of the factors that can influence weight gain is the disruption of routines that affect the circadian clock. This clock helps the body optimize its functioning, such as getting it ready to sleep and starting repair processes when it gets dark, or helping the system digest food at certain times. However, when mealtimes are irregular, or when light confuses the body about the time of rest, everything becomes deregulated and the risk of becoming overweight increases. On February 18, the peer-reviewed scientific journal PNAS published a paper which analyzed the influence of the circadian clock in the regulation of what is eaten. The team that carried out the study led by Mary Carskadon, a professor at Brown University and director of the EP Bradley Hospital Sleep Research Lab followed 51 teenagers (ages 12 to 15) for 11 days and 10 nights. To separate the effects of the participants internal clock from their daily habits, the researchers broke those days into seven 28-hour cycles, in which the teens were awake for 17.5 hours and asleep for 10.5. The results show that, first and foremost, the circadian clock and lifestyle habits separately influence caloric intake, but that eating habits are more important. They also found that the influence of the circadian rhythm was less prevalent in overweight or obese adolescents than in the rest, which confirms previous results. This indicates that a break with the rhythms that nature sets by staying up late into the night or working extended shifts is harmful to health. Additionally, the study shows that adolescents suffering from obesity consumed more calories later in the day. In participants with a healthy weight, the peak of caloric intake came at around 5:30 p.m. due to the influence of the circadian system but in those with an unhealthy weight, this peak was delayed. We believe that the weaker circadian signal in the obese group is related to the fact that young people with obesity arent as synchronized with circadian or other biologically meaningful cues [...] they may instead be more influenced by other factors that drive eating behavior, such as [poor] eating habits, the pleasure of eating, sensory and emotional stimuli, or other aspects of hedonic hunger, explains David Barker, a professor at Brown University and co-author of the study. Hedonic hunger is when one eats to obtain pleasure, even if theres no energy deficit. This research is consistent with evidence suggesting that the timing of caloric intake is associated with weight, Barker continues. Implications for prevention and treatment include working with patients to adjust the timing of their caloric intake, as well as intervening when it comes to circadian synchronization, by reducing light exposure in the later hours of the day and increasing bright light in the morning. He acknowledges that more research is needed to understand the optimal timing of caloric intake and how this relates to weight. As part of a strategy to reduce consumption as the day progresses, its advisable to concentrate a greater part of the caloric intake in the first hours of the day, especially at breakfast. Additionally, maintaining regular meal times could be beneficial. And such a pattern could also be extended to other habits, such as going to bed and waking up at the same time. Marta Garaulet, a professor of physiology and physiological bases of nutrition at the University of Murcia, Spain, explains that a characteristic of obesity is a flattening of the circadian cycles, something that has also been observed in this study. If you dont pay attention to the signals of your biological clock, it loses effectiveness the tissues and organs cannot predict when theyll receive food, she warns. To avoid the problems caused by this mismatch, Garaulet, who didnt participate in the study published in PNAS, explains that its necessary to bring the circadian rhythm (and general lifestyle) back into sync. This can be achieved by exposing oneself to sunlight during the daytime and avoiding screens at night, moving physical activity away from bedtime and trying to maintain routines, even on weekends. You have to give [the body] strong signals that arent contradictory, such as taking a very long nap in the middle of the day, she offers as an example. The professor also suggests that, although there are evening chronotypes people who naturally get hungry later in the day and take longer to feel sleepy at night due to the type of early rising societies that we inhabit, its better to adjust ones circadian rhythm, or at least not reinforce late-night habits. In the case of adolescents such as those who participated in the study, Garaulet emphasizes: Its the time [of life] when were more nocturnal although, with age, we tend to become morning people. During sleep, she continues, the growth hormone is produced. And this is very important in adolescents for adequate hormonal development. For some time, it has been suggested that the difficulty of adolescents to adapt to early rising causes them to live in a permanent state of jet lag. Certain changes have been proposed to counter this, such as delaying the start of the school day. Meanwhile, various scientists such as those that make up the Brown University team led by Carskadon stress that theres a need to carry out more studies, in order to better understand the mechanisms that justify the relationships observed between the time at which one eats and the effects on health. Translated by Avik Jain Chatlani Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Smokey haze still blankets parts of the Carolinas as crews battle dozens of wildfires A man with 144 previous convictions who is on a suspended sentence has been directed to stay out of Longford by a judge at the local district court. Danny McDonald (33) of 4 Burnaby Lawns, Greystones, Wicklow pleaded guilty to two public intoxication charges. The first related to an incident on June 2, 2024 at Strand Street, Skerries, the second took place on November 11, 2024 at Ardnacassa, Longford. Mr McDonald also failed to keep a court appointment on June 2, 2024. At a previous hearing, Sergeant Enda Daly said on the day before that scheduled court appearance Gardai received a call regarding a disturbance at Ardnacassa, Longford at 8:15pm. The caller told of a drunken man in the area and when officers arrived they found Mr McDonald unsteady on his feet, slurring and with a bottle of rum in his hand. The defendant was arrested for his own safety. The case was adjourned late last year when Judge Bernadette Owens requested a probation report and last week she praised the defendant for engaging openly and honestly. "I'd say I got a better picture of what has been happening for you Mr McDonald particularly for the level of addiction you are contending with in relation to alcohol and drugs," she added. Judge Owens noted there were several suspended sentences that will come into play if Mr McDonald reoffends. She released him on bail subject to the ongoing supervision of the probation service and strict bail conditions which include residing at his home address and staying out of Longford. The defendant must also notify Gardai if he wishes to change address and engage with an addiction counsellor. Judge Owens adjourned the case until May 6 for an updated probation report. The Spring edition of the Longford Life magazine is now on sale at newsagents right across the county. This bumper February / March edition is packed full of high quality, entertaining and helpful content that will ensure youre totally prepared for the brighter days and evenings ahead, especially as we edge closer to International Womens Day, Mothers Day, and St Patricks Day. From delicious recipes, fashion trends and gift guides, Longford Life magazine has you covered. Weve suggestions on how you can surprise and treat your Mum to a Mothers Day she wont forget. And for recently engaged couples Valentines Day is always a popular time to pop the big questionwe feature some of the most beautiful and romantic wedding venues in the region. Longford Life endeavours to celebrate all thats unique about the county, from its vibrant people to its thriving businesses. Joan Mulvihill, of Siemens in Ireland, outlines her Journey to the Job, while actor Lorna Quinn reveals her Seven Deadly Sins and Kate Nally (@katiedujour on Instagram) speaks about her passion for fashion. Longford Life hopes to inspire you to explore all that Longford has to offer, whether its dining at Vocellas and sampling the fantastic dishes prepared by Lisa Vocella, attending performances and events, or learning more about one of the countys most talented performers, internationally acclaimed soprano Emer Barry. Miriam OReilly of BeWell Yoga highlights how yoga transformed her life and Druid Theatres Liam Heslin is looking forward to returning home to perform in Longfords Backstage Theatre. Read next: https://www.longfordleader.ie/news/local-news/1740851/throwback-thursday-recognise-anyone-in-this-big-gallery-of-stylish-longford-graduation-pictures.html Local News, Crime By Long Island Published: March 03 2025 An East Hills man was brutally attacked and robbed after responding to an online advertisement for paid sex at a hotel on Jericho Turnpike. An East Hills man was brutally attacked and robbed after responding to an online advertisement for paid sex at a hotel on Jericho Turnpike. The incident led to a large-scale investigation by Nassau County authorities, culminating in the arrest of two suspects. Arrests Made Following Police Investigation After an extensive manhunt, Nassau County Police Vice Squad, Special Operations, and officers from the 2nd Precinct apprehended the two suspects allegedly responsible for the attack. Both individuals, identified as Shameeka Stone, 32, and Larry Williams, 46, have pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges, including armed robbery, grand larceny, car theft, assault, and drug possession. Stone also faces an additional misdemeanor charge of prostitution, which in New York carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail. Judge Tricia Ferrell set bail at $1,000 for Stone and $50,000 for Williams during their arraignment. Attack at the Edgewood Motel According to police reports, the victim, a resident of the upscale Norgate development in East Hills, initially met with Stone at the Edgewood Motel, where he paid her $350. The transaction concluded without incident, and he returned home. However, the following day, he began receiving persistent text messages from Stone, urging him to meet again. Despite initially declining, the victim eventually agreed to a second encounter, arriving at the motel around 1:00 a.m. on February 19, 2025. Upon entering Room 27, he was suddenly ambushed by a masked assailant, later identified by police as Larry Williams. The attacker, described as a 59 Black male dressed in black clothing, gloves, and a ski mask, brandished a silver firearm and struck the victim in the face, breaking his nose. The victim was then choked, beaten, and threatened with execution unless he provided his phones passcode. Fearing for his life, he complied. Williams, who was on parole after serving three years for felony weapons possession, allegedly fled the scene in the victims luxury black 2025-model vehicle, while Stone departed in a blue Toyota Prius. The injured victim was transported to Nassau University Medical Center for emergency treatment. Suspects Captured at Travelodge Hotel The investigation led authorities to the Travelodge on Northern Boulevard in Manhasset, where Stone was arrested after allegedly soliciting an undercover officer. Police found the victims drivers license, credit cards, and business cards inside Stones motel roomexpenses that were reportedly covered by Williams. Williams was taken into custody in the Travelodge parking lot two days later, where he was found in possession of 2.3 grams of methamphetamine. However, police did not recover the firearm allegedly used in the attack, and the whereabouts of the victims stolen luxury vehicle remain unknown. Legal Proceedings Ongoing Both suspects remain in custody as of press time, unable to post bail. Stone is being represented by criminal defense attorney James McGlynn, while Williams has been assigned legal counsel from the Legal Aid Society. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Monday, March 5, 2025. Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport. (Ian Lim via Wikipedia, GFDL license) On February 28, Reuters, quoting three anonymous and unidentified sources, reported that authorities at Lebanons Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport seized $2.5 million in cash destined for Hezbollah. The funds, the report stated, were concealed by a man arriving from Turkey. The development comes after a January 31 Wall Street Journal report cited Israeli accusations that Iranian diplomats and others were smuggling tens of millions of U.S. dollars stuffed into suitcases through the Beirut airport to militant group Hezbollah. Further, the WSJ stated that the unnamed others included Turkish citizens flying from Istanbul to Beirut with cash for the U.S. designated terrorist organization. Both UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the November 27 ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon require Beirut to prevent its borders and ports of entry from being used to smuggle arms or related materiel to Hezbollah, though the documents dont specifically address cash. The January 31 Wall Street Journal report noted that the US-led committee responsible for overseeing the ceasefire deals implementationbut not adjudicating alleged violationspassed on Israeli complaints to the Lebanese government, then still headed by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The report also noted that officials of some governments represented on the committee expressed their awareness of Irans use of Beiruts airport to smuggle cash or considered the [Israeli] allegations credible. At the time, Turkish officials denied allegations of Istanbul being a conduit for smuggling to Lebanon, saying large amounts of cash moving through Istanbul Airport would have been detected by X-ray machines or other security measures. They indicated no such activity had been detected, and no third party had raised the issue with Ankara. However, in mid-February, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar raised the concern again with a delegation of visiting US Senators and directly accused Turkey of cooperating with Iranian efforts to fund Hezbollah. Saar said Israel had noted an intensified Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon for Hezbollah to restore its power and status, an effort which was being carried out, among other channels, via Turkey and with its cooperation. Ankara previously adopted a hostile stance to Israels campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah. For example, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Jerusalem of committing genocide in Lebanon after the Israelis assassinated Hezbollahs then-Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. One of the sources quoted by Reuters noted that Lebanese authorities confiscating $2.5 million was the first time such a seizure had been made. If accurate, this assessment contradicts previous assertions by Lebanese authorities and other sources claiming Lebanon had previously seized such funds. Such claims include Beiruts alleged detention and thorough search of Mahan Air flight on January 2, and a claim published on social media on February 10 that Lebanese airport authorities seized $12 million in cash and a weapons shipment bound for Hezbollah aboard an Iraqi Airways plane at Beiruts airport. However, an unnamed Lebanese security source denied these reports as containing no truth to Annahar, further saying Iraqi flights were subjected only to normal protocols and search procedures. Beiruts interdiction measures are under closer scrutiny after Hezbollahs recent war with Israel and Lebanons post-war aim to restore quiet. Beirut Airport has long been a conduit for Iranian smuggling of funds and arms to Hezbollah, and its importance for Iran has increased significantly since the downfall of Bashar al Assads regime in neighboring Syria and the attempts of Damascuss new authorities to control the Lebanon-Syria border. Lebanon began tightening security at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport after Avichay Adraee, the Arabic media spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), highlighted its continued use by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to resupply Hezbollah with funds, and the United States warned Lebanon of potential Israeli military action. Israeli forces continue to occupy five points in south Lebanon, from which Beirut wants the IDF to withdraw. Lebanese authorities demonstrating enforcement performance against Hezbollah may allow the new Lebanese government to increase international pressure on Jerusalem to remove its troops. Such an effort would reflect Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salams stated goal of recruiting Arab and international support to force the [Israeli] enemy to withdraw from our occupied lands and the so-called five points. It remains an open question whether Beiruts tightened airport controls or its seizure of the $2.5 million portend a long-term and consistent change in how Lebanon will deal with funds destined for Hezbollah, or whether it is a temporary measure aimed at shorter-term goals. If Lebanon acts in good faith, its also uncertain whether authorities will be able to seize all incoming cash transfers and how many will get through. January statements by Ankaras authorities denied a smuggling issue existed, indicating Turkey is unlikely to be cooperative on the matter. In addition, Iran utilizes other conduits to support Hezbollah. For example, on December 7, 2024, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem expressed gratitude to the Iraqi government, the countrys religious authorities under Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the funds controlled by Iraqs Shiite sacred shrines, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the Iraqi people for their financial assistance. Qassem also thanked the Houthis, Yemens pro-Iranian leadership, but was unclear about whether they aided Hezbollah financially during or since the recent war with Israel. However, the Houthis have fundraised for Hezbollah in the past. In May 2019 and July 2019, the Yemeni organization called on its supporters to donate to Hezbollah after the US increased sanctions on the group. The Houthis also asked for donations to Hezbollah after the August 2020 Beirut port explosion and in November and December of 2024. Flights from Yemen and Iraq continue to arrive regularly in Beirut with little indication of tightened controls on these arrivals, with a report citing the use of normal protocols and search procedures. In addition, while Lebanon has suspended the arrival of Iranian-owned airlines indefinitely, other flights still transit through Tehran to Beirut. David Daoud is Senior Fellow at at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs. Video of CENTCOM's strike in northwestern Syria that killed Hurras al Din's overall military commander Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay. Hurras al Din is Al Qaeda's branch in Syria which claims to have disbanded. pic.twitter.com/tVQD3AaZMl Bill Roggio (@billroggio) March 2, 2025 The US military killed the senior military commander of Al Qaedas branch in Syria in an airstrike in the northwestern part of the country on February 23. The strike against Hurras al Din (HAD) is the fourth since the Trump administration took office in January. US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on March 1 that it killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, who it identified as the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al Din. Talay was killed in a drone strike that targeted his vehicle as he traveled on a road in Idlib province in northwestern Syria. Idlib is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the terror group that overthrew the Assad regime and has formed a government in Damascus. [W]e will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and US, allied, and partner personnel in the region, said CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla. The strike that killed Talay is the third against HAD during February and the fourth since President Donald Trump took office on January 20. On February 21, CENTCOM announced that it killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, who it identified as a senior leadership facilitator. CENTCOM reported that it killed an unidentified HAD senior finance and logistics official on February 15. The US also killed Muhammad Salah al-Zabir, who CENTCOM described as a senior operative in the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din, on January 31. Al Qaedas branch in Syria HAD is Al Qaedas official branch in Syria and was formed in February 2018 by top leaders who had served in Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the Al Qaeda-linked terror group that overthrew the Bashar al Assad regime in December 2024 and is now forming a government. HAD is thought to have upwards of 2,500 fighters in its ranks and is based primarily in Syrias Idlib province, which, before the overthrow of the Assad regime, was controlled by HTS. HAD released a statement on January 28 saying the group had dissolved but telling its members not to disarm and to be prepared for the next phase of the fight. HAD and HTS are listed by the US government as terrorist organizations, and the leaders of both groups are listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their ties to Al Qaeda. Despite the terror designations, the Biden administration removed the $10 million reward for HTS emir Abu Mohammad al Jolani in late December 2024 so that US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf could meet with him. The meeting signaled that the US government was preparing to remove the designations for HTS and recognize Jolani as the leader of Syria. Jolani, who has since avoided using his nom de guerre in favor of his legal name, Ahmad al Sharaa, was appointed the interim president of Syria on January 29. The recent spate of US strikes indicates that the Trump administration is less eager than the Biden administration to engage with a new regime with deep terrorist affiliations. These strikes may also put additional pressure on Jolani, who is beholden to Al Qaeda-linked terror groups for his rise to power and relies on these groups to maintain authority in areas of Syria under their control. Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. The first passengers arrived at Luxembourg Airport by tram on Sunday morning, after the networks latest stop in Findel was officially opened to the public. Luxembourg City Mayor Lydie Polfer and Transport Minister Yuriko Backes were among those on board the inaugural tram to the new stop, which arrived at the airport at 10:23 on Sunday. The tram reached speeds of up to 70 km/h as it passed between the motorway and the Grunewald forest on the new route, which comes nearly eight years after the first section in Kirchberg opened in December 2017. Also read: Ten facts about the tram as it arrives at Luxembourg airport The total length of the route from the stadium in Cloche dOr to the airport in Findel - via Howald, the Gare district, the city centre and Kirchberg - is now roughly 15km. New timetables and frequency The tram runs every day of the week, from Monday to Sunday, including public holidays. During the day, the line will run at a frequency of every three-and-a-half to four minutes between the Luxexpo and Lycee Bouneweg stops. The frequency will be every eight minutes between the Lycee Bouneweg - Stadion and Luxexpo - Findel Luxembourg Airport stops. The first departure from the Luxexpo stop will be at 04:20. From the Stadion stop, in the direction of Findel, the first departure will be at 04:00 and the last departure at 00:27. The first departure from Findel will be at 05:03 and the last at 00:06. The opening of the tram at the airport represents a major step forward, facilitating access and offering an efficient and sustainable transport alternative, said Backes. Polfer, the capitals mayor, said that it would provide real added value for the citizens of the capital and for visitors, both in terms of accessibility and quality of life. Its a fantastic opportunity for travellers, but also for all the workers in the airport area Alexander Flassak CEO of Lux-Airport Its a fantastic opportunity for travellers, but also for all the workers in the airport area, said Alexander Flassak, CEO of Lux-Airport, the airports managing body, who was also among the guests at the opening ceremony. Flassak is convinced that the tram offers a serious alternative to the car. We carried out a survey showing that 50% of Findel passengers were ready to try out the tram. Its an agile, reliable and, above all, free mode of transport, he said. Also read: Taxi drivers anxious as tram set to start service to Findel airport 24 stations, and many more to come There are now 24 stations on the route. But as Helge Dorstewitz, Luxtrams managing director, pointed out on Sunday, the adventure doesnt end here. It goes on, he said, referring to the start of work on the boulevard Konrad Adenauer, where plans are underway to open a second line through Kirchberg, covering 2.3 km by autumn 2027. The new tram stop at the airport in Findel Photo credit: Luc Deflorenne The tram is also set to be extended to run 1.1km from the central station to Hollerich, while plans for other new routes through Strassen and a high-speed connection to Esch-sur-Alzette are also in the pipeline. 110.8 million passengers have used the tram since its launch in 2017, including a record 31.7 million last year. Also read: As the tram comes to Findel, speak like a local with these Luxembourg names (This article was originally published by Virgule. Translation and editing by John Monaghan) Mexico is the favorite destination for its northern neighbors. And not only as a tourist spot, but also as a residence. Americans are the largest group of migrants in Mexico. This is a decades-old phenomenon. The proximity of the southern neighbor, familiarity with the language and greater buying power are strong incentives for more than 700,000 American citizens to live in Mexico. The numbers have skyrocketed since 2019, as a result of the pandemic. Mexico hardly imposes any restrictions on foreigners with money. The country is also attractive to remote workers. What began as a tourism destination has ended up becoming a massively popular place to live. American citizens dont require a tourist visa to enter Mexico and they have the right to a stay of up to 180 days per visit. There are also visas issued for temporary residents, which offer the opportunity to live in the country for a longer period of time, so long as the total is less than four years. The number of visas issued in this category has doubled during the last two years. Within the total number of Americans residing in Mexico, there are also irregular or undocumented migrants. Theres no exact record of how many migrants are currently in the country with an irregular immigration status, but there is data on the returns that are carried out and the immigration procedures that are opened. Mexicos Migration Policy Unit reports that, over the last 12 years, the deportation of individuals who hold U.S. citizenship has been implemented in 14,538 cases, with clearer increases between 2015 and 2017. Additionally, from 2012 to 2024, 18,421 U.S. citizens have been registered as having been subject to an administrative immigration procedure. This determines the situation of foreign persons and defines whether they must leave Mexico, or the conditions under which they may remain. The nearby destination Mexico is a country that represents a viable option for American migrants. According to Doris Speer, president of the Association of Americans Resident Overseas (AARO), people choose it because they can be close to their families, as is the case with retirees, or because theyre able to work from home. Additionally, Spanish is already a language thats widely spoken in the U.S., so many people who have learned it choose to move south to take advantage of their fluency. The U.S. government doesnt have an official number of how many of its citizens live overseas, because it argues that it doesnt have sufficient tools to count those citizens who live outside the country. However, the Organization of American Citizens Abroad (ACA) estimates that there are approximately six million who reside outside the country. For its part, AARO comes close, with an estimate of 5.5 million. And, according to the latter, about one-fifth of Americans abroad reside in Mexico. According to the 2023 National Survey of Demographic Dynamics (ENADID), 1.2 million migrants reside in Mexico. About 70% of these individuals are Americans. And, while other nationalities are beginning to have a greater presence, those who are originally from the United States continue to be the most common residents. The number of migrants of all nationalities in the country has increased over the years, nearly tripling over two decades. And, in the last three censuses, the United States represents the country that contributes the most people to this statistic, according to the census conducted by Mexicos National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). This information doesnt categorize people according to whether or not they have a residence permit. Rather, it simply counts whether they live within the territory. While some areas of Mexico City such as the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods are known for the presence of Americans, the number of residents is lower in the countrys capital. States such as Baja California, Chihuahua, or Tamaulipas each exceeded 80,000 American inhabitants in 2020, according to data from the latest available census. Regular migration According to the sites that make recommendations for living in the country, travelers who dont require a visa can leave the territory shortly before completing that period approximately six months and re-enter. But subsequently, the duration of the permit that the immigration authorities issue could be shorter. If foreigners dont leave the country on the established days, they will have an irregular immigration status. There are also visas for temporary residents, which offer the opportunity to live in the country for more than 180 days, but less than four years. This visa can be processed through a Mexican consulate in the country of residence of the person who intends to migrate, or within Mexico itself. One must demonstrate a series of requirements to obtain it. The number of temporary visas and their renewal has increased from 2021 to 2023, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic, which allowed many people to work remotely, a trend noted by Speer at AARO. Permanent residency cards which allow foreigners to live in Mexico indefinitely have also become more prevalent. These permits require proof of four consecutive years of living in Mexico, or of being retired with income from abroad, among other possibilities. Since 2020, their issuance has continued to rise. But by 2023, the total number of American citizens who received them decreased. Since 2014, 72,291 have been granted in total. Migrating south When Donald Trump was leading the polls, American actress Eva Longoria declared that she wouldnt live in the United States if he were to win. The same was said by Barbara Streisand and Cher, among other celebrities. But they werent the only ones who had such a reaction. According to Google Trends in the United States, the idea of moving to another country has been a recurring thought. The website, which measures the number of times people search for certain terms during various periods, determined that, in the last five years, the number of times users explored the idea increased significantly on election day. Shortly after Trumps second inauguration, searches increased again. Among the words that have been inserted into the Google search engine, the phrases living abroad, best country to live in and moving to Mexico were compared. All of them have growth peaks related to political issues. Other increases were observed during the Capitol Hill assault, or when Roe v. Wade was struck down by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court. Although the searches were significant, Speer says that, so far, the reasons for migration that have been recorded have more to do with factors other than politics, such as job opportunities, family reunification, studies, the desire to live in more affordable places, or love. Speer says that it will be necessary to wait in order to see if people are willing to move out of the U.S. Up to the time of her interview with EL PAIS, shortly before the presidential elections, her organization hadnt observed a significant number of Americans relocating for political reasons. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition More than a dozen people attacked a group of Massachusetts State Police troopers as they attempted to arrest three men in Bostons Roxbury neighborhood Thursday, according to the agency. The people converged on the troopers, punching, kicking and attempting to restrain them before reinforcements from the Boston Police Department arrived and helped take three people into custody, the state police said. The incident occurred in the area of Warren Street and M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard, according to Boston police officials. These individuals physically impeded police from making arrests, used dangerous headlocks and other force that caused injuries, a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson said in a statement. Violence against police doing their job to protect our communities from illegal gun violence will not be tolerated. At around 3 p.m. Thursday, city and state police approached two boys who they believed had firearms, according to a Massachusetts State Police release. Police placed a 17-year-old boy into custody on a charge of illegal possession of a firearm but lost the second suspect after he ran off and discarded the weapon. A short time later, Boston police dispatchers alerted officers and troopers to a report of shots fired by a man whose description matched the suspect who had fled, state police said. Responding to the report, state troopers said they came across three men who attempted to avoid interacting with police by first entering a restaurant and then moving to a parked car. When the troopers removed the men from the car, they became combative and assaulted the troopers, state police said. While attempting to arrest the men, a group of more than a dozen people converged on the troopers to restrain them on the ground, punch, and kick them to prevent further arrests, the agency said. Boston police officers arrived at the scene and helped the troopers place two juveniles and an adult under arrest. One juvenile and an adult were taken into custody by Boston police. The other juvenile was arrested by the state police. An investigation is underway and may result in charges against others, state police said. A spokesperson for the Boston Police referred questions on the incident to the state police. 12aa Two lucky Massachusetts State Lottery players bought winning Powerball tickets worth $50,000 in Worcester and North Andover on Saturday. One ticket was sold at Greendale Package Store in Worcester, and the other was sold at Winners Corner in North Andover. Saturday nights winning numbers were 2, 23, 36, 44 and 49, and the Powerball number was 25. In Powerball, players select five numbers between 1 and 69 and one Powerball number between 1 and 26. They then choose how many drawings they want to use those numbers for. Players that match all five numbers and the Powerball number win the jackpot. They have 1 in 292,201,338 chances of winning this way. Players that match four numbers and the Powerball number win $50,000. They have 1 in 913,129.18 chances of winning this way. Powerball drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. The jackpot stands at $279 million as of Sunday. Overall, at least 262 prizes worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Saturday, including six in Springfield, 11 in Worcester and 21 in Boston. The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600. The Mexican government is stifling the Sinaloa Cartel. The organization founded by Joaquin El Chapo Guzman has suffered severe blows to its most lucrative business in the last five years: the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States, controlled by the sons and heirs of the historic capo, Los Chapitos. Mexican security agencies, led by the army, have staged a strategic campaign of fentanyl seizures in Sinaloa, Sonora, and Baja California, Pacific states under the control of the cartel and which make up the production and transit chain of the opioid until it is trafficked to the U.S., mainly through the border at San Diego and Tucson. The seizure statistics demonstrate not only the rapid growth in the production and trafficking of the synthetic drug, especially in Sinaloa, but also the efforts of the Mexican government, at least since the middle of Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors six-year term, and even more so now, under the administration of Claudia Sheinbaum, to suffocate the cartel, particularly the heirs of El Chapo, who have also been waging a bloody internal war for months with another faction of the criminal organization loyal to Ismael El Mayo Zambada. The backdrop to this crusade is Washingtons pressure on Mexico to act against drug trafficking, and specifically against the powerful opioid, which kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. Mexicos response has been forceful, according to a compilation of data on fentanyl seizures prepared by EL PAIS based on reports from the army, the navy, the National Guard, the Attorney Generals Office, and the National Customs Agency. Between 2021 and February of this year, Mexican security agencies seized 5.4 tons of the synthetic drug. Of the total, 47% was seized in Sinaloa alone. If the seizures in Sonora and Baja California are added together, it turns out that the three states strongholds of El Chapos cartel have been the epicenter of 95% of the total fentanyl seized in the last five years. In the period under review, security authorities have also seized 2.3 million opiate pills: 54% of which was confiscated in Sonora and another 30% in Sinaloa. The monumental figure contrasts with the minimal seizures in the territories controlled by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), an organization with less history than that of the Sinaloa Cartel, but which in the last decade has become the second-most significant criminal organization in the fentanyl business. For specialists, these data not only put an end to the discussion about whether fentanyl is synthesized in Mexico and then trafficked to the United States (governments of the ruling Morena party have continually insisted that the drug is not produced in the country). They also show that, for the first time, the Sinaloa Cartel is the target of such an attack by the government, which translates into million-dollar losses for the organizations finances. To this must be added the internal war between Los Chapitos and La Mayiza, triggered by betrayals and power struggles, and the siege that the security agencies have laid around the leaders of both factions. The historic cartel is experiencing critical times. The Sinaloa Cartel had not previously been attacked with the force that it has been faced with in the last three years. The conditions that ensured abundant and adequate production for illegal fentanyl trafficking have changed radically. Now instability reigns, says researcher Josue Gonzalez, a specialist in security and organized crime issues. I believe that we are experiencing the last stage of the Sinaloa Cartel as we knew it. And that will impact fentanyl and the drug business. We will have to see if the CJNG grows and becomes dominant, or if organizations with greater regional control are born, he adds. In November 2024 the Sheinbaum administrations security czar, Omar Garcia Harfuch, announced the historic seizure of a ton of fentanyl in the municipality of Ahome, Sinaloa. To give an idea of the impact of the blow to Los Chapitos: one kilo of the substance is enough to produce a million doses (one gram) and brings the cartels profits of between $10 million and $20 million, according to information from the DEA. The toll of the opioid pandemic in the U.S. is devastating: since 2020, more than 50,000 people have died each year from overdoses of synthetic drugs, mainly fentanyl. In 2022, there was a historic peak in deaths that reached 74,225 cases. The DEA says the Sinaloa Cartel has been producing countless quantities of fentanyl since 2012, according to a recent report. However, the document adds, Los Chapitos is responsible for having turned that business into the cornerstone of the criminal organization. Los Chapitos initially established a base of operations for manufacturing illicit fentanyl in the mountains near Culiacan. Now, they control the procurement of precursor chemicals, largely from China, and direct the production of illicit fentanyl from labs hidden in the mountains of Sinaloa and in other Sinaloa Cartel strongholds throughout Mexico, says the report. Many of the Sinaloa municipalities where seizures have been made have access to the Pacific and are entry points for precursors. Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, has been the epicenter of the seizures. More than 1,000 kilos of the drug and 689,000 pills have been seized there. From Culiacan, the route of the confiscations leads to the border with the United States. In the municipality of Guaymas, Sonora, the authorities have seized 1,291,000 pills; in Opodepe, in the same state, 252 kilos have been seized. At that point, the road forks toward two border municipalities: Nogales with 271 kilos seized and San Luis Rio Colorado, where 230 kilos and 1,280 pills were seized. This last municipality is the gateway to Baja California, to the coveted city of Tijuana, where 949 kilos and 11,100 pills were seized. On the U.S. side, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) indicate the points through which fentanyl is trafficked from Mexico. The crossing in Tucson, Arizona, which borders Nogales (Sonora), is the preferred entry point. There, between 2022 and January 2025, 15.2 tons of the opiate were seized. The San Diego gateway, which shares a border with Tijuana (Baja California), is the second most important entry point, where U.S. authorities have seized 13.2 tons. The third-most frequently used point is Yuma, Arizona, a city on the border with San Luis Rio Colorado, where 612 kilos of the drug were confiscated. From 2021 to date, the Mexican government has conducted 291 fentanyl raids, according to the data analyzed. Researcher Carlos Perez-Ricart, a specialist in the study of drug trafficking, says that the points in the Pacific states where seizures have been recorded in the territory of Sinaloa and Sonora coincide with the points where authorities have also located and dismantled methamphetamine and fentanyl laboratories, two synthetic drugs that are usually produced in the same spaces. The data leaves no room for doubt that fentanyl is produced in Mexico, he says. The academic points out that the Covid pandemic gave a quantum boost to Mexicos relevance in the fentanyl market, and that Los Chapitos knew how to read the demand of consumers in the United States, which was already experiencing an opiate addiction crisis. Perez-Ricart adds that the Sinaloa Cartel adapted the structures and routes that had previously served it for marijuana and poppy trafficking to the new illicit business. There was no geographic change or change of hands, he maintains. A Mexican soldier stands guard in the area where two members of a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel were detained during an operation by Mexican federal authorities, in Culiacan, Mexico, February 19, 2025. Jesus Bustamante (REUTERS) The cartels prosperity in the new market lasted a few years and is now at a breaking point, due to two conditions, the researcher explains: the persistent accusation by Donald Trump that Mexico is a bridge for trafficking and has pacts with the cartels, and the kidnapping of Ismael El Mayo Zambada to hand him over to U.S. authorities, the event that unleashed the faction war that has left around 900 people dead in six months. So, Sinaloa, by accident or by design, we dont know, becomes the center where the banner of the fight against drugs will be flown, says Perez-Ricart. These two processes that have nothing to do with each other occur: the arrival of Trump [to the U.S. presidency] and the kidnapping of El Mayo, which lead to the federal governments strategy being focused on trying to reduce violence in Sinaloa, something that hasnt been seen since the 1970s. The question remains as to why, according to the revised official figures, the CJNG has been so little affected by the policy against fentanyl. There are two hypotheses, according to Perez-Ricart: either it is not being fought with the same ferocity as the Sinaloa Cartel, or it is less important in that market than was thought. Both hypotheses are valid, he says. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A federal judge has issued a prison sentence for a Northborough man who embezzled over $360,000 from a Sturbridge non-profit that services developmentally disabled community members. Kyriakos Rick Kapiris, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in June 2022, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorneys Office said in a Friday press release. Kapiris worked as the information technology manager at Venture Community Services (VCS) a Sturbridge non-profit that services developmentally disabled members of the community from April 2015 to May 2020, the U.S. Attorneys office said. To allow him to meet his work responsibilities, VCS provided him access to two company credit cards to purchase equipment and services as needed. Beginning in 2016, Kapiris created three fake vendor accounts to embezzle money from VCS, the U.S. Attorneys office said. He used the names of legitimate Massachusetts companies to create two of the fake accounts and the name of a company he controlled for the third. Kapiris told VCS that he was purchasing equipment from two vendor accounts on the web app Square and one account on Amazon, the U.S. Attorneys office said. He created fake sales invoices for the equipment hed supposedly purchased to conceal the embezzlement. Kapiris linked the three vendor accounts to several of his own personal accounts at Bank of America and then fraudulently charged the company credit cards, the U.S. Attorneys office said. He used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including to build a house that was later forfeited by the government and sold. Kapiris embezzled a total of $366,477 from VCS, the U.S. Attorneys office said. During his sentencing on Friday, the judge noted that Kapiris had previously been convicted of stealing from a prior employer and was on probation for that offense when he began stealing from VCS. Kapiris was sentenced to two years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorneys office said. He was also ordered to pay $371, 088.97 in restitution. At just 24, state Rep. Tara Hong, D-18th Middlesex, is the youngest member of the state Legislature. The Lowell lawmaker won election to his seat in 2024. (State House News Service photo) State House News Service The 24-year-old representing Lowell is two months into his first session after beating out five-term incumbent Democrat Rady Mom in the 18th Middlesex District last year. Rep. Tara Hong, a Democrat, is the youngest member of the Legislature. Hong, who immigrated to Lowell with his family in 2013 from Cambodia, graduated from UMass Lowell in 2022. He worked in community engagement, at nonprofits and served on various community boards including those of Lowell food justice organization Mill City Grows and the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell before he was elected as state rep. Hong first ran for the seat in 2022, after working at a local nonprofit during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeing a lack of resources and support for his community from the state. Hong lost his first matchup with Mom by just over 50 votes a margin he said showed that people were ready for change and gave him hope and energy to begin campaigning for the next election cycle immediately. In a recent conversation with State House News Service, Hong spoke about his transition into the State House, his priorities in this session, and how hes approaching the new role. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length. Q: How has the first month been? What has it been like entering office, especially as the youngest lawmaker here? HONG: So far so good. A lot of stuff is happening at the State House and in the district as well. We ran on the campaign to build better constituent services, working on bringing more affordable housing, and supporting better education. Were just trying to get used to the environment here, the politics here at the State House. Slowly get[ting] used to it. I got the opportunity to meet with the leader, [and] the leadership, and get to know them. Q: How has it been, starting off your time as part of a body thats being heavily scrutinized for transparency issues? A: Being in the building and part of the team now, its given me the opportunity to see a completely different point of view on how things work inside, and expectations from the outside. With [the legislative audit question], the people voted for it, so Im sure that leadership, [House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano] is working on helping to find a way to deliver the message to the people. I trust the leadership. Lets see how negotiations go. But right now, my main, sole focus is to build better partnerships and relationships with the people in my district. The goal is to get my contact out so people can reach out. During the campaign, one of the big things was people didnt know that the state representative position was in existence in the 18th Middlesex district. So the goal right now is to get people to know that we are here. Q: As youre trying to get your name and position out there, what have you been hearing from your constituents and what have those conversations looked like? A: We get calls almost every day. Im happy that people started reaching out. Theres a lot of concerns about housing issues. Since the budget season is coming up, with programs like RAFT that the governor was talking about in her budget, people have concerns about that. And the right-to-shelter [law] as well. We get most of the other phone calls related to federal government issues that are scaring people, with immigration, [U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement]. The presidential administration has been sending ICE to different communities. People are getting fearful, and scared about that, especially my community I serve a [large] immigrant population, Hispanic and Latino community, Asian-American community, Black community and white community its a really diverse community, and people are scared of whats going to happen, and with the chaotics going on in the federal government, it just gives everyone a headache. I feel the same way as the speaker, its something new always happening every single minute over there. Its a pain in the butt, but lets keep our hope and keep going step-by-step. Q: One of the bills that you filed this session has to do with rent stabilization. Whats behind that measure? A: I filed a bill related to a rent stabilization commission. It was an idea from the community when we were door-knocking during the campaign. There was a lot of discussion that I heard from people, they want to see something that is able to help maintain the rent so it doesnt go up too high, so theyre unable to afford rent in the community. So the bill that I filed, the idea behind it is to require our state to create a commission that focuses on studying rent stabilization to see, it it can work or not in Massachusetts. If it doesnt work, is there any other alternative that can help control the rent increase in the Commonwealth? And if it works, how can we help implement it going forward across our state? I just want to have those data and study so we all can understand. The bill would also require the governor [to] be a part of it, the Legislature to be a part of it, to appoint a commissioner to be a part of it. Q: You have a background in advocacy and civic engagement, and you have a bill filed related to that. What would that implement? I started in Lowell in political and advocacy work because of my internship time with the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association. I interned for them as a civic engagement intern, just mainly to get people to vote, help people understand why voting is important and why local government and state government is more important to come out to vote for than the federal government. All of them are important, but most people choose not to vote at the local or state [level] because they dont understand the importance of it. Because of that work and my background in political science, this bill would require public high schools to put a requirement course, at least one semester, requiring students to get a civic education, from local to state to federal, and also requiring schools to create a program to allow students to be engaged in the community. That [would be] part of the graduation requirement. In my language in the bill, I kind of lean into that because right now, we dont have MCAS as a requirement for graduation. When they come out with that basic knowledge and understanding about the community, we might even see more young people engage in the political system, engage in the community, and know how the process works. I think our country needs that at the moment, not just in the commonwealth, but across the country with everything going on, we need more voices and the younger generation to be involved. Q: What advice has stuck with you from the people who were, or are already, here? A: The advice I got a lot from people in the community itself is to listen more than talking. As a new kid to the block, to be able to understand whats going on here you cant just always speak up or say random stuff, right? Youve got to understand the protocol, the process of how all of this works. You still advocate for the people in the community, but theres always a time that you can speak with [the] right message that delivers on behalf of the people. Right now, my goal for the State House side is to work to build those relationships with all the lawmakers in the House chamber to get to know them and understand priorities and learn from each other. Especially from state representatives who have been here for many years, its a great opportunity to build relationships with those representatives and to understand their experience here to know why they do this or do that, why this happened this way or happened that way. My take is that you cant come in and scream and yell, demanding change, because thats not how it works. We have 160 state representatives across the commonwealth of Massachusetts. We all came in with different priorities and different communities that we serve. To be able to get things done across the Commonwealth, we cant get everything that I want. Because what I want, the neighboring representative might not want it because thats not representing [their] people. So to be able to listen, to get to know other representatives, and build those relationships, I think it will help along the way to accomplish a big thing going forward. Q: Who do you turn to when you have a question about the job? A: When we officially won the election in November, I got a call from Rep. Tackey Chan, D-2nd Norfolk, [a founding member of] the Asian Caucus. Weve been in communication. And hes been offering a lot of advice and expectations. I always feel comfortable going to him for any advice and support. I also have a lot of communication with Rep. Jim Arciero, D-2nd Middlesex. He was chairman of [the] Housing [Committee] last session. We got to know each other after the campaign. Im happy to have the opportunity to get to know them and run through questions if anything is confusing because, you know, theres a lot of things happening, and theres no book for you to follow. So you have to be creative and know who you can ask questions and [be] comfortable to share. And also my aide, Michelle Bouchard she used to work on the Senate side with Sen. Ed Kennedy from Lowell. So she has a lot of experience at the State House, and [she] understands how to do constituent service work and what our resources are. Q: Have you joined any caucuses? How are you getting involved? A: So far, I joined the Food System Caucus, the Gateway Cities Caucus, the Asian Caucus, the Housing for All Caucus, the Paw Caucus, and the Progressive Caucus. The reason why I joined [these] caucuses is because the topics are important to my community. And a lot of people mentioned that to get to know other representatives, and also learn their priorities and how things work, this is a great opportunity to hear [about] some bills that might go through that we can work together on. Q: Are you excited for your first budget season? A: Honestly, Im a little bit nervous about what to expect but also excited to see what the process is going to be like. Before I got elected, I would watch [the live stream] on the State House website during budget season, so now Im going to experience it firsthand. by Ray Schultz , March 2, 2025 The New York Times has named David Leonhardt, writer of The Morning daily newsletter, as an editorial director of Times Opinion. This is Leonhardts second stint on Opinion. He served from 2016 to 2020, co-creating the podcast The Argument. Leonhardt will work with Kathleen Kingsbury, Opinion editor, and her leadership team, including Patrick Healy, Meeta Agrawal, Matthew Rose and Brian Zittel. As anchor of The Morning, The Timess flagship newsletter, David has turned it into one of this institutions most important platforms over the past five years, Kingsbury writes. She adds, Our newsroom colleagues will have more to say soon about The Morning, which will continue uninterrupted as David takes on his new role. Leonhardt is also credited with co-founding The Upshot newsletter. advertisement advertisement As host of The Morning, David was a key architect of a new front page, one that landed in millions of inboxes every morning and often set the agenda for the day, says Joe Kahn, executive editor. David so often sees untold stories or unexplained context that he, in his lucid style, turns into unmissable journalism. We will miss him in the newsroom but look forward to seeing his impact in Opinion. Kingsbury acknowledges that some publications have retreated from having editorials or an editorial board in recent years. A.G. (Sulzberger) and I have chosen to do the opposite. We believe that The Timess editorial board can be a crucial voice in these challenging times. India's AI-driven healthcare revolution sets a global benchmark for innovation, efficiency, and inclusivity. Trusted Source INDIAai | Pillars Go to source Trusted Source Indias Path to Global Leadership in AI-Driven Healthcare #Artificial_intelligence in #healthcare is booming! Adoption rates have soared past 40%. #AI Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission Expanding digital healthcare infrastructure. AI-Driven Diagnostic Labs Enhancing disease detection and affordability, particularly in Himachal Pradesh. Mobile Cancer Detection Hubs Improving access to early diagnosis in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. INDIAai | Pillars - (https://indiaai.gov.in/) surpassing industries like FMCG (30%) and manufacturing (25%), according to a Deloitte India report. This shift is fueled by government initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission () and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, paving the way for a tech-driven healthcare ecosystem.India's digital healthcare landscape is advancing rapidly, with AI-powered diagnostics, MedTech innovations, and digital health records revolutionizing patient care, said Joydeep Ghosh, Life Sciences and Health Care Industry Leader, Partner, Deloitte India. He highlighted India's growing presence in global healthcare, citing surgical consumables and disposables exports reaching $1.6 billion in FY 202223.The report emphasizes strategic government programs and private investments that are accelerating AI integration in healthcare:With these advancements, India is poised to impact over a billion lives, boost economic growth, and expand affordable healthcare access to underserved regions.Despite progress, AI adoption in healthcare lags behind banking and financial services due to:Data Security & Regulatory Gaps Addressing concerns about data privacy and fragmented regulations.Limited Digital Infrastructure in Rural Areas Expanding AI capabilities beyond urban centers.Shortage of AI-Trained Professionals Bridging the talent gap to integrate AI into clinical workflows.For India to fully harness AIs potential, the sector must focus on policy alignment, workforce training, and infrastructure enhancement. With targeted investments and focused policy advancements, India can become a global leader in AI-powered healthcare, improving patient outcomes and accessibility, Ghosh stated.Source-Medindia We dont know the details of Donald Trumps peace plan for Ukraine, but, after a disastrous week for transatlantic relations, we can say that it is a failure for the Ukrainian people, for Europe and for international law. The bullying ceremony with which the White House received President Zelenskiy on Friday culminated a drift marked by a historic milestone: Mondays votes at the United Nations, when Washington and Moscow exhibited a new alliance in which Trump openly aligns himself with the Putin regime vis-a-vis the European Union and democratic countries. The change of the United States position regarding those who, for 80 years, have been its allies starts with the acceptance of the arguments invented by the Kremlin to justify the invasion. Donald Trump and his Vice-President J. D. Vances aggressive and arrogant attitudes have been enough to spoil the efforts of several European leaders and Ukrainian diplomacy to reach a fair cease-fire agreement. As much as Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer deployed all their diplomatic skills this week in their visits to the White House, the fruits of prudence have gone down the drain in the face of the anger aroused in the Republican president by Zelenskiys courage in his defense of the truth. Namely, that it was Russia that started the war and that it will be of little use for Kyiv to make a pact with Moscow without the guarantee that Putin will fulfill the agreement. The done deal policy that Trump is trying to impose on Zelenskiy looks very much like a blank check for the Russian leader. The disaster we have witnessed this week is even deeper than the gap between Trump and Vances hubris and Zelenskiys polite sincerity. Trumps plan began in the worst possible way: with the handing over to Russia of all the bargaining chips. The urgency exhibited by the White House contrasts with the Kremlins parsimony, in no hurry to end a war of attrition that will always be expensive for a democratic contender and cheap for a dictatorship. Everything Putin demanded seems ready to be granted by Trump: Ukraine will not join NATO, Russia will annex the occupied provinces and there will be no US soldiers on Ukrainian territory. In addition, sanctions will be lifted on Russia, which will rejoin the G-7. As it did on Monday at the UN, Washington will defend Moscow in international forums during the process. Rehabilitation of the invader versus humiliation of the invaded. Only one mechanism ensures Kyivs compliance: the agreement on the joint exploitation of Ukraines mineral resources prepared by the White House, an extortion that Zelenskiy is willing to accept in exchange for only one counterpart: the guarantee that Putin will not break the cease-fire under threat of retaliation by Europeans and Americans. All the efforts by Macron, Starmer and Zelenskiy were aimed at this goal of maintaining a thread of transatlantic connection that would prevent Russia from using peace to rearm and, as on other occasions, continue its expansionism. Even that does not seem possible. If nothing changes in Washington, it is now up to Europe to provide the guarantee that Ukraine needs, sparing no expense or risk, something that will inevitably have repercussions on the lives of Europeans. The tone of the meeting that the British Prime Minister has called for this Sunday in London with the leaders of the continent will give the measure of whether, at last, a public acknowledgement is made of the loneliness in which the US leaves Ukraine and Europe in the face of Putin and the essential political discourse, aimed at a public opinion that must be aware of the profound change that the world, their world, is undergoing. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israel stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of additional consequences if Hamas doesn't accept a new proposal to extend a fragile ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the existing ceasefire agreement and said its decision to cut off aid was cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack" on the truce, which took hold in January after more than a year of negotiations. Both sides stopped short of saying the ceasefire had ended. The first phase of the ceasefire, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday. The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout and a lasting ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that under the existing agreements Israel could resume fighting after the first phase if it believed negotiations were ineffective. He said the ceasefire would only continue if Hamas kept releasing hostages, telling his Cabinet that there will be no free lunches. He said Israel was full coordinated with President Donald Trump's administration. There was no immediate comment from the United States on the proposal announced by Israel or its decision to cut off aid. Hundreds of aid trucks have entered Gaza daily since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. But residents said prices doubled on Sunday as word of the closure spread and people raced to stock up. "Everyone is worried," said Sayed al-Dairi, a man living in Gaza City. This is not a life. Fayza Nassar, a woman living in the heavily destroyed urban Jabaliya refugee camp, said the closure would exacerbate already dire living conditions. There will be famine and chaos, she said. Closing the crossings is a heinous crime. Israel says it has US backing Israel said the new proposal, which it said came from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, called for extending the ceasefire through Ramadan the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20. Under that proposal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu said. Hamas warned that any attempt to delay or cancel the ceasefire agreement would have humanitarian consequences for the hostages and reiterated that the only way to free them was through implementing the existing deal, which did not specify a timeline for freeing the remaining captives. Hamas has said it is willing to free the hostages all at once in Phase 2, but only in return for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. An Egyptian official said Hamas and Egypt would not accept a new proposal aimed at returning the remaining hostages without ending the war. The official noted that the agreement had called on the two sides to begin negotiations over Phase 2 in early February. The official, who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said mediators were trying to resolve the dispute. Ceasefire has been marred by disputes Under the first, six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces pulled back from most of Gaza and Israel allowed a surge of humanitarian aid to enter. But the first phase was marred by repeated disputes, with each side accusing the other of violations. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had approached its forces or entered areas in violation of the truce. Israel carried out an airstrike on Palestinians who it said were planting an explosive device in northern Gaza near the border on Sunday. Gaza's Health Ministry said two men were killed in the strike and that Israeli fire killed two other people elsewhere. Hamas paraded the captives some of whom were emaciated before crowds in public spectacles that Israel and the United Nations said were cruel and degrading. It initially returned the wrong set of remains instead of those of a mother who was killed in captivity along with her two young children. Hamas said Israel's aid suspension was another violation, saying the ceasefire and aid deliveries were supposed to continue during negotiations over Phase 2. Israel was accused of blocking aid throughout the war Israel imposed a complete siege on Gaza in the opening days of the war and only eased it later under U.S. pressure. U.N. agencies and aid groups accused Israel of not facilitating enough aid during 15 months of war, and the Biden administration repeatedly pressed it to do more. Experts warned on several occasions that hunger was widespread in Gaza and that there was a risk of famine. The International Criminal Court said there was reason to believe Israel had used starvation as a method of warfare" when it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last year. The allegation is also central to South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide. Israel has denied the accusations and rejected both court actions as being biased against it. Israel says it has allowed enough aid to enter and blamed shortages on what it said was the U.N.s inability to distribute it. It also accused Hamas of siphoning off aid. Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch who is now a visiting professor at Princeton University, said that Israel as an occupying power has an absolute duty to facilitate humanitarian aid under the Geneva Conventions. Israels latest threat to cut off all aid is a resumption of the war-crime starvation strategy that led to the ICC warrant, he said. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. The militants are currently holding 59 hostages, 32 of whom are believed to be dead, after releasing most of the rest in two ceasefire agreements. Israel's offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It says more than half of those killed were women and children but does not specify how many of the dead were combatants. Israeli bombardment and ground operations pounded large areas of the strip to rubble and at the height of the conflict displaced some 90% of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians. The war has left most of Gaza's population dependent on international aid for food and other essentials. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts Sunday to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russias war. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden," he said. Starmers exhortation to 18 fellow leaders that they need to do the heavy lifting for their own security comes two days after U.S. backing of Ukraine appeared in jeopardy when President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasnt grateful enough for Americas support. The meeting had been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding that took place on live television at the White House. Starmer used the opportunity as part of his broader effort to bridge the gap between Europe and the U.S. and also salvage what had seemed like the start of a peace process before Friday's spat. Starmer said he had worked with France and Ukraine on a plan to end the war and that the group of leaders mostly from Europe had agreed on four things. The steps toward peace would: keep aid flowing to Kyiv and maintain economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine's hand; make sure Ukraine is at the bargaining table and any peace deal must ensure its sovereignty and security; and continue to arm Ukraine to deter future invasion. A coalition of the willing Finally, Starmer said they would develop a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine and guarantee the peace. Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that cant mean that we sit back," he said. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency. The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. He said any plan would require strong U.S. backing. He did not specify what that meant, though he told the BBC before the summit that there were intense discussions to get a security guarantee from the U.S. If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again, Starmer said. Starmer said he will later bring a more formal plan to the U.S. and work with Trump. Two diplomatic steps forward, one back Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Meetings last week had provided some hope until Zelenskyys trip to the White House on Friday. Visits to the Oval Office by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who had declared his visit a turning point," were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained that Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Within 12 hours of Starmers return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Putin could be trusted. During his Sunday press conference, Starmer rejected the suggestion that the U.S. was no longer a reliable ally. There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries and our defense, our security and intelligence is intertwined in a way no two other countries are, so its an important and reliable ally for us, he said. Starmer does not trust Putin Starmer told the BBC before the summit that he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said she was sorry for what happened with Zelenskyy in Washington. Meloni is both a strong Ukraine supporter and as head of a far-right party she is a natural ally of Trump. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration. She said told reporters following the meeting that Europe must remain focused on its common goals and that dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone. We need to work to reinforce our unity, and I think that Italy can play a role, not just in its own interest, but in everyones," she said. I dont want to take any other scenario into consideration. Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following his charm offensive with Macron to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also in attendance. Turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine Starmer used sweeping terms to describe the challenge ahead, saying Europe was at a crossroads in its history and needed to step up to meet once in a generation moment. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen emerged from the meeting and said she would present a plan to rearm Europe to bolster the blocs security after a long period of underinvestment. As for the future of war-torn Ukraine, von der Leyen said it needs security guarantees. We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength so that it has the means to fortify itself and to protect itself, von der Leyen said. Its basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders. Last week, Starmer pledged to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP. If we dont increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we wont end up well, he said. Starmer pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Colleen Barry in Milan, Karel Janicek in Prague and Samuel Petrequin contributed. People check out the deer at the Buck Pole at Jerome Country Market on U.S. 12 in Hillsdale County on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. The day marked the opening of the firearm deer hunting season. The Buck Pole at Jerome runs until Saturday at 7 p.m. J. Scott Park | jpark4@mlive.com The backup generator was supposed to rumble to life for a couple of hours during a scheduled power outage at Michigans Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery near Kalamazoo, making sure its scores of fledgling salmon, walleye and muskie had adequate oxygen. Instead, the power didnt come back for days. Lisa Malmo poses for a photo on Feb. 24, 2025 in her classroom at Grass Lake Middle School. (Photo provided by Lisa Malmo) Courtesy Photo | Lisa Malmo GRASS LAKE, MI - Math teachers were some of Lisa Malmos biggest inspirations growing up. Now she strives to bring that same motivation to her own students. Malmo, 54, has spent her entire 25-year teaching career with Grass Lake Community Schools. She currently teaches sixth grade math at Grass Lake Middle School. She attended Ann Arbor Public Schools in her elementary years, and fondly remembers her third grade teacher Elizabeth Robson for exemplifying exactly the type of teacher she wanted to become. Malmo changed districts and graduated from Dexter High School in 1988. After trying out a few different colleges, she graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2000 with a degree in elementary education. Malmo worked at an Ann Arbor book factory while she attended college, where several of her co-workers gave positive reviews of Grass Lake schools. She decided to check out the district herself, accepting a student teaching job soon after. The kids were amazing, and I said I want to stay, Malmo said. The community was a very important piece of Grass Lake, and I appreciated that. Malmos mission to make math more accessible extends outside of the classroom. She tries to layer in math opportunities into students' everyday lives through tutoring and organizing the districts MathFest event. Malmo spoke with MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot about the relationships she has fostered and cherished through the universal language of math. Jackson Citizen Patriot: Was there a specific moment or experience that inspired you to get into the field of education? Lisa Malmo: I think I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but my third grade teacher (Ms. Robson) solidified the type of teacher I wanted to be. She was amazing and creative. She went above and beyond - you always felt like you were special and noticed, and I wanted to bring those characteristics into the classroom. JCP: Why was teaching in the field youre in such a calling for you? Malmo: I struggled with math up until middle school. I worked hard at it, but then I had a teacher who was patient with me and was able to direct me and bring everything together for me. I want to give that same experience to other kids. JCP: Is there a specific moment from your career that you would consider to be the most rewarding? Malmo: Theres several, but theres one moment I particularly appreciated. I taught fourth grade here for 19 years and moved to sixth grade due to some restructuring. When I came to sixth grade, I got to announce to my former fourth grade students that I was coming here, and there was a huge response that was very overwhelming and positive. It just really reinforced that those relationships are really where its at, and showed me how those relationships with students really meant something to me and to them. That was rewarding, to get that feedback from those kids that it was an exciting transition. JCP: In what ways have you changed or evolved as an educator between now and when you started? Malmo: I think technology has played a big part in how we can provide resources and give support to students. I still think the relationship building and the personal interaction is good and the hands-on explorations are critical - I havent changed that much - but I feel like Ive added and incorporated technology more. I feel like the students really value the smaller, one-on-one opportunities that we can provide. The COVID thing really made me remember that we may not be guaranteed the same structure that weve been used to, so we have to be used to being flexible in our teaching. JCP: What is your favorite part of your job? Malmo: The kids. I like delivering a subject thats a universal language, and I like giving math instruction because we use it in our everyday lives. We can use it in cooking and balancing our finances, but we can also use it if we are hiring to do a job like constructing buildings. If you know a K-12 educator in Jackson County who might make a good subject for the weekly Meet the Teacher series, send an email with their contact information to mkukulka@mlive.com. If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click here and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools. Want more Jackson-area news? Bookmark the local Jackson news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Jackson daily newsletter. Marijuana plants are seen in this MLive file photo. Jake May | MLive.com file SAGINAW, MI Here are a few headlines from Saginaw County last week that attracted reader interest. Saginaw County communities set to receive nearly $1 million in Michigan marijuana funds Nearly $1 million in Marijuana Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act funds will be distributed to municipalities in Saginaw County. State data shows Saginaw County is tabbed to receive $989,887 from the nearly $100 million being distributed among 302 local entities and tribes across the state. Saginaw County municipalities slated to receive funds from the revenue sharing include Birch Run Township ($116,457), Buena Vista Township ($58,228), the village of Chesaning ($116,457), Saginaw ($640,515) and Spaulding Township ($58,228). Read more here. Saginaw man charged with flying from LAX to Detroit with 15 kilos of cocaine A Saginaw man has been federally indicted with flying from Los Angeles to Michigan with 15 kilograms of cocaine. A grand jury on Jan. 7 indicted 41-year-old Woodrow Campbell Jr. on one count of possessing 500 or more grams of cocaine with intent to distribute. The felony is punishable by 10 years to life in prison. Campbells charge stems from a June 7, 2024, incident. Read more here. Fearing immigration law scrutiny, Saginaw council rejects welcoming community resolution At a Monday, Feb. 24, meeting, the Saginaw City Council voted down a resolution, 7-1, that would have affirmed Saginaw as a welcoming community committed to the protection of all residents. Some members of the citys governing body explained their objection was based on two factors: the resolutions redundancy with existing policy and fears that such a statement could draw the attention of federal lawmakers who have threatened communities not abiding by immigration laws. Carly Rose Hammond, a first-year Saginaw councilwoman, proposed the resolution and was the lone official to vote in its favor. Hammond introduced an earlier version of the resolution two weeks ago, but the council tabled a vote on that proposal until City Hall staff could review its implications. Hammond said the latest version was pared back significantly from its predecessor after she met with staff. The latest resolution included language stating the city would uphold its commitment to the public safety of all residents, regardless of their national origin, perceived immigration status, race, ethnicity, or background. Read more here. As food insecurity swells, Saginaw nonprofits cook up a plan: Supersize us A growing community appetite has two Saginaw food insecurity-fighting nonprofits setting the table for a big expansion. Some of the ingredients already are in the mix for Hunger Solution Center, home of East Side Soup Kitchen and Hidden Harvest. Officials representing both nonprofits said they have secured about $6.3 million of $8.8 million needed for an expansion that will double the organizations shared East Genesee Avenue facility, where demand for help has nearly tripled in 20 years. Read more here. Pregnant Saginaw woman testifies she ducked to avoid teen shooting at her as she drove A pregnant woman was driving through Saginaws Southeast Side when she spotted the awkwardly parked car of a woman she had problems with. Moments later, the car was driving alongside the expecting mother, its passenger opening fire on her. The woman provided this testimony during the Wednesday, Feb. 26, preliminary examination of the two people charged with trying to kill her: Jordyn E. Latty, 20, and Angelo J. Garcia, 16. The pair face the same five charges: assault with intent to murder, carrying a concealed weapon, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and two counts of felony firearm. The first charge is punishable by up to life in prison, while a felony firearm conviction mandates a two-year prison stint consecutive with any related term. Garcia is charged as an adult. Read more here. Councilman wants committee to explore reopening Saginaws Ojibway Island to traffic Saginaw City Councilman Michael Balls said he hopes to assemble an advisory committee to explore how to reopen Ojibway Island to traffic. Officials began closing the city-owned island to vehicle traffic in spring 2020, citing safety concerns and property damage that occurred when motorists drove through the grass when large congregations of people gathered there. Officials reopened the site to traffic several times before finally closing the island to motorists for good in April 2021. Read more here. 3 men charged in smash-and-grab robberies of Saginaw, Genesee county jewelry stores Three men are federally charged with perpetrating smash-and-grab robberies of jewelry stores in Saginaw and Genesee counties. One of the trio previously served time for a similar hold up of a Kalamazoo County jeweler, a crime he was linked to after shattered glass spilled his blood. A grand jury on Feb. 5 indicted Kilaun M. Brooks, 28, on two counts of interference with commerce by robbery. The grand jury indicted Demond A. Manley Jr., 27, and Christopher J. Rudolph, 34, on one count of the charge. Read more here. Swan Valley schools launches search for fourth superintendent in 40 years Swan Valley School District officials will seek new leadership at the top for the first time in a dozen years. District officials said Superintendent Mat McRae announced he will retire in June, ending one of the longest tenures among superintendents in Saginaw Countys public school districts. McRae previously served as the Swan Valley High School principal for nine years and had worked in the high school for 18 years before the districts board of education hired him as an interim superintendent in July 2013. Read more here. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. A young male turkey traipses around the property of MyMichigan Health Park Bay, 3051 Kiesel Road in Bangor Township, before being removed by Michigan DNR officers on Feb. 26, 2025. Cole Waterman BAY COUNTY, MI Fat Tuesday is right around the corner, and one Bay County restaurant has already been prepping for the areas largest party of the day. Meanwhile, authorities were called to an area medical center this week in response to reports of a snoody and wattling trespasser. Those headlines and more are included below in this weeks roundup of Bay County headlines you may have missed. This Michigan restaurants Fat Tuesday party is a paczki lovers dream Loosen your belts, paczki fans, as Fat Tuesday is right around the corner, and one of Bay Countys staple restaurants is preparing to be the place to be for your pastry needs. Bay Citys Krzysiaks House Family Restaurant, 1605 Michigan Ave., Bay City, is once again preparing to celebrate Fat Tuesday with its annual Paczki Polka Palooza Party Tuesday, March 4. This years rendition of the event will begin at 5 a.m. and wrap up at noon on Fat Tuesday. The event includes a breakfast buffet for dine-in or takeout and a live polka band. The celebration will once again double as a fundraiser for the food pantry and soup kitchen at the local Salvation Army. Read the full story here. Trespassing turkey removed from Michigan medical facility for blocking entrance Officials responded to a fowl play situation at a Bangor Township medical facility, having to remove a snoody and wattling trespasser. The morning of Wednesday, Feb. 26, Michigan Department of Natural Resources officers were called to MyMichigan Health Park Bay, 3051 Kiesel Road, for a male turkey wandering the property. The tom has been a feathery fixture in the neighborhood for about a year and a half, according to Jalene Jameson, who lives nearby. Read the full story here. Will Bay City adopt welcoming community resolution its neighboring city just rejected? The city commission is expected to vote next week on a resolution that would make Bay City a welcoming city days after the city just a few miles south rejected a similar proposal. Earlier this month, Commissioner Christopher Runberg of Bay Citys 7th Ward submitted verbiage for a resolution that would affirm the city as a welcoming city for all people regardless of immigration status and prohibit local authorities from assisting with immigration enforcement. The proposal, Runberg said at the time, was meant to be welcoming to all people but also to keep needed local resources focused on needs close to home. Read the full story here. Bay County to receive over $1.6M in marijuana revenue sharing Municipalities across Bay County are set to collectively receive more than $1 million in revenue sharing through the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. Bay County is slated to receive over $1.6 million from the nearly $100 million being distributed among 302 local entities and tribes across the state. Among Bay County communities set to receive funds from the state are Bangor Township ($756,972), Bay City ($756,972) and Pinconning ($116,457). Read the full story here. Charges upgraded against Bay City man accused of stabbing police, using baby as shield A Bay City man is facing steeper charges for allegedly stabbing two police officers and using his infant son as a human shield. Eshawn K. Langston, 23, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, appeared before Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly for a preliminary examination. Then-Bay County Prosecutor Nancy E. Borushko in December charged Langston with two counts each of assaulting police causing injury and assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of fourth-degree child abuse. The first two charges are four-year felonies, while the last one is a one-year misdemeanor. Read the full story here. Fieger Law files lawsuit on behalf of Monitor Township firefighter injured in hit-and-run One of Michigans most prominent law firms has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Bay County firefighter seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash on New Years Day 2024. Peter R. OToole of Detroits Fieger Law on Feb. 24 filed suit in Bay County Circuit Court on behalf of Monitor Township Firefighter Jeff Sargeson. The suit targets Brandon A. Robetoy, 50, as defendant. Read the full story here. Free welcome home lunch offered to Bay County Vietnam-era veterans and their families For the second year, a free lunch is being offered to Bay Countys Vietnam-era military veterans. The welcome home luncheon is to take place Saturday, March 29, at Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish formerly St. Stanislaus Church Parish Center at 1503 Kosciuszko Ave. in Bay City. Check-in is at 11 a.m., followed by a ceremony at noon. The date is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. Read the full story here. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. In this MLive file photo, Lisa Mudge, a then radiology student at Hurley Medical Center, checks someone's blood pressure on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015, at the Flint Farmers' Market in Flint, Mich. The Flint Journal More than 60% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. To reduce negative outcomes for mothers and their children, Michigan leaders passed nearly a dozen bills this year that aim to improve access to health care during and after pregnancy. Among the highlights were required mental health screenings for new mothers, improved access to blood pressure monitoring, and overall improvements in prenatal care. State Rep. Carol Glanville, D-Walker, said the bill package signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in late January, would help ensure the health and safety of new mothers and their children. Pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period can be a stressful time for new parents and can come with health challenges, Glanville said in a prepared statement. These bills work to address the unique needs of maternal health care to ensure better outcomes for families. Related: Infant death rate dips to new low in Michigan House Bills 5167 and 5168 will now require health insurance coverage of blood pressure monitors for pregnant and postpartum women. Previously, only some plans covered at-home monitors. By improving access, the new laws help more women identify potential risks to their health and their pregnancy arising from elevated blood pressure, including preeclampsia and premature birth. Dr. Kania McGhee, at obstetrician-gynecologist for Corewell Health in West Michigan, said an estimated 15% to 20% of patients who are pregnant or postpartum will have high blood pressure. Often, high blood pressure doesnt come with physical symptoms and thus can go undetected without monitoring. Left unmanaged, its one of the most common causes of maternal morbidity. McGhee called the new legislation a wonderful first step, ensuring patients have a monitor to track their blood pressure levels. We know hypertension can also play a role in fetal health and ultimately infant health, she said. Making sure we can get blood pressure cuffs for our patients was a big move. Related: Black babies in Michigan face triple the mortality rate of white infants before first birthday Patients with high blood pressure during and after pregnancy are also at increased risk of high blood pressure later in life. Untreated, it can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. For most patients it will resolve, she said. But its important for their primary care provider to know so they can follow it in the long term. Another key aspect of the maternal care bill package is the expansion of mental health services for postpartum mothers (House Bills 5169, 5170 and 5171). A 2018 study published by the CDC indicated 13% of surveyed women with a recent live birth reported depressive symptoms during the postpartum period. One in five said they werent asked about depression during their prenatal visits, and one in eight said they werent asked during postpartum visits. The new laws require Michigan health professionals to offer mental health screenings at follow-up appointments and child wellness visits, and to provide mental health resources including referrals. Insurers will be required to cover those screenings. Identifying postpartum depression is a key step to ensuring early success, said former state Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, who sponsored one of the bills. With these bills, medical professionals will be required to treat both physical and behavioral health needs of new moms, and that will support healthier kids and families. For years, Corewell Health West has screened mothers for postpartum depression. More recently, the screening has become more standardized, McGhee said. Even if its become a common practice within other health systems, McGhee said its still useful to put it into law and help raise awareness of mental health care. She added that there are still lots of opportunities to continue optimizing that care in partnership with mental health professionals. Other changes in the maternal health bill package include establishing a program that designates the level of care offered at a perinatal facility; and requiring hospitals to provide information to patients on how to enroll their newborns in health insurance. A new season of one of Oxygens hit show proves that love is among the deadliest weapons. Season 18 of Snapped: Killer Couples premieres Sunday, March 2, at 6 p.m. ET on Oxygen. You can stream the new season for free with a trial from Fubo or DIRECTV Stream, or catch it on Sling. About the show: This series examines couples who commit terrible criminal acts. Using recreations and firsthand accounts to tell the story of their romance, watch the evolution from love to manipulation and what ultimately led to crimes. Tonights episode, Maya Maxwell and Cedric Marks, follows events after two best friends are reported missing. Texas and Minnesota police team up to bring a suspected serial killer to justice while an accomplice shares her side of the story from behind bars, revealing chilling details of the crime. Tune in tonight, March 2, at 6/5c on Oxygen. Where to watch Oxygen: In the final weeks of the NCAA Womens Gymnastics regular season, four of the top programs in the Big Ten Conference meet up in Iowa on Sunday in the second of two Big Four Meets. Watch college gymnastics on FuboTV (7-day free trial) Sundays slate of action will see the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans go up against the No. 25 Penn State Nittany Lions, the Washington Huskies and the host Iowa Hawkeyes. The Spartans enter the weekend on a roll, winning each of their past three meets, defeating nationally-ranked opponents in the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Nebraska Cornhuskers before taking down the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last weekend. MSU has been victorious in seven of its last eight contests, only losing to the No. 2 UCLA Bruins a month ago. The Spartans come into the weekend tied for second Big Ten with Minnesota, while Penn State is fourth. Iowa is tied for sixth in the conference, while Washington sits last in the 12-team league. NCAA WOMENS GYMNASTICS Big Four Meet When: Sunday, March 2 Time: 7 p.m. ET Where: Xtream Arena (Coralville, Iowa) Channel: Big Ten Network Stream: FuboTV (Free Trial), Sling, DirecTV Stream Check out the NCAA Gymnastics rankings here MORIOKA, Japan - Japan's disaster management agency on Sunday requested more fire departments across the country to join the battle against a forest fire that has continued to spread in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate. Nearly 1,700 firefighters from around 450 departments across the country have already joined the effort to control the blaze, which has spread over five days since Wednesday in Ofunato, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The agency has newly asked the governments of Hokkaido and Yokohama city to dispatch some of their firefighters to Ofunato. While firefighters with aerial support from helicopters, including those of the Self-Defense Forces, have managed to keep the flames from spreading toward Ofunato's residential areas along the Pacific coast, nearly 1,800 hectares of land had been burned as of Sunday, an increase of 400 hectares since the previous day. The city has so far issued evacuation orders to around 4,600 residents, with over 1,200 people staying in shelters as of Sunday morning. Related coverage: More people ordered to evacuate as northeast Japan wildfire spreads Japan wildfire burns largest area in over 30 years as blaze rages on Visitors queue up to claim gift packs at a booth during the Pet Fair Beijing 2025 in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Cao Bin) Fresh pet food kitchens offering in-house prepared meals with door-to-door delivery, legal services specifically tailored for pet owners, and even "wellness-focused" dog food formulas incorporating traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Such developments, serving as latest evidence of China's booming pet economy, are being showcased at a Beijing pet fair. The four-day Pet Fair Beijing 2025, which started on Thursday, has attracted more than 1,500 exhibitors and 13,000 brands in an exhibition area measuring about 120,000 square meters. Exhibits cover almost all aspects of this industry -- from pet food, supplements, and toys for cats and dogs to comprehensive supply chain services including product manufacturing, packaging solutions and after-sales support. With evolving attitudes toward pet ownership and the expansion of the domestic animal market, China's pet industry has entered a golden era of rapid development in recent years. According to the latest China Pet Industry Annual Report, released by the Asia Pet Alliance Institute, there were 187 million pet dogs and cats nationwide by 2024, driving a market scale beyond 300 billion yuan (about 41.8 billion U.S. dollars). Notably, 47 percent of pet owners said economic fluctuations would not compromise their care for their pets. They plan to spend more on staple foods, treats, nutritional supplements, medications and grooming products for their animal buddies. In the pet food exhibition hall at the fair in Beijing, JIA Pet Group's brand, Legend Sandy, is being displayed via a booth with a wildlife theme that is drawing crowds of pet owners and live-streaming influencers. This brand is dazzling visitors with its premium products featuring innovative formulations such as cat and dog food enhanced with squab meat, freeze-dried raw meat delicacies, fish oil cat treats, and more such specialized offerings. "Sales data shows that rising prices resulting from upgraded pet food haven't cooled spending from young pet owners," said Jin Guoqing, vice president of JIA Pet Group. Targeting busy yet companionship-seeking young consumers, the company plans to develop new mid-range cat food offerings to diversify options for pet households in China. With 10 years' experience in anti-counterfeit tracking services, an exhibitor from east China's Shandong Province has expanded into pet product authentication in recent years. The company provides traceability solutions, allowing consumers to verify products through QR code scans. "With pet owners demanding better quality control, our tracking services have grown by 60 percent annually in terms of pet food and supplies," the company's Li Cheng noted. As refined pet care becomes a trend, new technologies like freeze-drying and multi-layer stuffing are being applied to pet staple foods and snacks, providing picky eaters with tastier and more balanced nutrition. At a booth featuring such products, colorful freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, purple sweet potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, apples and more in various shapes are attracting many viewers. Meanwhile, An Jiaran, a Beijing-based lawyer, and some of her colleagues have analyzed previous pet-related cases, sorting through regulations and industry standards in establishing the "Furry Friends Legal Team." They provide legal services to pet companies regarding product compliance, pet breeding and many more practices, while offering pet owners consultation on adoption processes, property damage caused by their pets, and liability issues in case their pets get hurt. "We're not just attorneys, but catalysts for industry standardization," An said. According to Yan Jinsheng, vice president of the China Pet Industry Association, consumer awareness and attitudes toward pet care are evolving, driving the rise of new services and specialized skills in the pet industry. This shift is fostering innovation and diversification across the sector. However, he also highlighted challenges, such as outdated policies and regulatory gaps. He emphasized the need for positive public discourse and the introduction of relevant policies and regulations to ensure the sustainable and healthy growth of China's pet economy. TOKYO - Rice prices in Japan have remained high despite hopes that they would normalize after the government announced plans two weeks ago that it would release its stockpiles to curb the surge. On Feb. 14, the government said it would release up to 210,000 tons of its stockpiled rice, to be handed over to wholesalers in mid-March after it has been bid for and expected to hit store shelves between late March and early April. The farm ministry expected the announcement alone would lead to lower prices before the release of the stockpiled rice. But there has been no such effect, an executive at a major rice wholesaler said. Wholesale prices of Koshihikari brown rice from Niigata Prefecture, for example, was between 48,300 yen ($320) and 48,500 yen per 60 kilograms as of Feb. 26, little changed from a month earlier, according to rice market research firm Beikoku Databank. "Once the results (of the bidding) are revealed, it will have an effect on lowering prices," an official at the research firm said. The government is scheduled to release 150,000 tons of rice in the first stage, and could release an additional 60,000 tons if the need arises. According to the consumer price data released last month, rice prices surged 27.7 percent in 2024 from the previous year, the largest increase since 1975. In December alone, prices soared 64.5 percent from a year earlier. The spike in prices followed a poor harvest in the summer of 2023 due to a period of high temperatures that reduced the amount of rice available for distribution the following year. A sharp rise in the number of foreign tourists has also driven up rice consumption at restaurants. The Japanese government has 910,000 tons of rice stockpiled, with the planned release equivalent to over 20 percent of the reserves. Related coverage: Japan core consumer prices in Jan. rise 3.2% on year on rice, energy Japan's private rice imports hit record high amid inflation Japan to release 210,000 tons from rice reserves amid surging prices Gayatri Rani USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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I Accept Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi starrer Thandel to stream on Netflix from THIS date M Snehanjali USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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Report M Snehanjali USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept A staff member works at the laboratory of Bayer Crop Science Hangzhou Production Site in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 21, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Mingxiang) HANGZHOU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Ma Jishen was excited to see Bayer, the German healthcare and agribusiness giant, achieve the designed production capacity in just over a month at its new factory, where he serves as director. The Bayer Crop Science Hangzhou Production Site, which spans 4 hectares and has a total investment exceeding 300 million yuan (about 41.18 million U.S. dollars), began operations on Jan. 15 in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province and a leading tech hub. The site is projected to generate an output value of 2 billion yuan this year. The production site produces a range of crop protection products, including insecticides, seed treatments, and growth regulators, covering key crops such as rice, corn, wheat, and fruits and vegetables. Bayer provides farmers with crop protection solutions, safe pesticide use, and application techniques to support sustainable agricultural practices. In the workshop, automated and intelligent production lines run smoothly, quickly filling bottles with crop science products, with hardly any production staff in sight. "On average, each production line requires fewer than one employee. We aim to set an advanced example of green manufacturing here," said Ma. In 2000, Bayer established its only Chinese crop science plant in Hangzhou. Over the past 25 years, the company has continuously increased its investment in Hangzhou, totaling over 1 billion yuan. Ma believes that the launch and production ramp-up of the new factory is closely linked to China's vast market potential, complete industrial chain, and the local government's services. "China is a key and attractive market for agriculture with strong demand and robust growth. The Yangtze River Delta region, where our new factory is located, has a complete supply chain. We can get raw materials and find plenty of logistics and storage partners nearby easily," said Ma in an interview with Xinhua. "The local authorities spent nearly a year tailoring an investment agreement for Bayer. It sends a clear message that China welcomes companies and investors worldwide to operate and grow their businesses here," he said. Bayer collaborates with local partners on new product development, drawing inspiration from China. To reduce environmental impact, the business focuses more on biologicals and green solutions. To strengthen its local R&D capabilities, Bayer upgraded its innovation center in China, one of its 17 global innovation hubs. Recently, several German companies expanded their investments in the Yangtze River Delta region. German optical systems giant ZEISS Group plans to build its Greater China headquarters in Shanghai, covering 60 mu with an investment of over 600 million yuan. Bartec Thermal Control and Safety System (PingHu) Co., Ltd. launched its Asia-Pacific headquarters in the city of Pinghu, Zhejiang. The company focuses on explosion-proof electrical machines and expects to generate 250 million yuan in annual output. In 2024, 59,080 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in China, up 9.9 percent year on year. By the end of 2024, the cumulative number of foreign-invested enterprises in China exceeded 1.23 million, with actual use of foreign capital reaching 20.6 trillion yuan. In February, China issued an action plan to stabilize foreign investment, with efforts to expand opening-up in sectors like telecommunication, biotechnology, and medical services and offer comprehensive services for foreign-invested projects. The plan was approved at a State Council executive meeting last month. The meeting highlighted the important role of foreign-invested enterprises in employment, export stability, and industrial upgrading and urged more practical and effective measures to maintain existing investments and attract new ones. A survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China shows that 92 percent of surveyed companies plan to keep operating in China. "We're optimistic about China's economic resilience, technological progress, and its focus on low-carbon and rural development. Our investment in China not only creates opportunities for us to develop here but also contributes to the world," said Ma. This photo shows the production workshop of Bartec Thermal Control and Safety System (PingHu) Co., Ltd. in Pinghu City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 17, 2025. (Pinghu Economic-Technological Development Zone/Handout via Xinhua) Potential reversal likely not only in Bank Nifty but also in these 3 stocks, says Harmonic patterns Brijesh Bhatia is the Senior Research Analyst at Definedge. He has over 18 years of experience as a trader and technical analyst in India's financial markets. He has worked with UTI, Asit C Mehta, and Edelweiss Securities. Sunil Matkar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Shaurya Shubham USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Nothing Phone 3a to get a new Essential Key with customisable options MC Tech Desk Read the latest and trending tech newsstay updated on AI, gadgets, cybersecurity, software updates, smartphones, blockchain, space tech, and the future of innovation. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Shaurya Shubham USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Britain stands with Ukraine': Zelenskyy gets warm welcome by UK PM day after blowup with Trump Chhabi Kala USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Staff members of a polling station sing the national anthem in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, March 2, 2025. Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhao Yu) DUSHANBE, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. A total of 220 candidates, including representatives from six political parties and some independents, are competing for 63 seats in the lower house. Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, leader of the ruling People's Democratic Party, cast his ballot on Sunday morning at polling station No. 15 in the capital city of Dushanbe. According to data released by Tajikistan's Central Election Commission (CEC), the country currently has more than five million registered voters. There are 3,513 polling stations nationwide, along with 36 overseas polling stations. Forty-one seats out of all 63 seats in the lower house will be elected from among 152 candidates across 41 constituencies, while the remaining 22 seats will be contested by 68 candidates nominated by the six parties which are participating in the elections. According to Tajik law, voting will conclude at 8:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT). A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, March 2, 2025. Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhao Yu) Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon casts his ballot at a polling station in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, March 2, 2025. Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhao Yu) A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, March 2, 2025. Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhao Yu) Rustam Emomali, chairman of the National Assembly of Tajikistan and mayor of Dushanbe, casts his ballot at a polling station in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, March 2, 2025. Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhao Yu) A voter casts his ballot at a polling station in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, March 2, 2025. Voting in the elections for the lower house of Tajikistan's parliament began at 6:00 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zhao Yu) Tamal Nandi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Israel supports US proposal to extend Gaza ceasefire's first phase, but Hamas wants Phase 2 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Mexico, Canada tariffs coming Tuesday, but Trump will set exact levels, says US commerce head 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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I Accept Pro-Ukraine protests erupt across US following Trump-Vance clash with Zelenskyy Aishwarya Dabhade USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Russia praises Trump and scolds Europe for being the crucible of war 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept An aerial drone photo shows vehicles waiting to pass through Youyiguan Port, or Friendship Pass, in Pingxiang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 1, 2025. With the booming economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam, major border ports witness increasing border traffic. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo shows a view of Guangxi Pingxiang Integrated Free Trade Zone in Pingxiang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 1, 2025. With the booming economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam, major border ports witness increasing border traffic. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo shows a view of Youyiguan Port, or Friendship Pass, in Pingxiang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 1, 2025. With the booming economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam, major border ports witness increasing border traffic. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo shows a view of Guangxi Pingxiang Integrated Free Trade Zone in Pingxiang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 1, 2025. With the booming economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam, major border ports witness increasing border traffic. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) An aerial drone photo shows vehicles waiting to pass through Youyiguan Port, or Friendship Pass, in Pingxiang City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 1, 2025. With the booming economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam, major border ports witness increasing border traffic. (Xinhua/Zhou Hua) Zelenskyy was warned not to press for security guarantees before Oval Office clash Aishwarya Dabhade USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept JOHANNESBURG, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese economy enjoys strong growth momentum and broad development prospects, and the Chinese market remains a safe place for investors, a South African expert has said. Compared with the fast economic growth from a relatively low baseline decades ago, China is now operating from a higher baseline, pursuing high-quality development, said Gabriel Crouse, a South African policy analyst at the Institute of Race Relations. "China is continuing to lead the world in new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging sectors," Crouse told Xinhua. Take green development. Crouse said the solar panels used in South Africa are mostly manufactured in China. "China is the world's largest clean energy market and equipment manufacturer. This clearly speaks to its technological and manufacturing prowess," he said. Noting that many international observers once believed that China's sci-tech development would come to a halt due to U.S. sanctions, he said, "In fact, the reverse seems to be happening: despite the external tensions and pressures, China is continuing to be a global tech leader in important ways." Citing DeepSeek, a recently launched Chinese AI application that grabbed the world's attention, Crouse spoke highly of Chinese sci-tech innovation as impressive, saying that China is now capable of producing the world's leading language models at dramatically low costs. Speaking of the headwinds facing the Chinese economy, he said the challenges remain manageable as the Chinese government continues to deepen reform and nurture new growth drivers. "To see China recognize problems and address them properly reassures investors that the Chinese economy remains a safe place to bet on," Crouse said. With growing uncertainties in the global market, Crouse said the sound China-South Africa economic and trade partnership has facilitated South Africa's economic growth and sustainable development. South Africa is one of the first African countries to sign a memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation with China, and the two sides have carried out in-depth cooperation in fields such as infrastructure construction, green development and trade. "Infrastructure construction is an important part of African integration, not only in private supply chains but also in public infrastructure capacity integration," Crouse said. Reporter Andrew Roberto was raised his whole life on Saipan. He graduated from Saipan Southern High School, holds a degree from Northern Marianas College, and a BA in English from the University of Guam. He once worked for KUAM, UNO Magazine, and the Guam Daily Post. GAZA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel's adoption of an American proposal for a temporary holiday truce is an attempt to dodge negotiations for phase two of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Hamas said Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Sunday that Israel has accepted the U.S. proposal for a temporary truce with Hamas in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover holidays, hours after phase one of the Gaza ceasefire agreement expired. "We reaffirm our commitment to implementing the signed agreement in its three stages, and we have repeatedly announced our readiness to start negotiations on the second stage of the agreement," Hamas said in a statement. "We stress that the only way to restore the occupation hostages is to adhere to the (ceasefire) agreement, immediately enter into negotiations to begin the second phase, and for the occupation to commit to implementing its pledges," it said. Hamas said Netanyahu's decision to block humanitarian aid into Gaza is "cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the agreement." "The mediators and the international community must act to pressure the occupation and stop its punitive and immoral measures against more than 2 million people in the Gaza Strip," said Hamas. Harare A faction of Zimbabwes war veterans is planning to boycott a scheduled meeting with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, citing long-standing grievances and simmering tensions over the presidents potential term extension beyond 2028. The move signals a growing rift between Mnangagwa and a segment of the ex-combatants, who have historically been a vital support base for the ruling Zanu-PF party. Zanu-PF war veterans secretary, Douglas Mahiya, announced last week that the planned interface was intended to quell rising discontent among ex-combatants who have expressed dissatisfaction with Mnangagwas leadership. The meeting, slated to take place in Harare within a fortnight, was meant to address a number of issues affecting the former liberation war fighters. However, the fallout with a section of the war veterans stems from alleged plans by Mnangagwa loyalists to extend his term from 2028 to 2030, despite the presidents repeated public pronouncements that he has no intention of seeking an extension. Outspoken war veterans Blessed Geza and Andrease Mathibela have been at the forefront of rallying Zimbabweans to oppose the 2030 agenda. Mathibela, who chairs a faction of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veteran Association, has now directed his members to boycott the planned meeting with Mnangagwa. Why invite us suddenly after all those years? Mathibela questioned during a press conference in Harare on Friday. Its too little too late. Whose welfare should be addressed? We refuse to be separated from the people. Mathibelas faction views the sudden invitation as disingenuous, particularly in light of Mnangagwas special investments advisor, Paul Tungwarara, launching a war veterans welfare fund, which critics have dismissed as an attempt to buy their silence. So we said to our members that they should not accept the $200, or whatever, Mathibela stated. We will not attend the planned interface. We have reached a point where now its no longer about war veterans welfare only. Its about everyone else. The decision to boycott the meeting underscores the war veterans broader concerns about the direction of the country and their perceived marginalisation. Mathibela claims that previous attempts to engage in dialogue with Mnangagwa have been repeatedly thwarted. Right up to when he got elected, we wrote letters seeking dialogue, he said. But the president chose to have a king of veterans, who are gatekeepers. We are representing the majority of war veterans. And indeed, we have created a very good relationship with the public. Mathibela recounted an incident where he travelled to the State House for a scheduled meeting with the president, only to have it cancelled at the last minute. I drove all the way with my own money, came here with only an hour left. I was told the meeting was cancelled indefinitely, he said. From then onwards, we were not even invited. He further claimed that efforts to meet with Mnangagwa through Joram Gumbo, the special economic advisor, were also unsuccessful. We went there several times with the letters. So he has shut us out. And he has shut, guess what, why he shut us out? Because he cannot fulfil our expectation. Mathibela accused Mnangagwas loyalists of attempting to silence the war veterans and prevent them from speaking out against the plans to extend his term of office. The stance taken by Mathibelas faction highlights the delicate political landscape in Zimbabwe. War veterans have historically played a crucial role in Zanu-PFs electoral success, and their support has been instrumental in maintaining the partys grip on power. The late president Robert Mugabes removal from office in 2017 was preceded by a fallout with ex-combatants, demonstrating the potential consequences of alienating this influential group. Mugabes loyalists had sought to keep him in power despite his advanced age, failing health, a collapsing economy, and widespread public discontent. The current situation bears some resemblance to those events, raising questions about the stability of Mnangagwas leadership and the future of Zanu-PF. Breaking News via Email Related Pin Share Share 0 Shares Apple shareholders reject proposal to abandon its DEI policies Apple shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPR) to end the company's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with 97 percent voting against it. The NCPR argued that Apple's DEI programs could expose the company to increased litigation risks, particularly from potential discrimination lawsuits and claimed that these initiatives are out of step with recent court rulings. Apple's management strongly supports its DEI efforts, emphasizing that they are essential to the companys ethical standards, business success and market value, which stands at $3.7 trillion. Similarly, Costco Wholesale also rejected a similar NCPR proposal, with 98 percent of its board of directors voting to ask shareholders to reject the motion, affirming their commitment to respect and inclusion. Both Apple and Costco leadership, including Costco Chairman Hamilton "Tony" James, highlighted the importance of DEI in fostering a positive company culture and business success, emphasizing the value of inclusion for both employees and customers. Apple shareholders have rejected a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPR) that calls for the tech giant to abandon its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The proposal, titled "Request to Cease DEI Efforts," argues that recent legal changes to its DEI programs could expose Apple to an increased risk of discrimination lawsuits. The conservative think tank claims that Apple's initiatives are out of step with recent court rulings and could lead to legal action from approximately 50,000 employees. "It's clear that DEI poses litigation, reputational and financial risks to companies and therefore financial risks to their shareholders and therefore further risks to companies for not abiding by their fiduciary duties," the NCPR wrote. (Related: Trump appoints new FAA chief after deadly D.C. crash, orders end to DEI hiring practices.) However, Apple's management firmly stands behind its DEI efforts, asserting that they are crucial to the company's success and align with its ethical and business principles. "We believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apple's success as making the best products in the world," the company said in its statement against the proposal. "We seek to conduct business ethically, honestly and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations." Apple also stated that its program is a crucial component of the company's culture, which has contributed to its current market value of $3.7 trillion the highest of any business in the world. During the shareholder meeting on Feb. 25, 97 percent of Apple shareholders cast their votes against the proposal despite mounting pressure from conservative groups and politicians. Costco Wholesale also rejects NCPR's proposal to reject DEI policies NCPR had done the same with Costco Wholesale in January, asking the retail company to report on the risks of maintaining its DEI initiatives. The conservative think tank argued in its proposal that it was holding "litigation, reputational and financial risks to the company and therefore financial risks to shareholders." However, 98 percent of Costco's board of directors voted to ask shareholders to reject the motion. "Our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary. The report requested by this proposal would not provide meaningful additional information," the board stated. A few days later, Costco Chairman Hamilton "Tony" James echoed a similar statement in a shareholder meeting. "We owe our success to the more than 300,000 employees who serve our members every day. It is important that they all feel included and appreciated and that they transmit these values to our customers," he said. Head over to LeftCult.com for more stories like this. Watch the video below that talks about DOGE being sued just minutes after Trump was sworn in. This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Kristin is the new Karen: A dearth of leadership from the DEI hires in charge of public safety at the LA Fire Department. Trump signs orders banning transgender service members and eliminating DEI programs in the U.S. military. Trump administration gives schools 14 days to scrap DEI policies or lose federal funding. DEI Backlash: Neo-racist policies are fueling a legal and cultural revolt against corporate social engineering. DEI prosecutor who once said she'd never 'degrade herself for a dolla' was just convicted for stealing $15 million in COVID funds. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com MB.com.ph MSN.com NYPost.com 1 NYPost.com 2 Brighteon.com CIA insiders threaten to leak secrets if Trump fires them, exposing Deep State loyalties CIA employees may leak sensitive secrets to foreign adversaries if fired, raising concerns about loyalty and national security. CNN warns mass firings could create insider threats, with ex-employees vulnerable to recruitment by hostile nations. Critics argue the narrative protects the "Deep State" and its media allies, not national security. The report highlights contradictions: are these employees valued assets or liabilities with low integrity? The situation underscores the challenges Trump faces in reforming government and holding the intelligence community accountable. In a revelation that underscores the deep-seated resistance within the intelligence community to President Donald Trumps cost-cutting initiatives, reports have emerged suggesting that disgruntled CIA employees may leak sensitive state secrets to foreign adversaries if they are fired. This alarming threat, first highlighted in an ominous February 24 CNN article, has raised serious questions about the loyalty and integrity of certain intelligence operatives and their allies in the media. The CNN piece, titled How Trumps government-cutting moves risk exposing the CIAs secrets, warned that mass firings at the CIA could create a pool of financially vulnerable or resentful former employees ripe for recruitment by foreign intelligence services like China or Russia. The article cited unnamed sources who claimed that top CIA officials are quietly discussing the risks of disgruntled ex-employees sharing classified information with hostile nations. But is this a legitimate concernor a thinly veiled threat from the so-called Deep State to undermine Trumps efforts to streamline government operations? A cozy relationship between CNN and the Deep State The CNN article, authored by four reporters, including Katie Bo Lilliswho was involved in a defamation case that exposed CNNs history of fake newsrelied heavily on anonymous sources. These unnamed officials suggested that Trumps push to downsize the CIA and other federal agencies could jeopardize national security by creating insider threats. However, critics argue that this narrative is less about protecting America and more about protecting the Deep States grip on power. As The Federalists Beth Brelje pointed out, CNNs reporting reads like a warning to Trump: keep these employees on the payroll, or risk treasonous leaks. Is that a threat from the CIA? Brelje asked. Is CNN reporting that Trump should keep everyone employed because, if he doesnt, former CIA agents will spill U.S. secrets to our enemies? Apparently so. This cozy relationship between CNN and the intelligence community is nothing new. During the Russia collusion hoax, CIA insiders fed CNN and other outlets false information to advance a politically motivated narrative. Now, it seems, the same playbook is being used to shield the Deep State from accountability. The real threat is employees who lack integrity If the CNN report is to be believed, the very employees who might leak sensitive information are the ones the CIA should be most eager to fire. As The Federalist noted, Those with too little integrity to exit with grace should not be employed in jobs with access to sensitive information. The article also highlighted the absurdity of CNNs argument: Are these employees valued, model intelligence officersor loose-lipped liabilities? The medias contradictory messaging suggests a deeper agenda: to protect their sources within the intelligence community and maintain their ability to publish propaganda. If Trump fires their sources, it will be harder for the media to collude with the intelligence community to craft propaganda to sell to the public, Brelje wrote. The connection between CNN and the Deep State has been too cozy for too long. A test of loyalty The CNN article and the threats it describes are a reminder of the challenges President Trump faces in draining the swamp. The Deep State and its media allies are fighting tooth and nail to preserve their power, even if it means resorting to fearmongering and thinly veiled threats. The real test of loyalty lies not in protecting jobs but in safeguarding Americas secrets from those who would betray them. President Trumps efforts to cut government waste and hold the intelligence community accountable are long overdue. If the Deep States response is to threaten treason, it only proves why these reforms are so desperately needed. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com TheFederalist.com CNN.com BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Brunei government continues to work with the country's industrial sectors to develop vocational training programs, to create a knowledge-based economy that can attract more foreign direct investment, a Bruneian government minister said at the Legislative Council on Saturday. The Brunei-China joint venture Hengyi Industries has provided a scholarship program through collaboration with local educational institutions in Brunei such as Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Institute of Brunei Technical Education, and Politeknik Brunei, according to Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, Brunei's minister at the Prime Minister's Office and second minister of Finance and Economy. The Minister said that a total of 941 students have received scholarships or participated in collaborative programs with the relevant local educational institutions. Of these, 530 students have been offered jobs at Hengyi, while the rest are still studying and will undergo work training before being offered jobs. Brunei is a Southeast Asian country on Borneo's northern coast. Rich in oil and natural gas, the Sultanate has pursued economic diversification in recent years, deepening cooperation with Chinese enterprises across various sectors. Hengyi Industries is a flagship project between Brunei and China under the Belt and Road Initiative. Hamas hands over hostages bodies as fragile Gaza truce nears end Hamas returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages, while Israel released 620 Palestinian prisoners, concluding the first phase of a fragile ceasefire. The exchange was mediated by Egypt and conducted privately to avoid public controversy. Hamas signaled willingness to discuss the second phase, involving the release of remaining hostages and a lasting truce, but mistrust remains high. Israel faces internal pressure to resume military action, while Hamas demands a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israeli occupation. The ceasefires expiration this weekend raises fears of renewed violence, with international mediators working to prevent escalation. In a tense and fragile exchange, Hamas handed over the bodies of four Israeli hostages early Thursday, while Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, marking the final swap of the first phase of a precarious ceasefire. The deal, mediated by Egypt, comes as the 42-day truce nears its expiration this weekend, raising concerns about the future of negotiations and the potential for renewed violence in the region. The bodies of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mantzurall abducted during Hamas October 7, 2023, attackwere returned to Israel in coffins, with no public ceremony after previous displays drew sharp criticism. In exchange, Israel freed 620 Palestinian prisoners, including women, minors, and long-term detainees, some of whom were greeted with cheers and emotional reunions in Gaza and the West Bank. A fragile exchange amid rising tensions The handover was not without complications. Earlier in the week, Israel delayed the release of prisoners after Hamas staged a controversial ceremony featuring living hostages and coffins. The final exchange was conducted privately, with the Red Cross facilitating the transfer of the bodies through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The remains were taken to Israels National Center for Forensic Medicine for identification, with families to be notified once the process is complete. Hamas has signaled its willingness to begin talks on the second phase of the ceasefire, which would require the release of all remaining hostages59 are still held, with more than half believed to be deadin exchange for a lasting truce, further prisoner releases, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. However, the path forward is fraught with challenges. What comes next? The second phase of the ceasefire hinges on resolving deep-seated mistrust between the two sides. Israel faces internal pressure to resume its military campaign against Hamas, while Hamas insists on a permanent ceasefire and an end to Israels occupation of Palestinian territories. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is eradicated, a stance that complicates negotiations. The first phase of the truce has already seen accusations of violations from both sides. Hamas has accused Israel of delaying aid deliveries and mistreating Palestinian prisoners, while Israel has condemned Hamas for its handling of hostages and alleged ceasefire breaches. The fragility of the agreement was evident when Israel paused prisoner releases over Hamas public displays of hostages, underscoring how easily the deal could unravel. As the ceasefires expiration looms, the risk of renewed violence is high. If negotiations fail, Israel could resume its military operations in Gaza, potentially escalating the humanitarian crisis and further destabilizing the region. The international community, including the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, is working to mediate, but the path to a lasting peace remains uncertain. For now, the families of the returned hostages can begin to grieve, while the released Palestinian prisoners celebrate their freedom. Yet, the broader conflict remains unresolved, leaving the region teetering on the edge of another devastating chapter. The final exchange of the first phase of the ceasefire offers a glimmer of hope but underscores the fragility of the agreement. With the fate of 59 hostages still in the balance and both sides deeply mistrustful, the road to peace is perilous. As the truce nears its end, one can only hope that diplomacy will prevail over violence. Sources for this article include: Reuters.com CNN.com APNews.com AI as co-scientist: How generative AI is revolutionizing scientific discovery Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming scientific research by actively co-discovering alongside scientists, from predicting molecular behavior to rediscovering antibiotic resistance mechanisms, marking a shift from traditional trial-and-error methods. Developed by Monash University researchers, LLM4SD (Large Language Model 4 Scientific Discovery) is an open-source AI system that mimics scientific research stepsretrieving literature, analyzing data and generating hypotheseswhile providing interpretable explanations, bridging the gap between AI predictions and actionable insights. Tested in 58 research tasks across fields like quantum mechanics and biophysics, LLM4SD outperformed state-of-the-art tools, improving accuracy by up to 48% in predicting quantum properties, showcasing its potential to accelerate discovery in resource-intensive fields. Tools like LLM4SD, Googles AI co-scientist, and Microsofts MatterGen and Aurora are revolutionizing drug discovery, materials science and climate forecasting by generating hypotheses, predicting material behaviors and delivering accurate weather predictions in seconds, significantly reducing time and costs. While AI tools promise to amplify scientific progress, researchers emphasize the need for ethical development, transparency and accountability. AI is seen as a collaborative partner, enhancing human ingenuity rather than replacing it, to address humanitys most pressing challenges. In the annals of scientific progress, breakthroughs have often been the result of painstaking experimentation, serendipity or the slow accumulation of knowledge over decades. But a new era is dawning, one where artificial intelligence (AI) is not just assisting scientistsits actively co-discovering alongside them. From predicting molecular behavior to rediscovering antibiotic resistance mechanisms, generative AI tools are reshaping how we approach scientific inquiry. The latest development comes from an Australian research team led by Monash University, which has unveiled a groundbreaking AI tool named LLM4SD (Large Language Model 4 Scientific Discovery). Published in Nature Machine Intelligence, this open-source system is designed to mimic the key steps of scientific research: retrieving information from literature, analyzing data and generating hypotheses. What sets LLM4SD apart is its ability to explain its reasoning, a feature that bridges the gap between AIs black box predictions and actionable scientific insights. Just like ChatGPT writes essays or solves math problems, our LLM4SD tool reads decades of scientific literature and analyzes lab data to predict how molecules behaveanswering questions like, Can this drug cross the brains protective barrier? or Will this compound dissolve in water?, said Yizhen Zheng, a PhD candidate at Monash University and lead co-author of the research. A new era of AI-driven discovery The LLM4SD tool was tested across 58 research tasks in fields as diverse as physiology, physical chemistry, biophysics and quantum mechanics. In one striking example, it outperformed state-of-the-art tools by boosting accuracy by up to 48% in predicting quantum properties critical for materials design. This leap in performance underscores the potential of generative AI to accelerate discovery in fields where traditional methods are time-consuming and resource-intensive. Rather than replacing traditional machine learning models, LLM4SD enhances them by synthesizing knowledge and generating interpretable explanations, said Jiaxin Ju, a PhD candidate at Griffith University and co-author of the study. This sentiment is echoed by Huan Yee Koh, another lead co-author, who emphasized the tools ability to make AI-driven predictions accessible and reliable across disciplines. This approach ensures that AI-driven predictions remain reliable and accessible to researchers across different scientific disciplines, Koh said. From trial-and-error to AI-powered insights Historically, scientific discovery has been a process of trial and error, often requiring yearsor even decadesof experimentation. For example, the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by Alexander Fleming was a serendipitous accident, while the development of the COVID-19 vaccines relied on decades of prior research into mRNA technology. Today, AI tools like LLM4SD and Googles AI co-scientist are flipping the script. Googles system, built on the Gemini 2.0 platform, recently rediscovered a key antibiotic resistance mechanism in daysa problem that took human researchers over a decade to solve. Similarly, Microsofts foundation models, such as MatterGen and Aurora, are enabling scientists to generate new materials and predict weather patterns with unprecedented speed and accuracy. AI is a tool in your arsenal that can support you, said Bonnie Kruft, deputy director at Microsoft Researchs AI for Science lab. Were seeing this amazing opportunity to move beyond traditional human language-based large models into a new paradigm that employs mathematics and molecular simulations to create an even more powerful model for scientific discovery. The future of AI in science The implications of these advancements are profound. In drug discovery, for instance, AI tools like LLM4SD could streamline the identification of promising compounds, reducing the time and cost of bringing new treatments to market. In materials science, Microsofts MatterGen is already generating novel materials with specific properties, while its companion tool, MatterSim, predicts how these materials will behave under different conditions. It gives materials scientists a way to come up with better hypotheses for the kinds of materials they want to design, said Tian Xie, principal research manager at Microsoft Research. Similarly, Aurora, Microsofts weather and pollution forecasting model, is revolutionizing climate science by delivering accurate predictions in secondsa task that previously required hours of supercomputer processing. The major difference that AI methods bring is computational efficiency and reducing the cost of obtaining those forecasts, said Paris Perdikaris, principal research manager at Microsoft Research AI for Science. Ethical considerations and the role of scientists While the potential of AI in science is immense, researchers are quick to emphasize that these tools are meant to augment, not replace, human scientists. We are already fully immersed in the age of generative AI, and we need to start harnessing this as much as possible to advance science, while ensuring we are developing it ethically, said Geoff Webb, a professor at Monash University and co-author of the LLM4SD research. This ethical dimension is particularly critical as AI systems become more integrated into the scientific process. Ensuring transparency, interpretability and accountability will be key to building trust in these tools. A collaborative future The advent of AI-powered scientific tools marks a turning point in how we approach discovery. By synthesizing vast amounts of data, generating testable hypotheses and providing interpretable insights, these systems are poised to accelerate progress across disciplines. Yet, as with any transformative technology, the challenge lies in harnessing its potential responsibly. As Yizhen Zheng aptly put it, This tool has the potential to make the drug discovery process easier, faster and more accurate and become a supercharged research support for scientists in every field all across the world. In the end, the true promise of AI in science lies not in replacing human ingenuity but in amplifying itushering in a new era of collaborative discovery that could solve some of humanitys most pressing challenges. Sources include: Monash.edu Maginative.com Microsoft.com Trump administration to launch registry for illegal immigrants: Fines and arrests for noncompliance President Donald Trump's administration plans to introduce an online registry for undocumented immigrants, requiring them to submit personal details or face fines and arrest. The policy shifts the treatment of illegal immigration from a civil offense to one with potential criminal penalties for noncompliance, including fines of up to $5,000 and up to six months in prison. Historical precedents include a 1940s registry for identifying suspected communists and a post-9/11 registry under President George W. Bush, which led to the arrest and deportation of many migrants. The registry, part of Trump's executive order "Protecting the American People Against Invasion," requires undocumented immigrants to register within 30 days, with evidence of registration to be carried by those over 18. The policy faces criticism from immigrant rights advocates who argue it will further marginalize undocumented immigrants, while supporters claim it enforces the rule of law and enhances national security. The administration of President Donald Trump is poised to introduce an online registry for undocumented immigrants as early as this week, mandating that they submit personal information or face severe penalties, including fines and arrest. The move, outlined in a memo by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, marks a shift from the current civil offense status of illegal immigration to a more punitive approach, with potential criminal consequences for noncompliance. The policy, which aligns with Trump's broader efforts to bolster the nation's immigration laws, requires undocumented migrants, including minors over the age of 14, to submit fingerprints and home addresses. Those who fail to register within 30 days of the registry's launch could face fines up to $5,000 and up to six months in prison, according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. This initiative is not without historical precedent. In 1940, the U.S. government implemented a similar registry to identify and monitor suspected communists, though the program became impractical and was discontinued by the 1960s. More recently, former President George W. Bush established an immigration registry following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which resulted in the arrest and deportation of tens of thousands of migrants, according to the Journal. The new registry is designed to bring undocumented immigrants who have not previously interacted with the government such as by seeking asylum or a work permit under the DHS's purview. "Once an alien has registered and appeared for fingerprinting (unless waived), DHS will issue evidence of registration, which aliens over the age of 18 must carry and keep in their possession at all times," reads a notice on the U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. Implementation and penalties The registration process, which will be mandatory for all unregistered undocumented immigrants, is part of Trump's Day One executive order, "Protecting the American People Against Invasion." Under this order, DHS is directed to set up the registry under section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and ensure that noncompliance is treated as a civil and criminal enforcement priority. (Related: ICE arrested over 300 illegal immigrants with major criminal convictions within 24 hours of Trump's inauguration.) USCIS notes that "registration is not an immigration status, and registration documentation does not establish employment authorization or any other right or benefit under the INA or any other U.S. law." Aliens currently in the country illegally will have 30 days to submit their personal information once the registration website is operational. Failure to comply will result in criminal and civil penalties, including misdemeanor prosecution and fines. The policy has drawn criticism from immigrant rights advocates who argue that it will further marginalize and criminalize an already vulnerable population. "This registry is a clear attempt to intimidate and punish undocumented immigrants," said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. "It will only drive more people into the shadows and create a humanitarian crisis." Proponents of the policy, however, argue that it is necessary to enforce the rule of law and protect national security. "Aliens in this country illegally face a choice," Noem stated in the memo. "They can return home and follow the legal process to come to the United States or they can deal with the consequences of continuing to violate our laws." As the policy rolls out, the coming weeks and months will be crucial in determining its impact and the broader implications for immigration policy in the United States. InvasionUSA.news has similar stories. Watch the video below where Noem praised Trump's immigration policies. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Democrats under fire for helping illegal immigrants evade deportation. Trump announces expansion of Guantanamo Bay detention facility for criminal migrants. Homan takes aim at NJ governor over alleged harboring of ILLEGAL ALIEN. Sources include: NYPost.com USCIS.gov WSJ.com Brighteon.com Trump and Zelensky to sign minerals deal as U.S. seeks to recoup Ukraine aid Trump and Zelensky sign a landmark minerals deal to tap Ukraines critical resources like lithium and titanium, boosting U.S.-Ukraine economic ties. The agreement excludes U.S. security guarantees, leaving Ukraines defense concerns unresolved amid ongoing war with Russia. Ukraine will contribute 50% of future mineral revenues to a joint U.S.-Ukraine fund for infrastructure and energy projects. The deal aims to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals but faces long-term challenges due to war and underinvestment. Trump frames the deal as a way to repay U.S. taxpayers for aid, while experts warn of high costs and slow progress. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are poised to sign a landmark minerals deal during Zelenskys visit to the White House, marking a significant shift in U.S.-Ukraine relations. The agreement, which focuses on Ukraines vast deposits of critical minerals like lithium, titanium, and rare earths, is seen as a way for the U.S. to recoup some of the billions of dollars in aid it has provided to Kyiv since Russias invasion in 2022. However, the deal notably excludes explicit U.S. security guarantees, leaving Ukraines long-term defense concerns unresolved. The meeting comes amid heightened tensions between the two leaders, with Trump recently criticizing Zelenskys handling of the war and labeling him a dictator. Despite the friction, both sides appear eager to finalize the agreement, which could pave the way for future U.S. investment in Ukraines war-torn economy while addressing Americas growing reliance on China for critical minerals. A deal decades in the making The proposed agreement centers on Ukraines untapped mineral wealth, which includes deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals the European Union deems critical. These resourcesranging from lithium for electric vehicle batteries to titanium for aerospace and defense industriesare essential for modern technology but remain largely undeveloped due to years of war and underinvestment. Under the terms of the deal, Ukraine would contribute 50% of future revenues from state-owned natural resource assets to a U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The fund, jointly managed by both nations, would reinvest in Ukrainian infrastructure, energy, and mining projects. While the agreement outlines a framework for cooperation, it lacks specific timelines or financial commitments, leaving key details to be negotiated later. For Ukraine, the deal represents a lifeline as it seeks to rebuild its economy and secure Western support. However, without security guarantees, developing these resources near the frontlines of the war remains a daunting challenge. U.S. aims to counter Chinas dominance The Trump administration has framed the deal as a strategic move to reduce U.S. dependence on China, which currently dominates the global supply chain for rare earths and critical minerals. China controls 70% of U.S. rare earth imports, according to a 2025 U.S. Geological Survey report, leaving America vulnerable to supply disruptions. By tapping into Ukraines resources, the U.S. hopes to bolster its domestic supply chains and compete more effectively with Beijing. However, experts caution that extracting and processing these minerals will take years, if not decades. Its a capital-intensive business, and its a long-term project, said Roman Opimakh, former director general of the Ukrainian Geological Survey. Aid repayment and political implications Trump has repeatedly emphasized that the deal is a way to repay American taxpayers for the billions of dollars in aid sent to Ukraine. Were going to have a lot of people over there, Trump said during a press conference, suggesting that U.S. involvement in Ukraines mineral sector would provide its own form of security. The agreement could also help Trump win back support from congressional Republicans, many of whom have grown skeptical of continued aid to Ukraine. This is a joint economic alliance where the U.S. would help develop Ukraines critical minerals, said Republican Representative Michael McCaul. And then obviously, our industry would make money. They would make money, and then we help to pay for the war." Although the deal offers a glimmer of hope for Ukraines economic recovery, significant challenges remain. Much of the countrys mineral wealth lies in Russian-occupied territory, and the war has left Ukraines infrastructure in ruins. Developing new mines and processing facilities will require billions in investment and a stable security environmentneither of which Ukraine currently has. The U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal marks a pivotal moment in the relationship between the two nations, offering a potential path to economic recovery for Ukraine and a strategic win for the U.S. in its competition with China. However, the absence of security guarantees and the immense challenges of developing Ukraines resources in a war zone mean the road ahead will be challenging. As Trump and Zelensky put pen to paper, the success of this agreement will depend on sustained political will, significant investment, and a resolution to the ongoing conflict with Russia. Sources for this article include: Reuters.com 1 Reuters.com 2 CBSNews.com WashingtonPost.com Childrens Health Defense documentary Vaxxed III explores the dark truth behind HOSPITAL HOMICIDE The documentary "Vaxxed III: Authorized to Kill" from Children's Health Defense (CHD) presents harrowing stories from individuals who believe they were harmed by a healthcare system designed to do so, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film's subtitle, "Authorized to Kill," is derived from the filmmakers' eight-month journey collecting stories of adverse reactions to vaccines and treatments, suggesting that emergency use authorizations (EUA) have given healthcare providers permission to harm the unvaccinated. The documentary reveals a pattern of unvaccinated patients being targeted with life-threatening treatments like remdesivir and ventilators, allegedly to make them appear more vulnerable and justify vaccine safety. Financial incentives for hospitals, reportedly up to $500,000 per COVID-related death, are highlighted as a driving force. The film's creators and interviewees including Mike Adams, Polly Tommey and Dr. Brian Hooker accuse the government and tech giants of suppressing alternative narratives, censoring dissenting voices and marginalizing effective treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine while promoting untested drugs. The film's creators and interviewees including Mike Adams, Polly Tommey and Dr. Brian Hooker accuse the government and tech giants of suppressing alternative narratives, censoring dissenting voices and marginalizing effective treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine while promoting untested drugs. "Vaxxed III: Authorized to Kill" is presented as a wake-up call for the public to question the current healthcare system, urging individuals to take control of their health decisions and sparking crucial conversations about medical ethics and patient rights. In an era where trust in medical institutions is increasingly strained, the documentary film "Vaxxed III: Authorized to Kill" promises to rock the foundations of modern healthcare. This documentary from Children's Health Defense (CHD) delves deep into the harrowing stories of those who claim to have fallen victim to a system designed to harm, rather than heal. CHD Program Director Polly Tommey and CHD Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Brian Hooker joined the Health Ranger Mike Adams on the "Health Ranger Report" to shed light on the chilling findings of the documentary. Tommey, who spearheaded the project, explained the origin of the film's provocative subtitle, "Authorized to Kill." The film producer and book author recounted that during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) era, they traveled on a bus for eight months, collecting stories from people who had been affected by the pandemic and the vaccines. She added that what they found was nothing short of devastating, with the emergency use authorization (EUA) for various treatments including vaccines and medications like remdesivir giving healthcare providers a green light to harm the unvaccinated. (Related: Upcoming VAXXED 3 documentary exposes widespread injuries and deaths caused by vaccines and hospital protocols.) The film's narrative is starkly illustrated by the relentless repetition of similar accounts. Tommey detailed stories of people dying horrible deaths after receiving the COVID-19 vaccines, particularly from Moderna. She added that what was truly chilling were the stories from hospitals where unvaccinated patients were systematically targeted and put on life-threatening treatments like remdesivir and ventilators. Hooker, echoing Tommey's findings, added that it was clear that the system was rigged to make unvaccinated individuals appear more vulnerable and thus, justify the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. The chief scientific officer of CHD stated that financial incentives for hospitals to produce COVID-related deaths under EUA were substantial, often nearing half a million dollars per death. A systemic betrayal, and the role of censorship and propaganda The interview delved into the broader implications of these findings. Adams pointed out that hospitals were not just failing to save lives; they were actively contributing to deaths. He took note that the financial incentives, combined with government and pharmaceutical industry pressures had created a perverse system where patient well-being took a back seat to profit and propaganda. Tommey shared heart-wrenching accounts of patients being denied basic care, restrained and given paralytic drugs. The outspoken autism advocate emphasized the cynical reality of the situation stating that these are not isolated incidents because they are widespread and deeply troubling. The Health Ranger also highlighted the role of censorship in suppressing these narratives. People who tried to challenge the official narrative were targeted, silenced and censored. He took note that the government and tech giants systematically silenced voices of dissent which created an environment of fear and misinformation. "We weren't just silenced and censored. We were also attacked in a way that I've never seen us being attacked before. And not just by the media and the online trolls or whatever you want to call these people, but by members of our own family as well," Tommey commented. Hooker further explained the medical establishment's complicity. He pointed out that safe and effective treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were marginalized, while untested and dangerous drugs like remdesivir were promoted. The bioengineer and former research director added the entire system was designed to defraud the public and benefit the pharmaceutical industry. "Vaxxed III: Authorized to Kill" serves as a wake-up call to the public, urging individuals to take control of their health decisions. It is not just a compilation of stories; it is a call to action. It challenges the status quo and demands a reevaluation of the healthcare system. Follow MedicalViolence.com for more similar stories. Watch the full interview between Polly Tommey, Dr. Brian Hooker and the Health Ranger Mike Adams below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Coming Sept. 18: Vaxxed 3 exposes widespread injuries, deaths following COVID shots, hospital protocols. The COVID VACCINE INJURIES were planned so the DISABLED MASSES would become less self-sufficient and forced to rely on BIG GOVERNMENT. Is a massive DEATH WAVE coming to the Covid VAXXED population? Top virologists and immunologists are predicting exactly that. Sources include: Brighteon.com ChildrensHealthDefense.org 1 ChildrensHealthDefense.org 2 Canada spent $216 Million digging up Christian schools to find indigenous child graves, but the whole thing turned out to be a left-wing operation to get churches burned Canada spent $216 million searching for alleged "secret" indigenous child graves at Christian residential schoolszero graves were found. The narrative of mass unmarked graves was fueled by left-wing activists, politicians, and media, leading to widespread anti-Christian sentiment. At least ten Catholic churches were vandalized or burned to the ground in the wake of the unverified claims. Retired judges, lawyers, and researchers have debunked the narrative, calling it a "hate hoax" with no factual basis. The hoax led to the demolition and burning of churches throughout Canada. Left-wing hoax has shocking consequences In a stunning display of left-wing propaganda run amok, Canada wasted $216 million of taxpayer money on a fruitless search for alleged "secret" indigenous child graves at former Christian residential schools. The search, fueled by unverified claims and sensationalized media coverage, yielded exactly zero graves, exposing a costly and dangerous hoax that has left a trail of destruction in its wake. The saga began on May 27, 2021, when Rosanne Casimir, Chief of the Tkemlups te Secwepemc (Kamloops Indian Band), announced that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) had detected the remains of 215 "missing children" in an apple orchard on the site of a former residential school. The announcement, lacking any concrete evidence, was immediately seized upon by politicians and media outlets, who painted a grim picture of Canada as a nation complicit in the genocide of indigenous children. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, ever the opportunist, ordered Canadian flags to be flown at half-mast on all federal buildings, declaring the alleged grave sites as hallowed ground for "victims of foul play." The narrative of "mass unmarked graves" spread like wildfire, with the World Press Photo of the Year award even going to a haunting image of red dresses hung on crosses, symbolizing the supposed tragedy. The unraveling of a left-wing narrative As the dust settled, a group of retired judges, lawyers, professors, and journalists began to question the validity of the claims. These individuals, many of whom have spent decades researching and evaluating evidence, pointed out glaring inconsistencies in the narrative. The Fraser Institute, a Canadian public policy think tank, revealed that "where excavations have taken place, no burials related to residential schools have been found." The myth of "missing children" was debunked as a failure of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to properly cross-reference historical documents. While some children's fates may have been forgotten over generations, there is no evidence to suggest they were victims of foul play or buried in secret graves. The claim that 150,000 indigenous children were "forced to attend" residential schools was also exposed as misleading. In reality, many parents voluntarily enrolled their children, seeing the schools as the best available option for education. The real victims: Christian churches The fallout from this hoax has been devastating, particularly for Canada's Christian community. At least ten Catholic churches were vandalized or burned to the ground in the wake of the unverified claims. While no direct link has been established between the church burnings and the alleged graves, the timing and location of the attacks suggest a clear connection. Calgary Police acknowledged the "very dark part" of Canadian history but stopped short of condemning the vandalism, instead urging the public to "seek the truth." The truth, however, has been buried under a mountain of left-wing propaganda, with politicians and media outlets perpetuating a narrative that has caused irreparable harm to Canada's Christian community. A dangerous precedent This hoax is not just a waste of taxpayer moneyit is a dangerous precedent that highlights the real-world consequences of left-wing narratives. The anti-Christian sentiment fueled by this lie has led to the destruction of sacred spaces and the vilification of an entire faith. Those responsible for perpetuating this hoax must be held accountable, and the churches that were targeted deserve justice. As the dust settles on this shameful chapter in Canadian history, one thing is clear: the left's obsession with pushing false narratives has real-world consequences. The $216 million spent on this wild goose chase could have been used to address real issues facing indigenous communities, such as poverty, housing, and healthcare. Instead, it was squandered on a hate-fueled hoax that has left Canada more divided than ever. In the end, this story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of blindly accepting narratives pushed by those with an agenda. As the old saying goes, "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." In this case, the truth has finally caught upbut not before leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Sources include: Revolver.news Enoch, Brighteon.ai Propaganda.news Chinese firm unveils kung fu-performing humanoid robot Unitree's G1 humanoid robot, initially introduced in August 2023, has been upgraded to perform intricate kung fu movements, showcasing improved balance and a wide range of motion due to the latest algorithm enhancements. The G1 robot is equipped with 23 degrees of freedom across powered joints in its arms, legs and torso, enabling it to mimic human movements with precision and handle delicate tasks, as noted by Zhang from Unitree. The G1 is part of a growing trend in the robotics industry, where companies like Honda, Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics are investing in humanoid robots to address labor shortages and automate tasks. Meta and Tesla also plan to develop their own humanoid robots. The global humanoid robot market, valued at $1.8 billion in 2023, is expected to surge to over $13 billion in the next five years, reflecting the increasing demand and investment in this technology. The G1's capabilities raise ethical and societal concerns, including potential job displacement and economic disruption, as well as issues related to safety, privacy and the responsible use of advanced AI and human-like robots. Unitree, a Hangzhou-based technology company, has unveiled an upgraded humanoid robot capable of performing intricate kung fu movements. The advanced G1 android, which was first introduced in August 2023, now stands as a testament to the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics. This development not only showcases the robot's enhanced balance and range of movement but also highlights the growing trend of humanoid robots in addressing labor shortages and performing complex tasks. The video released by Unitree earlier this week features the G1 humanoid robot walking down a street while executing a series of martial arts strikes and kicking techniques. The company attributes this enhanced performance to the latest algorithm upgrade, which allows the robot to "learn and perform virtually any movement." This upgrade is particularly significant as it underscores the robot's versatility and potential applications in various industries. The G1 humanoid robot, priced at $16,000, is equipped with powered joints on its arms, legs and torso, providing it with 23 degrees of freedom. This extensive range of motion enables the robot to mimic human movements with remarkable precision. "This control system is what allows the G1 to perform complex tasks, from kung fu moves to handling delicate objects," Zhang said. Industry implications and global competition The introduction of the G1 humanoid robot is part of a broader trend in the robotics industry, where companies are increasingly investing in humanoid robots to address labor shortages and automate repetitive or dangerous tasks. Notable players in this field include Honda, Boston Dynamics (owned by Hyundai Motor) and Agility Robotics, each contributing to the global humanoid robot market. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is planning to invest in futuristic robots capable of performing physical tasks. Meta is reportedly forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to develop these robots. Similarly, OpenAI, the creator of the widely-used ChatGPT, is exploring the development of its own androids. Electric-vehicle producer Tesla has also announced plans to introduce humanoid robots for internal use by 2025, with broader production slated for the following year. (Related: Tesla plans to launch humanoid robots next year, says Elon Musk.) According to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global humanoid robot market, valued at $1.8 billion in 2023, is projected to grow to more than $13 billion over the next five years. Future prospects and ethical considerations While the capabilities of robots like the G1 are impressive, they also raise important ethical and societal questions. The potential for these robots to replace human workers in certain industries is a significant concern, as it could lead to job displacement and economic disruption. Additionally, the development of robots with advanced AI and human-like capabilities prompts discussions about safety, privacy and the ethical use of such technologies. Despite these challenges, the G1 humanoid robot represents a significant milestone in the evolution of robotics. Its ability to perform complex tasks and learn new movements opens up a wide range of possibilities for both practical applications and further research. Head over to FutureTech.news for stories related to the burgeoning robotics industry that could greatly affect the human workforce. Watch the video below that talks about China-made robot dogs that can spring 10 meters per second. This video is from the PureTrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Made in CHINA: CCP intensifies humanoid robot production to retain manufacturing dominance. Mark Milley: ROBOTS could make up a third of the U.S. military by 2039. Farming robot uses LASERS to kill 200,000 weeds per hour. Tech startup working on building a robot that uses AI-powered "brain." Sources include: RT.com X.com TecheBlog.com Brighteon.com World War III is still on the table: Europe wants boots on the ground in Ukraine In the lead up to the 2024 presidential elections in the US the Biden Administration in collusion with UK, European and Ukrainian partners devised a plan to Trump Proof the war in Ukraine. In other words, they openly admitted that they wanted to prevent Trump from taking any actions that might force an end to the war and render a serious peace agreement. (Article republished from Alt-Market.us) Part of that plan included the expanded use of long range guided missiles supplied by western governments. These missiles require flight data from NATO assets along with NATO personnel to launch Meaning, any strikes involving these weapons require the direct involvement of NATO troops. Bidens greenlight for long range strikes into Russia using US-made and controlled missiles was an obvious attempt to trigger an escalation. Over the course of the war I have written extensively on my concerns that the ultimate aim of the conflict is to trigger wider international conflagration. There have been globalist interests involved in Ukraine (the Atlantic Council specifically) for at least a decade stirring the pot and provoking Russia into an invasion of the Donbas region. I wrote about the influence of the Atlantic Council in Ukraine and in the Middle East in my article The Atlantic Council Has Big Plans For A War Between The US And Iran. The globalists wanted to create a catastrophe, blamed on the preponderance of nation states, that they could use to erase all borders and completely reshape the world. So far they have not achieved this goal, but its not from a lack of trying. The Ukrainian attack on Kursk in Russia along with the approval of long range missile attacks were overtly publicized in the western media as proof that Vladimir Putins red lines were meaningless and that Russia would never use nukes in response to NATO operations. They know that one of the primary concerns among western populations is the outbreak of global nuclear exchange. The elites think if they can remove that fear then everyone will happily support NATO boots on the ground. They are mistaken. Neither Americans nor Europeans have any interest in fighting and dying over an insignificant patch of land like Ukraine. Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky has consistently called for NATO to supply troops to the front lines. In fact, Zelensky acts as if someone promised him eventual troop intervention (Boris Johnson?). Russias attrition tactics have been highly effective in wearing down the Ukrainian front lines. Its important to understand that attrition tactics do involve capturing key strategic ground, but the greater goal is to destroy enemy troops. Though Russian gains might not seem significant to a normie with no study in military strategy, the truth is that Ukraine is now desperate for manpower and they have no means to replace lost troops. The war is over, they just havent admitted it yet. Zelenskys delusions about Ukraines ability to win the war and gain back the massive territory they have lost must be driven by something; I can only assume that he still believes that NATO intervention is imminent. The EU and UK have played a big role in giving Zelensky false hope and preventing practical peace negotiations. Ukraine is NEVER going to get the Donbas region back; they need to accept this and move on. On the western establishment side of the equation, government officials and the media have been bombarding the public with tales of an impending Russian blitzkrieg into Europe should Ukraine be allowed to fail. Of course, they also claim that Russia is losing millions of soldiers in meat waves and that their military is crippled. The propaganda machine cant have it both ways Either Russia is impotent and their military hobbled, or, they are an unstoppable behemoth that will conquer all of Europe if little Ukraine should implode. Every element of the war propaganda has been carefully crafted to convince the populace to back a direct military incursion into the region. With the return of Donald Trump, everything has changed in Ukraine. Trump has been notably unimpressed with Zelesnky and is keen to end the bloodshed quickly. So much so that he may negotiate the peace terms without Zelenskys involvement. Trump has demanded that Zelensky hold legitimate elections in Ukraine before the US continues its support, and even referred to Zelensky as a dictator. Without the US there is no NATO and if the US cuts off arms shipments then Ukraine is done fighting. Unless, Europe leaps headfirst into the war Read more at: Alt-Market.us J.D. Vance blasts British HATE SPEECH laws during Keir Starmers visit to Washington U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized the U.K.'s hate speech policies, stating they infringe on free speech and affect American technology companies and citizens. The U.K.'s Online Safety Act, which grants authorities power to regulate online content, has drawn criticism for stifling dissent and empowering state control over speech. Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the U.K.'s approach, asserting that free speech remains a cornerstone of British society. Vance highlighted growing transatlantic tensions over the U.K.'s controversial Online Safety Act and its implications for free expression in Britain and beyond. The criticism underscores the U.S. administration's concerns about the erosion of democratic norms in Europe, particularly regarding free speech and religious rights. In a striking rebuke of the United Kingdom's increasingly restrictive hate speech policies, U.S. Vice President JD Vance has openly criticized what he describes as "infringements on free speech" during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's first official visit to Washington. "We do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the U.K. and also with some of our European allies. But we also know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British," Vance stated. "Of course, what the British do in their own country is up to them. But [such infringements] also affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens." The vice president's remarks delivered during a high-profile press briefing highlight the far-reaching consequences of the U.K.s censorship measures, which have drawn widespread condemnation from free speech advocates and international observers alike. They also underscore growing transatlantic tensions over Downing Street's controversial Online Safety Act and its broader implications for free expression, both in Britain and beyond. Starmer defended London's approach, insisting that free speech remains a cornerstone of British society. "We've had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom and it will last for a very, very long time," he asserted. However, the British leader appears to be clueless about or deliberately ignorant of mounting evidence that the U.K.'s hate speech laws are being used to suppress legitimate expression, from religious views to political dissent. Cases of police officers visiting Britons at their houses over their social media posts have been documented for some time now. From Washington to London: The transatlantic debate on FREE SPEECH The U.K.'s Online Safety Act, which grants authorities sweeping powers to regulate online content, has been a lightning rod for controversy. Critics argue that the law stifles dissent and empowers the state to police speech in ways that are fundamentally at odds with democratic principles. Vance's comments during Starmer's two-day visit to Washington from Tuesday, Feb. 25, to Thursday, Feb. 27 echo his earlier remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. The former Ohio senator accused European governments, including the U.K., of undermining democratic values through excessive censorship. (Related: Vance slams Europe's "Orwellian" speech laws, warns of strained U.S.-EU relations.) "The threat I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor," Vance said in Munich. "What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values." During the conference, Vance specifically targeted London for what he called a "backsliding on religious rights" and the chilling effect of its hate speech laws on public discourse. His insistence on addressing the matter during Starmer's visit underscores the second Trump administration's broader concerns about the erosion of democratic norms in Europea theme he has consistently emphasized since taking office. "We're simply telling them to respect the values on which our civilization was founded," Vance said in a recent interview with the National Pulse, reiterating his stance on free speech. "You ought to debate with one another, your government should respect when the people have a dissenting viewpoint. It's very simple, and it's very obvious." Vance's outspoken criticism serves as a stark reminder that the U.K.'s Orwellian hate speech laws are not just a domestic issue they have repercussions on both sides of the Atlantic. For now, the question remains whether Starmer's government will heed these warnings or continue down a path that risks alienating its closest ally. Watch this news report about U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference, where he denounces censorship and other "undemocratic" acts by Europe's governments. This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Germany's war on free speech: Dawn raids and heavy fines for online "insults." The new Iron Curtain: How Europe's speech crackdown threatens American freedoms. European leaders 'horrified' after JD Vance rips their censorship laws and mass immigration policies at Munich security conference. Sources include: ReclaimTheNet.org 1 Reuters.com ReclaimTheNet.org 2 Brighteon.com Mexico extradites notorious cartel leaders to U.S., including Rafael Caro Quintero, amid Trump tariff threats Mexico extradited 29 high-profile cartel leaders, including Rafael Caro Quintero, to the U.S. to address drug-related violence and avoid Trumps threatened tariffs. Caro Quintero, linked to the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena, faces U.S. charges and a potential death penalty. The extradition includes aging cartel figures like Vicente Carrillo Fuentes and younger leaders accused of fentanyl trafficking. The move signals a shift in U.S.-Mexico relations and a warning to cartels that justice will prevail. In a move to address decades of drug-related violence and corruption, Mexico has extradited 29 high-profile cartel leaders to the United States, including Rafael Caro Quintero, the infamous drug lord linked to the 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena. The mass extradition, which took place on February 27, comes as Mexico seeks to avoid steep tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump over the countrys failure to curb fentanyl production and migrant flows. Caro Quintero, 72, co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel, is among the most notorious figures in Mexicos drug war history. He was convicted in Mexico for orchestrating the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Camarena, a crime that shocked the U.S. and became a symbol of the brutal narco-violence plaguing Mexico. After serving 28 years in prison, Caro Quintero was released in 2013 on a technicality but was recaptured in 2022 after allegedly resuming drug trafficking operations. He now faces drug trafficking and weapons charges in the U.S., with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. A bloody legacy of violence Caro Quinteros crimes are a grim reminder of the cartels ruthless tactics. In 1985, he ordered Camarenas kidnapping and murder in retaliation for a DEA-led raid on his marijuana plantation. Camarenas body was later found with signs of severe torture, sparking outrage in the U.S. and straining bilateral relations. Caro Quinteros alleged return to drug trafficking after his release further cemented his reputation as a dangerous criminal. The extradition also includes Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, former leader of the Juarez Cartel, and other aging cartel figures accused of continuing criminal operations from behind bars. Younger leaders, such as Antonio Oseguera Cervantes of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, are accused of flooding the U.S. with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of American deaths annually. Trumps tariff threats drive action The mass extradition follows Trumps threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican goods starting March 4 unless Mexico took decisive action against cartels and fentanyl production. Trump, who has labeled several Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, has long criticized Mexicos handling of drug trafficking and border security. The Trump Administration is declaring these thugs as terrorists, because that is what they are, and demanding justice for the American people, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement. The move underscores the administrations hardline stance on cartels and its commitment to holding them accountable for their crimes. Legal and political implications While the extradition has been hailed as a victory for U.S. law enforcement, it has raised legal questions in Mexico. Defense lawyers argue that the forced transfers violated their clients rights, though U.S. prosecutors maintain that any procedural issues in Mexico will not affect the cases in American courts. The extradition also marks a significant shift in U.S.-Mexico relations, which have been strained by Trumps aggressive policies. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, facing pressure to avoid tariffs, has prioritized cooperation with the U.S. on drug enforcement and border security. A message to cartels The arrival of Caro Quintero and other cartel leaders in the U.S. sends a clear message to criminal organizations: no matter how long it takes, justice will find them. This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena, said Acting DEA Administrator Derek Maltz. As the defendants face trial in U.S. courts, the extradition represents a pivotal moment in the fight against transnational crime. For the families of victims like Camarena, it offers a long-awaited chance for closure. For the U.S. and Mexico, it is a critical step toward dismantling the cartels that have terrorized both nations for decades. Sources for this article include: Reuters.com FoxNews.com USAToday.com CNN.com The mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Thailand marked its 1st anniversary on Saturday. In "visa-free era," tourism exchanges have flourished between the two countries. #GLOBALink #ChinaTravel #ExploreChina #Visafree Transgender suspect faces felony charges after targeting Tesla dealership in anti-Musk protest A 42-year-old individual identifying as a woman was arrested in Loveland, Colorado, for allegedly planting explosive devices at a Tesla dealership. Justin Thomas Nelson, also known as Lucy Grace Nelson, faces multiple felony charges, including the use of explosives and criminal mischief. The attacks, which began in late January, included Molotov cocktails, vandalism, and spray-painted expletives, targeting Tesla due to Elon Musks political ties. Nelsons social media activity suggests politically motivated actions, with posts opposing Musk and Trump and supporting progressive causes. Federal charges are expected as the FBI and ATF investigate, highlighting growing polarization around Musks influence in politics and tech. In a very disturbing escalation of politically charged vandalism, a 42-year-old man who identifies as a woman was arrested in Loveland, Colorado, after allegedly planting explosive devices at a Tesla dealership. Justin Thomas Nelson, who goes by the name Lucy Grace Nelson, is accused of targeting the dealership in a series of attacks that began in late January and culminated in his arrest on February 24. Authorities say the incidents appear to be part of a broader wave of protests against Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has drawn ire from progressive activists for his ties to President Donald Trump and his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Nelson faces multiple felony charges, including the use of explosives or incendiary devices during a felony, criminal mischief, and criminal attempt to commit a felony. If convicted, he could face significant prison time. The case has drawn national attention, not only for the severity of the alleged crimes but also for the apparent political motivations behind them. A series of escalating incidents The investigation began on January 29 after Loveland Police responded to a report of a fire near a Tesla Cybertruck at the dealership. Officers discovered a Molotov cocktaila makeshift incendiary devicenear the vehicle. Over the following weeks, the dealership was targeted repeatedly. On February 2, the Tesla sign was defaced with the word NAZI in black spray paint. On February 7, police found broken bottles consistent with incendiary devices. Then, on February 11, a security guard encountered Nelson allegedly spray-painting expletives on the dealerships windows. The incidents reached a climax on February 24, when police confronted Nelson at the dealership and found him carrying a container of gasoline, a box of bottles, and wick material similar to items used in prior attacks. He was arrested without incident and later released on a $100,000 cash surety bond. A politically-charged motive Although authorities have not explicitly stated Nelsons motive, the attacks align with a growing trend of protests against Musk and Tesla. Progressive groups, including Indivisible, have urged activists to target Tesla dealerships and showrooms in response to Musks involvement with the Tr ump administration and his efforts to streamline government spending. A tool kit published by Indivisible even includes instructions for planning demonstrations at Tesla locations, with the stated goal of fighting back against the Trump-Musk coup. Nelsons social media activity further underscores the political nature of the alleged crimes. Posts celebrating the Black Lives Matter movement and expressing disdain for Musk and Trump suggest a deep-seated opposition to their policies. In one post, Nelson wrote, Im ready to take on the world, signaling a combative mindset. Federal charges likely The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI are assisting in the investigation, and federal charges are expected to follow. The case highlights the increasing polarization surrounding Musk as his influence extends beyond the tech industry into politics. As the legal proceedings unfold, the incident serves as a reminder of the lengths to which some individuals will go to express their dissent. For now, the Loveland community can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the alleged perpetrator is off the streets but the broader tensions that fueled this attack remain unresolved. Sources for this article include: InfoWars.com FoxNews.com TheMaineWire.com NYPost.com Wisconsins April 1 Supreme Court election could decide the future of American democracy The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is a pivotal battle with national implications, determining the balance of power on the court and influencing issues like redistricting, voter integrity and the rule of law. Brad Schimel, a conservative former Attorney General, faces Susan Crawford, a progressive judge backed by George Soros. Crawfords election could solidify a liberal majority, enabling gerrymandering and progressive policies. George Soros is heavily investing in Crawfords campaign to secure a liberal majority, aiming to redraw Wisconsins congressional maps in favor of Democrats, potentially flipping two House seats in 2026. A liberal victory could reverse conservative gains from 2024, embolden progressive agendas like pro-crime policies and open borders, and undermine constitutional principles. The election is a referendum on Americas future. Conservatives must mobilize to prevent Soros and the left from rigging the system, ensuring the preservation of conservative values and the republic. The most consequential election of 2025 isnt happening in Novemberits happening on April 1 in Wisconsin. And if conservatives dont wake up and act fast, the consequences could be catastrophic for the future of our republic. The Wisconsin Supreme Court election is shaping up to be a pivotal battleground in the ongoing war for Americas soul. On one side stands Brad Schimel, a principled conservative and former Wisconsin Attorney General. On the other is Susan Crawford, a far-left judge backed by none other than George Soros, the billionaire financier of progressive causes and a man whose influence has seeped into every corner of American politics. This isnt just about Wisconsin. Its about the future of congressional redistricting, voter integrity and the rule of law. Its about stopping Soros and his allies from rigging the system in their favor. And its about ensuring that the hard-fought victories of 2024 arent undone by a single election that too many conservatives are ignoring. The Soros playbook: Gerrymandering and beyond George Soros has a long history of meddling in American elections, and Wisconsin is his latest target. His goal? To install Crawford on the state Supreme Court, where she would join a liberal majority poised to redraw Wisconsins congressional maps. This isnt speculationits a calculated strategy. As conservative activist Scott Presler warned, George Soros is trying to buy the Court, so liberals can gerrymander Wisconsin congressional maps & take the House in 2026. Im shocked at how many people dont care. The stakes couldnt be higher. If Soros succeeds, Wisconsins maps could be redrawn to favor Democrats, potentially flipping two congressional seats and handing control of the House back to the left in 2026. This would undo the gains conservatives fought so hard to achieve in 2024 and set the stage for a return to the chaos and overreach of the Biden era. But Soros ambitions dont stop there. Crawfords radical agenda includes support for pro-crime policies, open borders and unrestricted abortion. Shes a puppet of the progressive movement, and her election would embolden the left to push their agenda even further. Brad Schimel: The conservative champion Wisconsin needs In contrast, Brad Schimel represents everything conservatives stand for: law and order, constitutional integrity and a commitment to protecting the rights of Wisconsinites. As a former Attorney General, Schimel has a proven track record of standing up to corruption and fighting for conservative values. Schimels opponent, Susan Crawford, is playing the gender card, hoping to scare women into voting for her. But as Presler aptly noted, Judge Crawford is playing the female card, hoping to scare women into voting for her. Its time to beat her and Soros at their own twisted game. Schimels campaign is a rallying cry for conservatives who understand the importance of this moment. Our candidate, Brad Schimel, is exactly the kind of Supreme Court justice we needespecially right now as we fight tooth and nail to take our country back, Presler emphasized. A history of liberal overreach This isnt the first time Wisconsin has been at the center of a political firestorm. In 2023, the state saw the most expensive Supreme Court race in U.S. history, with liberal Janet Protasiewicz defeating conservative Daniel Kelly. That election shifted the courts balance to a 4-3 liberal majority, which has since overturned key conservative policies, including restrictions on ballot drop boxes. Now, with the retirement of liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, conservatives have a chance to reclaim the court. But Soros and his allies are pouring millions into Crawfords campaign, hoping to cement their control and push their agenda even further. The lefts strategy is clear: use the courts to bypass the will of the people and impose their radical policies from the bench. If conservatives dont act now, we risk losing not just Wisconsin, but the entire country. Whats at stake: The future of America The April 1 election is about more than just Wisconsin. Its a referendum on the direction of the nation. Will the people allow Soros and his allies to rig the system in their favor, or will they stand up and fight for the principles that made America great? As Presler warned, If we let this moment slip away and hand the left a massive win, well have no one to blame but ourselves when they start undoing everything we fought for in 2024. The time to act is now. Spread the word, sound the alarm and make sure every conservative in Wisconsin knows whats at stake. This is a battle Americans cant afford to lose. The future of the republic depends on it. Sources include: Revolver.news ThirdAct.org NBCNews.com "Over 75 years, so many things have changed in the pharmacy industry, and a lot of pharmacies have not been able to survive that, but for multiple reasons, we have been." Plus, news on: a new eatery coming to at Lincoln Square, the closing of Urbana's [co][lab], Schnucks' plans to revamp its Mahomet location and more. AMMAN, March 1 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Saturday urged an end to the dangerous Israeli escalation in the West Bank. In a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the king stressed the need to establish a political path toward a just and comprehensive peace in the occupied Palestinian territory, according to a statement from the Royal Court. He also underscored the importance of rebuilding Gaza without displacing its residents, ensuring a ceasefire, and intensifying international humanitarian efforts. Additionally, the two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation across various sectors. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned Wednesday that the West Bank is becoming a "battlefield," with ordinary Palestinians bearing the brunt of the escalation. According to UNRWA, more than 50 people, including children, have been reportedly killed since the Israeli forces' large-scale operation started in the West Bank weeks ago. Download Now The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print. The Ocular Neurobiology laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences, a joint center of Miguel Hernandez University (UMH) in Elche and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), is participating in the European project RESTORE VISION, an ambitious initiative aimed at developing new treatments for rare eye diseases such as aniridia and neurotrophic keratopathy. With 8 million in funding from the European Commission, this consortium brings together six research institutions, three SMEs, and patient associations with a common goal: to improve eye health and quality of life for those affected by these conditions. This laboratory has described the activity of key neurons involved in corneal sensitivity and has developed an experimental model to study nerve regeneration in the cornea, advances that could contribute to the study and development of treatments for rare eye diseases. Rare eye diseases are the leading cause of untreatable blindness in Europe and affect people of all ages. The RESTORE VISION scientific team has identified seven rare ocular conditions that impact the cornea and the rest of the ocular surface. "With a comprehensive approach, we aim to restore the normal function of the immune, vascular, and nervous systems of the ocular surface by studying existing drugs while also developing new, accessible treatments," says Juana Gallar, a professor at UMH who leads the project and the Ocular Neurobiology Laboratory at the IN. Among these seven rare diseases is aniridia, which affects one in every 80,000 people and is characterized by the partial or complete absence of the iris. In most cases, it results from a mutation in the PAX6 gene, preventing proper eye development during gestation. In addition to photophobia and glare sensitivity, aniridia can lead to blindness and other complications such as cataracts, glaucoma, or corneal abnormalities. "Aniridia means 'lack of iris', but it is actually a disease that affects multiple parts of the eye", explains M Carmen Acosta, a professor at UMH and a researcher in the project. Currently, there is no cure for aniridia, and existing treatments only address specific symptoms. Early intervention is crucial, with a focus on visual stimulation during childhood. Later, special lenses help reduce photophobia and glare, while in some cases of partial aniridia, surgical implants of artificial irises may be used. "Unfortunately, aniridia cannot be prevented, so efforts are focused on developing affordable solutions to improve patients' quality of life," Acosta concludes. In addition to aniridia and neurotrophic keratopathy, RESTORE VISION is studying five other rare diseases affecting the ocular surface: ocular cicatricial pemphigoid, an autoimmune disease that affects the mucous membranes of the mouth and the eye's surface; ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-clefting (EEC) syndrome, which often involves malformations of the tear ducts, along with photophobia and corneal ulcers; graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a complication of allogeneic transplants that manifests in the eyes, often causing dry eye disease; limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), which prevents the renewal of the corneal epithelium, eventually leading to incurable corneal damage; and corneal neovascularization, a process in which blood vessels develop abnormally in the cornea, which is normally avascular, leading to inflammation and vision loss. Recent research from this laboratory is providing key insights that could be crucial for the RESTORE VISION project. In a study published in Acta Ophthalmologica, researchers have described the characteristics of two subpopulations of cold-sensitive trigeminal neurons that innervate the cornea. These neurons, classified as high and low basal activity, play a crucial role in detecting temperature changes on the eye's surface and may be involved in regulating spontaneous blinking as well as baseline tear production. "Understanding how these neurons function is essential to determine how they are affected in diseases that impair corneal sensitivity, such as neurotrophic keratopathy. This knowledge could help design treatments aimed at restoring nerve function in patients with rare eye diseases", explains Ariadna Diaz Tahoces, lead author of the publication. On the other hand, the Ocular Neurobiology laboratory has developed a new method to study nerve regeneration in the cornea. Using a laser, they have been able to create small, controlled lesions in the corneal nerve fibers of adult mice to then analyze their regeneration. In their experiments, they discovered that in mice lacking the SARM1 protein, responsible for nerve degeneration after injury, nerves take longer to deteriorate, but their regenerative capacity is also affected. "This model allows us to study, in living mammals, how nerves recover after an injury and could contribute to understanding what happens in rare diseases that affect corneal innervation, ultimately aiding in the development of new treatments", explains Almudena Inigo Portugues, lead author of the study. The RESTORE VISION project is making progress in developing new drug formulations and identifying existing medications that could be used to treat rare eye diseases. Clinical documents are currently being finalized for submission to ethics committees and regulatory authorities, bringing the project closer to the possibility of treating the first patients with rare ocular diseases using RESTORE VISION therapies. The Institute for Neurosciences UMH-CSIC will play a crucial role in evaluating topical therapies for corneal regeneration. Our work focuses on identifying therapeutic targets in cells and conducting preclinical studies before moving on to clinical trials." Juana Gallar, professor at UMH Once the treatments are validated, the consortium will establish clinical protocols and formulate legislative recommendations to accelerate access to these medical innovations. With RESTORE VISION, the scientific, medical, and business communities come together in a collective effort to transform the treatment of rare eye diseases and ensure that medical advances reach those who need them most. This project is funded with 8 million from the European Commission through the Horizon Europe program and is also supported by various research institutions and companies specialized in ophthalmology. New research reveals significant barriers to sustaining policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes in schools through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed)-funded partnerships. A recent research article published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, published by Elsevier, identifies capacity gaps that hinder equitable distribution of vital health programming. The study emphasizes that while SNAP-Ed aims for schools to independently sustain PSE changes, the current approach often poses challenges for under-resourced schools. The study was conducted using case studies from 19 schools within the School District of Philadelphia during the 20182019 academic year. Researchers analyzed data from 119 interviews and 138 hours of program observations, employing a content analysis framework to explore sustainability barriers and facilitators in-depth. The research also considered variations in school contexts, such as resource availability and the experiences of school staff, to capture a comprehensive picture of implementation challenges. This approach allowed researchers to identify nuanced differences in how SNAP-Ed programs function in diverse settings, shedding light on systemic issues and potential areas for improvement. Findings revealed a disparity in understanding and expectations between SNAP-Ed implementers and school staff. While implementers sought to hand off program maintenance to school staff, educators cited a lack of resources, time, and staff capacity as major obstacles. Designating school-community partnership coordinators was highlighted as a potential solution to close these capacity gaps. Lead author Elisabeth Fornaro, PhD, The School District of Philadelphia, explained, "These findings underscore the importance of realistic and shared goals for program sustainability. To ensure equitable access, it's crucial to acknowledge and address the unique challenges faced by under-resourced schools." This study suggests that mutual agreement about what SNAP-Ed implementers and school staff are expected to do, with consideration of school staff capacity, could significantly enhance the sustainability of SNAP-Ed initiatives, as would SNAP-Ed implementers maintaining a consistent presence, with Direct Education lessons leveraged to enhance visibility. These strategies ensure schools are better equipped to address the capacity gaps that currently hinder program maintenance, especially in under-resourced settings. By tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each community, SNAP-Ed implementers can help create long-term, equitable access to healthy school environments. Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong will depart on a visit to Spain and Portugal this evening with a delegation from Hong Kong's innovation and technolgoy (I&T) sector. The visit is aimed at strengthening ties and co-operation between Hong Kong and the two countries in the I&T field, and exploring new opportunities for the city's I&T sector. Prof Sun will visit Barcelona, Spain, from March 3 to 5. He will attend a trade show, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, in the city, and deliver a keynote speech to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Ministerial Programme. The delegation will visit Lisbon, Portugal, on March 6, to meet Portuguese political, business and I&T leaders. They will also view local I&T infrastructure and I&T parks, and visit research institutes and technology enterprises. Members of the delegation include heads from the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC), Cyberport, the Hong Kong Applied Science & Technology Research Institute, and the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research & Development Institute, as well as representatives of 24 local I&T enterprises or institutions. The HKSTPC and the Trade Development Council will co-ordinate activities by the abovementioned representatives at the Hong Kong Tech Pavilion at MWC. Prof Sun will conclude his visit on March 7 and return to Hong Kong in the afternoon of March 8. During his absence, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Lillian Cheong will be Acting Secretary. 2025 Tata Altroz Facelift Spied During Testing, Photos Leaked On Internet Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 16:56 IST The company has not revealed any official launch date for the model as yet. However, some reports suggested that it might hit the Indian market in the upcoming months. 2025 Tata Altroz Facelift Spied. (Photo: Autocar India) The homegrown car maker Tata is gearing up to release the updated or facelift version of Altroz in India. Ahead of the official release, the model has been spied during the testing phase, revealing some of its important details and notable key features. The company has not revealed any official launch date for the model as yet. However, some reports suggested that it might hit the Indian market in the upcoming months. Recommended Stories Heres What Spy Images Say Going by the spy images, the hatchback was spotted in heavy camouflage. The photos suggested that the model might get some noticeable changes from both inside and outside, and will get bolder than ever. The customers can expect an updated grill at the front with minor nip and tuck updates at both ends. It will get a similar headlight setup as the current version with a vertical crease right below the fog lights. It also might get some noticeable updates from the back, and is likely to get trending LED elements with regular indicators. The side profile is expected to remain unchanged, where it will flaunt body colour door handles, decent-sized cladding and the roof rails at the top. Interior Talking about the interior, the cabin seems to carry an improved yet updated infotainment system. The unit might get bigger as compared to the outgoing version, and support all the wireless car connect technology including Android, Apple and Auto CarPlay. Apart from that, the dashboard design and seating arrangement remain un wrap as spy images barely revealed anything. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Engine Options Currently, Altroz uses a 1.2-litre petrol engine that generates a maximum output of 88hp. The unit is paired with a 5-speed manual and 6-speed dual-clutch auto options. It is also available in the factory-fit CNG version as well, churning out a maximum power of 73.5hp, followed by a 1.5-litre diesel avatar with a maximum power of 90hp. About the Author Shahrukh Shah Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Get the latest updates on car and bike launches in India including reviews, prices, specs, and performance. Stay informed with breaking auto industry news , EV policies, and more, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 02, 2025, 16:56 IST Nissan Stops Taking Bookings For GT-R R35 In Japan, Here' 's What Company Says Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 13:25 IST The company has also released a statement, expressing gratitude towards the customers for an overwhelming response. Nissan GT-R R35. (File photo) After ruling the international market for over 18 years, the leading carmaker Nissan has finally put a full stop on the production of the iconic car Nissan GT-R R35. It has been reported that the company even now stopped taking orders for the model in Japan, marking the end of an era. The company has also released a statement, expressing gratitude towards the customers for an overwhelming response. The company said, We have received many orders for the Nissan GT-R and have now finished accepting orders for the planned production quantity. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our customers for their support since its release in 2007." Recommended Stories Scene in European and UK Market Things did not change overnight. The company stopped the sale of the car in the global markets much earlier. The production of the model stopped in North America somewhere in October 2024, while Australia and New Zealand witnessed the last GT-R in October 2021. The brand ended dispatching the vehicles in the European and UK market in March 2022. Engine and Power Figures In case you are not aware, the GT-R is considered one of the most powerful cars in the Nissans lineup. It uses a 3.8-litre twin turbo V6 engine, which generates a maximum power of 466 BHP. To make it superior in the segment, the model has received some treat as the output upped to 557 BHP, while the performance-oriented Nismo version is capable of delivering an impressive 592 BHP. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all About the Author Shahrukh Shah Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Get the latest updates on car and bike launches in India including reviews, prices, specs, and performance. Stay informed with breaking auto industry news , EV policies, and more, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Japan First Published: March 02, 2025, 13:25 IST Royal Enfield Expands Roots In India, Launches New Warehouse In West, Check Details Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 01, 2025, 15:38 IST According to the details shared by the brand, the decision has been taken to ensure faster availability of genuine parts, ensuring top-notch service efficiency across western and central India. Representational image. (Photo: Shahrukh Shah/ News18) The leading player in the mid-size motorcycle segment under 250cc-750cc, Royal Enfiled, has been pushing the business for the last few years. Again, in a move to boost operations, the company has launched a new warehouse in Bhiwandi (Thane). According to the details shared by the brand, the decision has been taken to ensure faster availability of genuine parts, ensuring top-notch service efficiency across western and central India. Recommended Stories All About New Facility The new facility is located at Bhiwandi, Thane. It is about 45-KM from the Mumbai Airport and streamlines logistics and reduces aftersales service TAT to the RE network in the region. The company in its official release says that the strategically located facility will significantly reduce transit time for Spare parts, Oil and Lubes for customers in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. Overall Area The newly added facility spans a 50,000-square-foot area. The new warehouse is capable of stocking 3,500+ SKUs, and can cater the demand for REs genuine parts from 310+ channel partners. The brand says the latest facility is a commitment to enhance customer satisfaction while driving operational and environmental efficiency. Statement from Top Official Reacting about the same, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Chief Commercial Officer of RE said, we are dedicated to ensuring a seamless and hassle-free ownership experience for our customers. Our new warehouse in Bhiwandi is a key step toward enhancing service efficiency across Western and Central India. With the Western Ghats and Central India being popular riding destinations for the Royal Enfield community, faster access to Spare parts, Oil and Lubes will help riders enjoy uninterrupted journeys with greater confidence and ease." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all About the Author Shahrukh Shah Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Shahrukh Shah, Sub-Editor at News18, loves to write about everything that moves on wheels. With years of experience and the required skill sets, he is contributing to the auto section, where he let people know ... Read More Get the latest updates on car and bike launches in India including reviews, prices, specs, and performance. Stay informed with breaking auto industry news , EV policies, and more, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Bhiwani, India, India First Published: March 01, 2025, 15:37 IST Dark Days Of Dalal Street: From Harshad Mehta Scam To Global Crisis, Indias 5 Worst Stock Market Crashes Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 12:05 IST The Indian stock market faced a major sell-off last week due to weak global cues and concerns over Donald Trump's tariffs. Sensex fell 1,400 points, closing at 73,198, while Nifty ended at 22,124. Stock Market Crash: 5 worst market crashes in India's history. (AI Generated) Stock Market Crash: The weak global cues, the concern over Donald Trumps tariff imposition on several nations, and the narrative of Sell India, Buy China triggered mayhem in the Indian stock market last week. Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex faced major sell-off pressure last Friday to close nearly 2 per cent lower. Sensex settled at 73,198 after crashing more than 1,400 points or -1.90 per cent on Friday against the previous days close at 74,612. Over the past five sessions, the benchmark lost nearly 2,200 points or -3 per cent. Nifty too suffered a drastic decline to end at 22,124 with a fall of 420 points or 1.86 per cent. Recommended Stories Top 5 Stock Market Crashes In Indias Stock Market History: 1. The Global Financial Crisis (2008): The collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the largest US investment bankers, and the US subprime crisis triggered a recession at the global level. As the popular saying goes, when the US sneezes, the world catches a cold, so did an economic recession occur. The impact of the recession was reflected in the Indian domestic equity market as the benchmark crashed over 60 per cent following the Global Financial Crisis. It came down around 8,000 points from 21,000, leading to a major wipeout of investment. 2. Harshad Mehta Scam (1992) Stockbroker Harshad Mehta used loopholes in the system to manipulate the market by using bank funds and inflated stock prices. Once the scam was unveiled after a major investigation, it had a major impact on the stock market with a crash of over 55 per cent in ensuing months. Sensex crashed from 4,467 to 2,529. 3. 1997 Asian Financial Crisis East Asian countries had been embroiled in a financial crisis caused by the collapse of the currency exchange rate and a hot money bubble. The financial crisis severely damaged currency values, stock markets, and other asset prices in many East and Southeast Asian countries. Owing to the Asian Financial Crisis, Sensex crashed from 4,600 to below 3,000 amid the large-scale sell-offs. It fell around 35 per cent. 4. Ketan Parekh Scam (2001) Another scam exposition shook the stock market in India, triggering panic and a sell-off among investors. When it was exposed that trader Ketan Parekh manipulated stock prices using borrowed money, especially in tech stocks, the Sensex fell from 5,800 to 4,000, reflecting a decline of 31 per cent. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all 5. Covid-19 Market Crash (2020) The first wave of Covid-19 triggered lockdowns and economic uncertainty at the global level. On 23 March 2020, the Sensex crashed 3,934 points (13%) in a single day, marking one of its worst falls. About the Author Varun Yadav Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst... Read More Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst... Read More Stay updated with all the latest news on the Stock Market, including market trends, Sensex and Nifty updates, top gainers and losers, and expert analysis. Get real-time insights, financial reports, and investment strategiesonly on News18. First Published: March 02, 2025, 12:05 IST Flash This photo shows a view of one of the displacement camps at the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, on Feb. 25, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa here on Saturday to discuss plans for the early recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by the Egyptian cabinet. Madbouly reaffirmed Egypt's support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, especially the right to self-determination and independence. The Egyptian government has prepared an integrated plan for the early recovery and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip while keeping the Palestinians in the enclave, Madbouly said. He stressed that Egypt had exerted sincere efforts to back the Palestinian cause and people, either through endeavors to implement the ceasefire deal in all its phases or the reconstruction of Gaza. Mustafa expressed gratitude to Egypt for supporting the Palestinian people. They also discussed coordination efforts between Egypt and Palestine to follow up on the completion of the reconstruction plan before presenting it to the upcoming emergency Arab Summit slated for March 4. BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, will hold a press conference on Tuesday, one day ahead of the opening of its annual session, according to an official statement on Sunday. The spokesperson for the third session of the 14th NPC will take questions from journalists at this press conference concerning the agenda of the session and the work of the people's congresses, the statement said. Tesla to Open India's First Showroom In Mumbai's BKC On Rs 35 Lakh/Month Lease, Delhi Next In Line Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 10:37 IST Tesla is opening its first showroom in India at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex, leasing a 4,000 sq ft space. A second showroom is planned for Delhi's Aerocity. Tesla Hiring In India: Musk-led EV maker to open its first showroom in Mumbai's BKC. Tesla Entry In India: Electric automaker Tesla is set to open its first showroom in India at Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex, having signed a lease agreement for a 4,000 square foot space on the ground floor. Media reports, including one by the Times of India, suggest that the tech billionaire Elon Musk-led automaker has finalised the deal to showcase its car models in its first venture to the subcontinent. Previously, Teslas job postings for various roles in the subcontinent sparked strong speculation of the EV makers entry, which was long delayed due to contradictions between the automaker and the Indian government over manufacturing and import policies. Recommended Stories The Times of India report stated that Tesla is establishing a presence in Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) with a 4,000 square foot showroom in a commercial tower. The electric car manufacturer will showcase its models at this location, paying a monthly lease rent of approximately Rs 900 per square foot, totalling around Rs 35 lakh. Teslas lease agreement spans five years. Delhis Aerocity Might Have Second Showroom of Tesla Following this, the company plans to open a second showroom in Delhis Aerocity complex, as per TOI report. Tesla Hiring In India After Musk Meeting With PM Modi In US top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Billionaire Elon Musk-led EV automaker Tesla has opened several full-time and one part-time position in India on LinkedIn, seeking to hire suitable talent ahead of its expected entry. The job openings have come a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with Musk during his two-day bilateral visit to the United States of America. The positions are for various specialisations, including customer support, operations and business support, and many more. These are based in Mumbai and Delhi. About the Author Business Desk A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 10:37 IST Kerala Class 10 Student Allegedly Attacked With Itching Powder By Classmates, Teachers Refused To Help Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 14:02 IST The student alleged that instead of providing medical help, the teachers forced her to stay in class despite her pleas for help. The victim was allegedly attacked with Mucuna Pruriens (Naikurana Seed Powder) by her classmates (Representative image/File Photo) Kakkanad Infopark police have filed a case against five students and two teachers of Thengode Govt High School for allegedly assaulting a Class 10 student with itching powder, reported mathrubhumi.com. The incident occurred on February 3, but the case was registered only on Saturday evening after a months delay. The victim was allegedly attacked with Mucuna Pruriens (Naikurana Seed Powder) by her classmates. The student claimed her classmates also tried to harass her using a desk before throwing the powder. She further alleged that instead of providing medical help, the teachers forced her to stay in class despite her pleas for help. Recommended Stories The girl claimed she had to endure severe itching and discomfort for hours, even in her private parts. She was later taken to Kakkanad Primary Health Center by her mother. The victims mother filed a complaint on February 17, but the police initially hesitated to take action. The girl, who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, missed her model exams and is finding it difficult to prepare for her SSLC board exams amid the incident. The victims mother has accused the school authorities of trying to cover up the incident. Activists and child rights advocates have raised concerns over the lack of accountability and the schools inaction. Police are currently investigating the matter. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all ALSO READ | Class 10 Kerala Student Dies After Nunchuck Attack During Clash With Fellow Students This comes a few days after five college students were arrested for brutal ragging at the Government Nursing College hostel in Kottayam, Kerala. A video of third-year nursing students physically assaulting and tormenting first-year students went viral on social media last month. The video, allegedly filmed by the perpetrators showed a student tied to a cot, his hands and legs bound, as another individual repeatedly stabs him with a compass. The victim cried in pain but was met with laughter and mockery. Another video showed a student restrained with a towel, his limbs tied, as others using a divider to inflict wounds on him. About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 13:20 IST Mumbai University Issues Graduation Certificate With 'Mumabai' Error, Admits 'Printing Mistake' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 12:51 IST A Mumbai University official attributed the error to a printing mistake and confirmed that they are rectifying the issue. The university will issue fresh certificates free of charge to affected students. The convocation ceremony took place on January 7 following which the certificates were sent to all the affiliated colleges (File Photo) Mumbai University has issued graduation certificates with a spelling error of the citys name as Mumabai." Although 1.64 lakh students graduated in 2023-24, the exact number of affected certificates remains unclear, reported PTI. A spokesperson admitted that printing issues" led to the spelling mistake. The varsity has assured students that they are working diligently to fix the issue and will provide new certificates free of cost. Recommended Stories The convocation ceremony took place on January 7 following which the certificates were sent to all the affiliated colleges. College principals have expressed their concern pointing out that the typo on such a crucial document undermines its authenticity. The Mumbai University graduation certificates were printed by a Hyderabad-based company. ALSO READ | DU Plans To Overhaul Student Union Elections To Curb Money And Muscle Power top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Mumbai University 2025-26 academic year admissions will be based on CUET UG scores. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has begun registration for the CUET UG 2025 exam for admission to first-year UG courses across colleges in India. The notification is available on the official CUET website, which is, cuet.nta.nic.in. The application window will close on March 22, 2025. Aspiring candidates can complete their applications by then, with the fee due by March 23, 2025. The correction window to edit the application forms will be open from March 24 to 26, 2025. The exam will be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode. Candidates can choose a maximum of five subjects to appear in. The CUET UG exam is scheduled from May 8 to June 1, 2025, covering a total of 23 subjects. Several subjects featured in previous years, including Tourism, Legal Studies, Entrepreneurship, Teaching Aptitude, Fashion Studies, and Engineering Graphics, have been removed. About the Author Sukanya Nandy Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been writing and reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed PG in Journalism... Read More Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been writing and reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed PG in Journalism... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 12:20 IST Telangana: Inter And First Year College Students Die By Suicide Over Exam Fear Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 18:42 IST A second-year intermediate student at a private college in Miyapur and a first-year BSc student at Sri Chaitanya College in Hyderabad died by suicide allegdely due to exam stress The incidents took place in Medak and Chanda Nagar districts (Representative Image) On Friday, 17-year-old Deekshit Raju, a second-year intermediate student at a private college in Miyapur, was found dead in his Chanda Nagar residence. Police suspect the boy, facing upcoming intermediate exams on March 5, took his own life due to extreme stress. He was alone at home and was found hanging from a ceiling fan, reported NDTV. Barely 24 hours later, Vaishnavi, a first-year BSc student at Sri Chaitanya College in Hyderabad, was at her Narsapur home for Shivratri celebrations. The young woman from Medak was reportedly anxious about her exams. She locked herself in a room and died by suicide on Saturday, the report added. Recommended Stories ALSO READ | NEET Aspirant Dies By Suicide In Tamil Nadu After Father Scolds Her For Error In Application Form Meanwhile, the Supreme Court expressed deep concern over the recent suicides in IITs and IIMs, calling them extremely unfortunate." The court pledged to establish a strong mechanism to address this issue. Senior advocate Indira Jaising informed the bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, that 18 students had died by suicide in these institutions over the past 14 months. The bench assured that they were committed to finding a resolution to this problem. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, informed the court that the University Grants Commission (UGC) is addressing concerns raised by petitioners by formulating draft regulations. These drafts, open for public feedback, are available on the UGC website. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Senior Advocate Indira Jaising highlighted that a significant number of institutions, 40% of universities and 80% of colleges, still need to establish equal opportunity cells. The bench, acknowledging the submissions, instructed the UGC to review the suggestions received on the draft regulations and invited inputs from Jaising and other petitioners. DISCLAIMER: If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata) About the Author Sukanya Nandy Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been writing and reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed PG in Journalism... Read More Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been writing and reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed PG in Journalism... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 18:25 IST 18,746 Passengers Denied Boarding In 2024 In Indian Airlines, Air India Tops The List | Numberspeak Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 13:06 IST Of the total 18,746 passengers who were denied boarding in 2024, 14,545 were from Air India alone To reduce the possibility of flights departing with empty seats, airlines generally overbook flights to a limited extent, as per the DGCA. (PTI File for representation) A total of 18,746 passengers were denied boarding in the calendar year 2024 and more than 77% of these passengers were from Air India Group, official data analysed by News18 show. The data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that over 51 passengers were denied boarding everyday on average in 2024 and about 40 of these were denied by Air India and Air India Express. Recommended Stories As shown in the graph below, of the total 18,746 passengers who were denied boarding in 2024, 14,545 were from Air India alone. The situation did not improve in 2025 as of the total 3,171 passengers who were denied boarding in January, 2,959 were passengers of Air India and 178 from SpiceJet. Every month, the Air India Group is spending several lakhs of rupees to provide facilities and compensation to passengers who were denied boarding, the data show. In January 2025, the company spent Rs 295 lakh for this as it offered alternative flights and accommodation, refreshments and meals to the passengers who were denied boarding. November 2024 saw the highest number of passengers denied boarding. Of the 3,529 passengers who were denied boarding by Indian airlines, 3,335 were denied by Air India group. That month the group spent Rs 273 crore on facilitation and compensation. In August, only 728 passengers were denied boarding lowest for a month in 2024. A total of 547 of these passengers were from Air India. In 2024, 1,613.31 lakh passengers were carried by domestic airlines during January December period. In terms of market share, Indigo has the highest share followed by Air India and SpiceJet in 2024. Of the total, Indigo carried 62% of the total passengers in 2024, followed by Air India at 16.5% and SpiceJet at 3.7%. Vistara, which merged with Air India in November 2024, had a market share of 8.2%. AIX Connect had a market share of 3.8% in 2024 before it merged with Air India Express. In January 2025, a total of 146.11 lakh passengers were carried by domestic airlines. Indigos share was at 65.2%, while that of Air India Group stood at 25.7%. Akasa Air carried 4.7% of the passengers. THE RULES To reduce the possibility of flights departing with empty seats, airlines generally overbook flights to a limited extent, as per the DGCA. In case of overbooking on a particular flight, there may be circumstances on a particular day when more passengers report for the flight than the number of seats available. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Under such conditions, the airline may deny boarding to you while you may be holding confirmed bookings for travel on the flight and reported for the flight well within the specified time ahead of the departure of the flight," the rules reads. It further said that if the passenger voluntarily vacates the seats, the airline, at its own discretion, will offer the benefits or facilities which it may wish to offer. However, if the passenger is denied boarding against the wish, airlines are liable to pay monetary compensation in accordance with the provisions of Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) Section 3, Series M, Part IV. About the Author Nivedita Singh Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived... Read More Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 13:02 IST Bilaspur Mayor's Faux Pas At Oath-taking Event, Vows To Uphold 'Communalism' | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 11:50 IST The mistake prompted Bilaspur Collector Awnish Kumar Sharan, who administered the oath, to intervene and correct the BJP leader. Chhattisgarh BJP leader Puja Vidhani | Image/X Chhattisgarh BJP leader Puja Vidhani, the newly elected Mayor of Bilaspur, made a major blunder at her swearing-in ceremony after she pledged to uphold communalism" instead of sovereignty". Due to the slip of the tongue at the oath event in Bilaspurs Mungeli Naka ground on Friday, which was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao and Union Minister Tokhan Sahu, Vidhani had to take the oath twice. Recommended Stories In a goof-up, she read out, I, Puja Vidhani, pledge true allegiance and loyalty to the Constitution of India. I will uphold the sampradayikta (communalism) and integrity of India." She was supposed to say samprabhuta". The mistake prompted Bilaspur Collector Awnish Kumar Sharan, who administered the oath, to intervene and correct the BJP leader. . . pic.twitter.com/CavAVOJYdJ Alok Putul (@thealokputul) February 28, 2025 After the ceremony, a ritual was conducted with Gangajal and Vidhani performed a prayer before taking her seat as mayor. Meanwhile, Congress criticised her mistake, labelling it as BJPs drama" and an attempt to mislead the public. Vidhani is a former leader of the opposition in Bilaspur Municipal Corporation, having first been elected as a corporator in 1998. She has served twice as the state general secretary of BJP Mahila Morcha and has also held the position of state president of the womens wing. It comes after the states ruling BJP secured a landslide victory in the recently-held urban body polls. Of the 49 posts for municipal council chairpersons, the BJP won 35, the Congress eight, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) one, while independent candidates grabbed five. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The BJP secured the post of chairperson in 81 out of 114 Nagar panchayats. The Congress won 22, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) claimed one, and independent candidates took 10. Out of a total of 3,200 ward corporator positions, the BJP won 1,868, the Congress secured 952, while other parties and independents won 380. Location : Chhattisgarh, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 10:14 IST Tamil Nadu Rain Updates: Streets Waterlogged In Thoothukudi, IMD Forecasts Wet Spell Till March 3 Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 08:26 IST Tamil Nadu Rain Updates: IMD forecasted that heavy rain at isolated locations across 10 districts, which began on Thursday evening, would persist until March 3. Tamil Nadu Rain Updates | File Image/PTI Tamil Nadu Rain Updates: Heavy rainfall was reported in several isolated areas of Tamil Nadu on Friday night, including Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari, causing streets and roads to become waterlogged. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted that heavy rain at isolated locations across 10 districts, which began on Thursday evening, would persist until March 3. Recommended Stories On Saturday, light to moderate rain is likely over several districts of Tamil Nadu, including Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, and Ramanathapuram. Rain alert has also been issued for a few areas in North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal. #WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Waterlogging witnessed in several parts of Thoothukudi following heavy rainfall pic.twitter.com/m4X3uVtVsL ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 Earlier, the rain alert was issued for 10 districts, including Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, Sivaganga, Thanjavur and Madurai. Weather experts said that a shift in the speed of the easterly winds caused heavy rainfall in several areas of Tamil Nadu. The prediction is particularly worrisome for farmers as the harvest season is in full swing in the delta districts. Farmers have expressed anguish over water accumulating in the paddy procurement centre, which is functioning in a temporary shed in Okai Peraiyur under Koothanallur taluk of Tiruvarur district. Many have demanded that a permanent building be constructed to store the paddy bundles safely. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Chief Minister MK Stalin held a video conference with District Collectors of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Cuddalore and Pudukkottai, directing officials to take measures to protect procured paddy from damage. Location : Tamil Nadu, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 08:26 IST Uttarakhand Avalanche: Death Toll Rises To 8, Rescue Ops End With Evacuation Of 55 Workers Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 18:06 IST Uttarakhand Avalanche: 50 workers were rescued after an avalanche struck a BRO camp on Friday, of whom four have died. Authorities resumed rescue operations on Sunday and pulled out remaining bodies. Rescue operation ends in Chamoli's Mana area in Uttarakhand following an avalanche. (PTI) Uttarakhand Avalanche: The operation to rescue the workers trapped under the snow after the avalanche in Uttarakhands Chamoli came to an end on Sunday with the recovery of the remaining four bodies. With this, all 55 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers who were trapped have been taken out of the snow. Eight of them died, while the remaining are undergoing treatment at the hospital. 46 workers were rescued safely. Recommended Stories Earlier, at least 50 workers were rescued from the avalanche-hit site in Mana village, but four of them succumbed to their injuries as authorities began resumed efforts on Sunday to rescue four more labourers feared trapped in the snow. However, another body was found by the Army today. According to the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), five labourers were reported missing earlier, but one of them Sunil Kumar from Himachal Pradeshs Kangra had reached home safely on his own, bringing the focus to four workers, of whom two were found dead on Sunday. Mana (Chamoli) avalanche incident | One more body has been recovered by the Army in the snow during the ongoing search operation. The body is being brought to the Mana post. Three people are still missing, search and rescue operation is on: Lt Col Manish Shrivastava PRO (Defence) ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 The Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were leading combined efforts to rescue labourers trapped in the avalanche. A total of 54 (BRO workers) were missing, 50 have been rescued, and 4 people have lost their lives. Four people are still missing, and a search and rescue operation is going on, and we hope that we will find them soon," said Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman earlier on Sunday. PM Modi, Amit Shah Monitor Efforts Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were closely monitoring the rescue operations led by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who was seen providing instructions at regular intervals. () , , pic.twitter.com/oLaYmtfugk Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) March 1, 2025 The rescue operations on Saturday were carried out mostly by the Army and IAF helicopters as the road was blocked by snow at several points, making vehicular movement nearly impossible. The Army used sniffer dogs to locate the missing workers trapped in the snow. The Army also used five helicopters and a civil chopper as part of the rescue operations. A search operation using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) will be carried out on Sunday, along with thermal imaging cameras and victim location cameras to rescue the missing labourers. CM Dhami Reviews Rescue Ops Dhami received updates on the rescue operations from Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman and Chamoli District Magistrate on Saturday evening. He directed a comprehensive search and rescue operation to find the missing workers. The four missing labourers, of whom one died today, were identified by the USDMA as Harmesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh, Ashok from Uttar Pradesh and Anil Kumar and Arvind Singh from Uttarakhand. On Saturday, the Army found eight containers, but no workers were found inside. On Saturday, 24 workers were transferred from the Army hospital in Mana to Joshimath, among whom two workers were reportedly in critical condition and were referred to AIIMS Rishikesh. One worker succumbed to his injuries in Joshimath, while three other workers rescued from Badrinath/Mana also lost their lives. The deceased were identified as Mohindra Pal and Jitendra Singh from Himachal Pradesh, Manjit Yadav from Uttar Pradesh and Alok Yadav from Uttarakhand, according to the USDMA. The Chamoli Police released a list of names of 55 workers who got trapped in an avalanche in Mana of Chamoli district. According to the shared information, most of the workers hail from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Chamoli Police releases a list of names of 55 workers who got trapped in avalanche in Mana of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand on 28th February.As per State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman, 33 workers have been rescued. There were 55 workers there. (Pics: Chamoli pic.twitter.com/SzMdrHLpCr ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2025 When Did The Avalanche Struck? The avalanche struck the workers camp on Friday morning between 5:30 and 6:00 am, burying 55 workers alive in eight containers and a shed. These workers were part of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in the high mountains of Uttarakhands Chamoli district. The Indian military and paramilitary forces acted swiftly to rescue the trapped workers, starting the rescue operations immediately, with Chief Minister Dhami taking charge of operations. Dhami assured that the government is fully committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected by this crisis, emphasising that the safety of the workers is the top priority. He also conducted an aerial survey of the site and spoke to PM Modi, who provided unwavering support to aid the rescue efforts. Over 200 personnel from the disaster management authority, ITBP, BRO, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, IAF, district administration, health department and fire brigade are engaged in the rescue operations. Notably, Uttarakhand has witnessed many natural disasters, including landslides, floods and avalanches in recent years. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all (with inputs from agencies) Note: The Uttarakhand government has issued the following helpline numbers Mobile No: 8218867005, 9058441404; Telephone No: 0135 2664315; Toll-Free No: 1070. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Chamoli, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 08:37 IST 'Bodies Numb From Cold, Thought It Was The End': Uttarakhand Avalanche Survivors Recall Traumatic Ordeal Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 09:38 IST Uttarakhand Avalanche: At least four of the 50 rescued workers have succumbed to their injuries following the avalanche, while authorities have intensified their search to locate four missing workers. Rescue operations in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district after an avalanche. (PTI) Uttarakhand Avalanche: Authorities resumed efforts to locate four missing workers in Uttarakhands Chamoli district two days after an avalanche buried a camp of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in the Mana area and trapped 55 workers there. At least 50 workers have been rescued from the camp site, but four of them succumbed to their injuries. Authorities are racing against time to locate and rescue the four missing labourers as part of operations led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Recommended Stories Sniffer dogs, thermal imaging and victim locating cameras are being used as part of combined efforts by the Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to rescue the trapped workers. #WATCH | Uttarakhand | Search and rescue operation resumes in Uttarakhands Chamoli district for the 5 BRO workers who were trapped in Manas avalanche since February 28 and are still missing50 BRO workers have been rescued, out of which 4 lost their lives; 5 are still pic.twitter.com/AaAQgEbtAX ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 Uttarakhand: In the Mana avalanche incident, the helicopter rescue operation has resumed from the Joshimath helipad. Four workers are still missing under the avalanche debris. The Indian Army and ITBP have restarted the rescue operation at the Mana avalanche point this morning pic.twitter.com/LaU1dZjiSR IANS (@ians_india) March 2, 2025 Struggled For Hours, Walked Barefoot In Snow As authorities worked swiftly to rescue the trapped workers, survivors recalled their harrowing ordeal after the avalanche struck their camp in Mana, not knowing whether they could survive as their families waited anxiously for news of their whereabouts. Manoj Bhandari, 40, who was resting in one of the eight containers at the BRO campsite, recalled his experience as he and his two companions had to struggle for hours in the freezing temperatures without proper clothing and barefoot before they were eventually survived. The container was swept down the slope, tumbling uncontrollably for hundreds of metres. The sheer force of the avalanche ripped the container apart; its doors and roof were torn off, and its windows shattered," Bhandari told the Hindustan Times. My two companions and I were thrown out onto the snow-covered slope, battered and disoriented. Our phones, bags, and other belongings were swept away with the container." Bhandari said they made their way towards an Army guest room, walking barefoot in the snow, despite their feet becoming numb from the cold. They were completely exhausted by the time they reached the guest room, with their bodies stiff from the cold. We managed to break open the door of the guest room, which is locked during the winter season, and get inside," he said, while the Army began the rescue operation. While they found blankets and mattresses in the guest room, they had to manage without food for over 24 hours before they were rescued on Saturday. Naresh Singh Bisht and Deekshit Singh Bisht, both cousins, also faced similarly traumatic experiences as they suffered long hours in the dark. When we heard about the avalanche around 1 pm on Friday, we were overwhelmed with worry. His phone was switched off. That evening, we called the helpline, and thankfully, they told us he was safe," said Nareshs father, Dhan Singh. Thought It Was The End Gopal Joshi of Narayanbagar in the Chamoli district thanked Lord Badrinath for saving his life. As soon as we came out of the container house, we heard thunder and saw a deluge of snow hurtling towards us," he told news agency PTI. I shouted to alert my companions and started running," he said. Several feet of snow prevented us from running fast. After two hours, the ITBP rescued us." Vipan Kumar, who was also resting inside a container, barely had any time to react before the avalanche struck the camp. I heard a loud roar, like thunder. Before I could react, everything went dark," he told the Times of India. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As the snow engulfed the camp, Kumar was among the workers trapped in the snow, unable to move. I thought it was the end. I couldnt move, I couldnt see anything," he added. However, his instincts kicked in as he twisted his body and pushed against the crushing weight of the snow, eventually freeing himself and making his way to a nearby Army base. Some workers managed to escape with minor injuries, but others were not so lucky as four workers succumbed to their injuries. A project manager from Bihar, who was thrown from his container, needed 29 stitches to close his wounds. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 02, 2025, 09:38 IST Why Amazon Plans To Invest $1.2 Million to Keep Mumbai's Flamingo Habitat In The Pink Of Health Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 17:35 IST Mumbai sees flamingos migrating from states such as Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Israel Flamingos are spotted in several areas in and around Mumbai. (PTI File) Amazon has announced a $1.2 million investment to restore the mangrove forests and mudflats that are nesting grounds for Mumbais iconic flamingo population. While Mumbai receives between 30,000 and 40,000 flamingos each season, the number has been decreasing in recent years. These birds migrate from states such as Gujarat and Rajasthan, as well as from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even Israel. Recommended Stories This collaborative effort between Amazon and Hasten Regeneration is a game changer for the Mumbai basin. The project cleans up the polluted banks of the Thane Creek, which is one of the most polluted waterways in the world. We are also creating a positive social impact, employing women to replant mangroves in critical stop-over sites for the precious flamingos on the way to their nesting grounds," said Sheeba Sen, co-founder of Hasten Regenerations India branch and Director of Alaap, in the press release. The preservation of Mumbais flamingo habitat is paramount, not only for the biodiversity it sustains, but also for the communities whose livelihoods depend on it," says Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations, Amazon India. By joining forces with Hasten Regeneration on this landmark project, we aim to safeguard Mumbais flamingo habitat for future generations." Amazon to invest $1.2M to restore Mumbais flamingo habitat, removing 150 tons of plastic & planting 375K mangroves. Read more: https://t.co/O46U3Ml8T6 pic.twitter.com/T1WyOmDiKx Amazon News India (@AmazonNews_IN) February 28, 2025 WHY THANE CREEK? The Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS) extends from Vashi to Bhandup in Mumbai. It is located on the western bank of the Thane Creek, between the Vashi and Airoli bridges. The TCFS, which is home to around 200 species of birds, including six species of flamingos, has been given the status of a Ramsar site by The International Wetlands Convention. With this, TCFS is now a part of an international network, wherein the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources would contribute to sustainable development". #WATCH | Maharashtra: A large number of migratory flamingos, seagulls and other birds have arrived at the creek in Karave village in Navi Mumbai pic.twitter.com/9IAR9algzg ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2025 WHERE ELSE TO SPOT FLAMINGOS? Sewri-Mahul mudflats: The Sewri Mangrove Park is a 15-acre protected area of mangroves in the mudflats between Sewri and Trombay. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has documented close to 40,000 flamingos in the Mahul-Sewri mudflats. Located in Mahul village near Chembur, the Mahul Creek is home to mangroves, fisherfolk and their boats. Bhandup Pumping Station: Covering an 11-hectare area in the Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, this wetland is home to many migratory birds like flamingos, herons and egrets. Its mangrove ecosystem is crucial for preventing floods and helping absorb carbon. Training Ship Chanakya Wetland: Covering 13 hectares in Navi Mumbai, this wetland surrounds the campus and provides a natural haven for birds like terns, egrets and cormorants. This wetland helps in regulating the local climate and preventing flooding in the area. Panje mudflats, Uran: This wetland spans 124 hectares in Uran, Raigad, and hosts migratory birds like waders, sandpipers and flamingos. NRI Complex wetland: Covering 19 hectares in Navi Mumbai, it is next to Palm Beach Road. It draws migratory birds such as flamingos, ibis and spoonbills. The mangroves and intertidal ecosystem help maintain biodiversity and reduce the risk of flooding. Tawale Wetlands, Nerul Panju Island, Vasai The best time to visit is from late February to the end of May. WHAT AMAZON PLANS TO DO? Together with Hasten Regeneration, a social enterprise and developer of ecosystem restoration projects, the investment will fund the clean-up along the settlements on the Thane Creek in Mumbai and plant mangroves in the nearby state of Gujarat. Amazon is supporting the initiative through its $100 million Right Now Climate Fund, which promotes climate resilience, biodiversity, and nature conservation projects in communities where it operates. WHY MANGROVES MATTER? Mangroves can sequester and store up to 10 times more carbon per hectare than mature tropical forests, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mangroves play an indispensable role in protecting coastal regions like Mumbai, serving as natural barriers against flooding and storm surges, stabilising soil, and acting as valuable carbon sinks. The protection of these ecosystems is crucial for a city like Mumbai, which is increasingly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Maharashtra boasts of a total mangrove cover of approximately 32,000 hectares, with 16,984 hectares classified as legal forests. This initiative, aligned with the governments goals under the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes, will significantly contribute to protecting the habitat of flamingos and other migratory birds by planting 375,000 mangrove shrubs and trees. And with that, it will, over time, build climate resilience for local communities by protecting against storm surges, rising sea levels, and erosion, while also creating multiple sustainable livelihood opportunities," Mukeshbhai Zinabhai Patel, Minister of Forest and Environment, Climate Change, Water Resources and Water Supply, Gujarat, was quoted as saying in the release. About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 17:32 IST JERUSALEM, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel has accepted the U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover holidays, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement early Sunday. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on Friday and will last until March 30, while the Jewish Passover week will be marked from April 12 to 20. According to the proposal by U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, on the first day of the extended ceasefire, about half of the 59 living and dead Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be returned. At the end of the outline period, if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, the rest of the hostages would be released. The statement said that Witkoff proposed extending the ceasefire after he felt that bridging the parties' positions to end the war was impossible at this stage and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire. It added that "while Israel has agreed to the Witkoff outline to return our hostages, Hamas has so far stuck to its refusal to accept this outline." "While Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement, Israel is not in violation," the statement reads. "If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff outline." The statement also stressed that Israel may return to fighting if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective, as the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire-hostages agreement expired on Saturday. Watch: Sabyasachi Mukherjee's Kolkata Store Is A Fashion Museum With Rs 20 Lakh Rent Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 14:40 IST Shenaz Treasurywala shared an inside view of Sabyasachi's temple-like store in Kolkata. The rent for Sabyasachi's store in Mumbai is approximately 2 crore per month. The flagship store for Sabyasachi Mukherjee in Kolkata embodies the essence of his 25-year-old brand, with the rent for that location reportedly more than 20 lakh per month. In a recent Instagram video, former VJ-turned-content creator Shenaz Treasury (Shenaz Treasurywala) offered a rare glimpse inside Sabyasachis Kolkata store, which gracefully combines Indian tradition with a global aesthetic. Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by Travel, Romance, Smiles (@shenaztreasury) Shenaz highlighted that the store itself is a piece of art, with elaborate patterns, intricate details, and a carefully selected collection of Sabyasachis best designs. Inspired by the designers hometown Kolkata, the stores design is bold and colourful, showcasing a distinctive fusion of artistry and workmanship. Every element inside the store screamed indulgence, from luxurious bridal wear to meticulously crafted fine jewelry. The boutique, which is situated on Kolkatas Lake Road, is a classic fashion temple." Shenaz mentioned in her post how the rent for Sabyasachis opulent Kolkata store is an astounding over 20 lakh per month." Shenaz added that the room is adorned with chandeliers dripping in elegance, antique photo frames that should belong in a museum, and the kind of velvet sofas that make you feel rich." ALSO READ: Tiger Shroff And Manushi Chhillar Turn Showstoppers At Tarun Tahilianis Blenders Pride Fashion Week Tour While conducting a tour of the designers store in Kolkata, Shenaz exclaimed, Who on earth pays 20 lakh rent in Kolkata?" The staircase, it is a red carpet moment waiting to happen. They have literally packed every inch with opulence," she added. Shenaz also revealed that the costliest item of jewellery in the store costs Rs 4 crore and a gorgeous red bridal lehenga cost Rs 8 lakh which the influencer also tried. Sabyasachi did not just build a store, he created a freaking temple. Go bow down," she exclaimed. Shenaz captioned her post: Stepping into Sabyasachis Kolkata store is like entering a fashion museum." The decor with antique photo frames, 100s of chandeliers, and plush velvet sofas, creates an ambiance of a fairy tale" she added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, the Hindustan Times reported in 2022 that the expected monthly rent for Sabyasachis Mumbai store is around 2 crore, which is obvious with this level of luxury. About the Author Riya Ashok Madayi Riya has an extra flair for the world of fashion and an unwavering commitment to writing about music and artists from around the world. She loves delving into every facet of womanhood while writing insightful s... Read More Riya has an extra flair for the world of fashion and an unwavering commitment to writing about music and artists from around the world. She loves delving into every facet of womanhood while writing insightful s... Read More fashion, travel, The News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health food , and culture with wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration, and recipes. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: March 02, 2025, 14:40 IST Javed Akhtar REACTS To Resolving Legal Battle With Kangana Ranaut: 'Maine Paise Toh Mange Nahi The...' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 15:29 IST Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar have resolved their defamation case through mediation. Ranaut praised Akhtar, who agreed to write songs for her next project. Their legal battle began in 2020. Kangana Ranaut and Javed Akhtar bury the hatchet All is well between Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and lyricist Javed Akhtar. The two posed happily for a picture together recently, and the actress announced that they have resolved their defamation case through mediation. In her post, she was all praise for Javed Akhtar, and even mentioned that he has agreed to write songs for her next directorial project. Recently, in a chat with Aaj Tak, Javed Akhtar opened up on the case. He said, Yes, the cases have been settled. She has taken back her word and the allegations. She has committed that she would never repeat it again. She has apologised for all the inconvenience caused to me. She also withdrew her case. Maine paise toh mange nahi the, apology chaiyeh thi, jo mil gai (I didnt ask for any money in the defamation case. I wanted an apology which I have got)." Recommended Stories When the reporter asked if he felt happy, Javed Akhtar said, Nahi, ab dekhta hun. Koi doosri pareshani mul lunga (No, now I will see. I might take on some other challenge)". Javed Akhtar and Kangana Ranaut have moved on from the legal conflict, with both parties settling their differences amicably. For the unversed, their legal battle began in 2020, after the lyricist filed a complaint claiming Ranaut had made defamatory statements against him in a television interview, which allegedly damaged his reputation. Kangana Ranaut took to her Instagram stories to share a photo with Javed Akhtar, and they are all smiles in the picture that seems to have been clicked after resolving their legal matter through mutual understanding. The actress wrote that their legal battle has come to an end, and praised Javed Akhtar for being kind and gracious during the process. She wrote, Today Javed ji and I have resolved our legal matter (defamation case) through mediation, in the mediation Javed ji has been very kind and gracious, he also agreed to write songs for my next directorial." About the Author Shreyanka Mazumdar Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 15:29 IST Kiara Advani Opens Up On Having Twins, Qualities Of Kareena Kapoor She'd Want In Her Daughter | Viral Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 08:11 IST Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra announced they are expecting their first child, delighting fans. Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra are expecting their first child. Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra are all set to embrace parenthood soon! On Friday, the couple announced that they are expecting their first child. The delightful news left fans overjoyed, and celebs such as Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Shilpa Shetty, Kareena Kapoor Khan and others congratulated the parents-to-be. A video of Kiara talking about wanting healthy babies" in an interview with journalist Faridoon Shahryar recently went viral, sparking fan hopes that she might have twins. Recommended Stories In the video, Faridoon asked Kiara what combination of twins she would prefertwo girls, two boys, or one of each. Kiara replied, I just want two healthy babies that God can gift me." Kareena Kapoor playfully teased her, joking that it sounded like a Miss Universe answer. Kiara added she would like to have one girl and one boy. When asked which qualities of Kareena she would want in her daughter, Kiara said, Her confidence, her expressions, her aura. All her qualities. She is a 10 on 10." The interview took place while Kiara, Kareena, Akshay Kumar, and Diljit Dosanjh were promoting their film Good Newwz. Meanwhile, a day after announcing her pregnancy news, Kiara was spotted in Mumbai. The mom-to-be radiated glow as she arrived at a studio in Mumbai. Kiara Advani was all smiles as she arrived at the studio. She happily posed for the paparazzi before stepping inside the vanity van. The actress donned an all-white outfit, and her pregnancy glow was unmissable! As the paparazzi congratulated her, the Kabir Singh actress smiled and thanked them politely. On Friday, Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra shared a joint post on Instagram, announcing that they are all set to embrace parenthood soon. Along with a picture of them holding tiny crocheted socks, the couple wrote, The greatest gift of our lives Coming soon." About the Author Shreyanka Mazumdar Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 08:11 IST Squid Games Wi Ha Joon Recognises Wamiqa Gabbi At Milan Fashion Week, Says I Saw Your Instagram Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: February 28, 2025, 19:25 IST Wamiqa Gabbi and Wi Ha-Joon shared a friendly exchange and posed for a picture before bidding each other farewell. Wamiqa and Wi Ha Joon met at the Onitsuka Tiger Show. (photo Credits: Instagram) Who would have thought a Bollywood x Hallyu crossover was even possible? In an unexpected yet exciting turn of events, Wamiqa Gabbi, one of Bollywoods most promising talents in contemporary times, crossed paths with none other than the Squid Game actor Wi Ha Joon. The two powerhouse performers met at the ongoing Milan Fashion Week during the Onitsuka Tiger AW25 show on February 26. A moment that instantly sent fans into a frenzy was when the South Korean actor recognised Wamiqa the second they crossed paths. Their interaction, now viral on social media, shows the Baby John actress warmly expressing Indias love for Ha Joon. Youre doing so great We love you in India!" she told him with a bright smile on her face. To everyones surprise, the 33-year-old Korean actor responded to Wamiqa, saying, Thank you! I saw your Instagram." The two stars shared a friendly exchange and posed for a picture before bidding each other farewell. Recommended Stories In the now-viral picture, the Bollywood actress radiated elegance in a white shirt dress paired with black tights. She wore a statement neckpiece and opted for a braided hairstyle. Standing beside her, Wi Ha Joon exuded his signature charm, wearing an all-black outfit that perfectly complemented his stylish persona. The 33-year-old Korean actor, who garnered international acclaim for his role in Squid Game, has earlier expressed his love for Indian movies. During an interview on the podcast KRazee Talks, Wi Ha Joon named 3 Idiots, Kill, and KGF as his favourite movies. He shared that he is fascinated with the fact that Indian movies always" feature plenty of dance moves. When asked if he could pull off any steps, the actor politely admitted, No, I do not know any steps, but of course, I can do them if I practice." Speaking of his work, Wi Ha Joon, who is best known for his role as Hwang Jun Ho in Netflixs survival thriller, has worked in a number of popular films and K-dramas. Over the years, he has appeared in 18 Again, Little Women, Midnight, The Worst of Evil, Gyeongseong Creature and The Midnight Romance in Hagwon. On the other hand, Wamiqa Gabbi was last seen in Varun Dhawan starrer Baby John. She has many projects in the pipeline, like Rakt Brahmand: The Bloody Kingdom, Dil Ka Darwaaza Khol Na Darling, Bhool Chuk Maaf, Genie and many more. First Published: February 28, 2025, 19:25 IST Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 17:08 IST The Dolly Theatre in Los Angeles is all set to host the 97th Academy Award. The Academy Awards will begin at 5:30 AM IST on Monday, March 3, 2025 in India. As film enthusiasts from all over the globe look forward to the awards show, heres some throwback pictures of Indian celebs who stole the spotlight at the red carpet. Assam Police SIT In Delhi To Probe 'Links' Of Congress MP Gaurav Gogois Wife With Pakistani National Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: March 01, 2025, 23:24 IST The move follows heightened political controversy over claims regarding Elizabeth Gogois association with Ali Tauqir Sheikh, an issue that has gained traction ahead of the Assam assembly elections next year According to official sources, the SIT, led by CM Vigilance Superintendent Rozy Kalita, has been tasked with gathering information on any possible communication between Elizabeth and Ali Tauqir Sheikh. (Representational image) A special investigation team (SIT) of Assam police is in Delhi to probe the alleged connection between Elizabeth Gogoi, wife of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, and Pakistani citizen Ali Tauqir Sheikh. The move follows heightened political controversy over claims regarding Elizabeths association with the Pakistani national, an issue that has gained traction ahead of the Assam assembly elections next year. According to official sources, the SIT, led by CM Vigilance Superintendent Rozy Kalita, has been tasked with gathering information on any possible communication between Elizabeth and Ali Tauqir Sheikh. The team will also look into Sheikhs visit to Delhi and his activities during his stay. Furthermore, the investigators will examine documents related to Elizabeth, including her passport, visa records, and any travel history that could shed light on the matter. Recommended Stories The high-level probe is being conducted under the supervision of Assams Additional Director General (ADG) Munna Prasad Gupta, who has dispatched a team comprising Pranabjyoti Goswami, Rozy Kalita, and Maitreyee Deka. Political storm The investigation comes amid a larger political row, with the BJP and its allies sharpening their attacks on Gaurav Gogoi, a senior Congress leader and a key figure in Assams opposition politics. The controversy gained momentum after reports surfaced alleging links between Elizabeth and Ali Tauqir Sheikh, who is associated with an NGO operating in Delhi. The BJP has repeatedly accused the Congress of having dubious foreign connections", a charge the opposition party has dismissed as politically motivated. The allegations against Elizabeth have further intensified the war of words between the ruling party and the opposition. Not the first instance top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all This is not the first time a political figures alleged foreign connections have come under scrutiny. In the past, similar allegations have been used to target opposition leaders, often triggering political debates and inquiries. In Assam, investigations into foreign links have previously been invoked in cases concerning illegal immigration and national security. While the Assam police SIT has yet to make any official statements on the progress of the investigation, sources indicate that further steps will be taken based on the evidence collected in Delhi. With the controversy showing no signs of fading, the case is likely to remain a key political flashpoint in the days ahead. Location : Guwahati [Gauhati], India, India First Published: March 01, 2025, 23:24 IST 'Thanda Thanda, Cool Cool': Fadnavis And Pawar By His Side, Shinde Says 'We'll Not Break' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 22:46 IST Eknath Shinde rejected rift rumours in the state's ruling Mahayuti alliance, saying the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP's partnership will not break. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis along with deputy CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Ajit Pawar. (Image: X/@EknathShinde) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday refuted the ongoing speculations regarding a possible rift within the ruling Mahayuti alliance and said that everything was thanda thanda and cool cool" between him, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. No matter how hard you try to create breaking news by suggesting conflicts, our alliance is not going to break," Shinde said while addressing a joint conference alongside Fadnavis and Pawar. Recommended Stories He further rejected claims of friction among the alliance partners and said, How can there be a Cold War in such scorching heat? Everything is thanda thanda, cool cool between us." Listening to this, Fadnavis, who was sitting next to him, smiled. Notably, Shindes remarks came days after he said dont take me lightly", hinting that he was the reason behind the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government in 2022. Do not take me lightly; I have already said this to those who have taken me lightly. I am a normal party worker, but I am a worker of Bala Saheb, and everyone should take me with this understanding. When you took it lightly in 2022, I changed the government; we brought the government of the wishes of the common people," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. The speculations regarding the discord became the talk of the town after Shinde skipped a few meetings called by Chief Minister Fadnavis. Following this, it was rumoured that Shinde was reportedly upset with the BJP for being denied the top post. Fadnavis Attacks Opposition Attacking the Opposition for not attending the pre-session meeting of the Maharashtras budget session, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, Today we had invited the opposition for Chahapan (snack meeting before the budget session) but they boycotted it. They held a meeting in which none of their big leaders came." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The budget session is going to start tomorrow. The Opposition has given us a 9-page letter. The situation in the Opposition is Hum aapke hai kaun?, not Hum Sath Sath hain. They had an opportunity for fluent conversation, but they did not attend the Chahapan (snack meeting before the budget session). The letter they gave us is only based on newspaper articles. We will give the Opposition a long time to speak in House," he added. About the Author Mahima Joshi Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a... Read More Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 21:26 IST 'Election & Party Took Her Life': Mother Of Congress Worker Killed In Haryana Says 'People Were Jealous Of Her' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 16:15 IST Himani Narwal, Haryana Congress worker, was found dead in a suitcase in Rohtak on Saturday. Congress leaders have demanded high-level probe in the matter. The victim's mother has made some big claims. 22-year-old Himani Narwal (left) with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. (Photo: X/BVSrinivas) The mother of the Congress worker, who was found dead with her body stuffed in a suitcase in Haryana, has alleged that the killer could be from the party as some people were jealous" of her due to her connection with Rahul Gandhi. The body of Himani Narwal, who walked alongside Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, was found in a suitcase near a bus stand in Rohtak on Saturday, sparking demands from top Congress leaders for a high-level probe into the incident. Recommended Stories Himanis mother, Savita Narwal, has made shocking claims, stating that election" and party" took her life. The election and the party took my daughters life. Because of this, she made some enemies. These (the culprits) could be from the party, could be her friends as wellOn February 28, she was at home," she told news agency ANI. The mother claimed that Himani was close to the Hooda family, which is why the people had problems" with her. She was going with Rahul Gandhi, she was close to the Hooda family, this is why people were having problems, they were jealous," she said. Savita said that her daughter shared a close relationship with Asha Hooda, the wife of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. She said that she would not perform the last rites of her daughter until she gets justice". The mother said that Himani sacrificed a lot for the Congress, and the party members also used to visit their home. Some people in the party might be involved in the murder, as they may have felt threatened by Himanis rising political career," she told India Today. Savita revealed that her daughter was scheduled to attend Bhupinder Hoodas rally on February 28, however, when she attempted to reach out to her, the phone was switched off. Himani has been associated with the Congress for the last 10 years. She travelled with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to Srinagar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. She wanted to do clean politics, but some people wanted to trap her in a web of problems," she said. She claimed that Himani also spoke about issues within the Congress and had arguments with senior Congress leaders. She said that her daughter would not compromise on anything, even if someone told her to. My daughter would say, I will not compromise. What is wrong is wrong, and what is right is right." During the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Himani had disagreements with Congress members over arrangements related to room-sharing as she did not consume onion and garlic and preferred staying alone, her mother claimed. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all She further said that the family has not been contacted by any senior Congress leader after Himanis death. Savita demanded a death penalty for the killers of her daughter. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Location : Haryana, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 16:10 IST 'Several Karnataka BJP MLAs Trying To Reach Out To Us', Claims Shivakumar After Shinde Comparison Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 12:10 IST Shivakumar made the remarks amid reports of infighting within the ruling Congress party after he attended an event and shared the stage with Sadhguru and Amit Shah, who attacked the Congress. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar attended an event with Sadhguru and Amit Shah, sparking a row. (Source: PTI) Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar fired back at critics following rumours of a split within the ruling Congress government, claiming that the party was united" and that several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs were in touch with the party. Let BJP keep its house in order first. As some of my ministers have said, several BJP MLAs are trying to get in touch with us. So, already my minister has said it. I dont want to discuss that. It (BJP) is a broken house. Congress is a united house," he told news agency ANI. Recommended Stories #WATCH | Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar says, Let BJP keep its house in order first. As some of my ministers have said, several BJP MLAs are trying to get in touch with us. So, already my minister has said it. I dont want to discuss on that. It is a broken pic.twitter.com/8TWRBDLEM7 ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 Earlier, a controversy erupted when the Karnataka Congress President was seen sharing the dais with spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a Shivratri celebration on February 26. Many leaders in Congress began questioning his decision to share the dais with Jaggi Vasudev and Shah who openly attacked the Congress, fuelling rumours of infighting within the ruling party. The opposition BJP claimed that Shivakumar might quit Congress to form an alternative government with the help of their party. Although Shivakumar has defended his decision by saying it was a purely religious visit and not political, his activities have fuelled speculation as he has reportedly been upset over not being made the Chief Minister. Sadhguru is from Karnataka. He has been fighting for the cause of Cauvery water. He came and invited me personally. He has a huge following. He is doing some great work. MLAs and leaders of various political parties were there. So, I went there," Shivakumar said. ALSO READ | Man In A Hurry Or Calculated Risk? DK Shivakumars Latest Optics Upset Many In Congress Karnataka BJP Compares Shivakumar To Eknath Shinde DK Shivakumar, who was made the deputy Chief Minister in Karnataka after the Congress rode to power in 2023, has been repeatedly reminding his party bosses in Delhi that he should be made the CM, citing a power-sharing agreement following the Assembly elections. However, the Siddaramaiah camp has been dismissing such agreements and maintains he will complete the full term of five years. At least a dozen ministers close to the Chief Minister have openly questioned Shivakumars claims in the last few weeks. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Karnataka BJP stirred speculation by comparing Shivakumar to Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde, implying that he could engineer a split within the Congress Party in Karnataka. There are many in Congress who could be like Eknath Shinde, DK Shivakumar might be one of them," said Leader of Opposition R Ashoka. Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra also said that infighting has increased within the Congress Party. On his part, Shivakumar has dismissed all speculation of a political rift as baseless. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 10:49 IST 'Stand As One': Rahul Gandhi's Message For Kerala Congress Leaders Amid Shashi Tharoor Rift Buzz Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 16:34 IST Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's assertion came after the Congress top brass met Kerala leaders at Indira Bhawan here for a brainstorming session on Friday Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the partys state unit leaders stand as one. (Image: Facebook/Rahul Gandhi) Amid speculations of an internal rift between the Kerala Congress and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday asserted that the partys state unit leaders "stand as one" and were "united" by the light of purpose ahead. His assertion came after the Congress top brass met Kerala leaders at Indira Bhawan here for a brainstorming session on Friday to discuss the strategy and the way forward ahead of next years assembly elections. Tharoor who was seated between Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala and MP K Suresh. Recommended Stories Posting a picture from the media byte by Kerala leaders after the meeting, Gandhi said in a Facebook post, "They stand as one, united by the light of purpose ahead." His post was accompanied by the hashtag Team Kerala. Earlier reports fuelled rumours of an internal split between the Kerala Congress and Tharoor, who was quoted by The Indian Express as saying in a Malayalam language podcast that if Congress did not require his services, he had other options". The publication also claimed that Tharoor raised the issue of the absence of a leader in Keralas Congress". However, the 68-year-old MP refuted these reports and slammed the public for its baseless and irresponsible" reporting. Tharoors recent praise for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government has also seemed to rub leaders of the grand old party the wrong way. However, Tharoors popularity extends beyond the party, exemplified with his recent selfie with Union Minister Piyush Goyal. What Was Discussed In Kerala Congress Meeting? At the meeting of Congress Indira Bhawan headquarters, Gandhi said leaders should be very careful about the political strategy and should not do or say anything that does not toe the party line, sources told news agency PTI. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also laid stress on discipline, ensuring unity and filling up the vacant posts to strengthen the partys Kerala unit. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan and AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi, among others, were also present at the meeting. "We got a clear indication from our high command that the Congress is very much connected with the people of Kerala emotionally and politically. People are looking for a change, so we should not do anything that will disrespect the people of Kerala," Dasmunshi had told reporters after the meeting. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all "This was a clear indication and if anyone (says) anything personally, we will take strong action. Because we have no right to disrespect the people of Kerala," he added. (with PTI inputs) Location : Kerala, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 11:47 IST ISTANBUL, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday to resume military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) if its promises are not fulfilled. "We will continue our ongoing operations, and if necessary, we will leave no stone unturned and no head on top of a shoulder until we eliminate the last terrorist," Erdogan stated. Erdogan made these remarks at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner at the presidency's Dolmabahce office in Istanbul. Earlier in the morning, the PKK declared a ceasefire with Turkiye, following the call of its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan for disarmament and dissolution. The group also announced readiness to convene its congress but emphasized that its success requires Ocalan to "personally lead it," calling for his release from prison. This move comes as part of an initiative launched by the government to end the PKK's 40-year-long insurgency against the Turkish state, which has claimed over 40,000 lives. According to Erdogan, "except for some marginal groups," the terror-free Turkiye initiative has been supported by the vast majority of the nation and political circles. The PKK was founded in 1978 by Ocalan, who has been held in near-total isolation on Imrali island in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul since 1999. The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union. Chinese Fortune Tellers Prediction Of His Own Death Came True In This Shocking Manner Curated By : Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 13:00 IST The fortune teller was poisoned by his mistress . Their relationship was marked by troubles with Zhou demanding that Jing undergo several abortions. Zhou was poisoned by a highly toxic herbicide called paraquat. (Representative Image/iStock) A Chinese fortune teller who once told him that he would have a life threatening accident in his 50s was killed by his mistress. The victims first name has been withheld to protect the identity of the subject. He was a well known fortune teller in Nanchong, Sichuan who went by the last name Zhou. He became seriously ill in May 2017 just one month before his 60th birthday and passed away, despite efforts to save him. It was established in the course of investigation that he was killed by paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide which has severe internal organ effects when ingested. Zhous death was suspicious for his family, especially when his daughter discovered some toxic substances in his cough syrup. It was confirmed that the family notified the police after they conducted a poison test on the rat poison. It was not long before the investigators realized that the long time mistress of Zhou was Jing, who had joined his life following a tragic incident. Recommended Stories Jing met Zhou in 2011 to seek his help for her mothers cancer that was terminal. Their relationship was also marked by complications. Zhou demanded that Jing undergo several abortions. When they had problems, he went back to his ex wife. In an effort to have her leave him, he even feigned cancer. Jing, emotionally devastated and furious, plotted revenge. Jing planned her revenge after gaining knowledge of the effects of paraquat from the internet. The only thing she did was to put the poison in his cough syrup and also put the poison in four pairs of his underwear. Zhou experienced throat pain and when he put on the poisoned underwear, the body started to rot. He was admitted in hospital but died from the effects of poisoning, much to the surprise of his family. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Jing was convicted of intentional murder and was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a court in September 2024. She then appealed the decision, but the Nanchong Intermediate Peoples Court concurred with the previous decision recently. The report was made by Red Star News and the case went viral on Chinese social media platforms. Many internet users criticized the mistreatment of Jing by Zhou and some people joked about the fact that a fortune teller could not avoid his death. This Shocking case is still under the limelight and it is a clear illustration of the impact of betrayal, manipulation and revenge as well as the impact of emotions such as resentment and heartbreak in leading people to commit such extreme violence. About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 13:00 IST Who Is Asma Khan? Meet The Indian Origin Chef Who Hosted King Charles And Queen Camilla Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 01, 2025, 10:42 IST In 2017, Asma Khan opened Darjeeling Express, a unique restaurant where many of her chefs were nannies from South Asia who worked for local families. Asma Khan was named among TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2024. (Photo Credits: Instagram) Asma Khan, a British Indian chef and author, is the proud founder of the popular London restaurant Darjeeling Express. Recently, Khan had the honour of hosting King Charles and Queen Camilla at her restaurant, just before Ramadan. During their visit, the royal couple interacted with the staff and even helped pack biryani and dates for donation. The King was seen enjoying the aroma of Khans freshly prepared biryani, so much so that she sent him home with a takeaway. In this article, we will take a closer look at Khans background and what makes her one of the most respected figures in the culinary world. Originally from Calcutta, Khan moved to the UK in 1996 to study law at Kings College and later earned a PhD in 2013, as per BBC. After becoming a mother to two boys, she decided to follow her passion for food despite having no proper training. Her journey in the food industry began in 2012 when she started a supper club at home, which quickly became a thriving business. In 2017, she opened Darjeeling Express, a unique restaurant where many of her chefs were nannies from South Asia who worked for local families. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Recommended Stories TIME describes Asma Khan as a ball of energy with a wicked sense of humour. Shes the auntie you would have said was your favorite growing up. Many Indian restaurants in the West have menus where everything kind of tastes the same. But Asmas food is surprising. It doesnt taste like restaurant food and that is the highest compliment." Other than managing her restaurant, Asma Khan is also a successful author, who published her first book, Asmas Indian Kitchen in 2018. It featured recipes passed down through her family. Later, in 2022, she released Ammu, a tribute to her mother and the home cooked meals she prepared. Khan also gained global recognition in 2019 when she became the first British chef to appear on the popular Netflix series Chefs Table, along with BBC Saturday Kitchen and Celebrity MasterChef. Thats not all, she was named among TIMEs 100 Most Influential People of 2024. About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 01, 2025, 10:42 IST Woman Rides Scooter With Parrot As Co-Pilot, Internet Calls It 'Peak Bengaluru Moment' Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 08:00 IST Manoeuvring through busy traffic, the said woman can be seen balancing the parrot while also carrying another woman in the passenger seat. The incident occurred on February 28. (Photo Credits: X) Bengalurus infamous traffic congestion and frequent halts are a daily struggle for commuters. However, amidst the chaos of gridlocked roads and frustrating delays, heartwarming moments occasionally emerge, bringing a smile to peoples faces. One such delightful instance recently took the internet by storm, featuring an unusual yet adorable sight on the citys bustling streets. On February 28, a user shared a viral video on X (formerly Twitter), capturing a woman effortlessly navigating traffic on her scooterwith a vibrant parrot perched comfortably on her shoulder. The clip, taken by a passenger in an auto-rickshaw, shows the rider skillfully balancing her feathered friend while carrying another woman as a pillion passenger. The charming sight quickly caught the attention of social media users, proving that even amid Bengalurus traffic woes, theres always room for a little joy. Recommended Stories Never a dull moment in Bangalore pic.twitter.com/IzUr5nRaP8 Rahul Jadhav (@iRahulJadhav) February 28, 2025 The video is swiftly going viral on social media, and viewers couldnt get enough of the moment. Sharing the clip, the X user wrote, Never a dull moment in Bengaluru!" Responding to the adorable moment, a user said that this was a peak Bengaluru moment. It is not the first time social media has taken notice of a heartwarming sight in Bengalurus streets. In another video that went viral on social media, a passenger in an auto rickshaw documented a man riding a bike with a small kitten balanced on his shoulder. lol cant figure how to feel bout this but def brought a smile pic.twitter.com/6DzhI1w0SP Jassil Jamaludhin (@JassilJamal) January 30, 2025 In the eight-second video, the kitten sits happily, utterly unconcerned by the movement, while the man drives his bike with assurance. After watching the video, social media users all over are hailing the unique attachment between the biker and his pet. A few days back, another wholesome story of a pet and owner went viral. The heartwarming moment showcases an auto driver travelling with his adorable furry companion, Jackie. As mentioned by the X user, the dog has been with its owner since it was just four days old. The owner accompanies him everywhere in his auto, proving why the furry friends are considered the humans best friend. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all my auto wale bhaiyya has his dog( name is Jackie ) with him in the auto; this kid has been with him from when he was 4 days old and now they travel together everywhereDoes this call for a @PeakBangalore moment?? pic.twitter.com/Cre4g6Cd5S damn she coool (@damnyanti) February 22, 2025 In the picture, the duo is seen sitting in an auto. While the auto driver is busy using his phone, his pet quietly sits and enjoys the street view. About the Author Buzz Staff A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on whats creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture. News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: March 02, 2025, 08:00 IST Anti-DOGE Protests Hit Tesla Stores In US, Call For Boycotting Elon Musk | Watch Published By : Associated Press Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 13:56 IST Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores to protest Elon Musk's push to slash government spending and sharply reduce the federal workforce. Protesters rally outside Tesla stores in Boston to protest against Elon Musk. (AP) Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores across the US Saturday to protest the automakers billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, and his push to slash government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump. The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Musks disruptive role in Washington. Recommended Stories Critics of Trump and Musk hope to discourage and stigmatise purchases of Tesla, the electric car company that is the worlds most valuable automaker. Liberal groups for weeks have organized anti-Tesla protests in hopes of galvanizing opposition to Musks Department of Government Efficiency and energising Democrats still demoralised by Trumps November victory. We can get back at Elon," said Nathan Phillips, a 58-year-old ecologist from Newton, Massachusetts, who was protesting in Boston on Saturday. We can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas." BREAKING: In a stunning display of strength, protestors arrived at Elon Musks Tesla showroom today in New York to protest his and Trumps efforts to dismantle our government. This is awesome.pic.twitter.com/No6lZqf86s Democratic Wins Media (@DemocraticWins) February 16, 2025 Lower Manhattan is not the only city in the U.S. where protests against far-right fascist Elon Musk and the Trump regimes Nazification of America are happening. This is a Tesla dealership in Boston. $TSLA pic.twitter.com/wXaZA2Mtso Bill Madden (@maddenifico) March 1, 2025 Why Is Elon Musk Facing Criticism? Musk is taking direction from Trump to slash federal spending and sharply reduce the workforce, arguing that Trumps victory gave the president and him a mandate to restructure the US government. DOGE officials have swiftly gained access to sensitive databases, directed thousands of federal job cuts, canceled contracts and shut down sections of the government, including the US Agency for International Development. Musks critics say his actions defy Congresss power to control the US budget and present a host of ways for him to enrich himself. Musk leads several other companies, notably SpaceX, which conducts launches for NASA and the intelligence community, and the social media platform X. Protests will not deter President Trump and Elon Musk from delivering on the promise to establish DOGE and make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country," said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields. Tesla did not respond to an emailed request for comment. More Protests Planned For Later More than 50 demonstrations were listed Saturday on the website Tesla Takedown, with more planned later in March from coast to coast in the United States along with England, Spain and Portugal. News reports showed demonstrations in recent days in US cities including Tucson, Arizona; St. Louis; New York City; Dayton, Ohio; Charlotte; and Palo Alto, California. Some Tesla owners have also reported their vehicles vandalised with spray painted swastikas amid what Jewish groups and observers fear is a rise in antisemitism. Federal prosecutors charged a woman in connection with a string of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, which included Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words Nazi cars" spray painted on the building. Saturdays demonstration in Boston had a festive atmosphere, with a brass band playing music as protesters carried signs and chanted. Several of the signs mocked Musk and DOGE, with one reading: Stop Elon and his despicable Muskrats." This government led by Trump and Musk, its gone completely off the rails and we are here to stop that," said Carina Campovasso, a retired federal worker. And I hope they listen." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all About 300 demonstrators protested at a Tesla dealership in New York City on Saturday. Police said nine people were taken into custody but did not elaborate on the charges they faced. Teslas share price has fallen by nearly a third since Trump took office, though its still higher than it was a year ago. Musks current net worth is an estimated $359 billion, according to Forbes, which calculated his 2024 net worth as $195 billion. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Boston, Massachusetts, USA First Published: March 02, 2025, 13:56 IST At Least 37 Dead, Dozens Injured In Bolivia Bus Crash Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 07:48 IST The accident happened during the early morning hours on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of the vehicles swerved into the oncoming lane Police personnel are working to identify people who were killed and those who were injured and hospitalized, the spokesperson added. (Photo: X) A crash involving two buses in Bolivia left at least 37 people dead and dozens injured in the western Potosi region, police and local authorities said on Saturday. The accident happened during the early morning hours on the route between the cities of Uyuni and Colchani, when one of the vehicles swerved into the oncoming lane. Recommended Stories As a result of this fatal accident we have 39 people injured in four hospitals in the town of Uyuni, and 37 people have lost their lives," a spokesman for the Departmental Police Command of Potosi told reporters. Police personnel are working to identify people who were killed and those who were injured and hospitalized, the spokesperson added. At the scene, a crane turned over one of the buses, which had rolled over onto its side, and police officers were seen removing bodies from the crashed vehicles and carrying them away wrapped in blankets. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to the preliminary investigation, one of the buses encroached into the oncoming lane, presumably due to speeding, and caused the collision, the Bolivian Ministry of Government said in a statement. Location : Bolivia First Published: March 02, 2025, 07:48 IST Zelenskyy Damaged Himself...: Elon Musk Shares News Clip To Drive His Point On Ukraine War Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 17:47 IST The relations between the US and Ukraine received a massive blow after February 28 Trump-Zelenskyy spat at the White House. The Ukrainian President has received support Europe. Elon Musk and Zelenskyy (AP Image) As relations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart Donald Trump worsened with a verbal spat at the White House, the former has received mixed reactions. While he has lost significant support from the American people, according to a CNN report, the European leaders have rallied behind him, backing him in the war against Russia. Recommended Stories Report On Zelenskyys Popularity According to a CNN report, Zelenskyy has lost the support of the American people after three years of war with Russia. In 2022, when the war began, 72% of Americans believed that Zelenskyy will do the right thing". This percentage reduced drastically to 48% in 2024. The report also said that more people now think that the US is helping Ukraine too much". In February 2022, 7% of Americans thought such, but the percentage has shot up to 41% in February 2025. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Donald Trumps advisor and chief of DOGE in the US government, weighed in on the report and stated a fact" while attacking him. Zelensky damaged himself severely in the eyes of the public. Just a fact. https://t.co/g7wd9WzJh9 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2025 Zelenskyy damaged himself severely in the eyes of the public. Just a fact," Musk posted on X. The Ukraine supporters in the US staged a protest outside Tesla showroom in New York and raised slogans supporting Zelenskyy. Zelensky is our hero!": Protesters rally outside Tesla showroom in New York. pic.twitter.com/MuXa4WeeA8 KyivPost (@KyivPost) March 2, 2025 Zelenskyy is our hero," people chanted as they protested, holding placards and posters in their hands. Ukrainians Rally Behind Zelenskyy Besides European leaders, Zelenskyy has been able to garner the support of his citizens, who lauded him for standing up for their countrys dignity and interests by speaking out in front of Trump and JD Vance as the argument heated, a rare incident in diplomacy. A 67-year-old Nataliia Serhiienko said that their president fought like a lion during his short visit to Washington DC. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all They had a heated meeting, a very heated conversation. Zelenskyy was defending Ukraines interests," she said. On Friday, Trump and Vance had a heated exchange with Zelenskyy in front of the media at the Oval Office and accused him of not being thankful". Trump said that Zelenskyy was not ready for peace and accused him of disrespecting the US and the Oval Office. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 02, 2025, 17:03 IST Hours Before Oval Office Spat, US Senator Warned Zelenskyy Not To 'Take The Bait' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 16:38 IST A staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of Ukraines biggest defenders on the Republican side, Graham met Zelenskyy before the latter's Oval Office meeting on February 28. US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. (AFP photo) Republican senator and a known Trump ally, Lindsey Graham has said that he had warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to take the bait" and getting into an argument with US President Donald Trump hours before the extraordinary diplomatic meet between the two leaders at the White House that stunned the world. A staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and one of Ukraines biggest defenders on the Republican side, Graham met Zelenskyy before the latters Oval Office meeting on February 28. Recommended Stories Read More: On Camera, Trump Rebukes Ukraines Zelenskyy In Heated White House Talks: Youre Gambling With World War 3 I told him this morning, Dont take the bait. Dont let the media or anyone else get you into an argument with President Trump. What hes doing today is resetting the relationship," he told the reporters. The senator further backed Trump and Vice-President JD Vance for standing for the Americans. He suggested Zelenskyy to step down saying that its uncertain whether the United States can ever do business with Zelenskyy. What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I dont know if we could ever do business with Zelenskyy again. I think most Americans saw a guy that they would not want to go in business with, the way he handled the meeting," the South Carolina Republican added. What Happened During Trump- Zelenskyy Meet What started as a courteous photo opportunity devolved into a shouting match between the two leaders, plunging the relations between the two countries to a new low. At the oval Office meeting, Trump dressed down Zelenskyy and said that the latter is gambling with World War Three". He further said that a truce with Russia is fairly close" and that the deal allowing US to use Ukraines natural resources would be very fair." The conversation escalated very quickly as Zelenskyy asked the US Vice-President if hes been to Ukraine to see our problems" to which JD Vance dismissively replied that hes read about it and seen it. Read More: Its An Honour To Disrespectful In 50 Minutes: How Trump-Zelenskyy Talks Spiralled Into An Ugly Exchange Reprimanding Zelenskyy, Trump said, Were going to feel very good and very strong." When Trump was asked about concerns about siding too much with Putin, he said he was only allied with American interests. If I didnt align myself with both of them, youd never have a deal. You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, Hi, Vladimir, how are we doing on the deal? That doesnt work that way." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Trump later cancelled a scheduled joint press conference with Zelenskyy. Meanwhile, a planned White House lunch was also scrapped. Later Zelenskyy and team Ukraine were asked to leave the White House after their meeting with Trump collapsed when JD Vance accused him of having disrespected" the US. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 02, 2025, 16:35 IST 480+ Properties In Dubai, US, UK On Annual Salary Of $13,000: How Bangladesh Ex-Minister Built $500-Million Empire Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 17:19 IST From Dubai's Burj Khalifa, Palm Jumeira to London and New York, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury says his properties were bought using funds from his "legitimate businesses" Saifuzzaman Chowdhury served as the land minister under Sheikh Hasina. (X) Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, a former minister from ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government, is under the scanner of the current Mohammad Yunus-led interim Bangladesh government. Why? Despite an annual salary of $13,000, he has amassed over 480+ properties across the world, including Dubai, London and the United States (US). Of these, over 300 properties are in the United Kingdom (UK), 142 in Dubai, and 15-25 in the US, according to an investigative report by the Financial Times. Recommended Stories WHO IS SAIFUZZAMAN CHOWDHURY? Chowdhury served as the land minister under Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh founding father and first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Hasina made a dramatic exit from Bangladesh in August after hundreds were killed during security forces crackdown on student protests. Chowdhury, too, fled Bangladesh in August. Chowdhury had declared assets worth only $2.3 million in 2023 and had no reported foreign income in his last declared income tax return 2017. Chowdhurys father Akhtaruzzaman, a confidant" of Hasina, was a founding member of the United Commercial Bank. He is accused in the murder of the founding chairman of United Commercial Bank, established in 1983. Chowdhurys property purchase gained pace in 2017 when he set up UK companies, but accelerated in 2019 when he became a government minister. HIS KEY PROPERTIES According to the Financial Times, Chowdhury owns properties in: Dubais Burj Khalifa district Palm Jumeirah archipelago Londons commuter towns Over 300 homes in the UK Singapore Malaysia An FT analysis of leaked and official sources suggests that Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, the former land minister of Bangladesh, and his close family have owned and largely continue to own a much greater number of properties than previously reported. https://t.co/KkEOaUnLjT pic.twitter.com/F0YuCts44W Financial Times (@FT) February 28, 2025 INSIDE HIS $14-MILLION LONDON HOME Al-Jazeera conducted an undercover operation and even entered his $14-million home in London. In response to the findings, Chowdhury told Al Jazeera the funds used to buy his overseas properties come from legitimate businesses outside Bangladesh which he has owned for years. WHAT CHOWDHURY SAYS Chowdhury told Al Jazeera that his properties were bought using funds from his legitimate businesses in the UK, the UAE and America, and that he is the victim of a political witch-hunt. My father was very close to the Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina), actually, and I am also She is my boss She knows I have a business here (in Britain)." Charles Douglas Solicitors LLP, Market Financial Solutions, Paresh Raja, DBS Bank and Ripon Mahmood told Al Jazeera they had carried out robust anti-money laundering checks on Chowdhury. They also said his funds came from legitimate and longstanding businesses in the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the UK, not Bangladesh. Our investigation into the #MinistersMillions uncovers how a powerful Bangladesh politician built a half billion dollar property empire.See inside Saifuzzaman Chowdhurys $14m London home, where he reveals his hidden wealth to our hidden cameras.Watch: https://t.co/czUnKORUrN pic.twitter.com/rByTyzrcuU Al Jazeera Investigations (@AJIunit) September 18, 2024 WHAT NEXT? top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all While Hasina is in exile in India, the Bangladesh authorities launched an investigation into allegations of widespread corruption in her government. According to Al-Jazeera, the central bank of Bangladesh has since frozen the bank accounts of Chowdhury and his family, while the states Anti-Corruption Commission has started an investigation into allegations that he had illegally acquired thousands of crore taka" (hundreds of millions of dollars) and laundered it in the UK. About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More First Published: March 02, 2025, 15:32 IST 'Feel All Your Affection': Pope Francis Stable In Hospital, Thanks Well-Wishers For Support Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 18:49 IST Pope Francis, 88, was admitted to Romes Gemelli hospital on February 14 with respiratory problems that degenerated into double pneumonia. Pope Francis (File) Pope Francis, in a stable condition as he battles pneumonia in hospital for the 17th day, met two Vatican officials on Sunday and offered thanks to well-wishers for their prayers and support in a written message. Francis, 88, was admitted to Romes Gemelli hospital on February 14 with respiratory problems that degenerated into double pneumonia a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. Recommended Stories The Vatican said on Saturday evening that the pontiffs condition had stabilised, following an "isolated" breathing crisis a day earlier. "I would like to thank you for the prayers," Francis said in a note released by the Vatican in place of his usual Sunday prayer with pilgrims, which the pope was not able to lead for the third week running. "I feel all your affection and closeness and I feel as if I am carried and supported by all Gods people," the message said. Francis also met at the hospital on Sunday with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans number-two official, and Parolins deputy, said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, without giving further details about the meeting. The pope, who is known to work himself to exhaustion, has continued leading the Vatican during his hospital stay and last met Parolin and the deputy at the Gemelli on February 24. Earlier on Sunday, the Vatican said in a one-line update that the pope had rested well overnight. A full medical update on his condition is expected on Sunday evening. A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to discuss the popes health, said on Sunday that Francis was eating normally, moving about his hospital room, and continuing his treatment. MORE UPBEAT TONE The pope suffered a constriction of his respiratory airways on Friday, akin to an asthma attack. However, in a more upbeat tone on Saturday, the Vatican said the popes blood circulation remained stable and he did not have an increased white blood cell count, indicating his infection may be abating. "The Holy Fathers clinical condition remained stable," the Vatican said on Saturday, adding that the prognosis was still guarded, meaning he was not yet out of danger. The Vatican added on Saturday that for a second day running the pope required non-invasive, mechanical ventilation, alternating between this and "long periods of high-flow oxygen therapy". top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Francis has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. The pope has not been seen in public since entering hospital, his longest absence from view since his papacy started in March 2013, and his doctors have not said how long his treatment might last. Location : Vatican City First Published: March 02, 2025, 18:49 IST Ghislaine Maxwell, Convicted For Role In Jeffrey Epsteins Trafficking Ring, Eyes Trump Pardon: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 11:15 IST Ghislaine Maxwell, serving 20 years for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring, may seek a pardon from US President Donald Trump, leveraging their long-standing friendship. Maxwell's supporters believe she was unfairly targeted, made a scapegoat for Epstein's crimes after his death in prison in 2019. (Photo: X/25YearsAgoLive) Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking ring, might be seeking a way out, and it involves her old friend, US President Donald Trump. The idea, initially a lighthearted suggestion from a fellow inmate at the Florida prison where she is incarcerated, has gained traction among Maxwells inner circle. They believe her long-standing friendship with Trump, who has been known to reward loyalty, could be the key to securing a presidential pardon. Recommended Stories Given how many pardons Trump has issued in the weeks since being back in power, those in Ghislaines clique joked she should push for one," a prison source told Mirror. Maxwell and Trump travelled in the same elite social circles for years, frequently seen together at high-profile events in Palm Beach and New York. Their association goes beyond mere acquaintance, with Trump expressing well wishes for Maxwell after her arrest, a statement that raised eyebrows given the gravity of the charges against her. Adding intrigue to the situation is the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein, a mutual friend of both Maxwell and Trump. Trumps past association with Epstein, including a videotaped conversation at a party where they discussed the appearance of young girls, has fuelled speculation about the depth of their connections. Trumps visible concern about a 2020 news article linking him to Maxwell and Epstein further underscores his awareness of the potential implications of their shared history. The Epstein Files: Michael Jackson, Ivanka Trump Among Key Figures In Contact List | Check Top Names Maxwells supporters believe she was unfairly targeted, made a scapegoat for Epsteins crimes after his death in prison in 2019. They argue her trial was flawed and that her harsh treatment in custody was part of a broader government strategy to appear tough on the Epstein scandal without revealing the full extent of his powerful network. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Trumps history of granting clemency, including pardons for those involved in the January 6th Capitol riot, has emboldened Maxwells camp. They see an opportunity, given her ties to Trump, to push for a pardon or, at the very least, a prisoner transfer agreement that would allow her to serve out her sentence in the UK with a potentially reduced term. However, such a move would undoubtedly spark outrage. A pardon would be perceived as a gross miscarriage of justice, a slap in the face to Epsteins victims who see Maxwell as instrumental in his abuse network. A quiet transfer, while less conspicuous, would still reek of a backroom deal to protect a friend. Fuelling this controversy is Trumps unfulfilled campaign promise to release Epsteins list of associates, a move that many believe would expose a web of powerful individuals connected to the disgraced financier. About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: March 02, 2025, 11:15 IST ADEN, Yemen, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The leader of Yemen's Houthi group has warned Israel of significant retaliatory actions if hostilities in Gaza resume. In a televised address late on Saturday, the first day of Ramadan, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi spoke from Sanaa that renewed Israeli military operations in Gaza would trigger a Houthi military response against Israeli territories, with a special emphasis on targeting Tel Aviv. "We stand firmly committed through religious, humanitarian, and ethical obligations to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters, along with resistance forces, particularly the Qassam Brigades," al-Houthi said. Al-Houthi affirmed that the Houthi forces stood ready to open multiple military fronts in solidarity with Gaza if Israel resumes military operations. The Houthi group, which controls large swathes of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, has previously targeted vessels they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea, actions it describes as support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas conflict. On Saturday, the 42-day initial phase of the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel expired, with no breakthrough announced for the next phase. Israel Suspends Aid, Supplies Into Gaza Amid Truce Disagreements; Hamas Calls It 'War Crime' Published By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 13:18 IST Israel warned of additional consequences if Hamas does not accept what Israel says is a US proposal for an extension of the ceasefire. The first phase of the ceasefire expired on Saturday. Israel-Hamas ceasefire (AP Image) Israel on Sunday announced the suspension of all humanitarian aid and supplies into the Gaza Strip if Hamas does not accept the extension of a fragile ceasefire in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. Hamas called the suspension of aid in Gaza a war crime". Israels Prime Ministers office warned of additional consequences" if Hamas rejects a US proposal to extend the ceasefire, though it provided no details on what those consequences might entail. Recommended Stories The initial phase of the ceasefire, which saw a surge in humanitarian aid, expired on Saturday. Negotiations for the second phase, involving a hostage release in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, are yet to occur. Israel expressed support for a US-proposed ceasefire extension through Ramadan and Passover, ending on April 20. The proposal, reportedly from US envoy Steve Witkoff, would see Hamas release half of the hostages immediately, with the remaining hostages released upon reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement. The statement said it was proposed after US envoy Steve Witkoff got the impression that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire". Hamas Wants Second Phase Of Ceasefire Hamas has yet to respond to the proposal, and there has been no comment from the US, Egypt, or Qatar, who have been mediating between the two sides. However, the group had earlier rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefires first phase by 42 days doubling its length saying it goes against the truce agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Under the ceasefire deals terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway on phase two. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Jerusalem, Israel First Published: March 02, 2025, 12:59 IST Israel Approves US Proposal For Ceasefire In Gaza During Ramadan Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 20:52 IST Israel has approved a proposal by the United States for a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan, Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Sunday. US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP Image) Israel has approved the United States proposal for a ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Office said on Sunday. Israel has endorsed a US proposal to temporarily extend the truce in Gaza as a bridging measure after the first phase of its ceasefire with Hamas drew to a close," the Israeli PMO said. Recommended Stories Israel-Hamas Ceasefire As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel accepted the proposal by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. However, Hamas has time and again rejected the extension of the first phase and insisted on moving to the second stage of the truce. The second stage would involve the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to war in Gaza. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday called for the total compliance of the Gaza ceasefire deal and urged both Israel and Hamas to honour their commitments. Egypt will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Monday ahead of a Summit the next day, when they will discuss a reconstruction plan for Gaza. Egypt has been rallying Arab support against US President Donald Trumps plan to take over Gaza and resettle the Palestinians elsewhere, turning the region into the Riviera of the Middle East". Israel Suspends Entry Of Supplies Into Gaza On Sunday, Israel suspended the entry of supplies into Gaza as deadly attacks were reported in the territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended," the PMO said in a statement. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences," it added. (With AFP inputs) About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Location : Israel First Published: March 02, 2025, 20:18 IST Israel Endorses US Proposal to Extend Gaza Ceasefire; Hamas Pushes For Shift To 2nd Phase Published By : Associated Press Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 07:05 IST The first phase of the ceasefire ended on Saturday, and talks have begun on starting the second phase aimed at ending the war and seeing all remaining living hostages in Gaza returned home. Palestinians break their fast by eating the Iftar meals during the holy month of Ramadan. (Reuters) Israels government said early Sunday it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramzan and Passover, though Hamas has insisted on negotiating the truces second phase instead. The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office came minutes after the first phase ended, and as talks have begun on starting the second phase thats aimed at ending the war and seeing all remaining living hostages in Gaza returned home. Recommended Stories The statement gives new details on what Israel described as a US proposal: A ceasefire extension through Passover, or April 20. On the first day, half the hostages, alive and dead, would be released. The rest would be released if agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire. The statement said it was proposed after US envoy Steve Witkoff got the impression that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire". There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which earlier rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefires first phase by 42 days doubling its length saying it goes against the truce agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Officials from Israel and mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on starting the ceasefires second phase in Cairo. But Basem Naim, a member of Hamas political bureau, told The Associated Press there had been no progress" before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday. Hamas did not attend, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators. What The Second Phase Entails? Under the ceasefire deals terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway on phase two. Israels new statement says it can return to fighting if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective," and it noted Hamas refusal to accept the proposal for an extension of the first phase. However, if Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan," the statement says. Before Israels new statement, an Egyptian official involved in the talks spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The official said Hamas, Qatar and Egypt wanted to continue with the existing ceasefire deal, and they rejected Israels proposal to extend the ceasefire for four weeks with a release of hostages every Saturday without officially entering negotiations on the second phase. The Egyptian official said the US wants to start negotiations on the second phase but called for hostage releases during the negotiations. Hamas insisted on a full implementation of the ceasefire terms. The first phase, which paused 15 months of fighting in Gaza, saw the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of people returned home to northern Gaza, aid into the territory increased and Israeli forces withdrew to buffer zones. Hamas started the war with its Oct 7, 2023, attack that left 1,200 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostage. Since then, Israels military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, who do not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say more than half the dead have been women and children. According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead. The two sides agreed to the three-phase ceasefire deal in January. Talks on the second phase were meant to start the first week of February. Israelis rallied Saturday night to urge their government to continue the deal. Hamas has reaffirmed its full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details" and called on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately proceed to the second phase. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Other challenges complicate the ceasefires future. Israel has said Hamas cannot be involved in governing Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has also ruled out any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by Hamas main rival, Fatah. Hamas leader Mohamed Darwish on Saturday reiterated the group is willing to hand over power to a Palestinian national consensus government or an Egypt-proposed body of technocrats not aligned with Hamas or Fatah. His comments came in an open letter to next weeks summit of Arab leaders in Cairo. Hamas has dismissed Israels suggestion that its leadership go into exile. About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international... Read More Location : Jerusalem, Israel First Published: March 02, 2025, 07:05 IST JD Vance Booed By Pro-Ukraine Protesters During Vacation In Vermont Over Oval Office Showdown | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 20:38 IST The angry protesters slammed the Vice President for being mean and disrespectful to Ukraines Volodymyr Zelenskyy during Oval Office meeting on Friday. Vance and his family were met by pro-Ukrainian protesters in Vermont (X) US Vice President JD Vance and his family received an ice-cold reception by the pro-Ukraine protesters during a ski-vacation to Vermont after the extraordinary diplomatic meet between Washington and Kyiv at the Oval Office that stunned the world. The angry protesters slammed the Vice President for being mean" and disrespectful" to Ukraines Volodymyr Zelenskyy during Oval Office meeting on Friday. Hundreds of pro-Ukrainian protesters gathered in Vermonts Waitsfield on Saturday morning and booed Vance and told him to go ski in Russia." Recommended Stories Protesters held signs reading International embarrassment" and Vermont stands with Ukraine", while many waved Ukrainian flags. Vermonts message to JD Vance: Not in our town, you fascist piece of shit. pic.twitter.com/Pk4QwFu3fv Bill Madden (@maddenifico) March 1, 2025 After the protesters raged over Vances tough stance on Zelenskyy, the Vance family moved to an undisclosed location from their planned ski resort, according to American media reports. After what he did yesterday, he crossed the line," a protester named Cori Giroux told Vermont Public Radio. Another told the outlet, After the meeting yesterday with Zelenskyy, I mean I feel like all of America should be out here protesting." The Oval Office Showdown What started as a courteous photo opportunity devolved into a shouting match between the two leaders, plunging the relations between the two countries to a new low. At the oval Office meeting, Trump dressed down Zelenskyy and said that the latter is gambling with World War Three". He further said that a truce with Russia is fairly close" and that the deal allowing US to use Ukraines natural resources would be very fair." US Vice President JD Vance was also present at the meeting in which the Ukrainian leader sought security guarantees from the US as Donald Trump said that he is trying to bring an end to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that he should be more thankful to the United States, adding, Your people are very brave, but youre either going to make a deal or were out, and if were out, youll fight it out." What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?" said Zelenskyy, who has been critical of direct talks between Washington and Moscow. What do you mean?" top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Im talking about the kind of diplomacy thats going to end the destruction of your country," Vance responded, tearing into Zelenskyy. Mr President, with respect, I think its disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media," he added. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: March 02, 2025, 20:38 IST 'Restore Relationship With Trump': NATO Chief To Zelenskyy After White House Showdown Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 06:51 IST NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he told Zelenskyy that he really had to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine. NATO chief Mark Rutte with UKrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Reuters/File) NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to find a way to restore his relationship with the American president" after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday. Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that he really had to respect what (US) President (Donald) Trump has done so far for Ukraine." He was referring to the first Trump administrations decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Recommended Stories Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy unfortunate," Rutte said he knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace" with Russia. Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees. Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 02, 2025, 06:51 IST 'UK Should Lead': Starmer Unveils Ukraine Plan After European Summit, Says US Not An 'Unreliable' Ally Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 03, 2025, 00:02 IST UK PM Starmer said that "Europe must do the heavy lifting" in securing peace in Ukraine, calling for US backing after hosting talks with European leaders. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky during a bilateral meeting in central London (AFP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday said that Europe must do the heavy lifting" in securing peace in Ukraine. He further announced a new 1.6 billion pound ($2 billion) deal which would allow Ukraine to purchase 5,000 air-defence missiles using export finance. Starmer hosted a significant summit of European leaders in London to find a way forward with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his showdown with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office meeting Recommended Stories Read More: After Trumps Snub, Zelenskyy Gets Warm Hugs, Euro 3-Billion Loan Handout From UKs Starmer Eighteen allies were gathered on the key question of security guarantees for Ukraine, all the more pressing after Trump berated his Ukrainian counterpart. Sitting next to Zelenskyy, summit host Starmer said it was a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step up". He further called for US backing to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from violating any ceasefire, following the summit. Europe must do the heavy lifting, but to support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing," Starmer told the reporters. Starmer and France President Emmanuel Macron have said they are prepared to deploy British and French troops to Ukraine. A number of countries have indicated today that they want to be part of the plan that we are developing," he said. Starmer also said the America was not an unreliable ally". Speaking with President @AlarKaris, Prime Minister @EvikaSilina and President @GitanasNauseda, we agreed that we must come together to find a path towards a lasting peace in Ukraine that ensures their sovereignty and is backed up by strong security guarantees.This is vital for pic.twitter.com/oSN77HNBhY Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 2, 2025 In other words, weve got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward leaning," he told BBC television. The United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States," he added. The London meeting brings together leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as Turkey, NATO and the European Union. With fears growing over whether the United States will continue to support NATO, the meeting also addressed the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation. EU Chief Calls For Rearming Europe European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned on Sunday that we urgently have to rearm Europe" as leaders from the continent met in London for crisis talks over Ukraine. Von der Leyen said she would present a comprehensive plan" at an EU summit on Thursday, adding that we have to have a surge in defence" and step up massively". Its now of utmost importance we increase spending its important we prepare for the worst," she added. The leaders had a good and frank discussion" and talked about the need for security guarantees, said the EU chief. Zelenskyy also held a meeting with Italy PM Georgia Meloni and said that it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen our countrys position in cooperation with the allies. I had a productive meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy @GiorgiaMeloni to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace. No one other than Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war. Therefore, it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen our countrys position in cooperation with our allies the countries of Europe and the United States. Ukraine needs peace backed by robust security guarantees. I am grateful to Italy for its continued support and partnership in bringing peace in Ukraine closer," he said on X. Trudeau Joins In Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday arrived in London to attend the meeting of the European leaders to discuss peace deal to guarantee Ukraines sovereignty and security. Read More: Restore Relationship With Trump: NATO Chief To Zelenskyy After White House Showdown Im in London this morning, working with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Starmer, and European leaders to bring about a just and lasting peace in Ukraine one that guarantees Ukraines sovereignty and security," Trudeau said on X. Im in London this morning, working with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Starmer, and European leaders to bring about a just and lasting peace in Ukraine one that guarantees Ukraines sovereignty and security. Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 2, 2025 UK, Ukraine Sign Loan Agreement The United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a loan agreement valued at three billion euros ($3.1 billion) to strengthen Kyivs defence capabilities. Starmer welcomed Zelenskyy with handshakes and warm" hugs at Downing Street on Saturday. The Ukrainian leader arrived at London Stansted Airport on Saturday after a shouting match with the US President in Washington on Friday. In addition to attending the security summit, Zelenskyy is due to meet King Charles III during his visit. Starmer Assures Britains Full Support To Ukraine During the meeting, Starmer told Zelenskyy that Ukraine has Britains full backing". The statement seemed relevant amid the ongoing uncertainty over US support following yesterdays showdown. Read More: UK, France, Ukraine Agree To Work On Ceasefire Plan For Russias War in Ukraine You have full backing across the United Kingdom and we have full backing for Ukraine for as long as it takes," Keir said. The pair discussed Ukraines position and how to end the war with a lasting and just peace that will not allow Russia to use the ceasefire to rearm and attack again", according to a statement released by Zelenskys office. What Happened During Trump- Zelenskyy Meet At the oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump dressed down Zelenskyy and said that the latter is gambling with World War Three". He further said that a truce with Russia is fairly close" and that the deal allowing US to use Ukraines natural resources would be very fair." Reprimanding Zelenskyy, Trump said, Were going to feel very good and very strong." Read More: On Camera, Trump Rebukes Ukraines Zelenskyy In Heated White House Talks: Youre Gambling With World War 3 When Trump was asked about concerns about siding too much with Putin, he said he was only allied with American interests. If I didnt align myself with both of them, youd never have a deal. You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, Hi, Vladimir, how are we doing on the deal? That doesnt work that way." Trump later cancelled a scheduled joint press conference with Zelenskyy. Meanwhile, a planned White House lunch was also scrapped. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Later Zelenskyy and team Ukraine were asked to leave the White House after their meeting with Trump collapsed when JD Vance accused him of having disrespected" the US. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 02, 2025, 16:50 IST 'Ukraine Needs Peace': Days After Trump Spat, 'Ally' US Gets Special Mention In Zelenskyy's Meloni Shout-Out Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 21:23 IST In the post, the Ukrainian leader emphasised that "it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen the country's position in cooperation with the allies the countries of Europe and the United States." Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Italy PM Georgia Meloni. (X) Days after the extraordinary diplomatic showdown at Oval Office in Washington, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looked to mend bridges with US President Donald Trump in a shout-out post for Italy Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. Zelenskyy and Meloni met on Sunday on the sidelines of the Ukraine and European defence summit in London. Zelenskyy said that he had a productive meeting with Italy premier to develop a joint action plan to end the war with Russia with a just and lasting peace. The latter reiterated that Italy is with Kyiv as it fends off the Russian invasion. Recommended Stories Read More: European Allies Work With Ukraine To End War After Trump-Zelenskyy White House Spat, Trudeau Joins In In the post, the Ukrainian leader emphasised that it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen the countrys position in cooperation with the allies the countries of Europe and the United States." I had a productive meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy @GiorgiaMeloni to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace. No one other than Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war. Therefore, it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen our countrys position in cooperation with our allies the countries of Europe and the United States. Ukraine needs peace backed by robust security guarantees. I am grateful to Italy for its continued support and partnership in bringing peace in Ukraine closer," he said in a post on X. I had a productive meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy @GiorgiaMeloni to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace.No one other than Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war. Therefore, it pic.twitter.com/3xCF7qTiCv Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 2, 2025 The meeting provided an opportunity to reiterate Italys support for Ukraine and its people as well as its commitment, together with European and Western partners and the United States, to building a just and lasting peace that can ensure a future of sovereignty, security and freedom for Ukraine," Italy PMs office said in a statement. Europes Efforts To End Ongoing War UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a significant summit of European leaders in London on Sunday to find a way forward with Zelenskyy following his showdown with Trump in the Oval Office meeting He said that Britain and France are working with Ukraine on a peace deal in a bid to end the ongoing war with Russia. Starmer said the that the deal would be presented to Trump, describing it as a step in the right direction following spat. The British leader hoped that a European coalition of the willing" would come together to support Kyiv, but that any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine again. The Oval Office Showdown What started as a courteous photo opportunity devolved into a shouting match between the two leaders, plunging the relations between the two countries to a new low. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all At the oval Office meeting, Trump dressed down Zelenskyy and said that the latter is gambling with World War Three". He further said that a truce with Russia is fairly close" and that the deal allowing US to use Ukraines natural resources would be very fair." US Vice President JD Vance was also present at the meeting in which the Ukrainian leader sought security guarantees from the US as Donald Trump said that he is trying to bring an end to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He previously worked with Hindustan Times Digital (HTDS) and NDTV. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India ... Read More Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 02, 2025, 21:23 IST Trump, Zelenskyy Can Be Trusted Despite 'Uncomfortable' Exchange, But Not Putin: UK's Starmer Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: March 02, 2025, 19:56 IST UK PM Keir Starmer hosted Zelenskyy in London in a major Ukraine Summit after blowout between Kyiv and Washington. UK PM Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Reuters Image) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who hosted Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London this weekend, said that the verbal spat between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart was uncomfortable". The UK PM further said that while both Trump and Zelenskyy could be trusted, Russian President Vladimir Putin could not be which is why, he advocated, the US needs to provide a security guarantee for any peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Recommended Stories His remarks came as calls continue to grow among the European nations to find a new leader" amid a major policy shift of the United States towards Russia. In an interview with the BBC, he was asked about the verbal duel between Trump and Zelenskyy in front of the media at the White House. Starmer sought to play the incident down, saying nobody wants to see that" and added that he felt uncomfortable". He also outlined his approach towards mending the worsening ties between the US and Ukraine and said that he spoke to Trump and Zelenskyy in an effort to get us back to the central forces". The important thing is how to react to that. There are several different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not," Starmer told BBC. The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards," he added. Starmer avoided laying any blame for the ongoing controversy and said that he was clear in his mind that Trump wants a lasting peace". When asked if Trump could be trusted, he responded, Yes". Zelensky could also be trusted but not Putin which is the reason the US needs to provide a security guarantee for any peace deal," he said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Starmer, who spoke to Macron and Trump on Saturday after meeting Zelenskyy in 10 Downing Street, also said that the UK and France would work with Ukraine on a plan to end the war with Russia and will present it to Trump later. The British Prime Minister said that he hoped that a European coalition of the willing" would be formed to support Ukraine. However, he said that any ceasefire would have to be underpinned by the US to disable Russia from waging a war against Ukraine again. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Location : London, United Kingdom (UK) First Published: March 02, 2025, 19:18 IST LONDON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting at Downing Street, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve a lasting peace. Zelensky thanked Starmer for the support Britain has shown to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelensky's visit came ahead of a defense summit Britain is hosting, with European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Starmer has said he believes such a deal will have to involve the United States. Zelensky said on social media X shortly before his plane touched down in London earlier Saturday that Ukraine is "ready to sign the minerals agreement" with the United States, but "a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine." Zelensky's visit to Britain followed his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday evening in the White House, where a routine presence in front of a press pool erupted into an unexpected shouting match. The fiery exchange between the two sides started with an interjection by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who demanded that Zelensky be thankful for Trump's efforts to get his country out of its three-year conflict with Russia. After the public clash, Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House early, leaving the planned minerals deal between the two sides unsigned. Information minister, Jefran Muswere says journalists must be consistently protected in Zimbabwe. But he said advocating the overthrow of a democratically elected Government falls outside the bounds of media freedom. Speaking at the third-anniversary celebration of 3Ktv at their Harare offices on Friday, Dr Muswere underscored the importance of comprehending the constitutional framework governing media operations, as the nation progresses towards Vision 2030. Section 61 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the media, and Section 62 pertains to access to information, yet neither confers the right to agitate for the overthrow of the lawful Government. We should also be unequivocally clear regarding the supreme law of the country; the right to broadcast the overthrow of a legitimate and democratic Government does not exist within our Constitution. The media freedom and freedom of expression we enjoy should be guarded jealously, and we should consistently protect our journalists, he said. Dr Muswere affirmed that the Zimbabwe Media Commission and his ministry would continue to collaborate with journalists and the media to provide guidance to all media houses and facilitate their growth. However, while we uphold our constitutional obligation regarding freedom of expression, we must also recognise that the growth of the media industry is predicated on ethics, ethos and factual accuracy. We are the architects of our destiny, which is why the President has consistently emphasised nyika inovakwa nevene vayo (a nation is built by its own people). Every member of the fourth estate bears this responsibility, he said. Dr Muswere said media ethics remained the bedrock of journalism. It is an opportunity to verify and ensure that the sources of information we generate and utilise are credible. This will ensure that the robustness and growth of the media industry continue on a positive trajectory, he said. As a Government, we have implemented a range of legislative, policy and infrastructure initiatives to support media plurality and diversity in our country, as we endeavour to inform, educate and entertain the nation. Dr Muswere acknowledged that, as the Government works towards amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act, it is cognisant of the challenges that have impeded the growth of the media industry. However, what is an adversary? What is success? It is the capacity and determination to overcome adversity, to possess the leadership that will direct, manage, plan, organise and control the resources of institutions. I have had the opportunity to familiarise myself extensively with 3Ktv studios. This is where technology converges with human capital development, in terms of miniaturising and modernising our studios, as we progress towards an upper middle-income society with a knowledgeable and informed populace, he said. Sunday Mail The New Yorker has a remarkable, deeply reported story about an unexpected bond between women on death row in Texas and a small order of nuns outside Waco. The story by Lawrence Wright explains that a Catholic deacon ministering to six inmates awaiting death at a prison in Gatesville, Texas, struck upon the idea of connecting them with a "convent of contemplative nuns" called the Sisters of Mary Morning Star. The nuns initially rebuffed the request, then prayed on it, and decided to try. Wright describes the scene: "'We didn't know what to expect,' Sister Lydia Maria recalled of the initial prison visit. The nuns, in their gray habits, found the women dressed all in white. Deacon Ronnie said words of introduction. 'Then something supernatural happened,' (inmate Brittany Holberg) recalled. 'It was just instant. There wasn't a moment of discomfort. There wasn't a moment of unease. We opened our arms and they opened their arms, and we embraced one another.'" The two groups found common ground: The nuns, in a sense, live lives of isolation much as the inmates, only by choice. They even call their rooms "cells." Sister Lydia Maria, who is the convent's prioress, adds this: "We are not what the world would call beautiful women. We always wear the same clothes. The prisoners cannot be afraid of us. They cannot feel lower than us. There's nothing in our appearance to make them feel not beautiful or not elegant." (Read the full story.) It's no secret that North Korea sends workers abroad to earn cash for the regime in violation of UN sanctions, reports the New York Times. But a new report from a human rights and environmental group uncovers one such operation in unusual detail within the tuna fishing industry. The Environmental Justice Foundation out of London found that a dozen Chinese vessels made use of what amounts to the forced labor of North Korean fishermen between 2019 and 2024, per the Guardian. Details: Some of the fishermen were forced to remain at sea for up to a decade, usually getting transferred to another ship as the one they'd been working on prepared to dock at a port. If their ship did dock, the North Koreans were typically not allowed to leave it or use mobile phones, per the AP. Not that long ago, Pacific island nations such as Fiji, Tonga, and Somoa rarely had drugs more potent than marijuana. Today, "they are mired in addiction crises" of cocaine and meth, reports New Lines . The reason is that Mexican cartels have joined with New Zealand gangs to create what Sean Williams and Kevin Knodell describe as a fast-growing "Pacific Drug Highway." The big markets are New Zealand and Australia, but smaller island nations are stops along the way. In short, "Latin American drug lords are using the same currents and trade winds that islanders have relied on for centuries to connect and expand their colossal, criminal empires," they write. The story details in depth the operation, which sometimes makes use of private yachts to smuggle drugs through the ocean corridor: "For some pleasure craft sailors, moving drugs is a way to subsidize their lifestyle." It also suggests that the major factor leading to the new drug trade is a surprising one: a 2014 Australian law allowing the deportation of noncitizens for vague "character" reasons. That led to thousands of New Zealand men who belonged to outlaw motorcycle gangs being sent back to their home country. These mencalled 501s for the new section of the Migration Act"took over ethnic gang turf back in New Zealand" and began looking to ramp up drug operations. The 501s "brought quite a different dynamic and threats to the criminal scene in New Zealand," says one customs official. They already had ties to Mexican cartels through their biker gangs such as the Comancheros, and the ties have grown. Another factor: New Zealand deported its own 501s to smaller island nations, and they became cogs in the system. (Read the full story, which predicts the Pacific smuggling will expand exponentially over the next five years.) In 2011, financier Bill Conway announced he would give away $1 billion to create jobs for the poor and asked the public to send him ideas. Most of the 2,500 or so suggestions didn't fly, but several suggested backing bachelor's degree nursing programs "It was along the lines of: If we support potential students to get a nursing degree, then they'll always be able to get a job and take care of themselves, their families, and the rest of us," Conway tells the AP . "My wife and I thought that sounded pretty good." Since then, no other wealthy donor has dedicated as much money to such a wide range of nursing programs as Conway, the 75-year-old co-founder of the private equity giant the Carlyle Group, and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway, who died in January 2024. The philanthropy efforts are destined to grow, with Conway only about a third of the way toward his target of giving $1 billion to nursing. So far, he has donated $325.6 million to support student aid, new buildings, efforts to recruit and retain faculty, and more at 22 nursing schools in the Eastern and mid-Atlantic regions. He also is backing a pediatric nursing program at Children's National Hospital in Washington, DC. Over the past decade, that money has helped produce more than 7,000 nurses. "I expect that of most of the money I leave to charity will go to continuing this mission," says Conway, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $4 billion. "I see that we're starting to make a difference in some places, and I'd like to make more of a difference over time." America's nursing shortage is misunderstood, says Linda Aiken, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's nursing school. The public hears about a nursing shortage and thinks there are not enough nurses or people who want to become nurses, but the problem is more complicated than that, she says. For one thing, many more people want to become nurses than there are spots available in nursing schools because there are not enough nursing professors. As a result, nursing schools can accept few of the students who apply. In 2022, roughly 78,000 qualified applicants were not accepted to US nursing schools because of insufficient faculty, classrooms, and lab space, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. story continues below The story notes that the Conways didn't know much about nursing when they decided to donate to the field. With the help of a colleague whose wife was a nurse, the couple began learning about the profession and university nursing programs. Read it in full here. UPDATE Mar 5, 2025 12:30 AM CST A federal judge extended a nationwide block Tuesday on President Trump's executive orders halting federal funding for providers of gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19, the AP reports. The judge's ruling came in a lawsuit filed earlier this month on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children who allege their health care has already been compromised by the president's orders. The preliminary injunction from US District Judge Brendan Hurson in Baltimore, a Biden nominee, keeps enforcement of the orders on hold while the case plays out, though the administration is expected to appeal. The ruling came days after another judge in Seattle also blocked the orders in four states in a separate lawsuit filed by a group of Democratic-led states. Mar 1, 2025 5:30 PM CST President Trump's plan to pull federal funding from institutions that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth will remain blocked on a long-term basis under a federal judge's ruling in Seattle late Friday. US District Judge Lauren King previously granted a two-week restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota sued the Trump administration. Colorado has since joined the case. King's temporary order expired Friday, and she held arguments that day before issuing a preliminary injunction blocking most of Trump's plan pending a final decision on the merits of the case, the AP reports. Ukrainians, including his political opponents, are rallying around President Volodymyr Zelensky after his Oval Office clash with President Trump, though there's considerable concern about the fallout. Leaders of a list of nations have expressed support for Zelensky, as well. "The scene at the White House yesterday took my breath away," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Saturday, per the New York Times. "I would never have believed that we would ever have to defend Ukraine from the United States." The predominant views in Ukraine, per the Washington Post, are: YANGON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- China digitally restored the classic Myanmar film Thu Chit (Her Love) and officially handed it over to Myanmar on Saturday. A ceremony for the handover and premiere of the film was held in Yangon on Saturday, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on Sunday. The event was attended by around 160 people, including Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar Zheng Zhihong, Myanmar's Union Minister for Information U Maung Maung Ohn, and representatives from the film and media industries of both countries, the statement said. In his speech, Zheng said that China and Myanmar have close film and television exchanges. Thu Chit was screened in China in the 1950s and participated in the Asian Film Week held in China. It is re-screened to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Myanmar, reflecting the long-lasting fraternal friendship between the two countries. China will continue to strengthen cooperation with Myanmar in the fields of film, television and media to promote the mutual understanding between the two peoples, he said. U Maung Maung Ohn thanked China for the digital restoration of the film, saying that Myanmar is willing to continue deepening the traditional friendship with China, it said. Leading vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been dismissive of the measles outbreak in Texas, now says that the spread needs to be stopped and that the federal response will include vaccinations. "Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team," the secretary of Health and Human Services posted on X. Kennedy said 2,000 doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine will be sent to Texas, the Guardian reports. The outbreak stands at 146 reported cases, per the Washington Post , though officials suspect the real number is higher. One child, who was unvaccinated, has died in the worst measles outbreak in the state in three decades. Public health experts and some residents worry that past statements and actions by Kennedy, who founded an anti-vaccine group, could lead to greater spread of the preventable disease, per the BBC. "We just want people to be healthy, and it's definitely hard to do that when we have voices in our ears from leadership who don't share those same factual opinions," one woman said. But the outbreak has not eliminated opposition to childhood vaccines in Texas. In places, per the Post, it appears to have hardened existing attitudes for and against vaccines. Kaleigh Brantner warned other residents of Seminole against vaccinating their children two weeks before her 7-year-old son, who has not been vaccinated, developed a fever and rash. His symptoms remained mild, and he recovered quickly, leading Brantner to stick to her position even after an unvaccinated child died 80 miles away. "We're not going to harm our children or [risk] the potential to harm our children," she said, "so that we can save yours." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday and told him he had the UK's unwavering supportone day after the blowout at the White House with President Trump, per the AP . Zelensky arrived to cheers from people who had gathered outside of 10 Downing Street, where Starmer gave him a hug and ushered him inside. The two leaders met on the eve of a meeting of European leaders in London called to discuss how they can help defend Ukraine if the US withdraws support. "And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom," Starmer told the leader of the war-torn country. "We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take." Zelensky thanked him and the people of the UK for their support and friendship. After the meeting, Britain announced it was extending a 2.26 billion pound ($2.84 billion) loan to Kyiv for military procurement, with the money coming from the profits on frozen Russian assets. It's Britain's contribution to a $50 billion package of support pledged by the G-7 group of wealthy industrialized nations. Zelensky thanked Britain in a statement on X, saying: "This is true justicethe one who started the war must be the one to pay." He thanked a slew of other leaders who expressed their support on the platform as well. Starmer spoke to both Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday evening after meeting Zelensky. The Ukraine president had been scheduled to meet with Starmer on Sunday before the European summit, but the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit. European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London on Sunday, pledging to support his nation in its fight against Russia's invasion financially and with troops after his hostile reception at the White House on Friday. "We are doubling down" on aid for Ukraine, said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the host, after the summit. Starmer said the idea is to sufficiently arm Ukraine that it can enter peace talks from a position of strength, the Washington Post reports. Addressing the 18 leaders gathered, Starmer stressed the urgency of the situation. "This is a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe, and we all need to step up," he said, per the New York Times. "Getting a good outcome for Ukraine is not just a matter of right and wrong; it's vital for the security of every nation here, and many others, too." Britain set an example Saturday by announcing a nearly $3 billion loan to Ukraine for military spending. In addition, France and the UK developed a plan for a one-month truce in Ukraine. Starmer said the European leaders agreed to try to form a coalition of nations willing to deploy troops in the event of a ceasefire. Britain, he said, is willing to put "boots on the ground and planes in the air." Starmer said he and French President Emmanuel Macron, both of whom met with President Trump last week, are trying to repair US-Ukraine relations. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the London summit, which was planned before Friday, was intended to demonstrate Europe's commitment to Ukraine. Russian leaders denounced the gathering in real time, per DW. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the London summit "a shameful sight" in a post on X, a "coven ... to swear allegiance to the Nazi nobodies in Kyiv." A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum, and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth's celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moon's northeastern edge of the near side. Confirmation of successful touchdown came from the company's Mission Control outside Austin, Texas, following the action some 225,000 miles away, the AP reports. "You all stuck the landing. We're on the moon," Firefly's Will Coogan, chief engineer, reported. An upright and stable landing makes Fireflya startup founded a decade agothe first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Even countries have faltered, with only five claiming success: Russia, the US, China, India, and Japan. A half-hour after landing, Blue Ghost started to send back pictures from the surface, the first a selfie somewhat obscured by the sun's glare. The second shot included the home planet, a blue dot glimmering in the blackness of space. Two other companies' landers are hot on Blue Ghost's heels, with the next one expected to join it on the moon later this week. Launched in mid-January from Florida, Blue Ghost carried 10 experiments for NASA, per the AP. The space agency paid $101 million for the delivery, plus $44 million for the science and tech on board. It's the third mission under NASA's commercial lunar delivery program, intended to ignite a lunar economy of competing private businesses while scouting around before astronauts show up later this decade. Firefly's Ray Allensworth said the lander skipped over hazards including boulders to land safely. The demos should get two weeks of run time, before lunar daytime ends and the lander shuts down. NASA wants two private lunar landers a year, realizing some missions will fail. The private companies operate on a limited budget with robotic craft that must land on their own, said Firefly CEO Jason Kim. 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. Jennifer Carroll was the University of Alaska Fairbanks Faculty Senate past president and is Faculty Alliance chair for 2024-25. Jackie Cason is University of Alaska Anchorage Faculty Senate president and Faculty Alliance chair for 2025-26. Ali Ziegler is University of Alaska Southeast Faculty Senate President-elect and Faculty Alliance chair for 2026-27. New quality productive forces are transforming China's economy towards innovation, sustainability, and global competitiveness, a Cuban scholar said in a recent interview with Xinhua. #GLOBALink TDT | Manama Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com The Knights of Rizal (KOR) Bahrain Chapter formally launched its pilot project, the Adopt a School Program. This initiative aims to deliver educational opportunities and demonstrate the timeless strength of unity and solidarity in the pursuit of education. The event took place on February 21, 2025, at the Ramee Grand Hotel and Spa, marking a significant achievement for both the organization and the Philippine community in Bahrain. Various organizations and the presence of numerous community members and distinguished guests further illustrated a collective effort to support the recipient of this program, the Palaui Integrated School situated at San Vicente, Sta. Ana, Cagayan Valley. A remote and underserved community, Palaui Integrated School will greatly receive the gracious deed of the KOR Bahrain Chapter. TDT | Manama Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, received Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF); His Highness General Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Commander of the National Guard; General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior; Lieutenant General Adel bin Khalifa Al Fadhel, Deputy Minister of Interior; Major General Bassam Mohammed Khamis Al Maraj, President of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); and Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Strategic Security Bureau, at Sakhir Palace. The meeting was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Prime Minister. The officials extended their greetings to His Majesty the King on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadhan, wishing further prosperity for the Kingdom of Bahrain under His Majestys leadership. His Majesty expressed gratitude for their kind sentiments and extended his best wishes on the holy month of Ramadhan. He also commended the dedication and efforts of all personnel from the BDF, National Guard, Ministry of Interior, NIA, and Strategic Security Bureau. His Majesty highlighted their unwavering commitment to safeguarding national unity, enforcing the law, and protecting Bahrains achievements and development. His Majesty praised the strong coordination between the BDF and security agencies, expressing confidence that Bahrain will continue to thrive as a secure and resilient nation. He emphasized the spirit of unity binding the people as one cohesive family. His Majesty also relayed his greetings to brave servicemen serving across all posts inside and outside the Kingdom and paid tribute to the Kingdom's fallen servicemen. TDT | Manama Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com Publicly eating, drinking, or smoking during fasting hours in Ramadan can lead to legal action in Bahrain, with penalties including up to a year in prison or a fine. The law does not contain a direct clause on eating in public during Ramadan, but lawyers say such actions fall under offences linked to showing contempt for recognised religious rituals. Its well established that openly breaking the fast during Ramadan is against both Islamic teachings and the law, lawyer Isa Jassim told The Daily Tribune. It is treated as a misdemeanour and carries a penalty of up to a year behind bars or a fine not exceeding 100 dinars. Though Bahrains Penal Code does not specifically name public eating during fasting hours as an offence, Jassim explained that it is widely seen as falling under Article 309, which prohibits acts that demean recognised religious customs. The law applies to everyone, regardless of faith, nationality, or residency, he said. For an act to be considered an offence, it must take place in a public setting, such as a street, park, or other open space. The law does not make exceptions based on backgroundwhether someone is a citizen, an expat, or a visitor, they are expected to follow the same rules in public, Jassim said. Penalties range from a minimum of three months imprisonment to a year. However, courts have the discretion to impose a fine instead. A judge can decide whether a fine of up to 100 dinars is more appropriate than a prison sentence, depending on the circumstances, Jassim said. The application of such laws has been a recurring point of discussion in Bahrain and the GCC region, particularly regarding non-Muslims. While many businesses continue operating during Ramadan, authorities expect public decorum to be observed, with eating and drinking kept within private spaces. TDT | Manama Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs, welcomed Her Excellency Ni Ruchi, Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of China to Bahrain, in a meeting that underscored the robust and evolving relationship between the two nations. During the discussions, HH Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa highlighted the deep-rooted ties between Bahrain and China, noting the continuous growth in cooperation across various sectors. He reaffirmed Bahrains commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing collaboration in pursuit of shared strategic goals. Ambassador Ni Ruchi expressed Chinas eagerness to further develop its partnership with Bahrain across multiple domains, reflecting on the strong diplomatic and economic ties that have flourished over the years. She extended her best wishes for Bahrains continued progress and prosperity. The meeting reaffirmed the mutual dedication of both nations to deepening their cooperation, paving the way for future initiatives that will further bolster economic, cultural, and diplomatic engagement. A pop band known best for songs Jungle, Renegades, and Unsteady will headline the annual spring concert at Northwest Missouri State University next month. X Ambassadors will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 4, in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse on Northwests campus in Maryville, Missouri. Doors for the concert will open at 5:30 p.m. The Student Activities Association is also hosting tailgate activities outside the Hughes Fieldhouse before the concert. Food trucks, including Kool Kats, Baker and Sons, and El Nopal, will be available. Northwest students and employees can buy advance tickets for $10, and members of the public can get them for $20. On the day of the show, tickets are $15 for the Northwest community and $25 for the public. Tickets can be purchased online at www.nwmissouri.edu/getinvolved/sac. KATHMANDU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A total of 96,880 foreign visitors toured Nepal in February, 0.6 percent lower than the same month in 2024, the Nepal Tourism Board said on Sunday. Indians, Americans and Chinese were among the top three sources of tourists for Nepal, the board noted in a report. Nepal welcomed 102,423 foreign tourists in February 2019, the highest in one month for the South Asian country. There has been a 94.6-percent recovery in the month in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mani Raj Lamichane, director at the board, told Xinhua. Tourism is a major source of foreign exchange earnings in Nepal, contributing 6.7 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to a World Bank report in 2022. ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- With the D.O. designation becoming more common for doctors and a new medical school at Benedictine College focusing on osteopathic degrees, some may have questions about the difference between those practitioners and the more traditional M.D. role. Today, the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees (D.O.) are interchangeable in many cases, those involved in both fields say. However, according to family medicine physician Greg Dean, who holds an M.D. degree, this has not always been the case. When I entered medical school, many D.O. programs were not emphasizing a deep scientific and evidence-based medicine approach, Dean said. However, that has actually shifted. Right now, the D.O. and M.D. approaches to training about medicine is almost identical. Dean said one distinction now is that some trained in osteopathic medicine (D.O.) incorporate osteopathic manipulative treatment, which can involve gentle pressure, stretching or other hands-on techniques to address muscular and skeletal issues. OMT training is a required part of D.O. training in medical schools that offer this degree, according to the American Osteopathic Association. Because of these added techniques, D.O. programs claim to offer a more holistic approach that takes seriously lifestyle and environmental factors in patient care. Stan Sluder, executive vice president of the new medical school in development at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, said his institution is choosing to offer the D.O. degree because of its holistic reputation. As a religious school, we want to model our approach to medical training after what we see as the pattern of Christ, Sluder said. Osteopathic medicine has a strong reputation for dealing with the whole person body, soul and spirit and thats how we see that as closest to the healing ministry of Christ for the whole person. Sluder said the medical school hopes to address the health care provider shortage in rural areas and the colleges leadership has noted a growing number of osteopathic doctors in rural parts of Kansas and Missouri. Dean acknowledged the growing popularity and status of the D.O. degree in rural parts of Missouri, adding that it is not uncommon to see osteopathic doctors alongside those trained as traditional doctors of medicine in many practices. Dean said that one of his partners has a D.O. degree and their approach to treating patients is almost identical. Both those with an M.D. and those with a D.O. can be found in virtually every specialization, including pediatrics, family medicine and surgery. Dean said that a holistic approach is also important to those with an M.D., and that because those with a D.O. grew most quickly in areas like family practice and OB/GYN specialties, they seem to have gained more of a reputation as holistic. Ultimately, I would encourage everyone to get established with a primary care doctor, whether M.D. or D.O., Dean said. The key is to maintain a good relationship with your doctor and know that they care about your health. Weather Alert Take action to protect yourself and others extreme heat can affect everyones health. Determine if you or others around you are at greater risk of heat illness. Check on older adults, those living alone and other at-risk people in-person or on the phone multiple times a day. Watch for the early signs of heat exhaustion in yourself and others. Signs may include headache, nausea, dizziness, thirst, dark urine and intense fatigue. Stop your activity and drink water. Heat stroke is a medical emergency! Call 9-1-1 or your emergency health provider if you, or someone around you, is showing signs of heat stroke which can include red and hot skin, dizziness, nausea, confusion and change in consciousness. While you wait for medical attention, try to cool the person by moving them to a cool place, removing extra clothing, applying cold water or ice packs around the body. Drink water often and before you feel thirsty to replace fluids. Close blinds, or shades and open windows if outside is cooler than inside. Turn on air conditioning, use a fan, or move to a cooler area of your living space. If your living space is hot, move to a cool public space such as a cooling centre, community centre, library or shaded park. Follow the advice of your regions public health authority. Plan and schedule outdoor activities during the coolest parts of the day. Limit direct exposure to the sun and heat. Wear lightweight, light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing and a wide-brimmed hat. Never leave people, especially children, or pets inside a parked vehicle. Check the vehicle before locking to make sure no one is left behind. Humidex values reaching 40 are expected. A heat event is expected this weekend. What: Daytime highs of 31 to 33 degrees Celsius and a humidex of 40. Overnight lows of 21 to 25 degrees Celsius, providing little relief from the heat. When: Today to Sunday, coming to an end Sunday night. Additional information: Hot and humid air can also bring deteriorating air quality and result in the Air Quality Health Index approaching the high risk category. ### For more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/climate-change-health/extreme-heat/how-protect-yourself.html https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/climate-change-health/extreme-heat/who-is-at-risk.html Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ONstorm@ec.gc.ca or post reports on X using #ONStorm. State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code The Oxford Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has arrested and charged a Tillsonburg woman after a fraud investigation that stemmed from multiple incidents at a retirement home in Norwich.Last August, members of the OPP Oxford detachment were notified of a reported fraud at the Trillium Home which has since been closed by the former owner. The initial investigation determined there were several victims with an estimated loss of over $50,000. Police say the amount of missing money has now reached more than $190,000. The investigation is ongoing. A 50-year-old woman has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. The name of the charged party is not being released due to concerns for their well-being, according to police. The London Free Press recently talked to the woman who was charged. She told the newspaper she feared for her safety. Ive been getting threatening messages, and my familys been getting threatening messages. People want to see me destroyed and want to hurt me. While police have not released her name, the investigation centred around Julie Vitias who was employed at the home before being let go by ownership once details of the investigation emerged. The Echo has reached out to Vitias several times but has not received a response. Im glad is it kind of over with and I am glad for the families. They know who is really responsible for everything, said a former coworker who did not want her identity revealed and is being called Jane. Despite just one count of fraud, Jane said she was told the penalty would be the same if multiple fraud charges were laid. I just hope she gets over a year because if she gets a year less a day she only has to go to a local jail. If she gets over a year she goes to prison. Jane said five former employees have remained close friends even after the closure of the home and the loss of their jobs. She added staff likely wont be called to testify because they had no idea about the alleged financial abuse. We were calling the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) and Ana, the homes general manager, about the treatment of the residents, and the treatment of staff, we thought thats all it was about but then I found about the rooms they thought were empty. Jane said Trilliums ownership likely had no idea those rooms did, in fact, have residents in them. She added some residents were also being charged for services they shouldnt have to pay for. She was charging residents for things she had no right to like ambulances. If anyone had to go in an ambulance there is no charge when the home calls. The accused has been released from custody and is scheduled to appear before an Ontario Court of Justice at a later date, likely in March. If you suspect someone you know may be a victim of these frauds, contact the Oxford OPP. Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or submit an online tip at www.oxfordcrimestoppers.com where you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2000. by Xinhua writer Chen Wangqi BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- As China moves forward with an unprecedented expansion of its unilateral visa-free policy, some Western media have rushed to downplay the significance of this effort for greater global openness. In a recent report, Bloomberg called the visa-free policy a bid "falling flat" and "well short of the near full recovery Beijing would have been hoping for." However, a closer look at China's latest efforts to advance its opening-up strategy reveals a different picture. For more than a year, Beijing has expanded the policy to 38 countries, accommodating more entry purposes and extending the permitted stay to 30 days. And far from falling short, the unilateral visa-free policy has proven successful and stands as a key testament to China's determination to further integrate itself into the global economy. "CHINA TRAVEL" BECOMES NEW TREND Data from China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) showed that cross-border trips made by foreigners surged 82.9 percent from a year ago to 64.88 million in 2024. More than 20 million inbound foreign trips were made visa-free, a year-on-year increase of 112.3 percent. China's comprehensive relaxation of visa requirements effectively pulled tourists to China last year, said Li Jun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce. China's visa exemption policy started in December 2023, when it started piloting its unilateral visa-free policy for France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Now, it allows ordinary passport holders from 38 countries to visit the country for up to 30 days without a visa. Fueled by the upgraded visa-free policy, "China Travel" went viral online, a trending social media hashtag with over 1 billion views as travelers shared their experiences in China. A growing number of international tourists are being drawn to the country's cultural landmarks, natural scenery and city tours. Eva Gajewska, a project manager at CT Poland travel agency, said her office has seen a surge in inquiries since China announced the extension of its visa-free policy to Poland last June. "Many new clients were drawn by the visa-free offer, which made planning their trips much easier," she told Xinhua, adding that their China tour packages have already been booked through April. During the past Spring Festival holiday, China welcomed more than 3.43 million inbound tourists from 175 countries and regions. Meanwhile, estimates by Chinese online travel agency Ctrip showed that the volume of travel bookings from foreign tourists to China grew by 203 percent compared to the same period during last year's Chinese New Year. Over 80 percent of people didn't leave China until the visa deadline was imminent, said Mao Xu, a senior NIA official. Meanwhile, following the introduction of the new visa policy, many tourists have transitioned from first-time visitors to regular revisitors, broadening their travels from major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai to more off-the-beaten-path destinations. "Waking up in a sleeper car and taking in the stunning views of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was unforgettable," said Belgian tourists Patrick, Luc and Ingrid, reflecting on their journey aboard the tourism train in China's Xizang Autonomous Region. "The more we explore China, the more we're captivated by its allure," they added. "Once you've been, you're eager to come back. We're excited to discover more and deepen our understanding of Chinese culture." LONG-TERM BENEFITS Far from being a "failure," the policy has clearly spurred cross-border economic activity, as shown by the People's Bank of China's latest findings. During the 2024 Chinese New Year holiday, which ran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, international tourist transactions saw a dramatic rise. The total number of cross-border transactions processed by China UnionPay and NetsUnion Clearing Corporation increased 124.54 percent, and the total transaction value grew 90.49 percent. Critics in the West often overlook the policy's broader strategic benefits, particularly its role in regional branding and industrial advancement. As noted by Professor Chen Nan of China's Henan University, inbound tourism boosts both upstream and downstream industries, upgrades the market, enhances products and services and fosters innovation. To be more specific, by simplifying the process for inbound tourists, the policy has invigorated interconnected sectors -- from hospitality and retail to logistics and cultural services -- driving innovation, improving service quality, and spurring demand for high-value, localized products. These ripple effects, far from being limited to short-term tourism, are embedding long-term structural upgrades in China's consumption-driven economy. In a sign of further financial opening, China has made mobile payments more accessible to foreigners. Travelers can now link Visa, Mastercard and other major credit cards to local platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay. Data from the People's Bank of China showed that this year's Chinese New Year holiday saw a significant rise in transactions made by foreign visitors on WeChat, which surged by 134 percent compared to last year's Spring Festival. Meanwhile, spending through Alipay during the first five days of the holiday increased by 150 percent. These figures reflect not only the convenience of mobile payments but also the growing enthusiasm of foreign tourists to purchase Chinese goods and immerse themselves in local culture. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, noted that inbound tourism not only boosts consumption in a country's tourism sector but also injects fresh energy into the broader market. Its impact extends to enhancing infrastructure, public services and other key areas, creating a sustained, far-reaching momentum for growth, said Dai. Shao Guanhua, deputy director of the Customs Policy Research Department at the General Administration of Customs, said that by streamlining visa processes, China has signaled an open and inclusive approach to the world. Embracing the world with this openness, China is channeling its own growth to fuel global momentum, Shao said, adding that in doing so, it not only counters the rise of unilateralism but also underscores China's commitment to advancing globalization, offering renewed confidence in the global economic recovery. By Guo Xin, Bai Yu and Liu Yinglun HONG KONG, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Three mainland university students were honored for their selfless bravery with the "Good Citizen Award" by the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) in late February for their heroic act during their first visit to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region last year. The trio's tale of courage unfolded on a quiet January night of 2024, when He Jinmiao, Wen Jianbin and Wang Haolin, all class of 2021 students of Shenzhen University in south China's Guangdong Province, demonstrated their bravery by saving a person from the sea in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. At around 1 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2024, the trio was ambling along the waterfront of Victoria Harbor in Wan Chai, reminiscing about a day of joyful exploration before heading back to Shenzhen. The tranquility of the night was shattered by a sudden plop. Rushing to the edge, they spotted a cellphone left on the shore and soon heard faint cries for help. "Someone fell into the sea!" He, without hesitation, grabbed a lifebouy from the railing, tossing it to the person struggling desperately in the cold sea, while he also alerted the police. Meanwhile, Wen and Wang sought assistance from passers-by while consoling the victim with words of comfort. A few minutes later, the police and divers from the fire services department arrived, pulling the person to safety and rushing the victim to the hospital. Facing local media that night, the students brushed off the spotlight. "Saving a person from drowning was the natural thing to do," they said and left the scene, without being identified by the media. It was only after media outlets in Hong Kong mentioned Shenzhen University in a social media post about the incident did the three anonymous heroes become known to the public. Their spirit of valor couldn't stay hidden. Hong Kong residents took to social media to give them thumbs-up, saying their behavior will encourage more to extend a helping hand to those in need. "The students had stayed to confirm if someone slipped into the sea and participated in the rescue even though it was in the middle of the night. Their sense of responsibility helped save a life," said Wan Tsui-ling, chief inspector of Strategic Engagement Division of the HKPF's Public Relations Wing. The trio is among the 80 winners of the "Good Citizen Award 2024." The award was introduced in 1973 to encourage members of the public to report crime to the police, to be prepared to come forward and to help others when appropriate. Other recipients of this year's award were accredited for helping the police combat theft, deception and sexual offenses, among others. "Anyone can be a good citizen who spreads positive energy," said Wan. The trio is the first university students from the Chinese mainland to win the award in two decades. Looking back, the students felt "honored" to have saved a life because the police responded quickly and passers-by also helped. Wang said the safety training their university has offered regularly equipped students like them to handle emergencies effectively. "The award renewed our sense of responsibility to do good to society," said He and Wen. The unforgettable experience has also sparked innovation. The engineering students even thought of developing a sea-fall detection sensor to prevent such incidents or speed up rescues. On the verge of graduation and at a crossroad of their future careers, the three students see Hong Kong as an appealing destination. "If I get a chance to work or live in Hong Kong in the future, I will give it a shot," said He, who is preparing for graduate school exams. Flash China and Pakistan on Friday signed a cooperation agreement in Islamabad on spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut on Chinese space station, the first time for a foreign astronaut, marking a new chapter of China-Pakistan aerospace cooperation. "It is a landmark milestone in the history of Pakistan space program. Pakistan has become the member of the elite club of human space flight," said Muhammad Yousuf Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission. Under the agreement, the selection process of astronauts will last for about a year, and the Pakistani astronauts will join in a comprehensive and systematic training camp in China. "I see the human space flight program of China nowadays is at the top. China achieved the targets very quickly, and they got at equal with the International Space Station," said Khan. According to Khan, Pakistan will select five astronaut candidates from the military and civilians, who will later be trained in China. Through physical fitness, mental tolerance and adaptability tests, the best two will be selected, and one of them will carry out the space flight mission together with Chinese counterparts. "Our astronaut will be in space, and he will perform the experiments during his flight and his stay in Tiangong (Chinese space station), it will be broadcasted in Pakistan to motivate our young engineers, scientists and young generation," Khan noted. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif witnessed the signing of the agreement. "This is yet another wonderful gesture from the Chinese government to further deepen our cooperation in this field and many other fields over the last many decades. And I would like to thank the Chinese government, for not only this program is underway speedily, but also supporting Pakistan throughout these years to strengthen our economy under the CPEC," he said. Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu also attended the signing ceremony. "Via these few days of communication, I have felt enthusiasm and sincerity of the Pakistani side. I am very willing to share my personal experience with Pakistani colleagues," he said. "After they join our team, I will introduce to them precautions for key operations, help them adapt to training pace and master space flight skills as soon as possible. I look forward to the Pakistani astronaut being a member of the Chinese space station," he added. Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, told Xinhua that China is always willing to share its development achievements for the benefits of mankind. The signing of the agreement provides an example for more developing countries to participate in international manned space cooperation, which will inspire more countries to work together to explore the mystery of the universe. Such an agreement, under which the first foreign astronaut is Pakistani, reflected an unbreakable all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and with their friendship seen in the vast space," Lin said. TASHKENT, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan and Afghanistan plan to increase trade turnover to 3 billion U.S. dollars, said the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade. The current state and future prospects of bilateral trade and economic relations were discussed on Saturday during a meeting between Uzbekistan's Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov, and Afghan Trade Minister Nuruddin Azizi, who was visiting the Termez International Trade Center in the Surkhandarya region, the ministry said in a statement. Specific measures have been taken to increase trade turnover to 3 billion dollars, the ministry said. In addition to trade, further measures to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and collaborative ties in the agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, food and mining industries were discussed, it said. On the sidelines of the visit, B2B negotiations were organized with the participation of about 60 entrepreneurs from each side, which provided the business community with an opportunity to forge new connections and discuss the practical aspects of implementing joint projects and trade agreements. "Real Housewives of Potomac" star Karen Huger was sentenced to jail time after a DUI incident that occurred in 2024. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Charles Sykes/Invision/AP Karen Huger, cast member of Bravos The Real Housewives of Potomac, was recently sentenced to jail time for a DUI incident that occurred last year. The reality television star received a sentence of two years in jail with one year suspended after a jury found her guilty of charges including driving under the influence (DUI), negligent driving, failure to control speed and failure to notify authorities of an address change. Huger, nicknamed the Grand Dame of reality television, was acquitted of a reckless driving charge. She was granted 30 days to file an appeal, fined $2,900 and cannot operate a vehicle for one year after her release. The incident occurred March 19, 2024 when Huger crashed her Maserati into a pole in Potomac, Maryland. An officers body camera footage showed a visibly intoxicated Huger slurring her speech, cursing at police and refusing to take a breathalyzer and field sobriety test. This was the 61-year-olds fourth alcohol-related traffic offense in the past 17 years. You were filled to the gills with alcohol. Montgomery County Circuit Judge Terrence McGann told Huger. What are we waiting for the fifth before we sentence you to jail time? Huger wrote a letter apologizing and thanking three officers that were present the night of her arrest Ms. Huger said she is at peace with this, Hugers attorney David Martella said. She is happy that this part of the process is over and that she feels healthier than she has in years. Huger has starred on Real Housewives of Potomac since the shows premiere in 2016. It is unclear if she will return to the show after her sentence is complete. More entertainment news: Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.comon Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips A wildfire near Erial Road in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, glows in the night while firefighters work to battle the blaze on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Gloucester Township Police Department, provided Dozens of firefighters across New Jersey battled three wildfires Saturday night in separate parts of the state, as weekend gusts helped spread the flames. The fires in Gloucester Township, Hopewell Township and Pennsville erupted while gusts as high as 45 mph were recorded on Saturday. All of the fires remained under investigation on Sunday. Parts of central and southern New Jersey were at an increased risk of wildfires as the windy conditions were expected to continue Sunday. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said it was investigating reports of two additional fires in Jackson Township in Ocean County and Winslow Township in Camden County on Sunday. No other information about the investigations was available. In Gloucester Township, about 100 firefighters and first responders from 20 agencies battled the blaze that emerged near a former landfill, local police said. The landfill, which collected waste between 1969 and 1980, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was unaffected by the fire, as were solar panels on the property, Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins told NJ Advance Media in an email. Occupants of two homes evacuated temporarily but returned to their properties by Sunday morning, Gloucester Township police said. Erial Road was closed for about four hours while firefighters fought the blaze, which is believed to have reached 40 acres. Parts of Hickstown Road were also closed intermittently to help firefighters access the woods, police said. First responders gather at the scene of a wildfire burning near Erial Road in Gloucester Township on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Gloucester Township Police Department, provided North of Gloucester Township, a 288-acre fire threatened 30 residences and four commercial structures in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. That blaze was considered 80% contained Sunday morning, state fire officials said. The fire response prompted officials to close Poor Farm and Woosamonsa roads to through traffic. It was unknown if those roads reopened Sunday morning. On Sunday at 8 p.m., the Hopewell fire was 90% contained, the forest service said. Farther in South Jersey, a wildfire in Pennsville was considered mostly contained but burned through 50 acres of land near Fort Mott State Park, state fire officials said. Twelve structures were considered threatened by the flames but were no longer endangered after firefighters made significant progress against the blaze Saturday night, officials said. If you noticed the high reflectivity on local radars: Yes, a large wildfire is burning in the vicinity (looks like just east) of Fort Mott State Park. It *appears* to be in the dry vegetation of the marshes along the Delaware Bay. pic.twitter.com/xBRYeLlL5s NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) March 1, 2025 No structures were evacuated, and roads were not closed because of the blaze, officials said. The park, situated along the Delaware Rivers shores in Pennsville Township, is home to a former military base built in the 1890s, according to the New Jersey Park Service. The fire appeared to be in dry marshlands along the river, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters on Sunday cautioned New Jerseyans from outdoor burning while high winds were expected to continue whipping across the region. Forecasters projected gusts of up to 20 mph on top of winds at 10 to 15 mph. The conditions, the weather service said, could support fire growth, making flames hard to control. All of New Jersey is experiencing elevated drought levels, the worst conditions being in the states southernmost region. Conditions have slowly improved but remain high. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com. Theres an old saying of indiscriminate origin, and variable phrasing, that says If you come for the king, you best not miss. The implication being that an attempt to unseat the monarch is not going to end well for the conspirators should they fail. Nobody bothered to impart this bit of wisdom to Attorney General Matt Platkin when he decided to bring racketeering charges against South Jerseys reigning potentate, George Norcross. Earlier this week a judge dismissed the charges against Norcross and his colleagues and the calls for Platkin to step down have already begun in earnest. While its a stretch to call George Norcross a king, he does bare some striking similarities. Hes unelected, and rules his kingdom, South Jersey, with an iron fist. Norcross is an unrepentant bully, famous for arm twisting and backroom screaming matches in the Capital building replete with language that would make a longshoremen blush. In fact, being a jerk was the cornerstone of his defense strategy, and it worked. The judge ruled that Norcross was merely engaging in tough business tactics, which while unsavory to those subject to said tactics, are not specifically illegal. So Norcross walks and Platkin is left holding a pile of tear-stained indictments destined for the shredder. From the jump, racketeering charges seemed like a reach. Even the fiercest critics of Norcross, some of whom you read here, thought Platkin was out over his skis, and they were right. Platkin is currently laying in a heap at the bottom of the slope. Norcross allies are calling for Platkin to step down, which seems like a giant pain in the backside, simply from an administrative standpoint. Just like the Feds before him, Platkin swung at Norcross and missed, do we really need to go through all the trouble of appointing a new AG while the Murphy administration is on its way out the door? Platkin has pledged to appeal the decision, but, in this particular instance, he should probably allow discretion to be the better part of valor. Award-winning illustrator and childrens book author Drew Sheneman has drawn political cartoons for The Star-Ledger since 1998. His work is syndicated nationally through Tribune Content Agency. Find him at drewsheneman.net Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. A sign hangs from a fence outside the dormant landmark Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburghs Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Oct. 27, the fourth year since 11 people were killed in Americas deadliest antisemitic attack. (Gene J. Puskar/ Associated Press) By Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz The brutal Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel in 2023 opened up a Pandoras Box of dormant hatred and directly led to unprecedented levels of antisemitism in the United States. In their most recent national annual report, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tallied a total of 8,873 incidents of antisemitic assault, harassment, and vandalism in 2023. This represented a 140-percent increase from 2022, and the highest level recorded since ADL started tracking this data in 1979. Here in New Jersey, the ADL has documented incident after incident of antisemitic intimidation, harassment and violence directed at our community. Worried? Youre not alone. The New Jersey legislature, though, has the opportunity to stop this scourge by passing S1292, a bill to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Merely defining antisemitism, a simple step, will go a long way toward stopping this dangerous resurgence in its tracks. The IHRA definition, used by more than 45 countries, more than 35 U.S. states, and a growing number of institutions, offers a comprehensive framework for understanding how antisemitism manifestsboth in overt hatred and in more modern, coded expressions, including the demonization of Israel as a proxy for attacking Jews. Current laws, while essential in addressing overt acts of hate, are not sufficient to combat the evolving and often subtle manifestations of antisemitism. Legal frameworks tend to focus on prosecutable offenses, such as hate crimes and discrimination, but they do not always account for the more insidious forms of antisemitism, including coded language, institutional bias, and the delegitimization of Jewish identity. he IHRA definition fills this critical gap by providing a comprehensive guideline to recognize and address antisemitic rhetoric and actions before they escalate into violence or systemic discrimination. For this reason, Biden-era United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt called the definition one of the most fundamental tools we have to combat antisemitism. Opponents argue that adopting the IHRA definition outlaws criticism of Israel. Let me be clear: it does no such thing. This definition is not about policing criticism of Israeli government policiesindeed, thoughtful debate about Israels actions, like the policies of any nation, is necessary and healthy. Indeed, as a Jewish leader I offer my critique whenever I feel necessary, explicitly as a part of my love for the Jewish enterprise. Rather, the IHRA definition helps us distinguish between legitimate criticism and rhetoric that veers into antisemitism by holding Jews collectively responsible, denying Jewish peoplehood, or applying double standards that would not be imposed on any other nation. In fact, the IHRA definition explicitly states that criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic. Opponents further claim that adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism could have a chilling effect on free speech, but this too is a spurious argument. Rather than silencing speech, the IHRA definition ensures that antisemitic rhetoric is recognized and addressed, creating a safer environment for productive discussions. Recognizing hate speech does not mean banning it; it simply ensures that institutions, educators, and policymakers can identify and combat discrimination effectively. Just as societies define and combat racism and other prejudices without suppressing free expression, adopting the IHRA definition ensures that antisemitism is treated with the same seriousness, without infringing on open debate. New Jersey has long prided itself on being a leader in civil rights and social justice. With one of the largest Jewish populations in the country, our state should not lag behind in the fight against antisemitism. Adopting the IHRA definition is not just a symbolic actit is a practical tool for educators, law enforcement, and policymakers to identify and combat discrimination in all its forms. History has taught us that hatred left unchecked metastasizes. It is our moral duty to ensure that antisemitism is named, confronted, and eradicated wherever it appears. By adopting the IHRA definition, New Jersey would reaffirm its commitment to the dignity and safety of all its citizens. Civic leaders who support this imperative act of justice should be commended. It is now imperative that all of our legislators, community leaders, and fellow citizens stand together in this moment. Let us act with courage and moral clarity. Let us ensure that New Jersey remains a beacon of justice by formally embracing the IHRA definition. Calling your elected representative in the state Assembly or Senate is the most effective way to influence policy. To find your state Assemblymember or Senator and voice your support of Senate Bill 1292 and Assembly Bill A3558, go to the New Jersey Legislature websites Legislative Roster. Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz is the senior rabbi of Temple Bnai Jeshurun in Short Hills. He appears as a commentator on religion on MSNBC, CNN, ABC and NBC. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. JERUSALEM, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Schools across northern Israel reopened on Sunday after being closed for nearly a year and a half, following the outbreak of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict along the Lebanese border in early October 2023. In a statement, the Israeli Education Ministry confirmed that the reopening would be gradual, citing damage to school infrastructure from the fighting, a shortage of teachers, and the displacement of many students who were evacuated with their families to central and southern Israel at the conflict's outset. In a separate notice to parents on Sunday, the Education Ministry said that about 12,600 students from 195 schools and kindergartens in 43 cities, towns, and villages in northern Israel were evacuated with their families in early October 2023. The ministry added that each evacuated family can choose whether to return home and re-enroll their children in their original schools or stay in the evacuation locations, where the students can complete the school year. The ministry also said it has allocated 50 million shekels (13.89 million U.S. dollars) to extend after-school activities in the north, alongside a comprehensive initiative to bolster students' mental resilience. This includes emotional support and guidance to help them recover from the impact of the conflict. The Get Down Your weekly go-to show for all things happening in New Orleans. NEW YORK, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launched his electoral campaign for New York City mayorship on Saturday. "Our city is in crisis. That's why I am running to be mayor of New York City. We need government to work. We need effective leadership," Cuomo said on social media platform X. New York City is scheduled to hold its mayoral election on Nov. 4, 2025. Cuomo would run against embattled incumbent mayor Eric Adams and other candidates from the Democratic Party in the crowded race. He also posted a 17-minute video explaining his positions and his mayoral campaign website also went online. "Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely. And I believe I learned from them and I am a better person for it," said Cuomo in the video. Born in 1957, Cuomo started to serve as New York state governor in January 2011. He was re-elected in 2014 and 2018 but had to step down in August 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations. Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 to 2020, according to a report by independent investigators appointed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The 56th New York governor is from a Democratic elite family with his father Mario Cuomo serving as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms. His brother, Chris, is a well-known television journalist and anchor. WASHINGTON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense is sending about 3,000 soldiers to the southern border with Mexico, the Washington Post reported Saturday, quoting U.S. defense officials as saying. According to the report, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved the orders on Friday. The forces, including elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion, will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks. The new troops will "reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States," the Pentagon said on Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump has made border security a top priority. He declared a national emergency at the U.S. border with Mexico on his first day in office in order to comprehensively curb the entry of illegal immigrants. LAKE STATION One by one, children at Bailey Elementary stepped up to a microphone Friday night to share memories of Aurorah, Ava and Alayna Payne, trying to make sense of the tragedy that has left the tight-knit school and the entire Lake Station community shattered and looking for answers. The girls were just 7, 6 and 4 years old when they were killed last week along with their mother, 27-year-old Briana Payne, in an apparent murder-suicide. Bri's husband and the father of the three Payne girls, 37-year-old Robert Payne, shot all four before taking his own life, officials believe. All five bodies were discovered inside their Lake Station home on Feb. 21. The girls' friends and peers started their testimonies, all of which came from the heart, with boundless youthful energy, the same vigor family, teachers and friends described the young girls having lived with. But after a few seconds, without failure, their high-pitched voices faltered as their thoughts caught up with their words. One student, named Zoe, started to tell the story of the last time she saw Aurorah, who was running to her mom to give her a hug. "I didn't get to say hi because I was in my car," she said matter-of-factly. "But I really miss her," she added, her voice trailing off as a completely new set of emotions set in feelings she'd seemingly never had to deal with before. Zoe looked like she had more to say. But she couldn't get the words out. All she could do was hand the microphone to a nearby adult and fade into the back of the gaggle of students, hyperventilating as tears streamed down her tiny face. Two weeks ago, Linda Scartozzi had 22 second graders in her Bailey Elementary class. After last week's tragedy that shook the school community and the entire town of Lake Station she now has 21. On Friday night, the community came together for a candlelight vigil outside the elementary school to pray for and remember the Lake Station family that was once a vibrant beam of light in the community now ripped apart by a sudden, seemingly unexplainable loss. Last month, the school held a Valentine's Day dance for its students and parents. Principal Kim Hayes said she'll never forget watching the Payne girls on the dance floor with their mother, laughing and soaking up every bit of joy. "That memory will forever be a reminder of the love that they all shared," Hayes said. Scartozzi, Aurorah's teacher, said she became physically sick from how much she cried in the days after she first heard the news. She didn't want to come to school on Monday. "But I knew I had to, for the kids," she said. She had no idea what to tell them. How could she explain to a group of second graders why one of their peers was no longer there, and wouldn't be coming back? That topic wasn't taught in college, she said. Speaking to the somber sea of community members, each clutching battery-powered candles that lit up the night with a glow that only could dream of matching the Payne girls' radiance, community and school leaders expressed their profound sorrow to the family and offered words of hope to the mourning crowd. "Our hearts are heavy tonight, but we're also here to celebrate their life because they've made such an impact on their classmates, their teachers and also their family and friends," Lake Station Community School Corporation Superintendent Tom Cripliver said. Hayes described Ava and Aurorah as "complete opposites" when it came to their personalities. "Aurorah was full of life," Hayes said, wiping away tears. "She was social, energetic and ready to embrace every moment. She loved every part of her world and shared the joy with everyone around her." Ava took more time to develop connections, Hayes said, but once they were made, "you had a friend for life." Bri was a "dedicated" member of her daughters' school's PTO board, Hayes said. "So much pain has come from this, and it will be with us moving forward," Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll said. "And for that, I am sorry to the family and loved ones." Bri's mother, and the girls' grandmother, Lili Parker Owens, thanked the crowd for supporting her family and implored them to watch for the warning signs of mental illness. "Robert loved his family very much, to the point where he could not bear living without them," Parker Owens said. "He just couldn't handle not having them around." From what she's been told by the Lake County Coroner's Office, Parker Owens doesn't believe Robert acted with maliciousness or hate. He did what he did out of desperation. That gives Parker Owens some kind of comfort, she said. "It's not a lot of solace, but it's a little nugget of something I can hold on to," she said. Parker Owens held a candle all night, too. But no matter how bright it burned, the light in the world her three grandchildren is gone. "Everything just looks so dark," she said. "I see the sun, I know it's out there, but it's dark and it's cold and there's no light anymore. Because they were my light. They were my everything." She'll keep that candle, she said, and put it somewhere prominent to keep Bri's, Aurorah's, Ava's and Alayna's memories aflame. President Trump on Saturday initiated an investigation into whether imports of lumber threaten Americas national security, a step that is likely to further inflame relations with Canada, the largest exporter of wood to the United States. The president directed his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, to carry out the investigation. The results of the inquiry could allow the president to apply tariffs to lumber imports. A White House official declined to say how long the inquiry would take. An executive memorandum signed by Mr. Trump ordered the investigation and was accompanied by another document that White House officials said would expand the volume of lumber offered for sale each year, increasing supply and helping to ensure that timber prices do not rise. The trade inquiry is likely to further anger Canada. Some of its citizens have called for boycotts of American products over Mr. Trumps plans to impose tariffs on all Canadian imports beginning on Tuesday. The president, who also plans to hit Mexico with similar tariffs, says the levies are punishment for failure to stem the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. An air-quality alert warned residents of Horry County, which includes Myrtle Beach, to stay indoors on Monday, because smoke and concentrations of dust and soot may reach or exceed unhealthy levels, the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services said. Julinna Oxley, a philosophy professor at Coastal Carolina University, said she and her two teenagers and two cats evacuated from their home in Carolina Forest on Sunday night as the air quality became unbearable. The air purifiers just could not keep up with the amount of smoke that was in the house, she said. You could literally see it. Ms. Oxley said she has evacuated many times in the past because of possible hurricanes, but this was the first time she had done so because of a wildfire. With a hurricane, you think even if you get hit, youre going to go back and youre going to have something, she said. But with a fire, if a fire hits your house, all of your stuff is gone. She packed her car with items that were irreplaceable and drove to her parents house in the next town over. Video posted on social media from Sunday morning showed firefighters battling flames near houses. But no injuries have been reported and no buildings have been lost, according to Horry County officials. A gynecologist in Memphis who reused unsanitary equipment on his patients was arrested on Friday and charged with sexually abusing patients over five years and profiting from insurance fraud, according to federal prosecutors and court records. The gynecologist, Sanjeev Kumar, 44, persuaded four victims to travel to Tennessee from other states to engage in illegal sexual activity, according to an indictment. Dr. Kumar also conducted scores of unnecessary medical tests and charged them to the government programs Medicaid and Medicare, according to the indictment. The allegations indicate that Kumar acted as a predator in a white coat and used the cover of conducting medical examinations to put his patients at risk and enrich himself, Reagan Fondren, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in a statement. President Trump signed an order designating English as the official language of the United States, the White House said on Saturday. The order did not require any changes to federal programs and appeared to be largely symbolic. But the pronouncement was the biggest victory yet for the countrys English-only movement, which has long been tied to efforts to restrict bilingual education and immigration to the United States. More than 30 states have already designated English as their official language. Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society, the order said. The executive order rescinds a Clinton-era mandate that required agencies and recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers, but allows agencies to keep current policies and provide documents and services in other languages. Israel announced on Sunday morning that it was halting the entry of all goods and humanitarian assistance into Gaza immediately, hours after proposing a temporary extension of the now-expired cease-fire with Hamas. The drastic step to block aid appeared to be aimed at pressuring Hamas into accepting the new framework and to make the Israeli governments negotiating position clear. Under Israels proposal for an extension, which it attributed to the U.S. envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza would be released to Israel on the first day of the agreement. If, at the end of the temporary extension stretching until the end of Passover on April 20 a permanent truce had been reached, the rest of the hostages would then be returned. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said in a statement that he had decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease because of Hamass refusal to accept the Witkoff outline for continuing talks, to which Israel agreed. European leaders pledged to support Ukraine The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, declared yesterday that we are at a crossroads in history, and announced that European countries would assemble a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine against Russia. Read more here. The announcement followed a meeting in London of 18 European leaders that Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, attended. Starmer said that a number of other nations had indicated that they could join with Britain and France and deploy troops to Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire between Kyiv and Moscow. He also announced plans to allow Ukraine to use 1.6 billion pounds in British export financing to buy more than 5,000 air defense missiles. Context: The gathering took on greater urgency after Zelenskys heated meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, which raised fears that the U.S. would try to force Ukraine into making a peace deal. Ukraine: Most people in the country this weekend appeared to be watching and waiting after the meeting between Trump and Zelensky. They wondered: Would the U.S. abandon them? TIANJIN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Bayi Aerobatic Team of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force departed for Thailand on Sunday to participate in the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Thailand diplomatic relations. The team's overseas mission, featuring an airshow of seven J-10 aircraft, highlights its return to Thailand after a decade and signifies the profound friendship between the air forces of both countries. With mid-air refueling support from the YU-20, China's domestically developed large aerial tanker, the performance aircraft will fly non-stop to Bangkok, covering a distance of over 3,600 kilometers, said Li Bin, leader of the aerobatic team. "To deliver a flawless performance, we have conducted on-site assessments of the Thai airfield, tailored our flight plan to the environment and carried out targeted training," members of the team noted. This mission is the 12th overseas flight demonstration by the aerobatic team. Established over 60 years ago, the team has performed more than 700 times for over 700 delegations across more than 170 countries and regions. After the ad ran, senior editors at Gannett intervened. Mr. Doris said he was suspended within days, and editors at the company met with a group that included Michael Hoffman, the president and chief executive of the federation. Mr. Hoffman said in an interview that the editors from Gannett apologized during the meeting and discussed how the attendees could promote healthy dialogue about issues important to the local Jewish community. Mr. Doris said he was fired the week after the meeting by a senior editor at Gannett who told him that he violated company policies. Mr. Doris said that the editor did not specify what those policies were and added that he was not paid any severance. In an interview, Mr. Hoffman said that he believed the cartoon was antisemitic, partly because it trivialized the plight of hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and gave more fuel to online hatred of Jewish people. Since Oct. 7, the dramatic rise in antisemitism has been the result of how the conflict in Gaza and in Israel has been reported, Mr. Hoffman said. We believe that there has not been a fair and balanced approach toward how the war has been reported. The cartoonist who drew the image, Jeff Danziger, has drawn many cartoons critical of the war. In an interview on Saturday, he rejected the idea that the cartoon was antisemitic, saying it was simply a case of, this wars gone on long enough. Mr. Danziger, an Army veteran whose father is Jewish, also said that his service as an intelligence officer has made him critical of war. The opening week of the landmark trial of Greenpeace in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit by Energy Transfer over the Dakota Access Pipeline protests did not bode well for the defense. Lawyers for Greenpeace said so themselves in a petition filed in North Dakotas Supreme Court. They asked the court on Thursday to move the trial out of Morton County, arguing the jury is not impartial. Daily life was disrupted there for nearly a year, in 2016 and 2017, by protesters heading toward the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, just south of the county line. The protests against the pipeline, which since 2017 has carried oil from North Dakota across several states to Illinois, garnered international attention, attracted thousands of people and, at times, led to violent clashes. The company that built the pipeline, Energy Transfer, first sued Greenpeace in 2019. The suit accuses the environmental group of playing a key role in protests that delayed construction, as well as attacking workers and equipment and defaming Energy Transfer. In a first test of the Trump administrations ability to respond to an infectious disease emergency, its top health official has shied away from one of the governments most important tools, experts said on Sunday: loudly and directly encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, was widely criticized as minimizing the measles outbreak in West Texas at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. In a social media post on Friday, he took a new tack, saying that the outbreak was a top priority for his department, Health and Human Services. He noted various ways in which the department is aiding Texas, among them by funding the states immunization program and updating advice that doctors give children vitamin A. But on neither occasion did Mr. Kennedy himself advise Americans to make sure their children got the shots. On Sunday night, he edged closer in an opinion piece for Fox News. The administration began with a media blitz, publicizing raids in big cities and deportation flights to Latin America. The showmanship was supported by some early numbers that showed an increase in immigration arrests, even as the authorities appear to be struggling to round up enough people to meet Mr. Trumps mass deportation goals. The shock-and-awe tactic, however, has profoundly rattled immigrant communities. Few neighborhoods in New York were paralyzed like Corona, a working-class enclave that is about 75 percent Hispanic, home to generations of immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. But Corona was also one of the neighborhoods that swung most sharply toward Mr. Trump in last years election. Mr. Trumps inroads, in Corona and elsewhere, exposed simmering tension between established immigrants and more recent arrivals who crossed the border during an era of more lenient Democratic policies. Immigration, legal and otherwise, has long shaped this stretch of northern Queens. Waves of migration transformed Corona from an Italian stronghold at the turn of the 20th century into a magnet for African American families after World War II, and then a bustling hub for Central and South Americans in recent decades. Then came the pandemic. China sealed itself off from the world, slamming the door on academic fieldwork in the country by foreign scholars, as well as in-person exchanges with Chinese officials and other contacts. The Covid restrictions were finally lifted, but the landscape for scholars had been transformed: There were fewer commercial flights to China, new restrictions on access to archives and interview subjects, heightened difficulties researching sensitive topics such as the pandemic and the slowing Chinese economy and a generally more closed-off environment. Beijings jealous guarding and systematic manipulation of sensitive data, which have only increased under Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, compound the challenge. The Chinese government hasnt published a white paper on its defense strategy, which used to be issued every two or three years, since 2019; has restricted a range of key data, including information that might offer clues into how many Chinese lives were taken by the pandemic; and in 2023 began restricting international access to a critical database of Chinese academic papers, statistics and other information. Unlike during the Cold War, when the United States preserved scholarly exchanges with Moscow, academic and other engagement with China has fallen out of favor owing to geopolitical and national security concerns. The Fulbright academic exchange program in China, which sent thousands of American and Chinese students between the two countries for decades until President Trump suspended it in his first term, remains inactive, and American universities are scaling back partnerships with China. Only about 1,100 American college students are studying in China these days, compared with 15,000 a decade ago. The resulting information fog forces China scholars in the West to rely on remote analysis and open sources, such as official Chinese media and social media, the very methods that proved inadequate in anticipating the change in Covid policy in late 2022. In this climate, researchers are forced to cite one anothers work heavily, which adds little new insight. Some are retreating to historical topics for which archival materials remain available. The frustrating shortage of information can lead to sharp disputes among scholars, such as when a recent report by the RAND Corporation triggered heavy criticism from other China experts for concluding that the Chinese military was not yet ready to wage war. Some researchers are simply avoiding sensitive topics because of the limited data available on them or out of concern that they could be denied access to China if their findings are unflattering to the Chinese government. When I submitted a grant proposal last year for research in China, one of the projects reviewers, citing safety concerns, suggested I redirect my study to Hong Kong instead a throwback to the Cold War, when China watchers had to piece together an inadequate understanding of the country from the relative safety of Hong Kong. Leaders in Washington should recognize that in-depth scholarly understanding of China is a strategic necessity for the United States, arguably rivaling even military preparation or intelligence gathering in importance. Yet our window on China is clouding up. Miscalculations are inevitable: Just before leaving office, President Joe Biden made the sweeping declaration that Chinas economic strength will never surpass us period. Two weeks later, the unexpected revelation of the Chinese start-up DeepSeeks artificial intelligence breakthrough shattered assumptions about U.S. technological supremacy and caused a global rout in tech stocks. Yet the Trump administration is further obscuring Americas view of China: Its suspension of foreign aid threatens the work of nonprofits that track a wide range of developments in China, including business trends, human rights and social unrest, as well as Chinese cybersecurity threats and other potentially malicious activities overseas. What Democrats need is a Project 2029. Such a project should be just as ambitious, just as radical and iconoclastic, as Project 2025, yet grounded in a genuine desire to fix the problems of American governance. A good place to start would be where government is currently under assault: public administration. Its not enough just to defend the administrative state; it must be strengthened. Right now, liberals and progressives consistently articulate lofty ideals that could improve the lives of millions of Americans a comprehensive system of public health insurance or a transition to green energy. Yet they are trying to achieve these outcomes with a state apparatus that takes decades to accomplish even simple administrative tasks, like abolishing the penny. It would be difficult to find a better example of willing an end but rejecting the means necessary to its attainment. In the world of comparative public administration, the United States is understood to be an extreme outlier. Indeed, American government often seems like a giant social science experiment designed to figure out how far it is possible to go in denying public officials the ability to use judgment. Many progressives in America today admire European welfare states, especially of the Scandinavian variety, for their low levels of economic inequality and comprehensive social safety nets. And yet if one were to take a look at the actual powers exercised by state officials in these countries the powers that allow them to achieve these objectives most Americans, no matter how liberal, would recoil. If you are on welfare in Sweden and you encounter a large, unexpected expense, you can apply to your case worker for a supplemental payment. The case worker will then decide whether to give you the money, based on whether the expenditure seems reasonable or not. Thats it. No rules, just judgment. President Trump is doing damage to America that could take a generation or more to repair. The next election cannot fix what Trump is breaking. Neither can the one after that. To understand the gravity of the harm Trump has inflicted on the United States in the first month and a half of his presidency, a comparison with the Cold War is helpful. Republicans and Democrats often had sharp differences in their approach to the Soviet Union very sharp. The parties would differ, for example, on the amount of military spending, on the approach to arms control and on American military interventions against Soviet allies and their proxies. Deep disagreement over Vietnam helped drive American political debate, both within and between parties, for more than a decade. During the Reagan era, there were fierce arguments over the MX, a powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, and over the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe. These differences were important, but they were less important than the many points of agreement. Both parties were committed to NATO. Both parties saw the Soviet Union as the grave national security threat it was. For decades, both parties were more or less committed to a strategy of containment that sought to keep Soviet tyranny at bay. I first saw Wicked in 2003, when I was 22 and studying musical theater writing at N.Y.U. As a nascent musical theater writer, I was impressed by its craftsmanship and unusual premise: that the cackling, green-faced Wicked Witch of the West most of us know from the 1939 film has a name: Elphaba Thropp. We also learn that she is not wicked at all. Thats just propaganda spread by Elphabas enemies because she stood up for the rights of the enchanted lands talking animals, whom the not-so-wonderful Wizard of Oz had oppressed. At the time, the plot and its modern sensibility read very simply to me as a quirky, catchy musical fairy-tale soap opera subversion of a beloved classic. It was only in the intervening years that I learned that Wicked was intended to have real world political resonance. With the election of President Trump to a second term, and the release of the first of its two parts as a film, Wicked has blossomed into what the director and producer Adam McKay recently described online as one of the most radical big studio Hollywood movies ever made. It is now feminist, queer and antifascist. Ive even seen it suggested, however unseriously, that releasing the film before the 2024 election might have helped Kamala Harris win the presidency. Wicked: Part One is up for 10 Academy Awards on Sunday. If it wins Best Picture, I can only imagine that will be a signal to some on the liberal left that the roundly defeated Trump resistance is not so dead after all, and that the time has come to levitate on their brooms and take to the Western skies for battle in the 2026 midterms and beyond. But are assertions like this reading too much into this film? Does Elphaba have anything at all to do with this or any political moment in America? Or are we engaging in what I call progressive magical thinking a mode of reasoning that takes existing texts and then tries to reclaim or reimagine them for the purpose of imbuing them with socially correct attitudes or critiques? As a musical and a film, Wicked falls squarely in the middle of this trend that has been exacerbated over time and by the internets obsession with current events and timeliness. Jim Tucker could hardly believe what he was hearing. It sounded like fiction, a nightmare too outlandish for an unassuming town like his. It was July 2023, and Tucker was hosting a meeting of the board of Heartland Tri-State Bank, a community-owned business in a small Kansas town called Elkhart. Heartland was a beloved local institution and a source of Tucker family pride: Tucker served on the board with his elderly father, Bill, who founded the bank four decades earlier. All of the board members the Tuckers and several other farmers and businesspeople had known one another for years. That evening, however, they were gathering to discuss what seemed, on its face, an epic betrayal. Over the past few weeks, the banks longtime president, a popular local businessman named Shan Hanes, had ordered a series of unexplained wire transfers that drained tens of millions of dollars from the bank. Hanes converted the funds into cryptocurrencies. Then the money vanished. Even under normal circumstances, the California bar exam is one final harrowing hurdle before aspiring lawyers can practice. But last week was worse than any other, as they were thrown into limbo by technical glitches, delays and what many said were bizarrely written questions on a revamped test that didnt match anything in preparation. The faulty rollout last week of the new licensing test, which was approved by the California Supreme Court in October and was touted by the state bar as a way to save money, has outraged test takers and the law school community at large, and prompted an investigation by California lawmakers and a lawsuit. You can talk to any attorney because they have all been through the bar experience and they will tell you how hard it is and how stressful it is to go through the bar exam, said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. To have to then take it again because of the incompetence of the bar is inexcusable, said Mr. Chemerinsky, who had raised concerns along with other law school deans about the new exam before it was approved. The botched exam, which is administered digitally, has left test takers in a bind that puts their career aspirations and personal finances in jeopardy. Many took weeks off work and missed time with family and have job offers contingent on passing the February exam. JERUSALEM/DAMASCUS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and nine others injured on Saturday as fighting erupted between residents and security forces in the city of Jaramana near Syria's capital Damascus, a war monitor reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the confrontation was reportedly triggered by an attack from the nearby town of Al-Malihah on Jaramana. Armed fighters from Al-Malihah launched assaults, prompting committees and community leaders of Jaramana to intervene in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. However, after a young man from Al-Malihah was killed by residents of Jaramana, tensions worsened as security forces clashed with gunmen from Jaramana in the city's central Swords Square, leaving one gunman critically wounded. Following the violence, security forces expanded deployment at the entrances and exits of Jaramana, combating gunmen in multiple areas. Also on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered military troops to defend the Druze population in Jaramana. "Israel will not allow the regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze community," they said in a joint statement, vowing to take "all necessary steps to ensure our Druze brothers' safety." Israel has been working to solidify ties with Druze communities since expanding its territorial control near the border with Syria and in the occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024. Syria hosts Druze villages in the Carmel mountain region, the Galilee, and parts of the Golan Heights. Many Druze citizens serve in the Israeli military, with some holding high-ranking positions. In a separate statement, the Israeli Defense Ministry issued an ultimatum to armed groups attacking Jaramana, warning that the Israeli military has been on high alert and "ready to enter Jaramana" within 40 minutes if hostilities continue. The developments come as Syria's interim government struggles to navigate instability following the political upheaval, and there are concerns that international players could be drawn into the country's ongoing chaos. Mexico braced for the worst when President Trump threatened steep tariffs on its exports. But as a deadline looms, Mexicos leaders hope they have found a formula for staving off tariffs by moving decisively on several fronts to appease Mr. Trump. Focusing on Mr. Trumps complaints over migration and illicit drugs, President Claudia Sheinbaum is deploying 10,000 troops to deter migrants from reaching the United States, building on efforts to break up migrant caravans and busing migrants to places far from the border. Ms. Sheinbaum is also handing over to the United States dozens of top cartel operatives and accepting intelligence from C.I.A. drone flights to capture others. Breaking with her predecessor, who falsely claimed that Mexico did not manufacture fentanyl, she is unleashing a crackdown resulting in record seizures of the drug. At the same time, Mexicos leaders are imposing their own tariffs and restrictions on a wide range of Chinese imports, seeking to persuade Mr. Trump that Mexico, and its low-cost industrial base, can be a strategic partner to blunt Chinas economic sway. These mistakes do not mean DOGE has not made cuts to the federal government. It has, deeply, by pushing widespread layoffs of employees and cancellations of active contracts, and by helping instigate the demise of the U.S. Agency for International Development. But the repeated errors have raised questions about the quality and veracity of the information that the Musk team is putting out, including whether it is being misled by other departments. The mistakes also seem to call into question the team members competence whether they understand the government well enough to cut it while avoiding catastrophe. Its obvious that they dont understand, said Eric Franklin, the chief executive of the firm Erimax, who advises the government on contracting procedures. His own firm was the subject of one of the errors on DOGEs wall of receipts. Mr. Musks group claimed it had saved $14 million by canceling one of its contracts which had ended in 2021. Its really akin to a bull in a china shop, Mr. Franklin said. And what do you end up with? Its just a big mess. At the White House, a senior administration official offered a partial explanation, saying the information on the wall of receipts had been provided by individual federal agencies many of which have embedded staff members from Mr. Musks group. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to describe DOGEs methods, said Mr. Musks group then checked the accuracy of the agencys claims. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked emergency authorities to bypass Congress and send $4 billion in weapons to Israel, the second time in a month that the Trump administration has skirted the process of congressional approval for sending arms to the country. Mr. Rubio did not explain in a statement announcing the decision on Saturday why he was using an emergency authority. He said only that the Trump administration would continue to use all available tools to fulfill Americas longstanding commitment to Israels security, including means to counter security threats. State Department officials told the two congressional committees in the House and Senate that review foreign weapons sales about the emergency declaration on Friday. At least one congressional official privately expressed alarm at the bypassing of the review. Several of the cases of munitions to be sent to Israel were undergoing review in Congress. But one large case worth about $2 billion had not been sent by the State Department to Congress for review, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about sensitive weapons deals. The chemistry professors nightmare seemed to finally be over. Five years had passed since Feng Tao, also known as Franklin, was led by F.B.I. agents out of his home in Lawrence, Kansas. The first professor to be arrested under a Trump-era program aimed at fighting Chinese economic espionage, Dr. Tao was accused of hiding his ties to a Chinese university while conducting federally funded research at the University of Kansas, where he was tenured. In July, he won his legal fight. A federal appeals court overturned the final conviction in his case. His wife, Hong Peng, recalled in an interview that she thought her husband could finally return to his lab, and their family could perhaps recover some semblance of a normal life. But the University of Kansas has not reinstated him. Dr. Tao, a Chinese citizen and permanent U.S. resident, is now suing his former employer for wrongful termination. He has accused the university of unlawfully surveilling him on behalf of federal investigators and of violating its own faculty disciplinary policies by terminating him before his criminal proceeding concluded. The university allowed itself to join in fearmongering and racist witch hunting, read a complaint filed by Dr. Taos lawyers in January in a federal court in Kansas. Justice Department lawyers, confronting an onslaught of legal challenges, have made a case in court that expansive executive power inherent in the Constitution buttresses the lawfulness of President Trumps aggressive unilateral actions. Outside the courtroom, however, legal niceties have little to do with the strategies pursued by White House officials and their allies as they attack individual judges, question the legitimacy of the courts and undermine the separation of powers that has been at the core of American governance since the nations beginning. The two-pronged defense of Mr. Trumps actions may be an understandable reaction to the run of successes that the presidents opponents have had in court. But it raises the prospect of a high-stakes confrontation between two branches of government that the nations founders designed as coequals: the executive and the judicial. On Saturday, the number of active lawsuits in federal courts challenging administration actions reached 100. In 21 of those cases, judges had issued temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions, effectively stopping, at least for a time, parts of Mr. Trumps second-term agenda. As Mardi Gras celebrations prepare to take over New Orleans on Tuesday, the South faces a mounting weather threat, with forecasters warning of intense storms that could bring damaging winds, large hail and the potential for tornadoes. A powerful weather system moving east from New Mexico into the Southern Plains will set the stage for these storms. Meteorologists predict that strengthening winds and an influx of warm, moist air from the Gulf will create favorable conditions for severe weather. By Tuesday afternoon and evening, conditions in the region will be ripe for severe storms, especially in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. A combination of the moisture, the instability, the wind shear, those are the ingredients that will drive the severe weather threat, said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The best overlap of those ingredients will be from the Southern Plains into the Southeast U.S. on Tuesday. Its soldiers are underpaid and underarmed. Its ranks are riddled with factions pursuing their own interests. And successive presidents are said to have kept it weak for fear of a coup. The Democratic Republic of Congos army has appeared too weak and dysfunctional to stop a militia that has swept through the eastern part of the country in recent weeks. The militia, called M23, has seized two major cities, two strategic airports and large stretches of Congolese territory. Felix Tshisekedi, the president, tried to prepare for this moment, strengthening his military to squash the thousands of fighters roaming in the east. But that response has crumbled in the face of the M23 advance, leaving Mr. Tshisekedi increasingly isolated, his domestic support evaporating, peace talks with regional powers stalled and strong international support lacking. M23 is backed by Rwanda, Congos much smaller neighbor whose troops have trained, armed and embedded with the rebels, according to the United Nations. Rwanda has acknowledged that its troops are in Congo but denied controlling M23. In the past six months, Maye Musk, the mother of Elon Musk, has been to China, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates, visits that come as foreign leaders are jockeying for influence over the Trump administration. Ms. Musk, 76, has for years traveled the world to model, speak and promote her memoir. But lately she seems to be even more in demand, especially outside the United States. And her celebrity has taken on greater significance now that Mr. Musk has considerable influence over how billions of dollars in military spending and foreign aid will get paid out. In late 2024, she visited China at least four times to endorse or model for seven brands there, including makeup products, down jackets and massage devices. Her visits were promoted by state media outlets, which in the past have quoted her calling for improved ties between the United States and China. In October, three weeks before the U.S. presidential election, she headlined a forum on women in Kazakhstan, where she spoke about her sons success, according to Kazinform, a state news agency there. Eight road construction workers died after becoming trapped under an avalanche in northern India, the Indian Army said on Sunday. Rescuers operating in several feet of snow evacuated 46 other workers. The workers were buried by the snow early on Friday in the village of Mana, in the state of Uttarakhand, as the avalanche hit their camp site. Disaster response teams coordinated the rescue efforts under extreme weather conditions, and the work was halted several times because of incessant snowfall and rain. GPS, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging cameras were used to find the workers. Indias Meteorological Department warned of the possibility of further avalanches in the area, which is known as a gateway for Himalayan mountain trekking. The Finnish authorities said on Sunday that they had released an oil tanker seized in December over suspicions that it had deliberately cut vital undersea cables but that a criminal investigation into the episode would continue. The authorities said last year that the ship, the Eagle S, appeared to belong to Russias shadow fleet older tankers that covertly transport Russian crude oil around the world escalating concerns about a covert campaign to sabotage European infrastructure. On Sunday, the Finnish police said that since the criminal inquiry has progressed, the aging tanker was free to leave and that border officials had escorted the ship out of the countrys territorial waters. Petteri Orpo, Finlands prime minister, said in an interview with Yle, the countrys public broadcaster, that the criminal process and investigation will continue. GUANGZHOU, March 2 (Xinhua) -- China commenced construction on a research facility focused on the cold-seep ecosystem on Friday in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. The research facility, designated as one of the country's major national science and technology infrastructure projects, will support cutting-edge fundamental research and high-tech development. Its scope will encompass the exploration of the origins of life in extreme deep-sea environments and the green development of deep-sea resources. A cold seep is a region on the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seep out. These areas are a birthplace for life that can thrive under extreme conditions. The study of cold seep is gaining increasing attention; however one challenge lies in the limitations of short-term, random underwater probes deployed by manned submersibles and remotely operated vehicles. These probes often struggle to capture long-term biological migration and the evolution of the ecosystem. The research facility, combining a manned deep-sea laboratory and a land-based fidelity simulation installation, is set to be completed within five years, according to its builder, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. SCSIO said the facility will play an important role in research on the development of the cold-seep ecosystem, the succession of chemosynthetic organisms and methane phase evolution, and its environmental effects. European leaders raced on Sunday to salvage Ukraines ruptured relationship with the United States, with Britain and France assembling a coalition of the willing to develop a plan for ending Ukraines war with Russia. They hope this effort will win the backing of a skeptical President Trump. Gathering in London at the invitation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, the leaders vowed to bolster support for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine after his bitter clash with Mr. Trump last week. But several also expressed hope that the two could repair their breach, underscoring Europes reluctance to cast off a trans-Atlantic alliance that has kept the peace for 80 years. We are at a crossroads in history, Mr. Starmer said after the meeting. Europe must do the heavy lifting, he declared, but added, To support peace, and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing. Mr. Starmer said he believed that despite Mr. Trumps anger toward Mr. Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, Mr. Trump was committed to a lasting peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. He said Britain and France, working with other European countries, would develop their own plan with Mr. Zelensky. Syrian security forces were deployed across a predominately Druse town on the outskirts of Damascus, the capital, early Sunday, two days after a gunfight between government officers and armed men from a local neighborhood left one person dead and several others wounded. A tense calm has returned to the town, Jaramana, after the deadly clash Friday night between the security forces of Syrias new government and the Druse, a religious minority. The person killed was a security officer, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which added that nine other people were wounded. Druse spiritual leaders blamed the killing on an undisciplined mob that does not belong to our customs, nor to our known monotheistic traditions or customs. There were conflicting reports about how the episode unfolded in Jaramana, but the clash was thrust into the international spotlight on Saturday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he had instructed the military to prepare and deliver a strong and clear warning message: If the regime harms the Druse it will be harmed by us. Tullamore Municipal District is to conduct a safety audit of all designated courtesy crossings in Tullamore. Councillor Declan Harvey said there is a lot of confusion linked to the crossings. ''Some people think they can just walk out and the cars will stop like a pedestrian crossing, but that's not the case, it's up to the drivers as to whether they will allow people to cross. I am asking for some sort of sign to let people know what they should do,'' he said. There are a few courtesy crossings in the centre of Tullamore, one on Columcille Street, the other on High Street and there is one extremely busy crossing at the Bridge Centre. Most cars will stop to allow people to cross but they are not obliged to do so. Meanwhile, there have also been calls for signs along the grand canal greenway. One person said that the greenway from Fiona Pender's memorial down to the first gate has become quite busy with cars.The daily walker said that clear signs indicating that drivers should give way to pedestrians and cyclists should be prominent. ''There are very few places where pedestrians can walk in comfort and a greenway should be one of them, but instead we end up walking along the bank of the canal to allow cars to go past. With this weather the canal banks are very mucky and slippy. Some cars slow down but others drive as if they are on a road. They should either stop completely to allow pedestrians and cyclists to get by safely or slow down to a crawl.'' At the moment there are blue signs depicting an adult and child pedestrian and a bicycle. But they are placed near a number of other signs regarding fishing laws and boards about Fiona's Way and the pedestrian signs are not that obvious to motorists. Two Offaly based MACE stores were honoured at the recent MACE Excellence Awards for achieving exceptional standards in retailing. The event was held in Lawlors Hotel, in Naas and hosted by BWG Foods, owners and operators of the MACE brand in Ireland. The two Offaly stores who received a MACE Excellence Award are Rita Lambe, Lambes MACE Clara and Brendan and Aishling Mann, Manns MACE Tullamore This years MACE Excellence Awards, held in association with Solution Management Associates (SMA) are only awarded to MACE stores that pass an intensive year-long inspection, including two unannounced audits in addition to an SMA Audit, as well as a BWG Foods Safety audit in conjunction with the globally recognised Assurance Partner, LRQA. Congratulating the winners, Keith Crawford, MACE Sales Director, said: As Irelands longest serving convenience symbol brand, MACE retailers have a well-established commitment to outstanding retail standards and customer service. The recipients of this years MACE Excellence Awards continue to set the benchmark for the brand and marketplace overall. Congratulations to Rita Lambe and Brendan and Aishling Mann and their teams for all they do in their local communities. Operated by independent retailers, MACEs nationwide network includes local community stores as well as forecourt shopping and urban stores, with more than 155 MACE stores located throughout Ireland. A judge has ordered a medical doctor, who showed 'total disregard' for the law and drove while he was disqualified and without insurance, to complete 150 hours of community service. Erdrin Iskander (45) of The Meadows, Pettiswood Manor, Mullingar, county Westmeath pleaded guilty at Longford District Court to the offences and driving without tax last week. Sergeant Mark Mahon said Gardai were on patrol at Lisnagrish, Edgeworthstown on January 28 last when they stopped the defendant driving his car at approximately 5.30pm. The court heard officers were alerted that there was no tax or insurance on the vehicle from a Garda active mobility device. He admitted that he was aware he was disqualified at the time, and he was arrested and cautioned, Sgt Mahon added. The court heard Iskander was disqualified on January 14 last when he accumulated 12 penalty points for multiple offences, and he received a six month driving ban. The defendant had three previous convictions including two for careless driving. Solicitor Frank Gearty stated his client had admitted he was not covered by insurance on the vehicle he was detected in. However, he said the Malaysian national was covered on another vehicle and that he took out an insurance policy on the offending vehicle the following day. Mr Gearty said his client, a married father of five who travelled on the train to attend court, was at his place of work at the time of the detection. The legal representative said Mr Iskander was informed by an RSA letter that he had been disqualified for six months and as a medical doctor he depends on his driving licence. "This is a very serious situation, I am making an application that you consider the circumstances of this case, he added. Mr Gearty asked Judge Bernadette Owens not to disqualify Mr Iskander despite admitting it was a bold move to do so, and he insisted he was not taking the court for granted. This is a first conviction for driving without insurance so the discretion, however, audacious it may be for me to even mention such a word in the context of whats here today is available to the court notwithstanding the fact that he was driving while disqualified," he added. Mr Gearty handed in a reference from one of Mr Iskanders colleagues which outlined the work he does. He provides professional services to the community in county Longford, he said. He will never drive while disqualified again. The court heard Mr Iskander qualified as a doctor from UCD in Dublin. Judge Owens stated the defendant has shown a complete and total disregard for the law and the court and she directed him to complete the community service in lieu of four months imprisonment. She also ordered Mr Iskander to complete the Pro Social driving course and she adjourned the case until May 13 next. Help Our Community Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You! Take The Survey US President Donald Trump is attempting to obliterate understandings in the Middle East regarding the Palestinian people living in Gaza. Until now, it was well-understood that Gazan territory constitutes part of the future homeland of the Palestinians, to be named Palestine. A representative of this future state already sits in the United Nations. But Trump is hoping to be the first president to achieve peace in the Middle East and, instead of pressuring Israel, he is attempting to destroy Palestine. In joint remarks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office last week, Trump reiterated his earlier remarks that he wants to take over Gaza and expel the Palestinians to other countries, namely, Jordan and Egypt. Previously, during a press conference on February 4 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump astonished everyone in the room when he said he wanted to deport the Palestinians from Gaza, resettle them elsewhere, and send US troops to Gaza instead. "We should go to other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts, and there are many of them that want to do this and build various domains that will ultimately be occupied by the million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction and frankly bad luck," Trump said. "This can be paid for by neighboring countries of great wealth. It could be one, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, twelve. It could be numerous sites, or it could be one large site. But the people will be able to live in comfort and peace and we'll get - we'll make sure something really spectacular is done," he continued. "The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too." Pundits around the globe have since sought to understand whether this was another bloviating, Trumpian case of grandstanding, or whether this was the foretelling of a massive upending of a decades-long paradigm that saw the establishment of a Palestinian state as the central goal of any US involvement in the Middle East. Naturally, the Palestinians fear a repeat of the Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 that saw 750,000 refugees rendered homeless. Trump's dangerous idea is a non-starter and would violate international law if implemented. Trump's plan supports Israel's occupation and colonization of the West Bank. His pro-Israel stance is an extension of his first-term policies that saw the recognition of Israel's illegal annexation of the Golan Heights, a recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's exclusive capital, and moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Adding American insult to Palestinian injury, Trump announced his outrageous ethnic cleansing plan just hours after he signed an Executive Order withdrawing the United States from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and prohibiting any future funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for the Near East (UNRWA). Trump also claimed everyone loves his idea. "Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land," he continued. "I don't want to be cute. I don't want to be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so-this could be so magnificent." But several Arab countries including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have expressed their firm opposition to Trump's plan. With the US having placed the onus on Arab countries to produce an alternative plan if they object to Trump's, the next few weeks will be crucial. Palestine's future now rests on the creativity of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab League in general. It is unclear if Trump really means to perpetrate the crime of ethnic cleansing or is simply deploying the "madman theory" - a negotiating tactic used by President Richard Nixon during the Vietnam war, in an attempt to convince the North Vietnamese that he might in fact be so crazy as to use nuclear weapons, thus forcing them to a peace settlement. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The world's largest producer of the illicit drug Captagon was put out of business on December 8, 2024, when Maher al-Assad flew out of Syria to exile in Russia. Maher and his brother, President Bashar al-Assad, and all the extended Assad family clan, fled the country at the same time to Russia and various places. This is the first part of a two-part investigation into the Assad family drug business, and the international connections to the Sicilian Mafia. tu.be/cEjQWQXOsMg On December 8, 2024, local residents in Latakia broke into Mounzer Assad's car showroom and attached a private home near the Harroun Hotel in Latakia, Syria. Mounzer is the son of Jameel Assad, deceased, who was the brother of Hafez Assad, the former president, and father of Bashar, who fled to Russia. A large quantity of Captagon was found in Mounzer's home. In a BBC interview after the Assads fled, Hafez Assad, the son of Mounzer, denied the pills found were Captagon, instead claiming they were chlorine pills used for treating swimming pools. Local residents broke into the mansion of Maher in the western suburbs of Damascus on December 9. They found it was a Captagon warehouse and manufacturing facility, where they saw tens of barrels of chemicals that are used for the production of Captagon, along with all the production equipment. One of the biggest Captagon factories was exposed in the suburbs of Damascus. The Assad family hid the Captagon pills inside expertly crafted artificial fruit and vegetables. When packing the shipment, the Captagon was stuffed into the fake produce and placed on the bottom of the box, with actual fresh produce for export packed in layers on top. Because Syria has a long history of fresh fruit and vegetable production and export, this cleverly disguised method of shipment was very successful and brought huge amounts of hard currency into the pockets of the Assad family, and kept the President and his wife, brother, and extended clan in power. In January 2025, the new Syrian authorities raided a warehouse located at the port of Latakia which had belonged to the Fourth Division and contained more than 100 million pills of Captagon. The drugs were ready for shipment to Arab and Western countries and were hidden in backpacks, children's toys, electric wires, and food serving trays. On January 27, 2025, the new Syrian administration customs agents found a shipment of more than 7 million Captagon pills hidden in chocolate bars and other food products. The shipment was captured in trucks on the Syrian-Jordanian border. While Bashar was the face of the executive branch, Maher controlled the military and security branches. Maher was the commander of the Fourth Division, which was an elite unit of tanks and soldiers. Maher's corrupt income on the side was made from the manufacture and distribution of Captagon. Maher funded the Fourth Division through corrupt practices such as taking kickbacks from all lamb meat sold and all eggs. Once the Assad regime fell, the price of eggs and lamb meat fell by half. Maher had been making billions of dollars while making the Syrian people starve from high prices. MaherA ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ?i ? ? s business was used to fund his brotherA ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ?i ? ? s hold on power. Had the two brothers managed their vast income differently, they might still be in power, and making money. Instead, Maher and Bashar deprived the soldiers in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), which depleted morale. Soldiers were paid about $30.00 per month. Many commanders made extra money by accepting bribes from soldiers who wanted to go home for a visit. Some commanding officers had an illicit income from taking large bribes from soldiers who did not report for duty, to stay with their family and work to provide an income. Western media has incorrectly described the SAA as A ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ?i ? ?...troops loyal to Assad". This is as wrong as calling the US military "troops loyal to Trump". The former SAA was a conscription national army, drafted from every male Syrian who was over 18 years of age and not enrolled in a University. The SAA was comprised of soldiers who were mainly Sunni, and the remainder were Christian, Alowi, Druze, or Shiite. However, most commanding officers were Alowi, the same religious sect of the Assad family. It had been portrayed in Western media that the Alowi community, which is about 8% of the Syrian population and is predominantly found on the coast, was uniformly loyal to the Assad family. A trip to Qardaha, the Assad family's ancestral home, presents a typical under-developed rural village, inhabited by poor farmers, but interspersed with several luxurious mansions built by Assad family members and those connected to them. The vast majority of the Alowi citizens did not see a personal benefit from the Assad clan, other than a distinct advantage in obtaining a civil servant job, which was paying about $35.00 per month before the fall of Assad. When Assad fled, the locals of Qardaha like the rest of Syria, entered the newly abandoned mansions and took what they wanted. Had the Assad family taken care of their sect, they could have potentially benefited from loyalty, but the Assad clan, from top to bottom refused to share. Even the First Lady, British-born Asma Akras, wanted it all. She devised a scheme to make money off every loaf of bread sold. She founded an NGO, Syria Trust for Development, which carried out many charitable works; however, she used it as a front for her benefit, defrauding even the UN of $30 million. Asma was the sole importer of every can of infant formula into Syria, as well as every bag of cement, and all the profits went directly into her account. She had her brother Firas Akras siphoning money off the A ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ?Asmart cardsA ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ? i ? ?i ? ? , which was a system of distribution to the Syrian population of heating oil (50 liters for the entire winter), gasoline (25 liters every seven days), cooking gas (1 can about every 90 days), and bread every two days. After the fall of Assad, gasoline, heating oil, and cooking gas are now readily available and cheaper than the black market of the Assad days. The Assad regime could have remained in power had Bashar played the role of the 'benevolent dictator' and shared a small portion of his corrupt drug trade with the SAA and the Syrian citizens, who were living below the poverty line. Despite Syria's socialist government, there has never been a social welfare program for the poor. However, there were a few basic commodities that were subsidized, and education and health care were free. But, there was never an American-style program of welfare cash payments for needy people. Foreign powers involved with the Syrian civil war were able to use the weak and demoralized condition of the SAA to coordinate planned mass desertions in Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus in the days leading up to December 8. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Zach LaVine #8 of the Sacramento Kings shoots the ball against Jabari Smith Jr. #10 of the Houston Rockets during the second half at Toyota Center on March 01, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) Getty Images The Portland Trail Blazers lost a half-game on the 10th-place Sacramento Kings in the race for the final Western Conference play-in berth on Saturday night. The Kings (31-28) won 113-103 at the Houston Rockets (37-12) and are now 3 games ahead of 11th-place Phoenix (28-32) and 4 ahead of the 12th-place Blazers. The Blazers play at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Cleveland Cavaliers (49-10). A loss would drop the Blazers to five games back of the Kings with 22 games remaining. The Blazers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Kings, having won two of three meetings with one game remaining at Sacramento on March 27. Both teams face tough schedules the rest of the way. NBA standings. -- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook) LOS ANGELES, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 fire hydrants across Los Angeles needed repair prior to the devastating wildfires in January, reported the Los Angeles Times Saturday. But the Los Angeles Fire Department did not inform the city's Department of Water and Power (LADWP) until mid-February despite being aware of the issues months before, said the report, citing city records and officials. The Los Angeles Fire Department discovered the damage to the hydrants during inspections in the months prior to the Jan. 7 Palisades fire. In January, Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States, experienced the most catastrophic wildfires in its history. The two deadly major wildfires, the Palisades and Eaton fires, killed at least 28 people and destroyed over 16,000 structures. While firefighters struggled with low water pressure during the blaze, it's unclear whether the damaged hydrants played a role, said the report. Firefighters reported being unable to access water from some hydrants as they defended structures in Pacific Palisades, battling the Palisades Fire. LADWP, the largest municipal utility in the country, relies on the Los Angeles Fire Department to conduct annual inspections of the city's roughly 66,000 fire hydrants. In August, it had received an annual report from the Los Angeles Fire Department documenting the status of the city's hydrants, but none were flagged as requiring repairs, Janisse Quinones, chief executive of the LADWP, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. In January, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for an independent investigation into the loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants during Southern California wildfires. "We need answers to ensure this does not happen again," the governor wrote on the social platform X. President Donald Trumps executive order on two sexes could certainly play a key role in the local students only two genders T-shirt case, as his lawyers try to get the Supreme Court to take his suit. Middleboro student Liam Morrison when he was in seventh grade was banned by middle school officials from wearing a shirt to school that read, There are only two genders. Liam then wore a shirt that stated, There are censored genders, and again, he was ordered to take off the shirt. A U.S. district judge previously ruled in favor of the Middleboro school officials, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston then affirmed the district courts ruling. This prompted Liams attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom to ask the Supreme Court to review the case and rule that Nichols Middle School violated the First Amendment when it stopped the student from wearing his shirts to school. As Liams lawyers wait for a decision from the Supreme Court on whether the nations highest court will hear the case, Trump issued an executive order on two genders. It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female, Trumps executive order reads. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality. Gender identity reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex, the order reads. This two sexes executive order could certainly help Liams case if his lawsuit makes it to the Supreme Court, according to the head of the New England First Amendment Coalition. The dress code of the school prohibits clothing that targets groups based on, among other things, gender identity and sexual orientation, NEFAC President Gregory V. Sullivan told the Herald. Now according to the current federal administration, gender identity is not even a valued concept, Sullivan added. Therefore, you wouldnt be able to demean someone based on the basis of gender identity. Liams attorneys are with Alliance Defending Freedom, and the groups legal counsel Logan Spena said the executive order on two genders is likely something they would bring up if the case makes it to the Supreme Court. The attorneys have been arguing that Liam has a First Amendment constitutional right to wear this shirt to school, and this executive order now puts school officials in a deeper hole in their ability to meet the legal standard, Spena said. Under the Supreme Court precedent about First Amendment rights at school, the court has found that school officials cannot censor student speech unless it disrupts the educational process or they can prove theres a reasonable forecast of substantial disruption. It (the executive order) puts the school officials in a tough spot, Spena said. It really strains their ability to make the forecast argument. We think in any case the school was never going to meet its burden, but this now does make the reasonableness of their argument even more strained. Liams attorneys are hoping the Supreme Court takes up their case later this year. The Herald reached out to Middleboro school officials about the case, and the impact of Trumps executive order. At this time, we are unable to provide a comment due to pending litigation, Superintendent Carolyn Lyons said in a statement. We appreciate your understanding and will share more information when appropriate. The Middleboro school district each year celebrates Pride month, hanging Pride flags and sending the message that there are an unlimited number of genders, one of Liams lawyers had argued in front of the appeals court. In response to the schools view, Liam wore the controversial shirt to Nichols Middle School. School officials in response told Liam to either take off the shirt or leave school for the day. Liam chose to miss the rest of his classes that day. When the Middleboro principal pulled Liam out of class and told him he had to take off his shirt, the principal said they had received complaints about the words on his shirt and that the words might make some students feel unsafe. Middleborough was enforcing a dress code, so it was making a forecast regarding the disruptive impact of a particular means of expression and not of, say, a stray remark on a playground, a point made during discussion or debate, or a classroom inquiry, the appeals court wrote in its ruling. The forecast concerned the predicted impact of a message that would confront any student proximate to it throughout the school day. School officials knew the serious nature of the struggles, including suicidal ideation, that some of those students had experienced related to their treatment based on their gender identities by other students, and the effect those struggles could have on those students ability to learn, the appeals court wrote. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is one of the free speech groups backing Liams case. FIRE Chief Counsel Bob Corn-Revere said, Someone simply having this message on a T-shirt is not violating others rights, and we believe the appeals court got it wrong. _____ 2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Students and visitors make their way on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles last year. TNS LOS ANGELES For years, Maylei Blackwell has worked to lift up Indigenous and Chicana womens voices as a UCLA professor who identified as a mixed-race person of Thai and Cherokee heritage. Her research was widely cited, her use of oral histories praised. Her most recent book was poised to receive a prestigious award last year from a Native American and Indigenous studies association. Then came a bombshell revelation. The scholars association abruptly rescinded the award after allegations surfaced last spring that Blackwells claims of Cherokee heritage, based on family stories, were phony. In a public apology, Blackwell confessed that her research triggered by the allegations found her mother was white. She vowed to seek repair for harms caused. The furor reverberated nationally after Charlene Villasenor Black, chair of Blackwells Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies, posted a public message of gratitude to the Indigenous scholars who brought the issue to light. Now the University of California, following several cases of questioned Native American identity over the last few years, has launched a fact-finding mission on the issue, according to UC Academic Senate Chair Steven W. Cheung. UC provided no details on the scope of the effort. But the action comes after UC Native American scholars held their first symposium last year on what they say is a growing problem of what are called Pretendians pretend Indians in the UC system and across academia nationwide. We just decided that people need to start talking about this in the system or its going to keep happening, said Phenocia Bauerle, UC Berkeley director of Native American Student Development, who has helped lead efforts for action. There are so many people pretending to be Native, so I do think people who are claiming it, who are building their careers on it, should have to prove it. In the last few years, the Pretendian issue has surfaced at UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and UCLA; complaints have also been raised against faculty who pursued graduate studies or postdoctoral fellowships at these campuses along with UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis. Critics say that Pretendians potentially take grants, jobs, speaking platforms and other benefits from Native Americans. Their exposure often wreaks personal and professional harm on their students, whose associations with a now-tainted mentor can jeopardize their academic careers. Pretendians may also be committing academic dishonesty if their claims of Indigeneity serve as passports for access to sacred ceremonies, or intimate stories offered by trusting community members who believe the researcher shares their Native American experiences and understandings, Bauerle and others said. Bauerle and other UC scholars are compiling recommendations for actions which could include improving data collection on tribal affiliations of faculty and hope to complete them by May. Others say confirmed Pretendians should be reviewed for possible academic sanctions or be required to return grants or other benefits obtained under false pretenses. Jim Steintrager, who served as UC Academic Senate chair at the time of the symposium last year, said such cases could raise questions about research integrity, and more systemwide guidance on how to handle them could be helpful. Blackwell, for instance, received a two-year $200,000 UC award last spring to train Indigenous women in Mexico as digital archivists. A spokesman for UC Riverside, which administers the systemwide grant, said the campus and program first learned about Blackwells heritage issues from The Times last November but was currently unaware of any sanctions that would impact her eligibility for awards. Blackwell, in written responses to questions from The Times, said she accepted the grant last May, before she learned about her true ancestry. She said she shared the revelation and her apology with the Indigenous women involved in the project and they all said they wanted to continue working with her. But Blackwell said she is meeting with UCLA leaders to find a way to step away from the grant without taking away the funding needed by the Indigenous women or the graduate student on the project. She said the narrative around her a white woman who assumed a Native American identity to acquire resources or access does not reflect the motivations behind her work for social justice. Her academic interests are based not on an imagined Cherokee identity, but as the child of an unmarried interracial couple who was bullied and stigmatized for her race, gender and sex. She said she chose to specialize in Indigeneity in the Latina community after being drawn to powerful Chicana activists, whose stories and struggles inspired her first book, Chicana Power! I have helped to build a field and fought for a world and an academy where more Indigenous people and people of color fit and can have their voices heard, Blackwell told The Times. If I have taken up spaces that were not mine in the process, I deeply apologize and commit to work to repair the harm I have done. She also said she wants to heal her intergenerational family trauma a history of alcoholism and violence that she believes created conditions for her mothers falsehoods, which made her feel betrayed when revealed. More than 20 UCLA graduate students have expressed outrage and called on Blackwell to resign, saying in an anonymous collective statement last year that her deception went beyond personal betrayal but also contributed to a broader colonial project to erase and commodify Indigenous identity. Black, the department chair, told The Times she publicly spoke out about the case and stood against the ensuing backlash to do the right thing for the Native American community in the name of social justice that the department was founded on three decades ago. Others, however, supported Blackwell. Professor Blackwells scholarship and teaching have undergone rigorous peer review, and she is a valuable faculty member at UCLA and in many different community spaces related to her research, Abel Valenzuela, Dean of UCLAs Division of Social Sciences in UCLA College, said in a statement to The Times. In light of this unfortunate situation, we are committed to working with Professor Blackwell, along with campus and department leadership, to find a thoughtful, amicable, and restorative path forward. Indigenous leaders say Pretendians harm more than individuals. Self-identification as Native American also flouts the sovereign right of tribes to determine rules for citizenship. The three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, for instance, require members to be direct descendants of tribal citizens listed on specific federal census rolls; two also require a certain percentage of Indian blood based on verifiable family trees. Such rules are sometimes criticized as gatekeeping at odds with values of inclusion. But tribal citizenship is a political status that can only be conferred by self-governing tribal nations, said Kim Tallbear, a professor of Native studies at the University of Alberta who studied and taught at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Those distinctions are often misunderstood in universities, which typically regard Native American identity as a private matter or a category of race and ethnicity, she said. Tallbear estimated that possibly a quarter of university faculty, staff and students across the nation who claim Indigenous backgrounds cant prove it. According to a 2018 UC report, only 30% of UC undergraduates enrolled that year who self-identified as Native Americans or Alaska Natives specified their federally- or state-recognized tribe. The report raised questions about the reliability of UC enrollment data and whether fraud was occurring prompting Bauerle and other Native American leaders to work with UC to include more precise questions about tribal affiliation on applications beginning in 2022. The UCs Native American scholarship program requires applicants to specify membership in a federally recognized tribe a political classification that is not subject to state bans on preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. But candidates for faculty positions are not generally questioned about their Native affiliation. While that may not be relevant to a position in computer science or medieval literature, many Indigenous scholars said it matters greatly for jobs in Native American studies or other related fields. UC Riverside, for instance, hired Allison Hedge Coke in 2016 as a distinguished professor of creative writing under an initiative to expand faculty positions in Indigenous Studies along with several other priority areas. She described learning family stories about Cherokee, Huron and Creek heritage in a 2004 memoir that was part of a book series on American Indian lives. Those claims have been challenged by Tribal Alliance Against Frauds, a nonprofit that investigated her background and published a genealogical chart dating back seven generations to 1712 showing no Indian ancestors. The UC Riverside scholar is a white woman who has built her career with a fantastical Native identity that no one in her family has ever possessed, the group posted. Thus, her entire education is predicated on a fraud. Hedge Coke did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Steve Erickson, chair of her creative writing department who arrived after she was hired, said he first learned about the contested identity issues from The Times last fall. It does not appear that UCR asked Hedge Coke, who remains at the university, to verify her claims of Native American heritage when hiring her. The University is unaware of any state or federal law that requires prospective or current employees to provide evidence of their racial or ethnic heritage, and does not ask for such evidence, said John Warren, UCR spokesman. However, UCR negotiated a separation settlement in 2023 with another professor Andrea Smith, an ethnic studies professor and leading voice on Indigenous feminism after 13 professors alleged she made fraudulent claims to Native American identity, in violation of academic integrity. Smith denied the allegations in the agreement, but the two sides settled to avoid costly litigation. Questions have also been raised by Native American scholars and the anti-fraud Tribal Alliance nonprofit about Alicia Carroll, a UC Irvine associate professor of comparative literature who has taught courses in Native American and Indigenous literature and culture and has been active in the Cherokee Community of the Inland Empire. Carroll has said they are a Cherokee but not a citizen in a federally recognized tribe a position the Cherokee Nation and Cherokee scholars say is not allowed under tribal criteria that requires those who claim their heritage to meet citizenship requirements. The Tribal Alliance published a genealogical chart showing Carroll did not have Indian ancestors. Carroll said the alliances work was rife with errors. In an interview with The Times, the scholar said they have a multi-generational family history of Cherokee identity. They declined to elaborate, telling The Times, I dont think I need to give you my family story. Thats mine. In a UCI article last December, Carroll said their mother shared childhood memories of a Cherokee grandfather who passed on cultural knowledge and practices and said know yourself as a Cherokee. The article has been taken down. Carroll also said Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. and other Cherokee leaders supported them. I took personal phone calls from several Cherokee Nation elected officials, all of whom confirmed that Im a valued member of the Cherokee community and urged me to continue my community service and participation, Carroll said. The Cherokee Nation clarified its position in a statement to The Times. Cherokee Nation and Chief Hoskin recognize that many individuals of good faith are on a journey to explore their family roots, and we support them in that exploration, but we discourage them from claiming to be Cherokee unless and until they establish citizenship or membership, the statement said. Any claim that Chief Hoskin condones individuals or organizations claiming Cherokee identity for personal or organizational profit is false. Tallbear, Bauerle and other Native American scholars said they hope UC and other U.S. universities can adopt practices of transparency over tribal identity used in a growing number of Canadian institutions. More are verifying heritage claims if they are germane to jobs, scholarships and other benefits. The University of Minnesota, in a move hailed by Native American leaders, last fall asked for a statement of connection to the Indigenous community for two faculty positions in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. David Aiona Chang, chair of the universitys Department of American Indian Studies, stressed the statement was not about Native American identity, but connections because they are important in the community-oriented work we do. But most U.S. universities are still generally reluctant to step into the fraught arena, Tallbear said. Lets stop with the denialism, Tallbear said. Understand that this conversation needs to be held as difficult as it is. 2025 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Multnomah County Sheriffs Office deputies arrested a man who they allege was driving under the influence when he crashed his Toyota Camry into a power pole Saturday, and killed his passenger. Leonardo Bollas-Zafra, 28, was booked into county jail on suspicion of manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, driving under the influence and reckless endangerment. Sheriffs deputies received an automatic crash notification from a Camry in Fairview around 2:20 a.m. on Saturday, according to a news release. Around the same time, Bollas-Zafra called police to say he was the victim of a hit-and-run, the news release said. Deputies found Bollas-Zafra and his car near the intersection of Northeast 158th Avenue and Northeast Fremont Street. He appeared confused and struggled to answer questions, the news release said. When officers searched the crash location near Northeast 201st Avenue and Northeast Broadway Court, roughly three miles away, they found an unconscious man on the side of the street, the news release said. Deputies performed CPR, they say, but the man died. The sheriffs office believes the man was a passenger in Bollas-Zafras Camry, when the Camry hit a power pole. A hospital blood test found Bollas-Zafras blood alcohol level was .23, or nearly three times the legal limit, the news release said. Despite sunny weather on Saturday, about 1,200 people chose to spend their afternoon gathered in the Centennial High School gym in Gresham for U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexters first solo town hall. The first term Democrat from Oregons 3rd Congressional District has held several shared town halls with other elected representatives in the state including one with Sen. Jeff Merkley and another with Attorney General Dan Rayfield; she also held a rally for federal workers in Washington D.C. last month that went viral over her delivery of an expletive aimed at President Donald Trump. On March 1, the Peace Corps will celebrate its 64th anniversary as an independent agency established by President John F. Kennedy. Given the recent halt of foreign aid and the gutting of U.S. Agency for International Development, I fear that the Peace Corps will also soon be on the chopping block. Fun fact: since 1961, more than 6,600 Oregonians have served as Peace Corps volunteers. I am a former Peace Corps volunteer who served in Guatemala from 2010 to 2013. I collaborated with my Guatemalan colleague to address the needs of rural Mayan women, considered that countrys most oppressed group. We taught skills in citizen involvement, how to finance projects to improve quality of life and more. By improving their lives, our efforts reduced the chance that they would migrate to the United States. Peace Corps volunteers help people in developing countries with needs in education, agriculture, health, trade and technology. This international cooperation and humanitarian assistance contribute directly to our countrys security. The regime of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk seeks to end nearly all nonmilitary aid to other countries, abdicating our leadership role in support of developing countries. Its important to realize that the Peace Corps is a true bargain for the federal government. In 2010, my monthly living stipend was approximately $350 per month, which was typical for Peace Corps volunteers at that time. In honor of its 64th birthday and before any cuts happen, please call your elected officials to ask them to support continued funding of the Peace Corps. Janet Wright, Eugene To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion. Oregons only Republican member of Congress, Rep. Cliff Bentz, stood before a town hall of more than 400 of his constituents in deeply red eastern Oregon and faced a barrage of jeers. Many attendees were upset with the first month of cuts by the Trump administration and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, as well as Bentzs staunch defense of them. Bentzs town halls have typically been relatively docile affairs, but not this time. While many 2nd Congressional District constituents who unleashed on the third-term member of Congress at town halls in La Grande, Baker City, Boardman and Pendleton were Democrats, a quieter and less animated portion of the crowds appeared to be worried Republicans. Emotions are running high because cuts to federal employment, grants and social welfare programs threaten to run deep in rural Oregon. Compared to Oregons population centers, incomes are lower in eastern and southern parts of the state, where federal dollars have an outsized impact. And with President Donald Trump back in office and shaking up government like never before, some loyal Republicans living in Trump strongholds are feeling shell shocked. Turnout to question Bentz at a series of recent town halls was as much as five times the usual. Youre just rolling over and youre OK with that? and You should be ashamed! yelled people at a Feb. 19 La Grande gathering. Howls of protest were so frequent that the otherwise unflappable lawmaker reached a breaking point. If you just came here to yell, I can leave do you want me to do that? Bentz asked the crowd. Later, in another apparent attempt to calm attendees, Bentz reminded them that at least he was willing to show up and take the heat. Ill just say many of my (Republican) colleagues are not doing town halls, he added. Bentz is one of a league of Republican representatives across the nation who received a verbal lashing in their overwhelmingly conservative districts during their first town halls since Trump retook office. Trumps efforts to slash $2 trillion from the federal budget while instituting $4.5 trillion in tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the rich have been supported by the majority-Republican Congress and significant numbers of Republican voters who believe the cutting is necessary. But the way Trump is pushing for change has left GOP lawmakers torn between their instincts to protect their constituents and their loyalty to the president. Its also drawn criticism from the left that Trumps actions ignore the Constitution, which says the power of the purse lies with Congress. The end result has left many rural Oregonians unsettled over the turmoil thats unfolding in their communities. Cows walk in a pasture Prineville. Rural Oregon depends more heavily than other parts of the state on federal employment to keep the economy and local services humming. (Haley Nelson / For The Oregonian) (Photo credit: Haley Nelson / For The Oregonian) More so than in Portland, Corvallis, Hood River and other Democratic strongholds, residents in Bentzs vast rural Oregon district depend on Medicaid and food assistance, money to prevent and battle wildfires, programs to boost farmers through purchasing wheat for poor countries and grants to upgrade infrastructure like high-speed internet coverage across vast expanses. Officials also have said as many as 10% of the states nearly 30,000 federal employees already have received termination notices. That includes Forest Service workers, Veterans Affairs staffers, Bureau of Land Management managers, scientists across multiple agencies and Bonneville Power Administration employees, who ensure that the regions power grid doesnt fail. And those cullings could have greater consequences on rural Oregon, where good-paying jobs are tough to come by. An Oregon Employment Department report released Wednesday shows federal employment pays significantly more than the average salary in almost every rural county in the state. In Wasco County, the average federal worker makes $106,000 a year, double the average wage and the largest difference in the state. The city council and mayor of the tiny Gilliam County town of Condon, three hours east of Portland, penned a letter on Feb. 20 to members of Congress outlining multiple concerns about the potential loss of federal jobs and grant money. I see it as a double-edged sword, Mayor Dustan Hall, a Republican who voted for Trump, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. We all want accountability. Where are our tax dollars going? Is this just an open checkbook? But at the same time, speaking for Condon, were a small rural geographical area that is dependent on grants. Hall said potential cuts could ravage his 700-resident town, in a county where Trump defeated Democratic opponent Kamala Harris by a more than two-to-one margin. City leaders are anxious about all that is on the line, including jobs at the local U.S. Department of Agriculture office that supports area farmers and the Head Start program for preschoolers from low-income families. Already, Hall said, the city learned in early February that a $137,000 federal grant that the local fire district secured last August has been frozen. The grant is supposed to pay for a large grass-and-brush mower that would create burn-resistant fire lines to help prevent the city from going up in flames. I speak for all the rural areas wildfires in Oregon have just been problematic these past few years, Hall said. And I fear its only going to get worse before it gets better. Oregon suffered the worst wildfire season in modern state history last year, when six mega fires of more than 100,000 acres destroyed forests, ranches, livestock and a small number of homes and structures alike. All were in rural Oregon. The Rail Ridge Fire south of Dayville in Grant County scorched more than 135,000 acres. Grant County Emergency Management Hall is the rare Trump voter willing to publicly express any degree of concern. Much more common is a rural registered Republican who told The Oregonian/OregonLive, her voice shaking in anger, that she feels betrayed by Congress willingness to go along with the Trump administrations looming cuts. The woman, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions, said she worries Trumps reductions will devastate a swath of low-income people in her county, Malheur. It has the second-lowest median household income in the state, at about $50,000, and Trump sailed to victory there with 70% of the vote. Her views, she said, would not go over well if widely known. Were a small town, the woman said. Everybody knows everybody. I just want to keep me as safe as possible. I know that sounds so bad. But its where I live. Rural Democrats, however, are speaking out with new energy since they fell into a stunned silence after the November election, said Terrie Martin, a Medford resident and one of the leaders of the progressive activist group Oregon District 2 Indivisible. Martin said her group held a meeting for new members in left-leaning Ashland in January, around the time of Trumps inauguration, and 70 people attended. One month later, the group held another new membership meeting 20 minutes away in right-leaning Medford and 250 showed. At this one, their hair was on fire, Martin said of new members who have been jolted into action by Trumps executive orders and Musks leadership of DOGE. Interest, Martin said, has exploded. During a Not My President Presidents Day protest in Medford organized by the group 50501 and heavily attended by District 2 Indivisible members, the crowd of more than 150 waved signs that read Dump Trump and Elon Musk is a terrible president. They marched to Bentzs southern Oregon district office with a life-sized cardboard cutout of him plastered in sticky notes with similar messages. A picture they posted to Facebook made the national TV news. Scott Cooper, a lifelong Republican and head of the nonprofit NeighborImpact assisting 60,000 poor or working class residents across three counties in central Oregon, notes that nearly three-quarters of the voters in the county he lives in, Crook, voted for Trump. That includes many of the people his nonprofit helps with child care, food, utility bills and weatherizing homes, he said. But he said the Trump administrations and Congress plans to cut trillions could cast the people that NeighborImpact helps into even more dire circumstances. If they get a small savings on their taxes, it wont offset Mom no longer having a payor for her assisted living facility or losing your health care or losing your ability to access a food bank, Cooper said. Prineville, the county seat of 27,000-resident Crook County in central Oregon, viewed from the Ochoco View Point on Friday. (Haley Nelson / For The Oregonian) (Photo credit: Haley Nelson / For The Oregonian) He said many of the areas rural residents dont believe the reductions could harm them. But he is worried enough that hes flying to Washington, D.C., Sunday to lobby members of Congress. Those decisions are going to target the working class, which is hurting and very angry, Cooper said. And were about to make them hurt more and probably make them angrier. Another Republican and resident of Prineville, Mayor Jason Beebe, said concerns over deep and damaging cuts to rural Oregonians that hes heard so far have been overblown. Beebe said although hes privately heard from a few Republicans who are worried about Musks job slashing or potential cuts to Medicaid or Medicare, he believes Democrats have been using scare tactics that push constituents to complain to the representatives and senators at town halls and other venues. I hate the fact that partisan politics pits Americans against each other, Beebe said. You have one side saying this and the other side saying no. And then we dont know the truth until months later. For instance, Beebe, a disabled veteran who served in Iraq, said he has heard gloom and doom about cuts to Veterans Affairs staffing. But so far, his benefits have been untouched. Prineville Mayor Jason Beebe, seen here in his city's downtown, says he was among the 73% of Crook County voters who ushered President Donald Trump into office last fall. Though he's heard from a few Republicans concerned about possible cuts, Beebe says Im one of those people who voted for this. I voted to audit the government." (Haley Nelson / For The Oregonian) He said Oregonians need to give the Trump administration and Musk time to right the course, and if mistakes are made along the way, they will be corrected. He welcomes the purse-tightening as a necessity. As a local mayor, I have to watch my budget at home and make sure I dont go over budget, said Beebe, who ran against Bentz in the 2024 congressional primary but lost. I think our federal government should do the same thing. Even if the cutting does hit home, Sherman County wheat farmer Rob Simantel said hes willing to take the hit. Simantel, a Republican, said tens of thousands of dollars worth of federal grants for sustainable farming practices that he receives each year are in jeopardy under the Trump administrations funding freezes. But he said he has faith that Trump will make the country leaner and the economy healthier. He believes wheat prices, too, will increase again, as they did during Trumps first administration. It may hurt us here in the next year or so, but I think in the long run a lot of the programs will come back and well be stronger. If Trump fails, Oregonians and voters nationwide can vote his Republican supporters in Congress down and elect a Democratic president with a completely different approach, Simantel notes. Hes trying to do something, so see what he does at least give him a little bit of time, Simantel said. Somebody has got to be the bad guy and turn it all around. Aimee Green is covering the Oregon Legislature this session. Reach her at 503-294-5119 or agreen@oregonian.com or on Bluesky. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. BEIRUT, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The deputy head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Saturday called for urgent international support for Lebanon to restore its security and revitalize its economy, according to a statement by Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA). "In this critical phase for Lebanon, international support can play a decisive role in fostering stability, recovery, and reconstruction," Xu Haoliang, also undersecretary-general of the UN, stated. He made the appeal during his two-day visit to Lebanon, where he met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and traveled to southern Lebanon, engaging with local authorities and displaced residents. "UNDP remains committed to working alongside the government, civil society, and international partners to support essential reforms, promote good governance, and drive recovery efforts. We will continue collaborating with our partners on the ground to ensure inclusivity, leaving no one behind in Lebanon's path toward stability and lasting peace," he said. "The road to recovery will be challenging, and the new government must act swiftly despite financial constraints," Xu added. UNDP, in collaboration with the Lebanese government, is implementing a comprehensive recovery package to restore essential services, rehabilitate infrastructure, and support crisis-affected communities. The package also prioritizes assistance for small businesses and initiatives to promote environmental sustainability and revitalize the agricultural sector, the NNA reported. No specific timeline for its implementation was provided. Over the past week or two, the emphasis for the Come, Follow Me curriculum in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been on the recovery of the Book of Mormon and on the witnesses to that recovery. In that context, some of you might find this short video feature of interest and of use: Episode 32: To Be a Witness Witnesses of the Book of MormonInsights Episode 32: The need to stand as a witness is not just something from historical times, but just as necessary today. President of the Interpreter Foundation, Dan Peterson, shares his witness of the witnesses, and of the Book of Mormon. This is Episode 32 of a series compiled from the many interviews conducted during the course of the Witnesses film project. . . . These additional resources are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox, who played Emma Smith in Witnesses, as she introduces and visits with a variety of experts. These individuals answer questions or address accusations against the witnesses, also helping viewers understand the context of the times in which the witnesses lived. This week we feature Daniel C. Peterson, President of the Interpreter Foundation and Executive Producer of Witnesses. For more information, go to https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/ . Learn about the documentary movie UndauntedWitnesses of the Book of Mormon at https://witnessesundaunted.com/ . By the way: Undaunted is available for free streaming at The Witnesses Initiative. And so, for the moment, is the theatrical movie Witnesses itself somewhat to my surprise. I dont know exactly when the free-streaming opportunity for Witnesses will close. Possibly today. It wont be long, in any case. In temple news out of Texas, Fairview mayor pleads with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to avoid lawsuit: The mayor said hed go to Utah if it means he can meet with a church leader about the height of the proposed McKinney Texas Temple. I have a modest proposal, though, that might satisfy officials in Fairview: The Church should redesign its planned temple to make it blend in with the neighborhood. So that youre able to form a picture in your mind, photographs of the quaint rural hamlet over which the currently proposed temple would tower can be found here. However, the Lost Creek Village strip mall, which sits directly across the street from the temple site, offers an appropriate architectural model for a revised and more modest design, one that local people seem already to have accepted. And, specifically, the image of the all-seeing eye that appears above the sign for Fairview Eyecare needs to be incorporated into the exterior appearance of the new temple. In a possibly related story, Texas lawmaker calls for investigation into planned Muslim-centric development in D-FW: A state representative from Allen wants the AGs office to investigate the planned development. Allen, Texas, by the way, is a suburban city in Collin County, in the northern suburbs of the DallasFort Worth metroplex. So is Fairview, to which It is directly adjacent. In fact, Allens northeastern border is formed by Stacy Road, the road on which Fairview Eyecare and the Lost Creek Village strip mall and the Thai Papaya restaurant and a CVS pharmacy sit directly across the street from the site (just east of an existing Latter-day Saint meetinghouse at 651 East Stacy Road) of the proposed McKinney Texas Temple. When, at the United Nations a few days ago, my government stood heroically with the governments of Belarus, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, and Syria against the violent, oppressive, and imperialist country of Ukraine, I thought that I could not possibly be any prouder than I was at that moment to be a citizen of the United States. (For related documentary footage, see here.) Even China could not summon up the moral courage to vote against Ukraine, although Chinese officials went out of their way afterward to heap praises upon Russia. But I was wrong. In the Oval Office of the White House on Friday morning, our leaders bravely gave Ukraines tyrannical dictator a well deserved public verbal thrashing, and Im inspired beyond any possible words. Indeed, I can only exclaim ! Heres a passage from Jonah Goldberg who, like the execrable Volodymyr Zelensky himself, may well be a Jewish Nazi that he posted yesterday after the masterful diplomatic display at the White House: In his inaugural address, John F. Kennedy Jr. said, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. That might have been overly grandiose, but it was directionally right for the leader of the free world to draw those lines. Trumpsand most emphatically Vancesposition is We might help you out, we might not. It all depends on our cut. Finally, I share with you a trio of my recent discoveries from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File: Elder Christofferson meets with king of the Ga people in Ghana: His Royal Majesty King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II shared how meeting President Nelson in 2023 ignited a certain kind of fire How members in Peru and Argentina are rebuilding lives and communities: They exemplify the value of service in various forms, showing how unity can transform even the darkest moments into opportunities to share light and hope Church sends relief to flooding victims in Kentucky and West Virginia: 235,000 pounds of food and supplies [i.e., nearly 118 tons] go to organizations on the ground Some people immediately associate artificial intelligence and plagiarism, going so far as to call LLM chatbots plagiarism machines. I have pushed back on that in the past, but some new evidence has me rethinking this. Artifically Intelligently Designed Lets assume you are an educator, and students are supposed to explain what Intelligent Design is. If you got these two answers, would you consider them too similar to be coincidental? Conceptual Foundations of Intelligent Design Intelligent Design is defined by its proponents as a scientific theory that holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than undirected process such as natural selection1. The theory emerged as a significant movement in the late 20th century, with advocates arguing that design can be inferred by studying the informational properties of natural objects. According to the Discovery Institute, a leading organization promoting ID, the form of information that reliably indicates design is generally called specified complexity or complex and specified information (CSI)1. This theoretical framework attempts to position ID as a scientific alternative to evolutionary theory by suggesting that certain biological systems could not have arisen through gradual evolutionary processes. Compare that with this second one: Background and Definition ID is defined by its proponents as the theory that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection (Intelligent Design). This concept emerged prominently in the 1990s, with key figures like Michael Behe and William Dembski advancing arguments based on irreducible complexity and specified complexity, respectively. Behes book, Darwins Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution (1996) (Simon & Schuster), introduced the idea that some biological systems, like the bacterial flagellum, are too complex to have evolved through gradual changes. Dembski, in works like The Design Inference (1998) (Cambridge University Press), argued that specified complexity in nature indicates design, drawing parallels with fields like archaeology and SETI. The first one is from Perplexity, the second from Grok. Here is an excerpt from yet another response to the same prompt, this time from ChatGPT: Introduction Intelligent Design (ID) is the view that certain features of the natural world are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than undirected processes. Proponents argue that neo-Darwinian evolution alone cannot account for lifes complexity and apparent purpose, insisting that some force beyond nature with goal-directed intent must be invoked (plato.stanford.edu). The ID movement spans scientific claims, philosophical arguments, and theological implications. This literature review surveys the development of ID theory, the main arguments offered in its support, responses and critiques from evolutionary biology and philosophy of science, and the broader religious and cultural context. We consider both historical milestones and recent publications, highlighting key proponents evidence and counterarguments from critics for a comprehensive perspective. That last one starts off similarly to the first two and definitely plagiarized from the definition that the first two put in quotation marks. AI Synoptic Problem To address this topic, the ideal person is an educator who not only has to look for student plagiarism semester after semester, but also has studied the Synoptic Problem. For those unfamiliar with it, the Synoptic Problem is the question of how the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke relate to one another. In fact, why dont we compare what three LLMs produce when asked whether the two-source hypothesis remains the consensus among New Testament scholars on this topic? Heres an excerpt from Grok: Background The Synoptic problem involves understanding the similarities and differences among the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which share much content but vary in detail. The two-source hypothesis, proposed in the 19th century, suggests Mark was the earliest Gospel, and both Matthew and Luke used Mark along with another source, Q, for sayings of Jesus not in Mark. Current Consensus It seems likely that the two-source hypothesis remains the dominant view among New Testament scholars, supported by its explanatory power for shared material. However, recent scholarship shows increasing challenges, with some questioning the existence of Q due to lack of manuscript evidence and proposing alternatives like the Farrer hypothesis, where Luke used Matthew and Mark without Q. From Perplexity (where these two section are not together as in Groks output): The Nature of the Synoptic Problem The Synoptic Problem addresses the literary relationship between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, attempting to explain both their remarkable similarities and notable differences. These three gospels share substantial narrative material, often with striking verbal agreement, yet also diverge in significant ways. The problem hinges on explaining how three independent documents could share such close parallels in content, structure, and wording while maintaining their distinctive characteristics. Current Scholarly Consensus Despite challenges, the Two-Source Hypothesis remains the majority position among New Testament scholars. As recently as January 2025, it was described as widely held as the best solution to the Synoptic Problem despite acknowledged difficulties4. Multiple sources confirm its continued predominance, noting that it still enjoys the support of most New Testament scholars and commands the support of most biblical critics. In this instance, I probably wouldnt call it plagiarism if I found it in human-authored answers. A lot of this is common knowledge among scholars. Yet just as in the first example, there are sentences that are noticeably similar. This would persuade me that students had used the same source material and paraphrased it differently. Ultimately, there are only so many ways to make a point, and so language converges even without direct dependence. Take this example, one from Perplexity and the other from Grok: Despite challenges, the Two-Source Hypothesis remains the majority position among New Testament scholars. Despite challenges, the 2SH remains dominant due to its explanatory power. Patterns and AI These patterns of language are precisely how an LLM accomplishes the amazing feat that it does. This is how it generates appropriate text (most of the time) in response to our prompts. When you write a prompt, it isnt something completely unprecedented, linguistically or conceptually. The possible answers are already out there. If you ask it about something that is genuinely unprecedented, it will do one of two things. It may survey the literature and acknowledge that there is nothing that does precisely what you are asking about. Note that that is not something insignificant. Indeed, it is quite amazing and extremely useful for a researcher. It is critically important in the natural sciences to figure out whether something has been proposed before. In the sciences it is rarely possible to tweak a research endeavor and have it still be deemed worthwhile. If someone else has done it, your effort is wasted. In the humanities, it is usually possible to adjust the hypothesis and not need to abandon the project altogether. Once again, I need to stress that an LLM not being aware of something means it is not on the internet, not that it doesnt exist. A lot of copyrighted material will never be readily accessible to an LLM. Nonetheless, quickly getting a sense of the lay of the online land is very useful. The second thing it might do is less helpful. It may invent plausible-sounding sources that supposedly address a topic. My wife is in charge of one of the two branches of our citys public librarys interlibrary loan. Lately many of her colleagues have mentioned that they cannot find a book or article, despite being given a complete citation. She has spoken with me about my project and so knows what to ask them. Any chance the patron got it from ChatGPT? Conclusion So where does this leave us when it comes to artificial intelligence and plagiarism? AI does something that smells of plagiarism more frequently than I had previously thought. The reason for this should be obvious. Think how often material from Wikipedia has been reproduced online. Think about how many blog posts and articles are quoted on Reddit. There is a lot of material online that includes some content with verbatim agreement. An LLM will be influenced by these patterns. The most interesting question related to LLMs is whether, despite the fact that they emulate patterns in human speech and do not reason in the manner we do, nonetheless do something like reasoning even so. Think about it. We write to think. The writing process is how we figure things out, how we explore and reason. When an LLM emulates that, it at the very least does something that imitates human reasoning. I am talking about the linguistic equivalent of move 37 in the famous AlphaGo match. Because it is emulating but not simply reproducing, of course an AI can do something novel. Because it is exploring possibilities within the rules of our game, whether that game be chess, Go, or speech, it can make moves that no one has or would. The important thing to always remember is this. Even when an AI does something groundbreaking, it does not know it is groundbreaking. It only does it at the prompting of humans, and the significance of the output is clear only to humans. You are not replaceable. Your work may change in the future, but you are needed and valuable. What you as a human have to offer is more needed in the era of generative AI, not less. Toby Keith performed at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham, Alabama, on July 31, 2015. The show was part of the country star's "Good Times & Pick Up Lines" tour. (AL.com file photo/Frank Couch) The world mourned the one-year anniversary of the death of Toby Keith recently. The country music legend died back on Feb. 5, 2024 following a long battle with stomach cancer, and there have been plenty of tributes in the days since his passing. Also, testament to Keith and his work, is the reported fortune that he left behind to take care of his family. Aside from his musical earnings, Keith had a number of successful business ventures, and that set him up quite nicely, according to every report out there. While the numbers are not specific, Taste of Country pointed to a 2013 Forbes article that called him Country Musics $500 Million Man. There were also reports that his net worth was at $370 million at the time of his death. Obviously, either number is significant, and while those are really just estimations, the final value of his state was significant enough that his wife, Tricia Covel, asked a judge in Oklahoma to seal records related to his estate. In Touch reported that court documents show that Covel said that all of Keiths beneficiaries have agreed to a partial distribution of Tobys estate. But in the court filing Covel argued the value of the estate should not be left unsealed. This information, if known to the public, would likely increase the threat to safety and security of the Personal Representative and the heirs, the filing reportedly claims. In Touch said she also claimed that she and the family have been under constant threats for their safety and security for years. Outside of the understandable safety concerns she also reportedly claimed in the filings that allowing the value of the estate to be known will likely invite undue and unnecessary harassment upon the family and an invasion of privacy all of which outweighs the publics interest of accessing the information in the public record or knowing this information. In Touch reported the judge agreed and sealed the information. Good for Keiths family. And, good on Keith for obviously leaving his loved ones in a situation where they will be financially comfortable moving forward. A 24-year-old man was arrested last week in connection with a string of burglaries at Dunkin' Donuts stores across four New Jersey counties, authorities announced Saturday. Enajaim E. Bowman of Newark was charged in the five-week spree on Feb. 11. He surrendered Tuesday and was taken into custody without incident, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said in a news release. From mid-December to mid-January, Bowman is accused of stealing $18,267 in cash and $140 in gift cards from 15 Dunkin stores in Bergen, Middlesex, Morris and Union counties. By Roberta Burkhart, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette If the police knocked at your door and said there could be a killer in your basement, would you let them check? And, by the way, they added, there are killers hiding in almost 40% of the basements in your neighborhood. Surely, youd at least look, right? But most people take one quick peek or dont check at all when it comes to radon, a deadly radioactive gas that seeps into basements via tiny cracks in foundations and is the second leading cause of lung cancer, experts say. Radon causes 22,000 deaths a year from lung cancer, and people are astonished to realize that thats more than the number of deaths that occur from drunk driving ... or homicides involving handguns, said Gary Schwartz, professor and chair of the population health department at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Grand Forks. In Pennsylvania, 39.1% of radon test results meet or surpass 4.0 picocuries per liter, the threshold at which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends taking action to reduce exposure, per the latest American Lung Association State of Lung Cancer report. In North Dakota, 63% of homes have an elevated level of radon above 4.0 picocuries per liter. Whats going really beneath the radar is that people are dying from lung cancer, and nobody notices, said Schwartz. Yet drunk driving kills an average of 11,000 people annually and gun-related homicides accounted for 19,651 lives lost in 2023. These issues often headline the nightly news and outrage viewers. Rightly so, Schwartz said, but he questioned why the same level of concern doesnt apply to radon. Schwartz, who began his faculty career in the early 1990s at the University of Pittsburghs School of Medicines department of clinical epidemiology and preventive medicine, and other researchers published a study in 2024 that not only gauged callers' radon awareness levels, but also studied the feasibility of offering free radon tests via the tobacco quitline in North Dakota. They found that of the 51% of callers who completed a brief radon questionnaire, only one in five respondents reported knowing that radon caused lung cancer. The study concluded that radon knowledge among the states smokers was poor and that radon test distribution via quitlines is feasible and may be a valuable addition to helpline services, particularly in states with high radon levels. Weve interviewed physicians and other people in North Dakota, people who really should know. And at least half of the people that we spoke to if theyve heard about radon they have no idea what it is," Schwartz said. And the ones who have heard about radon have very limited knowledge about the gas, he said. So theyve heard about radon, kind of the way theyve heard about, oh, mitochondrial DNA. In other words, theyve heard it mentioned, but dont know much beyond that. Another key breakdown in understanding is when they hear exposure levels discussed in terms of picocuries per liter. Those numbers dont mean anything, he said, until theyre translated into pack-a-day equivalencies. Then it starts to make sense, he said. A home with a radon level of 4 pCi/L is the equivalent of every home occupant smoking eight cigarettes per day or receiving 200 chest X-rays per year. A radon level of 10 pCi/L would equate to each family member smoking a pack of cigarettes per day or receiving 500 chest X-rays per year. Schwartz said when he purchased his Grand Forks home, it tested at 36 pCi/L before a mitigation system was installed. And there are homes in Pennsylvania, in North Dakota and in many places in the U.S. that are 200 picocuries or more, he said. Smoking increases risk If there are smokers in the home already, lung cancer risks increase exponentially, said Ryan Levy, a cardiothoracic surgeon and lung specialist at UPMC. There are several studies out there that show that high radon exposures among smokers dramatically increases the risk of lung cancer, said Levy, although he added theres very little data available regarding second-hand smoke exposure and radon. He explained that as people inhale radon, which results from the decay of uranium, thorium and radium, the gas gets inhaled into the lungs and then causes damage to the DNA, the cells in the lungs, and then the person becomes much more predisposed to the development of lung cancer. So the problem with radon is, its colorless, its odorless. You dont really know its there. Radon measurements are typically the highest in the winter months, which increases the danger for northern states. Lets say its 30 below, which it has been quite recently [in North Dakota] and you heat your house to 70 degrees. Well, then you just created a 100 degree temperature difference between the ground and your house. So the air in your house is going to act like a straw and pull soil gasses through the foundation as it rises. And, of course, because its 30 below and heat is expensive, youve really insulated your house. So the radon gas gets in, but it cant get out, and in the wintertime, people spend, on average, an astonishing 16 hours a day in their homes. Those who exercise in their homes, especially in a basement gym, raise their respiration rates by approximately 300% and are breathing deeply. This substantially increases radon dangers, according to Radon Measurement & Elimination Services, a radon mitigation company based in Wisconsin. Schwartz recommends testing your home for radon in the wintertime, because thats when your house is going to be sealed up, youre not going to have the back door open, any windows open, and you will be actively pulling the gas out of the ground. Levy said testing at least once a year or purchasing a continuous radon monitoring device are smart moves for anyone in western Pennsylvania, especially those who live near fracking operations. The studies have shown that there is a statistically significant association between increased levels of radon exposure and communities that have Marcellus Shale drilling close by, he said. The primary source of radon is from uranium in soils, groundwater and rocks, especially granite, shale and limestone all of which are plentiful in the region. And dont just test the air in your home: Well water can be a source of contamination too. Drinking the water is not the concern, Levy explained. Inhalation of the water vapor while showering is the real danger. Bill Kail, co-owner of Home Radon Pros, explains how a newly installed radon mitigation system ventilates from the basement of a home in Stanton Heights.Bill Kail, co-owner of Home Radon Pros, explains how a newly installed radon mitigation system ventilates from the basement of a home in Stanton Heights. (Sebastian Foltz/Post-Gazette) Pa. radon laws are few Here in Pennsylvania, radon bills have been introduced many times but few have become law. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania has no state law requiring that homes, schools or other buildings be tested for radon. However, DEP recommends all be tested. Most recently, state Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, on Feb. 3 introduced House Bill 448 to amend the 1987 Radon Certification Act. The measure would allow previous property owners to access radon test results for properties theyve sold. Diamond said the impetus of the bill came after a constituent came to him and explained that in the course of treatment for lung cancer, her doctor asked if she had ever been exposed to radon. She wanted to examine the radon test results of a home she previously owned but was thwarted by privacy laws. If people need to go back and see what happened, I dont see any reason for them not to be able to do that, Diamond said. This is common sense stuff. State Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Allegheny County, introduced a bill to the state Senate in October that would have made radon testing mandatory in schools, but the bill was sent to the education committee, where it died. He said hes recently circulated a memo seeking co-sponsors to reintroduce it; he has nine bipartisan co-sponsors so far, he said in a recent email. Most schools in Pennsylvania do not perform testing despite estimates that 40% of school buildings have unhealthy levels of radon, Devlin said. Radon gas inhalation is ... especially harmful to children who are still developing and growing. It can cause permanent damage to lungs, and it also increases the risk of certain other cancers like leukemia. Kids are more likely to get sick because of their developing bodies. Theyre 20 times more likely to get lung cancer when exposed to radon and smoke, Devlin said. Schwartz confirmed researchers are beginning to broaden their examination of radon in connection with several other diseases, including strokes, leukemia and malignant melanoma. John Fetterman for president? Bill Maher went all-in on the idea during his Real Time with Bill Maher show Friday on HBO. To everyone who has been stopping me lately and asking, Bill, if by some weird fluke Stephen A. (Smith) doesnt run for president, who are we going to get? Well, Im going to tell ya, Maher said. But first a word from common sense. The Democratic Partys current approval rating is only 21%, which is only slightly more popular than Kanyes swastika shirts, he continued. Maybe thats why, according to a new Gallup poll, 45% of Democrats want the party to move to the center, which is up 11 points from four years ago. Now, whenever a political party finds a real star president, the other side always says, Well we have to find our Bill Clinton. Our Reagan. Our Obama. Well, the Democrats need to find their Trump. Not the authoritarian part, but the part where a politician bonds with everyday Americans because he talks like them. Thats when he pivoted to the senator from Pennsylvania. And the good news for Democrats is, they have that guy, Maher said. And his name is John Fetterman. The crowd applauded before Maher continued on. After the election, instead of curling up in a ball, Fetterman went to Mar-A-Lago where Trump assumed he was one of the guys from January 6, he said tossing in the joke as he showed a photo of Fettermans attire for the trip to see the president. And afterwards, Trump said, Hes not liberal or conservative. Hes just a common-sense person which is beautiful. Maher joked about how that was typically the kind of love that Trump reserved for Putin. Trump and Fetterman actually have a lot in common, Maher said. They are both plain spoken, anti-elitist, who come from money, married exotic immigrant ladies, went to Ivy League schools and arent afraid to take on their own party. And when the wind catches Trumps hair just right, theyre both 6-foot-8. Maher wasnt done. While the comedian mixed in jokes, he made it clear that he was serious about Fetterman being a real candidate. Look, heres the thing, voters arent really savvy about the issues, but they have made it clear what is important to them authenticity, balls and charisma, he said. Trump has that package and so does Fetterman. Hes only been a senator two years, and he is already more famous than most of his colleagues. You cant teach charisma or balls. Fetterman is that rare Democrat who is not afraid to put the woke nonsense peddlers in his own party in their own place, saying things like, Wanting a secure border and realizing that it was out of control, that doesnt mean you are a xenophobe or a racist. Hes been unequivocally pro-Israel, as are most Americans, and when pro-Palestinian protesters showed up at his home, he went up on the roof and waived an Israeli flag. Fetterman says the four words that strike fear in the heart of every Republican that wants to hang onto power: I am not woke, Maher continued. Thats why Trump won. Not because Americans were clamoring for tariffs on margarita mix. Going where the American people are on crime and immigration, gosh, its so crazy it might just work. See, thats how you get these things called votes, and once you do, you can take office. I know its more fun to make memes of Trump sucking Elons toes, but John Fetterman doesnt play that game. He says, I dont give a (expletive). I left all my (expletives) in my other pants, and I dont wear pants. Maher addressed Fettermans dress, too, saying that he, like Trump, also understands the importance of a distinctive look. I think Fettermans look works for him, he said. Its a look that says, Im just like you, Ive given up. Johns the only person in America that goes to CVS for the clothes. When the fashion police see him, they say we are going to need backup. You can see the segment below, but beware that it contains adult language. CANT SEE THE VIDEO ABOVE? CLICK HERE. FILE - Rob Bresnahan speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) AP HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Newly minted U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan swore he wouldnt support gutting government benefits such as Medicaid that residents of his northeastern Pennsylvania district rely on. Then the first-term Republican voted for a bill that could do just that. Bresnahan and two other Pennsylvania Republicans won in November by some of the smallest margins in all of Congress, prevailing in a critical battleground state that not only helped decide the presidency but also aided the GOP in taking control of the U.S. House. Bresnahan, fellow newcomer Ryan Mackenzie and seven-term Rep. Scott Perry now find themselves navigating the delicate politics of a divided electorate once again, this time during the first weeks of President Donald Trumps second term as he makes economy-altering decisions. Those include imposing tariffs on raw materials such as steel and aluminum, firing federal workers, shedding federal office space and, most recently, pushing for votes on budget legislation that appear likely to require major cuts to Medicaid and other programs people in Pennsylvania might care about. There is no time to hide: Mackenzie has already drawn a Democratic challenger in 2026, and rumors are circulating about challengers to Bresnahan, who is trying to find footing that balances loyalty to the Republican president with his constituents' needs. Before last Tuesday nights budget vote, Bresnahan had said he would vote against any bill that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on. These benefits are promises that were made to the people of (northeastern Pennsylvania) and where I come from, people keep their word, Bresnahan said in a statement. Bresnahan then voted for a GOP blueprint that sets the stage for $2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years and would, Democrats and many analysts say, inevitably require steep cuts to Medicaid, the federal-state partnership that covers medical care and long-term nursing care for some 72 million people nationwide. He played down the vote, saying it was a procedural step to start budget negotiations and did not contradict his earlier position. I will fight to protect working-class families in Northeastern Pennsylvania and stand with President Trump in opposing gutting Medicaid, Bresnahan said in a statement. My position on this has not and will not change. Trump has insisted he will not touch the safety net programs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and will only cut what he calls waste and fraud. Republican lawmakers insist there will be no direct cuts to health care through Medicaid. Nursing home operators are watching closely, including in the neighboring districts represented by Mackenzie and Bresnahan on Pennsylvanias eastern border, where communities are still trying to recover from the disappearance of the coal and steel industries that built them. There, and in Perrys south-central Pennsylvania district, many fear a devastating funding cut after years of scraping by, and they doubt there is much undiscovered waste and fraud in the program still to be unearthed. Its definitely a very hot topic for us right now, 100%, said Mary Kay McMahon, president and CEO of the nonprofit Fellowship Community, which operates a nursing home outside Allentown in Mackenzies district. McMahon estimated that Medicaid covers about 35% to 40% of the cost to care for a skilled nursing patient, and a Medicaid cut might force Fellowship Community to sell the service or eliminate beds. Theres very few options left, to be honest, and I dont know where these people are going to go for that care, McMahon said. Thats what concerns me. Jim Brogna, a vice president for Allied Services Integrated Health Systems, a nonprofit that runs three nursing homes in Bresnahans district, said representatives met with Bresnahans staff to press him not to support Medicaid cuts. Any reduction in the program would mean cuts to services, Brogna said. Nursing home operators have pushed Pennsylvania for Medicaid rate increases to help manage their costs, and Brogna said the prospect of less federal funding is heartbreaking at a time when nursing homes there are closing their doors or eliminating beds. Bresnahan did not respond to an interview request from The Associated Press. Nor did he answer a constituent email from Chris Chesek, who was motivated by the layoff of five employees at Steamtown National Historic Site to organize his first-ever rally. Last Saturdays Save Steamtown rally drew dozens to downtown Scranton and, for Chesek, it is personal: Steamtown, which memorializes Scrantons rise as a railroad and coal powerhouse in the 1900s, is like a second home where the rangers have fed his 10-year-old sons fascination with steam engines. Steamtown is a vital part of Scrantons economy, it brings people from all over the country and world, Chesek said. The Times-Tribune of Scrantons editorial page echoed that sentiment, decrying Trumps heavy-handed, indiscriminate slashing of federal spending. Bresnahans district is also home to a heavy concentration of federal employees, potentially a sensitive spot as Trump readies for large-scale layoffs of federal workers 80% of whom live outside the Washington area. Many federal employees and contractors in Bresnahans district work at military-related installations, including at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, where they forge 155 mm howitzer shells that help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion, and Tobyhanna Army Depot, one of the regions largest employers. Theres a lot of people on pins and needles right now, said Bill Cockerill, a labor liaison for Scrantons local AFL-CIO council. So far, nothings been hit, but you just dont know when the shoe is going to drop. Rumors are circulating about who might challenge Bresnahan. The developer ran a family construction company before defeating six-term Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, who said he is considering running again in 2026s election. Mackenzie, a former state lawmaker who beat three-term Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, drew an opponent barely 48 hours after voting for the House budget bill when the two-term Northampton County executive, Democrat Lamont McClure, announced his candidacy. In a statement, Mackenzie called the budget vote a starting point that makes no specific reference to Medicaid and said that if the program emerges in negotiations, he would fight to end the waste, fraud and abuse in the system, and protect benefits for those who need them. In his Thursday news conference at Northampton Countys courthouse, McClure didnt hesitate to link that legislation to Mackenzie. Mackenzies first instinct in going to Washington was to gut health care for thousands in the district, McClure said, at a time when people are most concerned about the cost of health care and the access to health care. GAZA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army killed at least four Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Palestinian health authorities and medical sources. "The Israeli army killed two Palestinians by attacking a group of locals with a military drone in the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip," Gaza-based health authorities said in a press statement. The Israeli army said in a press statement that its forces had spotted several individuals engaging in "suspicious activities" near military positions in northern Gaza, alleging that they were planting an explosive device. The statement added that the Israeli Air Force launched an attack to "eliminate the threat" and reiterated the military's commitment to removing any perceived dangers to Israeli soldiers and citizens. Meanwhile, local sources and eyewitnesses reported a mass displacement of hundreds of families from the eastern areas of Beit Hanoun due to the airstrikes. In a separate incident, medical teams recovered the body of a woman and treated two wounded people following an Israeli bombardment on the town of Al-Farahin, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Gaza-based health authorities. In Rafah, a young man was shot dead by Israeli gunfire while standing on the roof of his home in the city center, according to Palestinian medical sources at Gaza's European Hospital in Khan Younis. The Israeli army has not commented on the incidents in Khan Younis and Rafah. These developments came a day after the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended, which was supposed to be followed by negotiations on its second phase. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain diminishing to a few showers this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Tropical storm conditions possible. Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Columbia, SC (29201) Today Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 93F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 73F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Flash British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) shakes hands with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 1, 2025. Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. [Photo/Xinhua] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting at Downing Street, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. Zelensky and Starmer, together with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, held a video call with Marchenko Saturday evening. Zelensky hailed "a meaningful and warm meeting" with Starmer and thanked him for the support Britain has shown to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Confirming the loan agreement, Zelensky wrote on social media X: "This loan will enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities... The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine." Zelensky's visit came ahead of a defense summit Britain is hosting, with European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Starmer has said he believes such a deal will have to involve the United States. Zelensky said on social media X shortly before his plane touched down in London earlier Saturday that Ukraine is "ready to sign the minerals agreement" with the United States, but "a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine." Zelensky's visit to Britain followed his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday evening in the White House, where a routine presence in front of a press pool erupted into an unexpected shouting match. The fiery exchange between the two sides started with an interjection by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who demanded that Zelensky be thankful for Trump's efforts to get his country out of its three-year conflict with Russia. After the public clash, Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House early, leaving the planned minerals deal between the two sides unsigned. A vendor packs fresh fruits at a market in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, March 2, 2025. Afghanistan has exported fresh fruits worth more than 143 million U.S. dollars over the past 11 months, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Sunday. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) KABUL, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan has exported fresh fruits worth more than 143 million U.S. dollars over the past 11 months, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Sunday. "Over the past 11 months, about 296,000 tons of fresh fruits, worth over 143 million dollars, were exported," the ministry's spokesman Akundzada Abdul Salam Jawad posted on his social media account. The products were mostly exported to Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates, China, Britain, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Australia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, the official added. According to Jawad's statement in February, Afghanistan has exported 115,000 tons of dried fruits valued at 350 million dollars in the past 10 months. Afghanistan has experienced a decline in dried fruit exports compared to the same period last year, which was valued at 388 million dollars. This photo taken on March 2, 2025 shows fresh fruits at a market in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has exported fresh fruits worth more than 143 million U.S. dollars over the past 11 months, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Sunday. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Summerville, SC (29483) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. A few storms may be severe. Low 74F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-02 13:22:39 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 462 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / March 2, 2025 / If you suffered a loss on your Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) investment and want to learn about a potential recovery under the federal securities laws, follow the link below for more information:or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. via email at jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com or call (212) 363-7500 to speak to our team of experienced shareholder advocates.THE LAWSUIT: This lawsuit is on behalf of all shareholders that purchased stock pursuant and/or traceable to Venture's registration statement for the initial public offering held on or about January 24, 2025.CASE DETAILS: According to the complaint, Venture completed its initial public offering on January 27, 2025, selling 70 million shares at $24.00 per share. On February 5, 2025, TotalEnergies, an energy company that was a target customer of Venture, rejected opportunities to become a long-term customer of Venture, citing lack of trust. In particular, TotalEnergies CEO, stated that he was approached by Venture to see if the company would be interested in a long-term supply contract for liquefied natural gas from the Calcasieu Pass terminal in Louisiana, but he rejected the offer "because of what they are doing."Venture is currently facing legal challenges from existing large clients, such as BP and Shell, due to delays in supply contracts as Venture commissions its projects. Given the fact that defendants ability to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the world and to continue development of Venture's five natural gas liquefication and export projects depends on customer contracts, defendants' failure to account for and address these issues caused statements in Venture's registration statement to be false and/or materially misleading at the time of the initial public offering.WHAT'S NEXT? If you suffered a loss in Venture stock during the relevant time frame - even if you still hold your shares - go to https://zlk.com/pslra-1/venture-global-inc-lawsuit-submission-form?prid=133284&wire=1 to learn about your rights to seek a recovery. There is no cost or obligation to participate.WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, Levi & Korsinsky LLP has established itself as a nationally-recognized securities litigation firm that has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. The firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-03-02 21:00:13 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 860 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / March 2, 2025 / Onco-Innovations Limited (CSE:ONCO)(OTCQB:ONNVF)(Frankfurt: W1H)(WKN:A3EKSZ) ("Onco" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its CEO, Thomas O'Shaughnessy, was recently featured in an exclusive interview on Conversations That Matter, a widely distributed long-form program showcasing thought leaders shaping the world. The program is featured in the Vancouver Sun and is broadcast across multiple television networks in British Columbia, Canada, including CHEK-TV, as well as on digital platforms. In this exclusive interview, O'Shaughnessy shared Onco-Innovations' efforts towards developing a novel treatment candidate for colorectal cancer and other solid tumours, as well as the Company's distinguished scientific team, its recent strategic acquisition of Inka Health AI, and the Company's progress toward advancing clinical trials.The interview delved into Onco-Innovations' pioneering approach to research and development regarding cancer treatment, which focuses on precision medicine to enhance the effectiveness of traditional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation. O'Shaughnessy highlighted the Company's proprietary technology, developed by leading scientists from the University of Alberta Cancer Institute, including the use of targeted inhibitors and nanotechnology to disrupt cancer cell replication while preserving healthy tissue. He also discussed how the recently-acquired Inka Health AI is developing tools to leverage artificial intelligence to optimize patient identification and enhance clinical trial efficacy. Through this acquisition, he added, Onco-Innovations will continue to focus on building partnerships with research organizations such as Quantify Research, and big-pharma, such as AstraZeneca Canada, collaborations that the Company believes will play a crucial role in advancing a precision medicine approach to cancer therapeutic development."Being featured on Conversations That Matter gives us an incredible opportunity to share Onco-Innovations' story and reach a broader audience. It's vital for us to communicate the novel work we're doing in precision cancer therapeutic development and how we're striving to develop innovative therapies," said Thomas O'Shaughnessy, CEO of Onco-Innovations. "We are committed to advancing our research, accelerating clinical trials, and ultimately making a global impact in the fight against cancer." You can watch the interview online at the Conversations That Matter website, their YouTube channel, their Vimeo channel, and the Vancouver Sun website. It will also be broadcast on British Columbia based stations, CHEK-TV, CFTK-TV, CJDC-TV, and CKFR-AM. Please check the individual station websites for specific air dates and times.About Onco-Innovations LimitedOnco-Innovations is a Canadian-based company dedicated to cancer research and treatment, specializing in oncology. Onco's mission is to prevent and cure cancer through pioneering research and innovative solutions. The company has secured an exclusive worldwide license to patented technology that targets solid tumours, setting new standards in cancer treatment. Onco's commitment to excellence and innovation drives it to develop advanced therapies that improve patient outcomes and offer hope in the fight against cancer.ON BEHALF OF ONCO-INNOVATIONS LIMITED,"Thomas O'Shaughnessy"Chief Executive OfficerFor more information, please contact:Thomas O'ShaughnessyChief Executive OfficerTel: + 1 888 261 8055 investors@ oncoinnovations.com The CSE and Information Service Provider have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.Forward-Looking Statements Caution. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the further development, potential commercialization and benefits of the Company's research initiatives, and the prospects of the Company, including its ability to safeguard its technologies, and the Company's business and plans generally, and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "potential", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the failure to further develop, prove out or commercialize any of the Company's technologies, the failure to receive a patent or to otherwise safeguard the Company's intellectual property rights, the failure to successfully complete further trials and studies, and other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by applicable law.SOURCE: Onco-Innovations Limited 2025-03-02 12:39:41 Tusk idzie na rekord deportacji po 1989 [Bedzie popyt na prawnikow] "A. Filip" https://tvpworld.com/85350156/poland-initiates-large st-deportation-operation-since-1989 > 01.03.2025, 13:49 > > Poland has commenced a major deportation operation targeting foreign > nationals involved in criminal activities, marking the largest such > action since the fall of communism in 1989. [...] > The operation follows a nationwide crackdown on foreign criminal > gangs. In mid-February, a coordinated effort by Polish police and > border guards resulted in the detention of nearly 1,474 individuals, > both Polish nationals and foreigners. > Deportation procedures have already been initiated against 398 foreign > nationals during this operation. > "I can confirm that this will be one of the largest-scale deportations > from Poland since 1989," said Maciej Duszczyk, the Deputy Minister of > Internal Affairs and Administration. [...] -- A. Filip | Sprawiedliwosc bez dobroci okrucienstwem jest. | (Przysowie polskie) HELSINKI, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The tanker Eagle S, accused of damaging underwater cables in the Baltic Sea last December, has left Finland as the criminal investigation has reached a stage that no longer requires the ship's presence. The Finnish Border Guard monitored the departure of the tanker from Finnish territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone, local police authority announced on Sunday. The preliminary investigation now considers the suspected charges as aggravated vandalism and aggravated interference with telecommunications. Authorities expect to conclude the criminal investigation by the end of April. The confiscation order on the ship was lifted on Feb. 28. However, three crew members are still barred from leaving Finland. Meanwhile, electricity companies continue to pursue compensation claims through the courts, according to the police. The Eagle S, a Cook Islands-flagged tanker, had been accused of damaging the Estlink 2 power cable and other communication cables between Finland and Estonia on Dec. 25, 2024. Soon after the incident, Finnish authorities seized the ship and launched an investigation. The Estlink 2 line, damaged by the tanker, remains under repair, according to Finnish state grid operator Fingrid. Although Fingrid and the Estonian state grid operator Elering no longer seek the ship's seizure, both transmission system operators plan to file a lawsuit against Eagle S, seeking compensation through legal proceedings. Hellen Mutimu, the alleged Kenyan baby mama to Nigerian socialite Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, has once again publicly confronted him, insisting on a paternity test. PREMIUM TIMES reported that since January, when she first alleged that he fathered her son, Ms Mutimu has persistently called him out on social media, accusing him of neglect and evasion. Posting on her Instagram story on Sunday, Ms Mutimu referenced a viral video where a character runs while being urged not to. She likened it to the Cubana Chief Priest avoiding a DNA test and insisting their son strongly resembles him. The 31-year-old hairdresser said, Murefe, stop running because of a DNA test. This boy eats just like you, Pascal. Come and take responsibility for your son; there is no food to feed him anymore. The Kenyan student also referenced Chief Priests childhood, drawing parallels between his alleged actions and his past: Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Pascal, see how your father neglected you because of fame. I am fighting for what is rightfor you, my son. You cant run forever, Murefe. Dont run, come back, she said. More pressure On Thursday, Ms Mutimu vowed to keep pushing for a DNA test, warning that she was prepared to take drastic action. Nothing will stop me from demanding the DNA test, she wrote. If you ignore me, I will drop this boy at your doorstep. She also reminded Chief Priest of Kenyas proximity to Nigeria, hinting that she could unannounced bring their alleged son to him. You think Lagos is far from Kenya? Its just five hours away. Dont be surprised when your son arrives at your doorstep. Dont expect to see me there. Let me give you back your blood if thats what you want. I dont care what you do with him. Background Ms Mutimu claims she met Cubana Chief Priest at a friends wedding in Lagos in April 2022, where they had a brief encounter that resulted in her pregnancy. She alleges that he initially promised support but later cut off all communication and blocked her on all platforms. In an interview on 6 January with content creator Lucky Udu, she reiterated these claims, stating that after informing him of the pregnancy, he urged her to return to Kenya and stopped responding to her messages. She also revealed that financial difficulties forced her to close her salon, and although Chief Priest allegedly sent her 300,000 in small instalments, he has since refused to acknowledge the child. Ms Mutimu has repeatedly demanded a DNA test, which she claims he has ignored. Meanwhile, Cubana Chief Priest has vehemently denied her allegations, insisting, I dont know her; I have never met her. The boy definitely cant be my child. Instead of addressing her claims, he has publicly celebrated his wife, Angel Okechukwu, and their two sons on social media. Despite his denial, Ms Mutimu remains firm in her demand for a paternity test, stating that her priority is securing a better future for the child. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Donald Trumps re-election generated uncertainty in many parts of the world. His return to the White House, many feared, would lead to drastic shifts in global policies, especially foreign aid. Around the world, countries recalibrated their strategies, and their citizens braced for what lay ahead. Nigeria was no exception a country that relies on foreign aid to strengthen its healthcare system. Aaron Sunday, leader of the Association of Positive Youths with HIV in Nigeria (APYIN), had tried to speculate what could change and how this might affect him. Mr Sunday had grown accustomed to Mr Trumps unpredictability and had seen some of his messages on social media. However, he could not tell if the remarks would become policy guidelines or were simply Mr Trumps personal judgements. Then, an executive order ushered in a 90-day freeze on foreign aid, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) became a target in the attempt to slash foreign assistance. Three days later, an email landed in Mr Sundays inbox: the Lift Equity project, an initiative designed to improve adolescent access to HIV care in Nigeria, had been suspended. The progress they had made engaging local authorities, advocating for policy reforms came to an abrupt halt. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The age of sexual debut in Nigeria is often below 18, so policies must recognise this reality to ensure effective HIV prevention and control, Mr Sunday explained. We had begun building momentum, holding meetings with local authorities, parents, and health commissioners across states. Then, suddenly, everything stopped. Mr Sundays case is not isolated. PREMIUM TIMES interviewed several officials of civil society organisations and leaders of CSO networks across different states after President Trump began considering dissolving USAID. They all confirmed receiving emails suspending ongoing projects with the agency. This has left beneficiaries, many of whom rely on them for healthcare, education, and livelihoods, facing uncertain futures. Disruptions across the health sector The suspension of foreign assistance and the halt of USAID-funded projects sent shockwaves through developing countries. In Nigeria, it triggered a heated debate. Some saw it as an opportunity for the government to reduce dependence on foreign aid and take greater ownership of healthcare funding. Others feared the abrupt change would cripple essential services and put vulnerable populations at risk. Then, the effects became visible. Across national, state, and local levels, numerous non-governmental organisations saw their activities grind to a halt. Clinics and research centres shut down. Intervention programmes were abruptly suspended. Community health workers lost their jobs, and health workers deployed by USAID to hard-to-reach areas were recalled. Humanitarian aid dwindled, leaving vulnerable groups without essential support. For many Nigerians, this translated to more than just policy shifts it meant empty clinics, halted treatments, and a growing sense of uncertainty about the future of their healthcare. Reliance on foreign aid Like many other developing countries, Nigeria relies heavily on foreign aid to address critical issues, particularly in the provision of healthcare to millions of her citizens. The countrys dependence on foreign aid created room for USAID an organisation responsible for disbursing most US international aid and left a huge gap in its absence. The US is the worlds largest international aid donor and the largest contributor of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries. In 2023, for instance, the US disbursed close to $72 billion as aid and about $44 billion nearly 61 per cent of this came from USAID. The agency is also a key implementation partner in the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the primary source of funding for antiretroviral therapy, testing, and HIV prevention services in Nigeria. The Chairman of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) Bauchi chapter, Abdullahi Ibrahim, described the situation as a serious threat to HIV control efforts in Nigeria. Healthcare services most affected Although USAID operates extensively in developing countries and provides assistance for issues across sectors, a significant portion of its funding is dedicated to health interventions. For instance, in 2024, the US provided $3.7 billion in humanitarian aid to sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria among the top recipients. About $2.7 billion, 73 per cent of the fund, was spent on health programmes. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that due to the agencys strong influence on the health sector, the gap created in its absence is most felt in healthcare services. Chris Damcher, chairman of the Plateau CSO Networks, told PREMIUM TIMES that most of the intervention programmes suspended in the states focused on addressing health issues. The impact has been mostly on healthcare. It affected other sectors directly and indirectly, but the agency contributes significantly to healthcare, Mr Damcher said. Other CSO network leaders confirmed that this was obtainable in their states. USAID services range from addressing infectious diseases to epidemics and public health emergencies. USAID provided Nigeria with vaccines during outbreaks. In 2024, USAID donated 10,000 doses of the Mpox vaccine to Nigeria, making it the first African country to receive the vaccine ahead of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the disease is more endemic. This was when many African nations struggled to get the vaccine. The agency eventually donated one million doses of vaccines to African countries. It also played a major role in the effort to contain COVID-19 between 2020 and 2021, by supplying Nigeria with vaccines at intervals. The agency has partnered with other health organisations, such as the WHO and the GAVI alliance, to provide vaccines for endemic diseases like measles, cholera, and tuberculosis. Health professionals have told PREMIUM TIMES that Nigeria is unlikely to receive vaccine donations this year without USAID. With limited access to vaccines, Nigeria risks higher infection rates, increased mortality, and greater strain on an already fragile healthcare system. Despite waiver, HIV control efforts grounded Despite the US waiver to exclude lifesaving humanitarian assistance from the aid freeze, such as funding for HIV control, the provision of this assistance in the country has dwindled. Through interviews with multiple sources, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that many HIV clinics and research organisations in many states, including Akwa Ibom, Sokoto and Bauchi, have been shut down. Local contractors and sub-grantee organisations for HIV programmes have suspended work, and workers deployed to ensure implementation in hard-to-reach areas have returned. The CSO Network in Plateau said some organisations in the state have fully shut down their activities, and those still functioning might be forced to do the same if the order persists after 90 days. This paper found that reduced clinical support affects access for people in distant and hard-to-reach communities. According to a report by the Council of Foreign Relations, no money has been disbursed due to a lack of clarity on interpreting the waivers, and the freeze has continued to cause mass layoffs and suspensions. The situation is likely to worsen over time, disrupting healthcare for the almost two million people in the country living with HIV/AIDs. However, most people are still able to receive treatment and anti-retroviral drugs. Nutrition, maternal health interventions In Zamfara, USAIDs nutrition advocacy and caregiver empowerment programmes have been suspended. These programmes are designed to guide caregivers with an understanding of the essential micronutrients their wards need. Musa Umar, the lead CSO for the Zamfara Network of CSO, told our reporter that the local staff assigned to execute the project in different communities were called back in January. Health advocates said the suspension of these programmes means the support and guidance provided to parents and caregivers under the initiative are currently unavailable. According to the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), about 250,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Zamfara. Humanitarian assistance for IDPs has also declined. US-funded CSOs, known for providing necessities like food to displaced families, have scaled back their services. Mr Umar said, In a case where there are normally five or six non-profits providing different forms of humanitarian assistance to displaced persons, you can only find one or two. In Ebonyi, Tuberculosis intervention projects were grounded alongside other major projects following Mr Trumps stop work order. Ajah Oliver, executive director of Cooperation Social Responsibility, a non-profit organisation in Ebonyi, disclosed that the state relied heavily on USAID funding. As a result, the policy ended interventions statewide. It grounded education interventions alongside Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programmes. Mr Oliver said the agency was also primarily involved in revitalising PHCs in Ebonyi through a statewide Integrated Health programme. The programmes major goal was to improve maternal health by ensuring better access to quality care. Increasing domestic funding In the wake of Mr Trumps policy, the Nigerian government began trying to bridge the huge funding gap. On 3 February, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved $1.07 billion to finance the healthcare sector reforms under the HOPE programme and N4.8 billion for HIV treatment. A week later, the Nigerian Senate increased health sector funding in the 2025 budget by an additional N300 billion, aiming to strengthen programmes targeting tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, and polio. However, these allocations are insufficient compared to the USAIDs interventions in the country over the last 10 years. According to data from the US Department of State website, USAID has provided Nigeria with $6.39 billion in foreign aid in the last decade. CSO Networks across states told PREMIUM TIMES that the countrys health system will likely experience serious setbacks without US foreign aid. Many expressed concern that the likely implication of suspending health interventions would be an increase in the countrys disease transmission risk. Tayo Fatinikun, Executive Director of Life Helper Initiatives, a non-profit in Sokoto, said the US policy should be a wake-up call to the government to strengthen domestic funding for key sectors. We cant be dependent forever. The government, both at the state and federal level, needs to step up, he said. In response to the crisis, CSOs are exploring several approaches. Mr Damcher, the chairperson of the Plateau CSO network, said the CSOs are engaging with the state government to consolidate the progress made by previous interventions. Meanwhile, some organisations are seeking alternative donors outside the US to sustain their work. Some others are waiting for the aid freeze to be lifted after 90 days. However, US foreign policy analysts believe the policy is likely to be a termination of programmes rather than a temporary suspension. According to Larry Garber, an adjunct professor at George Washington University, the policy on USAID mirrors proposals outlined in the Project 2025 presidential transition plan, a 900-page document considered a policy wish list for the US president. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Police Command in Bauchi has confirmed the arrest of a 50-year-old businessman for alleged culpable homicide following a fatal domestic dispute with his 24-year-old second wife. The spokesman of the command, Ahmed Wakil, in a statement on Sunday said that the tragic incident occurred in the Fadaman-Mada Area of Bauchi during a disagreement over food ingredients and fruits meant for breaking the Ramadan fast. Reports indicate that the argument escalated, leading to the husband allegedly striking his wife with a cane. She reportedly collapsed and lost consciousness in their home. Authorities rushed the victim to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, where medical personnel pronounced her dead. The Command has launched a full investigation and has taken the suspect into custody, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Wakil added that the cane allegedly used in the assault had been recovered as evidence, while the deceased had been placed in the mortuary pending an autopsy. READ ALSO: Twelve burnt to death on Nigerian highway According to him, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Auwal Musa, reassured the public of the commands dedication to justice, emphasising that domestic violence is a grave offence with serious consequences. The police command remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens while holding perpetrators of criminal acts accountable, he stated. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Emmanuel Uduaghan, the husband of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has confirmed that his wife confided in him about her interactions with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. Mr Uduaghan, a traditional chief of Warri Kingdom in Delta State, South-south Nigeria, stated that he initially approached the matter with diplomacy and respect. He said he had always seen Mr Akpabio as a family friend and as a result of the perception, he sought an amicable resolution by meeting the senate president to discuss the situation privately. The senators husband said these in a statement on Saturday. My wife has confided in me about her interactions with the senate president, whom I considered a family friend. In response, I approached the matter with the utmost maturity and responsibility, as it is my duty as a traditional leader who has immense respect for constituted authority and upholds core family values, foster peace and harmony he said. Private discussion with Akpabio Mr Uduaghan recounted that in his meeting with Mr Akpabio, he urged him to extend the courtesy and respect that his wife, who is a sitting senator, deserved. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later As a result of their previous friendship, he noted that he believed the issue could be resolved peacefully. I personally met with the senate president and respectfully urged him to extend the courtesy and respect my wife deserves, while also honouring the friendship between us. We reached an understanding and agreed to resolve the issue amicably, he said. However, despite the supposed agreement, Mr Uduaghan noted that his wife continued to raise concerns about harassment from Mr Akpabio, a situation that suggests the issue remained unresolved despite his intervention. However, despite this agreement, my wife continues to express concerns about the harassment she has endured from the senate president, he added. Allegations against Akpabio In an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that Mr Akpabio made inappropriate advances towards her during a visit to his residence in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on 8 December 2023. She claimed that the senate president took her by the hand, led her around his house, and made sexual advances towards her in the presence of her husband. She further alleged that Mr Akpabio had, on a separate occasion, insinuated that she should take care of him if she wanted her motions to receive favourable consideration on the Senate floor. However, Ekaette Akpabio, wife of the senate president absolved her husband of the allegations and filed two defamation lawsuits against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, demanding N350 billion in damages to her husbands reputation. Call for probe On Friday, hours after Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans made the allegations, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar asked President Bola Tinubu to ensure an independent and transparent investigation into them. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Saturday, also advised Mr Akpabio to submit himself for open investigation in order to ensure fairness and transparent resolution. I have faith in my wifes loyalty Despite the controversy, Mr Uduaghan reaffirmed his trust and confidence in his wife. He expressed his unwavering faith in her loyalty and remained resolute in his commitment to their marriage. I have unwavering faith in my wifes loyalty and am fully committed to our marriage, which is grounded in love, compassion, and mutual respect. I would never trade her for anything, as she is the greatest joy of my life, he added. He, therefore, appealed to the Senate to treat his wife with the respect and dignity she deserves while allowing the relevant authorities and courts to determine the facts of the matter. I now respectfully urge the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Senate President to treat my beloved wife with the respect and dignity she truly deserves while the relevant authorities and the court determine the underlying issues. A call for fairness and due process Mr Uduaghan complained about unnecessary sentiments being stirred around the issue, which he believes are distracting from the real allegations. It is clear that certain sentiments are being stirred up unnecessarily, distracting from the serious underlying allegations, which should concern every discerning individual with sound family values. He further stressed that his wife was elected by the people of Kogi Central because of their trust and confidence in her leadership. Without prejudice to the ongoing legal proceedings, I wish to emphasise that my wife was duly elected by her people due to the immense love, respect, and confidence they have in her and she is committed to delivery quality representation to her district and the nation at large. She is a devoted wife, and the bond we share is deep and unwavering. She has always remained truthful, even in the face of adversity, Mr Uduaghan said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, says the subregional bloc must strive to maintain its status as a model of regional integration in Africa, in spite of its prevailing challenges. Mr Touray said this in Abuja, at a retirement ceremony organised by ECOWAS for its staff members due to quit the service of the commission this year. He said that ECOWAS had achieved a lot over the years in the area of free movement of people, intra-regional trading, power, and providing community infrastructure, among many others. According to him, the people behind those achievements are the staff members, some of whom are on the brink of retirement. He expressed appreciation and gratitude to them for doing such tremendous work, adding that those retiring had been part and parcel of that process. I believe that together, we can make this community better and still keep it as the model of integration on the continent. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later We do have a long way to go, but I believe we can still continue to keep ECOWAS as a model of regional integration. As you all know, ECOWAS heads of state have shown their confidence in the institution by making sure financial constraints that used to bedevil the institution do not really disturb our progress. We should continue to justify that confidence, and I am confident that the staff will continue to work to merit that, he said. Mr Touray said that in spite of the commissions numerous achievements, the community was still facing many challenges. He urged the commissions staff members to avoid looking at challenges in isolation and instead have a broader perspective to understand that the entire world was in turmoil. What is happening in our region is a reflection of the global realities. Our attempt to address some of those challenges must be all-inclusive, must be broad, as much as possible. Those challenges are surmountable. I am confident that together we should be able to address those challenges, he said. While acknowledging that there have been problems, the commissions president said that there was the will and determination to put those problems behind. Human life is made up of problems, as well as of solutions. Our strength does not lie in having no problem. Our strength lies in our capacity to overcome some of those problems. I believe that the solution to those problems lies in your hands, in the hands of staff, as members of the community, he said. Also speaking, ECOWAS Vice President Damtien Tchintchibidja told the staff members that everyone had a role to play in the organisation, adding that the work they do has an impact on the overall community. ECOWAS is you; it is me; its every single one of us. It is important that we defend the colours, the values of ECOWAS and build a better place for our community, for our children, for generations to come, she said. Nazif Darma, ECOWAS Commissioner for Internal Services, said the commissions biggest assets were its human resources who worked daily to drive its project and programme implementation impacting its 400 million citizens. Responding on behalf of the retirees, the ECOWAS Director of Private Sector, Tony Elumelu, thanked the management for organising the retirement ceremony. There are two things we celebrate, when were coming and when we go. And seeing your faces as we depart, we are encouraged, Mr Elumelu said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Borno State Government has completed the relocation of over 7000 Nigerian refugees recently repatriated from the Chad Republic back to their homes. The refugees were repatriated last month over 10 years after they were displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency. A federal government delegation led by Governor Babagana Zulum visited them in Chad and arrranged their return to Nigeria. This newspaper reported that the Borno State Government subsequently opened a temporary camp from where they were being moved in batches to their ancestral homes. On Saturday, the last batch of about a hundred people left the camp. As part of the package to ease their return home, the state government, through the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, distributed N200,000 to each refugee. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Some refugees, who confirmed this development to this reporter through a phone conversation on Saturday night, said they were travelling from Maiduguri to Kukawa Local Government Area. As I am speaking to you now, we are in Monguno. Our car broke down, and we were all under a Neem tree near the Monguno Local Government Secretariat. It is late already, and we tried to access the secretariat with our children and wives, but we were denied entry, Mallam Mustafa said. At 12 a.m. on Sunday, he said in a follow-up call that they were still in Monguno. We are still in Monguno, my son. Our car is still not fixed. We saw a similar car that returned some of us going back to Maiduguri, but when we tried to stop it, the driver didnt stop, Mr Mustafa added. The refugees urged the government to address their situation because they could no longer guarantee the safety of their children and wives. We are thankful that the government has given us money, up to N200,000, but we do not feel safe where we are now. We plead that the government should do something about it, Mr Mustafa further said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Former Senate Minority Leader Abiodun Olujimi has commented on the dispute between Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the dispute began over a seating arrangement, which led Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan to file a defamation lawsuit against Mr Akpabio and his senior legislative aide, Mfon Patrick. She is seeking N100 billion in damages and N300 million in litigation costs. The lawsuit stemmed from a Facebook post allegedly made by Mr Patrick after a heated argument between the Senate President and Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan. The conflict escalated further on Friday when, during an interview with Arise Television, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recounted an incident from 8 December 2023, when she and her husband visited Mr Akpabios residence in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In response, Mr Akpabios wife, Ekaette, defended her husband and dismissed the allegation as unfounded. She also filed two defamation lawsuits against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, demanding N350 billion in damages for tarnishing her husbands reputation. Funny Akpabio However, speaking on the controversy in an Arise Television interview on Saturday, Mrs Olujimi, who represented Ekiti South Senatorial District from 2015 to 2023, described Mr Akpabio as humorous. The 66-year-old said: I took over from Godswill Akpabio as Minority Leader, so I know him and his wife quite well. He (Akpabio) jokes a lot. Hes fond of making little fun out of everything. He loves to make everything light, and such a person becomes vulnerable when someone does that. So that makes Akpabio very vulnerable. In the Senate, I saw what Akpabio and others went through as men. Outsiders often victimised them, and I had to step in to support them. Its difficult to explain what Akpabio and others endured in the Senate, so they make light of every issue. Many male senators face immense pressure. Its not as easy as people assume. They internalisereceiving calls, having their wives dragged into the spotlight, and dealing with issues blown out of proportion. I have had to support some of them, even going home and telling their wives that these allegations couldnt be true. They are all vulnerable. Out of court Additionally, the journalist-turned-politician urged Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan to allow an amicable resolution without involving the court. Regarding the court case, I want to appeal to Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to take it out of court because we dont want women to look emotionally unstable. We (women) need to be strong enough to face the men. Going to court against the Presiding Officer isnt good. I know shes hurt, but she needs to handle it better, and I think that should get out of court as fast as possible, said Mrs Olujimi. This newspaper reported that former Senate President Bukola Saraki weighed in on the sexual harassment allegation. The former governor of Kwara State and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged them to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions. Mr Saraki, who served as Senate President from 2015 to 2019, emphasised that both parties must submit themselves to the committee to ensure a fair and transparent resolution. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A group of rangers, local hunters, and community members from the Ganjuwa Local Government Area in Bauchi State, North Eastern Nigeria, have rescued a rare breed of African antelope known as the Roan antelope. Their efforts have successfully saved the animal from the threat of poachers who considered killing the antelope for their own benefit. The General Manager of Sumu Wildlife Park, Naziru Zakari, announced the development in a statement on Saturday. Rangers, in collaboration with local hunters and community members from Ganjuwa Local Government, successfully intervened to save a strayed Roan antelope near Sumu Wildlife Park in Bauchi State, Nigeria, Mr Zakari said. The incident occurred at about 11:00 a.m. on Thursday after Mr Zakari was notified that an antelope from the Lame Burra Game Reserve axis of the State had missed its way into the community. According to the statement, a rescue operation to capture the animal without the use of specialised equipment in order to ensure survival of the antelope was promptly initiated. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later On February 27, 2025, Mr Naziru Zakari Muhammad, the General Manager of Sumu Wildlife Park, received notification that a Roan antelope had strayed from the adjacent Lame Burra Game Reserve in Bauchi, the statement said. Roan Antelope Scientifically referred to as Hippotragus equinus, the Roan antelope is one of the largest and most formidable African antelopes of the family Bovidae. It is a member of the tribe Hippotragini, the so-called horse antelope. The animal is powerfully built with long, sturdy limbs and a thick neck that looks thicker because of an upstanding mane and a beard. It was named for its colour because the roan is reddish grey to reddish brown, with a striking black-and-white facial mask. It is described as a grazer and browser whose preferred habitat includes lightly wooded savanna. It also frequents floodplains and montane grasslands. It is mysteriously absent from Africas eastern miombo woodlands and has become scarce in its southernmost range (especially in South Africa). It was reported that the antelope species was formerly common in West Africa, but it has been eliminated from many areas due to increasing population settlement and poaching. The species is highly vulnerable due to its preference for relatively open habitats, along with its size and sedentary (nonmigratory) habits. How the antelope was rescued In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, Mr Zakari said after he was notified that a rare animal species had strayed into the community, he promptly instructed the rangers team to identify the species and report their findings back to the base camp. Following an investigation, the rangers confirmed that the animal was indeed a Roan antelope. They were subsequently directed to collaborate with local residents to safeguard the animals welfare, he said. He explained that local hunters, known as Baushe Hunters, had been recruited by the Bauchi State Government to assist Wildlife and Forestry officers in conserving the environment, particularly in areas outside of the Protected Zones. During the operation to rescue the antelope, an unexpected dilemma arose. Some local hunters initially expressed a desire to kill the animal for personal benefit upon realizing that it was not from Sumu Wildlife Park, the official said. He explained that this led to a contentious debate among the various stakeholders involved in the operation regarding whether to kill or rescue the creature. Ultimately, proponents of the rescue comprising Sumu Rangers, hunters, and certain Police officers successfully argued in favour of saving the animal, Mr Zakari told PREMIUM TIMES. The antelope was safely returned to Sumu Wildlife Park in accordance with the directives issued by the General Manager. All wildlife in Bauchi State is protected under the Bauchi State Wild Animal Laws. This incident is noteworthy as it highlights a unique instance of cooperation between local hunters and Wildlife Law Enforcement agents to protect an animal outside of a designated Protected Area, said Abdul Hassan, commissioner of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Bauchi State. Mr Hassan, who oversees Wildlife Tourism Destination Areas in Bauchi, commended the collective efforts and provided a token of appreciation for the job well done to the team. According to the statement, Mr Zakari, who has just been appointed the manager of Sumu Wildlife Park, is in the process of establishing a partnership with the West African Conservation Network aimed at enhancing Wildlife Law Enforcement to protect the Wildlife within Sumu. This initiative, he said, is expected to yield significant opportunities and promote tourism. The official announced plans to work with Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China. He noted that they will use Juncao technology to protect wildlife and support community-based conservation projects in Sumu, Yankari Game Reserve, and Maladumba Lake and Forest Reserve, which is an important Ramsar site. The application of Juncao technology is anticipated to facilitate the cultivation of grasses that can feed Wildlife in Sumu while also mitigating erosion and desertification across the Local Governments of Alkaleri, Ganjuwa, and Misau, which encompass three critical Protected Areas, the statement said. It said the successful implementation of this initiative has the potential to significantly bolster wildlife conservation and tourism efforts within Bauchi State, positioning it as a model for the West African region. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Although the US government has identified about 3,690 Nigerians to be deported under President Donald Trumps policy of deporting undocumented migrants, it has yet to formally notify the Nigerian government, officials told PREMIUM TIMES. This newspaper contacted the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and Nigerias Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inquire about what messages they had received from the US government about the Nigerians to be deported. NiDCOM referred all enquiries on the topic to the foreign affairs ministry. In its response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigeria has yet to receive official information regarding the total number of Nigerians to be deported or the date of their return. The ministrys acting spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, told PREMIUM TIMES that Nigeria will prepare to receive the deportees when a confirmed number and a date for their return are available. For now, theres no information in that regard. Theres no confirmation of the number or a specific date. Trumps Policy Since taking office on 20 January, President Trump has issued a series of immigration-related executive orders, laying the groundwork for a broad crackdown on undocumented migrants in the US, one of his major campaign promises. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later At the heart of his immigration policy is a commitment to expelling unlawful migrants and fulfilling his promise of mass deportations. The Trump administration deported over 37,000 people in the first month of its second term, to countries like Honduras, Ecuador and India. However, there have been no deportations to Nigeria and most African countries yet with officials saying the monthly figures would increase. About 3,690 Nigerian nationals who are considered to be residing in the US illegally have been outlined by the countrys ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) as part of those to be deported. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Nigeria had the second-highest number of citizens slated for deportation in Africa, following Somalia, which had 4,090. Last week, the US envoy to Nigeria, Richard Miller, disclosed that the US was set to return the first set of 85 Nigerian deportees. He said Nigerians who were convicted in the US would be repatriated to Lagos State as the first batch of deportees. Those to be repatriated would be dropped in Lagos. There wouldnt be room for whether it should be in Port Harcourt or Abuja. The first group will be convicted prisoners: those who committed crimes and are in the US prisons. Some of them are those who have violated US immigration laws. They appealed but were denied, yet they are still in the US. They have committed immigration crimes, people who have been ordered to leave, he said. However, Mr Ebienfa, the foreign affairs official, stated that the date of the return of the first batch has not been communicated to the ministry and the Nigerian mission in the US. The actual movement of the flight has not been concluded. When they are ready, they will inform us or our Mission in Washington, who will notify us. The normal diplomatic standard is that the host country will notify us, and then we will reach an agreement. Once we are informed, we will begin to prepare and inform the public, he told PREMIUM TIMES. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Amid the persistent funding shortfalls crippling Nigerias public tertiary institutions, President Bola Tinubu has continued to establish new ones without introducing a sustainable funding model. Last year, many universities struggled to pay their electricity bills at least three of them were temporarily disconnected from the electricity grid over failure to pay accrued bills. In 2023, the Mr Tinubu-led federal government postponed the take-off of some federal universities approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari, citing funding concerns. However, Mr Tinubus government has gone ahead to establish even more universities, polytechnics and colleges of education without providing an alternative source of funding. The latest are the Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji, Osun State, and Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State established on 20 February. Earlier on 3 February, he had also approved the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) in the Ogoni town of Tai, Rivers State. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the president said the institutions will serve as training grounds for developing agriculture, science and technology professionals and enhancing Nigerias competitiveness in the global economy. President Tinubu said these specialised institutions will address the educational needs of the populace while driving research and innovation and contributing to the countrys overall economic growth and development, the statement reads in part. 12 institutions under two years Since assuming office in May 2023, Mr Tinubu has established at least 12 tertiary institutions, including eight universities, two polytechnics and two colleges of education. They include the Federal University of Health Sciences and Technology in Tsafe, Zamfara State; Federal University of Sports, Afuze, Edo State; Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Kwale, Delta State; Federal University of Agriculture, Mubi, Adamawa State; Federal University in Southern Kaduna and Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) Tai, Rivers State. Others are Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji, Osun State; Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State; Federal Polytechnic Rano, Kano State; Bola Tinubu Polytechnic, Gwarimpa, FCT; Federal College of Education, Ilawe Ekiti, Ekiti State; and Federal College of Education, Ididep, Ibiono, Akwa Ibom State. When he declined assent to the Federal University of Education, Numan (Establishment) Bill, last month, it was due to inconsistencies in the bill and not funding considerations. Universities struggle to pay electricity bills Meanwhile, the existing institutions are struggling to fund their operations and maintain existing facilities. Last year, at least three universities were cut off from the electricity grid following their inability to pay for their accrued electricity bills. In November, the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) cut-off the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) from power supply as it failed to pay accrued bills. In a memo to staff and students, the university said it was making frantic efforts to pay the bills, explaining it had spent over N1 billion on electricity bills between January and October, excluding the amounts expended on diesel for power generators. This is even at the expense of the critical statutory functions of the University, it said. Earlier in August, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) disconnected the University of Lagos (UNILAG) after it failed to pay the N472 million bills it owed. UNILAG said its electricity bill, which averaged between N150 million and N180 million monthly, increased to almost N300 million monthly after the EKDC migrated it from Band B to Band A in June. In July, students at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) took to the street to protest days of blackout after the management of the institution failed to reach an agreement with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). The institution said it couldnt pay the bill which rose by 200 per cent and couldnt reach a favourable agreement with BEDC at the time. At one point, the University of Ibadan (UI) announced that it would begin rationing electricity to only 10 hours a day, sparking protests by students. The university quickly denied the memo after the protest. However, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Peter Olapegba, explained that since the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEC) moved the institution from Band B to Band A, the monthly electricity bill has risen from around N80 million monthly to as high as N280 million. Insufficient budgetary allocations Though Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) said it spent about N1 billion on electricity bills between January and November 2024, the total overhead cost allocated to it in the proposed 2025 budget is N511 million, a PREMIUM TIMES review of the budget shows. Overhead costs cover electricity bills, water and other expenses for the day to day running of the university. Mr Tinubu proposed a N36.7 billion budget for ABU, out of which N34 billion is allocated for salaries and wages and N2.1 billion for capital projects. A further review of the budget revealed that UNILAG has N510 allocated for overhead costs and N502 million for the University of Ibadan (UI). Mr Tinubu proposed a total spending of N27.8 billion for UI out of which N2.1 billion was allocated for capital expenditures. For UNILAG, the president proposed N24.5 billion out of which N2.1 billion was allocated for capital expenditure. Increasing Fees The Nigerian government maintains that Nigerian tertiary institutions remain tuition-free, with students paying only sundry charges for items like identity cards, lab coats etc. However, to offset rising running costs, Nigerian universities have increased the sundry charges, most of them by more than 100 per cent, ignoring student protests. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the fee increment that began in late 2022 continued till 2024 despite President Tinubus July 2023 directive to universities to avoid arbitrary increments in fees. Funding challenges The funding issues have also routinely led to disputes between the government and the workers in the institutions, especially the universities. A significant part of the grievances of the workers unions of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education is the proliferation of federal and state tertiary institutions, despite the governments inability to adequately fund existing ones. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the federal and state governments of turning the institutions into constituency projects, due to the rate of proliferation. According to ASUU, the singular source of funds for training of staff and capital projects in the institutions has been the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). The establishment of more institutions is straining the Funds resources, it said. Beginning of the end of TETFund? The union also recently warned against a section of the proposed tax reform bill that seeks to share revenue accruable to TETFund with other government agencies. TETFund currently receives a statutory allocation of three per cent of companies income tax received by the government. However, the bill proposed a flat four per cent development levy to be shared between TETFund, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). The bill also seeks to phase out allocation for TETFund from 2030 But ASUU said it would reject moves to take away funding from the agency, which was first established in 1993 following the unions persistent struggles with the government over funding for education. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Volunteers transfer an injured woman of a vehicle accident in Kengtung township, Shan state, Myanmar, March 1, 2025. A passenger bus carrying over 30 passengers plunged into a ravine in eastern Myanmar's Shan state, killing seven and injuring 25, according to the Myanmar Fire Services Department. (Tai Nay Rescue Team/Handout via Xinhua) YANGON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- A passenger bus carrying over 30 passengers plunged into a ravine in eastern Myanmar's Shan state, killing seven and injuring 25, according to the Myanmar Fire Services Department. The accident occurred around 8 p.m. local time on Saturday in Kengtung township, Shan state. The crash happened when the bus lost control and fell into a ravine, a local police officer told Xinhua on Sunday. Among the victims, five males and two females died at the scene, he said. The injured were transferred to local hospitals by rescuers, he added. Banks have commenced implementation of the new Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction fee charge on customers following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBNs) directive. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who monitored some banks ATM galleries in Abuja and environs on Sunday, reports that some customers were lamenting the increase. NAN reports that all the banks ATMs visited had monies loaded in them. Luke Abudu, a customer at First Bank along Nyanya-Jikwoyi road, said the implementation would only affect the poor masses struggling to make a living. Mr Abudu said the move would discourage customers from lodging monies in the banks. I came to withdraw N20,000, but I found out that I was charged N100 for the withdrawal. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later This is too much for a small business owner like me, he said. Another customer, Victoria Adejo, seen at Zenith Bank, Mararaba branch, said that withdrawal from a Point of Sale (PoS) agent was now cheaper than an ATM. It is unfortunate that our government formulate policies without feeling the pulse of the people. I read that the CBN said the decision is in response to rising cost and to improve efficiency of ATM services but banks still bill us for service charge. They (banks) declare profit in billions and trillions from our monies, and the CBN does not consider that. This is not good enough at all, she said. Nurudeen Ehimotor, a customer at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Asokoro, said he was at the bank to use the ATM due to the banks poor online network. I came to use ATM because I tried to transfer money from my bank using USSD since yesterday but it didnt go through. I have an issue with my app, so I have been using USSD codes for my transfer. I think they (the banks) are trying to make people use ATM now for them to make more money, he said. Mr Ehimotor appealed to banks to reduce incessant charges on customers accounts. NAN reports that the CBN released a circular on 10 February to all banks and other financial institutions to apply the fees, effective from 1 March. CBN, in the circular titled Review of ATM transaction fees, said the move was in response to rising costs and the need to improve the efficiency of ATM services in the banking industry. On-Us (customers withdrawing at the ATM of the customers financial institution) in Nigeria at no charge. Not-on-Us ( withdrawal from another institutions ATM) in Nigeria; On-site-ATMs: A charge of N100 per N20,000 withdrawal. Off-site ATMs: A charge of N100 plus a surcharge of not more than N500 per N20,000 withdrawal. The income, which is an income of the ATM acquirer/deployer, shall be disclosed at the point of withdrawal to the consumer, it said. Meanwhile, banks had informed their customers through various electronic mails (e-mails) of the increase. GTB told its customers that they would no longer be allowed to make free monthly withdrawals in addition to the ATM transaction fee. Please note that the three free monthly withdrawals at other banks ATMs (for GTBank customers) and GTBank ATMs ( for other bank customers) will no longer apply, the bank said. Also, Access Bank, in their official X handle, told customers that All Access Cards now work seamlessly across all ATMs and POS machines so that you can make payments without hassle. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, has criticised former Senate President Bukola Saraki for advising the current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to submit himself to an open investigation over sexual harassment allegations levelled against him. Mr Nwebonyi, who represents Ebonyi North Senatorial District, described Mr Sarakis suggestion as a misplaced priority and that comparing his ( Saraki) past case with Mr Akpabios situation is fundamentally flawed. The senator said these in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Dr Abubakar Bukola Sarakis appeal for transparency and institutional protection is noted, but his attempt to draw a parallel between his own past case and the current false allegations against Senate President Godswill Akpabio is fundamentally flawed. The two situations are worlds apart in context, substance, and motivation, he said. Sarakis call for transparency On Saturday, Mr Saraki, who presided over the Senate from 2015 to 2019, urged Mr Akpabio to ensure that the investigation into sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is conducted openly and transparently. The former senate president also urged Mr Akpabio and Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan to submit themselves to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions to ensure a fair resolution. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Mr Saraki recalled that during his tenure as senate president, he faced allegations that he imported an official car without paying customs duties. He said he appeared before the ethics committee to clear his name and allowed the media to cover the proceedings to ensure transparency. He advised Mr Akpabio to do the same to demonstrate accountability and transparency in governance. Sarakis comparison is misguided Mr Nwebonyi argued that the circumstances surrounding both cases are different and should not be compared. He said that while Mr Sarakis case was related to his official duties as senate president, the allegations against Mr Akpabio were personal and required to be treated personally. Mr Nwebonyi questioned the credibility of the allegations against Mr Akpabio with an argument that the alleged incident occurred over a year ago, yet no complaint was made until Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was directed to face disciplinary action. In Sarakis case, the matter revolved around his official duties as senate presidentspecifically, an accusation concerning the importation of an official vehicle. The claim was factually incorrect, and Saraki, knowing this, subjected himself to scrutiny to clear his name. It was an administrative and procedural issue directly tied to his office, and a swift resolution through the Senate Ethics Committee restored confidence in the institution. In contrast, what we have before us today is a case of personal, unsubstantiated, and conveniently timed accusationsclaims of sexual harassment that supposedly took place over a year ago but surfaced only after the accuser was summoned for disciplinary action. There was no prior complaint, no record of distress, no mention to her husband, and no disclosure to female colleagues in the Senate. Instead, the accusation was unleashed only at the point of reckoning, in a desperate attempt to divert attention from legitimate disciplinary proceedings, he said. Dangerous precedent Mr Nwebonyi warned that if Mr Akpabio follows Mr Sarakis advice, it could set a dangerous precedent where unfounded allegations could be used to manipulate and disrupt the Senates functions. If we take Sarakis argument to its logical conclusion, we would be establishing a dangerous precedentone where any gold digger or habitual liar can throw out an unsubstantiated allegation and expect the Senate to come to a halt while they are entertained. This is not just about Akpabio; it is about protecting the institution of the Senate from manipulation and blackmail, he said. Mr Nwebonyi said Mr Saraki was right in seeking the protection of the integrity of the upper chamber, but that true protection would mean its processes are not hijacked by baseless claims. Saraki rightly speaks about protecting the Senates integrity, but true protection of the institution means ensuring that its processes are not hijacked by baseless, opportunistic claims. If Natasha has any real grievance about events that occurred outside the Senate, let her pursue those through the appropriate legal channelsnot use the Red Chamber and the media as a stage for diversionary theatrics. Dr. Sarakis appeal to precedent is misplaced. His case was about official duties and was addressed in a manner that reinforced institutional accountability. This case, however, is about a personal vendetta and a desperate attempt to escape disciplinary action. Mr Nwebonyi urged the Senate and the public not to be influenced by what he described as a diversionary tactic. The Senate and Nigerians should not fall for this diversionary tactic. The Senate must stay focused, maintain order, and refuse to be blackmailed into legitimising what is clearly an opportunistic and diversionary falsehood. Natashas history of sexual harassment allegations The Senate deputy whip also recalled that Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan had a history of making similar allegations against public figures, including former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye, and former presidential aide Reno Omokri. It is well known that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has a history of making reckless and false allegations of sexual harassment against prominent figures, including Reno Omokri, Dino Melaye, and Yahaya Bello. These accusations always follow the same pattern: wild claims, media noise, and no evidence. Now, the same strategy is being deployed against the Senate President, not because she is seeking justice, but because she is desperately avoiding accountability for her own actions, he added. She never informed the Senate Mr Nwebonyi asked why Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan never raised the issue on the floor of the Senate despite having opportunities to do so in line with the rules of the Senate. Even more telling is the fact that she never brought this complaint to the floor of the Senatenot even when she claimed that her motion on Ajaokuta Steel was ignored despite being listed on the Order Paper. If she truly believed that she was being victimised because of an alleged sexual harassment incident, the proper forum to raise such a grievance would have been the Senate itself, he said. He explained that the Senate does not investigate issues based on media reports but on formal complaints within its chambers. The Senate only responds to and investigates issues formally raised within its chambers, not in a television interview. If she believes that addressing her grievances on TV is more effective than following due process in the Senate, then kudos to her. However, as a senator, she should know better. The Senate is moved by reason and laws, not sentiments and drama, and those who seek redress must engage the institution through its established procedures, not through media grandstanding. Politically motivated accusation The Ebonyi senator further alleged that the sexual harassment allegations against Mr Akpabio were politically motivated. Furthermore, it is critical to note that Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was appointed as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content on the 21st of November 2023 before the alleged sexual harassment incident in Ikot Ekpene. If she had truly been a victim, why would the Senate leadership, under the same Akpabio she now accuses, assign her such a critical leadership role? This glaring contradiction exposes her claims for what they truly are: a politically motivated and diversionary stunt. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has reacted to the defamation lawsuits filed against her by Ekaette, wife of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, over the sexual harassment allegation she levelled against her husband. PREMIUM TIMES reported that during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Mr Akpabio of sexual harassment. She recounted an incident on 8 December 2023, when she and her husband visited Mr Akpabios residence in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. In response to the allegation, Mrs Akpabio filed two defamation lawsuits at the Federal High Court in Abuja against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, seeking N350 billion in damages to her husbands reputation. In the lawsuits marked CV/814/25 and CV/816/25, she demanded N250 billion and N100 billion in general damages, respectively. Mrs Akpabio also claimed that the allegations had caused her and her children emotional and psychological distress. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later However, in its Saturday report, Arise Television quoted Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan of urging Mrs Akpabio, , through her lawyer Victor Giwa,, to stay out of the matter in response to the lawsuits. Your sanity In a letter titled Stay Away from Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghans Sexual Harassment and Intimidation Allegation Against Senate President Godswill Akpabio to Safeguard Your Sanity and That of Your Family, the senator noted that the accusations were a personal matter concerning Mr Akpabio. She further emphasised that the Senate Presidents wife should refrain from intervening and allow her husband to address the allegation himself. The letter partly read: Our Client is not desirous of calling you out into the unfortunate saga concerning her allegations against the Senate President and wishes that you restrain yourself from delving into the obscene circumstances. While she has tolerated all the harassment from the Senate President, she was constrained to reveal the unfortunate torture and victimisation which she has been going through in the red chambers under the hand of the Senate President. Our client has concrete evidence to substantiate her allegations. We will suggest that you leave the defence of the allegations for the Senate President to maintain your sanity and that of your family. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan reaffirmed her dedication to advocating for Nigerian women and upholding strong family values. She stressed her unwavering commitment to preserving shared heritage and principles, vowing to continue championing these ideals. Good wife Meanwhile, this newspaper reported that Emmanuel Uduaghan, the husband of Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, claimed in a personally signed statement on Saturday that Mr Akpabio harassed his wife. While breaking his silence on the sexual harassment allegation his wife levelled against Mr Akpabio, Mr Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri Kingdom, stated that he initially chose to stay out of the matter but felt compelled to speak out due to recent developments. Mr Uduaghan described his wife as a devoted woman who has always remained truthful, even in the face of adversity. He observed that certain sentiments are being unnecessarily stirred, shifting focus from the serious underlying allegations. He emphasised that these issues should concern every discerning individual who upholds sound family values. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans husband urged the Senate and Mr Akpabio to treat his wife with the respect and dignity she deserves while the relevant authorities and the court address the underlying issues. He noted, I have unwavering faith in my wifes loyalty and am fully committed to our marriage grounded in love, compassion, and mutual respect. I would never trade her for anything, as she is the greatest joy of my life. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Rattled by the USs hostile interaction with Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday, European leaders have resolved to scale up military and security support for Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer disclosed this on Sunday after an emergency summit at Lancaster House in London, attended by European leaders, Turkey, NATO, and the European Union. He said the emergency meeting was organised to garner support for Ukraine and ensure the countrys security. As part of this effort, Mr Starmer announced that the UK has signed a 2.2 billion loan, obtained from profits of frozen Russian assets, to provide more military aid to Ukraine. He also announced a new deal allowing Ukraine to use 1.6 billion of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles. He said the missiles will be made in Belfast, creating jobs and improving Ukraines critical infrastructure. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later He said, We have to learn from the mistakes of the past. We cannot accept a weak deal like this, which Russia can breach with ease. Instead, any deal must be backed by strength. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table. Mr Starmer, however, noted that not every European country would be able to contribute equally, with some unable to contribute at all. Similarly, the European Union Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said Ukraine needs security guarantees for its economic survival and military resistance. She also stated that Europe needs to scale up its military strength. We urgently have to rearm Europe. For this, I plan to present a comprehensive plan at the next European summit in Brussels, she said. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the plan to increase military investment for Ukraine is good news. He said the bloc is also working to gain the alliance and support of the US to end the war. Mr Rutte said European countries are set to ramp up defence spending. Trump and Vances clash with Zelensky European leaders have been scaling up support for Ukraine since the hostile exchange between President Donald Trump, his deputy JD Vance, and Mr Zelensky. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Ukrainian president had visited the White House to discuss his countrys ongoing war with Russia and finalise a critical mineral deal, but failed to do so. The meeting ended abruptly after the leaders disagreed over the terms of the deal. The Ukrainian president demanded a security guarantee in exchange for the mineral deal. President Trump, in response, said Mr Zelensky has no card to negotiate. You dont have the cards, but once we sign that deal, youre in a much better position, but youre not acting at all thankful. And thats not a nice thing, Ill be honest, thats not a nice thing. You are gambling with World War III. Mr Vance accused the Ukrainian president of being disrespectful and ungrateful. Talking over the Ukrainian leader, Mr Vance said, Do you agree that you have had problems with your military? Do you think it is disrespectful to come to the Oval Office and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country? Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As he said in his book, he was indeed caught between the devil and the deep blue sea He could have done what some may deem right right by resisting the deceit, betrayal, perfidy, pressure and subterfuge from the Abacha faction of the military, refuse to accept the illegal and unconscionable annulment, declare it as null and void and consequently spark off a bloody chain of events and a civil war, or he could have chosen to do what some may deem wrong by keeping his cool, letting Abacha have his dastardly way, conceding to the dark forces, accepting the annulment and thereby save lives and maintain a tenuous even though short-lived peace. Much has been said and written since President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangidas book, A Journey In Service: An Autobiography, was launched. As to be expected, the reviews are interesting and the commentary has been in some cases good, in some bad and in some ugly. This is a healthy development because the worst that one can do to a book or an essay is to ignore it. Whether you agree with its contents or not or whether you like the author or not is not the point: what makes it worth writing is the commentary that follows and the oftentimes divided opinions. This, more than anything else, makes the literary contribution a success, and as the saying goes: it is better for it to be spoken about, even in negative terms, than for it to be ignored. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later There is no doubt in my mind that few can ignore either Babangida or his controversial yet factual book, and ever since its launching on 20 February, it has been the talk of not just the town but the entire nation. I welcome and encourage such discourse wholeheartedly because it engenders intellectual debates, enriches and deepens our knowledge of history. I do, however, take objection to those who have gone a little too far and have characterised Babangida as a coward and a weakling simply because he spoke the truth about the role General Sani Abacha, his chief of defence staff, played in the annulment of the June 12 election. In the book, Babangida displays humility and remorse and assumes full responsibility for the annulment as head of state. He also points out the fact that he chose to tread that precarious and regrettable path primarily as a consequence of the immense pressure he was subjected to by General Sani Abacha. By bringing these facts to public glare and establishing this narrative, he is not, as some have argued, making excuses for his actions but rather attempting to put them in context and for historical purposes, to enlighten the Nigerian people about precisely which personalities and circumstances caused him to take the decision that he eventually took. This surely ought to be commended and not condemned as it can only enrich the historical discourse and shed more light on the darkest corners of our journey as a nation. I say this because I believe that the Nigerian people have a right to know about the real causes of the terrible trauma they were put through as a consequence of the annulment, with its attendant loss of liberty and life, and the six long years of suffering, strife, division and misery that it brought our people. Sadly as a consequence of his submission about their patriarchs role in the whole sordid affair, certain members of General Abachas family, some very young and some a little older, took umbrage and offence and publicly described Babangida as weak and a coward. This is not only a false characterisation of a man who has proved his courage on several occasions in our history and put his life on the line for Nigeria many times, but it is also very unkind, given the strong friendship and trust that Babangida and Abacha themselves shared over the years, and given the close relationship that their respective families have enjoyed ever since the Nigerian civil war. Outside of that, anyone who says that IBB is weak or a coward does not know him well enough. It is better that we do not open up this debate because if we do those who are saying these uncharitable things will be worsted. It really is advisable for them to sheath their swords at this early stage in order to ensure that their fathers tenure is not subjected to even more public scrutiny than it already has. As they say, sometimes silence is golden. Some of us lived the experience, whilst some of those talking today had not even been conceived, let alone born. Between the father and grandfather of those who are throwing bricks today and calling IBB weak and a coward, we know who the monster and cold-blooded killer was. Granted that it was under his watch that the June 12 election was annulled but what cannot be denied is that the real reign of terror began after Babangida left office and after Abacha toppled the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government in a coup, took power and turned state-sponsored terror and murder into an art. For five years the entire nation, and particularly the Yoruba people, were subjected to the worst form of barbarity and tyranny that our nation had ever known. Many were falsely accused, persecuted, humiliated, killed, incarcerated, tortured and driven into exile to suffer in some foreign land, whilst others, like the former military Head of State and later President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, General Shehu Musa YarAdua (the second in command to General Obasanjo when he was military head of state and the older brother to President Umaru Musa YarAdua) and General Paul Oladipo Diya (General Sani Abachas second in command) were imprisoned for no just cause and one of them (YarAdua) was pinned down and forcefully injected with strange and toxic substances, poisoned and murdered whilst there. Meanwhile, Abiolas wife, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, along with many others, including a young man by the name of Toyin Onagoruwa, who was the son of Dr Olu Onagoruwa (SAN; Abachas attorney general and minister of Justice who had earlier resigned in protest against all the atrocities that the government he served was committing), were either gunned down in the streets or, like Bagudu Kaltho, blown up with bombs. What can one say about a man who, according to Onagoruwa himself, could order the murder of his own minister of Justices son simply because the man gave a press conference, criticised his brutal policies and heinous practices and resigned. Then there was the judicial murder of the activist and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. Even after the international community pleaded with him not to hang this man and implored him to at least allow him to challenge his conviction for murder before what was, to all intents and purposes, a kangaroo court and go to the Court of Appeal, Abacha refused to listen and had the poet and human rights activist hanged in the middle of the night. Worse of all was the fact that Saro-Wiwa was his close friend. This was singularly one of the most wicked and callous acts that took place under Abachas watch. Saro-Wiwa deserved to at least go on Appeal and exhaust the opportunities that the law and the legal system availed to him. It was a national tragedy and the Commonwealth nations, particularly, were so shocked that Nigerias membership was suspended. Yet, it didnt end there and there is so much more to say. For example, brutal psychopaths like Colonel Frank Omenka and his gang of heartless cut throats tortured people, including women and children, with sadistic pleasure in the dungeons of the Directorate of Military Intelligence in Apapa, Lagos. Few left there alive. Most of the young people talking and writing on social media today know nothing about these ugly events or that time because they were not born and they know NOTHING about the history of the country. We lived it, we were part of the struggle, we paid the price, it was hell, and all of it happened under Abachas watch. Yet, how did we get there, what transpired, who were the major actors and who actually annulled the June 12 election and took us down that hideous path? This is the million dollar question and Babangida finally answered it in his book. The truth is that had it not been that IBB sheathed his sword, held his peace and conceded to the dark, sinister and evil forces that coordinated, orchestrated, initiated, effected and announced the annulment without his knowledge and behind his back, there would have been a very bloody military coup which would have, in turn, been violently resisted by the IBB faction and thereby result in a long and protracted civil war. Those who led these dark and evil pro-annulment forces were General Sani Abacha, Brigadier General David Mark, Lt. General Joshua Dogonyaro, Air Vice Marshal Nurudeen Imam, Colonel Lawan Gwadabe, Major General Alwali Kazir, Lt. General Ishaya Bamaiyi, Major General Jeremiah Useni, and many others. Had Babangida resolved to resist them, renounce the unauthorised announcement, and de-annul the election (which he could easily have done), I have no doubt that Abiola, his wives, children, key supporters, many of those heroes that were to later become the leaders of NADECO, IBB himself and all his key loyalists, including Major General Salihu Ibrahim (the chief of army staff), Brigadier General Haliru Akilu, Major General Aliyu Gusau, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, Colonel Abubakar Umar, General Gado Nasko, Air Vice Marshall Hamza Abdullahi, Colonel Habibu Shuaibu, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, General Garba Duba, General Sani Bello, Colonel Nuhu Bamalli (as he then was), Major General Isola Williams, Admiral Augustus Aikhomu and many others, would have been targeted for assassination, and our country would have been plunged into a cataclysmic bloodbath, given the fact that Babangidas men would have struck back with equal ferocity and in equal measure. More likely than not, few of the main players on both sides, including Abacha, Abiola and Babangida themselves, would have survived the conflagration and the country would have been at war with itself, as brother killed brother, for an indefinite period of time. Anyone who doubts this or the horrific nature of such conflicts should remember what happened during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war and consider what is happening in Sudan today. When senior and powerful military officers, each with a massive following in the Armed Forces, refuse to tread the path of compromise, peace and sanity and take up arms against one another, EVERYONE loses and the entire country implodes into ashes, and crumbles into dust. I do not seek to justify the annulment, and at the time, along with millions of others, I opposed it with all my heart and every fibre of my being, but the reality was that IBB was faced with a very difficult choice. As he said in his book, he was indeed caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. He could have done what some may deem right right by resisting the deceit, betrayal, perfidy, pressure and subterfuge from the Abacha faction of the military, refuse to accept the illegal and unconscionable annulment, declare it as null and void and consequently spark off a bloody chain of events and a civil war, or he could have chosen to do what some may deem wrong by keeping his cool, letting Abacha have his dastardly way, conceding to the dark forces, accepting the annulment and thereby save lives and maintain a tenuous even though short-lived peace. He chose the latter, saved MKO Abiolas life and those of many others, and maintained the fragile unity of the military and by extension the country by doing so. Yet, whichever option he opted to take, Babangida was not the villainous usurper, traitor and King-slayer here: Abacha and his vile power-hungry cohorts were. This is what IBB has now firmly established in his book and we await sensible literary responses from those who are still alive and were in the Abacha camp. They are more than welcome to dispute the facts and tell their side of the story and we are eager to hear them. However, until they do so and provide the necessary evidence to establish the veracity of their claims, I along with many others are constrained to accept Babangidas narrative because, in my view, he remains a respected elder statesman and a man of integrity, and secondly his account appears to credible and plausible. For the benefit of those who may not have the book, I would urge them to get a copy and read from pages 274 to 276, in order to get a clear picture of what actually transpired, and the truth is that it is shocking! Due to space constraint, permit me to qoute just a portion of it from page 275-276, where he wrote, On the morning of June 23, I left Abuja for Katsina to commiserate with the YarAdua family over the death of their patriarch, Alhaji Musa YarAdua. The funeral had taken place, and as I got ready to leave, a report filtered to me that the June 12 elections had been annulled. Even more bizarre was the extent of the annulment because it terminated all court proceedings regarding the June 12 elections, repealed all the decrees governing the Transition and even suspended NEC! Equally weird was the shabby way the statement was couched and made. Admiral Aikhomus press secretary, Nduka Irabor, had read out a terse, poorly worded statement from a scrap of paper, which bore neither the presidential seal nor the official letterhead of the government, annulling the June 12 presidential elections. I was alarmed and horrified. Yes, during the stalemate that followed the termination of the results announcement, the possibility of annulment that could lead to fresh elections was loosely broached in passing but annulment was only a component of a series of other options. To suddenly have an announcement made without my authority was, to put it mildly, alarming. I remember saying: These nefarious inside forces opposed to the elections have outflanked me! I would later find out that the forces led by General Sani Abacha annulled the election. There and then, I knew I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea! From then on the June 12 elections took on a painful twist for which, as I will show later, I regrettably take responsibility. FOLLOWING THE ANNULMENT, the country was engulfed in one of its worst political crises ever. Like many of us in government, the political class was stunned. All this, yet Babangida still opted to take full responsibility for these troubling events and great injustice and kept his lips sealed about the abominable role that General Sani Abacha and his group played in the annulment of the June 12 election and the rape and usurpation of the mandate that was freely given to Chief MKO Abiola and his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe by the Nigerian people. To drive home the point about how dangerous the situation was for all and sundry, permit me to remind those that were alive at the time about the meeting that Babangida had with Abiola after the annulment, in which he told him that these people, meaning the Abacha group would, kill me, you and all the rest of us if the election result was de-annulled and allowed to stand. His words were leaked to the media and widely reported at the time, yet they were never denied by either Babangida or Abiola. Again there was the infamous contribution from Colonel David Mark (as he then was), who had hitherto been a Babangida loyalist, where he was reported to have said, we will not allow Abiola to be sworn in as President and if NEC swears him in we will shoot him. Those who doubt this should read Professor Omo Omoruyis book, The Tale of June 12th: The Betrayal of the Democratic Rights of Nigerians. Omoruyi, who was the director general of the Centre For Democratic Studies, was not only an advisor and insider in the Babangida government but he was also very close to the head of state and a strong ally and voice of the pro-democracy and anti-annulment movement within the regime. He was a formidable intellectual who was credible, humane, decent, cerebral and highly respected, and I have no reason to doubt his word. Ironically, after the annulment took place and Babangida stepped aside from office, Mark fell out with Abacha and fled the country for his life. Then there was the case of Colonel Lawan Gwadabe, who actually told one of Babangidas children that they would pick up their father and deal with him if he allowed Abiola to take over. Ironically, the same Gwadabe, who at that time was in the Abacha camp, was later arrested by the same Abacha and tortured brutally for planning a coup. He was beaten so badly that he almost lost his life. Both Mark (who 14 years later was elected Senate president) and Gwadabe were originally IBB boys but they turned their back on their mentor, joined the pro-annulment camp and vehemently opposed the election and mandate of MKO Abiola. Thankfully, not all of IBBs boys shifted camps at that crucial time and most remained loyal to him. Brigadier General Haliru Akilu, the clinically efficient director of National Intelligence and the man who detected and prevented numerous coup attempts, exposed many conspiracies and single-handedly kept Babangida in power for eight years, never faltered or failed and remains loyal to IBB till today. Colonel Sambo Dasuki, IBBs erstwhile ADC (who became National Security Advisor to President Goodluck Jonathan 20 years later) was as constant as the Northern Star and loyal till the end. Thankfully, there were many others but worthy of mention for his remarkable courage and gallantry at the time was Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (my erstwhile Polo Captain from Lagos Polo Club and the former governor of Kaduna State), who was the shining star of the Babangida inner circle. A former ADC to General Hassan Katsina (the chief of army staff when General Gowon was head of state), Umar was young, tough, outspoken, courageous, suave, sophisticated, dashing, and very good-looking. He was also very pro-June 12 and was one of IBBs greatest loyalists in the military hierarchy. Permit me to share a few words extracted from my essay, President Ibrahim Babangida: An Irrepressible Enigma And Enduring Institution, which I wrote the day after the launch of President Babangidas book. I wrote, inter alia, Babangida has explained to us his own side of the story and told us exactly what transpired. He refused to remain silent, he did not shy away from speaking the truth or refuse to accept responsibility and he did not pass the buck. Instead he came clean, displayed immense courage and did the right and proper thing. That is what leaders are meant to do and he did it without fear or favour regardless of whose ox was gored. Kudos to him. We need to appreciate this gesture, eschew all bitterness, let go of all our pent up anger, forgive him for what many perceive to be his sins and move on. Equally we need to accord him his rightful place in history as one of the greats, despite his fallibility. He is after all a mere man, albeit a great one, and not God. Only God is free of fault and is infallible and there is not one man that has ever lived, led or ruled that can claim to be perfect. All those insulting and abusing him for putting the facts and his experiences on record in his book are malevolent, bitter, twisted souls and unenlightened, ignorant, cowards who have no appreciation of history or what this man actually achieved in his eight years in office. Again they cannot fully comprehend or appreciate the complex events that led up to the annulment of June 12. They only see things in part and have allowed their emotions rather than their heads to rule them. I was in the NADECO trenches during that difficult time and like many others paid my dues too but I can boldly say that outside of the June 12 matter IBB did more for Nigeria than virtually any other president or head of state. He left power 32 years ago and yet every single living former Nigerian president and head of state, bar President Muhammadu Buhari who he had removed from power in a coup in 1985, attended his book launch in person and despite all, Buhari actually sent a representative and a warm message. It was an extraordinary event and I witnessed it with my own eyes because I had the privilege of being invited. If the number of leaders who attended, which included President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; former Head of State General General Yakubu Gowon; former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar; former President and former Head of State Olusegun Obasanjo; former President Goodluck Jonathan; former President of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo; former President of Sierra Leone, Koroma; former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Vice President Namadi Sambo; and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar does not prove to Nigerians the high esteem that the ruling elites have for him then nothing will. My prayer is that God continues to be with this great and inspiring man who has displayed immense discipline, resilience, dignity, self-respect, courage and humility throughout his distinguished and illustrious life. I pray he continues to share his vast reserves of experience, knowledge and wisdom and make his contributions to national development for many years to come. Whether his numerous detractors like it or not IBB remains an enigma, an institution and the most consequential Head of State and President in our history. No-one can take that away from him and we are very proud of him. I wish both him and his family well. I stand by every word. Permit me to conclude this contribution with a quote from Babangidas book, which many have chosen to ignore or misinterpret. For posteritys sake we must put what he has said on record, lest the uninformed, ignorant, unlettered and intellectually dishonest amongst us have a field day and misinform future generations about those who were behind the first coup detat in our country, which took place on 15 January 1966 and which was led by Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Major Chukwuemeka Kaduna Nzeogwu respectively. On page 39 of the book, Babangida wrote the following: It was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight. From that moment the putsch was infiltrated by outsiders to its supposed original intention and it took on an unmistakable ethnic coloration compounded by the fact that there were no related coup activities in the Eastern Region. I hate to burst the bubble of those who are beating their chests like puerile apes and think otherwise but there is NOWHERE in Babangidas book that he said that the coup of 15th January 1966 was NOT an Igbo one. In fact he alluded to the contrary when he said the coup had taken on an unmistakable ethnic coloration. That is what he wrote and that is the reality. The coup was indeed an ethnic one and the ethnic group he was referring to were none other than the Igbo! Those who have purposely twisted and misinterpreted his words and have said that he wrote that the coup was not an Igbo coup are either misguided and misinformed or are being mischievous and patently dishonest. Most of them have a poor understanding of the English language and have not even read the book and instead are relying on erroneous and nonsensical social media headlines, fake news, fake qoutes and well-crafted propaganda and disinformation. I suggest that they procure a copy of the book, read it from cover to cover and stop attempting to revise history by misinterpreting the words of the esteemed author. Babangida, in his characteristic manner, was charitable to the Igbos in his book but that does not give anyone licence to misinterpret his words and conclusions or use them in a self-serving manner in an attempt to revise history. Whether anyone likes it or not, the facts are clear and they are as follows: 99 per cent of the officers who planned and executed the 15th January 1966 coup and were involved in the execution of the mutiny were Igbo and 99 per cent of those who were murdered by them were non-Igbo military officers and political leaders in some cases, including their wives. We owe it to the memory of those that were so callously slaughtered not to hide, distort or sugar-coat the bitter truth, not to revise history and not to tell pernicious lies. The coup was UNMISTAKEABLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY an Igbo one and Babangida made this very clear when he wrote about its ethnic coloration. I urge all those that have a poor understanding of the English language and that cannot read more than three lines of any book or essay to stop using his words to establish their revisionist and patently dishonest narrative and their futile attempt to perpetuate an age-old mendacity and delusion. Falsehood, deceit, specious lies and intellectual fraud have no place in a civilised society or the world of the educated and literate. The truth is that the 15th January 1966 coup WAS an Igbo one and I am glad to say that Babangida has confirmed it. This is a FACT and as our journalist friends will tell you facts are sacred and opinion is cheap. God bless Nigeria! Femi Fani-Kayode, the Sadaukin Shinkafi and Wakilin Doka of Potiskum, is a former minister of Culture and Tourism, and Aviation. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As the intellectual community and policy stakeholders converge to honour Professor Babafemi Badejo, his legacy as a scholar, diplomat, and advocate for Nigerias strategic positioning in global affairs continues to resonate. Professor Badejo, on the eve of clocking 70, has been preoccupied with fine-tuning his ideas and thoughts around the UN ECA led discussion on Quadruple Nexus of Peace/Security, Development, Human Rights, and Humanitarianism on efforts to move Africa forward. Teaching is a noble profession, whose true rewards and deepest satisfactions extend far beyond immediate gratifications and material benefits. This belief is echoed in the popular local saying that a teachers rewards are in heaven. Professor Babafemi Badejo, a staunch advocate of Utmost Freedom an idealistic state where the quality of life and access to the best living conditions create a semblance of heaven on earth may already be enjoying some of his well-deserved heavenly rewards here on earth. His former students from the University of Lagos, where he progressed from a University Council-appointed Graduate Assistant to a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, have come together to organise a symposium that will bring together academia, policymakers and other members of the society to honour a remarkable intellect and statesman, whose beyond the classroom knowledge and legacies have continued to impact their lives. The symposium in honour of Professor Babafemi A. Badejo at 70 promises to be a landmark event, bringing together distinguished scholars, policymakers, and thought leaders. The symposium, themed, Politics is Interests: Interrogating the Role of Special Interests in Nigerias Development, will make for a robust reflection on the Nigerias development trajectory, its foreign policy strategies, and the broader implications of national interest. The event, structured into an opening session and a panel discussion, will be chaired by some eminent personalities in governance and international diplomacy. HE Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace laureate and president of Timor-Leste, will preside over the opening session, setting the stage for a series of thought-provoking discussions. The keynote address, to be delivered by the celebrants teacher, the thorough academic and political theorist, Professor Adele Jinadu, titled, Politics is Interests: Interrogating the Role of Special Interests in Nigerias Development, will be bringing a critical theoretical base. A diplomat and accomplished scholar of international repute, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, the president/director-general of the Bolytag Center for International Diplomacy and Strategic Studies (BOCIDASS), and former director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, will delve into Nigerias Foreign Policy and National Interests: The Challenges of Strategic Autonomy, while Mr Kayode Samuel will explore the intersection of civil society and national interests. Dr Florence Falaye will highlight the legal dimensions in her discourse on Law and National Interest. The panel session, schaired by former Nigerian Foreign Minister, HE Major-General Ike Nwachukwu, will bring to the fore diverse perspectives on Nigerias national interests in the global arena. Dr Nicholas Erameh will examine Nigerias positioning on the world stage, while Prof. Tunde Babawale will discuss Culture and the Politics of Interests in Nigerias National Development. Contributions from Dr. Imam Nojeem Jimoh on Subnational and National Interests: The British-Afghanistan Conundrum and Lessons for Nigeria and Dr. Mike Egboh on the role of civil society will add to the richness of the discussions. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Further discussions will probe the intersections of the private sector, media, and gender issues in national interests, with insights from Ayodele Aderinwale, the executive director of the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF) and chairman of Just Rite Stores. Dr Festus Adedayo, and Dr Adeola Adebajo respectively. Beyond celebrating Professor Badejos contributions to academia, diplomacy, and governance, the symposium will also serve as a platform for robust policy engagements on Nigerias evolving interests in a dynamic global landscape, especially with a recourse to challenges in West Africa and the ongoing changes led by the change of administration in the United States of America. As the intellectual community and policy stakeholders converge to honour Professor Babafemi Badejo, his legacy as a scholar, diplomat, and advocate for Nigerias strategic positioning in global affairs continues to resonate. Professor Badejo, on the eve of clocking 70, has been preoccupied with fine-tuning his ideas and thoughts around the UN ECA led discussion on Quadruple Nexus of Peace/Security, Development, Human Rights, and Humanitarianism on efforts to move Africa forward. Badejo has championed the inadequacy of this orientation by pointing out the situational foundation of governance, external dynamics, institutions, and resources, to arrive at the need for the focus to be encompassing by adding these situational foundation concerns to arrive at the Situational Quadruple Nexus (SQN) Analysis. He has continued to remain vocal on the need to reduce corruption and the theft of national patrimony as part of the larger problem of leadership deficit. The symposium is set to inspire a deeper understanding of national interests and the pathways to a more strategic and autonomous Nigeria in the global order. May this milestone be filled with continued fulfillments, cherished moments, and the joy of seeing the fruits of a lifetime of dedication, in continued good health, and boundless joy. Happy 70th birthday, Professor! Abraham Ameh is a special adviser at Yintab Strategy Consults. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Cortes told me that as at today, his country is neither a state nor allowed independence. In the latest situation,... Details His selection for the Senior Executive Course at NIPSS is a testament to his unwavering commitment to national development and strategic policy formulation. NIPSS serves as Nigerias apex institution for policy, advocacy, and training, aiming to foster a better society through research and strategic studies. Nigerias PR sensation, Yushau Shuaib stunned the audience a few days to Ramadan when he unveiled a community mosque he singlehandedly built in his neighbourhood in Abuja. Soaked in the palpable sweat of emotions, the teacher, journalist, leader and mentor presented the mosque as part of his commitment to the growth of Islam and in fulfilment of his deen. He explained that the mosque was built within the PRNigeria Centre premises after road construction led to the demolition of a makeshift mosque that was being used on a street within the Wuye community in Abuja. After the demolition of the old mosque on our street for road construction, I found it necessary to provide an alternative within the PRNigeria premises for the residents of the community. We envision it as a space where individuals can grow spiritually and intellectually, contributing to the broader development of our society, Shuaib said. For him, fostering the worship of God is his utmost passion, and he expresses gratitude to Allah for providing him with the means to make this possible as he firmly believes that there is no greater fulfilment than serving Allah. To unveil the masjid was Nigerias versatile entity, Mr Isa Ali Pantami who congratulated Mallam Yushau Shuaib for being privileged to be counted among those who build for the cause of Allah. According to him, whoever builds a masjid has built a legacy that would outlive him; an endless and recreating endowment. Pantami also commended the preservation of an over 200-year-old Quran from the Ilorin Emirate, which was displayed by Mallam Shuaib, its custodian, as a significant cultural and religious artefact. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The bigger surprise came when it was revealed at the occasion that Mallam Yushau Shuaib has been selected to participate in the Senior Executive Course (SEC 47) at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State. This prestigious programme is designed for senior executives in Nigeria to engage in high-level policy and strategic studies. Born on 10 October, 1969, in Kano, Nigeria, but from the Ilorin Emirate and also with a Kanuri origin, Shuaib has had a distinguished career in public relations and communications. He earned a bachelors degree in Mass Communication from Bayero University Kano and later a masters degree in Public Relations from the University of Westminster, London. Throughout his career, Shuaib has served as a spokesperson for various Nigerian government institutions, including the Federal Ministries of Information, Finance, and Health. He also held the position of Head of Press and Public Relations at the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). In 2013, after authoring a controversial article on Nigerias Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, regarding lopsided appointments in public offices, Shuaib was compelled to retire from government service. Undeterred, he founded Image Merchants Promotion Limited, the parent company of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential, News Digest, and Arewa Agenda. These platforms have been instrumental in promoting media professionalism, ethical journalism, and mentoring young journalists across Nigeria. Shuaibs dedication to the field has earned him multiple awards in public relations and writing. Notably, he received the PR Man of the Year Award from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Kano/Jigawa Chapter in 1995 and the NIPR Presidential Award in 2019. Under his leadership, PRNigeria has garnered several African PR Awards and the prestigious Golden World Award from the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) for crisis management. He remains the most decorated PR personality in Nigeria. In fact in 2020, the Image Merchants Promotion Ltd emerged the most creative PR worldwide, as announced by Global Creative Index (GCI) and published by Statista. His communication conglomerate organises a series of annual events, which I anchor as the Master of the Ceremony (MC) through its PRNigeria Centres in Abuja, Ilorin, and Kano. These include the PRNigeria Young Communicators Fellowship, the Arewa Star Awards (ASA), the National Spokespersons Awards (NSAwards), the Economic Confidential Annual Lecture, and the Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA). Beyond his professional achievements, Shuaib is an accomplished author with several publications to his name, including Nightmare for the Rich, Financial Public Relations, and An Encounter with the Spymaster. His commitment to mentoring has positively impacted hundreds of young journalists across Nigeria, fostering a new generation of media professionals. His selection for the Senior Executive Course at NIPSS is a testament to his unwavering commitment to national development and strategic policy formulation. NIPSS serves as Nigerias apex institution for policy, advocacy, and training, aiming to foster a better society through research and strategic studies. Shuaibs participation in this elite programme is poised to further enhance his contributions to Nigerias media landscape and policy development. Abdullahi Haruna Haruspice, a PR practitioner, writes from Abuja. Email: [email protected] Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print the audacity of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo in enacting the new Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025 is welcome, because it evinces a durable solution to the crisis. The law establishes a complementary security provider for the state called Agunechemba (sentinel at the gate) and launches Udo gAchi (peace shall reign) targeting atrocity insecurity. Comprising five of the countrys 36 states, South-East Nigeria is the site of resilient atrocity. In the eight years from the middle of 2015 to the end of 2023, the monitoring coalition, Nigeria Mourns, confirmed about 3,000 killings in this theatre from open source records but unofficial estimates suggest that there may be up to five killings missed for each counted. The worst of the killings have occurred since 2019 and the worst hit state in the zone over that period is Anambra. Many erroneously date the origins of this to the radicalisation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the aftermath of its proscription in 2017. In reality, the escalation has lasted for over a quarter of a century dating back approximately to the assassination in Enugu in 1998 of Igwe Amobi IV of Ogidi. The annual Conflict Barometer by the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research identifies the South-East as one of eight different conflicts of concern in Nigeria, describing it as a violent crisis of secession and ranks it on a par with the crisis of armed pastoralism in the Middle Belt of the country; ahead of the crisis of resource militancy in the Niger Delta; and only below the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East and the armed bandits in the north-west of Nigeria. Three framings define the crisis in South-East Nigeria in the popular narrative. One is that it is about secession. A second is that most of the fatal incidents connected with it are perpetrated by unknown gunmen. The third is that the response to the situation is predominantly kinetic. Each of these is flawed. Together, they miss the underlying issues, with the result that they have turned an otherwise manageable crisis into an interminable atrocity. Lets begin with the first. The simplicity of the secession narrative is appealing at both the emotive and pecuniary levels. The former unites other Nigerians with subliminal appeal against a historical Igbo question. The latter enables the managers of expeditionary military deployments in the region to finagle more money for themselves using the excuse of preserving Nigerias territorial integrity. This would not be so if the situation were to be understood as a policing preoccupation with crime and criminality. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Whats the reality? IPOBs business model does not stand a snowballs chance in hell in any of the truly deadly sites of atrocity in South-East Nigeria. Awkuzu, host to the most horrendous atrocities in the region, is the site of Nigerias most brutal police station where hundreds, if not more, detainees have been killed extra-judicially. In Obosi, the ancient city on the banks of the Idemili River; and in Awka, the state capital, hundreds of young men routinely exterminate one another in murderous inter-cult and inter-gang warfare. In Ogbaru, located between the banks of Oguta Lake and the floodplains of River Niger, organised gangs mobilise deadly violence in sophisticated operations to rustle hydrocarbons. Lokpanta, the point along the Enugu-Port-Harcourt motorway where all the states of South-East Nigeria come close to sharing common borders is an ungoverned territory where commercial kidnapping meets atrocity liquidation. None of these square with the convenience or simplicity of the secession narrative or with its profitability. Turning to the second popular narrative about the situation in South-East Nigeria, the mythical unknown perpetrator is a figure of considerable antiquity in Nigeria. It has been around since the inconclusive judicial inquiry into the attack on Fela Anikulapo-Kutis Kalakuta Republic in February 1977 blamed the incident on the unknown soldier. In 2011, the traditional ruler of Ihembosi, a community in Anambra State, was disappeared by unknown gunmen. They were also to blame in the violent abduction and subsequent disappearance in May 2014 of Chike Okoli, former Commissioner in the same state. The legend of the unknown perpetrator in Nigeria has over the years emerged as both metaphor and measure of what is widely seen as state incapacity and leadership indifference to the scourge of impunity in the country. Far from an affirmation of unknown actors, Nigerias legend of the unknown perpetrator signposts a sense of popular despondency or loss of belief in the capacity of the state to end impunity for atrocities. In the face of these tendencies, therefore, the third idea that the country or region can shoot its way out of this crisis is worse than wishful thinking. The complex landscape of drivers and factors in the situation in South-East Nigeria does not lend itself to such over-simplifications. To reprise a useful metaphor, it is more deserving of a scalpel than a hammer. Over 24 months from 2022 to 2024, Bianca Ojukwu, the current minister of state for Foreign Affairs, and I, led a Truth, Justice and Peace Commission (TJPC) into the causes of the crisis in South-East Nigeria, the perpetrators, the consequences and possible solutions. The Commission met and consulted with hundreds of victims and witnesses, including the security services, community leaders, clergy, politicians, vigilante elements as well as various armed militias in the region. Two things were evident. One is that the situation in the South-East is fundamentally a crisis of governance and of popular lack of belief in the legitimacy of many in political office in the region. The second is a clear desire on the part of most people to recover their communities and address the tasks of reconstruction and healing from the traumas of the violence. There are no easy answers to these but there are common threads. Rather perversely, the perpetrators who insist on rendering the region uninhabitable and the security providers who feed the secessionist trope are both engaged in a mutually profitable joint enterprise. Neither wishes insecurity in the South-East to end. This is why the audacity of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo in enacting the new Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025 is welcome, because it evinces a durable solution to the crisis. The law establishes a complementary security provider for the state called Agunechemba (sentinel at the gate) and launches Udo gAchi (peace shall reign) targeting atrocity insecurity. Several aspects of the new law have come under scrutiny. In particular, section 18 which targets transactional ritualism, has drawn attention, with claims that it lacks the clarity required to pass constitutional muster and discriminates against traditional worship. For context, the TJPC, which I led, met twice with Juju priests. Separately, I met privately with some senior exponents of the trade. They were united in acknowledging that some amongst them had chosen to parlay their skills in support of atrocity and insecurity, and made detailed proposals, including asking the government to help root out such practitioners, prohibit infiltration, and regulate and support legitimate practitioners. The TJPC report diagnosed this phenomenon as transactional accultism, which it identified as enabling violent cultism and the crisis of insecurity. The report argues that this is a major component of the psychological armor plate of impunity providing the perpetrators of the violence with deadly rituals which lead them to believe that they have an aura of both impenetrability to projectiles and invincibility in the field of atrocity, an immense psychological boost in an environment of impunity. The law also targets the compounded deficit of legitimate political leadership as an underlying driver of the crisis of insecurity in the region. In 2005, the New Humanitarian reported on the situation in South-East Nigeria that rigged elections increase disenchantment, explaining that sympathy for separatism has been growing since the general elections of April and May 2003, which were marred by widespread allegations of vote rigging. Office holders who are widely seen as lacking legitimacy are liable to be compromised when confronted with atrocity insecurity. Instead, they get reduced to belligerents instrumentalising the violence, rather than seeking to end it. In this law, Governor Soludo shows he is different. Above all, this law also addresses the need to rebuild the capacity to administer criminal justice fairly and effectively, beginning with responsible policing; capable magistrates, coroners and the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). In many states in the region, the police have been rendered destitute of confidence, denuded of the trust of communities. Similarly, most magistrates are desolate and DPPs offices in the region are unfunded, leaving prosecutorial personnel at the mercy of self-interested parties or of adversaries who threaten them into being ineffectual. The result is that in much of region, all sides glamourise summary, arbitrary or extra-judicial killing as the solution to crime or deviance, disagreement or dissonance. None of these is easy to implement. As a programme, it confronts organised opposition from those who have profited so far from the over-simplification in a single-narrative of secession that has bedeviled the search for solutions to the situation. This present Government of Anambra State has demonstrated single-mindedness in ending this. For that it deserves support and other states in the region can adapt this model. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a lawyer, teaches at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and can be reached through [email protected]. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Katsina State is marching forward towards becoming one of the foremost states in the country to achieve food security and economic stability. The good news around here is the recent launching of the Runbun Sauki initiative by Governor Dikko Umaru Radda. You may want to ask what this implies. Runbun Sauki is a store where goods, supplies or resources are stored in a large quantity. In Katsina, the initiative was birthed to sell essential commodities and food items at subsidised prices. Of course, this initiative was inspired by a similar successful programme in Jigawa State. Recall, on Saturday, 5th October, 2024, Governor Radda was in Jigawa on the invitation of his colleague, Governor Umar Namadi to commission Kantin Sauki shops which seek to address the rising cost of food. Mr Radda openly remarked at the event, As a government, we shall do everything possible to reduce the level of suffering among our people. This is one statement with several meanings. A governor that cares about his people. A governor with vision to build a working system. A governor who does not tour around the countries or states for fun, but ensures good tidings are domesticated or replicated in his home state. Fast forward to Thursday 10th October, 2024, the State Executive Council chaired by the governor convened her 10th Regular State Executive Council Meeting. There, the approval was given to establish 38 consumer shops in the 34 local government areas of the state. The governor in his wisdom then, dubbed the initiative Runbun Sauki. You may be curious to know why the state has 34 local government areas, but 38 Runbun Sauki outlets would be built. The governor made it unambiguously clear that the State capital will receive two extra outlets, while Daura and Funtua will get an additional one each, bringing the total to 38. Look at the peculiarity of Katsina being the state capital and the high convergence of residents in the area, this is just the best bet to cater to peoples needs. Even though the project is not where it plans to be, but there is the will to achieve greater targets. For now, operations would begin with seven centres. Three in Katsina, and two each in Daura and Funtua senatorial zones. While I am certain the rest of the local governments would be keeping an eye out for their outlets, lets say this clearly; it is one step at a time. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Runbun Sauki is a promise by a visionary leader and will reach all. More importantly, the initiative has a broader plan to gradually cover all the 361 electoral wards. Isnt that economic relief in its truest form!? Now, these are what make the Runbun Sauki initiative entirely unique. The State Government would commence sales with a 10% subsidy for state government workers, local government employees and elderly persons. Aside from this, rice, flour, corn, spaghetti, among others, are basic commodities that will be available at the various sales points. These commodities would also be packaged in various sizes, from fifty to one kilogram. However, there is a well-thought-out plan to make the purchase arrangement as seamless as apc. All eligible beneficiaries are expected to register online via (https://www.katsinarunbunsauki.com.ng/), where their status, bio data and bank details will be supplied and confirmed. Thereafter, full access to the commodities will be granted with a customized ATM for payment. With the state tradition of agricultural practices and foods production, farmers would also tap into these opportunities through the supply of commodities and income generation. In a way, this project can be aptly described as succour for the vulnerable citizens. It will drive economic growth and development in the state. As a matter of fact, experts have reviewed the State Governments huge investment in the project posited, Vendors would realized nothing less than a turnover of N50 billion annually. This could not have come at a better time than now when theres a food crisis in the country. To Radda, this is not about ensuring food security and economic development, but also creating a lifeline to families and individuals facing economic hardships, creating jobs and improving livelihoods in the communities. From here, let me state that this development is in tandem with the policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to boost agricultural productivity and provide affordable food to the growing populace. Inferring from the title above again, Governor Radda is nothing but a promise keeper and in the real sense of it, he has set another milestone again. Katsina is blessed to have a talk-and-do governor. This is less than five months and the promise is already metamorphosing into visible achievements. Indeed, Katsinawa have chosen the right leader and under the individual roof, theyll be proud reading this on their lips. Runbun Sauki is here to stay. Wait no more, proceed to the portal, register without a dime and start buying at a subsidized rate. This is one of the futures Governor Radda promised to build. This is the progress the ruling party is synonymous with. Till another time when I shall be sharing with you another milestone courtesy of Governor Radda, I wish you the best in all endeavours. As expected, we wont back down on delivering the Building Your Future agenda. Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Katsina State Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print China's annual "two sessions" draw global attention. We spoke to Mudassar Iqbal, deputy director of the Associated Press of Pakistan, to hear his thoughts on the "two sessions" and China's development. Iqbal said, China is playing a very crucial role for the other nations. "We need to learn how to catch the fish, not to eat the fish." Governor Uba Sani has presented cheques worth $25,000 to 10 communities each, amounting to over N375 million, as Community Revolving Fund to farmer groups in Kaduna State on Saturday. The fund was provided by the world bank assisted Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project, to enable beneficiaries invest in climate-smart rain-fed agriculture. The benefitting communities include Anchau, Kuzuntu, Kubau, Zuntu and Jenau, as well as Likoro, Jaja, Hunkuyi, Kudan and Danmahawayi communities. Speaking at the event, the governor noted that the Community Revolving Fund aligns with his administrations commitment to rural transformation which is designed to support registered farmer groups under the umbrella of Community Interest Groups (CIGs), with loans. Governor Sani promised to start the disbursement of his administrations loans with Kudan and Kubau local governments in the phase one of the initiative with a total of 82 CIGs. He pledged that phase two will commence in the second quarter of the year, with four local governments in the Central and Southern Senatorial Zones as well as two area councils in the Northern Senatorial Zone. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later According to the governor, the concluding phase of implementation will cater for the remaining 11 local government areas. Governor Sani maintained that Kaduna State is proud to be at the forefront of initiatives aimed at combating climate change and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for our people. Over the years, we have implemented a range of strategic policies and programs designed to enhance ecological conservation, mitigate the impact of climate change, and promote economic resilience among our citizens. With the support of ACReSAL, the State Government unveiled a 10-year Climate Change Policy, trained 500 women, youth, and school-feeding vendors in the production of biomass briquettes as an alternative to wood fuel, he added. Mr Sani recalled that his administration had identified 22,435 hectares of degraded land for land restoration, provided state-of-the-art weather station. The administration also procured the Amphibious Excavator, otherwise known as Swamp Buggy, for the prevention and control of erosion, deepening of waterways, maintenance and cleaning of rivers. Earlier, the Task Team Lead of the ACReSAL project, Dr Joy Iganya Agene commended Kaduna State for its commitment to environmental sustainability, which is evident in the state being one of the best performing sub nationals in the country . Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, warned that Community Revolving Fund is a loan and not a grant, adding that it will function as an investment fund for community and farmer groups. The loan is intended for communities, facilitating circulation among farmers and sustained through groups that ensure the loan remains active within your community via timely repayment, thereby enabling other farmers to reap the benefits, he added. Mr Balarabe noted that the ACReSAL project constitutes a significant component of the Federal Governments aim to rehabilitate one million hectares of degraded land, contributing to the overarching goal of restoring four million hectares by the year 2030. The initiative will additionally contribute to diminishing the susceptibility of countless individuals living in extreme poverty in northern Nigeria, thereby enhancing their capacity to engage in the stewardship of their surroundings, he added. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Prior to Nigerias Independence in 1960, agriculture was the mainstay of its economy, even as reflected in the economic activities of the regions in the country at that time. There are famous stories of the First Republic chronicled how the defunct regions were reliant on revenues from the groundnut pyramids in the North, the cocoa export receipts from the defunct West and the rubber as well as palm oil proceeds from the East. With the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities, beginning from Oloibiri in the present-day Bayelsa State in 1956, agriculture, over time, became supplanted by black gold in terms of contributions to national revenue pool. And not only did crude oil receipts ride the wave as far as the total collectable revenue was concerned, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), became the cornerstone entity for the three tiers of government to look up to for salvation in terms of their fiscal projections. However, those days when the federal, states and local government councils wait zealously for revenue figures from NNPC have not only receded into the past but appear to have gone for good. At the monthly meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), focus has shifted to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the goose that is laying the golden egg for the fiscal stability and wellbeing of the Federation. For those who may not know, the cake shared monthly by the Federation is baked by four major entities: NNPC, FIRS, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), formerly known as Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS). Of the body of bakers, FIRS under Zacch Adedeji has emerged the cream of the crop, single-handedly and aggregately accounting for close to 70 percent of the total revenues collected and shared by the three tiers of government at FAAC meetings in 2024. Out of N2.068trillion that accrued to the Federation Accounts in January 2024, tax collected by FIRS accounted for more than 50 percent with the agencys contribution totalling N1.275 trillion. The other three revenue-remitting bodies jointly raked in the balance. While oil receipts from NNPC brought N115billion, NUPRC grossed N469.8billion, just as the Nigeria Custom Service remitted N207 billion. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The contribution of FIRS to the pool grew in February by N300 billion from what it brought to the account in January. From the N2.3 trillion that accumulated into the account, takings by FIRS amounted to N1.491 trillion, a collection figure that was more than 50 percent of the total revenue for the month. In fact, NNPCs contribution to the pool was just N92 billion. NUPRC and NCS contributed N487 billion and N254 billion, respectively. In March, FIRS contributed N1.061 trillion out of N1.867 trillion in the pool and in April, the Federation Account got N1.187 trillion from FIRS out of the N2.192 trillion revenue accrual. For May, out of the N2.324 trillion shared by the three tiers of government, FIRS alone contributed N1.571 trillion. The last month in the first half of 2024 finished on a strong note for the Federation in terms of the size of the cake available for sharing among the three tiers of government. Of the N3.5 trillion accrual in the Federation Account for the month, FIRS accounted for N2.841 trillion. Contributions from NNPC for the month was N8.3 billion with NUPRC and NCS remitting N402.5 billion N264 billion, respectively. The upward trajectory of FIRS contribution to the Federation Account continued at the beginning of the second half of the year. It accounted for N2.295 trillion out of N3.508 trillion remitted into the Federation Account for July, representing 65.4 percent of the total haul. For August, FIRS figure for FAAC was N1.87 trillion out of the N2.7 trillion in the pool. In September, October, November, and December, the agencys contributions were N1.45 trillion (out of N2.4 trillion), N1.74 trillion (out of N2.9 trillion) and N1.56 trillion (out of N2.8 trillion) and N1.41 trillion (out of NN2.2 trillion) respectively. The significance of FIRS contributions displacing oil receipts and turning tax revenue into the countrys new crude oil has been well situated by the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein. At an event in Abuja, she declared: Tax revenue, as of today, is the highest source of revenue accruing to the Federation. Therefore, at FAAC meetings, we eagerly await the numbers coming from FIRS because the performance of the agency keeps on increasing and this brings succour to all tiers of government. Putting FIRS contribution to FAAC revenue pool in 2024 in context, we will see how it has helped the three tiers of government to plan, project and experience fiscal stability. There is nothing like fiscal discipline except you have accurate revenue prediction. If you say you want to spend N10, that means you must have assurance that the N10 will come from somewhere. This commendable collection performance is in tandem with Ne Adedejis vision of making taxation the pivot of national development. What did FIRS do differently? The impressive revenue collection posted by FIRS is not a product of happenstance. It is the outcome of a well-thought-out strategy and process re-engineering that formed the bedrock of a cocktail of administrative and process reforms embarked upon by the agency under Mr Adedeji. One of his key refrains is that if FIRS is going to succeed in its critical national mandate of domestic revenue mobilisation, taxpayers must be at the centre of all policies and initiatives of the agency. The FIRS chairman summarised the restructuring and re-orientation that powered the huge revenue collection and turned it to a customer-centric agency thus: We restructured our operations at FIRS in such a way that we are now effectively carrying out our duty of assessing, collecting and accounting for taxes. We used to have functional types of taxes, but we have since identified that the only customers we have are the taxpayers. We have, therefore, improved the way we relate with our customers by rearranging our operations based on our customers, using their turnover as the basis to categorise them into large, medium, and emerging tax groups. We did this to develop expertise in what we do. Secondly, to provide them with a one-stop shop for their activities. If you are in a large tax group, you only need to go to one office to pay all forms of taxes, including conducting audit and other activities. You do not need to move from one office to another again. We are here to serve the taxpayers. The taxpayers are not armed robbers or criminals that we will be chasing about. FIRS is also not a law enforcement organisation. We are partners in progress. The taxpayers are the trees in our vineyard. The only thing we can do is to ensure they are well watered and well pruned so they can bear good fruits for us to have big harvest. Because of the streamlining of tax processes, the removal of hurdles in the way of tax payment as well placing a high premium on transparency and accountability, a total number of 182, 724 new taxpayers, representing 25.3% increase, voluntarily enrolled on the agencys tax administration platform called Tax Pro-Max in 2024. It is the single biggest leap in the number of firms in the tax net in recent history of the tax agency. This not only underscores the level of trust reposed in the new processes emplaced at the agency, it also lends credence to Mr Adedejis sharp vision of making the agency one of the worlds most efficient and trusted revenue authorities. The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Gabriel Idahosa, testified to the unusual transformation witnessed at FIRS. Mr Idahosa commended the agency for conducting reforms that align with the needs of businesses, particularly singling out the increasing use of technology in tax administration as well as the shift in mental geography of tax officers from being mere tax collectors to actively providing services that enhance business operations. One key import of the unprecedented growth in tax revenue for the Federation is that the non-oil sector account for about 75% of the total haul. This clearly signposts the commitment of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to truly diversify the economy from its mono-product, crude oil. According to Mr Adedeji, all accolades for the impressive tax collection by FIRS should go to President Tinubu. Of a truth, two key policies by the President, namely the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the exchange rate gave fillip to the record tax revenue collection by FIRS. The negative consequences of not setting these economic fundamentals at the time President Tinubu did would have unbearable for an economy that was already in ICU before President Tinubu assumed office. Despite the laudable achievements of the agency since assumption of office in September 2023, Mr Adedeji is not resting on his oars. He believes the success recorded so far is just a beginning with his key fiscal focus being on growing Nigerias tax-to-GDP ratio to 18% in the next three years. This, he believes, is achievable without putting additional burden on the taxpayers but by making the pie bigger to collect more revenue for government at all levels to be able to meet their obligations to the citizenry. For him, there is irreducible minimum if the upward tax revenue trajectory must continue. We can play with everything, but what we cannot afford to play with, if we are going to succeed, are data and merit, he once said. It needs to be said that prior to Mr Adedejis leadership, the agencys contribution to FAAC had been growing. However, the coming of Mr Adedeji has moved the quantum significantly higher through a potpourri of internal administrative and process reforms he introduced, leading to simplifying of tax payment. For 2025, FIRS is targeting to collect N25.2 trillion in tax revenue and this means more money for the three tiers of government to meet their needs. This is another reason why there should be no opposition to the tax reform bills currently before the National Assembly. If FIRS could post these huge records in a short time, breaking its own records and setting higher target and goals, a tax system that is modernised and fit for purpose can only add impetus to the task of domestic revenue mobilisation given to FIRS. For those asking the question: where does tax revenue by FIRS go? The answer is this: every month that the federal, states and local government councils gather in Abuja for FAAC meeting and money is shared accordingly, about 70% of that money come. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print After a blistering heatwave, ice and cold water became precious items on Saturday as the Muslim faithful in Maiduguri prepared to break their first fast on the first day of Ramadan. According to Google, the temperature in Maiduguri on Saturday ranged from 21C to 38C. Last year, on the same day, the temperature was, however, higher. The heatwave forced many people to take shelter under canopies and tree shades. The streets were almost empty in the Birno State capital. By 5 p.m., residents began to emerge on the streets wearing long faces, looking for something cold. Waiting for them were vendors who had lined up Baga Road and other streets of Maiduguri with ice and cold water. While a 50cl sachet ice block sold for between N100 and N150, the same size sachet of cold water went for N20 to N25 each. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later I wont enjoy breaking my fast without cold water. The weather was too hot. Since morning, I could not come out until now, Musa Adam said after buying iced water from a vendor. In some areas, residents said cold water was not available. In my area around Bulabulin, cold water is difficult to get. You have to struggle for it, said Baba Goni, who travelled about 15 kilometres to get cold water on Baga Road. In the Baga Road Market, other commodities that buyers sought include fruits such as watermelon, lemon and bananas. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A member of the House of Representatives, Aminu Jaji (APC-Zamfara), has received former Zamfara governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, Muhammad Kabir-Sani, into the fold of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Zamfara chapter. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Kabir-Sani defected alongside members of the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) State House of Assembly candidates forum. The defectors and thousands of their followers joined the APC through the Jajiyya APC political movement under the leadership of Isiyaka Ajiya-Anka. They announced their defection to the APC with thousands of AAC and PDP members after a meeting with the lawmaker in his Gusau residence. The former AAC governorship candidate said they decided to join APC under the Jaji Political Movement. We are convinced with the performance and good representation of Aminu Jaji considering various developmental achievements he had recorded in his constituency and Zamfara in general, he said. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Also speaking, Ibrahim Labbo-Anka, the representative of the PDP state house of assembly candidates forum, said they decided to join APC because it has remained the strongest political party in the state. We had fruitful discussions with mutual understanding with Hon. Aminu Jaji; so, we decided to join the APC, we will remain in the party for the development of our dear state, he said. Receiving the decampees, Mr Jaji, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Ecological Fund, commended them for joining the APC. ALSO READ: Zamfara lawmaker defects to APC The federal lawmaker described the defectors action as a welcome development for the APC in the state and Nigeria in general. He assured them of fair treatment and good working relationships to enhance the capacity of the party in the state. Mr Jaji expressed confidence that the political experience and calibre of the defectors, especially their leaders, would boost the strength of the Jajiyya movement and the entire APC family in the state. I urge you to remain with APC and feel free to contribute to the best of your capacity for the development of the APC, the lawmaker said. Earlier, the State Chairman of the APC-Jajiyya movement, Isiyaka Ajiya-Anka, described the movement as the strongest political group in the state with active structures across the 14 local government areas. Mr Ajiya-Anka promised that all the defectors would be engaged in the partys activities without any discrimination. He urged them to remain committed to the development of the party by promoting unity, peace and stability in the APC. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has ordered the 23 Local Government Chairpersons in the state to hand over to heads of local government administration in their domains on Monday, kick-starting the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment. In a statewide broadcast in Port Harcourt on Sunday, Mr Fubara said his government would implement the court verdict without reservations upon receipt and studying the judgements certified true copy. Although we disagree with the judgment we are bound to obey as a law-abiding government, the governor said, regretting that the verdict seems to take the state back to its trying times. I urge everyone to remain calm and peacefully go about with their legitimate daily activities as we continue to do everything in our power to advance our responsibilities to the citizens, he continued. Mr Fubara said his administration has conducted the affairs of the state within the framework of the constitution but acknowledged that they have made mistakes, which he emphasised are not deliberate. Backstory The oil-rich Rivers has been engulfed in a political crisis after Mr Fubara fell out with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the FCT minister. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The crisis split the state legislature into two factions 27 lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike while four members are backed by Mr Fubara. The crisis worsened in December 2023 after the seats of the pro-Wike lawmakers were declared vacant following their reported defection from the PDP to the APC. Mr Fubara had also taken advantage of the opportunity to present the N800 billion 2024 budget to a four-member assembly loyal to him and signed it into law within 24 hours, prompting a legal challenge by allies of Mr Wike Mr Wikes allies later made a U-turn, insisting that they never defected, and the Supreme Court ruled in their favour on Friday. Nigerias highest court, in the verdict, restored the pro-Wike lawmakers as legitimate members of the state assembly and ordered Mr Fubara to re-present the budget to them. READ ALSO: INEC replies Fubara over allegation of bias in filling vacant legislative seats Additionally, the court stopped the payment of federal allocation to Rivers State and invalidated last years local government election held in the state. In his first reaction to the judgement, Mr Fubara said he would implement it without reservation after receipt of the copy of the judgement. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Anambra State have authorised the burial of three siblings who were murdered and dumped in a deep freezer in the state. The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday. The killing PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that, on 1 February, hoodlums invaded a residence, killed the three siblings and dumped their bodies in the freezer inside their apartment. The incident happened in Nnewichi, a community in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The slain children, a boy and two girls, were aged between five and nine. Permission to bury slain siblings Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Ikioye Orutugu, gave the family the authority to bury the siblings Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later READ ALSO: Police arrest man for allegedly killing wife over Ramadan food The spokesperson said the granting of the permission followed a request by the victims family. The commissioner of police further stated that the Command is working diligently to unravel the circumstances surrounding this heartbreaking incident, he said. Mr Ikenga stressed that the details of the investigation were still incomplete. He urged residents of Anambra State and all concerned persons to be patient and cooperate with community members to provide justice for the victims and their families. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global technology brand HONOR today announced the HONOR ALPHA PLAN, a new corporate strategy to transform HONOR from a smartphone maker to a global leading AI device ecosystem company. To demonstrate the HONOR ALPHA PLAN's emphasis on a consumer-centric approach and open ecosystem, HONOR pledged to provide seven years of Android OS and security updates for its HONOR Magic Series, starting with the HONOR Magic7 Pro. Together with the ALPHA PLAN, HONOR announced the launch of the HONOR Watch 5 Ultra. Elegant Design with Precise Craftsmanship Featuring a captivating Dome Octagonal Design, the HONOR Watch 5 Ultra seamlessly blends Eastern and Western influences to create an aesthetically pleasing and harmonious look. Constructed with a grade 5 titanium case, this smartwatch is exceptionally lightweight and durable, making it the perfect companion for everyday wear. Exceptional Display Paired with Long-lasting Battery Life Equipped with a stunning 1.5-inch AMOLED high-refresh-rate screen, the HONOR Watch 5 Ultra offers exceptionally clear visuals that truly stand out. Its advanced LTPO technology enables an always-on display, ensuring users can view important information at a glance. With a refresh rate of up to 60Hz[1], the HONOR Watch 5 Ultra guarantees a smoother visual experience on a spacious screen. Powered by a robust 480mAh[2] battery, the HONOR Watch 5 Ultra delivers a remarkable battery life of up to 15 days[3] under typical usage. Enabling Intuitive Fitness and Health Monitoring The HONOR Watch 5 Ultra is designed to make health and fitness tracking accessible and convenient for everyday life. Featuring Quick Health Scan[4], users can instantly obtain a comprehensive overview of their health. The Healthy Morning Report delivers a summary of the previous day's health data to help start the day with a clear understanding, while the all-day health tracking features continuously monitor key indicators, promoting both physical and mental wellness. [1] Data comes from the HONOR labs. The screen's refresh rate is up to 60Hz. The actual display may vary depending on different scenarios. Please refer to the actual product. [2] Rated value. The rated capacity of the battery is 480mAh. [3] Data comes from the HONOR labs, under the condition of using with HONOR phone. The results in actual applications may differ due to the environment, usage habits, and other factors. [4] This product is not a medical device but is for health management. The measured data and results are for reference only. SOURCE HONOR Demonstration advances interoperability of commercial 5G connections with military communications systems Successfully integrated Nokia's military-grade 5G solutions and Verizon network management capabilities into Lockheed Martin 5G.MIL hybrid base station BETHESDA, Md., March 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) today announced the successful integration of Nokia's industry-leading, military-grade 5G solutions into Lockheed Martin's 5G.MIL Hybrid Base Station (HBS). The technology advances new capabilities to integrate commercial 5G connections with military communications systems to provide decisive information for national defense. 5G is playing an expanding role in supporting tactical military missions, seamlessly complementing existing battlefield solutions. Expert Perspectives "The United States and its allies increasingly depend on fast, secure and advanced communications to access critical information and ensure effective deterrence against threats," said John Clark, senior vice president, Lockheed Martin Technology & Strategic Innovation. "5G.MIL integrations like this strategic relationship with Nokia and Verizon will help ensure data is seamlessly routed throughout the battlespace in ways that make future mission success possible." "This successful integration highlights the flexibility of Nokia's cutting-edge, 5G solutions to meet the unique demands of defense, ensuring robust security, optimized size, weight, and power efficiency, while supporting O-RAN and open, interoperable technologies," said Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia. "Through our work with Lockheed Martin and Verizon, we are bringing the transformative power of 5G to mission-critical defense operations, enhancing situational awareness, speeding up decision-making, and reinforcing mission success." Dive Deeper In a series of recent demonstrations, Lockheed Martin integrated Nokia's military-grade 5G solutions into the 5G.MIL Unified Network Solutions ecosystem, including interoperability with Verizon's network operations and management solutions. These tests successfully integrated traditional tactical communications solutions with 5G using open systems architecture and commercial standards. Leveraging open standards in this way allows for rapid integration of new, advanced capabilities into HBS configurations, ensuring new products and technology solutions are drop-in ready with no risk of vendor lock. Initial integration was completed with equipment from Nokia's leading 5G portfolio at Verizon's Boston Innovation Center and HBS components at Lockheed Martin's Valley Forge laboratory in Pennsylvania. Final systems integration, testing and demonstration were accomplished at Lockheed Martin's facility in Ft. Worth, Texas. The demonstration included HBS connectivity to hybrid user equipment (HUE) that allows users to switch access links between commercial 5G and tactical LPx waveforms while maintaining uninterrupted user application sessions on an Android user device. LPX designates low-probability-of-detection, interception, exploitation, jamming, geolocation and spoofing. By integrating the 5G.MIL HBS with Nokia's 5G solutions, as well as demonstrating interoperability with Verizon's public 5G network and leveraging their network operations management software, Lockheed Martin and its strategic collaborators are well positioned to bring new levels of performance, scalability, and reliability to military, national security wireless, and ally international defense networks. What's Next? This strategic collaboration for Lockheed Martin, Nokia, and Verizon will enable continuing integration of new technology advancements, including incorporation of Nokia's 5G technology at Lockheed Martin's 5G.MIL Experimental Network site in Orlando, Florida, joining Verizon's capabilities already available on-site. With 5G's low latency, high bandwidth, and secure connectivity, warfighters can leverage real-time data and advanced situational awareness in dynamic operational environments. The team will continue to refine and enhance technical offerings, including expanding hybrid network testing to include additional user device types, broader tactical communication system interoperability, and secure public-private network configurations. This will create new ways for customers to apply enhanced capabilities to global military, national security, and homeland defense mission areas, giving operators greater connectivity, faster and more reliable wireless networks, and enhanced interoperability in support of Joint All Domain Operations. About Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is a global defense technology company driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery. Our all-domain mission solutions and 21st Century Security vision accelerate the delivery of transformative technologies to ensure those we serve always stay ahead of ready. More information at www.lockheedmartin.com . About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, which is celebrating 100 years of innovation. With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. SOURCE Lockheed Martin NEW YORK, March 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of Western Asset Management Company mutual fund investors resulting from allegations that Western Asset may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. So What: If you purchased Western Asset mutual funds 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=31956 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. What is this about: On November 25, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a press release entitled "SEC Charges Ken Leech, Former Co-Chief Investment Officer of Western Asset Management Co., with Fraud." This press release stated that Leech had been charged with fraud "for engaging in a multi-year scheme to allocate favorable trades to certain portfolios, while allocating unfavorable trades to other portfolios, a practice known as cherry-picking." 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 achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. 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. 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] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A. WASHINGTON, March 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors has stood in solidarity with Ukraine, adopting an emergency resolution in support of the Ukrainian people and the democratic values under assault. Today, U.S. Conference of Mayors President Columbus (OH) Mayor Andrew Ginther released the following statement: "Ukraine, America's ally, was invaded by a Russian government that is threatening its very existence. From the beginning of this conflict, the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors has stood with the Ukrainian people and have engaged with their leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova. We commend their resolve and their leadership. "Our bipartisan support is enduring. We all want a resolution to this war and that must provide lasting security for the Ukrainian people. The United States must make clear in words and action that it is on the side of Ukraine, democracy, and the sovereignty of free nations. We urge all leaders to work toward a lasting peace that preserves Ukraine's freedom." About the United States Conference of Mayors The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Follow our work on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and Medium. SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors DAMASCUS, March 2 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed and more than 13 others injured when a gunman on a motorcycle opened fire on Sunday on a group of worshippers in the village of Hayalin, central Syria's Hama, local media Sham FM reported. The shooter targeted people leaving a mosque, causing panic and chaos as emergency teams rushed to the scene, it reported. The Syrian Civil Defense teams arrived at the scene to assist the wounded while security forces launched a manhunt for the assailant. Authorities have yet to reveal a motive for the attack, for which no group has claimed responsibility. WASHINGTON, March 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- President Trump has ordered an investigation under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine the "impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices." "We know that foreign governments such as Canadian federal and provincial governments subsidize the Canadian lumber industry to promote employment and disruptive excess Canadian lumber production that is then dumped into the U.S. market to the detriment of U.S. companies and workers," stated Andrew Miller, Chair/Owner of Stimson Lumber Company. "President Trump is absolutely correct in saying that we do not need any unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports," stated Miller, adding that "the combination of fully enforcing our antidumping and countervailing duty trade laws and this additional enforcement step against unfair trade taken by President Trump will accelerate addressing the harmful effects of foreign unfair trade practices in lumber. Thank you President Trump!" concluded Miller. U.S. lumber community voices on President Trump's trade law enforcement and the positive impacts on U.S. manufacturing: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1061381685 https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/1058769283 About the U.S. Lumber Coalition The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community and effectively address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices. The Coalition supports the full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to allow the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports. Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws will strengthen domestic supply lines by maximizing long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes. For more information, please visit the Coalition's website at www.uslumbercoalition.org. CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningen [email protected] | 202-805-9133 SOURCE The U.S. Lumber Coalition 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 Gaza, March 2 : The Israeli proposal of extending the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement is "unacceptable," Hamas said. "The extension of the first phase as proposed by the occupation is unacceptable to us, and the mediators and guarantor countries are required to oblige the occupation to abide by the agreement in its various stages," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Saturday. "The occupation is trying to bring things back to zero point by shuffling the cards and proposing the extension of the first phase," Qassem said, noting that the extension aims to recover Israeli hostages "with the possibility of resuming the aggression on the Gaza Strip, which is contrary to the text of the agreement." Qassem said there were still no negotiations with Hamas regarding the second phase of the agreement, accusing Israel of "evading the commitment to end the war and withdraw completely from Gaza." On Friday, an informed Egyptian security source told Xinhua that an Israeli delegation proposed in Cairo extending the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement for an additional 42 days. Earlier on Saturday, the 42-day initial phase of the three-stage agreement between Hamas and Israel expired, with no breakthrough announced for its next phase. Earlier Hamas has handed over four bodies of Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza, according to an Israeli security official. The release comes days before the first phase of their ceasefire will end. Israel had delayed the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it called the cruel treatment of hostages during their handover by Hamas. The militant group called the delay a "serious violation" of the ceasefire and said talks on a second phase are not possible until the Palestinians are freed. Phnom Penh, March 2 : Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said that the biennial Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) needed to continue to strive for peace, sustainable development and shared prosperity for all its partners. In a message to mark the ASEM Day, Sokhonn, who is also deputy prime minister, said the ASEM Day commemorated the founding of a vital multilateral process that has spanned nearly three decades, aimed at fostering enduring partnerships of cooperation across all sectors between Asia and Europe, Xinhua news agency reported. Since its establishment in 1996, ASEM has proven to be a platform of global importance, he said, adding that with 53 partners from both Asia and Europe, it represents approximately 65 per cent of the global GDP, 60 per cent of the world's population, 75 per cent of global tourism, and 68 per cent of global trade. "Built on the principles of consensus, equal partnership, mutual respect, and shared interests, ASEM has achieved significant milestones," he said. "Through its political, economic, and socio-cultural pillars, ASEM has driven substantial progress in areas such as political dialogue, economic cooperation, trade and investment and joint efforts to tackle global challenges, which include advancing connectivity, addressing climate change and confronting a wide range of security issues, from counter-terrorism to irregular migration, maritime security, and cybersecurity," he added. Sokhonn said as the world faces mounting pressure from geopolitical competition and conflicts in many countries, the resilience of the ASEM partnership has never been more crucial. "It is essential that ASEM continues to strive for peace, sustainable development, and shared prosperity for all its partners," he said. He added that despite the current challenges, Cambodia remains confident that ASEM will continue to be a dynamic platform for multilateralism to address present and future global challenges. "Cambodia will continue to actively engage in the ASEM process, contributing to the ongoing strengthening of Asia-Europe relations," Sokhonn said. London, March 2 : British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During their meeting at Downing Street, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve a lasting peace. Zelensky thanked Starmer for the support Britain has shown to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Xinhua news agency reported. Zelensky's visit came ahead of a defence summit Britain is hosting, with European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Starmer has said he believes such a deal will have to involve the United States. Zelensky said on social media X shortly before his plane touched down in London earlier Saturday that Ukraine is "ready to sign the minerals agreement" with the United States, but "a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine." Zelensky's visit to Britain followed his meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday evening in the White House, where a routine presence in front of a press pool erupted into an unexpected shouting match. The fiery exchange between the two sides started with an interjection by US Vice President JD Vance, who demanded that Zelensky be thankful for Trump's efforts to get his country out of its three-year conflict with Russia. After the public clash, Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House early, leaving the planned minerals deal between the two sides unsigned. Jerusalem, March 2 : Hamas released a video of Israeli-Argentine hostage Eitan Horn, who was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and has been held in the Gaza Strip ever since. The video, authorised by Horn's family for release in Israeli media, shows Eitan, 38, parting ways with his elder brother Iair, who was also kidnapped but freed two weeks ago under the 42-day initial phase of a Gaza truce deal between Israel and Hamas, which expired earlier on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported. The footage also includes hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, freed together with Iair, and two other hostages with their faces blurred. In the video, Eitan pleaded, "Get everyone out and don't separate families anymore," urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move on to the second phase of the truce deal to secure the release of remaining hostages. In response, Netanyahu's office denounced the video as "Hamas propaganda," in which "hostages are forced to convey psychological warfare messages." It stressed in a statement that "Israel will not be deterred" and "will continue to work tirelessly to return all hostages and meet all war goals." The negotiations over the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire agreement currently face an impasse. Hamas called for international pressure on Israel to proceed to the second phase of the deal, while Israel insisted on only extending the first phase for an additional 42 days with more swaps of hostages and detainees. Currently, 59 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with 24 of them still believed to be alive. Earlier Hamas said that the Israeli proposal of extending the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement is "unacceptable". "The extension of the first phase as proposed by the occupation is unacceptable to us, and the mediators and guarantor countries are required to oblige the occupation to abide by the agreement in its various stages," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement on Saturday. Jerusalem, March 2 : Israel has accepted a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Jewish Passover holiday, according to a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office around midnight between Saturday and Sunday. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on Friday and will last until March 30, while the Jewish Passover week will be marked from April 12 to 20. According to the proposal by US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, on the first day of the extended ceasefire, about half of the 59 living and dead Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be returned. At the end of the outline period, if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, the rest of the hostages would be released, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement said that Witkoff proposed extending the ceasefire after he felt that bridging the parties' positions to end the war was impossible at this stage and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire. It added that "while Israel has agreed to the Witkoff outline to return our hostages, Hamas has so far stuck to its refusal to accept this outline." "While Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement, Israel is not in violation," the statement reads. "If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff outline." The statement also stressed that Israel may return to fighting if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective, as the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire-hostages agreement expired on Saturday. New Delhi, March 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to all citizens on Sunday on the occasion of Ramzan, the sacred month of fasting observed by Muslims worldwide. Taking to X, PM Modi posted, "As the blessed month of Ramzan begins, may it bring peace and harmony in our society. This sacred month epitomises reflection, gratitude and devotion, also reminding us of the values of compassion, kindness and service. Ramzan Mubarak!" Ramadan commenced in India on Sunday, marking the first day of fasting for Muslims throughout the country. The celebration has also started in various other countries following the sighting of the crescent moon. On Friday, PM Modi attended the 25th edition of Jahan-e-Khusrau and extended his advance wishes for Ramzan. He also praised India's Sufi tradition for its message of inclusivity and harmony. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also issued an official statement, greeting people on the holy occasion and highlighting the virtues of fasting and service to humanity during Ramadan. "During these sacred days, good deeds such as fasting, self-discipline, patience, and worship foster values of tolerance, simplicity, and mutual brotherhood," CM Yogi stated. Ramadan is a month dedicated to fasting from dawn until sunset, ending with the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. On Saturday, Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, the Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Mosque in Chandni Chowk, along with various religious organisations, announced that the holy month will commence on March 2, 2025. According to the Islamic calendar, the sighting of the moon determines the beginning and end of a month, which typically lasts 30 days. The Shahi Imam stated that because Saturday was the conclusion of the previous lunar month and the moon could not be seen due to poor weather conditions, Sunday was designated as the first day of fasting. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims observe a fast from early morning until sunset and participate in special evening prayers called Tarawih, during which the entire Quran is recited throughout the month. These prayers continue until the sighting of the Eid moon, marking the end of the fasting period and the beginning of celebrations. Washington, March 2 : US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to launch an investigation into the impact of lumber and timber imports on America's national security, a move that could lead to a new tariff imposition. Trump directed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to initiate the probe, saying the United States faces "significant" vulnerabilities in the wood supply chain from imported timber, lumber and their derivative products being dumped onto the U.S. market. A White House official mentioned South Korea and China as he stressed the probe will also target derivative products, including kitchen cabinets. It is to proceed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that allows the president to impose import restrictions if an import threatens to hurt national security, reports Yonhap news agency. On the same day, Trump also inked an executive order designed to increase domestic timber production and help reduce construction and housing costs in the U.S. Timber refers to unprocessed trees or tree parts, while lumber refers to processed wood. "Our disastrous timber and lumber policies, the legacy of the previous administration, trigger wildfires and degrade our fish and wildlife habitats," the official told reporters in a telephonic press briefing. "They drive up construction and housing costs, and impoverish America through large trade deficits that result from exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil dumping lumber into our markets at the expense of both our economic prosperity and national security." The official underscored that the administration is also zeroing in on ramifications from derivative products. "We have situations, for example, where we're exporting our logs, and they're coming back from China in particular, and South Korea does this too... very heavily subsidised things like kitchen cabinets and the like," he said. Asked why lumber imports pose a threat to national security, the official said that the Pentagon is a major consumer of lumber and derivative products. "The whole issue of having a reliable source is critical. If you look at kind of the military needs, we are not building, obviously, aircraft with it, but we are certainly building all the ancillary structures that the military needs," he said. "And it's simply a danger to this country to get increasingly dependent on a foreign supply chain or a product that we could be almost self-sufficient in." Last month, Trump said he was weighing a 25 per cent tariff on lumber and wood products. According to the Korea International Trade Association, South Korea's furniture exports to the U.S. were tallied at $30 million last year. Some observers say U.S. tariffs on timber imports, if imposed, might have a limited impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy. The latest action came after Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to investigate how copper imports threaten America's national security and economic stability, in a move that could lead to the imposition of new tariffs on the metal used to produce aircraft, vehicles, ships and other military hardware. a"IANS na/ TUNIS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A maritime unit in Tunisia's eastern province of Mahdia has rescued 64 people, who were stranded at sea while attempting to reach Europe, the Tunisian General Directorate of Customs said in a statement via its Facebook account on Saturday. The 64 people of various nationalities were found Friday evening aboard a boat running out of fuel on the sea, when the maritime unit conducted a search and rescue operation aimed at fighting irregular immigration, according to the statement. The statement said the initial investigation indicated that the boat had sailed from a neighboring country, without specifying which country. These individuals have been transferred to the port of Chebba and handed over to the Tunisian Coast Guard for further legal procedures, it added. Situated in the central Mediterranean, Tunisia remains a major transit point for illegal immigrants seeking to cross into Europe. Boston, March 2 : Across the US, protests erupted outside Tesla dealerships, targeting CEO Elon Musk in response to his controversial actions and his close alignment with President Donald Trump. Demonstrators voiced their opposition to Musk's push for slashing government spending and restructuring federal agencies, particularly under the banner of Trump's administration. These protests are part of a broader movement against Muskas political involvement, which critics argue undermines Congressional authority and benefits his personal business interests. Demonstrators across various cities, including Boston, New York, and Palo Alto, California, gathered in an effort to publicly challenge Muskas influence over both government spending and policy decisions. Liberal groups have organised these protests in hopes of mobilising opposition to Musk's role in Washington and energising a Democratic base disillusioned by Trump's rise to power. Protesters called for boycotts of Tesla products, urging others to sell their stock and avoid purchasing vehicles from the electric car giant. The growing tension surrounding Musk is not only political but also social. Several Tesla dealerships have been targets of vandalism, including incidents where cars were spray-painted with swastikas. Authorities have charged individuals in connection with a string of attacks against Tesla locations, including the throwing of Molotov cocktails at a dealership in Colorado. Despite the controversies, Muskas net worth continues to soar. With an estimated value of $359 billion, his wealth remains substantial, though Teslaas stock has seen a significant decline since Trump assumed office. The company has yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the protests and the ongoing criticisms. Protest organisers have pledged to continue these demonstrations throughout March, with future events planned in cities across the US, as well as in England, Spain, and Portugal. Seoul, March 2 : Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top automaker, saw its sales in the United States climb 3 per cent from a year ago in February, marking its biggest sales for the month, the company said on Sunday. Hyundai Motor's U.S. sales reached 62,032 units last month, compared with 60,341 units sold in the same month last year, according to the automaker. The figure marked the largest for any February, the company added. The growth was driven by a 194 per cent surge in sales of the Santa Fe hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and a 12 per cent increase in sales of the Ioniq 6 EV. Kia Corp., Hyundai's sister company and South Korea's second-largest carmaker, also set a U.S. sales record for the month, according to the company, with sales rising 7.2 percent on-year to 63,303 units. The company attributed the increase in sales to its lineup of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and solid sales of the new K4 sedan. Earlier, Hyundai Motoras total monthly sales for January dropped 2.3 per cent from a year earlier due to a reduced number of business days. The automaker sold 310,399 vehicles last month, down from 317,823 units the same month last year. Domestic sales fell 7.5 per cent on-year to 46,054 units, while overseas sales shed 1.4 per cent to 264,345 units. Hyundai Motor attributed the reduction in sales to the reduced business days from last month's extended Lunar New Year holiday, reports Yonhap news agency. At home, the bestselling model was the Grandeur sedan, selling 5,711 units. The Sante Fe was the most popular sport utility vehicle (SUV) domestically, selling 4,819 units. Kia said its monthly sales for January fell 2.4 per cent due to the reduced number of working days amid the Lunar New Year holiday. a"IANS na/ Chennai, March 2 : The Tamil Maanila Congress (M) has announced that it will not participate in the all-party meeting called by the Tamil Nadu government on March 5. The party leader and former Union Minister G.K. Vasan stated that the meeting was an attempt to divert people's attention from the various unresolved issues in the state and that his party will not participate in it. He also pointed out that the Central government has not made any official announcement regarding the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu. Vasan noted that during his visit to Tamil Nadu on February 25, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had clarified that the Central government had not taken any stance on the delimitation of constituencies and that Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats would only increase, not decrease. The Tamil Maanila Congress (M) has expressed its opposition to the Central government's policies, including the three-language formula and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The party has also criticised the state government for not taking a strong stance against these policies. It may be recalled that Tamil Nadu BJP has announced that it was boycotting the all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Stalin. State BJP president K. Annamalai on Saturday (March 1) announced that his party will boycott the all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on March 5 to discuss the issue of delimitation. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Annamalai accused CM Stalin of spreading "imaginary and baseless fears" regarding the delimitation process. "You have misconstrued the delimitation exercise and called for an all-party meeting to propagate imaginary fears and deliberate misinformation, even before the official details of the exercise have been released," Annamalai wrote. He further argued that if CM Stalin was concerned about Tamil Nadu losing parliamentary seats due to delimitation, he should have directed the 39 MPs from the INDIA bloc to raise the issue during the Budget session of Parliament. Annamalai also alleged that CM Stalin was attempting to divert public attention from the state's governance issues. "With lawlessness at its peak, governance in disarray, rampant corruption, and policy paralysis, you have chosen to focus on making video reels every day instead of addressing real problems. This entire delimitation controversy is nothing but a figment of your imagination," he charged. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Stalin defended the need for the all-party meeting, stating that delimitation poses a significant threat to Tamil Nadu's representation in Parliament. He said that all 40 registered political parties in the state would be invited to participate in the discussion. "Tamil Nadu is being forced into a major struggle for its rights. We have invited all 40 political parties registered with the Election Commission of India to discuss this crucial issue," CM Stalin said. He warned that if delimitation is carried out based solely on population, Tamil Nadu could lose up to eight Lok Sabha seats, reducing its representation from 39 to 31 MPs. Even if the overall number of MPs in the country increases, Tamil Nadu could still be at a disadvantage due to proportional redistribution, he argued. CM Stalin stressed that the issue is not just about the numbers but about Tamil Nadu's fundamental rights. "As a state that has been a pioneer in development indices and effective population control measures, we should not be penalized. This delimitation exercise, if implemented unfairly, could weaken Tamil Nadu's voice in Parliament," he said. Calling delimitation the "Sword of Damocles" hanging over Southern states, CM Stalin emphasized that it could disproportionately impact states that have successfully implemented population control policies. "As a first step, we are organizing this meeting to bring together all political parties and leaders of Tamil Nadu. I urge all parties to set aside their differences, attend the meeting, and express their views on this critical issue," he added. Dhaka, March 2 : The Election Commission of Bangladesh has stated that it will not be possible to hold local elections before national elections. This confirmation came at a time when major political parties in Bangladesh were at loggerheads over which election to have first, according to the local media. Speaking to the country's leading newspaper, The Daily Star, one of the Bangladeshi Election Commissioners, requesting anonymity, said, "We are also observing the law and order situation. We all know the morale of law enforcers has been low since August 5. It would not be wise to hold local elections when police morale is still low." Earlier this week, Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said, "We are not thinking about local elections at the moment. Local polls usually take place in phases. If we begin local elections at the moment, it will be almost impossible to hold the parliamentary election by December or January." For the last few weeks, several political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Left Democratic Alliance (LDA), met the Election Commission separately, raising a demand for conducting the national elections this year. The radical political outfit Jamaat e Islami, however, demanded that national elections be held only after local elections. Addressing a rally on Friday, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary Mia Golam Parwar reiterated his party's call for holding local government elections before the national election. He further stated that conspiracies are obstructing reforms and a fair electoral process. On the other hand, BNP had issued a warning to the interim government, led by Chief Advisor Mohammad Yunus, and other political parties in Bangladesh not to tamper with the national elections. The party claimed that any tactics to postpone national elections in the guise of reforms would lead to intensified protest movements, according to some local media reports. With the Election Commission of Bangladesh preparing to hold elections in December 2025, a rift seemingly grew between two former allies, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. BNP, which emerged as the largest political party in Bangladesh after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, prioritised national elections, while Jamaat showed support for conducting local government elections first. Los Angeles, March 2 : The late Hollywood actor Gene Hackman's children are about to enter the dingy settings of the interrogation room. Cops are set to quiz Gene Hackman's three children as they try to discover the actor and his wife's last movements, reports 'Mirror.co.uk'. The star is survived by the three children he had with his ex-wife, Faye Maltese, Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58. Elizabeth and Leslie were photographed looking sombre a day after the couple's bodies were discovered, as Leslie revealed she hadn't spoken to her dad in months. As per 'Mirror.co.uk', police have confirmed they are speaking to "family members" as they try to piece together Gene and his wife Betsy's final days. The pair were found dead in separate rooms of their New Mexico home earlier this week. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who gave a press conference on Friday, said that it had been a "challenge" so far to determine the last people the couple spoke to. It was previously suggested that the maintenance workers may have spoken to the couple last. But it's now not clear if this was the case or not. Daughter Leslie, 58, has previously said that she hadn't been in contact with her dad for a while. She said, "We were close. I hadn't talked to them for a couple of months, but everything was normal and everything was good". Her sister, Elizabeth Jean, 62, previously said the family believed that toxic fumes led to the couple's deaths. But this has been ruled out after a postmortem. Cops also believe that two cell phones found at the property could hold a vital key too. They have taken them away to be analysed and may have to draft in external forensic experts to crack them. At a press conference on Friday, it emerged that Hackman likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities. Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman's pacemaker was February 17. When asked if this could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a "very good assumption". "According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life", Mendoza said. They were unable to establish if Hackman or his wife died first. Both were found "mummified", as well as the deceased dog in the closet of the bathroom. Washington, March 2 : Three civilian aircraft were reportedly intercepted by F-16 fighter jets after breaching the restricted airspace above Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort of US President Donald Trump. The airspace violations prompted a swift response from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which scrambled the fighter jets to escort the planes out of the area. The incidents took place at 11:05 a.m., 12:10 p.m., and 12:50 p.m. , although the reasons for the airspace violations remain unclear. It is not the first time such breaches have occurred recently, as similar incidents have been reported frequently over the past few weeks. Local reports from the Palm Beach Post highlighted previous airspace violations that took place in the area during Trump's visits to his Mar-a-Lago estate. These types of airspace violations have become somewhat of a pattern in the region, with multiple breaches noted around key dates. For example, two violations were reported on February 15, and another occurred on Presidents Day, February 17. NORAD responded to these breaches by deploying fighter jets that utilised flares, a safety measure that burns out quickly and presents no danger to people on the ground. Flares are typically used to guide aircraft out of restricted airspace without causing harm. Further violations also occurred in Wellington, a community located inland from Palm Beach, where fighter jets were again dispatched to ensure the safety and security of the airspace surrounding the area. Another reported breach on February 18 involved a civilian aircraft entering Palm Beach airspace, requiring similar action from NORAD. The incidents highlight ongoing security concerns in airspace management around high-profile locations like Mar-a-Lago, particularly during the former president's visits. However, there has been no official explanation for the recurring violations. It is worth noting that these breaches are under investigation, and authorities are working to determine whether they were accidental or intentional. New Delhi, March 2 : Sometimes, it is useful to stay home and reflect on situations to find solutions to issues. Perhaps this is what AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal appears to be doing. It's been days since he was last seen or heard. He has largely remained absent from public view after his party's crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. Kejriwal, who lost to BJP's Parvesh Verma in the New Delhi Assembly seat, was last seen on February 23 at AAP's legislative party meeting, where Atishi was named the Leader of Opposition in the House. He has also not posted much politically significant on his social media handles, including the X. Interestingly, he has neither reacted nor posted on the happenings of the Delhi Assembly, where his lieutenant Atishi, the former Delhi CM, seems to be waging a lone leader's fight. He has not said a word over the suspension of 21 AAP MLAs from the Delhi Assembly. The only significant post made by Kejriwal was on the photo controversy, which Atishi tried to rake and make into a big issue. Reposting Atishi's post on X on February 24, Kejriwal wrote in Hindi (loosely translated): "The new BJP government of Delhi removed Baba Saheb's photo and put up the photo of Prime Minister Modi. This is not right. This has hurt millions of followers of Babasaheb...I have a request for the BJP. You can put the photo of the Prime Minister but do not remove the photo of Baba Saheb. Let his photo remain there." AAP's efforts to make it a big issue have come to a cropper as the photo matter has not created any support for AAP. Atishi has been trying badly to hit the road on the issue, but, except for her 20 co-MLAS, not a single extra AAP worker or leader can be seen joining her protest in the streets. She has even written a letter to the Speaker, objecting to the suspension of 21 MLAs and has tried to make the Assembly ruckus as AAP's fight for Ambedkar. "On 25 February 2025, during the address of the Lieutenant Governor, MLAs of the ruling party raised slogans of 'Modi-Modi,' while the opposition MLAs raised slogans of 'Jai Bheem,' respecting the views of Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. It is very unfortunate that no action was taken against any MLA of the ruling party, but 21 MLAs of the opposition were suspended from the House for three days for raising the slogan 'Jai Bheem,'" she wrote. While Atishi has been trying to keep AAP 'activism' active in Delhi, Kejriwal has gone silent. It is not that Kejriwal has no involvement in whatever Atishi is doing, but the AAP chief seems to prefer to stay low and do jobs from the backroom. Currently, in the national capital, only Atishi and Gopal Rai seem to be handling the Delhi affairs and the rest all seem to have just vanished after massive electoral defeats. Most of the rest of the AAP leaders seem to be busy with varied activities. Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has also not been visible in the capital or on social media. Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh has been busy with the Haryana municipal polls. Former Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj is active mostly on X. Kejriwal is said to be busy keeping his flock together in Punjab, where internal rifts are being reported. It is also said that he is seeking entry to Parliament through the Rajya Sabha route in order to keep his political scales up despite crushing defeat in Delhi. While he may or may not gain entry to the Upper House, his deeds of previous years are getting exposed in the Delhi Assembly. It was quite expected for the ruling BJP to go aggressive with the 14 CAG reports that the previous AAP government in Delhi had hidden for fear of exposure. Some of them were presented to the L-G four years ago, but the then-Kejriwal government kept them under the carpet. The reports are now being tabled one by one, exposing the AAP underbelly. It was known that things were not right on the ground under the Kejriwal-led government, but the extent is now being exposed. As per the CAG reports, everything seems to be wrong with the AAP dispensation in Delhi. These reports, including performance audits on several issues such as the cost of renovating former CM Arvind Kejriwal's residence, liquor supply in Delhi, prevention and mitigation of air pollution, functioning of the Delhi Transport Corporation, healthcare and Mohalla Clinics, gravely reflect the then Kejriwal government's working. The coming days may not be good for Kejriwal and his party as action may ensue on the CAG reports. He was in jail for five months last year for his alleged role in the excise policy. After the CAG expose, his legal troubles may mount. Equally distressing for him could be his political troubles. (Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in) Hyderabad, March 2 : The collapse of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel and the more than week-long operation to rescue eight trapped persons has heated up politics in Telangana, with both BRS and BJP attacking the ruling Congress and blaming it for the tragedy. The incident also sparked a fresh debate on the irrigation projects, with both Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress blaming each other for the inefficient handling of the irrigation sector. The Congress government, which completed one year in office in December 2024, found itself on the back foot with the opposition parties taking it to task for what they called endangering human lives by undertaking the project without proper planning. The delay in the rescue of trapped persons due to the complex nature of the incident 14 kilometers into the under-construction tunnel further exposed the government to criticism by the opposition. Both the BRS and BJP also slammed Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for not visiting the accident site at Domalapenta in the Nagarkurnool district even once. By visiting the tunnel, BRS and BJP leaders tried to mount further pressure on the government. They held the government responsible for the tragedy and termed the visits to the tunnel by the Ministers as a 'picnic'. BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, on March 1, led a team of BJP MLAs to the tunnel and blamed negligence by the government for the mishap. He accused the government of taking no precautionary measures. "The government should explain what tests were conducted to assess the earth's condition at the tunnel, which falls under the shear zone," he said, adding that if the trapped individuals are found dead, the government must be held accountable. While targeting the Congress government in the state, the BJP leader commended the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for its swift response to the incident. He said that on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's orders, the Army, Navy, NDRF, and other Central agencies were participating in relief operations. He criticised Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and other Ministers for visiting the site by chopper every day rather than camping there. Earlier, BRS leaders led by former minister T. Harish Rao visited the tunnel and blamed the government for the accident. Stating that the government had no proper plan, the senior leader said not even an attempt was made to send oxygen beyond the debris. He said the pipe meant for supplying oxygen was damaged due to debris, but the government made no effort to supply oxygen through a new pipe to the place where the eight persons were suspected to be trapped. Uttam Kumar Reddy dismissed the BRS leaders' visit as mere political theatrics. The Minister pointed out that in 2020, during the Srisailam Left Bank Power Station blast, which claimed nine lives, no BRS leader visited the site. He recalled that when Revanth Reddy attempted to meet the victims' families, he was arrested. Minister Reddy said that when the Devadula lift irrigation project tunnel was flooded, seven workers died, and their remains were recovered only after five years. He questioned why Harish Rao had remained silent during those incidents but was now giving lectures on the SLBC tunnel accident. The Irrigation Minister blamed BRS for the SLBC tunnel accident, saying if it had completed the project during its 10-year rule, the accident would not have happened. He said if the project had been completed on time, it would have provided 30 tmcft of water to Telangana, benefiting three to four lakh acres of agricultural land in Nalgonda district. Uttam Kumar Reddy also stated that the government didn't need Harish Rao's unprofessional advice as professionals with expertise 1,000 times higher than him were carrying out the rescue operations. "Is Mr Harish Rao trying to insult the Indian Army, Navy commandos, BRO teams and other experts who are risking their lives in this rescue?" he asked. The ruling party also dismissed the criticism over the Chief Minister not visiting the accident site, saying his visit would have affected the rescue operations. "I have flown several fighter jets. I do not fly helicopters for luxury like BRS leaders," said Uttam Kumar Reddy, a former pilot with the Indian Air Force, on the criticism over using helicopters to visit the accident site. The Congress government also expressed its determination to complete the SLBC tunnel project despite obstacles. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy vowed to complete it at any cost. The project is aimed at irrigating about four lakh acres. "Part of the tunnel collapsed due to the previous BRS regime stopping work on the project for the last 10 years as they were not receiving commissioners from the contractor," said Revanth Reddy. Harish Rao, however, claimed that they had taken up dewatering when it was 10,000 litres per minute before resuming the work after the formation of Telangana. The former irrigation minister said they were spending Rs 1.5 crore every month on dewatering itself. The BRS leader said the BRS government had excavated about 12 km of the tunnel and spent Rs 3,900 crore against Rs 3,300 crore spent by the Congress government during the 2005-14 period. The incident also triggered a heated debate on the management of the irrigation sector by the BRS during the last 10 years and its handling by the Congress government during the last 14 months. The Minister accused BRS president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Harish Rao of crippling the Irrigation sector, alleging that they spent Rs 1.81 lakh crore on projects that did not deliver water as intended. He said the Kaleshwaram project, on which the BRS spent more than Rs 1 lakh crore, collapsed. The Palamuru-Rangareddy project cost Rs 27,500 crore but did not irrigate a single acre. Holding Chief Minister Revanth Reddy responsible for the SLBC tunnel tragedy, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao said this incident happened even before the Sunkishala retaining wall collapse incident could fade from memory. Alleging that the Congress government was compromising on the quality of work by taking commission from contractors, he demanded a judicial probe. Dismissing the allegations, Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said that once the workers are safely rescued, the government will ensure that tunnel work resumes in the next two to three months and is completed within the stipulated time. The accident in the SLBC tunnel occurred a few weeks after the Congress government resumed work on the long-pending project. SLBC is a crucial component of the Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project (AMRP), which started in 1983 to provide water to dry regions of the Nalgonda and Nagarkurnool districts. The 44-km tunnel is designed to carry 30 tmcft of Krishna River water from the Srisailam dam through gravity. Experts say that the tunnel works face challenges as its location is in a geologically fractured zone and groundwater aquifier area. What delayed the rescue operation in the SLBC tunnel was the fact that it had no outlet point. Generally, entry and exit points for a tunnel are given at every 5 km, but due to the presence of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve area, entry and exit points are not allowed between the 44-km tunnel. New Delhi, March 2 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reaffirmed the Centre's commitment to eliminating drug trafficking, announcing that 29 drug traffickers have been convicted in 12 different cases across the country. Taking to X, Shah wrote, "The Modi government is unsparing in punishing drug traffickers who drag our youth into the dark abyss of addiction for the greed of money. As a result of a foolproof investigation with a bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom strategy, 29 drug traffickers have been convicted by the court in 12 different cases across India." Reiterating the Centre's stance, he added, "We pledge to continue combating the drug menace with ruthless and meticulous investigations to build a drug-free Bharat." Efforts to curb drug trafficking have been intensified across the country, with both the Centre and state governments taking decisive actions. In a recent review meeting on the Manipur situation, Shah also addressed the drug problem in the state. He declared that drug cartels would be completely dismantled to establish a drug-free Manipur. Additionally, he chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi, attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Minister Ashish Sood, where he ordered a crackdown on the narcotics trade in the national capital. States have also ramped up their anti-drug initiatives. In Punjab, a massive statewide operation against drug traffickers led to the arrest of 290 smugglers, with over 750 locations raided and 232 FIRs registered. Similarly, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu has launched a six-month-long special mission to dismantle drug networks. He has directed the police to take stringent action against drug peddlers and formed a Special Task Force to intensify the crackdown. With these concerted efforts, both the Centre and states are pushing forward with their mission to eradicate the drug menace from the country. Mumbai, March 2 : With the Modi government's sound policies playing the role of an enabler for entrepreneurs and innovators to take advantage of the new digital wave, India will be at the forefront of the AI age, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. "I am also confident that Mumbai can become India's tech hub with the incredible investment that is being made in necessary infrastructure, capital, and skill availability," the Minister further stated in his interaction at the Mumbai Tech Week 2025. He said that India's commercial capital has all the ingredients needed to be a major tech hub. "Had an excellent interaction at the Mumbai Tech Week 2025, where I had the opportunity to speak at length about India's huge advantage in adopting AI and contributing to its ethical usage," the Minister posted on X. India is establishing a leadership position in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). The country recorded three billion AI-related app downloads in 2024, which was far ahead of the US's number of 1.5 billion and China's 1.3 billion. According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, this shows that India is the "use case capital of AI", which means that the country is not just talking about AI or doing research in AI; it is actually implementing it on a large scale. At the AI Action Summit in Paris last month, which India co-chaired with France, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about how AI is not just a national issue but a global responsibility. It is very important to have an AI which is ethical, inclusive and trustworthy, he emphasised. In his address, PM Modi noted that the world was at the dawn of the AI age, where this technology was fast writing the code for humanity and re-shaping "our polity, economy, security and society". Emphasizing that AI was very different from other technological milestones in human history in terms of impact, he called for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards that uphold shared values, address risks and build trust. He further added that governance was not just about managing risks but also about promoting innovation and deploying it for the global good. In this regard, he advocated for ensuring access to AI for all, especially the Global South. He called for democratizing technology and its people-centric applications so that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals becomes a reality. Alluding to the success of the India-France sustainability partnership through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, the PM stated that it was only natural that the two countries were joining hands to forge an innovation partnership for a smart and responsible future. The Prime Minister highlighted India's success in building a Digital Public Infrastructure for its 1.4 billion citizens based on open and accessible technology. Talking about India's AI Mission, the PM noted that India, considering its diversity, was building its own Large Language Model for AI. He underlined that India was ready to share its experience to ensure that the benefits of AI reach everyone. The Prime Minister also announced that India will be hosting the next AI Summit. ISLAMABAD, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China and Pakistan on Friday signed a cooperation agreement here on spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut on Chinese space station, the first time for a foreign astronaut, marking a new chapter of China-Pakistan aerospace cooperation. "It is a landmark milestone in the history of Pakistan space program. Pakistan has become the member of the elite club of human space flight," said Muhammad Yousuf Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission. Under the agreement, the selection process of astronauts will last for about a year, and the Pakistani astronauts will join in a comprehensive and systematic training camp in China. "I see the human space flight program of China nowadays is at the top. China achieved the targets very quickly, and they got at equal with the International Space Station," said Khan. According to Khan, Pakistan will select five astronaut candidates from the military and civilians, who will later be trained in China. Through physical fitness, mental tolerance and adaptability tests, the best two will be selected, and one of them will carry out the space flight mission together with Chinese counterparts. "Our astronaut will be in space, and he will perform the experiments during his flight and his stay in Tiangong (Chinese space station), it will be broadcasted in Pakistan to motivate our young engineers, scientists and young generation," Khan noted. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif witnessed the signing of the agreement. "This is yet another wonderful gesture from the Chinese government to further deepen our cooperation in this field and many other fields over the last many decades. And I would like to thank the Chinese government, for not only this program is underway speedily, but also supporting Pakistan throughout these years to strengthen our economy under the CPEC," he said. Chinese astronaut Ye Guangfu also attended the signing ceremony. "Via these few days of communication, I have felt enthusiasm and sincerity of the Pakistani side. I am very willing to share my personal experience with Pakistani colleagues," he said. "After they join our team, I will introduce to them precautions for key operations, help them adapt to training pace and master space flight skills as soon as possible. I look forward to the Pakistani astronaut being a member of the Chinese space station," he added. Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, told Xinhua that China is always willing to share its development achievements for the benefits of mankind. The signing of the agreement provides an example for more developing countries to participate in international manned space cooperation, which will inspire more countries to work together to explore the mystery of the universe. Such an agreement, under which the first foreign astronaut is Pakistani, reflected an unbreakable all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and with their friendship seen in the vast space," Lin said. Dhaka, March 2 : The officials from 25 cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service declared a strike on Sunday in protest against the suspension of government officers, according to local media reports. The Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council in Bangladesh announced full-day work abstention in solidarity with the suspended government officers. These officials were suspended merely for expressing their opinions in their social media posts. A press release issued by the organisation stated that the officials would stand in front of their offices wearing black badges and holding banners as a sign of protest, reports the country's leading newspaper, The Daily Star. The organisation alleged that 13 officials from different cadres had been suspended for trivial matters, such as Facebook posts, but no action was taken against members of the administration cadre for similar activities. "The administration cadre has exploited the discriminatory state system to suppress officials from the 25 other cadres," the organisation claimed. Addressing a view exchange meeting with local media in Bangladesh on Saturday, Inter-State Council Coordinator Muhammad Mofizur Rahman said, "We are issuing a one-week ultimatum for the reinstatement of the officials who were suspended for expressing their personal opinions on social media." Mofizur warned that if the matter is not resolved within the next week, they will announce further stricter programmes. "We hope the concerned authorities will take necessary steps to address the matter," Mofizur said. The council also raised 15-point proposals to address disparities among Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) cadres while speaking to the media persons. Mofizur highlighted that the Public Administration Reform Commission was earlier presented with proposals from the 25 cadres for establishing profession-based ministries and abolishing the quota system for appointments to the post of deputy secretary. As per the local media reports, earlier, the Public Administration Reform Commission prepared a report introducing a 50:50 quota for the admin cadre and the other cadres for the deputy secretary posts. "If fully implemented, this report will undermine state reform efforts and strengthen administrative fascism," Mofizur said while speaking to the local media on Saturday. Mumbai, March 2 : Actor Vineet Kumar Singh has described Shah Rukh Khan's home, Mannat, as a powerful symbol of dreams for millions of people around the world. In an exclusive interview with IANS, the actor expressed his admiration for the way SRK's mansion represents hope, success, and perseverance. Vineet said for many, Mannat isn't just a lavish home but a tangible reminder of the possibility of achieving greatness, no matter where one starts. Vineet highlighted that the house stands as a testament to Shah Rukh Khan's extraordinary journey from humble beginnings to becoming a global superstar. He emphasized how Mannat embodies the aspirations of countless individuals who dream of making it big in the film industry, seeing the house as an enduring symbol of how hard work and determination can turn dreams into reality. Sharing his thoughts on nepotism, the 'Chhava' actor shared, "I don't see nepotism in an extreme way. In my personal life, I have observed this trend across professions. In Banaras, where I come from, I have seen many doctors' children becoming doctors, engineers' children pursuing engineering, and businessmen's children taking over their family businesses. Parents naturally want to pass on their knowledge and resources to their children." Vineet added, "The same happens in the film industry. If a star's child enters films, it's not their fault. Parents always strive to give the best to their children, whether it's education, career opportunities, or guidance. However, real talent finds its way. An underdog who rises from nowhere to achieve something great gives hope to many others. That's why Shah Rukh Khan's house, Mannat, is not just a homeit is a symbol of dreams and determination for countless people." The actor is currently riding high on the success of his recent releases, "Superboys of Malegaon" and "Chhava." Speaking about the overwhelming response, Vineet shared, "Honestly, I have never experienced anything quite like this in my life. It feels surreal. Sometimes, I even find myself questioning whether this is truly happening. Everywhere I go, I can sense that people have seen and appreciated my work. That brings me immense happiness. Right now, with back-to-back promotions, Superboys of Malegaon has been released just two weeks after Chhava. Once I get some time to reflect, I will truly absorb everything. But at this moment, I am incredibly happy." Mumbai, March 2 : Actor-producer Aarushi Nishank has opened up about the ongoing challenges faced by women in Bollywood, particularly addressing the persistent pay gaps and gender disparities in the industry. Reflecting on her experiences, she stressed that despite advancements in society, women in the film industry continue to encounter significant obstacles, even in the 21st century. Former Union minister and ex-Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank's daughter Aarushi told IANS, "Unfortunately, disparities still exist, even in the 21st century. Women in Bollywood have long faced pay gaps and other challenges. Tarini also faced several hurdles, but I prefer to talk about them once the film is released and successful." She added, "This film is about six women who defied the odds, and we had to fight for its recognition. Women's stories deserve more prominence, and it's time we change the narrative." Sharing her thoughts on the ongoing debate around nepotism, Nishank stated, "The path I have chosen is certainly tough. Interestingly, I have experienced a mix of nepotism. In one space, I am considered an outsider, while in another, I am seen as a political insider. While nepotism may give some people an initial platform, success is never guaranteed. Many star kids have not been able to sustain their careers. Ultimately, talent, hard work, and perseverance determine an actor's success." Aarushi also shared her thoughts on the delays often encountered in the film industry, discussing how these setbacks can turn into valuable opportunities for growth. When asked about her perspective on delays in acting projects, the TEDx speaker emphasized the importance of patience in the industry. "In the film industry, delays are part of the process. Patience is essential, and I have learned that everything happens at the right time. I began my career with a T-Series music video called Panhala Sahil, which was loved by audiences and crossed over 305 million views. I have received multiple offers but have turned down many projects because I believe in choosing quality over quantity. As I always say, one good project can define your career, just as one bad choice can harm it," she stated. Meanwhile, Aarushi recently made headlines after she accused two Mumbai-based producers of defrauding her of Rs 4 crore. She claimed that the producer couple tricked her into investing in the film "Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan," which features actors Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor. Mumbai, March 2 : Television actress Surbhi Chandna took to social media to celebrate her first wedding anniversary with husband Karan Sharma. On Sunday, the couple took to their respective Instagram handles to share the trailer of their wedding and wrote, "We waited an entire year to share these lovely Wedding Memories with you all who celebrated our special day throughout the year .. we both received so many blessings from so many of you ! Here's to the first of many beautiful years together Happy 1st Anniversary To Us!!" They added, "On This Day We Would Like To Share Our Wedding Trailer With YouA Wedding That Was Planned By The Bride & Groom ThemselvesMera Bina is Song That Is Close To Us and Karan would often dedicate it to me in our intial years of dating Ek Tumhi Ho Beautifully Merged With Mere Bina A Track Composed By Kavyakriti Specially For Our Wedding. Witness The Hurricane Of Emotions & Get Transported To The Most Precious Day For Us 02/03/2024 Witness The SUKAR WEDDING TRAILER." The trailer gives a glimpse into the couple's stunning wedding celebrations, which were meticulously planned by Karan and Surbhi themselves. Adding a personal touch, the soundtrack includes Mera Bina, a song that holds significant sentimental value for the couple, as Karan used to dedicate it to Surbhi during the early days of their relationship. In the heartfelt video, the two also spilled the beans on their relationship and even shared interesting anecdotes from their dating days. In the clip, the 'Naagin' actress can be heard saying, "Karan is such a perfect boy. The entire credit for the wedding goes to him. He is the one who has brought stability in my life." Karan added, "The day I met her, I know I have met my forever one." Surbhi and Karan got married on March 2, 2024, at the beautiful Chomu Palace in Jaipur in the presence of their family members and close ones. Muktainagar : , March 2 (IANS) Jalgaon Police on Sunday confirmed the arrest of one of the seven accused involved in the harassment of Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse's daughter and several other girls during a yatra in Kothali village in Muktainagar. The incident took place during a Maha Shivratri Mela in Muktainagar, where a group of youths allegedly harassed the ministeras daughter and other girls. The accused also attempted to take their pictures on mobile phones. Jalgaon Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP) Krushnath Pingle stated, "On February 28, 2025, during the yatra in Kothali village, the accused --Aniket Bhoi, Piyush More, Saham Koli, Anuj Patil, Kiran Mali, and Sachin Palvi -- were involved. These boys stalked 3-4 girls at the fair and made inappropriate comments." "On the complaint of the victim's mother, we have registered a case under the POCSO Act and molestation charges. One accused has been arrested, and the search for the others is ongoing. Aniket Bhoi already has two to four cases registered against him," he said. "The security guard of the Union Minister was present with one of the victims at the fair. A scuffle took place with him as well. His complaint has also been registered," he added. "There is no pressure from any side. I have been personally present here for the last two days. These boys were part of the fair and committed this act. We have filed a case under molestation, rioting, and the POCSO Act, as the victim is under 18 years old. Additionally, sections of the IT Act have been included due to video calls and other digital complaints. One arrest has been made, and the rest will be arrested soon," the DYSP assured. Earlier in the day, Raksha Khadse, accompanied by her daughter, a large number of supporters, and party workers, arrived at the police station to file a complaint. Speaking to reporters, a visibly distressed Khadse said in Marathi (loosely translated into English), "I have come to the police station not as a Union Minister and MP but as a mother seeking justice." "If the daughter of a public representative can be harassed, then what about the safety of ordinary people? I will meet the Chief Minister and demand action on such incidents," she added. Khadse also revealed that complaints had already been filed against the accused earlier. "These boys have taken videos of four or five girls. Crimes against women are increasing across the state, and the accused no longer fear the law. Many girls hesitate to come forward, but we must not remain silent. That is why I have personally filed this complaint," she said. Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 : A 70-year-old farmer, Sreedharan, was killed in a wild boar attack on his farmland in Kerala's Kannur on Sunday. He sustained severe injuries all over his body and succumbed to excessive blood loss, police confirmed. According to Nanu, a local resident, the attack occurred on a commonly used route leading to the main road. Hearing Sreedharan's loud cries, Nanu rushed to the spot, only to find the farmer brutally mauled by the wild boar. "The wild boar had inflicted multiple deep wounds on his body. His left thigh bone was protruding from the flesh," Nanu said. Sreedharan was immediately taken to the Thalassery Government Hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life. The tragic incident comes amid a growing number of fatal wildlife attacks in Kerala. On the same day (March 2), a wild elephant killed a domestic bull in the Attappadi border region, highlighting the increasing threat posed by wild animals to local communities. Just days earlier, on February 24, a wild elephant attack claimed the lives of an elderly tribal couple, Velli (80) and his wife Leela (70), at Aralam Farm in Kannur district. The couple was collecting cashew nuts near the Rapid Response Team office in Karikmukku when the elephant attacked them. Since 2014, at least 17 people have lost their lives to wild elephant attacks in the Aralam Farm area alone. In another incident on February 10, a 45-year-old man named Manu from Unnathi, Kappad, was killed by an elephant when he was returning home after purchasing goods from a shop. On the same day, a 45-year-old woman, Sofia, was also killed in an elephant attack in Peruvanthanam, Idukki. As per data available up to February 11, 2025, a total of 57 people have lost their lives to wildlife attacks in Kerala during the current financial year (2024-25). Of these, 15 deaths were caused by elephant attacks. Other fatalities included eight deaths from wild boar attacks, one death from a tiger attack, 32 deaths from snake bites and one death caused by a porcupine attack. The increasing number of human-wildlife conflicts in Kerala is attributed to the state's vast forest cover of 11,309 square km (4,366 sq mi), which accounts for over 29.1 per cent of its total geographical area. More than one lakh tribal residents live within these forested areas, along with five lakh non-tribal residents in nearby settlements and border areas. Rapid population growth and human encroachment into forest zones have intensified conflicts, leading to widespread destruction of crops, livestock loss, property damage, and, in many cases, human casualties. In the financial year 2024-25 alone, over 50 wild elephant attacks have been reported across the state, with fatalities on the rise. Authorities are under increasing pressure to implement effective measures to mitigate these conflicts and ensure the safety of residents living in and around forest areas. Agartala, March 2 : Three CPI-M leaders, who were booked and convicted in a case of assaulting a judge in South Tripura district during a nationwide strike called in September 2015, have surrendered before a court and were sent to jail, a defence lawyer said on Sunday. The defence lawyer said that following the instructions of the Supreme Court, the three CPI-M leaders - Tapas Datta, Trilokesh Sinha, and Babul Debnath - surrendered before a local court in Belonia in South Tripura district on Saturday afternoon and it sent them to jail. The next hearing of the case in the apex court would be held on March 18, the lawyer told the media. Datta is currently the CPI-Mas South Tripura district Secretary, while Debnath is the leader of the All India Kishan Sabha and Sinha is a leader of the CPI-M's trade union body CITU. After the incident on September 2, 2015, the police registered a suo-moto case and launched a probe. Charge sheets were subsequently filed against the three prominent CPI-M leaders. A first-class judicial magistrate in 2022 convicted and imprisoned the Left leaders, who subsequently filed a review petition in the South Tripura District and Sessions Court which, in May 2023, upheld the trial courtas judgment. The three leaders then moved the Tripura High Court, which in July last year, but it also upheld the decision of the district and sessions court to sentence all three to two years rigorous imprisonment for creating a ruckus inside a courtroom and insulting a judge. The three leaders then appealed to the Supreme Court, which asked them to surrender before the trial court first and then it would hear their case. The lawyers of the trio accused pleaded in all the courts that the CPI-M leaders were not guilty. Chennai, March 2 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M.K. Stalin on Sunday expressed support for a protest by a section of the Tamil diaspora in the US against the Centre's three-language policy. He shared a news report and video clip of the protest on X. The protest took place in Dallas, US, where a group of Tamils voiced their opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, particularly its push for a three-language system which includes Hindi. Protesters accused the BJP-led Centre of attempting to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu, undermining the stateas long-standing two-language policy. The issue has deepened the ongoing political and ideological standoff between the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led Centre. The dispute intensified after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that funds under the Samagra Shiksha scheme would not be released unless Tamil Nadu implemented the NEP and the three-language policy. This statement triggered a strong reaction from DMK leaders, their allies, and even BJP-friendly parties like PMK, which have opposed both the NEP and the three-language policy. CM Stalin recently warned that implementing NEP would set Tamil Nadu back by 2,000 years. He asserted that the state would not accept the policy even if the Union government offered Rs 10,000 crore. He also criticised the Union Education Minister for trying to impose Hindi through the NEP, vowing to protect Tamil identity at all costs. The CM also highlighted what he called a discriminatory allocation of funds for language development. He pointed out that while Tamil is spoken by eight crore people, the Union government has allocated only Rs 74 crore for its development. But Rs 1,488 crore has been allotted for Sanskrit, which is spoken by only a few thousand people. The Tamil Nadu government has consistently opposed the NEP and the three-language policy, favoring its two-language system: Tamil and English. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has also reiterated that Tamil Nadu will not shift from its stance. Opposition to the three-language policy is not limited to the ruling DMK. Even the principal opposition party, AIADMK, has backed the stateas two-language policy. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, however, accused CM Stalin of misrepresenting the NEP to sustain a political narrative. He urged the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to rise above political differences and consider the interests of students who would benefit from the NEP. Pradhanas remarks were in response to a letter CM Stalin sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, in which he objected to linking Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds with the PM SHRI Schools scheme. CM Stalin argued that these are distinct centrally sponsored programmes, and linking them is unfair. In his letter, CM Stalin urged Prime Minister Modi to immediately release Rs 2,152 crore in Samagra Shiksha funds for Tamil Nadu without linking them to the NEP. He accused the Union government of using financial allocations as leverage to force states into compliance, calling it a violation of cooperative federalism. Mumbai, March 2 : Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who was recently seen in the Kangana Ranaut directorial 'Emergency', has lauded his son Sikandar Kher's cinematic choices. On Sunday, Anupam took to his Instagram, and shared a picture featuring him, his cousins Priyanka, Bhavna, and his son Sikandar. He also penned a long note in the caption, lavishing praise on all three of them. He also revealed that Bhavna is the writer of the recently released Netflix title 'Dabba Cartel'. He wrote, "Sometimes small memories cover large part of our hearts!" Dear Sikandar, Priyanka and Bhavna!! It was so wonderful to see you all together couple of days back at our place. Have seen you growing together since childhood! For those who don't know, #Priyanka and #Bhavna are my little sisters. (We don't use the word 'cousins') I am so proud of all three of you. Sikandar! I love your choices as an actor. It spells out your sense of security as an actor (sic)". He further mentioned, "Priyanka! I love the passion with which you do your work @inbreakthrough Trust as Chief Strategic Partnerships and Communications Officer And dearest Bhavna! Your graph from being a creative director of a reputed Ad agency to the full fledged writer of number #1 #DabbaCartel series on @netflix_in is so so admirable! I am so inspired by three of you. You may hate me for putting your childhood pic. But then that is what life is all about (sic)". "May God give you all the happiness in the world. May you always love each other like this and keep me on my toes to match your talent and capabilities! All my love and blessings! Youthfully yours! Anupam. PS: Will write about the other achievers of #KherFamily soon", he added. Sikandar took to the comments sections and expressed his gratitude, as he wrote, "Thank you for the words of encouragement Kher Sahab, and I love the childhood picture from the other Kher Sahab's wedding". Sikandar is the son of actress and politician Kirron Kher and her first husband Gautam Berry. He is the step son of Anupam. Panaji. March 2 : The inaugural National Association of Impact Leaders (NAIL) meet 2025 held here focused on strengthening ESG (environmental, social, and governance) leadership in India to foster corporate sustainability and underscored the need to align organisational strategies with evolving global frameworks, an official statement said. The event, organised by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), attended by over 100 participants, served as a confluence of eminent ESG professionals, policymakers, and thought leaders, all brought together to exchange insights, deliberate on emerging sustainability trends, and chart the course for a resilient and responsible corporate future. Speaking at the event, Aruna C. Newton, Vice President, Infosys Limited, highlighted how robust governance frameworks can accelerate green technology adoption, ultimately fostering a culture of corporate sustainability. Her insights paved the way for the UNICEF's Public Relations Associate, Private Sector Engagement, to provide an in-depth analysis of the social dimensions of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) Core, reinforcing the imperative of inclusive and ethical business conduct. A panel discussion, moderated by Prof Garima Dadhich, focused on the far-reaching implications of regulatory transformations, including SEBIas new norms, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the dissolution of Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for the corporate sector. Elevating this dialogue further, a senior official from the SEBI's Department of Debt and Hybrid Securities, offered a deep dive into the evolving ESG rating landscape, illuminating investor expectations and the strategic adjustments corporates must make to remain compliant and competitive. Complementing these insights, the official representative from the corporate finance department at the market watchdog, provided an authoritative overview of industrial benchmarks set for BRSR Core and their tangible impact on businesses striving to enhance ESG compliance. Highlighting the transformative power of technology, a senior expert, ESG Practice, from KPMG India, delivered a presentation on the role of artificial intelligence in revolutionizing ESG data analytics, reporting, and decision-making. This seamlessly transitioned into an engaging session led by a senior expert from WRI India, and a senior expert from CEEW-CEF, who provided a meticulous analysis of greenhouse gas accounting methodologies and underscored the critical role of carbon markets in facilitating a transition towards a net-zero future, respectively. During the event, the IICA also announced the 3rd edition of its flagship ESG annual conference, organised with support from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the National Conference on Responsible Business Conduct, scheduled to be held on July 2-3. Registrations for the event will open in March. NEW DELHI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The new government of India's Delhi state, which assumed office last week, announced on Saturday that vehicles over 15 years old will not be given fuel effective from April 1. Delhi's Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa announced that a team of officials would be set up soon to identify such vehicles and bar their entry into Delhi. He said that multi-storey buildings, including hotels, commercial complexes and offices, must install anti-smog guns to control air pollution. "The Delhi government will also make efforts to create artificial rains through cloud seeding to tackle air pollution," he said. Air pollution is a burgeoning problem in Delhi, which is often described as one of the most polluted cities worldwide, particularly in terms of air pollution. According to local media, in November 2024 Delhi registered an Air Quality Index of 795, the highest in the past four years. Lucknow, March 2 : In a major organisational shake-up, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts, effective ruling him out as her political successor. The BSP national president also stated in no uncertain terms that nobody would be her successor in the party till she is alive. The fresh shake-up in party followed a crucial party meet, where decision was taken to appoint his father and party general secretary Anand Kumar along with Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam as the new national co-ordinators. BSP supremo emphasised that the development of Uttar Pradesh's Bahujan community is crucial not only for the state's progress but for advancement of the entire country. She further said that Anand Kumar, who is the serving vice-president will look after party activities including those related to income-tax and litigation matters, in her absence and with her due consent. Mayawati expressed confidence in Anand Kumar's ability to manage party affairs, saying that he never disappointed her and always remained loyal to party's mission. "Apart from monitoring all official works, he also maintains good contact with workers and people on the ground and also gives me good feedback, time to time," she said while praising Anand Kumar's loyalty towards party. Notably, the reason behind sacking Akash Anand as the party's national co-ordinator is the negative influence from his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth. He was expelled from the party sometime back on charges of creating factionalism within the party, in a bid to weaken it and erode its organisational strength. This is the second time Akash Anand has been stripped of party positions. The first time it occurred was in May 2024, just before Lok Sabha elections. He was however reinstated to the post two months later, after Lok Sabha elections got over. She further stated that she has decided that she will not allow any successor in the party till her last breath. --IANS mr/ Lucknow, March 2 : In a major organisational shake-up, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts, effectively ruling him out as her political successor. The BSP national president also stated in no uncertain terms that nobody would be her successor in the party till she is alive. The fresh shake-up in party followed a crucial party meet, where decision was taken to appoint his father and party general secretary Anand Kumar along with Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Gautam as the new national co-ordinators of the party. BSP supremo emphasised that the development of Bahujan community is crucial not only for Uttar Pradesh's progress but for advancement of the entire country. She further said that Anand Kumar, who is the serving vice-president will look after party activities including those related to income-tax and litigation matters, in her absence and with her due consent. Mayawati expressed confidence in Anand Kumar's ability to manage party affairs, saying that he never disappointed her and always remained loyal to party's mission. "Apart from monitoring all official works, he also maintains good contact with workers and people on the ground and also gives me good feedback, time to time," she said while praising Anand Kumar's loyalty towards party. Notably, the reason behind sacking Akash Anand as the party's national co-ordinator is the 'negative influence' from his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth as the latter was expelled by BSP chief, sometime back on charges of creating factionalism within the party, in a bid to weaken it and erode its organisational strength. This is the second time Akash Anand has been stripped of party positions. The first time it occurred was in May 2024, just before Lok Sabha elections. He was however reinstated to the post two months later, after Lok Sabha elections got over. Mayawati was also unequivocal and unambiguous in her declaration that she won't allow any successor in the party till her last breath. New Delhi, March 2 : Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande on Sunday slammed Sanjay Raut, who claimed that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that creating breaking news is all he does. Speaking to IANS, Kayande said, "Sanjay Raut has this habit of waking up every day and making some breaking news; he begins his day by raising some issue, and the media picks it up and spreads it throughout the day." She further questioned the necessity of sensationalising routine political meetings, adding, "If such a meeting happened, what's the big deal? I don't think Amit Shah or Eknath Shinde would have informed them about the details of their meeting." She said, "When two senior leaders meet, their conversation is usually private, and a third party can't leak it to someone like Sanjay Raut." Raut, the Shiv Sena(UBT) Rajya Sabha member, claimed that Deputy CM Shinde met Home Minister Amit Shah on February 22 in Pune and told him how he was being cornered in the Mahayuti government and all his decisions taken by him as the then CM were being reversed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Kayande also addressed the topic of Aaditya Thackerayas potential appointment as the Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Maharashtra Assembly. "When the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) alliance contested the Assembly elections, it was clear that the Chief Minister and the entire Cabinet would be from their side. Similarly, creating the position of Leader of Opposition (LOP) would not make sense because even if all three opposition parties come together, they do not have the strength to form a proper opposition." She further emphasised the constitutional nature of the role of the LoP and the legislative process, saying, "The Speaker of the Assembly, who is a seasoned lawyer, knows how the Assembly functions. Appointments are made as per the rules and the strength of the parties in the House. It is not about personal preferences or who proposes what. The Constitution and the rules of the Assembly are very clear on this matter." In response to discussions surrounding opposition unity and positions, Kayande stressed that the rules and the Constitution must guide all such decisions. Tokyo, March 2 : According to a government survey in Japan, over 80 per cent of Japanese people support the death penalty, stating that the existence of the system is "unavoidable," local media reported on Sunday. This survey is conducted every five years, and for the fifth consecutive term, the support for capital punishment exceeded 80 per cent in a government poll, reports the leading news portal, Kyodo News. In the most recent survey, it was shown that the approval for capital punishment increased by 2.3 points, reaching 83.1 per cent in comparison to the earlier survey conducted in 2019. At the same time, the percentage of individuals supporting abolition saw a more significant increase of 7.5 points, climbing to 16.5 per cent. The main reason for the support of the death penalty given by 66.2 per cent was concern for the feelings of victims of capital crimes and their families. Meanwhile, a total of 55.5 per cent said violent crimes should be paid for with lives, while 53.4 per cent, raising concern, stated that the abolition of capital punishment would lead to a rise in atrocious crimes. On the other hand, the section of people favouring the abolition of the death penalty, amongst them 71 per cent, gave the reason that mistaken convictions become irreversible. Meanwhile, many said that the death penalty should be abolished if life imprisonment without parole is introduced, while others favouring the death penalty said it should remain in place. The survey was conducted between October and December after an 88-year-old man, Iwao Hakamada, was acquitted in a retrial in 2024 over a 1966 quadruple murder case after spending more than four decades on death row, Kyodo News reported. According to the Japanese Ministry of Justice, 77 people have been executed in Japan since 2007. There have been no executions in Japan since July 2022. Japan and the United States are the only G7 countries that still use capital punishment. In Japan, capital punishment has strong public support, and scrapping it is rarely discussed. Jalgaon : , March 2 (IANS) In a shocking incident, Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse's daughter and three other girls were molested by a group of miscreants. The incident took place during the Sant Muktai Yatra (holy fair) in Kothali village of Muktainagar taluka of Jalgaon district in Maharashtra on Friday night. Based on the minister's security guard, the Muktainagar police lodged a case on early Saturday morning under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, IT Act and Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. The police have detained one person so far. Raksha Khadse, MP from Raver Constituency in Jalgaon district and daughter-in-law of former BJP veteran Eknath Khadse has taken an aggressive posture demanding strict action against those involved in the molestation of her daughter. "If the daughter of one Union minister and an MP is being molested, what about others? I will meet the Chief Minister and demand more action regarding such incidents?" asked angry Raksha Khadse. The Maharashtra State Women Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar told IANS, "I have been in constant touch with the police who have already registered a case. The stern action will be taken against those involved in this case." Raksha Khadse said, "The day before yesterday (Friday), all this happened. On the occasion of Mahashivratri, there was a holy fair of Sant Muktabai. Many people participate in that. I was in Gujarat. My daughter called me on Friday that she wants to visit the holy fair. I told her to take a security guard with them. Also, take two or three people associated with her friends with them because every year there is a crowd. There is a lot of pushing and shoving. So there should be some security. But after going there, some miscreants chased them. They sat next to their cradle. When our security guard made them sit in another cradle, those miscreants started harassing them too. They also pushed the security guard. They also teased the girls. No matter who is in power, when complaints are finally received by the administration, serious action should be taken." She further added that those miscreants were making video which was ultimately deleted after the security guard's intervention. "I visited the police station not as a Union Minister and MP but as a mother to seek justice. If my own daughter is not safe, what about others? The state government should take the strictest action in this regard. I will also demand the strict implementation of the law in this regard," said Raksha Khadse. Eknath Khadse, who is now the NCP legislator in the state council, in his reaction, said, "It is not what happened to the girl in my house, it is a social issue. Many such incidents are happening in Maharashtra. Many incidents are not reported. Such incidents do not come to the notice many times but Raksha Khadse's daughter came forward with courage." He further added, "There has been a large increase in hooliganism in my constituency (Muktainagar). In this regard, I have told the government many times but no action has been taken to curb such incidents which are getting protection from local representatives and politicians. I will try to raise this issue in the upcoming budget session starting from Monday." Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hinted at the involvement of activists of a particular political party in the molestation of Raksha Khadse's daughter. He said that the police will take strong action against them. According to the chief minister, one person has been detained so far and the police will nab others soon. Meanwhile, opposition parties have accused the state government of inaction amid deteriorating law and order and rising crime against women. State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis saying that it is a matter of shame for the government that a Union minister has to visit a police station to demand the arrest of eve teasers. "Women are unsafe because criminals have political protection, the state needs a full-time and capable minister," he said. Sapkal said a state also needs a competent DGP saying that incumbent Rashmi Shukla should be removed from her post. The Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar lashed out at the state government saying that it was so distressing that the Union minister had to go directly to the police station demanding the arrest of the accused. "We have been saying for a long time that the police are no longer fear in the state because the gangsters get political protection from the Mahayuti government. The grand alliance government, which is being portrayed as the government of the beloved sister, has been held up in a mirror by its own central minister. Will the Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers wake up now?" he asked. NCP-SP spokesman Amol Matele also blamed the state government for rising cases of rape and molestation of women in the state. He demanded that the government should immediately set up a special task force for the safety and security of women. The incident came to the light amid raging controversy over the rape of a 26-year-old woman inside the state transport bus in Swargate bus depot from Pune on Tuesday. The main accused Dattatray Gade has been arrested and has been sent to police custody. Patna, March 2 : At least two persons were injured after a parking dispute escalated into a shooting incident in Bihar's Gopalganj on Sunday. The altercation occurred around 4 a.m. during a Tilak ceremony at the residence of a local named Shambhu Turha's son, Bittu, in the Mirganj area. The primary victim, identified as Digvijay Singh Kushwaha, a resident of Ward No. 15 and son of Surendra Singh, was attending the ceremony when the dispute over vehicle parking arose. Tensions escalated, leading to multiple rounds of gunfire, during which Digvijay sustained a gunshot wound, resulting in serious injuries. Following the incident, Kushwaha was initially admitted to Hathua Sub-Divisional Hospital. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was later referred to a higher medical facility for advanced treatment. Another individual also sustained minor injuries during the altercation. Local law enforcement responded promptly to the scene, sealing off the area to conduct a thorough investigation. Authorities recovered two spent bullet casings and one live cartridge from the location. As of now, no formal complaints have been lodged by the victims' families, and the identities of the assailants remain unknown. The police are actively investigating the incident to apprehend those responsible. This incident has heightened concerns among residents regarding safety at public and private events, underscoring the need for effective conflict resolution mechanisms and enhanced security measures during such gatherings. The clash caused panic throughout the area. The Mirganj police promptly arrived at the scene, secured the area and assured the people of strict action. Hathua Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anand Mohan Gupta stated, "The clash resulted from a parking dispute between two groups in Ward No. 2 of Mirganj police station. Efforts are underway to identify the alleged individuals involved." Following the incident, the accused fled the scene. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered, and the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are actively working to apprehend the suspects. --IANS. ajk/dpb New Delhi, March 2 : The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a national workshop of elected women representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions in which 'Sashakt Panchayat-Netri Abhiyan' will be launched, to strengthen their role in governance, on March 4 at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital, according to an official statement issued on Sunday. New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a national workshop of elected women representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions in which aSashakt Panchayat-Netri Abhiyana will be launched, to strengthen their role in governance, on March 4 at Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital, according to an official statement issued on Sunday. The Sashakt Panchayat-Netri Abhiyan is a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening the capacity-building interventions for elected women representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions across the nation. It focuses on sharpening their leadership acumen, enhancing their decision-making capabilities, and reinforcing their role in grassroots governance, the statement explained. Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Union Minister of Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi, along with senior officials, will participate in the event. Recognizing the crucial role of elected women representatives in rural local governance, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has devised a strategic roadmap to enhance their leadership and ensure their active participation in decision-making. Ahead of International Women's Day, for the first time, elected women representatives from all three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) will convene on a national platform to engage in meaningful and action-oriented dialogue. Over 1,200 Panchayat women leaders from diverse backgrounds will participate in this historic initiative. A key highlight of the event will be the felicitation of outstanding women leaders from Panchayats across various states and union territories who have demonstrated exemplary work in rural local self-governance. The workshop will also witness the launch of specific training modules for capacity building of elected women representatives, along with a primer on law addressing gender-based violence and harmful practices. The National Workshop will feature carefully curated panel discussions on crucial themes addressing womenas participation in local governance like 'Womenas Participation and Leadership in PRIs: Changing the Dynamics in Local Self-Governance', examining how increased female representation is reshaping rural governance structures and 'Women-Led Local Governance: Sectoral Interventions by WERs', covering vital areas, including health and nutrition, education, safety and security of women and girl children, economic opportunities, and digital transformation. Senior officials chairing these discussions include Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, and Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, bringing high-level expertise to these critical discussions. Cultural performances celebrating womenas achievements and resilience, organised by UNFPA, will add a vibrant dimension to the National Workshop, showcasing the rich cultural heritage that honours women's contributions to society. This National Workshop aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modias vision, highlighted in the 119th episode of aMann Ki Baat', emphasizing the role of aNari Shaktia (womenas power) in nation-building. The initiative reflects the government's dedication to creating Gram Panchayats that are safer, inclusive, gender-sensitive, and socially just, ensuring an environment conducive to the prosperity of women and girls in the country, the statement added. Kabul, March 2 : A coalition of human rights organisations and refugee advocacy groups has asked Pakistan to immediately halt the forced deportation of Afghan migrants, according to some media reports. They stated that the policy violates international law and Pakistan's commitments to refugee protection, local Afghan media Amu TV reported on Sunday. Condemning the mass arrests and forced displacement of Afghan migrants, the organisation wrote an open letter to the Pakistani government, warning that these Afghan migrants fled from their own country to escape persecution, violation, and repression. This warning followed Pakistan's announcement of March 31, 2025, as the deadline for Afghan migrants to leave voluntarily or face forced expulsion. These migrants are awaiting resettlement in countries such as the United States, Germany, Australia, France, and Britain. The letter further condemned the exorbitant visa fees imposed on Afghan migrants in Pakistan and said the threat of deportation has added to their hardships. The organisation also raised concerns about the actions of Pakistani police, who have detained several human rights activists and also deported children without families or legal guardians. Among those facing imminent risk of deportation are pregnant women and individuals with disabilities. In the letter, the organisation alleged that Afghans with valid visas and legal residency permits have been forcibly deported by Pakistan. They highlighted the gender-based violence faced by Afghan women and girls in Pakistan detention centres. The organisation alleged that Pakistan is violating the international law. The organisation urged Pakistan and international communities to uphold international law and prevent forced deportation. It further called for the legal protection of Afghan women and girls who are facing violence in Pakistan detention camps. Earlier, several incidents have been reported in the media that highlighted the plight of Afghan migrants, including hundreds of women and children, as they are being arrested by police in various Pakistani cities and forcibly deported. Fleeing from war and conflict in their country, migrants from Afghanistan have been taking refuge in Pakistan for decades now. With the Taliban returning to power in 2021, millions of Afghans migrated to Pakistan in fear of persecution. In the last few years, the situation of migrants deteriorated with Pakistani authorities engaging in abusive tactics and mass deportation. Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 : A Keralite was shot dead while attempting to cross into Israel from the Jordanian border. The deceased identified as Thomas Gabriel, an autorickshaw driver from Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram, had travelled to Israel with his distant relative, Edison, on February 5. Until February 9, Thomas remained in contact with his wife, Christina, assuring her that he was safe. However, when she received no further communication, a worried Christina sought assistance from the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) to locate her husband. On February 28, she received an email response confirming Thomas' death. Unfamiliar with using email, she had to wait until her sister's son accessed the message the next day. According to the email, Thomas had died on February 10. Rexlin Mary, the local ward councillor, stated that residents and neighbours informed her that Thomas had travelled to Israel on a tourist visa. NORKA officials confirmed that he was shot while trying to cross the Israeli border from Jordan. Thomas had previously worked as a security guard in Kuwait for three years before returning to Kerala five to six years ago. After his return, he earned a living as an autorickshaw driver and occasionally worked as a loading worker. According to his neighbour, Stanley Rodriguez, the couple was facing financial difficulties. "He and Edison travelled to Israel as part of a tour programme. From what we know, their trip was arranged by someone with a Jordan visa," said Rodriguez. Thomas was a member of St. Dominic's Church, Vettucaud, but further details about the travel arrangements remain unclear. His phone has been switched off since his disappearance. Edison, who was injured in the same incident, sustained a gunshot wound to his leg. He lost consciousness after being shot and was later apprehended and hospitalised in Israel. Authorities deported him after a week, and he was sent back to India, arriving first in Kochi before returning to Thiruvananthapuram two days later. A neighbour revealed that four individuals were part of this travel programme, and two of them are reportedly imprisoned in Israel. Thomas' body remains in Israel, and his family requires substantial financial assistance to repatriate his remains. Stanley Rodriguez urged government intervention to expedite the process and ensure Thomas' body is brought back home without further delay. Mumbai, March 2 : Lara Dutta flew off to Nepal for some me time. The 'Chalo Dilli' actress took to her official IG and dropped a few snippets from her visit to the country which has been on her wishlist for a long time. From temples to the local markets, Lara Dutta explored all sides of our neighboring country. The first picture from the post shows her posing with a large bell, while in the second she can be seen sitting on the temple steps along with others. Following this, she posted a few sneak peeks of the local market. Next, she captured the beauty of the Nepal temples through her lens. "A country that's been on my wish list for a loooong time! There's definitely a primordial energy in Nepal that's palpable and pulsating!!", Lara Dutta captioned the post. Earlier this week, Lara Dutta paid a visit to the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Dropping a video of her religious visit on social media, Lara Dutta penned, "Had a bit of a surreal, almost transcendent experience at the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Boudhanath. ( Setu Gompa)" The 'Partner' actress witnessed a special once-in-a-year prayer ceremony, conducted to clear obstacles in the monastery. She mentioned, "Was honoured to have an audience with Kyabgon Phakchok Rinpoche, the master of rituals at the monastery, and witness a special once in a year prayer ceremony conducted to clear obstacles." Lara Dutta concluded, "My first visit to Nepal has been a mix of so many things and a deeply spiritual journey as well." Prior to this, Lara Dutta also fulfilled her long-held dream on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri. She celebrated the festival at the renowned Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal Sharing a clip of her temple visit, Lara Dutta wrote on her Insta, "I have always wanted to spend one Mahashivratri at one of the sacred Shiva Kshetras and today that wish was fulfilled at Pashupatinath temple, Nepal. Blessed and grateful for the calling and the opportunity, and thankful for the small army of people that made this possible for me. Jai Bholenath!!!! #happymahashivratri." The post featured Lara Dutta entering the temple premises with her team, looking stunning in traditional attire. Afghans visit a market during Ramadan in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, March 3, 2025. (Photo by Safifurahman Safi/Xinhua) KABUL, March 2 (Xinhua) -- As Ramadan begins, Afghans are grappling with severe economic challenges exacerbated by ongoing U.S. sanctions. Abdul Matin, a Kabul resident, visited the local market with his two teenage sons to buy Ramadan essentials. However, soaring prices and his limited income made it difficult to afford even basic food items. "Today, I came to the market to buy a small amount of food for Ramadan, such as cheese, dates, and cream, but we don't have enough money to buy much," Matin told Xinhua. As the sole breadwinner for his family of eight, Matin works as a baker in Kabul and struggles to find affordable options to feed his family. "I believe if the U.S. sanctions are lifted, money will flow freely, people can work without restrictions, and the economy will improve," he said with sorrow. The country is facing a financial crisis marked by widespread hunger, deepening poverty, and a critical shortage of job opportunities. Despite the hardships, Ramadan remains a time of solidarity and unity for many following Islamic beliefs. In Afghan culture, purchasing dates, dairy products, and sweets is a common Ramadan tradition. However, this year, people are struggling. Fazil, a date seller from Parwan province, travels to Kabul each year for Ramadan to sell his goods. This year, however, his sales have plummeted. "In the past, I sold 80 to 100 kg of dates daily. Now, I'm lucky to sell 20 to 30 kg. The market is down," Fazil explained. Standing beside his handcart in a busy part of Kabul, Fazil waited for customers. "Previously, a kilogram of dates cost 100 Afghanis (about $1.50), but now the price has risen to 150 Afghanis ($2). I used to serve up to 100 customers a day, but now I barely reach 30," he said. Meanwhile, Nematullah, a 24-year-old shoe seller in Kabul, browsed the market hesitantly. "I can't decide what to buy today. Maybe I'll just get a little cheese, cream, and milk for my family's fast-breaking meal," he said. Nematullah's shoe business has also suffered. "There's been no work in the last one or two months. People's finances are weak, and they can't afford to buy shoes," he explained. On the day the Taliban took over the Afghan capital city of Kabul, the U.S. government quickly froze nearly 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in national foreign exchange assets held in the United States by the Afghan central bank, which pushed the financial and bank payment system in Afghanistan almost to the brink of collapse. Recent reports indicate that approximately 50 aid organizations have halted operations in Afghanistan after the suspension of U.S. humanitarian aid since Jan. 20, further straining an already vulnerable Afghan population. Afghans visit a market during Ramadan in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, March 3, 2025. (Photo by Safifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Street vendors wait for customers during Ramadan in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, March 3, 2025. (Photo by Safifurahman Safi/Xinhua) Mumbai, March 2 : Actor John Abraham, who is gearing up for his upcoming movie 'The Diplomat', has a keen interest in geo-politics. In fact, it's his interest in geo-politics that drew him to this film. However, an unchecked interest could easily turn into obsession which can later induce anxiety and mess-up the cortisol and adrenaline levels in the body. John has himself admitted that at times he gets geo-political anxiety similar to how people have environmental anxiety. Well, it's not particularly a good thing for someone like John, who has insane fitness levels. The actor spoke with IANS ahead of the film's release, and shared which geo-political development has caught his fancy, of late. John told IANS, "I am following what's happening between Israel and Hamas, and also the Russia-Ukraine war, I am just cued in on that. I feel Jerusalem is at the centre of every conflict in the world today. The whole conflict between East and West Jerusalem, the wall, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall, the history from 1947, the Abraham Accord, the Balfour Accord and everything, that has led to what's happening across the world today". The actor also feels that having geo-political knowledge makes a person more aware, and enhances their ability to create an informed opinion honing their decision making capabilities. He said, "When you have that kind of geopolitical knowledge at the back of your head, like even my character in 'The Diplomat', if he has it at the back of his head, sometimes you don't say it. But your audience knows that this guy knows his stuff. So, that's very important". Recently, Israel conducted air-strikes in Damascus, Syria. Talking about the bombings in Damascus, John said, "Just when Damascus was coming, a little into shape! What's gone wrong? I have got this geo-political anxiety, you know how people have environmental anxiety, I have got geo-political anxiety. What's happening with the world". New Delhi, March 2 : Polling is underway to elect mayors and all ward members of municipal corporations, municipal councils and other municipalities of Haryana. The seven municipal corporations which went to vote on Sunday include Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnala and Yamunanagar. As per Election Commission records, the highest voting has been recorded in Gurugram with a poll percentage of 31% till 3 PM. Apart from Gurugram, Manesar municipal corporation also recorded voter turnout above 30% till 3 PM. The voting began at 8 AM in morning and will concluded till 6 PM. The results willl be declared on March 12. The BJP, which won 48 seats in recent held Haryana assembly polls, has set a target of getting full majority in Gurugram municipal corporation polls. According to the data released by the District Election Office, the highest voting percentage of 53.6 per cent was recorded in the Farrukhnagar Municipal Committee. The lowest turnout was 22.0 per cent in the Sohna Municipal Council while Pataudi recorded 45.9 per cent. The number of registered voters in Gurugram district is over 11.7 lakh. The voters are exercising their franchise at 1,109 booths in five municipal areas including Gurugram, Manesar, Pataudi, Sohna and Farrukhnagar in Gurugram district on Sunday. The elections are being held in 33 municipal bodies including 8 municipal corporations, 21 municipalities and four municipal councils. District Election Officer Ajay Kumar said that the votes would be cast for the post of Mayor of the MCG and councillor in 35 wards of the MCG area. The votes would be cast for the post of Mayor of the MMC and councillor in 29 wards of the MMC area. Similarly, the votes will be cast for the post of councillor and chairman in 22 wards in Municipal Council Pataudi Jatauli Mandi. In the by-election for the post of chairman in Sohna Municipal Council, 26,596 men and 23,551 women and 6 transgenders are set to cast their votes in 21 wards. At the same time, in Municipal Committee Farrukhnagar, 7,683 men 6,961 women and 1 transgender will choose their government body for the post of councillor and chairman in 16 wards. --IANS str/mr Mehsana, March 2 : Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the newly constructed Vidya Bhavan and Cultural Hall in Pilvai, Vijapur Taluka, Mehsana district of Gujarat on Sunday. The event marked a milestone for the Sheth Girdharlal Chunilal High School Trust, Pilvai, which dedicated these new facilities in memory of a former student. The Shri Sundarlal Mangaldas Shah Cultural Hall and Shri Anilchandra Gokaldas Shah Vidya Bhavan were officially opened under the Union Home Minister. Following the inauguration, the Union Minister toured the new smart classrooms, computer labs, and other academic spaces, talking with students about their learning experiences. On this occasion, Amit Shah and his familyas trust were honoured with a commemorative memento and a shawl as a token of appreciation. The trustees highlighted the schoolas long-standing legacy since 1927, emphasising its mission to nurture students into responsible citizens through quality education. They also announced that the institution would celebrate its centenary year in 2026 with a grand Shatabdi Mahotsav. The event saw the presence of Jay Shah, President of the BCCI and Amit Shahas son, along with several dignitaries, including Health Minister Rishikesh Patel, Rajya Sabha MP Mayank Nayak, Lok Sabha MP Haribhai Patel, and prominent community leader Girishbhai Rajgor. Senior administrative officials, such as District Collector S.K. Prajapati, District Development Officer Hasrat Jaismin, and Resident Additional Collector J.K. Jegoda, attended the function along with trustees, students, and social leaders. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, the Gujarat government has allocated Rs 59,999 crore to the Education Department, reflecting a significant emphasis on the sector. This allocation represents 14.8 per cent of the state's total expenditure, aligning closely with the national average of 15 per cent dedicated to education by other Indian states. Additionally, the budget outlines significant investments in educational infrastructure, including the construction of new classrooms, the establishment of smart classrooms equipped with modern technology, and the enhancement of existing facilities to create a more conducive learning environment. Mumbai, March 2 : The state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in its 1,800-page charge sheet filed in the brutal killing of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh has named Walmik Karad, who is a close associate of NCP leader and state minister Dhananjay Munde as the mastermind. Karad has already been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in connection with the Rs 2 crore extortion from a developer of a wind power project, Avaada Energy and this case is linked to the murder of the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. Along with Karad, the seven others have been named in the charge sheet as accused in the case. The police have already arrested seven including Karad while Krishna Andhale is still missing after the murder took place in December last year. The Special Investigation Team led by senior IPS officer Basavaraj Teli is also probing the case. The chargesheet has been filed along with matching voice samples of Karad and the company employees, and CCTV footage showing the connection of the accused in the murder case with the extortion crime. The police sources said that after CID investigation with the help of about 180 witnesses and a jury, Walmik has been named as the mastermind of the crime. Evidence has been presented against eight accused including Karad. The 'digital' evidence in this investigation conducted under the guidance of Investigation Officer Basavaraj Teli has been examined and prepared by the forensic laboratory. In the extortion case, Walmik has been accused of being the mastermind behind the crime, saying, "End him as soon as he comes, otherwise he will be forced to beg." Among the accused, Sudarshan Ghule and his accomplices were involved in organised crime. The charge sheet states that he and his accomplices committed 11 crimes in 10 years in Kej, Ambajogai from Beed district and Dharur and Kalamb from Dharashiv district. According to the charge sheet, on October 8, 2024, Avaada Energyas Land Acquisition Officer Shivaji Thopte went to meet Walmik Karad at his office in Parli at his request. Vishnu Chate was present at that time. At this time, Karad threatened, 'If you want to keep the company running, pay Rs 2 crore or else stop all the work of Avada Company in Beed district.' Further, on November 29, for the same demand, Sudarshan Ghule threatened, 'Fulfil Walmik Anna's demand and meet him. Do not start the work till then.' Avadda Energyas land acquisition officer Shivaji Thopte was abused and beaten up, threatening to pay Rs 2 crore or else the company would be closed. Thereafter, the company employees called and informed the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh about the incident. Following this, Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh went to the site and requested Sudarshan Ghule and his associates, 'Don't close the company. Let people get employment.' At that time, since Sudarshan Ghule was at the forefront of demanding extortion, he threatened sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying that he would not leave him alive. On the afternoon of November 29, 2024, Walmik Karad, Vishnu Chate, Sudarshan Ghule, Prateek Ghule, Sudhir Sangle and Krishna Andhale held a meeting at Vishnu Chate's office in Kej and demanded that Avaada Energy should pay Rs 2 crore. They hatched a conspiracy on the recovery of ransom and also how to deal with sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. According to the charge sheet, Santosh Deshmukh was abducted from the Dongaon toll plaza on December 9 last year and murdered. Since the charge sheet was filed in the court within 80 days, it will now be difficult for the accused to get bail, said the police sources. The government recently appointed senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam as special prosecutor in the case. New Delhi, March 2 : Agristo Masa Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Masa Global Food Pvt Ltd (part of Wave Group) and IMSTO NV, Belgium (holding company of Agristo NV, Belgium), on Sunday, announced a fresh investment of Rs 750 crore in its Uttar Pradesh plant, turbocharging the agricultural landscape and taking the total investment to over Rs 1,000 crore. Agristo Masa's Bijnor plant has transformed the lives of farmers in western Uttar Pradesh by increasing their income levels by 50 per cent over the past three years. Ensuring a holistic development of the region, around 2,500 farmers are expected to benefit from this expansion. This is in addition to the 500 farmers in the region who have been provided sustainable livelihood opportunities through the plant's interventions, the companies said in a statement. Since its inception in July 2022, productivity in potato cultivation has also gone up from 17 tonnes per hectare to 32 tonnes per hectare, one of the highest in the country. "Our aim is to empower the farmers and diversify their cash crop beyond sugarcane. We have helped these farmers to double the potatoes' output with the help of new technologies. Their income has increased by 50 per cent over the last 3 years," said Manpreet Singh Chadha, Chairman, Wave Group, which owns a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture. The plant, which caters to both domestic and export markets with North America, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Japan being the key geographies, had earlier entailed investment to the tune of Rs 250 crore for a potato flakes facility. The additional investment of Rs 750 crore will be made to install a new production line of french fries. Kristof Wallays, Director, International Expansion, Innovation, and Sustainability of Agristo, said the Bijnor plant is a testament to how results can be achieved when vision and technical expertise are combined. "Partnering with Masa Global Food has allowed us to contribute in a meaningful manner to the rapidly evolving Indian agriculture and food processing sectors and ensure the development of all stakeholders. Next to the expertise of Indian farmers, we can rely on the expertise of several other Belgian companies such as Vyncke through their Indian venture forbesvyncke and AVR, specialised in harvesting machines," Wallays said. The Minister-President of the Government of Belgium's Flanders, Matthias Diependaele, noted how the plant is a sign of strong relations between the Flanders region and India, and demonstrates Belgium's commitment to participate in the India growth story. "Flanders is known for setting the stage for groundbreaking innovations. The Indian facility of Agristo Masa is equipped with cutting-edge Flemish technology," said Diependaele, adding that this expansion will further scale the production and deepen the collaboration with local farmers. IANS na/vd Ranchi, March 2 : A four-year-old girl was raped in Swarn Jayanti Nagar under the jurisdiction of Sukhdev Nagar police station area of Ranchi. An FIR was registered on Sunday based on a complaint filed by the child's mother, police officials said. Ranchi, March 2 (IANS) A four-year-old girl was raped in Swarn Jayanti Nagar under the jurisdiction of Sukhdev Nagar police station area of Ranchi. An FIR was registered on Sunday based on a complaint filed by the childas mother, police officials said. According to the police, the incident took place on Saturday night when the girl was playing near her home while her mother was busy with household chores. A man from the neighbourhood allegedly lured her away and sexually assaulted her. The matter came to light when the girl returned home in distress. The child's family members reached the accused's house and beat him up. The police were informed about the incident, but the accused somehow managed to escape before the police arrived. The police investigating team traced his mobile location to Bihar, and a police team has been dispatched to apprehend him. The child has undergone a medical examination, and her statement has also been recorded. This incident is among several cases of sexual violence reported in Jharkhand in recent weeks. On February 23, three minor girls were allegedly assaulted in the Khunti district of the state when they were returning from a wedding ceremony. Police have arrested 18 people in connection with the case, most of whom are minors. Three days ago, law enforcement officials arrested three individuals in Bokaro for the rape and murder of a minor girl. Investigations revealed the involvement of the childas mother and her acquaintance in the crime. The matter was also raised in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. Amid rising concerns, Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta held a high-level meeting on February 28 with senior police officials across the state. He directed law enforcement agencies to enforce a zero-tolerance policy against crimes targeting women and children and ensure swift legal proceedings. Chandigarh, March 2 : The Punjab government has introduced psychometric tests for girl students to discover their strengths and aptitudes, state School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said on Sunday. The tests will be conducted on class 10 students studying in government schools, he said, adding that the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has allocated over Rs 6.56 crore to all districts for conducting them. This program will benefit 93,819 students, with all girls to be covered by March 31. To ensure smooth implementation, district-level committees have been formed led by District Education Officers (Secondary) across the state. These committees will oversee the testing process and monitor all operations within their respective districts. The primary objective of this initiative is to analyse students' mental abilities, interests, and personality traits to guide them towards making informed career choices, said the minister. Bains said a majority of students face confusion after their Class 10 board exams regarding their future career paths. This decision significantly impacts their choice of stream in Class 11. While private schools often provide career counselling, government school students lack this support, leading them to rely on their peers' choices. This often results in students selecting streams that may not align with their interests and abilities, ultimately hindering their career prospects. Recognising the importance of this issue, the minister said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government has introduced the psychometric test to provide government school students with opportunities at par with private school students, enabling them to choose their careers with confidence. It will also empower them to choose paths that align with their strengths and interests. This initiative will not only make students more confident and aware of their future but will also improve the quality and standards of education in government schools, he added. Chennai, March 2 : Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the political party founded by Tamil superstar Vijay, has issued a strong warning to the public and its members regarding unauthorised individuals claiming to represent the party in media debates. TVK General Secretary N Anand clarified that only the party's officially designated spokespersons, as appointed by President Vijay, are authorised to express its views and urged the public to disregard statements made by individuals who are not officially recognised by the party. Anand noted that TVK has been growing rapidly, thanks to strong public support, and has been actively involved in various initiatives. These include membership enrollment, awarding certificates of appreciation and incentives to students, and organising events like the Vettri Kolgai Thiruvizha and anniversary celebrations. He alleged that rival political parties, unable to tolerate TVK's increasing popularity, have been attempting to mislead the public by presenting their own supporters as TVK representatives in media debates. This misrepresentation, he said, has been strongly condemned by the party. "The opinions and views expressed by individuals who are not officially authorised by TVK's President or the Headquarters Secretariat do not reflect the party's official position," Anand asserted. He urged TVK members and the people of Tamil Nadu to exercise caution and avoid being misled by unauthorised statements. Vijay officially launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam on February 2, 2024, positioning it as an anti-corruption and anti-divisive politics movement. Though he chose not to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he announced that TVK would compete in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. On August 22, 2024, Vijay unveiled the party's flag and flag song at its headquarters in Panaiyur, Chennai. This was followed by TVK's inaugural conference on October 27, 2024, in Vikravandi, Villupuram district, which reportedly drew an estimated crowd of three lakh people. The massive turnout led to heavy traffic congestion in Vikravandi and Mundiyampakkam, forcing authorities to divert vehicles on the Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway. During the conference, Vijay strongly criticised both the DMK and the BJP, declaring the BJP as his ideological adversary and the DMK as his political adversary. He accused the DMK of being a family-run party that exploits the "Dravidian" identity for personal gain, while condemning the BJP for its divisive politics. Following his remarks, the DMK accused Vijay of being the "C team" of the BJP, implying that he was indirectly supporting the saffron party. Vijay's political influence has been on the rise since his fan club, the All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (AITVMI), won 115 out of the 169 seats it contested in the 2021 Tamil Nadu local body elections. In contrast, Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) failed to win any seats, further solidifying Vijay's standing in Tamil Nadu's political landscape. Vijay has also made it clear that TVK will only align with parties that acknowledge his leadership. --IANS aal/dan Mumbai, March 2 : The Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday unanimously decided to boycott the customary tea party convened by the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the eve of Budget session of the State Legislature, citing the MahaYuti government's failure at all fronts. The decision was taken during the meeting convened at the residence of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the State Council, Ambadas Danve. The four-week Budget session will start from Monday. Danve told reporters: "The Opposition in its letter addressed to the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said if they will attend the customary tea meeting it will be an insult to the farmers, workers and common citizens. Therefore, Opposition has decided to boycott it. The government should clarify its stand on farmers, working class and common citizens in the State Legislature. The Opposition's decision is a symbolic gesture of anger against the state government prevailing among the people of the state." Danve, who was accompanied by Shiv Sena-UBT legislators Aaditya Thackeray, Bhaskar Jadhav and Sunil Prabhu, NCP-SP legislator Jitendra Awhad and Congress legislator Bhai Jagtap, alleged that the law and order situation in the state has worsened amid rising crimes against women, saying that the state government is not serious to curb such incidents. Aaditya Thackeray criticised the state government over the molestation of Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse's daughter in Jalgaon district targeting the Chief Minister Fadnavis, who is also the state Home Minister. "Fadnavis has been the Home Minister for 10 years except for the two-and-a-half years of Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The hands of the police are tied, criminals are given exemption which is causing such incidents," he claimed. He asked several questions in his tirade against the state government. "Why is action not taken against those in power but only against those not in power? You were elected on EVM, will you fulfill your promise? Will you increase your beloved sister's money or not?" he asked. Aaditya Thackeray said that President Droupadi Murmu has sent back the Shakti Act which was passed by the State Legislature to curb crimes against women with a provision of death penalty. He accused the MahaYuti government of rising internal disputes impacting the governance in the state. Danve claimed that Walmik Karad, the main accused in the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, has been given a VIP treatment in the jail. Despite alcohol ban in the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli and Wardha districts, 7,000 cases have been registered, he said. Danve alleged that there has been a scam in the Agriculture department while the Rs 3,000 crore-plus tender issued during the term of former Public Health Minister Tanaji Sawant has been suspended by Chief Minister Fadnavis. Besides, the tender for the procurement of 1,310 state transport buses awarded hastily ahead of Assembly election during former CM Eknath Shinde-led government has also been suspended, he said. Danve hit out at the state government over the distress among farmers and its inaction to help them amid declining prices of soybean. Dubai, March 2 : Seamer Matt Henry stood tall yet again to pick 5-42, third five-for in the 50-over format, as New Zealand restricted India to 249/9 in their 50 overs in the final Group A game of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Electing to bowl first, New Zealand used the help offered by the black soil pitch to good effect and kept India in check. Shreyas Iyer rescued India from a top-order collapse by making a fine 79 and got the company of Axar Patel, who made a solid 42. With New Zealand bowling superbly in the back end, Hardik Pandyaas run-a-ball 45 ensured India posted a competitive total. With some help on offer for the fast bowlers, Henry and Kyle Jamieson made good use of it by asking tough questions to the Indian batters via seam and swing respectively. Though Rohit Sharma clobbered Henry for four and six respectively, the seamer bounced back by trapping Shubman Gill plumb lbw with a lovely inswinger for just two. Jamieson joined in when Rohit mistimed a pull and was caught at midwicket for 15. Virat Kohli got going with two edgy boundaries in his landmark 300th ODI before he cut one hard off Henry and Glenn Phillips flew to his right at backward point to take a stunning catch, leaving everyone shellshocked, as the batter fell for 11, with India ending first power-play at 37/3. With the ball turning a lot for New Zealandas spinners, India went 51 balls without hitting a boundary till Axar swept off Mitchell Santner in the 16th over. After that, Iyer carted William OaRourke for three fours - two coming off pulls while the third one came as a drive over extra cover. While Iyer continued his good run to get his 22nd ODI fifty in 75 balls, Axar took a liking to Michael Bracewellas off-spin by hitting him for two fours, before lofting him over extra covers for six. The 98-run stand was broken when Axar tried to pull a down leg delivery from Rachin Ravindra, but the top edge was caught by a backward square leg and the batter fell for 42. With KL Rahul getting off the mark by lofting Ravindra for four, Iyer got the timing right on his shots fetching him a six each off the spinner and OaRourke respectively. But in the 37th over, the short ball caused Iyeras downfall as he was rushed into the pull off OaRourke and top edge was caught by short mid-wicket running backwards. Three overs later, Rahul fell for 23 as he tried to play a skiddy delivery from Santner away from his body, but got a thick edge behind to Tom Latham. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja kickstarted the slog overs phase by hitting Bracewell for six and four respectively, before the former pulled OaRourke for another boundary. Hardik stood tall to hit a forehand-like shot for four off Henry, who later had Jadeja slicing to backward point with Kane Williamson taking a one-handed diving catch. With New Zealand spot on with their lengths, they managed to keep Hardik quiet till the all-rounder cut loose in the 49th over. He sliced and lofted Jamieson for back-to-back fours, before following it up by pulling the pacer over long-on for six to take 15 runs off the penultimate over. But Henry dismissed him and Mohammed Shami in the final over to pick a five-fer and keep India one run short of 250. Brief scores: India 249/9 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 79, Hardik Pandya 45; Matt Henry 5-42) against New Zealand. SYDNEY, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Authorities of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Sunday warned residents in northern NSW to prepare for damaging winds, large surf and heavy rainfall with Tropical Cyclone Alfred expected to cross the coast later this week. NSW State Emergency Service (SES) Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said now was the time for residents to prepare. "The impacts of the cyclone may be felt from Tuesday with damaging winds, large powerful surf, coastal erosion, followed by intense and heavy rainfall from Wednesday onwards," Storey said. "If major flooding occurs, people may be asked to evacuate their homes. We are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that if you are asked to evacuate, you have a plan for yourselves, your families and your pets and know where you will go." An emergency kit should include identification documents, medicines, some water, a torch, mobile phone charger and battery radio, NSW SES said. Meanwhile, residents in southeast Queensland state of Australia have been warned to prepare for possible damaging winds, high tides, heavy and locally intense rainfall and flash flooding. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said a "large part" of Queensland's coast is expected to be impacted. "(A) tropical cyclone warning is not in place at this stage, but it is expected that that will occur within the days ahead and again, I ask Queenslanders in that area to pay particular attention to that," he told reporters. "The timing appears to be in the middle part of this week, where that system could cross the coast. What is a little less certain is where," he said. The Bureau of Meteorology predicted Cyclone Alfred will first weaken to a category 1, bringing with it heavy wind and rainfall to southeast Queensland, before strengthening to a category 2 as it drifts towards the coast mid-week. New Delhi, March 2 : With the rapid expansion of e-commerce and the government's focus on infrastructure development, the warehousing and logistics sector is seen as a key driver of economic growth, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi said on Sunday. Addressing an event here to celebrate the 69th Foundation Day of the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), the minister highlighted the organisation's efforts in operational efficiency, transparency, and accountability through the integration of digital initiatives. Underlining the government's commitment to reducing logistics costs, the Union minister said, "With the launch of the National Logistics Policy (NLP) and the PM Gati Shakti Programme, we aim to bring down logistics costs from the existing 13-14 per cent to global standards of around 8 per cent. CWC, as a leading warehousing organisation, is poised to support these objectives through modern infrastructure development and efficiency enhancements." Joshi emphasised CWC's crucial role in government initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), ensuring efficient warehousing, handling, and transportation of essential commodities, including food grains, pulses, cotton, and groundnuts. He highlighted CWC's transformation from a conventional warehousing entity to a dynamic logistics service provider, stating, "CWC has evolved into a symbol of efficiency, innovation, and reliability, with an extensive network of over 700 warehouses and an operational storage capacity of 148.29 lakh metric tonnes." Reflecting on India's historical legacy in warehousing, Joshi remarked, "India has a rich history of storage solutions, dating back to the Indus Valley Civilisation and Patliputra in the Mauryan and Gupta empires. Today, modern technology-driven warehousing has revolutionised the sector, with India's warehousing market expected to grow at a remarkable 15 per cent CAGR, reaching $35 billion by 2027." The Minister acknowledged CWC's significant contribution to infrastructure development and stated that CWC has expanded its storage capacity by an additional 21.65 lakh square feet in FY 2023-24 with a record capital expenditure of Rs 613 crore. He added that its e-commerce capacity has grown twelvefold since 2021 to approximately 80 lakh square feet in 2025. He praised the asset monetisation of CWC's assets at 18 locations mobilising an investment of Rs 820 crore under the asset monetisation plan. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission, CWC shall aim to foster self-reliance by having an efficient and substantial supply chain by encouraging private sector participation, investment in technology advancement and creating a conducive environment. The minister reiterated CWC's commitment towards ensuring the food security of the nation by enabling a seamless storage supply. He also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to raise the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of rabi crops for the 2025-26 marketing season which underscores the government's efforts for the welfare of farmers. The event commenced with a presentation on the overview of CWC performance by Santosh Sinha, Managing Director, CWC. He emphasised the modernisation of conventional warehouses in Tier-I and Tier-II cities, the development of cold storage facilities under the PPP model and leveraging partnerships with stakeholders. CWC has added new capacities with more than 120 lakhs sq ft capacity hired during 2024-25, storage of 70 Lakhs Cotton Bales and 1.90 crore bags of groundnut in the current season. On account of superior performance and consistent team efforts, the Corporation was awarded 'Navratna Status' in April 2024, he added. Bhopal, March 2 : The Congress has criticised the Madhya Pradesh's Panchayat and Rural Development Minister and former Union Minister Prahlad Patel for saying that "people have become accustomed to begging from the government". State Congress President Jitu Patwari said that people of Madhya Pradesh have supported BJP in elections for development, not for being called "beggars". He said that Minister Patel should apologise for his comment. "Prahlad Patel's statement revealed that the BJP considers people just as votebank. After coming to power, BJP leaders insult people. BJP's top leadership should also clarify whether the party supports Patel's view or not," Patwari added. Another senior Congress leader and former Minister P.C. Sharma also criticised Patel, saying, "Ministers bow down their head before the people to seek votes, and after winning the election, he is calling them beggars. It is a highly condemnable statement." Addressing a public rally, former Union Minister Prahlad Patel advised people to learn from those who have sacrificed their lives for the country. His remarks come amid a debate over political parties rolling out freebies to win elections. While the distribution of freebies during the election is ongoing, Patel said people hand over a letter of demand to the politicians and said it is not a good habit. The Minister has made this remark while unveiling the statue of Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi at Suthaliya town in Rajgarh district on Saturday. Avanti Bai, the queen-ruler and freedom fighter, sacrificed her life while fighting against the British rule on March 20, 1858. "Whenever political leaders come before the people, they are handed over a pile of demand letters. Politicians are garlanded on stage, and then they are handed over a demand letter. This is not a good habit," he said. Patel said that people should stop begging from politicians. He said "assembling an army of beggars" does not strengthen society, rather weakens it. "The more we are drawn to free things, that is not honouring our brave warriors," he added. Mumbai, March 2 : The Sara Ali Khan-starrer movie 'Metro In Dino' was earlier reported to be delayed for its release. However, it turns out that the film is seamlessly running its course, and will be released in cinemas this year. The makers of the film denied any delays in terms of its release, and assured the cinegoers that the film will debut in cinemas in 2025. An official statement from the makers read, "On the contrary to some media reports claiming that 'Metro In Dino' is getting pushed, we confirm the movie is releasing this year in 2025". The film also stars Aditya Roy Kapur, who started shooting for his next film 'Metro... In Dino' at Mumbai's Film City in the Goregaon area in 2023. 'Metro... In Dino' is directed by Anurag Basu, who is known for films like 'Gangster', 'Barfi', 'Murder', 'Jagga Jasoos' and 'Ludo'. The film marks another collaboration between Anurag and music composer Pritam. The pair's collaborations have gone on to become highly acclaimed making them two of the best associates in Indian cinema, and their association can be compared to other grand duos, such as Rahman-Mani Ratnam and Anurag Kashyap-Amit Trivedi. Actors Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Pankaj Tripathi, Konkana Sensharma, Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh will also be seen pivotal roles in the movie which is touted to be the sequel to 'Life in a Metro' directed by Anurag. The film marked the first full rock album for Bollywood in 2007. The movie is an ensemble drama, and marks Aditya's second collaboration with Anurag Basu post the success of 'Ludo'. The Film City schedule of Aditya was a week-long affair, after which Aditya got busy with the promotions of 'The Night Manager Part 2'. The actor wanted to finish it before starting another project because it was a consuming role. The film is bankrolled by T-Series. Washington, March 2 : Amid emerging differences between the US and its European allies on the Ukraine conflict, President Donald Trump's close adviser and Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk has publicly supported the withdrawal of the US from both NATO and the UN. "I agree", he posted in response to a post on X by political commentator and MAGA activist Gunther Eagleman, saying: "Itas time to leave NATO and the UN", sharing a post by Republican Senator Mike Lee calling for such a move. In February, Senator Lee of Utah had also introduced the Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act, proposing a complete US withdrawal from the UN and termed the world body a "platform for tyrants" that attacks America and its allies, and has not been able to stop wars, genocides, human rights violations, and pandemics despite all its funding. Musk had supported Leeas stand, noting in a post on X that the US "provides way too much funding to the UN and associated entities". This is not the first time that Musk has questioned the US membership in NATO, which last month only, he had termed "anachronistic" and not relevant in the post-Cold War era. He also questioned the rationale behind American taxpayers covering a significant portion of Europeas defence costs, highlighting that the US pays for nearly 67 per cent of NATOas military expenses, despite spending only 3.5 per cent of its GDP on defence. Trump has also criticised NATO, urging members to increase defence expenditure and threatening to withdraw from it, on the grounds that the US bears an unfair financial burden for European security. However, this was not the only post by Musk on geopolitical affairs on Sunday. Sharing an October 3, 2022 poll he posted on a formula for peace between Russia and Ukraine, he posted: "What I said over 2 years ago was that Ukraine should seek peace or suffer severe loss of life for no gains. "The latter was Zelenskyas choice. Now, he wants to do that again. This is cruel and inhumane," he wrote, in a reference to the infamous and public spat between Trump and the Ukrainian leader, ending with the latter's virtual expulsion from the White House. In the poll, he proposed reconducting elections of annexed regions under UN supervision and Russia to leave if that is will of the people; Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchevas mistake); water supply to Crimea assured, and Ukraine remains neutral. Responding to the 40.9 per cent votes in favour and 59.1 per cent 'no' votes, Musk had said: "This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end a" just a question of how many die before then". Continuing the attack on the Ukrainian leader, Musk also reposted, without comment a report about then President Joe Biden losing his cool over Zelensky's unstoppable demands, and a cartoon of a version of the trolley controller's ethical dilemma, with the figure named Zelensky and bearing the caption: "You can stop the tram at any moment, but you refuse because you need guarantees that it won't start moving again in a few years". The tech billionaire also commented: "Zelensky damaged himself severely in the eyes of the public. Just a fact" to a shared CNN report noting that the number of people who now think the US is helping Ukraine too much is up from 7 per cent to 41 per cent and the trust in Zelensky fell from 72 per cent to under 48 per cent. Gaza, March 2 : The Israeli army killed at least four Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Palestinian health authorities and medical sources. "The Israeli army killed two Palestinians by attacking a group of locals with a military drone in the town of Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza Strip," Gaza-based health authorities said in a press statement. The Israeli army said in a press statement that its forces had spotted several individuals engaging in "suspicious activities" near military positions in northern Gaza, alleging that they were planting an explosive device, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement added that the Israeli Air Force launched an attack to "eliminate the threat" and reiterated the military's commitment to removing any perceived dangers to Israeli soldiers and citizens. Meanwhile, local sources and eyewitnesses reported a mass displacement of hundreds of families from the eastern areas of Beit Hanoun due to the airstrikes. In a separate incident, medical teams recovered the body of a woman and treated two wounded people following an Israeli bombardment on the town of Al-Farahin, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Gaza-based health authorities. In Rafah, a young man was shot dead by Israeli gunfire while standing on the roof of his home in the city centre, according to Palestinian medical sources at Gaza's European Hospital in Khan Younis. The Israeli army has not commented on the incidents in Khan Younis and Rafah. These developments came a day after the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas ended, which was supposed to be followed by negotiations on its second phase. The new deaths came despite a ceasefire agreement that has been in place in Gaza since January 19, halting Israelas war that has killed nearly 48,200 people and left the enclave in ruins. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Guwahati, March 2 : To provide quality medical treatment and maintain best practices in the diagnosis and care of elephants, a two-day International Elephant Health Care Workshop was held in Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), a UNESCO World Heritage site. Guwahati, March 2 (IANS) To provide quality medical treatment and maintain best practices in the diagnosis and care of elephants, a two-day International Elephant Health Care Workshop was held in Assamas Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), a UNESCO World Heritage site. KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that the workshop provided an in-depth understanding of elephant physiology, anatomy, behaviour, disease management, and practical medical procedures. She said that the two-day workshop (February 27-28) was organised aiming to procure deep knowledge about practical applications in elephant conservation and health care. The practical training camp at Kaziranga served as an extension of the workshop, allowing participants to implement their learnings while treating the elephants, the KNPTR Director said. She said that positive reinforcement techniques that strengthen the bond between mahouts and their elephants were the key highlights of the practical training sessions. Teams of veterinarians and experts examined both the departmental and private elephants at Kaziranga National Park to provide direct medical care while demonstrating best practices in diagnosis and treatment. Ghosh said that this hands-on approach ensured the application of advanced veterinary techniques in diverse environments, further strengthening conservation efforts. Distinguished experts including Dr Susan K. Mikota, Director, Veterinary Programmes and Research, Elephant Care International, USA; Dr Willem Schaftenaar, Research Associate, Elephant Care International, Netherlands performed the leading role in the workshop. Dr N S Manoharan, Additional Director, Veterinary Service (Retd.), Tamil Nadu and Dr Bhaskar Choudhury, Manager and Head veterinarian, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) led the various treatment procedures on pain management, wound care, gastrointestinal issues and foot care, to name a few. The event was organised by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and attended by 28 veterinarians, said Ghosh, a senior Indian Forest Service officer. Earlier three months ago, in a first of its kind, two elephant Mahouts of KNPTR attended the aGentle Training Workshopa for elephant handlers, owners and carers at National Elephant Institute Lampang, Thailand. Two elephant Mahouts -- Kasim Ali (Kaziranga Range) and Sanjeev Pegu (Agoratoli Range) attended the three-day training workshop from November 6 to 8 last year. The three-day event was organised by the Human-Elephant Learning Programs Foundation (H-ELP) and gave an introduction to the principles and practices aimed at advancing captive elephant welfare through an understanding of the most relevant scientific knowledge available and focused on positive reinforcement techniques. The Thailand training event was also attended by Mahouts from Nepal, Laos PDR, Thailand and Sri Lanka. The KNPTR, measuring about 1,300 sq km, is home to more than 2,613 one-horned Indian rhinos. The world-famous park is not just a home of rhinos, but also to Asian elephants, Royal Bengal tigers, wild buffalos and many more animal species while it is also a habitat to thousands of birds of over 125 species. Indiaas seventh (fourth in natural) UNESCO World Heritage site, the KNPTR is spread across several districts of Assam, including Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, and Biswanath. Mumbai, March 2 : Markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Sunday said it would initiate "appropriate legal steps" to challenge the order of the ACB Court in Mumbai against its former Chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch. In a statement, the SEBI said that "the applicant is known to be a frivolous and habitual litigant, with previous applications being dismissed by the Court, with imposition of costs in some cases". "A Miscellaneous Application was filed before the ACB Court, Mumbai against the former Chairperson of SEBI, three current Whole Time Members of SEBI and two officials of the BSE," said the capital markets regulator. It further stated that the "application sought directions for the Police to register an FIR and investigate into the alleged irregularities in granting listing permission to a Company on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1994, without complying with the provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992, SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018, and the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015". Even though these officials were not holding their respective positions at the relevant point of time, "the court allowed the application without issuing any notice or granting any opportunity to SEBI to place the facts on record", according to the SEBI statement. The SEBI further said it "would be initiating appropriate legal steps to challenge this order and remains committed to ensuring due regulatory compliance in all matters". Last month, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new SEBI Chairman. The tenure of Buch as SEBI Chairperson ended on March 1. She assumed office on March 2, 2022, for a three-year term, becoming the first woman to lead the markets regulator. London, March 2 : Western leaders, including more than a dozen European heads of state and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, gathered in London on Sunday for a defence summit aimed at advancing a peace plan for Ukraine following a week of intense diplomatic talks. The summit, hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, focuses on strengthening Ukraine's position through continued military support and increased economic pressure on Russia. It will also discuss the need for "a strong, lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace in Ukraine and ensures that Ukraine can deter and defend against future Russian attacks". Participants include the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, along with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the Presidents of the European Commission and European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is also attending. The leaders are expected to outline the next steps to bolster European security guarantees, Xinhua news agency reported. "In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees, alongside continued discussions with the US," Starmer said in a statement ahead of the summit, emphasising that the Russia-Ukraine war has now reached "a turning point". The summit comes amid diplomatic tensions, as a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House turned into a heated exchange, leading to the cancellation of an anticipated raw materials agreement between the two countries. On Saturday, Zelensky met with Starmer at 10 Downing Street, where the British Prime Minister reaffirmed the UK's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Following the meeting, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko announced that Britain and Ukraine had agreed on a loan of 2.26 billion pounds ($2.84 billion) to support Ukraine's defence capabilities. (1 pound = 1.26 US dollar) Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelensky a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 : Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday extolled India's economic resurgence and also highlighted certain 'grim demographic challenges' that the country faces. Delivering the fourth P. Parameswaran Memorial Lecture on the theme 'Democracy, Demography, Development, and the Future of Bharat', the Vice President said: The theme calls upon me to first reflect on the state of the nation. There was a time, and I had the occasion to see it, as a member of parliament in 1989, as a union minister in 1990-91, an atmosphere that did not inspire us. That was alarmingly worrisome, full of concern." He added that now India is brimming with positivity and possibility, adding that the country is full of hope and aspirations. "All around, all pervasive, an ecosystem of hope and possibility we can see, and in the global firmament, it is the brightest spot of investment and opportunity. The country has seen in the last decade an exponential economic upsurge. Our rise from 11th position a decade ago, on the scale of economic size, we have traversed a long distance, facing headwinds, difficult terrain, overcoming hurdles created earlier, cleansing the system, making it transparent and accountable," he said. The Vice President added that India is the 5th largest global economy at the moment and is on the way to becoming a 4 trillion economy in US dollars very shortly, and with average growth over this period of about 8 per cent. "Bharat happens to be the fastest growing global economy in the last decade, acclaimed, accoladed and applauded by global institutions, the IMF and the World Bank. The World Bank has appreciated our deep digitisation, technological penetration, and everyone sees it now as a ground reality. Next comes infrastructure. Phenomenal infrastructure growth has dotted our landscape. Be it on sea, deep sea, ground, sky or in space, all our accomplishments make us greatly proud, and I am happy to share with you, every year the country has added four new airports and one metro system, and on a daily basis, 14 kilometres of highways and 6 kilometres of railways are being added," he claimed. The Vice President also highlighted the scale of deep technological penetration, 85 million are benefiting with houses, 330 million with health coverage, and 29 million small businesses with loans annually. "The government is hand-holding them by affirmative policies and innovative schemes. We now boast of more than what we achieved in space. Lunar and Mars missions in medical science, vaccine production, and the nation is bound to be the hub of semiconductors, engineering and manufacturing," he said. The Vice President added that the demography does matter and it should not be confused with majoritarianism, adding that the society cannot be divided into these two camps. "Our nation is faced with grim challenges when it comes to demography. The demography evolution must be organic. It must be natural. It must be soothing only then it reflects unity and diversity, but if demographic variations are brought about in the nature of virtual and earthquake, there is cause for concern. If inorganic demographic variations take place with intent to increase demographic component with the objective to secure progress, then we have to be alarmed. This is being done. This is noticeably being done. We are at a crossroads, where we can neither overlook nor countenance this highly destabilising development," he said. Speaking on India's progress, Dhankhar highlighted the remarkable transformation in rural areas, stating that a nation of 1.4 billionlook at the transformative changes that have impacted the rural landscape. The Vice President stressed that government initiatives are ensuring benefits reach the most disadvantaged, regardless of caste, religion, or socio-economic background. "Efforts are being made to ensure that benefits reach those in the last line, without discrimination based on qualification, race, religion, caste, or color. This is being achieved with great success," he said. Dhankhar paid tribute to P. Parameswaran, describing him as a leading intellectual and ideologue of Hindu philosophy in this century. "His unwavering commitment to Bharatiya values, his deep understanding of Indian ethos, and his relentless pursuit of national unity continue to inspire generations. His vision for a self-reliant, culturally rooted, and spiritually awakened Bharat resonates profoundly across the nation," he remarked. The Vice President emphasised the importance of recognising historical figures who have contributed to India's progress, stating: "A civilisation is known by how it honours its great sons. Over the past few years, we have been remembering our forgotten, unsung, and unseen heroes." He also expressed concern over illegal immigration, stating that millions of illegal migrants pose threats to national security, employment, healthcare, and education. "Illegal migrants place demands on our employment, health, and education sectors and then influence electoral politics. Unchecked migration is also threatening our cultural identity. We must act courageously to stop these demographic disruptions," he asserted. Dhankhar also addressed religious conversions, saying they should not be induced by greed, temptation, or exploitation of vulnerable individuals. "India upholds the fundamental right to freedom of religion, passed down from our civilisational heritage. However, if this right is manipulated through coercion, it cannot be tolerated. Helping those in need should not be a means to lure them into conversion," he stated. He described strategised, financially backed efforts to convert people as a grave concern. "No matter how much I emphasise this, I cannot fully express the enormity of the challenge we face due to these orchestrated efforts aimed at conversions," he said. The Vice President also spoke about the increasing polarisation in politics, noting that national and civilisational values are no longer at the center of political discourse. He urged Parliament to be a model of dialogue, debate, discussion, and deliberation, much like the Constituent Assembly that drafted India's Constitution. "Today, instead of discussion and debate, we see disruptions and disturbances. Parliament must transform the aspirations of the people into reality," he said. New Delhi, March 2 : Ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, three-time West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegation on the addition of names of bogus voters to the state electoral roll may have been refuted by the Election Commission of India, but the controversy is unlikely to end just yet. In a statement issued on Sunday, the ECI countered CM Banerjee and clarified that duplication in EPIC number "does not imply duplicate/fake voters" while acknowledging some cases of duplicate EPIC numbers caused by the use of identical alphanumeric series by two different States/UTs. While the BJP described the ECI response as a setback to CM Banerjee, the Trinamool supremo showed little signs of retreating from her combative stand against the electoral panel. Trinamool chief Banerjee's allegations are no different from the reactions of other INDIA bloc parties that were defeated by the BJP in recent Assembly elections, including Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. The timing of CM Banerjee's anti-ECI tirade -- almost one year before the Assembly election and immediately after ally AAP's loss in Delhi elections -- appears aimed at energising party cadre involved in a drive for physical verification of electoral rolls. The BJP has countered CM Banerjee's combative posturing by accusing her of resorting to misinformation to lay the groundwork for her imminent defeat in 2026 and weaken voters' confidence in the electoral system. In a counter-offensive, BJP co-incharge of West Bengal Amit Malviya accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of including names of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya settlers in the electoral rolls. "We demand that @ECISVEEP prioritise a voter roll cleanup in West Bengal and remove illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya settlers, whom the TMC has placed across the state as Mamata Banerjee's vote bank. The ECI must also thwart TMC's attempts to eliminate the names of linguistic minorities and Hindu refugees -- including the Matua community, who fled religious persecution and settled in Bengal -- from the voter roll," said Malviya in a post on social media. His comments were a virtual endorsement of similar allegations made by former West Bengal Congress chief and the former Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who accused Trinamool Congress of enlisting several lakhs of bogus voters in the state with the help of a private agency. The raging debate over alleged bogus voters was intensified last week by CM Banerjee when she alleged that the BJP, with the help of two private agencies, was enlisting voters from other states like Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar, Punjab, and Rajasthan as voters in West Bengal. Addressing party workers, the 70-year Trinamool chief said, "They are linking the names of voters from other states with the EPIC number of voters in West Bengal. Similar misappropriations were made before the elections in states like Delhi, Maharashtra, and Haryana, which helped the BJP to win there." "The other parties there were unable to detect the trick. But we in Bengal have been able to identify the trick well in advance and hence we will never allow the plot to be successful here," the Chief Minister said. Banerjee's allegations on the addition of names of bogus voters to electoral rolls come close to similar remarks by her INDIA bloc partners like AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, whose party lost the recent Delhi Assembly election last month. Last month, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of not sharing the electoral rolls for the Lok Sabha election 2024 and the voter list for the Maharashtra Assembly elections last year, raising suspicion of the addition of bogus voters to benefit the BJP and its allies. Raising doubts about alleged bungling in the voter list for the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election which was won by the BJP-led Mahayuti, LoP Gandhi alleged that as many as 39 lakh voters were added to the voters' list after the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, just six months before the Maharashtra Assembly elections in November 2024. On Sunday, cautioning against a threat to the demographic sanctity of Bharat, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar hit out at sudden demographic changes in certain pockets that invariably influence poll outcomes. Delivering the fourth P. Parameswaran Memorial Lecture on the theme 'Democracy, Demography, Development and the Future of Bharat' in Thiruvananthapuram, the former Governor of West Bengal said, "We have fortresses in the country that have emerged in the last few years, where the outcome of the election is always foreclosed by democratic, demographic dislocations." He said, "Policy interventions alone are not sufficient to address these daunting challenges. We have to recognise these challenges as existential to our nationalism and also to our democracy." Over 7.5 crore voters in West Bengal are likely to pick 294 new legislators around April-May next year. In the 2021 Assembly polls, the TMC won 215 seats in the House with 148 as the majority mark. Anti-incumbency, allegations of corruption and job scams, allegations of sexual assault on many women of Sandeshkhali and the public outrage over a doctor's rape and murder in a Kolkata government hospital are some of the factors that political analysts expect to be raised by the Opposition parties in the 2026 Assembly election in the state. Friedrich Merzs long-anticipated victory in Germanys federal election on February 23rd marked a shift in the countrys political landscape. His Christian Democratic Union (CDU), along with its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), secured the top spot. However, their 28.6% share of the voteone of the lowest in their historydampened celebrations at CDU headquarters. The unpopularity of Olaf Scholzs outgoing government had raised hopes for a stronger conservative resurgence, yet the real winner of the night was the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which claimed nearly a quarter of Bundestag seats and established dominance in the east, while making significant gains in the west. The CDU found some relief in the failure of the Free Democrats and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance to surpass the 5% threshold required for parliamentary representation. This allowed Merz to form a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) rather than requiring a third partner. Coalition negotiations are set to begin soon, but the question remains: Can Merz steer Germanyand by extension, Europethrough its mounting crises? A new era for Germanys role in Europe? Germany finds itself at a crossroads. With Donald Trumps return to the White House and his threats to scale back U.S. military commitments to NATO, the burden of European security may shift dramatically. In a geopolitical climate where Russian aggression looms and NATO members brace for the worst-case scenario, Germany faces mounting expectations to take the lead. And that scenario is an attack on NATO territory. NATO is currently conducting its largest military exercise since the Cold War, meant to demonstrate collective military power. With 32 NATO countries agreeing on collective defense, Germany has emerged as a crucial logistical hub due to its central location in Europe. In recent years, it has significantly increased its defense spending and has become Europe's largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine. But despite these efforts, Europe still heavily relies on the United States for military capabilities. The U.S. not only supplies the bulk of NATO's weaponry but also maintains around 100,000 troops on European soil. About one-third of these forces are stationed in Germany, reinforcing the country's critical role in European security. However, Trumps demands that NATO members increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP have added further uncertainty to the alliances future. Germanys historical reluctance to assume a military leadership role dates back to its post-World War II restrictions and the Cold War era. The defeat of Nazi Germany led to the dissolution of its military, and during the Cold War, both East and West Germany were rearmed only for self-defense within their respective alliances. Following reunification in 1990, Germany further reduced its defense budget, prioritizing economic and diplomatic leadership instead. That stance changed dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, forcing Germany to rethink its military strategy. Merz assumes office at a time when Germany has been increasing its defense spending and playing a central role in NATOs largest military exercises since the Cold War. Chancellor Scholz announced a historic 100 billion defense fund to modernize the German military, including investments in air defenses, tanks, F-35 fighter jets, and helicopters. For the first time, Germany is establishing a permanent military presence outside its borders, with a new base in Lithuania. It has also committed to NATOs 2% defense spending target, though analysts argue this may still be insufficient. Yet, challenges remain. According to a 2024 government report, Germanys military remains under-equipped and understaffed, with discussions underway about reintroducing conscription. Defense spending is a politically divisive issue in Germany, and opposition parties have capitalized on public skepticism regarding Berlins support for Ukraine. Populist parties, particularly the AfD, have gained ground by questioning Germanys military commitments and advocating a more isolationist stance. Perhaps, the success of the military-political program depends on economic reforms, and we will soon see if the right-wing can make Germany great again. Can Merz change Germany's direction? Germanys reluctance to lead Europes defense is also reflected in its approach to Ukraine. Instead of taking charge, Berlin prefers to act within alliances. Meanwhile, other European nations have stepped up their defense investments. Poland plans to spend 5% of its GDP on defensemore than the U.S. The Baltic and Nordic countries are also increasing military spending, fortifying their borders with Russia and Belarus. Sweden has even distributed wartime preparedness booklets to millions of households. Despite these regional efforts, Germanys leadership remains crucial. France and the UK possess strong militaries and nuclear capabilities but are facing domestic political crises. With Brexit, the UK has distanced itself from European leadership, leaving Germany as the logical candidate to spearhead European security efforts. But can Friedrich Merz shift Germanys traditional stance? Merz is a staunch conservative with pro-business credentials, a commitment to NATO, and a more assertive foreign policy approach compared to Scholz. His party on the other hand is not entirely unfamiliar to Trump and European Union. Notably, it is also the party of Angela Merkel, the former German Chancellor, with whom he is well acquainted. Additionally, its important to highlight that Friedrich Merz, although from the same party, holds more conservative views than Merkel did. In fact, Merz temporarily left politics in 2009 because he felt he could not compete against Merkel due to their differing political ideologies. He returned to politics in 2018 after learning that Merkel would not be running for office again. Perhaps, the circumstances are different this time. The party now faces the "Ukraine problem," which carries the risk of a large-scale war and Donald Trump who has adopted a tougher stance on his foreign policy than during his first term in office. Perhaps amidst the leader vacuum in Europe, Merz, like Merkel before him, can find common ground with Trump, either alone or alongside Emmanuel Macron (who was quite good in terms of easing the 'tensions' with Trump with and without Merkel), to resolve existing issues. His leadership will be tested by the challenge of balancing Germanys economic priorities with its growing military responsibilities. If he fails, Germany may find itself unable to rise to the occasion just as Europe needs it most. In the face of an unpredictable U.S., and a fractured Europe, Germanys future role in continental security will define not only its own trajectory but that of the entire region. Whether Friedrich Merz is the man to meet that challenge remains an open question. Image credit: Jess Frampton KABUL, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotic police have detained 71 suspected drug smugglers and seized more than 11 kg of illicit drugs in the capital city of Kabul, an official statement said on Sunday. The contraband, which included 3.2 kg of methamphetamine, 4 kg of heroin and 4.4 kg of hashish, was seized during separate routine operations carried out by the police on the outskirts of Kabul city, the office of Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics said in the statement. According to the source, the police have also seized two Kalashnikov rifles, one M4 machine gun, and two pistols from the apprehended smugglers. In a related operation, police in the eastern Nangarhar province arrested eight individuals linked to the illicit purchase and trafficking of drugs, confiscating 20,500 stimulate tablets from their possession, the Ministry of Interior Affairs reported on Saturday. In the fight against illicit drug use, police have rounded up 81 drug users in the provinces of Farah, Laghman, Ghazni, and Wardak and shifted them to rehabilitation centers for treatment. The Afghan interim government has prohibited poppy cultivation, drug production, and trafficking, committing to combat the drug issue until Afghanistan, previously known for its poppy production, is transformed into a drug-free country. Jammu, March 2 : J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday chaired a meeting of coalition partners ahead of the Budget session of the Assembly beginning on March 3. The meeting was attended by Congress legislature party leader G.A.Mir and CPI-M legislator, M.Y.Tarigami. The coalition partners meeting took place after Omar Abdullah presided over a separate meeting of his National Conference (NC) legislators at the Wazarat Road residence of the Chief Minister here. Before joining the meeting of coalition partners chaired by the Chief Minister, Congress MLAs also had a separate meeting at the Residency Road headquarters of the party here. Defending the NC government headed by Omar Abdullah, Congress leader Mir told reporters: "Only four and a half months have passed since the formation of the NC-led government, but many people are questioning the government that it has not done this or that. They should remember that when the government was formed on October 16, the budget had already been decided and it was also a big hurdle in the way." Mir hoped that the budget being presented by the government will address the popular public issues and will also lay the foundation for the implementation of the manifesto during the financial year 2025-26. He said the government has already passed a resolution for restoration of statehood in the last session held in Srinagar and so the delay is from the BJP-led Central government which has made repeated promises to the people of J&K on the subject. "When the Prime Minister chaired the All=Party Meeting of J&K leaders in June 2021, we were all witness to his statement that reorganisation will be followed by delimitation, elections and then restoration of statehood. The Centre should have fulfilled its promise after the formation of the popular government in J&K, but the delay is on their side." About the opposition PDP planning to introduce bills to push for the prohibition of alcohol and seek regularisation of property rights of residents on public land, he said it is up to the house to decide on such bills. aIt is also a matter of concern that when they (PDP) were in power with BJP, why they did not introduce such bills? The government is more concerned about the issues raised in the election manifesto for which the people voted for it," he said, adding that the Congress has been repeatedly saying that restoration of statehood was the biggest issue during last yearas Assembly elections and INDIA bloc is committed to it. "Congress, being the largest party in the INDIA bloc, has already made it clear in their Working Committee meeting and during the election campaigns," Mir said. Opposition BJP held a two-day training workshop for its first-time MLAs at Katra, the base town of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. The training workshop was addressed by the BJP President, J.P. Nadda on Saturday. Gandhinagar, March 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Somnath Jyotirlinga temple in Gujarat on Sunday and offered prayers to the Lord Shiva. The Prime Minister's special puja for the well-being of countrymen comes close on the heels of over month-long Maha Kumbh celebrations in Prayagaraj. In fact, after the culmination of Maha Kumbh 2025, PM Modi penned a blog in which he wrote about his imminent visit to one of the most prominent Jyotirlinga shrines of Lord Shiva. "The way 140 crore Indians turned the 'Ekta Ka Maha Kumbh' into a global occasion is truly wonderful. Moved by the dedication, devotion and efforts of our people, I will soon visit Shri Somnath, the first among the 12 Jyotirlingas, to offer the fruits of these collective national efforts to Him and to pray for every Indian," PM Modi had written in his blog. Notably, Somnath Mandir is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Hindus and remains the first among 12 Jytorlinga shrines in the country. PM Modi is currently on a three-day visit to Gujarat. He will visit Sasangir in Junagarh district on Monday, on the occasion of World Wildlife Day. He is expected to undertake a jungle safari there, seen as the last remaining habitat of Asiatic lions. Notably, his government's role in revitalising the tiger population at Gir earned the sanctuary global limelight. Since his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, he has been involved in the conservation of Asiatic lions. In 2007, after a poaching incident, his government established the Greater Gir Wildlife Protection Task Force to monitor wildlife crimes and strengthen conservation measures. The Greater Gir Conservation Model was introduced, expanding lion protection beyond Gir National Park to 30,000 sq. km, ensuring a safer habitat. His tenure also saw the historic recruitment of women beat guards, with 111 women currently working in the Gir region. Additionally, the formation of the Gujarat State Lion Conservation Society (GSLCS) helped fund conservation initiatives through eco-tourism revenue, and the 'Vanya Prani Mitra' scheme was launched to involve local communities in wildlife protection. The 'Khushbu Gujarat Ki' campaign, launched by the Gujarat Tourism Department, helped put Gir on the global tourism map, attracting over 33 lakh visitors in the past five years. New Delhi, March 2 : A Hindutva outfit, based in Uttar Pradesh's Vrindavan, has urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to impose restrictions on participation of the Muslims during the Holi celebrations, saying that they must be kept away from the festival. The outfit -- Dharam Raksha Sangh -- said that Holi is a festival of love and harmony for the Sanatan community and also opposed involvement of Muslims in selling colours or entering the festivities. "The recent incidents in Bareilly showed people belonging to the Muslim community threatening the Hindus. We have decided to prohibit the entry of Muslims in Holi celebrations at major pilgrimage sites like Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, Barsana, Gokul and Dauji," said Dharam Raksha Sangh's national president Saurabh Gaur. "We still perceive a threat from their intentions. They could cause disturbances," Gaur alleged. Dharam Raksha Sangh's National Coordinator Acharya Badrish termed Muslims as "separatists and jihadists". "The UP government must enforce a ban similar to restrictions placed on Muslim participation in Garba festivities in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Since they object to colours and 'gulal, they have no place in our Holi celebrations. They should be kept away and the government must ensure it," said. Acharya Badrish. Meanwhile, a petitioner in the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute, Dinesh Sharma, also wrote a letter to the Chief Minister with his blood and demanded a ban on the entry of Muslims into Braj's Holi celebrations. He alleged that Muslims could "spit" on sweets during the festivities. However, Shahi Idgah Intazamia Committee secretary Tanveer Ahmed, who is the legal representative of the Muslim side in the temple-mosque dispute, said that Holi has always been celebrated with peace. "Holi in Braj has always been celebrated with love and peace. There has never been any complaint from any community. Even great Krishna devotees like Ras Khan and Taj Bibi, who were Muslims, are revered," he said. He said that Muslims provided shelter and food to the Hindu pilgrims during the recently concluded Maha Kumbh. Mumbai, March 2 : Actress Preity Zinta took a religious trip from Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj to Varanasi with her mother. The 'Veer-Zaara' actress posted a video on her Instagram handle, giving a few glimpses of her visit to these holy places. She further penned a heartfelt note on social media that read, "What an adventure this trip has been. Mom wanted to wrap up our Mahakumbh trip in Varanasi for Shivratri...So I told her, of course ma, letas go. Once we got there we found out that due to heavy crowds, cars were not allowed & roads were blocked after a point, so people could walk & do darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. We decided we will go for it. From sitting in a car to an auto rickshaw to a cycle rickshaw we did it all & more, as we walked forever in crazy crowds." Sharing her observations from the trip, the 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' actress penned, "My observations were -The crowd in Varanasi was very decent. Never did I encounter anything negative and that, people are essentially good. Even though the trip took us hours we never felt it, thanks to the power of faith & the collective energy of the people around." Preity Zinta also revealed that her mom was extremely happy throughout the journey and that according to her is the greatest 'seva'. "I have never seen my mom so happya she was glowing. Looking at her I realised that the greatest seva is not towards god but towards our parents. Sadly we only realise their value, once we become parents. Even though she initiated this entire trip the calling was mine - she was just the excuse. We reached at midnight & saw the midnight Arti. It was for a few seconds as no VIP services were available but it didnat matter", the diva shared. She concluded, "It wasnat the destination but the journey that was important...It was my momas shining smile I took back with me as Mahadevas blessing & it was beyond precious...I love you Ma! Thanks for this incredible trip." Mumbai, March 2 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday clarified that all is well within the MahaYuti government and scoffed at rumours about the ongoing Cold War among the ruling allies BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP. "We have successfully fought the Opposition and got a landslide victory in the Assembly. We will fight with Opposition but not with media. The media should verify while giving news as per the laid down principle. The media should take the government view before giving any news. There is no Cold War among ruling allies. Both myself and Eknath Shinde know what we do when we are together," he said at the press conference after the Cabinet meeting and customary tea meeting which was boycotted by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also claimed that there was no Cold War among the MahaYuti allies. Chief Minister Fadnavis also denied news reports about staying various decisions taken by the Ministries held by the Shinde camp earlier. "The government gives priority for transparency. It is a general practice after we get a representation from any legislator to get it examined and take due action accordingly. I have not given any stay order," the Chief Minister said. He also said that the state government will present a balanced Budget during the session starting from Monday with a focus on increasing capital expenditure by maintaining the fiscal discipline. CM Fadnavis, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar after Cabinet meeting and the customary tea meeting, said that despite financial stress the state government would not close welfare and development schemes, including Ladki Bahin Yojana as their implementation will continue. However, the Chief Minister declared that the ineligible beneficiaries under the Ladki Bahin Yojana will be excluded as per the norms laid down by the Comptroller and Auditor General. He claimed that Maharashtra has emerged at top among other states giving maximum financial benefits under its welfare and development schemes. CM Fadnavis said that the state government has firmed up a plan to clear pending bills of contractors for various development works, adding that the government has already started paying of 10 per cent dues while the balance will be done after the passage of supplementary demands and the Budget. Reacting to Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi's decision to boycott the customary tea meeting, the Chief Minister said they have missed an opportunity to hold dialogue with the government as they had desired in their letter. "The government is prepared to hold debate and reply to the issues raised by Opposition during the Budget session. Despite the MahaYuti's strength of 237, the government will not underestimate Opposition considering their numbers but will give due opportunity for them for discussion," he added. "Opposition has sent a nine page letter raising several issues. The letter was one of the longest in last so many years but it is based on newspaper reports. Had they read the government clarification and its stand on the issues the size of the letter would have been reduced," he remarked. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also commented that the Opposition MVA had continued the tradition of boycotting the customary tea meeting. However, he said that the state government is ready to reply to each and every issue raised by the Opposition MVA. On the molestation of Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse's daughter, CM Fadnavis admitted it was an unfortunate incident, saying that he already spoke to the Union Minister and assured her that no one will spared despite their party affiliations. Hyderabad, March 2 : The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is ready to build an airport at Mamnoor in Telangana's Warangal, for which the Centre recently gave clearance, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Sunday. He said the AAI was ready with a master plan to build the airport and the work would be launched once the Telangana government completes the land acquisition process and hands over the land. Addressing a press conference along with Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, he said that the airport construction would be completed in two-and-a-half years from the commencement of the work. He also stated the airport would require a minimum Rs .500 crore investment, including for runway, terminal building and additional facilities. Ram Mohan Naidu said the capacity of the terminal building would be decided after a survey. The terminal building would reflect the heritage and culture of Warangal. He hoped that Mamnoor airport would help Warangal compete with the major cities in the country. He exuded confidence that the airport would boost tourism and business open up opportunities in the manufacturing sector and give a push to the textile industry in Warangal. The minister said the clearance for Mamnoor airport fulfilled a long pending demand of the people of the region. "I consider it my good fortune to get the opportunity to give clearance for the project," he said. He pointed out that Mamnoor airport was the biggest airport in the region in the pre-independence era. The airport had some activity till 1981 and later it was neglected as all the concentration was on the state capital Hyderabad. He said 696 acres of land at Mamnoor was already with the AAI and of the two runways, 1,500 metres were in dilapidated condition. As the narrow-body flights require 2,800 metre-long runways, the need was felt for additional land. The Centre mooted the proposal for an additional 280 acres of land but there was no proper response and cooperation from the previous state government. He said as the Mamnoor airport is coming up within 150-km radius of Shamshabad airport, a no-objection certificate was also required from the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) With the new government in Telangana issuing an order for the acquisition of 280 acres and GHIAL giving a no-objection certificate, it paved the way for the clearance of Mamnoor airport. The state has already allocated Rs 205 crore for acquiring 280.30 acres for the airport which can handle Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 category aircraft. Ram Mohan Naidu said he was committed to work for the development of civil aviation in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. He said eight months ago when he assumed officer, his leader N. Chandrababu Naidu asked him to act as a minister for both the Telugu states. On the Bhadradri Kothagudem airport, the Civil Aviation Minister said the site identified by the state government in the past was not found feasible due to hills and geographical structures. The state government then proposed an alternate location and the AAI team, which conducted feasibility tests, sought some data from the Indian Meteorological Department and the state government. Warangal would be the third airport in Telangana after Shamshabad and Begumpet airports. Though there are requests for developing airports in other regions, the decision will be taken after conducting a feasibility study. He noted that in some areas there are restrictions because of the activity of the Indian Air Force and Ministry of Defence. Their permissions have to be taken for building the airports. Ram Mohan Naidu said the NDA government was working to develop Hyderabad as an aviation hub and promote the aerospace manufacturing sector. Stating that the NDA government is giving priority to developing airports across the country including in small cities and remote regions, he said there were only 76 airports in the country in 2014 and this number has now gone up to 159. No other country in the world has grown at this pace, he said. Kishan Reddy thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Civil Aviation Minister for the clearance to the Warangal airport, saying this fulfilled a long-pending demand of people of the region. Hyderabad, Jan 2 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday suggested the use of robots for rescue operations in the partially-collapsed Srisailama Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in which eight persons remained trapped since February 22. The Chief Minister, who visited the tunnel on Sunday and held a review meeting with agencies involved in the rescue operation, asked officials to examine the possibility of using robots to prevent any further loss of life. He told media persons that the government wants to make sure that those engaged in rescue operations do not suffer any loss. During the review meeting, he suggested the use of robots for the rescue mission in addition to men and material. "There should be no further loss of human lives. So many people are going inside to work. We want to make sure that they face no problem," he said. Stating that rescue teams of 11 top agencies including Army and Navy were continuing their efforts to rescue the missing persons he said it may take another 2-3 days for them to come to a conclusion. "Eight missing persons have not yet been traced. Experts have not come to a conclusion whether they are alive or dead," he said. Revanth Reddy said the rescue teams were working against all odds like seepage of water and silt 13 km inside the tunnel. He said the rescue workers were unable to send out removed silt and debris as the conveyor belt was not functioning. He hoped that the conveyor belt would become operational by Monday evening and this would speed up the rescue work. The Chief Minister said the agencies involved in rescue have not been able to come to a final conclusion about the location of machines and human beings though they have tentatively identified the areas. He assured that the state government would extend all help to the families of eight persons, who had come from other states to work as engineers, machine operators, or labourers. Stating that helping them is the responsibility of the government, he stressed the need for all to come together to console the families affected by the accident. He lashed out at the opposition parties for criticising his government despite its swift response in launching the rescue operations and roping in all top agencies from the Centre and the state and leading tunnel experts. Revanth Reddy said his government allowed leaders of opposition parties to visit the project and give their suggestions. "In the past when an accident happened in the SLBC power generation unit and I tried to visit the accident site, they arrested me. Those in the government did not visit the accident site and they also did not allow opposition to visit," he said. Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said 11 agencies including the Army, the Navy's MARCOS, the Border Roads Organisation, the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation, the Railways, the Singareni Collieries, the NDRF, the SDRF, the NGRI, and the Geological Survey of India were working with coordinated efforts and under a unified command. Agra, March 2 : Renowned physicist Dr. Brian Greene on Sunday praised Indian students for their passion for science and innovation, highlighting that their ambition is sure to make a global impact. "The passion for science and innovation that I have witnessed in India is unparalleled. The energy and curiosity among students here are truly inspiring," said Dr. Brian Greene during his visit to the Taj Mahal. Praising India's distinctive approach to education and scientific research, he emphasised the enthusiasm and ambition of Indian students to make a global impact. Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, who accompanied Greene to the Taj, said, "India is even more beautiful from the ground." Massimino, who has observed the country from space, expressed his admiration for Indiaas aesthetic appeal and lauded the exceptional craftsmanship of the Taj Mahal, calling it a testament to India's rich legacy of engineering and design. Greene and Massimino are currently visiting India, immersing themselves in the countryas rich scientific, educational, and cultural heritage. Greene, a renowned theoretical physicist, author, and professor of mathematics and physics at Columbia University, is celebrated for his groundbreaking contributions to superstring theory, including the co-discovery of mirror symmetry and the discovery of spatial topology change. Massimino, a veteran of two NASA space missions, holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and currently serves as a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University. As the first astronaut to tweet from space, he has played a significant role in space exploration, particularly in the Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009. Throughout his career, Massimino has been honoured with multiple NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the American Astronautical Societyas Flight Achievement Award. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor for Space Programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Ranchi, March 2 : The Jharkhand Police have arrested four Maoists, including commander Ravindra Ganjhu alias Aakraman, in Chatra district and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including a US-made rifle. Among those arrested are Ganjhuas wife Neelam Devi, former Lawalong block head Sachin Kumar Ganjhu, and Amrit Ganjhu. Chatra Superintendent of Police Vikas Pandey shared details of the operation at a press conference on Sunday. Ravindra Ganjhu, known by multiple aliases -- Brahmadev, Awadh and Ram Vinayak -- was the second-in-command of the banned Maoist outfit, the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC). He was a key figure behind several violent incidents across the Chatra, Palamu, and Latehar districts of the state. The Jharkhand Police had announced a Rs 15 lakh reward on his head, while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had declared a Rs 3 lakh bounty on him. The police have recovered an M-16 A1 rifle (US-made), an SLR rifle, three 9 mm pistols, two country-made .315 bore rifles, three country-made 7.62 mm pistols, a country-made pistol of 1000 mm, more than 5,000 bullets, several magazines, seven mobile phones, a vehicle and other items from the Maoists. According to SP Vikas Pandey, the police received intelligence inputs on March 1 which revealed that Ravindra Ganjhu alias Aakraman alias Awadh and his associates were travelling towards Palamu via Hunterganj in Chatra. Acting swiftly, a police team intercepted their white vehicle near Patsugia bridge on the Sherghati-Hunterganj road, leading to their arrest. The operation was led by Sadar SDPO Sandeep Suman, with Hunterganj Inspector Pappu Kumar Sharma, Sadar police station in-charge Vipin Kumar, Simaria SHO Manav Mayank, and armed forces personnel forming the arrest team. Meanwhile, Ganjhuas mother and brothers have claimed that police had actually arrested Aakraman Ganjhu along with his wife and two drivers on February 24, but have revealed it only now. New Delhi, March 2 : The Delhi government will launch a four-digit phone helpline to address public complaints related to roads, dirty water, or sewage round-the-clock, Cabinet Minister Parvesh Verma said on Sunday. Addressing a party event organised by the Delhi Pradesh Purvanchal Morcha, Verma said that the Delhi government is working 24X7 for the city's development. Earlier, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reiterated her determination to fulfil all the promises made to the people with full loyalty and dedication. She affirmed that it is now the turn of the Delhi government to deliver the goods over the next five years. In a message on social media platform X, the Chief Minister said, "For us, power is a sacred opportunity given by the people, through which we can work for public welfare and Antyodaya." "Giving top priority to public welfare, our government made it clear with the swearing-in that every step of the double engine government will be committed to public service. We are determined to fulfil all the promises made to the people of Delhi with full loyalty and dedication, under the leadership of our guide, Honorable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji," she said in her post. Her remarks came on the eve of her media briefing in the Assembly premises on Monday to announce a major decision of her new Cabinet. The Assembly is also likely to discuss issues related to the CAG reports tabled over the previous AAP government's performance in the health sector and its excise policy. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said on Sunday that Cleaning of the Yamuna and organising Chhath Puja there are the party's next goal. He was speaking at a programme to thank Purvanchal residents for their support in the elections and to celebrate the formation of the BJP government in Delhi after 27 years. The event was also attended by Chief Minister Gupta, Cabinet Ministers Parvesh Verma, Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravindra Indraj Singh, and Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari. Sachdeva stated that the organisation and the BJP government will work together to make Delhi the most beautiful city in the world. Chief Minister Gupta once again expressed her gratitude to the people of Delhi, especially the workers and voters from Purvanchal. COLOMBO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu ordered the closure of government offices and institutions on Sunday in response to severe flooding caused by the highest daily accumulated rainfall in the country's history, PSM News, the official state media of the Maldives, reported. The Maldives Meteorological Service in a post on X said it recorded 296 millimeters of rainfall in the 24 hours ended at 8 a.m. Sunday morning. The president's decision follows continuous rainfall, which has resulted in significant hardship to the people, PSM News said. PSM News said heavy rains on Saturday led to extensive flooding in Male City, including Male, Hulhumale, and Hulhule, which is home to Velana International Airport, and several outer islands. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and other agencies have been mobilized to mitigate the impact of floodwaters on households and properties in the capital, it said. A total of 17 pumps were deployed by the MNDF across six locations to remove floodwater, with an estimated 17,000 tonnes of water already pumped out, PSM News said. The MNDF has also provided assistance to 131 properties and supplied 976 sandbags to help control and mitigate the flooding, PSM News said. The Maldives Meteorological Service said it expects more torrential rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds on Sunday. Mathura, March 2 : After the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, now Hindu saints and seers have issued a fresh diktat demanding a ban on the entry of Muslims in the famous 'Brij ki Holi' celebrations in Mathura and Vrindavan. The saints also said that a conspiracy is being hatched against Sanatan Dharma and said that there was no need of Muslims in the Holi celebrations in the Braj region and must be 'kept away' from Hindu festivals. Holi, the festival of colours, has already began in Mathura. The festival of colours is celebrated on a grand scale in the popular Radha Rani temple. The saints of Mathura said that people from all over the country and the world come to Mathura to witness the Holi celebrations in Mathura and Vrindavan. The saints have also demanded a ban on Muslim vendors in Mathura and Vrindavan, saying that "when Hindus are not allowed to travel to Mecca and Medina then why should they be allowed entry in Hindu festivals like Holi". Mathura Temple priest Sushil Goswami Nandgaon said that why should Muslims be allowed entry in Hindu festivals, a similar law must be be implemented in Mathura and Vrindavan. Several Hindu religious leaders in Vrindavan said that when Hindus do not participate in Muslim festivals, then Muslims should also not be part of Hindu festivals. Dinesh Sharma Falari, a petitioner in the Mathura's Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shah Idgah Masjid dispute case, wrote a letter with his blood to Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and demanded that the entry of Muslims should be banned on Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan. He alleged that Muslims could "spit" on sweets during the festivities. However, Shahi Idgah Intazamia Committee secretary Tanveer Ahmed, who is the legal representative of the Muslim side in the temple-mosque dispute, said that Holi has always been celebrated with peace. "Holi in Braj has always been celebrated with love and peace. There has never been any complaint from any community. Even great Krishna devotees like Ras Khan and Taj Bibi, who were Muslims, are revered," he said. Earlier on Sunday, a Hindutva outfit, based in Uttar Pradesh's Vrindavan, has urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to impose restrictions on participation of the Muslims during the Holi celebrations, saying that they must be kept away from the festival. The outfit -- Dharam Raksha Sangh -- said that Holi is a festival of love and harmony for the Sanatan community and also opposed involvement of Muslims in selling colours or entering the festivities. "The recent incidents in Bareilly showed people belonging to the Muslim community threatening the Hindus. We have decided to prohibit the entry of Muslims in Holi celebrations at major pilgrimage sites like Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, Barsana, Gokul and Dauji," said Dharam Raksha Sangh's national president Saurabh Gaur. "We still perceive a threat from their intentions. They could cause disturbances," Gaur alleged. Dharam Raksha Sangh's National Coordinator Acharya Badrish termed Muslims as "separatists and jihadists". "The Uttar Pradesh government must enforce a ban similar to restrictions placed on Muslim participation in Garba festivities in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Since they object to colours and 'gulal, they have no place in our Holi celebrations. They should be kept away and the government must ensure it," said. Acharya Badrish. Srinagar, March 2 : Four hardcore drug peddlers have been booked under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act in J&K's Kulgam district, police said on Sunday. A police statement said that police in Kulgam district successfully executed four PIT-NDPS Act warrants issued by the Divisional Commissioner (Kashmir) against four hardcore drug peddlers, namely Fayaz Ahmad Khan of Gudder village, Naseer Ahmad Shan of Kilam village, Tariq Ahmad Rather of Yamrach village, and Ghulam Nabi Lone of Rambhama village in Kulgam. aAfter the warrants were successfully executed, the accused have been lodged in district jails in Udhampur, Poonch, Kathua, and Rajouri districts. This action against the accused was initiated following the submission of material records, dossiers and connected documents by the Senior Superintendent of Police Kulgam. These decisive actions highlight the steadfast commitment of Kulgam police to eradicating drug trafficking and abuse in the district. The detention of these habitual offenders under the PIT NDPS Act sends a strong and clear message to those involved in drug-related crimes," the statement said. J&K Police has started aggressive operations against drug smugglers and drug peddlers. Authorities believe that in addition to destroying the future of youth by making them addicts of these substances, the proceeds obtained from drug smuggling are also used to sustain terrorism in J&K. In their all-out campaign against drug smugglers and drug peddlers, police has also been attaching their properties by gathering prima facie evidence that such properties have been acquired from the proceeds of smuggling and drug peddling. Most of the properties of terrorists, their supporters and drug smugglers and peddlers have been attached in south Kashmir areas. It is in these areas of south Kashmir districts that terrorists operated in large numbers before the abrogation of Article 370 and before J&K was brought under direct Central rule. Seoul, March 2 : The top diplomats of South Korea and China are expected to hold talks later this month on the sidelines of their trilateral meeting with the Japanese foreign minister, according to sources on Sunday. The three neighbours are in the final stages of arranging talks among their foreign ministers on March 22 in Tokyo, the first such meeting in 16 months, according to the diplomatic sources, Yonhap news agency reported. On the sidelines of the trilateral talks, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, are expected to hold a separate meeting. Seoul and Beijing have been discussing Wang's visit to South Korea on the occasion of his Tokyo trip, but it reportedly remains unclear whether he will visit South Korea. If no progress is made, Cho and Wang are likely to hold talks in the Japanese capital. The meeting, if held, would mark the first since September last year when they met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. A number of diplomatic issues between the two countries could be discussed during the meeting. After Cho and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts expressed joint "support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organisations" in a joint statement last month, China lodged a complaint, calling it interference with its sovereignty. The meeting could also delve into the tariff increases by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, anti-Chinese sentiment among South Korea's conservative forces and a potential visit to South Korea's ancient city of Gyeongju by Chinese President Xi Jinping for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November, the report mentioned. a"IANS na/ Mumbai, March 2 : The otherwise serious press conference by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar on Sunday witnessed cracking of jokes and exchange of pleasantries among three of them. The trigger was Shinde's statement that although the MahaYuti government, after a landslide victory in the Assembly election is new but the team is old with the swapping of chairs by him and Fadnavis. "The budget session of the state legislature is starting tomorrow. This is the second session of the grand alliance government and the first budget session of the new government after the assembly election. Only two of us (Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis) have swapped the chairs but Ajit Pawar's chair (as the Deputy Chief Minister) is fixed," said Shinde. Even before Shinde could complete his sentence, Ajit Pawar took his mike in his hands and replied, "You (Eknath Shinde) could not protect your chair and keep your chair (of the Chief Minister's post) fixed, what can I do about it." That led to a laughter in the auditorium as the trio also burst into laughter and enjoyed the moment. Shinde, who headed the MahaYuti government between June 2022 and November 2024, was aspiring to continue as the chief minister after MahaYuti formed the government following its stellar performance. However, Fadnavis, who joined Shinde's government as the deputy chief minister at the directives of the party's senior leadership, took over as the chief minister in the wake of the emergency of the BJP as the single largest party. Shinde left with no choice but to join as the Deputy Chief Minister along with Ajit Pawar. In this contest, Shinde made his statement today reiterating that despite the change in posts, the MahaYuti is quite strong and united. Fadnavis also came to Shinde's support saying that they are working as a team to take Maharashtra forward. "Our chair is rotating one," he said. Shinde further said, "No matter how many breaking news you give, there will be no break between us. Cold war... cold war... is there anything?" he asked looking at Fadnavis. After that, Shinde said: "What cold war? Everything is cold here. There is nothing between us. Our agenda is not to get a chair. Our agenda is not to get power or to achieve our own selfish interests. Our agenda is that what should the people of Maharashtra get. What did the people of Maharashtra get compared to what we got? This is a big issue. Therefore, there is a difference between the MahaYuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi. I request you (media)to give the news after verification. It will be very good. It will improve our image among the public." "If there is any mistake, tell us. But tell us what good work the government has done. Also, please check and verify the allegations made by the opposition," he suggested. Shinde said that the government has already formed a special investigation team to probe allegations about a conspiracy during the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to "frame" Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and himself in a false case. "There are some very sensational things. Those will also come to light after the investigation is over. But did we say anything about it? The truth will come out. We will not take action out of any sense of revenge. No matter how much majority we have, we will not play a vendetta politics," he clarified. Itanagar, March 2 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday underscored the importance of balancing the preservation of cultural heritage with modern aspirations, emphasising the spiritual practices. Bhagwat on the last day of his four-day Arunachal Pradesh visit, on Sunday visited the revered indigenous prayer center of the Nyishi Janjati community, the Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo, located in the tranquil Pachin Colony of Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, along the serene banks of the Pachin River and interacted with the devotees. He stressed on the spiritual practices like those at Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo. "Preservation of cultural heritage with modern aspirations, along with the spiritual practices are essential in strengthening societal harmony towards our common goal of nation building," the RSS supremo said. The Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo, dedicated to the worship of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo), holds profound cultural and spiritual significance for the Nyishi community and the indigenous people of the region. According to an RSS Karyakarta, Bhagwat was warmly received by the devotees and the Namlo committee, who expressed deep happiness and gratitude for his visit. He said that with reverence and humility, the RSS Sarsanghchalak participated in the prayer ceremony alongside the local devotees, immersing himself in the sacred and peaceful atmosphere of the Namlo. His presence and active participation in the rituals highlighted his deep respect for the age-old spiritual heritage of the indigenous communities in Arunachal Pradesh and their time-honored traditions, the Karyakarta said. The Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo stands as a spiritual pillar for the Nyishi community people, where prayers and rituals are performed every Sunday to honor Donyi Polo, the celestial deities symbolising universal existence, enlightenment, and the harmony of nature. Bhagwat's visit was not only a gesture of spiritual solidarity but also an affirmation of the enduring cultural and religious traditions that bind the indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh. Throughout the visit, Sarsanghchalak engaged in meaningful discussions with the Namlo priests and devotees, acknowledging their dedication to preserving their indigenous customs and traditions. He praised their unwavering commitment to maintaining the sacred practices of their ancestors while fostering spiritual unity. The visit concluded with heartfelt prayers for universal peace, prosperity, and well-being, leaving the devotees and all present at the prayer center deeply inspired. Bhagwat's presence reaffirmed the profound significance of preserving indigenous cultural and spiritual traditions and their role in fostering a harmonious and inclusive future for all. Bhagwat's four-day Arunachal Pradesh visit came to an end on Sunday after the completion of the two-day long RSS Karyakarta Shivir with gathering from the whole state. He later departs on Sunday evening to Guwahati for further deliberations. After a week-long visit to Assam, RSS chief arrived in Itanagar on February 27 on a four-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh. --IANS sc/dan Aizawl, March 2 : The Assam Rifles in association with Mizoram Police in two separate joint operations have seized huge quantities of drugs worth Rs 66.31 crore from bordering Champhai district, which shares unfenced border with Myanmar and a hotspot of drugs smuggling, officials said on Sunday. A defence spokesman said that Assam Rifles along with Police personnel have seized highly addictive Methamphetamine tablets weighing 20.20 kg valued at Rs 60.62 crore from Crossing Point One, Zokhawthar in Champhai district on Saturday. The team received credible input regarding trafficking of a large consignment of drugs into India near the Myanmar Border. The team intercepted and seized the consignment and subsequently handed it over to the Police department for further legal proceedings. None was arrested in this connection. Assam Rifles along with Mizoram Police have seized heroin weighing 492 grams worth Rs 3.69 from the World Bank Road in the same Zokhawthar of Champhai district. The drugs were being carried by two persons on a scooter. Upon being challenged by the Assam Rifles troops, the suspects fled from the spot leaving the consignment behind. The entire consignment was taken into custody by the Police Department for further investigation and legal proceedings. Mizoram shares a 510 km-long unfenced border with Myanmaras Chin state, which makes drug smuggling rampant through its six districts - Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip. Champhai district is the hotspot of drug smuggling from Myanmar. Various drugs, after being smuggled from Myanmar, come to Tripura via Mizoram and Assam, en route to neighbouring Bangladesh. Mizoram shares a 510 km-long unfenced border with Myanmaras Chin state, which makes drug smuggling rampant through its six districts: Champhai, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Hnahthial, Saitual, and Serchhip. Myanmar, which shares a 1,643 km unfenced border with four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km), and Mizoram (510 km) -- serves as a key transit point for drugs, particularly heroin and methamphetamine tablets, entering India. From the northeastern states, these drugs are further smuggled into Bangladesh, which shares a 1,880 km border with Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km), and Assam (263 km). While a significant portion of the India-Bangladesh border is fenced, the India-Myanmar border remains entirely open, facilitating illicit trafficking. Patna, March 2 : The CPI-ML's Mahajutan rally in Patna's Gandhi Maidan has shown the party's strength due to a massive gathering on Sunday. Ahead of the Bihar Assembly election 2025, Dipankar Bhattacharya, the national general secretary of the party, directly challenged the Nitish Kumar-led "double engine" government, alleging that it has failed the poor, ignored key issues like BPSC candidates' grievances, and allowed bureaucratic dominance and police excesses to grow. Bhattacharya also contrasted CPI-ML's 'Badlo Bihar Yatra' with the 'Hindu Swabhiman Yatra' of Giriraj Singh and Pragati Yatra of Nitish Kumar, claiming that other political tours were symbolic and politically motivated. He criticised BJP leaders like Giriraj Singh, accusing them of stoking religious tensions to divert attention from real issues like land rights, housing, and employment. "75 per cent of the people in Bihar think the government is useless," he said. Dipankar Bhattacharya also accused Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, alleging the forced displacement of Musahar caste families to make way for a bungalow. "Bihar government removed poor Musahar families to clear land near the Deputy CM's residence. It is clearly a caste discrimination to dominate Dalit and marginalised people in Bihar in this NDA government," Bhattacharya said. Bhattacharya also alleged that the Central government has broken promises. He questioned the Central government's "Amrit Kaal" promises of pucca houses and free electricity, arguing that these remain unfulfilled. He also claimed that reservation policies are under threat, urging clarity from BJP and JD-U on increasing reservation limits to 65 per cent. He demanded the special status of Bihar. He also criticised the Central government and said its special package is actually a special fraud. "The true special status should mean better schools, housing, and welfare for the poor, which is lacking in this government. Few airports and roads cannot be a special package," he said. "BJP always talk about the win of Delhi and Haryana, but I want to remind BJP of its defeat in Jharkhand, where Leftist parties like JMM and RJD united. A strong Left-led opposition could replicate a similar outcome in Bihar," he said. CPI-ML is making a big push to be seen as the main voice of the poor, landless, and Dalits in Bihar. The CPI-ML mobilising thousands in Patna, will this rally translate into a stronger presence in the Assembly elections? During the rally, Arrah MP Sudama Prasad, Karakat MP Rajaram Singh, CPIML legislative party leader in Bihar assembly Mahmood Alam, Amarjeet Kushwaha, Rambali Singh Yadav and all the MLAs and MLCs of the party were present in the rally. Bhopal, March 2 : After Regional Industry Conclaves (RIC) and Global Investment Summit (GIS), Madhya Pradesh government is preparing to organise industry conclaves, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Sunday. Chief Minister Yadav said that considering the available resources and potential in various regions, the government will organise as many as 10 industry conclaves at different parts of the state. "The process will begin in Indore with an industry conclave focused on IT, semiconductors, and AI followed by another conclave in Ujjain, centered on tourism (particularly religious tourism) and food processing. Subsequently, industry conclaves will be organized in other locations as well," the Chief Minister said. Yadav made this statement during a discussion with industrialists regarding the industrial development of Katni district on Sunday. He said that promoting industry and investment in Katni will create new opportunities for employment and economic growth. "Katni has significant potential for industrial investment. In light of this, a Mineral, Mining, and Food Processing Industry Conclave will soon be organised in Katni. Madhya Pradesh provides a conducive and favorable environment for industrial investment," he added. Yadav further stated that the year 2025 has been declared as the aYear of Industry and Employmenta to promote industrial development in the state and efforts will be made as a mission to drive industrial growth. CM Yadav emphasised that Katni holds immense potential for industrial development in mining and minerals, food processing, lime, and marble industries. He affirmed the governmentas commitment to working in alignment with all sections of society for overall development. With strategic efforts, the state is moving towards a new era of industrial growth. During the interactive session with industrialists, the Chief Minister directed Jabalpur Division Commissioner Abhay Verma and Katni Collector Dilip Kumar Yadav to ensure that all 18 government policies and available benefits related to industrial establishment are effectively communicated to industrialists. Notably, the two-day Global Investment Summit (GIS) held on February 24-25 in Bhopal. Before it, the state government has organised as many as seven Regional Industry Conclaves (RIC) between March 2024 and January 2025. --IANS pd/dan Bengaluru, March 2 : Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka announced that a protest would be held on the first day of the legislative budget session on Monday against the Karnataka Congress government for continuously insulting the Governor. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he stated: "The Congress government is repeatedly insulting the Governor. On one hand, they disrespect him, and on the other, they make him praise their government. In protest against this, the BJP will hold a demonstration on March 3. BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, JD (S) Leaders Suresh Babu and Bhojegowda and several other MLAs will join the protest. The leaders will take up the protest march from the MLAs' quarters to Vidhana Soudha on Monday morning." He said that, besides, there is no progress in developmental works in the state. Even Congress MLAs themselves have admitted this. Meanwhile, the government is taking loans of Rs 1 lakh crore, claiming a lack of funds, while imposing heavy taxes on the people. In response to this, a padayatra (foot march) and protest will be held on March 7, from MLAs' quarters to Vidhana Soudha," he further declared. He further criticised the Siddaramaiah-led government, stating: "The government has used funds meant for Dalits to fulfil their guarantee schemes. The money allocated for Dalit welfare should be used only for schemes related to Dalits. During the elections, they promised free benefits for everyone, but now they are diverting Dalit funds. Earlier, they accused the BJP of taking a 40 per cent commission and claimed that they would use that money for guarantees. Now, even contractors themselves have spoken about the commission system under the Congress government." Criticising Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, he remarked: "He said that people should behave submissively. Now, he is threatening film artists, saying he will 'tighten the nuts and bolts' on them. Before doing that, let him first address those opposing him in the Congress, including Minister K.N. Rajanna. No film artists were invited to the event, yet they are being threatened. This is dangerous for democracy. Film artists are not slaves of the Congress party. Their blessings do not determine the success of movies." He further stated: "Threats and hooliganism have no place in a democracy. The BJP government had always provided substantial support to the film industry. If late Ambareesh were alive today, he would have given a fitting reply to these statements. The film industry should strongly condemn these remarks, as they are an insult to artists. D.K. Shivakumar must apologize immediately." Comparing leadership styles, Ashoka stated, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with leaders like Sharad Pawar and former PM H.D. Deve Gowda, has always shown immense respect for everyone. He is a model for giving respect, whereas Shivakumar has become a model for issuing threats." Kolkata, March 2 : Trinamool Congress is in a damage control mode following a statement from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday where the commission has indirectly refuted the allegations brought forward by the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers. While addressing the extended organisational meeting of Trinamool Congress last week, the Chief Minister accused the BJP of enlisting voters from other states in the voters' list in West Bengal, and to substantiate her allegations she referred to a couple of instances of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers. On Sunday, ECI issued a statement clarifying that duplication of EPIC numbers does not imply duplicate/fake voters. The commission has also clarified that some cases of duplicate EPIC numbers were caused by the use of identical alphanumeric series by two different states or Union Territories. Following the statement issued by the ECI, the Trinamool Congress state general secretary in West Bengal Kunal Ghosh has appeared on the scene as a damage control exercise. Ghosh had issued a counter statement claiming that the commission's statement in a way is an acceptance of the allegations of Mamata Banerjee electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers. As per Ghosh, after the conspiracy was exposed by the Trinamool Congress, the commission had started scrambling for damage control. "The complaint of the same voter's name appearing in multiple states has been validated. How this happened remains unanswered. With everything exposed, the commission has said it will take some steps. But we won't trust/rely on their words. As per our party leader's instructions, booth-wise and address-wise scrutiny of the voter list will continue in full swing," Ghosh claimed in the statement. He also claimed that whatever news about ECI appears in the media, there is no reason to be satisfied and hence the scrutiny work will proceed as per the leader's directive. COLOMBO, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Met Department, on Sunday, issued a severe lightning warning for four provinces as the country experiences heavy rains. Thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning are likely to occur at several places in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district, the Met Department said. The department requested that people take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity. The public was further requested to seek shelter, preferably indoors and never stay under trees, and to avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms. Other preventive measures included avoiding using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms, refraining from using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats, and staying aware of fallen trees and power lines. Showers or thundershowers will occur in many parts of the country next Monday, the Met Department added. "Our mission is to educate and inspire a new generation of sake enthusiaststo show them that sake is not just for Japanese cuisine. By collaborating with innovative chefs and restaurateurs, we're creating new opportunities for people to explore sake in a modern, approachable way." Post this Sake is one of the most versatile and food-friendly beverages in the world, yet it remains largely underappreciated beyond traditional Japanese cuisines. Brewed with just rice, water, yeast, and koji, sake offers an unique balance of acidity, umami, and aromatics that make it an ideal partner for an array of global flavors. Whether paired with rich, smoky barbecue, delicate seafood, or bold, spice-driven dishes, sake has the ability to enhance and elevate the dining experience in unexpected ways. The campaign will launch with an interactive, hands-on educational sake seminar and industry gathering on March 3 at Dallas College Culinary Institute (11830 Webb Chapel Rd. #1200) and Lady Love (310 W. Seventh St.), followed by a second event on March 4 at Texas Sake Co. (440 E St Elmo Rd) in Austin. These events will bring together sake experts, sommeliers, media, and hospitality professionals for an immersive exploration into the craftsmanship and pairing potential of sake. Throughout Sake Week, participating restaurants will offer specially curated sake experiences, including sake flights, pairings and sake cocktails. In Dallas, guests can visit Lady Love, Asian Mint, and Hamm's as well as Lao'd, Soupleaf, Fukumoto, and Texas Sake Co. in Austin. More restaurants will be shared in the weeks leading up to the initiative. "Sake is an incredibly dynamic beverage that deserves a place at the table alongside the world's finest wines and spirits," says Weston Konishi, President of the Sake Brewers Association of North America. "With Dallas and Austin Sake Week, our mission is to educate and inspire a new generation of sake enthusiaststo show them that sake is not just for Japanese cuisine, but for an entire spectrum of culinary experiences, much like fine wine and craft beer. By collaborating with innovative chefs and restaurateurs, we're creating new opportunities for people to explore sake in a modern, approachable way." Dallas and Austin Sake Week is presented with the generous support of the Sake Brewers Association of North America and the National Tax Agency of Japan. Restaurants interested in joining the celebration can still get involved those looking to participate in Dallas and Austin Sake Week can reach out to [email protected] to learn more. For more details, participating restaurant highlights, and exclusive event updates, visit sakeassociation.org/sake-week/ or follow along on social media. About the Sake Brewers Association of North America Founded by North American sake brewers in early 2019, the Sake Brewers Association of North America (SBANA) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit focused on promoting and protecting North America's sake brewers, their sake, and the community of sake enthusiasts. Media Contact Sake Week, Band of Insiders, 1 6313771631, [email protected], https://sakeassociation.org/ SOURCE Sake Brewers Association of North America A man from Kerala was reportedly shot dead at the Jordan-Israel border, according to his relatives in Thiruvananthapuram. IMAGE: A view shows the Dead Sea with a border fence separating Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters The deceased has been identified as Ani Thomas Gabriel, 47, a native of Thumba. Gabriel's family said on Sunday that they received an email from the Indian Embassy on March 1 confirming his death. "We received an email from the Indian Embassy in Jordan about his death, but there has been no further communication after that," Metilda, a relative, told PTI on Sunday. The incident occurred on February 10, when Jordanian soldiers opened fire at the border. Gabriel's relative, Edison, was also shot but survived and has since returned home with injuries, according to family sources. Gabriel had left home on February 5, saying he was going to Velankanni, a Christian pilgrimage centre in Tamil Nadu, a relative told a TV channel. According to TV reports, Gabriel and Edison were part of a four-member group attempting to cross the border from Jordan into Israel with the help of an agent. All four had arrived in Jordan on a three-month visit visa. The Jordanian army intercepted them at the border, but as they attempted to escape, the soldiers opened fire. Gabriel was reportedly shot in the head, while Edison sustained a leg injury and was taken to a Jordanian army hospital. After receiving treatment, he was repatriated to India. It was only after his return that Gabriel's family learned he had travelled to Jordan. Upon further inquiry through the Embassy, they were officially informed of his death, relatives said. Gabriel is survived by his wife, Christeena. Forty-two more firearms and cartridges have been surrendered by the public in five districts of ethnic strife-torn Manipur, the police said on Sunday. IMAGE: The firearms and cartridges have been surrendered by the public in five districts, in Manipur, March 2, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo The firearms were surrendered in Imphal West and East, Churachandpur, Bishnupur and Tamenglong districts on Saturday, a police officer said. Five firearms, including two pistols, six grenades and over 75 cartridges were surrendered in Bishnupur district. Seventeen country-made guns, nine 'pompi' (locally made mortars), and cartridges were surrendered at Kaimai police station in Tamenglong district. At least 10 firearms and cartridges were surrendered at Yaingangpokpi, Porompat, Churachandpur and Lamsang police stations, the police officer said. During search operations at Sairemkhul in Imphal West district, an INSAS LMG with one magazine loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition, one AK-56 rifle, three SLR rifles, one SMG 9mm carbine, one .303 rifle, one DBBL gun, four grenades without detonators, one Chinese hand grenade and other articles were also seized on Saturday. Security forces also dismantled two illegal bunkers at Mark Hill under Thingsat hill range in Kangpokpi district. Another three illegal bunkers were dismantled at Wakan hill range in the adjoining area in Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts on Saturday. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had on February 20 urged warring groups to voluntarily surrender weapons robbed from security forces and other illegally held firearms within seven days. During the seven-day period, more than 300 firearms were surrendered by the public, primarily in the valley districts. Later, he extended the deadline for the surrender of looted and illegal firearms till 4 pm on March 6 following demands by people from both hill and valley areas for additional time. More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023. The Centre had imposed President's rule in the state on February 13 after Chief Minister N Biren Singh resigned. The state assembly, which has tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation. Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister and health minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday asserted that not a single person had reported skin diseases after taking a dip in the holy Sangam during the Maha Kumbh. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam at the Maha Kumbh'. Photograph: ANI Photo Pathak made these remarks while inaugurating a private event in Lucknow, addressing concerns about the purity of river water in the Sangam raised by Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, who claimed that several pilgrims had fallen ill after bathing in the Sangam. In response, Pathak praised the meticulous cleanliness efforts at the Kumbh, stating, "Despite the immense number of pilgrims, no cases of skin diseases were reported," as per a press statement. He emphasised the purity of the Ganga and the success of sanitation measures implemented during the event. The deputy chief minister also underscored the cultural significance of the Maha Kumbh, calling it "a global symbol of India and Indianness." He pointed out that the festival united people from all walks of life, from affluent industrialists to villagers, with no distinction of wealth or caste. Pathak further reflected on the historical challenges faced by India's cultural heritage, noting the numerous attempts to destroy it -- ranging from attacks on ancient centres of learning like Takshila and Nalanda to invasions by the Mughals and the British.. Despite these efforts, he said, India's culture has remained resilient and continues to inspire the world. "In our culture, man is considered superior, and even animals and trees are regarded as part of our family. The entire creation is our family, and this is the essence of Sanatan," Pathak concluded. The Maha Kumbh, which began on January 13, concluded on February 26. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserted on Sunday that the party's leaders from Kerala 'stand as one' and are 'united' by the light of purpose ahead. IMAGE: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and general secretary (organization) K C Venugopal chairs a meeting with the party's Kerala leaders, at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo His assertion came after the Congress top brass met leaders from Kerala at the Indira Bhawan here for a brainstorming session on Friday to discuss the strategy and way forward ahead of next year's assembly polls. Posting a picture from the Kerala leaders' interaction with the media after the meeting, Gandhi said on Facebook: 'They stand as one, united by the light of purpose ahead.' His post was accompanied by the hashtag, 'Team Kerala'. The nearly-three-hour meeting at the Congress's Indira Bhawan headquarters here on Friday had discipline, unity and the strengthening of the state organisation as its running theme. Close on the heels of a row over its MP Shashi Tharoor's recent remarks, the Congress top brass issued a stern warning to its Kerala leaders, asserting that strong action will be taken against those making comments that go against the party's interests. At the meeting, Gandhi said leaders should be very careful about the party's political strategy and should not do or say anything that does not toe the organisation's line, according to sources. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge laid stress on discipline, ensuring unity and filling up vacant posts to strengthen the party's Kerala unit. Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kerala Congress chief K Sudhakaran, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan, Thiruvananthapuram MP Tharoor and AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi, among others, were present at the meeting. "We got a clear indication from our high-command that the Congress is very much connected with the people of Kerala emotionally and politically. People are looking for a change, so we should not do anything that will disrespect the people of Kerala. "This was a clear indication and if anyone (says) anything personally, we will take strong action. Because we have no right to disrespect the people of Kerala," Dasmunshi told reporters after the meeting. The meeting with the senior leaders from Kerala came close on the heels of a row over Tharoor's recent article in a newspaper that drew criticism from some party leaders over the former Union minister's 'praise' of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the southern state for boosting the investment climate. Later, Tharoor's remarks in a Malayalam podcast were seen by many as pitching himself for leadership in the state, which upset a section of leaders in the Kerala Congress. The Congress is the main opposition party in Kerala and is seeking to wrest power from the LDF. The Assembly polls are due in Kerala in March-April next year. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire proposal to present to the United States, Al Jazeera reported. IMAGE: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street ahead of a summit of European leaders, March 1, 2025 in London. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters Starmer said he believes US President Donald Trump wants a durable peace in Ukraine and reiterated his assertion that US security guarantees will be needed to make any peace deal work, as per Al Jazeera. "I've always been clear that that is going to need a US backstop because I don't think it would be a guarantee without it," Starmer said. The British PM said he hoped a European 'coalition of the willing' would come together to support Ukraine but any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine again. "In other words, we've got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward-leaning," Al Jazeera quoted Starmer as saying. "The UK and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this, and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US," added Starmer, who spoke to Macron and Trump on Saturday after having talks with Zelenskyy in Downing Street. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia is likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine farther west unless it's stopped, as per Al Jazeera. "We have an overarmed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe," Macron told France's local media, as per Al Jazeera. If Putin is not stopped, "he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania," Macron argued. "It's our security that's at stake," he added. "The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that," Macron added. "I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests." Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer for his unwavering support during their meeting in London, calling it a 'meaningful and warm' discussion. The two leaders spoke about the challenges facing Ukraine and Europe, coordination with international partners, and efforts to achieve a just peace with strong security guarantees. The bodies of the last four of the trapped labourers were pulled out from the site of the avalanche-hit Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Chamoli on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight as authorities ended the nearly 60-hour rescue operation. IMAGE: Army personnel during the rescue operation of BRO workers, who got trapped under heavy snow following the avalanche that struck on February 28, near Mana in Chamoli on Sunday. Photograph: ANI Photo Army doctors said 46 workers who were rescued on Saturday have been brought to the military hospital in Jyotirmath. Two of them have been referred to AIIMS, Rishikesh. Three of the workers are in critical condition, Lt Col D S Maldhya said. The body of the last missing worker has also been retrieved. The recovery marks the culmination of the Mana village rescue operation, Defence Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lt Col Manish Shrivastava said. "Out of the 54 labourers who went missing after the avalanche, 46 were rescued alive and eight found dead," Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said. Four bodies were retrieved on Saturday and as many on Sunday. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief at the death of eight people in the avalanche even as he thanked all the agencies involved in the rescue operations. "All rescue teams, including the local administration, Army, SDRF worked with indomitable courage, loyalty and dedication. Despite difficult conditions, they put in all their strength to evacuate the workers safely, which is highly commendable. I salute their courage and dedication," Dhami said. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for providing necessary support. He said proper arrangements have been made in hospitals for the treatment of injured workers. The process of handing over the bodies of the deceased workers to their families is underway, the CM said. The chief minister also gave instructions to develop a mechanism for monitoring avalanches so that the loss in such incidents is minimised in future. IMAGE: Indian Air Force (IAF) Cheetah helicopters have been engaged in rescue operations of BRO workers. Photograph: ANI Photo Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said the rescuers did a commendable job by completing such a difficult operation amid weather challenges in snowy terrain so quickly. Advance equipment like victim locating cameras and thermal imaging cameras were deployed on Sunday to trace the missing labourers, SDRF commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi told PTI. The instruments that help locate people trapped in a rubble heap had also been used during the Reini disaster, he said. The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath on Friday, burying the 54 workers inside eight containers and a shed. Earlier, it was believed that the total number of trapped labourers was 55 but one of them was on unauthorised leave and had reached home safely. More than 200 personnel from the disaster management authority, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, BRO, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Indian Air Force, district administration, health department and fire brigade were engaged in the rescue operation. Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres. The last missing worker found dead was 43-year-old Arvind Kumar Singh from the Clement Town area in Dehradun. The others whose bodies were pulled out on Sunday were identified as Anil Kumar (21) from Rudrapur in Uttarakhand's Udham Singh Nagar district, Ashok (28) from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh and Harmesh from Una in Himachal Pradesh, the officials said. The bodies have been brought to Jyotirmath by helicopter where the post-mortem was being done at the Community Health Centre. Helicopters, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging technology were used to expedite the rescue operation, officials said. Six helicopters -- three of the Indian Army Aviation Corps, two of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and a civil chopper hired by the Army were engaged in the operation, the defence PRO said. IMAGE: A Doctor checks on an injured of the Chamoli avalanche being treated at Joshimath Military Hospital, in Joshimath. Photograph: ANI Photo The rescue operation lasted nearly 60 hours amid inclement weather for the first two days. However, the weather was largely clear on Sunday. Earlier in the day, CM Dhami visited the Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Centre to monitor the rescue operations while Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in C, Central Command, and Lt Gen D G Mishra, GOC, Uttar Bharat, remained at the avalanche site. The traumatised survivors brought to the military hospital in Jyotirmath recounted their horrifying ordeal. BRO worker Jagbir Singh from Amritsar said he was sleeping in his container camp when the snowslide sent them tumbling several hundred metres down. "The container we were in went rolling down. By the time we could figure out what had happened, I found a colleague had died and one of my legs was fractured. I also had an injury in the head. There were heaps of snow everywhere," he said. They somehow trudged to what appeared to be a kiosk with very little space, which was some distance from where they were stuck in the snow. "We were rescued after 25 hours during which 14-15 of us had just one blanket to cover us. We ate snow when we felt thirsty," he said. Munna Prasad from Vaishali district in Bihar said, "We lay scattered under snow for around 12 hours. Snow was clogging our noses. It was difficult to breathe. However, thankfully the Army and ITBP teams came to our rescue before it was too late." Vipin Kumar from Himachal Pradesh said everything happened in a flash. An Army guest house served as a shelter for many stranded labourers who spent nearly 25 hours in sub-zero temperatures without proper clothing, he said. LONDON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Britain, France and Ukraine will work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday. Europe was in a "moment of real fragility," Starmer told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. His remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's public clash with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this week. Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House early, leaving the planned minerals deal between the two sides unsigned. "We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace," Starmer said. Britain is hosting a defense summit on Sunday, with European leaders gathering in London to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Starmer named three essential points to achieve "lasting peace" -- a strong Ukraine, a European element with security guarantees, and a U.S. backstop, with the last one being the subject of "intense" discussion. "That's why I've been forward-leaning on this about what we would do -- and a U.S. backstop," he said. "That's the package: all three parts need to be in place, and that's what I'm working hard to bring together." LONDON -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled a four-step plan agreed with European leaders and top representatives of NATO and the EU to support Ukraine and show they remain united in the face of Russia's aggression. The British leader said it was a "time to act" for Europe in ensuring Ukraine's security, backing up his call at a summit in London on March 2 by pledging 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles to Kyiv. The summit agreed that military aid must continue to flow to Ukraine, that Kyiv must be at the table for peace talks with Russia, that Europe work to deter any future Russian moves against Ukraine, and the formation of a "coalition of the willing" that will defend and guarantee peace in Ukraine after a deal is reached. "We are at a crossroads in history today," Starmer told a news conference after the summit of 19 leaders from across Europe, Canada, and the NATO military alliance. "This is not a moment for more talk its time to act and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace," Starmer added. Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron both said they are ready to deploy their troops on Ukrainian soil to help back up any truce reached between Kyiv and Moscow. France's Le Figaro newspaper quoted Macron as saying in an interview that the two countries would also propose a one-month "limited" truce "in the air, at sea" as it would be difficult to quickly implement a full peace agreement given the length of the front line running through eastern and southern Ukraine. The summit assumed fresh urgency following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's disastrous visit to Washington earlier this week and growing concerns over the United States' commitment to European defense under President Donald Trump. Starmer was quick to point out that he believes Washington remains a "reliable ally" that wants to see a lasting peace agreement to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that is now in its fourth year. The United States did not participate in the London talks. The summit was planned before Zelenskyy and Trump butted heads in a remarkably tense meeting in the Oval Office on February 28. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were among the European leaders who joined Starmer and Zelenskyy for talks on March 2 at the historic Lancaster House near Buckingham Palace in London. Prior to the summit, Starmer held bilateral talks with Meloni, who could be an important figure in Europe's ongoing attempts to convince Washington of the need to support Ukraine. A staunch Ukraine supporter, she is also ideologically close to Trump, who has warmly praised her. Appearing next to Starmer, Meloni said that London and Rome could "play a key role in bridge-building" after the Oval Office face-off, while adding that it was "very, very important" for Western partners to avoid a schism. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa also attended the summit. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the United States and Europe need to show Russian President Vladimir Putin "that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression." On the eve of the conference, Starmer welcomed Zelenskyy at his Downing Street residence, followed by the announcement of a 2.26 billion pound ($2.84 billion) loan to Ukraine to enhance its defensive capabilities. Zelenskyy said on social media that the loan will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets. Resuscitating the Trump-Zelenskyy relationship was a key item on the summit's agenda with leaders urging a path to restore the relationship after the U.S. president said Zelenskyy could come back to the White House "when he wants peace." Von der Leyen said after the meeting that "were ready together with you [the United States] to defend democracy, to defend the principle that theres a rule of law that you cannot invade your neighbor or you cannot change borders with force." "Its in our common interest that we prevent future wars," she added. Zelenskyy has declined to apologize for the U.S. talks breaking down but said he believed the relationship could still be salvaged. Even before Zelenskyy's trip to Washington, European leaders had demonstrated a growing sense of urgency to make themselves relevant to the Trump administration. This was spurred by statements from senior U.S. officials suggesting Europe would not be directly involved in Ukraine peace negotiations -- and by signs of warming U.S. ties with Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused European countries of seeking "a 'continuation of the banquet' in the form of war." In comments that Russian media reported on March 2, Lavrov praised Trump as "a pragmatist." "His slogan: common sense," said Lavrov. Previous crisis talks in Paris last week focused on whether Europe could muster a credible military force to deploy to Ukraine after a cease-fire or peace deal, as well as a longer-term aim of pledges to boost defense spending. Some progress was made, but there was no decisive breakthrough announcement. The challenge for the London talks, after the debacle in the Oval Office, is to achieve something more tangible and impressive. Alongside this, some European leaders are raising the prospect that this goes beyond proving their worth to Washington. Instead, its about preparing for a possible scenario in which they cannot rely on the U.S. security umbrella. The winner of the recent German elections, Friedrich Merz, declared a week ago that Europe needed to achieve "independence" from the United States. After Zelenskyy's Washington trip, German Foreign Minister Annalene Baerbock said she would back measures to help Ukraine "withstand Russia's aggression even if the United States withdraws support." Here in Britain, Starmer's position has been echoed across the political spectrum. Prominent figures who have been close to Trump urged him not to burn bridges with Zelenskyy. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party and vocal Trump admirer, said: "This is not the end of the story, far from it. A peace deal is essential, and Ukraine needs the right security guarantees." Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "The best way forward now is for the minerals deal to be signed as soon as possible. There is still a path to peace." He was referring to an agreement that was supposed to be the great diplomatic prize of Zelenskyy's Washington trip, heralding a renewed relationship with the United States. Those high hopes have been dealt a body blow. In London, leaders are desperately seeking a response. From high-stakes U.S.-Russia talks to a potential cease-fire, the conversation around ending the war in Ukraine is rushing forward as U.S. President Donald Trump looks to make good on his campaign promise to quickly strike a deal to stop the fighting. But despite recent diplomatic momentum, tensions flared in Washington on February 28, when a heated exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy exposed deep divisions over how to achieve that goal. Analysts say that a concrete agreement -- let alone a lasting peace deal -- remains elusive, and the three-year, all-out war looks set to keep grinding on. "There is a disconnect between the situation on the ground and the political discourse that we are hearing about cease-fires, peacekeepers, and even a settlement," Janis Kluge, a Russia expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin, told RFE/RL. "All of those things are still a long way off." On the ground, Russian and Ukrainian forces are still fighting a brutal war of attrition with few territorial gains and high casualties. Biting winter weather has slowed the fighting lately as Russian forces have looked to replenish equipment and soldiers after months of crushing combat that's led to steady but incremental gains. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, remains outflanked and is struggling with manpower shortages but has adapted by employing new tactics and technologies to blunt Russia's attacks. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, Russian forces have made small advances on Ukrainian positions in Kursk, the small swath of Russian territory taken by Kyiv in August 2024, in recent days. The Ukrainian military has also reported fresh Russian attacks in all directions along the front, such as near the city of Pokrovsk and the village of Nadiivka along the western edge of the Donetsk region. Nearby, Ukrainian forces said they recently regained control of the village of Kotlyne after launching a counterattack at the end of February. "The fundamental situation on the battlefield has not changed and that is that Moscow is still in a relatively strong position," Kluge said. "Russia is advancing -- although very slowly and at a high cost. Where Do Things Stand On The Front Line? The sweeping territorial gains by Ukrainian or Russian militaries in the early days of the war have mostly transitioned into high-casualty assaults with heavy artillery and drone attacks. Russian forces currently control around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory and claim to have annexed four regions -- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson -- despite some parts of those areas remaining under Kyiv's control. Ukrainian forces are currently holding more than 1,500 kilometers of front lines against Russian troops, as well as about 400 square kilometers in Kursk. On the battlefield in Ukraine, Russian forces have maintained the upper-hand and largely controlled the tempo of fighting in the last year as they've looked to gain new advances thanks to the use of glide bombs and explosive-loaded drones that fly with the use of fiber-optic cables. But those limited territorial gains have come at a great cost for Russia. George Barros, who leads the team that monitors battlefield developments at ISW, says that Russia's operations on the ground have slowed considerably, especially since it captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiyivka in February 2024. That advance came after Ukraine had defended the city since the beginning of the invasion but withdrew as wave after wave of Russian assaults left its depleted forces nearly surrounded. "Since taking Avdiyivka a little over a year ago, Russia has not managed to advance their front line by very much," he told RFE/RL. "That's come with staggering losses in terms of soldiers and equipment." Russian forces gained 4,168 square kilometers of land in 2024, according to ISW, and that came with a high cost of life on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. Exact battlefield casualties are difficult to ascertain, but since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has lost 46,000 soldiers in combat and 380,000 have been wounded, Zelenskyy said during a recent speech, although many experts believe the total number to be higher. Russian casualty estimates range from 600,000 to 750,000 killed or wounded soldiers since the beginning of the war and estimates compiled by ISW say that Moscow could be losing around 25,000 to 30,000 troops per month, or roughly 1,000 soldiers a day. The sheer size of Russia's military has allowed it to absorb high losses -- as well as the addition of thousands of soldiers from North Korea in Kursk. Estimates by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) say that Moscow also lost more than 1,400 tanks to Ukrainian attacks in 2024 but has still managed to sustain its war effort on Soviet-era stockpiles and ramped-up domestic manufacturing. Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that while holding the upper hand on the battlefield, Moscow likely remains "disappointed" that it hasn't been able to achieve "an operationally significant breakthrough." "Despite the fact that they retain a very significant advantage in terms of materiel and overall manpower, they've not been able to turn those advantages into big gains on the battlefield," he told an online panel to mark the war's third anniversary. What Will 2025 Bring To The Battlefield? Despite talk of winding the war down, the fighting continues. Reports from the open-source monitoring group DeepState show that Russian forces have been concentrating nearly half of their attacks so far in 2025 in the area around Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. "Neither side is able to conduct large operational maneuvers right now, but the Russians are burning through a lot more resources than the Ukrainians are," Barros said. In the absence of a likely breakthrough of each other's front lines, experts say that the war has become less about taking large swaths of territory and instead about forcing the other side to suffer high losses in terms of equipment, ammunition, and casualties. Ukraine's main weaknesses have been a shortage of soldiers to replace its losses and uncertain supplies of Western military aid, especially given the Trump administration's stated reluctance to keep supporting Kyiv on the battlefield as it has in the past. That raises vital questions for Ukraine on the battlefield should the war continue to grind on while U.S. military assistance stops. According to data from the German-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy, European governments -- including non-EU members Britain and Norway -- have contributed almost $64 billion in military aid to Ukraine up until the end of 2024 compared to $66 billion from the United States in the same span. Zelenskyy, following his difficult trip to Washington, received a warmer welcome in London on March 1 as European leaders prepared to meet on March 2 to discuss Ukraine and European security. But Julia Friedrich, a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin, says that European militaries will need time to ramp up production in order to adequately supply Ukraine, possibly even years. "We are definitely looking at a gap between what the Ukrainians need and what the Europeans can supply," she told RFE/RL. "There is hope that investing in Ukrainian production will help, but more funds will need to be raised for that, which also takes time." How quickly -- or if at all -- European governments will need to bridge that gap remains to be seen and will be affected by the success and speed of diplomatic talks to end the war. In the meantime, the war looks set to continue. "Russian negotiators are experienced and will be aiming to get everything they can," said Friedrich. "Moscow has put everything into this war, so it's going to take a lot more than a friendly phone call and meeting to make Russia stop." President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States, saying it will help ensure a "unified and cohesive society in a nation that has long prided itself on being the melting pot of the world. The move marks the first time the United States has had an official language at the national level, although some 30 U.S. states have designated it as their official language. From the founding of our Republic, English has been used as our national language, Trump said in the order published on March 1. Our Nation's historic governing documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, have all been written in English. It is therefore long past time that English is declared as the official language of the United States. A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language. Some activists have expressed concerns about the effect the action will have on non-English speakers when it comes to immigration matters, voting procedures, and access to assistance. The move revokes a mandate from former President Bill Clinton that required government agencies and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. It will allow such agencies and organizations to decide whether to continue offering documents and services in other languages. The order stated that "agency heads are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English." According to a U.S. government website, people in the United States communicate in more than 350 languages. The U.S. Census Bureau said some of the most widely spoken languages other than English are Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic. Native North American languages, including Navajo, Yupik, Dakota, Apache, Keres, and Cherokee, are also spoken. "Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society, Trump stated. "This order recognizes and celebrates the long tradition of multilingual American citizens who have learned English and passed it to their children for generations to come." With reporting by AP Get new posts by email: Subscribe British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) shakes hands with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 1, 2025. Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. (Xinhua/Li Ying) LONDON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting at Downing Street, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. Zelensky and Starmer, together with British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, held a video call with Marchenko Saturday evening. Zelensky hailed "a meaningful and warm meeting" with Starmer and thanked him for the support Britain has shown to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Confirming the loan agreement, Zelensky wrote on social media X: "This loan will enhance Ukraine's defense capabilities... The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine." Zelensky's visit came ahead of a defense summit Britain is hosting, with European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. Starmer has said he believes such a deal will have to involve the United States. Zelensky said on social media X shortly before his plane touched down in London earlier Saturday that Ukraine is "ready to sign the minerals agreement" with the United States, but "a ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine." Zelensky's visit to Britain followed his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday evening in the White House, where a routine presence in front of a press pool erupted into an unexpected shouting match. The fiery exchange between the two sides started with an interjection by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who demanded that Zelensky be thankful for Trump's efforts to get his country out of its three-year conflict with Russia. After the public clash, Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House early, leaving the planned minerals deal between the two sides unsigned. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) speaks with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 1, 2025. Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. (Xinhua/Li Ying) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) speaks with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 1, 2025. Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. (Xinhua/Li Ying) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) shakes hands with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, March 1, 2025. Starmer met with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. During their meeting, Starmer said Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." He stressed Britain's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace. Britain and Ukraine have agreed a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, according to Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. (Xinhua/Li Ying) Ellen O'Donoghue Keith Barry has spoken of the trauma of his grandfathers sudden death in 2009. Paddy Barrys house was burgled and the 82-year-old later died due to injuries sustained during the incident. On a recent episode of The Grief Pod podcast with Venetia Quick, Keith Barry discussed what he believed happened. We were told by the guards it was a number of people broke his front [door] down and they beat him up and he died three or five days later. It gets all blurry in your head," he said. Thats a real traumatic experience because its not a death that anybody should have to deal with in a family because its not just the shock of him dying, its the shock that he didnt die of natural causes, and then youre thinking youve got to catch these people, and I got noisy in the media because I wanted to catch these people. I was really, really close to my grandad as well and was absolutely very angry. Inquest challenge Barry revealed that the State pathologist at the time said in the autopsy that all the pensioners injuries were consistent with a fall, as if nothing had ever happened in the house". He admitted on the podcast that at the inquest into his grandfathers death, he challenged the State pathologist. I won the challenge, he said he couldnt stand over his own statement, because he was told by somebody he couldnt tell us who the somebody was that Paddy Barry had locked himself in his front living room and had no interaction with the burglars. I said, Whered you get that information from? and he said I dont know, so he couldnt stand over it and then he had to rewrite his own report, Barry told Quick. Then the jury came out and they came out with a statement to say that the incident that happened in Paddy Barrys house led directly to his cause of death, and they had to get legal advice, that was the strongest wording they could put in. We saw him, he was beaten black and blue, a broken arm, his head was hit against the ground or against the wall, we dont know, and again all the way through, 16 years on, no one is caught. The wilder thing is, the guards went quiet. Like the guards asked me to go quiet out in the press because they said I was affecting the course of their investigation. The second I went quiet we never heard from the guards ever again. Its not an open case so they just didnt bother, well, its supposed to be an open case but nobodys bothering to investigate it but in my mind, Paddy Barry was murdered, end of story. He was murdered and therefore [they] shouldve been chasing that. Barry added, however, that although those responsible have never been caught, he had decided not to let it consume him. You grieve, then youre shocked, then you get angry, and then you realise this is consuming me for years, and then you have to make a choice again, youve to go Am I going to let this consume my life now? and some people do, and they look for justice, but that becomes their life, and I thought this cant become my life and I cant let it consume me, he said. An Garda Siochana said in a statement to BreakingNews.ie that gardai in Waterford conducted an investigation into a burglary that occurred in 2009. A number of arrests were made in relation to this investigation. A file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and no prosecution was directed," the statement said. The family recently got a new Garda liaison officer, Barry revealed on the podcast, because he got a bit noisy like I sometimes do, but he described it as PR containment from the guards. Im not anti-guards, he said, Im talking about the incident that happened to my grandfather was not properly investigated and the Waterford gardai didnt bother calling us for years and now apparently weve been given some new garda liaison officer. He said the liaison officer told his cousin that he could call him if he wanted to. Why hasnt that guy called me? Barry asked, saying he was mouthy about it because he is in the media, but also because he was close to his grandad. Barry said he had still not found closure. Its always going to be an open wound, but all you can do is stitch the wound, and you get angry again, and then you stitch it again. He should never have met that end. He was super healthy. He used to walk seven miles three days a week at 82, he tells Quick. Waterford graffiti He further revealed on the podcast that somebody in Waterford had been spray painting information at various locations in Waterford, including at the hospital, about his grandfathers death. Barry was sent photographs of the spray paint before its removal. I informed the guards, and again, Im like, you dont have to be Inspector Clouseau to look at the cameras in Waterford Regional Hospital, see who went in and spray painted that." He believes the case should be brought to the cold case division within An Garda Siochana. It should be reopened, it should be reinvestigated, and the fact is, if you thought it was dead, well all of a sudden theres stuff being spray painted all over the place, so somebodys feeling guilty. When BreakingNews.ie contacted gardai about the graffiti, they said they were aware of and conducted an investigation into reports of graffiti to a building in the Ardkeen/Dunmore Road area of Waterford city, and allegations made regarding the burglary investigation that occurred in 2009. Gardai conducted an extensive investigation in relation to these allegations. This matter was fully investigated and the allegations made were of no assistance to the burglary investigation. Haryana Paper Leak: 25 Police Officers and Employees Suspended, Including 4 DSPs, 3 SHOs, The Haryana government has issued orders to suspend 25 police officers and personnel, including four DSPs and three SHOs. Haryana Paper Leak: 25 Police Officers and Employees Suspended, Including 4 DSPs, 3 SHOs, and Centre Supervisors: The Haryana government suspended officials involved in a paper leak at examination centers during the Haryana School Education Board examinations. Taking strict action against those found guilty in connection with the incident of a paper being taken out of an examination center during the Haryana School Education Board Examination, the Haryana government has issued orders to suspend 25 police officers and personnel, including four DSPs and three SHOs. Advertisement "We have taken this matter seriously. An FIR has been lodged against four invigilators from government schools and one invigilator from a private school. All four government school invigilatorsGopal Dutt, Shaukat Ali, Rakimuddin, and Preeti Ranihave been suspended. We have also taken action against two center supervisors, Sanjeev Kumar and Satyanarayan, who have been suspended as well." FIRs have been lodged against four outsiders connected to the case and against eight students for cheating or facilitating the paper leak at various examination centers. The Chief Minister stated that the investigation is ongoing and directed all Deputy Commissioners and SPs to enforce a 500-metre restriction around examination centers. Any violations will hold the district administration accountable. DG, Information & PR Dept., K. Makarand Pandurang, and Media Secretary Praveen Attrey were also present. Advertisement On the first day of the Haryana School Education Board's Class 12 exam on February 27, a paper leak and widespread cheating were reported. Within 30 minutes, the question paper surfaced from the exam center in Tapkan, Nuh, and was accessible on mobile phones, according to sources. (For More News Apart From Haryana Paper Leak: 25 Police Officers and Employees Suspended, Including 4 DSPs, 3 SHOs, and Centre Supervisors stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Haryana Police Constitutes SIT to Investigate Congress Worker Himani Narwal's Murder Himani Narwal's mother has blamed the party and the elections for her daughter's death. Haryana Police Constitutes SIT to Investigate Congress Worker Himani Narwal's Murder latest news: A shocking case came to light in which the body of Congress party worker Himani Narwal was discovered packed inside a suitcase along the Sampla bus stand in Rohtak. The Haryana Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. Sampla DSP Rajneesh Kumar informed that the phone of the deceased has been recovered, and the police are seeking the assistance of cyber and forensic teams to probe all sides. Advertisement Himani Narwal, who was living alone in Haryana while her family resided in Delhi, was a student of LL.B. The police arrived at the scene after getting information and recognized the body as Himani Narwal. The police are probing, and they are verifying the background of the family, even though the family is not suspecting anything. Himani Narwal's mother has blamed the party and the elections for her daughter's death. According to her, Himani's growing prominence in the party generated enemies for her, perhaps within the party or even among her friends. Himani was popularly known for having close connections to top Congress leadership, including Rahul Gandhi and Hooda family members. Advertisement Top Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has demanded a serious inquiry, stating categorically that the culprits should be awarded strict punishment. The Congress party has shown unity with the mournful family with local MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra and other workers of Congress having visited the morgue where Himani's body is held. The inquiry is to reveal if the perpetrators were from within the party or outside, and the family will do everything possible to get justice for Himani. Advertisement (For More News Apart Haryana Police Constitutes SIT to Investigate Congress Worker Himani Narwal's Murder stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Complaint filed against Pastor Bajinder, a Christian preacher. Preacher Bajinder Singh allegedly sexually assaulted the woman, who was a member of his worship team. Pastor Bajinder Singh Arrest News in Alleged Rape Case latest news: Bajinder Singh, a Christian preacher, has been charged by the Punjab Police in Kathpura with sexually harassing a 22-year-old woman for several years. Preacher Bajinder Singh allegedly sexually assaulted the woman, who was a member of his worship team. According to reports, she was stalked, made to sit on his lap, touched inappropriately, and hugged forcefully. She was even threatened with the murder of her family if she revealed the abuse. Advertisement Bajinder Singh is a self-proclaimed Evangelical Christian pastor based in Punjab. He leads a church in Chandpur village, near the Barodi toll plaza. A case was also registered against him in 2018 of raping another woman from Zirakpur. (For More News Apart From Pastor Bajinder Singh Arrest News in Alleged Rape Case stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Trump Considers Halting Military Aid To Ukraine after heated white house meeting The 45-minute meeting broke up without agreement on a mineral pact. Trump considers halting military aid to Ukraine after heated white house meeting latest news: U.S. President Donald Trump is consider terminating of ongoing shipments of military assistance to Ukraine after a tense exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House meeting on February 28. The 45-minute meeting broke up without agreement on a mineral pact. Trump, visibly exasperated, directed his officials to instruct the Ukrainian team to depart the White House, protesting the Ukrainian side. Zelensky has been pressuring the U.S. to keep sending weapons to Ukraine as a security assurance that would place Kyiv in a stronger position for future peace talks with Russia. Advertisement Since January 20, when Trump took office, his administration had leaned toward halting all assistance to Ukraine but continued to ship arms initiated by the earlier Biden administration. Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office, suspending funding for foreign aid for 90 days. The United States has given Ukraine $65.9 billion in military assistance since the beginning of Russia's all-out invasion in February 2022. But opposing groups in the Trump administration have been arguing about whether the U.S. should keep giving weapons. The prospects for American military aid to Ukraine are up in the air as the Trump administration struggles with intra-administration disputes and the aftermath of the contentious Oval Office confrontation. Advertisement (For More News Apart From Trump considers halting military aid to Ukraine after heated white house meeting stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Ukraine Support Becomes Central Issue As Trump Returns to White House President Trump has made several claims regarding how much the United States has spent, as opposed to European nations. Ukraine Support Becomes Central Issue As Trump Returns to White House latest news: Support for Ukraine has become an issue of primary concern since the return of Donald Trump to the White House. President Trump has made several claims regarding how much the United States has spent, as opposed to European nations. Some of his claims are problematic, though, with no facts to support them. President Trump has made this assertion on a number of occasions, including when he welcomed France's President Macron to the White House this week. Estimates put the actual spend much lower. Advertisement BBC Verify could find no evidence to support the assertion. Alternative calculations of US expenditure in or connected to Ukraine yield a much lower figure. The Kiel Institute, a think tank based in Germany that is monitoring aid flowing into Ukraine, estimated that the United States has spent $119.7bn (94.3bn) on assistance between January 2022 and December 2024. Others have estimated a larger amount, but with a more inclusive definition of what constitutes spending on Ukraine. The US Department of Defense has given a total looking at all spending on Operation Atlantic Resolve, a reaction to Russia's incursion into Ukraine. It states $182.8bn has been "appropriated," a sum which includes US training of military in Europe and refilling of US defense supplies. Either estimate, both amounts are significantly lower than the president claimed. The White House has given no reason for the $350bn claim. Advertisement President Trump has also asserted that the United States spent $200bn more than Europe on Ukrainian aid. He declared, "We've spent over $300bn and Europe's spent around $100bn - that's quite a difference." Yet statistics confirm Europe has actually spent more overall when all of the aid is counted, with no proof the $300bn figure exists. Ukraine Support Becomes Central Issue As Trump Returns to White House The United States is the largest donor to Ukraine as a country, but when combined, Europe has spent more than the United States, at least according to the Kiel Institute. The total encompasses European Union aid directly, as well as European bilateral agreements from within and outside the EU. It encompasses military, economic, and humanitarian assistance. Advertisement Between January 24, 2022, and December 2024, the entire continent of Europe collectively spent $138.7bn on Ukraine and the United States collectively spent $119.7bn, based on their estimates. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had similarly argued, factoring Canada in as well. He stated in February 2025, "In 2024, NATO Allies provided over 50 billion euros in security assistance to Ukraine nearly 60% of this coming from Europe and Canada." The UK is one of the biggest individual state donors to Ukraine, with the latest being a $2.8bn (2.26bn) loan agreement signed during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to London on March 1. The only countries to have spent more are the United States and Germany, according to Kiel data. But UK contributions are significantly less than those of the United States. Advertisement This leaves a question for the UK and other European nations: if the United States pulls back a significant portion of its funding to Ukraine, can other states fill the gap? This would mean a drastic increase in their contributions. (For More News Apart From Ukraine Support Becomes Central Issue As Trump Returns to White House stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) March 2, 2025 A roundup of local and world news Newsflash Newsroom, 02.03.2025, 14:00 SUMMIT Leaders of Ukraines allies, including Romanias interim president, Ilie Boljan, are meeting in London this afternoon for a crucial summit. They will discuss new security guarantees in the face of a US letdown following Fridays heated meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. The Ukrainian president was warmly welcomed by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday, and dozens of people gathered to cheer for him outside Downing Street. The British Prime Minister assured the Ukrainian president of the UKs absolute determination to support Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion, and the two governments signed a 2.26 billion loan agreement, which the Ukrainian president said would be used for domestic arms production and would be repaid from Russias frozen assets in the West. Driven out of the White House after President Donald Trump accused him of not being grateful enough and refusing to make peace with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the support of leaders of European countries, with the exception of Hungary and Slovakia. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said that the free world needs a new leader and that Europeans must accept this challenge. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said, however, that the Ukrainian president must find a way to reconcile with Donald Trump, and French President Emmanuel Macron said that after their falling out, the two leaders must find common ground through respect and gratitude. PROTEST Bucharest on Saturday hosted a large protest against the government and in support of the former presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, placed on pre-trial arrest this week on a number of charges. Organized by the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), the protest gathered tens of thousands of participants in Victory Square. Protesters called for the resignation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and the organization of the second round of the presidential election, annulled last year by the Constitutional Court. Attending the protest was Calin Georgescu himself, who is charged of instigation to actions against the constitutional order. Georgescu said only the Romanian people can judge him, and that he will not yet announce his candidacy for Mays presidential election. Attending the rally were also politicians from Bulgaria, Poland, Italy and Spain, who held speeches in support of Georgescu. ELECTION Parties, political and election alliances, organizations representing national minorities and independent candidates have two weeks left to submit their candidacies to the Central Election Bureau for the presidential election slated for May. According to the election calendar set by the government and currently debated by Parliament, the election campaign will start on April 4 and last for a month. At home, the election will be held on May 4, while the vote abroad will start on May 2 and end on May 4. The second round is slated for May 18. This week Parliament dismissed Toni Grebla from the helm of the Permanent Election Authority and appointed an interim replacement. The Audiovisual Council also adopted a set of regulations that will apply to the election campaign. GAZA Israel announced that it is suspending the entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip, criticizing the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas for refusing an American proposal to extend the ceasefire agreement. Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in its refusal, more consequences will follow, a statement from the Israeli Prime Ministers office reads. Hamas responded, describing Netanyahus decision to stop humanitarian aid as cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blow to the ceasefire agreement, Reuters reports. In a statement, Hamas urged the brokers of the ceasefire agreement to force Israel to end punitive measures against the Gaza Strip. The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement ended on Saturday without Hamas and Israel reaching an agreement to implement the second phase, which was supposed to take effect on Sunday and included the release of the remaining hostages in the Strip and a definitive end to the war. (VP) Romanias interim president about the Ukraine summit in London The security guarantees to be granted to Ukraine will practically be for the entire Eastern Flank, says Romania's interim president, Ilie Bolojan Ukraine summit in London (Photo www.presidency.ro) Radio Romania International, 02.03.2025, 20:57 The interim president of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, says the security guarantees to be granted to Ukraine will practically be for the entire Eastern Flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. He said on Sunday, fresh from the leaders informal summit in London, that the summit was a coordination meeting ahead of the European Council on March 6 and of a meeting due on March 7, with leaders of non- EU countries who want a solution to the war in Ukraine to bring a lasting peace. The leaders agreed that the security guarantees to be granted to Ukraine cannot be provided without US support. To this end, in continuation of the transatlantic partnership, the leaders will work on a joint plan, so that security guarantees be ensured both with a larger involvement by the European countries and also based on the US support, Bolojan told the media. According to the interim president of Romania, the leaders agreed in London to maintain financial and military support for Ukraine. They also agreed to prepare the European countries to assume a greater burden for peace in Europe. To this end, they will consider increasing defense budgets in the near future, Bolojan said. He added that in order to have a truce and reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, a resumption of dialogue between Ukraine and the US is needed. The leaders attending the summit agreed to hold consultations, in the next stage, and to make decisions by the end of next week, the interim president added. LONDON, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Western leaders, including more than a dozen European heads of state and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, gathered in London on Sunday for a defense summit aimed at advancing a peace plan for Ukraine following a week of intense diplomatic talks. The summit, hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, focuses on strengthening Ukraine's position through continued military support and increased economic pressure on Russia. It will also discuss the need for "a strong, lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace in Ukraine and ensures that Ukraine can deter and defend against future Russian attacks." Participants include the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, along with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council. Turkish foreign minister is also attending. The leaders are expected to outline the next steps to bolster European security guarantees. "In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees, alongside continued discussions with the United States," Starmer said in a statement ahead of the summit, emphasizing that the Russia-Ukraine conflict has now reached "a turning point." The summit comes amid diplomatic tensions, as a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House turned into a heated exchange, leading to the cancellation of an anticipated raw materials agreement between the two countries. On Saturday, Zelensky met with Starmer at 10 Downing Street, where the British prime minister reaffirmed the UK's "unwavering determination" to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. Following the meeting, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko announced that Britain and Ukraine had agreed on a loan of 2.26 billion pounds (2.84 billion U.S. dollars) to support Ukraine's defense capabilities. (1 pound = 1.26 U.S. dollar) Domestic sales drop by 21.37% YoY, exports decline by 20.70% Month-on-month (MoM) sales fall by 23.33% compared to January 2025 Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) reported total sales of 10,323 units in February 2025, registering a 21.07% year-on-year (YoY) decline from 13,078 units sold in February 2024. The decline was witnessed across both domestic and export markets, with demand slowing down significantly. Domestic and Export Performance Hondas domestic sales stood at 5,616 units, marking a 21.37% YoY drop from 7,142 units in February 2024. Similarly, exports fell by 20.70%, with 4,707 units shipped in February 2025 compared to 5,936 units in the same period last year. Compared to January 2025, when Honda sold 7,325 units in the domestic market, February saw a 23.33% decline, with 1,709 fewer units sold. Challenges in Sales Performance The decline in sales could be attributed to changing market trends, increasing competition from SUVs, and limited new product offerings. Hondas current lineup in India, consisting primarily of sedans and compact SUVs, is facing stiff competition from rivals expanding aggressively in the mid-size and compact SUV segments. Sharing thoughts on Feb25 sales performance, Mr. Kunal Behl, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, The market conditions have been challenging for the auto industry where we saw reduced momentum in car registrations and difficulties in creating fresh demand during Feb as compared to last year. However, our recent launches of All New Amaze and Special editions of Elevate Black and City Apex with good response from market have helped us to create new excitement in our products and sustain sales in this tough period. With new benefits outlined in the Union Budget 2026 to boost overall consumer demand, we hope situation will improve in coming period. On the export front, we continue to post healthy volumes led by strong performance of Elevate and City in export markets. MOSCOW, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Quick results from thawing Russia-U.S. relations shouldn't be expected, but the two countries are seeking to outline their priorities for cooperation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "It seems to me that even now we need to outline the range of possible topics for cooperation, but we should not expect any quick results in this area right now," Peskov said during a recent interview with local media. There will be much to do to repair the badly-damaged Russia-U.S. relations, Peskov said. Meanwhile, he stressed that normalizing Russia-U.S. relations could be achieved more quickly if both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump have the political will to do it. The U.S. administration is reshaping its foreign policy contents, which are largely consistent with Russia, he added. In the rapidly developing contest between human creativity and artificial intelligence algorithms, professional artists still have an edge in producing more creative AI-assisted artwork than the AI programs themselves or novice artists, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The rapid advancement of AI raises some existential questions about the nature of creativity, said lead researcher Paul Seli, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University. "Creativity has long been considered a uniquely human ability that is tied to personal experiences, emotions and the drive to communicate meaning," he said. "But now that AI can generate complex, aesthetically compelling artwork, we have to ask if human creativity still holds a distinct edge or is AI fundamentally changing the way we think about creative expression?" At least for now, professional artists still have the upper hand, according to the study findings, which were published online in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. The researchers selected 15 professional artists with more than five years of experience and 15 people with little or no artistic training. All of the participants wrote prompts of up to 15 words each that were entered in the DALL-E 3 AI program to generate artwork images. The same instructions for creating a prompt also were entered 15 times in the ChatGPT AI program to create prompts that also were used to generate artwork images in DALL-E 3. Another group of 299 online participants viewed all 45 of the generated artwork images and rated them on creativity. Artwork created with prompts by the professional artists was rated as significantly more creative than the AI-generated artwork, followed by the novice artists' work in last place. Additional analysis found that the professional artists and the ChatGPT program used more words in their prompts, which could help generate more creative artwork. The professional artists also used words in their prompts that were significantly higher in semantic distance than ChatGPT, followed by the novice artists. Semantic distance in this study meant the words used in a prompt were not commonly seen as related to each other, and semantic distance has been linked to creativity in previous studies. For example, one prompt from a professional artist stated: "A madman trapped in a straitjacket made of toilet paper." By contrast, a prompt from a novice artist stated: "A frog using a leaf as an umbrella." "Whether AI is truly 'creative' depends on how we define creativity," Seli said. "AI undeniably generates images and other outputs that people perceive as creative. But if creativity is tied to human experience, emotions and intentionality, then AI appears to fall short." The professional and novice artists had no experience using AI image generators so their creativity ratings might have been higher if they had more experience with the AI program or had the opportunity to edit their prompts to fine tune the digital images. While the professional artists fared well in this study, the tables could be turned soon as AI programs advance at exponential rates, Seli said. "If AI becomes better at understanding artistic intent or mimicking human-like intuition, the gap between AI and professional artists could narrow or even disappear," he said. "However, it's possible that the uniquely human aspects of creativity -- such as emotional depth and lived experience -- will continue to set human artists apart. Whether that distinction matters in the long run remains an open question. Only time will tell." Researchers from Fujita Health University, Japan, observed a rise in adult central nervous system (CNS) infections, primarily aseptic meningitis caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), post-2019. The researchers highlighted the potential of zoster vaccination to reduce CNS infections. Meanwhile, CNS infection by herpesviruses, including VZV, may contribute to the progression of dementia. Furthermore, the potential effect of zoster vaccines in preventing dementia progression by reducing VZV reactivation has also been highlighted. The varicella zoster virus (VZV), an infectious virus from the herpes virus family, is primarily known to cause varicella in children and shingles in adults. But lately, this virus has also been reported to trigger severe complications like central nervous system (CNS) infections. Researchers from Fujita Health University, Japan, conducted a comprehensive study spanning 10 years (2013-2022), to identify the VZV-related infections affecting the CNS. Their study reveals a marked increase in adult VZV-related CNS infections, particularly since 2019. The findings were published in Volume 30, Issue 12of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal on December 30, 2024. The study was led by Professor Tetsushi Yoshikawa, along with Hiroki Miura and Ayami Yoshikane from the Department of Pediatrics, Fujita Health University School of Medicine. The researchers analyzed cerebrospinal fluid samples of 615 adult patients with suspected CNS infections. VZV DNA was most frequently detected in these patients, with its presence in 10.2% of the cases, and aseptic meningitis being the most common infection. The data from 2019 to 2022 revealed that there was a noticeable rise in VZV DNA-positive cases, forming a distinct temporal cluster during this period. Professor Yoshikawa highlighted the results of the patient demographic analysis, reporting that "the proportion of aseptic meningitis increased from 50% between 2013 and 2018 to 86.8% between 2019 and 2022." He further adds, "Similar to the rise in herpes zoster cases through VZV reactivation in the elderly, we believe this increase is also linked to VZV reactivation." The universal varicella vaccination, introduced in Japan in 2014, has reduced the natural booster effects from re-exposure to the virus. This potentially accelerates the immunity decline, leading to VZV reactivation, especially in cases like shingles. The researchers emphasize the connection between the vaccination and the current scenario, saying, "The increase in VZV-induced CNS infections coincides with changes in varicella vaccination programs and emphasizes the need for better preventive strategies." Furthermore, the researchers examined trends in VZV-induced CNS infection throughout the observation period using Kulldorff's circular spatial scan statistics. As a result, it was confirmed that there was an accumulation of VZV-related CNS infections from 2019 to 2022. Although no direct causation was established, six patients did develop CNS infections after receiving COVID-19 vaccines. "Further studies are needed to understand these interactions," Yoshikawa notes. None of the eligible patients in this study had received the zoster vaccine, which was introduced in Japan in 2016. Increasing the number of VZV-related CNS infections underscores the importance of zoster vaccination in adults. The research team stresses the broader implications of their findings, stating that the reactivation of VZV in the CNS is linked to an increased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. They hypothesize, "If the prevention of VZV-related aseptic meningitis through herpes zoster vaccination is possible, these vaccinations could play a pivotal role in mitigating these risks of dementia." To address the growing concern, the research team advocates expanding public health initiatives to promote zoster vaccination among at-risk populations. "Our research underscores the necessity of proactive measures to prevent not just shingles, but also severe neurological complications associated with VZV," explains Yoshikawa. With the rise of the aging population and CNS infections, the study calls for urgent action to evaluate and implement comprehensive vaccination strategies to prevent CNS infections in the future. When faced with chronic stress, why do some people develop anxiety and depressive symptoms while others show resilience? A protein that acts as a cannabinoid receptor and is present in the structure controlling exchanges between the bloodstream and the brain could be part of the answer, according to a study published today in Nature Neuroscience. "The protein, called cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), is part of the blood-brain barrier, the dynamic structure that protects the brain by regulating the passage of molecules between the bloodstream and the brain," explains study leader Caroline Menard, a professor at Universite Laval's Faculty of Medicine and researcher at the CERVO Brain Research Centre. In the context of chronic social stress, the integrity of this barrier is altered, inflammatory molecules make their way into the brain, and anxiety and depressive symptoms appear." CB1 receptors are abundant in neurons, but they're also found in astrocytes, star-shaped cells allowing communication between the brain's blood vessels and neurons. "Astrocytes are an essential component of the barrier, explains Prof. Menard. We noticed that mice resilient to stress had more CB1 receptors in the barrier than mice with depressive-like behavior or mice not exposed to stress. That gave us the idea to investigate the role of astrocytic CB1 receptors in the response to chronic stress." The research team first induced an increase in CB1 receptor abundance in mouse astrocytes by developing a viral vector that contained the genetic material coding for the CB1 receptor as well as a mechanism that limited its expression only to astrocytes. When injected, this virus increased the levels of CB1 receptors in the mice's astrocytes but not in their neurons. These mice were then subjected to chronic social stress. "Each day, for five minutes, they were brought into direct contact with a dominant male. The rest of the time, a transparent divider was placed in the cage. The mice could see their bully without any physical interaction so it was essentially a psychosocial stress," says Menard. Three weeks after the injections, the level of CB1 receptors had more than doubled in the astrocytes of mice in the experimental group. "In these mice, baseline anxiety levels -- those observed in the absence of stress -- were reduced, as were symptoms of anxiety and depression-like behaviors induced by social stress. Overexpression of CB1 receptors leads to resilience by promoting vascular health in the brain," summarizes the researcher. Other experiments carried out by her team showed that mice that had access to an exercise wheel or those given antidepressants also had higher levels of CB1 receptors in their astrocytes. In addition, examination of human brains from the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank in Montreal confirmed the association between CB1 receptors and depressive symptoms. "We found that the level of CB1 receptors in astrocytes was lower in people with major depression at the time of death than in people without depression or those treated with antidepressants," says Caroline Menard. These results suggest the possibility of using molecules capable of activating CB1 receptors in astrocytes to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms, and to increase resilience in the face of stress, the researcher suggests. "The challenge, however, is to limit their effects to astrocytes, because strong and prolonged activation of the same receptors in neurons can have side effects, notably on alertness, anxiety and appetite. Until we find a molecule that acts specifically on CB1 receptors in astrocytes, we can mitigate the negative repercussions of stress by taking advantage of the protective effect of physical activity." In addition to Caroline Menard, the study's coauthors associated with Universite Laval are Katarzyna Dudek, Sam Paton, Luisa Bandeira Binder, Adeline Collignon, Laurence Dion-Albert, Alice Cadoret, Manon Lebel, Olivier Lavoie, Jonathan Bouchard, Fernanda Neutzling Kaufmann, Valerie Clavet-Fournier, Claudia Manca, Nicolas Flamand, Flavie Lavoie-Cardinal, Cristoforo Silvestri, and Vicenzo Di Marzo. The study is also coauthored by researchers from McGill University, the University of Madrid and Trinity College Dublin. Researchers at the University of Liverpool have conducted a large-scale analysis that sheds light on the critical steps needed to combat the vertical transmission of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Africa. Almost two thirds of all new hepatitis B infections globally occur in Africa. The newly published paper in The Lancet Global Health shows the importance of giving the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine (HepB-BD) within 24 hours of birth, and the potential impact of providing antiviral therapy (antiviral prophylaxis) to mothers during pregnancy. The study estimates for the first time that hepatitis B vertical transmission (passed from mother to baby) could be eliminated in Africa, with increased coverage of these two key interventions. Chronic hepatitis B is the leading cause of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis in Africa and deaths are rising. Most cases of liver cancer are diagnosed late and are associated with a very poor prognosis in the region. Vertical transmission is one of the commonest routes of infection and is associated with an increased lifetime risk of severe liver disease. Dr Alexander Stockdale, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University's Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, based at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, together with Dr Nicholas Riches at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, led the comprehensive analysis of more than 113 individual studies which reported on the prevalence of hepatitis B in more than 190,000 women and investigated rates of vertical transmission. The World Health Organization (WHO) African region faces a significant burden, accounting for 63% of the global total of new infections. This amounted to 771,000 new infections and 272,000 deaths in 2022. Among children under 5 years, the prevalence of HBV stands at 2.5% in the WHO African region -- the highest globally. Dr Alexander Stockdale said: "This study makes the case for investment in birth dose vaccination and maternal antiviral prophylaxis, in view of the exciting potential for elimination of vertical transmission in the WHO African region in our lifetime. Vertical transmission is a key route of new hepatitis B infections. Due to limited implementation of interventions, elimination targets are not currently being met. We project that expanding HepB-BD vaccination coverage to 90% could reduce transmission events by 44%, and adding maternal antiviral prophylaxis for 90% of eligible women could further reduce transmission by 86% and achieve the WHO targets for elimination." Dr Stockdale and colleagues have also recently been awarded 3million funding from the National Institute of Health and Care Research to conduct implementation research in Malawi and The Gambia. The NIHR Global Health Research Grant will allow researchers in Malawi, led by Dr Stockdale and in The Gambia, led by Professor Maud Lemoine and Dr Gibril Ndow, to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of giving antiviral treatment (tenofovir) to all pregnant women living with chronic hepatitis B to prevent transmission. This study will provide vital evidence on the potential impact of this strategy to guide public health policy in Africa, which has been recognised as a key knowledge gap by the WHO in the 2024 hepatitis B guidelines. Max Verstappens middle finger salute to a member of the Williams team while rolling down the pitlane on Friday in Bahrain left many scratching their head wondering why the Dutchman had flipped the bird. But perhaps even more puzzling was the fact that the FIA gave the reigning world champion a free pass despite its shiny new zero tolerance rules on driver decorum. However, it turned out that the Red Bull drivers body language wasnt a tantrum but a cheeky hello gone rogue. A Gesture Gone Viral The FIAs recent vow to clamp down on bad behavior had everyone braced for a penalty-point avalanche at the sight of Verstappens gesture, especially with Max latter already lugging eight on his license. Twelve in a year means a race ban, and his first two souvenirs from a 2024 Austrian GP tangle with Lando Norris dont expire until June 30. The math was tight, and the stakes were high. Max giving someone the middle finger pic.twitter.com/1yiOFkBU4L Verstappen News (@verstappenews) February 28, 2025 TV cameras caught the moment in glorious detail, beaming it to a global audience. Commentators scrambled, pegging it as a swipe at an overzealous photographer sniffing around Red Bulls tech secrets. Max doesnt mess about, they mused, imagining a lens poked too close to the RB21s sacred aerodynamics. The paddock buzzed with theories until the plot twisted faster than Monacos chicane. German outlet Motorsport-Total.com spilled the beans: the target wasnt a shutterbug but Luke Browning, a Williams junior driver andwait for itVerstappens mate. What looked like a feud was just a lads greeting, albeit one with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. FIA Turns a Blind Eye So, where was the FIAs iron fist? Nowhere, apparently. Despite their chest-thumping about cleaning up driver conduct no swearing, no shenanigans they gave Verstappen a hall pass. Why? Well, he was in the car, not mouthing off in a press scrum, and pre-season testing doesnt come with stewards on speed dial. No formal investigation, they shrugged, as if Max had waved a cheery hello instead of flashing a digit thats universally NSFW. The incident, they reckoned, didnt merit a dive into the rulebook, leaving Verstappens penalty tally frozen at eight safe, for now, from that dreaded ban. This leniency landed like a punchline amid the FIAs crusade against naughtiness, a campaign thats had drivers rolling their eyes harder than their tyres on a warm-up lap. The Grand Prix Drivers Association has been at loggerheads with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, whose hardline stance earned boos at the F1 launch in London. Even Verstappen, never shy with an opinion, weighed in with a mix of sass and sanity. Honestly, I dont think its necessary to enforce the rules this way. I believe we need a bit of common sense here, he rightly argued. I understand that we cant be swearing all the time. As drivers, we get that. But in the heat of the moment, when youre being interviewed or still in the car, adrenaline can take over, and something might slip out. Were all adults. It shouldnt be taken so literally. Max Just Being Max In the end, Verstappens Bahrain bird-flip was peak Max: brash, unfiltered, and somehow untouchable. What couldve been a penalty-point drama turned into a matey jest, with the FIA playing the straight man in this pitlane comedy. The paddock got a laugh, Williams got a story, and Verstappen got away with itagain. As he put it, a bit of common sense goes a long way, and maybe the FIA agreed, just this once. Or perhaps theyre saving their ammo for when he flips the script and the finger under race-day lights. Either way, Max keeps rolling, one cheeky gesture at a time. Read also: Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook Keeping your money in cryptocurrency tends to be a bit riskier than storing it in a bank, or as cash under your mattress. That's true even if you're invested in a relatively safer crypto investment, like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), not to mention the smaller projects hosted on its chain. When there's an unexpected problem in crypto that wouldn't happen in the traditional financial sector, it can sometimes be an opportunity to buy the dip, assuming that the problem won't be permanent. Could this be the case for Ethereum today? It's very possible, so let's examine the latest happenings and put them into the context of the long-term case for buying the coin. This may be the biggest crypto crime ever Considering that Ethereum's price is down by 8% since Feb. 20, and by 10% over the last three years, it's arguable that the coin's current dip is more than temporary. But the decline since the 20th is due to one cause in particular: A hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, which occurred on the 21st. That's the dip that might be worthy of buying for the right investor. Per the exchange's representatives, around $1.4 billion in funds were drained from its wallets, which held primarily Ethereum and a few derivatives of it. It's unclear whether the funds can or will be recovered, though Bybit has already restored most of its reserves so that it can continue to function as an exchange. Based on the available evidence, crypto cybersecurity group Arkham Intelligence has identified a North Korean hacker organization called the Lazarus Group as being the perpetrators, using a sophisticated software hack on a digital wallet service Bybit was using. Does any of this actually detract from the investment thesis for buying and holding Ethereum, though? In other words, does this hack make it more likely that moving forward on a long-term basis, investors will be less likely to invest in the chain's decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, meme coins, artificial intelligence coins, and other projects? No, it doesn't, though it is very reasonable to expect at least a little bit of near-term hesitancy from investors when it comes to buying the coin. Cryptocurrency exchanges get hacked and go down in flames fairly frequently, and scams and other fraudulent activity are common. That hasn't stopped the sector from growing over time, nor has it inflicted permanent damage to the chains where the most fallout landed in the past. So the second-largest cryptocurrency probably isn't going to be knocked out of its position anytime soon, even after experiencing the largest episode of theft in the industry's history. That means the current dip is more likely to be an opportunity for buying than a harbinger of hard times ahead. In Hindsight: The US Pivot on Ukraine and Shifting Security Council Dynamics On 24 February, the Security Council adopted resolution 2774, a short US-authored text calling for a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war and urging a lasting peace between the countries. Marking the third anniversary of Russias invasion, it was the first substantive resolution on Ukraine passed by the Council since the war began in February 2022. The resolution underscored a major shift in the geopolitical landscape, highlighting Washingtons evolving approach to the war and exposing fractures among the P3 (France, the UK, and the US). Earlier in the day, the General Assembly voted on competing resolutionsone authored by European Union (EU) member states and another by the USafter the US unexpectedly introduced its own text, omitting references to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, triggering a diplomatic standoff with Kyiv and its European allies. The divisions that emerged during the votes in both the Security Council and the General Assembly could signal a broader realignment in global diplomacyone that could potentially reshape transatlantic relations, Council dynamics, and the future of international engagement on Ukraine. Efforts at the UN on Ukraine From the outset of the war, Ukraines Western allies, led largely by the US, promoted a two-pronged strategy: providing hefty military and economic aid to Ukraine while seeking to isolate Russia diplomatically and through sanctions. At the General Assembly, they framed their support as a defence of the UN Charters core principles, especially Article 2 (4), which states that members shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Early General Assembly resolutions condemning Russias aggression and its attempted annexation of occupied territories received overwhelming support. On 23 February 2023, Ukraine and its allies tabled a General Assembly resolution marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that reaffirmed the need for a settlement based on the UN Charters principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity. It was adopted with 141 votes in favour. However, even by the first anniversary, calls for a ceasefire were intensifying. A large number of countries (especially in the Global South) had begun to view the continuing war as a European security issue that had detrimental economic repercussions for them, particularly in the form of rising food prices. Some also expressed concern that the war in Ukraine was diverting global attention and humanitarian aid from other pressing crises, contributing to their decision to prioritise promoting an immediate cessation of hostilities. As the war continued, Ukraines partners continued to furnish generous military and financial support, while maintaining Russias diplomatic isolation. They opposed calls for a ceasefire, arguing that it would freeze the front lines, leaving Russia in control of occupied Ukrainian territory. Instead, they insisted that the only just peace required Russias full withdrawal from Ukraines internationally recognised borders, pledging continued support to achieve that outcome. US Strategic Recalibration The inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January marked a sharp shift in Washingtons Ukraine policy. On the campaign trail, Trump had criticised US military aid and pledged to end the war within 24 hours. Once in office, he called for an immediate ceasefire, underscoring a decisive break from the stance of his predecessor, Joe Biden. The Trump administration swiftly moved to shift responsibility for Ukraines security onto Europe, downplaying the prospects of NATO membership for Kyiv and questioning the feasibility of restoring its pre-2014 borderspositions seen by many in Europe as major concessions to Moscow. The administration also echoed the Russian position at times, with Trump labelling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator (although he later appeared to question this comment) and calling for elections in Ukraine. At the same time, he sought a natural resources agreement with Kyiv, which would involve rare earth minerals. During a 28 February visit to the White Housewhere the deal was expected to be signedZelenskyy and Trump clashed publicly during a press conference, and Zelenskyy left the White House without signing the deal. Simultaneously, the US has pursued a rapprochement with Russia. On 18 February, a high-level US-Russia summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, signalled a broader reset in the relationship between the two countries. This raised concerns that Washington and Moscow might negotiate Ukraines fate without Kyiv or its European allies. Analysts drew parallels to the Yalta Conference of 1945, where the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US divided postwar Europe into spheres of influence. The fear was that Ukraine could now be subject to a similar agreement, sidelining European security interests. Adding to European unease, the Trump administrations position towards some traditional US allies also appears to be shifting. US officials have pressed Europe to take greater responsibility for Ukraines security, while at the Munich Security Conference on 14 February, US Vice President JD Vance downplayed Russia and China as Europes primary security threats. Instead, he framed the biggest challenge as Europes own retreat from some of its most fundamental values, including free speech and democracy, hinting at a potential shift in Washingtons approach to its traditional transatlantic alliances. Diplomatic Showdown at the UN The shift in US policy culminated in a high-stakes confrontation at the UN on 24 February, the wars third anniversary. Kyiv and its European allies appear to have been caught off guard when Washington introduced its own draft resolution for consideration by both the General Assembly and the Security Council, despite ongoing negotiations on a Ukrainian- and European-led text to be tabled only in the General Assembly. The US proposal notably omitted references to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity and avoided condemning Russias invasion. The move rattled European diplomats, particularly as Washington had been engaging in negotiations without expressing any obvious concerns with the Ukrainian-EU text. Breaking from transatlantic unity, the US pressed Ukraine to withdraw its draft resolution in favour of its own draft and urged member states to withhold support. It even threatened to vote against the Ukrainian-EU resolution. However, Ukraine and the EU members proceeded, setting the stage for a diplomatic showdown in the General Assembly framed as a contest between pragmatism and principle. The US argued that achieving peace requires a forward-looking approach rather than assigning blame. France, speaking on behalf of EU member states, countered that any settlement must be rooted in international law to avoid legitimising aggression and paving the way for the wars of tomorrow. France further warned that failing to hold Russia accountable would enshrine the primacy of force over law, effectively endorsing the concept of spheres of influence and undermining sovereign equality. The General Assembly vote revealed deep divisions among member states. The Ukrainian-EU resolution secured 93 votes in favour48 fewer than a similar 2023 resolutionwith notable shifts in African votes.[1] The US voted against it, together with Russia and 16 other countries, while 65 members abstained. Meanwhile, Russia proposed an amendment to the US resolution, adding language on the root causes of the conflict, while France, on behalf of EU member states, introduced three amendments that referenced Russias invasion, Ukraines sovereignty, and the need for a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace based on the UN Charter. Russias amendment failed due to insufficient support, whereas Frances amendments were adopted, leading the US to abstain on its own resolution. The US resolution was adopted with 93 votes in favour, eight against and 73 abstentions. Fractures among the P3 Events in the Security Council that afternoon mirrored the tensions at the General Assembly. After the US announced on 21 February its intention to table a Security Council resolution nearly identical to its General Assembly text, discussions apparently took place among the P3, during which France and the UK proposed amendments to the US draft. While the US appears to have discussed proposals with Russia and Ukraine, it ultimately rejected European modifications and proceeded with its original draft. It seems that, after proposing its General Assembly draft resolution, the US had also asked China, Februarys Council President, to schedule the Security Council vote ahead of the General Assemblys vote on the Ukrainian-EU resolution. There was some speculation that this could lead to a member invoking Article 12 of the UN Charter[2] to try to stop the General Assembly vote. There were also concerns that holding the Security Council vote ahead of the General Assembly vote could undermine support for the Ukrainian-EU resolution. A Council vote on the US draftwhich notably diverged from the Ukrainian-EU text by omitting references to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrityrisked shaping perceptions ahead of the General Assembly vote. Some worried that this sequence could influence undecided member states, potentially leading to fewer votes in favour of the Ukrainian-EU resolution and more abstentions. At the start of the Security Council meeting, France, on behalf of Denmark, France, Greece, and the UK, proposed a motion to postpone the meeting. France argued that the US draft had been introduced without real negotiations and required further revisions. The US opposed the motion, which led to a procedural vote to adjourn the meeting until 3 pm the following day.[3] The motion failed to pass, receiving six votes in favour (China, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, and the UK), three against (Panama, Somalia, and the US), and six abstentions (Algeria, Guyana, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, and Sierra Leone). The Council then voted on five amendmentsthree from the five European Council members (E5) and two from Russia. The E5s proposal to replace the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation failed to secure the required nine votes. Russia vetoed two other E5 amendments that sought to reaffirm Ukraines sovereignty and call for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace based on the principles of the UN Charter, including state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russias vetoes are expected to trigger a General Assembly meeting within ten days under the veto initiative. Meanwhile, Russias amendmentsone introducing language on the root causes of the conflict and another removing all references to Russiaalso failed. The US abstained on all amendments, while China voted in favour of Russias proposal to address the root causes of the conflict and the E5 amendment calling for peace in line with the Charter. This reflects Chinas view that the conflicts origins are in part tied to broader issues, such as NATO expansion, as well as its firm commitment to the principle of state sovereignty. With no amendments adopted, the Council proceeded to vote on the US text in its original form. The E5 abstained, while all other members voted in favour. There appears to have been speculation around whether France and the UK were considering voting against the resolution, which may have encouraged others not to support it. In such a scenario, if the draft had failed to garner the requisite nine or more votes for adoption, negative votes from France and the UK would not have constituted vetoes, which neither country has used since 1989, when these members, together with the US, blocked a draft resolution condemning the US intervention in Panama. Ultimately, France and the UK abstained, apparently viewing the resolution as acceptable but flawed. While both voted against the Russian amendments, their negative votes did not constitute a veto, as the amendments failed to gain the necessary support for adoption. However, had Russias amendments secured enough votes for adoption, it seems that France and the UK may have considered using their veto. The timing of the vote was also significant. It coincided with the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Washington for discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine and took place only days before UK Prime Minister Keir Starmers trip to Washington on 27 Februaryboth reflecting broader strategic calculations in Paris and Londons approach at the Security Council. Implications on Security Council Dynamics The proceedings marked a major shift in Ukraine-related diplomacy, exposing a deepening fracture among the P3. While the full repercussions remain to be seen, the effects are likely to extend well beyond the Ukraine dossier. Relations among the P3 may deteriorate further as US-Russia talks progress. Should Washington and Moscow reach a bilateral deal on Ukraine, the implications for European security could be profound. A settlement that redraws borders or weakens NATOs commitments to Eastern Europe, for example, could validate long-standing fears of a new Yalta. Consequently, France and the UK may find themselves aligning with China, which has consistently emphasised that any settlement should be consistent with the UN Charter. In its 24 February explanation of vote, China stressed that Europe ought to play its part for peace, signalling that it sees European involvement as essential in any future negotiations. For now, P3 divisions are likely to continue shaping the Councils engagement on Ukraine. France, as a penholder on humanitarian issues in Ukraine, is expected to push for regular Council discussions on humanitarian developments, as has been the practice for the last three years, while the US may prefer to avoid contentious meetings that risk derailing diplomatic efforts. These divergences could be more visible if new Security Council resolutions on Ukraine are tabled. The long-standing reluctance to propose products on this issuebecause of Western Council members insistence on using condemnatory language against Russia and the near certainty of a Russian vetohas now been broken, and the precedent set by the recent vote could invite further minimalistic drafts aimed at securing the consent of all permanent members. Whether such texts succeed in forging genuine consensus or merely exacerbate existing tensions remains to be seen, but they underscore the shifting dynamics at play in the Councils evolving approach to the Ukrainian conflict. Beyond Ukraine, US-Russia coordination could reshape European security debates at the UN, particularly on long-standing disputes in the Balkans, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. In this respect, attention is turning to Trumps trio for the BalkansRichard Grenell, now Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, who previously brokered economic agreements between Belgrade and Pristina; Rod Blagojevich, who has ties to the Serbian-American community and is rumoured as a possible candidate for US ambassador to Serbia; and Jared Kushner, who has business ventures in the region. Regional observers are closely monitoring the actions of this trio to assess potential shifts towards a more adaptable US policy in the Balkans. This could significantly weaken Europes position and reshape the Councils approach to these long-standing disputes. Yet a US-Russia rapprochement could also create opportunities for cooperation on other conflicts. Russia has historically used the Security Council to challenge the US on Middle East issues like Gaza. However, at a 25 February Security Council briefing on the file, Russiadeparting from its usual rhetoricsaid in reference to the role played by the new US administration in securing the recent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that its intervention at the final stage made it possible to achieve tangible results. This suggests that a pragmatic thaw between Washington and Moscow could soften their respective stances in some diplomatic arenas. Whether this translates into substantive cooperation remains to be seen, but it could recalibrate multilateral diplomacy on key global crises where both powers hold influence. Agreement between the US and Russia in the past has helped achieve substantial progress on some files. For instance, in December 2015, after many months of deadlock over the Syria file, high-level US-Russia engagement secured the adoption of resolution 2254, that focused on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Despite these shifts, significant limits to a US-Russia partnership remain. One major flashpoint is Iran. Western countries continue to express deep concerns over Irans violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), its lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and its military support for both Middle Eastern proxies and Russia in Ukraine. By contrast, China and Russia remain strong backers of Tehran. This divide could resurface as the JCPOAs sunset provisions approach their expiration in October 2025, with Council members weighing whether to trigger the snapback mechanism to restore UN sanctions. Moreover, while Trumps first presidency featured friendly rhetoric towards Russia, his administrations actions often contradicted this tone. In 2018, for example, although he invited Russia to rejoin the G7 and engaged in Syria deconfliction talks, he also expanded the European Deterrence Initiative by 41 percent and imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs and officials. It remains possible that his second term will follow a similar pattern. While Trumps rhetoric on Ukraine has been favourable to Russia, key officialsincluding Vice President JD Vancehave suggested that military and economic tools remain on the table should Moscow not negotiate in good faith. At the same time, the US decision to table a resolution competing with Ukraine and EU members at the General Assembly, and its unwillingness to negotiate the draft it brought to the Security Council, signals a shift from rhetoric to a more assertiveand potentially disruptivediplomatic style, one that is likely to have significant repercussions for the Security Councils work. [1] 22 countries from the African Regional Group and 16 from the Asia-Pacific Regional Group that had previously voted in favour of the Ukrainian-EU text in 2023 either voted against, abstained, or did not participate in the vote this time. [2] Article 12 stipulates that the General Assembly may not make recommendations on a dispute or situation in which the Security Council is actively exercising its functions under the Charter, unless the Council specifically requests it. [3] This was in line with rule 33 (3) of the Councils provisional rules of procedure, which allows the Council to suspend a meeting to a certain day or hour. The arrest occurred in the confines of the 120th Precinct. Here, the precinct stationhouse in St. George is shown in a file photo. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Multiple guns were recovered during a pre-dawn raid at a home in Clifton, police allege. Officers armed with a search warrant swarmed the Celebration Lane home of Yefry Vargas Severino, 48, on Feb. 6 at about 5 a.m., according to the criminal complaint. Severino was in the living room of the home when police arrived. Guns and bullets were found inside a bedroom closet on the second floor of the home, police said. A bag held a gun case, which contained two semi-automatic pistols, a 9 mm Taurus and a .380-caliber Glock, the complaint alleges. A magazine in the bag was loaded with eight 9 mm bullets, police said. Inside a shoebox in the closet, officers found a silver Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, according to the complaint. Officers allege they confiscated a cardboard box containing 38 rounds of 9 mm ammunition located inside a tall cabinet near the bed in the master bedroom. A magazine loaded with nine rounds of .40-caliber bullets was located inside a dresser drawer in the bedroom, police allege. The complaint states that Severino had no license to possess a firearm in the City or State of New York and is not a dealer in rifles or shotguns in New York City. Severino has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and possession of pistol or revolver ammunition. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and is free on bail set at $45,000/$15,000 cash. He is due back in Criminal Court on April 9, according to public records. An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The location where Anton Albert, a 39-year-old resident of Bunnell Court in Arden Heights was fatally shot several times in the torso. (Google Maps) Google Maps MANHATTAN, N.Y. A 39-year-old Staten Island man was shot and killed Saturday in Manhattans Lower East Side neighborhood, police said. Police responded to a 911 call at 3:22 a.m. Saturday reporting a man shot at the 288 Elizabeth St., which is the address of Tom & Jerrys Bar. Officers found Anton Albert of Bunnell Court in Arden Heights, with two gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the stomach. EMS transported Albert to NYC Health and Hospitals in Bellevue, where he was pronounced dead. Police said there have been no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing. The New York Post reported that the man was a part-time bouncer. This is a developing breaking news story. Check back for updates. NYPD are searching two people in connection with a robbery in HomeGoods in New Springville. Courtesy of NYPD STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New York City Police Department is asking for the publics assistance in identifying a man and woman wanted in connection to a robbery at HomeGoods in New Springville. Police report that on Feb. 6 at 5:35 p.m., an unidentified male allegedly approached a 65-year-old woman at HomeGoods, 2875 Richmond Ave., and engaged her in conversation. NYPD are searching two people in connection with a robbery in HomeGoods in New Springville. Courtesy of NYPD While the victim was distracted, an unidentified female allegedly approached and removed the victims cellphone and credit card from her bag, said police. The individuals then fled the location in an unknown direction. The male allegedly went with a second unidentified female to make an unauthorized transaction using the victims credit card, police said. There were no injuries reported, according to police. NYPD are searching two people in connection with a robbery in HomeGoods in New Springville. Courtesy of NYPD Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on X @NYPDTips.All calls are strictly confidential. \ I'm filling my retirement account with dividend stocks. While I like to see the passive income flow into my portfolio, that's not the main factor. The biggest reason is outperformance. Dividend stocks have historically delivered more than double the total return of non-payers (9.2% annualized over the last 50 years versus 4.3%, according to data from Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds). The sweet spot has been companies that pay higher-yielding, steadily growing dividends. They've delivered the highest returns (and outperformed more often) with the lowest volatility. Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH), and Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) fit these criteria of paying higher-yielding and steadily rising dividends. That's why I recently bought more shares in my retirement account. The fuel to continue growing Enbridge currently pays a 6.3%-yielding dividend. That's several times higher than the S&P 500's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) 1.3% dividend yield. The Canadian pipeline and utility company's high-yielding payout is on a very sustainable foundation. It generates very stable cash flow. About 98% of its earnings come from cost-of-service or contracted assets, where it gets paid regardless of whether customers use their allotted capacity, or a fixed-fee based on volumes. Meanwhile, Enbridge pays out 60%-70% of its stable cash flow in dividends. That enables it to retain billions of dollars each year to help fund new investments. Enbridge also has a strong investment-grade balance sheet, giving it additional flexibility to continue expanding. The company currently has a multibillion-dollar backlog of commercially secured capital projects under construction. These projects include new natural gas pipelines, gas utility expansions, and renewable energy development projects that will come online through the end of this decade. That gives the company lots of visibility into its future growth. Because of that, Enbridge should have no trouble continuing to increase its high-yielding dividend, something it has done for 30 straight years. Cashing in on strong housing demand Invitation Homes' dividend currently yields 3.5%. The real estate investment trust (REIT), which focuses on owning single-family rental properties, has increased its dividend every single year since it became public in 2017. The REIT's rental properties provide it with stable, growing rental income. Last year, it delivered same-store net operating income (NOI) growth of 4.6%, which led residential REITs. The company is benefiting from strong demand for single-family rental properties, partly due to the continued high cost of buying a home. Invitation Homes also focuses on markets benefiting from job and population growth, which helps drive higher demand for rental housing. Bay Street and Beyond hosted a Public Safety Forum for community members, law enforcement, and local leaders. (Photo Courtesy of Veronica Gannon) Veronica Gannon STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. On Feb. 24, Bay Street & Beyond held a Public Safety Forum at the Gerard Carter Center, bringing community members together to discuss key safety concerns. The session, facilitated by Troy McGhie, focused on identifying key challenges and opportunities in the health, business, and social sectors. Approximately 60 community members, law enforcement, and local leaders joined to address pressing safety concerns. Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon and 120th Precinct Inspector Eric Waldhelm were in attendance. The safety and economic stability of Bay Street and its business corridor is critical not just to the North Shore but to the success of our borough as a whole, said District Attorney McMahon. I am grateful to have joined Bay Street & Beyonds public safety forum earlier this week alongside NYPD 120 Precinct Commanding Officer Inspector Waldhelm to address residents and hear their concerns directly and I commend the organizations leadership for partnering with law enforcement to solve quality of life and safety issues affecting our community. Bay Street and Beyond hosted a Public Safety Forum for community members, law enforcement, and local leaders. (Photo Courtesy of Veronica Gannon) Veronica Gannon During the Q&A session, Rev. Terry Troia shared a tragic account of three Project Hospitality guests who were hospitalized after an attack in a poorly lit area in Stapleton. She emphasized the urgent need for improved lighting to enhance safety. In response, Inspector Waldhelm pledged immediate action by deploying mobile lighting, a promise fulfilled by morning. Lets continue to raise our voices, share our concerns, and collaborate for a safer and stronger community, said Troy McGhie, forum moderator and Bay Street & Beyond member. To learn more about Bay Street & Beyond and future events, visit their Facebook and Instagram. For years, the American mainstream media covered up the fact that the president of the United States, Joe Biden, was experiencing a significant cognitive decline that appeared to compromise his ability to lead the country. These same legacy outlets bought hook, line and sinker the tissue of lies put out by Democrats that Donald Trump was a Kremlin asset and was in thrall to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They pantingly covered two impeachment proceedings that would have made the show-trial kommisars of the Soviet Union blush. They listened with unthinking credulity every time an intelligence source or top Justice Department official whispered an anti-Trump nugget to them. And then they printed or broadcast that nugget as fact. There was little second-sourcing. There was minimal fact-checking. If it was bad for Trump, it must be good. They didnt let facts get in the way of a good story. These same newspapers and cable channels amplified the untrue allegations contained in the infamous Steele dossier in 2016. They ignored the fact that the dossier was in large part bought and paid for by Democrat Hillary Clinton, who was running against Trump for president, a sourcing that should have at the very least given them pause. Instead, they treated it like it was the Rosetta Stone. Most notoriously, they all went along with the social media blacklisting of the New York Posts stories about the laptop belonging Bidens son, Hunter. CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times and the rest didnt rally to the side of one of their industry colleagues, whose actual First Amendment rights were trampled right before their eyes. No, they did the bidding of the Biden administration, which wanted the story removed from all platforms. They sided with the Dems because they bought the canard that Trump was an existential threat to democracy and had to be brought down by any means necessary. Even at the cost of their own integrity. Thats state control of the media. That was Pravda on the Potomac. But now these same outlets tell me that Im supposed to worry that President Trump has taken control of the White House press pool and has let non-traditional media outlets take seats. Im supposed to think that this is going to cut off the flow of information from the Oval Office and destroy any transparency when it comes to the administration. Spare me. Trump has answered more questions from the press in the last five weeks in the White House than Biden did in four years. And more than then-Vice President Kamala Harris answered in her entire presidential campaign. Trumps been accessible in the Oval Office. Hes engaged with the press on Air Force One. He takes questions while walking to the Marine One helicopter. He takes questions when hes at events across the country. One White House reporter was quoted by NPR as saying that it was surreal to watch these so-called new media people asking softball, ludicrous questions to Trump and [press secretary Karoline] Leavitt. I never thought Id see plants in press briefings of the highest seat of American power. I guess this reporter never witnessed a Biden press conference, where the questions were pre-written and Biden had a list of reporters to call on. Press conferences where the president was dragged away by staff lest he answer an unscripted question from a reporter. And I guess this reporter didnt watch the paid-for sit down that Harris had with Oprah Winfrey during the campaign. Or the sliced-and-diced puff piece interview that Harris sat for with CBS News. The legacy media outlets who have held all the power when it comes to covering the White House now must share the ball with outlets that they look down their noses at. And they hate it. Its another example of the delusion that mainstream outlets still inexplicably labor under, that they are the only arbiters of truth and fact. That we need them to be our intermediaries. They havent noticed that we stopped listening to them long ago, abandoning mainstream outlets for podcasts and online news sources. Its been a long decline and its been fueled in part by legacys medias utter inability to cover Trump fairly for close to a decade now. The mainstream media outlets have been willfully dishonest brokers for years. And now theyre getting their just desserts. Ever since Rio Tinto (legally) blew up 46,000-year-old sacred rock caves in Western Australias Juukan Gorge in 2020, the multinational mining company has been on a long campaign of image rehabilitation and woke-washing. The scandal cost former chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques his job, led to now-repealed cultural heritage laws in WA and led to Rio spending millions supporting Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses failed Indigenous Voice to parliament. Archaeological work at Juukan Gorge found evidence of continuous human occupation for more than 46,000 years. Credit: PKKP and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation Now, Rio Tinto is set to contribute funding to the University of Melbournes forthcoming Eddie Mabo Centre, named after the pioneering land rights campaigner who was the plaintiff in the famous 1992 High Court case that brought an end to the doctrine of terra nullius and paved the way for native title. The centre is billed as a transformational joint initiative of the National Native Title Council and the University of Melbourne. It will support Traditional Owners in this transition and First Nations youth to become community leaders and drive economic change in their communities. This competition is now closed. In partnership with Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Visit Victoria, we are giving subscribers the opportunity to experience everything we love about Melbourne: food, culture and fun. One lucky winner will have the chance to enjoy a comedy-filled city-break for two on Saturday, April 12, including return flights to Melbourne, tickets to the highly sought after Annual Great Debate at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, accommodation at 5-star hotel The Westin Melbourne and a Southeast Asian Bar & Dining experience at JUNI. Win an overnight 5-star stay in Melbourne CBD as part of our exclusive Comedy Festival weekend. Credit: The Westin Melbourne The Comedy Festival weekend worth up to $2,200 includes: To NSW, where the state government has revealed the population of feral horses in Kosciuszko National Park is now close to its target of 3000. Environment Minister Penny Sharpe told budget estimates today that there were between 3000 and 4000 horses in the retention area of the park where the government is legally required to maintain a brumby population of 3000 for heritage reasons. The official numbers from the last count in October 2024 were yet to be released because the report is still going through peer review, she said. Feral horses near Long Plain in Kosciuszko National Park in 2023. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The target of 3000 is an arbitrary number legislated by the previous Coalition government under a compromise with then Nationals leader John Barilaro who championed the brumbies. In the rest of the park, where the government is not obliged to retain horses, the population is now believed to be zero. Sharpe said brumby advocates initially claimed there were only 2000 horses in the park, but the government had shot 8954 horses through the control program. Loading She said NSW would not return to a boom and bust cycle where it let the horse numbers get out of control and then had to take drastic measures. The ongoing management would include rehoming, ground shooting and fertility measures. Aerial shooting of course remains an option within Kosciuszko National Park, but weve reduced the numbers significantly, Sharpe said. We are close to reaching the target that was legislated three years early, its an important milestone. Aerial shooting was still being used for feral pigs or deer and for horses in other areas such as the Blue Mountains and Barrington Tops. Former political staffer Brittany Higgins and her ex-journalist husband David Sharaz have welcomed their first child. Higgins, a former Liberal adviser, and Sharaz announced the birth of their son in an Instagram post on Sunday night. Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz married last year. Credit: Instagram A huge thank-you to the amazing midwives, nurses and doctors for their care and kindness, Higgins wrote alongside pictures of her son clasping her hand. Were both looking forward to getting to dote on the newest member of the family forever grateful for all the love and support weve received. Ella was injured last year in a brutal incident that blackened nearly every inch of her thigh. Because she has a disability, Ella was made to move into accommodation where she has access to self-contained areas but no say over who she shares the communal spaces with. Sometimes, other residents are beset by profound mental illness that can erupt in erratic behaviour and fits of rage. A bruise suffered by a woman at Sydney accommodation operated by NDIS provider Beyond Care. But behind closed doors, there are the nauseating smells; shrieks and screams; smashed walls and, sometimes, extreme violence, which have become Ellas harsh new reality. Superficially, her home in one of the legions of new builds that have sprung up across western Sydney appears pristine. But when Sydneysider Ella* moved into shared accommodation in 2023, she was catapulted into a powderkeg from which there is no escape. For young Australians in the prime of their lives, its a cherished rite of passage delivering them their first taste of freedom and independence. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. However, they are powerless to do anything to help her. The familiarity of this scene is what disturbs them most. On numerous occasions they have discovered Carol bruised, injured or bleeding, or living in filthy, unsanitary conditions, the family allege. A womans head was injured when she fell in a Sydney group home operated by Beyond Care. Carol* has fallen and sustained head injuries in her familys absence. A few kilometres away, in a disability group home also run by Beyond Care, family members have discovered their beloved matriarch with a bandage plastered to her curls to stem the bleeding. It makes me sad, said the mild-mannered woman in her mid-20s who is fond of strawberry milkshakes, and dreams of becoming a mother. She is reluctant to talk about what happened, in a property overseen by NSW disability provider Beyond Care, because she doesnt want to land anyone into trouble. According to experts, it poses the bewildering question: how can a scheme that is soaking up billions of dollars in taxpayer funding each year through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) be leaving scores of the countrys most vulnerable residents unsafe? It comes amid a backdrop of soaring complaints to the national watchdog, with a 78 per cent uptick year-on-year. A womans arm was bruised after a fall in Sydney group home operated by Beyond Care. An investigation by this masthead can publish a cache of photographic and video evidence that documents alarming conditions inside Australias disability group homes, including serious injuries, squalid and unhygienic living conditions, safety hazards and delays in medical treatment. In Carols case, the regulator intervened a fortnight after this masthead approached it with questions about her care. Strict secrecy laws prevent either woman from being identified by this masthead. Ella and Carol are under the care of the NSW Public Guardian, which has rejected requests that they be transferred to a different disability services provider but mounted a staunch defence of its processes. Nearly 18 months later, whistleblowers, experts and advocates interviewed by this masthead have decried what they perceive as a lack of urgency in the governments response to a situation one advocate described as devastating and a national shame. The final report by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, published in September 2023, laid bare rampant violence, abuse and neglect in group homes across the country. The cost is extraordinary, said Dr Sam Bennett, the Grattan Institutes disability program director. The quality for that kind of price tag should be considerably higher. This means that nearly 40 per cent of total NDIS spending is directed to 7 per cent of its participants. A recent report by the Grattan Institute found those packages cost taxpayers about $15 billion a year, or an average of more than $350,000 per person. At least 17,000 people with disabilities live in group homes within Australia, part of a broader cohort of about 43,500 Australians on intensive support packages funded by the NDIS. Group homes allow four to six people with a disability to live together with support funded by the NDIS through its supported independent living or specialist disability accommodation schemes. Other experts disagreed that the group home model was irreparably broken. Bennett co-wrote the Grattan report which concluded there were superior and cheaper alternatives to group homes, but they were not widely available to NDIS participants. The issue has been at an impasse since July last year, when the federal government revealed it was considering the recommendation. Most of the seven royal commissioners recommended that group homes be disbanded entirely over 15 years and replaced by alternative forms of accommodation. We cannot have people with a disability living in homes where they are suffering from some of the worst conditions we can imagine, disability rights advocate Elly Desmarchelier said. However, all were unanimous about the need for urgent government intervention to protect residents from violence and neglect, weed out unscrupulous operators, and offer people with a disability more choice in their living arrangements. A snapshot of seven of Australias largest care providers by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission last year painted a bleak picture. They recorded more than 7000 serious incidents of abuse or neglect over four years. Desmarchelier said it was not too late for action, but voiced frustration at the pace of change. The human harm exposed in the disability royal commission spans millions of people and years of work, she said. Disability rights campaigner Elly Desmarchelier has warned some people who reside in group homes are living in the worst conditions we can imagine. Credit: Paul Harris We didnt even see a moment where the Australian public stopped and recognised the deep gravity of what the royal commission found. We know what needs to be done to stop this abuse and violence and neglect, but were not doing it. Home truths Carols family was resigned to the inevitable. It was apparent they could no longer care for her at home as the symptoms of her schizophrenia grew increasingly severe. But they were adamant the 64-year-old could still live somewhere with kind-hearted people where she would be kept safe. They hoped Carols carers would embrace her quirks and foster her love of animals, jewellery and music. Instead, Carols family was crushed when she was hospitalised with head injuries within 18 months of moving into a group home operated by Beyond Care in mid-2022. Multiple falls are among a litany of grievances the family has had with the for-profit disability provider, which was established in 2014 and operates at least 18 group homes across NSW. The family say they have witnessed deplorable living conditions during visits, supplying photographs of stained pillows, the floor dirtied with dead cockroaches, matted hair and food, and exposed nails from a broken wardrobe in Carols room. A dirty mattress in a Sydney group home operated by Beyond Care. Correspondence seen by this masthead shows it took nine weeks for the provider to organise a replacement for Carols stained mattress. Her daughter, Kate*, questions whether that would have occurred at all had it not been for her complaints. When Mum had been incontinent overnight, she has been left to lie in a wet bed, not only overnight but for several days, until a visiting family member was left to change sheets, she said. The family fears not all of Carols injuries have been accidental. On one occasion, Carol was nursing a painful bruise and confided in Kate that she had been struck in the foot by another resident. A dirty pillow in a Sydney group home operated by Beyond Care. Compounding the familys frustrations, they are hamstrung from seeking medical care for Carol due to the guardianship arrangements. Kate has been alarmed at how often she sees Carols legs bulging with fluid, a type of painful swelling known as oedema. It took six months for Carol to receive follow-up care with a specialist after a radiologist flagged she was possibly suffering from normal pressure hydrocephalus due to abnormal findings on a CT scan. The condition, which sees fluid accumulate in the brain, can result in severe disability or even death if left untreated, according to the Brain Foundation. Carols legs are often swollen. When Carol eventually saw the specialist, he concluded her symptoms did not resemble normal pressure hydrocephalus. However, he noted in correspondence seen by this masthead that: Unfortunately no scans were available for me to review. The specialist also noted there was no family history available. It appeared a carer had mistakenly advised that Carol had no contact with her three children and had not experienced any disorientation. In October 2023, an occupational therapist issued a blunt warning that Carols home was no longer suitable due to its uneven surfaces. The therapist noted there had been multiple incident reports detailing falls or near misses, with ongoing concerns regarding Carols safety within the home. A large blister appeared on Carols swollen leg after a fall in a Sydney group home operated by Beyond Care. On arrival, she discovered Carol sitting alone on the front verandah. Both support workers [were inside] on their phones, the therapists report said. The therapist recommended Carol receive full-time one-on-one supervision due to her disorientation and behaviours of concern, although it does not appear the recommendation was ever actioned. Such staffing ratios are determined by a persons level of funding from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), based on the recommendations of health professionals and other evidence. After the therapist issued a report, Kate took her complaints to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. She broached concerns, including that it often fell on her to ensure her mothers living conditions were safe and hygienic. The NDIS commission agreed Carol should be relocated due to the risk of a fall. A further six months elapsed before the Public Guardian moved Carol into another home, also run by Beyond Care. Kate said the NDIS commission closed her complaint after the transfer was agreed to, without addressing her other concerns about her mothers living conditions. She has made multiple fruitless requests that her mother be transferred to another provider. This lack of accountability is unacceptable and raises serious questions about the oversight and safety measures in place for vulnerable individuals, Kate said. The family say Carol has had a string of falls in recent months, including one which left her with a bloodied head. It makes me feel very sad and angry, Kate said. Ive been trying for a very long time to get my mum out of this position, but the public guardian has been in my way, stopping me. The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission is responsible for overseeing the quality of care in group homes and for investigating any breaches of the code of conduct. A fortnight after this masthead contacted the commission with questions about Carols care, the familys complaints were referred to its incidents team for further assessment and monitoring. Commissioner Louise Glanville said the agency acknowledged the seriousness of the matters raised regarding Beyond Care. We can confirm there is a history of complaints against this provider and the matters are being actively managed; however, we are unable to comment on specific details to ensure the privacy of participants and maintain procedural fairness and process integrity, she said. A spokeswoman for the NSW Trustee and Guardian was also unable to comment on individual client matters due to laws prohibiting the identification of a person under guardianship. However, speaking generally, the spokeswoman said the agency prioritised a person under guardianships welfare and interests when making decisions about their living arrangements. The NSW Public Guardian navigates often complex and competing needs when making a decision, she said. Loading Those included the views of the person under guardianship, their treatment of professionals and family or friends, risks related to medical conditions, any reports of critical incidents, and the suitability of proposed care arrangements to provide a safe environment. Where possible, a decision will be made that is in line with the represented persons wishes, she said. The spokeswoman said the agency received regular updates about people under guardianship from their accommodation, medical and allied health teams, including when there had been an incident related to challenging behaviour between residents. When incident reports are received by the Public Guardian that indicate injury, particularly unexplained injury, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure the persons ongoing safety, she said. The Public Guardian will consent to medical assessment and treatment where appropriate. She noted that providers were obligated to report any injury requiring medical treatment to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission for investigation. The Public Guardian closely monitored the provision of medical support for people under guardianship, the spokeswoman added. The ongoing provision of medical care, including for mental health, is determined by a represented persons treating clinicians, she said. Beyond Care did not respond to this mastheads detailed questions. Huge red flag Ella wishes to be safer, happier and to be free. But her bids to leave her home run by Beyond Care have been blocked by the Public Guardian. Ella has been pleading to change providers or move back home with her family after a run-in with a Beyond Care worker who she alleges swore at her for taking a paper sign down from her door. On another occasion, she ventured into the bowels of her building to investigate the source of a sickening stench. She discovered mounds of fly-blown, rotting garbage had been left strewn across the parking lot. Ella said the decaying trash pile was left there for up to two months before it was cleaned after a flurry of complaints. A quality expert agreed to review photographs and videos of conditions in Beyond Cares homes for this masthead, on the condition of anonymity because he is not directly connected to the matter. He said it would be a huge red flag if the bruises suffered by Carol and Ella had not been reported to the NDIS commission, which must be notified of any non-accidental physical acts intended to cause hurt or harm, along with any instance of extensive bruising. Loading The expert said the other images were a clear cause for concern, but noted it was important to recognise NDIS providers were not expected to provide a hotel or hospital-like service but to assist residents attend to their own needs. If Carol had been left for days in a wet bed, and the staff had not actively engaged with her about changing sheets, this is neglect and both the provider and workers would be in breach of the NDIS Code of Conduct, he said. Carol has said she does not want to transfer disability providers, but Kate believes her mother fears change and does not understand she might enjoy better living conditions elsewhere. Kates views have no legal weight, which is always a dilemma for the loved one, the expert said. The spokeswoman for the Public Guardian said it visited people under guardianship in their homes, including making unannounced visits when there were concerns about their living conditions. Guardians also seek the view of others who visit the person at regular intervals to provide medical or allied health support, she said. When the Public Guardian is made aware of information to suggest that there are quality issues with a persons living arrangements, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure the persons ongoing wellbeing. She noted that monitoring standards of care and the regulation of NDIS providers was not the role of the Public Guardian but a matter for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Ticking boxes The commission was singled out for criticism by the royal commission, which found its oversight of NDIS providers was inadequate. It comes as the commission has been inundated with more than 29,000 complaints last financial year, a 78 per cent increase on the previous year, with the majority regarding provider practice, worker conduct and allegations of neglect or abuse. Glanville told this masthead the agency had historically been understaffed since its inception in 2019, resulting in unacceptable delays in acting on complaints. Following recent allocation of additional funding to improve systems and processes and increase staff numbers, we are acting in a more timely manner to address serious matters, Glanville said. The additional funding received also enabled the NDIS commission to establish a Housing and Living team to focus on matters such as those identified. The NDIS commission continues to receive record numbers of complaints and we prioritise those complaints where participants are most at risk. Glanville said supported accommodation, including group homes, was a key focus for the commission, as evidenced by its Own Motion Inquiry completed in 2023, and the resulting action plan. As part of the plan, NDIS commission team members conducted a series of announced and unannounced site visits to supported accommodation settings throughout 2023 and 2024 to monitor the safety and quality of services. But Bennett said only a small number of providers were inspected as part of the action plan and such changes needed to become business as usual. I would like a mandatory inspection regime, including unannounced inspections, introduced for all shared accommodation services, he said. He also warned the problems with group homes were too pervasive to be resolved by a commission that was largely in a reactive position in terms of responding to large volumes of complaints. With its current resources and powers, its hard to see that it could actively work to stamp these issues out, Bennett said. Jen Hargrave, a University of Melbourne researcher and long-time advocate for disability rights, said some people she spoke to in the disability community had never heard of the safeguards commission. Loading That low level of awareness speaks to the limitations of having a safeguarding body in an office with people at desks, without outreach and face-to-face contact and earning the trust of people in these isolated settings, she said. Hargrave added that in the past, the commission had been slow to act on complaints until they hit the media. When we have seen action, its been after extraordinary lengths have been gone to, she said. However, she welcomed Glanvilles appointment to helm the agency in August. There is strong hope among those watching the commission that their recent significant changes in leadership can make positive change, she said. The new leadership will need support. It is hard to shift such entrenched structures which dont resource on-the-ground work. *Names have been changed for legal reasons. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter. The Brazilian woman who has accused WiseTech Globals billionaire executive chairman Richard White of providing her with a visa and financial support in return for sex has been assisted by lawyers at Anti-Slavery Australia as she secures a special arrangement needed to fight her case. The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review reported last month that Caroline Heidemann had alleged in the Federal Court that White, whom she had worked for, made it clear that financial assistance was contingent upon her engaging in a personal and sexual relationship with him. Richard White denies Caroline Heidemanns allegations and says the pair had a consensual personal relationship. Credit: She alleged that White created a situation of economic dependency and engaged in unlawful conduct for sexual gratification. White denies the claims and said he intends to vigorously defend all allegations. Heidemann is represented by KMD Law & Advisory in her Federal Court claim against the businessman, who founded the logistics software company and grew it into a $30 billion giant. But the firm said it did not provide immigration services. Heidemann was being represented by Anti-Slavery Australia in respect of her visa application. But internal police briefings sighted by this masthead and circulated among Australian law enforcement agencies describe in detail how the criminals now causing chaos on the streets began entrenching their operations across the nation years ago including shifting offshore and recruiting federal government licensed customs brokers to penetrate the border with impunity. One of the longest-standing illicit tobacco gangs, the Haddara syndicate, is described in police intelligence from 2022 as among the largest tobacco importers and distributors of illicit tobacco operating extensively in Victoria with strong links to NSW and has also expanded to operating overseas. Victorias tobacco stores have been the targets of a firebombing campaign over the past two years. Credit: Nine News The syndicate has been running for several years, as evidenced by the December 2014 seizure of $30 million worth of illicit cigarettes through to the interception of $40 million worth of illicit cigarettes in February 2022, one widely circulated intelligence briefing states. The briefing also warns the Haddara syndicate are [suspected of involvement] in drug trafficking, firearm offending, extortions, arsons, crimes of violence, significant money laundering, frauds, commercial burglaries, and thefts. A separate intelligence file, described to this masthead by confidential sources, details how the ABFs Project BluePeter had over the past decade mapped significant organised crime entities, including the Haddara crew and a major NSW Middle Eastern illicit tobacco syndicate, in partnership with criminally linked customs brokers and freight forwarders involved in a disproportionally high number of illicit tobacco detections. Project BluePeter described key illicit tobacco targets as a border threat of national significance that could only be disrupted via a co-ordinated taskforce approach deploying specialist investigative and intelligence tools. Kazem Kaz Hamad and Fadi Haddara have been locked in a turf war that has led to dozens of firebombings. Credit: The Age Confidential sources have also confirmed how, in December 2022, a key player in the tobacco wars, offshore crime boss Ahmed Al-Hamza, was secretly designated by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission as an Australian Priority Organisation Target. The designation means he is regarded by state and federal agencies as one of just a dozen criminals deemed to pose a grave risk to Australian security. In a circular shared among state police forces, Al Hamza is described as a business partner of tobacco kingpin Kazem Kaz Hamad, with the pair overseeing a network of associates in Australia. Hamad is allegedly involved in drug importations, drug distribution, murders, public shootings and money-laundering activity. Professional facilitators and trusted insiders are an integral part of these activities, the briefing note warns. Victoria Police Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly warned that of the 1300 tobacco shops in Victoria police suspect the vast majority are selling illicit tobacco. He also revealed the trades kingpins are using an online gig economy of arsonists to burn down tobacco stores that dont accede to their demands. One of the trends in recent times is this Airtasking by organised crime, Kelly said. People are picking up those tasks and committing crimes for as little as $500 or $1000. Kelly said an escalated police taskforce response had led to dozens of recent arrests. Loading Some of the people that weve apprehended [are] as young as 14 years of age. Across the country, Victorian police are at the forefront of a multi-agency attack on an illicit industry that has been relatively impervious to law enforcement and regulatory attention. State police sources confirmed the federal police are now leading the global hunt for Al-Hamza and Hamad, with the Victoria Police taskforce also welcoming the recent appointment of a new federal illicit tobacco and e-cigarette commissioner. But confidential state law enforcement sources raise concerns that senior police and state and federal politicians in NSW, Victoria and Queensland wasted years failing to act on mounting intelligence about the illicit trade. Privately, police sources in NSW and Queensland say their forces are still failing to respond adequately to the problem, a development that is providing Victorian and offshore kingpins easy markets to sell their illicit wares. We have a taskforce but we dont have the resources to act on the illicit trade. If we took it seriously, we would need to move resources from our drug squad, which would create its own problems, a Queensland senior detective said. Efforts by Victoria Police have also been hampered by delays launching an effective state tobacco licensing regime, which remains months away from becoming operational. Theres a number of factors that have fuelled the current environment, Kelly said. The absence of a licensing scheme here in Victoria is certainly one of those. The absence of an effective enforcement regime [is another]. Federal and state police in all jurisdictions blame the high federal government excise on lawful tobacco products as a key contributing factor to the tobacco wars driving smokers to a black market that operates in plain sight from thousands of tobacco and convenience stores around the country. Serious and organised crime had leveraged off the significant price gap between the illicit and legitimate product, Kelly explained. A black market packet sells for as little as $9 compared to $40 for a legitimate brand. Pike, who now advises the retail sector, also criticised the federal Health Department for failing to respond to concern the increase in tobacco excise would be a boon for organised crime. The federal Health Departments ideological zealotry in relation to illicit tobacco has caused the problem and continues to fuel it, he said. The Health Department said the increase in excise was designed to encourage smokers to quit and the government had taken decisive action to end the trade of illicit tobacco with $188.5 million to the Australian Border Force. Record levels of illicit tobacco are being targeted and seized at our borders and prosecutions are taking place, the department said. While federal agencies have ramped up their focus on the tobacco kingpins, sources said the illicit tobacco trade had previously taken a back seat to drug operations because it was seen as an Australian Border Force problem causing relatively minimal community harm, and the penalties for drug trafficking were far greater than that linked to tobacco offending. Kelly confirmed the relatively minimal penalties for illicit tobacco activity, while gradually changing, werent where they needed to be. Loading The crooks also knew that, police sources said, describing how crime syndicates realised that they could profit handsomely from tobacco without the risks that drug trafficking attracts. Kelly said a major national co-ordinated response by policing agencies was critical in halting the expanding black market and accompanying violence. IAG stock has soared in the past year. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images Shares of British Airways' owner IAG climbed as much as 5% after surpassing profit expectations. Adjusted operating profit rose 27% to 4.4 billion euros last year, beating analyst forecasts. The airline conglomerate announced a 1 billion euro share buyback. Shares of British Airways' parent company IAG gained altitude Friday after full-year results beat analyst expectations amid strong demand for air travel. Adjusted operating profit jumped 27% to 4.4 billion euros ($4.6 billion) in 2024, surpassing the 3.7 billion euros forecast by analysts. The airline group, which owns Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling, and Irish airline Aer Lingus, said revenue rose 9% to 32.1 billion euros, also exceeding expectations. London-listed IAG rose as much as 5%, putting the stock up about 17% since the start of the year and more than 130% higher over the past 12 months. That's better than the 105% rise for United Airlines stock over the same period. Delta Air Lines stock has gained 42% over the past year, while American Airlines stock is down about 6% and Southwest Airlines stock has fallen about 10%. IAG announced it would buy back shares worth 1 billion euros over the next 12 months. "The announcement of a further 1 billion euro share buyback program reflects confidence from a company which is currently flying high," said Richard Hunter, the head of markets at Interactive Investor. "Significant cash generation has helped IAG in dealing with arguably the biggest thorn in its side, namely net debt, which represents an overhang from the days of the pandemic when the group was forced to ratchet up borrowings to survive." CEO Luis Gallego said in a statement: "These results highlight the quality of our businesses and effectiveness of our strategy, underpinned by the successful execution of our transformation program across the group. We are delivering world-class margins and returns, in line with the targets we set out to the market just over a year ago." IAG said demand for air travel remained strong in 2025: "Leisure travel remains robust as a major priority for households and in recent years we have seen this boosted by a shift as customers value experiences over material purchases." While corporate travel increased last year, the company did not expect it to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, especially for short-haul trips. British Airways remains the market leader to North America from London. It will be the only airline offering a first class cabin from the British capital across the Atlantic by the end of the year, IAG said. Read the original article on Business Insider Residents in northern NSW are being urged to prepare as the state braces for its first tropical cyclone in more than three decades, with 100km/h winds and 300 millimetres of rain forecast to hit the region. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall anywhere between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast late Thursday or early Friday as a category 2 system, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. A cyclone watch is in place for the region stretching from the Sunshine Coast to Grafton in northern NSW. As of Monday afternoon the cyclone was about 450 kilometres north-east of Brisbane and moving south-east about 20 km/h. It is expected to travel in that direction until Tuesday, when it will swing west, bringing heavy rains to northern NSW. Crown Casino has bypassed regulatory scrutiny by banning thousands of patrons from its Melbourne venue using a contentious method, despite explicit warnings from the gambling watchdog. Over the past decade, Crown management has increasingly relied on a practice known as a withdrawal of licence known in the sector as WOLs to prevent patrons from entering the gaming complex, including hotel and retail areas. Crown casino had issued more than 3000 withdrawal-of-licence notices to patrons in 2022. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui Sources at Crown, speaking anonymously because of concerns for their employment, said management also had the option of serving members of the public with exclusion orders under the Casino Control Act. An exclusion order can only be made against a person found to have misbehaved in the venues gaming areas, but must be referred to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has linked Ukraines war against Russia directly to upholding the rule of international law and Australias national interest while leaving the door open to providing more financial and military support to the war-torn nation. Amid the global fallout from the extraordinary heated argument in the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump, Albanese described Zelensky as a hero leading a brave and courageous nation. Anthony Albanese campaigning in western Sydney on Sunday. He has described Volodymyr Zelensky as a hero. Credit: Steven Siewert The Oval Office argument turned into a lecture as Trump and his Vice-President J.D Vance berated Zelensky, who Trump accused of gambling with World War Three and of not wanting an end to the conflict that has killed at least 43,000 Ukrainians and an estimated 100,000 Russian soldiers. Albanese, campaigning in western Sydney on Sunday, said the survival of Ukraine from Russias aggression was important both to the entire international order and to Australia. Record numbers of people are entering the NSW prison system due to changes to bail laws that make it harder for alleged domestic violence offenders and children to be released, placing a significant strain on the states corrective services. Premier Chris Minns announced on Sunday that one of the states largest jails, Parklea, would return to public hands after the contract with its private operator, MTC Australia, previously Broadspectrum, expired next year. Parklea jail will return to public hands amid increasing pressure on the states prison system. Credit: Nick Moir Revealed in 2023, the move to end controversial private ownership of the prison comes after the government brought Junee Prison back into public hands. The change, which the government says will save the state money, comes at a moment of significant pressure on the prison system. After renting for years in Sydneys eastern suburbs, Alexander Kashin and his wife, Eva Kashina, were able to buy their first home in 2023 in the inner west. Priced out of Bondi, they secured the keys to a very basic two-bedroom Marrickville unit at 11/5 View Street, for $700,000 at auction. Alexander Kashin and Eva Kashina in their renovated Marrickville apartment. Credit: Janie Barrett Because of the condition, I guess, many people werent in love with it, but for us, it was perfect, Alex said. The first-time home owners then embarked on an exacting renovation that transformed the modest unit into a functional piece of art, with a high level of craftsmanship and bespoke furniture and cabinetry and theyve now put it back up for sale. Robert Connolly, director, producer and writer Robert Connolly on the set of Force Of Nature. Robert Connollys multi-award-winning movies include The Boys (1998), The Bank (2002), Romulus, My Father (2007), Balibo (2009), Paper Planes (2014), The Dry (2021), Blueback (2022), Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024). His latest work is the childrens film Magic Beach (2024), a mix of live action and animation. The loved location Bremer Bay, Western Australia, for the feature film Blueback. I was the director and writer, and its based on Tim Wintons Blueback: a Fable for All Ages, a beautiful novella and love letter to the ocean, Connolly says. He says Its stunning. It had the beauty and idyllic landscape we needed for the film, and the occasional muscular visceral moments too. I love its mix of gentle and idyllic little bays with tough surfing beaches and big swells. Theres so much to do and explore: a swim at Little Boat Harbour Beach every day; a boat trip out looking for whales and to see the orcas in the Bremer Canyon; seeking out local knowledge and directions for the secret Champagne Rocks; coffee and cake at the Telegraph Cafe; the Wellstead Museum and Cafe for historic info on the town and area; a beer at the pub with the locals. The Bremer River close to the river mouth at Bremer Bay, Western Australia. Credit: Getty Images We say On the south coast of Western Australia, between Albany and Esperance, and 515 kilometres south-east of Perth, Bremer Bay is a real western gem, with the little coastal town normally home to a population of about 230 which has been known to reach almost 6500 in holiday periods. And theres good reason: fabulous beaches, wildlife, wildflowers and (apart from the sharks and orcas) great diving and snorkelling. Lights, camera...visit There are regular flights to Perth from all of Australias capital cities, and from there its a five-and-half-hour drive. There are also Orca Air flights for day visits or Orca Bus trips from Perth. The best time to visit is between December and April when the weather is at its finest. See bremerbaykillerwhales.com; australiassouthwest.com John Collee, screenwriter John Collees Oscar-nominated films are Master and Commander, Happy Feet which won Best Animation in 2006 and Tanna, nominated for Best Foreign Language Feature in 2017. His other works include movies Hotel Mumbai, Lee and his acclaimed TV adaptation, Boy Swallows Universe. John Collees Tanna, in Vanuatu, is an improvised love story. The loved location Collees choice is Tanna, an island in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Collee was at the Cannes Film Festival when he was told that Australian filmmakers Martin Butler and Bentley Dean were planning to make a film in Tanna and needed a screenplay. He went along and met the tribal group there whod been given a special dispensation to continue to live in their traditional way, growing taro root, fishing and collecting honey. He collaborated with the locals who didnt speak English to come up with a story about forbidden love, a la Romeo and Juliet, and an improvised script. The final film, Tanna, was nominated for an Oscar. He says Tanna is a really lovely and idyllic island, Collee says. And the people are so warm and open-hearted and welcoming. Its just a fabulous place, really magical. Being there felt like a really transformative experience. Theres a live volcano, Mount Yasur, there too worth the trip there for that alone. There are also some fabulous tropical lagoons. Filming on Tanna Island, Vanuatu. We say Tanna is a beautiful island, with a black sand beach, blue waters, waterfalls, great snorkelling, lush forest, underground caves for swimming, a lake and that active, constantly smoking volcano. Its always recommended to take a guide on a hike to the top. The islands also fascinating for its Melanesian dancing, festivals and its history of cargo cults, like that of the late Prince Philip, and cannibalism. Local women and children, Tanna. Credit: Getty Images Lights, camera...visit Tanna is a 45-minute flight from the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila, and theres a choice of four resorts on the island. Summer can be hot, wet and humid, and cyclones can hit, like Cyclone Pam in 2015, so its best to visit between June and October. Most resorts have resumed operation after the December 2024 earthquake, but check for updates. See vanuatu.travel/au Rachel Ward, actor, director, writer Rachel Ward in her documentary Rachels Farm. Rachel Ward is best known as a multi-Golden Globe-nominated actor for Sharkys Machine (1981), Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid (1982), The Thorn Birds (1983), Against All Odds (1984), The Umbrella Woman (1987) and On The Beach (2000). As a director, she won the Australian Film Institute Award for her short film The Big House, and made Beautiful Kate in 2009, Palm Beach in 2019 and her documentary Rachels Farm in 2023 about her regeneration of farmland. The loved location The Nambucca Valley in the Mid North Coast of NSW. Ward first visited for The Umbrella Woman, made in the regions heritage town of Bowraville. The film was set in the 1940s and we could still shoot 350 degrees without any contemporary blights on the screen, Ward says. The surrounding landscape in the Nambucca Valley is so astonishingly beautiful that we bought a farming property there 40 years ago and are still there; it was the subject of Rachels Farm. Bowraville, NSW location for The Umbrella Woman. Credit: Getty Images She says The area has several arms that meander back into The Great Dividing Range and is made up of narrow green valleys with clear gravel streams filled with wading cattle and saucy birds, Ward says. Theres one bird that sounds like a wolf-whistle. I first heard it when I was putting out the washing and was convinced there was someone spying on me. Then theres Scotts Head, a so-far unspoilt beach with an old-fashioned caravan park and some excellent coffee shops. You can buy local regenerative steaks for your barbie at the Galeria in the very quaint riverside town of Macksville and nearby Bellingen is another beauty. All in all, its an undeveloped gem of an area; a classic Aussie summer holiday location still retaining old-fashioned charm. We say The area, half-way between Sydney and Brisbane, is indeed a great holiday destination with hikes through stunning forests, gorgeous natural beauty, birdwatching, dolphin watching, surfing, the Nambucca River, history walks and a buzzy arts scene. The scenic Nambucca River, Nambucca Heads. Lights, camera...visit There are direct flights to Coffs Harbour from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, or theres a train from Sydney, or take a five-and-half-hour drive. For a taste of the region, you can have Rachels Farm regenerated beef delivered. See levenvalefarm.com.au and nambuccavalley.com.au Bonnie Elliott, cinematographer Bonnie Elliott on location in Cambodia. Bonnie Elliotts credits include My Tehran For Sale (2009); These Final Hours (2014), selected for the Cannes Film Festival; The Last Reel (2014); Undertow (2018); Slam (2018); Palm Beach (2019); H Is For Happiness (2019), and Run Rabbit Run (2023). Shes also worked on many TV series, including the recent Unbreakable: The Jelena Dokic Story, documentaries and video art projects. Shes the first female cinematographer to win the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) award for best cinematography. The loved location Cambodia for The Last Reel, which won an award at the Tokyo Film Festival. It was a very low-budget film but the director, Kulikar Sotho, wanted to tell the story of her country with the ghosts of the Khmer Rouge, Elliott says. We filmed in Battambang where there was an old cinema, full of dust and cobwebs. [There] an incomplete film is discovered, starring the main characters actor mother. We then also shot in Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat. She says Battambang is a beautiful town, and its full of lovely, preserved historical buildings and is charming. But [Phnom Penh] the capital is fascinating, too, full of scooters, and Angkor Watt is just an amazing sight. Most of our crew was Cambodian so it was an interesting way of learning about the beautiful culture, too. Phnom Penh traffic outside Wat Ounalom. Credit: Getty Images We say Battambang is Cambodias third-largest city, and has a great art, culture and food scene. It also has fabulous temples, lovely colonial buildings and bat caves, with an estimated 1.5 million bats flying out each day. Lights, camera...visit Several airlines fly to Phnom Penh. From there its a six-hour and 20-minute train ride to the north-west to Battambang, a bus ride of five to six hours, or there are sightseeing transfers, with stops to see the floating villages of the Tonle Sap River. There are regular buses for the three-hour trip from Battambang to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. The dry season from November to May is a good time to visit. See tourismcambodia.com; getyourguide.com Kate Woods, director Kate Woods... love of the outback. Kate Woods directed Looking For Alibrandi (2000), and TV dramas such as Persons of Interest, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Umbrella Academy, Messiah, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Good Lord Bird. Her most recent film is Kangaroo (out September 2025), inspired by the real-life founder of a kangaroo sanctuary in Central Australia. The loved location The Australian outback. When I was just starting out, I travelled with a small Japanese film crew in central Australia making a TV drama, Woods says. It made me feel different being there, and Ive wanted to revisit ever since. Kangaroo gave me that opportunity. We filmed around Alice Springs, Mparntwe, in Central Australia. She says It wasnt just the breathtaking beauty of the landscape; it was the sky that held me in awe. I have never seen such vivid colour. During the day it was like being under a huge, perfectly made vibrant blue bowl, and at either end of the day the colours changed by the minute and seemed to be different every day. There is nothing like being in the desert. It makes you feel part of something, and you cant help but engage with it on a deeper level. It has been home to Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years who thrived within it without changing it. And theres the Kangaroo Sanctuary just outside Alice Springs, taking care of orphaned joeys. A unique experience. Striking skies of the outback. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto We say The Red Centre is one of Australias true treasures, with Uluru and Alice Springs at its heart. The scenery is breathtaking and theres the Larapinta Trail for those who want to actively explore, while theres a range of accommodation around Uluru and Alice, with walks, Indigenous experiences and cultural activities galore. Film-star kangaroos on location. Lights, camera...visit There are regular flights to Alice Springs via Qantas and Virgin Australia, and flights to Uluru with Jetstar and Virgin Australia. Accommodation options range from budget-minded camping to the five-star luxury Longitude 131, near Uluru. The coolest months for a visit are March to May, and September to November. See voyages.com.au; northernterritory.com Tom Zubrycki, documentary maker Tom Zubrycki... I like the cultural life of Hanoi. Tom Zubrycki has made many films over his 45-year, much-awarded career, including Bran Nue Dae (1991), Homelands (1993), Hope Road (2017), The Diplomat (2000), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), The Hungry Tide (2011), Senses of Cinema (2022), Vietnam Symphony (2024), and Aquarius (2024). The loved location Hanoi in Vietnam, for Vietnam Symphony, the story of the students from the National Conservatory of Music who fled the city because of the Vietnam War and built an entire music campus underground in the country instead. I spent a lot of time around the conservatory [now the National Academy] and filmed a concert at the Opera House which was very special, Zubrycki says. He says I like the cultural life of Hanoi and I loved going for a stroll and a coffee around the beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake very early in the morning where there was so much going on: joggers; people doing tai chi; families playing. Its all so vibrant. Each street in the old quarter had its own craft speciality, and the food was amazing, and there were some great jazz clubs in Hanoi too, with so many fabulous museums and Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum. Train street in Hanois old quarter. Credit: iStock We say Hanoi is one of the worlds most fascinating capitals, a dramatic contrast between ancient and modern. Founded in ancient times, with many sites still remaining from the ninth century, the Old Quarter has flourished since the 15th century, and yet modernity exists comfortably alongside it all. Hanois Beer Street in the Old Quarter, also Ta Hien Street. Credit: Getty Images Lights, camera...visit Many airlines fly from Australia to Hanoi. The best time to visit is during autumn or spring September to November or February to April. See vietnam.travel Tony Ayres, producer, director and writer Tony Ayres directing debut, Walking on Water (2002), won five AFI Awards with The Home Song Stories (2007) winning eight awards after premiering in Berlin. Cut Snake (2014) was launched at the Toronto International Film Festival. His TV credits include The Slap; Underground: The Julian Assange Story; The Straits; Saved; Clickbait and Fires. Hes just finished The Survivors, based on Jane Harpers novel. Tony Ayres... drawn to Tasmanias brutal landscapes. The loved location Tasmania. For The Survivors, where I was a writer and also the show runner (aka the creative boss), I spent a fair bit of time in Tasmania where both the book and the show are set, Ayres says. We shot a substantial number of scenes at Eaglehawk Neck, an east-coast region known for its cinematic and brutal landscapes. He says This part of Tasmania is legendary for the visual drama of its coastal cliffs, and the seismic power of the ocean as it batters against ancient rock formations. I felt in awe of the majesty and scale of the natural world, and humbled by the inescapable recognition of my tiny place in it. As a setting for a murder mystery, it was utterly appropriate both pretty and welcoming, but with a palpable feeling of the gothic lurking just below the surface. I hope to go back for a holiday in the near future. Its proximity to Hobart makes it accessible, and theres a charming resort near Port Arthur. We say That juxtaposition of beauty and beastliness does indeed make this area a fascinating place to visit. The narrow isthmus connecting the Tasman Peninsula to the Forestier Peninsula is spectacular but theres also a sculpture reminding us of the pack of dogs that stopped convicts escaping. Red rocks, Bay of Fires, Tasmania. Credit: Getty Images Lights, camera...visit Eaglehawk Neck is just a one-hour drive south-east of Hobart, and only 25 minutes to the convict penal ruins Port Arthur, another must-visit location in the area. So take your own car on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry or fly to Hobart with Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Australia, and rent a car. December to February are the warmest months. See discovertasmania.com.au; spiritoftasmania.com.au No way back: my one less-loved film location Mountain climber Simon Yates in Touching the Void. John Collee I wrote the film Touching the Void (2003), about the near-fatal descent off a mountain in the Peruvian Andes. To find out how climbing on vertical ice faces felt, I went to the Torridon mountains in the north-west highlands of Scotland. It was great for entering the mindset of what it would be like to be beyond exhausted, but it was terrifying. Rachel Ward Filming is always such a fun experience that every location you shoot in becomes imbued with magic. But maybe one I wasnt so keen on was Calgary, Canada, where I shot a western. It was so cold, the dialogue froze in my mouth. He said that progress had been made in building a coalition that would commit military assets, including troops on the ground, if Europe were to build a force to deter Russian aggression in Ukraine. Starmer pushed for a greater contribution from European allies to continent-wide security and announced a new 1.6 billion ($3.42 billion) deal that would allow Ukraine to purchase 5000 air-defence missiles using export finance. Macron later suggested that European countries should raise their defence spending to between 3 and 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product to respond to Trumps demands. World leaders at the Securing our Future summit at Lancaster House in London. Credit: AP There will be no European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks, Macron told Le Figaro. The question is how we use this time to try to obtain an accessible truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a deployment. We want peace. We dont want it at any price, without guarantees. Zelensky, who also met King Charles for almost an hour on Sunday, has been sceptical of Europes ability to act alone to defend Ukraine. Again wearing a military-style black sweatshirt adorned with the Ukrainian trident, which attracted scorn from his US critics in the Oval Office on Friday, Zelensky and the King were served tea in Sandringhams Saloon room, at the royal residence in Norfolk. King Charles III hosts Zelensky at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. Credit: Getty Images Locals, some holding Ukraine flags, gathered outside the estate to witness Zelenskys entrance by helicopter. The BBC reported Zelensky requested the meeting and it was approved by the UK government, in line with protocol. The Ukrainian president has consistently said the US would be needed to deter the Kremlin from attacking his country again if there were a ceasefire deal. The US has sent nearly $US70 billion ($112 billion) in military aid dwarfing contributions from any of Kyivs other allies since the start of the war. But European nations have steadily stepped up their support, with the European Union, Britain and Norway combined giving Ukraine about $US25 billion in military aid last year more than the US. Loading Starmer said a number of European countries had indicated at the summit they would be willing to join a coalition of the willing to support Ukraine, but it would be up to them to outline their contributions in the future. He said the key to any deal would be to keep military aid flowing into Ukraine and, while the war was ongoing, increase economic pressure on Russia and ensure Ukraine was at the table for any peace talks. Starmer was cautious not to call out Trumps berating of Zelensky but said, nobody wants to see that. He added that Zelensky was rightly concerned that any proposed peace deal has to hold. I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally. There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries, he said, adding that he wanted to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine, based on its military being fortified, a European peace-keeping force on the ground and US security guarantees to deter Russia from trying to invade again. Macron, however, said he was sceptical about a ceasefire deal signed between the US and Russia, adding that it would leave Ukraine vulnerable. Starmer could not say Trump had agreed to US security guarantees for any peace deal, but said discussions were ongoing. Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The discussion also included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Trudeau, who will step down in coming weeks, said all countries had an important role to play, adding that Canada has been a steadfast supporter of Ukraine for more than a decade, particularly in training defence forces. Loading When asked about Canadas contribution to the so-called coalition of the willing, Trudeau reaffirmed Canadas commitment. Were going to continue to be there to support Ukraine as necessary with whatever it takes for as long as it takes, he said, highlighting that Ukraines fight is not only for its territories but for the very principles and values that sustain democracies worldwide. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Europe had to turn Ukraine into a steel porcupine that was indigestible to invaders. We all have understood that after a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time, she said. Loading We need in the geostrategic environment in which we live to prepare for the worst. Asked for his thoughts on the summit, Zelensky told the BBC he believed Ukraines best security guarantee is a strong Ukrainian army. He said it was important that European allies were not reconsidering Russias role as the aggressor, adding hed again raised the issue of using frozen Russian assets to help rebuild his country. PHILIPSBURG:--- Last Thursday, students of Group 4 at Leonald Conner Primary School received the storybook Ti Koko and Kush Kush, presented by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP). The St. Maarten Timeshare Association (SMTA) sponsored the classroom quantity of Ti Koko and Kush Kush, said HNP President Jacqueline Sample. Each student received a personal copy of the colorful storybook by Virgin Islands educator Dr. Patricia G. Turnbull, with extra copies to be placed in the schools library or media center, said Sample. HNP projects director Lasana M. Sekou spoke with the students about connecting the story to caring for St. Martins environment, such as protecting our island against flooding. Carmen Bowers of the HNP presentation committee, a senior educator herself, told the attentive youngsters, I want you to take good care of this book. Bowers presented the formal copy of the book to School Manager Alice Girigoria-Samuel in front of the class. Afterward, she and Group 4 teacher Shamiran Asas assisted in distributing books to the eager students, who asked questions such as, Who is the illustrator? and whether the hardcover books jacket flaps could be used as bookmarks. Earlier, in the principals office, HNP representatives met with Girigoria-Samuel and adjunct school manager Alia Mathew-Young. Both school officials described the book as beautiful and expressed confidence that it will be enjoyed by the students. They also thanked SMTA for its sponsorship and HNP for selecting Leonald Conner School. Ti Koko and Kush Kush explore friendship and environmental awareness as a young coconut tree, a wise yam, and their friends team up to save their beachside or bayside community from a mysterious destroyer called Brogudoosh! In thanking SMTA for partnering with HNP, Sample reiterated the importance of the publishers continued collaboration with like-minded companies and organizations that promote literacy and foster a love for reading among young children. Sample also noted that the St. Martin small press HNP is celebrating its 45th anniversary of uninterrupted book publishing in 2025. Ti Koko and Kush Kush by Patricia G. Turnbull is available at Arnias Bookstore (Zagersgut Rd/Bush Rd, St. Martin) and J & C Trading, Ltd. (Tortola, VI). (Reuters) - Bumble on Friday named Ronald Fior, currently a partner of financial consulting firm FLG Partners, as the interim finance chief of the dating app operator, effective March 15. Fior currently serves as a consultant to Bumble and will remain in that position following his transition to the CFO role, the company said. He takes the reins from Anu Subramanian, who is set to step down from the role next month. With over 30 years of CFO experience, Fior joins Bumble at a time when the company is struggling to improve its sluggish revenue growth amid a drop in paying users. The company last month announced the return of its founder Whitney Wolfe Herd as CEO in March. Bumble has also undergone a series of executive shake-ups, with the departure of its marketing head in January and the appointment of a new chief business officer. Fior has served in interim finance chief roles at e-commerce firm Perch, cybersecurity company Absolute Software and resale solutions firm Trove Recommerce in the past five years. He has held CFO positions at companies including Quotient Technology, Callidus Software and Ingenuity Systems. Bumble earlier this month projected quarterly revenue below analysts' estimates and warned there would be a temporary decline in paying users by 100,000 to 120,000 in the near term, as it revamps its application with new features. (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) US to deploy nearly 3,000 additional troops to southern border Washington, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2025 The United States will deploy nearly 3,000 additional troops to its border with Mexico, bringing the total number of active-duty personnel there to around 9,000, the US military said Saturday. Border security is a key priority for President Donald Trump, who declared a national emergency at the US frontier with Mexico on his first day in office. "Approximately 2,400 soldiers from elements of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 4th Infantry Division" will be sent to the border, along with "approximately 500 soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade," US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) said in a statement. The Stryker unit "will not conduct or be involved in interdiction or deportation operations," it said, but rather will assist in detection and monitoring, administrative duties and transportation and engineering support, among other tasks. Troops from the aviation unit will meanwhile "assist in the movement of personnel, equipment, and supplies; and provide aerial medical evacuation capabilities," NORTHCOM said. "These deployments will bring additional agility and capability to further efforts to stop the flow of illegal migrancy and drugs at the southern border," its commander, General Gregory Guillot said. - Trump says 'invasion' is over - The Trump administration has launched what it cast as a major effort to combat illegal migration that has included immigration raids, arrests and deportations. Trump on Saturday hailed his administration's border security efforts, posting on his Truth Social platform that "the Invasion of our Country is OVER." "Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation," the president wrote. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth visited the southern frontier at the beginning of last month, vowing that "we are going to get control of this border." He warned drug cartels that "all options are on the table," after Trump signed an executive order in January that said they "constitute a national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime." Hegseth also said that "any assets necessary" from the Defense Department will be used to support "the expulsion and detention of those in our country illegally," including the US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Trump unveiled a surprise plan last month to hold up to 30,000 migrants at the base -- a facility notorious for abuses against terror suspects detained after the September 11, 2001 attacks -- and US forces have held dozens of people there in recent weeks, many of whom have since been deported. Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Reject Index Los Angeles, Chicago SONAR: OTRI.LAX, OTRI.CHI Truckload carriers are rejecting just over one in every 100 loads offered out of the Los Angeles area, while turning down three out of every 50 loads originating in the Chicago market. This marks a significant shift in carrier prioritization that began in the third quarter of last year. Why is this happening, and what does it mean as the industry heads into what many expect to be a much more volatile trucking environment in 2025? The Outbound Tender Reject Index (OTRI) measures the percentage of loads that carriers decline via electronic requests from their customers. In the Los Angeles market, the OTRI is near record lows, dropping below 2% for the first time since April 2023. This indicates that carriers are readily available and willing to cover loads for customers with existing long-term rate agreements. At this time last year, the Los Angeles OTRI stood at 2.62%. While this may seem insignificant to a casual observer, the trend runs counter to the broader U.S. truckload market particularly in major eastern markets like Chicago. The national OTRI at the end of February 2024 was 3.99%. It had risen to 5.38% as of Feb. 27, 2025. The difference between these two OTRI figures is not huge in terms of operational discomfort for transportation managers, but it is a large change when looking back at the past three years. Los Angeles rejection rates have been close to the national average for most of the past two years. The Los Angeles markets OTRI tends to average lower in January and February, but the past two months have seen a much stronger seasonal move than we have seen in the recent past. The Chicago market has trended in the opposite direction, averaging above the national value at the start of the year. Winter weather has been a significant factor this year, as it was in January 2024. Extremely low temperatures make truck operations more challenging, while snow and ice in areas lacking the infrastructure to handle them have contributed to tighter-than-average conditions across the Eastern half of the U.S. This year appears to be an exaggerated version of 2024. Carriers seem to be favoring the West Coast, but weather alone does not fully explain why they would leave their networks unbalanced for an extended period. Rates for outbound loads from Southern California have faced much more upward pressure over the past year, resulting in higher contract rates and consistently elevated spot rates. According to SONARs TRAC providers, spot rates from Los Angeles to Seattle are up 10% year over year, while contract rates have risen by approximately 2%. Spot rates to Chicago have been much more volatile but are currently more than 30% higher than they were at this time last year. Jihadist ambush kills 11 soldiers in north Niger Niamey, Niger, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2025 An attack claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists killed 11 soldiers in northern Niger near the Algerian border, local sources and media reported Saturday. According to Air Info news website, an army patrol was ambushed in the Ekade Malane area on Friday and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) claimed responsibility. It said the 11 soldiers were buried on Saturday in the presence of top officers including armed forces chief of staff General Moussa Salaou Barmou. State radio confirmed the attack and death toll but said the patrol was ambushed by "bandits". Niger forces stationed near Algeria face occasional attacks by armed assailants. These are usually not attributed to jihadists, who are more active in borderlands straddling Mali and Burkina Faso. Niger's vast desert north is however a notorious corridor for illicit traffickers and a transit point for thousands of Africans hoping to reach Europe. The Sahel country is governed by a military junta which seized power in July 2023 vowing to tackle Niger's security issues. Yet unrest persists: since the coup at least 2,400 people have been killed in attacks, according to the international conflict monitor ACLED. Together with junta-led allies Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is setting up a joint 5,000-strong force to tackle the region's unrest. Ugandan army deploys to town in northeast DR Congo Kampala, March 2 (AFP) Mar 02, 2025 The Ugandan army confirmed Sunday it has sent troops to another town in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo to fight local armed groups, amid fears a raging conflict could spiral into a wider war. "Our troops have entered Mahagi town and we are in control," Uganda's defence and military affairs spokesman Felix Kulayigye told AFP Sunday. The deployment was requested by the Congolese army following alleged massacres of civilians carried out by a militia known as the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Codeco), he said, without providing further details. Mahagi is in Ituri province, which borders Uganda, where at least 51 people were killed on February 10 by armed men affiliated with Codeco, according to humanitarian and local sources. Codeco claims it defends the interests of the Lendu community, mainly composed of farmers, against the Hema community, mainly herders. Uganda already has thousands of troops in other parts of Ituri under an agreement with the Congolese government. Last month, Uganda announced its troops had "taken control" of the provincial capital, Bunia. Ituri is just north of the provinces of North and South Kivu, which at the end of January fell under the control of the anti-government M23 armed group, which is backed by neighbouring Rwanda. Analysts fear that Uganda and Rwanda's growing presence in eastern DRC could lead to a repeat of the so-called Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998 to 2003, involving many African countries and resulting in millions of deaths from violence, disease and famine. Where to live Golden Visas: the four European countries where you can still get citizenship by buying property Four European countries still offering golden visas to property buyers The Ukrainian leader was also accused of not being thankful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his vice president JD Vance, after he attempted to question some of their claims. By Divya Rajagopal -Canada will extend a tax credit on mineral exploration for two additional years as part of the government's move to support investment in exploration projects, energy, and natural resources, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Sunday. The mineral exploration tax credit is a capital market tool that offers investors a 15% tax credit to invest in flow-through shares of smaller mining companies. It was set to expire on March 31. Wilkinson said the extension is to ensure that the mining sector has the tools to raise capital for exploration projects. The move is also an attempt by the government to provide companies with an alternative source of capital to China. Canada has maintained a tough stance against investments from Chinese state-owned enterprises in domestic mining companies. It has asked at least five companies to divest investments from Chinese state-owned enterprises in Canadian-listed companies. "There was some degree of anxiety on the part of the sector, especially the juniors (exploration companies), whether it's going to be renewed," Wilkinson said in an interview. The extension is expected to provide C$110 million ($76.05 million) to support mineral exploration investment, he added. The extension will be announced during the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto, one of the world's largest gatherings of mining companies and their financiers, which starts on Sunday. Miners are bracing for a possible trade war in North America unleashed by U.S. president Donald Trump, who is threatening to impose a 25% tariff on most Canadian goods. Miners are also watching for tougher controls on the export of critical minerals from China. Wilkinson said that Canada has pitched a mutually beneficial partnership to the U.S. by offering Washington a secure supply of critical minerals such as germanium and gallium. "There are specific types of critical minerals that Canada has that China has been providing in large quantities to the United States, that they have now banned the export (of) into the United States," he said. Wilkinson said his argument to U.S. officials has been that it is far better to talk about how the U.S. and Canada can help each other. Canada has prepared retaliatory measures in case Trump proceeds with tariffs on Canada and Mexico. While Canada might not impose an export tax on metals in the first round of its counter-tariff measures, it is considering one on commodities such as zinc, copper, and nickel in the future. A Polish citizen participating in the protest in the University Square in the Capital was spotted by the gendarmes with a belt around his waist that had a knife attached to one end. According to a statement sent, on Saturday, by the Gendarmerie of the Capital, a man with Polish citizenship was identified at the public meeting, who was under judicial control, having also been banned from participating in public meetings. The man is under judicial control, after he was caught by the gendarmes on February 10 at the protest in Piata Victoriei with a knife and destroyed a metal panel of the Gendarmerie, Agerpres informs.The protesters wave tricolor flags and display placards against Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and in favor of Calin Georgescu. They chant "Down with the Government", "Liberty" and blow from vuvuzelas The government will continue to cap the price for a good part of the electricity purchased by the Republic of Moldova from domestic producers in Romania, declared, on Saturday, in Chisinau, the interim president of Romania, Ilie Bolojan. He specified, during a press conference held together with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, that the Romanian authorities "continue to work on consolidating the interconnection with the Republic of Moldova in terms of electricity". "As you know, Romania is actively and continuously involved in supporting the energy security of the Republic of Moldova. The Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline, which we built together, is proving its usefulness these days. In addition, without the helping hand extended by the European Union, in the first instance we would have witnessed a dramatic turn. I assure you that the European Union and the partners Europeans of the Republic of Moldova will help to manage the current problems in the energy field. Romania contributes to these efforts, and the Government of Romania will continue to cap the price for a good part of the electricity purchased by the Republic of Moldova from the domestic producers in Romania. We are also working to strengthen the interconnection with the Republic of Moldova in terms of electricity," said Bolojan, Agerpres informs. Tony Messenger | Post-Dispatch Metro columnist Follow Tony Messenger | Post-Dispatch 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 ST. LOUIS When he writes about the Bible, Christian pastor and author Randy Frazee talks about two separate but deeply related narratives. There is the upper story, which is Gods overall plan for humanity. And there is the lower story: the daily tales of life among Gods people. I often think in those terms as I write about homelessness. The lower story can be uplifting, like when a woman named Kathy Acre met an unhoused man on a bus more than a decade ago. The chance meeting turned into a nonprofit that for years gave thousands of high-quality backpacks, filled with socks, gloves, flashlights and food, to people in need. The story can also be heart-breaking, like earlier this month when Jennifer Pendleton, a 36-year-old unhoused woman, died outside City Hall during a deep freeze. The upper story comes in when trying to prevent such deaths. More than 40 years ago, the death of an unhoused man resulted in the citys first homeless shelter, at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Soulard. In following decades, dozens of nonprofits have been created to serve the homeless population. There have sometimes been conflicts between those nonprofits and government bodies, as the community tries to find the funding and best strategies to save lives. On Wednesday, the upper story took a historic step forward. The board of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments moved toward adopting a plan to battle homelessness in the eight counties, on both sides of the Mississippi River, that make up metropolitan St. Louis. The meeting didnt draw a collection of television cameras and reporters, as a news conference organized by the Rev. Larry Rice at a homeless encampment would. But it was just as important, if not more so. The unanimous decision means the body, made up of elected officials from governments across the region, has agreed to take up the mantle of battling homelessness. Now comes the next part: fleshing out the details. The nonprofit House Everyone STL will take the lead in convening business, nonprofit and civic leaders to create the plan. This is the right next step, said Chris Stephen, the CEO of St. Patrick Center, one of the areas largest providers of services to the homeless. For years, nonprofit and government leaders in the city of St. Louis have complained that they bear the brunt of providing homeless services for the entire region. They have also battled over the flow of federal money. The region has seven continuums of care, which are organizations that receive money from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to battle homelessness. They havent historically worked well together across geographic boundaries, from Madison County in Illinois to Franklin County in Missouri. A homelessness summit held last year by East-West Gateway, at the behest of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, was an attempt to solve that problem. They just arent coordinated very well with each other, East West Gateways executive director, Jim Wild, told board members this week. House Everyone STL will work to bring together those continuums of care and develop a plan to get more people into housing quickly and reduce the possibility of winter deaths that haunt most big cities. The reality is homelessness is increasing in most if not all the counties in the St. Louis region, and government funding, which was already inadequate to fully address the challenge, is uncertain, House Everyone STL Executive Director Samantha Stangl told me in an email after the vote. There has never been a moment like this, and we are very well poised to capitalize on the momentum. Part of the nonprofits job, at the behest of St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, will be to study the federal funding streams that flow to various counties and offer suggestions about whether some areas are getting more than their fair share. Thats the age-old challenge of regionalism: In a metropolitan area with so many cities and counties, many of which often dont work well together, theres always a concern about robbing Peter to pay Paul. A key to the new effort will be to tap private funding, from groups such as Greater St. Louis, Inc., to bridge the gap when federal funding falls short. A year from now, Stangl hopes, there will be a big sign of progress: a pilot program to match people in need of housing with landlords in all eight counties. The program would be supported by a fund encouraging landlords to rent to people they might otherwise look past. If that happens, it will mean theres hope the lower story and the upper story of homelessness in the St. Louis area can merge and not remain so disconnected. JEFFERSON COUNTY The driver in a Valentine's Day crash that killed a 20-year-old woman has now been charged. Huggy Smiles Kindness, 36, from High Ridge, was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter this week. Authorities identified the driver of the other vehicle as Jaden Martinson, of Dittmer. According to court documents, Kindness was driving a 2021 ACURA ILX sedan when he ran a red light at about 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 at the intersection of Missouri Route 30 and Highway B before colliding with the right side of a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. Kindness told investigators that he "was flying" alongside "another fighter pilot," in an attempt to make it through a portal, and that he had been attempting to contact God. Police said Kindness was traveling at 113 miles per hour seconds before the crash. The speed limit at the intersection is 60 miles per hour. Kindness admitted to running the red light and acknowledged to police that he had a history of using mushrooms and acid. Investigators said Kindness tested positive for multiple drugs hours after the crash. He told officials his car had not hit anyone. Martinson was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead two days later, according to the highway patrol. The funeral service for Martinson, who was set to begin studying to become an EMT, was held Feb. 22. Kindness is in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for a bond hearing. (Reuters) - Grubhub CEO Howard Migdal said on Friday that the food delivery firm has decided to cut about 500 jobs, as it focuses on aligning its business with Wonder after the takeover was completed last month. Grubhub was bought last year by a food delivery startup Wonder, led by Walmart's former executive Marc Lore. As of 2024, Grubhub had more than 2,200 full-time employees. The layoffs represent more than 20% of the company's workforce. Earlier, Grubhub was owned by Europe's biggest meal delivery firm Just Eat Takeaway, which sold its U.S. unit for $650 million after two years of looking to offload the business. After grappling with slowing growth and high taxes, the Amsterdam-listed company sold Grubhub at a steep loss compared to the billions it paid a few years prior. Grubhub, last month, partnered with autonomous technology startup Avride to deploy its robots for deliveries on college campuses across the U.S. in an attempt to address labor shortages and reduce dependence on cars. (Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona) ST. LOUIS COUNTY Ferguson-Florissant school board members have apologized for not paying closer attention to district finances and claim they were misled by administrators, as they explore cuts to stem a multi-million-dollar shortfall. The district has already been under a spending and hiring freeze. But if they dont make cuts, officials say, the deficit could eventually balloon to nearly $11 million. As a 25-year mortgage banker, shame on me for not looking deeper at the numbers, Terry Tyson, the boards assistant secretary, said at a meeting last week. He and other board members advocated for aggressive cuts and acknowledged they missed red flags. The districts financial reserves have declined for at least the past six school years. Staff members say theyve spent their own money to buy supplies for students. Contracts are under scrutiny. Positions are being eliminated or moved. So far, Ferguson-Florissant plans to adjust 26 positions, mostly administrative or high-level building staff. The jobs will be eliminated, receive salary reductions or get repurposed into other roles. The goal is to save $1.2 million, but that will only make a dent in the deficit. The spending crackdown started last fall. In October, then-Superintendent Joseph Davis said his administration discovered budget imbalances due to staffing and cash flow concerns. In an interview at the time, Davis said the district wouldnt be too disrupted. Were going to be absolutely fine, he said. Davis has since been put on leave over sexual harassment allegations. And board members are pointing to what they describe as misinformation and poor budgeting. They assumed budgets were accurate and that administrators were spending money wisely. Over the years, weve been misinformed when weve been making decisions, Kevin Martin, the boards president, said at the meeting Wednesday. Weve been making decisions based on information received. I owe an apology to the community for not checking and finding out sooner, he added. Last summer, the board approved a budget that anticipated the district would have a $2 million surplus. After the school year began, officials discovered the district was actually operating at a $7.6 million deficit. Ferguson-Florissant leaders started to worry about a state takeover if the district hit Missouris threshold for financial distress. Board Vice President Donna Paulette-Thurman said she will be asking questions from now on and the district will be limited to essential positions only. Weve got a lot of difficult decisions to make, Paulette-Thurman said. Board member Sheila Powell-Walker wondered whether it would be possible to cut administrative salaries by 10% to 15%. Its not something anybody would want to do, but we are in trouble and I think we have to look at all options, she said. At one point, Tyson questioned the boards recent move to appoint two co-superintendents to replace Joseph. Joycelyn Pugh-Walker, the districts executive director of federal programs, and Brent Mitchell, the assistant superintendent of support services, have taken on Josephs duties. Why do we have two co-acting superintendents, therefore increasing both salaries? he asked. Borrow even deeper Every school district in the area has had to adjust to declines in funding after the pandemic. The areas overall decline in school-age children Ferguson-Florissant has lost 1,100 students since 2018 hasnt helped either. But Ferguson-Florissant has some unique dynamics. The districts numbers, for example, have been wrong. Theres been misinformation about contracts the board has approved, according to Martin. This school year, the district is expected to spend nearly $7 million more on salary and benefits than previously expected. Also, Ferguson-Florissant has 71 more salaried positions than it budgeted for this fiscal year. All are classified salary positions, or staffers in roles that dont require state certification. District leaders also say theres been a decline in business and commercial tax revenue, along with rising costs for employee healthcare and benefits. In addition, Ferguson-Florissant has relied on contract workers after many positions, from nurses to food service, couldnt be filled in-house. Staffing agencies provided labor at a substantial markup. The district borrowed about $7 million in December and will almost certainly need to borrow again for the next school year, Chief Financial Officer Lavon Singleton told the board on Wednesday. I believe were going to have to borrow even deeper, said Singleton, who replaced the former CFO, Cindy Reilmann, this school year. The need to cut comes as board members say they need to raise teacher pay or risk losing instructors and making class sizes unmanageably large. Of the 22 school districts in St. Louis County, Ferguson-Florissant has the seventh-lowest average teacher pay, at $66,300, state data shows. Faith in leadership In addition to the financial issues, the district is still dealing with the fallout of Davis troubles. He was placed on leave about two months ago after accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation. In one lawsuit, McCluer North Highs former principal, Frank Williams, accused Davis of demoting him after he refused a sexual advance by Davis. In a separate lawsuit, Cedric Gerald, former principal of McCluer High, alleged Davis denied the school resources after Gerald declined to divulge details of his sex life to the superintendent. Over the past few weeks, the teachers union has circulated a one-page memo detailing perceived shortfalls in Davis leadership. A bulleted list of 12 grievances included salaries have not increased to match the cost of living, class sizes have increased to be far above best practice and the elimination of stipends for additional certifications has shifted the financial burden on employees. Frequent turnover in building and district administrators has also created a culture of lack of leadership, the list continued. The turnover is in addition to new positions that have caused Ferguson-Florissant to be top heavy, teachers contend. Earlier this year, the union, Ferguson-Florissant National Education Association, sent a three-question survey about Davis to members of its bargaining unit. The union president, Dana Bell, said the survey found 91% of teachers did not believe Davis was effective in his role, and 89% said he did not foster a positive and collaborative school environment. Only 7% of teachers surveyed said they believed Davis could effectively lead Ferguson-Florissant. Our district stands at a crossroads, and now is the time for new leadership to guide us toward a stronger, brighter future, Bell told board members on Wednesday. President Donald Trump should no longer be called the Leader of the Free World. That title has been bestowed on every U.S. president since FDR laid the groundwork for what would become NATO at the end of WWII. NATO has since been the stalwart of keeping peace throughout the world, with the U.S. as its leading power. However, in a movement that has shaken the entire world, Trump this week directed his United Nations ambassador to vote against its democratic NATO allies, refusing to recognize Russia as the aggressor in its war against Ukraine. ("US refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war, splitting with European allies in UN votes," Feb. 25.) There is no doubt that three years ago Russia invaded democratic Ukraine with tanks, troops and missiles in a thoroughly unprovoked attack. Trump is ignoring the facts, calling the Ukraine leader a dictator and blaming Ukraine for Russias attack. He is blatantly creating an unwarranted bias against Ukraine so he can support Russia's Vladimir Putin, an authoritarian leader. Freedom for a democratic society, much like truth about past events, is no longer a concern for Trump. Siding with Putin makes Trump an open supporter of authoritarianism and no longer a representative fit for the title of "Leader of the Free World." Trumps motives are clear: He wants to make Russia a larger trade partner and exploit the weakness of the smaller Ukraine. Trump has clearly shown that his love of money Trumps all. It was a sad day for NATO, and a worse day for the U.S. Bryan Kasten Piedmont U.S. Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, arrives aboard the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, March 1, 2025. (Isaiah Goessl/U.S. Navy) A U.S. aircraft carrier and two warships arrived at South Koreas largest port Sunday in a show of force aimed at deterring North Korean provocations, the South Korean navy said. The USS Carl Vinson pulled into Busan, about 200 miles southeast of Seoul, as part of ongoing efforts by the United States and South Korea to strengthen cooperation and train for threats posed by North Korea, according to a South Korean navy news release. The aircraft carrier was accompanied by the USS Princeton, a guided-missile cruiser, and the USS Sterett, a guided-missile destroyer, the release said. All three warships are homeported in San Diego. Our military will strongly punish any North Korean provocation, and the South Korea-U.S. alliance will support peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region through close cooperation, South Korean navy Rear Adm. Lee Nam-gyu said in the release. While in Busan, sailors from the three warships are scheduled to participate in cultural exchanges, including a visit to the U.N. Memorial Cemetery, where approximately 2,330 Korean War veterans are buried, according to the release. Lt. Cmdr. Jamie Moroney, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navys 7th Fleet based at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, said the carrier was making a scheduled port visit and declined to comment on its itinerary, citing operational security concerns. With almost seven decades of partnership, the U.S. and [South Korean] navies are working more closely and are more integrated than ever before, she said in an email Sunday. This port visit highlights our continued cooperation with [South Korea] and our strong support for the region. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docks in Busan, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes) On Saturday, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea toured the Carl Vinson at sea alongside South Korean navy officials, according to a separate news release from the carrier strike group. The Carl Vinsons presence here not only underscores the importance of both the maritime and air domains but also reaffirms our commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific by integrating these unique capabilities into our comprehensive all-domain approach, Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said in the release. The Carl Vinson is the first U.S. carrier to visit Busan since the USS Theodore Roosevelt docked there on June 24. Days later, the Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group took part in Freedom Edge, the first major trilateral maritime and aerial exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan. The Carl Vinson last visited Busan on Nov. 21, 2023, before conducting a one-day air-defense and maritime maneuver drill with South Korean and Japanese warships, according to South Koreas Ministry of National Defense. The U.S. and South Korean militaries are scheduled to hold Freedom Shield later this month, a two-week air, land and sea exercise expected to involve thousands of troops from both countries. North Korea routinely denounces the presence of U.S. strategic assets in the South. After the nuclear-powered submarine USS Alexandria docked at Busan on Feb. 10, the state-run Korean Central News Agency called the deployment an undeniable threat and warned of an unspecified counteraction against our rivals. On Wednesday, North Korea launched several cruise missiles that flew 990 miles off its western coast in a test to confirm the weapons reliability, KCNA reported Friday. A screenshot from a video by U.S. Central Command showing a precision airstrike against a senior military leader in an al-Qaida affiliate on Feb. 23, 2025 in northwest Syria. (U.S. Central Command via X) An airstrike conducted by U.S. Central Command forces in northwest Syria has killed a senior military leader in an al-Qaida affiliate, CENTCOM announced Saturday. The precision airstrike conducted Feb. 23 killed Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din. We will continue to pursue relentlessly these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region, Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in the statement. CENTCOM Forces Kill the Senior Military Leader of al-Qaeda Affiliate Hurras al-Din (HaD) in Syria On Feb. 23, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of pic.twitter.com/trhDvgdgne U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2025 It is the latest in a series of recent attacks targeting Hurras al-Din. On Feb. 21, CENTCOM forces killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership facilitator, with a similar airstrike. Airstrikes by CENTCOM also killed a senior official on Feb. 15, and senior operative Muhammad Salah al-Zabir on Jan. 30. The airstrikes are a part of CENTCOMs ongoing commitment to disrupt terrorism against the U.S., along with its allies and partners in the region. Doug Jackson, pictured on the front porch at his Orlando home on Feb. 25, 2025, is one of the many federal employees caught up in the mass firings initiated by Elon Musk and the Trump administration, having been abruptly fired from his probationary position with the IRS. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel) (Tribune News Service) Doug Jackson liked working for the federal government. A U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War, he worked for a stretch at NASA and then in January took a job in the Internal Revenue Services Orlando office. The federal government which encouraged veterans to apply offered a stable, familiar workplace and one that counted his four years of military service toward retirement benefits. Not any more. Jackson, 40, of Orlando, this week found himself among the estimated 30,000 federal employees to suddenly lose their jobs amid the Trump administrations mass firings across swaths of federal agencies. It has pulled the carpet out from underneath a lot of people, Jackson said. Now Jackson, a married homeowner, is unexpectedly worried about his finances and wondering why his work history, which also included a stint as an veterans advocate lobbying for legislation to benefit military retirees, has been suddenly devalued. This is a slap on the face when Ive spent my life serving in government or working for the public interest, he said. Billionaire Elon Musk and the ad hoc group DOGE have been targeting new, probationary hires like Jackson for termination across the board since President Donald Trump returned to office last month. When Jackson learned a fellow recent hire, a disabled Army veteran, had been fired via email, he was still working at the IRS but figured his survival may have just been an oversight. He was right. Hey, whos Doug Jackson? his supervisor was asked by her superiors, he said. I was just so new, I wasnt on some sort of roster that they used to compile all the probationary hires. His work at the agency is no longer in the public interest, a letter he received this week stated. Its completely impersonal, said Jackson. Its not based off of merit or someones credentials or even a performance report. Its just, Oh, youre probationary, or youre a new hire. Okay, youre gone. The layoffs will leave federal agencies weaker, Jackson said. It will certainly make their recruitment efforts more difficult, retention efforts more difficult, and just overall create instability, he said. Which, I think, is all by design. The Trump administration claiming it was seeking to end waste and fraud has terminated employees in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Park Service, and the Weather Service, among many others. In addition, another 75,000 federal employees took what have been described as buyouts, the legal status of which remains unclear. A Thursday court injunction put a temporary restraining order on the Office and Management and Budget, finding its firing of probationary employees illegal, but the action does not affect Jackson and IRS employees, he said. The mass layoffs appear to be just beginning. Russell Vought, the OMB director, told agencies to prepare for an additional large-scale reduction in force by March 13. Vought has called federal employees villains who should be in trauma. But the American public does not share those views. More than half said that Musk was cutting useful programs and only 38% approved of the job he was doing, according to a YouGov poll released this week. DOGE was also the most disliked federal office in the survey, with 37% of Americans saying they wanted the group reduced or eliminated, up from 34% last week. Theyre playing with fire now, said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. I dont think most Americans who voted for Trump were expecting large, indiscriminate cuts to peoples jobs as part of the bargain for voting for him. Such mass firings, Jewett added, seem really disrespectful and could also hurt the economy. The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits last week jumped to 242,000, the highest in three months. That is all a potential problem for the president, Jewett added. Florida ranks fifth among the 50 states for the largest number of civilian federal employees, according to the Congressional Research Service, with more than 94,000 as of March 2024. More than 26,000 of those employees live in and around Orlando. The districts with the largest number of those employees are largely represented by Republicans in Congress. That includes more than 12,000 in Districts 7 and 11, held by Republican representatives Cory Mills and Dan Webster. Veterans make up nearly 30% of all civilian federal employees. Mills, who served in the 82nd Army Airborne in Iraq and Afghanistan, did not return a request for comment about the layoffs left with his office. Jackson said the firings are creating a disproportionate impact among his fellow former service members. An Alabama native, Jackson said much of the country seems unaware of how federal government operations impact their lives. Ive spoken to friends and even family who dont quite understand the work that Ive been doing for the last several years, he said. Theyre looking from the outside and just agreeing. Okay, yep, the budget is bloated. Government has gotten too big. We need to make some bold moves. Continuing to gut the federal workforce, he said, will have a negligible, almost immeasurable effect on the overall budget, as salaries make up only about 4% of the total. After leaving the military, Jackson pursued a masters degree at Rollins College. As a part of the Pathways program, which allows the government to recruit talent among those still pursuing degrees, Jackson worked in communications for NASA. With no permanent position available once he graduated, he worked as a government contractor for two years before beginning the months-long process of getting hired at the IRS. He was assigned to the downtown Orlando office, though his internal communications team mostly worked remotely. His teams duties included speechwriting for executives and writing guidance to employees. The IRS already struggles with public favor, he said. When its being gutted, its hard to imagine that their capabilities wont be impacted. Now he is anxious to find a new job quickly. Im not really looking at the federal government, Jackson said. That would be my preference, but Im looking towards the private sector. He also plans to write about his experiences and share that work publicly, hoping to educate others. Im trying to think of ways that I can contribute, in a small way, to explain to people who dont understand that there are specific consequences to whats happening, he said. Despite peoples eagerness to see a more efficient federal government, this isnt the way to do it. And its hurting people. 2025 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Mother and grandmother Helen Fitzgeralds condition deteriorated and she died in hospital on June 2, 2018. Sisters Yvonne Knott (red coat), Maria Byrne (cream coat) and Alison Fitzgerald, from Kerry who settled an action against the HSE over the death of their mother Helen Fitzgerald in University Hospital Kerry. Photo: Collins University Hospital Kerry (UHK) has apologised in the High Court for the deficiencies in the standard of care provided to a 74-year old woman who died there. Mother and grandmother Helen Fitzgerald from Tralee in Kerry had developed stomach pain on April 10, 2018 and later was found to have an infection and kidney failure but it was claimed there was a failure to bring her medical conditions under control or be treated in a timely manner. Mrs Fitzgeralds condition deteriorated and she died in hospital on June 2, 2018. David Sutton SC, instructed by OSullivan Reidy Solicitors, for the family, told the court the case had been settled and a letter of apology from UHK general manager Mary Fitzgerald could be read to the court. The letter to the Fitzgerald family said: We acknowledge and apologise unreservedly to you and your family for the deficiencies in the standard of care provided to your mother and the ongoing distress and suffering this has caused. It added: We wish to reassure you and your family that the hospital strives at all times to optimise patient care and we will continue to ensure that best practice is at the forefront of our clinical service to all patients. Outside court, Mrs Fitzgeralds daughters said it had been a six year legal battle. We want to tell other families to be vigilant and to question everything when they have a loved one in hospital, her daughter Maria Byrne said. They said before she went to hospital, Mrs Fitzgerald who was the best grandmother in Ireland, was optimistic and looking forward to starting a new chapter of her life in a nursing home. On behalf of the family, Mrs Fitzgeralds daughter Alison Fitzgerald of Lixnaw, Co Kerry had sued the HSE over the death of their mother. Mrs Fitzgerald had developed stomach pains and on April 18, 2018 she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and prescribed antibiotics. It was claimed she suffered ongoing stomach pain and was referred for a CT scan. On April 23 she was she was given IV fluids and prescribed more antibiotics as she had further ongoing stomach pain. Blood tests were carried out and indicated infection and she was placed in isolation. It was claimed blood tests at the end of May also showed kidney failure. It was also claimed there was a failure to diagnose or treat it in a timely manner. Mrs Fitzgerald should have got IV fluids immediately, it was contended. Her condition deteriorated and on June 2, she reported shortness of breath and chest pain. She was transferred to the emergency department where she received IV fluids, but she died later. In the proceedings it was claimed there was a failure to exercise any reasonable care of skill in the assessment, examination, investigation, diagnosis, management, care and treatment of Mrs Fitzgerald's condition. It was alleged substandard care had been provided and there was an alleged failure to transfer Mrs Fitzgerald to a critical care unit or intensive care unit. It was also claimed there was a failure to ensure she was provided with the necessary medical treatment to ensure she received the hydration she required. Noting the settlement and division of the statutory mental distress payment of 35,000, Mr Justice Paul Coffey extended his deepest sympathy to the Fitzgerald family on their loss. Nnamdi Ogo of Carrigaline, Co Cork arrived in Ireland from his native Nigeria last year A man has been charged with assault causing harm to his grandmother after allegedly dragging her down the stairs two days before she fell ill and died. Brian Nnamdi Ogbo (38) appeared before Cork District Court charged with assaulting Stella Nnamdi (82) in Cork last Sunday. He is charged with assault causing harm Ms Nnamdi at Kilmoney Road, Carrigaline on February 23 contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. The defendant had been arrested by Gardai last Tuesday and detained for questioning at Togher Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. Nnamdi Ogo of Garrydhu Drive, Kilmoney, Carrigaline, Co Cork arrived in Ireland from his native Nigeria last year. The court heard evidence of arrest, charge and caution from Det Garda Tom Delaney. Det Garda Delaney said that Nnamdi Ogbo made no reply when the charge was put to him under caution at 10.26pm on Wednesday at Togher Garda Station. Gardai objected to bail arising out of the seriousness of the charge. Det Garda Delaney said that the mother of the accused, Ruby Nnamdi, called 999 on Sunday. She alleged that her son Brian was attacking her. It is further alleged that Nnamdi Ogbo produced a knife in the course of the domestic dispute. Det Garda Delaney said that Nnamdi Ogbo allegedly dragged his grandmother down the stairs by the head during the dispute. Neither Ruby nor Stella Nnamdi required hospitalisation on Sunday. Det Garda Delaney said the condition of Stella Nnamdi Ogbo deteriorated and she died in Cork University Hospital (CUH) on Tuesday. Nnamdi Ogbo was arrested later that day. Det Garda Delaney said that an objection was being made to bail being granted in the case arising out of the seriousness of the charge. He also indicated that Nnamdi Ogbo was a flight risk. "He came to Ireland to seek international protection but there is no record of visa or travel documents, the detective told He said the accused had no formal ties to the jurisdiction. An 82-year-old woman was dragged down the stairs. (In the course of the interview) he said she could do something like this again. There is a significant risk to family members, he argued. The detective said the accused was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia. Det Garda Delaney said there was a possibility further more serious charges could follow. Nnamdi Ogbo gave an undertaking not to interfere with witnesses and to turn up for all of his court appearances if granted bail in the case. He said that he was taking medication for schizophrenia and depression and required help. Nnamdi Ogbo added that he had never been in trouble in his life and came into the country legally. Defence solicitor Donal Daly said that his client had cooperated fully with Gardai during his period of detention. He has no previous convictions in this State. There was no sign of aggression (during the Garda interview.) Judge Dorgan refused bail and remanded the accused in custody to appear before Cork District Court on March 6. She directed that he receive all necessary medical intervention in custody after an application was made by Mr Daly. The home of Stella Nnamdi in Carrigaline has been technically examined as part of the Garda investigation into her death. A post mortem examination was carried out at Cork University Hospital by State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers on Wednesday. The results have not been released for operational reasons by Gardai. A family liaison officer has been assigned to provide support and information to the deceaseds family. An inquest will take place in due course. Ms Nnamdi would have celebrated her 83rd birthday in March. Former HSBC CEO Noel Quinn will join Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer Group as its next chairman in May, pending shareholder approval, according to a company statement on Friday. The board of directors at Julius Baer will nominate Quinn for election as its new non-executive chairman at the annual general meeting on April 10, replacing Romeo Lacher, who is not seeking re-election. Quinn, a British banking veteran who turned 63 in January, will assume his new role on May 1 due to prior commitments, according to Julius Baer. The appointment marks his first move since stepping down as HSBC CEO in September, passing the leadership to Georges Elhedery. Quinn spent 37 years at HSBC, including the last five years as its global CEO. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "It is a real privilege to be nominated to take on the chair role of the largest pure-play wealth manager and one with such a great heritage," Quinn said in the statement. "Having spent over 37 years in the international financial services sector, I am looking forward to working with the board and management team to capitalise on the many exciting opportunities ahead of us." Swiss bank Julius Baer is based in Zurich. Photo: AFP alt=Swiss bank Julius Baer is based in Zurich. Photo: AFP> Zurich-based Julius Baer, which traces its roots back to 1890, managed 480 billion Swiss francs (US$531 billion) worth of assets as of the end of October, according to its financial report. The firm operates in 60 markets worldwide, including key locations in Asia such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo. "Quinn's appointment will help Julius Baer tap into the fast-growing Asian market, as he had led HSBC's expansion in the region," said Kenny Ng Lai-yin, a strategist at Everbright Securities International. "Asia is the fastest-growing area for high-net-worth clients. It is natural to see the Swiss lender join the wave of international financial firms appointing heavyweight bankers like Quinn to leverage the Asian growth story." While HSBC is based in London, the 160-year-old lender earns most of its revenue in Asia. "Noel's appointment is a testament to the strength of the Julius Baer franchise; he is an exceptional candidate who brings an international mindset and strong cultural values to the role," said vice-chairman Richard Campbell-Breeden, who serves as interim chairman until April 30. The man cannot be named to protect the identity of the now 14-year-old girl A man who sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl while he was staying in her home as a house guest has been jailed. The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the now 14-year-old girl, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to three charges of sexual assault of the girl on dates between August 2020 and January 2021. Detective Garda Cian Daly told Jane McCudden BL, prosecuting, that the man was aged 32 at the time and had been invited to stay at the house by the victims father who was a friend of his. In June 2021, the girl reported incidences of the man having come into her room at night and touching her vagina outside her underwear. During one of these occasions she was sharing a bed with her three-year-old sister at the time. She said she tried to push the man away but he was too heavy so she moved to her sisters side of the bed which caused the younger girl to cry and the incident came to an end. The girl later told specialist gardai that the man sexually assaulted her in the same way on other occasions. She first told her mother in January 2021. Her mother immediately told her father who confronted the man. He recorded the mans admissions on his phone and the family later brought the man to the garda station where he again repeated the admissions. The teenager read from a victim impact statement that since the abuse everything feels different but not in a good way. She said she is always anxious. She said she hopes to move on but the man will have to live with what he was done an unforgivable act to a child of nine years old. John Berry SC, defending, said his client acknowledged his guilt when he was first confronted by the childs father and then later when interviewed by gardai. Counsel commended the teenager for her courage in delivering her victim impact statement and said he hoped the mans immediate admissions gave her some comfort. Mr Berry said his client suffers from feelings of inadequacy and very low self-esteem. Judge Martin Nolan said it was a very frightening experience for the young girl and said the man had breached a trust of his friend who had allowed him to stay in his house. He abused their trust and hospitality, Judge Nolan said, adding that this was an aggravating feature in the case. He acknowledged the mans expression of remorse before he jailed him for three years and three months. Judge Nolan thanked the victim and her parents for coming to court. Helplines: If you have been affected by the contents of this article, click here for more information. Judge said he gave Mario Pompa benefit of the doubt as he did not set out to misrepresent injuries A meat factory worker turned TikTok influencer, who was seen in video footage doing vigorous exercise a month before he told a doctor he could no longer attend the gym, has been awarded nearly 18,000 in compensation. Mario Pompa (36) claimed that he had to stop working at his job at Hilton Foods (Ireland) Ltd in 2022 due to an ongoing neck, back and shoulder injury after years of carrying heavy bags weighing up to 25kg. Mr Pompa, who is originally from Slovakia, said he turned to social media to make money from advertising after he stopped working. He set up a TikTok account and told the court he has been paid up to 1,400 for live streams. Some videos on his social media, where he dances in dresses, have been viewed thousands of times. The defendant company sought to have the personal injury claim dismissed because it was argued that videos on his social media accounts contradicted what he had told various doctors. Clips of Mr Pompa using a SkiErg machine, weight-lifting and doing assisted chin-ups at a gym were shown at Dundalk Circuit Court. The videos were from September 2021 a month before he told a GP from the Injuries Resolution Board that he had not been able to go to a gym since 2020 due to persistent pain. Other videos of him dancing around the house were also played. Mario Pompa outside court in Dundalk. Photo: Arthur Carron Mr Pompa said he had good days and bad days, and the videos only showed one or two minutes out of his day. He said he takes tramadol for the pain and when it is relieved, he records videos for his social media. He claimed in his affidavit that he started suffering pain in May 2020 and his symptoms have been ongoing. When giving evidence, he said he started experiencing pain in 2022. Initially, he had been seeking 54,000 for a loss of earnings as a result of him having to give up work. However, this was withdrawn before the case proceeded. Mr Pompa started working at Hilton Foods in 2006. He moved positions and alleges the injuries happened when he started doing heavy lifting in the spice room, where spices were mixed with sausage meat. He said he worked three 13-hour shifts a week and had to carry bags weighing between 10kg and 25kg. The TikTok user alleged that he flagged concerns with management and these were ignored. Barrister Simon Kearns BL, for the defendant, said Mr Pompa had told doctors that he had difficulty moving his arm above head height. He showed footage of him dancing with his arms overhead, carrying a vacuum cleaner in the air and doing wall balls and using the SkiErg in the gym. Mr Kearns said the footage contradicted his complaints to medical professionals and he was able to do vigorous exercise within 12 months of his injuries occurring. Mr Pompa replied to say he did sustain an injury and is still taking tramadol for the pain. He said he attended physio around seven times, but did not get any relief from this. Mr Pompas barrister said that there had been an error in submitting that he had been diagnosed with shoulder impingement syndrome. A scan showed there was a tear of a suprascapular tendon in his shoulder. He also alleged to have suffered neck and back sprains. The GP for the Injuries Resolution Board who assessed him in October 2021 said he probably suffered a bad sprain. His medical report referenced how the plaintiff said he had not been to the gym since his injuries started. Dr Eamonn Gleeson, who was asked to assess Mr Pompa on behalf of the defendant, said he could not find evidence of an ongoing acute injury. Judge Terence OSullivan said the plaintiff has not been a good witness. I have to cut him some slack as hes Slovakian and his English isnt precise, he added. Judge OSullivan said his case did not get off to a good start when he had a factual inaccuracy about when the pain first started to occur. He also said the plaintiff was caught out insofar as he told a doctor that he hadnt gone back to the gym. I give him the benefit of the doubt that he misunderstood the question [about the gym], the judge said. This can happen when English is not the first language. They [the videos] show a man who is clearly able to move around and not a person in any great discomfort at all. Life teaches you that sometimes people just bash on. He needed to try and improve his profile [on social media]. On social media you dont want to appear clutching your shoulder and moaning. Ill give him the benefit of doubt. He is not setting out to completely lie or misrepresent injuries. He said Mr Pompa was saved by the fact he had difficulties shown on a scan. He just about gets across the line. Im not prepared to accept that this is anything other than a minor shoulder injury, he said. He awarded 11,000 for the shoulder, 5,000 for the neck and back pain, and 1,958.50 in special damages, a total of 17,958. Aviva, which insured the defendant, said it was considering our position in light of the outcome of todays court hearing. You can hand in that 750 for Garda Murphys summer holidays and it might encourage Mr Treanor to have a bit of manners A judge has told a man in his 50s who yelled abuse at a garda, telling him to f*** off, you Free State p**** that hell have a bit of manners the next time he gets a feed of pints after being told his 750 compensation would effectively fund his victims summer holidays. Barry Treanor (53) of Aughadarragh, Augher, Tyrone, launched a foul-mouthed tirade at Garda Sean Murphy following an incident at Terrytole, Ballinode, Monaghan on November 30 last year. The court was previously told of how gardai came across Treanor in a highly intoxicated state while lying across the central console of his vehicle. When Garda Sean Murphy asked for the mans name, Treanor replied: I am not giving it to you, I have committed no offence and you can f*** off, you Free State p****. The outburst and Treanors continued aggressive manner towards gardai ultimately culminated in his arrest with three subsequent charges under sections 4, 6 and 24 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order Act) 1994 being issued. Treanor, who initially appeared at a sitting of Monaghan District Court last month, attracted the ire of Judge Raymond Finnegan when pressed as to his conduct on the night of the incident. Taking to his feet, Treanor insisted: I think Garda Murphy had a problem with me. That statement prompted Judge Finnegan to remand Treanor in Monaghan Courthouses holding cells for over an hour. Treanor later apologised in a move that cut little ice with Judge Finnegan who spoke of how the Tyrone mans attitude stank. Equally, Judge Finnegan questioned whether Treanor should even be consulting with his own defence solicitor, Martin Cosgrove. I am surprised he talked to you Mr Cosgrove, a Free Stater, said a visibly irritated Judge Finnegan. He wouldnt want to be talking to you or me as he has a problem with all of us Free Staters. Barry Treanor told a garda to "f*** off, you Free State p****" after being found drunk and lying slouched across the inside of his car in Terrytole, Ballinode, Monaghan last November. Treanor was ultimately remanded on bail in order to summon together 750 in compensation for his victim. The court was told Treanor had since adhered to those orders with Mr Cosgrove also adding a further 50 to 200 in cash bail monies which had already been lodged with the court. In ordering the entirety of that compensation to be handed in, Judge Finnegan lambasted Treanor for his behaviour on the night in question. You can hand in that 750 for Garda Murphys summer holidays and it might encourage Mr Treanor to have a bit of manners, he told the court, before addressing Treanor directly. It was an expensive night out for you, he continued. Hopefully the next time you get a feed of pints into you, you might have manners when you meet one of the guards because whilst I am sure Garda Murphy is now very happy you are paying for his summer holidays, I am sure he would have preferred not to have had to deal with the blackguarding that he had to deal with that night. Judge Finnegan said while the entire episode for a man with no previous convictions was an expensive lesson learned, by striking out the matters the court would not be as lenient should Treanor reappear for anything of a similar ilk. Thats a one and only chance and the next time you will take your medicine as I have a particular attitude to anyone who interferes with the guards, so be aware of that, he told him. The remaining 250 in bail monies were, meanwhile, assigned to the court poor box. Linda Farrell had 167 previous convictions and had already got a suspended sentence for a similar offence in 2023. A street trader who illegally sold cigarettes and tobacco in Dublin city centre to pay for an operation has been jailed for nine months. Linda Farrell (51) was caught selling thousands of euro worth of products without tax stamps in repeated incidents. Sentencing her, Judge John Hughes directed that she be taken from prison to hospital for her next appointment. Farrell, of Coleraine Street, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to selling or keeping for sale unstamped tobacco products, under the Finance Act. A garda sergeant said the accused was stopped by gardai who saw her in transactions with people on Moore Street on dates between 2021 and 2023. She had unstamped cigarettes and tobacco on her and was arrested and charged. On one occasion, the loss to the Exchequer was over 3,000. Farrell had 167 previous convictions and had already got a suspended sentence for a similar offence in 2023. Defence solicitor Katie Dowling said her client was in chronic pain and was getting ongoing medical treatment including a back operation and hip replacements. She had made significant life changes and lost 10 stone in weight for this. Her motive in the offences was to save enough to get her operation privately. Ms Dowling asked the judge to defer sentencing so Farrell could have an operation. The judge said he had no reason to believe Farrell would not be taken from jail to her appointment. Sentencing her, he directed that she receive all necessary medical treatment. Husband jailed for treating his spouse like servant is related to Mary McAleese by marriage A man jailed this week for treating his wife like a servant for 14 years is the brother-in-law of former Irish president Mary McAleese. Cowardly bully Kevin McAleese started a six-month jail sentence on Monday after his appeal against his sentence for a charge of domestic abuse was chucked out by a judge. But we can reveal the 62-year-old bus driver pictured here for the first time is related through marriage to the former Irish head of state. Belfast academic Mary McAleese was the eighth Irish president, serving for 14 years from 1997 to 2011 and has been married to Dr Martin McAleese, himself an Irish Senator for two years, since 1976. As president, Mary McAleese (73) campaigned tirelessly against domestic violence, which she described in 2008 at a forum she organised on the subject as a social evil. On Monday, her husband Martins brother, Kevin, was sent to prison after Antrim County Court was told the full horrors of his treatment towards his wife, who is a highly respected nurse. The court heard how McAleese left her to pay all the household bills while he spent his wages on booze. He also slapped her on more than one occasion, would become abusive if her ironing didnt meet his standard, made her do all the cooking and cleaning, and shockingly urged her to take her own life. The original case had been heard at Ballymena Magistrates Court earlier this year where Kevin McAleese, of Maxwells Road, Kells, Co. Antrim, pleaded guilty to a charge of domestic abuse between February 2022 and August last year. Kevin McAleese The relatively new charge was brought in, according to the District Judge who sentenced McAleese, to address what appears to be an epidemic of domestic abuse. It was reported how a prosecutor had told the Magistrates Court that police attended a domestic on August 12 last year and spoke to a woman at the front door, away from her husband. She was visibly upset and said her husband had come home drunk after being with friends in Belfast most of the day. She said he had been verbally abusive towards her, swearing and calling her names, and the behaviour had become intolerable to the woman and she requested police assistance in removing him from the property. The woman said that prior to that night her husband had repeatedly told her to die and told her to F**k off back to Scotland. Martin and Mary McAleese The victim said the defendant constantly shouted and swore at her on a daily basis and that the behaviour would be worse when he was drinking, which would be a lot of the time. The prosecutor continued: She alleged he financially abuses her and treats her like a servant. She stated that despite earning more money than her, she has to pay all the household bills and that he uses most of his money for alcohol. The prosecutor added: She said he became abusive when she does not have his work clothing washed and ironed to his standard. The court was told the woman previously attempted to separate from McAleese and set him up with a flat to get him out of the matrimonial home but that hadnt lasted and he returned to the home and continued the abuse. The prosecutor said the woman said the abuse persisted for the 14 years of their relationship. The victim said she was in contact with Womens Aid because the behaviour was having a detrimental effect on her. The court heard there had been a subsequent breach of bail when McAleese returned to the house. When interviewed by police, the defendant denied the charge and had alleged his wife had fabricated things. A defence barrister had told the Magistrates Court the defendant now accepts in its entirety the allegations that have been made against him. They are no longer allegations they are facts as regards what was a very difficult marriage for himself and this lady that he met in Glasgow. Kevin McAleese The lawyer said the defendant is a bus driver who spends a lot of time working away from home in England. The barrister said the incidents were very, very, unsavoury because when one party in a relationship is verbally abusive and controlling, that has an effect on the other persons mental health. They said the marriage is over and the defendants wife still lives in the family home and there would be financial aspects to divorce proceedings but these are matters that fall at his door because of his behaviour over a period of years which was completely unacceptable. The defendant, the court heard, had one previous drink-driving related conviction eight years ago. District Judge Nigel Broderick told the court at the time of the original sentencing that perpetrators of domestic abuse had to realise that if they commit such offences they will receive immediate custodial sentences. To reflect how serious the defendants offending had been, the judge said he had revisited the victims statement and McAleeses wife said he constantly put me down by talking badly to my friends if they gave me a compliment. The judge said she had added: He complains at me for simply using my phone. He does not allow me to watch the television and if I do not comply with his demands he will become aggressive. He expects me to cook and clean for him and if he is not satisfied he will verbally abuse me and become aggressive towards me again. The judge said the statement says the defendant told his wife: Why dont you just go and die? Judge Broderick told McAleese: You then invite her to commit suicide. In one incident he had grabbed her by the hair in the kitchen, slapped her in the face and slapped her again in the bedroom, the judge said. The judge added: It is not surprising that she ends this statement by saying that she feels trapped in this relationship and his behaviour is destroying my mental health. Judge Broderick said the defendant had the audacity to fix the matter for contest and then pleaded guilty at the eleventh hour and no doubt the complainant would have been fraught with worry that she would have to revisit these disturbing incidents. The judge said the defendant had entered a guilty plea but he was not so sure McAleese was truly remorseful because in a pre-sentence report he seemed to minimise your behaviour and detract from that and putting the blame on the victim. The judge told him: This is abhorrent behaviour. It will not be tolerated by the courts and will be dealt with robustly. The judge said the maximum sentence for the offence was 12 months jail but he had to take into account his guilty plea and relatively clear record of one offence involving alcohol and driving. Judge Broderick added: No doubt perhaps alcohol was a feature of your disgusting behaviour against your wife. The judge said a jail sentence was justified as much to punish you and to deter others who may be tempted to treat their partners in such an abominable way. He had handed down a six-month prison sentence and a two-year Restraining Order was made. That was affirmed on Monday. Accident prone Dylan said he hurt his thumb and back in fall on footpath Dylan Gilligan and Paul Weldon, who has taken 12 personal injury claims in 20 years A NEPHEW of John Gilligan who was seeking up to 60,000 in damages after tripping and falling on a pavement has been awarded just 4,000. The award was made after a court heard he failed to disclose previous injuries and there was contributory negligence on his behalf. Dylan Gilligan (24), who survived an alleged murder attempt when he was struck by a car in Clondalkin last year, sued South Dublin County Council for injuries he said he received after falling on the footpath on Old Tower Crescent in Clondalkin on August 15, 2017. While he received a 4,000 payout last week, he will likely walk away with little or nothing after he pays his Circuit Court legal bill as the judge only awarded him District Court costs. Dylan Gilligan is the son of John Gilligans sister Lorraine. Gilligan, of Greenfort Crescent, Clondalkin, told the court last week that he was with his friend Leon Doherty as he walked out of his house across the road and tripped on a hole in the footpath on Old Tower Crescent, causing him to fall and suffer injuries to his thumb and back. Unemployed Gilligan said he immediately felt pain in his right thumb and experienced gradual onset of pain and stiffness to his lower and upper back areas. He went to hospital with a suspected fracture to his thumb but an x-ray revealed he had only sprained the thumb and suffered soft tissue damage. Gilligan had said the way he fell meant there was more weight on his right thumb which hyperextended. John Gilligan The case was defended on behalf of South Dublin County Council and IPB Insurance by Conor Kearney BL, with Haley Tarmey of Ennis and Associates Solicitors. Mr Kearney put it to Gilligan he suffered a very peculiar injury for a fall. Mr Kearney also put it to Gilligan that he failed to disclose a number of relevant previous accidents either to doctors concerned or to the defence in their application for particulars. The court heard that six months before the trip, Gilligan was admitted to hospital after suffering lacerations to his right hand after he fell through a pane of glass. He was back in hospital later that month to have a shard of glass removed from his hand. The court also heard that Gilligan suffered another injury to his hand in 2016 when he was treated for another cut to his right hand after cutting it on more broken glass. He also suffered a number of other previous injuries which had not been disclosed to a doctor or to the defence team ahead of the case. Judge John ODonohoe said the doctor who examined him was a renowned physician and he certainly would have asked Gilligan about previous accidents. He also noted he didnt disclose them to the defence ahead of the case. Judge ODonohoe said Gilligan did not come across as someone who had no credibility but he had not helped himself by not telling doctors or the defendants details of relevant previous accidents. He added that there had to be some contributory negligence by Gilligan in not having seen the hole during daylight hours. He awarded him 5,000 in damages but reduced this by 20 per cent to 4,000 due to contributory negligence. He said was only awarding District Court costs which means Gilligan will still have to pay his legal team for Circuit Court costs. After his legal bills are paid, he will likely walk away with little or nothing. Judge ODonohoe said he was giving Gilligan the benefit of the doubt. Gilligan has been unfortunate in suffering more serious injuries in the years since his fall. He was brought to hospital with serious injuries last October when he was struck by a van in alleged hit and run on Cloverhill Road in Dublin. A man has since been charged with attempted murder in relation to that incident. Gilligan has close links to serial litigant Paul Weldon and our picture shows the pair celebrating together on a trip to Turkey in 2022. Weldon has been awarded 140,000 in multiple personal injury claims and told a judge to f*** off when one of his claims was struck out after he was caught repeatedly lying on the stand in 2023. Weldon, who had taken 12 separate personal injury claims in 20 years, was seeking up to 60,000 in Dublin Circuit Civil Court in 2023 after claiming he tripped and fell and hit his head on a window sill in Dublin city centre on September 4, 2015. I was walking down like a human being does, he said before adding that he tripped and fell. I hit my head off the wall on the left hand side. However, it emerged in court that he had not disclosed numerous previous actions and his claim that he hadnt been in any other accidents since the current case was also a lie. The court was told he had taken four more injury claims since then. Judge James McCourt told Weldon: I dont find your evidence credible, Im dismissing your claim. The judge was still addressing Weldon, warning him he could expect similar scrutiny in any future claims but Weldon interrupted him and said f*** off as he made his way out the door. Weldon has a history of public order offending. He hit the headlines in 2015 after he hurled racist abuse at staff at an Indian restaurant calling then ch**ks and claiming they owed him money. Staff at Madina restaurant on Mary Street, Dublin, called gardai after Weldon had been drunk and abusive towards them. Weldon was also abusive to gardai when they arrived at the scene. He shouted that we should f*** off and mind our own business, and he said that these f***ing ch**ks owe me 1,800, a garda officer told the court. Weldon was directed to leave the scene on numerous occasions and was eventually arrested after refusing to do so. He was given a three month suspended sentence at Dublin District Court in relation to the incident. The court heard he had multiple previous convictions mainly for public order offences. Gary reveals hes lost a third of his body weight in new documentary about life changing weight loss medication A man who once tipped the scales at 60 stone admits he had nightmares that his family would need a forklift to carry him at his funeral. Limerick man Gary Kirwan once weighed a massive 381kg. Now, thanks to a bariatric operation also known as a gastric sleeve calorie control and use of new weight reducing drug GLP-1 medication, he has shed 20 stone to reduce in size to 40 stone (254kg). The 44-year-old is being treated at the Obesity Clinic at Loughlinstown Hospital in Co Dublin. I had no future at one stage, he recalls. I was waiting to die. I used to have nightmares about my funeral and the embarrassment I would cause my family at the funeral, and the thoughts of maybe having to use a forklift or whatever. Gary Kirwan with Kathryn Thomas and Prof Donal OShea Gary tells presenter Kathryn Thomas on RTEs The Skinny Jab Revolution documentary that he still has people staring at him because of his weight, but is able to cope. Im able to deal with situations a lot better, he says. For example, I was in the Marina Market down in Cork before Christmas with my wife and son, and a group of young men were using their phones to video, and my wife got really, really angry about it. And I said, let them. I said they dont know what Ive been through in the last few years, they dont know how much weight Ive lost. But then part of me said later I should have just gone over to them and said lads you think Im big now, Ive lost 20-odd stone. You think Im big now, heres a picture look at me. Gary adds: There was maybe a five-to-six-year period of my life Id never have gone to a shop, ever. Olwyn with Kathryn So to be able to walk into the Lego store with my son just to have a look around... its the small things. The small victories are the big things. Kathryn also meets mum-of-one Ashley ODonnell, who has struggled with weight issues for most of her life. It all kind of started when I had my daughter when I was 22 and the weight just piled on, she explains. I was 22.2 stone, or 134kgs, and had a BMI of 42. I just said I cant continue like this, my heart rate is high, my blood pressure is high, I cant walk up one flight of stairs, my knees are hurting me, my hips are hurting me, Im a young woman, Im in my 30s, I need to do something. So, I went to my GP on the 27th of June. I had actually said to him can we please try Ozempic before weight loss surgery and he agreed. As soon as that first injection, I changed my mindset around food very, very quickly, the nighttime cravings were gone, so the food night was gone. I knew I had to put in work with taking Ozempic. I knew it wasnt a case of taking it and watch the results roll in, but I knew I had to get weight off first before I could put in the work. However, Ashley explains that she had to give up the drug after she lost her job. Its horrible. Its not cheap. Its 150 in some places for a one milligram pen. Since losing my job I cant afford it. Since November of last year, so about 10 months, she says. While taking the drug Ashley was weighing herself once a month. I suppose the numbers mattered to me because the numbers were so big for so long. I need to make sure that Im staying happy, and a healthy weight and healthy BMI, and I cant let all my hard work for the last two years be for nothing and start gaining, she points out. Mum Ashley with Kathryn While checking her weight in front of Kathryn, she hoped to see a figure of 73kg on the scales. Oh, no way, its 78.2. Thats 5.2kgs in a month, Thats crazy. Thats bad. To me that is red flag danger, because thats how it starts for me. What about the next one it could be 88? Then before I know it Im back at square one, she complains. This is all about maintaining my healthy weight and not letting obesity coming back into my life. By the look of that scales thats a possibility now. I need to be on this long term. Its not a short term fix where you take it for two years and then lose all the weight and then you stop. Several months later Kathryn caught up with Ashley. Im back on the Ozempic, she confirms. I wanted to show people when you stop it you can still maintain, you can still be the healthy weight and I really wanted to be that person I cant do that. There are some people out there that can lost weight conventionally by eating less and losing more. Then you have people like me, metabolic medication, I cant, and I need this medication to sustain my weight. Ashley admts that she is now obsessed with weighing herself. Four times (a day). I weigh myself when I get up in the morning, then probably around lunchtime, probably four or five oclock and then before I go to bed. Asked if shed some day like to be free from the drug, she replies: I hope so. Olwyn Boyle also features in the show. She always wanted a family but weight has been a barrier to achieving that dream. Olwyn cant adopt or foster because her BMI was over 35. She had four rounds of IVF in Greece. The last round was successful but she lost the baby boy. At her heaviest she was about 24.5 stone. Government accused of revolving-door policy by Prison Officers Association The Government has been accused of running a revolving-door policy in the countrys crowded jails, as the number of inmates being released early due to a shortage of space more than doubled in the past two years. Prisoner numbers have reached their highest yet at 5,181, with 346 inmates forced to sleep on mattresses on cell floors. The figures have been branded truly shocking by the Prison Officers Association (POA) who said the Prison Service has been failed by the Department of Justice and that the situation inside prison walls is dangerous. The POA said there was effectively a revolving-door policy in the countrys jails. An examination of the daily prison population figures shows that the numbers of prisoners on temporary release has more than doubled in two years. As the overall number in prison spirals, figures show there are 179 women prisoners in the Dochas Centre in Dublin, a facility with 146 beds. In Mountjoy Prison there are 947 in custody, even though there are only 807 beds. When the numbers are broken down further, it can be revealed that Limericks womens prison has 91 inmates in the facility, which has a capacity for 56 beds, and its male prison population is 361 in a facility with 286 beds. On January 31, 2023, there were 253 prisoners on temporary release when the prison population was 4,398. But on January 31 this year there were 519 inmates on temporary release when the prison population was 5,075. Yesterday, there were 544 prisoners on temporary release when the prison population was 5,181. POA deputy general secretary Gabriel Keaveny said: The revolving door is back and its in full flight. Mountjoy Prison in Dublin Any minister thats saying theyre going to be hard on crime, are they going to appoint extra members to the judiciary? Are they going to hold extra court sittings? None of that can count at all when theres nowhere to put prisoners when they come into custody. An additional 330-bed capacity has been created by installing bunk beds in many cells and doubling up the numbers of inmates in those cells, but these are not classed as permanent capacity. We need around 800 to 1,000 new cells in the system just to stand still Mr Keaveny said he has been an official with the POA for 30 years and has never seen the Prison Service in such crisis. Our members are flat out, round the clock trying to keep control, and the environment is really dangerous. The amount of drugs in the prisons is horrendous, and the number of prisoners on mattresses is truly shocking, he said. We have predicted this for years. We have raised it with numerous ministers and officials, and bar a handful of cells that have come on board, there have been no proposals. We need around 800 to 1,000 new cells in the system just to stand still. The prisons can operate safely at in or around 4,300 prisoners. Youre supposed to keep 10pc of your cells vacant at any time in case theres a disturbance or an issue on the outside, but every place is jammed to the rafters. Even if there was money put into it today it would be three years before you would develop anything. The Dochas Centre has a capacity of 146 beds. Photo: Mark Condren The Department of Justice has failed the Prison Service. When I joined the job there were three and a half million people in the country. Theres now 5.1 million. If you need extra schools and hospitals and roads for a growing population, you also need more prison space, but they havent done that. Commenting on the latest numbers, a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said it must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts. Each application is considered on its individual merits As such, the IPS has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time. Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the IPS makes every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured temporary release, he said. The legislative basis for making decisions on temporary release is fully set out in the Criminal Justice Act, he said. Each application is considered on its individual merits, and the safety of the public is paramount when decisions are made. All temporary releases are subject to conditions, and any offender who breaches his or her conditions may be arrested and returned to prison immediately by the gardai or may be refused another period of temporary release. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Photo: Collins He said the Justice Minister has secured an increase of 79m (18pc) in Budget 2025 towards a total of 525m in funding to increase prison capacity and support prisoner services. The Department of Justice is engaging with the IPS to progress plans for 1,500 additional prison places as set out under the Programme for Government. In the past 14 months, 140 new spaces have come into operation and 25 spaces are close to completion. Patrick Kealys silver casket travelled in a Rolls Royce hearse adorned with the plate reading Bad Bob, King of the Kealys in what one local described as the biggest funeral seen yet. One of the tributes to mark the death of Patrick Kealy Some of the tributes to mark the death of Patrick Kealy RATHKEALE came to a standstill as one of the towns best-known Traveller-traders was laid to rest this week in a huge send-off. His silver casket travelled in a Rolls Royce hearse adorned with the plate reading Bad Bob, King of the Kealys in what one local described as the biggest funeral seen yet. The cortege, which also included Rolls Royce limos, made stops to allow old friends and relatives to make a toast to Patrick Kealy on his final journey. His daughter Crystal posted a photo online with a Guinness at the hearse: One last Guinness in Croke for my dada. Love you forever. A video billboard parked in the town square displayed photos of Kealy, including from his wedding day, enjoying a pint and hoisting up a beer keg. Mourners with Patricks hearse The morning of the funeral mass on Tuesday brought Rathkeale to a standstill as the cortege made its way to the cemetery thronged by mourners where white doves were released. There was a chance for drinks afterwards laid on by the family at a nearby venue which again celebrated his life. These included life-sized photographs of Patrick Kealy as if he was seated with the guests who had come to bid him farewell. TVs on stands played news footage of him in 2018 when he attempted to get a pub licence to open a premises in Rathkeale. One of the tributes to mark the death of Patrick Kealy All week, people posted messages about him on social media which reflected his out-going nature. The good-natured and happy farewells mirrored the scenes of his brother Johns funeral procession in 2022. On the way from the UK to Rathkeale for burial, the cortege stopped at Portlaoise Prison to noisily mark a farewell to his friend John ODonoghue who had been locked up there. Among those at this weeks funeral in Rathkeale was Limerick gangland figure Anthony Kelly, a brother of former Limerick councillor, Michael Kelly. Kelly hit the news in recent weeks after he and Kenneth Dundon, father of the infamous Dundon brothers, objected to a pub licence renewal in Limerick after being refused there. Patrick Kealys brush with pub licensing laws didnt go so well when his application failed amid objections from the gardai. Under cross-examination it was put to him he was the patriarch of the Kealy family, who were involved in a long-running feud with other Traveller families. Some of the tributes to mark the death of Patrick Kealy He disputed this in court and said a number of families had shaken hands, and there were no ongoing problems. In 2002, Kealy bought a large site in Monasterevin, Co Kildare, which was converted into a caravan site which he referred to as a come and go place. The area had been surfaced and a waste collection service set up, much to the annoyance of local residents who opposed the unauthorised development. The same approach was also used by wealthy Traveller traders at Cottenham and Basildon in the UK. Patrick Kealy passed away almost two weeks ago after being found in his car on the Main Street in Rathkeale. A number of pedestrians were injured in the incident Emergency services at the scene of this morning's accident in Blennerville. Photo Mark O'Sullivan. A woman in her 40s has died and three others were injured following a crash in Co Kerry this morning. Gardai and emergency services attended the collision involving a car and three pedestrians on the N86 Canal Road, Tralee. The incident occurred shortly before 10am. Three pedestrians were injured in the incident following which an air ambulance was called to the scene. The air ambulance on standby in Blennerville this morning. Photo Mark O'Sullivan. One of the pedestrians, a woman, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to University Hospital Kerry (UHK) where she was pronounced dead. Two other women and the motorist, a man in his 80s, were also taken to hospital for treatment. Their conditions are not thought to be life-threatening. The local coroner has been notified and the scene has been preserved for examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. Local traffic diversions are currently in place. An eyewitness said a car may have collided with pedestrians between the marina and Blennerville Village which is a busy route for walkers and joggers in Tralee. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to this collision. They are particularly appealing to those with camera footage, including dash-cam recordings, from the area at the time to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Tralee Garda Station at 066 7102300, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any garda station. (Bloomberg) -- Honor Device Co., one of Chinas biggest smartphone makers, plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years to become a contender in the artificial intelligence race. Most Read from Bloomberg The Shenzhen-based company, which got its start as a spinoff from Huawei Technologies Co., announced a new corporate strategy that centers on building a device-centric AI ecosystem at Mobile World Congress. The funds for its investment push will come from the company and its investors, an Honor representative said, without providing further details. Honors biggest backers are local government entities and it also has display maker BOE Technology Group Co. and two of Chinas mobile carriers among its investors. Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer James Li, flanked by representatives from partners Qualcomm Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google, set out the companys plan at the mobile industrys biggest gathering in Barcelona on Sunday. Honor didnt specify what it will spend the money on, apart from saying itll collaborate with global supply chain and carrier partners, like Orange and Telefonica, to co-create a new paradigm for AI devices in the agentic AI era. Honor joins a rush toward AI across industries, which has been especially pronounced in China following the breakthrough debut of DeepSeeks reasoning chatbot. The countrys major internet companies, from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent Holdings Ltd., have accelerated updates to their AI models and started measuring themselves against the startups software. Honor aims to play a role in the contest for users by taking the device as its starting point. The companys approach is also distinctive for its close collaboration with US partners. Honor works with Google Cloud on the development of its AI agent and is integrating Googles Gemini deeply into its phone software. At MWC, the company also introduced a Windows-powered AI PC in the MagicBook Pro 14, adding to its collaboration with Microsoft Corp. Questions persist about the monetization potential of new AI technologies and chatbots, with several companies betting on the technology to primarily drive upgrades of hardware. Samsung Electronics Co. made a big push in that direction last year, alongside Apple Inc. with the launch of Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16. Honors effort will have to measure up against those ventures as well as rising domestic competition in China. Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, barnacles, slaters and other crustaceans are the stars of a new miniature exhibition presented by the Western Bay Museum, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) and Te Papa. Mawhiti Tino Rawe | Clever Crustaceans is a playful exploration of the bizarre and diverse world of five marine crustaceans. They can change their shape, circle the globe, and maybe even cure cancer crustaceans are the unsung heroes of the sea. Niwa scientists Dr Rachael Peart and Dr Kareen Schnabel worked with Te Papa experts to deliver this exhibition, which showcases the importance and special capabilities of the insects of the sea. Crustaceans are arthropods, which means they have segmented bodies and exoskeletons just like insects, so I love describing them as the insects of the sea. They are captivating creatures. They have adapted to live in an incredible variety of habitats, from beaches and shallows, all the way down to the deepest ocean trenches, said Schnabel. Visitors can, through hands-on interactives and real specimens, explore the fascinating world and smart survival tricks of these unusual creatures. Take a digital deep dive into a special web hub to discover their superpowers. It is always with such delight and enthusiasm that we host Te Papas touring exhibitions. They are an absolute hit for all age groups, and these exhibitions are at a standard we can not afford. They provide access to all that cannot visit the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Clever Crustaceans aligns perfectly with the exhibition Nga Toa Taiao Environmental Heroes of the Western Bay District. Were thrilled to be able to highlight these unsung heroes of our ecosystem. We want visitors to touch, explore and discover these weird and wonderful crustaceans of Aotearoa New Zealand. We were inspired by the work of scientists to understand and protect these crustaceans and their homes, and were so excited to partner with Niwa on this special project, said Te Papa exhibition experience developer Dan Parke. We are telling the stories of some of our favourite critters. Visitors will learn about the shapeshifter koura with its unexpected life stages as a long-distance open-ocean wanderer, the lightning speed with which the native mantis shrimp spears its lunch, the exceptional eyesight of the open-ocean amphipod Phronima which is even being [used as part of] techniques to detect cancer in humans and the radical changes barnacles have undergone to get their kai (food), adds Schnabel. Entry to the museum is free, and for bookings for our new education programme, please email manager@westernbaymuseum.nz. March is fully booked, so secure your space in April. A Te Puke woman is staying optimistic in the face of a terminal cancer journey. After feeling run down and experiencing symptoms such as bloating, Sarena Crane was told she probably had IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or endometriosis. Little did Crane know, she had stage four bowel cancer. That was back in September 2023. An array of tests was done and doctors found a lump. Following an MRI, Crane was sent to a gynaecologist, who revealed there was a tumour in her cervix. She was then sent to Auckland for more testing and a PET scan. On the drive home, she received a call and was told there was a second tumour in her bowel that they suspected was the primary tumour. There was a lot of testing, a lot of back and forth, a lot of confusion of how it had jumped into my cervix, not my liver, my lungs or the usual places, said Crane. Then I got the formal diagnosis in October 2023, that it was stage four bowel cancer. The Crane family Christmas photo: Travis, 15, husband Steve, daughter Esmae, 7, Hayden,12, Kristian, 20, Sarena, and dogs Pinot and Maggie. Photo / Supplied Crane remained optimistic as she headed straight into chemotherapy to try to shrink the tumours so the doctors could operate to remove them. I had quite an invasive surgery in March of 2024 to have a hysterectomy. A large portion of my top and lower bowel was removed. I was given an ileostomy/colostomy bag temporarily to use and then I ended up back in hospital in May with a bowel obstruction from all the scar tissue that stuck to my organs. She was back in hospital for another two weeks to be cut back open and recover, and in the meantime she started chemotherapy again. Chemotherapy When asked what chemotherapy is like, Crane said, I feel like a rat that had been poisoned. Thats when I first got it; that is exactly what it felt like. I was like, This is what it feels like to be poisoned. I know everybody has different degrees of side effects. I was given a very strong dose and the side effects hit hard and hit fast. Crane experienced bad sores down her oesophagus and mouth, preventing her from being able to eat anything hot or cold, and she couldnt taste anything. You cant touch anything cold because its like frostbite in your hands. Remaining positive To remain positive, Crane spends a lot of time manifesting and visualising a future where shes healthy with her family. She visualised her daughter graduating from school. She hoped that even though this was not the path she would have chosen for herself, it was a path she was on for a reason. I have to take the good and focus on that, not the bad. We are lucky every day to wake up and feel good in our body and to be able to move. Support Crane said her husband Steve had always been her rock. He is just amazing; hes more like a caregiver now, the poor thing. I could not have done the journey the way I have without his positivity. Cranes four children, Kristian, Travis, Hayden and Esmae the oldest 20 and the youngest 7 are the reason she went into fight mode. Her boys were hit hard, especially because one of her sons friends had lost their mum to cancer the year before. This played heavily on his mind, she said. He would prefer to spend his days with me looking after me after chemo than he would at school. She said the whole situation went over her youngest childs head because she was too young to understand what was going on at first. Sarena Crane and her daughter, Esmae. Photo / Supplied Now, shes my little caregiver, and on chemo days shes getting me glasses of water and patting my head and telling me Im strong. The news In September, her chemotherapy finished. We got a clear PET scan, so we celebrated, we were in the clear. In January, Crane went for a precautionary MRI, which she had to do every three months just to check. They found something suspicious in my pelvic area. I went for a PET scan and they confirmed that it was a tumour. Unfortunately, it had also jumped over into my bone in my hip; if its in your bone, it means its travelling through your blood because thats the only thing that can get into your bone marrow. She said this felt like a full-circle moment. From a medical point of view, they said there is no cure and that all they can give me is controlled chemotherapy to give me more time. At the very beginning, I was told, Youve got stage four and theres no stage five'. That was it. It was very blunt. It was to the point and it was a bit of a shock, to be honest. When we discovered it was back, those words were the first thing I thought of, but this time I also thought to myself, no, there is more I can do. New plan Crane decided to do some research of her own. She started integrating alternative methods, including ozone therapy, infrared saunas, ozone saunas and vitamin IVs to support her immune system to cope with the chemo. She hoped to slow the cancer down, help, or stop it altogether. She said she refused to accept the diagnosis she had been given. To that end, she has found a place overseas that may be able to buy her some more substantial time with her family. Kristian, Steve, Sarena, Hayden, Esmae and Travis Crane. Photo / Supplied Health centre Hope4Cancer, in Mexico, focused on bio-based medicine and used machines and experimental techniques not available in New Zealand, said Crane. She said she was aware of the controversies around such clinics and had spoken with people who had been there. They are confident to cure or, at the very least, substantially more time. So, I remain hopeful. She said her doctor in New Zealand was aware of her plans and supported them. Crane will be in Mexico for just under a month doing an intensive three-week programme of back-to-back therapies all day, every day. The cost This path will cost $150,000 to cover Cranes return flights to Mexico, her husband being off work to stay in Tauranga and look after the children, their mortgage repayments and any extra medications or treatments. It would also cover further return flights for Crane because she would need to go back to Mexico after three months for a check-up and more testing. A friend of Cranes created a Givealittle page to help raise money so she could get the treatment in Mexico. To help Sarena go to the Givealittle page. Four councils in the Eastern Bay of Plenty have partnered to develop a Regional Deal Proposal aimed at boosting economic growth, infrastructure, and resilience. Whakatane District, Kawerau District, Opotiki District, and Bay of Plenty Regional Councils have joined forces to propose the Eastern Bay of Plenty Regional Deal. The proposal seeks a long-term partnership with Central Government to secure funding and resources for economic growth, productivity, and infrastructure development over a 30-year vision. Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chair Doug Leeder said the proposal focuses on building resilience and economic growth across the sub-region. Were focusing on increasing housing in new areas, making sure theres good planning and investment for community amenities." "Were also working on improving transport connections to make key freight routes more resilient and efficient, which will help with supply chains and connectivity for new housing areas, Leeder said. He added that growth projects in Opotiki, Kawerau, and Whakatane would build on existing specialisations to support economic development, aligning with government, private sector, and iwi investments. The priorities in the proposal align with other key planning documents, including the draft Eastern Bay Spatial Plan and the upcoming refresh of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Economic Development Strategy. Whakatane District Council Mayor Dr Victor Luca welcomed the collaborative approach, stating, We are better together. Kawerau District Council Mayor Faylene Tunui said the Council was pleased to contribute to a light touch regional deal proposal. Kawerau brings real strength in industrial capacity, supply chains, and energy resilience. Were keen to work together with our cousins to lift our contribution to New Zealand Inc., Tunui said. Opotiki District Council Mayor David Moore said the regional deal provided an opportunity for councils to find common ground and align their efforts for better community outcomes. This is one of the ways we can support each other and coordinate our approaches. A nudge here and there, a light touch can make a big difference, Moore said. Regional Deal Proposals have also been submitted for Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua-Taupo sub-regions. Central Government will assess regions based on criteria in the Regional Deal Strategic Framework, with a decision on the first regions to proceed expected in May 2025. The first regional deal is set to be finalised in December 2025. Two new awards will help New Zealand dairy farmers overcome financial barriers and progress towards farm ownership, strengthening the industry's future. The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA) programme has introduced two new awards aimed at supporting farmers on their journey to ownership. The Fonterra & ASB First Farm Award (FFA) and the ASB Alumni of the Year Award (AAOTY) will provide financial and mentoring support to aspiring farm owners and industry contributors. The FFA, developed through a partnership between ASB, Fonterra, and the NZDIA Trust, seeks to remove obstacles to farm ownership and ensure sustainable succession in the dairy sector. Baypark, Tauranga, will host the announcement of three FFA winners at the NZDIA National Gala Dinner on 10 May 2025. Each winner will receive up to $1 million of ASB Business Term Lending at 1% interest for three years, a Fonterra launch package including $20,000 of Farm Source credit, mentoring, and additional support. Anne Douglas, Group Director Farm Source, said securing the future of Fonterra was essential for ensuring a strong and sustainable dairy industry. By supporting first-time farm buyers, the First Farm Award is an exciting opportunity that will help our shareholders of tomorrow to thrive. Were proud to be partnering with ASB and NZDIA to offer these awards, Douglas said. Aidan Gent, ASB General Manager Rural Banking, said the prosperity and growth of the food and fibre sector were crucial to New Zealands success. Supporting the next generation of farm owners is a critical part of this, and something ASB is determined to help support. We are proud to partner with Fonterra and NZDIA to deliver this very special award to the lucky recipients, Gent said. The AAOTY, a collaboration between ASB and NZDIA, recognises alumni who have contributed significantly to the industry. Open to NZDIA entrants from the past seven years who are no longer eligible for other categories, the award winner will receive up to $1 million of ASB Business Term Lending at 1% interest for three years. Robin Congdon, NZDIA General Manager, said the awards represented an important step in removing financial barriers and accelerating farm ownership. These awards strengthen our ability to recognise excellence at all stages of the dairy career journey while supporting long-term industry growth and sustainability, Congdon said. Entries open on 1 March, with full details available at dairyindustryawards.co.nz It is estimated about a quarter of New Zealand women have experienced violence at the hands of an intimate partner. But people working with men to help them learn to lead lives without violence say there is hope for change. A Bay of Plenty man at breaking point after pushing his partner over says referring himself to one of those programmes changed his life. Aleyna Martinez reports. The night Josh* pushed his partner to the ground in a drunken rage was the moment he realised he needed to get help. Thats the first time Ive ever laid hands on my partner, shes the mother of my children. The Bay of Plenty man referred himself to a living-without-violence programme and, despite his shame over what he did, is speaking out to encourage other men at risk of hurting their loved ones to ask for help something that has changed his life. Programme leaders in Rotorua and Tauranga who work to help men learn skills to curb violent tendencies say it is encouraging to see more men seeking support. Police logged more than 1400 reported acts of violence towards a partner in the Bay of Plenty in the 12 months to October. But surveys have found most crime is not reported to police. The 2022 New Zealand Crime and Victims survey found 24% of New Zealand woman have experienced intimate partner violence. Violence brings families to a precipice and getting help is hard for some, says Josh (*whose real name has not been used to protect the privacy of his family). He wanted men looking for ways to address family violence to know solutions were available and effective. Josh, who is in his 50s, described the incident that started his therapy journey as a breaking point. He said he and his long-term partner had been at a function then got into an argument back at home. He had been drinking. I lost my cool and I went and shoved her. I pushed her to the ground shes only a small thing and I lost my s**t. He immediately knew he had crossed a line. He said police were called and they issued a safety order requiring him to leave home for 48 hours. He used the time to sober up and reflect before returning to talk to his partner. She was concerned that shed be living with someone prone to domestic violence and I could sympathise with that. Police recommended he look into domestic violence programmes. He Googled anger management courses and picked up the phone. He found Suzi Marsh at Tauranga Living Without Violence. Team leader at Tauranga Living Without Violence, Suzi Marsh. Photo / Supplied A former Corrections worker, Marsh has developed a talent for working alongside perpetrators of family and sexual violence and helping them change. She has worked with serial rapists and abusers a woman in a world of violent men. Ultimately, she said she wanted to see an end to domestic violence, and no more victims suffering. But there was a long way to go. Domestic violence referrals to the Tauranga programme increased by 73 last year compared with 2023, and included 22 men who self-referred to mens non-violence programmes a ratio the small agency considered encouraging. Josh said he had to wait a few months due to the waitlist. He felt wary at first because it was his first attempt at therapy or counselling, but committed to finishing the process. The counsellors arent judgmental, I dont think anybody there is. The majority of the guys were sympathetic for each others situation, no one wanted to be in trouble, Josh said. He said the tools the programme gave him changed his life starting with simply not talking over others. The counsellors insist thats how we do things in our group ... everyone gets their turn. Connecting with other men who struggled with their temper was eye-opening. He said he felt he was getting something out of each session, and his partner was happy he was trying to change his behaviour, so he stuck with it. He said learning to communicate more effectively was like learning a new language it took practice. The 20-week course gave him so much that he said he would do it again if it would not mean taking a space someone else might need. He was sharing his story in the hope it would grow awareness about domestic violence services and help Suzi and her team continue doing the work that theyre doing Theyre absolutely invaluable to the community". A career specialising in domestic violence Marsh began her career at the Department of Corrections in Auckland more than 15 years ago. Im thinking of a guy that I worked with who was a serial rapist and he had to come in for his reporting and things like that. The stuff hed done was so horrific and awful to women, but yet, I thought hes still got breath in his lungs, so there is still hope for change, and I will work with that. She co-ordinates the mens non-violence programme at Tauranga Living Without Violence. Marsh said women working in the sector could be misunderstood, and it was important to be aware we are not teaching men how to be men. But there were benefits to having wahine in that space. Men are having to re-navigate and renegotiate how they actually relate in a healthy way to a woman whos in a professional capacity. For some men, thats kind of the first time that theyve encountered a woman they havent been able to pretend to. We know what theyve done, we can see it. She said factors such as the cost of living, work fatigue and running a household could all contribute to domestic violence, as well as unemployment, mental health and alcohol or drug use. It was encouraging to see more men self-referring for help. Its telling me that theres a lot of brave men out in the community - it takes a lot of courage to be able to take that step and to own your stuff. Thats incredibly courageous, she said. She also credited the rise of indigenous kaupapa for the organisations progress. She said more access to te reo and cultural practices had a positive impact and contributed to long-lasting, holistic change. Men who had completed the course were also recommending it to their whanau still experiencing family violence - another good sign, Marsh said. Billy Macfarlane, founder of Rotorua based organisation Puwhakamua, which provides pathways for men released to the community by the New Zealand Parole Board. Photo / Aleyna Martinez A promise to myself Billy Macfarlane served time in prison for serious drug charges, but has turned his life around since his release in 2019. He established Puwhakamua, a Rotorua-based tikanga Maori reintegration service helping former offenders reintegrate into the community. Macfarlane said Puwhakamua was inspired by wananga hed done at the Northland Region Corrections Facility in Ngawha, which gave him access to Te Ao Maori and his heritage. One month into that prison sentence, Macfarlane made a promise to himself to never go back to his old life. My knuckles have been broken from a life of violence, he said. We created a space inside of the prison where we lived on ancient cultural values and our values were love and kindness. The men, a lot of them had come through trauma and family violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, all of these sort of things. Some of them had a whakapapa of violence, Macfarlane said. He said he didnt live through abuse or family violence as a child but he still lacked a language of how to be non-violent. [My father] never gave me any skills to teach me how to step away from violence, he said. Macfarlane was focused on expanding his Puwhakamua service to men across the country. He estimated 80% of violent men in prisons wanted change. As Maori, all we hear here [in New Zealand] is we are warriors, we are killers. We kept saying, well, were violent because were Maori because thats what we learned'. But through a mentor Macfarlane said he learned about the history of his people. About how our ancestors lived for 30,000 years before we came to New Zealand. We learned were these beautiful people who never, never laid a hand on our women and children. Macfarlane said after a life of just destroying my community sharing what he had learned was a way he could give back. Puwhakamuas wait lists are currently full. It will consider new referrals from this month. You can call Tauranga Living Without Violence on 0800 577 003 or by email at info@tlwv.org.nz. How to get help: If youre in danger now: Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you. Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you. Take the children with you. Dont stop to get anything else. If you are being abused, remember its not your fault. Violence is never okay. Where to go for help or more information: Womens Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7) Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7) Its Not OK: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450 Shakti: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children. Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7) Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate mens violence towards women. Christopher Luxon has described his trip to Vietnam as "a very, very special visit" and a success. The Prime Minister was in Vietnam this week for political and business discussions, including the signing of a new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement. Luxon previously described Vietnam as a "rising star" of Southeast Asia, with one of the fastest growing economies in the region. The deals completed left him feeling good about the relationship, Luxon said. "I leave here coming out of Vietnam really confident about the state of the relationship between the two countries at a political level but also really important about the trade and investment opportunities that exist in the relationship too," Luxon said. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement was hugely important to that relationship, especially for business, he said. Luxon rings a gong in Vietnam. Photo/ Giles Dexter "To be one of only 10 countries that Vietnam has extended the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership status to is really, very important. But it means that we can continue to deepen and broaden the relationship across a number of dimensions. "It just gives us opportunity and a framework for our businesses to come forward who have seen the potential of this market, understand that this is going to be a country that will move from low income to middle income to high income to be able to get in on the ground floor in a growing market that's going to be very profitable." Luxon pointed to international education opportunities, including attracting more Vietnamese students to New Zealand. "New Zealand education is held in very high esteem here." An announcement that VietJet would start flying to New Zealand four times a week from September would also help attract international students and tourists, he said. "If you're a parent here who wants to send your child down to do an undergraduate degree in New Zealand ... you want to be able to access your student as well and for every student that we send there can be up to three or four visits a year of visitors coming to see them so that's an example of how that activity starts to happen." Christopher Luxon is due to arrive back in Auckland on Saturday afternoon. A Rotorua tech entrepreneur couple are stoked they can provide more gaming computers for their students after receiving a $31,000 grant from BayTrust to address digital equity in the town. Nikolasa and Potaua Biasiny-Tule got together while studying tech at Canterbury University 10 years ago. On returning to Rotorua, they established the Digital Natives Academy (DNA) with a focus on digital equity and Matauranga Maori - the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of te taiao (the natural world). They started in a small studio on Eruera St, Nikolasa said, and began tutoring Potauas nieces and nephews. When their friends at Lynmore Primary School heard about it, their roll grew bigger. DNA is now based on the corner of Hinemoa and Fenton streets. More than 7000 students have come through the doors. Classes, which are all free, are NCEA-accredited and include subjects such as 3D animation and VFX, game development, website development, narrative storytelling and robotics. We run the gamut at Levels 1, 2 and 3 because [tertiary training provider] Media Design School has an amazing Level 4 and we saw there was no staircase to that Level 4. It was really hard for some of our kids, so we wanted to create a really clear pathway to ... tertiary foundation courses and beyond. The BayTrust grant would enable DNA to provide 300 students with gaming PCs that had better programming capabilities than the ones they were using, she said. It was the largest sum of money DNA had yet received. An additional class with 30 students was introduced this year to meet the waitlist demand. Everyone gets their own computer here and they all get their own space because we know that place and belonging is really important, Nikolasa said. Access to expensive software and hardware was difficult for many families in the Bay of Plenty. Many schools discarded their computer labs, so weve actually lost the digital infrastructure not only at home but [also in] schools. Waitlist grows through word of mouth The couple had always focused on forging pathways for students who were disengaged from mainstream education, she said. Potaua grew up in Rotoruas Ford Block suburb, and the pair wanted to create something essentially that would have cared for his inner child as he was growing up, and suited his way of learning and engaging. To us, those kids have these amazing superpowers and just need a little bit more support and a little more focus, she said. Teaching Matauranga Maori and tech was about reminding our kids their ancestors were explorers and innovators by using the stars to navigate, and using all sorts of different technologies of the time to travel the world. One of their classes was run for students expelled from mainstream institutions. Those are kids who have been disengaged long-term and kids whove been bullied. Other classes worked with visiting students from schools around the Bay of Plenty. Nikolasa said attending DNA courses motivated children to improve their behaviour. Kids who refused to wear their uniforms are wearing their uniforms and showing up to class because they have to show up to class to come to our programme. Grant for Rotoruas digital and tech future BayTrust community & Maori liaison adviser Lotima Vaioleti said the grant would allow up to 300 Rotorua students to attend regular DNA workshops in 2025. DNA is the only organisation of its kind in New Zealand and has spent 10 years gaining a deep understanding of the challenges Maori face in the digital space. Vaioleti said there was a significant gap in access to high-quality computers and relevant tech education, particularly in Maori kura. In his view, The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these inequalities. Schools moved away from computer labs to a BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] model, which widened the digital divide and further restricted access to advanced technology. The grant would also help fund a major esports event in Rotorua in May. About 300-500 people from across the Nga Kura a Iwi education network were expected to take part in Rotorua Tech Week. Viella Kingi, 21, will complete her final year of the Digital Natives Foundation 3 programme at the end of this year. Photo / Aleyna Martinez Tech pathways Caleb Houra, 22, started at DNA as a student in 2023. After completing his foundation courses, he began running the sound design studio and teaching music production to students interested in sound engineering. I started making beats when I was 16 ... Im self-taught. Working his way up to a tutor role felt fantastic, he said. He looked forward to helping other students start making music this year. Viella Kingi, 21, was working when she heard about DNA in 2023. I just left school and went straight to mahi, I thought thats all life had to offer ... then I came here, so many opportunities just popped out at me, she said. She looked forward to implementing tech and tikanga upon completing her Foundation 3 course this year. The main thing that I enjoy is the tangata, or the people, Im around. Everyone here is quite like-minded and really kind. Theyre very good at listening. Whenever you have issues, or if you need to just to have a korero about anything, they will be there for you. Attending the Indigidata Aotearoa wananga in Wellington last year inspired her too. Im a very proud Maori, so the fact Im surrounded by not only the digital world but Maoritanga as well and just combining the two ... I really like that. She is interested in working in the Maori data sovereignty space. Looking forward to tech futures Nikolasa said Rotorua appreciated its primary industries, tradies and farmers, but there were alternatives and what were seeing with this generation is they want more. This is what theyve grown up with, games - they are so easy for them and theyve got minds that are crazily dynamic and they are self-taught. We know that, by 2030, Maori and Pasifika rangatahi are going to be 40% of the population, which is huge. If we dont give them the skills to really extend and enhance what they can do, then we undermine the future of the whole country. Update 8:30 a.m.: A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the Sangertown Square Mall shooting. Malachi T. Wynder, of Rome, is charged with attempted murder, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal possession of a loaded firearm. Wynder was arrested in Utica, according to a news release from New Hartford police Sunday. He is currently being held in the Oneida County jail. Original Story: New Hartford, N.Y. A man who was shot multiple times at an Oneida County shopping mall Saturday was the sole target, police said. A man was shot around 12:45 p.m. at the Sangertown Square Mall, New Hartford police said. The victim was treated by mall security staff, then taken to the hospital. A shelter-in-place order was issued and the mall was closed. This incident was not a random act of violence, as it appears a single suspect and single intended victim were involved, police said in a news release. Police did a sweep of the mall, but no one was arrested, they said. Police said the mall will reopen at 11 a.m. Sunday. Staff writer Timia Cobb covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at tcobb@syracuse.com. (Reuters) -India's Adani Group has revived plans for major infrastructure investments in the U.S., where the group's founder has been charged with bribery, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Since the election of President Donald Trump, the conglomerate has reactivated potential plans to fund projects in sectors such as nuclear power and utilities, as well as an East Coast port, the report said, citing four people close to founder and chair Gautam Adani. Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment in November accusing Gautam Adani of bribing Indian officials to persuade them to buy electricity produced by Adani Green Energy. "We know what we want to do, but we will wait until this (case) resolves," the FT quoted a person close to Adani as saying. Adani Group has said the charges were "baseless" and that it would seek "all possible legal recourse." It did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the FT report. The group had previously been in talks with U.S. companies on potential partnerships and had looked at petrochemical investments in Texas, the newspaper said. After Trump's November election win, Gautam Adani said the group planned to invest $10 billion in U.S. energy security and infrastructure projects, creating a potential 15,000 jobs. Trump has vowed to make it easier for energy companies to drill on federal land and build pipelines. "Once Trump came in, we have reactivated some plans," the FT said, citing another source it did not name. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked Indian authorities last month for help in its investigation of Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani over allegations of securities fraud and a $265-million bribery scheme. In 2023 the conglomerate was accused by U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which disbanded earlier this year, of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation that sparked a $150 billion rout in shares of the group's companies. Adani denied those allegations. (Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard) Jamesville-DeWitt School District leaders are doing real damage by brushing off death threats and violent behavior by a middle school student. Over the course of more than a year, the district has shown a pattern of preferential treatment toward the student, who is the son of a high-ranking administrator. Time and again, the child has been allowed to return to school despite his specific and frightening threats. This has created a dangerous environment for the more than 700 students, teachers and staff in the school. They are right to wonder if school discipline in this case is sufficiently harsh. It certainly hasnt been a deterrent. We all know of students who faced stiffer sanctions for much less egregious conduct. There is a bigger picture here. The districts unspoken message to teachers, kids and parents who have complained is that their concerns dont matter that they dont matter. The story begins in March 2024, when the student, then in sixth grade, was overheard saying he was going to bring a gun to school to shoot and kill a teacher. The boys father explained it away, blaming other kids for goading his son into saying things he shouldnt have said. The school did not suspend the student, and he returned to class. Police allowed the father to keep guns in the home under locks. The incident was not reported to parents. Its not clear if the teacher even knew about the death threat. The child made a second death threat in November against seventh-grade English teacher Denise Stillitano. The student described, in detail, how he would kill her and drew pictures, then turned in his plans as part of an assignment. The student was suspended but again was allowed to return to school. The father voluntarily turned over his guns to authorities. Again, the district did not report the threat to parents. It became public when Stillitano went to the school board in November to air her concerns that the district was not taking the incident seriously. In mid-February, the student choked a teachers aide in the hallway. He was suspended again, and Superintendent Peter Smith only notified parents after learning syracuse.com was about to publish a story. We dont know the students current status at the middle school. What we do know is that he has left terrified teachers and classmates in his wake. Their fears and complaints have fallen on deaf ears. This erodes trust at a time when school threats and lockdowns have become routine. School leaders need to rebuild that trust. They can start by being more transparent. Parents and staff should have been informed about the credible death threats against teachers. Smith cited state and federal student privacy laws for withholding that information. Thats a convenient excuse for saying nothing, when he needs to find a way to say something to reassure the school community. The conflict of interest posed by the students relationship to a school administrator makes transparency and communication even more important. The district also should be upfront about how it assesses threats and who determines whether a student should return to school. Two experts interviewed by staff writer Marnie Eisenstadt said the death threats and physical attack are red flags. Other perpetrators of school violence have exhibited similar behavior. Adults ignore it at the peril of harming many. Other childrens safety is at risk, said Ellen deLara, a Syracuse University professor who has studied school violence for more 25 years. It is time for J-D to stop prioritizing one familys needs above the safety of everyone else. Students, teachers and staff should not have to walk on eggshells around this troubled child. They deserve to work, learn and grow in an environment of safety and respect. He clearly needs more than the district has been able to provide. Perhaps a different educational setting can provide it. We understand that school leaders and superintendents face many tough decisions. When it comes to violence, especially repeated threats of violence, they must prioritize safety and security. No excuses. About Syracuse.com editorials Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte and Marie Morelli. To respond to this editorial: Submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines. If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion lead, at mmorelli@syracuse.com FILE - Washington State Park workers put up a new Canadian flag in front of an American flag about to be replaced during scheduled maintenance atop the Peace Arch in Peace Arch Historical State Park Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, in Blaine, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) AP DETROIT (AP) At the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, a quote from former President Ronald Reagan is engraved on one wall. Let the 5,000-mile border between Canada and the United States stand as a symbol for the future, Reagan said upon signing a 1988 free trade pact with Americas northern neighbor. Let it forever be not a point of division but a meeting place between our great and true friends. But a point of division is here. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump plans to impose a 25% tariff on most imported Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas. Mexico is also facing a 25% tariff. Canada has said it will retaliate with a 25% import tax on a multitude of American products, including wine, cigarettes and shotguns. The tariffs have touched off a range of emotions along the worlds longest international border, where residents and industries are closely intertwined. Ranchers in Canada rely on American companies for farm equipment, and export cattle and hogs to U.S. meat processors. U.S. consumers enjoy thousands of gallons of Canadian maple syrup each year. Canadian dogs and cats dine on U.S.-made pet food. The trade dispute will have far-reaching spillover effects, from price increases and paperwork backlogs to longer wait times at the U.S.-Canada border for both people and products, said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University. These industries on both sides are built up out of a cross-border relationship, and disruptions will play out on both sides, Trautman said. Even the threat of tariffs may have already caused irreparable harm, she said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged Canadians to buy Canadian products and vacation at home. The Associated Press wanted to know what residents and businesses were thinking along the border that Reagan vowed would remain unburdened by an invisible barrier of economic suspicion and fear. Heres what they said: Buffalo, New York-Ontario Buffalo, New York is, decidedly, a beer town. Its also a border town. That makes for a complementary relationship. Western New Yorks dozens of craft breweries rely on Canada for aluminum cans and much of the malted grain that goes into their brews. Canadians regularly cross one of the four international bridges into the region to shop, go to sporting events and sip Buffalos beers. Brewers and other businesses fear there may be less of that, though, if the tariffs on Canada and aluminum go into effect. Trumps repeated comments about making the neighboring nation the 51st U.S. state already offended its citizens - so much so that Buffalos tourism agency paused a campaign running in Canada because of negative comments. Obviously, having a bad taste in their mouth and booing the national anthem at sporting events is not a great thing for them coming down here and drinking our beer and hanging out in our city, said Jeff Ware, president of Resurgence Brewing Co. The historic factory building housing Wares business in Buffalo is about 4 miles from the Peace Bridge border crossing, where 1.8 million cars and buses and 518,000 commercial trucks entered Buffalo from Ontario last year. Its a terrible time to alienate customers, Canadian or American. The snowy first months of the year are hard enough for Buffalos breweries, Ware said. Higher prices from 25% tariffs would be yet another obstacle. Ware gets about 80% of the base malt be uses to make his specialty beers from Canada. Labor is more expensive, energy is more expensive, all of our raw ingredients are more expensive, he said. Its death by a thousand cuts. Skagway, Alaska-Whitehorse, Yukon People flocked from the boomtown of Skagway, Alaska, to Canadas Yukon in search of riches during the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s, following routes that Indigenous tribes long used for trade. Today, Skagway trades on its past, drawing more than 1 million cruise ship passengers a year to a historic downtown that features Klondike-themed museums. But the municipality with a population of about 1,100 still holds deep ties to the Yukon. Skagway residents frequently travel to Whitehorse, the territorys capital, for a wider selection of groceries and shopping, dental care, veterinary services and swimming lessons. The Alaskan citys port, meanwhile, still supports Yukon mining and is a critical hub for fuel and other essentials both communities need. Its a special connection, Orion Hanson, a contractor and Skagway Assembly member, said of Whitehorse, which sits 110 miles (177 kilometers) north and has 30,000 people. Its really our most accessible neighbor. Hanson is concerned about what tariffs might mean for the price of building supplies, such as lumber, concrete and steel. The cost of living in small, remote places already is high. People in Whitehorse and Skagway worry about the potential impact on community relations as well as prices. Norman Holler, who lives in Whitehorse, said the months the tariffs have loomed created an uncomfortable feeling and resentment. If the threat becomes reality, Holler said he would probably still visit Alaska border towns but not other parts of the United States. Is it rational? I dont know, but it satisfies an emotional need not to go, he said. Point Roberts, Washington-Delta, British Columbia At the border of Washington state and British Columbia, the tension over tariffs is evident in a waterfront community that is hoping for Canadian mercy. Point Roberts is a 5-square-mile (13-square kilometer) U.S. exclave whose only land connection lies in Canada, which supplies the unincorporated nub of American soil its water and electricity. Its a geographic oddity that requires a 20-mile drive around Canada to reach mainland Washington state. Local real estate agent Wayne Lyle, who like many of his neighbors has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, said some of Point Roberts roughly 1,000 residents are signing a petition pleading with British Columbias premier for an exemption to whatever retaliatory tariffs Canada may institute. Were basically connected to Canada. Were about as Canadian as an American city can be, Lyle said. Were unique enough that maybe we can get a break. Lyle, who serves as the president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce, said its too early to identify measurable effects, but he fears Canadians wont visit the popular summer getaway destination out of spite. We dont want Canada to think were the bad guys, Lyle said. Please dont take it out on us. Billings, Montana-Alberta The 545-mile (877-kilometer) stretch of land that separates Montana from Canada includes some of the sleepiest checkpoints on the binational border. Several of the states border posts had fewer than 50 crossings a day on average last year. But unseen, in underground pipelines that cut through vast fields of barley, flows about $5 billion annually worth of Canadian crude oil and natural gas, most of it from Alberta. The lines traverse a continental pivot point -- Montana is the only state with rivers that drain into the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Canadas Hudson Bay and deliver to refineries around Billings. Canada is one of our major supply sources for oil across the United States, said Dallas Scholes, the government affairs director of Houston-based refinery company Par Pacific, which runs a processing facility along the Yellowstone River. If tariffs are imposed on the oil and gas industry, its not going to be good for consumers. People in Montana drive long distances given its sprawling size and burn lots of natural gas through harsh winters, making its residents the highest energy consumers per capita in the U.S., according to federal data. That means a 10% tax on Canadian energy resources would be felt broadly. The states farmers would be among those hit more severely, given the large volumes of gasoline needed to run tractors and other equipment, according to Jeffrey Michael, director of the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research. It will be painful, but there are larger concerns if I were an agricultural producer in Montana, Michael said. Id be worried about the trade war escalating to where my products start to get hit with reciprocal tariffs. Detroit-Windsor, Ontario The Detroit River is all that separates Windsor, Ontario, from Detroit. The cities are so close that Detroiters can smell the drying grain at Windsors Hiram Walker distillery and Windsor can hear the music drifting from Detroits outdoor concert venues. Manufacturing muscle makes the Ambassador Bridge, the 1.4-mile-long span connecting the two cities, the busiest international crossing in North America. According to the Michigan company that owns the bridge, $323 million worth of goods travel each day between Windsor and Detroit, the automotive capitals of their countries. The U.S., Canada and Mexico have long operated as one nation when it comes to auto manufacturing, noted Pat DEramo, CEO of Vaughan, Ontario-based automotive suppler Martinrea. Tariffs will cause confusion and disruption, he said. Right now, steel coils arrive at a plant in Michigan and get stamped into parts that are shipped to Martinrea in Canada. Martinrea uses the parts to build vehicle sub-assemblies that get shipped back to an automaker in Detroit. A White House official told The Associated Press that parts would be taxed twice if they crossed the border multiple times, but its unclear if suppliers or their customers will have to pay for the tariffs. Also unclear is how a separate 25% levy on steel and aluminum that Trump said would take effect starting March 12 factors into the mix. DEramo understands the impulse to strengthen U.S. manufacturing but says the U.S. doesnt have the capacity to make all the tooling Martinrea would need if it were to shift production there. At the end of the day, he thinks its sad tariffs will take up so much time, energy and resources, and only make vehicles even more expensive. We need to be spending our time and money to get more efficient and reduce our costs so customers can reduce their costs, he said. Cutler, Maine-New Brunswick Commercial lobsterman John Drouin has fished for Maines signature seafood for more than 45 years, often in disputed waters known as the grey zone that straddle the U.S.-Canada border. The relationship between American and Canadian fishermen can sometimes be fraught, but harvesters on both side of the border know they depend on each other, Drouin said. Maine fishermen catch millions of pounds of lobsters every year, but much of the processing capacity for the valuable crustaceans is in Canada. If Trump follows through with the threatened tariffs next week, lobsters sent to Canada for processing would be subject to customs duties when they return to the U.S. to go to market. Drouin fears what will happen to the lobster industry if the trade dispute persists and Canada enacts a retaliatory tariff on lobsters. As the price goes up to the consumer, there comes a point where it just doesnt become palatable for them to purchase it, Drouin said. Drouin, 60, fishes out of Cutler, Maine, and sees Grand Manan Island, an island in the Bay of Fundy that is part of the province of New Brunswick, when he takes his boat out. He described his business as right smack on the Canadian border in terms of both economics and geography. He described himself as a fan of Trumps first term who is not overly thrilled with what hes been doing here. And he said hes concerned his home state could ultimately be hurt by the tariffs if the president isnt mindful of border industries such as his. The rhetoric is a bit much, whats taking place, Drouin said. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, front center, hosts the European leaders' summit to discuss Ukraine, at Lancaster House, London, Sunday March 2, 2025. Front row from left, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Center row from left, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Romania's Interim President Ilie Bolojan. Back row from left, NATO secretary General Mark Rutte, Netherlands' Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP) AP London British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts Sunday to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russias war. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden, he said. Starmers exhortation to 18 fellow leaders that they need to do the heavy lifting for their own security comes two days after U.S. backing of Ukraine appeared in jeopardy when President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasnt grateful enough for Americas support. The meeting had been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding that took place on live television at the White House. Starmer used the opportunity as part of his broader effort to bridge the gap between Europe and the U.S. and also salvage what had seemed like the start of a peace process before Fridays spat. Starmer said he had worked with France and Ukraine on a plan to end the war and that the group of leaders mostly from Europe had agreed on four things. The steps toward peace would: keep aid flowing to Kyiv and maintain economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraines hand; make sure Ukraine is at the bargaining table and any peace deal must ensure its sovereignty and security; and continue to arm Ukraine to deter future invasion. A coalition of the willing Finally, Starmer said they would develop a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine and guarantee the peace. Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that cant mean that we sit back, he said. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency. The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. He said any plan would require strong U.S. backing. He did not specify what that meant, though he told the BBC before the summit that there were intense discussions to get a security guarantee from the U.S. If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again, Starmer said. Starmer said he will later bring a more formal plan to the U.S. and work with Trump. Two diplomatic steps forward, one back Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Meetings last week had provided some hope until Zelenskyys trip to the White House on Friday. Visits to the Oval Office by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who had declared his visit a turning point, were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained that Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Within 12 hours of Starmers return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Putin could be trusted. During his Sunday press conference, Starmer rejected the suggestion that the U.S. was no longer a reliable ally. There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries and our defense, our security and intelligence is intertwined in a way no two other countries are, so its an important and reliable ally for us, he said. Starmer does not trust Putin Starmer told the BBC before the summit that he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said she was sorry for what happened with Zelenskyy in Washington. Meloni is both a strong Ukraine supporter and as head of a far-right party she is a natural ally of Trump. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration. She said told reporters following the meeting that Europe must remain focused on its common goals and that dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone. We need to work to reinforce our unity, and I think that Italy can play a role, not just in its own interest, but in everyones, she said. I dont want to take any other scenario into consideration. Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following his charm offensive with Macron to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also in attendance. Turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine Starmer used sweeping terms to describe the challenge ahead, saying Europe was at a crossroads in its history and needed to step up to meet once in a generation moment. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen emerged from the meeting and said she would present a plan to rearm Europe to bolster the blocs security after a long period of underinvestment. As for the future of war-torn Ukraine, von der Leyen said it needs security guarantees. We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength so that it has the means to fortify itself and to protect itself, von der Leyen said. Its basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders. Last week, Starmer pledged to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP. If we dont increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we wont end up well, he said. Starmer pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles. 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. (Reuters) -MNTN, a connected TV advertising platform that has Ryan Reynolds as its chief creative officer, filed for an initial public offering in the United States on Friday. The company enables brands to advertise on connected TVs devices with access to the internet that can stream online videos. It was backed by BlackRock and Fidelity Management and Research in a 2022 funding round. Brands are looking to refine their marketing strategies for the streaming landscape as cord-cutting accelerates, boosting demand for companies that can help support the transition. MNTN's revenue grew nearly 28% to $225.6 million last year. Net loss narrowed to $32.9 million, compared with $53.3 million a year earlier. The IPO will come at a time when expected deregulatory moves under the Trump administration encourage more companies to list, though trade policy uncertainty has rattled markets in recent weeks. The Texas-based company will seek to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MNTN." Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Evercore ISI are among the underwriters for the IPO. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona) Teleperformance SE, the world's largest call center operator, is implementing an artificial intelligence system designed to soften the accents of English-speaking Indian workers in real-time. The company claims this technology will enhance customer understanding and satisfaction. "When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it's hard to hear, to understand," Deputy Chief Executive Officer Thomas Mackenbrock told Bloomberg. "[This technology can] neutralize the accent of the Indian speaker with zero latency, [creates] more intimacy, increases the customer satisfaction, and reduces the average handling time." The technology analyzes speech input and modifies it to match a specified accent while preserving the speaker's original voice and emotion. The system uses speech recognition to capture the speaker's voice in real-time. Advanced algorithms then transcribe the spoken words into text, accounting for various accents and speech patterns. Once the system transcribes the speech, the core accent translation process analyzes the speaker's accent and pronunciation patterns. Then, it applies AI models trained on datasets of various accents to modify the voice. During the conversion, the software modifies intonation, stress patterns, and phoneme pronunciation to align with the target accent. The system employs text-to-speech (TTS) technology to synthesize the phonetic pattern and convert the text into a synthesized voice that maintains the speaker's original tone, emotion, and identity. Teleperformance is deploying technology with background noise cancellation in Indian call centers, providing customer support for international clients. Its customers include major tech companies like Apple, TikTok, and Samsung Electronics. The technology is part of a larger Teleperformance AI investment strategy. The company plans to invest up to 100 million ($104 million) in AI partnerships in 2025. Palo Alto-based startup Sanas developed the accent technology after a $13 million Teleperformance investment earlier this year. The software comes as the call center industry faces challenges from the rise of AI chatbots. Last year, Teleperformance experienced a significant drop in share prices after Swedish fintech firm Klarna Bank announced that its AI assistant was doing the work equivalent to 700 full-time agents. In response, Teleperformance has focused on using AI to enhance rather than replace its workforce of 490,000 employees. Sanas states that its goal is to reduce "accent-based discrimination." However, while the software may not replace workers directly, there are concerns about the potential impact on call centers in places like the Philippines, which have built their market position on high-quality English speakers. Currently, the software supports Indian and Filipino inflections. Sanas is developing versions for other regions, including Latin America. Mackenbrock emphasized that while AI will be ubiquitous, "the human element will be incredibly important" in building connections and enhancing customer experiences. Environmental activist killed in southern Mexico Mexico City, March 2 (AFP) Mar 02, 2025 An environmental activist was shot and killed in southern Mexico in the latest attack on an ecologist in that country, a rights group announced Sunday. Cristino Castro Perea, 63, was targeted late Friday in southern Oaxaca state by two people passing on a motorcycle, according to the Center for Human Rights and Advice to Indigenous Peoples (CEDHAPI). "Two people on a motorcycle fired on him repeatedly, costing his life," the group said. Castro Perea was part of an environmental group that since 2013 has opposed the development of an ambitious project planned to cover 60 acres (24 hectares) along a Pacific Ocean beach. Amid local protests, Mexico's federal government in 2023 classified the site as a protected natural zone, blocking the construction of a hotel. The Mexican bureau of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the shooting, which it said happened despite the fact that Castro Perea in theory enjoyed special federal protection extended to certain journalists and activists. It called on the government to investigate the shooting and to guarantee the protection of other members of his group. Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for rights and environmental activists. Eighteen eco-activists were killed there in 2023 and few of the crimes have been solved, according to the international group Global Witness. sem/llu/def/ybl/bbk/bfm (Reuters) -Shell is considering a potential sale of its chemicals assets in Europe and the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The energy group has hired Morgan Stanley to conduct a strategic review of its chemicals operations, the report said. Shell and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Potential buyers could include private equity firms and Middle Eastern entities seeking to expand their Western presence, according to the newspaper. The review is in its early stages and Shell has not yet made any definitive decisions regarding a potential sale, the Journal reported, adding that one of the assets included in the review was Shell's Deer Park facility in Texas. The Deer Park operation is adjacent to a refinery that Shell previously sold its 100% stake to joint-venture partner, Mexican state oil firm Pemex. Last year Shell sold its refining and chemicals hub in Singapore, one of the world's largest. The British company warned earlier this year that it expects trading in its chemicals and oil products division to be significantly lower quarter-on-quarter due to lower seasonal demand. Shell chief executive Wael Sawan has been focused on cutting costs and pivoting the company back to its most profitable sectors oil, gas, and biofuels while shifting away from renewable power. Last December, Reuters reported exclusively that the oil major was stepping back from new offshore wind investments and is splitting its power division after a review of the business that was once seen as a key driver of the company's energy transition strategy. (Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Gursimran Kaur, Editing by Jane Merriman and Ros Russell) SmartAsset and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. The short interest ratio helps traders and analysts understand market sentiment and potential price moves. It compares the number of shares sold short to the average daily trading volume. A high ratio means more investors are betting against the stock, which may push prices down or lead to a short squeeze if buying demand rises. While it doesn't predict future performance, it shows how investors view the stock based on recent trading activity. A financial advisor can help you assess how the movement of the stock market and risk can impact your investments, and develop a strategy to manage your portfolio. What Is Short Interest Ratio? The short interest ratio is a financial metric that indicates how long it would take short sellers to cover their positions based on average daily trading volume. It is calculated by dividing the total number of shares sold short by the stock's average daily trading volume. A high short interest ratio suggests a significant number of traders are betting on a stock's decline. This number helps investors gauge market sentiment and potential volatility. A stock with a low short interest ratio generally experiences more liquidity and less short-selling pressure. A high ratio indicates that covering short positions could take multiple days, potentially leading to a short squeeze, when short sellers move quickly to buy shares to cover their positions. The ratio varies across industries and market conditions, making it more meaningful when analyzed in context. Differing circumstances can produce different short interest ratio values. For example, a cyclical stock might naturally have a higher short interest ratio during an economic downturn. A fast-growing tech company, on the other hand, could see short interest spike due to valuation concerns. Whatever the broader situation, investors monitor changes in the short interest ratio to identify shifts in sentiment. A sudden increase may signal growing skepticism about a stock's outlook. A decline in short interest ratio could suggest short sellers are unwinding their positions, potentially due to improving fundamentals or momentum. How to Calculate Short Interest Ratio The short interest ratio is calculated using a simple formula: Short Interest Ratio = Total Shares Sold ShortAverage Daily Trading Volume To compute the ratio, investors first obtain the total number of shares currently sold short. This number is reported by exchanges and available through financial data providers. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The dismembered remains of a 14-year-old girl were found near an Arizona highway, weeks after she went missing. Police are now trying to determine how she died and who is responsible. Emily Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, was last seen wearing a pink and gray shirt on January 27 around 7.45 p.m. in the area of Mesa Drive and McKellips Road, Mesa Police announced last month. Weeks later, on February 14, her remains in a trash bag were found off Highway 60 milepost 277 near Globe, the Gila County Sheriffs Office said Thursday. The sheriffs office and other law enforcement agencies are conducting an investigation into the homicide. The teens remains were found in different trash bags - with some of her limbs still missing, according to AZ Family. The autopsy showed she had face and head trauma, according to the outlet. A cause of death has not been determined. My daughter, she was a very happy and kind person. She loves painting. She loves art. She loves to draw, Steff Dosela, the girls mother, told Arizonas Family. Pike aspired to go to college and pursue art, her mother said. open image in gallery The dismembered remains of Emily Pike, 14, were found at the side of a highway in Arizona, weeks after she was reported missing ( Mesa Police Department ) The teen was living in a group home in Mesa at the time she disappeared while her family was living on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Her case manager finally came a week later to tell me she was missing, Dosela told the outlet. Now that the teens remains have been found, her family has questions about what led to her death. Why did it go that far? She was just an innocent she was a baby. [This is] pain that I hope no other mother would go through, Dosela said, choking up. No one has yet been arrested in connection to Pikes death, but authorities are currently speaking to three potential suspects, Dosela told the outlet. They have three suspects, but they didnt tell me their names yet. They will talk to me about it today, the grieving mother said. The Independent has reached out to the sheriffs office for more information. Youll never be forgotten. I love you, her mom said. Until we meet again, rest in peace. Authorities are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact the Gila County Sheriffs Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or San Carlos Apache Tribal Police. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A suspect has been arrested months after a murder victim was found partially buried at a Florida fast-food drive-thru. Michael Canty, 54, was charged last week in connection to the June 2024 death of Dawn Morrison, 48, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office. On June 18, deputies responded to a Tampa Churchs Chicken after a person found Morrisions body partially covered in mulch near the drive-thru, according to the sheriffs office. The body was decomposed and an autopsy said she sustained upper body trauma. Authorities did not release further details about how she died. Her death was ruled a homicide. open image in gallery Michael Canty has been charged with murder in connection to the death of Dawn Morrison who was found dead at a Florida fast-food drive-thru ( Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office ) Investigators spoke to her friends, collected DNA evidence and reviewed surveillance video. That led them to Canty as a suspect. Video showed Canty and Morris walking to a dumpster near a McDonalds on June 15, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The two then walked toward the Church, and a loud scream of help could be heard before the camera stopped recording. The video also showed Canty walking between the two restaurants in the area and changing his clothes. Canty said he was with the woman to do drugs. He initially denied going to the drive-thru. However, when shown the video, he said it was possible, and he didnt remember, according to the Times. When he was charged, Canty was already in custody on an unrelated charge of failure to register as a sex offender, authorities said. He now faces charges of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. At last, some sense on the causes of our poor productivity performance. For ages, weve been told its the governments fault maybe even the voters fault for failing to make economic reforms. But last week the econocrats finally set the record straight: the problem is, our businesses have stopped doing the things that make us more productive. For about a decade, weve had little improvement in the economys productivity its ability to produce more goods and services from an unchanged quantity of inputs of labour and capital. That is, to be a bit more efficient this year than we were last year. Most of the other rich economies have the same problem, but ours seems worse than most. Its by increasing our productivity that weve become so much more prosperous than our great-grandparents. For instance, in 1901 it took 18 minutes of the average workers time to afford a loaf of bread, while today its just four minutes. Working from home is linked with lower wage growth, higher productivity and happier staff. Credit: Dionne Gain Its remarkable the way the nations economists have stayed silent while vested interests such as the (Big) Business Council have sought to use this problem to press the government for favours that would make them more profitable without having to try any harder. Ever since Rio Tinto (legally) blew up 46,000 year-old sacred rock caves in Western Australias Juukan Gorge in 2020, the multinational mining company has been on a long campaign of image rehabilitation and wokewashing. The scandal cost former chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques his job, led to now-repealed cultural heritage laws in WA, and saw Rio spend millions supporting Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Juukan Gorge before its destruction by Rio Tinto in 2020. Now, Rio Tinto is contributing funding to the University of Melbournes forthcoming Eddie Mabo Centre, named after the pioneering land rights campaigner who was the plaintiff in the famous 1992 High Court case that brought an end to the doctrine of Terra Nullius and paved the way for Native Title. The centre is billed as a transformational joint initiative of the National Native Title Council and the University of Melbourne. It will support Traditional Owners in this transition and First Nations youth to become community leaders and drive economic change in their communities. Fortunately, Irans filmmakers are here to remind us. For decades, they have been risking prison and persecution to turn their national cinema one of the most powerful we have. With ingenuity and a subtle intelligence, they have used film to open a window on Irans so-called justice system, its family life and its shades of political thinking. The widespread animosity provoked by the Iranian regime tends to obscure the fact that a large section of the countrys population is well-educated, sophisticated and longing to rejoin the rest of the world in peace. Writer-director Mohammad Rasoulof was facing the possibility of an eight-year prison sentence for his activism when he began shooting The Seed of the Sacred Fig in secret. When he finished, he had to flee the country to settle in Germany. The film has since rewarded him by winning the Jury Prize at Cannes as well as being nominated as Germanys entry in this years Oscars. Set during the womens uprising which followed the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Irans morality police, its one of the most forthright films to come out of the country in quite a while. Some Iranian directors work obliquely through metaphor and allegory to make their points. This one, too, has its metaphorical aspects, but Rasoulof has no interest in camouflage. Hes on the front line with a devastating political thriller about a familys disintegration. The script was inspired by time he spent in Evin prison, where one of his captors admitted how much he hated his job while lacking the courage to give it up. Out of this conversation came the character of Iman (Missagh Zare), who has just been promoted to the post of investigating judge when the film begins. His wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), is delighted, as are his daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami), a university student, and Sana (Setareh Maleki), whos in high school. Then the womens protests spill over on to the streets and Iman is pressured into signing a series of death warrants without even viewing the evidence. And at the same time, his daughters start to question the brutality of the regimes crackdown. For a while, it looks as if the script is about to broaden its focus and bring the family into direct conflict with the regime but Rasoulof has something more intimate in mind. Advertisement Eating outJust open Cult US burger chain Five Guys to open at new hospitality hub Extra toppings are built into the price of the burger, which means customers can add any or all 15 to their order at no extra cost. Scott Bolles March 3, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share As US cult burger chain Five Guys opens its third outlet in Sydney on Monday, March 10 at Martin Places slick new metro interchange. The big question is: will it still draw the crowds? Five Guys first came to Australia in 2021, opening in Penrith before adding an outlet on Sydneys George Street and expanding to Victoria. Lines were long and stats were broken, with Melbournes Southbank recording the highest-grossing opening trade weeks in the history of international Five Guys. Fast-forward to 2025 and Sydneys burger game is as strong as ever, with excellent options from restaurants such as The Gidley, Saint Peter and Neil Perrys Next Door, to more casual offerings such as Marys, Pauls, Burger Park, Self Raised Bread Shoppe and the list goes on. The new Martin Place outlet. Steven Siewert Operators of the franchise think crowds will come and are banking on its location next to the escalators near the Castlereagh entrance to the metro to get more people in and out. Five Guys head of operations for Australia, Phil Keelan, says the location was partially informed by Five Guys Italian expansion, which links into railway stations and leverages commuters tendency to purchase before they jump on a train rather than off. Advertisement Martin Place is the fifth local store and Five Guys first underground venue in Australia. It also has the most seats, with 96. It opens alongside a number of food outlets in or near the burgeoning hospitality hub, including Petit Loulou and Lune. Keelan concedes that a regular Five Guys burger, which costs about $18, is on the more expensive end of the spectrum. But with the chains highly customisable menu, letting customers build their burgers from scratch, and 15 signature extra toppings (such as grilled mushrooms, onions and jalapeno peppers), it represents relatively good value for money. Toppings are built into the price of the burger, so customers can add any or all 15 to their order at no extra cost. Australians prefer to customise their Five Guys burgers more than other nationalities. Five Guys does a couple of other things differently to its US burger chain counterparts. Potatoes are hand-cut into fries each morning, burger patties are made in-store by hand from Australian beef, and lettuce is hand-shredded. Advertisement Globally, Five Guys is known for its famously fastidious head office, which is in Virginia. The potatoes sourced for Five Guys fries have to be grown above a specific line of latitude for cooler nights and denser spuds (42 degrees in the northern hemisphere), and only one particular barbecue sauce (imported from the US) can be used. There are also no freezers or microwaves. However, does a mountain of guidelines a good burger make? Keelan thinks so. Five Guys food menu hasnt changed in 39 years and is replicated internationally, so Keelan can compare Australian consumers with the rest of the world. Statistically, Australians like to customise burgers more than the rest of the planet, he says. We like to think [were] more discerning, he says. And Australians also dont skimp; we hold the crown for upgrading to two patties. Customers queue at Five Guys in Melbourne. Jason South If the interior looks familiar, its because the signature red-and-white colour scheme comes straight from the Five Guys playbook. Designers working on a new store have to refer to a 400-page building tome that staff refer to as the cookbook. Advertisement Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up A self-proclaimed gypsy healer who allegedly fleeced grieving Sydneysiders of their fortunes is part of a multi-generation crime family, which was once caught in a covert television sting, police claim. Police documents, released by the NSW Supreme Court, allege the Williams family have been scamming people using bogus psychic claims since as early as 2002. Self-described gypsy Maria Williams is accused of scamming a vulnerable woman using a bizarre cleansing ritual. Maria Williams, 47, and husband Larry, were arrested by police in August last year after a heartbroken woman allegedly sold her home and transferred $160,000 to the psychic. Police alleged Maria, who also goes by Anna Woods, Anna Wilson, Charlotte Woods, Celine Woods, and Amina Adams, had offered to spiritually cleanse the money and return it to the woman, but only a fraction of the funds ever trickled back to the victim. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size A tall and good-looking man was waiting for Robyn Barlow in a bed bay on the ground floor of the Australian Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service at 1 York Street one afternoon in 1967. James Harrison had a deep voice and a lovely smile, and cut a fine figure in his suit. Barlow sat at the end of the bed, and the pair talked as Harrisons blood was slowly siphoned from his right arm. It was a ritual they would repeat with increasing frequency: every three months, then monthly and finally fortnightly. He is my hero, Barlow says 58 years later. A regular blood donation can save three lives. A plasma donation can save up to 18. Harrison was no ordinary donor. His remarkable blood helped save the lives of 2.4 million babies. Known as the man with the golden arm, Harrison had blood that contained high concentrations of a potent antibody used to make the anti-D injections that protect unborn babies from a deadly and devastating condition called rhesus D haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN). Every ampoule of anti-D ever made in Australia had James in it until he retired [in 2018], Barlow said. Advertisement Harrison died on Monday, February 17. He was 88. His legacy is at the heart of a wild story about canny science, boundless goodwill, an errant blood transfusion, rhesus monkeys and rabbits vanquishing a devastating and deadly disease. Its also a story of the search for the holy grail of anti-D research: reproducing what made Harrisons donations so special in the form of laboratory-made anti-D serum, or James in a jar. An exceptionally cruel disease Before anti-D was discovered, HDFN killed more infants than almost any other disease and caused lifelong disability. Up to one in six newborns were at risk, amounting to 40,000 babies every year in Australia. Loading HDFN manifests when a pregnant woman with rhesus-negative blood (O-, A-, B- or AB-) is carrying a baby that has inherited their fathers positive blood type. If that babys blood cells cross the placenta to the mother which happens in almost every pregnancy the mothers immune system mistakes them for a foreign invader and produces antibodies that can cross back through the placenta to seek out and destroy the threat. Advertisement This defence system can have catastrophic consequences. HDFN causes miscarriage and stillbirth. Newborns who survive are born bloated, with brain damage or severe anaemia (a condition caused by a lack of healthy oxygen-rich red blood cells). A womans first baby is usually spared, but her immune system is now sensitised and primed to fight off the next invaders: her childs younger siblings. The mothers antibodies multiply, intensifying the reaction to her babies red blood cells with the potential to inflict increasingly severe damage with every subsequent pregnancy. The Rhesus monkey and the rabbit No one knew what caused HDN before the Rhesus factor was discovered in 1940. Scientists Austrian-American Karl Landsteiner and American Alexander Weiner injected the red blood cells of rhesus monkeys into rabbits. The monkeys blood raised antibodies in the rabbits, but Landsteiner and Weiner also found these rabbit antibodies also reacted to the red blood cells of roughly 85 per cent of caucasian humans. This 85 per cent had rhesus factor: the Rh-D protein in their red blood cells (Rhesus positive). The other 15 per cent who dont have the Rh-D protein are rhesus-negative. The unvaccine In the late 1950s, a young doctor from Bendigo, John Gorman, hit upon a mad idea: what if the cause of HDFN was also the solution? With his colleagues, American obstetrician Vincent Freda and immunologist William Pollack, Gorman theorised that injecting Rh-negative pregnant women with lower doses of the antibodies would mop up her babys Rh-positive blood cells before the mothers immune system could detect them and mobilise its own antibodies. Advertisement It was an unvaccine, Gorman quipped. Vaccines trigger an immune response to protect against viruses. Anti-D, he theorised, would stop the immune response that caused HDFN. Vincent Freda (left) and John Gorman. After preliminary trials among male volunteers in Sing Sing prison, Gormans sister-in-law and nurse, Kath Gorman, was the first woman injected with anti-D (she went on to have seven children). Gorman announced the breakthrough at the International Blood Transfusion Congress in Sydney in 1966. It was a sensation, Barlow said. It was absolutely captivating. At the time, eminent Australian immunologist Gustav Nossal called the defeat of HDFN a revolution in medicine. Within months, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (now Lifeblood) was scouring its records for people whose blood contained pre-formed anti-D to establish the worlds first anti-D donor program. Some of the first donors were mothers whose babies died of HDFN. Men soon followed, and Harrison was among them. Advertisement James marvellous immunoglobulin Its unclear why exactly Harrisons blood came to be so rich in anti-D and sustained its potency for years, but it probably has a lot to do with a massive blood transfusion he received when he was 14 years old. Harrison reckoned he needed 13 units (7.4 litres) of blood to survive the risky operation to remove most of his left lung. But he could not be sure because he was just happy to be alive. He swore to become a blood donor when he turned 18. Some of those units must have been Rh+ blood. The first anti-D donors were given 20 millilitres of positive blood to maintain their antibody levels. Harrisons body was flooded with the stuff. Who knows how many units were positive blood, but it was a jolly good thing that they were, Barlow said. Harrison, then an administrator at NSWs railway authority, did not hesitate when the Red Cross asked him to join their anti-D program in 1967. In 2016, Harrison said: They asked me to be a guinea pig, and Ive been donating ever since. Fifteen years after the transfusion, Harrison still had sky-high antibody levels. Advertisement During work hours, Jason Fallscheer is a man in a suit hes a finance broker in a CBD office among 800 people. Its a high-pressure job, and he says at times he feels isolated, being the only person in that role in his firm. But in the past year, hes found the perfect after-work counterpoint. He sings in a satirical choir called Men in Suits. It hasn't attracted a ton of publicity but Expedia.com, Hotels.com, and Vrbo customers can't redeem their OneKey cash on Vrbo properties hosted by most property managers. That's because Vrbo requires that property management companies unlike individual hosts be the merchant of record and handle their own payments. Now Vrbo is trying to fix that issue. Appearing earlier this week on the Alex & Annie podcast, Tim Rosolio, vice president of vacation rental partnerships at Expedia, said the company will introduce an optional program for property managers this year that would enable Vrbo to be the merchant of record for their bookings. Customers would be able to use their OneKey cash on those listings. That not only boosts the OneKey program is an important way for Vrbo to take market share from hotels and other rivals. "We know that some property managers value maintaining merchant of record status, and at the same time, travelers are increasingly looking for a less-fragmented booking and payments experience," Rosolio told Skift in a statement Friday. "Additionally, we know that travelers value the ability to earn and redeem rewards across all their stays. At Vrbo, were building a solution for professional property managers that will enable travelers to have a seamless experience and access to the full benefits of our loyalty program." On the other hand, Airbnb is the merchant of record for all bookings. An Expedia Group spokesperson declined to detail the number of property management listings on Vrbo versus individual host listings. However, 2020 U.S. data from Key Data found that property management revenue from Vrbo was more than double that of Airbnb. Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said during the company's second quarter earnings call last year that 30% of Expedia and Hotels.com customers who used OneKey cash to book stays on Vrbo were new to the brand. A 'Complication' in Expedia's Loyalty Program A key element of the OneKey loyalty program, launched in 2023 and available for customers in the U.S. and the UK, is to enable customers of Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Vrbo to earn and burn OneKey cash on any of these brands. Rosolio on the podcast characterized it as a "complication" that Expedia Group customers can't redeem their OneKey cash on Vrbo's property manager listings. "Think of it like a currency. It's like Swiss francs or euros and your cash register doesn't take OneKey cash," he said. So Expedia Group is building the tech and program to change that. Rough sleepers could be fined in a City of Port Phillip plan to fight crime, prompting concerns from its own councillors about whether the move would make homelessness illegal in the municipality. A surge in crime, particularly drug-related offences in suburbs such as St Kilda, has led concerned residents to call on local government to take more action to disband encampments by introducing move-on laws. Residents have raised concerns about anti-social behaviour in St Kilda, prompting a proposal to issue fines to the homeless. Credit: Joe Armao At a recent meeting, councillors unanimously approved a motion to have officers investigate changing local laws to explicitly prohibit people from sleeping rough on council land, roads or footpaths. A prohibition on camping in the area would also be extended to include the homeless, removing exemptions for people who have nowhere else to sleep or if they have other complex needs, such as a disability or illness. Coughlan said a desire for better views, the need to replace ageing infrastructure and rising sea-level predictions would influence the eventual design of the proposed raised boardwalk on the foreshore. The current promenade is well-used in Warrnambool popular with joggers and walkers but Coughlan said the promenade was ageing and would need to be replaced in future. A visual representation of the proposed raised boardwalk in Warrnambool. If we get bigger seas, potentially that foredune will continue to erode further, and could get to the promenade and that may be undermined. The raised boardwalk concept is among the long-term features of the foreshore plan. Coughlan said Warrnambools population swells by 10,000 people during summer and the council wanted to increase visitation. That might involve adding more tourist attractions, which could eventually include new sea baths. The sea baths proposal would require funding from other levels of government and further planning. The councils foreshore report said sea baths would allow for ocean swimming in a safe environment, although it has not yet released any detailed designs. Seaweed is one of the challenges on the Warrnambool foreshore. Credit: Nicole Cleary Sea baths provide an opportunity to swim within the protected waters of the bay, it said. They offer accessibility to deeper water swimming throughout the year and help to avoid the built-up seaweed on the shoreline. The report also warns that rising sea levels might result in beach erosion and localised flooding. One of the main routes through the foreshore, Pertobe Road, is also at risk from sea-level rise and flooding in the future. Seaweed build-up and overgrown vegetation blocking bay views were also among the challenges that needed to be managed on the foreshore, the report noted. RMIT honorary principal research fellow Ian McShane said lightweight timber sea baths should be able to withstand rising sea levels. I dont see long-term sea level rise being any particular threat to a facility like that, he said. The Merri River in Warrnambool. Credit: Nicole Cleary McShane, who specialises in social infrastructure including swimming pools, said sea baths in Warrnambool could be a marvellous asset for the public. All but one Warrnambool City councillor voted in favour of the foreshore plan, although most of them raised concerns about some proposals. The councillors noted the plan might change as more detailed work was carried out. Councillor Richard Ziegeler, who voted against the plan, said the foreshore was covered in explosive species that posed a fire threat to residents and holidaymakers. At its coming meeting on Monday, the Warrnambool City Council will also vote on a flood investigation for South Warrnambool, which recommends introducing new interim controls to guide development in the flood-prone area. Riverine flooding and sea-level rise is expected to get worse due to climate change. Credit: Nicole Cleary The investigation report warns some vacant lots may no longer be appropriate for development while in other cases, building plans will need to be adjusted. The flood investigation has shown that there is a significant amount of residential land at risk of flooding which currently has no flood-related planning controls, the report says. Loading The state governments current coastal policy factors in sea-level rise of 0.8 metres by 2100. However, the South Warrnambool report also modelled forecasts of 1.2 metres by 2100, which is more in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes predictions. The report warns there is a risk landowners may obtain permission to develop in an area that is subject to potential flooding before further planning controls are introduced. The report recommends introducing interim overlays until permanent controls are established. It said the council was aware of landowners concerns about the impact on their property prices and ability to obtain insurance. Planners typically use a benchmark of a one-in-100 flood event to guide development and where homes can be built. The report found 25 properties would be flooded above floor level in a riverine flood and two above the floor in a storm tide under current conditions in the study area. But in a 1.2-metre sea-level rise scenario in 2100, 97 properties would be flooded above floor level in a riverine flood and 68 would be flooded above the floor in a storm tide. Former meteorologist and oceanographer Peter Dexter, who lives about 15 minutes from Warrnambool, said the coast was under attack from the sea. Former oceanographer Peter Dexter, who lives near Warrnambool, wants to see more community awareness about how climate change will impact life on the coast. Credit: Nicole Cleary Thats always been the case, and always will be, he said. But this is increasing with climate change. Dexter is arranging a public event together with Deakin University and the University of the Third Age next month at which coastal experts and councils will discuss how communities can manage coastlines. A single cut to official interest rates has put a floor under Australian house values, with signs of recovery in Sydney and Melbourne and confirmation that the heat has come out of the nations ultra-expensive rental market. As Treasurer Jim Chalmers and the oppositions Angus Taylor set themselves up for at least one election campaign debate on the state of the economy, figures from CoreLogic released on Monday show the February interest rate cut has buoyed the spirits of potential buyers. House values have risen across the country but rents are easing, according to new data. Credit: Peter Rae After 10 consecutive months of declines, Melbournes median house value rose 0.4 per cent in February while the value of units across the city increased 0.2 per cent. Despite the rise, house values in Melbourne are down 3.1 per cent over the past year while apartments have slipped 3.2 per cent. In Sydney, house values lifted 0.3 per cent to be up 1.3 per cent over the past 12 months. Apartment values also inched up, by 0.2 per cent, in February to be 0.7 per cent stronger over the past year. Tel Aviv/Cairo: Israel stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of additional consequences if Hamas does not accept a new proposal for an extension of the first phase of a fragile ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the truce and said its decision to cut off aid was cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the [ceasefire] agreement. Both sides stopped short of saying the ceasefire had ended. The first phase of the ceasefire, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday. The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout and a lasting ceasefire. Gaza has been left devastated by the Israeli bombardment. Credit: Bloomberg An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the decision to suspend aid was made in co-ordination with the Trump administration. Washington and Moscow have been repairing relations at breakneck speed, comparable only to the speed at which the Trump administration is breaking things at home. After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia on February 18, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the two sides had resolved to eliminate impediments to improving bilateral relations, a phrasing that sent chills down the spines of Russian exiles me included who have sought what at the time seemed like safe harbour in the United States. Of course, Russias president, Vladimir Putin, has his sights set on much more than a bunch of political exiles. And his negotiations with President Donald Trump about Ukraine are not just about Ukraine. Putin wants nothing less than to reorganise the world, the way Joseph Stalin did with the accords he reached with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in the Crimean city of Yalta in February 1945. Putin has wanted to carve the globe up for a long time. Now, at last, Trump is handing him the knife. Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance during their explosive meeting in the Oval Office. Credit: Bloomberg How do I know Putin wants this? Because he has said so. In fact, he, Lavrov and a cadre of Kremlin propagandists and revisionist historians havent shut up about Yalta for more than a decade. After illegally annexing Crimea in 2014, Putin addressed a gathering celebrating the 70th anniversary of the accords; it culminated in the unveiling of a monument to the three Allied leaders. His reverence for the Yalta accords goes beyond the glorification of the once-mighty Soviet Union and its leader Stalin; he believes that the agreement those three heads of state struck with the Soviet Union keeping three Baltic states it had annexed as well as parts of Poland and Romania, and later securing domination over six eastern and central European countries and part of Germany remains the only legitimate framework for European borders and security. In February, as Russia celebrated the accords 80th anniversary and prepared to sit down with the Trump administration, Lavrov and the official Russia historians reiterated this message in article after article. As though this wasnt enough humiliation, a member of the presidents new hand-picked press pool, Brian Glenn, of the right-wing Real Americas Voice, asked Zelensky, Why dont you wear a suit? And then, Do you own a suit? Loading (He was echoing Trump, who mocked Zelensky when he arrived, saying: Ooh, youre all dressed up. The Ukrainian president had on black pants, top and boots, similar to what Elon Musk wears at the White House.) Even though we should be used to it by now, it was still shocking to see Trump parrot the view of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a murderous tyrant who wants to swallow Ukraine in a fit of nostalgia for the Soviet Union. Trump insisted that they were fellow victims. Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me, Trump said, as though they were army buddies. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia. US intelligence agencies found that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election on Trumps behalf. You see the hatred hes got for Putin, Trump said of Zelensky. Its very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate. The president doesnt understand why Zelensky is not happy with Putin for invading the smaller country and beating the bejesus out of it, for decimating a generation of young Ukrainian soldiers, for breaking ceasefires and committing war crimes. Zelensky deserves our thanks. He has endured so much, keeping the David versus Goliath dream alive, exposing the weakness of the Russian military and basically taking it on the chin for the rest of Europe to keep Putin from gobbling up more territory. But instead of being gracious, Trump booted Zelensky out of the White House, leaving the heros lunch on a tray in the hall, torpedoing his existential fight to save his battered country and Ukrainian lives. Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelensky while Russian leaders rejoiced. The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office, said Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and Putin toady. Loading A cascade of gobsmacked Western leaders wrapped Zelensky in a warm online embrace. Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader, said Kaja Kallas, the European Unions top diplomat. Frances president, Emmanuel Macron, posted, Il y a un agresseur: la Russie. [There is an aggressor: Russia.] European leaders had tried to guide Trump in the days before Zelensky arrived, but Trump is wedded to his demented dream of a troika of strongmen himself, Putin and Xi Jinping astride the world. Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of Britain, came to Washington, humouring Trump. Starmer grandly delivered a cream envelope with an unprecedented invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit, perhaps to Balmoral. A real king soothing the ego of a hooligan who thinks hes a king. All the flattery did not soften up Trump. It puffed him up. Everyone is so obsequious around Trump that he now gets huffy at the least pushback. He can make any claim, no matter how outrageous that Ukraine started the war with Russia, that Zelensky is a dictator. But if anyone points out that he is wrong, he blows a gasket. After Trump flew off to Mar-a-Lago, Zelensky did an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News. He did not apologise when Baier asked him if he should. I cant, you know, change our Ukrainian attitude to Russia, he said, adding that Putin wants to kill us. He said the meeting came a cropper because he talked honestly about the need for security guarantees. We just want to recognise the reality, the real situation. He added that everybody is afraid that Putin will come back tomorrow. Trump does not do well with reality; he tries to impose his own on the rest of us. Zelensky said that Trump had told him he wanted to be in the middle of the negotiations. But the Ukrainian president demurred: I want really him to be more at our side [because] the war began when Russia brought this war to our country. About Ukrainians, he said: They just want to hear that America on our side and America will stay with us, not with Russians. Total sales increased 3%; fifth consecutive month of best-ever total sales Santa Fe HEV, Tucson and Ioniq 6 hit February records Electrified sales up 35%; HEV sales jump 57%; EV sales Increased 6% FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., March 1, 2025 -- Hyundai Motor America reported record-breaking total February sales of 62,032 units, a 3% increase compared with February 2024. This was the best February in Hyundai's history, a record fifth consecutive month setting total sales records. All time total sales records in February were set for Santa Fe HEV (+194%), Tucson (+2%) and IONIQ 6 (+12%). Total sales of hybrid electric vehicles jumped 57%, while total electrified sales grew by 35%. "This was the best ever February for Hyundai in total sales and the fifth consecutive month of total sales records driven by our volume leader Tucson and continued growth in EVs and hybrids," said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America. "I expect our strong and diverse product line-up will propel us to further gains in market share and deliver on customer demand." February Total Sales Summary Feb-25 Feb-24 % Chg 2025 YTD 2024 YTD % Chg Hyundai 62,032 60,341 +3 % 116,535 107,884 +8 % February Product and Corporate Activities Jose Munoz Named 2025 MotorTrend Person of the Year : MotorTrend has named Hyundai Motor Company President and CEO Jose Munoz as its 2025 Person of the Year and the highest rank of its 50 person 2025 MotorTrend Power List. : MotorTrend has named Hyundai Motor Company President and CEO Jose Munoz as its 2025 Person of the Year and the highest rank of its 50 person 2025 MotorTrend Power List. Hyundai Motor Group Celebrates 20 Years of Driving Innovation at the California Proving Ground: Hyundai held a celebration event in honor of 20 successful years of quality and performance testing at its California Proving Ground (CPG) in California City, Calif. The $80 million facility, which opened in 2005, has seen more than 5,000 Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles undergo rigorous testing on a variety of roads and in extreme conditions to ensure their quality, durability, reliability, and safety. Hyundai held a celebration event in honor of 20 successful years of quality and performance testing at its California Proving Ground (CPG) in The facility, which opened in 2005, has seen more than 5,000 Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles undergo rigorous testing on a variety of roads and in extreme conditions to ensure their quality, durability, reliability, and safety. IONIQ 6 Named the Highest-Ranking Mass-Market BEV in J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study: Hyundai continues to raise the bar in electric vehicle innovation and customer satisfaction with the IONIQ 6 sedan recognized as the highest-ranked mass-market battery electric vehicle in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study. Hyundai continues to raise the bar in electric vehicle innovation and customer satisfaction with the IONIQ 6 sedan recognized as the highest-ranked mass-market battery electric vehicle in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Ownership Study. IONIQ 5 and Kona SUVs Win 2025 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards: The Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kona have been honored with a pair of 2025 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards. For the third consecutive year, the IONIQ 5 SUV has claimed Kelley Blue Book's Best Electric Vehicle award, while the Kona has taken home the award for Best Subcompact SUV for the second consecutive year. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kona have been honored with a pair of 2025 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards. For the third consecutive year, the IONIQ 5 SUV has claimed Best Electric Vehicle award, while the Kona has taken home the award for Best Subcompact SUV for the second consecutive year. IONNA Enters National Release Phase: IONNA, the joint venture founded by the world's leading automakers - BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota - announced its transition from public beta to full-scale national release. IONNA, the joint venture founded by the world's leading automakers - BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Toyota - announced its transition from public beta to full-scale national release. Hyundai Champions the Joy of Driving in "Play for the Car" Campaign Featuring the 2025 Sonata Hybrid: Hyundai, in collaboration with its agency Culture Brands, launched "Play for the Car," its latest marketing campaign featuring the 2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The campaign highlights the Sonata Hybrid's sleek design, premium features, and impressive efficiency, making it an ideal choice for today's couples' dynamic, fast-paced lifestyles. Hyundai, in collaboration with its agency Culture Brands, launched "Play for the Car," its latest marketing campaign featuring the 2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. The campaign highlights the Sonata Hybrid's sleek design, premium features, and impressive efficiency, making it an ideal choice for today's couples' dynamic, fast-paced lifestyles. IONIQ 5 N Named Favorite Vehicle of 2025 By Midwest Automotive Media Association: Hyundai's all-electric IONIQ 5 N has been named Favorite Vehicle of 2025 by the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) at the Chicago Auto Show's opening breakfast. The IONIQ 5 N earned the win on the strength of its high performance and impressive driver engagement. Hyundai's all-electric IONIQ 5 N has been named Favorite Vehicle of 2025 by the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) at the Chicago Auto Show's opening breakfast. The IONIQ 5 N earned the win on the strength of its high performance and impressive driver engagement. IONIQ 5 N Wins MotorWeek 2025 Drivers' Choice Award for Best Performance Car: Hyundai's IONIQ 5 N electric SUV has been named MotorWeek's 2025 Drivers' Choice award for Best Performance Car at a ceremony during the Chicago Auto Show. Hyundai's IONIQ 5 N electric SUV has been named MotorWeek's 2025 Drivers' Choice award for Best Performance Car at a ceremony during the Chicago Auto Show. Santa Fe Hybrid and Kona Named to PARENTS 2025 Best Family Cars Awards: Hyundai's Santa Fe Hybrid and Kona SUV have been recognized in the 2025 PARENTS Best Family Cars Awards. Nearly 200 models were assessed, and the list highlights the premier vehicles that stand out to PARENTS' judges for their safety, practicality, fuel efficiency, and value. Hyundai's Santa Fe Hybrid and Kona SUV have been recognized in the 2025 PARENTS Best Family Cars Awards. Nearly 200 models were assessed, and the list highlights the premier vehicles that stand out to PARENTS' judges for their safety, practicality, fuel efficiency, and value. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama Opens $14 Million Care Center for Team Members: Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) celebrated the grand opening of its new Care Center, a $14 million facility designed to enhance the health and well-being of its team members. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) celebrated the grand opening of its new Care Center, a facility designed to enhance the health and well-being of its team members. IONIQ 5 N TA Spec Sets Fastest EV Record at 'Attack Tsukuba 2025': Hyundai's IONIQ 5 N has set a new standard in electric vehicle (EV) performance, achieving the fastest lap time by an EV at the 'Attack Tsukuba 2025' motorsport event in Japan , February 15. Model Total Sales Vehicles Feb-25 Feb-24 % Chg 2025 YTD 2024 YTD % Chg Elantra 10,163 8,432 +21 % 19,029 15,332 +24 % Ioniq 5 2,442 1,996 +22 % 4,692 3,461 +36 % Ioniq 6 1,012 902 +12 % 1,883 1,662 +13 % Kona 5,629 7,024 -20 % 9,994 13,601 -27 % Nexo 0 11 -100 % 0 34 -100 % Palisade 7,806 7,832 -0 % 14,493 15,470 -6 % Santa Cruz 1,938 2,568 -25 % 3,724 5,055 -26 % Santa Fe 9,562 9,239 +3 % 17,858 15,260 +17 % Sonata 5,334 4,379 +22 % 10,091 7,500 +35 % Tucson 16,317 15,999 +2 % 31,342 27,115 +16 % Venue 1,829 1,959 -7 % 3,429 3,394 +1 % Hyundai Motor America Hyundai Motor America offers U.S. consumers a technology-rich lineup of cars, SUVs, and electrified vehicles, while supporting Hyundai Motor Company's Progress for Humanity vision. Hyundai has significant operations in the U.S., including its North American headquarters in California, the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama assembly plant, the all-new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, and several cutting-edge R&D facilities. These operations, combined with those of Hyundai's 835 independent dealers, contribute $20.1 billion annually and 190,000 jobs to the U.S. economy, according to a published economic impact report. For more information, visit www.hyundainews.com. Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok SOURCE Hyundai Motor America First Fan-Made Invention Reimagines Ball Runs and Takes Magnetic Building to the Next Level NEW YORK, March 1, 2025 -- MAGNA-TILES , America's #1 Magnetic Building Sets Brand, is racing into American International Toy Fair with the global reveal of their first fan-made innovation, Rail Racers. Co-developed with Michael Bergmann, dad of 3 and a member of the passionate MAGNA-TILES fan community, Rail Racers is the embodiment of the brand's anthemic "Build On" campaign, and brings thrilling racing action to the joy of building. Rail Racers features the first-ever, intuitive magnetic track pieces to create ball runs and racing adventures. Unlike ball runs on the market today, Rail Racers was designed for preschool-aged kids to easily build, without the need for complex pieces and adult assistance. Rail Racers provides endless build-and-play options, and is fully-compatible with all other MAGNA-TILES sets, which makes it easy for families to add to their collections. "Rail Racers embodies everything that makes MAGNA-TILES so specialit reflects the strong community built around our brand, the open-ended possibilities of our products, and the creativity they inspire in young children to explore new ways to play," said Michael Valenta, President at MAGNA-TILES. "As the original magnetic construction brand, we've spent over 27 years redefining the magnetic building category, setting the standard for quality and innovation that parents and educators can trust. Working hand-in-hand with one of our biggest fans to introduce Rail Racers is an exciting development within our growing MAGNA-TILES portfolio that will inspire a whole new way to play!" MAGNA-TILES, exhibiting at Toy Fair Booth #2519, invites attendees to discover their award-winning portfolio of magnetic building toys, including the new Rail Racers set. MAGNA-TILES Rail Racers Set MSRP $39.99 | Ages 3+ Available for pre-order now at Amazon and Walmart , coming to retail stores worldwide in July 2025. Get ready to race with the MAGNA-TILES Rail Racers set, the ultimate build-and-play experience! There are 33 pieces in the set, including: 4 Rails 1 Ball 24 Squares 1 Roof Rectangle 2 microMAGS ICE Right Triangle 1 Classic ICE Right Triangle All pieces are compatible with all other MAGNA-TILES sets, including fan-favorites like the Classic 32-piece and 100-piece sets that introduced the world to magnetic building 27 years ago. For enhanced build-and-play options, the MAGNA-TILES Rail Racers Deluxe Set will feature 90 pieces, priced at $89.99, available July 2025. Rail Racers co-creator, Michael Bergmann commented, "My sons and I love building with magnetic tiles, but as we started playing with ball runs, it became impossible for my son to put them together by himself. There had to be a better way - a way to make ball runs more intuitive, less frustrating, and easier for kids to build. I came up with the idea to attach rail pieces to magnetic tiles and create a novel alternative to typical ball runs. Of course, since the MAGNA-TILES brand was our family's favorite, I wanted to reach out to the best in the business to bring this idea to life!" Learn more about Michael Bergmann and the creation of Rail Racers in this video . To make an appointment at Toy Fair, please reach out to PlayWise Partners: [email protected] About MAGNA-TILES MAGNA-TILES is the original magnetic construction brand, born in the classroom in 1997. Invented by an educator, for educators, from these humble beginnings, MAGNA-TILES has grown to become America's #1 Magnetic Building Sets brand (Source: Circana/Retail Tracking Service/JAN-DEC 2024/USD) and an essential tool for every child's growing mind. Through word of mouth and hands-on experience, MAGNA-TILES sets steadily found their way into neighborhood toy stores, at the urging of families who were seeking ways to bring education, enrichment and Meaningful Play to their home. Today, while MAGNA-TILES sets are now a staple in millions of homes and classrooms across 80+ countries, our work is never complete because the MAGNA-TILES brand is fueled by a child's endless imagination. Visit MAGNA-TILES.com and follow @magnatiles for more information. Source: Circana/Retail Tracking Service/JAN-DEC 2024/USD SOURCE MAGNA-TILES Films should connect to land, people Recipient of 12 National Film Awards Padma Bhushan Jahnu Barua making a point. (Pic by Anil Futane) By Shashwat Bhuskute : Our country is incredibly rich in culture and history, but we are losing this connection. Young filmmakers need to be rooted in their heritage, advises Jahnu Barua to the new breed of fimmakers Some filmmakers entertain, some have a message to share and some challenge the very fabric of the society. Very few manage to do all three with such precision and emotional depth as Jahnu Barua. A filmmaker of immense talent, he has spent decades crafting stories that reflect human resilience, social change and the shifting landscapes of culture and morality. In a candid conversation with The Hitavada, recipient of 12 National Film Awards Padma Bhushan Jahnu Barua revealed his journey, childhood dreams, personal struggles, filmmaking, storytelling and shared his views on the evolving state of cinema. From an early age, Jahnu Barua knew he wanted to tell stories, but there was a challenge, he would stammer. It was a big hurdle for me, he recalled. But inside, I had this dream that one day I would be able to share my stories. That challenge was always inside me, and it multiplied as I grew older. Cinema, for Barua, was never just about making films, it was about the power of storytelling. It was always on my mind, even when I was young, he said. Baruas films often explore themes of human struggle, social disharmony and resilience. But do they come from personal experiences? I used to observe a lot. Growing up in my village, I saw different kinds of people, characters, and I noticed the disharmony. I felt there was something missing, some kind of ideal life. I always dreamt of a better world where people would live in peace and harmony, he explained. This deep sense of longing for a more just and compassionate society became the foundation of the filmmakers cinematic voice. Despite numerous accolades, including prestigious national and international awards, he never sought validation through trophies. I never thought I would win awards. I just followed my passion, Barua admits.One of his most acclaimed works, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara , sought to humanise Mahatma Gandhi rather than portray him as a saintly figure. In India, Gandhi has always been introduced in a very awkward way, the filmmaker explained. He is presented almost like a God, but he was a human being, a great thinker, a visionary, but still a man. The problem is that we have a habit of turning people into untouchable figures rather than understanding their ideas. Barua believes that the younger generations have lost connection with Gandhis real teachings. Had India truly embraced his values, self-reliance and non-violence, our country would have been different today. My film was an attempt to remind people of what we have forgotten. As a filmmaker from Assam, he acknowledges that regional cinema struggles to reach wider audiences. Our country is incredibly rich in culture and history, but we are losing this connection. Young filmmakers need to be rooted in their heritage, Barua advised. Today, many people are neglecting our traditions, and that is dangerous. We must remain connected to our land and our history. When asked what advice he would give to a young filmmaker, the filmmaker replied, Know your roots, and always tell stories that matter. We have so much richness in our values, traditions, and history, he said, adding that, every film one makes should be connected to its land and people. With ongoing social and political issues affecting the Northeast, has the filmmaker considered making a film about these struggles? A filmmaker has limitations, the Padma Bhushan recipient admits. A film can be a voice, but it alone cannot change the system. Real change requires leadership, both political and cultural. However, Barua believes in speaking up. As citizens, we must raise our voice when things go wrong. Despite his success, he has remained largely independent of Bollywood. I do not mind making a Hindi film, he said. But the way things happen in Bollywood today, I dont fit in. Currently, he is in pre-production for a new film, set to begin shooting in March. We have been neglecting our families, and as a result, the whole world is suffering, he explained. The concept of family is essential to human society. It has evolved through generations of trial and error, but today, it is breaking down. Divorce rates are rising, and people are struggling to maintain relationships. This film is a reminder of why family matters. While he has not yet decided on a release strategy, he confirms that it will be widely shown. His recent role as Uncle Ken in Paataal Lok has garnered a lot of attention. I never wanted to be an actor, the filmmaker laughs. It happened accidentally. But now, in public places, people do not know my name, they just call me Uncle Ken! If theres one thing this conversation makes clear, it is that his work is far from over. Whether in Bollywood, Assamese cinema, or independent storytelling, his voice remains one of the most important in contemporary Indian cinema. And for the sake of meaningful cinema, it is a collective hope that Jahnu Barua continues to tell his stories. 360 km of Bullet Train project complete,undersea tunnel nearing completion AHMEDABAD : UNION Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the Ahmedabad Railway Station Redevelopment Project on Saturday and announced that 360 km of the Bullet Train project has been completed, with the Maharashtra section making significant progress. The work of almost 360 km of the Bullet Train has been completed, and the loss of two and a half years that we had due to the permission denied by (Uddhav) Thackeray, we are trying to make up that as well, said Vaishnaw. He further added that the Maharashtra section of the Bullet Train is progressing well, with almost 2 km of the undersea tunnel ready. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu, on Saturday, inspected the Mumbai-Ahmedabad HighSpeed Rail (MAHSR) project for the first time and praised the initiative as a key step toward Indias infrastructural development. Bittu said the project, part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision for a modern railway network, has employed nearly one lakh people. Speaking to the media, Bittu expressed admiration for the projects execution. I am visiting here for the first time. This is PM Modis vision. The idea that he has is great, and the vision that he has made is very good.... One lakh people have got employment...This is a great project... High-speed rail is needed for the world, and this project is leading India towards Vikshit Bharat, aligning with the vision of PM Modi. The work pace in Gujarat is good however, in Maharashtra, it is taking some extra time because some works of land acquisition are to be done. 50 workers rescued,four die; search on for five DEHRADUN : FIFTY workers have been pulled out of snow from the site of an avalanche-hit BRO camp in the Mana village in Uttarakhands Chamoli district, but four of them died on Saturday as rescuers raced against time to save the remaining five. The avalanche hit the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying 55 workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army. Thirty-three of them were rescued by Friday night and 17 on Saturday. Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts on Friday, and the operation was suspended as the night fell. As the weather cleared up on Saturday morning, the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana resumed the rescue operation, District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said. Six helicopters, including three of the Indian Army Aviation, two of the air forceandonecivilcopterhired by the Army, have been engaged in the operation, Army PRO Lt Col Manish Shrivastavasaid.Locatedthree kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres. Fifty labourers have been rescued out of which, unfortunately, four injured have been confirmed as fatal casualties while the search for the remaining five is underway, LtColShrivastavasaid,adding the injured were being prioritisedforevacuation.Armyofficials saidthe rescueoperation was being carried out mostly by the Army and IAF helicopters as the approach road had been blocked by snow at several points, making vehicular movement nearly impossible. The priority is to bring the rescued workers to the Army hospitalinJyotrimathandlook for the five workers still missing, they said. Officialssaid24peoplewere brought to the Army Hospital with injuries and one of them has been sent to AIIMSRishikesh. According to theArmyPRO, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta GOC-in C Central Command and Lt GenDGMishra GOC UttarBharat have reached the avalanche site to monitor the rescue operations. Lt Gen Sengupta said movement by road is impossible since it is clogged by snow. The Badrinath-Joshimathhighway is blocked at 15-20 places, he said. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami did an aerial survey of theavalanchehit site and reviewed the relief and rescue operations in Jyotirmath.Uponreturningto Dehradun,hesaidthereliefand rescueteamshavedoneacommendable job by rescuing 50 people so far. Officers have been instructed to carry on with the search for the five missingworkersona warfooting, Dhami said. Armysnifferdogshavebeen deployed to search for the missing containers and three teams of the Army are patrolling the area, the chief minister said. More than 200 personnel from the disaster management authority, ITBP, BRO, National Disaster ResponseForce,StateDisaster Response Force, Indian Air Force,districtadministration, health department and fire brigadeareengagedintherescueoperations, he said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took an update on the rescue operation overthe phone and assured all possible help from the central agencies, Dhami said. About the medical treatment of those rescued,he said theinjuredworkerswerebeing treated at Army hospitals in Mana and Jyotirmath while AIIMS-RishikeshandSrinagar MedicalCollegehavebeenput on alert. European leaders support Zelenskyy White House supports Trump after their spat NEW YORK : UKRAINES European partners as well as other global leaders rallied behind PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy while the White House touted support for President Donald Trumps American First strength after a remarkable showdown in the Oval Office between the two leaders. Zelenskyy departed the White House on Friday after an unprecedented verbal clash in the Oval Office between him and Trump and Vice President J D Vance. The heated exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy and the resulting outpouring of support for the Ukrainian leader highlighted the deep fissures that have emerged between America and Europe over Ukraine. Zelenskyys timeline on X was filled with messages of support from European allies and other countries from across theworld.His response toallthemessageswasThank you for your support. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who was in India on Friday for an official visit, said in a post on X, Your dignity honours the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President @ZelenskyyUa. We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace. French President Emmanuel Macron,whometTrumpatthe White House just this past Monday,saidinapostonXthat there is an aggressor: Russia. There isavictim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years agoand to keep doing so. By we, I mean the Americans, the Europeans,the Canadians, the Japanese, and many others, Macron said. Thank you to all who have helped and continue to do so. And respect to those who have been fighting since the beginningbecause they are fighting fortheirdignity, theirindependence, their children, and the security of Europe, Macron said. Italys Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a closeTrumpally, she would call for an EU-US summit to get diplomacy back on track. What is needed is an immediate summit between the United States, European states, andallies totalkfrankly about how we intend to deal with the great challenges of today, starting with Ukraine, which together we have defended in recent years, she said in a statement. Friedrich Merz, Germanys likely next chancellor, wrote on X, Dear Volodymyr @zelenskyyua, we stand with #Ukraine in good and in testing times. We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war. Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal said his country stands united with Zelenskyy and Ukraine in its fight for freedom. Always. Because it is right, not easy, Michal said. Mah Govt to provide free cancer vaccine for girls MUMBAI : MAHARASHTRAHealthMinister Prakash Abitkar on Saturday announcedthattheMaharashtra Government will provide free cancer vaccines to girls aged 0- 14, highlighting growing concerns over rising cancer cases across the state. Withchangesinlifestyle,cancer cases are rising in both rural andurbanareas.Previously,cancer was often linked to specific addictions, but now its being detected across all age groups, including children. This is highly concerning, he said. To address the issue, the Maharashtra Government has decidedtoimplementafreecancer vaccination programme. We have requested our Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Ajit Pawar, to providefreecancervaccinations to girls aged 0-14. He has agreed to implement this initiative through the Maharashtra Government, Abitkar added. Meanwhile, the state has also taken preventive steps in response tothedetectionofbird flu in crows in Vidarbha. Abitkar clarified that there is no confirmed case of human infection. Regarding the situation in Vidarbha, we are taking precautionsduetothedetectionofavian influenza (bird flu) in crows. There is currently no clear evidence of bird flu in the suspected patient, and we have sent his report to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for further analysis. Asapreventive measure, we have temporarily closed chicken shops in the area, he added. Earlier, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar urged people to avoid consuming undercooked chicken as a precautionary measure amid the ongoing Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) outbreak in Pune. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Pune Municipal Corporation(PMC), Pawar addressed speculation linking the outbreak to chicken consumption. Man-animal Conflict State Government paid Rs 441.16 crore compensation for crop loss, cattle death Staff Reporter : Government of Maharashtra paid a staggering compensation of Rs 441.16 crore for cattle death and loss of crops that happened due to man-animal conflict in last 10 years, revealed a data provided by the Forest Department in reply to a Right To Information application. As per the data, 3,600 cattle were killed in man-animal conflict since 2015 and the Forest Department registered 6,00,307 complaints of crop loss due to such encounters in last ten years. In the year 2023-24, State witnessed the highest 2.11 lakh cases of crop loss due to man-animal conflict with highest compensation of Rs 148.21 crore. Total 7,114 cattle were killed in such wildlife attacks in the State, which was also the highest in last 20 years, claimed the data. Last year, 4,609 cattle were killed and 96,479 cases of crop loss took place due to man-animal conflict in the State. For all these losses, the Government paid Rs 82.88 crore of compensation to victims. As per the latest census, the tiger population in Maharashtra has increased by 444 and the State has the fourth highest tiger population all over the country. Increased number of tigers in the State also raised the incidents of man-animal conflict mainly in Vidarbha region. Chandrapur, Brahmapuri and Nagpur districts were the most affected regions in the State as 90% cases of man-animal conflicts were recorded in these regions. The man-animal encounters mainly began from Chandrapur and Brahmapuri districts when tigers and leopards started venturing near human settlements and started attacking people and their cattle. The Forest Department came up with a solution to shift the problem tigers to other tiger reserves where the tiger density was low. Last year, the Forest Department shifted three problem tigers from Brahmapuri to Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Gondia. Nagpur district is also now becoming a hotbed for such encounters as more than 15 persons were killed in man-animal conflict in last 2 years in various forest ranges in the district. With increased cases of man-animal conflict in the State, the public money also goes down the drain, which needs to be addressed. Outer Ring Road to open for traffic by April Staff Reporter : Heavy vehicles do not need to enter the city as those will move to connecting roads from outside The Outer Ring Road, whose foundation stone was laid in 2016 and was supposed to be completed in 2019, has finally entered its last phase. It is likely to open for traffic by first week of April 2025. A whopping Rs 2,000 crore was spent on the construction of this 64-km road. Once opened for traffic, it will ease traffic movement in and around Nagpur city. Vehicles coming from outside can bypass the city. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had undertaken the project for diverting heavy vehicles from city roads. The aim was to reduce the movement of heavy vehicles through city roads and improving the connectivity within Nagpur. A major part of the road has been completed and some small portion is under construction. According to experts, the remaining part would be completed within a month and by first week of April, the Ring Road will be operational. The Ring Road begins from Jamtha on Wardha Road, passes by Samruddhi Expressway junction, Katol Road, Koradi, Fetri, Nagpur-Jabalpur Highway, ending at Nagpur bypass near Kapsi. In its second phase, the Outer Ring Road connects Fetri to Kapsi. For example, trucks from Hyderabad will get a direct route to Jabalpur, from Betul one can travel to Bhandara and further to Kolkata. This road connects Amravati road and will have access to Bhandara Road. Nagpur already has an Inner Ring Road built by the PWD. Growing traffic demand led NHAI to develop this larger Outer Ring Road. One can come from Hingna and connect to Samruddhi Mahamarg from the Outer Ring Road. The 64-km Outer Ring Road will make people heave a sigh of relief as it has been planned in a manner so that one can take any convenient road from outside the city. At present, Nagpurians are witnessing a lot of construction work all over the city. The traffic congestion too has increased. To add to their woes, the heavy vehicles are adding to the mess. These heavy vehicles are moving through the dense traffic plus they are taking bridges not meant for them. SOUND OF FURY THE spectacular showdown between Ukraine President Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the United States Mr. Donald Trump in full glare of cameras has given the world a plethora of clues about the future trajectory of not only the RussiaUkraine war but also about the volatility likely to be involved in having bilateral relations with America. The shouting match upended all the talk of hammering out a peace deal and also the critical minerals pact that Mr. Trump was seeking in his usual transactional style of diplomacy. The road ahead for Ukraine now has become tricky as without the US help it cannot sustain the military operations for long. Sitting pretty, after the verbal joust between the heads of two States, is Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin. He is now an American favourite as the breach in trust between Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Trump works totally in his favour. That leaves a question for the entire world about the next step to be taken without making Mr. Trump sound the villain nor making Mr. Zelenskyy as a poster boy of defiance. The fighting spirit the Ukraine President showed in face of the tense back and forth with Mr.Trump and an equally aggressive US Vice-President Mr. JD Vance is laudable. He stuck to his guns and kept asking for a security guarantee in exchange of the minerals deal from Mr. Trump. It was a truly legitimate demand by Mr Zelenskyy and he reserved every right to cut short the talk if a fair claim was not considered by the overtly aggressive American team. Though the extraordinary showdown will have consequences for Ukraine, its President looked absolutely on the coin while taking on a man who is out to disrupt every rule of diplomacy in the current geopolitics. Peace is a necessity for Ukraine given the mighty challenge it is facing from Russian forces every day for the last three years. The country has lost soldiers, civilians, infra, resources, and territory to Mr. Putins armies. The war is going nowhere as Russian continues to change its goalposts by stretching it further on the strength of its economic and military heft. It has already made the world suffer in various forms. The USinitiated peace deal had raised hopes of an early end to the conflict but what happened in the White House on Friday has confirmed that Ukraine is now on its own against an extra-confident Russia. Things might take a further twist in the days to come, judging by the olive branch Mr. Zelenskyy offered to Mr. Trump in a television interview hours after the showdown. It looked an effort to pacify the US President who flew into a rage at the first hint of defiance by his Ukraine counterpart. Mr. Zelenskyy might return to Mr. Trump after another round of consultation with his leadership team and the European countries backing Ukraine. However, the move will be fraught with many uncertainties given the aggressive behaviour of Mr. Trump in the second term . The world can learn a lot from the White House showdown in shaping its own strategies while dealing with Mr. Trump. The US President is out to prove that he has the solution for all problems in the world but to have those the world will have to give in to his demands. It is a far cry from the old school diplomacy countries still believe in. There are no closed-door talks now for the US. Mr. Trump is here to demolish all the norms of statesmanship. He means business. That too on his terms. Demanding immediate holding of students union elections in Jadavpur University (JU) SFI and other left-backed students organisations allegedly damaged the education ministers car and set fire on the Trinamul Shiksha Bandhu Samiti office inside the university campus on Saturday. The JU campus virtually turned into a battlefield this afternoon when the agitating SFI and other left students union got involved in clashes in phases with the ruling Trinamul Congress-affiliated West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA). Advertisement The trouble started around 2.30 p.m. when Mr Basu was supposed to attend the WBCUPAs annual general meeting (AGM) held at the open air theatre (OIT) auditorium inside the campus as the head of the association. Advertisement The agitating students were shouting slogans demanding students union elections in the university when Mr Basu came. Sensing trouble he was taken to the OIT through another gate. The agitators rushed to the OIT auditorium and vandalised it when the minister was addressing the meeting. But the trouble intensified between 4 and 4.40 p.m. when the minister in his car was leaving the campus through another gate after attending the AGM. Students surrounded the minister and prevented him from leaving. They attacked the car damaging its windscreen and threw shoes on its bonnet. The SFI alleged that that the car dashed one of their protesting students when they were found blocking the minister, who was sitting beside the driver. Later, he was taken to the SSKM Hospital for his health check-up. The SFI claimed that several students have been admitted to the nearby KPC Medical College Hospital after sustaining injuries when the ministers car allegedly dashed them. One first year student Indranuj Roy was seriously injured when the ministers car hit one of his legs. On the other hand, WBCUPA claimed some teachers belonging to their association have also been assaulted by the agitating Left students. While reacting to the incident Mr Basu told reporters said, It was an uncontrolled terror unleashed by the Left students inside the JU campus. Entire state has seen who attacked us today inside the campus. I offered the students to sit for a dialogue with me but they refused. No election has been held in colleges and universities for the past 12 years. What is the education minister doing? Educational institutions have been reeling under lawlessness. Why is the government so reluctant to hold students elections? said Md Salim, CPI-M state secretary. SFI in protest against the incident blocked the road in front of the Jadavpur police station. Tensions prevailed in the area later in the evening with deployment of the Rapid Action Force (RAF). Trinamul Congress led by minister Arup Biswas brought out a protest march at Sulekha More in protest against the attack on Mr Basus car and other WBCUPA members. Interestingly, Left had a phenomenal victory in the JU co-operative society elections winning 51 out of 58 seats on Friday. Railway Protection Force (RPF) of the Eastern Railway assisted officials of Wazirganj police station, Bihar, in the rescue of a minor girl yesterday. According to the ER, on 27 February, around 12.47 p.m. the RPF Chandanpur received information regarding a minor girl who had fled from her home with a man. A case had already been registered against the accused at Police station Wazirganj, Bihar. Acting promptly, RPF Chandanpur tracked the girls live location, which indicated her presence near Pump Bazar, under the jurisdiction of Chandanpur railway station. Advertisement A team, led by ASI Sattan Paswan reached the spot and found a couple wandering aimlessly. They were detained and brought to RPF Post Chandanpur, where they were kept under CCTV surveillance. Yesterday, the investigating officer of the case, along with Wazirganj police personnel and the girls father, reached RPF Post Chandanpur. After completing legal formalities, the accused, Nitish Kumar was handed over to the police, and the rescued minor was safely reunited with her family. Advertisement In February, the foreign investors pulled out Rs 34,574 crore from the Indian equity markets pushing total outflows to Rs 1.12 lakh crore in the first two months of 2025. The development comes amid rising global trade tensions and concerns over corporate earnings growth. Advertisement According to the data with the depositories, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 34,574 crore from Indian equities in February. This came following a net outflow of Rs 78,027 crore in the entire January. Advertisement The total outflow by FPIs now has reached Rs 1,12,601 crore in 2025 so far. FPIs have also withdrawn money from the debt market. They pulled out Rs 8,932 crore from debt general limit and Rs 2,666 crore from debt voluntary retention route. The year 2023 saw an extraordinary Rs 1.71 lakh crore net inflows driven by optimism over Indias strong economic fundamentals. Year 2022 saw a net outflow of Rs 1.21 lakh crore amid aggressive rate hikes by global central banks. Bollywood power couple Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor seem to be taking a step back when it comes to their daughter Raha Kapoors public appearances. The duo appears to be prioritizing their little ones privacy by keeping her away from the constant media glare. Fans recently noticed that Alia has quietly removed all photos of Raha from her official Instagram account where the toddlers face was visible. Advertisement Pictures from their recent trips to Jamnagar and Paris, which earlier featured Raha, have now vanished from the actresss social media feed. Advertisement The decision follows a trend among Bollywood celebrities to shield their children from the paparazzi. Ranbirs mother, Neetu Kapoor, was recently seen requesting photographers not to click pictures of Raha. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt (@aliaabhatt) Earlier, Kareena Kapoor Khan also urged the media to avoid capturing images of her sons, Taimur and Jeh, during a family gathering. Alia and Ranbir tied the knot in April 2022 after several years of dating. They welcomed Raha in November the same year. The couple made their first public appearance with their daughter on Christmas 2023, giving fans a rare glimpse of the little one. On the work front, Alia and Ranbir are going to reunite on-screen in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Love and War, alongside Vicky Kaushal. The film, announced in January 2024, marks Ranbirs return to Bhansalis direction after his debut in Saawariya (2007). While Vicky Kaushal will be collaborating with Bhansali for the first time, Alia previously worked with the filmmaker in the critically acclaimed Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022). The 2025 BRIT Awards took a heartfelt pause to honour the late Liam Payne, remembering his musical legacy and compassionate spirit. The ceremony, held at Londons O2 Arena on March 1, paid tribute to the former One Direction star, who tragically passed away in October 2024. Advertisement Host Jack Whitehall introduced the segment, describing Payne as a very special person who meant so much to so many people in this room and to millions around the world. Advertisement Whitehall highlighted Paynes remarkable achievements, both as a talented musician and a kind soul who left a lasting impression on everyone he met. A moving two-minute video played during the tribute at BRIT awards, set to One Directions emotional ballad Little Things, featuring Liam Payne. The montage traced his journey from his early days on The X Factor UK in 2010 to his rise to global fame as part of One Direction. Moments with family, behind-the-scenes footage, and career highlights brought back cherished memories for fans and fellow artists alike. Speculation had been swirling before the ceremony about a possible reunion of One Direction members Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik a reunion that would have been their first collective appearance in nearly ten years. However, no such performance took place. Paynes sudden death on October 16, 2024, at the age of 31, shocked the music world. He died after falling from the third-floor balcony of the CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires. His funeral, held in Buckinghamshire in November, was attended by close family and friends. In December, Argentinian authorities charged five individuals in connection with his death. Officials ruled out suicide, with toxicology reports and witness statements indicating drug use as a contributing factor. Haryana State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh said on Sunday that elections to various Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Municipalities of the state were conducted peacefully. Counting of votes will start at 8 am on March 12 and results will also be declared on the same day. The State Election Commissioner said that extensive arrangements were made by the Commission to conduct the urban local body elections in a peaceful, fair and transparent manner. General, police and expenditure observers were appointed in the electoral process. Advertisement Along with this, duty magistrates, supervisors, presiding officers, polling officers were appointed in all the concerned bodies. Adequate police force was deployed for security and additional police force was deployed at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations. A control room was also set up in the Nirvachan Sadan to monitor the proper electoral process. Advertisement He informed that voting was held for the posts of Mayor and Ward Members in Municipal Corporations Manesar, Gurugram, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal and Yamunanagar. Along with this, voting was held for the by-election for the post of Mayor in Municipal Corporations Ambala and Sonipat. He said voting was also held for the posts of Pradhan (President) and Ward Members in Municipal Councils Ambala Sadar, Pataudi-Jatauli Mandi, Thanesar and Sirsa and for the by-election for the post of Pradhan (President) in Municipal Council Sohna. In the voting held in the state today, general elections were held in 07 Municipal Corporations in 19 districts of the state (except Panchkula, Rohtak and Rewari), by-election for Mayor in 02 Municipal Corporations (Ambala and Sonipat). Voting was also held for general elections in 4 Municipal Councils (Ambala Sadar, Sirsa, Thanesar and Pataudi-Jatauli Mandi) and by-election for the post of President/Pradhan in Sohna, District Gurugram Municipal Council and general elections in 21 municipalities and by-election for the post of Pradhan in 02 municipalities Assandh, District Karnal and Ismailabad, District Kurukshetra and by-election for the post of Ward Member in Ward No. 14 of Municipal Corporation Safidon and Ward No. 15 of Tarawadi. There were a total of 5106134 voters in all these institutions. In the by-election for the Mayor, less enthusiasm was seen among the voters in Ambala Municipal Corporation and Sonipat Municipal Corporation. Similarly, the voting percentage was very low in two metropolitan cities adjacent to Delhi; Municipal Corporation, Faridabad and Municipal Corporation, Gurugram. At some places, people were seen standing in queue even after the deadline of 6 pm, who were given time to vote. Overall, voting was conducted peacefully, transparently and fairly throughout the state. There is no news of any violence or untoward incident from anywhere. The State Election Commissioner said that voting was held for the posts of Pradhan (President) and Ward Members in Nagar Palika Barara, Bawani Khera, Siwani, Loharu, Jakhal Mandi, Farukhnagar, Narnaund, Beri, Julana, Siwan, Pundri, Kalayat, Nilokheri, Indri, Ateli Mandi, Kanina, Tawadu, Hathin, Kalanaur, Kharkhoda and Radaur Ismailabad. Singh said that voting will be held in Municipal Corporation Panipat on March 9. The counting of votes for the elections of Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Municipalities held today and the elections for Panipat Municipal Corporation to be held on March 9 will be done simultaneously on March 12 and the election results will also be declared on the same day. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav on Sunday announced that farmers would be provided permanent power connections for just Rs 5. The CM made the announcement while addressing a large gathering of farmers at a Farmers Conclave held at the Chief Ministers residence in Bhopal on Sunday. Advertisement The CMs announcement comes just a day after he declared on Saturday that wheat procurement would be done at Rs 2,600 per quintal, which includes the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs 2,425 and an additional Rs 175 as a bonus for farmers. Similarly, he said that the state government would now provide Rs 4,000 per hectare, instead of Rs 2,000, directly into the bank accounts of farmers for paddy procurement. This amount will be transferred to all eligible farmers in March itself. Advertisement During the programme on Sunday, the CM emphasised that the state government is continuously making decisions in the interest of farmers. I announce a Rs 5 scheme for permanent power connections to farmers right away. We want to do good to all farmers and improve their lives, Dr Yadav asserted. Those farmers who dont have permanent power connections will be provided this facility for Rs 5. You just apply, the MP Central Power Distribution Company will roll out the scheme right away, Yadav said while addressing farmers here. The government plans to free farmers from electricity-related hassles by giving them solar pumps for irrigation. Over the next three years, 30 lakh solar pumps will be provided, the CM added. The government will purchase solar energy from farmers, he announced. At least four Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers were killed and as many are still missing after a devastating avalanche struck near Mana village in Uttarakhands Chamoli district on February 28. As per the updated information provided by Chamoli District Magistrate, 54 BRO workers were trapped in the avalanche, and of them, 50, including four dead, have been rescued as the search is on for the missing four others. Advertisement Survivors, many of whom are currently admitted at the Joshimath Army Hospital, recalled the horror after the sudden force of nature left them scrambling for their lives. Advertisement Speaking to a news agency, Manoj Bhandari, one of the survivors, recounted the terrifying moments. It happened so suddenly that we didnt realise anything. All our containers were destroyed as there was a heavy storm, an avalanche Anyhow, we managed to rush towards the army camp What else could the Army and the government have done, the weather was so bad. I had never seen anything like that in my entire life Anyhow, a few of us managed to reach the BRO camp Bhandari added. Another survivor, Vijay Pandey, described how the avalanche swept away their containers. We were in the container when the avalanche hit us, and it swept the container away; we found ourselves in the snow; 9 of us were in the container, 4 of them are admitted here, he said. Meanwhile, rescue operations are ongoing as authorities continue to search for the four missing workers. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), will organise a six-day Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Executive Capacity Building Programme on human rights for senior-level functionaries of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from the Global South in New Delhi from March 38. Altogether 47 participants from the NHRIs of 14 Global South countries are likely to attend the event, the NHRC said on Sunday. Advertisement The participating countries include Madagascar, Uganda, Samoa, Timor-Leste, DR Congo, Togo, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Mauritius, Burundi, Turkmenistan, and Qatar. This customised programme has been developed in accordance with the needs of the NHRIs of these countries and feedback provided earlier. Advertisement Eminent persons with domain knowledge and expertise in capacity building and imparting training will be the resource persons. NHRC Chairperson Justice V. Ramasubramanian will inaugurate the programme on March 3. The programme aims to provide insights into various dimensions of human rights, international perspectives, and share NHRCs experience over the past three decades to enhance awareness among participants of various NHRIs. It seeks to strengthen SouthSouth cooperation, enhance collaboration and networking, and improve human rights protection mechanisms through comprehensive capacity building and experience sharing. The expected outcome includes developing a better understanding of international dimensions of human rights; a deeper understanding of NHRCs work in the field of human rights protection and its best practices, which can be adopted by the other NHRIs; improved networking among NHRIs, fostering collaborations and partnerships at regional and international levels; and enhanced capability to contribute towards the protection and promotion of human rights. The participants will engage in lectures and interactive sessions by eminent persons and practitioners in the field, cultural immersion, and field visits. The initiative is a part of the NHRCs ongoing outreach efforts to enhance understanding and appreciation of various aspects of human rights and help in building capacity among senior functionaries of the NHRIs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid a visit to Somnath Temple in Gujarat after the conclusion of Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and offered prayers at Shri Somnath Jyotirlinga Mandir in Gir Somnath. He also paid obeisance to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patels idol inside the premises of the temple. Advertisement The prime minister organised a special puja at the temple. Advertisement In separate posts on X, Modi said, I had decided that after the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj, I would go to Somnath, which is the first among the 12 Jyotirlingas. Today, I felt blessed to have prayed at the Somnath Mandir. I prayed for the prosperity and good health of every Indian. This Temple manifests the timeless heritage and courage of our culture. PM Modi arrived in Gujarat on Saturday on a three-day visit. Managed by Shri Somnath Trust with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its Chairman, Somnath Temple, along with upholding the Sanatan practices, follows the mantra of sustainable development and empowerment of the local population. To uphold the Sanatan Dharma, the temple runs a Sanskriti pathshala wherein students are enrolled for grade nine till 12. They are taught about religion, language, culture, and technology. Moreover, the trust runs two gaushalas where Gir breeds of the cows are preserved. During this, they follow sattvik practices in which the calfs right over the milk is prioritised and the rest is used for the religious practices. Mahakumbh 2025 emerged as a historic event with its divine, grand, and well-organised execution, witnessing an unprecedented gathering of over 66 crore devotees. Held on the banks of Sangam in Prayagraj, this Mahakumbh marked a sacred occasion after 144 years, drawing immense crowds from across India and the world. Advertisement Amidst the sea of devotees, many got separated from their loved ones. However, thanks to the foresight of the Yogi government and its dedicated efforts, a total of 54,357 separated individuals were successfully reunited with their families. Advertisement Among them, a significant number were women. The police also played a vital role in reuniting devotees from different states of India and Nepal with their families. The UP government implemented several exemplary initiatives to ensure safety in this divine event and its seamless organisation. A key highlight was the establishment of the Digital Khoya Paya Kendra, which facilitated the swift reunion of more than 35,000 separated devotees and their families. Mela Authorities here on Sunday said during the Amrit Snan Parv on Makar Sankranti (January 13-15), 598 individuals were reunited, while 8,725 people were reconnected during Mauni Amavasya (January 28-30), and 864 devotees during Basant Panchami (February 2-4). Additionally, 24,896 individuals who got separated during other bathing festivals and on regular days were reunited, bringing the total to 35,083 by the end of Mahakumbh. On the initiative of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, 10 digital Khoya Paya Kendra were set up across the Mahakumbh area. These centres featured state-of-the-art AI-based face recognition systems, machine learning, and multilingual support. Non-governmental social organisations also played a commendable role, with Bharat Seva Kendra and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Smriti Samiti leading the efforts. According to Umesh Chandra Tiwari, Director of Bharat Seva Kendras Bhule Bhatke Camp, their organisation successfully reunited 19,274 lost individuals with their families by the end of the event. All 18 children, who were reported lost, were also safely returned to their families. The Khoya Paaya Centres proved particularly effective in reuniting separated individuals with their families and continuously tracking them until they were safely returned. On the final day of Mahakumbh, Krishna Devi from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, was reunited with her family, as was Jangi Devi from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Similarly, Jagjannan Dharu from Banke district, Nepal, and Bindi, wife of Sitaram Shah from Saptari, Nepal, were safely reconnected with their loved ones. The successful reunions at these centres prompted heartfelt gratitude from the devotees, who expressed their appreciation to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for this thoughtful initiative. Through meticulous planning and compassionate efforts, Mahakumbh 2025 became a symbol of spiritual devotion and set a benchmark for efficient crowd management and humanitarian service. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma spent a refreshing morning at Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur on Sunday, engaging in birdwatching and interacting with tourists. During his two-day visit to Bharatpur, which began on Saturday, CM Sharma visited the parkpopularly known as Ghana Bird Sanctuaryfor a morning stroll and birdwatching session. Advertisement He trekked to the Bird-View Point, a renowned spot for bird enthusiasts, and used binoculars to observe various bird species. Advertisement The Chief Minister also interacted with domestic and foreign tourists, as well as morning walkers, gathering their feedback on the parks facilities and services. He also offered prayers at the Keoladeo Mahadev Temple inside the park. He was accompanied by Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham, Inspector General of Police Rahul Prakash, Park Director and DFO Manas Singh, and other officials. On Saturday evening, CM Sharma chaired a review meeting at the District Collectorate to assess the progress of ongoing development projects and welfare schemes in the district. He also held a video conference with district collectors of hailstorm and rain-affected regions to evaluate the damage suffered by farmers. Later, Sharma traveled to Banswara, where he, along with his wife, offered prayers at the Tripura Sundari shrine. In the afternoon, he was scheduled to visit Dungarpur and Pali districts. The Uttarakhand Food Safety and Drug Administration has launched a statewide anti-adulteration crackdown on hoteliers and shopkeepers selling milk, Khoya (dry milk) and paneer(soft white cheese). Milk product suppliers across the state are being raided to collect samples of their goods and a penalty of up to five lakh imposed with decoy teams fanning out to gather intelligence against adulterators. Advertisement Following order from the State Health Secretary and Commissioner Food Safety Dr R Rajesh Kumar special vigilance is being maintained at entry points of the interstate border area of Dehradun, Haridwar, and Udham Singh Nagar under the leadership of Joint Commissioner Dr RK Singh and Additional Commissioner Tajbar Singh Jaggi for mainly milk products coming from border districts of Uttar Pradesh. Advertisement Kumar, who is also the commissioner, Uttarakhand Food Safety and Drugs Administration, informed that a comprehensive SOP has been issued for the anti-adulteration drive and action against the erring hoteliers and other food business establishments across the state. He said senior food safety officials have been instructed to be on the ground and sample every suspected milk product and take strict action against adulterators in view of coming festivities. The SOP envisages penalties of up to five lakh and six years imprisonment for the shopkeepers found guilty of adulteration. Kumar said although the drive though is new, its being monitored directly by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat. The SOP issued to all the district magistrates calls for strict action against adulterated food manufacturers, dealers, suppliers and retail shopkeepers under the provisions of the Food Safety Standards Act-2006 and Rules 2011. The action taken against shopkeepers and traders during the drive will be reviewed periodically and a daily report will be sent online to the Food Safety and Drugs Administration Uttarakhand through email. Joint Commissioner Dr RK Singh said strict vigil is being maintained in the border areas adjoining Uttar Pradesh. The department has made arrangements for on-spot sampling of the milk products and other food items in the vehicles entering at interstate border posts from outside the state. This helps immediate identification of the erring suppliers of the food items and prompt legal action against them. Singh further informed that joint teams have been constituted across the state to crack down on adulterators. The teams are raiding hotels, dairy food manufacturers and other shopkeepers to keep adulterated foods away from the market. A vigilance cell has been created by the department to receive complaints and share it with the raiding teams on the field. Along with this, monitoring is also being done through surveillance. It is worth noting that those who mix poison in Holi sweets are being curbed on a large scale. Additional Commissioner Tajbar Singh Jaggi stated that all 13 districts in the state have been divided into three groups to deal with adulterators. Teams engaged in food sampling have been provided with mobile food laboratories in every district. This will help the raiding teams to do sampling and examine it immediately in order to initiate action against culprits shopkeepers. Jaggi informed decoy teams of the officials have also been constituted to keep vigil and gather intelligence on the adulteration being brought in the state. Besides enforcement and surveillance against adulteration the decoy teams will also make consumers aware about adulterated goods coming to them. Raiding teams have also been provided police cover for security reasons. A 17-year-old girl set herself on fire after allegedly being assaulted by a neighbour at her home in Lucknows Malihabad area. She has been admitted to the civil hospital in critical condition, police said on Sunday. According to officials, the accused, identified as 23-year-old Rahul, allegedly entered the girls house while she was alone and assaulted her. Advertisement The victims family claimed that Rahul fled when she raised an alarm. Distraught by the incident, the girl set herself ablaze out of shame, the family mentioned. Advertisement Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Lucknow, Vishwajeet Shrivastava, stated that a case has been registered against Rahul, and efforts are underway to apprehend him. On the basis of the complaint, FIR No. 56/2025 has been registered under sections 333/74/107/62 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 7/8 of the POCSO Act at Malihabad police station. Further legal action is being taken, and the accused is being taken into custody, the DCP said. The girls father, who works as a private driver, said that he and his wife had gone to the hospital due to his ill health, leaving their daughter alone at home. During this time, Rahul, a resident of their village, allegedly entered the house and assaulted her. Enraged and traumatised, the girl set herself on fire. Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed to the house and managed to douse the flames. Her parents, upon receiving the news, hurried back from the hospital and immediately took her to the civil hospital. Doctors have reported that she has suffered 60 per cent burns and remains in a critical condition. The victims family has demanded strict action against the accused. Meanwhile, police continue their search operations, and further investigations are underway. An 18-year-old college student in Odishas Kendrapara district committed suicide after being physically harassed with inappropriate frisking by a male teacher before entry into the examination hall. The 12th standard student appeared in the pre-degree Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) at Pattamundai College and died allegedly by suicide. The mother of the student lodged a complaint on Saturday alleging that her daughter was inappropriately touched by a male teacher during the mandatory frisking provision on 19 February. Instead of female teachers, the girl students were frisked by males much against the CHSE guidelines, Inspector-in-charge of Pattamundai rural police station Dheeraj Lenka said, quoting the contents of the FIR. Advertisement Unable to bear the act of harassment, the victim ended her life on 24 February, the FIR alleged. Advertisement The complaint was lodged on Saturday. We have launched an investigation and are verifying the CCTV footage to ascertain the veracity of the allegation. If prima-facie evidence is found, legal action will be initiated against the accused named in the FIR, Lenka concluded. The college authorities, however, denied the allegation. The girl students are frisked by female staff before allowing them entry into the exam hall. Therefore, there is no iota of truth in the allegation that a male teacher inappropriately touched a student during frisking, Pattamundai College Principal Dillip Kumar Bhuyan said. The Congress party in Karnataka is struggling to keep its house in order. Despite public proclamations of unity and reassurances from senior leadership, the party is being buffeted by growing undercurrents of dissent, factional rivalry, and the slow unravelling of a leadership pact that now appears to be more political myth than a roadmap. Homestay in the Himalayas is a rapidly emerging concept that goes beyond sightseeing. It focuses on making real connections with people, culture, and nature as part of the travel experience. A homestay is a form of community-based tourism where travellers stay with local hosts in their homes. This offers a unique cultural experience for the traveller and directly contributes to the local economy. In addition, homestays contribute significantly to environmental protection by using existing resources and minimizing the ecological footprint of the traveller. These attributes make Himalayan homestays an excellent example of sustainable tourism, much needed for protecting the fragile ecology of the region from overtourism. Tourism is one of the worlds largest industries and a powerful driver of economic growth. According to one estimate, the tourism sectors contribution to global GDP is around 10 per cent. There is no doubt that the economy of many Himalayan states has benefitted immensely from tourism. However, over-tourism in recent years has started showing devastating impacts and is threatening regional sustainability. Advertisement According to the Environmental Assessment of Tourism in the Indian Himalayan Region 2024 report of the Environmental Ministry, increasing trend of air pollution in states like Himachal Pradesh corresponds to the peak tourist season. Impact on other aspects such as water quality cannot be fully determined due to lack of data. Two interesting insights are brought forward by this Report. One, that tourism related activities are much more pervasive in the northwestern compared to the north-eastern region in the Indian Himalayas. And, two, that many of the Himalayan states and UTs have undertaken initiatives in view of waste management, air and water quality as well as forest and biodiversity management which have not been sufficient. Advertisement More needs to be done to mitigate the adverse impacts of ever-increasing tourism in the Himalayas. The Report recommends conducting carrying capacity studies, promoting locally available resources and strengthening community-based village tourism. Much of this can be ensured by encouraging homestays in the Himalayas through incentivebased policies and planned outreach. Himalayan homestays offer benefits to the traveller and to the host, and help preserve the pristine ecology of the Himalayan landscape. The peace and quiet for which most travellers visit the Himalayas is experienced more readily in a homely environment than in commercial settings. Staying in a homestay takes the traveller away from the hassles of traffic jams, parking and increasing pollution that are becoming common problems in most hill stations. For the host, the multiple benefits include economic gains through diversifying income sources, intercultural exchanges, and creation of a market for local produce. Homestays also boost local business by increasing demand for guides, porters, taxi services, local handicrafts and folk arts. The greatest benefit of Himalayan homestays is the role they play in environmental protection. The Himalayas are an ecologically sensitive region with limited availability of land, water, building material and other resources. Rapid growth in tourism has resulted in large-scale construction activities that often do not respect sloping mountains, river floodplains and water channels. Water security in the Himalayan region is already threatened; the Shimla water crisis of 2018 had left many residents without water; they had then blamed tourists for worsening the situation. Homestays can help by decentralizing tourism pressure and reducing the travellers ecological footprint. Encouraging homestays means providing for tourists from existing infrastructure rather than creating new buildings and pipelines. The Government of India has already developed a National Strategy for Promotion of Rural Homestays (2022) which urges states to support such initiatives. A National Strategy for Ecotourism (2022) also exists, and encourages homestays and community lodges. However, the success of homestays depends on the readiness of travellers to choose them over conventional hotels. This requires rigorous implementation of top-down policies, bottom-up support from state and local administrations and effective collaboration among all stakeholders. Homestays must be regulated through licensing, and the licensing process should not be overly complicated. Training programmes and financial incentives must be provided to locals to balance guest expectations with community well-being. To promote and support homestays, state governments must maintain authentic websites which go beyond just listing registered homestays. Such websites should enable feedback along with serving as a live helpdesk, with support from the local administration. Safety is always a concern with hosts and travellers; active participation of the local administration along with community participation can help overcome this concern. Community participation in the Himalayas is more doable since Himalayan communities have always been close-knit where individuals rely heavily on each other for support due to difficult mountain conditions and shared traditions. Homestays are a vocal-for-local initiative that promote Make in India and can help reverse rural migration. They also play a role in preserving local cultures and their greatest contribution is the protection and preservation of fragile Himalayan ecosystem, for which they must be encouraged. (The writers are, respectively, an associate professor and a student at the Jindal School of Environment & Sustainability, O.P. Jindal Global University, Haryana, India.) The release of Israels official military report on the failures of 7 October 2023 marks a critical moment in the countrys reckoning with one of its darkest days. The findings confirm what many had suspected: a systemic failure in intelligence, preparedness, and response that allowed Hamass devastating attack to unfold with little resistance. While the militarys admission of responsibility is a necessary step, the absence of political accountability raises serious concerns about whether the deeper structural issues that led to this failure will truly be addressed. At its core, the report acknowledges that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fundamentally misjudged Hamass intentions and capabilities. Intelligence warnings from as early as 2018, which indicated that Hamas was developing an ambitious offensive strategy, were dismissed as unrealistic. Even in the months leading up to the attack, when analysts within the intelligence community began re assessing the threat, their concerns did not reach top decision-makers. This failure to challenge existing assumptions reflects an institutional complacency that left Israel vulnerable to an unprecedented assault. Beyond intelligence failures, the IDFs operational response on October 7 was chaotic. The Gaza Division, tasked with defending Israels southern border, was overwhelmed within hours, rendering it ineffective. The Air Force, though quick to act, struggled to differentiate between civilians, soldiers, and attackers. The fact that wounded soldiers were prioritised for evacuation over civilians further underscores the lack of a coherent crisis management strategy. The outgoing IDF chiefs acceptance of responsibility is commendable, but it does not absolve Israels political leadership of its failures. Security strategy is not solely the militarys domain ~ it is shaped by the broader policies and priorities set by the government. The report highlights that Israels security establishment viewed Gaza as a secondary threat, focusing instead on Iran and Hezbollah. Advertisement This approach allowed Hamas to operate under a flawed conflict management doc trine, where its rule was tolerated without a serious effort to develop an alternative. Despite this damning assessment, Israels top political leaders have yet to acknowledge any responsibility. Calls for an independent state inquiry into the events leading up to October 7 have been dismissed, with the argument that such an investigation should wait until after the war. However, delaying accountability risks perpetuating the same strategic blind spots that led to the attack in the first place. This reluctance to investigate now suggests a deeper political calculation ~ one that prioritises short-term stability over longterm security. Advertisement Genuine accountability would require uncomfortable admissions and potential political fallout, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems keen to avoid. History has shown that national security failures, when left unexamined at the highest levels, tend to repeat themselves. While the military is undertaking refor ms, genuine change requires a broader reassessment of Israels long-term security strategy and a willingness to confront hard truths about past miscalculations. Without political accountability, the lessons of October 7 may remain unheeded, leaving the door open for future tragedies. The explosive confrontation between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskky has exposed a widening gulf in the US-Ukraine relationship, leaving Kyiv more vulnerable at a critical moment in its war against Russia. What should have been a diplomatic opportunity turned into a public falling-out, signaling that the unwavering American support Ukraine once relied on is now in question. For Ukraine, this is a dangerous shift. The country has fought for three years to resist President Vla dimir Putins invasion, relying on billions of dollars in military aid from Western allies, particularly the United States. Under former President Joe Biden, Washington remained Kyivs strongest backer, supplying weapons, intelligence, and financial assistance. But Mr Trump is taking a starkly different approach ~ one that leans toward appeasement rather than confrontation. Mr Trumps dismissive attitude toward Mr Zelenskky during their White House meeting was striking. When the Ukrainian President insisted that Mr Putin could not be trusted in negotiations, Mr Trump and Vice President JD Vance pushed back, implying that Mr Zelenskkys unwillingness to compromise was prolonging the war. Mr Trump went so far as to accuse Mr Zelenskky of showing disrespect and suggested that Ukraines leader was not ready for peace. Advertisement His remarks seemed to ignore the reality that Russia, not Ukraine, is the aggressor in this war. Mr Zelenskky, for his part, stood firm. He has spent years navigating international diplomacy, knowing that any sign of weakness could cost Ukraine dearly. He challenged Mr Trumps narrative, refusing to accept a settlement that would require territorial concessions. The clash between the two leaders was more than just a disagreement ~ it was a stark reflection of their fundamentally different worldviews. European leaders quickly rallied behind Mr Zelenskky, with German chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz warning against confusing aggressor and victim. French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte also reached out to Kyiv, signaling that Europe remains committed to Ukrai nes defence. However, without strong US leadership, maintaining a united Western front against Russian aggression will be far more difficult. Advertisement The failure to finalise a minerals deal between the US and Ukraine further underscores the growing rift. Such an agreement could have bolstered Ukraines economy and secured long-term American investment. Instead, Mr Trumps decision to walk away from the deal reflects a broader disengagement, one that could leave Ukraine economically and militarily weakened. Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this diplomatic breakdown is its impact on Ukraines war effort. With US support in question, Kyiv faces an uncertain future. Mr Trumps insistence that Mr Zelenskky should negotiate with Mr Putin ignores the lessons of the past ~ every diplomatic overture to Moscow has been met with deceit and further aggression.\ If Mr Trump withdraws US backing, Ukraine will be forced to fight a much larger adversary with fewer resources. The consequences will extend beyond Kyiv; a Russian victory would embolden authoritarian regimes worldwide. In the end, this is not just about Ukraine ~ it is about the credibility of the democratic world in the face of aggression. Democrats are losing their sanity over Trumps reliance on the unelected Elon Muskthrough the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)to drastically downsize the administrative agencies. But its funny that none of these critics had such concerns for years and years when the same departmentsalso run by unelected bureaucratswere increasing their operations and budgets, completely obscured from the public view and unable to account for billions of dollars of already spent (or lost?) public funds. Dont get me wrong, I do think its problematic (and, shall we say, extra-constitutional) to have someone who is unvetted by the legislature or other democratic mechanism, to have so much control over policy, not to mention access to private data relating to millions of civilians. But that part of the picture is NOT actually new! A faceless, unaccountable bureaucratic machine (the deep state, as the dissidents call it) was already exercising much control over policy and had unfettered access to our private data for a very long time. At least this time around we know who is in charge and is answerable for the results. DOGE is run by a known individual, controlled by an (elected) president, and its activities are publicly acknowledged. Most importantly, the agenda of this unelected bureaucracy, apparently, is to reduce unelected bureaucracies. So, it seems very odd to me that THIS is the point at which so many have suddenly become concerned about unelected bureaucratic power! Advertisement Of course, it isnt just the Democrats whose principles are conveniently stashed away when it conflicts with their interests. MAGA Republicans who have spent years constantly complaining about government interference in the market now insist that the government should get intimately involved. The most common recent complaint has been about DEI policies (which favor certain minority groups in academic, professional, and public benefit contexts, ostensibly to combat historical disadvantages). It was supposed to be un-American because of its anticompetitive nature. Were a nation of self-made, self-reliant people, competing, negotiating, associating, transactingby our own choice, in a marketplace that is free of the distorting effect of government interference. And we really hate taxes and tariffs, which are nothing short of extortion. At least thats what we were told by MAGA. But it turns out not to be the case. It turns out fine to thwart competition to favour native born white employees over cheaper and more competent foreign workers with brown skin. It turns out that spurned job candidates and disgruntled ex-employees know better than a companys management what the companys labour needs are! Those are our jobs by right! Companies OWE it to the community to provide employment at high-wages and NEVER let foreign competition drive down labor prices! A short time ago, such ideas were considered commie and un-American. But here we are. Advertisement This ability to live with cognitive dissonance when it suits ones political interests is certainly not new. Its just getting more and more transparent, for some reason. I think the personality of Donald Trump has a lot to do with it. Before him, politicians and politically inclined people were hypocritical, but they assumed that their hypocrisy had to be hidden because the general public would find it unacceptable. I think Trump figured out that, to a large enough portion of the people, principles really dont matter. Their own interests matter. He figured out that if you seem authentic and, on THEIR side, they dont care how hypocritical or unprincipled you actually are. In fact, being zealously and ruthlessly on their side is actually a winning strategy! But, while he turned it into an overt selling point, Trump didnt invent this game. Like I said, its been around. I started noticing the trend during the early Obama years. Right before he was elected, liberals and leftists had voiced extreme alarm at the Bush administrations extra-constitutional power grabs: extraordinary rendition (the practice of detaining people outside the jurisdiction of the United States, without judicial oversight, and holding them indefinitely, sometimes in a third country, without trial); warrantless wiretapping and surveillance of civilians and their communication records (obtained from phone companies without the targets knowledge); enhanced interrogation methods (aka torture) used by military and intelligence personnel against detainees; starting and intensifying wars with no clear nexus between the justification and the engagement, etc. Much of this (and more) was made legal by the euphemistically named statute Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001. The appropriate tools that it gave to the government were staggering new powers the constitution never contemplated but who was going to stop them? And thats just on the security side of the equation. The economic policies (like bailing out Wall Street banks that caused an economic collapse at the expense of the American taxpayers who were the victims of that collapse, etc.) were also ruthless, and condemned as such by liberals and leftists. Then, Obama became president, elected largely on a platform of weeding out these kinds of abuses. But he proceeded to go about business as usual. If anything, he ratcheted things up. The corporate handouts were justified by economic reality. The security-surveillance state became a fact of life that the government didnt even try to justify anymore. They did what they did, because they could. Technological advances gave Obama more powerful tools than what Bush had access to. Improved connectivity, more accurate GPS tracking, nano technology, precision drones, the internet of thingsand lets not forget social media, where people unwittingly make it possible to monitor their lives near-constantly. So, how did the aforementioned liberals and leftists react? A few prominent exceptions aside, they mostly just shrugged it off. I was one of the Obama voters who felt disillusioned by all this, but I was taken aback by the multitudes who let him off the hook. I asked many people about this, trying to understand their perspective. The answer I got most frequently is that governing in the real world requires some compromise and pragmatism. Pure idealism doesnt work. Presidents learn that on the jobthey have dilemmas we cant even imagine. Fair enough. But if this is true, didnt President Bush deserve the same latitude? Why was he spoken of as a war criminal for doing the things for which we were now supposed to defer to President Obamas judgment? Ive asked this question many times throughout the Obama era and only twice did I get what seemed like a genuine answer. One friend of mine admitted he had been wrong to be inconsistent and needed to rethink things (thereby increasing my respect for him tenfold). The other person whose answer I thought was honest (though more frightening) said to me I dont know, I guess I just trust Obama more. I feel like he would only do those things if there was a good reason. In other words, this person was admitting her judgments were based on personal bias and she didnt care. The Republicans and right-leaning Americans seemed to have the exact same reflex (going in the opposite direction on the details, of course). During Bushs presidency, none of the aforementioned abuses seemed problematic to them. Everything was about national security or American interests and accusing the Bush Administrations critics of being unpatriotic. They threw around the word treason for even questioning the president. The term Commander in Chief became an everyday utterance. But when their president was Barack Obama, the same folks seemed to do a complete about face on every position. The Patriot Act was now a tool of tyranny. True patriotism no longer required allegiance to the commander in chief! In fact, this kind of worshipful attitude is anathema to American patriotism! They suddenly remembered we are a nation built on the ideal of individual freedom and skepticism about governmental power. Constantly opposing and berating the president became the new stamp of true Americanness. That cycle of flip-flopping was repeated again during the Trump and Biden administrations and the trend has increasingly intensified. During the Covid lockdowns it became crystal clear that any position can be spun for or against your side depending on who is advocating it. We were told large gatherings were Covid super-spreader events except for Black Lives Matter protest events. It wasnt clear whyor HOWthe virus distinguished between gatherings for different purposes. But thats what we were supposed to accept. Because believe the science! (and science was whatever the government scientists told you). On the other side, there were people asserting a right to go into a store without masks on, even if the store owner required it. But these were the same people who usually insist that a business owner should have the right to make his/her own rules and that nobody has a right to be served by an unwilling private business. A few years earlier, they argued that a bakery should be allowed to refuse to make a gay wedding cake, because the owner had a right to his own values and because the gay couple could always go to a different baker. The examples are endless. Its probably not a particularly surprising insight that most people claim to have principles but they seem to apply them only when it suits their own interests to do so. Whats surprising is how overt and shameless the practice has become. Aayush, what brings you to Bollywood? After dropping out of my MBA from University Business School, Chandigarh, I landed in Mumbai to be a part of the Hindi film industry. My parents who reside in Gurgaon were worried about how I would make it here without having any sort of connections whatsoever in the industry Acting brings me joy and with a determination to make my parents proud, just like every middle-class boy aspires, I landed in tinsel town to fulfil my ambition. Advertisement How did Suneel Darshan find you and were you aware of his achievements when he signed you? Advertisement I met Suneel Darshan sir through a casting director who mentioned to me that there were some interesting roles to go for in his new commencing project. A brief conversation with him through the meeting resulted in my landing into the coveted lead role in Andaaz 2 which came to me by surprise and I actually pinched myself to check whether this was a dream or realityI had watched his movies Jaanwar, Andaaz and others several times but never believed that he would be directing me someday. What do you play in Andaaz 2 and have you seen the first Andaaz? I cant reveal the plot of Andaaz 2 due to confidentiality reasons. However, I would sum it up as the journey of a young, believable middle-class boy named Aarav who is truly inspirational and has absolute confidence to achieve what he has set out for. His journey is going to entertain and inspire millionsI believe that like the first Andaaz, this movie also has a triangular love story and some amazing music yet the depth of its drama is so true to life that I am sure it deserves to be an inspiration for the younger generation. Who are your favourite actors and films? I get inspired by every good performance as I would like to take the positive aspects of everyone and apply them to myself while performing. I understand that there is a distinct difference between actors and stars and I somehow respect performances from both genres. I have observed that very often a good actor is uncomfortable if he is cast in a role that has no substance for him or he doesnt identify with the character he is playing. So favourites keep changing with the movies. How challenging was the debut experience for you? I quite relate to the protagonist Aaravs character, so I was a bit anxious till the time I had my first shotafter that Suneel Sir guided me and we did a lot of rehearsals, before the shoot we held workshops with the leading ladies Akaisha and Natasha Fernandez and myself, at the end of which we were all so much in character that through the movies filming Aayush had transformed to Aaravit was likewise with Akaisha and Natasha also. The road ahead is tough and merciless, you think you are up to it? The day I stepped into Mumbai I told my parents that I didnt know how I would do it but I surely willI am not scared of any upcoming challenges and am always readywill always give my best to the shot, with a smile. The writer is a veteran film journalist and columnist. Views are personal. President Donald Trump is not the first US leader to have lost his temper with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, as it happened in the fiery Oval Office spat that was seen around the world Friday. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had become furious with President Zelensky over a phone call in June 2022, just months after the Russian invasion in February. Advertisement NBC News reported at the time that Biden had called Zelensky to let him know he had just cleared $1 billion in military assistance for Ukraine. But even before he had finished speaking, Zelensky began rattling off all the additional help and items that he needed. Advertisement Biden lost his temper and told Zelensky, as reported by NBC, the people were being quite generous, and his administration and the US military were working hard to help Ukraine. And, he added, raising his voice, that Zelensky could show a little more gratitude. President Trump made the same point to Zelensky on Friday. There are more similarities. Tensions between Trump and Zelensky had been building over as it had been between Biden and Zelensky in 2022. President Biden and his top aides had been frustrated that they were doing as much as they could, and as quickly as they could, but Zelensky had publicly focussed on things he had not received. This frustration came out on the phone call. But that call did not turn into a heated exchange like on Friday. Tensions had been building between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks. Trump called Zelensky a dictator, accusing him of clinging to power without calling for elections. The Ukrainian leader had responded accusing Trump of living in disinformation space. Trump had pulled back and feigned loss of recall, having said that when asked at a news conference ahead of his meeting with Zelensky. There is one crucial difference between the two blowouts. Zelensky showed contrition after the 2022 phone call. I had an important conversation with US President Biden today he had said in videotaped remarks. I am grateful for this support. It is especially important for our defence in Donbas. But on Friday, when asked about the Oval Office blowout, he told a Fox News host, he had done nothing bad, although he did concede the spat was not good. Emphasising the need for urgent action, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has instructed all departments related to road safety to work in coordination to curb accidents. He also directed officials to identify and rectify black spots on all state routes. Additionally, he called for setting up of trauma centres along with deployment of ambulances and trained medical staff at hospitals in all divisional headquarters. Advertisement CM Adityanath issued these directions while chairing a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Safety Council here on Sunday, attended by ministers of the departments concerned, senior government officials, divisional commissioners, district magistrates, police commissioners, and superintendents of police. Advertisement The Chief Minister issued essential directives to reduce road accidents in the state effectively. Reviewing the annual data on road accidents, the Chief Minister highlighted that 46,052 accidents occurred in 2024, resulting in 34,600 injuries and over 24,000 fatalitiesfigures he described as deeply distressing. Expressing concern for the timely treatment of accident victims, the Chief Minister proposed setting up hospital facilities along both sides of all expressways, similar to food plazas. Chief Minister Adityanath stated that in 2024, out of 75 districts in the state, 20 districtsnamely Hardoi, Mathura, Agra, Lucknow, Bulandshahr, Kanpur Nagar, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Aligarh, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Badaun, Meerut, and Bijnorrecorded the highest fatalities in road accidents. These districts accounted for 42 per cent of the total accident-related deaths in the state. To address this issue, he instructed officials to identify the causes of accidents and enhance public awareness about road safety. The Chief Minister emphasised the importance of regular meetings of the Divisional Road Safety Committee, directing that they should be held monthly at the district level and quarterly at the divisional level to prevent road accidents. He expressed concern that only one meeting was held last year in six divisionsAyodhya, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Saharanpur, and Agraand called for an increase in the frequency of these meetings. However, he expressed satisfaction with the four meetings conducted in Basti, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Mirzapur. Additionally, the Chief Minister instructed the districts of Balrampur, Firozabad, Gonda, Chandauli, and Jaunpur, which had fewer District Road Safety Committee meetings in 2024, to conduct meetings within this week. He also directed the 38 districts that held 10 or more meetings to continue organising them according to the governments SOP. Highlighting the primary causes of road accidentsoverspeeding, drunk driving, wrong-side driving, jumping signals, and mobile phone usethe Chief Minister stressed the need to raise public awareness. He urged the Basic Education Department, Secondary Education Department, and Higher Education Department to conduct activities related to road safety in schools and colleges. Furthermore, he recommended incorporating traffic rules into schools curriculum under the Basic and Secondary Education Departments. Chief Minister Adityanath said, No liquor shops should be permitted along expressways and highways. He noted that the signage for these shops is often extensive and should be reduced in size. The Chief Minister also instructed authorities to prohibit buses without permits from operating on roads and to take strict action against illegal vehicles and overloaded trucks. He emphasised that vehicles from other states without permits must be stopped at the borders. Additionally, the CM called for engaging with the Transport Association and Vehicle Association to ensure that long-distance vehicles have two drivers. The Chief Minister highlighted the need to increase the number of cranes, patrol vehicles, and ambulances on expressways and highways. He pointed out that surveillance cameras are installed on only four of the 93 NHAI roads in the state. He instructed that cameras be installed on the remaining roads as well. Expressing concern over frequent accidents, he emphasised the need for foot overbridges at critical points on NHAI roads and directed officials to identify such locations and proceed with their construction. Additionally, he stressed that road safety signage must be installed on all major roads across the state. The CM also raised concerns about minors driving e-rickshaws in urban areas and directed officials to enforce strict measures to prevent this. He called for verifying all e-rickshaw drivers and emphasised the need to keep the RTO free from middlemen by conducting periodic random checks. Addressing the issue of traffic congestion, the Chief Minister pointed out that the state has adequate manpower to manage traffic efficiently. He suggested training personnel from the civil police, PRD, and Home Guard to improve traffic management. Furthermore, he instructed that table-top speed breakers be constructed near hospitals, schools, and main markets to enhance road safety. Around 613 Afghan migrant families returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran between February 21-28, local media in Kabul reported on Saturday. The data cited by Afghanistans Amu TV revealed that Iran expelled 501 families while Pakistan deported 112, either forcibly or voluntarily. Advertisement Earlier this week, speaking to TOLO news, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal stated that over 2.1 million Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan in 2024. Advertisement Commenting on the forced deportation and expulsion from Pakistan and Iran, Jamal said, We should be able to set with those countries, and with Afghanistan, to make sure that they come home in a systematic manner and in a manner that contributes to stability, to economic growth and to peace inside Afghanistan, this is our appeal. He further urged authorities to treat people with dignity and make sure that those who want to go home are doing so voluntarily. If their movement is not organised and contributes to stability, then it will have a situation of chaos on both sides of the border. Zakiullah Muhammadi, an Afghan University professor, said that historical grievances between Afghanistan and these two countries will deepen and could even lead to conflict if the deportation process is not halted or a proper framework is not established to ensure the dignified return of Afghans. Fleeing from war and conflict in their homeland, migrants from Afghanistan have taken refuge mainly in Pakistan and Iran for decades now. The return of the Afghan refugees amidst the rising food crisis and instability in Afghanistan will further add to their dilemma. These Afghan refugees, who are either expelled or forcibly deported, also faced severe abuse and harassment in Pakistan. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Forces (MSDF) destroyer Akizuki sailed through the Taiwan Strait recently in an attempt to counter the growing Chinese influence in the region, local media reported on Saturday. The Japanese destroyer navigated the waterway through the strait from north to south after taking part in a joint drill held in the South China Sea in early February with United States, Australian, and Philippines vessels. Advertisement It is the second time that an MSDF vessel has passed through the waters between Taiwan and China. MSDF destroyer Sazanami sailed in the strait along with Australian and New Zealand vessels in September, Jiji news agency reported. Advertisement In early February, the combined armed and defence forces of Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the US conducted a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone demonstrating a collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Claiming that Taiwan Strait and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Beijing opposes any kind of patrolling in the Taiwan Strait and perceives it as a security threat. On the other hand, the US, Japan and their allies consider the Taiwan Strait as an international waterway and routinely send warships through Taiwan Strait upholding freedom of navigation and countering Chinas aggressive posturing in the region. In recent times, relations between China and Japan have deteriorated over territorial disputes regarding the Senkaku Islands. The islands have strategic significance as it is close to important shipping lanes, and also offer rich fishing grounds besides having the potential existence of oil reserves. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has stated that the Chinese Coast Guard ships persistently make unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the waters around the Senkaku Islands. Russia on Saturday termed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys visit to the United States as a complete political and diplomatic failure of the Kyiv regime. Moscows reaction came after Zelenskys public showdown with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office grabbed headlines all over the world. Advertisement The Russian side has repeatedly stated at all levels that V. Zelensky is inappropriate, corrupt and incapable of reaching an agreement. It was the Kyiv regime that refused to continue negotiations on a political and diplomatic settlement in the spring of 2022, using lies and manipulation to justify the continuation of hostilities and the receipt of Western military and financial assistance, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. Advertisement With his outrageously boorish behavior during his stay in Washington, V. Zelensky confirmed that he is the most dangerous threat to the world community as an irresponsible instigator of a major war. Everyone should understand how unambiguous such attacks sound from the leader of terrorists, Zakharova added. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson went to on to describe Zelensky as a cynic who disdains nothing and someone who is obsessed only with preserving the power he has usurped. For this purpose, he has destroyed the opposition, built a totalitarian state and mercilessly sends millions of his fellow citizens to their deaths. In the current political conditions, which are increasingly worsening for the Kyiv regime, this figure is incapable of showing a sense of responsibility and is therefore obsessed with continuing the war, rejecting peace, which for him is like death, stated Zakharova. Moscow said that the dressing down given to Zelensky in the White House was unprecedented in the history of international politics and diplomacy. As before, we proceed from the fact that a truly fair and sustainable achievement of peace is possible only with the complete elimination of the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis. The main ones were the Wests violation of promises not to expand NATO and the absorption by the alliance of the entire geopolitical space of Europe up to the Russian borders, as well as the systemic liquidation by the Kyiv regime, like the German Nazis of the past, of everything Russian: language, culture, church, read the statement issued by the foreign ministry. IIT Roorkee, which started as Roorkee College in 1847, was the first engineering college in Asia. After about a century, the college was elevated to the University of Roorkee, the first engineering university of independent India, on November 25, 1949, and to an IIT on September 21, 2001 IN NOVEMBER 2024, a seaplane landed in the backwaters near my home and took off for the hills the next day and it landed in Mattupetty Dam. It was a De Havilland brought in to test the possibility of giving tourists a faster route from the coast to the hills. It was announced as the states first seaplane. That statement is both right and wrong. It could be the states first civilian seaplane, but certainly not the first one. Greybeards in Kochi tell me that the Royal Air Force used to operate Supermarine Stranraers and Catalina Flying Boats out of these same waters during World War II. The RAFs famous 240 Squadron called at RAF Station Cochin from July 1942 through to July 1945 says the Royal Navy Research Archive. What brought me to old planes is Special Correspondent Rahul Devulapallis Untold Story on Warangals Mamnoor airport, which was built by the Nizam and bombed by the Indian Air Forces Hawker Tempests in 1948. Now the Telangana government wants to revive Mamnoor and gift the state its second civilian airport, after Shamshabad. The cover story is a brilliantly written article by Chief of Bureau (Delhi) Namrata Biji Ahuja on how the extradition of Tahawwur Rana could tie loose ends linked to 26/11 and lead to the uncovering of valuable intelligence on other attacks that were planned, including one on the National Defence College in Delhi. Namrata skilfully narrates how the doctor used multiple layers of subterfuge to airgap himself from the terrorist activities he was powering. Everything from running a business to philanthropy to invoking Mahatma Gandhi. I remember the total surprise, sorrow and anger that 26/11 evoked. And through this cover story one realises the spread of the network that made the terrorist attack happen. What did India do to Rana that would want him to invest so much time and resources against our country? Nothing at all, as far as I can gather. With West Asia on the boil, we also look at Lebanon, where the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has powered a fresh wave of anger against Israel. But not all of Lebanon is pro-Hezbollah and with the Assad regime out of Damascus, the resistance group will have to rethink its strategies. In Indian politics, Senior Assistant Editor Pratul Sharma looks at Delhi and what Chief Minister Rekha Guptas cabinet bodes for upcoming state elections, for the citizens of the national capital and the opposition. From Madhya Pradesh, Correspondent Badar Bashir reports on how state Congress chief Jitendra Patwari has been able to move the limelight away from old warhorses Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh. Anyway, let me sweeten your mood with Laxmis story shot by Photographer Kritajna Naik K. She was abducted from her family and forced to beg near Mulund railway station. She got off the streets when she was around 18. Though she is 30 years old now, that does not stop her from slyly opening the latch of her room, slipping out and raiding the larder for snacks when everyone is asleep. Did I tell you that she is an elephant? The face of Miss Liberty is changing. On her radiant visage, the world is beginning to see the scowl of a John Rambo. Time was when the lesser billions who inhabited a world ruled by Stalins, Francos, Idi Amins and Pol Pots looked to the new world, and saw there the serene face of Miss Liberty. She held a tablet of liberty in one hand, her other hand holding up the torch of justice and knowledge, and told the world silently: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free. Knowing she meant her words, millions made it to the new world. Most found not just room to breathe free, but rights to enjoy, freedoms to indulge in, liberties to celebrate, opportunities to toil, avenues to prosper, and wise minds to learn from. Imaging: Deni Lal Ever since Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman gave a bomb-dug burial to James Monroes isolationist doctrine, America has been poking its nose into every messpot in the world from Afghanistan to Yemen. It armed tyrants, funded wars, and sent out its GIs and gunboats to cause death, destruction and devastation across the world. Like the arms-selling philanthropist Andrew Undershaft in Bernard Shaws Major Barbara, it thought its mission was to give arms to all men who offer an honest price.... To aristocrat and republican, to nihilist and tsar, to capitalist and socialist, to Protestant and Catholic, to burglar and policeman, to black man, white man and yellow man. To all faiths, all follies, all causes and all crimes. As it made money by selling boats and bombs, cars and cannons, machines and missiles, America also shelled out much of the profits to benefit the world. Ever since its Marshall Plan saved Europe from the miseries of its wars, America also emerged as the biggest funder and sponsor of the worlds noble causes. Thus America radiated what Joseph Nye would later call a soft power. Every film that Hollywood made, every word that the VoA broadcast, every face that CNN telecast, every line that the NYT printed, every scholar that Harvard sent out, every medal that its Olympians picked up, every song that Elvis Presley sang, every skirt that its models wore, every Nobel that its scientists picked up, every play that Broadway staged, every book that its writers published was lapped up by an admiring world that envied the liberties Americans enjoyed, and the culture of creativity America nurtured. Even as it raced bomb-for-bomb and missile-for-missile with the Soviet superpower, the American state also encouraged its rich to invest in institutions that promoted knowledge and enlightenment, and invite denizens of the poorer and less fortunate world to come and partake of the values it was imparting. Just like well-meaning 19th century Englishmen thought it was the white mans burden to civilise the world (read Kipling), 20th century Americans carried notions that it was the Yankee's burden to save the world from the communist spectre that Karl Marx had threatened it with. Its all changing under Donald Trump. The tired, the poor and the huddled masses are no longer welcome to America; if they come they will be chain-ganged, bundled into military cargo planes and flown back. Its no longer the serene visage of Ms Liberty that the world sees in America. On the contrary, they see the scowl of a Rambo who yelled incoherently at the civil world in First Blood: Don't push it! Don't push it, or I'll give you a war you won't believe. Trump means it. He is giving the world a war it thought America would never give. prasannan@theweek.in For the last 80 years, the most enduring assumption of the global system was the rules-based liberal international order. This was supposed to be the agreed system that underpinned the world, and of which then United Nations was the carapace. Amongst its precepts was a set of rules that all governments were expected to adhere to, among them respect for the sovereignty of states; acceptance of the inviolability of international borders; and abjuring the use of force to settle disputes with other countries. These rules, encoded in the UN Charter, were largely upheld by all states, in their own interests and in the collective interests of humanity. Recent years have, however, called the rules-based liberal international order into question. The consensus behind these precepts was violated first by terrorist groups and rebel movements, then by states themselves. State sovereignty made little sense when the authority of so many governments was contested from within and rebel movements engulfed many countries, convulsing Somalia, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria. Then Russia invaded Ukraine in complete disregard of these principles and for the UN charter which embodied them. Now comes the latest development to shred the rules-based liberal international order: the ascent of a man with scant respect for any of its cardinal virtues or assumptions to the leadership of the most powerful government in the world, the United States. Donald Trump | AP If President Donald Trump had the slightest regard for global niceties, his initial words and actions since his assumption of office show no signs of it. Both before and after his inauguration on January 20, Trump has threatened to reassume control over the Panama Canal (which the US had built but then handed over to Panama by treaty a half-century ago), acquire Greenland (which is a Danish territory and has been since 1721), wipe out drug cartels in Mexico (which smuggle drugs into America but are located in another sovereign country), convert Canada into the USs 51st state by annexing it (and even referring to the countrys prime minister as its governor!), and even taking over the Gaza Strip, displacing its original Palestinian residents and refashioning it into the Riviera of the Middle East. He launched a peace initiative over Ukraine with the Russianswithout involving Ukraine itself or even consulting the European nations on whose continent the war is being fought and who have been, along with the US, the principal backers, financiers and military suppliers of the Ukrainian forces. If that were not enough, Trump has also withdrawn the US from the Paris climate accord, and decided his government will exit from the World Health Organisation, the UN Human Rights Commission, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. Before completing a month in office, he slapped 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico and then suspended them for a month, threatened China with 60 per cent tariffs but then applied 10 per cent, and imposed 25 per cent on imports of steel and aluminium from anywhere. For good measure, he also imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for its investigations of, and cases against, Israeli leaders, especially Benjamin Netanyahu, for their actions in Gaza, which had led the ICC to issue an arrest warrant against the Israeli premier. Trumps actions have been characterised by extreme unpredictability and a disregard for the conventional norms of global politics. They have divided observers and commentators into two broad camps: those who are convinced the man is impulsive and geopolitically illiterate, and that most of his actions cannot be understood rationally, versus those who believe there is a method to his madness. The latter tend to view his pronouncements and decisions as reflecting the madman theory of President Richard Nixon, who was said to have sought to convey the impression that he was irrational and volatile so that his adversaries in the Cold War would hesitate to challenge the US, for fear of provoking an extreme response from Washington. The theory is disputed by many, as is its application to Trump; but there is no doubt that the volatility of the Trump administration has caught the rest of the world off guard and engendered considerable uncertainty in world affairs. The only thing that is clear is that in Trumps world, there are no rules anymore, and the prospects for both liberalism and order are not what they were two months ago. editor@theweek.in The Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly is set to begin its budget session on March 3, making it the first such session in over seven years. The session will be inaugurated with an address by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, while Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the finance portfolio, is expected to present the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 on March 7. On March 1, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to discuss key matters related to the budget session. The assembly has received 1,300 questions from 88 MLAs. Although the house has 90 seats, two are currently vacantone due to the passing of a BJP MLA from Nagrota, and the other after Omar Abdullah resigned from the Budgam seat, having won from both Budgam and Ganderbal. The session is expected to see intense debates on key issues, including Article 370, pre-election commitments, and the proposed alcohol ban. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Peoples Conference (PC) have introduced resolutions and bills related to Article 370, seeking to restore Jammu & Kashmirs special status, a move strongly opposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP is also preparing to challenge the ruling National Conference (NC) over its election promises, such as free electricity and ration. Additionally, the PDP and PCs push for an alcohol ban is likely to further fuel heated discussions. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather has urged MLAs to maintain decorum and avoid unparliamentary language during the session. Several bills related to Article 370, human rights and the seizure of properties belonging to individuals accused of separatist activities are expected to provoke strong reactions from the BJP. Major political parties are holding internal meetings in preparation for the session. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will chair the NCs strategy meeting at his official residence on Wazarat Road, while Congress leaders led by Tariq Hamid Karra, will meet at the party headquarters in Jammu. The BJP is expected to conduct its legislature party meeting on March 2 or 3. The last assembly session held in November, witnessed chaotic scenes after the National Conference passed a resolution calling for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmirs special status. With similarly contentious issues on the agenda this time, the budget session is expected to be highly charged, shaping the regions political landscape in the months ahead. As the operation to rescue the four workers who remain trapped in the snow continues, those who survived the avalanche at Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district have opened up about the disaster and how it all happened in a flash. A worker, who was rescued and is currently undergoing treatment at Army's Jyotirmath Hospital, told local media that they were working for Vijay Infra Construction Company in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp when the disaster struck. #WATCH Uttarakhand: Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel carrying out rescue operations in avalanche-hit area of Chamoli district. 4 people have died in the avalanche incident. (Source: ITBP) pic.twitter.com/frrVj3pY5p ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 1, 2025 Sad update from Uttarakhand Avalanche site: 4 labourers succumb to injuries, search on for 5 trapped BRO workers is going on. Indian Armed Forces are on job. pic.twitter.com/gL0sE5MpQJ Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras) March 1, 2025 Joshi, a native of Narayanbagh in Chamoli district and an operator of the accelerator machine, told India TV that the weather had been bad for the last few days and it was snowing on Friday morning too. "The disaster struck around 6 am. As soon as we got out of the container, we heard a loud rumbling noise. When we looked up, a snow avalanche was heading towards us. I shouted to my colleagues and we ran away. There were already several feet of snow due to which we could not run fast. After 2 hours, Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel came to rescue us," Joshi told the news outlet. He was rescued by an Army helicopter. Vipin Kumar, another worker, said he was buried under the snow for 15 minutes before being rescued. "I was able to extricate myself out of the snow only when the avalanche stopped," he said while another labourer Manoj Bhandari said he woke up to a "mountain of snow" sliding from the peak. "I shouted to alert everyone and ran behind a loader machine parked nearby to save myself," he added. Meanwhile, the Army has brought in GPS radar equipment to locate the containers where the workers lived in Mana. As per reports, five containers were initially traced and later the three. However, no worker was found in those. "If weather permits, specialised RECCO radars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), quadcopters and avalanche rescue dogs will be pressed into service to trace the missing workers, " Lt Gen. Sengupta said. "Everything depends on the weather," he added. According to an Army spokesperson, six helicopters were involved in the rescue operation. While 50 workers were rescued, four succumbed to their injuries. Mana, located three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village located at an altitude of 3,200 meters on the Indo-Tibet border. Though five labourers were initially presumed missing, one of them -- Sunil Kumar from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh -- has reached home safely on his own. The Election Commission on Sunday ruled out charges of manipulation in the electoral roll and said duplication of EPIC numbers allotted for voters could be possibly due to the use of the same alphanumeric series by two different states. However, the Commission said the same number doesnt imply they are duplicate or fake voters. The Election Commission has taken cognizance of certain social media posts and media reports flagging the issue of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers. In this regard, it is clarified that while EPIC numbers of some of the electors may be identical, the pic.twitter.com/O7QuboR4hc ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 In a statement, the Election Commission said, The Election Commission has taken cognizance of certain social media posts and media reports flagging the issue of electors of different states having identical EPIC numbers. In this regard, it is clarified that while EPIC numbers of some of the electors may be identical, the other details including demographic details, Assembly Constituency and polling booth are different for the electors with the same EPIC number. The Commission said though the EPIC number allotted to voters could be the same, a voter can cast his vote only at a designated polling booth in a constituency. Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective Constituency in their State/UT where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else, it said. The poll body said manual mechanism and decentralized process could have led to allotting similar EPIC numbers to voters in different states. This resulted in certain State/UT CEO offices using the same EPIC alphanumeric series and leaving a scope for the possibility of duplicate EPIC numbers being allotted to electors in different Assembly Constituencies in different States/UTs. However, to address the issue, the Election Commission has decided to allot unique EPIC numbers to voters and update the ERONET 2.0 platform to better aid the process. Any case of duplicate EPIC number will be rectified by allotting a unique EPIC number. The ERONET 2.0 platform will be updated to aid and assist in this process, the poll body said. The Election Commissions clarification comes after opposition parties accused manipulation in the electoral rolls of states where assembly polls were recently held. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had charged additional voters were added to voters list in Maharashtra, ahead of assembly polls in the state, to defeat the opposition. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also raised a similar charge recently. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut have made a shocking claim that Shiv Sena chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde approached Union Minister Amit Shah seeking the post of Chief Minister in Maharashtra over a week ago, but was rebuffed. Raut made the claim in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana's 'Rokhthok' section published on Sunday. It said the meeting happened on February 22 at West Inn Hotel in Koregaon Park in Pune and Shinde waited till 4 am to meet the Union Minister. He complained to Amit Shah about the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. "I have no prestige in the government, I was the Chief Minister till yesterday. All my decisions are being reversed," Shinde reportedly told Amit Shah. In the article, Raut claims that Shinde argued before Shah that he broke away from Shiv Sena trusting the BJP's claim that he would remain the Chief Minister even after elections. Shah reportedly said that the BJP had over 125 MLAs and rightly deserved to lead the government, but Shinde argued that the elections were won under his leadership. "No, the election was held on Modiji's face," Shah said, asking what Shinde wanted. To the Shiv Sena leader's reply that he wanted the Chief Minister's post, Shah said: "You will merge in BJP. Your claim will then remain. An outsider will not become the CM of Maharashtra," Amit Shah replied to Shinde, adding that the BJP has respected Shiv Sena. VIDEO | Interacting with media in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) said, "Eknath Shinde needs training about Hindutva. (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat didn't visit (Kumbh Mela). Devendra Fadnavis did go, but how many of his ministers went there?... Why didn't Mohan pic.twitter.com/VwJ2tB3b1C Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 2, 2025 Raut, the Executive Editor of Marathi newspaper, also said in the piece that Maratha pride has been forfeited at the hands of 'Delhiites'. "The 'Maratha' in Eknath Shinde woke up while starting a fight with Uddhav Thackeray. That Maratha is now seen kneeling at the feet of the Shah of Delhi," he alleged. The MP had earlier too alleged a rift between Shinde and Fadanvis. He earlier alleged in the newspaper that both leaders had no real communications. He said the discord has left the state administration "paralysed". Raut alleged that attacks on Shinde have begun, and Maharashtra has been left in a state of uncertainty and disorder. Like food plazas, hospitals and deployment of trauma and medical staff will be mandatory on both sides of all expressways in the state. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave these instructions while chairing a meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Safety Council earlier today. In 2022, the latest year for which figures are available from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; there were 4,61,312 road accidents in the country. These left 1,68,491 dead and 4,43,366 injured. The greatest number of these accidents happen on National Highways, including expressways. State highways come in second. The same report said that while Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents on National Highways, the number of persons killed in road accidents was the highest in Uttar Pradesh. As per data from the state government on Sunday, in 2024 there were 46,052 road accidents in UP. This has led to 24,000 deaths and 34,600 injuries. Terming these figures as sad, Yogi Adityanath said that these need to be minimised at all costs. All concerned departments should make collective efforts for this. The identification of black spots and fixing them should be the top priority. He said that arrangements should be made for hospitals on both sides of all expressways. The deployment of trauma experts, ambulances and trained staff should be ensured in the hospitals of all divisional headquarters. The maximum loss of life, in road accidents has occurred in 20 districtsHardoi, Mathura, Agra, Lucknow, Bulandshahr, Kanpur Nagar, Prayagraj, Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bareilly, Aligarh, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Badaun, Meerut and Bijnor. These account for 42 per cent of the total deaths. The CM directed that factors causing these accidents should be studied and awareness about road safety be increased among people. The Basic Education Department, Secondary Education Department and Higher Education Department will be roped in to spread awareness by organizing various activities related to road safety in schools and colleges. Traffic rules and safety guidelines will also be added to the curriculum of the schools of Basic and Secondary Education Departments. The CM also noted that liquor shops are often advertised with bold signage on expressways and highways. These need to be made smaller. Vehicles coming from other states without permits should be stopped at the border. Also in collaboration with the Transport Association and the Vehicle Association, it must be ensured that there are two drivers on all such vehicles which are traversing long distances. Rising incidents of crimes against women across Maharashtra have made it clear that the state is no longer safe for women and girls, claimed state Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal. His remarks came after a shocking incident, in which Union Minister Raksha Khadses daughter was allegedly harassed by a group of youths, and even her security personnel were manhandled. Since the accused were not arrested, Khadse had to stage a protest at the police station. Alleging that the increasing crimes against women have brought shame to the state, Sapkal demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who is also in-charge of the home department. The Congress state president further alleged that due to political protection given to criminals, crimes against women and girls have increased significantly in the state. "If even daughters of the Union ministers are not safe, one can imagine the plight of ordinary citizens. Home Minister and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have lost control over the home department and criminals. The fact that a ministers daughter was harassed despite security personnel being present clearly indicates the collapse of law and order. That Raksha Khadse had to protest at a police station to demand action against the culprits shows that the state is now ruled by criminals rather than the police," he said. Sapkal claimed that the Mahayuti government went out of its way to extend the tenure of retired Director General of Police (DGP) Rashmi Shukla. "However, both Shukla and Home Minister Fadnavis have failed to maintain control over the police administration, emboldening criminals." The Congress leader stressed that Maharashtra urgently needs a "competent" DGP and a "full-time" home minister. "Without this, crimes and atrocities against women cannot be curbed. Hence, Rashmi Shukla should be removed from her post, and Fadnavis should resign to make way for a capable, full-time home minister," the Congress leader asserted. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday asserted that the New Education Policy (NEP) would not impose Hindi on states and that the opposition against it in Tamil Nadu was "political". Pradhan said the NEP has made it clear that the education would be based on the mother tongue. "We have never said in NEP 2020 that only Hindi will be there; we have only said that education will be based on mother tongue, in Tamil Nadu, it will be Tamil," he told reporters in Delhi. #WATCH | Haridwar, Uttarakhand | On three-language policy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says, "... National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 should give importance to Indian languages... All Indian languages have equal rights, and all should be taught in the same way. pic.twitter.com/e7O3G1CLx4 ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 The NEP and the three-language policy have led to a slugfest between Tamil Nadu and the Centre with the former accusing the Narendra Modi government of trying to impose Hindi. "I don't want to answer to the political ambitions of few people. NEP 2020 is focused on different languages of India, be it Hindi, Tamil, Odia, or Punjabi. All the languages have equal importance. In Tamil Nadu, few are opposing because of politics," Pradhan said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has been targeting the Centre over the language issue and asserted that Tamil Nadu would not allow Hindi and Sanskrit to dominate Tamil. "The DMK will always be in the forefront in the struggle to protect the state and also its language," Stalin recently said in a letter to party cadres. "This is not just a language imposition but an invasion intended on Tamil culture with a conspiracy to Sanskritise this land," he alleged. On Friday, the chief minister hardened his stance and said it was unnecessary to force any language as a third language in schools in the age of Artificial Intelligence. "BJP leaders advocating Hindi insist, 'You must know Hindi to buy tea, pani puri, or use toilets in North India,'" he said in a post on X. A man from Kerala was shot dead by Jordanian military while trying to enter Israel illegally on February 10. He came to Jordan on a three-month tourist visa. Identified as Thomas Gabriel Pereira, the man from Thiruvananthapuram's Thumba was fatally shot in the head. Another man, Edison from Menamkulam, was shot in his leg. Jordanian authorities sent him back to India after he was treated at hospital. Two other people from Kerala who was with Pereira and Edison are reportedly imprisoned in Israel. These men tried to hide behind rocks when they were noticed by Jordanian soldiers. They opened fire at them, killing Pereira on the spot and injuring Edison. The Indian embassy in Jordan had sent an email to the family about Pereira's death. However, it went unnoticed, reported Manorama Online. They learned about his death after Edison came home. Reports suggest that an agent helped them cross into Israel. Authorities are investigating about this racket. In January, Binil TB, 32, from Kerala's Thrissur, was killed in gunned down after he was forced to fight for a Russian mercenary force. Jain, another man from Thrissur, was shifter to Moscow after he was injured in a shelling attack. They travelled to Russia in search of jobs in the military support service as cooks, drivers, electricians and plumbers. However, when they arrived, they were forced to apply for permanent residence in Russia and give up Indian passports. They were forced to fight on the frontlines. Similarly, Sandeep Chandran from Thrissue was killed in a shell attack on August 19. He had arrived in Russia on April 2, 2024 to work at a cafe. Maharashtra police have made some arrests after Union Minister Raksha Khadses daughter and some of her friends were allegedly molested by a group of youths in Jalgaon district. The incident took place during the Sant Muktai Yatra at Kothali village in Muktainagar taluka. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the accused belong to a political party and some of them have already been arrested. #WATCH | Jalgaon: Union Minister Raksha Khadse says, "Today, I went to the police station as a mother and not as a Union Minister... On the night before yesterday, the incident which happened with my daughter and her friends is condemnable... There may be many such mothers who pic.twitter.com/2vtS6X6Sx1 ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 Khadse had lodged a police complaint in connection with the incident and said she had spoken to the chief minister and the deputy superintendent of police. My daughter and her friends were followed and pushed, and their photos and videos were taken. When my staff objected, the boys resorted to unruly behaviour, and a mob of 30 to 40 people gathered, she told reporters. "It is unfortunate. If such things happen to an MP or Union minister's daughter, imagine what common people have to go through," she further said. Fadnavis, while speaking to reporters in Raigad, said strict action would be taken against the culprits. "Those who harassed Khadse's daughter are from a political party. The local police have arrested some of them and registered a case. There will be strict action taken against them," he asserted. According to Muktainagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Krishnat Pingale, the accused, identified as Aniket Ghui, along with six others, allegedly stalked and molested at least three to four girls. "On February 28, 2025, a yatra (procession) was taken out at Kothali village. Aniket Ghui and six of his associates, who were part of the event, allegedly stalked and molested three to four girls," he said in a video statement. The case was registered under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act. The incident has led to a political slugfest with the opposition Congress targeting the government over the law and order situation in the state. "If even daughters of the Union ministers are not safe, one can only imagine the plight of ordinary citizens. Home Minister and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have lost control over the home department and criminals, Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said in a press statement. The Haryana Congress has urged a speedy investigation into the murder of Himani Narwal, a 22-year-old Congress worker from Rohtak whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase on Saturday. The incident came to light on Saturday morning when a passerby noticed a blue suitcase lying unclaimed at the Sampla bus stand in Rohtak. People who gathered near the suitcase opened it to find a woman's body inside it. She was clad in a white top and red pants and had a black shawl wrapped around her neck. The body was immediately sent for postmortem examination. #WATCH | Haryana: A body was found in a suitcase near a highway in Rohtak, earlier today. Sampla police station SHO Bijendra Singh said, "We received information that a body was found inside a suitcase in the bushes along the highway. The FSL team reached the spot and further https://t.co/1wcC45uNwX pic.twitter.com/VptNxDrtAi ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2025 On further investigation, police found out that the deceased was Narwal, who had been an active member of the Congress party. She was identified by Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra who urged Rohtaks Superintendent of Police to form a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the death. Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda has also expressed shock over the incident and called for an impartial investigation. Both alleged a collapse of law and order in the state. Narwal shot to popularity after she appeared alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Images have since gone viral on social media, showing her in traditional Hariyanvi attire, alongside Rahul Gandhi. She was also active during the Haryana Assembly elections, campaigning for the Congress. The fact that the body was found on the eve of municipal elections to 33 bodies across the state has added to the mystery. Narwal had posted a video on social media a day before she was found dead about attending a wedding ceremony. Her social media also shows pictures with Bhupinder Singh Hooda's son and Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda and Batra. Meanwhile, local media reported that both her father and brother had died mysteriously some time back. While her father had committed suicide, one of her brothers was reportedly murdered. With the first phase of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ending, the former cut off humanitarian aid to Gaza on Sunday in an effort to force the militant group into accepting a change in the ceasefire plan. Israel wants Hamas to release the hostages without withdrawing its troops from the Gaza Strip. Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Sunday said that it was imposing a blockade on Gaza as Hamas won't accept to extend the phase one of the ceasefire deal and continue to release the hostages. Israel claimed that the plane was put forward by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. As per the agreed deal, phase two involved the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip. , . , pic.twitter.com/IiGx8K9nRm Benjamin Netanyahu - (@netanyahu) March 2, 2025 In a statement, Israel said, "With the end of phase one of the hostage deal, and in light of Hamass refusal to accept the Witkoff outline for continuing talks to which Israel agreed Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that...all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease. Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. Israel warned of further consequences if Hamas continues its refusal. Meanwhile, Hamas in a statement said that suspension of aid is a "war crime" and a violation of the ceasefire agreement. "It's cheap blackmail," said Hamas. UN officials on several occasions warned that widespread famine was imminent in Gaza. During the first phase of the truce, about 600 aid trucks entered Gaza every day, carrying essentials and food. However, near complete destruction of Gaza's hospitals and clinics, lack of habitable areas, and sewage issues pose another health catastrophe in the conclave. Netanyahu wanted to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, which would end on April 20. The first phase of the ceasefire deal paved the way for the release of some Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails, an increase in aid supplies and the withdrawal of troops from certain positions. As agreed, if the second phase of the deal comes into force, the Israeli withdrawal of troops would first involve the Philadelphi corridor along with Gaza's southern border with Egypt. At the venue of the European summit in London, the UK and France agreed to work with Ukraine to find a peace deal to present to Washington in order to end the three-year-long war. The discussions with the European leaders came following Volodymyr Zelenskyy's blowout with United States President Donald Trump at the Oval Office during his Washington visit. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a crucial summit on Sunday to find a solution to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The agreed peace plan will be presented to the US, he told during an interview with BBC. French President Emmanuel Macron has just arrived at an international summit in central London, hosted by Sir Keir Starmer. Live updates on the Politics Hub https://t.co/Jf4kJdEqET Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/6dK2kbc9Jm Sky News (@SkyNews) March 2, 2025 "We've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace," said Starmer adding that he believes Trump also wants to end the war. 'This is a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe' Sitting next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, Sir Keir Starmer kicks off the Ukraine War summit in London. https://t.co/DcT0MApX1X Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/PAYNIJNykH Sky News (@SkyNews) March 2, 2025 Ukraine President Zelenskyy held bilateral talks with Starmer, and others including Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders from Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Sweden at the London summit. Reportedly, the discussions at the summit focused on strengthening Ukraine's position, including ongoing military support and increased economic pressure on Russia. Also, the UK signed a bilateral deal to deliver GBP 2.26 billion in loan funding to Ukraine, which will bolster Ukraine's armed forces. The loan is to be paid back using the profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets held in the European Union (EU). The European leaders came together at the summit amid fears of losing US military aid to Ukraine. During his meeting with Zelenskyy, Starmer expressed discomfort over the recent Oval Office showdown. "Nobody wants to see that," said Starmer. Starmer is positioning himself as a bridge between Europe and America and aims to navigate the crisis. In the aftermath of the White House showdown, Starmer talked to Trump and then invited Zelenskyy for the crucial meet. Starmer also spoke with France President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday. "The UK and France are the most advanced in thinking of this, and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US," said Starmer. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy apparently fell into Donald Trump's trap on Friday after he got into an argument with his US counterpart at the Oval Office in the presence of the media. It has now been revealed that South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham had warned Zelenskyy against taking the bait. I said, dont get into arguments about security agreements, Graham told The New York Times, recalling his advice to Zelenskyy about how he should behave Was Oval Office showdown a trap for Zelenskyy? There were speculations that Zelenskyy fell for Trump's bait. However, Senator Graham told NYT that Trump was excited about the potential mineral deal that would benefit the US and did not intend to blow it up. President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance put AMERICA FIRST. pic.twitter.com/AkAvzKpcpb The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2025 However, Trump and Vice President JD Vance do not like Zelenskyy whom they think sides with the US because of the money and weapons they provide. They felt that Zelenskyy did not thank them for helping him end the conflict with Russia. He also pushed the US to protect Ukraine from Russia in the future. Trump's team led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio had recently met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh to discuss a potential end to the Ukrainian conflict. However, Zelenskyy had slammed the US for omitting Ukraine from the discussions. BREAKING: Bret Baier just asked Zelensky if he owes Trump an apology. Zelenskyy: "No. I respect president. And I respect American people. Im not sure that we did something bad." What exactly is he supposed to apologize for? For not bowing down to Trump and Vance on camera pic.twitter.com/jNRIWADAaU Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) February 28, 2025 Trump has refused to call Putin a dictator while Putin has offered the US an alternative rare earth mineral deal that could give Washington access to not only the natural resources in Russia, but also from the eastern Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow. Sources quoted by NYT admitted that the discussions were cordial during the bilateral meeting. However, when the reporters entered the Oval Office and started asking questions, the rift between the two sides surfaced. Trump was apparently miffed by questions about US security assurances for Ukraine. There was a point when Zelenskyy told Trump and Vance about Putin repeatedly breaking ceasefire deals. However, Vance slammed Zelenskyy for disrespecting Trump. Things worsened when Zelenskyy said the US will also face threat from Russia in the future. He said, You have nice ocean and dont feel now, but you will feel it in the future. This irked Trump, who told Zelenskyy that he is not in a very good position to negotiate and he doesn't have the cards. Zelenskyy replied saying he is not playing cards, to which an angry Trump said he was gambling with World War III. At one point, Ukrainian ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova was seen putting her face in her hands. In the end, a visibly irked Trump got up, saying it would make for great television. The Trump administration decided to cancel the bilateral events planned for the day, including a signing ceremony and a joint press conference. Zelenskyy's team was asked to leave in an apparent humiliation to the Ukrainian leader. Though the Ukrainian delegates suggested having a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, the US side turned it down. However, Trump decided to carry on with the grand lunch without Zelenskyy and asked his top aides to fill the seats meant for the Ukrainian delegation. The me Zelenskyy showed up for a Fox News interview later and some of the Republican leaders suggested he should apologise for the Oval Office showdown. However, the Ukrainian leader said he regretted the White House gaffe but expressed optimism in repairing the relationship with Trump. And Im not sure that we did something bad, he said. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Zelenskyy he had to "find a way to restore his relationship" with Trump, saying he should respect the US president's support for Ukraine in his first term. It is worth noting that Trump approved the supply of Javelin anti-tank missiles in 2019, which helped Ukraine thwart Russian tanks in 2022. As the brutal showdown between US President Donald Trump, Vice President J D Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rattles world, speculations are rife that the whole episode may have been a 'planned political mugging' by Trump himself. Reason: His wink at pro-Right reporter Brian Glenn. Many believe the unprecedented spectacle that shocked the world was orchestrated and Trump's wink to Glenn who questioned Zelenskyy on his military-style clothing was a hint. Glenn had riled up Zelenskyy before the encounter by asking "why don't you wear a suit.. do you own a suit"? Zelenskyy pushed back at Glenn who retorted that "a lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the dignity of this office." Nel giorno del teatrino vergognoso, dell'imboscata di Trump e di Vance, pure Brian Glenn e alla ricerca dei riflettori. Il giornalista preferito di Trump e tutto tronfio nel rimproverare Zelensky: perche non indossa un vestito alla Casa Bianca? Pagliaccipic.twitter.com/Y0yCMy6Hmz Lia Capizzi (@LiaCapizzi) February 28, 2025 Glenn is the boyfriend of far-Right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted on X after the episode about how proud she was of him. Meanwhile, Trump interrupted Zelensky to assure him that he liked his clothes. Trump then looked at Glenn and commented that Zelenskyy was "dressed beautifully." The Ukrainian President immediately retorted that he preferred to answer more "serious questions," after which Trump turned to look at Glenn and wink. Reports are that advisors had urged Zelenskyy to wear a suit "as a mark of respect for Trump," but he opted not to. What body language expert said Meanwhile, body language expert Judi James told UK-based Mirror that the President's annoyance was registered via his poised index finger. She added that both men "appeared relaxed and in tune enough to perform a little banter before the fight," but things soon went kaput. Zelenskyy was seen to react to some of Trump's points, especially mention of both Russian and Ukrainian losses and then mentions of the relationship between Trump and Putin with some mugging in terms of his facial expressions to suggest disagreement or that the President might be wrong. But then Zelensky leant forward in his seat to give a passionate history lesson and it was some point after that when Vance became triggered into intervening on behalf of his boss," she added. She also analysed Vance's expression, stating the Vice President "held both hands up" like conducting a scene. This prompted Zelenskyy to change his posture to a closed one, with arms folded. He also looked away to hint at "total cut-off barrier behaviour." She added that Trump, "an alpha" joining in the fight was insane. "Trump raised one index finger firmly in the air to register authority, but the shouting increased. Trump yelled at Zelensky 'You're gambling with starting WW3'. His index finger waggled and was raised and he wore a frown of what looked like utter disbelief," James told Mirror. She added that Trump's act showed his willingness to "head straight into the brawl" and he also managed to "turn the moment into his favour by showing 'what I have to put up with' from the Ukrainian leader." US National Security Adviser (NSA) Mike Waltz has revealed how the Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted on being asked to leave the White House after the heated encounter with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance in the Oval Office. After the 10-minute showdown that saw US President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance berate Zelenskyy, Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were instructed by Trump to inform the Ukrainians that the negotiations were over and it was time to go. "The dealmaker-in-chief knows when to walk away from a bad deal or a bad, or a bad negotiation," Waltz told Breitbart News on Saturday. The NSA added that it became clear to Trump during the meeting that "the Ukrainian side wasn't interested in ending the war." "We made it clear that the negotiation, which could have been a fantastic day for them and the country was over and that it was time to go." @MikeWaltz47 on his message to the Ukrainian delegation after the @realDonaldTrump - @ZelenskyyUa White House Blow-Up via @BreitbartNews pic.twitter.com/FvHBQJKrP2 SiriusXM Patriot (@SiriusXMPatriot) March 1, 2025 "President Trump, it became clear in that meeting, if you remember a moment where he said, You know, Im glad this is all playing out in front of the press, because what youre seeing is the other side is not interested in actually ending the war and accepting the reality of his situation and that he doesnt have very many cards," Waltz said. .@MikeWaltz47 tells @BreitbartNews Saturday with @mboyle1 what he believes needs to happen with the Ukrainians moving forward following the @realDonaldTrump - @ZelenskyyUa White House blow-up pic.twitter.com/QugxzmXrtG SiriusXM Patriot (@SiriusXMPatriot) March 1, 2025 He added that on being told to leave, the Ukrainian delegation was "stunned". Waltz said he couldn't get "how the Ukrainians thought they could go forward" with the signing of the mineral deal after the public episode with the world watching. He recalled the scene where Ukraines ambassador to the US face-palmed in the Oval Office as it went down. "She knew the gravity of what had just happened, that American patience had run out, that this Presidents patience had run out, that he was personally insulted," Waltz said. Waltz reiterated that Zelenskyy had insulted President Trump by trying to be argumentative and fact-checking while "practically begging for money and assistance". "So we made that clear in no uncertain terms. We made it clear that the negotiation, which could have been a fantastic day for them and the country, was over, and now it was time to go," Waltz added. The NSA said the US team had been working hard on the agreement and Zelenskyy had an opportunity on the heels of other European leaders to take care of Europe and walk away with a deal that would have meant trillions for Ukraine. "It would have meant that the American taxpayer starts recouping some of these billions that theyve donated and sent in grants, and restructure our entire aid," he added. "He could have walked away with a massive win and blew it," he added. ON THE DAY Tahawwur Rana was to be released after seven years' remission of his 14-year sentence during the Covid-19 pandemic, a request by the National Investigation Agency for his extradition to India stopped the authorities from releasing him. He was placed under arrest pending adjudication of the Indian petition, based on an Indian court warrant for his arrest issued on August 28, 2018. Even after the US government decided to extradite him, Rana made another appeal against the US state department order to delay the process on humanitarian grounds. Not the one to give up easily, Rana used all the avenues at his disposal to prevent the NIAs extradition effort. He employed a British barrister and Queens Counsel Paul Garlick, who argued for the benefit of double jeopardy to prevent the extradition. Senior counsel Dayan Krishnan, representing the NIA pro bono, however, demolished the arguments. Krishnan was special public prosecutor in high profile cases like the Nirbhaya rape and murder, the Nitish Katara murder, the Naval war room leak and the Commonwealth Games scam. Even after the US government decided to extradite him, Rana made another appeal against the US state department order to delay the process on humanitarian grounds. Officials of the external affairs ministry have expedited the paperwork with the US authorities because, if the court considers his appeal and gives a stay order, the extradition can be delayed by a few months. On May 16, 2023, a magistrate judge in California ordered that Rana was extraditable to India for his alleged participation in the 26/11 terror attacks. Against this order, he filed a habeas corpus petition before the district court for the Central District of California, which was denied on August 10, 2023. However, Ranas extradition was stayed pending his appeal. Ranas trial was held at the district court of Illinois, Chicago, on three countsconspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, the Lashkar-e-Taiba. On June 9, 2011, the jury convicted him of charges on the latter two counts, but acquitted him of the first charge. On January 17, 2013, Rana was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. However, after serving seven years, he was ordered to be released on compassionate grounds during the pandemic. On completion of his sentence, the Indian extradition demand paved the way for his detention pursuant to the US governments complaint on June 10, 2020 for his provisional arrest pending extradition. Hence, the extradition proceedings saw petitions being filed at the magistrate court, district court and the court of appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California, which is a federal appellate court. Its rulings are appealable to the US Supreme Court. The US prosecutors argued before the court of appeals that not all the charges on which India was seeking extradition were covered by the original US prosecution case against Rana. Forgery charges by the NIA were specifically highlighted by US prosecutors, who cited the evidence of fraudulent documents provided for the Reserve Bank of India's permission to open the Mumbai branch of Ranas official business, Immigration Law Center, and for obtaining an Indian business visa for David Coleman Headley from the Indian consulate in Chicago. Rana brought to his defence his acquittal by the trial jury of his involvement in the Mumbai attacks and lack of credibility of Headleys statements. US prosecutors argued that since two out of three counts of Ranas conviction were based on Headleys testimony, the acquittal on one count could not be used to disregard Headleys testimony. The court of appeals upheld the denial of habeas corpus petition by the district court, concluding that Ranas contention that the Indian extradition request was hit by double jeopardy was not maintainable. Based on the plain reading of the extradition treaty and other case laws, the court interpreted that the offence mentioned in the treaty referred to the charged crime, and not to underlying acts, paving the way for elements of each crime to be seen before it is decided whether double jeopardy can be invoked. Thus, Krishnans contention that double jeopardy benefit was available neither under the Indian law nor international law ensured that all doubts were cleared and the court ruled that Rana was a fit case for extradition. The rest of the proceedings was easy as the court of appeals held that India could present sufficient evidence to show that Rana committed the charged crime before the Indian court which was distinct from the charged crimes at the Chicago court. Interestingly, the court of appeals turned Ranas argument on its headthat he was unaware of the imminence of the Mumbai attacks until informed by Headley through Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed alias Pasha in the UAEby disproving his involvement in the plot. The court held that an equally compelling inference could be drawn that Headley kept Rana informed of the developments. On November 13, 2024, Rana approached the US Supreme Court with a petition of certiorari to review the court of appeals order upholding Indias extradition request. After listening to both the sides, the Supreme Court on January 21, 2025 denied Ranas petition, paving the way for President Donald Trump to publicly announce that Rana, a violent man, will be handed over to Indian authorities. Interview/ Ujjwal Nikam, lawyer A high-profile lawyer, Ujjwal Nikam has argued crucial cases for the government. He was special public prosecutor in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case and the 26/11 attacks case. His arguments led to the conviction of terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who was executed in 2012. Rana is key to the entire criminal conspiracy, not only in the 26/11 attacks, but also other things, which I cant divulge at this juncture. It was during Nikams questioning of terrorist David Headley in the US that the role of Tahawwur Rana in the 26/11 attacks came to the fore. With Ranas deportation to India imminent, Nikam spoke to THE WEEK about the challenges ahead. Excerpts: Q/ Now that Tahawwur Rana is likely to be deported to India, what do you think will happen? A/ First, its a great success for India. The US government has in principle decided that those indulging in terrorism in foreign countries will not be given shelter in the US. The US supreme court has rejected Ranas review petition. So, legally speaking, he has no option left, and he will be extradited in the shortest possible time. I am expecting that he will be in India within a month to face trial. Q/ I spoke to Ramesh Mahale, who was chief investigating officer in the 26/11 attacks case, and he said Ranas name was not in his charge-sheet. Isnt this a legal problem for India? A/ No, it is not, because Rana has already been tried for criminal conspiracy in the 26/11 case. So, according to Indian law, and US law, once a criminal has been sentenced, and has undergone the sentence, he cannot be prosecuted for the same offence. It is double jeopardy. So Rana will not be tried for the terror attacks. Q/ So what now? A/ He will be tried for the larger criminal conspiracy. Rana has already been convicted by a Chicago court for criminal conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attacks, so he will not be tried again [for those charges]. But the National Investigating Agency, which requested his extradition, has some material that has not been disclosed. Perhaps because the government of India has assured the US, and its supreme court, that Rana would not be tried for the charges he has been convicted by the Chicago court. So the NIA is going to charge him in Delhi. But I am not interested in who is going to prosecute him. Being a law student, I am more interested in the fact that Rana is key to the entire criminal conspiracy, not only in the 26/11 attacks, but also other things, which I cant divulge at this juncture. Q/ Will you be fighting that case, too? A/ I will not, because the NIA has its own prosecutors in Delhi. Q/ When did you come to know about Ranas role? A/ When Headley made the deposition. I also went through his plea bargain documents [in] the Chicago court. I found that Headley was not going to be extradited as per their law. So filing a case only against him was of no use. Let me tell you how this idea [to go after Rana] came to my mind. After Kasabs execution, three government officials and I visited Islamabad. We were there for seven days, holding meetings with the Pakistani home ministry. We assessed their evidence. And I asked the Pakistanis: why are you not prosecuting the key people involved in criminal conspiracylike Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rahman. They said, We have already prosecuted some people. I said, You have prosecuted small fish. Saeed and Rahman were still in Pakistan. Where is the evidence, they asked. One general said India had not shared the evidence with them. I laughed and said, Look, conspiracy was hatched on your soil. You have to collect the evidence. How can we collect the evidence without your permission? They said India did not cooperate, that they had asked for joint investigation in the Mumbai case. We returned to Delhi and reported to the government of India. Then, one fine morning, I read Headleys plea bargain agreement. I discussed my idea with the Mumbai Police. They did not approve it. What is the use of Headley, they asked, if he cannot be brought here and tried. I told them: we can make him an approver, because he is an accused. He had visited [Mumbai] before and after the terror attacks. He cannot be extradited, but we can use him. In English, there is a saying: set a thief to catch a thief. I am from a village, where you remove a thorn using another thorn. But they did not approve that idea as well. So, I met Devendraji (Devendra Fadnavis), who was CM, and shared this idea. He liked it. I met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the US ambassador. They made arrangements for me and IPS officer Atul Chandra Kulkarni to go to Chicago and Washington, where we had a series of meetings. Then I took evidence from Headley. He [knew] Ranas immigration centre in Mumbai. He also produced an email correspondence between him and a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative. In that correspondence, Headley has mentioned a diary with mobile numbers of army officialslieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier. Who are they, I asked him. He said they were ISI people. They were guiding them for the attack. S. Jaishankar was then foreign secretary. We shared the evidence with Pakistan, but there was no reply. This is the story of Headley. Now, Rana is big fish. Because of him, Headley came to Mumbai, and visited Pune and Delhi. Rana would know the details. That is my guess. When Tahawwur Hussain Rana immigrated to Canada from Pakistan in 1997, he was looking for a better future. The doctor found one, building a comfortable life, getting Canadian citizenship in 2001, and later moving to the US, where he established several businesses. One of these was First World Immigration Services in Chicago, through which he helped starry-eyed youngsters get US and Canadian visas quickly. He rooted himself in community work by providing halal meat to Muslim customers at his farm in Kinsman, Illinois, and he would exchange daily pleasantries with customers at his grocery shop in Chicago. By all appearances, he was a successful professionala model immigrant. In fact, his youngest brother, Fakhar Abbas Rana, described him as a compulsive entrepreneur to sleuths of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His eldest daughter said he was a businessman who did not make money for himself, rather provided opportunity and employment to people, sometimes even at his own expense. The FBI wasnt convinced. Beneath this respectable facade, Rana, father of three, was a man drawn into the world of extremist violenceone who lived a life of deception. He gave employment to terrorists, cover to Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley to plot the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, and celebrated the loss of several innocent lives in cahoots with Pakistani terror commander Major Iqbal, Al Qaeda operative Ilyas Kashmiri and LeTs India project head Sajid Mir, among others. In a recorded conversation with the FBI, Rana was heard laughing when he discussed five separate targets for attacks, directing praise towards the attackers. Defendant expressed belief that the Mumbai attackers deserved one of Pakistans highest medals, said the US governments position paper seeking a 30-year sentence for Rana. For Trump to call Rana violent is nothing short of an indictment of the man whom Delhi wants in order to uncover the post 26/11 conspiracyDelhi being one of the prime targets. The next steps will be to confront Rana with his own disclosures, and running through long wiretaps related to another strike on India, including the NDC, which he referred to as a good target after 26/11. But even in his worst moments, the doctor managed to stay in the shadows. Following Headleys arrest in the US on October 3, 2009, and then Ranas on October 18, the spotlight was mostly on the former. Seen as someone on the ground in Mumbaidoing the recce and coordinating with LeT and Pakistans ISIHeadleys perceived role took attention away from the linchpin, Rana. As per a senior security officer, a close reading of the documents filed by US prosecutors reveals a different picture. For Rana, 26/11 was just the beginning and he was impatient with the pace at which Pakistan-based groups, including the ISI, were moving to execute further attacks. In a recording of a conversation on September 20, 2009, filed as evidence by the FBI, Rana was categorical to Headley that business must go on. The cold-blooded personality of Rana and his overwhelming influence over Headley were brought out in a communicationwhich the FBI interceptedon December 25, 2008, a month after the Mumbai attacks. Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed alias Pasha, a retired Pakistan army major close to Headley, asks about Rana: How is the doctors (Rana) reaction on what is happening, is he terrified or relaxed? Headley responds with, Doctor is very relaxed. Rana was a mentor to Headley. Ideologically motivated and clinical in executing his plans, Rana conveyed a sense of moral purpose to his accomplices on the need for violence and mass murders. No surprise then that President Donald Trump, briefed by senior FBI and Department of Justice officials, described Rana as a very violent man during his recent press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. United against terror: Modi and Trump at the White House on February 13 | AFP As President Trump has said, the US and India are working together to confront the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, Christopher Elms, the US embassy spokesperson, told THE WEEK. The administration has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, one of the perpetrators of the horrific 2008 Mumbai terror attacks (currently in a Los Angeles prison) to face justice in India. Elms said that, during their recent meeting, Trump and Modi expressed their commitment to strengthening cooperation against threats from groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad and LeT. Both countries will continue to fight the global scourge of terrorism, he said, and eliminate terrorist safe havens from every corner of the world. For Trump to call Rana violent is nothing short of an indictment of the man whom Delhi wants in order to uncover the post 26/11 conspiracyDelhi being one of the prime targets. Dark night: The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai during the 26/11 attacks | AFP And soon, the black cat commandos of the National Security Guard, who battled terrorists in 2008, will have another task at handbring Rana back in handcuffs in a special aircraft to Delhi, where he will be lodged in jail. Rana is likely to be investigated on three counts: identifying key conspirators from ISI, LeT and Al Qaeda; financial trail of Headleys activities in India; and terror conspiracies post 26/11. It has been a long process, said former Indian ambassador to the US Arun K. Singh. The extradition process of Rana began in 2010 and successive US governments have been helpful. The legal processes were underway and it was cleared by the US Supreme Court this January. The centrality of Rana in planning attacks and motivating Headley comes through in many instances. After 26/11, Headley informed Pasha that before going to Copenhagen for the Mickey Mouse projectcode for the planned attack on a Danish newspaper for publishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammadhe needed to consult Rana. Similarly, intercepted communication between Headley and Mir showed that the handlers were aware of Ranas influence over Headley. Mir said Headley was risking exposure by working on the Mickey Mouse Project with Pasha and Kashmiri, and asked Headley to convey his greetings to Rana, knowing full well he was sponsoring Headleys recce of the newspaper premises. David Headley Rana was also in touch with Pasha, but failing to connect to Kashmiri through Pasha to arrange cadres for the Denmark attack, Rana went along with Iqbal and Mirs plan to focus on targets in India. In the first two years following 26/11, Indian authorities had no evidence on Rana. Former home secretary G.K. Pillai said it was only when the role of Headley came to light that Indian agencies found out about Ranas limited involvement in providing cover for Headley during his recces. What made it tougher was the plea bargain Headley entered into with the US Department of Justice in March 2010, which denied India his extradition. However, mounting pressure on the US paved the way for Indian investigators to question Headley. This is the first instance when Headley confessed to Ranas role as a key conspirator and we got insight into their roles, said Loknath Behera, who interrogated Headley in Chicago in 2010. Indian investigators moved swiftly. In 2014-15, Atulchandra Kulkarni, then joint commissioner of Mumbai Police, and Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor in the 26/11 case, quietly flew to the US to meet senior FBI and state department officials to secure the cooperation of Headley, who was in US custody. This meeting led to his deposition before a special Mumbai court in 2016 through video, where he spilled the beans on his close association with Rana and the assistance Rana gave him when he was scouting for new targets. However, India got no further access to either Headley or Rana, which opened up the possibility of several leads drying up. Rana, in the meantime, was busy exhausting legal options in the US. According to a senior security official aware of US court proceedings, Rana did not need any push by the terror groups to plan and execute attacks. Instead, Rana was urging the main players based in Pakistan to carry out more attacks without delay, said the official. On their toes: Documents the FBI collected as evidence against Rana. Headleys western background (he is Pakistani-American) made him the perfect infiltrator; he could move through global airports and major cities unnoticed. But, he needed a cover story, and Rana gave him one. He helped Headley set up a branch of his immigration business in Mumbai as a front. Rana was discreet and operated through Headley. His meticulous cover was instrumental in the successful execution of 26/11, and could have led to more spectacular attacks in India, especially on the National Defence College in Delhi. Indian investigators had overlooked Rana to focus on Headley, but the formers extradition could establish the missing links. The significance of Ranas extradition is not simply legal or administrative, but more so in its scope to provide valuable intelligence for post-26/11 investigations. Rana was an expert at covering his tracks. He used code to talk to key conspirators; attacks on targets were referred to as investments, projects and business. One instance quoted by the FBI reveals that when Rana was sending out a new email addressmov.monie@yahoo.comcreated for Headleys use, his email read: One of my brothers is Brigadier Movadat Hussain Rana and the other is Sibte Hassan Rana monie. They are in Rawalpindi. I really admire emails making it instant half mulaquat, especially yahoo as it seems superior to hotmail. Talk to you later. On their toes: Documents the FBI collected as evidence against Rana. The wiretaps, emails and financial records gathered by the FBI can be damning evidence of the extent of Ranas involvement, not just as a sympathiser or associate, but also as a facilitator who provided logistical support and cover for international terror plots. Born in 1961 in Chichawatni, Pakistan, Rana pursued a career in medicine, which landed him the job of a doctor in the Pakistan army medical corps, where he gained experience and discipline. But by the late 1990s, he sought a new life. And this new life began with camouflage. When Rana entered North America, he kept two fronts to conceal his violent personality. The first was his membership in the Iqbal society, a group named after philosopher-poet Muhammad Iqbal, to suggest his beliefs were aligned with peaceful intellectualism. Second, he invoked Mahatma Gandhis principles of non-violence. After the FBI arrested him in 2009, he brought up these defences in US courts, along with character witnesses. But the FBI dismissed it. Lasting wounds: File photo of Mumbai's Leopold Cafe during 26/11 | Amey Mansabdar These individuals had limited interactions, nothing more than exchange of greetings with Rana, and another whose business dealings consist of buying meat from Ranas butchery, noted a US government memorandum. What is more interesting is how Ranas team spun his relationship with Headley. Headley and Ranas friendship is over. The two will never communicate or see each other again, either in prison or outside, Ranas counsel Patrick W. Blegen and his team told US courts in 2013. Quite simply, had Headley and Rana never attended the same boyhood school, Rana would not be before this court today. In his defence, Rana told the court that Headley tried to convert him over the years, but he resisted the pressure. Ranas consultant, Dr Marc Sageman, even submitted a letter explaining how Rana never supported terrorism directly. His involvement was always in relation to Headley, he said. Rana said it was out of his sense of loyalty that he helped Headley when needed, like conquering a serious drug addiction and going so far as putting his house up as collateral for Headley to obtain a bond so he could cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Administration and get a reduced sentence. This continued friendship and loyalty to Headley ultimately led to Ranas downfall, said his counsel. However, a senior security official who tracked the extradition proceedings claimed that Ranas defence of inherent personality differences with Headley was only to get away with minimum sentences. The official said the US government quoted Ranas wife to refute this defence. The FBI recorded her as saying, Both Rana and Headley are alike and have ended up together.... They talk nonsense all day... such as kill him, he is not practising like uskill him US-born Headley, 65, went to a military cadet college in Hasan Abdal in Attock district of Pakistans Punjab. This is where he met Rana. The duo did not realise they will cross paths again till Headley joined the LeT in 2001. Little is known so far about Ranas indoctrination and training before he met Headley, who had completed training in Muzaffarabad and had met LeT patron Hafiz Saeed. Headley said he met Rana for the first time, after school, when he landed at Ranas Chicago home in June 2006 looking for an Indian visa. They were in touch on phone before that, but there is no clarity as to exactly when they first began talking. Headley stayed in Chicago for a few weeks and discussed the opening of the Immigrant Law Centrea branch of Ranas businessin Mumbai. He shared LeT and ISI plans with Rana, who not only agreed to help, but also took him under his wing, prepared his documents and got him the Indian visa within days. Dr Rana influenced my thoughts and actions, Headley confessed in US court. I could understand he had genuine feelings to fight for the cause. Towards the end of Headleys training in Pakistan, he would often bring up Dr Rana with the ISIs Major Iqbal. According to Headley, Rana had deserted the Pakistan army in the early 1990s and had never returned. Major Iqbal assured Headley that he would help Rana visit Pakistan, and Headley passed on Ranas contact to him. The major, who oversaw the planning and execution of 26/11, kept his promise and helped Rana reach Pakistan. It was decided that we would talk in English whenever I called up Dr Rana from India, said Headley, who changed his name from Daood Gilanian identity he had used to travel to countries like the UK, France, Germany, Maldives and Sri Lankato begin his recce of targets in India. What has become clear to investigators in India and the US is that Rana held the key to Headleys stay in India, and Pakistan knew this. The US must have felt pressure to cooperate in Ranas extradition after Headleys plea bargain, said a senior diplomat. They could not afford to miss this chance of close counter-terror cooperation with India. Developments in US courts indicate that Rana was not only Headleys mentor, but also his window to Pakistan for future action. Interestingly, the LeT did not give any money directly to Headley for the first few trips to India. Instead, Rana handled his visit by connecting him with one Bashir, who would receive him at Mumbai airport. At this juncture, Headley stopped using his Pakistan number and started communicating with the Pakistani handlers through Rana. For Delhi, this is a key marker of Ranas role in terror conspiracies hatched on Indian soil; he was the brain behind Headley. Ranas interrogation can give more information on elements in Pakistan who were either with the ISI or other agencies and were communicating with him, said M.A. Ganapathy, former director general of the National Security Guard. The fact that Rana knew of Headleys recce of targets like the National Defence College and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre can give more insights into the larger terror conspiracy to the National Investigation Agency. Ajmal Kasab was, after all, a foot soldier and did not know either Headley or Rana. But since Rana was giving cover to Headley in India, he can also shed light on the foot soldiers who were part of the 26/11 conspiracy, added Ganapathy. Between September 2006 and November 2008, Headley made eight trips to Pakistan and seven trips to India. He was travelling between the US, India and Pakistan during this time. At each stage, he informed Rana about surveillance of important targets in India. During his visits to Pakistan, he briefed officials of the Pakistani army and LeTs Mir and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and shared memory sticks of locations in Mumbai. Lakhvi listened intently to his activities over long meetings, and offered him milk and saffron after the first few visits. Headley had watched videos of a large number of sadhus taking a holy dip and presumed the place could be Varanasi or the Kumbh mela, before he was told that Mumbai was the target. Rana remained in close contact providing mental support to Headley. The two even shared personal secrets. In February 2007, when Headley secretly married Moroccan national Faiza Outalha, a student at a medical college in Lahore, he confided in Rana. He once left Mumbai and went to Lahore for five days to attend to personal issues without informing his handlers. Of course I had discussed these issues with Dr Rana, said Headley. In the lead-up to 26/11, Headley was flooded with suggestions from across the borderPasha wanted recce of NDC in Delhi, Major Iqbal wanted recce of Pune and Headley visited Jaipur himself. There were photographs of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation building, Haji Ali, Gateway of India, Apollo Bunder, Maharashtra state police headquarters, Azad Maidan, areas close to Hotel Outram and Marine Drive. Other suggested targets included Taj President, Bollywood, Shiv Sena, the World Trade Centre, the naval air station, Siddhivinayak Temple, Chabad house, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Radio Club, and the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. By the end of 2007, Taj Hotel and NDC remained on top of the list. When Major Iqbal asked Headley to explore Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and its residential complex as a potential target, Headley mentioned this to Rana. The two then discussed the pros and cons of targetting a nuclear installation. Dr Rana told me about a bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan about no use of force on each others nuclear installations, Headley told the FBI and the NIA. Investigators will now be keen to understand from Rana what happened once these recce videos reached Pakistan and whether Rana gave Headley any instructions for follow-up action. His questioning will also give more insights into the Pakistani handlers, who continue to operate away from the prying eyes of Indian and US agencies, even after the arrest of Headley and Rana. After 26/11, Rana advised Headley to close the immigration office in Mumbai and explore opening an office in Delhi. The questions that remain are whether Rana had already done groundwork using a different set of foot soldiers for this plan of opening an office in Delhi. Why would he suggest opening a new one without preparation? Was Rana running the immigration office in Mumbai with the help of some contacts in Delhi and other cities as well? Will these unknown details pave the road for the NIA to track down more foot soldiers and discover more spots recced by the LeT for future action? Ranas questioning can shed light on these loose ends. As 26/11 drew closer, Rana and Headley became thicker. On September 8, Headley moved his family to the US; Ranas family received them in Chicago. His relationship with Faiza had gone sour but Rana stuck by his side. From November 21-24, days before the attacks, Rana was in Dubai to meet Pasha. Did Pasha tell Rana about the attacks beforehand? When the Mumbai attacks unfolded, Rana was mid-flight, travelling back to the US; investigators believe he already knew what was happening. During a long car ride on September 7, 2009, Rana and Headley spoke freely about their involvement in past and future terror plots, revealing the depth of their trust and shared mission. The US government memorandum supporting Ranas detention details how the two men, unaware that authorities were listening, discussed the 2008 Mumbai attacks and praised the masterminds behind them. They should be really commended. I appreciate them from my heart, said Rana. He even conferred upon Mir the name Khalid ibn Walid, a famous Muslim general, for the very successful Lashkar operations. At one point in the conversation, Headley pressed Rana on how he learned about the attacks while in transit. Rana admitted that he had been informed beforehand. The US government presented this as damning evidence that Rana had prior knowledge of the massacre, contradicting his later claims that he did not know about the attack and he was only handling Headleys stay in Mumbai. Headley has testified that Rana was fully aware of both the Mumbai and Danish plots. Ranas defence seems too little too late as Indian authorities are clearing the paperwork to bring him to Delhi. The next steps will be to confront Rana with his own disclosures, and running through long wiretaps related to another strike on India, including the NDC, which he referred to as a good target after 26/11. Karuna Waghela and her son Niraj HANG HIM IN public. We want to kill him ourselves. He ruined my life, and the lives of my children. Karuna Waghela's quest for justice has not abated a bit. She and the youngest of her three children, Niraj, have been on medication for anxiety and shock ever since her husband, Thakur Waghela, was killed by Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab on November 26, 2008 in Mumbai. We ask the government to give my children the opportunity to avenge their father's death. That alone will give us peace, she says. Many of those who lost their loved ones in the 26/11 attacks want justice, and are hopeful that it will be served with Rana's extradition and trial in India. But others simply want to move on, saying justice delayed is justice denied. Niraj was just one year old when Kasab gunned down his father at the doorstep of their house, a hutment off the main road leading to GT Hospital. Waghela was having dinner when Kasab came over asking for water. He got up and gave him water, and was shot at point blank. Ever since I wanted to own a gun so that I could shoot down my father's killer. But of course, then I grew up, says Niraj. We ask the government to give my children the opportunity to avenge their father's death. Karuna Waghela and her son Niraj, Her husband, Thakur Waghela, was killed in the 26/11 attacks Before he shot Waghela, Kasab had fired several rounds at Bhaagan Shinde a few metres away. Shinde was talking on the phone to his wife Sunanda, who was in a train with their daughter, when he was shot. Don't come here, something has happened. Stay where you are, he told her. Those were his last words. Sunanda Shinde Sunanda, now 59, works as support staff at GT Hospital and lives in Pratiksha Nagar with her son Ashish, who is now 21. I will never forget the moment, he says. It is a vacuum which will never be filled. We are distraught because we cannot take the law in our hands and to believe in the justice system is to fool ourselves. They ruined our families. After killing my father, Kasab killed three top policemen. Everybody around us had lost someone in the firing and all of us continue to be hopeless. Had my father been around, I'm sure we would have been in better shape. This money and house, nothing matters. I want to see Rana suffer exactly the way we did. Sunanda Shinde, now 59, lives with her son in mumbai. Her husband, Bhaagan, was killed by Ajmal Kasab during the 26/11 attacks. His voice finds an echo in Sushila Ughade's son, who lost his father, Baban, in the attacks. He prefers not to be identified because he has taken his father's job as a security guard at a government hospital. It was his night duty on that godforsaken day, says Sushila. He left for duty after dinner and in ten minutes we received the news that there was firing at CST station. Around 4.30am, we were told that he was killed. We waited for long to get Kasab hanged. If it takes long to see this one punished too, then there is no point to the whole exercise. The children of the victims of 26/11 are hopeful that Rana will be punished. Already there has been such a delay in bringing him here, says Sushila's son, who was 10 at the time of the attack. The memory of his blood-soaked father is still fresh in his mind, but the thirst for justice has dried up, he says. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly refused during a Fox News interview to apologize for his stunning Oval Office clash with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. But Zelenskyy said in a Fox News interview, This kind of spat is not good for both sides. The Ukrainian leader told Fox News Bret Baier that it will be difficult for us to defend his country from Russian military forces if Trump discontinues aid. Your browser does not support the video tag. Zelenskyy asked if he owes Trump an apology for Oval Office spectacle No. I respect the President, & I respect American people.Some things we have to discuss out of the media. Your browser does not support the video tag. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday before a summit with European leaders to discuss ending the war. The meeting has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding by U.S. President Donald Trump of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday for being ungrateful for U.S. support against the invasion by Russia. But Starmer said hes focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with Trump, Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron rather than ramp up the rhetoric. Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States, Starmer told the BBC. Starmer and Macron have both spoken to Trump since Friday. Sundays meeting is an important step The London meeting has taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and shoring up the continents defenses. Sundays summit is likely to include talks on establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire. Starmer said it would involve a coalition of the willing. Starmer said he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes, he said. Starmer said there are intense discussions to get a security guarantee from the U.S. If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again, Starmer said. That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if theres a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause. The three essentials listed by Starmer for a successful peace deal were: arm the Ukrainians to put them in a position of strength; a European element to guarantee security; and a U.S. backstop, to prevent Putin from breaking promises. Thats the package. All three parts need to be in place, and thats what Im working hard to bring together, Starmer said. Leaders began arriving early Sunday afternoon for the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following a charm offensive last week to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. Leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania will be at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council will also attend. European leaders are backing Zelenskyy Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe after the White House fiasco, an exceptional attack on an ally broadcast on live television. Starmer embraced Zelenskyy when he arrived Saturday for a private meeting in Downing Street. As you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer said. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Meetings in recent days had provided some hope until Zelenskyys visit to the White House. Visits to the Oval Office by Macron, who had declared his visit a turning point, and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Within 12 hours of Starmers return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. Starmer did an impressive job of asserting Europes agency in the war on Ukraine and conveying to President Trump that Europe is willing and able to take a leading role in implementing any credible peace deal, said Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. Unfortunately, Fridays White House meeting was a major step backward. Ukraine can no longer count on military or political support from the U.S. after Trump declared himself neutral in negotiations, Ellehuus said. She said Europe needs to step in and could release some 200 billion euros ($207 billion) in seized Russian assets to help fund that effort. The immediate goal of the meetings in London must be to keep Ukraine in the fight so it can negotiate from a maximum position of strength, she said. European leaders pledge to increase military spending Starmer pledged this week to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP. If we dont increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we wont end up well, he said. Macron, who said it was legitimate for the U.S. to shift its focus to dealing with China and Asia, also called for more defense spending as he called for unity. We should have woken up earlier, Macron said. Ive been saying for years that we need a more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe. (AP) Every time a baby is born in Louisiana, where Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson handily won reelection last year, theres more than a 60% chance taxpayers will finance the birth through Medicaid. In Republican Rep. David Valadao s central California district, 6 out of 10 people use Medicaid to pay for doctor visits and emergency room trips. And one-third of the population is covered by Medicaid in GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowskis Alaska, one of the nations costliest corners for health care. Each of these Republicans and some of their conservative colleagues lined up last week to defend Medicaid, in a departure from long-held GOP policies. Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. But as a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown nears, hesitation is surfacing among Washingtons Republican lawmakers once reliable critics of lofty government social welfare programs such as Medicaid who say that deep cuts to the health care program could prove too untenable for people back home. Ive heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid, Valadao said on the House floor. And I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind. And on Wednesday, President Donald Trump, too, made his position on Medicaid clear: Were not going to touch it. States and the federal government jointly pay for Medicaid, which offers nearly-free health care coverage for roughly 80 million poor and disabled Americans, including millions of children. It cost $880 billion to operate in 2023. Johnson has ruled out two of the biggest potential cuts: paying fixed, shrunken rates to states for care and changing the calculation for the share of federal dollars that each state receives for Medicaid. Just a few years ago, Johnson spearheaded a report that lobbied for some of those changes during the first Trump administration. Johnson insisted in a CNN interview that the focus will instead be ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse, in Medicaid, although its unlikely to deliver the savings Republicans seek. GOP pressure over Medicaid is mounting, with some state party leaders joining the calls to preserve the program. States are already struggling with the growing cost of sicker patients and could be left to cover more if the federal government pulls back. In some states, the federal government picks up over 80%. More than a dozen Minnesota GOP lawmakers wrote the president recently warning that too deep of a cut is unmanageable in any instance. Gov. Joe Lombardo, R-Nev., told Congress in a letter that proposed reductions would put lives at risk. In Alaska, state Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, a Republican and nurse, cited huge concerns during a floor speech. Nationally, 55% of Americans said the government spends too little on Medicaid, according to a January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Its now a very popular program that touches a very broad cross-section of American society, said Drew Altman, president of the health care research firm KFF. Roughly half of the American people say that they or a family member have at one time been served by the program. Significant changes to Medicaid are still on the table. They have to be for Republicans get the savings they need to pay for tax cuts. Work requirements, which could save as much as $109 billion over the next decade, seem to have solid support among GOP members, with some individual Republican-led states already moving to implement them. Republicans also could consider cuts in benefits or coverage, as well as eliminating a provider tax that states use to finance Medicaid, Altman added. Democrats warn that reductions are inevitable and could be dire. Starting Monday, TV ads will caution people across 20 congressional districts that hospitals are at risk of closing and millions of people could lose coverage if Republicans cut Medicaid to fund massive tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires. The Democratic super political action committee House Majority Forward has launched the seven-figure campaign. Trump and Republicans have for years called to lower government spending on health care, but they have struggled to formulate a serious plan that gains traction. Trump, for example, has spent nearly a decade arguing for an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. His efforts to repeal the Obama-era national health care law failed during his first term and in his most recent presidential campaign he offered only concepts of a plan to adapt the program. Michael Cannon, a director of health studies at libertarian Cato Institute, believes Medicaid needs an overhaul because it is a significant part of the federal budget and a contributor to the nations growing debt. But Republicans, he said, are not looking at serious ways to drive down the cost of health care. The only reason for the cuts right now is to pay for the tax cuts, Cannon said. None of them are talking about the need to do better health reform. (AP) A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea on Sunday in a show of force, days after North Korea test-launched cruise missiles to demonstrate its counterattack capabilities. The arrival of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group at the South Korean port of Busan was meant to display a solid U.S-South Korean military alliance in the face of persistent North Korean threats, and boost interoperability of the allies combined assets, the South Korean navy said in a statement. It said it was the first U.S. aircraft carrier to travel to South Korea since June. The deployment of the carrier is expected to infuriate North Korea, which views temporary deployments of such powerful U.S. military assets as major security threats. North Korea has responded to some of the past deployments of U.S. aircraft carriers, long-range bombers and nuclear-powered submarines with missile tests. Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to revive diplomacy. North Korea hasnt directly responded to Trumps overture but alleged U.S.-led hostilities against North Korea have intensified since Trumps inauguration. North Korea said Friday it test-fired strategic cruise missiles earlier last week to inform its adversaries of its militarys counterattack capability and the readiness of its nuclear operations. After watching the launches, the Norths fourth missile testing event this year, Kim said the military must be fully ready to use its nuclear weapons Experts say Kim wont likely accept Trumps overture anytime soon as he is now focusing on his support of Russias war against Ukraine with provision of weapons and troops. They say Kim could consider resuming diplomacy with Trump when he thinks he cannot maintain his countrys current booming cooperation with Russia Kim and Trump met three times from 2018-19 during Trumps first term to discuss the future of North Koreas nuclear program. Their high-stakes diplomacy eventually collapsed due to wrangling over U.S.-led economic sanctions on North Korea. (AP) As Mayor Michelle Wu prepares to go to Congress to defend Bostons protections of immigrant communities, the city is in a war of words with the Trump administration and Republican representatives over how much police should support deportations. President Donald Trumps border czar Tom Homan teed off against Bostons police commissioner in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, saying there are at least nine accused child rapists in jail who local authorities wont turn over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He promised to come to Boston and bring hell with him. ICE public affairs didnt respond to a request for information about these cases, and Homan didnt elaborate on any travel plans. Boston isnt alone: ICE has accused state and local authorities around the country of failing to cooperate to get people charged with violent crimes deported. At Wednesdays hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Wu will be joined by the mayors of Chicago, New York and Denver, all caught in the crosshairs of what it means to be a sanctuary city. A clash between federal, state and local laws ICE is empowered to enforce immigration laws nationwide but needs help from state and local authorities to achieve deportations on a large scale. It asks police and sheriffs to alert them to certain people it wants to deport and to hold them for up to 48 hours so that immigration officers have time to arrive and take custody. Sanctuary cities limit such cooperation when it involves people accused but not yet convicted of crimes, following state or local laws that prohibit turning people over to ICE merely for lacking legal permission to be in the country. If someones committed a serious offense, our position is that we want to hold them accountable, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. What you want to do with their immigration consequences or deportation, if any, after we hold them accountable, thats up to the federal government. Thats up to ICE. Handing over defendants would make it harder to gain cooperation from immigrants when investigating crimes, and fail to deliver justice for the victims, Hayden argued. Will deporting defendants and witnesses make cities safer? We dont want peoples fear of immigration consequences of a deportation to have a chilling effect on our ability to hold people accountable, Hayden said. Even in this modern day, where we have phones and cameras and recordings and everything, we still need victims and witnesses and people to come in and testify and tell their story in order to prove a case. Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox told WCVB-TV that police dont have authority to enforce federal immigration laws or hand over people just because theyre in the country illegally their immigration status isnt relevant to public safety, he said. The Boston Trust Act, updated in 2018, allows police to cooperate with ICE on significant public safety, such as human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes, while refraining from involvement in civil immigration enforcement. The city also must follow a 2017 ruling by the states highest court, which forbids Massachusetts authorities from holding a person otherwise entitled to release from custody based solely on a federal request. How have leaders responded to the pressure? Wu, a Democrat up for reelection this year, said it was clueless and insulting for Homan to attack the commissioner, and that she wants Boston be a welcoming place for immigrants. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey called Homans comments unproductive and not how you engage as a member of law enforcement. Hayden said he would welcome a civil conversation about immigration but if you want to bring hell with you, dont bother coming. Hell is not welcome here in Boston. Faith leaders met with the mayor and said members of their congregations now fear going to a food pantry or answering their door to receive donations. The fear is not for just those who are undocumented, and thats one of the realities that we hope those in Washington will hear, Arlene Hall, a native of Jamaica and a minister at the Deliverance Temple Worship Center in Dorchester, told reporters. The fear is much deeper and wider because of what is being done. Wus mayoral opponent, Democrat Josh Kraft, said in a statement that he supports removing violent criminals but opposes mass deportations and Homans inflammatory rhetoric about a city he does not know. What could happen to cities that dont comply? An ominous video from the Republican-led committee portrays Wu and several other big city mayors as villains, with Kentucky GOP Rep. James Comer saying: If they are going to continue to disobey the law, then I think we should cut as much of their federal funding as we can cut. The Trump administration has begun taking legal action, accusing Illinois, Chicago and Cook County of violating federal law by not cooperating. Lawmakers in more than 20 states are pursuing legislation against so-called sanctuary cities, The Associated Press found using the bill-tracking software Plural. And some of those communities are striking back: The Boston suburbs of Chelsea and Somerville filed suit accusing the Trump administration of violating their constitutional rights. (AP) Israel has issued stern warnings to Syrias new interim government and rebel factions, signaling its willingness to take military action to safeguard Kurdish communities in northern Syria. The statement, delivered by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and reinforced by Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, comes as Turkish-backed forces intensify their campaign against Kurdish-led militias, raising fears of a broader conflict in the wake of Bashar al-Assads ouster late last year. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated coalition that has long been a key U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State, have faced relentless pressure from the Turkish-supported Syrian National Army (SNA) since Assads regime collapsed in December 2024. The SNAs operations, aimed at carving out a buffer zone along Turkeys border, have displaced thousands of Kurds and sparked international alarm over potential ethnic cleansing. Israel, viewing the Kurds as a strategic counterweight to Iran and a bastion of pro-Western sentiment, has now stepped into the fray with a clear message: any threat to the Kurdish population will not go unanswered. We will not stand idly by while the Kurds face annihilation, Saar declared during a press briefing on Friday. Israel has a moral and strategic interest in ensuring their safety. The international community must act, but if it fails, we are prepared to take necessary measures. Hours later, Katz doubled down, stating that Israels newly established security zone in southern Syriaseized after Assads fallwould serve as a launching pad to counter any aggression spilling over from the north. Any attempt to militarize southern Syria or destabilize the region further will be met with fire, he warned. The roots of Israels position trace back to its decades-long, discreet alliance with Kurdish groups across the Middle East. Since the 1960s, Israel has cultivated ties with Kurds in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, seeing them as natural allies against shared adversaries like Iran and its proxies. The Syrian Kurds, in particular, have earned Israels admiration for their resilience against both ISIS and the Assad regime, as well as their secular, democratic governance in northeastern Syria. With Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan now backing Sunni Islamist rebels who toppled Assad, and Iran seeking to maintain influence through proxy forces, Israel perceives the Kurdish plight as intertwined with its own security. Tensions flared further this week when Turkish-backed SNA fighters clashed with SDF units near Manbij, a key Kurdish-held city northeast of Aleppo. The fighting, which followed a tenuous U.S.-brokered ceasefire, underscored Turkeys determination to dismantle the SDF, which it labels an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)a group Ankara deems a terrorist organization. For Israel, this aggression not only threatens a friendly minority but risks destabilizing Syria further, potentially opening the door to Iranian resurgence or jihadist consolidation under groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), now the controlling force in Damascus. Israels threats have not gone unnoticed. Syrias interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, speaking at a national unity conference on Tuesday, condemned Israeli incursions into Syrian territory and demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Golan Heights buffer zone and beyond. Hours later, Israeli airstrikes hit military targets in southern Syria, which the IDF described as a preemptive move against weapons sites linked to the former regime. The tit-for-tat exchange has fueled speculation that Israels focus may soon shift northward to confront Turkish proxies directly. Kurdish leaders have cautiously welcomed Israels rhetoric. Salih Muslim, a senior figure in the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political arm of the SDF, called the Israeli stance encouraging in a recent interview, urging tangible support beyond words. We are under existential threat from Turkey and its militias, he said. Israels solidarity is a step forward, but we need weapons and coordination to survive. Analysts, however, warn of the risks. Israel stepping into Syria to defend the Kurds could ignite a direct confrontation with Turkey, a NATO member, said Seth Frantzman, a Middle East expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Its a high-stakes gamblesupporting a moral cause while avoiding a regional war. Others note that Israels actions could alienate the new Syrian leadership, which has so far avoided overt hostility toward Jerusalem but may feel compelled to respond if Israeli forces cross deeper into Syrian territory. For now, Israels military posture remains defensive yet poised for action. The IDF has bolstered its presence along the Golan Heights and conducted over 250 airstrikes since Assads fall, targeting weapons depots and infrastructure linked to Iran and the former regime. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israel is reportedly preparing to launch a massive military operation to finally eliminate Hamas from the Gaza Strip. According to an explosive report by The Washington Free Beacon, the offensive is slated to begin in four to six weeks and will see the IDF deploy over 50,000 soldiers in a full-scale ground invasion. The operationdescribed as a ruthless and uncompromising pushaims to dismantle Hamass strongholds once and for all. It will commence with intense aerial bombardments followed by a systematic reduction of humanitarian aid to the enclave. The IDF will then advance in force, slicing Gaza into three segments by attacking simultaneously from the north, center, and south. According to multiple Israeli officials cited in the report, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz have personally tasked incoming IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir with designing this aggressive plan, which is expected to be finalized when he assumes command this Thursday. Israels military and security leaders are leaving no room for ambiguitythis battle will be different. Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), put it bluntly: Israel will use every tool it has to conquer Gaza and eradicate Hamas. Meanwhile, Col. (res.) Hezi Nechama, a prominent advocate of previous military offensives, emphasized the scale of the coming assault: Were going to see four to five divisions simultaneously attack in the north, in the center, and in the south, to occupy every area and clear out the enemy. It will look different than what we saw in the war until now. In a dramatic shift in policy, Professor Kobi Michael of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University confirmed that outside designated humanitarian zones, no aid will be allowed into Gaza. He argued that this would prevent Hamas from looting resources while also increasing pressure on the terrorist group through its own population. Despite the overwhelming force Israel is preparing to unleash, the report suggests that the war could be pausedbut only under strict conditions. If Hamas agrees to release all hostages or surrenders and goes into exile, a temporary cessation of hostilities may be considered. As of now, 59 hostages remain in captivity, with intelligence reports indicating that at least 35 of them may already be dead. Meanwhile, Hamas is also reportedly preparing for the resumption of combat, prompting the IDF to raise its alert level along the Gaza border. In a strategic recalibration, Israeli military commanders believe that Hezbollahs weakened position in Lebanon has allowed the IDF to redeploy more divisions to the south. Nechama, one of the key military voices behind the plan, underscored the shift in focus: We always had divisions in the north, and now we dont need them there because Hezbollah is not a threat. So we can take those divisions and put them all in Gaza at the same time, and this is very important. Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevis military plan for Gaza was reportedly deemed too timid by his successor. The report indicates that Zamir dismissed the previous blueprint and instead proposed a far more aggressive and decisive approach, with significantly greater troop involvement. The next chief of staff didnt like what he heard, Nechama said. He told the prime minister and the defense minister that he would present them with another plan, much more aggressive and decisive with many more troops involved. With U.S. support for Israel at a peak, reports suggest that the Netanyahu government feels emboldened to wage this war with fewer restraints than in previous operations. If the Trump administration continues its policy of giving Israel broad operational freedom, the next phase of the Gaza war could unfold with unprecedented intensity. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) US President Donald Trump invited freed hostage Eli Sharabi and other freed hostages to the White House, Elis brother Sharon Sharabi told Israels Channel 12 on Sunday. The US Presidents invitation came after Trump watched Sharabis recent interview [with English subtitles] on Channel 12s Uvda program. Sharon said that Eli is flying to Washington on Monday on philanthropist Miriam Adelsons plane and will meet with Trump on Tuesday. In Sharabis interview with Uvda, he stated that he recited Shema Yisrael every morning from the time he was abducted, something he has never done before. The power of emunah is astounding, he added. I felt like someone was watching over me. I made Kiddush for myself and said Eishes Chayil for my mother, my sisters, my wife and my daughters, he added, in tears. Sharabis wife and two teenage daughters, Hyd, were murdered on October 7, a tragedy that only became known to him on the day of his release from captivity. Your browser does not support the video tag. Sharabi expressed incredible gevurah during the interview, saying that he is not angry about his fate but instead feels fortunate. Contrary to what people think, Im not angry, he said. Im lucky that I had [my wife] Lianne for 30 years; Im lucky to have had my amazing daughters for years. Im lucky that they didnt kill me. Im lucky that after 16 months I managed to return to my family. Im lucky. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) A Beersheva resident has been indicted on charges of contacting a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy after allegedly attempting to sell details about Israels nuclear program to Iranian operatives. The Southern District Attorneys Office filed charges against Doron Bokovza in the Beersheba District Court following a months-long investigation by Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency. According to a joint statement from the agencies, Bokovza initiated contact with Iranian agents and offered to provide them with sensitive information. However, investigators determined that Bokovza did not have direct access to Israels nuclear research center in the Negev and instead provided his handlers with publicly available information about the facility. Authorities said that he also carried out various tasks for the agents, including photographing facilities and transferring information. The indictment underscores ongoing concerns about espionage threats targeting Israels security infrastructure. The Dimona nuclear research facility, officially named the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, is widely believed to be the site of Israels nuclear weapons program, though Israel has never officially confirmed it. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, leader of the Charedi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, has issued a stark ultimatum to the government, threatening to oppose the 2025 state budget unless it includes more than a billion shekels in coalition funding for Charedi yeshivos. His opposition would jeopardize the budgets passage, potentially triggering early elections. This marks Goldknopfs second threat to the coalitions stability in less than a week and is the latest in a series of ultimatums from Charedi parties that have, so far, failed to materialize into action. In a letter to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, first published by Ynet, Goldknopf complained that despite assurances from Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich regarding the funds, they were not included in the list of coalition allocations set for cabinet approval on Sunday. He demanded an immediate correction to secure his partys support for the budget in the Knesset. The government faces a tight deadline, as the budget must be passed by the end of March. Failure to do so would lead to the automatic dissolution of the government and early elections. The expected allocation of NIS 1.3 billion ($370 million) in coalition funds for Charedi yeshivas has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid labeled the move as corruption, characterizing the funding as loot. The funding debate comes amid broader negotiations between Netanyahu and the Charedi parties. According to Kol Chai radio, Netanyahu and Smotrich recently offered increased funding for Charedi educational institutions in exchange for support on delaying legislation that would grant yeshiva bochurim exemptions from military service. Goldknopfs latest threat follows a similar warning just days ago, when he insisted that the government must pass a draft exemption law before approving the budget. During a UTJ meeting, he argued that repeated delays in enacting military exemptions for yeshiva bochurim were unacceptable. We have two options before us: either they put off the conscription bill and we go to summer elections, or they insist on passing it before the budget and the government completes its term, Goldknopf said, adding that his party would consult its rabbinic leadership before making a final decision. The conscription of Charedim remains a deeply divisive issue in Israel. The High Court of Justice ruled in June that the government must begin drafting Charedim into the military, ending decades of blanket exemptions. Netanyahu, under pressure from his Charedi allies, has repeatedly promised a legislative solution to maintain the exemptions. However, a bill addressing the issue remains stalled in the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by Likud MK Yuli Edelstein. Edelstein has insisted that any legislation must significantly increase the IDFs conscription base. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Transferring a pension to another provider should be easy-peasy, but it isn't. Far too many companies drag their feet for all kinds of reasons incompetence foremost among them and it isn't good enough. At the end of the day, it's our money, not theirs. I speak from personal experience. Currently going through a protracted divorce, this painful process has been exacerbated by the unacceptable time it has taken one pension provider (a well-known investing platform) to return forms paving the way for my pension to be transferred to my wife. Only my personal intervention, at the request of my solicitor, got the ball rolling. In a world where most financial transactions are conducted online, there is no excuse for companies to dilly-dally when it comes to pension switching. Of course, ceding firms (those losing our custom) need to ensure we're not being scammed by a new pension manager promising the earth and then disappearing with our money in a swag bag. And consumers must be made aware of any benefits they may lose by transferring elsewhere (for example, the right to a favourable guaranteed annuity rate). But transfers should only take days, not weeks or months. As one pension insider told me last week: 'Switching pensions should be straightforward in this connected world, but it's a complete mess. 'Some transfers go through relatively quickly while others take months and turn into an administrative nightmare for the poor souls involved. Errors, delays, poor processes, inadequate technology and too many participants passing the buck and blaming others for their own tardiness is something that demands attention and maybe even a change in primary legislation to force improvement.' Switch it up: Online pension provider PensionBee, headed by Romi Savova, wants change It's a problem that City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is aware of. It has been seeking opinion from the great and good on how retirement outcomes for consumers can be improved in a changing pensions landscape against the backdrop of an employment market where job mobility has come to the fore, resulting in people accumulating a potpourri of pensions. By 'consumers', the FCA means those who work in the private sector and primarily depend upon a big dose of stellar stock-market performance to see their pension funds (defined contribution) deliver an adequate income in retirement. Its work does not embrace public sector consumers for whom better pension outcomes are not possible. After all, they continue to enjoy what we mere mortals in the private sector will never have the opportunity to benefit from: risk-free, gold-plated defined benefit pensions underpinned by taxpayers. The callout from the FCA also covers the regulation of self-invested personal pensions (not fit for purpose) and whether rules should be tweaked to help consumers engage more with their pensions (yes, please). But a big chunk, quite rightly, is dedicated to improving pension transfers. Online pension provider PensionBee, headed by Romi Savova, is one of the first companies to confirm it has responded to the FCA's 'discussion paper'. It wants the Government to legislate for a ten-day pension switch guarantee. It would be a clone of the (successful) current account switch guarantee which the coalition government introduced 12 years ago resulting in a bank account switch taking only seven working days. PensionBee's proposal is not without a dose of self-interest, but it's an idea the Government should embrace. However, given the sluggish pace at which plans to launch online pension dashboards are progressing (enabling us to see all our pensions and state pension on one page), it might not get the swift attention it deserves. In the meantime, the pensions industry would do itself a great service by agreeing to publish half-yearly statistics on the average time it takes ceding companies to meet requests from customers wishing to transfer their plans. Many years ago, numerous consumer champions called for insurance firms to publish regular statistics on the percentage of claims they paid on protection policies (permanent health insurance and critical illness). The industry balked at the idea but was eventually persuaded to provide the stats. This resulted in all providers pulling up their socks and playing fair when it came to meeting claims. Greater transparency on pension switching times would have a similar revolutionary impact. PS: If you're having an horrendous experience transferring a pension, I'm all ears. Email jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk Prepare for battle at 101m fund as managers are sacked in shake-up The Association of Investment Companies took time out last week from worrying about the attack on its industry by American hedge fund manager Saba to celebrate 30 years of venture capital trusts (VCTs). It is a sub-sector of the investment trust industry that manages more than 6 billion of assets, providing all-important finance to early-stage businesses. Yet not all is hunky-dory at one of the 45 VCTs: Amati AIM, launched 24 years ago to generate tax-free capital growth and dividend income for shareholders from a portfolio comprising Aim-traded firms. The hoo-ha is a result of the trust's board wanting to shake up the 101 million fund to improve shareholder returns which have been hit by a listless Aim market. Hoo-ha: Amati AIM's board wants to shake up the 101 million fund to improve shareholder returns Over the past three years, investor losses have exceeded 34 per cent, although these were mitigated by the upfront tax relief (30 per cent) most shareholders enjoyed provided they held their shares for at least five years. The shake-up is two-pronged. First, following a beauty parade, the board has appointed Maven Capital Partners to manage the trust. Secondly, it wants to widen the trust's investment remit so that it is not 'primarily' focused on Aim-listed firms and is able to invest in unquoted businesses that may not list on Aim. What has miffed some VCT experts is that shareholders have had no say on Maven's appointment, although they will be given a vote on the change of investment policy. Peter Hicks, research analyst at Chelsea Financial Services, says: 'Clients chose the trust on the basis of the Amati management team and the asset class, not the board. We do not think it is right for the board to sack the manager without a shareholder vote.' He also says many of his clients are locked in for five years because of the 30 per cent income tax relief conditions, so they can't vote with their feet. Ben Yearsley, a VCT expert, describes the board's actions as 'bizarre' and believes they should resign if they lose the vote on the change of investment mandate. Last week, Fiona Wollocombe, chair of Amati AIM VCT, said the duty of a trust board was to appoint investment managers best capable of delivering good returns for shareholders. On Friday the board announced to the London Stock Exchange the terms of Maven's appointment (including fees) and a new board member with expertise in small quoted and unquoted businesses. For the record, Wollocombe was a director of Maven Income & Growth VCT until 2019. She told me she had not been conflicted as a result, insisting: 'If anything, they [Maven] had to perform better than the other candidates [to manage the trust].' This trust battle has legs. Whatever the outcome of the tense diplomacy surrounding President Trump's Ukraine peace deal, especially following his explosive meeting with President Zelensky, the result is set to be a new world order. Like other European states, Britain will be spending more on defence. So how will Chancellor Rachel Reeves balance the books? Should the UK and its Continental neighbours confiscate the billions in frozen Russian assets they hold? Should we as Britons be braced for stealth taxes to cover higher military spending? As savers, investors, and borrowers, we need to consider the possible impact on our personal finances. The shifting of the world order being brought about by Trump's machinations over the future of Ukraine is driving a wholesale reassessment of investment portfolios. It means savers need to question some assumptions that have held good for years. Small investors are looking for new opportunities for example defence company share prices have soared as well as seeking assets traditionally viewed as safe havens, such as gold. There is also an interest in businesses that may be involved in any eventual rebuilding of Ukraine. Conflict: The rancorous meeting between presidents Zelensky and Trump has unsettled global investors FORGET CRYPTO GO FOR GOLD The diminishing appetite for risk in a more uncertain world has sparked a decline in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They were riding high at the end of last year on a wave of optimism after Trump's re-election, in the belief the president would be supportive of crypto. But bitcoin's price stands at about $85,000, having fallen heavily from about $105,000 in December. By contrast, gold is up 43 per cent on a year ago at $2,888 an ounce, underlining its age-old status as a refuge in an era of uncertainty. The rise also reflects the extra demand set to flow from the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Gold is a small, but essential, element in microchips and in AI-enabled devices such as phones, as well as for the data centres that power this revolution. The precious metal has its drawbacks it generates no income. However, generations of investors have held some gold in the belief it is an asset that holds its value in uncertain times. You can gain exposure to gold through exchange traded funds (ETFs) such as iShares Physical Gold, which put money into bullion, or through funds such as Ninety One Global Gold which owns shares in gold mining firms. BACK BRITAIN The encouraging results of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's meeting with the US president this week should be seen as good news. Jason Hollands of Bestinvest warns that Trump's stance may suddenly alter, but the prospect of a trade deal with the US could restore some optimism in the UK markets. To make the most of a revival in the mood, consider funds and trusts that back Britain, such as City of London and Temple Bar trusts. UK markets are set to be galvanised by foreign predators hoping to seize firms at bargain basement prices, such as US private equity firm Bain Capital's bid for defence firm Chemring, and by activist investors pressing for improvements at firms such as BP. City of London's largest holdings include BAE Systems. Shares of UK firms in this sector, including Rolls-Royce, are soaring, driven by plans to raise defence spending in the UK and elsewhere. Other beneficiaries of this trend will be European armaments and aerospace manufacturers, such as Italian company Leonardo and the German conglomerates Rheinmetall and ThyssenKrupp. Defence companies have been shunned by many investors in recent years since they did not comply with the ethical requirements for ESG (environment, social and governance) investing. But the perception of what is ethical is shifting from narrow, 'woke' definitions. The sector is now seen as not only crucial to national security but to upholding civil liberties. Both these areas are central to the social part of ESG. How will UK pay for defence bill? After the fiery encounter between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, there can be no doubt that spending on defence in the UK will have to go up. With the nation's finances already over-stretched and the tax burden at its highest since the Second World War, this is tricky for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose Spring Statement is due this month. What can she do, and what might it mean for Britons' personal tax bills? Reeves said military expenditure would rise to 3 per cent 'in the next Parliament', 'subject to economic and fiscal conditions'. How that will be funded was not spelt out as she faces a much more immediate challenge: balancing the books while sticking to her fiscal rules. Reeves has three options. The first is to put up taxes. She will be tempted to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds and allowances beyond 2028, raking in an extra 4 billion a year, as rising wages drag workers into higher tax bands. She ruled it out in October saying it would hurt 'working people' but could seek to justify any U-turn by saying Trump's pivot to Moscow and his threat to impose harsh tariffs on imported British goods had changed everything. Her second option is to cut spending. Two thirds of the annual 510 billion day-to-day departmental spending is on protected areas such as health, education and defence, putting funding at risk in others. With foreign aid slashed, unprotected budgets include justice, police and environment agencies. Her third option is to bend the rules. A bit of rule-bending might allow her to borrow more, rather than raise taxes or slash spending, without spooking financial markets. One option is to keep defence spending 'off the books' carving it out as an exemption. This is what the European Commission is planning, by arguing that it is not part of normal spending. Patrick Tooher BAG EUROPEAN BARGAINS The threat of punitive trade tariffs on the EU hit its stock markets last week amid fears of a trade war. Nevertheless, if you are taking a longer-term look, it's worth nothing that global fund managers expect these markets to outperform this year. European companies will play a major role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. It is also expected that the wave of deregulation sweeping through America under the Trump administration will begin shredding the red tape that has Europe in its stranglehold. Such reforms will not happen overnight. But, in the meantime the fortunes of European multinationals do not depend on their domestic economies, as these businesses operate on the world stage. The Stoxx Europe 600 index is up by 9 per cent this year, while the FTSE 100 has risen by 7 per cent. By contrast, the US's S&P 500 index has risen by just 2 per cent. Fidelity European, the investment trust, has stakes in big names such as German software group Sap, L'Oreal, Nestle and Hermes, maker of reassuringly expensive 10,000 handbags. Shares in the trust stand at an 8 per cent discount to its net asset value. Individual European stocks seen by experts as bargain buys include ASML, a Dutch maker of semiconductor equipment, and Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant behind weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Global sales of such drugs are forecast to exceed $ 200billion by 2031, almost regardless of the state of geopolitical conditions at that date. Tributes have flooded in following the passing of Pat Ingoldsby. Pat was an Irish poet and TV presenter. He appeared on Irish screens through the 1980s on RTE with his shows Pat's Hat, Pat's Chat, and Pat's Pals. Pat passed away peacefully in the care of the staff of Clontarf Private Nursing Home, surrounded by his family on the 1st of March 2025. Read Next: 'A nutty interview!' Viewers stunned as Tommy Tiernan sits down with boxing legend Son of the late Paddy and Eileen, beloved companion of Vivienne and friend of Willow, Rince, Runda, Hoot, Blackie, Go Deo and Marvin. Deeply regretted and very sadly missed by his family; Michael, Ann & Des, Dayo & Patsy and Brigie & Will, his nieces and nephews Aisling, Fiona, Dave, Melissa, Pat, Michael, Jaqui, Paul, David and Rory, his extended family and many friends. Tributes have been paid on the condolences section of RIP.ie and a selection of them read as follows: "A lovely man, an amazing poet and an Irish legend. Farewell, Pat. You were one of a kind!" Another reads: "Very sorry to hear of Pats passing. May he rest in peace. He was a true gentleman and will be sorely missed in Clontarf. He always had time for a chat. Condolences to all his family and friends. Ni bheidh a leitheid aris ann!" President Michael D Higgins also paid tribute to Pat writing: "Pat Ingoldsby's contribution was unique and particular, but incredibly inclusive. So many people will have memories of discussing his work with him on Westmoreland Street in Dublin. Pat is and will remain in the memory of those across all ages who enjoyed his poetry, drama and performance. May I express my sympathies to Pat's family, friends and all those who so enjoyed his work." Taoiseach Micheal Martin also writes: "Pat Ingoldsby was a poet and broadcaster beloved across generations. He will be sorely missed. Pats unique humour, observations on his native Dublin, and work on childrens TV enchanted young and old. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends." Kansas City, Kansas Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann is a leading conservative Catholic cleric and served as a constant thorn in the side of the Biden Administration. In his latest note to the faithful he shares admiration for Prez Trump's administration, Elon Musk as he calls on Catholics to increase their charity work . . . Here's an important quote and a link to more info: "Personally, I am grateful for the presidents efforts to address fraud and waste within our federal government. The biggest threat to our country and its essential programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is the extraordinarily high level of federal debt. "The United States is considered the wealthiest nation in the world. Yet, in my humble opinion, our economic health is fragile. Our country carries a debt of more than $36 trillion, and this past year we added $2 trillion dollars more to the debt. Paying the interest on our current debt is the second largest item in our governments budget. This is not economically sustainable. "For the past several decades, the Catholic Church in the United States has partnered with our federal government in our shared international and domestic goals. Catholic Relief Services has received federal grants to feed the hungry, provide quality medical care and develop healthy water sources for impoverished countries. Sadly, our government has also partnered with other groups that attempted to impose woke U.S. cultural values e.g., abortion, contraception, transgender and LGBTQ ideologies upon poor nations. DOGE discovered and exposed several of the insane and harmful programs that were being funded by our countrys foreign aid programs." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Leaven: As U.S. retreats from helping worlds poor, Catholics must step up We learned two things from another protest against a Heartland elected official . . . Senator Marshall isn't really great at addressing criticism. And . . . Republicans have answered a wave of recent town hall criticism by discounting protest as agitprop and part of a coordinated effort. Our perspective . . . ORGANIZED OR NOT, IT'S NOT LIKE THESE PEOPLE DROVE IN FROM JERSEY!!! Most of them identified themselves as Kansas residents and they deserve as much say as any other voter in the constituency of the exceptionally testy Senator. Agree or disagree . . . We're gonna two takes on the event . . . One that is sympathetic and the other from more progressive media . . . We'll start with two quotes and then links to more info . . . A lot of folks have traveled a long way to be here. This is really Oakleys town hall Im going to try to focus on their questions. said Marshall. He got a varied response. Some can be heard saying thank you, others saying he represents the whole state. Im going to say this one time. If you all keep cutting me off, if youre rude, which youre being, Im going to leave. The people from Oakley dont deserve this, said Marshall. If youre going to keep interrupting me, were not going to do this. If you have a question you can write them down and turn them in, my staff will get them all. Here's another take . . . Marshall, who is no stranger to being insulted during his public appearances, was reported by Heartland Signal to have "ended his constituent town hall early" on Saturday "after being pressed about DOGE firing veterans." Democratic strategist Matt McDermott characterized the scene as the lawmaker "standing up and leaving his own town hall meeting today after being asked why Republicans think its acceptable for DOGE to be firing Veterans." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Senator Roger Marshall booed at Northwest Kansas town hall OAKLEY, Kansas (KSNW) - A town hall meeting hosted by Senator Roger Marshall in rural northwest Kansas Saturday morning included questions and answers, shouting, applause, boos and Senator Marshall leaving the event early. The meeting, at the Logan County Hospital in Oakley, started at 9 a.m. and lasted around 40 minutes. Watch: 'Angry scene' as GOP senator booed for fleeing town hall early in 'blood-red' state Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) was called a coward as he departed the stage at a town hall over the weekend where he was asked about how federal cuts are harming veterans. Marshall, who is no stranger to being insulted during his public appearances, was reported by Heartland Signal to have "ended hi... Developing . . . Here's the important part for KCMO: THIS LOW TURNOUT VOTE FOR BIG BUCKS WILL BE DECIDED BY A SMALL CROSS-SECTION OF VOTERS!!! Historically, KCMO voters have rejected these funds . . . Advocates for schools contend that the last time KCMO passed a school bond was 1967. Moreover . . . It might not be fair BUT this will be the biggest test of Mayor Q's influence after suffering election defeat with Veep Kamala Harris Here's a quote and a worthwhile report . . . "Yes for KC Kids, a political action committee formed last year in support of the bond, kicked off their campaign. With just a month until elections, they say its important to get the word out now more than ever." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KSHB: KCPS urges voters to pass GO bond proposal of $474M Developing . . . . . . . Germany Election Results 2025: Key Takeaways The results of Germanys general election show that the center-right political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is once again on track to become the largest party and reclaim power Monday March 3, 2025 0:31 AM , Asish Gupta [CDU leader Friedrich Merz (L) with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.] As per earlier predictions, the results of Germanys general election show that the center-right political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), is once again on track to become the largest party and reclaim power. From 2005 to 2021, Angela Merkel served as Germanys Chancellor, marking one of the most significant periods for the CDU. After a four-year gap, the CDU is poised to take power again following Sundays election. Although the CDU leads in the election results, it has failed to win over Germanys young voters. An analysis of the recently concluded German election results reveals that the future political battle will be between the far-right and the leftists. This is because German youth voters have leaned toward these two extremes of the political spectrum. The majority of these young voters have supported the leftist party Die Linke, with the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), or Alternative for Germany, coming in second. Although the CDU secured over 28 percent of the vote overall and defeated the outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholzs Social Democratic Party (SPD), the CDU leader, 69-year-old Friedrich Merz, received very little support among young Germans. The AfD garnered 20 percent of the vote, securing second place overall the highest result for a far-right party since World War II. Among young voters, the popular Die Linke received 8.7 percent of the vote overall, a surprising success compared to previous polls. Voter turnout in this election was a record-breaking 83.5 percent, the highest since German reunification in 1990. Die Linke gained widespread popularity among the youth, especially among 18- to 24-year-olds, where it secured 25 percent of the votethe highest among all parties. This represents a 17 percent increase compared to the 2021 election, according to the German election research institute Infratest Dimap, which conducted exit polls for the ARD public broadcaster. Comparatively, the far-right AfD emerged as the biggest winner of the election, doubling its vote share from 2021. The party attracted new voters due to its tough stance on immigration policy, economic issues, and pro-Russia positions. Among young voters, 21 percent supported the AfD, a 14 percent increase from 2021. The CDU and Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance won the election with 208 out of 630 seats. However, most of their supporters are aged 45 and above. In contrast, only 13 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted for them. Although the CDU is the largest party, it failed to secure an absolute majority and will need to form a coalition to govern. A minimum of 316 parliamentarians is required to form a government. The outgoing ruling SPD recorded its worst result since World War II. Party leader and Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his resignation. However, if Merz attempts to form a coalition, the SPD could remain in the government. The SPD received only 12 percent of the vote among 18- to 24-year-olds, down from 15 percent in 2021. Both Die Linke and AfD, albeit to varying degrees, successfully tapped into the concerns of the youth. A 2024 study by Shell Energy found that 81 percent of Germans aged 12 to 25 were most concerned about the Ukraine war, 67 percent about poverty, and 64 percent about environmental pollution. Another 2024 survey of 2,000 young people showed that 41 percent of those aged 14 to 29 were worried about rising immigration. Additionally, the AfDs popularity is growing due to the housing crisis, economic challenges, and poverty. The AfD has particularly attracted young male voters because its anti-immigration agenda has become more normalized. Compared to four years ago, young voters are now less fearful of the AfDs agenda. Support for the AfD among young voters is higher among males than females. While young men still vote for leftist parties more than older men, they support the AfD at a much higher rate than young women. One in four men under 25 voted for the AfD, compared to only 14 percent of women in the same age group. The reason for this gap is unclear, but differing views on immigration and gender equality appear to be the main dividing factors. Die Linke, which believes in communist political ideology, advocates for an immigration society where all citizens have equal rights and no one is deported. The partys manifesto states, We are fighting for a society where no child grows up in poverty, where every man and woman can live with peace, dignity, and social security. To achieve this, we need a different economic and social systemdemocratic socialism. One reason for Die Linkes popularity among the youth is its active presence on social media, particularly on platforms like TikTok. A speech by the partys new leader, Heidi Reichinnek, against CDU leader Merz went viral. Overall, the party performed better than previous polls, especially among the youth, making it significantly stronger than it was four years ago. While leftists have a slight edge among German youth, the rise of far-right politics in recent years is noticeable across Europe and the world. Factors such as economic uncertainty, immigration crises, nationalist ideologies, and cultural changes are driving this trend. The immigration and refugee crisis has been a major factor behind the rise of far-right parties in Europe. Since 2015, millions of refugees from Syria and other conflict zones have entered Europe. According to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, over 1.3 million illegal immigrants entered the European Union in 2015 alone. This event created a sense of insecurity and cultural concern among many Europeans. Far-right parties capitalized on these fears by adopting anti-immigration stances and emphasizing the protection of national identity and cultural heritage. For example, Germanys Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) and Frances National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, gained popularity through their anti-immigration positions. In Hungary, the far-right Fidesz party, led by Viktor Orban, has remained in power by implementing strict immigration policies. During the 2015 migrant crisis, Orban built a border fence and stated, We want to preserve Hungarys Christian culture. This nationalist and culturally conservative stance has garnered widespread support, especially in rural areas. In Sweden, Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson has said, To make Sweden safe again, we must stop immigration. In Italy, the rise of Lega (formerly Lega Nord) is tied to the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. The arrival of migrants amid economic stagnation and poverty in southern Italy has fueled local discontent. Lega leader Matteo Salvini has stated, Italy cannot be Europes refugee camp, a statement that has stoked national pride and anti-immigration sentiment among Italians. Economic instability and inequality are other key drivers of the far-rights rise. The 2008 global financial crisis and subsequent economic downturns and unemployment across Europe have contributed to this trend. Many Europeans believe traditional political parties have failed to address economic crises. Far-right parties have exploited this dissatisfaction by opposing globalization and European Union policies. A report by the European Social Survey, which analyzes the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of citizens in 30 European countries, shows that support for far-right parties is higher in economically weaker regions. Conducted annually by the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and the Centre for Comparative Social Surveys (City University, London), the survey provides examples such as Italys Lega Nord and Greeces Golden Dawn, which gained popularity during economic crises. Dissatisfaction with the European Unions centralized policies and control has also fueled the rise of far-right parties. Many Europeans feel the EU undermines their national sovereignty. Brexit (Britains exit from the EU) is a notable example of this discontent. Far-right parties have gained popularity by taking anti-EU stances. For instance, Marine Le Pen in France and Geert Wilders Party for Freedom in the Netherlands are known for their anti-EU positions. Globalization and multiculturalism have led many Europeans to fear losing their national and cultural identities. Far-right parties have leveraged these fears by promoting nationalism and the preservation of cultural heritage. For example, Viktor Orbans Fidesz in Hungary has gained popularity by emphasizing cultural and national identity preservation. Terrorism and insecurity are additional factors behind the far-rights rise. Terrorist attacks and insecurity in Europe have bolstered far-right parties. Many Europeans believe traditional political parties have failed to ensure security. Far-right parties have gained traction by promising strict immigration policies and stronger national security. For instance, Marine Le Pens party saw a surge in popularity after the Charlie Hebdo attack in France. Far-right parties use social media to deliver their messages directly to the public, bypassing traditional media influence. A Digital News Report found that many people get political news and knowledge from social media platforms. For example, Donald Trumps election campaign in the United States succeeded through social media. Many Europeans are dissatisfied with political institutions and politicians, feeling that these institutions do not address their needs and concerns. Far-right parties capitalize on this discontent by presenting themselves as anti-establishment. For example, Italys Five Star Movement and Spains Vox party have gained popularity with anti-establishment stances. Vox leader Santiago Abascal has said, We will defend tradition, family, and Christian values. The rise of far-right parties is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. Immigration, economic crises, cultural identity crises, terrorism, and dissatisfaction with political establishments are the primary drivers. This trend is reshaping the political landscape of Europe and other parts of the world, increasingly creating deep divisions among the public that will influence the future trajectory of European politics. [The writer, Asish Gupta, is a journalist. Currently, he is the Delhi News Bureau Chief of Asomiya Pratidin, an Assamese daily published by Assams leading media house, the Pratidin Group.] References: BBC News, Why Europe is Moving Toward the Far-Right, 2024 The Guardian, The Rise of Nationalism in Europe, 2023 The Economist, Political Changes in Europe, 2024 Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Forget SpongeBob SquarePants, Sesame Street and the sourdough starter craze a depressed German loaf of bread named Bernd das Brot is celebrating his 25th anniversary as the reluctant star of a children's television program that accidentally became equally popular with adults. A cult classic in Germany, Bernd das Brot (Bernd the Bread) is a puppet renowned for his deep, gloomy voice, his perpetual pessimism and his signature expression, "Mist!" (Think "Crap!" in English.) Played and voiced by puppeteer Jorg Teichgraeber, Bernd is a television presenter who wants nothing to do with TV and can't wait to go home to stare at the wallpaper. This year, his friends a sheep and a flower bush are urging him to become a bread influencer. Born as a sketch on the back of a napkin in a pizzeria, Bernd was drawn by Tommy Krappweis, who modeled it after co-creator Norman Coster's face. The duo had been asked to come up with mascots for KiKA, a German children's public television channel. Comic artist Georg Graf von Westphalen designed Bernd as a pullman loaf white bread typically sliced for sandwiches with short arms and a permanent scowl. Bernd channels German stereotypes with his grumpy disposition, penchant for complaining, and dry sense of humor and irony. Bernd's first episode aired on KiKA in 2000 alongside his more optimistic pals, Chili the Sheep and Briegel the Bush. A reluctant popularity Because KiKA is a children's channel, there was typically dead air from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. On Jan. 1, 2003, the network put Bernd's short episodes into the night loop for the first time. The move brought an adult audience into Bernd's world, often those sitting at home and smoking pot, or returning after a long night of partying. The night loop cemented his popularity as a German cult classic. In 2004, Bernd won the Adolf Grimme Prize, the German television equivalent of an Emmy. The jury said he represents "the right to be in a bad mood." "Bernd shows you that you are less vulnerable with humor and self-irony. And perhaps the most important point is: It's totally OK if you don't feel well sometimes. That's completely fine," Krappweis said in a KiKA Q&A about Bernd's anniversary. Bernd's broken heart Bernd is depressed for a multitude of reasons, including his failed attempt to be the mascot for a bakery's advertising campaign (that's how he ended up as a TV presenter, as a last resort). But it's in Episode 85 that we finally learn about Bernd's broken heart. "A long, long time ago I fell in love with a beautiful, slim baguette. She was so incredibly charming and funny," Bernd tells Chili and Briegel. But unfortunately it was in vain. "She only had eyes for this run-of-the-mill multigrain bread with its 10 types of grain. It was so depressing." The kidnapping Despite Bernd's best efforts one of his catchphrases is "I would like to leave this show" the episodes have never become stale. He sings, he dances, he's been to space. He's the star of merchandise, a video game and headlines like "Give Us Our Daily Bernd." He was even kidnapped. In 2009, his 2-meter-tall statue was stolen from his traditional place outside the town hall in Erfurt, where KiKA is based. A claim of responsibility surfaced on YouTube, by sympathizers of a group of demonstrators who were protesting a company that had produced cremation ovens for the Nazis' Auschwitz extermination camp. The demonstrators, however, denied involvement in Bernd's kidnapping, and the video was removed from the internet. Bernd was held hostage for nearly two weeks before being discovered unharmed in an abandoned barracks. KiKA is honoring Bernd's 25th anniversary, despite his complaints. New episodes, an update to his hit song, and online activities for kids and adults alike will be featured. The celebrations are at hand, as Bernd's birthday is Feb. 29. The latest series will premiere in September as Bernd, Chili and Briegel launch the social media channel "Better with Bernd" in their efforts to make him into a bread influencer. The trio will present inventions to make school, and life, easier for viewers, but naturally their concoctions backfire. Bernd instead becomes a defluencer and an involuntary trendsetter. Order a Coke to wash down some hummus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank these days and chances are the waiter will shake his head disapprovingly or worse, mutter "shame, shame" in Arabic before suggesting the popular local alternative: a can of Chat Cola. Chat Cola its red tin and sweeping white script bearing a remarkable resemblance to the iconic American soft drink's logo has seen its products explode in popularity across the occupied West Bank in the past year as Palestinian consumers, angry at America's steadfast support for Israel in its war against Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, in Gaza, protest with their pocketbooks. "No one wants to be caught drinking Coke," said Mad Asaad, 21, a worker at the bakery-cafe chain Croissant House in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which stopped selling Coke after the war erupted. "Everyone drinks Chat now. It's sending a message." Since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered Israel's devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian-led boycott movement against companies perceived as supportive of Israel gained momentum across the Middle East, where the usual American corporate targets like McDonald's, KFC and Starbucks saw sales slide last year. Here in the West Bank, the boycott has shuttered two KFC branches in Ramallah. But the most noticeable expression of consumer outrage has been the sudden ubiquity of Chat Cola as shopkeepers relegate Coke cans to the bottom shelf or pull them altogether. "When people started to boycott, they became aware that Chat existed," Fahed Arar, general manager of Chat Cola, told The Associated Press from the giant red-painted factory, nestled in the hilly West Bank town of Salfit. "I'm proud to have created a product that matches that of a global company." With the "buy local" movement burgeoning during the war, Chat Cola said its sales in the West Bank surged more than 40% last year, compared to 2023. While the companies said they had no available statistics on their command of the local market due to the difficulties of data collection in wartime, anecdotal evidence suggests Chat Cola is clawing at some of Coca-Cola's market share. "Chat used to be a specialty product, but from what we've seen, it dominates the market," said Abdulqader Azeez Hassan, 25, the owner of a supermarket in Salfit that boasts fridges full of the fizzy drinks. But workers at Coca-Cola's franchise in the West Bank, the National Beverage Company, are all Palestinian, and a boycott affects them, too, said its general manager, Imad Hindi. He declined to elaborate on the business impact of the boycott, suggesting it can't be untangled from the effects of the West Bank's economic free-fall and intensified Israeli security controls that have multiplied shipping times and costs for Palestinian companies during the war. The Coca-Cola Company did not respond to a request for comment. Whether or not the movement brings lasting consequences, it does reflect an upsurge of political consciousness, said Salah Hussein, head of the Ramallah Chamber of Commerce. "It's the first time we've ever seen a boycott to this extent," Hussein said, noting how institutions like the prominent Birzeit University near Ramallah canceled their Coke orders. "After Oct. 7, everything changed. And after Trump, everything will continue to change." U.S. President Donald Trump's call for the mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, which he rephrased last week as a recommendation, has further inflamed anti-American sentiment around the region. With orders pouring in not only from Lebanon and Yemen but also the United States and Europe, the company has its sights set on the international market, said PR manager Ahmad Hammad. Hired to help Chat Cola cash in on combustible emotions created by the war, Hammad has rebranded what began in 2019 as a niche mom-and-pop operation. "We had to take advantage of the opportunity," he said of the company's new "Palestinian taste" logo and national flag-hued merchandise. In its scramble to satisfy demand, Chat Cola is opening a second production site in neighboring Jordan. It rolled out new candy-colored flavors, like blueberry, strawberry and green apple. At the steamy plant in Salfit, recent college graduates in lab coats said that they took pains to produce a carbonated beverage that could sell on its taste, not just a customer's sense of solidarity with the Palestinians. "Quality has been a problem with local Palestinian products before," said Hanna al-Ahmad, 32, the head of quality control for Chat Cola, shouting to be heard over the whir of machines squirting caramel-colored elixir into scores of small cans that then whizzed down assembly lines. "If it's not good quality, the boycott won't stick." Chat Cola worked with chemists in France to produce the flavor, which is almost indistinguishable from Coke's just like its packaging. That's the case for several flavors: Squint at Chat's lemon-lime soda and you might mistake it for a can of Sprite. In 2020, the Ramallah-based National Beverage Company sued Chat Cola for copyright infringement in Palestinian court, contending that Chat had imitated Coke's designs for multiple drinks. The court ultimately sided with Chat Cola, determining there were enough subtle differences in the can designs that it didn't violate copyright law. In the Salfit warehouse, drivers loaded "family size" packages of soda into trucks bound not only for the West Bank but also for Tel Aviv, Haifa and other cities in Israel. Staffers said that Chat soda sales in Israel's predominantly Arab cities jumped 25% last year. To broaden its appeal in Israel, Chat Cola secured kosher certification after a Jewish rabbi's thorough inspection of the facility. Still, critics of the Palestinians-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS, say that its main objective to isolate Israel economically for its occupation of Palestinian lands only exacerbates the conflict. "BDS and similar actions drive communities apart, they don't help to bring people together," said Vlad Khaykin, the executive vice president of social impact and partnerships in North America for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization. "The kind of rhetoric being embraced by the BDS movement to justify the boycott of Israel is really quite dangerous." While Chat Cola goes out of its way to avoid buying from Israel sourcing ingredients and materials from France, Italy and Kuwait it can't avoid the circumstances of Israeli occupation, in which Israel dominates the Palestinian economy, controls borders, imports and more. Deliveries of raw materials to Chat Cola's West Bank factory get hit with a 35% import tax half of which Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians. The general manager, Arar, said his company's success depends far more on Israeli bureaucratic goodwill than nationalist fervor. For nearly a month last fall, Israeli authorities detained Chat's aluminum shipments from Jordan at the Allenby Bridge Crossing, forcing part of the factory to shut down and costing the company tens of thousands of dollars. Among the local buyers left in the lurch was Croissant House in Ramallah, where, on a recent afternoon, at least one thirsty customer, confronting a nearly empty refrigerator, slipped to the supermarket next-door for a can of Coke. "It's very frustrating," said Asaad, the worker. "We want to be self-sufficient. But we're not." Cuba's legendary cigars, hand-rolled from the finest tobacco leaves, have long captivated connoisseurs, and now a growing number of enthusiasts recognize the vital importance of humidors, those meticulously crafted boxes that help preserve their quality and longevity. More than mere containers, humidors, some true works of art in wood, regulate humidity and temperature, and can cost thousands of dollars. "Other countries produce humidors, but we create them with passion, just like in the old days," said Adrian Moran Lipis, of Humidores Clave, one of several workshops showing off their creations at Cuba's annual cigar trade fair that ran through Friday in Havana. Humidor prices range from $200 for basic 25-cigar models to thousands for exclusive pieces. Humidores Clave, for example, showcased a carved black and white humidor valued at $2,000. Last year's festival gala featured a humidor auction with their respective cigars that raised a staggering $19.3 million, highlighting the high value placed on these luxury items. Some of the humidors on display at this year's fair resembled iconic buildings, adorned with Cuban flags, intricate train designs, or striking abstract patterns. One particularly eye-catching humidor emulated a shark's fin, soaring over a meter in height. Innovation was also evident, with features like remote-controlled trunks and hidden compartments. Considered as some of the world's finest, Cuban cigars have solidified their position in the premium tobacco market. Habanos S.A., a joint venture between Cubatabaco and Altadis, holds the global monopoly on Cuban cigar sales. In 2024, their sales surged to $827 million, a 16% increase over the previous year, with China, Spain, Switzerland and Great Britain as key markets. The company also hosts the annual Habanos Festival, a key event for collectors, aficionados and distributors worldwide. Attendees tour plantations, participate in seminars and high-stakes auctions, and witness the latest in humidor craftsmanship. "A humidor is more than a box; it's a special shelter for tobacco," said Jose Ernesto Aguilera, a master craftsman whose pieces have been featured in numerous festival auctions. "Tobacco is a prince, and we build the castle it deserves." Polish cybersecurity services have detected unauthorized access to the Polish Space Agency's (POLSA) IT infrastructure, Minister for Digitalization Krzysztof Gawkowski said Sunday. "In connection with the incident, the systems under attack were secured ... Intensive operational activities are also underway to identify who is behind the cyberattack," Gawkowski wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Warsaw has repeatedly accused Moscow of attempting to destabilize Poland because of its role in supplying military aid to its neighbor Ukraine, allegations Russia has repeatedly dismissed. The agency confirmed to news agency PAP that a cybersecurity incident had occurred. The situation is being analyzed, and in order to secure data, the POLSA network was immediately disconnected from the Internet, it told PAP. Last month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Russia of planning acts of sabotage worldwide that included acts of air terror against airlines. Tusk made the statement at a news conference in Warsaw on January 15. I will not go into details, I can only confirm the validity of fears that Russia was planning acts of air terror, not only against Poland, but against airlines around the world, Tusk said. The Kremlin has dismissed previous Western claims that Russia sponsored acts of sabotage and attacks in Europe. Western security officials suspect Russian intelligence was behind a plot to put incendiary devices in packages on cargo planes headed to North America, including one that caught fire at a courier hub in Germany and another that ignited in a warehouse in England last year. Some information in this report is from The Associated Press. Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday as he prepared to host a summit of European leaders to discuss ending the war. The summit has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding by U.S. President Donald Trump of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday for being ungrateful for U.S. support in Ukraine's battle against the invasion by Russia. But Starmer said he's focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks and he used the collapse of those talks as an opportunity to reengage with Trump and Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron rather than "ramp up the rhetoric." "Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States," Starmer told the BBC. Starmer and Macron have both spoken to Trump since Friday. Sunday's meeting is an important step The London meeting has taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and shoring up the continents defenses. Sundays summit is likely to include talks on establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire. Starmer said it would involve "a coalition of the willing." Starmer said he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. "Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes," he said. Starmer said there are "intense discussions" to get a security guarantee from the U.S. as one of three components for a lasting peace. "If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then [Russian President Vladimir] Putin comes again," Starmer said. "That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if theres a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause." The meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old elegant mansion near Buckingham Palace, follows a charm offensive last week to engage with Trump at the White House to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. The summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council will also attend. European leaders are backing Zelenskyy Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe after the White House fiasco, which was exceptional for featuring an attack on an ally and because it was broadcast on live television. Starmer embraced Zelenskyy when he arrived Saturday for a private meeting a day before a get-together had been scheduled before the summit. "As you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom," Starmer said. "We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take." Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Meetings in recent days had provided some hope until Zelenskyys visit to the White House. Visits to the Oval Office by Macron, who had declared his visit a "turning point," and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Within 12 hours of Starmer's return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trump's assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. "Starmer did an impressive job of asserting Europes agency in the war on Ukraine and conveying to President Trump that Europe is willing and able to take a leading role in implementing any credible peace deal," said Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. "Unfortunately, Fridays White House meeting was a major step backward." Ukraine can no longer count on military or political support from the U.S. after Trump declared himself neutral in negotiations, Ellehuus said. She said Europe needs to step in and could release some $207 billion in seized Russian assets to help fund that effort. "The immediate goal of the meetings in London must be to keep Ukraine in the fight so it can negotiate from a maximum position of strength," she said. European leaders pledge to increase military spending Starmer pledged this week to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP. "If we dont increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we wont end up well," he said. Macron, who said it was legitimate for the U.S. to shift its focus to dealing with China and Asia, also called for more defense spending as he called for unity among his neighbors. "We should have woken up earlier," Macron said. "Ive been saying for years that we need a more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe." The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. European leaders met in London Sunday to discuss the Ukraine-Russia war. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a warm welcome after being asked to leave the White House following a heated exchange with President Donald Trump Friday. VOAs Arash Arabasadi has more. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that he is running for mayor of New York City, relaunching his political career following a yearslong exile over sexual harassment accusations. In a 17-minute video announcing his campaign, Cuomo pitched himself as an accomplished moderate who could save a city that felt threatening and "out of control," and who could navigate the delicate balance between working with Republican President Donald Trump and fighting him when necessary. "I am not saying this is going to be easy. It won't be easy, but I know we can turn the city around and I believe I can help and that is why I announce my candidacy today for mayor of New York City today," he said. The Democrat is expected to mount a formidable campaign, despite the scandal that forced his resignation from New Yorks governor's office in 2021. He takes on a large field of primary opponents with low name recognition plus an incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams. Cuomo enters the race with fundraising prowess, a record of accomplishments over his three terms as governor, and potential support among many of the same moderate voters who helped propel Adams to office. Yet it is unclear whether voters are willing to give Cuomo another chance following his remarkable downfall 3 years ago, when he went from being hailed for his leadership during the onslaught of COVID-19 to being castigated for his behavior with women and questioned about his response to the pandemic. Adams, asked for comment by a Politico reporter after Cuomo's announcement, welcomed the former governor to the race. "Come one, come all. Everybody should put their position forward. I have a great record to run on. We look forward to the campaign," he said. Adams is also seeking reelection but is facing a tempest over the criminal case against him, and the U.S. Justice Department's extraordinary effort to end the case over the objection of the prosecutors who brought the charges. An indictment said Adams accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from people who wanted to buy his influence, including a Turkish official and other foreign nationals. After Trump took office, a top Justice Department official ordered prosecutors to dismiss the charges so Adams could focus on assisting the president's immigration agenda, while leaving open the possibly that the case could reemerge after the mayoral election. That dynamic led critics to claim that Adams had struck a deal to help with Trump's immigration crackdown in exchange for legal salvation. Cuomo started in politics working for his father, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and later rose to become U.S. housing secretary under President Bill Clinton and New York attorney general before being elected governor in 2010. His national star power was highest during the coronavirus pandemic, when his televised daily briefings attracted admirers nationwide who saw him as a steady hand of leadership at a chaotic time. Women, though, began coming forward in late 2020 and early 2021, accusing Cuomo of misconduct. He faced a potential impeachment before he stepped down. Clashes in Benin over the last week between armed groups and the military left 10 dead, including one soldier, as the West African country faces an uptick in attacks on army positions. While the country's economic capital Cotonou, in the south, continues to draw in international tourists, Benin's poorer north has for years now seen such attacks, often blamed by the government on jihadi groups seeking to extend their reach from neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Overnight Thursday into Friday, the army launched "an offensive operation" that led to "the neutralization of nine terrorists," a source close to the military high command told AFP on Saturday. The operation which a local source said took place in the commune of Karimama came after an improvised explosive device left one soldier dead and two others injured in nearby Kantoro. Both communities are near the border with Niger. While the border near Burkina Faso remains the epicenter of such attacks, communities near the Niger border have seen an uptick in violence recently. "Offensive aerial operations aided by those on the ground resulted in the destruction of an important logistics hub" belonging to unnamed "terrorists," an officer told AFP, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Long-running insurgencies in Burkina Faso and Niger have seen Islamic State and Al Qaida-linked groups seize swathes of rural territory, often capitalizing on long-simmering ethnic or local political disputes as well as weak state presence. Attacks in Benin's north have led observers to worry of a spillover of violence in the country. In February, six Beninese soldiers were killed by unidentified gunmen. The army killed 17 assailants in response. The month before, 28 soldiers were killed in an attack claimed by the Al Qaida-linked group to support Islam and Muslims. A diplomatic source told AFP earlier this year that 121 Beninese military personnel had been killed between 2021 and December 2024. In January 2022, Benin deployed nearly 3,000 troops to secure its borders as part of Operation Mirador. The country's authorities also recruited 5,000 additional personnel to reinforce security in the north. On Thursday, the United States and Benin signed a bilateral cooperation agreement "strengthening collaboration between the Beninese Armed Forces (FAB) and the U.S. Army," the American Embassy said. Some researchers argue, however, that military-heavy responses in the region have largely failed to solve the underlying political tensions that militant groups have used to justify their campaigns and bring in recruits. Israel's government said early Sunday it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramadan and Passover. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, has insisted on negotiating the truce's second phase instead. The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office came minutes after the first phase ended and as talks have begun on starting the second phase. The second phase is aimed at ending the war and seeing all remaining living hostages in Gaza returned home. The statement gives new details on what Israel described as a U.S. proposal: A ceasefire extension through Passover, or April 20. On the first day, half the hostages, alive and dead, would be released. The rest would be released if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire. The statement said it was proposed after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said he believed "that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire." There was no immediate comment from Hamas, which earlier rejected an Israeli proposal to extend the ceasefire's first phase by 42 days. Hamas said that goes against the truce agreement, according to a member of the group who requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. Officials from Israel and mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been involved in negotiations on starting the ceasefire's second phase in Cairo. But Basem Naim, a member of Hamas' political bureau, told The Associated Press there had been "no progress" before Israeli negotiators returned home on Friday. Hamas did not attend, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Terms of ceasefire Under the ceasefire deal's terms, fighting should not resume while negotiations are underway on Phase 2. Israel's new statement says it can return to fighting "if it believes that the negotiations are ineffective," and it noted Hamas' refusal to accept the proposal for an extension of the first phase. However, "if Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan," the statement says. Earlier, an Egyptian official involved in the talks spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The official said Hamas, Qatar and Egypt wanted to continue with the existing ceasefire deal, and they rejected Israel's proposal to extend the ceasefire for four weeks with a release of hostages every Saturday without officially entering negotiations on the second phase. The Egyptian official said the U.S. wants to start negotiations on the second phase but called for hostage releases during the negotiations. Hamas insisted on a full implementation of the ceasefire terms. The first phase, which paused 15 months of fighting in Gaza, saw the release of 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of people returned home to northern Gaza, aid into the territory increased and Israeli forces withdrew to buffer zones. Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack that left 1,200 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Since then, Israel's military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, more than half of them have been women and children. According to Israel, 32 of the 59 hostages still in Gaza are dead. Israelis rally to continue deal The two sides agreed to the three-phase ceasefire deal in January. Talks on the second phase were meant to start the first week of February. Israelis rallied Saturday night to urge their government to continue the deal. Hamas has reaffirmed its "full commitment to implementing all terms of the agreement in all its stages and details" and called on the international community to pressure Israel to immediately proceed to the second phase. Other challenges complicate the ceasefire's future. Israel has said Hamas cannot be involved in governing Gaza after the war. Netanyahu has also ruled out any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, dominated by Hamas' main rival, Fatah. Hamas leader Mohamed Darwish on Saturday reiterated the group is willing to hand over power to a Palestinian national consensus government or an Egypt-proposed body of technocrats not aligned with Hamas or Fatah. His comments came in an open letter to next week's summit of Arab leaders in Cairo. Hamas has dismissed Israel's suggestion that its leadership go into exile. Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza on Sunday as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated, with U.S.-designated terror group Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene. Mediators Egypt and Qatar accused Israel of violating humanitarian law by using starvation as a weapon, according to The Associated Press. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier that it had adopted a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods, hours after the first phase of the previously agreed ceasefire expired. The U.S. had no immediate comment, The Associated Press reported. If agreed, the truce would halt fighting until the end of the Ramadan fasting period around March 31 and the Jewish Passover holiday around April 20. The truce would be conditional on Hamas releasing half of the living and dead hostages on the first day, with the remainder released at the conclusion, if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire. Hamas says it is committed to the originally agreed ceasefire that had been scheduled to move into a second phase, with negotiations aimed at a permanent end to the war, and it has rejected the idea of a temporary extension to the 42-day truce. A senior Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, told Al Jazeera the group would only release the remaining Israeli hostages under the terms of the already agreed-upon phased deal. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "an immediate return of humanitarian aid to Gaza," urging "all parties to make the necessary efforts to avoid a return to hostilities in Gaza." Egyptian sources said on Friday that the Israeli delegation in Cairo had sought to extend the first phase by 42 days, while Hamas wanted to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal. Spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Saturday that the group rejected Israel's "formulation" of extending the first phase. In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas handed over 33 Israeli hostages as well as five Thais returned in an unscheduled release, in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from some of their positions in Gaza. Under the original agreement, the second phase was intended to see the start of negotiations over the release of the remaining 59 hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and a final end to the war. However, the talks never began and Israel says all its hostages must be returned for fighting to stop. "Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages," Netanyahu's office said, announcing that the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip would be halted. "If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences." Hamas has denounced Israel's move as "blackmail" and a "blatant coup against the agreement." "We call on mediators to pressure the occupation to fulfill its obligations under the agreement, in all its phases," it said, adding that the only way to get the hostages back would be to adhere to the agreement and start talks for the second phase. Commenting on the goods suspension, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the decision would impact the ceasefire talks, adding his group "doesn't respond to pressures." Later on Sunday, Israeli officials said a delegation would arrive in Cairo in an apparent move to discuss ways to defuse tensions and ensure the ceasefire remains in effect. Speaking at a news conference with his Croatian counterpart, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Palestinians in Gaza would not get goods for free and further negotiations should be linked to the release of the hostages. He said the United States "understands" Israel's decision to halt the entry of goods into Gaza, blaming Hamas for the current stalemate in the talks. Over the past six weeks, both sides have accused the other of breaching the agreement. But despite repeated hiccups, it has remained in place while the hostage-for-prisoner exchange envisaged in the first phase was completed. But there are wide gaps on key areas regarding a permanent end to the war, including what form a postwar administration of Gaza would take and what future there would be for Hamas, which triggered Israel's invasion of Gaza with its attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The attack killed 1,200 people, in the worst one-day loss of life in Israel's history and saw 251 people taken into Gaza as hostages. The Israeli campaign has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, nearly half women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost all of its 2.3 million population and left Gaza a wasteland. Israel insists that Hamas can play no part in the postwar future of Gaza and that its military and governing structures must be eliminated. It also rejects bringing into Gaza the Palestinian Authority, the body set up under the Oslo Accords three decades ago and which exercises limited governance in the occupied West Bank. Hamas has said it would not insist on continuing to rule Gaza, which it has controlled since 2007, but it would have to be consulted over whatever future administration followed. Some information for this article came from The Associated Press. The state of Russias three-year war against Ukraine remained deeply unsettled Sunday, with the United States saying it does not know whether peace is possible, while European leaders renewed support for Kyivs forces, vowed to ramp up defense spending and to send peacekeeping forces to patrol any would-be truce in the conflict. Two days after U.S. President Donald Trump berated his visiting Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as ungrateful for U.S. military assistance and not ready for peace, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told 18 allies at a London summit that with Washington wavering in its support for Kyiv, Europe finds itself "at a crossroads in history. "This is not a moment for more talk it's time to act. It's time to step up and lead and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace," Starmer said. The British leader said that with no guarantee of U.S. involvement to act as a support backup for would-be peacekeeping forces, "Europe must do the heavy lifting" in securing peace in Ukraine. He said there was a coalition of the willing ready to help defend any truce. Meanwhile, Trumps national security adviser, Michael Waltz, speaking about Zelenskyy, told CNNs State of the Union show Sunday, What was not clear to us was whether he shared our goal of ending this war. It was not clear he was ready to go to peace. Unlike in Washington, Zelenskyy was warmly embraced at the summit by many of the European heads of state, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO chief Mark Rutte. Zelenskyy supporters rallied outside Starmers residence in support of Ukraine. As the leaders gathered Sunday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned, "We urgently have to rearm Europe" and "prepare for the worst" on the continent. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, called for the United States and Europe to "speak with one voice" in showing Russian President Vladimir Putin "that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression. In addition to attending the security summit, Zelenskyy met with King Charles at his Sandringham estate in England. Starmer, when he first greeted Zelenskyy on Saturday, unveiled a $2.84 billion loan agreement to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilized sovereign Russian assets. In Washington, Zelenskyy had been poised to sign a deal with the U.S. for American access to Ukrainian rare earth mineral rights. But after his acrimonious exchanges with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Trump ordered him to leave the White House, and the mineral rights pact was not signed. The Kremlin said in remarks aired Sunday that the United States' dramatic shift in Europe foreign policy toward Russia is largely aligned with Moscow's vision. "The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian state television that was recorded last Wednesday. No peace negotiations are scheduled. Trump, in a Truth Social posting, said Friday that Zelenskyy could return to the White House when he is ready for Peace. Trump national security adviser Waltz said that eventually Russia and Ukraine will have to make negotiating concessions to reach a peace deal. There will be all kinds of carrots and sticks to get this done, he said. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stressed the importance of both sides coming to the negotiating table. "We are trying to end a war, Rubio said. You cannot end a war unless both sides come to the table, starting with the Russians. And that is the point the president has made. I'm not promising you it's possible, he added. I'm not telling you it's 90% likely. I'm saying it's 0% likely if we don't get them to a negotiating table. And the sooner everyone grows up around here and figures out that this is a bad war that's heading in a bad direction with death and destruction and all kinds of danger surrounding it that could spiral into a broader conflict, the sooner people grow up and realize that I think the more progress we're going to be able to make." Starmer said Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. Some European countries have said they are willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to help enforce a would-be peace agreement but need the U.S. to provide backup military support to confront Russia in the event Putin agrees to a ceasefire and then violates it or launches a new invasion. Trump has rejected sending such U.S. support and said he trusts Putin to honor any settlement of the war that he agrees to. Starmer said he does not trust Putin but does trust Trump. Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes, he said. Starmer said there are intense discussions to get a security guarantee from the U.S. as one of several components for a lasting peace. If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again, Starmer said. That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if theres a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause. Some material in this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. Turkish and British officials will discuss Syria's future during a meeting in Ankara on Monday, with security, sanctions and economic development on the agenda, a Turkish foreign ministry source said Sunday. NATO-member Turkey was a main backer of rebels who fought Bashar al-Assad for years and it has forged close ties with the new administration in Damascus following Assad's ouster last year. It has promised to help rebuild Syria and offered assistance to train and equip its security forces. Britain said last month it would adapt its Syria sanctions regimes after Assad's fall, but will ensure asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former government remain in place. The Turkish source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Monday's talks would be led by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and British junior Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer. Yilmaz will emphasize the need for sanctions on Syria to be lifted unconditionally for rebuilding and economic development, the source said. Yilmaz will also stress "the importance of the international community backing the Syrian administration's steps towards achieving national reconciliation within a central government," and push "to stop Israel's actions openly violating and threatening Syria's sovereignty," the source added. Reuters reported Friday that Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralized, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in Syria, according to sources familiar with the efforts. Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Sunday Turkey had completed an initial phase of repairs and maintenance, including installing new equipment, at Damascus airport as part of Ankara's efforts to help rebuild the transport hub. The Ugandan army confirmed Sunday it has sent troops to another town in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo to fight local armed groups, amid fears a raging conflict could spiral into a wider war. "Our troops have entered Mahagi town, and we are in control," Uganda's defense and military affairs spokesperson Felix Kulayigye told AFP Sunday. The deployment was requested by the Congolese army following alleged massacres of civilians carried out by a militia known as the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO), he said, without providing further details. Mahagi is in Ituri province, which borders Uganda, where at least 51 people were killed on February 10 by armed men affiliated with CODECO, according to humanitarian and local sources. CODECO claims it defends the interests of the Lendu community, mainly composed of farmers, against the Hema community, who are mainly herders. Uganda already has thousands of troops in other parts of Ituri under an agreement with the Congolese government. Last month, Uganda announced its troops had "taken control" of the provincial capital, Bunia. Ituri is just north of the provinces of North and South Kivu, which at the end of January fell under the control of the anti-government M23 armed group, which the DRC says is backed by neighboring Rwanda. A claim that Kigali denies. Analysts fear that Uganda and Rwanda's growing presence in eastern DRC could lead to a repeat of the so-called Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998 to 2003, involving many African countries and resulting in millions of deaths from violence, disease and famine. The need to end the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The United States imposing tariffs on other countries, and the downsizing of the U.S. federal government. Those are some of the topics that President Donald Trump is expected to highlight when he delivers the first address of this second term in office to Congress this week. VOAs Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a warm welcome in London, a day after the Ukrainian leader's clash with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two countries also unveiled a $2.84 billion loan agreement to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilized sovereign Russian assets. Supporters cheered as Zelenskyy's convoy swept onto Downing Street, where he was embraced by Starmer and posed for photographs before heading inside the U.K. leader's home. "You're very, very welcome here in Downing Street," Starmer told Zelenskyy. "And as you've heard from the cheers street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take," he added. "I want to thank you, the people of the United Kingdom, for such big support from the very beginning of this war," responded Zelenskyy, who is due to meet King Charles III on Sunday. The pair met behind closed doors for around 75 minutes and embraced again as Starmer escorted Zelenskyy to his car. Earlier Saturday Zelenskyy had stressed that Trump's support was still crucial for Ukraine despite their row the previous day. The clash was a further shock to Kyiv's European allies, still adjusting to Washington's new stance on the war. On Friday, Trump berated Zelenskyy for not being ready for peace with Russia, triggering alarm across Europe. "Yesterday evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun," said Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Starmer were among several other European leaders who reiterated their support for Kyiv after the row. In an interview with the BBC, NATO chief Mark Rutte said that he had told Zelenskyy he had to "find a way" to restore his relationship with Trump. Russian politicians were delighted, however. Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev called Zelenskyy an "insolent pig" who had received "a proper slap down in the Oval Office." Although Zelenskyy left the White House without having signed the deal on Kyiv's rare minerals, he insisted he was still ready to sign it as "the first step toward security guarantees." "It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do," Zelenskyy said in a post on social media platform X. On Sunday, Zelenskyy will attend emergency talks with Kyiv's European backers, also attended by Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump stunned many in Europe when he reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a deal on Ukraine, which Moscow invaded three years ago. The president's sudden shift on Ukraine, sidelining Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with Putin, has rattled the transatlantic NATO alliance. Those concerns were only exacerbated Friday by the heated talks in the White House Friday. Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his change in U.S. policy, casting himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelenskyy and refusing to condemn the Russian invasion. He said in the Oval Office that he had "spoken on numerous occasions" to Putin more than has been publicly reported. With fears growing over whether the United States will continue to support NATO, Sunday's gathering in the U.K. will also address the need for Europe to increase defense cooperation. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to "open the discussion" on a possible future European nuclear deterrent. "We have a shield, they don't," he said in an interview with French newspapers appearing Sunday. "And they can no longer depend on the American nuclear deterrent." Germany's likely next leader, Friedrich Merz, also stressed the need for the continent to move quickly to "achieve independence" from the United States on defense matters. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the closest ally of Trump and the Kremlin in the European Union vowed to oppose any EU-wide agreement on the conflict. "I am convinced that the European Union following the example of the United States should enter into direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and a sustainable peace in Ukraine," Orban wrote in a letter. Yamandu Orsi, a telegenic left-leaning former mayor and history teacher, took office as Uruguay's new president on Saturday, at the helm of a government that has pledged to strengthen the social safety net while reversing years of economic stagnation. The inauguration of Orsi, 57, marks the return of Uruguays Broad Front a center-left mix of moderates, communists and hardline trade unionists after a five-year interruption by the countrys outgoing conservative president, Luis Lacalle Pou. Cheers erupted as Orsi recited the oath of office before Congress on Saturday in Uruguays capital of Montevideo. Outside the chamber, in the city's main square, thousands of Uruguayans watching his swearing-in on giant screens shouted in support. A civilized race The ceremony came three months after Orsi's presidential victory in a remarkably civilized election race between two moderates, praised as an antidote to the polarization gripping the region. In his speech, he took a dig at growing disillusionment with democratic norms across Latin America, which has resulted in a shift to the right, from neighboring Argentina to El Salvador. "We all know well that we have to treasure our democratic construction in times where exclusionary logic and expressions of distrust in traditional politics proliferate," Orsi said in his inaugural address before a gathering of domestic and foreign leaders at the legislative palace in Montevideo. He declared: "Let us always be adversaries, but never enemies. And let us distance ourselves as far as possible from cynicism." The night before the ceremony, Orsi dined in Montevideo with his like-minded regional counterparts, including Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Colombia's Gustavo Petro and Chile's Gabriel Boric. The friendly scene cemented Orsi as the latest in the region's swath of allied left-wing leaders many of whom have struggled in recent years to combat rising inequality and stalling growth. Many Uruguayans saw Orsi as the nostalgia candidate, recalling the Broad Front's 15-year rule between 2005 and 2020. During that time, the coalition presided over a historic cycle of economic growth that reduced poverty and cemented the country's pro-business reputation. The coalition also launched pioneering social reforms that won Uruguay international acclaim, including the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and recreational marijuana. Problems emerge But in 2020, emerging problems like creeping inequality and surging crime ushered in Lacalle Pous center-right government on promises of reforming the bloated state. Last year, public frustration over the persistence of those problems helped bring Lacalle Pous tenure to an end, as an anti-incumbent wave swept across the globe. A cautious campaigner, Orsi the former mayor of Canelones, an oceanfront district known for its cattle ranches and high-tech vowed to implement "safe change" for Uruguays 3.5 million people. Now he faces a difficult balancing act between satisfying the demands of his more radical leftist constituents, which have called for unwinding some of the previous government's cost-cutting measures, while boosting competitiveness to spur much-needed economic development. "The country needs to recover a path of growth that generates not only a greater quantity but also quality of work," he said. "That allows a floor of salary dignity and, with it, a better distribution of income." With a fractious coalition, experts say many of Orsi's positions will become clear only after he takes office and is forced to make hard policy choices. A watch-and-see attitude "The business community is taking a watch-and-see attitude until its clear whether Orsi is in charge or whether his more aggressive leftist base is in charge," said Uruguayan economist Arturo C. Porzecanski, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "If Orsi doesnt come out on top and measures that set the clock back get passed, then that will dim the economic outlook for the coming years." Keeping a tight budget will make it difficult to meet expectations of the unionists that promoted a controversial referendum to increase pensions and reverse the former governments decision to raise the legal retirement age from 60 to 65. Orsi acknowledged the challenge in his speech, saying: "A lot of dialogue, an outstretched hand and the ability to understand the different sensitivities expressed by our community will be necessary." Last fall, Uruguayans shot down the proposed pension overhaul. Many praised the vote's outcome as a rare, level-headed rejection of budget-busting populism that has long beset the region. But union leaders and their supporters, like Orsis Communist labor minister have continued to press their demands, challenging Uruguay's investor-friendly reputation. "The diagnosis is concerning when it comes to workers and their commitment to resolving disputes," Labor Minister Juan Castillo said last week, as powerful trade unions called a mass strike and multinational Japanese auto-part maker Yazaki shut down operations in Uruguay, citing high labor and production costs. The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived at the southern port city of Busan in South Korea on Sunday as a show of force against North Korea, South Korea's navy said. It is the first U.S. aircraft carrier to dock at a South Korean port since U.S. President Donald Trump's second term in office began in January. The visit was part of the "ironclad" commitment of the United States to extended deterrence and to show readiness by the military alliance between Seoul and Washington against North Korea, according to the South's navy. The nuclear-powered vessel belonging to Carrier Strike Group One was joined by the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton and the USS Sterett, a guided-missile destroyer, it said. "Clearly our presence here in Busan shows the strong alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States, and our opportunity to train and operate together with our allies," U.S. Rear Admiral Michael S. Wosje, commander of Carrier Strike Group One, said on Monday. "Every opportunity we have to sail together and fly together makes us stronger together," Wosje added in comments to media. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test launch of strategic cruise missiles last month and ordered full readiness to use its nuclear attack capability, according to state media. It marks the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier has called at the country since June, when the USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Busan to take part in joint military exercises. The USS Carl Vinson last visited Busan in November 2023. Pyongyang has typically lashed out at the deployment of such U.S. military assets in South Korea. Trump held unprecedented summits with North Korean leader Kim during his first term and has touted their personal rapport. The U.S. president has said he would reach out to Kim again, though the North's state media has not commented on this suggestion and has continued to condemn what it views as the grave security threat posed by Washington and its allies. At the Irbil Forum, Iraqi President Latif Rashid reaffirmed Iraq's commitment to supporting Syria's stability and internal reconciliation. He emphasized the importance of democratic changes that reflect the will of all Syrian communities, stating that Iraq is ready to assist in accelerating the country's recovery. Rashid highlighted Iraq's foreign policy based on cooperation, respect for sovereignty, and non-interference in the affairs of other nations. Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani also stressed the region's ongoing transformations and Iraq's support for Syria's people in determining their future. Political observers believe that Syria's situation significantly impacts both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, urging Kurdish leaders to play a more active role in ensuring regional stability. Click here for the full story in Kurdish. China's State Administration for Market Regulation and five other departments issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for Optimizing the Consumer Environment (2025-2027)." It states that in implementing the action to optimize consumer order, they will continue to carry out special actions to regulate the internet market and crack down on illegal activities, such as traffic fraud, order manipulation, vulgar sales, and illegal advertising in the internet market. Click here for the full story in Mandarin. Introducing the best picture presenters, Conan OBrien said its When Harry Reunited With Sally, and on came Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan (co-stars of the 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally, which was nominated for, but did not win how, you might well wonder best original screenplay). OBrien says Crystal was the best Oscars host ever, and its not an unreasonable claim. After a bit of dithering, Ryan says, lets cut to the chase, and Crystal agrees. When you have a chance to be an Oscar winner for the rest of your life, he observes, you want it to start as soon as possible. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal announce the fifth award to go Anoras way. Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP The award goes to Anora. Thats five wins from six nominations, making the $US6 million indie comedy-drama the biggest winner of the night. For Sean Baker, the rest of his life as an Oscar winner had already begun this is his fourth personal win for the night (as one of the producers of the film, he shares in the best picture award). But no award means more than this one. I want to thank the academy for recognising a truly independent film, says Baker when he steps up to the microphone, the last of the films producers to do so. This film was made on the blood, sweat and tears of indie filmmakers. Long live independent film. Its really a remarkable run for the little film about a stripper (Mikey Madison, who won best actress immediately before this award was handed out) who thinks shes met her Prince Charming when the son of a Russian oligarch hires her to be his girlfriend for a week, and then marries her. As the fauxmance goes off the rails, all hell breaks loose, but the film never sacrifices heart for laughs or tension. Its a perfectly judged piece of work, and its great and a little surprising that its been so fully embraced by the Academys 10,000 or so members. Almost makes you feel good to be alive. Quentin Tarantino presents the award for best director to Sean Baker. Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP And what about Sean Baker? Well, he joins a very small and elite group of people who have won four Oscars in a single year. Very small. Very elite. Its him and Walt Disney. Walt picked up four Oscars in 1954. But they were for four different projects, on which he was producer. Bakers multiple wins are for a single film, and a film on which his fingerprints were everywhere. Well done, Mr Baker. Well done. Fearing Id be judged, Id sit on my hands and say no to drinks of water in job interviews or meetings for more than 40 years. February 27, 2025 by Sonya Voumard Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size From Panama to outer space, we examine the impacts of the US Presidents second administration. See all 13 stories . As Russias war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, civilians in its capital, Kyiv, have endured relentless pressure. In the past week alone, hundreds of Russian drones have attacked the region at night, answered by the crack of machine guns and missiles from Ukraines air defence system. Exhausted faces are everywhere, says Francis Farrell, an Australian who reports for a news outlet in the capital. But theres defiance, he says. Its a Ukrainian mentality to turn up the music when the air defence starts working. Now theres another wildcard in the mix. Overnight, Ukraines relations with its most powerful ally, the United States, have been turned upside down. Ahead of what was meant to be a historic deal between Ukraine and the United States, talks between Donald Trump and Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, dramatically broke down on live television, throwing Ukraines security into doubt. Even before this latest blow-up, Ukrainians had been increasingly concerned about Trumps apparently diminishing appetite to provide the beleaguered nation with military support. The reaction here is a lot of emotions, says Farrell, 27, who studied international relations and made his way to Ukraine the week before Russias full-scale invasion. I mean, first and foremost, its betrayal in what we thought the United States of America meant on the world stage, not only in real support but in terms of values of freedom and democracy. In the second month of his second presidency, how is Trump changing Ukraines situation? What do minerals have to do with it? And what scenarios could end the war? Australian Francis Farrell, who reports for Kyiv Independent, at a mural at an entrance to the Donestsk region in Ukraines east in December 2024. Soldiers who have fought there have signed the wall. Credit: Courtesy Francis Farrell What has changed since Trump became president? When Trump was elected for a second term in November, many Ukrainians were in two minds about what it could mean. Some people were very worried, says Farrell. And other people were like, Well, anythings better than what weve got at the moment. Trump was full of hubris I would get [the war] ended in a period of 24 hours, he said last May but perhaps he would arrive at a position that was tougher on Russia than Biden. Yet in past weeks, Farrell says, theres no more of that wishful thinking. Advertisement In February, Trump said he had a phone call with Russias leader, Vladimir Putin, where they agreed to negotiations to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine. US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend of Trump, met with Putin for a three-and-a-half hour trust building discussion in Moscow during a trip to free an imprisoned American and later joined US and Russian officials at a meeting in Saudi Arabia. After that meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides had agreed broadly to restore staff at their embassies in Washington and Moscow after years of expulsions, to explore closer economic co-operation and to discuss what an end to the Ukraine war could look like. The recent Riyadh meeting included US envoy Steve Witkoff (front left) Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second left) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (front right), but not Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky. Credit: AP, digitally tinted The discussions marked a dramatic shift. During the Biden administration, there was virtually no contact with the Russians at all, except through back channels, says Matthew Sussex, associate professor at the ANUs Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Normalising relations with a dictator is a 180-degree turn from providing weapons so Ukrainians can defend themselves. If you dont have one of the parties fighting at the table, how can you expect them to agree to stop fighting? Matthew Sussex, ANU Strategic and Defence Studies Centre Meanwhile, Zelensky expressed anger at the lack of any invitation to attend the Riyadh meeting. Says Sussex: Its a non-starter because if you dont have one of the parties fighting at the table, how can you expect them to agree to stop fighting? Biden was supportive of Ukraine; he gave them just enough military equipment, I think, to stay in the fight but not to win. Trump has changed it completely, by not just shifting to a sort of neutral position but almost looking like hes switched sides. The possibility of the US resuming economic co-operation with Russia, which is currently under sanctions, is another problematic prospect, says Mick Ryan, a military studies senior fellow at the Lowy Institute. The US has led the international sanctions regime. That has hurt Russia, and if the US was to pull out of that, which it probably would be doing by economically collaborating with Russia, it would undermine the entire sanctions regime. Advertisement Meanwhile, the US has signalled it is considering dialling back military aid for Ukraine. Trumps Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Ukraine Defence Contact Group the alliance of 57 countries responsible for sending military aid that securing Ukraine was up to European members, not the US, and any peacekeeping troops deployed should not involve NATO. To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine, he said. Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) greets European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen during a ceremony in Kyiv in February. Credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP, digitally tinted This shift has shaken Europe, says Sussex. According to the Kiel Institute in Germany, the US spent $180 billion on aid for Ukraine in 2024, including for military, humanitarian and financial purposes the biggest allocation by a single country. Europe as a whole spent $208 billion for the same period. The US also has a military presence in some European countries. Europeans have been spending well below 2 per cent of GDP on defence. And Americans have been paying above 3 per cent. So they are, basically, paying for the defence of Europe, Sussex says. This is the sort of hallelujah moment for them. If its not now, then when will it be that Europe will have to pick up the tab and pay for their own security and defence? The Trump administration has also made several overt signals it has abandoned the principles that drove Bidens stance on the war. Trump, on his social media platform, called Zelensky a dictator without elections a reference to the suspension of elections because of Ukraines martial law. On the third anniversary of Russias invasion this week, the US refused to support a Europe-led resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to condemn Russian aggression and call for an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces, joining Russia, Belarus and North Korea. So the scene was set for Zelenskys visit to Washington, DC on February 28. He flew in to sign a hard-fought deal granting the US access to Ukraines rich deposits of critical minerals (more on that below). Ahead of what should have been a set-piece formal affair, however, Zelensky met with Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance and others in the Oval Office for an unscripted discussion in front of live cameras which rapidly descended into chaos. Advertisement The context appeared to be Ukraines willingness or otherwise to discuss a ceasefire with Russia, which Trump has been impatient to broker. But when Zelensky began asking whether Putin could be trusted, Trump and Vance exploded, shouting that the Ukrainian leader was being ungrateful, had not said thank you enough and had disrespected the Oval Office. Trump bellowed: Youre gambling with lives of millions of people, youre gambling with WWIII and what youre doing is very disrespectful to this country. Zelensky left the White House shortly afterwards, abandoning a scheduled press conference and having not signed the minerals deal, which now looks seriously in doubt of ever happening. Trump later posted on social media: We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. Its amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace. Some watchers suggested it had been a deliberate ambush. Trump and Vance appear to have entered the meeting with the intention of berating Zelensky and drawing him into an argument as a pretext for the diplomatic break, observed Jonathan Chait in The Atlantic. Sussex agrees: It does look as though it was a set-up to prompt Zelensky to argue back at Trump, and it seems that the United States has decided that, you know, Zelensky is not someone that they can deal with. Whether or not this works in the USs favour, time will tell. A woman cycles past with her dog as excavators mine rare earth minerals in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine in February. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted What did a minerals deal have to do with it? I dont do it for the money, Trump began his 1987 business advice slash memoir The Art of the Deal. Ive got enough, much more than Ill ever need. I do it to do it. Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. Thats how I get my kicks. As a property developer, Trump struck advantageous deals all day long, if you believe the breathless pace of his book, always trying to find the best angle on a concrete pour here, a corporate headquarters there. It appears he is now bringing the same instincts to bear on US foreign policy, except this time he is strong-arming nations. Despite an isolationist economic agenda, President Trump has been surprisingly interventionist in his approach to foreign policy since assuming a second term, says Jessica Genauer, an expert in international conflict at Flinders University. Advertisement In January, Trump phoned Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to try to persuade her to sell or hand over the territory of Greenland (she didnt). Hes laid claim to Gaza, saying the US will own it, level the site, and make sure something really spectacular is done. And then he negotiated US access to deposits of critical minerals and other valuable resources in Ukraine. Signing a significant deal for US access to Ukraines mineral elements will be presented by Trump as an economic victory for the US. Jessica Genauer, Flinders University Ukraines significant mineral deposits include graphite, lithium, copper, uranium, rare earth metals and titanium. A minerals deal was originally Zelenskys proposal, essentially offering access to Ukraines underground wealth in return for support to fight the Russians, described as a special agreement for the joint protection of the countrys critical resources, as well as joint investment and use of this economic potential. But Trump wanted better terms, countering with a demand for $US500 billion ($793 billion) worth of mineral rights in exchange for past aid, with no guarantee of future military assistance. Trump is motivated primarily by domestic interests, Genauer tells us. Trump wants to present the deal to the US population as a strong move for America that will boost the economy and further his agenda of Making America Great Again. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent (right) meets Zelensky in Kyiv in February. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted To that end, Trump sent US Treasury secretary and former hedge-fund billionaire Scott Bessent to Kyiv. Bessent pushed the paper across the table, demanding that Zelensky sign it, sources revealed to The Wall Street Journal. Zelensky took a quick look and said he would discuss it with his team. Bessent then pushed the paper closer to Zelensky. You really need to sign this. The message couldnt have been clearer, says Bruce Wolpe at the University of Sydneys United States Studies Centre: If you want the United States to be on your side, you better sign this deal. Zelensky didnt, saying he had been pressured to sign with little time to assess the details. In response, Trump turned up the heat, publicly stating the Ukraine leader better move fast, or he is not going to have a country left, incorrectly claiming that Ukraine had started the war with Russia, saying that Zelensky had done a terrible job and falsely claiming that his public approval rating was as low as 4 per cent (it was in the mid-50s). Zelensky has been cornered, he is in a desperate situation, says Flavia Bellieni Zimmermann, lecturer in public policy at the University of Melbourne. Advertisement By the age of 22, Birch had developed a cluster of symptoms of physical illness, and despite seeing a myriad of specialists, she experienced malaise so intense that she could not leave the house. I completely deteriorated to the point where I was bedridden with malnutrition and chronic fatigue, and my mum became very scared for my safety and physical health, she says. Birch wants women to know of the grave dangers alcohol poses to their unborn babies. Credit: Simon Schulter It was only when her mother saw a 2015 episode of the ABC program Four Corners called Hidden Harm, about young people living with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (known as FASD), that she realised what had happened to her daughter. She collected information and screening material for the disorder and presented it to Birch: After I read those documents, I burst into tears, and we just cried together because I knew it was absolutely FASD I was dealing with, Birch says. At 33, and after years of struggling to get a diagnosis that encompassed all of Birchs symptoms, she was diagnosed with FASD with sentinel facial features. It was caused by exposure to alcohol before Birchs mother was aware she was pregnant. My story is a very common one, and its not because my mother struggled with alcohol use disorder it does not take a lot. Jessica Birch, who lives with the symptoms of FASD My story is a very common one, and its not because my mother struggled with alcohol use disorder; she was on the contraceptive pill when she became pregnant with me, Birch says. She did not know she was pregnant until around the start of the second trimester, and by that stage the damage was done. And it does not take a lot. She wants the alcohol industry to be held to greater account, and wants women to have more information on the true risks alcohol poses. New research by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute has revealed that even though the children studied who had been exposed to low levels of alcohol in the womb did not show obvious physical, behavioural or cognitive signs, characteristic changes in the face persisted until at least six to eight years of age. Researcher Evi Muggli said the study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, showed that although changes might not be observable at a clinical level, we saw changes at a biological level. Loading The study, involving Monash, Melbourne and Sydney universities and scientists in Oxford and Belgium, used highly specialised 3D imaging and analysis to examine the faces of children who had been exposed to low to moderate levels of alcohol in utero compared with those who hadnt. The team found consistent changes in the shape of the eyes and nose of those who had. The changes were similar regardless of whether they were exposed to alcohol in only the first trimester or continued through the pregnancy. There was no clear link between the level of alcohol exposure and the degree of facial change, and Muggli said many factors, including timing of alcohol consumption, the mothers alcohol metabolism and genetics, could also influence how much alcohol reaches the baby and its effect. The study should provide some reassurance to mothers who had consumed some alcohol in the first couple of weeks of pregnancy, Muggli said, because it did not find developmental difficulties in the children. But it also demonstrated that any alcohol consumption can leave a trace detectable with imaging. What weve established is that because of the physical biological effect alcohol has, it is definitely a teratogeen a chemical that interrupts fetal development, she said. But unlike certain types of drugs, like thalidomide, it is not easy to establish a cause and effect relationship [between exposure and corresponding harms], it is not a linear relationship. Muggli said the research should arm educated women who are aware there is a lack of strong evidence linking low alcohol consumption with harm with the understanding that it does something to the fetus during their development, so why would you take that risk when the stakes are so high? Louise Gray, specialist adviser for NOFASD Australia, said the research was significant because it showed that even in the absence of harm that meets diagnostic criteria for FASD, it does not mean there is no effect from prenatal alcohol exposure. Its really important for women to understand that if theres any possibility you may become pregnant, you shouldnt be consuming alcohol. Thats the safest way to ensure there wont be any changes, she says. Caterina Giorgi, chief executive of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, says the study reinforced the need for pregnancy warnings on alcohol packaging. These were mandated in 2020, and manufacturers were given a three-year transition period in which to introduce them. A recent study analysing uptake found the products least likely to carry warnings are spirits and wine, which are more likely to be consumed in the age group where women are most likely to have a baby, Giorgi says. It found only 50 per cent of spirit labels and 65 per cent of wine labels had had warnings added so far. Weve come a long way, but theres still further to go, and we need to make every Australian feel safe. Loading The prime minister fuelled speculation popstar Kylie Minogue, who was playing at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday night, could make an appearance later in the evening. Asked who was on his post-parade playlist on ABC TVs parade broadcast, Albanese said: Obviously Kylie, whos playing out at Homebush. Theres got to be some chance shell turn up here later on, isnt there? Well see. Minogue did not perform at the parade. While Premier Chris Minns became the first sitting premier to march in Mardi Gras in 2024, the NSW leader did not attend this years festivities. Despite the high temperatures it was still 27 degrees in the CBD by 7pm, a challenging temperature for those in glitter and leather many onlookers arrived in the heat of the day to get a prime spot on the parade route. Vantage points were at a premium, with one enterprising person selling milk crates for $10 to spectators wanting to secure their view. Natalia Hall and Carmen Wong, who are tourists from Canada, arrived at Taylor Square at 12.30pm for many reasons, but primarily because were short, Hall said. Deirdre Doo, Pink Ivvy and Chase Doll at Hyde Park before the parade. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos We wanted to get a really good viewing spot because we came from the other side of the world, Wong said. Newcastle drag queens Chase Doll, Pink Ivvy and Deirdre Doo, who travelled to Sydney for the parade to represent regional queer people, were battling the heat in Hyde Park while waiting to enter the marshalling area. First-time participant Pink Ivvy said she had a pool of sweat developing under her costume. Senator Lidia Thorpe at the 2025 Mardi Gras parade. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos Anyone who says drag in the heat is glamorous is lying, she said. Drag is a night-time gig. Near the start of the parade route on Oxford Street were Angela Korte, 68, and Daphne McDonald, 71, dressed in red and adorned with pearls to celebrate their ninth visit to Mardi Gras. While neither of the women are members of the LGBTQ community, Korte said they were always embraced at Mardi Gras. Its such a fun community, Korte said. Everyone talks to everyone. Weve never come across brawling and fighting. So many people come and talk to us and take our photos. Saturdays Mardi Gras parade began, as is tradition, with the original 78ers, whose protest in 1978 is the genesis of the nights festivities. The City of Sydney Council contingent marched under the banner Not a Fan of Book Bans. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos This years theme comprised a sea of rainbow flags, sequinned leotards, glittery headdresses, and even giant Bubble OBill and Golden Gaytime ice creams. Controversial senator Lidia Thorpe was among the first marchers. She walked behind the First Nations Community Float and the LaPa Legends, a first-time float of LGBTQ community members and their allies with links to the Aboriginal population of La Perouse in Sydneys eastern suburbs, carrying a sign that read Not My King and holding up a raised fist. Loading Thorpe was censured by the senate after she disrupted a reception for King Charles on his tour of Australia last year. The City of Sydney float bore the banner Not a Fan of Book Bans, seemingly referencing last years attempt by Cumberland Council to ban queer books at its libraries. They were followed by Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Sydney MP Alex Greenwich in a convertible. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras chief executive Gil Beckwith said it was a night to celebrate the strength, beauty and resilience of our LGBQIA+ communities, but it was also a reminder of their journey towards equality. He sounded like the second-most popular girl in school reassuring the most popular girl in school that she is definitely the prettiest. If you wanted to be mean, you might even call these men simps (the manosphere insult for men who show too much deference or solicitude to the object of their affection). And none is worse than Jeff Bezos, the worlds second-richest man, who, like Musk, has space travel ambitions that even Sigmund Freud would have found too psychologically obvious. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has acquiesced to Trump as sweetly as a tradwife. Credit: Getty Images Bezos used to be a schlubby tech nerd but has undergone a substantial glow-up with the help of Tom Cruises personal trainer. Bezos once clashed with Trump, and Trump was angered by the coverage he received by the Washington Post, which Bezos owns. But more recently, the mogul, who has billions in contracts that depend on the US federal government, has come on board with the MAGA program, meek as a mouse. He has dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and following the presidents election, Bezos praised Trumps extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. Last year he donated $US1 million to Trumps inaugural fund. He was given a prominent seat at the presidential inauguration. Then this week Bezos announced a directive that the newspapers opinion pages will henceforth reject all viewpoints that oppose personal liberties and free markets. We are going to be writing every day in support and defence of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets, Bezos told staff in a statement he later posted on X. Well cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others. Freedom, he continued, apparently without irony, is ethical it minimises coercion and practical it drives creativity, invention and prosperity. His opinion editor, the experienced and revered David Shipley, decided to step away from his job as a result of the new directive, Bezos said. He would soon appoint a replacement to lead this new chapter. Robert Redford (right) and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward in All the Presidents Men. Credit: AP It is difficult to grapple with the hypocrisy of a newspaper owner who cancels certain opinions from his opinion pages in the name of freedom put it down on the list of Trump-era outrages that would be funny if they werent so scary. A newspapers opinion pages are the place where the contract between reader and journalist is at its most sacred, and, not being independently verifiable, those opinions are taken on trust. An opinion columnist is paid to tell readers what he or she really believes. Readers are paying to hear what their favoured opinion columnist really believes. Opinion columnists at the Post, no matter how pure of heart, are now operating under strict orders, and readers can no longer be sure what they really believe. Loading When Bezos directed the Post editorial team not to run their planned editorial backing Kamala Harris for the presidency, the paper lost about 200,000 subscribers, according to reports. More recently, the Post refused to publish a political cartoon that showed Bezos and other powerful American businessmen bowing to Trump. The cartoonist resigned in protest. It is bad business for the newspaper that broke Watergate, and which has the masthead motto Democracy Dies in Darkness. But Bezos doesnt need the money from a profitable newspaper (a diminishing prospect anyway, given the crisis in legacy media). He can use the paper as a newsletter to Trump and his allies in government and business, to relay one simple message: I am on your side. The cancelled Post cartoon hurt because it contained truth. The more cravenly these men bow to Trump, the weaker they look. But that is a small price to pay for their self-interest, financial and otherwise, which is bolstered by intimacy with a president who seems actively to be cultivating an oligarchy. Tim Snyder, the Yale University history professor and Holocaust expert who wrote On Freedom, a brilliant exploration of that topic that lays out 20 lessons from the history of the 20th century, is enjoying a renaissance at the moment. The first rule in On Freedom is titled Do not obey in advance, and makes the point that much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom, he writes. Workers complete the facades on a row of condominiums in the Belmar district of Lakewood in 2006, before condos became an endangered species. Ireland Reads Day, celebrated by libraries all over Ireland, got off to a great start in Ballina Library on Saturday, February 22, with the official launch of the initiative by Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary. Ireland Reads Day, led by Libraries Ireland, encouraged people of all ages to pick up a book during February and to embrace the joy and power of reading. The Minister was joined by Cllr John OHara, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council; Director of Services Joanne Grehan and County Librarian Austin Vaughan. Jay Ryan, of RTE Juniors Living with a Fairy, was on hand with his Super Silly Stories to ensure all of the children gathered for the event were able to celebrate the joy of books and reading. As Minister Calleary observed afterwards, the library was a hive of activity for the occasion. The day continued in Ballina Library with a Read-Aloud event featuring people reading from their favourite book aloud and with other events in Castlebar Library. If you didnt manage to get to your local library for Ireland Reads Day, theres still lots of time to pop in and rediscover the joys of Mayo Library and all they have to offer. With 14 libraries throughout the county, and more than 346,000 books loaned last year, there are also a range of other services people might not be aware of. Did you know that you can borrow musical instruments anything from a bodhran to a harp and lots more besides for your child who is starting their lessons? Theyve also got Home Energy Savings Kits to help reduce your energy bills. And blood pressure monitors you can borrow to use at home. If youre planning the dream birthday party for someone special, forget about disposable plates and plastic cutlery ask us about the Reusable Party Kits in Castlebar, Ballina, Achill and Belmullet library branches. There are weekly storytime sessions in five libraries Castlebar, Westport, Ballina, Ballyhaunis and Belmullet and book clubs in five libraries Castlebar, Belmullet, Swinford, Ballyhaunis and Kiltimagh. If you drive through the Ox Mountain region during the months of winter, you will not see many cattle in the fields. This is because all farms, regardless of their size, now have modern sheds and slatted houses where cattle are housed. This trend has two great advantages: it protects the fields outside and it allows the cattle to continue to thrive inside. It wasnt always like this, however. I remember a time when there were no such sheds, a time when cattle were wintered outside out-wintering they call it these days. I was surprised in recent weeks to find out that the practice of out-wintering still exists and is even becoming popular once more. Like with like This article is not to show that one system is better than another; it is more to contrast and muse over changes in farming practice. Viewing such practices from the 1960s and early 1970s provides us with an intervening period of almost 60 years for comparisons. Agriculture in the West of Ireland in the 1960s was still firmly held in an Old Ireland/pre-European time trap. Farming practices owed much to the nineteenth century and nothing at all to the 21st. Cattle breeds were vastly different back then. Aberdeen Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn, or a crossbred mix of all of these, were the order of the day. They were easily fed, light on foot and withstood extreme conditions very well. Todays breeds such as Charolais and Limousine are very much the opposite: they take a lot of feeding, are heavy on foot and they lose condition in harsh winter weather. Todays cattle are built for profit; maximum weight gain and are required to guarantee financial return and their continental genes dont fit well with Ox Mountain winters. Todays breeds need careful management. They need plenty of high-quality fodder and, in most cases, additional concentrates to get them to the required weight standards for them to attain the best factory prices. This investment must be guarded and so, the slatted house is the only cure. Such sheds ensure that cattle dont just survive the winter, they continue to thrive. The beasts of yesteryear were hardy and self-reliant and were not really expected to perform beyond a simple standard. Most West of Ireland yearlings were not reared for the butchers block but were sold at local fairs to cattle dealers from Meath and Kildare and East Galway. They went to farms that had bigger fields with richer pickings than they were accustomed to along the foot of the Ox Mountains. In their new setting, they blossomed and eventually arrived at their full potential. It is conceivable that most of them never saw the inside of a shed in their lives. Still an option Out-wintering is still practiced in some places and is even coming back into vogue for some farmers. Followers of the old practice must take note of all its shortcomings but, taking all of this into account, results are still possible. It also demands quite a bit of time and effort on the part of the farmer. For thousands of years, farmers in the Burren in County Clare have marked the arrival of winter by herding their cattle onto winterage pastures in the limestone uplands where they spend the winter grazing. This ancient transhumance tradition is synonymous with the Burren and is key to the survival of the regions famous flora and fauna. Indeed, the whole process is now part of a local festival. This Burren Winterage Weekend celebrates the old tradition and displays the unique practice to visitors to the region. The Burren Winterage Weekend is now officially recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ireland. The Burren is of course a unique landscape with a milder climate and a limestone floor but just the same, it allows for a version of out-wintering. This out-wintering on the high hills of Clare also has benefits for the landscape, continuing a cycle of propagation, growth and regrowth annually. Howemill Farm in Aberdeenshire in Scotland is home to Nikki Yoxall and her husband James. Here, the couple run their small herd of native breed cattle as ecological engineers, predominantly in an agroforestry system. In winter, all their stock are out-wintered in conditions that often includes a foot of snow, temperatures of minus 15 degrees and all this at a height of 1,500 feet. Using hedges and woodland, their system also includes the use of bale pods. This method uses bales of hay, not just for feed but for shelter as well. Such cattle can remain warm and content in low temperatures because they have an inbuilt heat generation system. The Aberdeenshire couple estimate their daily feed costs at 30 pence per head per day. The UK average is 2 per head per day. They say their cattle are hardier but happier. A hedge for sheltering In the past, farmers knew exactly how to manage their stock in winter on a mountain farm. Using the natural contours of fields, paying attention to the direction of the prevailing wind and taking advantage of hedges, they created a safe, warm feeding place. This spot might change according to weather conditions but such corners were plentiful there was four in every field. I often saw my father make this decision of an evening before he headed out with a load of hay on his back. A high field was the first consideration and one with a dry corner if it could be managed at all. This meant that the ground did not dig-up under the concentration of hooves. A generous whitethorn hedge, was the next requirement. Such hedges had the ability to deflect powerful winds and filter accompanying rainfall to a mere mist. The problem of finding a better place if the wind changed was solved simply by moving the stock to another such corner. He then arrived to his little herd of bullocks, who frisked about him in anticipation of receiving their supper. They followed him to the corner and there awaited their allowance of June hay. Meeting cattle in this way and in this setting had the effect of taming the beasts. It was often a habit of my fathers to linger with the cattle for a while, scratching their backs and admiring their humours. My father never used a feeding frame but simply placed the hay on the ground. Saving this hay was a painstaking process and so he had developed a system where almost none of it went to waste. He had a great ability to judge just how much hay was required for the bunch of cattle. Too little and the cattle remained restless, too much and they tramped what was left underfoot. After such a feed, the cattle lay down and comfortably chewed the cud until morning. With the arrival of spring, the back-loads of hay got smaller. When the grass came on, the out-wintering finished completely. At this stage, the cattle much preferred fresh grass to dry hay, no matter how sweet the hay might be. By April, the small piles of dung that had been deposited along that hedge through the months of winter were all that remained of the sheltered feeding place. My father counted it a very pleasant job indeed to go there, graip in hand, to scatter the little clumps of winter dung. This age-old task was yet another positive benefit of out-wintering. There was something very symbolic about newly-appointed Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill holding a press conference with local reporters outside the front entrance to Mayo University Hospital (MUH). Given the hospitals issues with overcrowding, it was quite apt that no room could be found inside the hospital and instead the interview took place out in the cold and the rain. Maybe it was one way to ensure the exchanges did not go on longer than the minister desired. One can only hope that none of the reporters or, heaven forbid, the minister, had to be admitted to the hospital afterwards. Her visit was at an extremely busy time for the hospital in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn but anyone who has been in the hospital recently or has spoken to any member of staff there will know it has been under a lot of pressure all year. There were hopes that overcrowding figures were on the way down after a considerable reduction in overcrowding patients on trolleys throughout the hospital numbers for 2024. Earlier this month, the Saolta Hospital Group, which covers hospitals in the West and Northwest, issued a press release highlighting a 31% reduction in overcrowding in 2024. MUH manager Catherine Donohoe welcomed the development. Improving the wait times and care experience for our patients remains a priority and we are heartened to see that the initiatives we put in place to ensure patients access care as quickly as possible are bearing fruit, she said. However, the portents for 2025 thus far are not good. The figures for overcrowding in January were up 33% on the corresponding figure in January 2024 (up from 338 to 439). Only so much of that can be put at the door of Storm Eowyn the numbers were high before the storm too. As of last Friday, February 21, the figures are up on the full month of February last year, from 314 for the month of February 2024 to 362 for just the first three weeks of the month this year. And lest anyone think that the 2024 numbers represent any sort of commendable benchmark, it is worth recalling that those figures were the third highest ever for overcrowding at Mayo University Hospital since the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (IMNO) first started tallying their Trolley Watch data at the hospital in 2005. The reality is the figures had been record-breaking for far too many recent years. In 2019, the overcrowding figure was 2,519, a then record (surpassing the previous record of 2,285 in 2006). Covid was undoubtedly a factor in 2020 but the figure only dropped slightly to 2,156. Alarmingly, since then, the figures have skyrocketed. A new record in 2021 of 2,776, a massive increase in 2022 to 4,452 and another record in 2023 at 4,452. A damning report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in 2022 laid bare the problems at the Emergency Department (ED) at MUH. The hospital was found to be non-compliant in three areas, all relating to the ED, which was found to be non-compliant in terms of staffing and in terms of person-centred care and support, highlighting how overcrowding issues compromised the dignity, privacy and autonomy of patients. So while a 31% reduction in the figure in 2024 is to be welcomed, the bar it is being set against is very low. And now to see increases against 12 months ago in the first two months of this year is very concerning. Anyone who has had to use MUH's Emergency Department in recent years has likely experienced a good flavour of what it is like. It can be extremely distressing, especially if you are there with a sick family member. However, it is also extremely stressful for staff. From conversations with many staff at the Emergency Department and indeed throughout the hospital, it is clear that morale is low and has been for some time. Staff turnover is high and who knows how much worse it would be were it not for nurses from many other countries being able to take up roles in the hospital. Overcrowding leads to unsafe conditions for patients and staff. To give but one example, many patients have infectious conditions but are not able to be quarantined because there simply isnt enough space or bespoke facilities. The solutions are not the third secret of Fatima. Organisations and unions like the INMO, the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine have been highlighting them for years. They can be simplified as follows: staffing shortages, insufficient clinical beds, not enough step-down facilities or beds therein and, in some cases like MUH, emergency departments that are simply too small. Yet various Ministers for Health and the HSE have continuously failed to come even close to solving them. Capacity at the Emergency Department is one part of the problem. Construction of a long-overdue new Emergency Department is finally underway but it will not be a panacea on its own. Increased use of the hospitals Acute Medical Assessment Unit (AMAU) in 2024 relieved some overcrowding in the Emergency Department with GPs able to refer certain patients directly there and relieve numbers going straight to the ED. However, when the Emergency Department gets full an all too common occurrence overflow patients from the ED are often put in the AMAU, which then cannot perform its primary function and patients for the AMAU may have to come through the doors of the ED, further exacerbating the overcrowding there. Bed capacity in the hospital is a long-standing issue as are problems with step-down facilities. There are over 300 beds in the hospital and staff estimate there could often be as many as one-third of those approximately 100 beds being taken up by people with non-acute needs. That is to say people whose condition has improved and who can be served just as well in step-down community facilities like the Sacred Heart Hospital in Castlebar, district hospitals, nursing homes and even their own homes after occupational therapy assessment. However, staffing issues in many facilities often limit the discharge of patients from MUH to community care which in turn creates a bottleneck at the Emergency Department with a lack of beds for people coming in the door of the Emergency Department who need to be admitted. Many, as a consequence, end up on trolleys while patients who could be discharged to a step-down facility are unable to leave. Increased bed capacity both in the hospitals and in step-down facilities is only beneficial with matching staff resources which is proving challenging now with so many nursing staff leaving. It is a staggering, long-running series of failures in our health system. It is never nice having to write about problems at Mayo University Hospital. Negative headlines can impact staff and create tension among some less-than-understanding members of the public who come in the doors. Abuse of staff has become, sadly, all too common. And there is a cohort of people with vested interest who condemn negative headlines as scaremongering or agenda-driven. But the numbers dont lie and ignoring them only normalises the problems. Nobody should be in doubt about the extent of the issues and the challenges at Mayo University Hospital. Staff there are doing their very best in very trying conditions. Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she wanted to see Mayo University Hospital when it was at its busiest. What she saw along with the data and information that must cross her desk daily must be deeply unsatisfactory to her. Can she boldly go where no Minister of Health has gone before and actually fix the inherent problems in our health service and, particularly, in our hospitals? It is long past time for change. Our people deserve better. Archaeologist Michael Gibbons will be the guest speaker at Mayo Historical and Archaeological Society's monthly talk in March. A long-time friend of the society, Mr Gibbons is a member of the Institute of Irish Archaeology and a former co-director of the Sites and Monuments Record Office at the Office of Public Works. The title of his presentation is 'From Joyce Country to Ceathru Thaidhg: New Discoveries in Mayo', and the talk will be held on Wednesday, March 5th, in the ATU Campus in Castlebar, commencing at 7.30pm. This illustrated lecture will be based on a raft of new discoveries in the mountains, islands and lakes of the region, ranging from Joyce Country GeoPark in the south to Ceathru Thaidhg in the north west. The talk will deal with some important new finds, including mountain-top tombs in the Nephin Begs, rock art and hillforts in the Partry Mountains, booley complexes in the shadow of Croagh Patrick and on the Corraun Peninsula, as well as a host of other discoveries on Achill, Inishturk and on the islands of Clew Bay. All are welcome to attend. LETTERS: Rewriting the definition of motor; when art speaks to you J.J. Ament is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and a member of the CSI Board of Directors. Kelly Caufield is the executive director of Common Sense Institute (CSI). Two families in the Axton community of Henry and Pittsylvania counties have filed suit against an Axton solar company for $3.3 million. The lawsuit for Barry and Brenda Moxley in Henry County and Roger and Kathy Chriscoe against Energix and a subsidiary was filed in Henry County Circuit Court on Dec. 23. The lawsuit alleges that construction of an industrial-scale solar facility next to their properties has brought noise, flooding, smoke, dust and debris and rendered the value of their homes and land nearly worthless. This project has generally disturbed this quiet corner at the intersection of Henry and Pittsylvania County with the shriek of solar panel inverters, and specifically robbed the Moxleys and Chriscoes of the quiet use and enjoyment of their lands, undermining their well-being and diminishing the value of their lands, the suit states. Built without observing the ordinary land use process of obtaining any legislative approvals from Henry County, the Axton Solar Project continues to subject the Moxleys and Chriscoes to incessant noise, intermittent flooding and other reasonable disturbances of their quiet use and enjoyment of their own property, burdening their mental, emotional and physical health, as well as their land. Barry and Brenda Moxley own land immediately south of Centerville Road in Henry County. In 1993, they built a five-bedroom, two-story house on the property that has been in the family for three generations. Roger and Kathy Chriscoe live in Asheboro, North Carolina, and have owned land just over the county line, in Pittsylvania County and near the Moxley property. The Chriscoes have a log cabin on their property and use the land for harvesting timber and hunting. The Axton Solar Project is owned by Energix EPS US LLC, with offices in Arlington. A subsidiary, Caden Energix Axton LLC with the same Arlington address, is listed as the owner and developer of the Axton Solar Project on about 425 acres of land next to the Moxley and Chriscoe properties. Axton Solar has stated, when complete, the project will produce 200 megawatts of electricity, providing power to an estimated 20,000 homes. The lawsuit states that the Moxleys raised eight children in their home on 50 acres of land with the intention of their children building their own houses on the property. The Moxleys great-grandparents, great-uncles and aunts, cousins, and other relations, including two grandchildren are buried in a family cemetery 150 feet from the Axton Solar Project. Barry Moxley suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as the result of being involved in an explosion that temporarily blinded and permanently scared him. Brenda Moxley is a Stage 4B Hodgkins lymphoma cancer survivor and suffers from breathing problems caused by required medication. The Chriscoes own 477 acres they purchased in 1995 to use as a rural getaway and regularly hunted for turkeys and deer and harvested hardwood and loblolly pines. One of their sons is buried on the property and arrangements had been made for the Chriscoes to be buried next to their son. Both families say they never received any notification of a solar farm to be built next to their properties and learned of the project when over 500 acres of forests, creeks, and wildlife next to their land was denuded, with plans to install over 200,000 solar panels, inverters, and a new road within a few hundred feet of the property line. When the Moxleys protested, the lawsuit claims that Energix managing director for energy development partners John Ragone assured Mr. Moxley that he and Mrs. Moxley would be taken care of, but the promise was not honored. In early 2023, construction began, over 500 acres were logged and the remaining debris burned for weeks. The ground shook, the Moxleys home rattled, and the air was filled with thick, dark smoke. So bad was the trembling that items would even fall off the pantry shelves of the Moxley home, the suit states. Brenda Moxleys breathing condition worsened and the noise from the inverters caused Barry Moxley to lose sleep and experience increased anxiety as a result of his PTSD, the suit states. Energix assured Lee Clark, head of planning, zoning and inspection with [Henry] County, that the inverters would be no louder than a refrigerator, but the sound is so loud that it can be heard throughout the properties of both the Moxleys and the Chriscoes and has prevented the Moxleys from sleeping. In addition to the noise and unsightly development, the bottom paddock of the Moxley property now floods regularly; something that had not occurred previous to the solar construction. As a result, the value of the Moxley property has decreased dramatically 35-45% and the Moxley home has been rendered unlivable, the suit states. Conversations with real estate agents have left the Moxleys to understand their home is no longer marketable as a residence and the value of the property has plummeted because of the sounds emanating from the solar farm. The Chriscoes no longer visit their property due to the inescapable noise, the suit states. The suit requests the court to issue and order requiring Energix to take all necessary actions to abate the nuisance, and pay damages to the Moxleys in the amount of $2.25 million and $1.05 million to the Chriscoes, and any further relief as may be determined by the court. Way back in ye olden days of the mid-2000s, I was still a wide-eyed, fresh-faced backpacker looking to travel the world. The crazier and more outlandish the adventure or destination, the better. I ticked off a lot of epic things from my bucket list in the ensuing years: Swimming with Great Whites in Mexico, kayaking among glaciers in Antarctica, and making a week-long pilgrimage through a thousand years of history in rural Japan. But one thing that eludes me to this day is road-tripping the Pan-American Highway. Thanks to the Darien Gap, that trip may never get checked off my list. Im just not that crazy. The Pan-American Highway is an epic 19,000-mile route that connects Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to the southernmost tip of South America in Ushuaia, Argentina. Its continuous except for one small section missing along the southern border of Panama, often referred to as one of the most inhospitable places on the planet this is the Darien Gap. Its 66 roadless miles of impossibly dense, mountainous jungle and swamp filled with heavily armed paramilitary guerillas, drug traffickers, and some of the worlds most deadly creatures covering the border of Panama and Colombia. In an article for the Council on Foreign Relations, Jean Gough, a Regional Director for UNICEF, sums it up: Deep in the jungle, robbery, rape, and human trafficking are as dangerous as wild animals, insects, and the absolute lack of safe drinking water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The environmental impact on the area and the sheer cost of building roads through it have thwarted any previous attempts. Others are concerned that the Gap is a natural barrier against drugs, disease, and undocumented migrants flowing freely into North America and the U.S. The first-ever successful vehicle expedition through the Darien Gap was led by British army officer Gavin Thompson. His team of six started in Alaska, driving all the way to Panama in a newly created Range Rover. Hitting the Darien Gap, he brought in a team of 64 engineers and scientists to hack their way through the jungle and float the Range Rovers across the rivers. But Thompson and every expedition since ran headlong into what the Gap is most infamous for: Lots and lots of things that will kill you. The list of deadly things inside the Gap is lengthy, and dehydration and starvation are the least of your concerns. Instead, you should be concerned with these very real threats. Fer-de-lance pit vipers The fer-de-lance pit viper is among the most venomous creatures in the Darien Gap. Theyre irritable, fast-moving, and large enough to bite above your knees. Antivenom usually solves the problem if you get bitten. But, if left untreated, the venom can cause local necrosis (death of body tissue), leading to gangrene or, in the worst cases, death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conflict journalist Jason Motlagh crossed the Gap in 2016 for a Dateline story. After receiving his groups antivenom kit and instructions before the crossing, he said, If one of us is bitten, we have ten minutes to inject the antivenom before death. We can only carry six vials. If a larger pit viper were to strike, the expert concedes no amount of antivenom would be enough to save us. We might as well lie down and smoke a cigarette until the lights go out. Drug traffickers and FARC armed guerillas Its becoming increasingly difficult to bring drugs into the US, so drug traffickers are turning to other avenues. The lawlessness and lack of residents make the Darien Gap a perfect path for smuggling cocaine and other drugs on their journey from South America. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have made a name for themselves since 1964, terrorizing the government and many cities in Colombia. Many from the group have made their home in the lawless jungles of the Darien Gap. A backpacker from Sweden was shot in the head in 2013 and found two years later. Multiple others have been kidnapped for weeks or months after venturing into the Gap. Since a peace deal in 2017 with the United Nations, the group has reformed into an official political party, but a few thousand rebels still continue with drugs, arms, and human trafficking. Brazilian wandering spiders Spiders fill the jungles of the Darien Gap, but one of the most medically important is the Brazilian Wandering spider. Medically important is the nice term for youre going to have a really bad day if this bites you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This family of spiders (there are more than one!) has a leg span of five to seven inches. They wander the jungle floor at night and love to hide in peoples hiking boots, logs, and banana plants. Theyve been nicknamed the Banana spider, as thats often where people run into them. Bites from this spider can put you in the hospital or, from particularly bad ones, cause death in 2 to 6 hours. Black scorpions Scorpions look like theyre from another planet. A few species prefer conditions in Colombia and southern Panama and call the Darien Gap home, including the black scorpion. Black scorpions (Tityus pachyurus) can be two to four inches long and have black or reddish-black coloring, which gives them their name. They live under rocks and logs and hunt for larvae and cockroaches at night. They are part of the thick-tailed scorpion family, giving them their stocky appearance. The sting is very painful but, thankfully, is rarely deadly to humans as long as you are treated in a safe amount of time. Jungle heat and dirty water Even the heat in the jungle can put a serious dent in your mood. Temperatures in The Gap can reach a balmy 95 degrees Fahrenheit with 95% humidity, creating a terrible problem if you run out of water. With trips through The Gap averaging between 20 to 50 days, you had better be prepared to stay well hydrated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a lot of water in the Darien Gap but it is far from clean. Even a sip can hold a host of viruses or parasites that could ruin the rest of your trip. So, a good water filter is a must. Spiked chunga palm trees Many kinds of trees call the jungle home, and the local people make use of all of them. The fiber from the leaves of the Chunga Palm is used to make everything from furniture and hats to jewelry and fishing nets. Perhaps thats why this palm has one of the best defenses of any tree in the Gap. Long black spines up to eight inches long cover the Chunga to prevent animals from climbing and taking the fruit. Unfortunately for us, these spines are covered in all sorts of bacteria. One brush with a Chunga, and you might find yourself with infected puncture wounds embedded with shards of Chunga spines. Ticks During the mid-eighties, Helge Peterson found himself in Colombia trying to complete a motorcycle tour from Argentina to Alaska. But one small problem stood in his way: The Darien Gap. Convincing a young German backpacker to make the journey with him, they started their journey together. They began the 20-day trek hauling Helges 400-pound BMW motorcycle into the jungle, through rivers and ravines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of each day, tired and broken, Helge and his backpacking partner would set up camp and start the removal of ticks, sometimes several hundred at a time, from their skin and clothing. Ticks in the area can carry Ehrlichiosis or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, neither of which you want in the middle of the jungle days or weeks from the nearest hospital. Trench foot Trench foot was first described during Napoleons retreat from Russia in the winter of 1812, but the name references a condition most common during World War I. It starts with persistently wet skin that isnt allowed to dry. Wet conditions and limited blood flow cause the tissue to tingle or itch, often turn red or blue, and eventually decay. Any open wounds quickly develop fungal infections. With all of this happening in as little as 10 hours, it doesnt allow much time to fix the problem. Botflies Botflies like to get under your skin, literally. They start by laying their eggs on mosquitos. What do mosquitos like to do? Bite humans. This conveniently deposits the botfly eggs under our skin. They then hatch, and the larvae have a nice, warm place to live. Through a small hole in your skin, the larva can breathe. They feed on the flesh in their little skin cave and stay cozy and warm. Once they grow into bumblebee-sized adults, they crawl out to lay eggs somewhere else. If there are many larvae involved, its called myiasis, meaning an infestation under the skin. Yum. Thats why it pays to pack a very good bug spray. Cold War bombs During the Cold War, the U.S. military ran thousands of training missions inside the Darien Gap, dropping bombs over the jungle. Most of them detonated. However, some did not. Those bombs have been covered over by jungle growth and are now hidden on the jungle floor under a thick layer of vegetation. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of undetonated explosives likely still lie in the jungle, waiting for some poor, unfortunate soul to step off the trail what little trail is there just a bit too far and set off a massive explosion. Crocodiles Matt Payne / The Manual Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Darien Gap is home to many predators, both human and animal, but one of the most deadly is the American crocodile. Crocodiles are apex predators, with no known natural enemies, and anything that they come in contact with is potential prey. That includes humans. Crocodiles prefer to hunt at night, but they will attack and eat prey at any time of day. They hide in the water near the edge and wait for an unsuspecting animal (or unlucky hiker) to come to the water, and then the crocodile strikes, dragging its prey under the water to drown before consuming. Landslides The above-mentioned article for CFR mentions one Haitian immigrant who struggled in the unyielding rain and wet conditions. The journey was really quite hard, especially when the rain came. It was just mud, rivers and going up mountainsides nonstop. In fact, the Gap is among the wettest places on earth, and the intense rainfall can trigger surprise landslides. The worst part is that there is little hikers or travelers through the area can do to protect themselves. Its just a fact of life and possibly death inside the Gap. So the Darien Gap sounds downright peachy to visit, doesnt it? The post Inside the Darien Gap, one of the worlds most dangerous jungles appeared first on The Manual. From high-energy parades to colorful beads and masks, there are dozens of traditions involved in Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday. The holiday which is less than a week away, is just ahead of the start of the Lenten season. Here's everything you need to know about Mardi Gras. When is Mardi Gras 2025? Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is on Tuesday, March 4 this year. Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. Like Ash Wednesday and Easter, Mardi Gras' date changes annually based on the Spring Equinox. Mardi Gras will always fall on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is always about seven weeks before Easter. What is Mardi Gras? A Mardi Gras reveler dangles a pair of beads off of a balcony on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Day, Feb 13, 2013. Fat Tuesday, the traditional celebration on the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, is marked in New Orleans with parades and marches through many neighborhoods in the city. It is a day of gluttonous indulgence, reflecting the practice of the last night of consuming rich, fatty foods ahead of the long Christian season of Lent which is marked with fasting and abstinence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day is immediately followed by Ash Wednesday on March 5, which marks the start of the Lenten season, a 40-day period of reflection before the joyful celebration that is Easter. Mardi Gras is the last and "biggest day of celebration," according to Mardi Gras New Orleans. What are some other names for Mardi Gras? Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, the end of Carnival. Mardi Gras has many names. Mardi Gras also called Shrove Tuesday, stemming from the practice of "shriving," or purifying oneself through confession before lent, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. And it is also referred to as "Carnival" which refers to the period of feasting that begins on Jan. 6 through Mardi Gras. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day goes by other names as well. In south-central Pennsylvania, the day is called Fasnacht Day. In Europe, the day is dubbed Pancake Day. What is Carnival? Carnival marks a festive season that begins on Jan. 6 and is called "Twelfth Night," also known as the Epiphany, and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. Many Roman-Catholic countries and communities celebrate Carnival, according to Britannica. The final day of Carnival is Mardi Gras, which is always the final day before Ash Wednesday. Is there a difference between Mardi Gras and Carnival? Revelers plead without stretched arms for throws from riders in the Rex Parade in Canal Street on Mardi Gras Day. Fat Tuesday, the traditional celebration on the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, is marked in New Orleans with parades and marches through many neighborhoods in the city. While Carnival is a season that takes place over weeks and months, Mardi Gras is just one day, specifically the last day of Carnival. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mardi Gras is Carnival's grand finale and is the day that ends the festive season. What do the Mardi Gras colors represent? According to Mardi Gras New Orleans, the holiday's colors have a meaning. Gold represents power, green represents faith and purple is for justice. What is King Cake and why is it eaten? King Cake at Simple Simon Bakery in Appleton, Wis. on Monday, February 17, 2025. Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin King cake is also known as the Twelfth Day cake because it celebrates Epiphany, a Christian holiday that commemorates the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus 12 days after Christmas. The cake is a cross between a coffee cake and a French pastry and traditionally contains a tiny plastic or porcelain baby figurine. Tradition calls on whoever finds the trinket in their slice of cake to host the next King cake gathering. Where is Mardi Gras celebrated? Floats in the Rex parade roll along St. Charles Avenue on Mardi Gras Day, Feb. 20, 2007,, in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is the second Mardi Gras celebration since Hurricane Katrina devasted the Gulf Coast region. While one of the most famous Mardi Gras celebrations is in New Orleans, Louisiana, the holiday is celebrated across the globe, from North America, to South America, Europe and Asia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The maps below show which countries hold Mardi Gras celebrations and which states hold the most notable celebrations in the U.S. Includes reporting by the USA Today network and Democrat and Chronicle reporter Justice Marbury This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: When is Mardi Gras 2025? Date, history, and Fat Tuesday traditions The ninth annual Virginia K. Shehee Most Influential Woman Awards hosted by Holy Angels are almost here and the six honorees have been carefully selected. This event is sponsored by Red River Bank and The Shreveport Times, it honors women in the community who have made significant contributions by providing their expertise, time and resources. The women selected have shown a commitment to philanthropy by helping children, the elderly, those in need, the arts, business development, education or other acts of caring through unpaid positions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Get to know Dr. Sweettie Williams Lars below before the awards ceremony on March 6. Dr. Sweettie Williams Lars Dr. Sweettie Lars is a Virginia K. Shehee Most Influential Woman Award 2025 nominee. Dr. Sweettie Williams Lars is an active member of her community and said, "Its all about the PeoplePeoplePeople! No matter what I do; no matter where I go; I keep the people of God in the forefront. I believe that in order to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples, the people of God must be the primary focus. Lars does volunteer work with Salvation Army Womens Auxiliary, Caddo Bossier Domestic Violence Task Force, LIPSIS Domestic Violence Prevention Community Based Organization, Starfish Church-based Tutorial Academy, Shreveport-Bossier Tourism Association, Board Member-Caddo Community Action Agency, Veterans Administration Volunteer Chaplain and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness. Lars said, "every project or event that I embark upon must be people centered. That is the model that Jesus used. Therefore, when choosing organizations, I analyze their mission and service record to ensure that they align with my vision of serving people." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lars said if you want to get involved in your community find a cause or area of interest that you are passionate about. She said, "determine if there is a need that will support your passion. Make sure that you are able to manage your time and level of commitment before you begin." Lars has also received numerous accolades including Louisiana Region Board of Christian Education and Formation Director, Former President of the Caddo Association of Educators, Former Vice President of Phi Delta Kappa Educational Fraternity-Eastern Michigan University, Harvard Violence Prevention and Intervention Trained Specialist, Rosa and Raymond Parks Award for Community Service-Michigan and Brown-Phillps Helping Hands Scholarship. "I was reared in an ancestral community whereby the village modeled community service," said Lars. "It is done for the benefit and betterment of people." The 2025 Virginia K. Shehee Most Influential Woman and Most Influential Young Woman Award luncheon March 6, 2025, at East Ridge Country Club. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To purchase tickets or tables visit https://www.laholyangels.org/events/most-influential-woman/ Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com. Dr. Sweettie Lars is a Virginia K. Shehee Most Influential Woman Award 2025 nominee. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Meet Dr. Sweettie Williams Lars a Virginia K. Shehee Most Influential Woman 2025 Honoree While American wine doesnt have the same storied history as, say, Bordeaux or the Rheingau, our viticultural areas are nothing to sniff at. There's, of course, Napa Valley with almost 170 years of production, as well as other California wine regions like Sonoma and the Central Coast. And in recent years, burgeoning wine hot spots have popped up across the country in places like Oregon, Virginia, Texas, and the New York Finger Lakes. But wine connoisseurs often overlook one Western state that's better known for its ski slopes than its vintages: Colorado. Wine grapes have been grown in the Centennial State since 1890, but production wasn't in full swing until the late 1970s. Now, there are over 150 wineries spread throughout Colorado, and the state plays host to events such as the Colorado Governor's Cup and festivals like the Colorado Mountain Winefest. About 80 percent of all of Colorado's grapes are sourced from the Grand Valley American Viticultural Area, located between Grand Junction and Palisade, in the state's Western Slopeone of Travel & Leisure's Best Places to Go in 2025. Clearly, something amazing is happening out there. Our goal was to put Colorado on the map and prove that we could make amazing wine from this region," said Kevin Webber, CEO of Carboy Winery. Webber owns two vineyards in the Grand Valley AVA, totaling around 32 acres. "There is an adventurous nature to Colorado wines that are fun and lively, and they are never the same year to year. Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure The handmade barrel room at Alfred Eames Cellars in Paonia, part of the West Elks AVA. The handmade barrel room at Alfred Eames Cellars in Paonia, part of the West Elks AVA. At first glance Colorado seems like an unusual place to grow wine. Here, vignerons must contend with harsher climates, higher altitudes, and constantly fluctuating temperaturesbut that's only pushed growers to be more creative. Many have cultivated cold-hardy varietals that also grow well in hot, warm desert climes. The growing seasons are shorter here, but the combination of hot, sunny days, whipping mountain winds, 6,800 feet of elevation, and rocky alkaline soil make for a truly interesting and unique terroir. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are all pushing the envelope and exploring what Colorado wine is and what it could be. The challenges and grit it takes to make it through a single season here make this region very endearing, said Patric Matysiewski, the winemaker and cofounder of Sauvage Spectrum Estate Winery & Vineyard. Colorado has a relatively young wine scene but generates around two percent of all wine sold in the state. Riesling, cabernet franc, malbec, teroldego, and viognier are beacons of the state's wine scene. Interest in agrotourism has also skyrocketed, and the picturesque peaks of the Western Slope have become a popular tourist destination. Wineries are even popping up in destinations like the Front Range and other parts of the state where grapes cannot be grown. Wines should and do taste different everywhere and reflect what is unique about the growing region," said Webber. "We call this the Wild West of American wine, and Colorado wines are an adventure." Here are some of our favorite wineries across the Centennial State. Balistreri Vineyards Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure Bottles of Syrah from Balistreri Vineyards. Bottles of Syrah from Balistreri Vineyards. This cozy, family-run winery has been making natural wines just north of Denver since 1998. Some of my favorites include the 2022 Syrah CSU Vineyard, the 2022 Syrah Horse Mountain Vineyard, and the cherry wine, a truly delicious bottle to sip on with dessert. Carboy Winery Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure Interior of the tasting room at Carboy Winery Littleton. Interior of the tasting room at Carboy Winery Littleton. Carboy Winery is constantly pushing the limits of Colorado grapes and reinventing itself, and it shows in its imaginative wines. The company has tasting rooms spread throughout the state, including in Denver, Palisade, Breckenridge, and Littleton, their flagship. Don't miss out on Carboy's bubbly Grand Premier Sparkling or the bold Teroldego. Restoration Vineyards Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure Vintage cars outside of the vineyard and tasting room at Restoration Vineyard. Vintage cars outside of the vineyard and tasting room at Restoration Vineyard. Restoration Vineyards, located in Palisade, was built on a "dead vineyard," hence the name. Owners Gary and Linda Brauns experimented with irrigating the fields in 2012 (which had struggled to thrive previously), and now almost 8,000 vines (80% of the vineyard) is back. During my visit, I sampled Restoration's 2020 Pinotage, which reminded me of wines I've enjoyed in South Africa. When sampled the Pinotage was only available for wine club members but now is currently available by the bottle. The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, 2022 White Field Blend, and 2022 Tempranillo were also notable. Sauvage Spectrum Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure The vineyard and bottles of wine from Sauvage Spectrum. The vineyard and bottles of wine from Sauvage Spectrum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another Palisade local and fairly young winery, Sauvage Spectrum opened its doors in 2019 with its first release, the Sparklet. The Domaine (a red blend) won Gold in the Sunset International Wine Competition, but its 2022 Teroldego, 2022 Albarino, and Pet-Nat Magenta were also all beyond special, in my opinion. Buckel Family Wine Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure Bottles of wine from Buckel Family Wine. Bottles of wine from Buckel Family Wine. Buckel Family Wine is the only vineyard in Gunnison, and at 6,800 feet above sea level, it's the highest commercial pinot noir vineyard in North America. We've always believed that the fruit in Colorado is of high quality, and now growers are understanding what the winemakers require to make premium wine," said owner and founder Joe Buckel. "The collaboration of producers and growers is resulting in some beautiful wines." While Buckel loves the Rose PetNat 2022, I could not get enough of the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, Hawks Nest Pinot Noir 2022, and the 2022 Cabernet Franc. The Storm Cellar Alessandra Amodio/Travel + Leisure Scenic view of mountains from the patio at The Storm Cellar in Hotchkiss Scenic view of mountains from the patio at The Storm Cellar in Hotchkiss Reds tend to be the most popular grape grown in the West Elks AVA, but The Storm Cellar is creating some truly delicious whites and roses. Sitting 6,000 feet above sea level, this winery offers breathtaking mountain views and sits on the very edge of where grape growing is possible in the Northern Hemisphere. Storm Cellar holds fun tasting dinners throughout the year, where guests can learn how to pair roses with steak. I'm still thinking about its 2021 Itascait's the perfect warm-weather wine. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) One firefighter suffered what are being called minor injuries and a family was displaced after a house fire on Saturday, March 1 in Anthony, New Mexico, Dona Ana County said in a news release. The fire happened just before 11 a.m. along the 1100 block of Adams Street. Photos from Dona Ana County Photos from Dona Ana County Photos from Dona Ana County Photos from Dona Ana County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photos from Dona Ana County Photos from Dona Ana County Crews from Dona Ana County Fire Rescue and West Valley Fire responded. Together, operating under a unified command, both crews worked to contain and successfully extinguish the fire, the County said in a news release. One on-duty firefighter from Dona Ana County Fire Rescue sustained minor injuries. No civilian injuries were reported. The American Red Cross was dispatched to assist the displaced family. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. KENSETT, Iowa One person was killed, and one person injured in a Saturday morning crash near Kensett in Worth County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, at approximately 6:40 a.m. a single vehicle crash occurred on 410th Street, near Killdeer Avenue. Fisherman recovered from Green Castle Lake, Marshall County Iowa State Patrol says a Pontiac Grand Prix was traveling eastbound on 410th Street when the driver lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle entered the north ditch striking a power pole and came to a stop in the ditch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of the vehicle, 20-year-old Blair Hansen, was transported via air ambulance to the hospital. The only passenger, 16-year-old Ayden Steele, was killed. The crash is under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. A Russian drone dropped an explosive on a shuttle bus in the southern city of Kherson on March 2, killing one person and injuring at least 10, the city's military administration said. A 53-year-old woman was killed in the attack, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. The attack took place in the afternoon in the city's western Dniprovskyi district. At least nine of the victims have been hospitalized, the regional prosecutor's office said. Four of them are in serious condition, according to Roman Mrochko, the head of the Kherson city military administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kherson and other Ukraine-controlled settlements west of the Dnipro River endure daily Russian attacks as Moscow's forces maintain control of the rivers east bank. Evidence points to Russia systematically targeting civilians in Kherson with drones in a campaign dubbed by journalists as a "human safari." A Russian drone strike in the city on Jan. 6 targeted another bus, killing one person and injuring eight. Read also: Europe must finally take charge of its security starting in Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Private detective Henderson Long goes door to door at the Kenilworth Parkside Apartments in Northeast D.C. Hes not selling anything, just looking for information that could solve the disappearance of a little girl who went missing over a decade ago. Relisha Rudd vanished from a homeless shelter where she lived with her family on March 1, 2014. At the time, she was 8 years old. Photos of then-8-year-old Relisha Rudd. (Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation) You never know whats going to come up in the canvas, Long said as he passed out flyers that contain an age-enhanced picture of what Rudd may look like now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You never stop canvassing, you never stop soliciting the community to come forward, he continued. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Search continues for Relisha Rudd 9 years after disappearance The last time anyone saw the little girl was on security footage from a Northeast D.C. Holiday Inn Express. The footage released by the FBI was dated Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014. There, Rudd was seen with 51-year-old Khalil Tatum, a janitor at the homeless shelter. Relisha Rudd and Khalil Tatum seen on security footage at a Northeast D.C. motel. (Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation). DC Police suspected him in the childs disappearance. A month after she went missing, Tatum shot and killed himself. I have days I feel shes alive. I have some days, but I feel as though shes deceased, Long said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has taken part in the search for Rudd since she disappeared. We will be here every year. As long as I have breath, Im gonna be here every year, said Long. As with previous years, his latest search came up empty, but hes nowhere near giving up. A computer-generated picture shows what Relisha Rudd could look like at 16 years old. (Courtesy of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) Relisha Tenau Rudd would be 19 years old today. She was last seen on March 1, 2014, and was known to wear a purple Helly Hansen brand winter jacket and pink boots, according to the FBIs missing poster. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. We remember and honor those 168 who lost their lives on April 19, 1995, when a bomb went off in front of the Murrah building in downtown Oklahoma City. 168 Days to remember those lost in the OKC bombing: Ronota Ann Newberry-Woodbridge. Image courtesy Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. We want to remember Ronota Ann Newberry-Woodbridge, while honoring those who survived and thanking those changed forever. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) The 16th Cross Pearson Gallery will host its Magic in the City Fashion Show on March 9. According to organizers, the fashion show will take place at Sloss Furnaces from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a VIP After Show Shop from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The theme of the event is Urban Opulence, and it will feature the work of two Alabama School of Fine Arts students. The theme is described as The essence of merging streetwears edgy, urban feel with the elegance and luxury of high fashion. A balance of boldness and sophistication, perfect for a collection that speaks to both worlds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The death of a Birmingham firefighter: How tragedy intertwines with legacy The Magic in the City Fashion Show aims to bring together established designers, stylists and local artists. We are excited to provide a platform for our emerging designers from ASFA to showcase their incredible talent and artistic expression alongside seasoned professionals, said Tanya Pugh-Johnson, director of the gallery, in a statement. The fusion of fashion and art in this historic venue will transform perceptions of urban culture and opulence. 16th Cross Pearson is dedicated to the arts, style and fashion, providing opportunities for designers, models and the local fashion scene. Tickets to the Magic in the City Fashion Show can be found here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. (FORT CARSON, Colo.) On Saturday, March 1, the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) announced that 2,400 soldiers from Fort Carson are deploying to the southern border to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection in maintaining security at the border. The troops are from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 4th Infantry Division, and they will join units already supporting the FY2025 DHS request for assistance at the border. Courtesy: Maj. Jason Elmore, Fort Carson Courtesy: Maj. Jason Elmore, Fort Carson 2nd SBCT will carry out tasks including detection and monitoring, administrative support, transportation support, warehousing and logistic support, vehicle maintenance, and engineering support. Tasks will not include interdiction or deportation operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These deployments will bring additional agility and capability to further efforts to stop the flow of illegal migrancy and drugs at the southern border, said Gen. Gregory Guillot, Commander, United States Northern Command. RELATED STORY: Soldiers from Fort Carson headed to the border In addition to the 2nd SBCT, around 500 soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Stewart, Georgia, as well as the 19th Public Affairs Detachment from Fort Riley, Kansas will be providing support. These units will bring the number of Title 10 forces along the southern border to around 9,000. The last time Strykers provided support to the southern border was in 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) Thousands of people came together Saturday in Homewood to raise money for a local nonprofit organization. For 32 years, the Exceptional Foundation has provided social and recreational activities for those special needs. For the past two decades, they have hosted a chili cook-off every year to raise money that allows their mission to succeed. We do it because the people we take care of are so very important, said Exceptional Foundation President Sara Newell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The foundation serves over 700 people, and through events like Saturdays chili cookoff, they get the funding needed to provide social and recreational activities. They provide value to this community, and we couldnt do what we do to take care of them if we did not have revenue of this event. Its not entirely on its own, but about 1/3 of our operating budget is from this event, Newell explained. The death of a Birmingham firefighter: How tragedy intertwines with legacy 130 teams from around the state came together to show off their cooking skills and make the event a success. Lewis Couca is on one of those teams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have done it a lot in Gadsden, Alabama, where we are from, but we wanted to bring it out to a bigger venue and see how we did, Couca said. The big winner of the day is the Exceptional Foundation and those they serve. We love this community. We have been here, we are a local nonprofit, we do not have a big brand to rely on and we could not do what we do without the generosity of people who come out to support us like this, Newell said. Newell says she expects this years cook off raised over $450,000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. (KRON) Three men, including a father and son duo, were arrested for shoplifting on Tuesday, according to the Vallejo Police Department. Vallejo police officers were dispatched to Admiral Callaghan Lane for the report of multiple thefts at different retail stores on Tuesday. Two retail store employees informed police that the suspects stole high-end beauty products and fragrances and fled in a white BMW. Officers located the BMW near Tuolumne Street and Sereno Drive and pulled the car over. Police said while the three occupants were detained, officers found bags filled with stolen merchandise in the back seat. One of the suspects, according to Vallejo PD, had almost a months supply of unprescribed prescription Oxycodone pills hidden in his sock. He was also carrying more than $1,300 in cash in his pocket, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ghost gun found in Santa Rosa traffic stop: PD Police said the second suspect was found to be the drivers father, who had prior theft convictions. The third suspect had an outstanding felony theft arrest warrant out of Placer County. According to VPD, he is suspected of stealing more than $100,000 worth of merchandise from multiple retail stores. The trio was booked into the Solano County Jail on multiple felony charges. The BMW was towed. The stolen merchandise was returned to the businesses. According to Vallejo PD, the narcotics were booked into evidence and the cash was seized. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. CANYON COUNTY, Idaho (ABC4) A 47-year-old woman was killed after being struck by a vehicle while walking in Canyon County, Idaho, Sunday morning, according to Idaho State Police. Shortly before 6 a.m. on March 2, Idaho State Police responded to a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on State Highway 19 near Dixie River Road, west of Caldwell. A Homedale woman, 27, was reportedly driving a 2012 Ford Focus heading east on State Highway 19. At the same time, a Nampa woman, 47, was walking in the eastbound lanes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Utah senators react to contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy The Nampa woman was struck and killed, police said. The driver of the Ford Focus was taken via ambulance to a local hospital. Her condition has not been released at this time. The Canyon County Sheriffs Office, Caldwell Fire, and Canyon County Paramedics also assisted in this case. The incident remains under investigation. No further information is currently available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. LAKE ANDES, SD (KELO) A judge has sentenced a Lake Andes man to fifty years in prison in connection with a deadly stabbing. 18-year-old Mackenzie Antelope stabbed a man to death at a Lake Andes motel in May of last year. A second person was injured in the incident. Antelope pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter back in December. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley issued a statement Friday that reads, This lengthy sentence is justified for such a heinous crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Jay Lee paused in the middle of a thought as a woman in a blue Ford SUV handed him some clothing through a drive-through window on his dry-cleaning business in Lathrup Village. Two pants, two jackets, one blouse, he said, reciting the items as he prepared her order. Moments later, Lee continued his interview with a reporter about the impact of the upcoming closure of eastbound Interstate 696. So its going to be bad. I dont know how Im going to survive, he said Thursday evening, a short time before he would close for the night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee has owned Munson Cleaners on Southfield Road, just south of 11 Mile Road and I-696, since 1999. The eastbound lanes of the highway are scheduled to shut down Monday for two years of reconstruction. Jay Lee, owner of Munson Cleaners, works at pressing a pair of pants for a customer on Friday, Feb 28, 2025. Lee knows about the upcoming closure of Interstate 696 right by his cleaners but he believes customers will still be able to get to his business. Count Lee among the affected business owners and residents who are concerned about the impact. Not everyone the Free Press spoke with along the approximately 10-mile construction zone from Lahser Road to I-75 expressed concern, but many confessed to some worries. For Frank Kabota, business at his 7-Eleven on Lincoln Street in Oak Park could be better now, so the prospect of lane closures on a major highway nearby doesnt thrill him. I believe were going to lose business for two years. Business is already down, he said. Who knows whats going to happen? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But hes also worried about the effect on his drive home to Sterling Heights. The details of the project werent clear to him as he spoke to a reporter. As Kabota considered what it would mean, how much time it would add, he thought perhaps that trip might take an hour. It wasnt clear. A reporter showed Kabota a map with the closure area and recommended detour. He considered his options and began naming other streets he's likely to take instead. Beginning on approximately March 1, eastbound traffic on Interstate 696 from Lahser to Dequindre will have a detour as part of the Restore the Reuther project. Westbound traffic won't be affected. Mike Greene, city administrator in Lathrup Village, said the planning and discussions for whats ahead have been underway for some time. Youre as prepared as you can be, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Itll be a big team effort to make sure emergency services arent adversely affected. MDOT plans for 100,000 daily drivers on detour Its going to drastically increase the traffic on our mile roads that run adjacent to and through Lathrup Village, and theres no doubt its going to increase traffic on our neighborhood streets, he said, noting that travel times will decrease as people learn cut-throughs. A lot of our staff theyve all either been game-planning new routes to work or have tested out new routes to work. The Michigan Department of Transportation has been doing a decent job providing information in a timely way, Greene said, noting he hopes to see that continue. Closing traffic eastbound between roughly the Lodge and I-75 is a big project. As long as they hold their contractors to the standard that they need, we should be OK, he said. Hopefully, this is a good project, and the road lasts for a good 20 years or so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project, according to MDOT, envisions maintaining westbound traffic while eastbound and westbound I-696 are rebuilt between Lahser Road and I-75. However, eastbound traffic will be detoured for two years via southbound M-10 (Lodge Freeway), eastbound M-8 (Davison Highway) and northbound I-75 back to eastbound I-696. Work is planned for the area from I-75 to Dequindre in 2027. A crew from Spicer Group surveys an embankment along Interstate 696 as traffic moves along the east and westbound lanes near Lincoln Drive in Southfield on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. MDOT spokeswoman Diane Cross said the department planned for an additional 100,000 drivers each day along the 25-mile U-shaped detour, although many drivers, particularly those heading north of the project area, are likely to find their own way. This is part three of a project that began years ago with reconstruction of the area between Dequindre and I-94, Cross said. Although some might feel the roadway isn't that bad, Cross said it's important to move forward while money is available and before the surface deteriorates and becomes a danger. This piece is expected to cost up to about $260 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to detour eastbound traffic rather than maintain eastbound lanes of travel on the highway during construction is a result of limited space. The concrete walls in this area don't allow for the necessary "wiggle room" to adjust the shoulders, Cross said, noting that road capacity in some sections determined which direction would be detoured. Among the major destinations directly affected by the project, the Detroit Zoo might be the biggest. Spokesman Jeff Sell suggested visitors follow MDOTs designated routes. "We encourage guests to check for the latest travel updates and allow a little extra time to know before they go, but once they arrive, theyll enjoy an unforgettable experience connecting with animals and nature," Sell said in a statement. 'People will have to get used to it' Stepping away from the grill for a few minutes during the Thursday lunch rush, Eddie Hanna said he sees an initial shock for maybe the first couple of weeks and then people will get used to the change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Itll become a routine thing, said Hanna, who has owned Eddies Gourmet Restaurant at Greenfield and Lincoln in Oak Park since 1984. Eddie Hanna, owner of Eddies Gourmet in Oak Park, makes pasta on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. Hanna said his customers come from the east side and the west side. People have been talking, but so far, no ones said theyre not planning to come in during the construction. Most of his staff lives on the east side so the trip home will take longer, but they should be able to get to work on time, said Hanna, who lives in Sterling Heights. He expects hell be looking for shortcuts for his own trip home. As for the impact on his business, Hanna said Greenfield will probably see more traffic and he has a feeling itll be more busy more in the way of all that extra traffic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the Book Beat in the Lincoln Center Plaza a short distance north, Zoe Lask was behind the counter Thursday. Figuring how much impact the project will have is not easy, she said. It hasnt started yet. Its hard to say. One regular customer, who had recently stopped in to say goodbye to all my businesses on this side of town, was being a bit overly dramatic, Lask said. But the project has been a topic of keen discussion at all of the businesses in the strip recently. The interior of Eddies Gourmet in Oak Park on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. Colleen Kammer, co-owns the bookstore with her husband, Cary Loren, and they live in Southfield. Isnt it crazy? she said of what's coming, and then began considering how it would affect her own trips east to Grosse Pointe for book events. People will have to get used to it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lask said she expects most regular customers will find a way to get to the store that has been in business for 42 years. That probably includes Hannah Moss, who has lived in Huntington Woods for 45 years and was having a stack of books rung up for purchase. Moss recalled the days before I-696 opened and the time factor of traveling on 10 Mile for all those years. Its a very long time not to have that highway. Its a major inconvenience, she said. It will be an adjustment. Next door, at Street Corner Music, customers flipped though records and CDs and store manager Aaron Anderson said hell use the mile roads and Coolidge to get to his home in Ferndale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A concern is that the closure will undercut what those working at the store tell potential customers about the convenience of stopping in, that its just one block north of I-696. Hes already thinking about how it might affect business on Record Store Day on April 12. People will still come, he said. Still, he considered those who might be eager initially and then find its a hassle getting home, what that might mean for a next trip. But Anderson said the impact wont really be clear for some time, and we made it through the pandemic. He doesnt question the work though. With icicles and leaking water in the underpasses, it needs to be done. I just wish it (wasn't two years)." What to know: Eastbound I-696 in metro Detroit closing for 2 years starting March 3 State of repair In the lobby of Discount Tire in Lathrup Village, a customer, who said his first name, John, would be sufficient for a reporters purposes, tossed a question and answer back at the reporter. Does that area need repairing? Probably, he said, noting that he uses I-696 quite a bit. He offered that he likes Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, known for her fix the damn roads slogan. Shes done a hell of a job, he said. John lives in Detroit, but he has places to go in the area around I-696, noting with a few waves of his hand that his dentist is about 3 miles north on Southfield Road. A highway sign on eastbound Interstate 696 on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, warns vehicles of the coming closure of the freeway for repairs. On Thursday, John was waiting to get two tires on his vehicle. Just regular wear and tear, he said, not a result of potholes. In the parking lot, James Thomas, an assistant manager who lives in Southfield, was inputting some information from a parked car into a handheld device. The eastbound closure would add time to his trip to work and it would affect business, he said. Its going to suck, Thomas said, describing issues from previous highway work that cut business to the shop. We were slow, he said, (but well be) even slower when this thing shuts down. Shawn Mckee didnt hesitate when a reporter asked her about the I-696 project. Oh, hell no, she said, pausing after putting some items away at a 7-Eleven/Mobil gas station at Lahser and 11 Mile. We dont need it. The states spending money on crap that it doesnt need to. Whitmer can find other roads to fix, she said. Its not like its all bumpy, she said. Mckee lives in Clinton Township and the addition to her commute home to Macomb County will add another 20 minutes, she guessed. She, like some other folks shed talked to, had assumed the westbound lanes would be closing because theyve seen barrels farther east on the highway along the westbound lanes. Taking a closer look at the map and the information in an article about the project showing it would be the eastbound lanes that would be fully closing didnt change Mckees view. Business, too, will suffer, she predicted, with affected customers finding other places to stop. Nobody wants to take an extra 15 to 20 minutes to get where they need to go, she said. Traffic moves along the east and westbound lanes of Interstate 696 near Lincoln Drive in Southfield on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. Alicia Adams, of Detroit, was on her way into the main post office in Southfield, a short distance from the highway shortly after 5 p.m. as a light rain began to fall and a line of customers waited near the counter. Its a necessary evil, she said, when a reporter asked for her thoughts. Is our opinion going to stop it? Still, the condition of other roads, the Lodge for example, seem worse to her. But Adams acknowledged that knowing which roads need repair isnt her area of expertise. She knows one thing. Its a big inconvenience. Back at Munson Cleaners, Lee, the owner, said he fears the project could sap some of the recovery from the pandemic that upended life almost five years ago. Business is still far short of what he remembers. Since COVID, its dropped about half, he said. Now you come to this. What can I do? Lee, who lives in West Bloomfield, said affected businesses could catch a lifeline with some assistance, perhaps from the government. He said a friend who also owns a dry-cleaning business secured what he believes was about $25,000 through a grant because of a different road project some time ago. He wouldnt mind hearing about something similar here. For now, he sees a project that will have a definite impact on this business, which employs five people. But Lee also knows something about his customers, answering with simple conviction when asked whether people would make the effort to come to the store. Absolutely. Free Press staff writer Duante Beddingfield contributed to this report. Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: I-696 project to mean detours for thousands as businesses weigh impact Eight people were taken to the hospital following a crash on Westlake Avenue North early Sunday morning. Around 2:10 a.m., an Acura sedan was reported to be racing another car going south when it crossed into oncoming traffic, crashing into a Ford Explorer head-on, according to the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad. The Seattle Fire Department said the driver and passenger of the car seen racing were trapped and crews had to remove the roof of the car to rescue them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of that car appeared to be impaired, according to Seattle Police. In total, three were in critical condition and five were reported in stable condition, according to the Seattle Fire Department. All eight patients were taken to Harborview Medical Center. NEW YORK Nine people were arrested Saturday afternoon at a raucous protest against Elon Musk at his Tesla car showroom in downtown Manhattan. Around 300 protesters flooded the street around 1 p.m. outside the Tesla showroom at Washington and and W. 13 Sts. in the Meatpacking District. Demonstrators held numerous signs with slogans like Dont Buy a Swasticar, Nazi, No Dictators in the USA, Musk Is Out of Control and F MAGA Brian Flanagan, 66, and his wife, Shawn Haugen, 64 came to the protest from New Rochelle in Westchester to decry the budget-slashing head of DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has aligned himself with Trump, Flanagan said. He basically bought himself a seat at the table. We know he has a seat at the table because Trump told all his Cabinet members that, if none of them are happy about Musk, they can go take a hike. So this isnt something that the far left made up or liberals or woke people. This is real. Its happening. One of the things that I tell everyone, too, is we sit on the couch and we complain and we do all our social media, but we cant, we cant complain if we dont do anything, Haugen said. So were out here to make our voices heard and to tell people that were not happy, that this is not right. During the protest, two of the participants went inside the showroom and refused to leave, while six others sat at the front door and refused to move. The crowd erupted in chants, including, No more business as usual! Stop the coup! and Nobody voted for Elon Musk! The anti-Elon action was organized by Rise and Resist, a group formed in 2017 during President Donald Trumps first term, over Musks being handed control of government payment and personnel systems, with the protest theme of Pull the Plug on Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a moment of anti-Musk mayhem, one of the places glass front doors was smashed. Zack Winestine, a member of Rise and Resist, was one of the two protesters arrested inside the showroom. He said he held an American flag and an anti-Musk sign and did not touch any of the pricey electric vehicles. He said there was a swarm of photographers at the protest jostling to get photos of them, one of whose gear accidentally swung at the glass door, cracking it. Very fragile glass, Winestine gibed. Its like a Cybertruck you tap the thing and the fender falls off. Winestine, a West Village filmmaker and activist, said eight protesters were arrested for trespassing and another for a minor violation. He received a desk appearance ticket. Police confirmed the arrests but did not specify the charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (The protest was) to get the message out that Elon Musk, who owns Tesla, is an unelected billionaire, Winestine said, is seizing power in this country and destroying many of the systems that people depend upon for health care, food distribution, disaster relief. . We were exercising our constitutional right to petition our government, and right now our government is Elon Musk, and if we want to petition our government, it looks like we have to go to a Tesla showroom. The courts will catch up with him, Winestine said, but hes doing so much damage now. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) In addition to a 400+ acre wildfire in the North Carolina mountains this weekend, at least four other major state fires are underway Sunday totaling nearly 600 more acres, officials say. The four other fires active Sunday are in North Carolinas National Forests with the largest outside the mountains now in Uwharrie National Forest in Montgomery County with around 300 acres burned, according to the U.S. Forest Service. That wildfire, called the Falls Dam Fire, is just west of Moore County, which had a few wildfires on Saturday, including one about 30 acres large. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Montgomery County wildfire is south of the Art Lily Campground adjacent to Forest Road 516, north of the Yadkin River Dam Overlook, officials said in a Sunday news release. RELATED: Evacuations in NC mountains for 400+ acre wildfire in effect, Polk County officials say Firefighters are constructing new containment lines, reinforcing existing ones, conducting aerial reconnaissance and using mechanized equipment to manage heavy fuel loads, fire officials said. The other active wildfires Sunday range from the beach to the mountains: Carteret County: Croatan National Forest, Ramshorn Fire (114 acres) Three miles west of Ashley Place/US 70 adjacent to Nine Foot Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cherokee County: Nantahala National Forest, McClure Road Fire (20 acres) Tusquitee Ranger District, 6 miles southwest along U.S. 64. Haywood County: Pisgah National Forest, Hicks Cemetery Fire (50 acres) Appalachian Ranger District, Pigeon River west of I-40 at Cold Springs Creek Road/Forest Road 288 Unseasonably warm weather and low humidity have heightened fire risks. Careless debris burning remains the leading cause, fire officials warned. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com. Early last October, I was fortunate enough to spend an evening, along with a few other birders, with John Fedak at his saw-whet owl banding station near the Kinzua Dam in the Allegheny National Forest. I was in the area to participate in the four-day Pennsylvania Society for Ornithologys Warren County Birding Spotlight. As it was just getting dark at about 7:20, I crossed an arm of the Allegheny Reservoir on Route 59 and met up with Fedak and his helper John McKay. They had a campfire going and had just finished setting up eight mist nets and two audio players, constantly broadcasting a recorded call of a male saw-whet owl at high volume. The call was to draw in migrating owls the mist nets are so fine that the owls cant detect them. Measuring just a little over seven inches tall and weighing about as much as a robin, the northern saw-whet owl is the smallest nocturnal raptor in eastern North America. These owls have a wide range and nest in southern Canada, south along the Rocky Mountains and south in the Appalachian Mountains into Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saw-whets prefer evergreen forests with thick understory growing at higher elevations. In Pennsylvania, that usually means hemlock forests thick with rhododendron and/or mountain laurel. Surveys conducted for the first Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania Atlas (1983-89) found saw-whets in only 2% of the states survey blocks. So, it was no surprise that 35 years ago, saw-whet owls were being considered as a candidate for Pennsylvanias threatened species list. Science changed that. Project Owlnet, the brainchild of Dave Brinkler, a biologist with Marylands Natural Heritage program, began in 1994. Project Owlnet has since grown to be a network of dozens of independently run migratory banding stations across North America. They follow a standardized protocol to track the migratory movements of northern saw-whet owls. Stations are run by volunteers such as Fedak and National Aviary biologist Bob Mulvihill, who manages a station. Scott Weidensaul coordinates efforts in Pennsylvania. Targeted owl surveys carried out for the second Atlas (2004-09) found saw-whets in 6% of the blocks. This demonstrated that this tiny owls breeding presence in Pennsylvania is likely more common in ideal habitat than previously thought. The northern saw-whet owl is the smallest nocturnal raptor in eastern North America. According to Weidensaul, this and other Owlnet research conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s quickly demonstrated that saw-whet owls were not rare, just rarely seen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fall-migration saw-whet owl monitoring stations coordinated by Project Owlnet now number about 100 across the United States and southern Canada. According to Mulvihill, who manages a station in Sewickley Heights Borough Park, just west of Pittsburgh, 14 of those stations are in Pennsylvania. Well, I hoped my chance to see a saw-whet owl would come about that October night. I realize that such birding experiences are hit or miss, but I had never seen a saw-whet owl, so I was hoping for a successful night with Fedak. The campfire took the chill out of the night air as the male owl call was broadcast into the dark night. Fedak likes to check the mist nets every 45 minutes to an hour. The first check revealed nothing and ditto the second. We were well into our third wait period when the Who, who, who-cooks-for-you? call of a barred owl was heard close to our position. Barred owls are known predators of both screech and saw-whet owls. Because of that, Fedak directed that we do a quick check of the nets to avoid the chance of a barred owl attacking a saw-whet trapped in a net. Again, we had no saw-whets and the barred owl moved on. The next check was more exciting. Fedak and I encountered a trapped owl in one of the nets on the south side of Rte. 59. I held the light as Fedak carefully untangled the tiny owl from the net, its bright yellow eyes peering up at us. Fedak placed the owl in a small cloth bag and I carried it back to the banding station at the campfire. McKay also returned with a saw-whet from the north side. These were owls number 13 and 14 of the year for Fedak. Once believed to be a threatened species in Pennsylvania, saw-whets are actually more common than previously thought. The owls were fitted with a tiny, numbered leg band, sexed, weighed and evaluated for overall health. Fedak demonstrated how an ultra-violet light was used to age the owls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saw-whet wing feathers contain a pigment called porphyrin, which glows pink under UV light. New feathers glow more brightly than older feathers. Due to the owls molt pattern, they can be aged. This owl glowed uniformly pink, indicating that it was a first-year owl. The owl was placed on a nearby branch and soon thereafter flew off into the night. After putting in five to ten hours on most nights from late September until mid-November, Fedak ended up with a record 102 owls captured, banded and released. Mulvihill also ended up with a record 62 owls for his Pittsburgh area station. Fedak has been operating his station for 13 years thousands of hours of volunteer effort. Mulvihill started in 2013, about the same time as Fedak. I knew almost nothing about saw-whet migration when we started the station at Sewickley Heights, and I even doubted that owls migrated that close to the concrete bubble of Pittsburgh, Mulvihill said. A friend and I worked the station for six hours a night, over 11 nights, and caught no owls. Im not sure what I would have done if we hadnt captured a saw-whet on the 12th night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, a dozen years later, that one owl has turned into 400 for Mulvihill. Saw-whets are popular. Some nights he attracts 40 to 50 human onlookers at his station. That is a far cry from what I experienced at Fedaks Allegheny National Forest station. Saw-whet owls are pleasant to work with and just so damn cute, Mulvihill shared. I doubt that we would have as many volunteers if they were nasty or excreted on handlers like screech owls do. Much has been learned about the fall migration of saw-whets since the start of Project Owlnet, but much more is yet to be revealed. Mulvihill discovered that some saw-whets even winter in his area. Fedak had one owl that moved from West Virginia to his station during the fall seemingly flying the wrong direction. At Weidensauls eastern Pennsylvania station, an owl was captured that was over 14 years old. Based on my limited experience, it is easy to see why volunteers get hooked on studying saw-whet owls. I am glad that more will be learned in the future as dedicated volunteers spend hours laboring to study these cute little birds. Mark Nale, who lives in the Bald Eagle Valley, is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and can be reached at MarkAngler@aol.com . ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The African American Youth Empowerment Summit (AAYES), hosted at CNMs College and Career High School, celebrated African American culture and history on Saturday. It was also a chance for dozens of high school students to network. No matter what their background, all APS students were welcome to the celebration. The goal of the event was to help students foster a sense of community that they can lean on and learn from. House Dems nearly $11 billion budget focuses on housing, public safety and education Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, I hope that the students take away and learn that everybody is accepted, everybody has the right to speak, everyone has great ideas, and I hope that everybody takes away that they are important, and if they want to do what they want to do in the future, then to go for it, says student Jeremiah Mabane. Several students showcased their own presentations in front of the crowd. Organizers hope participants will gain a new understanding and appreciation for African American heritage. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. DES MOINES, Iowa Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird (R) discussed action the state took in the fall of 2024 joining 16 other states in a lawsuit against the Biden Administration. The lawsuit revolves around removing gender dysphoria from the definition of disability added to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 prohibits a school from discriminating against students with disabilities. The attorney general discussed her viewpoint with WHO 13s Zach Fisher on Today in Iowa Sunday. The interview comes after letters from parents were mailed to her office and Iowans showing up to the office last month asking the attorney general to pull the state from the lawsuit. Education attorneys and parents point to page 37 of the lawsuit where it reads Section 504 is Unconstitutional. You can view AG Birds response during the interview broken up in two parts above. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iowa Senate Democrats responded to Birds comments, frustrated with her stance. Regardless of what Attorney General Bird claims, if granted everything it asks for, this lawsuit could effectively end accommodations for Iowa kids with disabilitiesThis lawsuit is shameful. Iowas participation is shameful. And the attorney generals attempt to pull the wool over Iowans eyes is infuriating. State Senator Janet Petersen (D) District 18 from Des Moines The statement went on to add that the written text clearly states the lawsuit is a request to make the entirety of Section 504 unconstitutional and its provisions unenforceable. Sen. Petersen said that if stripping disabled children of accommodations is not her goal, then Bird should amend the lawsuit or withdraw in protest. The lawsuit has been paused when the Trump administration took over to review the rule. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. BOSTON (WWLP) Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Joy Campbell joined a coalition of 20 AGs on Friday in filing an amicus brief supporting a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in her lawsuit against President Trump. On January 27, Trump made the decision to dismiss NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox during her five-year appointment. Since the National Labor Relations Act was passed by President Roosevelt in 1935, a president has never terminated a member of the board, so the the decision sparked controversy and curiosity about what would come next. Northampton Police Department promotes two officers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilcox has filed a lawsuit as a result of this action, and the coalition led by Minnesota AG Keith Ellison submitted a brief arguing that this choice was unlawful. The NLRA states that for the NLRB to function, a three-member quorum is required to act. President Trump has not yet appointed a new member to join Chair Marvin Kaplan and member David Prouty. The AG coalition argued that the enforcement of labor laws cannot occur without a functioning NLRB, and that the removal of Wilcox has left American workers without protection from unfair labor practices. AG Campbell said that in the past decade, the NLRB has reviewed almost 3,000 allegations of unfair labor practices, and that there are currently over 491 pending cases in Massachusetts alone. Without a functional NLRB, the conduct of labor relations will slow and even halt until new members are appointed and confirmed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilcox and the supporting states are urging the Court to grant a motion for expedited summary judgment and to allow Wilcox to continue working as an NLRB member. Joining AG Campbell and AG Ellison in submitting this brief are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Mar. 1JUNEAU The Alaska Legislature on Friday unanimously rejected automatic pay raises for legislators, the governor and department heads. The State Officers Compensation Commission recently recommended that pay adjustments go into effect automatically every other year based on the Anchorage consumer price index. The cost-of-living adjustments were set to go into effect in 2027. According to state law, the compensation commission is supposed to recommend pay adjustments if needed every other year for the state's top political officials. The recommendations go into effect unless both the House and Senate approve a measure to reject them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rejection measure approved Friday advanced swiftly through the Legislature this year. The Senate unanimously rejected the cost-of-living adjustments on Feb. 8; the House approved the same measure on Feb. 28. Kodiak Republican Rep. Louise Stutes said before the final vote that the state is struggling to fund basic services with constrained finances. She said the pay raises were estimated to cost more than $500,000 in total. "Simply put, it's very poor timing and a very poor idea for us as well as department heads and lieutenant governor and governor to receive a pay increase," Stutes said. Two years ago, the salary commission recommended that the Legislature receive a 67% pay raise, along with significant pay bumps for the governor and top political leaders. That followed Gov. Mike Dunleavy abruptly firing a majority of the commission's members and replacing them with new ones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legislators that year allowed the major salary increases to go into effect, which boosted their base level salaries from just over $50,000 per year to $84,000 annually. The increases came after several years in which pay adjustments were not approved for lawmakers or leading members of the executive branch. DETROIT (AP) At the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, a quote from former President Ronald Reagan is engraved on one wall. Let the 5,000-mile border between Canada and the United States stand as a symbol for the future," Reagan said upon signing a 1988 free trade pact with Americas northern neighbor. "Let it forever be not a point of division but a meeting place between our great and true friends. But a point of division is here. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump plans to impose a 25% tariff on most imported Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas. Mexico is also facing a 25% tariff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canada has said it will retaliate with a 25% import tax on a multitude of American products, including wine, cigarettes and shotguns. The tariffs have touched off a range of emotions along the worlds longest international border, where residents and industries are closely intertwined. Ranchers in Canada rely on American companies for farm equipment, and export cattle and hogs to U.S. meat processors. U.S. consumers enjoy thousands of gallons of Canadian maple syrup each year. Canadian dogs and cats dine on U.S.-made pet food. The trade dispute will have far-reaching spillover effects, from price increases and paperwork backlogs to longer wait times at the U.S.-Canada border for both people and products, said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University. These industries on both sides are built up out of a cross-border relationship, and disruptions will play out on both sides, Trautman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even the threat of tariffs may have already caused irreparable harm, she said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged Canadians to buy Canadian products and vacation at home. The Associated Press wanted to know what residents and businesses were thinking along the border that Reagan vowed would remain unburdened by an invisible barrier of economic suspicion and fear. Heres what they said: Skagway, Alaska-Whitehorse, Yukon People flocked from the boomtown of Skagway, Alaska, to Canadas Yukon in search of riches during the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s, following routes that Indigenous tribes long used for trade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, Skagway trades on its past, drawing more than 1 million cruise ship passengers a year to a historic downtown that features Klondike-themed museums. But the municipality with a population of about 1,100 still holds deep ties to the Yukon. Skagway residents frequently travel to Whitehorse, the territory's capital, for a wider selection of groceries and shopping, dental care, veterinary services and swimming lessons. The Alaskan city's port, meanwhile, still supports Yukon mining and is a critical hub for fuel and other essentials both communities need. Its a special connection, Orion Hanson, a contractor and Skagway Assembly member, said of Whitehorse, which sits 110 miles (177 kilometers) north and has 30,000 people. Its really our most accessible neighbor. Hanson is concerned about what tariffs might mean for the price of building supplies, such as lumber, concrete and steel. The cost of living in small, remote places already is high. People in Whitehorse and Skagway worry about the potential impact on community relations as well as prices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Norman Holler, who lives in Whitehorse, said the months the tariffs have loomed created an uncomfortable feeling and resentment. If the threat becomes reality, Holler said he would probably still visit Alaska border towns but not other parts of the United States. Is it rational? I dont know, but it satisfies an emotional need not to go, he said. - Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska Point Roberts, Washington-Delta, British Columbia At the border of Washington state and British Columbia, the tension over tariffs is evident in a waterfront community that is hoping for Canadian mercy. Point Roberts is a 5-square-mile (13-square kilometer) U.S. exclave whose only land connection lies in Canada, which supplies the unincorporated nub of American soil its water and electricity. Its a geographic oddity that requires a 20-mile drive around Canada to reach mainland Washington state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local real estate agent Wayne Lyle, who like many of his neighbors has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, said some of Point Roberts roughly 1,000 residents are signing a petition pleading with British Columbia's premier for an exemption to whatever retaliatory tariffs Canada may institute. Were basically connected to Canada. Were about as Canadian as an American city can be, Lyle said. Were unique enough that maybe we can get a break. Lyle, who serves as the president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce, said its too early to identify measurable effects, but he fears Canadians wont visit the popular summer getaway destination out of spite. We dont want Canada to think were the bad guys, Lyle said. Please dont take it out on us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Sally Ho in Seattle Billings, Montana-Alberta The 545-mile (877-kilometer) stretch of land that separates Montana from Canada includes some of the sleepiest checkpoints on the binational border. Several of the state's border posts had fewer than 50 crossings a day on average last year. But unseen, in underground pipelines that cut through vast fields of barley, flows about $5 billion annually worth of Canadian crude oil and natural gas, most of it from Alberta. The lines traverse a continental pivot point -- Montana is the only state with rivers that drain into the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Canadas Hudson Bay and deliver to refineries around Billings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canada is one of our major supply sources for oil across the United States, said Dallas Scholes, the government affairs director of Houston-based refinery company Par Pacific, which runs a processing facility along the Yellowstone River. If tariffs are imposed on the oil and gas industry, its not going to be good for consumers. People in Montana drive long distances given its sprawling size and burn lots of natural gas through harsh winters, making its residents the highest energy consumers per capita in the U.S., according to federal data. That means a 10% tax on Canadian energy resources would be felt broadly. The states farmers would be among those hit more severely, given the large volumes of gasoline needed to run tractors and other equipment, according to Jeffrey Michael, director of the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research. It will be painful, but there are larger concerns if I were an agricultural producer in Montana, Michael said. Id be worried about the trade war escalating to where my products start to get hit with reciprocal tariffs." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Matthew Brown in Billings, Mont. Detroit-Windsor, Ontario The Detroit River is all that separates Windsor, Ontario, from Detroit. The cities are so close that Detroiters can smell the drying grain at Windsors Hiram Walker distillery and Windsor can hear the music drifting from Detroits outdoor concert venues. Manufacturing muscle makes the Ambassador Bridge, the 1.4-mile-long span connecting the two cities, the busiest international crossing in North America. According to the Michigan company that owns the bridge, $323 million worth of goods travel each day between Windsor and Detroit, the automotive capitals of their countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S., Canada and Mexico have long operated as one nation when it comes to auto manufacturing, noted Pat DEramo, CEO of Vaughan, Ontario-based automotive suppler Martinrea. Tariffs will cause confusion and disruption, he said. Right now, steel coils arrive at a plant in Michigan and get stamped into parts that are shipped to Martinrea in Canada. Martinrea uses the parts to build vehicle sub-assemblies that get shipped back to an automaker in Detroit. A White House official told The Associated Press that parts would be taxed twice if they crossed the border multiple times, but it's unclear if suppliers or their customers will have to pay for the tariffs. Also unclear is how a separate 25% levy on steel and aluminum that Trump said would take effect starting March 12 factors into the mix. DEramo understands the impulse to strengthen U.S. manufacturing but says the U.S. doesnt have the capacity to make all the tooling Martinrea would need if it were to shift production there. At the end of the day, he thinks its sad tariffs will take up so much time, energy and resources, and only make vehicles even more expensive. We need to be spending our time and money to get more efficient and reduce our costs so customers can reduce their costs, he said. -Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit Buffalo, New York-Ontario Buffalo, New York is, decidedly, a beer town. Its also a border town. That makes for a complementary relationship. Western New Yorks dozens of craft breweries rely on Canada for aluminum cans and much of the malted grain that goes into their brews. Canadians regularly cross one of the four international bridges into the region to shop, go to sporting events and sip Buffalo's beers. Brewers and other businesses fear there may be less of that, though, if the tariffs on Canada and aluminum go into effect. Trump's repeated comments about making the neighboring nation the 51st U.S. state already offended its citizens - so much so that Buffalos tourism agency paused a campaign running in Canada because of negative comments. Obviously, having a bad taste in their mouth and booing the national anthem at sporting events is not a great thing for them coming down here and drinking our beer and hanging out in our city, said Jeff Ware, president of Resurgence Brewing Co. The historic factory building housing Wares business in Buffalo is about 4 miles from the Peace Bridge border crossing, where 1.8 million cars and buses and 518,000 commercial trucks entered Buffalo from Ontario last year. Its a terrible time to alienate customers, Canadian or American. The snowy first months of the year are hard enough for Buffalos breweries, Ware said. Higher prices from 25% tariffs would be yet another obstacle. Ware gets about 80% of the base malt be uses to make his specialty beers from Canada. Labor is more expensive, energy is more expensive, all of our raw ingredients are more expensive, he said. Its death by a thousand cuts. - Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, N.Y. Cutler, Maine-New Brunswick Commercial lobsterman John Drouin has fished for Maines signature seafood for more than 45 years, often in disputed waters known as the grey zone that straddle the U.S.-Canada border. The relationship between American and Canadian fishermen can sometimes be fraught, but harvesters on both side of the border know they depend on each other, Drouin said. Maine fishermen catch millions of pounds of lobsters every year, but much of the processing capacity for the valuable crustaceans is in Canada. If Trump follows through with the threatened tariffs next week, lobsters sent to Canada for processing would be subject to customs duties when they return to the U.S. to go to market. Drouin fears what will happen to the lobster industry if the trade dispute persists and Canada enacts a retaliatory tariff on lobsters. As the price goes up to the consumer, there comes a point where it just doesnt become palatable for them to purchase it, Drouin said. Drouin, 60, fishes out of Cutler, Maine, and sees Grand Manan Island, an island in the Bay of Fundy that is part of the province of New Brunswick, when he takes his boat out. He described his business as right smack on the Canadian border in terms of both economics and geography. He described himself as a fan of Trumps first term who is not overly thrilled with what hes been doing here. And he said hes concerned his home state could ultimately be hurt by the tariffs if the president isnt mindful of border industries such as his. The rhetoric is a bit much, whats taking place, Drouin said. - Patrick Whittle in Scarborough, Maine The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued an Amber Alert and a Levis Call for a five-week-old girl. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] According to officials, five-week-old Milan Simpson was abducted Sunday afternoon by 29-year-old Jamale Darcel Simpson. Johns Creek police tell Channel 2 Action News Milan Simpson was found safe late Sunday evening and is home with her mother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to police, Jamale Simpson, identified as Milans non-custodial father, gave her to a family member who brought her home safely. Police are still searching for the 29-year-old. Officials said he was driving a 2013 dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee with a Georgia temporary tag of S2181232. Authorities say the two were last seen along Feather Sound Court at Old Alabama Sydney Marcus Boulevard at Georgia 400. TRENDING STORIES: Anyone with information or who knows where Jamale Simpson may be is asked to contact Johns Creek Police Department at 470-456-0271. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Recently, I listened to a conversation between Tennessean columnist Cameron Smith and Super Talk 99.7 WTN radio personality Matt Murphy about the war in Ukraine. Murphy started the conversation by reading President Trump's recent statement in which he claimed, among other things, that Ukraine started the war. This is an absurd lie. Ukraine, a much smaller nation than Russia, is the victim of an unprovoked invasion, which its people have courageously pushed back, to the extent that after nearly three years of war Ukraine still controls 80% of the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its people have suffered thousands of casualties, and although reliable totals are not known, all the reports indicate the Russians have suffered far more. Ukraine is not the quagmire the Vietnam conflict was I am a Vietnam. Veteran. I believed that war was a mistake, as far as the involvement of the U.S. is concerned. But when drafted I served, including a tour in Vietnam. I have that in common with Al Gore Jr., for I managed his father's reelection campaign in my home county, Giles, in 1970, and I recall that at that time he was serving in Vietnam, although Sen. Al Gore Sr. was critical of our Involvement in that conflict. I concluded that the main problem with that war was that our side, the South Vietnamese, would not put up much of a fight most of them either favoring the North Vietnamese or indifferent to the outcome of the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine is very different. It clearly appears that the vast majority of Ukrainians want the freedom they have, want to be independent of Russia, and not to be living under Putin's dictatorship. Opinion: Ukraine-Russia war is at a crossroads after three years. What is U.S. strategy? They are willing to fight for that and have been doing so. I heard talk in the conversation of Murphy and Smith about "boots on the ground." But in this war our Ukrainian allies have not asked for that, and appear willing to shed as much of their blood as it takes to defend their country. Putin will become more aggressive if he conquers Ukraine Given our history and the principles I think our country stands for (at least that it did before Trump) I would think all Americans would greatly sympathize with the Ukrainians, as I do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Putin has. said he wants to restore the empire Russia, and later the Soviet Union, used to have. Obviously, if he took over Ukraine he is not likely to stop there. In fact, success in taking Ukraine would encourage him to continue his aggression. The idea that what happens in Europe is no concern of ours is a wrong idea that we should was wrong from World War I, which we finally decided to enter, proclaiming we needed to "make the world safe for democracy" three years after it started. Despite that experience, some people, like Trump today, said we should put America First and stay out of European affairs while Hitler took Austria and Czechoslovakia, increasing his power before he invaded Poland and started World War II. After that war was over I thought we had learned our lesson. We formed NATO and were also instrumental in forming the United Nations. Denty Cheatham A Tennessean, Cordell Hull, is the longest-serving Secretary of State in American history, and his work to establish the U.N. after World War II led him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and become known as the Father of the U.N. Will we honor sacrifices of American solders in both world wars? I worry that many Americans, not as experienced as this 83-year-old and knowing less history, will listen to President Trump's words that are obviously influenced by his mysterious attachment to Putin, a murderous dictator and war criminal, and fail to realize it is in our national interest to continue our military support for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, to fail to do so, under the circumstances, should be considered a failure to properly honor and respect our soldiers who served and sacrificed themselves in two world wars to maintain peace and freedom in Europe. Denty Cheatham of Nashville is a lawyer with more than 50 years of experience and a partner with his wife in the law firm Cheatham & Palermo. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump preferring Russia's Putin to Ukraine is disgraceful | Opinion (Bloomberg) -- South Africas biggest political party plans a 0.75 percentage-point increase in value-added tax in a revised national budget this month, warning it will approach groups outside the ruling coalition if those in it dont back the move, the Sunday Times reported. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parties including the Democratic Alliance objected to a proposal by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana of the African National Congress to raise the rate to 17% from 15%, resulting in him not presenting the budget to lawmakers as scheduled last month, a first for the nation. That is now set for March 12. The ANC and DA are in a 10-party governing coalition that President Cyril Ramaphosa set up after last years elections failed to produce an outright winner. That grouping doesnt include the Economic Freedom Fighters, which the newspaper said the ANC would approach for support, citing Maropene Ramokgopa, the ANCs second deputy secretary general and the countrys monitoring and evaluation minister. The National Treasury is in a closed period until after the presentation of the budget. The ANC and all political parties are in talks about the budget, party spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said in a text message. The EFF opposed a VAT increase but has said it would join the so-called government of national unity if the DA left. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DA, the second-biggest party in the unity government, is opposed to any increase in VAT and has instead proposed a range of spending cuts. The DA refuses to be held hostage or intimidated by the ANCs blatant threat to approach the EFF to pass this VAT-based budget, said Mark Burke, its spokesman on finance. This is not responsible or collaborative governance it is reckless and places further strain on the economy. At a Feb. 24 meeting of the cabinet of ministers, Ramaphosa backed a plan to raise VAT by a range of 50 to 100 basis points, the Sunday Times said. That gathering assigned Deputy President Paul Mashatile to set up a team to assess options, and it will report back to the cabinet on March 3, it said. (Updates with comment from ANC in fourth paragraph.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Our ancient ancestors have done some interesting things to human bones over the years, but one example from the Iron Age Iberian Peninsula is a real puzzle. There, in multiple locations, archaeologists have turned up a number of human skulls, removed from their skeletons, and some with large iron spikes or nails driven right through the forehead, and protruding out through the occipital bone in the back of the head. What was the reason for this practice? Many previous studies suggest that the primary motivation was the display of war trophies, in which the heads of one's enemies were nailed to a wall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But there's another possibility: that the heads belonged to venerated community members, and the display was a way of honoring them after death. Now, new isotope analysis of skulls found at the archaeological sites of Ullastret and Puig Castellar suggests that both interpretations might be true. "Who were these individuals and for what were their heads used?" says archaeologist Ruben de la Fuente-Seoane of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, who led the research. "Our premise in approaching the study was that if they were war trophies they would not come from the sites analysed, while if they were venerated individuals, these would most likely be local." Another angle of the nailed skull pictured above. ( Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, Ullastret The research focused on the skulls of seven men, either with nails, or holes where nails had been driven, from both sites in the first millennium BCE four from Puig Castellar and three from Ullastret. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The researchers performed strontium and oxygen isotope analysis on enamel from the teeth of these skulls, and the skulls of animals that had also been found in the regions from the same time periods. Strontium and oxygen isotopes enter the body through food and drink, respectively, and replace some of the calcium in our teeth and bones. The interesting thing about this is that the ratios of these isotopes vary regionally, and your body retains them for your lifespan. Archaeologists can look at specific isotopes and determine not just how a person ate, but where they lived, and how they moved about over the course of their lifetime. The team's research confirms that the skulls were deliberately chosen; but the reason for those choices, and the reasons for the ritual display of the skulls, were probably multiple. The locations of Ullastret and Puig Castellar on the Iberian Peninsula. (Fuente-Seoane et al., J. Archaeol. Sci. Rep. , 2025) "At Puig Castellar the isotope values of three of the four individuals differ significantly from the local strontium reference, which suggests that they were probably not from the local community. In contrast, Ullastret revealed a mixture of local and non-local origins," Fuente-Seoane says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This result suggests that the practice of severed heads was applied in a different way at each site, which seems to rule out a homogeneous symbolic expression. But more research is needed to be sure." The skulls at Puig Castellar were likely, the researchers found, war trophies, displayed on external city walls or the city gate to intimidate outsiders and possibly locals, too. Two of the skulls at Ullastret, on the other hand, were of local origin, and found in the street in the middle of the city, suggesting that their emplacement was for the benefit of the people who lived there. Only one of the Ullastret skulls was placed on the city wall the skull of a non-local man. That skull could have been a war trophy. The animal teeth provided a reference point for the skulls, but also revealed the different approaches to resource management, and the mobility patterns for both the humans and animals in each city. These differences may be attributed to differences in cultural values, the researchers say which, in turn, could play a role in the display of severed heads. "This differentiation reflects a dynamic and complex society with important local and external interactions. Our study is a first approach to this archaeological problem using a method that is revolutionizing the way we study mobility in the past," Fuente-Seoane explains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "At the same time, it suggests that the selection of individuals for the severed heads ritual was more complex than initially thought." As with many practices of the ancient past, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the reasons behind why the Iberians decorated with skulls nailed to walls. But, as with many things we humans do, it seems even more possible than ever that there's no simple, singular explanation. The team's research has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. Related News Improve animal welfare policies Better animal welfare policies mean better lives for animals, communities and consumers. Unfortunately, loopholes and weak enforcement propagate cruelty in commercial breeding, factory farming and the horse slaughter pipeline. Without stronger oversight, inhumane practices will persist and harm animals and the people who care about them. We need real accountability for commercial breeders, meaningful protections for farm animals, and an end to the unnecessary and cruel slaughter of American horses. Stronger enforcement and smarter policies will protect animals and consumers alike. I urge my lawmakers, Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell and Emily Randall, to prioritize animal welfare policies this Congress, such as Goldies Act and the Save Americas Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, and to ensure harmful policies, such as the EATS Act, are not advanced. These policies will create a more responsible and humane system that reflects the values of the American public. Now is the time to take action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gerry B. Williams, Tacoma Town hall was comforting I recently attended an online Town Hall meeting with Congresswoman Emily Randall and found myself getting a good nights sleep for the first time in a month. Randall was informed, passionate, and exhibited care and concern for her constituents. The folks directing questions to her were also deeply concerned about the past month of chaos and disaster resulting from the actions of President Trump, his crony Elon Musk, and others running amok in our government. Congresswoman Randall made sure I knew about the Town Hall meeting by texting me to let me know when it would occur and texting again a couple hours before the meeting started. Her efforts to connect with her constituents and her transparency are signs of a true leader. Shelley Spalding, Tacoma Presidents authority should be respected A brief overview of the Constitution: Article I, Congress approves budget and allocation of monies. Article II, there is one commander in chief, the only elected executive. Article III, legislation can only implement the constitution, not change it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Bill of Rights provides limitations on the government, other amendments, and necessary adjustments, mostly civil rights. The Declaration of Independence mandated we have a moral requirement to construct a government of, by and for the people without tyranny. When one person controls all three Articles, we have fascism. When each is respected as equal and separate, we have American constitutional representative republic. Not a democracy and not authoritarian fascist. Elon Musk, like several million bureaucrats and military personnel, answers to the one, singular executive. Just like the local bilingual para-pro, EPA Code Enforcement person and every cabinet secretary, they all answer constitutionally to the President. None are elected; all exercise regulatory responsibilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress makes a binary choice: fund or dont fund. The courts decide whether someone is stepping over boundaries. The executive administers, including hiring, firing, prioritization of expenditure, evaluation and reasonable repurposing. If you cant work for Trump, find better work. Walt Wegener, Toppenish Address the housing crisis Washington has a housing crisis. People are living outside in freezing cold weather all across the state. Over twenty thousand Washington households are evicted each year. Nearly half of our states renters spend 30% or more of their incomes on rent, with far too many as much as 50%. We need more affordable housing and we should work hard to build it, but thats a long-term solution. Many people living on the edge of homelessness need relief right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 1217/SB 5222 is a statewide rent stabilization bill. This bill sets standards for the amount that a landlord can raise the rent on a tenant, protecting tenants from predatory fees and rent gouging. If passed, this bill will help millions of renter households stay in their homes and provide stability and predictability for renters and landlords alike. No one should have to choose between paying the rent and being able to heat their home, buy food and gas, or pay for medication or school supplies. Washington needs HB 1217/SB 52222. Chris Ferguson, Tacoma The farming community is being honored in a St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce event later this month. The 21st annual Farm City Breakfast will take place from 7 to 9 a.m. on Friday, March 14, at Word of Life Church, 3902 N.E. Riverside Road. The inaugural Farm Family of the Year award will be given to the Casey and Ashley Spencer family, who are fourth-generation farmers in DeKalb, Missouri. The keynote speaker will be Kevin Wanzer. The cost is $12 per person to attend, and RSVPs are required. Seats can be reserved at saintjoseph.com. Proceeds from the event go to benefit Agriculture Future of America scholarships for students in the area. GRESHAM, Ore. (KOIN) The recent spate of packed town halls in Oregon and elsewhere continued Saturday as freshman US Rep. Maxine Dexter spoke with an overflow crowd at Centennial High School in Gresham on Saturday afternoon. Dexter, who introduced the Stop Musk Act in early February, heard many concerns from those gathered at the town hall about Elon Musk, the billionaire who currently has President Trumps ear and is overseeing DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. Sen. Ron Wyden to skip Trumps first speech to Congress, hold town hall instead Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Stop Musk Act would ban retaliation against any federal employee who stops, or attempts to stop, unlawful or unconstitutional actions by Elon Musk against federal agencies, and for other purposes. US Rep. Maxine Dexter at a town hall at Centennial High School in Gresham, March 1, 2025 (KOIN) These are bills that may, in some regards be symbolic because were probably not going to get these things passed, Dexter said. But its important for people to know that were fighting for them. About 1200 people at the town hall also sounded off on veterans affairs, the economy and the Russia-Ukraine war. About 50 people were turned away when they reached capacity. This is truly a constitutional crisis, Dexter said. We have to fight for this country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the attendees, Karen Weiland, is a veteran who is very, very concerned about veterans rights. She wanted to know one thing:Shouldnt I get all my care at the VA hospital? Im really worried that theyre just going to take the chopping block to all the specialists and the doctors that everyone needs. Medicaid cuts were another hot topic. Im very concerned that those are going to be cut severely, one voter said at the town hall. We already have a severe homeless problem. There are elderly people sleeping on the streets who dont have homes. If they are lucky they are in a soup kitchen. US Rep. Maxine Dexter at a town hall at Centennial High School in Gresham, March 1, 2025 (KOIN) Dexter agreed but said she will do everything she can to save Medicaid and health care benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if you are fine, youve got great insurance, youre not worried, you will be impacted by a cut to Medicaid, make no mistake, she said. I am going to lay on the line for that, and we have to get others to lay on the line with me. Dexter knows her work is made more difficult by merely being in her first term in Congress. But shes working her plan. First I am working my freshman class who is closest with the people and is the most able to be reformers and we are organizing to push our leadership, she said. Second, I am working with my Republican colleagues to help get things moving. Dexter, who replaced Earl Blumenauer as representative of Oregons 3rd Congressional District, recently made the Daily Show for using an expletive in a public speech about Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked about it on Saturday, Dexter said she does not regret it. You know, I dont, she told KOIN 6 News. Naturally I am going to want to reflect back to people that Im hearing them. And so I think that it made me uncomfortable. But clearly you can tell it was awkward, as my children have said. But, the reality was that I needed people to understand that this is not something that Im afraid to speak out about. Hearing Dexter swear seemed to be of little concern to those at the town hall. They cared more about the issues facing the country at this time. About 1200 people packed Centennial High in Gresham for a town hall with US Rep. Maxine Dexter, March 1, 2025 (KOIN) And as with other recent town halls, many said it was their first time coming to one. They said they felt compelled to come because of what the Trump Administration is doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But others who have been involved a long time told KOIN 6 News they can already see a difference these well attended town halls make. As one voter said, They have gotten more people on both sides involved. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez branded Elon Musk a leech on the public in her latest jab at the tech billionaire-turned-senior adviser to the president. Musk has been behind the Department of Government Efficiency sweeping staff cuts, reduced real estate footprint and slashed contracts as the Trump administration aims to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. But the New York Democrat, along with some of her colleagues in Congress, have expressed concern about Musks unwieldy overhaul of the federal government. This guy is a leech on the public. No matter how many billions he gets in tax cuts and government contracts, it will never be enough for him, the representative wrote on X Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now hes going after the elderly, the disabled, and orphaned children so he can pocket it in tax cuts for himself, Ocasio-Cortez continued. Its disgusting. New York Congresswoman branded Elon Musk a leech on the public in her latest jab at the tech billionaire after he called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. (Getty Images) Ocasio-Cortezs remarks were in response to Musks appearance on Joe Rogans podcast where he called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. Roughly 69 million Americans retired workers and people with disabilities receive Social Security benefits each month. Musk also repeated a false claim made by President Donald Trump, stating that millions and millions of people over 100 years old are receiving Social Security benefits. The tech billionaire told Rogan: We found just with a basic search of the Social Security database that there were 20 million dead people marked as alive. In reality, a 2024 report showed that from 2015 through 2022, only 1 percent of the payments made by the Social Security Administration were improper and most of those improper payments went to living people, the Associated Press first reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ocasio-Cortezs comments Saturday are part of a long-standing feud with the Tesla CEO. Days earlier, she called Musk a billionaire conman. Musk repeated false claims about the Social Security Administration during an appearance on Joe Rogans podcast (YouTube) After the DOGE-led effort to lay off dozens of employees from the FDAs medical devices division some of whom were later reinstated, the New York Congresswoman told her colleagues last week in the House Energy and Commerce Committee: Elon Musk is not a scientist. He is not an engineer. He is a billionaire conman with a lot of money. She then pleaded: I sincerely ask you all to examine what expertise he has in medical devicesThese are peoples lives that are on the line. Last month, Ocasio-Cortez pointed out Musks companies contracts with the U.S. government. If you want to start with waste, start with Elons defense contracts at the Pentagon, she wrote. In fact, we should start with transparency around defense contracts in general, which take up an enormous sum of public funds. But they wont do that, will they? In response, the SpaceX founder said: Do you actually write these or am I replying to your intern? Video above: FOX 5s Elizabeth Alvarez details the new program in this previous airing. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Applications are now open for a recently launched teacher housing program in San Diego. Housing Opportunities for Public Educators, also known as or H.O.P.E., offers teachers hope that they can continue to afford to live in the communities they serve. The program will provide financial and homebuyer assistance to certified teachers within San Diego Unified as well as Poway Unified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With financial assistance, mandatory counseling and expert guidance through the homebuying process, this program empowers teachers to live in the communities they continue to enrich, while not using taxpayer dollars, Councilmember Marni von Wilperts office noted in a press release on Saturday. Did the roaring 20s-era castle in National City ever find royalty? How to apply The process is straightforward: interested teachers must first reach out to the Urban League of San Diego County to begin their application. This can be done by emailing housing@sdul.org or calling (619) 266-6237. Once approved for a mortgage, participants will work with a real estate professional to find a home that meets their budget and family needs within San Diego County. Throughout the process, LISC San Diego will provide a minimum of $40,000 in assistance per family, which can be applied at any stage during the homebuying journey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who has been a staunch advocate for affordable housing, expressed her enthusiasm about the program. Our teachers are an essential part of our communities. But for too long, many of them have struggled to afford homes in the communities where they teach, she said. In partnership with LISC San Diego and Urban League of San Diego County, we are turning the dream of homeownership into a realityone teacher at a time. The H.O.P.E. program is seen by many as a critical step in addressing the challenges faced by educators in an area where the cost of living continues to rise. It offers a solution that will help teachers live in the very neighborhoods they serve, providing stability for families and greater community cohesion. Eligible educators are now encouraged to apply for this new program. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. NEW YORK (PIX11) New York City is hiring and you dont need a college degree to apply for some of the open positions, according to the JobsNYC website. The New York City Housing Authority is looking to hire multiple caretakers across the five boroughs. Caretakers are required to pick up debris, assist in snow emergency removal and prepare apartments for move-outs. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You must have a valid drivers license to apply. There are no formal education requirements, according to the listing. The salary ranges from $36,006 to $50,569. Click here for more information on the position. A city custodial assistant position is also available with the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. The job duties include cleaning offices, bathrooms, lobbies and more. NYC hiring: How to take a civil service exam The salary starts at $35,252. You only need your high school diploma to apply. To find out more about the job posting, click here. The Department of Social Services wants to fill a customer service assistant position. Potential candidates will need to know how to respond to 311 calls and answer questions about IDNYC along with other tasks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More Local News You could get paid between $38,712 and $42,092. You wont need a college degree to apply, according to JobsNYC. Check here for the job posting. All of these positions dont require you to take a civil service exam. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. This weeks From the Archives comes from a March 6, 2021, article in the Naples Daily News by Harriet Howard Heithaus. The CIA became the tenants of a fish camp central building known as Cottage Manatee on the Gordon River where it proceeded to quietly supply the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. A radar antenna at the missile tracking station in 1961. The southern tip of Marco Island's beach spent years during the Cold War as a missile tracking station administered by the Air Force. Urban legends abound about carloads of Cubans coming to the city to learn where they could join the ultimately failed attempt to wrest control from dictator Fidel Castro. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the person who has the facts is Lila Zuck, Naples historian. Her book, Naples, A Second Paradise (Collier County Historical Research Center, Inc.: 2013; 1,005 pages) describes the groups front as the Keys Navigation and Research Company. It largely funneled arms, hidden under the house, to the Cuban exile troops via PT boat. (The book is available from the Naples Historical Society at napleshistoricalsociety.org.) The tracking facility after being converted to concrete plant and construction staging area. The southern tip of Marco Island's beach spent years during the Cold War as a missile tracking station administered by the Air Force. It was not hard for Naples to figure out what the true intent was, according to Zuck; one of the checks for its outboard motor repair was signed by the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. Later, on Marco Island, the U.S. Air Force openly built missile tracking stations at Caxambas Point to watch the skies around Cuba. Russia, then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, had begun installing nuclear missile sites in Cuba, a prime vantage point from which to intimidate the U.S. The missile tracking station and a piece of unexploded ordinance. The southern tip of Marco Island's beach spent years during the Cold War as a missile tracking station administered by the Air Force. The tensions built to an ultimatum Oct. 22, 1962, when President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation on television, announcing a naval blockade of Cuba and threatening military strikes to back it up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The blockade was to forestall any additional nuclear missiles arriving from the USSR. But there were already missiles there. Southwest Floridians doubtlessly felt the tension of the moment much more than most Americans, who were, to say it mildly, clenched. The missile tracking station showing a condo-less stretch of beach sweeping north. The southern tip of Marco Island's beach spent years during the Cold War as a missile tracking station administered by the Air Force. A week of diplomacy through the United Nations defused the situation: Russia would remove the missiles; we would not support another Bay of Pigs. Eventually both sites would become high-end homes and commercial developments where owners may be unaware that they're on historical ground. From the Archives: The desperado of Chatham Bend From the Archives: The everyday lives of Neapolitans from 1949-1981 Archives: The everyday lives of Neapolitans from 1949-1981 This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: From the Archives: The spies next door LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The Arkansas National Guard Foundation is seeking assistance in helping the family of a current serving member and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom whose daughter needs spinal surgery. In a post on social media this week, the ANGF said that Aly is 12 years old, loves riding her mountain bike through the trails and has had to undergo many surgeries throughout her life since being diagnosed with infantile early onset scoliosis at eight months old. Courtesy of Arkansas National Guard Foundation UAMS Orthopedic and Spine Hospital celebrates success stories one year after opening Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the ANGF, Aly found out last year that the four inches of growth she has experienced over the last year has led to a breakdown of the tethering that is part of her spine, causing her to need more surgery. In December 2024, X-rays revealed that the four inches of growth that she has experienced in the last year had led to her tether beginning to break down, the post said. Once again, the family faced the prospect of fusing her spine. The pool of surgeons that perform vertebral tethering is already small, but with a child her age and a curve her size, it is even smaller. UAMS, Arkansas Childrens awarded $3.2 million to develop next-generation treatments for rare childrens anomaly The ANGF said that the family has found a group of surgeons that can help Aly, but they are out of network with the familys insurance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To schedule the surgery, they must make a deposit of $35,000 and sign a promissory note for the balance of the out-of-pocket expense, $25,000. They will also need to cover travel costs for her to remain in New Jersey for one month after surgery, the ANGF said. They need to raise a total of $75,000 to cover the total cost of the procedure. For more information about Aly and how you can donate, visit ANGF.us. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLRT - FOX16.com. NEW HARTFORD, NY (WUTE/WFXV/WPNY) New Hartford Police Chief Ron Fontaine announced the arrest of a suspect in the shooting at the Sangertown Square Mall Saturday afternoon. Malachi Wynder, 20 years old, who gave a Rome address, has ben arrested wnad charged with Attempted Murder, Reckless Endagerment and Criminal Possession of a Loaded Firearm. He was arrested in Utica by the Metro SWAT team, made up of units from Utica Police, Oneida County Sheriff Office and New Hartford Police. Wynder was taken to New Hartford Police headquarters for processing and was held for arraignment at the Oneida County Jails Central Arraignment Part Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The identity of the victim has not been released. He is reported to be recovering from his gunshot wounds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WUTR/WFXV - CNYhomepage.com. Trump is a dealmaker. But his Ukraine deal is in limbo after a public blowup in the Oval Office. He and Volodymyr Zelenskyy had an extraordinary argument in front of cameras on Friday. BI asked negotiation and conflict-resolution experts what they thought of the unprecedented clash. President Donald Trump styles himself as a dealmaker. But a minerals deal with Ukraine is now in limbo after his public blowup with the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the Oval Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The on-camera clash offered a rare public insight into leadership and strategy during one of the president's highest-stakes negotiations. Negotiating tactics "You're either going to make a deal or we're out," Trump said at the height of the heated exchange, apparently referring to US commitment to Ukraine's defense. "And if we're out, you'll fight it out. I don't think it's going to be pretty, but you'll fight it out." Andrea Schneider, an expert on conflict resolution at the Cardozo School of Law, told BI that the ultimatum suggested Trump was not the "magical negotiator" some say he is. "The last thing you do is give the other party all the cards," Schneider said. "In whatever the negotiation, why would Russia give Ukraine anything? Why would Russia give us anything? How is this possibly making the United States stronger?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said Trump's words had strengthened Russia's hand, "which is sort of mind-boggling." Curtis Friedel, an associate professor and director of the Center for Cooperative Problem Solving at Virginia Tech, said the meeting was more about "ego" than nuanced negotiation or leadership. "It appears to me, from a negotiation perspective, that stakeholders wanted a deal more than the leaders wanted a deal. Both parties thus ended up embarrassing themselves," Friedel said. Zelenskyy ultimately left Washington without signing the deal, which would have given America access to Ukraine's mineral riches in exchange for "a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskyy's departure from Washington was so abrupt, it meant skipping a planned lunch. "I would like to know if the White House chef was warned," Schneider said. Playing by different rules At one point in the meeting, Trump suggested Zelenskyy was an obstacle in the negotiations with Russia because of the "hatred he's got for Putin." As the tensions escalated, Vice President JD Vance suggested the Ukrainian leader had not shown enough gratitude for US aid. Eileen Babbitt, a professor focused on international conflict management at Tufts University, said she believed Vance's accusation and Trump's comment that Zelenskyy did not "have any cards to play" suggested the United States was "seeking to end the war on Putin's terms regardless of Ukraine's interests." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stanley Renshon, a political science professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center, said that Trump's perspective in the meeting appeared to have been on the "large picture," while Zelenskyy was focused on the immediate goal of defending his country. "The result is a clash of perspectives that is hard, if not impossible, to reconcile," Renshon said. The conversation with Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy devolved in front of the media. Mystyslav Chernov/AP Deal or no deal Zelenskyy later said he hoped a deal could still be made and stressed that US support had been vital to Kyiv continuing its fight. On Saturday, he received a warmer welcome in London from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who reaffirmed his "unwavering" support for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Starmer said he felt "uncomfortable" watching the events in the Oval Office, adding, "Nobody wants to see that." The prime minister said he was now focused on acting as a bridge between Zelenskyy and Trump and that he would work with France and Ukraine on a cease-fire plan to present to the United States. Zelenskyy met with European leaders in London on Sunday, including Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as they gathered for crisis talks to discuss support for Kyiv. Read the original article on Business Insider HONOLULU (KHON2) Do you want to earn your wings? Horizon Air, the regional airline subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, is offering an opportunity to help aspiring pilots make their way to the flight deck without leaving the islands for training. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Through the first of its kind program, officials said participants can obtain the necessary experience and flight ratings through flight schools in Hawaii at their own pace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Students also have the opportunity to join Horizon Air once they complete their training. Safety is nonpartisan: Despite aircraft incidents, experts say flying is still safe We are very excited to provide pilots from Hawaii not only an opportunity to join us at Horizon but also a path to eventually come home to Hawaii to fly the rest of their careers, Carlos Zendejas, vice president of flight operations for Horizon Air said. As of now, nearly 60 student pilots are taking part in the program at Pacific Flight Academys Honolulu facility. Student pilot Anais Rodriguez described the program as a game-changing opportunity for aspiring Hawaii pilots and their careers. The aviation sector plays a crucial role in keeping Hawaiis residents and islands connected to the world. ravel to and from our islands. Investing in local students through Horizon Air not only supports Hawaiis economy but also empowers the next generation of pilots. Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke Future Hawaii students are invited to apply to learn the necessary experience and flight ratings through flight schools in Hawaii at their own pace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Check out more news from around Hawaii Those who are selected to participate in the program will receive a $12,500 flight training stipend, networking opportunities, a conditional job offer and more. More information and the application process can be found on Alaska Airs website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. This low resolution photo was sent by Blue Ghost One shortly after landing. It shows the first photo of the lunar surface taken by the lander. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace) CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) Hundreds of people, including employees of Firefly Aerospace, NASA and VIPs, cheered at the Blue Ghost One lunar landing party on Sunday morning. Mission accomplished! After a 45-day journey, a lunar lander built in Central Texas became the first commercially built spacecraft to successfully land on the moon. The lander made contact with the lunar surface around 2:30 am Sunday. Shortly after, the first photo taken by the lunar lander was sent by the space craft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blue Ghost One carries several experiments as part of NASAs Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. These include a drill collecting lunar samples and a machine for preventing dust build up called an electrodynamic dust shield. These experiments will help pave the way for future space travel by NASA. Additionally, the spacecraft will capture the first images of lunar sunset. The lunar sunset has only been seen once before during the Apollo era. The evening kicked off with a reading from astronaut and poet Dr. Sian Proctor. NASAs acting administrator, Janet Petro, was in attendance. According to NASA, all of the experiments on board the spacecraft made it to the moon in healthy condition. Blue Ghost One before its launch. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace) The second photo sent by Blue Ghost One shows the Earth on the moons horizon. (Credit: Firefly Aerospace) History-making mission Previous attempts by private companies at a landing have reached the surface but faced difficulties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Intuitive Machines sent their own lander to the moon. It toppled over shortly after landing and had to end service early. Last week, that company launched another mission to the moon. That lander is scheduled to land on March 6. Backstory: Historic lunar landing by Firefly Aerospace Japanese company ispace launched a lunar lander alongside Blue Ghost One. That lander is taking a longer flight to the moon and wont reach the lunar surface until May. Blue Ghost One will operate for one lunar day, approximately two weeks. After that period, temperatures on the moon will plummet and the lander will shut down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Firefly Aerospace is based in Cedar Park. It has two additional lunar landers scheduled as part of CLPS. The next is scheduled to launch in 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Austria's liberal NEOS party has approved a three-party coalition deal to end months of political instability. The NEOS, the smallest partner in the alliance, is set to join the conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPO) in a three-way coalition after party members gave the green light at a general meeting on Sunday. The OVP and SPO committees had already approved the deal. The government is now set to be sworn in on Monday. CICERO, Ill. Authorities have identified the individual responsible for an explosion in Cicero that happened on Feb. 15 and left one person dead and 11 families displaced, according to authorities. Just before 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, officers were sent to an explosion in the 2200 block of South Central Avenue in Cicero. Once the fire was extinguished, authorities found the remains of 31-year-old Anthony Avila-Puebla in the debris, according to investigators. Authorities said over the course of the investigation, detectives determined that Avila-Puebla had a relationship with a family member living at the home where the explosion happened. While the family member attended a wedding, Avila-Puebla was seen on video parking his vehicle half a block from the home, removing a five-gallon jug and going inside the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I ran here in my wedding dress: Cicero family loses home, cats in explosion; unidentified remains found Avila-Puebla was then seen leaving the building with the same jug that was now empty and returning to his vehicle. He was then seen removing multiple jugs from his vehicle and entering the building. Shortly after, an explosion happened and Avila-Puebla was not seen leaving the building, according to authorities. Police said the investigation revealed the jugs contained a flammable liquid and Avila-Puebla was determined to be responsible for the explosion. The motive for the explosion remains unknown and the investigation remains ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. Authorities in southern Minnesota are asking the public for help finding a man accused of shooting a woman in the chest last week. Martin County Sheriff's Office, Facebook Kyle Jonathan Liford, 32, is described as standing 5'10 and weighing 200 pounds, with blond hair and hazel eyes. He's wanted for felony second-degree attempted murder. It began last Wednesday with a reported domestic assault in the city of Truman, where according to a news release from the Martin County Sheriff's Office, a woman had been shot in the chest with a pistol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff's office says the woman was taken to the hospital, while Liford fled the scene, "possibly" driving a green 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe with the license plate NVU 782. There has been no update on the victim's condition. Anyone who knows Liford's whereabouts is urged to contact the Martin County Sheriff's Office at 507-238-4481. Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcements latest version of events, and may be subject to change. If you know anyone who is affected by domestic violence, you can find more information on services available here, via the Minnesota DPS. You can also call the Day One Crisis Hotline at 1-866-223-1111. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Capital Area Transit System (CATS) bus drivers started to strike Monday morning over safety concerns. The strike began around 3 a.m. The local union president says the strike was forced upon them after CATS imposed its final contract offer and refused to address what the union leadership calls serious safety concerns. CATS has left us with no other choice but to walk off the job. We want the citizens of Baton Rouge to know we did not want to strike. We hope they stand with us. Our frontline bus operators who keep our city moving have been ignored for far too long by CATS management, local union president George DeCuir said. We have been willing to sit down and get a deal done. But it has become clear CATS has no interest in giving our members a fair contract and our riders the transit system that they deserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CATS released a statement saying that bus services will continue despite the bus driver strike. Our focus is to still provide essential transit services for our riders while continuing to work toward a fair and equitable resolution with our valued drivers, CATS CEO Theo Richards said. We have implemented our contingency plans to minimize disruptions and maintain our routes, allowing passengers to reach their destinations safely and on time. CATS asks bus riders to check its website frequently for the most current bus schedule information. Riders can also call (225) 389-8282 for additional information. Crews to update East Baton Rouge traffic signals this week after malfunction Latest News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. After a 5-year battle with blood cancer, Kimmer OReilly couldnt face returning to a desk job. It doesnt sounds exciting, he recently admitted. But some would say the former Tri-Cities real estate agent swung a little too far the other direction. This month he embarked on an ambitious solo journey to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Readers can follow his journey online at captainkimmer.com. OReilly, 33, told the Herald before departing that he has a new lease on life and wanted to challenge himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said was inspired by Jessica Watsons attempted solo circumnavigation by boat. During his treatment at a cancer house at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, he watched her Netflix biopic, True Spirit, and later read the book. I dont know why it connected with me, but I thought, I want to do this. For whatever reason, the thought of me doing this got me excited, he told the Tri-City Herald. I kind of want to get out there and prove that I can still do things. The 2010 Southridge High grad says he has little experience sailing, but hes spent months preparing for his maiden voyage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For about $26,000, he bought a 34-foot 1970 Sparkman & Stephens yacht moored near Chichester, England. On Sunday, Feb. 22, he confirmed hed crossed the English Channel to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France. But hes also faced challenges, including tearing a sail in bad weather and a run-in with a French rescue crew. Kimmer OReilly, 33, of Tri-Cities, hoists an American flag up on his boat, Kite. He plans to sail the vessel, named Kite, south to the Bay of Biscay before heading to the Canary Islands. He will cross there using the leisurely southern passage to reach the Caribbean. The crossing can cover nearly 3,000 nautical miles and take up to a month to sail, according to Kraken Travel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OReilly then expects to moor in Texas or North Carolina before returning to the Tri-Cities to plan his next adventure. Few people attempt solo expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean. A Tri-City resident is on an ambitious journey to sail solo cross the Atlantic Ocean. Thats because the feat is quite taxing both physically and mentally on even the most experienced skippers. Even simple mistakes can quickly turn lethal. Sailors can face dangers associated with sleep deprivation, rough weather and sea conditions, medical emergencies, equipment failure and falling overboard. In general, though, recreational sailing with proper precautions is generally considered as safe as driving. Kimmer OReilly of Tri-Cities reclines on the deck of Kite, a 34-foot Sparkman & Stephens yacht he plans to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. I thought I was a zombie Locals have probably spotted OReilly riding around the Tri-Cities on his motorcycle with his Australian Shepherd service dog, Casper, strapped to his back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After high school he moved south in 2010 to study finance at Arizona State University and then worked in private equity in Seattle and California. Life was smooth sailing before being diagnosed with leukemia in October 2020. Fatigue and small seizures were the first indicators that something might not be right with his health. OReilly says he broke some ribs simply rolling over in bed. He was forced to undergo six months of chemotherapy following his diagnosis. OReilly says he felt his life was over before it could even begin. He says the fallout from his sickness eventually took everything from him: His job, career and girlfriend. Kimmer OReilly could often be seen driving around the Tri-Cities on his motorcycle with his Australian Shepherd service dog, Casper, strapped to his back. The year he was diagnosed was the year he went big, after several years working in finance. But his world was flipped upside down very quickly. He described the treatment as brutal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I thought I was a zombie. You look like the Walking Dead, he said. I felt I didnt have a soul at all. The treatment worked, though, and in June 2022 he moved to Scottsdale to work as a banker, in an attempt to turn his life around. But he received a second cancer diagnosis in October that year, and also was fighting a fungal infection. He moved back to Tri-Cities to be closer to family. Following four months of chemo, he underwent a stem cell transplant from his brother in June 2023. Hes since been in remission since December 2023. OReilly now works as a real estate agent and general contractor in the Tri-Cities booming housing market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cancer put him out of commission for more than four years, he says, but he feels hes ready to face lifes toughest challenges again. He recently summitted Mount St. Helens. OReilly says it was one of the hardest things hed done, but it filled him with a sense of accomplishment. He said he felt like he unlocked something that day, a newfound belief in himself. Im hoping that I learn that I got different limits than I had, and that I can do some exciting stuff, he said. OReilly said he expected to do some writing and filming on his transatlantic journey, documenting his experience out on the open water. He also planned to do some reading. Among the books he planned to bring included the Bible, Quran and Talmud. China has accused the Philippines of polluting the environment after it released footage it said showed troops burning rubbish at a disputed reef in the South China Sea. The video, published on social media by state broadcaster CGTN on Saturday, showed smoke pouring from the BRP Sierra Madre, an old warship that was deliberately grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999. CGTN said marines stationed on the ship had been burning refuse and were posing "a serious threat to the ecological environment of the surrounding waters". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. It also referred to a report by China's Ministry of Natural Resources from last year that said the "prolonged illegal grounding of the warship had severely damaged the diversity, stability and sustainability of the coral reef ecosystem". The Philippines has not yet responded to the claims. The reef, known in China as Renai Reef and Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines, lies about 200km (120 miles) from the Philippine island of Palawan and has been one of the main flashpoints between the two countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These include a 2023 incident where China intercepted resupply missions that it said were carrying construction materials for the Sierra Madre, and one last year where Beijing accused Philippine troops stationed on the ship of pointing weapons at its coastguards. China has described the Sierra Madre, a former World War II tank-landing ship, as nothing more than an "ecological graveyard", with its badly corroded structure at risk of disintegration. It has repeatedly demanded that Manila remove the ship, which remains commissioned in the Philippine Navy and continues to be manned by marines as a way of asserting Manila's claim to the reef. Beijing is also concerned that delivering building materials to the ship will help Manila consolidate its presence there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last July, the two countries reached a provisional agreement to allow necessities to be delivered to the troops stationed on the ship but stark differences over the terms of the deal soon emerged. The Philippines grounded the ship on the reef in 1999. Photo: Reuters alt=The Philippines grounded the ship on the reef in 1999. Photo: Reuters> Beijing maintained that Manila had agreed to three conditions: the eventual removal of the Sierra Madre, notification before resupply missions and on-site verification by China to ensure no construction materials were included. However, the Philippines said the agreement had not compromised its sovereignty or granted China oversight over its operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental analysts quoted in last year's report from the ministry argued that the warship had been corroding for years and was leaking rust and pollutants into the surrounding waters, which had caused "irreversible harm" and widespread coral reef destruction. It said data from satellite imaging and diver observations showed that coral coverage within 400 metres (1,300 feet) of the vessel had plummeted by nearly 90 per cent, heavy metal concentrations in the water had risen above safe levels and marine life had been adversely affected. The report also accused Philippine personnel of dumping waste water and rubbish into the lagoon - actions that Beijing condemned as "reckless environmental destruction". However, neutral environmental experts have been unable to access the area to verify the information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Philippine national task force for the waters, which it calls the West Philippine Sea, said the accusations were a "false and a classic misdirection" aimed at diverting attention from China's own environmental abuses. It said Chinese fishing boats had "been found to cause irreparable damage to corals [and] untold damage to the maritime environment" and were "jeopardising the natural habitat and the livelihood of thousands of Filipino fisherfolk". This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. (KRON) Berkeley police are asking the public to be on the lookout for a missing 12-year-old boy. Police said Princeugene Rockwell was last seen at 3 p.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of Harmon Street and may have been heading to San Pablo Park. Princeugene Rockwell, 12, is sought by Berkeley police. (Photo credit: The Berkeley Police Department.) Rockwell is described as 4-feet-8-inches tall with braided hair. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a gray tank top, gray shorts and black slide shoes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the Berkeley Police Department or their local law enforcement agency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. In the months leading up to the tragic deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, the couple had grown increasingly distant from their loved ones, according to those close to them. A housekeeper for Betsy Arakawas 91-year-old mother, Yoshie Feaster, claims the classical pianist had not been in contact with her dementia-stricken mother since October, sparking concern within the family. Betsy Arakawa's Family Was Concerned Ahead Of Final Days News Licensing / MEGA Betsy hadnt called her mother in months, the housekeeper, identified only as Keiko, told the Daily Mail. She usually called every one or two months. Last time she called was October. We were thinking, what happened? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arakawa and Hackman were discovered dead in their New Mexico home on Wednesday. One of their dogs was also found deceased, while two others were alive. The Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office reported no signs of foul play, and a preliminary autopsy showed no external trauma. The couple also tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning, dismissing a theory that a gas leak may have been involved. Betsy Arakawa Found Next To Scattered Pills Luis Guerra/The Grosby Group/ MEGA Arakawas body was discovered in a bathroom surrounded by scattered pills, although the exact medications have not been disclosed due to HIPAA regulations. Additional medications found at the scene included Tylenol, a thyroid medication, and Diltiazem, a drug used to treat high blood pressure and chest pain. Police are investigating whether medications played a role in the couples deaths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Forensic pathologist Dr. Priya Banerjee told Page Six that the scattered pills could provide critical insights into Arakawas health and suggested that the idea of suicide is always there. She also speculated that Hackman could have died from the emotional impact of losing his wife. Hackman, whose last event was recorded by his pacemaker on February 17, was found in a separate room near the kitchen. His sunglasses were found next to him, indicating he may have suffered a fall. Friends and family noted that both Hackman and Arakawa had become increasingly reclusive. Hackmans daughter, Leslie, previously admitted to Us Weekly that she hadnt spoken to her father for months and mentioned concerns about his fading memory. 911 Call Reveals Haunting Details Of Gene Hackman And Betsy Arakawa's Tragic Deaths CAMERA PRESS / TSUNI/STILLS/GAMM/ MEGA Newly released details surrounding the tragic deaths of Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, have shed light on the harrowing moments when their bodies were discovered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 911 call, reportedly made by a member of the maintenance crew, captures a distraught caller struggling to maintain composure, repeatedly saying "damn" as he spoke to emergency dispatchers. Authorities revealed it took approximately 12 hours to confirm the identities of Hackman and Arakawa due to the advanced state of decomposition of their bodies. Investigators believe the couple may have been deceased for over two weeks before being found in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home. Two Maintenance Workers Allegedly Placed Panicked 911 Call CAMERA PRESS/Pat Lyttle/MEGA According to TMZ, the call was placed by a panicked male who informed dispatchers that he had seen two unresponsive bodies through a window of Hackman's mansion. Desperately urging emergency responders to hurry, the caller said, "[It's] a female and a male probably. I don't know, sir. Just send somebody up here really quick." The caller, believed to be one of the two maintenance workers, Roland Lowe Begay or Jesse Kesler, admitted he had not entered the home and could not provide details about the "patients." When questioned about their condition, he responded that he had "no idea" if Hackman and Arakawa were "awake" or "breathing." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Begay and Kesler reportedly told authorities they had not seen the couple in two weeks, adding to the growing evidence that the couple may have been deceased for an extended period. Initial reports suggest that no foul play was involved, with investigators finding no signs of forced entry or external trauma. Hollywood Remembers Gene Hackman MEGA The news of Hackmans death has left Hollywood mourning the loss of one of its most cherished talents. Actor Nathan Lane, who starred alongside Hackman in "The Birdcage," paid tribute to his co-stars legacy. Gene Hackman was my favorite actor...You could never catch him acting. Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger, Lane said in a statement to PEOPLE. It was a tremendous privilege to get to share the screen with him and remains one of my fondest memories. Rest in peace, Mr. Hackman. Gene Hackman's career spanned over four decades, earning him a reputation as one of the most versatile and powerful actors in Hollywood. From his Academy Award-winning roles in "The French" Connection and "Unforgiven" to his unforgettable performances in "Bonnie and Clyde" and "The Birdcage," Hackman left a lasting mark on the film industry. Perhaps no major fast food chain has evolved as much as KFC. It doesn't even have the same name it once did in the 1960s, Kentucky Fried Chicken became one of the first national quick-serve brands, presenting the novelty of arduously prepared, traditional family dinners at an affordable price within minutes. With KFC built around chicken seasoned with a blend of 11 herbs and spices that was once cooked in the somewhat shady Col. Harlan Sanders' gas station, Kentucky Fried Chicken helped establish the idea of fast food in America. In recent years, and under the ownership and direction of PepsiCo and Yum Brands, the renamed KFC has aggressively made changes to position itself in an increasingly competitive and crowded field. While it serves some of the lowest quality chicken in fast food (by some opinions anyway), it looks as if 2025 will be one of its most active years on record. Here are all the ways KFC will be transforming itself and its menu in the months ahead. Read more: 8 Fast Food Chicken Tenders, Ranked From Worst To Best It's Taking The 'K' Out Of KFC What is now a 24,000 outlet-strong network of KFC locations started out as service stations that sold pressure-cooked fried chicken dinners to motorists stopping in Corbin and Nicholasville, Kentucky. By the 1950s, Kentucky Fried Chicken was a franchised operation, and even after Pepsi bought the chain in 1986 and launched a separate portfolio called Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997, KFC was based in its origin state, most recently maintaining its corporate headquarters in Louisville. As of 2025, there will be no more Kentucky Fried Chicken in Kentucky. Holding company Yum! Brands announced that it would move KFC's operations base to Plano, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. Those offices will serve as the new command center for both KFC and Pizza Hut, while Taco Bell and Habit Burger and Grill corporate employees will remain at its complex in Irvine, California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the move, 100 KFC-centric Yum! Brands employees will see their jobs relocated to Texas. The company will also call back to the office 90 employees who have been working indefinitely their jobs will be re-centered in Plano over the course of 2025 and 2026. There Will Be No More Chicken In Turkey Up until 2025 and often through franchise agreements, KFC operated restaurants in the majority of the world's nations. A total of 145 countries were home to at least one of the fried chicken restaurants, but that number just dropped to 144. In January 2025, KFC's parent company Yum! Brands disclosed that it had severed ties with IS Gida, an independent franchisee that owned and ran every KFC and Pizza Hut in the nation of Turkey. The operator didn't meet Yum! Brands benchmarks for quality, leading to a termination of the agreement. "Having '3C' franchisees that are capable, capitalized and committed is essential to our business, and we strive every day to provide them the necessary support and tools for success, while asking our partners to deliver high-quality experiences for our customers," Chris Turner, Yum! Brands CFO Chris Turner said in a press release. "Yum! Brands engaged with IS Gida over several months to provide assistance and resolve key issues, but IS Gida was ultimately unable to maintain compliance with our standards and adhere to fundamental provisions of our franchise agreements." Along with facing some legal matters associated with the contractual activity, IS Gida will shut down all 283 KFC restaurants in Turkey. There's A New President col harlan sanders statue at a kfc in japan - Robert Alexander/Getty Images Along with moving its headquarters and closing hundreds of restaurants in one significant international market, KFC is mixing up its corporate strategy even more by installing a new boss. On February 13, 2025, KFC announced that it started to transition Catherine Tan-Gillespie, at the time the chicken chain's chief marketing officer and chief development officer, into an elevated role as President of KFC's United States operations. Tan-Gillespie will officially step into the new position on April 1, and will serve under KFC's CEO Scott Mezvinsky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tan-Gillespie entered the KFC C-suite in 2015 as chief marketing officer for the South Pacific before being promoted to the same job for the entire company. After a spell as president and general manager of KFC Canada, where she instituted technological improvements and advocated for more provocative advertising and consumer-facing bargain pricing, Tan-Gillespie will succeed the retiring Tarun Lal, a 30-year KFC veteran. A Tech-Centric KFC Spinoff Is Expanding In the final months of 2024, KFC began looking into the future of 2025 and beyond. Citing a company-wide goal to make ordering at its locations easier, speedier, and more accurate, the chain started converting 16 KFC restaurants in Orlando, Florida, into a new restaurant concept called KFC Original. Aiming for an overall better KFC experience (though not exactly new in concept), dine-in customers at KFC Original in 2025 will be treated to curated playlists of ambient music along with new interior design features including original artwork. Self-ordering kiosks and easier-to-read drive-through menus are set to heighten order ease and accuracy, while the chicken may even taste a bit different. KFC Original locations are set up to cook that well-known Kentucky Fried Chicken in smaller and more frequent batches to ensure fresher, better-tasting product. In January 2025, KFC reflected on the nascent KFC Original operation and concluded that it was successful enough to keep trying it out. In February 2025, six older KFC restaurants in the Dallas area will be thoroughly revamped to fit the KFC Original model. A Tenders-Only KFC Is Making Moves Having already sold its customers on bone-in fried chicken and all manner of boneless chicken strips as a vehicle for its Original Recipe chicken, KFC finally unveiled Kentucky Fried Chicken Nuggets in 2023. Bite-sized chunks of the chicken that made the company world famous were so popular that in 2024, KFC began selling Saucy Nuggets, which took the product and covered them in the customer's preference of Korean Barbecue, Sweet and Sour, Nashville Hot, Georgia Gold, or Honey Sriracha sauces. KFC enjoyed one of its most impactful new product selling periods in its history, and in 2025 it will put a lot of faith in its sauces with a project called Saucy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The KFC spin-off restaurant dubbed Saucy opened in Orlando in late December 2024. Operating with minimal KFC branding, Saucy doesn't sell the full menu of its parent chain. The main entree is boneless chicken tenders, and the hook is that customers can get them doused from their choice of 11 specially-created sauces, including Thai Sweet N' Spicy, Sweet Teriyaki, Spicy Mango Chutney, Peri Peri Ranch, and Chimichurri Ranch. Diners can also combine sauces; about 4,000 flavor options are possible in this manner. "We envision limited-edition sauces, trend-inspired sauces, and sauces created in response to changing taste buds," KFC chief new concept officer Christophe Poirier told Brand Innovators. Also selling Hawaiian-style rolls, fries, and coleslaw, more Saucy branches will open in the months ahead, KFC promises. KFC Is All In On The Bowls In 2006, KFC unveiled a proprietary creation that boasted familiar flavors associated with the chain but in a brand new package: the Famous Bowl. It proved to be a successful and enduring item for the chain, as well as one that could be presented in a seemingly endless series of variants. The original Famous Bowl consisted of mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, chicken nuggets, and shredded cheese. Other versions, including one with fries and bacon, sold well enough over the years that in 2025 KFC introduced a whole new line of Famous Bowls. Nashville Hot Loaded Fries Bowl -- crispy, french fried potatoes along with coleslaw, pickles, shredded cheese, and its Original Recipe-treated chicken nuggets slathered in KFC's sweet-and-spicy Nashville Hot Sauce. Nashville Hot Mac and Cheese Bowl subs out the fries and pickles in favor of macaroni and cheese, and it's available with or without the hot stuff. A standard Nashville Hot Famous Bowl is based on the flagship entree, with the addition of the Nashville sauce to make the dish a bit fiery. KFC will also attempt to lure people into using its online ordering system with an app-exclusive variation. The Korean BBQ Loaded Fries Bowl utilizes Korean-style sauced fried chicken nuggets sitting atop coleslaw, fries, and pickles, and topped with cheese. KFC Is Going Spicy Hot honey is something you can make yourself at home, and it's been a growing food trend over the past few years. But 2025 is the year that KFC, which has long offered standard, non-spicy honey or honey-based sweet condiments for use on its biscuits and chicken products, gets on board. Locations of the chain in the United States began selling chicken doused in the signature offering of leading producer Mike's Hot Honey in February 2025. (We tried it and can attest it is finger lickin' good) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike's Hot Honey is procurable at KFC's via one of three combination meals. Sold at a value price point of $7, the Three-Piece Original Recipe Tenders boxed meal comes with three boneless fried chicken pieces treated with Mike's Hot Honey (along with a side and a biscuit), while the Two-Piece Fried Chicken combo, in Original Recipe or Extra Crispy versions, get the powerfully sweet but notably spicy treatment. The Fan Favorites Box celebrates the hot honey to an even larger degree, including four pieces of bone-in chicken and 12 white meat fried chicken nuggets all doused in Mike's Hot Honey. Sold with fries, biscuits, and four sauces, of which Mike's Hot Honey is available, the whole thing costs $25. It Will Have To Make Good On Sustainability Goals Back in 2023, KFC publicly made some big promises with regards to the ecological and environmental aspects of doing business as a multinational fast food giant. It set multiple benchmarks for itself, and the due date on those looms large. Holding itself accountable for limited waste, the chain declared that by 2025, it would have fully rolled out food packaging that was recyclable, reusable, or composable. KFC has reduced consumer packaging use and gotten rid of disposable materials wherever it could. Its Canadian outlets, and soon to be shuttered Indian restaurants, reached packaging reduction milestones before 2025 arrived. KFC also acted upon its goals outlined in a 2023 sustainability report. The company hired an executive to oversee global sustainability issues, allowed for more use of locally grown ingredients in its stores in Kenya and France, and adopted renewable energy sources for its restaurants in the Netherlands and Ecuador. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout. Pasta is a firm favorite dinner choice in the U.S. In fact, research suggests that around nine out of 10 Americans enjoy the Italian classic. There are many ways to indulge in pasta. You can, of course, cook it from scratch and make your own version of popular dishes like bolognese or carbonara with plenty of garlic bread and Parmesan. Alternatively, if you're short on time, you can grab a premade pasta dish from the store, like, say stuffed ravioli or ready-made lasagna. This is undeniably a popular choice for many Americans the ready-to-eat meal market in the U.S. is worth more than $48 billion. But before you dive into your store-bought lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, or stuffed ravioli, it's important to note that, like many food categories, there have been several recalls in the market over the years. Some have been because of potential foodborne bacteria contamination (we're talking about listeria, specifically), while others have been because of undeclared allergens, like egg or soy, or even foreign object contamination (think shards of glass or hard pieces of plastic). These problems are not specific to pasta recalls happen with many different types of product all of the time, like broccoli, ice cream, and even flour. But if you want to stay in the know, it's always a good idea to keep an eye out for recall announcements. Below, we've rounded up some of the biggest pasta recalls in U.S. history, from small companies to food giants like Nestle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 14 Food Storage Hacks You Should Try Mama Mancini's Recalls Stuffed Pasta Amid Listeria Contamination Fears (2024) shell pasta with ricotta on a plate - New Africa/Shutterstock In November 2024, New Jersey-based company Joseph Epstein Food Enterprises which is known under the brand name Mama Mancini's recalled more than 2,000 cases of stuffed pasta due to fears they were contaminated with harmful listeria bacteria. The recall, which was voluntary, affected Mama Mancini's Stuffed Shells and Hungryroot Ricotta Stuffed Shells. The Mama Mancini's recall was marked by the FDA as Class II, which means that the product could cause negative health consequences, but the chances of that happening are remote. It is one step down from Class I, which means there is a reasonable chance the recalled products could cause serious health problems. Listeria has caused multiple recalls in the past. This is because, if consumed, it can lead to listeriosis, an infection with symptoms like fever, nausea, and diarrhea. It is not often serious, but vulnerable individuals including the elderly, the very young, and people who are pregnant are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from the bacteria. Every year, around 1,600 people are infected with listeria, and around 260 people die as a result. Mama Mancini's wasn't the only company to recall products because of listeria contamination in 2024. In the same year, infected deli meat products from Boar's Head led to an outbreak that caused 57 hospitalizations and nine deaths. As a result, the meat company recalled more than 7 million pounds of meat from across the U.S. and beyond. Whitson's Food Service Corp Recalls Chicken Alfredo Pasta Due To Undeclared Egg (2023) bowl of chicken Alfredo pasta - OlgaBombologna/Shutterstock In 2023, New York company Whitson's Food Service Corp recalled more than 8,700 pounds of chicken Alfredo pasta because it contained egg that was not declared on the label. This was a major problem, because egg is an allergen that often affects children. In fact, research suggests that around one in 100 children under 5 years old suffer from an egg allergy. While it is more common in children, adults can also suffer from egg allergies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For some, symptoms will be mild, but for others, consuming eggs can lead to anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction that can cause severe swelling, shortness of breath, and hives. At the time of the recall, the pasta from Whitson's Food Service had been shipped to a number of locations across New York and Pennsylvania, some of which were schools. While there were no serious reactions associated with the undeclared egg in the pasta, the issue was brought to light by a consumer. The pasta recall wasn't the only recall in 2023 to be caused by undeclared egg. Whole Foods Market also had to recall some of its salad kits in the same year because they contained both undeclared egg and undeclared milk. The year after, in 2024, California company LQNN recalled multiple banh ba xa and banh pia products because they contained egg that wasn't declared on the label. Bellisio Foods Recalls Spaghetti Due To Undeclared Soy (2021) plate of spaghetti bolognese - Food magic/Shutterstock Soy is another common allergen. Like egg, it tends to affect children and babies the most, but it can also impact adults, too. While most allergic reactions to soy are not life-threatening, like all allergens, it does carry a risk of anaphylaxis. It can also lead to mild, but still very unpleasant symptoms, including outbreaks of eczema, wheezing, dizziness, abdominal pain, nausea, and hives. This is why in 2021, Ohio brand Bellisio Foods recalled almost 4,000 pounds of spaghetti with meat sauce. The products contained soy, but this was not declared on the label. The issue was given Class I status, which meant there was a reasonable chance the products could cause harm if people consumed them. Luckily, there were no reports of allergic reactions associated with the mislabeled spaghetti products. However, anyone who had already bought the products was urged to either throw them away or return them to the store they bought them from to avoid any adverse reactions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple recalls have been caused by undeclared soy. In 2023, for example, mozzarella sticks were pulled from Sam's Club shelves over concerns they had been contaminated with both egg and soy. In the same year, Texas Pete recalled its Buffalo Wing Sauce because it contained soy that, again, had not been appropriately declared on the label. Nestle Recalls Fettuccine Alfredo Due To Undeclared Soy (2020) Plastic bowl of Lean Cuisine Fettuccine Alfredo - Lean Cuisine / Instagram In 2020, Nestle recalled more than 29,000 pounds of its Lean Cuisine Fettuccine Alfredo over fears it had been mislabeled. The issue was brought to Nestle's attention by consumers, who began finding chicken in the cheese pasta, despite the fact that the meat was not listed on the label. This was an issue not just because of the incorrect labeling, which could have led vegetarians to buy the product believing it was meat-free, but also because the chicken could be contaminated with soy. This wasn't the only time Nestle had to recall products sold under its Lean Cuisine brand in 2020. In the same year, it was also forced to issue a recall for more than 92,000 pounds of its Baked Chicken products after customers began finding pieces of plastic inside. It was likely that the plastic found its way into the chicken when pieces of manufacturing machinery broke off into the food. In the years following 2020, Nestle issued several more recalls. These included recalls for ice cream sold in Spain because they contained the chemical ethylene oxide, which is linked to an increased risk of cancer, as well as Hot Pockets sold in the U.S. because they contained shards of glass and plastic. Nestle also issued recalls for pizzas sold in France over E. coli contamination concerns. Conagra Brands Recalls Spaghetti And Meatballs Due To Undeclared Milk (2017) cans of Libby's spaghetti and meatballs - Solomon's Old Trail & Solomon's Yamacraw / Facebook No company is immune from having to issue a recall related to undeclared allergens. In fact, alongside bacteria, they are a leading cause of food recalls in the U.S. In 2017, multibillion dollar food company Conagra Brands also had to pull products from the market because of undeclared allergens, but this time it was because of undeclared milk. After peanuts, milk is one of the most common allergens in the U.S. It can lead to mild symptoms, or in rare cases, anaphylaxis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The undeclared milk meant that Conagra Brands had to recall more than 717,000 pounds of spaghetti and meatballs, sold under brands including Libby's, Del Pinos, and Hy-Top, from retailers across the U.S. Luckily, the issue did not come to light because anyone suffered an allergic reaction as a result of consuming the product, but because one of Conagra Brands' ingredient suppliers realized the wrong breadcrumbs had been used. Conagra Brands has been through some major recalls in its time. Six years after the spaghetti and meatballs incident, in 2023, it had to recall more than 245,000 pounds of chicken strips amid concerns they contained plastic, for example. In the same year, it recalled more than 2.5 million pounds of sausages due to fears that a packaging defect could lead to spoilage. In 2022, the manufacturing giant also recalled more than 119,000 pounds of beef and broccoli sold by P.F. Chang due to undeclared egg. Home Maid Ravioli Company Recalls Ravioli For Undeclared Pork And Whey (2016) bowl of ravioli and sauce - Javier Ghersi/Getty Images In 2016, California brand Home Maid Ravioli Company recalled more than 34,000 pounds of ravioli because they contained undeclared pork and whey, both of which are allergens. At the time of the recall, the products had been shipped across the U.S. The issue was not discovered by consumers or by the company itself, but by inspectors from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Whey is a milk protein, and therefore could cause allergic reactions in those who have milk allergies. Pork is also an allergen, because it is a type of meat. Like other animal products, meat, particularly red meat, can lead to allergic reactions in some individuals. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, thousands of Americans have Alpha-gal syndrome, which is a disease caused by a tick bite that leads to red meat allergies. However, it could affect many more people, as research into Alpha-gal syndrome and ticks is currently limited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luckily, no allergic reactions were reported as a result of the mislabeled ravioli products. However, the FSIS did urge consumers not to eat them, and instead either dispose of them or return to the store for a refund. Nestle Recalls Pizzas And Lasagnas Amid Fears They Contained Glass (2016) chicken lasagna on a plate - rocharibeiro/Shutterstock As mentioned above, Nestle has been forced to issue many recalls in its time. In 2016, it recalled more than 267,000 pounds of pizza and lasagna products amid fears that they had been contaminated with glass. At the time of the recall, which was given Class I status, the products had already shipped to stores across the U.S. Nestle was alerted to the glass in its pizza and lasagna products by consumers, who claimed that they had found pieces in their food. In a stroke of luck, there were no reports of injuries associated with the contamination. Glass contamination, which can happen as a result of broken equipment or utensils, is a major problem. Unlike many foreign objects, it is particularly hard to detect in food products because it is clear and hard to see. But it also happens to be one of the riskiest foreign objects, because when consumed, it can lead to either cuts in the mouth or more serious internal injuries that could require surgery to resolve. Nestle isn't alone. In 2023, Starbucks recalled bottles of its Frappuccinos from stores amid fears that they could contain glass. In the same year, Trader Joe's recalled jars of instant cold brew for the same reason. In 2022, Loblaw Grocery also issued a recall of its Lemon & Ginger Sicilian Soda over fears the drink could also contain shards of glass. D'Orazio Foods Recalls Pasta Due To A Lack Of Inspection (2011) plate of ravioli - Paul_brighton/Getty Images In 2011, New Jersey brand D'Orazio Foods recalled around 161,000 pounds of pasta, not because of contamination or undeclared allergens, but because it had been produced without inspection from federal authorities. This usually happens because the product contained meat, which must be inspected to ensure it meets federal standards in the U.S. In the case of D'Orazio Foods, the pasta products were ravioli that contained meat products, including sausage and beef. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's important for the FSIS to inspect meat products for several reasons. Firstly, the humane handling of farm animals must be confirmed by inspectors. They must also ensure that the animals are healthy at the time of the slaughter, and that the conditions they are processed in are sanitary. If conditions are not sanitary, or the animals are diseased, this could lead to a higher risk of harmful bacteria making its way into the food system. In general, routine inspections by the FSIS are important. In fact, they have saved people on multiple occasions. As just one example, in 2010, more than 5.7 million pounds of beef and veal from Huntington Meat Packing were recalled after the FSIS discovered unsanitary conditions and E. coli at the company processing facilities. In another example, in 2011, Cargill recalled more than 36 million pounds of turkey after routine inspections by the FSIS discovered salmonella bacteria at its processing facility. Nestle Recalls Lasagna Over Undeclared Allergens (2012) plate of lasagna - Food magic/Shutterstock As we mentioned earlier, Nestle has been forced to recall products for undeclared soy before. But in 2012, it also recalled products for undeclared fish. In 2012, it had to pull back more than 16,800 pounds of lasagna from the shelves because a packaging error meant that the products were made with a stuffed pepper sauce that contained anchovies. Fish allergies affect up to 1% of the American population. Unlike with many other allergies, it is common in adults. In fact, research suggests that 40% of people will experience a fish allergy for the first time as an adult. As well as anchovies, fish allergies can be triggered by species like catfish, cod, haddock, pike, salmon, and many more. Fish allergies are different to shellfish allergies, which are triggered by crustaceans and mollusks, like clams, oysters, crabs, and shrimp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mix-up with the lasagna sauce came to Nestle's attention through complaints from customers, but nobody was reported to have experienced an allergic reaction as a result. The FSIS urged anyone who was concerned about experiencing an allergic reaction as a result of eating the lasagna to contact their healthcare provider. Nestle Recalls Spaghetti And Meatballs Over Fears They Contained Hard Plastic (2011) a box of Lean Cuisine spaghetti and meatballs - Paula Eats Lean Cuisines / Instagram Once again, in 2011, Nestle had to recall Lean Cuisine products because they had been contaminated with a foreign object. This time, it wasn't glass, but hard plastic. The food giant recalled more than 10,000 pounds of spaghetti and meatballs from stores near the Rocky Mountains after customers began complaining that they had discovered hard plastic in their food. Like glass, hidden plastic in food is a serious hazard, and yet it is a common cause of recalls. Again, this is largely due to broken manufacturing materials or packaging. If consumed, it can lead to internal or oral injuries, as well as choking. The risk from choking is not to be underestimated. In 2022, for example, research suggests that more 5,000 Americans died as a result of choking. Luckily, there were no injuries associated with the spaghetti and meatballs recall. The FSIS did urge anyone who was concerned about an injury from the product to contact their healthcare provider. A number of brands have recalled products due to plastic contamination in recent years. In 2022, for example, Fresh Creative Foods recalled multiple products from 20 states, including pasta, salad dressings, and noodles, over fears they contained hard pieces of plastic. Read the original article on Mashed. Billy Cypress, who was the longest-serving Chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, has died. He spent decades advocating for tribal sovereignty and environmental protection of their land. Cypress was first elected to the Miccosukee Business Council in 1973, serving for over a decade before being elected Chairman. He held the office for over 26 years. The Miccosukee Tribe announced that Billy Cypress died on Feb. 28 at age 74. Current Chairman Talbert Cypress, who previously served as Tribal Secretary alongside him, in a statement said: He always recognized the honor it was to serve as Chairman for our people and carried himself with immense pride. There are few who understand the responsibility of this seat, but only he served for almost 30 years. Chairman Billy Cypress: Thank you for your humor, your dedication, and your service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Miccosukee Tribes statement highlighted his life-long commitment and dedication to the Tribe. According to the Tribe, under Cypresss leadership, the Tribe led significant legal and political battles, including fights in Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. He was a fierce opponent of Big Sugars water pollution, championing stringent pollution-control standards in the Everglades that secured billions in state and federal investment. His advocacy played a key role in restoring historic water flows and ending engineered flooding in the region. I mourn the passing of Billy Cypress, a visionary and longtime Chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe. His decades of service transformed the Tribe, expanded its reach, and strengthened advocacy for our Everglades. My deepest condolences to his family and our Miccosukee community. Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) March 1, 2025 I mourn the passing of Billy Cypress, a visionary and longtime Chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe, said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in a statement. His decades of service transformed the Tribe, expanded its reach, and strengthened advocacy for our Everglades. Senator Rick Scott also expressed condolences calling Cypress a good friend who will be greatly missed. Cypress also fought for the preservation of Miccosukee culture and education, ensuring that the Tribe maintained the right to teach its young people traditionally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He brought thousands of acres back into tribal control and reestablished jurisdiction over areas of the Everglades National Park from which the Tribe had been displaced in the 1940s. His diplomatic efforts led to the establishment of the Miccosukee Tribes first embassy and the recognition of Miccosukee passports by foreign nations, setting a precedent for tribal sovereignty on an international stage. The Tribe shared a testimony from Cypress before Congress in 1997, Cypress said: Were not asking for much. Just leave us alone and well leave you alone. Well protect the environment, protect water quality, assist in Everglades restoration... Miccosukees hope to see just one law yours and mine and that were all equal under it together. As the Tribes longest-serving executive, his leadership left a lasting impact on South Central Florida, said Congressman Scott Franklin in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his tenure, Cypress played a pivotal role in establishing the Tribes gaming operations and strengthening its administrative departments. Cypress also faced legal challenges, including a high-profile dispute with the federal government over taxation of the Miccosukee Tribes casino profits. In 2009, he lost his position as chairman but regained the chairmanship in a 2016 special election, where he took a strong stand against federal taxation policies affecting the Tribe. The former Chairman is remembered by his friends and family as funny, charming, and lighthearted, despite taking his role seriously as an elected official, the Tribe said in a statement. He always made time to talk to family, friends, and his fellow Tribal members. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has performed more than 17,000 tests for avian influenza on cattle, with 139 dairy herds throughout a dozen states. (Photo via Getty Images) As bird flu cases inundate more poultry and dairy farms, state officials worry that the Trump administrations firings of federal scientists and other actions will undermine efforts to track the virus and protect Americans. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rushed to rehire workers who were involved in responding to the outbreak and were fired amid federal workforce cuts. These employees were part of a federal network that oversees labs responsible for collecting samples and confirming H5N1 tests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials also fear funding cuts will hamper those federal labs, and say that by scrubbing some public health data from government websites, the administration may complicate efforts to track the outbreak. Federal labs are key for us to be able to do our work, and we need to make sure those labs stay funded, or we cant do what we do, said Dr. Amber Itle, the state veterinarian for Washington state. Itle said federal money pays for most of her offices bird flu efforts, and that the nations bird flu surveillance system one of the most robust in the world needs to stay in place. President Donald Trumps budget cuts and firings include thousands of terminations across the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, among others. While the USDA scrambled to rehire its workers, public health experts say federal agencies often work in tandem to respond to health emergencies. A dozen probationary employees also were let go this month at the Manhattan, Kansas-based National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, a USDA spokesperson told Stateline. The federal facility works closely with the USDA and aims to protect agricultural systems against animal diseases. The spokesperson said these positions were administrative and not deemed essential to the functions of the lab. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we start to take away resources that we need to support animal health response, that ultimately could threaten public health, Itle said, because if we cant find it in animals, we could be exposing people without knowing it. The Trump administration initially removed reams of public health data related to poverty, pollution, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, adolescent health, racial inequities, sex, gender and LGBTQ+ people from federal agency websites. Some of the data was quickly restored. But Washington state health officials said they are downloading bird flu-related information in case it disappears. Michael Crusan, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, compared state-federal bird flu cooperation to a dance. You cant swing dance without a partner, Crusan said. So how are we supposed to keep this process running smoothly? 70 human cases The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, known as H5N1, has killed millions of wild birds and has led to emergency culling of commercial flocks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nationwide, there have been 70 confirmed human cases since 2024, according to the CDC. Most of these cases have been among farmworkers, who are in daily close contact with poultry and cattle. California has tracked the most cases, with 38 patients, nearly all exposed to the virus from dairy herds, followed by Washington state with 11 cases. Other infections in humans have been confirmed in Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin. In recent weeks, Ohio and Wyoming reported their first human cases of the virus. A CDC study found cases among three dairy veterinarians, with one working in a state that had no infected cattle. In January, a patient in Louisiana died after contracting the virus, the first human death from bird flu. The patient was an older adult with underlying medical conditions, and had contracted the virus after exposure to a backyard flock and wild birds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hospitalization remains rare. For now, bird flu doesnt easily infect humans and doesnt spread from person to person, health experts say. The CDC says there is little risk to the general public, but that could change as the virus mutates and continues to infect mammals such as cattle. The virus also has been found in domestic cats. The more mammals it infects, the more chances it has to adapt to mammals. Dr. Amesh Adalja, infectious disease physician and scholar, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security To eradicate bird flu, experts are emphasizing comprehensive case surveillance, testing and an overall public health strategy that recognizes the interdependence of humans, animals and the environment. You cant have healthy humans without healthy animals, wild and domestic, and healthy environments, said Maurice Pitesky, a food security expert at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Ultimately, youre trying to reduce the potential of the virus to move from those wild waterfowl to those farm animals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the pressure is mounting to safeguard farms. The longer this virus circulates on farms, especially infecting dairy cattle and exposing humans that work on those farms, the more chances it has to evolve to something that is more dangerous for humans, Adalja said. The virus has been detected in more than 200 mostly wild and feral mammals in the U.S. since 2022. Those mammals may have become infected from eating fresh wild bird carcasses, but there is no indication of transmission from mammal to mammal, experts say. A recent CDC study found cases in two indoor cats belonging to dairy farmworkers. Other infections in cats have been linked to raw pet food. Officials are urging people to refrain from drinking raw milk and from feeding dogs and cats raw pet food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The more mammals it infects, Adalja said, the more chances it has to adapt to mammals. All 50 states More than 166 million birds across all 50 states have been infected nationwide since 2022, according to CDC data as of Tuesday. Over the past month, the virus has been detected in 86 commercial flocks and 51 backyard flocks. Infected poultry flocks must be culled when an outbreak occurs. In groceries nationwide, egg prices have surged amid the shortages. CDC data reports three outbreaks at a commercial breeder in Roosevelt County with a 129,200 flock, along with one outbreak each at non-commercial sites in San Juan County (flock of 20) and Bernalillo County (flock of 40). The virus is also suspected in recent die-offs of wild birds. In five Michigan counties as of mid-February, more than 300 dead wild birds, including geese and mallard ducks, have been found, the state Department of Natural Resources reported. The department has issued guidance on how waterfowl hunters and property owners can stay safe when encountering dead birds. Melinda Cosgrove, laboratory scientist manager at the departments Wildlife Health Section, said her states confirmed positive cases are mostly in poultry flocks. To stay abreast of potential cases in the wild, the state has an Eyes in the Field webpage by which residents can report sick or dead wildlife to help the department track potential cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those migratory birds are behind the spread across farms, said Kevin Snekvik, executive director of the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Birds migrating north and south up to Alaska, theyre the culprits, said Snekvik, who is also a professor at Washington State Universitys Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology. States have also been monitoring changes in bird flu patterns by tracking the virus in wastewater. The U.S. has long avoided vaccination of poultry because many of its trading partners will not import vaccinated birds. But federal officials earlier this month gave conditional approval of an updated version of a previous vaccine to protect poultry against the H5N1 virus. Farmworker testing In Nevada, a recent spillover to dairy cattle of a specific H5N1 genotype previously found in birds was detected in a milk sample, officials announced earlier this month. Seventeen states have reported outbreaks in dairy cows. Cows usually recover from the virus, but cattle must be isolated when the virus is detected to prevent further spread. It can be spread to humans through close contact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the widespread cases in dairy farms, not all states have joined a federal-state partnership to test milk. Currently, 36 states test under the surveillance strategy. Helping dairy and poultry farmworkers get tested is important for public health response. But many farmworkers are immigrants with no sick leave and who may speak primarily Indigenous languages or Spanish. The Trump administrations deportation efforts have caused further reticence to report symptoms, said Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, a food systems scholar and human geographer at Syracuse University who studies agricultural labor. You have a population of workers who dont have access to health care to begin with, she said, noting how many dairy farm laborers live in rural or remote places far from city centers. You have this geographical barrier. You have a linguistic barrier. You have a cultural barrier. And then, of course, today, you have on top of it a lot of fear. Since dairy cattle infections were first detected in California in September 2024, the states Animal Health and Safety Lab, the only lab in the state handling the most dangerous samples, has received between 400 and 2,000 samples weekly, lab director Ashley Hill wrote in an email to Stateline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lab currently has just five technicians authorized to do most of the testing and a handful of support staff who can chip in. Lab technicians are set to strike this week along with university health care, research and technical professionals across the state, according to the union, which represents 20,000 workers. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) On Saturday evening, the Greene County Republican Women held its annual Lincoln Day dinner. This year, the keynote speaker was someone the group felt truly represented them. Members of Greene County Republican Women and surrounding communities gathered at the General Morgan Inn for the dinner. U.S Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) gave the keynote speech. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs introduced her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1 removed from event as crowd becomes loud with Congresswoman Harshbarger During her speech, Blackburn discussed topics such as immigration, federal spending, her work regarding human trafficking and womens sports. Mayor Jacobs mentioned the work we are doing to keep men out of womens sports, Blackburn said. And this is so vitally important. Blackburn also spoke on DOGE and what she has heard as a member of the DOGE caucus. Elon and the DOGE team think that this fiscal year, that is from now until September, Blackburn said. That we will be able to reduce the spending of the federal government by 15 to 20%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the dinner began, many who opposed Blackburns views made their voices heard. Its too bad they take an oath to defend the constitution, and theyre doing nothing to protect the constitution, Greeneville resident Clem Allison said. But those in attendance said they continue to stand behind the work Blackburn is doing. She represents us very well in Washington D.C., Mayor Jacobs said. So again, it was a huge honor for me to [introduce her]. Shes a well-educated lady, Greene County Republican Women member Nancy Higginbotham said. And I think shes for ladies, plus everybody. Following her speech, the Greene County Republican Women honored her and her work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Kevin Morrison also gave her a Greene County flag. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Hinds County Chancellor Dewayne Thomas recently affirmed the ruling of the Mississippi Ethics Commission that the state Legislature is not covered by the open meetings law and thus can meet behind closed doors. The Mississippi Open Meetings Act says specifically that all policy making bodies are subject to the law. But Thomas and the Ethics Commission majority said the law is referring to executive bodies, not the Legislature, when referencing policy making bodies. Taking that ruling to the extreme begs the question of whether city councils and city boards of aldermen meetings are covered since they also are legislative bodies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To exclude the Mississippi Legislature from the requirement of meeting in public seems questionable considering that the Legislature appropriates more public money than any entity in the state. And the Legislature is the states primary policy making body with immense power. It also is worth noting that both the current and past director of the Ethics Commission disagreed with the ruling of the majority of the commission members. The former lead attorney for the Mississippi House, previously on the Ethics Commission, also opposed the ruling that the Legislature is not covered by the open meetings law. This perplexing issue came to the forefront because of the House leaderships ongoing practice of holding closed-door Republican caucus meetings where policy is discussed and unofficial votes are taken. It was argued that the meetings were illegal since Republicans comprise a super majority giving them many more members than needed to constitute a quorum. The Ethics Commission made the ruling in 2022 that the Legislature was not subject to the open meetings law and Thomas, a former member of the House, upheld that ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Republicans, who also have a super majority, do not hold similar meetings because of the belief that it would be a violation of the open meetings law. When Phil Bryant presided over the Senate as lieutenant governor from 2008 until 2012, he was holding similar meetings until media members asked if the meetings were a violation of the open meetings law. He announced he would no longer hold the closed-door meetings. The Mississippi Constitution does state emphatically, The doors of each house (of the Legislature) when in session shall be kept open. Many of those who would argue that the Legislature is not covered by the open meetings law claim that the constitutional provision only applies to the limited time when a chamber gavels in and does not even cover the time when the Legislature is in session but not gaveled in. If a majority meets during the 90-day session at the speakers discretion to discuss business but does not specifically gavel into session, the constitutional provision would not apply, they claim. Before the 2000 session of the Mississippi Legislature, then-Speaker Tim Ford called a meeting of the House members at a location away from the Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was intense interest in the meeting since on the quickly approaching first day of the 2000 session the House would select the states next governor. For the first time in the history of the state, the losing gubernatorial candidate was asking House members to decide the gubernatorial election under an antiquated and now repealed provision of the Mississippi Constitution. The provision said to win statewide office a candidate had to claim a majority of the popular votes and win the most votes in a majority of the 122 House districts. Democrat Ronnie Musgrove won the most votes, but did not win a majority. Needless to say, Fords out-of-session meeting before that historic first-day vote generated interest. Under the ruling of the Ethics Commission and Thomas, the meeting would not have been subject to the open meetings law. Ford allowed media to attend the meeting. The issue of whether the meeting was public did not arise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is difficult to recall an instance when Ford or other past speakers routinely held meetings of a majority of the House behind closed doors to discuss official business and to take unofficial votes. In those days, there were legislative whips designated by the leadership to meet with small groups to discuss policy and to try to sway votes. Sure, it took more work than just getting all your members together behind closed doors. But it also did not violate at least the spirit of the open meetings law. After the Ethics Commission ruling in 2022, Sen. Jason Barrett, R-Brookhaven, filed a bill to clarify that the Legislature is covered by the open meetings law. The bill had 19 co-sponsors in the 52-member Senate. But it died in committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps such a bill will be considered again after Thomas most recent ruling. This analysis was produced by Mississippi Today, a nonprofit news organization that covers state government, public policy, politics and culture. Bobby Harrison is Mississippi Todays senior Capitol reporter. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) Local college students ran in the cold Saturday to raise money for underprivileged kids. The 10th annual Kappa Delta Shamrock Run raised more than $2,000. Its a 4K race around the Bradley University campus. Kappa Deltas Olivia Hagerman helped coordinate the run. She hopes to see more engagement from the community in years to come. I really hope that we can get more involvement from the Peoria community, not just Bradley community and the other chapters on campus, but opening it up to like high school students around here, maybe some families that want to participate, that kind of thing, said Hagerman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All money raised benefit the Childrens Home Association of Illinois and Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. The Trump administration is trying to purge transgender service members from the military but it cant even say how many trans troops are currently serving. In a Saturday court filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, government lawyers admitted that the Department of Defense does not track service members by gender identity, meaning officials have no concrete data on how many trans troops are in the military. Instead, they relied on a 2016 RAND study, which estimated between 1,320 to 6,630 transgender personnelnumbers nearly a decade old. The Department of Defense does not track service members or applicants by gender identity and has no means of searching for the requested information, government lawyers told the judge in the filing . Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The admission came as part of Talbott v. Trump, a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trumps January 27 executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military. The case is being brought by GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The administrations justification for the ban has been riddled with unsubstantiated claims, with officials arguing that trans troops pose a threat to unit cohesion, honesty, and integritywhile failing to back up these assertions with data or evidence. According to the court document, the government roughly estimated through medical records that the Department of Defense provided gender-affirming medical care to at least 1,892 active-duty service members between 2016 and 2021.The filing also contradicts another central Trump talking pointthat gender-affirming care is a financial strain on the military. Lawyers admitted that the Pentagon spent just $52 million over nearly a decadea tiny fraction of the militarys $918.1 billion budget in fiscal year 2024 alone. The governments filing concedes: [The amount] is but a small fraction of DoDs overall budget. Yet, Trumps executive order claimed gender-affirming care was a drain on resources and incompatible with military service. The administrations filing contradicts that claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another glaring admission? The administration failed to name any other mental health conditionbesides gender dysphoriathat disqualifies someone for honesty, humility, and integrity, which the ban cites as justification. When pressed to provide an example, the government had no answer. Instead, it vaguely referenced psychiatric and behavioral disorders without citing a single specific case. The lack of evidence raises serious doubts about why gender dysphoria, the medical condition transgender people suffer before receiving treatment, is being uniquely singled out while other treatable conditions do not trigger an automatic ban. NCLR legal director Shannon Minter expressed confidence in the group's case. On March 12, Judge Reyes will consider this and other information as GLAD Law and NCLR pursue a preliminary injunction to stop this harmful ban from going into effect and ensure that transgender troops who meet every qualification to serve can continue their commitment to serving our country," Minter told The Advocate in a statement. Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings reacted forcefully to the administrations admissions in a Saturday evening interview with The Advocate. This is proof that the trans military ban is a solution in search of a problem, Jennings said. If trans peoples presence was somehow disruptive to the military, they would have the data to prove itand they dont. This proves that this order is motivated by animus rather than reason. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign filed a similar lawsuit, Shilling v. Trump, also challenging the executive order. LGBTQ+ rights organizations have been at the forefront of challenging the administrations anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including the military ban. The organization is also suing the administration over its recent executive orders gutting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs and banning federal support for gender-affirming care. Bigotry is rarely rational or fact-based, Jennings added. By their own admission, there are simply no facts on the ground to justify this ban. Jennings questioned why the administration is taking action against trans troops when it has no evidence that they are a problem. If you cant prove something exists, then why are you taking this action? he asked. Sarah Warbelow, vice president of legal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, echoed this sentiment, slamming the Trump administrations justification for the ban as baseless and harmful. The organization, together with Lambda Legal, challenged the ban. The Trump administration's unlawful ban on transgender servicemembers has never been about facts or reason. It's always been about discrimination and punishing courageous members of our military purely because of who they are, Warbelow said in a statement to The Advocate. Regardless of numbers, heres what we know: every transgender servicemember puts on the same uniform, takes the same oath, and meets the same rigorous requirements as every other person in our armed services. We know that they serve in positions crucial to our national security, and that banning them from the military will harm our military readiness and national security. And we know that this ban is unconstitutional. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the administration is trying to discredit the judge overseeing the case. On February 21, the Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, accusing her of hostile and egregious misconduct. The complaintfiled with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appealsalleges Reyes used WTF in court and pressed a DOJ lawyer about his religion. The administration has framed its trans military ban as necessary for military readiness, yet it has presented no new studies or data to support that claim. In 2018, top military leaders testified that trans service members had no impact on cohesion, morale, or readiness. Groups like SPARTA Pridewhich represents transgender troopshave emphasized that transgender personnel serve in critical roles across the military and that banning them will only weaken the U.S. Armed Forces. The problem is not trans troopsits the Trump administrations bigotry toward patriotic trans service members, Jennings said. They are attacking them based on animus. Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that GLAD Law and NCLR brought this case and to include remarks by NCLR legal director Shannon Minter. European leaders in the lower hall of Lancaster House European leaders gathered in the lower hall of Lancaster House for a "family photo" during discussions on Europe's defence and security. Source: Sky News, as reported by European Pravda Details: A group of leaders from across Europe, joined by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, posed for a photograph at the bottom of a grand staircase in front of their national flags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement European leaders at the Securing Our Future London summit. When the summit began, Starmer stated that European leaders must step up at this "once-in-a-generation moment". Quote: "We gathered here today because this is a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step forward." Details: Starmer noted that the crowd that greeted Volodymyr Zelenskyy with applause before his visit to Downing Street yesterday was "absolutely spontaneous". Addressing Zelenskyy, who was seated next to him, the UK Prime Minister said, "I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. Everyone around this table". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 19 world leaders met at Lancaster House in central London to discuss a peace settlement plan for Ukraine. European leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Turkish Foreign Minister are holding talks inside the building. Background: Media reports indicated that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during the leaders' meeting in London on 2 March, would call for strengthening ties with Donald Trumps administration as the only way to secure lasting peace in Ukraine. During his meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday, 1 March, Starmer reaffirmed that the UK would continue to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and remains unwavering and determined to achieve a lasting peace. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! BURKBURNETT (KFDX/KJTL) Though Vietnam Veterans Day is on March 29, its never too early or too late to remember their sacrifices for the country. To honor many Vietnam Veterans who werent given the warmest welcome when they returned home from the war, the Vietnam Commemoration Program has been responsible for ceremonies held around the country. For Saturdays ceremony, Diana Mason with the Department of Defense visited the Saint Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Burkburnett to honor veterans across all military branches who served in Vietnam. As a long-time partner of the program, Mason continues to take pride in recognizing fellow veterans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I still have the same excitement for the program as I did when I first started, Mason said. And welcoming home the Vietnam era veteran did not happen like it should have happened, and its about time we welcomed them home. The Vietnam War Commemoration program began in 2012 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Since then, the program has played a part in honoring well over 1 million veterans nationwide. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. Gastroenterologist joins Franciscan in Crown Point Dr. Muhammad Kudaimi, a gastroenterologist, is now part of the Franciscan Physician Network and is accepting new patients in Crown Point, a release said. Kudaimi attended medical school at Damascus University in Damascus, Syria, and completed his residency and fellowship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. In addition to English, Kudaimi is fluent in Arabic, French and Spanish. He is accepting patients at Franciscan Physician Network Specialty Center, 12750 St. Francis Drive, Suite 410, in Crown Point. Call 219-769-8340. Crown Point welcomes new firefighter Mayor Pete Land swore in Crown Points newest firefighter/paramedic during the Feb. 19, Board of Public Works and Safety meeting, according to a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Adams is a Munster native whose experience includes working as a cardiovascular technician at Southlake Methodist Hospital, the release said. He also serves as a part-time firefighter/paramedic with both the Lake Hills and St. John fire departments Adams is assigned to Turn 1 under the supervision of Battalion Chief Scott Abraham, the release said. Technology officer announced The Gary Community School Corp. recently welcomed Alvin Richards as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), according to a release. Richards, a seasoned IT executive and digital transformation leader, brings more than 20 years of experience in driving technology modernization, infrastructure upgrades and digital equity initiatives in K-12 education, higher education, and government sectors, the release said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Richards has spearheaded several initiatives to bridge the digital divide, including one-to-one device programs and the expansion of broadband access for underserved communities, the release said. Valparaiso Family YMCA names development leader A new director of development has been named to the Valparaiso Family YMCA, a release said. Wende Burbridge, the Ys new director of development, is a seasoned fundraising professional with more than 20 years of experience. She will play a vital role in advancing the Ys mission to strengthen the spirit, mind, and body of the Valparaiso community through philanthropic support, the release said. In her new role, Burbridge will lead the development efforts of the YMCA, including fundraising Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement strategies, donor relations, and grant writing. Burbridge has held similar leadership roles in nonprofit development at several organizations, including Lakeshore Public Media, Andrean College Prep and Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana, the release said For more information, visit valpoymca.org or contact Burbridge at 219-462-4185, Ext. 351. Franciscan Michigan City accepting scholarship applications The medical staff at Franciscan Health Michigan City is accepting scholarship applications through March 17 from LaPorte County high school seniors interested in healthcare careers, according to a release. The annual scholarship of up to $5,000 is funded by physicians on the Franciscan Health Michigan City medical staff in partnership with the Franciscan Health Foundation. Scholarship applications are available from guidance offices at all LaPorte County high schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Questions about the scholarship can be directed to the Medical Staff Office at 219-861-8855. Safety conference planned for March 13 Industry professionals who prioritize workplace safety in their businesses are invited to a full-day conference, sponsored by the Northwest Indiana Business Roundtable (NWIBRT) from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. March 13 at Avalon Manor in Merrillville, according to a release. The event lineup is packed with expert-led discussions and hands-on learning that will redefine how businesses approach safety, the release said. The conference kicks off with From Incident to Innovation: Lessons in Mitigation, a keynote address from Jason Lammertin, CEO and President of Solid Platforms Inc. Attendees will learn about strategies for responding to crises, safeguarding company reputations and fostering a resilient safety culture, the release said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sponsorship and tickets can be purchased at https://nwibrt.org/safety-conference/. Master of Social Work program offered at PNW Prospective graduate students interested in going into the social work field and earning an advanced license-eligible degree can submit their applications to Purdue University Northwests (PNW) Master of Social Work (MSW) program through April 1, according to a release. PNWs MSW program, which will enroll its first cohort in the fall, will prepare advanced generalist social workers who can make impactful change through social services needs in the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland region. To learn more about PNWs MSW program, visit pnw.edu/msw. Additional information about PNW graduate studies is available at pnw.edu/graduate-studies. Neurologist joins Northwest Health in Valparaiso Dr. Jonathan T. Grossman, a physician specializing in neurology, has joined Northwest Health, 2000 Roosevelt Road, Suite 201 in Valparaiso, according to a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grossman received his doctor of osteopathic medicine from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and his bachelors of science in exercise science and environmental studies from Florida State University in Tallahassee. He completed residencies in neurology at the University of Chicago and at Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida. Call 219-476-7777 or visit NWMedicalGroup.com. Mar. 1JUNEAU Damage to a subsea cable led to widespread cellphone and internet outages in Southeast Alaska, and caused state government websites to go offline for much of Friday into Saturday before services began to be restored. Service first went out late Thursday evening. A spokeswoman for Alaska Communications, a telecommunications provider based in Anchorage, said Friday afternoon that a repair ship was being dispatched. "We are also working to find alternate ways to restore connectivity in Juneau," said Heather Marron, a spokeswoman for Alaska Communications, at 12:30 p.m. Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is our top priority and we deeply apologize for the inconvenience. We know how important staying connected is and we will not rest until this is fixed," she added. Marron said by email at 2:30 p.m. Friday that Alaska Communications was working to provide "temporary" restoration of services. Permanent repairs would take longer "as it takes time for the repair ship to get to the location and perform the fix," she said. By Saturday evening, Alaska Communications said in an update posted to social media that technicians and engineers had restored some capacity "to the State of Alaska to support State services." "They made good progress today and are continuing work to restore service to the rest of Juneau and Southeast," the telecom provider said in Saturday's update, adding that they "will keep working throughout the night to get service restored." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alaska Communications expected to share another update Sunday morning unless new information emerged before then. MyAlaska the central online portal for Alaskans to access government services was offline Friday. State websites were also unavailable to apply for a Permanent Fund dividend, to renew a driver's license, and to book ferry trips. The Alaska Legislature's website was also offline Friday, along with telephone services to legislators' officers. Lawmakers and legislative staffers said that email was working intermittently during the outage. By Saturday evening, several of the state's websites had started coming back online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many state government websites are run out of Juneau, which is why they were offline across the state, Marron said. State House and Senate floor sessions and committee hearings were held as normal Friday afternoon, and streamed on KTOO-TV, which uses a different service provider. The Juneau Police Department posted on social media to say that the outage affected the department's business lines. But 911 calls were working as normal. Alaska Communications' infrastructure is used by other carriers, including AT&T. A spokesperson for the telecommunications giant said they were in touch with Alaska Communications as they worked to restore service. "We appreciate the patience of our customers while this work is completed," an AT&T spokesperson said by email. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) A Shreveport man is dead after a big rig struck him on I-20. Darryl Ray Ware II, 31, of the MLK neighborhood, was standing at or near the shoulder of the eastbound lane of I-20 near mile marker 8 when a big rig struck him at approximately 6:15 a.m. on Sat., Mar. 1. Ware was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:18 a.m. Officials stated that he died of numerous blunt-force injuries and was identified through fingerprint comparison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Caddo Parish Coroners Office released Wares identity in a press release on Mar. 2. Shreveport police are investigating the incident, and an autopsy has been ordered. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Authorities have announced the arrest of a suspect in connection to the Pala and Lilac fires that broke out in northern San Diego County in late January. Cal Fire San Diego law enforcement investigators arrested Ruben Vasquez on Friday after an investigation into the Jan. 21, 2025 Pala and Lilac fires that broke out just 25 minutes apart on Interstate 15 and State Route 76 in the Pala Mesa and Bonsall areas during a Red Flag Warning and dry Santa Ana winds. Vegetation fire reaches nearly 40 acres in Warner Springs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those fires burned nearly 100 acres in total and caused hundreds of residents to evacuate. Cal Fire Investigators say Vasquez was identified as a suspect following an extensive investigation that included witness reports. Family of Vista man killed in hit-and-run seeks publics help for justice Vasquez is facing two counts of felony arson and was taken to the Vista Detention Facility on Friday, Cal Fire reports. While a suspect has been arrested in connection to the wildland fires, Cal Fire is reminding the public that arson investigations can be complex and require thorough evidence collection, scene examination and witness interviews, which can take time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation report will be referred to the San Diego County District Attorneys Office. The San Diego County Sheriffs Office, North County Fire Protection District, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and San Diego County District Attorneys Office assisted Cal Fire San Diego in the investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. (FOX40.COM) Caltrans announced the closure of the westbound Highway 50 connector in Sacramento. Video above: Downtown Sacramento roads under construction until Sept. According to officials, there will be work on Highway 50 Multimodal Corridor Enhancement which will require a 55-hour closure. The closure will be at Highway 50 connector to northbound State Route 51 this weekend. Grammy-nominated R&B singer Angie Stone dies in car crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said that the construction will go on until 5 a.m. on March 3, in which the concrete of the bridge approach slabs will be replaced across the connector ramp. This project is ongoing work valued at $529 million to rehabilitate pavement and add 14 lane miles of high occupancy lanes from Highway 50 and I-5 to the U.S. 50 and Watt Avenue interchange said Caltrans in a statement. At this time, motorists who are traveling through the work zone should expect lane restrictions and be aware of commercial work vehicles traveling in the area, according to Caltrans. The work zone speed limit has been reduced to 55 mph and California Highway Patrol will be on scene for traffic enforcement. Here are the detour plans scheduled for the weekend: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Continue westbound on US-50 to take the 26th Street off-ramp, turn left on 15th Street to X Street, take the 16th Street on-ramp to eastbound US-50, and then take the connector to northbound Business 80. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. Martin Irons, Douglassville, received a master of science degree in cybersecurity from Missouri State University, Springfield. Honor society Kelly Kline, Reading, and Reanna Reynolds, Kutztown, were elected to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at Kutztown University, which recognizes accomplishments in all academic disciplines. Fellowship finalist Abbey Robuck, Hamburg, has been named a Princeton in Asia Fellowship finalist. Robuck graduated with highest honors from Muhlenberg College, Allentown, in 2024 with a bachelor of arts degree in international studies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Princeton in Asia fellowships are one- or two-year paid work placements at host organizations in Asia. The fellowships emphasize cultural immersion and contributing to host communities. Fellows are committed to f fostering mutual appreciation and cross-cultural understanding between the United States and Asia. Items are supplied by the colleges and organizations involved. LONDON (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his priority in talks with King Charles on Monday will be protecting his country's sovereignty after U.S. President Donald Trump recently suggested making Canada the 51st U.S. state. Trudeau said nothing is more important to his citizens than "standing up for our sovereignty and our independence", ahead of the meeting with Charles, who is Canada's head of state. Last week, Charles invited Trump to what would be a historic second state visit to Britain, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer handing over the invitation during a meeting before the world's media in the Oval Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I look forward to sitting down with His Majesty tomorrow, as always we will discuss matters of importance to Canada and Canadians, and I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation," Trudeau told reporters. Trudeau, the outgoing prime minister, said last month that Trump's talk about absorbing Canada "is a real thing" and is linked to the country's rich natural resources. Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada would be better off if it agreed to become the 51st U.S. state. Trudeau was also asked about Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "I stand with Zelenskiy," he said. (Reporting by Kate Holton and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by David Holmes) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau departed for London on March 1 to take part in a European defense summit focused on shaping the conditions for a lasting peace in Ukraine. The gathering, initially planned as a high-level European meeting, has gained new urgency with President Volodymyr Zelenskys attendance, following his tense exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Feb. 28. Zelensky had traveled to Washington expecting to finalize a critical minerals deal with the U.S., but the agreement fell apart after he pushed for security guarantees alongside economic cooperation. Trump responded with visible frustration, escalating tensions between the two leaders and casting doubt on future American support for Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fallout from the meeting has reinforced European concerns about Trumps stance on Ukraine and prompted fresh discussions on strengthening Europes independent defense efforts. Earlier this month, Trumps overtures toward Russia alarmed European leaders, accelerating their efforts to enhance Ukraines military support. European governments increasingly view Ukraines security as integral to their own, and Sundays summit in London is expected to focus on how to fill the gaps left by uncertain U.S. backing. France, Germany, and the U.K. have been leading discussions on increased defense funding and alternative security arrangements for Kyiv. Canada was not initially listed among the invited participants when U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined plans for the meeting during his recent visit to Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trudeaus decision to attend signals Canadas ongoing commitment to Ukraine and its role in broader transatlantic security discussions. While Ottawa has provided substantial military and financial aid to Kyiv, it remains to be seen what new commitments, if any, Canada will bring to the table. Read also: UK to provide $2.8 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A vehicle was flipped onto its side in a single-vehicle crash in Vandalia early Sunday morning. Vandalia police on the scene, at North Dixie Drive and Great Hill Road, spoke with our 2 News Team photographer. They told him they were dispatched at approximately 3:17 a.m. The police said the driver was going north and crashed into the median, slid and then flipped. Medics took the driver to a nearby hospital for minor injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation into the crash is still active. When we learn more, 2 News will update this article. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. A car overturned after crashing into a power pole Sunday morning, according to a social media post from the Miami Valley Fire District. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The crash occurred at the intersection of Byers Road and Maue Road in Miami Township around 6:30 a.m. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire department said the crash caused power outages for people in the area, but AES Ohio crews are working to make repairs. The AES Ohio outage map indicates that about 50 customers do not have power. It is unclear if anyone was injured in this crash. News Center 7 is working to learn more. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Authorities in South Carolina have arrested on person and cited another for illegal burning as firefighters continue to battle the Carolina Forest wildfire. South Carolina has been under a statewide burn ban since 1 March, following nearly 200 wildfires. Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday, indefinitely extending the restriction. Meanwhile, increased fire danger warnings have been issued across North and South Carolina, with winds in the region expected to pick up and humidity forecast to plummet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Carolina Forest fire the largest fire across the two states has torched more than 2,000 acres and remains just 30 per cent contained, according to a Tuesday update from Horry County Fire Rescue. The HCFR deployed drones to support ground crews as they reinforced break lines and set up sprinkler systems to saturate the ground. Another wildfire has spread to almost 600 acres around the towns of Tryon and Saluda in North Carolinas Polk County. It was 63 per cent contained. Key Points One arrested, another cited for illegal burning amid Carolina Forest wildfire Fire danger alert issued for North and South Carolina Carolina wildfire map: North and South Carolina under increased fire danger as strong winds threaten region Carolina Forest fire swells to over 2,000 acres South Carolina's Carolina Forest wildfire may have started in someone's backyard 'No buildings and no lives lost,' South Carolina governor says Firefighters gain upper hand on Polk County wildfire Wildfire in Western North Carolina nearly contained as officials warn of increased fire risk 06:31 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fire crews in Western North Carolina have contained nearly all of a large wildfire in Polk County, with local teams set to take over monitoring efforts, authorities have said. The North Carolina Forest Service confirmed on 4 March that the wildfire, which has spread across 619 acres (2.5 sq km), is now 91 per cent contained. Local crews will assume responsibility from 5 March, the agency said. A local county ranger will be in the area patrolling the fire over the next 2-3 days to maintain and monitor it, said Mr Jeremy Waldrop, a public information officer for the North Carolina Forest Service. Crews work to contain a fire in the Carolina Forest area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach (AP) Weather forecasts have warned of high winds from the evening of 4 March through the afternoon of 5 March, with sustained speeds of 35-45 mph and gusts reaching up to 70 mph at elevations above 3,500 feet. By comparison, a Category 1 hurricane carries winds of 74-95 mph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States Forest Service has cautioned that strong winds combined with dry conditions will elevate the risk of wildfires across Western North Carolina. Were going to ask folks to delay burning, said Mr Waldrop. Its not really something thats imperative that you need to be doing right now. If they feel the absolute need, dont do it. Just contact your fire department. Firefighters battle Myrtle Beach wildfires as residents struggle with smoke and safety concerns 05:42 , Namita Singh Fire crews in Myrtle Beach have been working non-stop for four days to contain wildfires that erupted over the weekend and spread rapidly across South Carolina. Hundreds of firefighters from at least 33 departments across the state, including many from the Midlands, have been deployed to Horry County to bring the flames under control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents have described the fear and disruption caused by the fires, with many taking precautions to protect themselves and their homes. Over 2000 hectares burned in wildfire in northeastern Japan (EPA) Seeing smoke in the back of the reserve and driving back there, Ive never seen anything like this in my entire life, Tiffany Baccari, whose home sits on the edge of a burning forested area, told NBC affiliate WIS10. She said smoke had filled her house, making it difficult for her and her children to breathe. They will be going to the paediatrician as soon as this is over and getting their lungs checked, Ms Baccari added.Another resident, watching the emergency response from her patio, expressed concern about the health risks for young children. I am honestly not worried about my house, Im worried about my son, who is one and a half, almost two, whose lungs are still growing, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many locals have been taking their own measures, such as watering down their properties, to prevent the fire from spreading. Mike Able, a resident who witnessed the fast-moving flames firsthand, said his backyard was consumed by fire while he was away on Saturday afternoon.Horry County Fire Rescue saved my house. My neighbour has a security camera over here that showed these guys fighting the firemy fence was already melted, I mean, you can see in the grass it was already burning up to the house, then it melted the side of the house, Mr Able told the outlet. Despite the frightening experience, he said he was grateful that his home was still standing. South Carolina National Guard aircraft have dropped nearly 265,000 gallons of water 05:00 , Julia Musto South Carolina National Guard aircraft have completed 281 water drops, delivering approximately 264,900 gallons of water, over 42 flight hours. These numbers reflect end of day totals from yesterday March 3. We stand committed to supporting local and state agencies as they work pic.twitter.com/m9C0qbjGWM SC National Guard (@SCNationalGuard) March 4, 2025 One arrested, another cited for illegal burning amid Carolina Forest wildfire 04:19 , Namita Singh Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities in South Carolina have arrested one person and cited another with illegal burning as firefighters continue to battle the Carolina Forest wildfire. However, officials have not confirmed whether these incidents contributed to the blaze. Theres been one citation issued for an individual who was burning outside this location, and one is now resting probably somewhat comfortably at J Reuben Long for the same thing, Horry County emergency management director Randy Webster told a council meeting on Tuesday, reported CBS affiliate WBTW. He stressed the importance of preventing unnecessary strain on emergency services. It is serious, and were taking it serious. We do not need to tax our resources unnecessarily, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov clarified that the illegal burns took place in Conway and the northern part of the county but were unrelated to the 2,059 acre (8.33 sq km) Covington Drive wildfire, the largest in the state. South Carolina has been under a statewide burn ban since 1 March, following nearly 200 wildfires. Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday, indefinitely extending the restriction. South Carolina National Guard helicopters fight state's massive blaze 04:00 , Julia Musto Happening Now: The South Carolina National Guard continues to work in support of local and state agencies as they work to keep our communities safe. (U.S. Army National Guard video by Sgt. 1st. Class Roberto Di Giovine) pic.twitter.com/4ts7EccCwI SC National Guard (@SCNationalGuard) March 4, 2025 Severe storm sweeps US with blizzards, wildfires, and tornado threats 03:53 , Namita Singh A powerful storm is sweeping across the United States, bringing blizzards, wildfires, and the threat of tornadoes to multiple regions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that parts of Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico face a heightened risk of wildfires due to warm, dry conditions, reported NPR. Meanwhile, areas with high humidity are bracing for severe thunderstorms, hail, and potential tornadoes through Wednesday, with Louisiana, Arkansas, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida among those at risk. Firefighters attend to a flare-up in the Carolina Forest neighborhood on 2 March 2025 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (Getty Images) Heavy snowfall is forecast in the western US, with the Sierra and Rocky Mountain ranges expected to receive up to two feet of snow. The NWS has also issued blizzard warnings for Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, predicting six to 12 inches of snow from Iowa to upper Michigan. In contrast, unseasonably warm temperatures are expected in the Midwest, with the warmth likely to extend further east by Wednesday. Authorities are closely monitoring the evolving weather patterns as the storm continues to move across the country. Smoke from US wildfires blankets North Carolinas Triangle region 03:23 , Namita Singh Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smoke drifting from wildfires in North Carolina and South Carolina shrouded the Triangle region in haze on Tuesday, carrying a faint smell of burning. Despite the altered skies, residents continued their outdoor routines along Durhams American Tobacco Trail, jogging and walking dogs as usual. Health experts have advised that such activities remain safe under current air quality conditions but urged people to stay informed about any changes. Dr David Beuther, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health, told ABC11 that while the scent of smoke is noticeable, it does not pose significant health risks for most individuals unless air quality deteriorates further. However, he warned that those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or heart conditions should be particularly cautious."When the air quality gets bad, generally, we want people with these conditions in the very young and the very old to stay inside," Dr Beuther said. "That means windows closed, you know, either central air circulating or air conditioning. Or if it's warm, the idea is to keep those windows and doors closed and to keep that particulate pollution out. And if you have to go outside, limit that to a short duration." Authorities are monitoring air conditions closely as smoke from the wildfires continues to drift across the region. Watch: S.C. National Guard drops water on Carolina Forest fire 03:00 , Julia Musto The South Carolina National Guard is proud to support the South Carolina Forestry Commission and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. We are honored to serve the communities, where we live, and work. Always ready, always there! #HorryCounty #SCForestry #SCDNR pic.twitter.com/TpxaDTNFPG SC National Guard (@SCNationalGuard) March 4, 2025 Smoky skies impact Horry County travel 02:01 , Julia Musto 'YES,' Myrtle Beach is open 01:00 , Julia Musto North Carolina disaster recovery centers will have delayed opening 00:00 , Julia Musto Due to the predicted severe weather, Disaster Recovery Centers in NC will have a two hour delayed opening on Wednesday, March 4. Help is still available, to find your nearest open center visit https://t.co/2rXveakWVR or call 800-621-FEMA. pic.twitter.com/2ayymmJwoP NC Emergency Management (@NCEmergency) March 4, 2025 Carolina Forest resident says wildfire smoke has impacted her health Tuesday 4 March 2025 23:00 , Julia Musto Heather Budner, who lives in Carolina Forest, told The New York Times that she woke up Monday morning and felt a scratchiness in her throat because of all the smoke. Its very unsettling to wake up inside your house feeling like youre outside camping, she said. North Carolina Forest Service dealing with staffing shortages Tuesday 4 March 2025 22:30 , Julia Musto North Carolina Forest Service officials said theyve been hit by staffing shortages, according to WNCT. Right now, were looking at roughly 100, maybe a little more than 100 vacancies across the state which includes all three regions Mountain, Piedmont and Coastal Plain, Philip Jackson told the station. And those vacancies are pretty evenly distributed. They are the first responders to these wildfires, he said. North Carolina averages anywhere between 4,500 to 5,000 wildfires each year. As we mentioned earlier, That usually keeps us top five nationally. Most of our fires get to about two or three acres or less. So, these resources are very good at their jobs. 'It was horribly terrifying': South Carolina resident speaks out about 2,000+-acre blaze Tuesday 4 March 2025 22:15 , Julia Musto Ive never felt so protected in my life, Suzanne Pickrell, who lives in the Covington Lake neighborhood of Horry County, told The Post and Courier Myrtle Beach. Ive never experienced something so incredible to watch as the way they have protected our neighborhood. Pickrell, who has lived in the area for 25 years, said this wildfire caused the most fear because of how fast it spread It was horribly terrifying, she said. North Carolina governor issues warning ahead of severe weather Tuesday 4 March 2025 21:44 , Julia Musto North Carolina Governor Josh Stein is urging the residents of his state to prepare for severe weather this week. Storms may bring flooding and tornadoes (AFP via Getty Images) North Carolina Governor Josh Stein and emergency officials are urging all North Carolinians to prepare for the possibility of severe weather on Wednesday. The state faces the potential of severe storms, strong winds, potential flooding, and isolated tornadoes. As our state from the mountains to the coast faces a severe storm, strong winds, and potential flooding late tonight and all day tomorrow, we urge all North Carolinians to stay tuned to their local weather forecast and stay safe, said Stein. If a severe weather warning for isolated tornadoes is issued for your area, please have a plan to take immediate cover. All of North Carolina's National Forests wildfires are contained Tuesday 4 March 2025 21:15 , Julia Musto Polk County gives update on fire Tuesday 4 March 2025 21:13 , Julia Musto See South Carolina's air operations Tuesday 4 March 2025 20:51 , Julia Musto Horry County community donates food, other items Tuesday 4 March 2025 20:16 , Julia Musto Extreme fire weather is aimed at Texas today Tuesday 4 March 2025 20:03 , Julia Musto Strong winds and dry air will result in extreme fire weather conditions today. Please avoid activities that could cause a wildfire. pic.twitter.com/MZ2YMqEckL NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) March 4, 2025 A fire has already broken out along the south side of the city of San Antonio, according to News 4. Brush fire has broken out along I-37 on the far south side of San Antonio. Fire danger this afternoon is extreme. #txwx #TXFire @natwxdesk @NWSSanAntonio https://t.co/05rIOaNTxu Joe DeCarlo WX (@joedecarloWX) March 4, 2025 And, theres one west of the city. Here is an excellent radar grab of the smoke plume from the active fire currently ongoing in Val Verde County. We are seeing an increase in fire detections with the wind speeds increasing into this afternoon. #txwx #FireWX https://t.co/NpqQQe5fu4 NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) March 4, 2025 South Carolina fire officials give inside look at wildfire response Tuesday 4 March 2025 19:48 , Julia Musto Buncombe County burn ban extended Tuesday 4 March 2025 19:30 , Julia Musto An open burn ban in North Carolinas Buncombe County has been extended, according to the Asheville Citizen Times. A news release from the county informed the public that the Fire Marshals Office has extended the open burn ban through Friday, March 7, at 9 a.m. EST. Active fires pick up across the Carolinas as winds whip Tuesday 4 March 2025 19:15 , Julia Musto Active fires are seen, in red, across South Carolina. Only the Horry County fire was shown earlier on Tuesday (South Carolina Forestry Commission) Active fires are seen, in red, across the state of North Carolina. There were more on Tuesday afternoon than earlier in the day (North Carolina Forest Service) 'Ive never seen a fire move that fast': Resident recalls Horry County wildfire approach Tuesday 4 March 2025 19:00 , Julia Musto Donald Piper, a retired 30-year firefighter, saw external damage around his property in Horry Countys Walker Woods. Ive never seen a fire move that fast, he told The Post and Courier Myrtle Beach, pointing to the piece of land that was torched next to his home. South Carolina emergency officials warn residents of severe weather threats Tuesday 4 March 2025 18:30 , Julia Musto South Carolina's Carolina Forest wildfire may have started in someone's backyard Tuesday 4 March 2025 18:15 , Julia Musto Horry County Fire Rescue Spokesperson Tony Casey said Monday that the 1,600-acre Carolina Forest wildfire began in someone's backyard in the Walk Woods neighborhood, according to WPDE. A resident reported the flames at 2:39 p.m. EST on Saturday. The fire is believed to have been human-caused. It has brought thick smoke, thats impacted visibility and air quality. "It's horrible and that's actually why I stopped here on my way to work because I can't breathe. I'm congested and my chest is on fire. It's just really bad right now, Cindy Hayden told ABC 11 News. Horry County Fire stays at 2,059 acres Tuesday 4 March 2025 18:00 , Julia Musto Neighboring Georgia is also under an elevated fire risk today Tuesday 4 March 2025 17:45 , Julia Musto Neighboring Georgia is also under an elevated fire risk. The Georgia Forestry Commission said on Monday that it has responded to nearly 500 wildfires within the past week. Like in the Carolinas, low relative humidity levels and dry conditions are contributing to the situation. Dry branches, dead trees and twig can really get fires going, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. Our conditions remain abnormally dry. Although the relative humidity is going will be higher, the strong wind is going to outweigh that in many ways. North Carolina under threat of flash floods, tornadoes Tuesday 4 March 2025 17:31 , Julia Musto Isolated flash floods are possible Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning across the mountains and foothills but the threat for isolated flash floods will continue for portions of the NW into Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/MHZoc9A8S0 NC Emergency Management (@NCEmergency) March 4, 2025 A second line of storms along the front will traverse the state late Wednesday afternoon and evening which will primarily continue the threat for large hail and damaging wind gusts. pic.twitter.com/w814LPzun2 NC Emergency Management (@NCEmergency) March 4, 2025 Polk County provides a weather update Tuesday 4 March 2025 17:15 , Julia Musto Carolina wildfire map: North and South Carolina under increased fire danger as strong winds threaten region Tuesday 4 March 2025 17:00 , Julia Musto Carolina wildfire map: North and South Carolina under increased fire danger South Carolina winds could gust to up to 25mph Tuesday 4 March 2025 16:45 , Julia Musto Smoke from the Carolina Forest Fire billows in the skies over South Carolina's Horry County. The wildfire has been faneed by windy weather (South Carolina Forestry Commission/Facebook) A massive wildfire in the Carolina Forest area of South Carolina is burning for a fourth straight day, pushing smoke toward highways and residences. Winds in the areas are expected to pick up, with WMBF forecasting gusts of 20 to 25 miles per hour in the afternoon. Carolina Forest Fire still over 2,000 acres and 30 percent contained Tuesday 4 March 2025 16:30 , Julia Musto The Carolina Forest Fire, also known as the Covington Drive Fire, is still burning Tuesday morning in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The blaze is just 30 percent contained (The South Carolina Forestry Commission/Facebook) The Myrtle Beach Area Carolina Forest Fire remains at just over 2,000 acres and 30 percent containment on Tuesday morning. The South Carolina Forestry Commission said that containment lines had been established around the actively burning fire. Work continues reinforcing and expanding those firebreaks around the perimeter, it said in a post. The fire is believed to be human-caused, but an investigation has not been completed. Most evacuation orders have been lifted for Polk County's 176 Fire Tuesday 4 March 2025 16:15 , Julia Musto Most evacuations have been lifted for North Carolina's 3910 Highway 176 Fire. The nearly 600-acre blaze is now 63 percent contained (Polk County Emergency Management/Fire Marshal/Facebook) Lingering wildfire smoke in Horry County creates dangerous travel conditions Tuesday 4 March 2025 16:00 , Julia Musto Wildfire smoke is filling the skies of South Carolina's Horry County. Police are warning that it's expected to linger, causing decreased visibility on roads (Horry County Police Department/Facebook) Due to the nearby wildfire incident, heavy smoke is expected in the Carolina Forest area through at least midday Tuesday, the Horry County Police Department said Tuesday. They warned in a Facebook post that visibility in the area may be limited. And, while it may be worth driving with extra caution, we encourage the public to carefully go about living as they normally would while paying attention to incident updates, the department wrote. 15 structures damaged as wildfires tear through N.C. county Tuesday 4 March 2025 15:55 , James Liddell Fifteen structures have been damaged in a single North Carolina county as wildfires continue to ravage the state. The damage was caused after 78 wildfires erupted in Robeson County between Friday and Sunday, emergency officials told News13. Only one of those, situated on Pine Log Road near Lumberton, had not been contained by Tuesday morning. Horry County urges residents not to burn amid ban Tuesday 4 March 2025 15:30 , Julia Musto Watch: S.C. National Guard drops water on Carolina Forest fire Tuesday 4 March 2025 15:12 , James Liddell The South Carolina National Guard is proud to support the South Carolina Forestry Commission and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. We are honored to serve the communities, where we live, and work. Always ready, always there! #HorryCounty #SCForestry #SCDNR pic.twitter.com/TpxaDTNFPG SC National Guard (@SCNationalGuard) March 4, 2025 A fire danger statement has been issued for the Carolinas on Tuesday. This map shows where Tuesday 4 March 2025 14:45 , Julia Musto Here's where a fire danger statement has been issued across the Carolina region on Tuesday. It's in effect from 6 a.m. through 8 p.m. EST (@NWSGSP/X) Veteran South Carolina firefighters home damaged by wildfire Tuesday 4 March 2025 14:30 , James Liddell A veteran South Carolina firefighter said his home was damaged by one of the wildfires raging through the state. Donald Piper said he had left his property in Walkers Woods in the Carolina Forest by the time it had caught on fire. Luckily, emergency personnel were able to prevent the damage and save the home. The damage to the house occurred after we left, fortunately they were right on the spot, otherwise it couldve been a lot worse, Piper, a firefighter of 30 years, told WSPA. If they hadnt been here, lets say there hadnt been a station as close as here to get here, then who knows. Piper added: Its amazing when nobodys hurt or killed, and property damages are kept to a minimum. Thats really good. There's more increased fire danger today in the Carolinas Tuesday 4 March 2025 14:15 , Julia Musto Looks like a busy 24 hours or so across the region as a cold front approaches, with increased fire danger today, strong winds tonight over the mountains, severe thunderstorms possible after midnight, and heavy rain near the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Whew! #ncwx #scwx #gawx pic.twitter.com/W7PAfjaodb NWS GSP (@NWSGSP) March 4, 2025 Fire crews keep watch on Polk County blaze overnight as most evacuation orders lifted Tuesday 4 March 2025 13:45 , James Liddell In Polk County, crews will be wrapping up back burn operations for the day soon and will resume tomorrow. Fire crews will continue to monitor the area overnight. The shelter opened for those evacuated will close at 7pm tonight. NC Emergency Management (@NCEmergency) March 3, 2025 Nose streaming, chest burning: S.C. resident describes moment home filled with smoke Tuesday 4 March 2025 13:01 , James Liddell Christine Roberson woke up to her smoke-filled home deep in the Carolina Forest during the middle of the night Saturday. The Walkers Woods resident was told to evacuate her house due to the encroaching smoke and blaze from the brush fire raging in the Carolina Forest before returning to her property on Monday. Roberson described the physical effects of smoke inhalation. You do get a terrible sensation. Eyes burning, nose running from sinuses, some chest burning. That type of thing, she told WSPA. She said it was a miracle that nobody was injured or their homes sustained major damage. "Tonight it is about the great movies that happened here and the great people that are here tonight," said British businessman, film producer and publisher Charles Finch, who greeted the glitzy crowd assembled at the Beverly Hills Hotel's Polo Lounge on Saturday, March 1 for the 16th annual Pre-Oscar Dinner. Among the stylish dinner guests were Oscar contenders like The Brutalist star Adrien Brody, with Georgina Chapman, co-star Felicity Jones, director and co-writer Brady Corbet with co-writer Mona Fastvold (read more about their writing process here). The Apprentice star (and Los Angeles cover star) Sebastian Stan came, with Annabelle Wallis as did another fashionable LA Mag cover star, Sing Sing's Colman Domingo. Sebastian Stan and Annabelle Wallis (a CHANEL black silk jacquard dress)Photo by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage The Substance's Demi Moore brought daughter Scout Willis (who performed at Monday's Cure Addiction Now event), and the film's director Coralie Fargeat also joined. Other Oscar-nominated guests included I'm Still Here star Fernanda Torres, Dune: Part II's director-producer Denis Villeneuve and Conclave's Ralph Fiennes who was early to arrive, to the delight of fans. Elle Fanning (in an asymmetrical cape A-line short dress), Dakota Fanning (in a long grey-blue jacket in quilted silk velvet embellished with feathers and velvet flowers with a silk skirt), Scout Willis (in a a black embroidered silk muslin dress) and Demi Moore (a black sequined tweed jacket with an asymmetrical flounced peplum and matching shorts)hoto by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage Other film world greats came to support such as repeat guest Michael Keaton, Al Pacino, Jeff Goldblum, Lupita Nyong'o, Riley Keough, DaVine Joy Randolph, Lily-Rose Depp, Danielle Deadwyler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Maria Bakalova, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Natasha Lyonne, Olivia Munn and John Mulaney, Patrick Dempsey and Willem Dafoe. Natasha Lyonne (in a black CHANEL jumpsuit), Gayle King and Rebekah McCabe, General Manager of Fashion for CHANELPhoto by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage Directors like The Piano Lesson's Malcolm Washington, Olivia Wilde, Judd Apatow, Gia Coppola and Ava DuVernay were in the house. Kim Kardashian made a statement in a CHANEL dress with a ponytail referencing early CHANEL looks, while other famed fashion stars like Derek Blasberg mingled. Guests like Rita Ora, Lisa Love, Mick Jagger, Miguel, Diane Warren and Questlove represented the music world, while film execs and publishing owners in attendance included Bela Bajaria, Nicole Avant, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez and Jay Penske. Kim Kardashian in CHANELPhoto by Jon Kopaloff/WireImage Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have nominees, we have amazing filmmakers," Finch continued, to the group who'd enjoyed drinks and passed bites (like Polo Lounge's tuna tartare and pigs in a blanket) during a cocktail hour outside. "This party started really 30-35 years ago ... it was this night where we welcomed independent filmmakers [and] could and have free food, thanks to Michael Chow at the time." Long before that since it's inception in 1910 the House of CHANEL became inextricably linked with the world of cinema on account of founder Gabrielle Chanel, who worked with filmmakers and artists, from whom she also drew inspiration. She loved bringing creatives together for parties in her Paris apartment and the intimate 150-person CHANEL Pre-Oscar Dinner was established in the same spirit, held for the first time in 2009 and hosted by Madeo restaurant for 10 years. Finch and CHANEL also co-host an annual Pre-BAFTA dinner in London. Adrien Brody, Mick Jagger and Colman DomingoPhoto by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage CHANEL has also long supported initiatives to honor film artists and provide public access. Currently, as part of an ongoing partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, CHANEL is supporting the Academy Museums Family Matinee screenings which they're making free to the public for the month of March to bolster cinema and gathering in the L.A. community. The camaraderie is needed now more than ever which Finch referenced in his address to the crowd before they headed inside for dinner. "We are guests in your country," he said, "and without America, and the time that it's given me and the opportunities it's given me ... I would not be quite as broke as I am!" he joked. "We respect and love your people. America has always been in the center of my heart it gave me opportunities. I came here with $300 dollars ... And I still have that $300!" Nana Mensah (in a CHANEL gold knit jersey dress), Lupita Nyong'o (in a CHANEL black silk organza dress adorned with feathers) and H.E.R. (in a black fantasy tweed jacket)Photo by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage Then Finch turned more serious: "It is a difficult time, as you know. I'm prohibited from making long clinical speeches. My family has been around for a thousand years, as they will attest. We have been a military family, often, and we're prepared again to be isolated if we must be. But we will not tolerate any sort of tyranny and that is just the nature of our country." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, tonight was about celebrating cinema and Finch praised the year's remarkable nominees. "Nothing has changed my passion for cinema remains the same," he concluded. "This year is an extraordinary year, [with] extraordinary films. Everybody must see them. And so, we must embrace that embrace those of you that win something." "[But] it's not about winning," he followed, and drew more laughs when he added: "It's actually about, 'Yes, I was nominated.'" Charles Finch and Ralph FiennesPhoto by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) The patio of the storied Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel was packed to the brim with Hollywood stars for the annual Chanel and Charles Finch dinner on Saturday, the final event before the 97th Academy Awards. Everyone was ready to celebrate, undaunted by the long day ahead or the pressure of the awards show Sunday. Oscar nominees at the dinner included Adrien Brody, Demi Moore, Jeremy Strong, Ralph Fiennes and Fernanda Torres. Lupita Nyongo, who voiced the robot Roz in The Wild Robot, which is up for best animated film, said she is just excited to attend the show and see how the night plays out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you vote, its more interesting, Nyongo said. Also, its been a crazy time in the world, so the fact that we still get to sit around and celebrate imagination? Thats a privilege. And Im looking forward to doing that. The black carpet on Saturday was a conveyer belt of celebrities: actors Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning arrived together, chatting casually with TV journalist Gayle King. Director and producer Judd Apatow made it a family affair, posing with his daughter, actor Maude Apatow. Oh, I think I will take a boyfriend picture, thank you so much, actor Natasha Lyonne told photographers before grabbing her date's hand. Noticing Bridgerton actor Rege-Jean Page nearby, she said with a smile, Theyre both my boyfriends. Other dinner guests included Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, Wicked star Jeff Goldblum, musician and producer Questlove, filmmaker Patty Jenkins and actors Riley Keough and Olivia Wilde. Some attendees, like Fiennes and comedian John Mulaney, skipped the waiting photographers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the patio inside, Harvey Keitel was thrilled to see Willem Dafoe and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The two, who co-starred in The Grand Budapest Hotel, were soon joined by actor Lily-Rose Depp. Behind them, actor Michael Keaton snuck by to see a friend, while Mulaney and his wife, actor Olivia Munn, huddled in a corner chatting with actor Zoey Deutch. Brody held court with some admirers elsewhere, while The Brutalist filmmaker Brady Corbet stayed close to his partner and co-writer Mona Fastvold. Strong navigated the room in sneakers and actor Julie Delpy tried to get a word with Moore. In another corner, actor Felicity Jones chatted with filmmaker Gia Coppola, who said the event is a celebratory night where the two art forms of cinema and fashion can come together. Most attendees were bedecked head to toe in Chanel, a fashion house that has been intertwined with cinema since its earliest days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1930, Samuel Goldwyn invited Gabrielle Chanel to Hollywood to dress film stars including Gloria Swanson. On her return to Paris, Chanel collaborated with French filmmakers like Jean Renoir and dressed many of the new wave actresses such as Jeanne Moreau and Romy Schneider. Finch, a British producer and entrepreneur, helped kick off Saturday's event before attendees took their seats in the dining room with a brief speech about being guests in this country and not standing for tyranny, which had Corbet cheering enthusiastically. Finch said the best part of the evening is when its over and he is certain people have had fun. Also, when I get to see these people the next day win an Academy Award, Finch said. Celebrating film is always the most amazing part of the night. ___ For more coverage of the Oscars, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards. Mar. 1South Point student takes second place There were a few obstacles in the way, schedule-wise, in getting there, but a Gunner Davidson took home the big trophy on Tuesday for this year's Lawrence County Science Fair. First, the initial date for the county fair was canceled, due to snow, then, another complication came up when the makeup date was scheduled for students to present their projects, the following Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davidson's family had scheduled a vacation to Disney World, and, according to Lawrence County ESC superintendent Eric Floyd, the fair meant so much to Davidson, he nearly backed out of the trip. But, after talking with the ESC, the family was able to make arrangements for the Chesapeake Middle School sixth grader to present his project to judges, which included Floyd, via video from his family's hotel room. "He had a video and answered questions," Floyd said. Davidson's project, "What cleans wrestling mats best?" tested various types of cleaners, and not only earned him the first place trophy, but also a score of 40 and a Superior ranking, enabling him to go onto the district fair at The University of Rio Grande later this school year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coming in second was Ciara McComas, a fifth grader at South Point Elementary School, for "The Amazing Rodent Race," in which she ran a rat through a maze. She also earned a Superior ranking at the county level and a score of 39.6. Overall, 30 students took part in the county fair, after earning an Excellent or Superior ranking at their individual school fair. Third place went to Caleb Black, of Chesapeake Middle School, a seventh grader, for "Which fertilizer will make soybeans grow faster?" The project earned him a score of 39 and a Superior ranking. Fourth place was awarded to Waylon Mitchell, a Burlington Elementary School fifth grader, for "Electromagnetism," with a score of 38.8 and a Superior ranking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And fifth place was Shade Gibson, a sixth grader at Chesapeake Middle School, for "Bridge Busters," which earned him a Superior ranking and a score of 38.3 Students who earn a Superior or Excellent ranking can go onto the district fair. Other Superior rankings were: Korie Copley, Parker Hamlin, Landon Pauley and Chase Hamlin. Excellent rankings were Hunter Hollback, Cheyenna Stallo, Lyndlee Edwards, Kennedy Johnson, Kingston Pickett, Raylee Skeens, Nahla Robinson, Jadiana Gilliam, Elliot Thackers, Noah Shafer, Sawyer Hutchinson, Myles Joy, Kylee Dople, Bryer Lee, Easton Wood, Avery Crager, Addison Boggs, Jaylee Caynar, Brantlee Shafer, Braelynn Browning, Rylan Deem and Paislee Jones. The fair is organized by the ESC, who also handles the county's spelling bee and Quiz Bowl tournaments. Mar. 2Youth and Family Outreach, a day care located in a historic red-doored church on Cumberland Avenue in Portland, has been fully staffed for four straight months the longest streak in three years. According to Executive Director Camelia Babson-Haley, the child care facility has seen constant staff turnover since the pandemic, a problem that was just beginning to steady thanks to boosts to a state-funded stipend program that gave early childhood workers an extra $240 to $540 per month on top of their regular pay. "2022, 2023, 2024 were just stunning, and just knocked us on our knees," Babson-Haley said last week. "And part of the reason that we're beginning to stabilize is because of those wage supplements." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Gov. Janet Mills is looking to cut that stipend program in half as part of her biennial budget proposal, citing an unsustainable level of funding. Child care facilities like Youth and Family have struggled for years amid a high demand for services, and difficulty in retaining teachers in positions that often pay the same as less-demanding jobs. A year ago, Babson-Haley told the Press Herald that the stipend had allowed her to raise her minimum hourly wage from $12 to $16, and created hope for a stable workforce. But now, she says, it's unlikely that would continue if the stipends are reduced. A FRAGILE INDUSTRY Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maine's Department of Health and Human Services began offering a $200 monthly stipend to child care workers in 2021 at the direction of the governor, using federal pandemic aid. The department continued the program with state funding in 2022, and the Legislature increased those stipends last year to between $275 and $625, depending on education and experience, then decreased the range to $240 to $540 over the summer because so many people became eligible. As of last April, more than 7,400 workers were receiving the supplements. But amid a promised budget crunch, Mills is proposing that Maine return the stipends back to the 2022 funding level. Lindsay Hammes, a spokesperson for DHHS, said the governor has been worried about the sustainability of the program since the Legislature doubled the stipends last year. "At the time, the administration expressed concern over the changes namely that the Legislature would be raising the expectations for family and child care workers that, financially, the state would not be able to sustain, which has proven to be true," Hammes said in an email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the program now costs $30 million annually. "The Governor does not like having to propose these changes. As the parent to five stepdaughters, she recognizes the value of child care, both for children and their parents, and her administration has worked hard to expand access to child care by delivering grants through her Jobs Plan to build out more child care centers," Hammes said. "Unfortunately, in a tough budget cycle, tough decisions have to be made and we believe it is important to return the program to a sustainable level of spending, as we initially had, so that we can continue it far into the future." But child care workers say the latest increase in stipends had just allowed the industry to get stabilized, and cuts could set them back and create negative ripple effects in the state's economy. The Legislature's Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee received more than 100 pieces of written testimony in opposition when it held a public hearing earlier this week, where about 40 people also spoke against the proposal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Reliable, affordable child care is not a luxury it's a fundamental building block for a thriving workforce. The educators who provide child care are the unsung heroes of the economy," said Morgan Hart Tolin, a co-executive director of the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children, testifying on behalf of a group of day care operators. "But right now, we are dangerously close to losing more of those educators. The governor's proposed $15 million annual cut to the salary supplement program is a direct threat to an already fragile industry." NEWLY STABLE FOOTING Babson-Haley has spent 25 years as the executive director of the Portland day care center, which offers services for children up to age 5, including pre-K. The center has 62 students, 60% of whom come from low-income families. At full staffing, they have 15 employees, plus five Portland Public Schools staff for the pre-K program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In 2024, we had seven resignations and five new hires," she said Tuesday. "The constant revolving door is feeling like it's just starting to stabilize a little bit." Babson-Haley said she can't envision cutting back wages which currently start at $18 an hour for teachers. Instead, she said the center will have to shoulder those costs by raising tuition and dipping into the endowment and leftover funds from a COVID-era loan program. Youth and Family's current tuition is $404 a week for infants, and $347 a week for preschoolers. Most of their new hires are immigrants, which Babson-Haley said is important, because most of their students are, too. The center also began offering completely free tuition for children of employees in 2022, which she said has helped with retention and creating a family atmosphere. But even with benefits, child care centers continue to struggle because their wages are comparable to jobs in fast food or retail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Outside of this field, the work is not as intensive and taxing, and it's paying more," said Charlotte Jacobs, the program director at Seedlings to Sunflowers, a child care center in Gorham. Seedlings to Sunflowers offers a 50% tuition discount for employees, and has been expanding that benefit with the Child Care Employment Award Program, a two-year pilot program included in the state's last biennial budget that helps employees pay for their own child care. It's also no longer included in the governor's proposed budget. The Mills administration said in a written overview of its proposed DHHS cuts that the program has proven to be "mostly duplicative, as many workers enrolled in the program already qualify for assistance paying for child care through Maine's Child Care Affordability Program" and said cutting it will save $2.5 million annually. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Seedlings, of the 20 employees who are eligible for the program, only three are currently enrolled. The rest are still on the waitlist. Meghann Carrasco is Seedlings' founder and executive director. Across two locations, the center serves about 170 kids from infants to pre-K. The starting pay for teachers is $18 to $20 an hour, and the center has 45 staff members. Carrasco said Seedlings had trouble keeping and finding staff after the pandemic, and was able to avoid raising tuition by relying increasingly on state funding. Now she's worried they'll have to, although as a nonprofit, Carrasco said Seedlings will also plan to lean into fundraisers and grants to make up for that loss. Because the stipends kept increasing, she's worried their loss will hit the workforce even more harshly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Not only have more educators entered the field, but I worry that with such fragile entry-level people, they'll be like, "I'm out of here this is so unstable,"' Carrasco said. "And on the other side of that, we have very seasoned people, who are maybe in their 40s or 50s, who have invested their entire lives to this field, who I've already seen and I'm worried that this will compound the issue leave the field." ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES Child care workers say they know the financial climate in Maine is tight, and that cuts have to come from somewhere. But they argue the long-term economic consequences, on the workforce and the public school system, negate the savings of cutting money for early childhood programs. "This shouldn't be a cut because it's a foundational need to the constructs and fluidity of our economy," Babson-Healy said. "If working parents don't have child care, they can't go to work. We are the workforce behind the workforce." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The waitlist at her facility has 300 students, and she said most Greater Portland day cares are in the same situation. The ripple effects of the closure of a single facility would be massive. Carrasco said Seedlings to Sunflowers has a waitlist of 200. But the cost of day care alone drives parents out of the workforce when they realize it's more economical to quit their jobs than pay for child care, which she said is why the stipends are so critical to keeping those costs down. "It's short-sighted. I know there's anxiety about how the budget is going to be fed," she said. "But if we don't stabilize this field and continue to invest in this field, there will be nothing to build on in this economy." Day care operators also say there are public K-12 implications for not funding early child care. Sandra Nadeau, founder of Cocoons Day School in Kennebunk, said the loss of the stipend will ultimately cost taxpayers thousands more down the road, because early child care centers provide learning to children during a period of critical development. She said fewer day care options lead to greater needs like emotional and behavior support or speech therapy for students once they reach public school. Carrasco agreed. "Kids won't be ready for kindergarten, they'll fall behind, and that impacts the rest of their life. It increases the budget for social-emotional and (Child Development Services) supports within the school system," she said. "Because there's so many studies that show that if you catch behavioral issues early on, typically you're not investing that money down the line." Copy the Story Link China's ambassador to the United States Xie Feng has called for closer cooperation on artificial intelligence, warning that the technology risks "opening Pandora's box". "As the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is unfolding, what we need is not a technological blockade, [but] 'deep seeking' for human progress," Xie said, making a pun on China's star AI start-up DeepSeek. On Saturday, the company said its low-cost, open-source model could achieve a theoretical cost-profit ratio of up to 545 per cent per day, generating around US$560,000 in daily revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. This claim could send fresh shock waves through the US stock market after the initial disclosure of DeepSeek's model triggered a sell-off of tech stocks in January. Xie said in a video message to a forum co-hosted by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that there was an urgent need for global cooperation in regulating the field. He added that the two countries should "jointly promote" AI global governance, saying: "Emerging high technology like AI could open Pandora's box ... If left unchecked it could bring 'grey rhinos'." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Grey rhinos" is management speak for obvious threats that people ignore until they become crises. China's AI sector has been growing fast despite sweeping US restrictions designed to limit its access to advanced technology. The two countries have also clashed over AI governance, particularly at last month's AI Action Summit in Paris. US Vice-President J.D. Vance took a veiled jab at China, warning that collaborating with "authoritarian regimes" would lead to attempts to "infiltrate, dig in and seize your information infrastructure". Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing struck a more conciliatory tone, saying Beijing was willing to work with other nations to ensure AI security and share its achievements in the field. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xie's speech also touched on other major concerns for Beijing, including tariffs and Taiwan. "Economic and trade cooperation, which serves as a ballast of the relationship, is being rattled by protectionism," Xie said, urging the two sides to "bear in mind" the "mutually beneficial nature" of the ties between them. Xie's remarks came just a day after US President Donald Trump announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, bringing the total additional levies imposed this year to 20 per cent. Xie repeated Beijing's standard line on Taiwan that Washington should "earnestly abide by the one-China principle" and stop trying to use the issue to "contain" China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, Trump said he would "never comment" on whether the US would intervene if mainland China attacked Taiwan, saying "I don't want to ever put myself in that position". Taiwan represents a critical issue for Beijing, which sees it as part of its territory that must be reunited with the mainland - by force if necessary. The United States, like most countries, does not recognise the island as independent but is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and is legally bound to provide it with defensive weapons. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. It already has the worlds largest navy, but new satellite imagery shows that China is developing a huge nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that would rival the biggest vessel in the American fleet, five analysts told NBC News after studying new satellite imagery. The images of Chinas Dalian shipbuilding facility in northeast China suggest that the new ship will allow fighter jets to be launched from four parts of the flight deck, leading analysts to conclude that the images suggest a new ship design unlike anything now in the Chinese fleet. The analysts made the assessment after examining images provided to NBC News by Maxar Technologies, a defense contractor headquartered in Colorado used by the U.S. government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinas three current aircraft carriers have the capacity to launch jets from only three parts on the front and the waist, or center, on the deck. Its latest supercarrier, the recently launched Fujian, a Type 003, has three electromagnetic catapult launching systems to propel fighter jets, said Michael Duitsman, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a California-based nongovernment organization devoted to curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The United States has 11 supercarriers that can launch from four places. We think this is them testing equipment and layouts for the upcoming Type 04 carrier, Duitsman said in a video call this week. The general consensus, he said, is" that the new carrier will have four catapults, which would allow more planes to take off and match U.S. carriers like the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier. To accommodate four catapults, the ship will need to be larger than the Fujian, matching American tonnage and powered by a nuclear reactor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The satellite images of Chinas Dalian shipbuilding facility in northeast China show an engineering prototype of a module with two tracks, or trenches. These tracks obviously are related to catapults, said H.I Sutton, an independent naval analyst based in the U.K. But this is not the actual carrier under construction. Instead what it suggests is that the yard is gearing up to produce carriers, he said in a telephone interview last week. Snow reveals two tracks for an aircraft catapult during assembly at the Dalian Shipyard in Liaoning, China, on Dec. 12, 2023. China has not acknowledged it is developing a new supercarrier, and Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the embassy in Washington, had no comment when asked about the new design. He said that the countrys national defense policy is purely defensive in nature. The United States has nonetheless made no secret that it sees China as a priority. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told NATO leaders this month that they should take up more of the security burden in Europe to free up American firepower. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the United States faced a peer competitor in the communist Chinese, with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific. He added that the United States was prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific. Duitsman said it was not unusual to see the Chinese build experimental sections of a new ship before committing to final construction, and similar efforts were seen years before the keel was laid for the Fujian, the first carrier to be designed entirely in China. The two tracks seen in the latest satellite images run at convergent angles, matching the general configuration of American supercarriers that have four electromagnetic catapults two running parallel on the bow and two on the waist, the analysts concluded. Because of space constraints on the flight deck they do not run parallel, but converge. One reason this particular section of a presumed Type 004 carrier would warrant prototype builds is the electromagnetic catapults themselves, according to Seth Hosford, another researcher at the James Martin Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First deployed by the United States on the Ford-class carriers, these catapults are attached to a planes nose, rapidly propelling it forward and allowing it to take off. This is achieved essentially with large magnets, as opposed to steam pistons used on older American carriers. The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The Fujian uses this technology for its two bow-mounted catapults, but those are spaced quite far apart and Hosford said that the magnetic fields from those two catapults are less likely to interfere with each other. The module seen in Dalian has the two tracks quite close together, and Hosford said that if you have the electromagnetic catapults essentially intersecting, you could run into all sorts of issues. The satellite photos out of Dalian are not the first signs that China is moving toward building a nuclear-powered supercarrier to rival those fielded by the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November, a group of analysts at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, which the James Martin Center is part of, published satellite evidence that China has already built a prototype naval reactor for a large surface warship. In the modern age, only supercarriers warrant such a power system. China itself has made no secret of its ambitions for a so-called blue-water navy to rival the United States and has been pursuing carrier development for several years. After refurbishing and then building a copy of the Varyag, a former Soviet carrier China purchased from Ukraine, China built the Fujian, a large carrier that is just below supercarrier class in size and armament but features many of the trappings of the United States' nuclear-powered supercarriers. Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military analyst, said Friday that the country should have no problem striving for one or two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, although he questioned whether it was still necessary in the era of artificial intelligence. Unmanned aircraft carriers with a focus on drone attacks may become the main weapon of the future navy, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liu, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson, insisted his country would never engage in aggression and expansion, but we will never give up our legitimate rights and interests, and we will resolutely counter all threats and challenges. China has always adhered to the strategy of self-defense and does not engage in arms race with any other country, he said, adding that it had always taken concrete actions to safeguard world peace and inject stability and certainty into the world. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com It was a Virgin Australia pilot who first raised the alarm. At 9.58am on Friday Feb 21, the pilot intercepted a warning from the Chinese navy: a flotilla of warships were conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea, some 300 nautical miles off the eastern coast of Australia. The message broadcast on the 121.5 MHz emergency radio channel used by commercial pilots to communicate was relayed to the air traffic controller, who then passed it to the military. At that stage we didnt know whether it was a potential hoax or real, Peter Curran, deputy chief executive of Airservices Australia, told a parliamentary hearing this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the message was not a hoax. In a highly unusual move, three Chinese naval vessels dubbed Task Group 107 including a Jiangkai-class frigate, a Renhai-class cruiser and a Fuchi-class replenishment vessel were conducting exercises in Australias exclusive economic zone. This area is beyond Australias territorial waters, but it has exclusive economic rights. To avoid any incidents, 49 flights were diverted. Canberra is in a difficult position as it is keen not to damage improved diplomatic relations. Australia was hit hard by trade restrictions when it led the Five Eyes alliance to ban Huawei, the Chinese tech corporation, and later when it called for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Australia has rebuked Beijing for providing such short notice, the government stressed the naval exercises were not illegal. China has countered that all criticism is deliberately overhyped. But a week after the first exercises, as details drip out in senate hearings and the warships continue to circumnavigate Australia, the saga is continuing to dominate headlines Down Under. And it has raised critical, uncomfortable questions. What were Chinas intentions? Are Australia or New Zealand prepared to counter the Asian superpower? Shouldnt be shocked On the first point, analysts say that Beijing was delivering a message: we are a great military power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veerle Nouwens, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia, told The Telegraph that the live-fire exercises were a sign not just to Australia, but also to the US and its allies, that China is capable of deploying at distance. Its a sign that Chinas military capabilities shouldnt be underestimated, Ms Nouwens said. He added that China is showing that its ambitions over the past 10 years to evolve into a blue-water navy is coming to fruition. Beijing has certainly transformed its capacity at sea in the last decade. In 2015, its navy battle force stood at 255 vessels, according to the US Congressional Research Office by 2025, that figure had jumped to 400. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The growth and modernisation of Chinas navy has gone hand-in-hand with an increasingly expeditionary strategy, said Jennifer Parker, a former principal warfare officer in the Royal Australian Navy. Writing in the Australian Financial Review, she said: Chinese naval deployments to the Indian and Pacific oceans are on the rise, marked by the establishment of a naval base in Djibouti in 2017 and increasingly common Pacific port visits, including stops in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea as well as hospital ship deployments to the South Pacific. Against this backdrop, Australia shouldnt be shocked to see a Chinese navy task group off our east coast. Its rightly considered an uncommon occurrence, particularly since Australias east coast isnt exactly on the way to anywhere but we should expect it to become increasingly common. A show of strength But Chinas actions are likely also a symbolic gesture of equal treatment, according to Ms Nouwens. Amid the mounting battle for influence in the Indo-Pacific, Beijing may want to remind the US and its allies: if you poke us in our backyard, well poke you back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China considers both the Taiwan Strait and large chunks of the South China Sea as its own territorial waters. China likely wants to signal that if Australia and others can sail through and conduct exercises in what China considers its waters and neighbourhood, then China will do the same, Ms Nouwens said. Australia and New Zealand continue to engage in and build their defence partnerships in the Asia-Pacific through diplomacy and exercises. This has included the South China Sea, while New Zealand made its first naval transit through the Taiwan Strait in seven years in October last year together with Australia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China often views these with suspicion, and sees them as confrontational and symbolic of part of wider US competition with China. Still, she added that it is significant that Beijing conducted the drills in the exclusive economic zone. It suggests the live-fire drills and long trek south were a show of strength, not an attempt to escalate. Trade becoming a straitjacket Events over the past week were also an important test of how prepared Australia and New Zealand are to respond to Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. According to Matthew Knot, The Sydney Heralds national security correspondent, the results so far look like a failure. He argued that Anthony Albanese, Australias prime minister, downplayed the situation, while both the Australian Defence Force and the New Zealand Navy initially missed that the exercise was even happening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others have stressed that overreacting could be counterproductive, potentially undermining arguments used by the US and its allies around access to waters such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. Australia has also recently stabilised diplomatic relations with China, allowing the resumption of trade of goods including wine, beer and barley a popular policy Mr Albanese will not want to jeopardise. But analysts said this should not be a straitjacket that prevents criticism of Beijing. However, an uncomfortable truth should not be ignored: Australias core vulnerabilities lie at sea. Australias navy has just 16 battle force vessels, its smallest and oldest in decades after underinvestment by successive governments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a crisis or conflict, an adversary wouldnt need to invade our shores to bring Australias economy and by extension, our defence to its knees, said Ms Parker. All it would have to do would be to cut off our critical seaborne supplies. She added that Australia cannot hope to match Chinas naval might, and its security should continue to rely on strong alliances and partnerships. But even so, the country is coming up short. Ms Parker said: Chinas naval demonstration on Australias east coast should serve a reminder of our vulnerability, and a warning that addressing this vulnerability requires Australia to truly recognise its place as a maritime power. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. (FOX40.COM) California Highway Patrol Yuba-Sutter responded to a crash that resulted in major injuries in Yuba County on Friday evening. According to CHP Yuba-Sutter, an RV was driving west on Hammonton Smartsville Road at about 55 mph when the driver failed to see the curve in the road. Officials have identified the driver as a 43-year-old male. California Highway 50 connector closure underway for construction work Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The RV left the roadway and crashed into a utility pole, causing communication lines to fall across Hammonton Smartsville Road, said CHP Yuba-Sutter. The driver sustained major injuries and has been transported to UC Davis to be treated. A 45-year-old female passenger and two juvenile boys, ages 4 and 9, suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital, according to CHP. At this time, crews said Hammonton Smartsville Road is closed for the next five hours. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. Civil servants took 2,500 years worth of mental health sick leave last year, new data have revealed. Just under five million working days were lost to sickness in the Civil Service over a two-year period, according to data from the TaxPayers Alliance. Almost 1.7 million days taken off over the two years were related to mental health problems, according to the analysis of Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to Whitehall departments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 202324 alone, 887,113 sick days for mental health reasons were reported, up 12.1 per cent on the previous financial year. Mental health conditions, including stress, depression, anxiety and psychiatric problems, have become more common as a reason to miss work in recent years. There were 887,113 sick days reported for mental health reasons in the civil service in 2023-24 - track5 The latest figures show they were the reason given for an average of 2.72 working days off per employee a year in the Civil Service, a record high going back to 2019-20. A total of 30,184 civil servants were found to be affected, equivalent to just under 6 per cent of the total full-time equivalent Civil Service workforce over the year ending March 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An average of 7.8 working days were lost to sickness of any kind in 2023-24, down from 8.3 in 2022-23. But it remains far above comparable figures in the private sector. Fit for the modern age Richard Holden, the shadow paymaster general, said that the number of sick days taken in Whitehall was not fair to taxpayers. The Government must make the civil service more productive and fit for the modern age. If not, Britain risks being left behind, he said. Sir Keir Starmer set out his ambition to improve the delivery of mandarins in December, and came under fire after claiming too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While he praised civil servants for bringing a strong sense of public service to everything that they do, he said that they have got to deliver government in a better way. Labour Force Survey statistics show an average of just five working days were lost per year for non-state employees in 2021-22, the latest year available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Civil Service rate came in at 7.9 that year, almost 60 per cent higher. Sluggish civil servants The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Foreign Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Attorney Generals Office, the Cabinet Office and the offices of the secretaries of state for Wales and Scotland did not supply figures for the FOI, so true totals are likely far higher. Experts at the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) warned last year that the number of workers on long-term sick leave is set to rise by more than 50 per cent in the next five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nine hundred thousand more workers were off because of long-term sickness compared with what would have been expected had pre-2020 trends continued. This amounted to about 5 billion in lost tax receipts in 2024. Joanna Marchong, of the TaxPayers Alliance, said: Taxpayers will be exasperated by the chronic absenteeism gripping Whitehall. The number of sick days taken by sluggish civil servants keeps climbing, with hard-pressed taxpayers left picking up the tab for a workforce that increasingly fails to show up. A government spokesman said: As with the private sector, as an employer, it is right that people working who become ill, sick or suffer from major health conditions are given the necessary time to recover. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is clear guidance and measures in place to balance the need to support people during these periods while encouraging them to return to work as soon as possible. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) The Clarksville Police Department found a missing woman and charged her husband in connection with her murder. READ MORE | Latest headlines from Clarksville and Montgomery County The Clarksville Police Department reported Megan Raymond as missing Friday. Officers with the Clarksville Police Departments Special Operations Homicide Unit, with help from other units and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, found her Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee Additionally, her husband Dennis Raymond was charged with murder in connection to her death. Clarksville police said the investigation is ongoing and no further details can be released at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Clarksville police took a man into custody over the weekend in connection with the death of his wife. Dennis Raymond faces a murder charge in connection with the death of his wife, Megan Brittany Raymond, who police say they found Saturday. The Special Operations Homicide Unit, District 3 Patrol, District 3 Criminal Investigation, Crime Scene Team, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Scott County Sheriffs Office worked together to find Megan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was last seen on Feb. 27 and reported missing by police Friday. Police say prosecution is pending and no further details can be released. This investigation is ongoing. Katie Nixon can be reached at knixon@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Middle Tennessee police arrest husband after finding missing wife Mar. 1Andy Holmes, the mayor of Coal Grove, was arrested by the Ironton Police Department of Friday night on three charges including operating a vehicle while intoxicated, felony resisting arrest and felony assault. He was taken to the Lawrence County Jail and was released on Saturday. This story will be updated as the Ironton Tribune gets more information. Holmes was sworn in as mayor in 2024 and he was on the village council from 2017-2023. NewsNations Border Correspondent Ali Bradley and Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin give you an exclusive look at the border crisis in America and how the nations three borders southern, northern and aerial are kept safe. Watch the hour-long special, Crisis At The Border: On The Frontlines. (NewsNation) As the Trump administration clamps down on migrant crossings, the U.S. Coast Guard has been working around the clock to secure Americas so-called third border: the ocean off the coast of Florida. Coast Guard officers keep a close guard by flying over the coast south toward Cuba and over the Bahamas, which is a hotbed for migrant activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On these patrols, mission system operators utilize screens in the back of the plane to tell pilots in which direction to fly based on migrant sightings. Alleged smuggler extradited to US preyed on Asian, African migrants We are looking for a number of different things. Vessels moving in a certain direction. If they are moving southbound, that may not be an indicator. If they are moving northbound, it might give us an indication we should probably take a look, Coast Guard Lt. Bryce Monaco tells NewsNation. There are also a lot of people, 20 to 30, maybe even hundreds of people. These are all indicators of what we are looking at. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When officers spot migrants, they dispatch Coast Guard cutters to intervene. The Coast Guard interdicted several migrants attempting to use the Florida coast as an inroad into the country. This includes 31 migrants packed onto a small fishing boat and two dozen Chinese migrants hiding in an engine compartment, according to the agency. While many migrants hail from nearby Cuba and Haiti, there is also a large number that come from as far as China, Coast Guard officers told NewsNation. Cartel luring chemistry students to make fentanyl: Report Well, we have had an 8000% increase in the number of Chinese migrants caught on the Florida coast, Republican Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez said. That is just going to increase because as enforcement becomes harder and tougher to get into the southern border, you are going to see more and more Chinese and other migrants trying to flow into Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, migrant ocean crossings are not just on the East Coast of the United States. The Coast Guard also spotted 20 migrants on a small boat 21 miles off the coast of California. We advise anyone that may think they want to enter the U.S. illegally. Not only are these venues illegal, but they are quite dangerous and please do not trust these transnational organizations. These smugglers do not care about you, Eric Rodriguez with the Coast Guard said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The free 8th Annual Coin Show will be held on Sunday, March 2. The coin collectors event will host over 40 dealer tables. Among them will be a place for buying, selling and trading everything from coins and paper money to tokens. The Dayton-Kettering Coin Club and the Miami Valley Coin Club will offer appraisals and evaluations. In a first for the event, the grading service firm ANACS will have a table where coins can be submitted for professional grading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A Columbus man has been sentenced to at least 14 years in prison after an assault and robbery at a Polaris hotel in the summer of 2023. According to the Delaware County Prosecutors Office, Christopher Watkins of Columbus was found guilty of felonious assault and robbery, both second-degree felonies, after two hotel employees were attacked on Aug. 21, 2023. Ohio Intel plant construction in New Albany delayed by at least three years Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus police responded to the Hilton Columbus/Polaris Hotel on Lyra Drive, where two employees had been assaulted. Police said Watkins punched one woman in the face at the hotel. When another male employee approached him to inquire what was happening, Watkins punched him in the face and kicked him in the chest as he lay on the ground. Watkins then took a radio off of the employee and stole his phone, the report stated. During an interview with police, Watkins denied being involved in the incident, but an ankle monitor and hotel surveillance video placed him in the area during the attack. Watkins was also identified as the suspect through eyewitness accounts to the police and DNA evidence, the prosecutors office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Delaware County Court of Common Pleas judge sentenced Watkins to a minimum of 14 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of 18 years. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. John Ladd sleeps better knowing Donald Trump is in the White House. Not just in some figurative sense. When Ladd lays his head down at his ranch house a mile and a quarter from the U.S.-Mexico border, he no longer worries about hundreds of trespassers a day trampling his pastures, tearing up fencing or setting his cattle loose. He doesnt fret as much as he once did about stumbling across a dead body 18 have turned up over the years or finding a migrant sitting in his living room, which happened once back in 2002. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amazing thing is as soon as Donald Trump got elected, the border issue of illegal entries coming into the U.S. has dramatically stopped, the 69-year-old Ladd said, overstating things somewhat. And were delighted with that. Back in the White House for just over a month, Trump has rapidly and ruthlessly delivered on his promise to turn America upside down, firing government workers en masse, eliminating whole agencies and slashing certain programs to the marrow. The promised benefit a leaner, less costly and more efficient federal government is purely theoretical at this stage. But one place where Trumps return to power has been tangibly felt, and greatly welcomed, is here in the far southeastern corner of Arizona, where the U.S. and Mexico sit uneasily side-by-side. After growing to record levels under President Biden, illegal border crossings began falling during the final months of his term, a trend that has accelerated since Trump moved back into the Oval Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ladds 16,400-acre ranch, which has been in the family since the 1890s, stretches for 10 miles along the border. Its three miles from there to State Route 92, a trek through mesquite and grassland, floodplains and furrows that serve as a rough-hewn pathway to the two-lane blacktop and the interior that lies beyond. At its peak, Ladd said, as many as 700 migrants a day passed through his property. That number fell drastically during Trumps first term, then shot way back up during the Biden administration, despite hidden cameras, motion-detecting sensors and the installation of soaring steel fence posts the border wall, as its known across the southern length of his ranch. Today, under Trump, daily crossings have fallen to around 10 or so, Ladd said, and Border Patrol agents tell him theyve grown bored. A Border Patrol camera is hidden in a mesquite bush on Ladd's ranch. (Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times) He paused alongside the wall, the rust-colored soil at his feet spreading for miles around, his view bracketed by the San Jose Mountains to the south and a majestic limestone bluff to the north. The stillness was so profound it was almost a physical presence. If we didnt have to deal with the border, Ladd said, theres no finer life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement :: In a large corral carpeted with hay and cow patties, Ladd pulled up two metal chairs, taking care to brush one off for his guest. He then talked about the last several decades watching from the front line as the nations contradictory, cross-purposes approach to immigration haphazardly played out. For a long time, Ladd said, he started each day with an inventory to see if anything a vehicle, farm equipment was stolen. He checked to see if anyone was hiding under a car, in a truck bed, in one of several outbuildings "always looking over your shoulder" before helping wrangle any cows wandering where they shouldnt. His beef-raising operation involves rotating cattle through nine enclosed pastures, from birth to market. Ladd said half of each day was spent mending barbed-wire fencing that was yanked down or cut open overnight. He sank a small fortune into repairs, Ladd said, before finally giving up. He also spent a lot of money hauling away trash; roughly 20 tons over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most people, Ladd said, have no idea what it's like living on the border, under constant siege. It's not just fear of the cartels engaged in human smuggling. Something as small as a gate left open could wreak havoc and carry hefty liability if Ladd's cattle wandered into traffic. As long as they dont have illegals in their backyards, he said, "people dont care. Outside the corral, a Red Angus peered in before ambling over to use a tractor for a scratching post. Ladd's 16,400-acre ranch has been in his family since 1896. (Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times) When it comes to the country's dysfunctional immigration system, Ladd went on, theres plenty of blame and hypocrisy to go around. (He confesses to some of the latter himself.) Clinton, Obama, the Bushes, he said, rattling off past presidents, all promised to fix the problem. None did. Even Ronald Reagan, Ladd's all-time favorite president, disappointed. If anything, he said, Reagan made things worse by signing a 1986 law granting amnesty to about 3 million people who came to the U.S. illegally. Then he failed to deliver the border enforcement he promised, or the crackdown on employers who hired undocumented workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's a scam," Ladd said, differentiating between what politicians say and what they do. "Republicans want cheap labor. Democrats want cheap votes. Americans want cheap tomatoes." And who can blame them, given how accustomed America has grown to the fruits of a low-cost, undocumented workforce? A pair of "carpet shoes" abandoned at the foot of the border wall. Some migrants wear them crossing into the U.S. to avoid leaving tracks. (Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times) Ladd said one of his sons, who grew up on the ranch and now lives in Phoenix, recently needed some palm trees cut. He went to three landscapers, Americans all, who wanted between $600 and $1,000 for the job. He hired someone, presumably in the country illegally, who agreed to do it for $100. "He said, 'Dad, I have to 'fess up to you,'" Ladd recounted with a small laugh. "He said, 'What would you have done?' I thought, 'Hell, I'd have probably hired the guy, too.'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement :: Ladd piloted his dust-streaked pickup along the border wall, discussing each stage of fencing as though it was a tree ring marking a distinct political era. The 13-foot-tall barrier built under Clinton, which replaced a chain-link fence that separated the U.S. and Mexico. The 18-foot-tall blockade installed under Obama. And, finally, topping them all, the 30-foot pillars put in place under Trump, which completed the wall across Ladds property. He noted where smugglers had blowtorched openings big enough to crawl through and pointed out the spray-painted notation of when those gaps were closed. In some places, away from surveillance cameras, there were as many as half a dozen repairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The difference Trump has made fighting illegal immigration, Ladd suggested, is in tone harsh, threatening, unwelcoming under any circumstances and policies like Remain in Mexico, which forced migrants seeking asylum to stay in that country while their cases were processed. Thats proved a greater deterrent than any physical blockade. The border wall, which has been constructed under several presidents, runs the southern length of Ladd's ranch. (Mark Z. Barabak / Los Angeles Times) Ladd doesnt agree with each and every one of Trumps words or deeds, but he does more often than not. I admire him, Ladd said, because he says stuff that nobody else will say. I admire him for having the fortitude to say it. And when the president utters obvious falsehoods, like claiming Ukraine was responsible for Russias invasion? I dont like Russia, but I agree with Trump going to Putin to end the war, Ladd said, adding a poke at Ukraines leader, Volodymyr Zelensky. Or when Trump claimed that Mexico would pay for the border wall, which hasnt happened and was never remotely plausible? I dont take him literally, Ladd said, as he rolled past the steel stanchions reaching into a cobalt-blue sky. Sometimes I dont think he takes himself seriously, either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It remains to be seen whether the drastic drop-off in illegal border crossings will continue. It's not unusual for traffic to fall this time of year. And some migrants may simply be waiting to see how court battles over Trump's immigration policies play out. But for now, Ladd is enjoying more peace of mind than he's had in years. And he ranks Trump just behind Reagan as his all-time favorite president. Get the latest from Mark Z. Barabak Focusing on politics out West, from the Golden Gate to the U.S. Capitol. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Trump administration's policies are built on a foundation of lies: Millions of foreign criminals and mentally ill people illegally stream across our borders. Doctors abort babies after they are born. Tariffs won't drive up costs for American consumers. American taxpayers buy condoms for Hamas. Transgender service members undermine the armed forces. Based on that last fiction, the Defense Department announced a ban on transgender troops Wednesday, following an executive order issued by President Trump in January. It directs the military to identify any service members who are transgender and then directs that all those will be put in separation proceedings, said Jennifer Levi, senior counsel with GLAD Law, which along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights is suing to block the policy on behalf of six transgender service members. The plaintiffs say the policy violates the Constitutions equal protection guarantees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Abcarian: Does Donald Trump's return to power mean it's time to admit he's right? In a word, no Although some have read the ban as making some exceptions, Levi said it does not. It specifically says that everyone in service has to serve in their birth sex," she said. "You cannot be transgender in the military. Tell that to Sgt. 1st Class Kate Cole, a transgender woman who enlisted at 17 and has spent her entire adult life in the Army. Now 34, Cole, who is one of the plaintiffs asking the courts to stop enforcement of the transgender ban, has earned numerous medals for acts of heroism and meritorious service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Abcarian: Elon Musk's 'shoot first, aim later' style requires a fact check A marksman, she has been deployed to the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, the Baltic states and South Korea. Through it all, even during her transition, she never missed a day of training. Were here, were serving honorably, we meet the standards and we just want to continue to serve, she told me. Cole said she had planned to leave the Army to transition at one point but decided to stay after reading in the Army Times that the military would study whether transgender troops could serve effectively. On the strength of that study's finding that transgender service members had no adverse impact on the militarys mission, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter rescinded a ban on transgender troops in 2016. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although relatively few in number, we're talking about talented and trained Americans who are serving their country with honor and distinction, Carter said. We invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to train and develop each individual, and we want to take the opportunity to retain people whose talent we've invested in and who have proven themselves. Since then, however, transgender service members have been treated like pingpong balls in a particularly cruel political game. Trump tried to ban them soon after he first took office in 2017. Lawsuits tied up his policy in various courts until President Biden took office in 2021 and reversed course. And now here we are again. Trump is back in office, and his administration, led by the feckless billionaire Elon Musk, appears hell-bent on inflicting as much misery as possible as it merrily guts the federal government. Trumps rationale for the ban is as misbegotten and insulting as his edict that there are only two sexes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, Trump wrote in his executive order, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individuals sex conflicts with a soldiers commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle. ... A mans assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee in Washington, D.C., was not having it. To call an entire group of people lying, dishonest people who are undisciplined, immodest and have no integrity how is that anything other than showing animus? she asked a Justice Department lawyer during a recent hearing. (The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that laws based solely on animus bias, dislike or disfavor of people simply because of who they are do not pass constitutional muster.) Reyes is expected to rule after a hearing scheduled for March 12. A second, similar request to stop the anti-trans policy was filed on behalf of seven other service members by LAMBDA Legal in Seattle. Multiple legal challenges to policies like this are not unusual; the issue is likely to end up before the Supreme Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one knows for certain how many transgender individuals are serving. A 2014 study by UCLAs Williams Institute put the number of transgender people on active duty or in the National Guard or reserve forces at around 15,000. A 2016 Rand study commissioned by the Defense Department estimated that about 1,300 to 6,600 transgender service members were on active duty, with about 800 to 4,200 in the reserves. At least 18 countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Canada and Australia, allow transgender people to serve openly. Whatever the actual number here in the United States, it is vanishingly small considering that the overall force comprises some two million troops. You and I both agree that the greatest fighting force that world history has ever seen is not going to be impacted in any way by less than 1 percent of the soldiers using a different pronoun than others might want to call them. Would you agree to that? Judge Reyes asked Justice Department lawyer Jason Lynch. No, your honor, Lynch replied. I cant agree with that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sgt. Cole, who paid for her own transition, is currently stationed in Los Angeles, teaching tactics and leadership to ROTC students at UCLA, preparing them to become junior lieutenants. She hopes to retire in 2027 and move to Colorado to work as a climbing guide. If she is kicked out of the Army before completing her 20 years of service, she stands to lose her $3,500 monthly pension. Thanks for your service, Sgt. Cole! She does not generally discuss her gender identity or her role in the lawsuit, and even some of her friends have no idea she is trans. Im proud of my service, and ultimately, I just want to continue to do my job, Cole said. I dont want to be a symbol. I just want to do my job and exist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is so little to ask. Doesn't this country owe her that much? Bluesky: @rabcarian.bsky.social. Threads: @rabcarian If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. WEBSTER CITY, Iowa After a week of much debate and protest at the Iowa Statehouse, lawmakers passed a bill removing civil rights protection from the Iowa state code. On Saturday morning, two Republican lawmakers attended a legislative forum at Iowa Central Community College in Webster City. Dennis Guth is a Republican State Senator from Hancock County. Shannon Latham is a Republican State Representative from Franklin County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both were asked about their votes in support of the civil rights change. I think thats what people put us in the office to do and Im feeling confident that we should move forward, so Im good, said Guth. Fort Dodge reducing employees in new city budget It was a difficult topic, there were people on both sides of the issue, but at the end of the day, we really need to afford protections for girls sports, and girls in the bathrooms, said Latham. That was the deciding factor for me. In addition, all people have human rights. All people keep those civil rights. Were just taking away the ability of biological males to be in restroom with girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the forum there were questions about a proposed law to require Iowa school students to view a video on reproduction. Some felt the video was misleading and not based on science. Guth was asked about a proposed bill which would penalize physicians if they dispensed pills which would cause an abortion. He said he was not aware of that bill. I would probably be supportive because I believe life begins at conception and we should be protecting all life, said Guth. Some attending the forum said they disagreed with that position. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) It was a somber Saturday morning in Buffalo as loved ones, friends and colleagues remembered the life of fallen Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno. Saturday marked two years since Arno died while battling a four-alarm fire on Main Street. His brothers and sisters in the department honored his legacy. Two years after Arnos death, his family, including his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Olivia, stopped by the site to pay their respects and honor the fallen hero. As the family placed flowers and photos along the fence, members of the Buffalo Fire Department stood by showing their support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is how we pay tribute to our fallen firefighters, and we never forget, said Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo. Thats the one thing we always say we never forget and were always there for the families. I cant say enough about the strength and the courage and the grace that the Arno family has shown. More than anything, just want the family his wife, Sarah, his daughter, Olivia to know, me as mayor, and the residents of the City of Buffalo will never be able to express the debt of gratitude that we have for Firefighter Arno and his dedicated and heroic service to the City of Buffalo, said Acting Buffalo Mayor Chris Scanlon. More than 100 firefighters stood out in the cold to honor one of their own taken too soon. Theyve come together, its just been incredible, Renaldo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It just shows that the brotherhood and the sisterhood is alive and well, said Will Unger, communications for Local 282. The fire service is a community like no other. We show up and we show out for our fallen heroes not just here at home, but across the whole nation and Canada. During Saturday mornings remembrance ceremony, the Buffalo Fire Department unveiled a commemorative firefighter helmet with Arnos name. These memorials just show that these members gave it all for their city, Unger said. They put their lives on the line to protect the citizens, neighbors, friends, family, people that they dont even know. I think its great, the work that theyre doing. And just a reminder about how inherently dangerous that this job really is, and its really not for the faint of heart, Renaldo said. Its just a tribute to our firefighters who go out there every day and do this job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It ensures that Arno will never be forgotten. I believe Jason is up there right now looking down on us, Renaldo said. Latest Local News Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. Live in a home governed by a condominium, co-op or homeowner's association? Have questions about what they can and cannot do? Ryan Poliakoff, an attorney and author based in Boca Raton, has answers. Question: Our recent election was stopped by the board and the associations attorney because "too many election packages" were being rejected due to owners failure to sign the exterior of the outside envelope. We have 65 units; it was reported that we had 53 responses: 35 were OK and 18 had no owners signature. I believe we only needed 13 clean ballots to have a legal election. The board president, who was attending by Zoom from Canada, said that we needed to redo the election because those 18 owners needed a second chance. While the meeting was still going on some of those 18 were called and asked to come to meeting and amend their ballot package. After realizing that the vast majority of the 18 were not available to correct their ballot they told us that there would be a new election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am one of the four candidates for two open seats, and I am under the impression that there are no "do overs" for ballot packages missing the owners signature. Information from ballots and envelopes are being kept secret from all the owners except for the board members. Signed, K.W. Can condo boards scrap legally valid election results when some voters failed to sign ballot envelope? Dear K.W., I cannot think of a legitimate reason that a properly conducted election could be abandoned because more envelopes were invalid than the board preferred. I think you have excellent grounds to challenge this decision, but you need to act quickly. The Condominium Act and Floridas Administrative Code contains very detailed election procedures and provides that if an outer envelope is not signed by the voter it must be disregarded. Such an envelope would not count towards the mandatory 20% participation requirement. But, based on your numbers, there were more than enough valid ballots to conduct a legal election, and the decision to abandon the election was improper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only reason I can think of that such a decision would be valid is if for some reason the voting package gave owners incorrect instructions, leading to owners failing to sign their envelopes. But otherwise, the simple fact that owners dont follow directions is not a reason for a do-over. You have only 60 days to file an election complaint, and so you either need to contact the Division of Condominiums or file a petition for arbitration (after sending the required pre-arbitration demand) right awayparticularly because the board could improperly discard the original election materials (that would create an entirely different problem for them, but it would also prevent the original results from being counted). I would do one or the other as soon as possiblean attorney can help you decide the pros and cons of both options. The noise is coming through the floors. What can I do? Question: I live in a condominium, and the unit above me was bought, remodeled and flipped without the owner ever living in the unit. As soon as a new owner bought the flipped property I noticed the noise was so bad that I brought it to the attention of the new owner and board of directors. It was determined that the incorrect underlayment was approved by the Architectural Review Committee (ARC) and installed by the flipper. The board simply said they would do nothing and on advice of counsel would not speak about it. What can I do? Signed, D.R. Dear D.R., The Board has a problem here. You say that the approved underlayment was incorrect, and so Im going to assume that there was some existing specification that was not followed or was ignored by the ARC, and not just that there are no guidelines of any kind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the ARC just made a mistake and approved a flooring installation that should never have been approved, they could very well have liability to the new owner, but that also doesnt mean that the violation is automatically grandfathered, particularly because it is creating an active nuisance. The Condominium Act, at Section 718.303, Fla. Stat., provides that every owner is governed by the statute and the governing documents, and that any owner can bring an action against any other owner to enforce those documents. That would include any nuisance provisions, as well as any flooring guidelines that might be contained in the declaration. I agree that the association itself would have a difficult time pursuing this owner after they gave the owner permission to install the flooring. However, that does not necessarily prevent you from bringing your own action, particularly one based on the nuisance caused by the excessive noise (I am assuming that the noise is in fact excessive, but thats something that would require sound testing and some detailed analysis of the types of noises you are experiencing). What would happen is that you would sue the neighbor, and then the neighbor would likely bring in the association, arguing that they detrimentally relied on the associations approval of the flooring, and that if they are obligated to remove or modify the flooring, the association should be responsible for the cost. The association has created a complicated dispute, but that shouldnt leave you without any options. I recommend consulting with an attorney so they can advise you of your rights and potentially bring a lawsuit to correct the nuisance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ryan Poliakoff, a partner at Poliakoff Backer, LLP, is a Board Certified specialist in condominium and planned development law. This column is dedicated to the memory of Gary Poliakoff. Ryan Poliakoff and Gary Poliakoff are co-authors of "New Neighborhoods The Consumers Guide to Condominium, Co-Op and HOA Living." Email your questions to condocolumn@gmail.com. Please be sure to include your location. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Can condominium board require election do-over when vote was valid? A Conneaut Lake area man has pleaded guilty in Crawford County court to involuntary manslaughter for causing a head-on crash in 2023 that killed a Meadville woman. Pennsylvania State Police charged Chaz Miller with causing a two-vehicle fatal crash on Route 98 in Hayfield Township July 22, 2023, that claimed the life of Rebecca E. Doughty, 39. Miller, 27, of Faust Road, pleaded guilty Thursday before President Judge John Spataro to involuntary manslaughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State police charged Miller with a felony count of homicide by vehicle; a misdemeanor count of involuntary manslaughter; and six traffic summary counts passing when prohibited, improper passing, reckless driving, careless driving, speeding, and failing to keep right. Miller agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement with the Crawford County District Attorneys Office. In exchange for the guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter, the other charges are not being prosecuted. As part of the plea agreement, the DAs Office will seek a standard county sentence with a minimum sentence of no less than three months and no more than six months and up to a maximum of two years less one day in jail. Its due to the facts and circumstances of the case, Craig Howe, the countys first assistant district attorney, said of the plea agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the arrest affidavit filed by police, Miller told authorities he was on his way to Meadville Medical Center as his father had been put on life-support and Miller was called to the hospital that night. Miller was driving south on Route 98 in a Chevrolet Tahoe when he attempted to pass another southbound vehicle in a clearly marked no passing zone at a high rate of speed, according to the criminal complaint. The arrest affidavit filed in the case stated Millers sport utility vehicle (SUV) went into the northbound lane as Doughtys Subaru CrossTrek was traveling north in the northbound lane. The affidavit said Millers SUV swerved to the left at the same time as Doughtys SUV swerved to the right and the two vehicles collided head-on. The affidavit said Millers vehicle went off the road and over a small embankment before it rolled onto its roof and caught fire. Miller was able to free himself from his SUV and had only minor injuries, the affidavit said. The impact caused Doughtys vehicle to stop in the northbound lane. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Miller remains free on $20,000 unsecured bond awaiting sentencing on May 6 by Spataro. San Luis Obispo County conservation leaders are one step closer to converting a former oil storage and pipeline terminal into a massive coastal park. On Feb. 6, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County bought a 750-acre stretch of coastal hills in Morro Bay on behalf of San Luis Obispo County, a news release from the organization said. Having such an amazing open space for the community on the coast right there is going to be phenomenal, Land Conservancy deputy director Daniel Bohlman told The Tribune on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department will manage the land, which extends along Alva Paul Creek from Del Mark Park to Alva Paul Canyon. This purchase is the second piece of a plan to acquire almost 2,000 acres from Chevron and create Toro Creek Park. The park will include multi-modal trail system, which will be open to the public once the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approves operation and maintenance funding and the county completes site improvements as soon as possible, the news release said. SLO County is really a county that is rich in open spaces, Bohlman told The Tribune. The community loves it whenever theres a new one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The county park will protect the land from development and offer the public more opportunities to enjoy nature, he said. This gives those communities amazing access to world-class property, he said. The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County bought a 750-acre Morro Bay property from Chevron on Feb. 6, 2025. The land will be part of the county-managed Toro Creek Park. New SLO County park to be established in 3 phases The Phase 1 acquisition of the Toro Coast Preserve project was completed in 2022, when the SLO County Parks Department took ownership of a 350-acre property between Cayucos and Toro Creek east of Highway 1. The property includes the 20-acre, dog-friendly beach thats open to the public, while the county leases the rest of the land for grazing and residences. In February, the Land Conservancy of SLO County purchased the 750-acre property from Chevron for $5 million on behalf of the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The purchase was funded by a $3.5 million grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board, $1.5 million from the California State Coastal Conservancy and $500,000 of private donations raised by the Cayucos and SLO County Land Conservancies and the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance. The 750-acre property runs east along Alva Paul Creek near Del Mar Park. Eventually, the 750 acres will become a county park with a multi-modal trail system for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding with room to park equestrian trailers nearby. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors must also approve operation and maintenance funding for the park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finally, for Phase 3, the nonprofit plans to purchase a 700-acre property from Chevron located between Phases 1 and 2. That land will also become part of the county park with tent and RV camping and easy access to the dog beach. The Toro Coast Preserve project will be completed in three phases. The red plot is Phase 1, the yellow plot is Phase 2 and the blue plot is Phase 3. History of the Chevron property Texaco originally used the 3,250-acre property as a marine terminal, where it stored oil before sending it to customers, according to Chevron spokesperson Jeff Moore. The company extracted oil from inland production fields, then stored it in above-ground tanks near the center of the property, Moore said. An 18-inch pipe then moved the oil along Alva Paul Creek to waiting tankers at a marine terminal west of Del Mar Park, he said. Texaco closed the marine terminal in the 1970s, then removed all five oil storage tanks in 1997 and 1998. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chevron acquired the property when it took ownership of Texaco in 2001. Total petroleum hydrocarbons and California regulated metals used to contaminate the eastern portion of the property where Phase 2 of the Toro Coast Preserve project is located, Moore said. Chevron removed 14,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the site, and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board said the company had adequately cleaned up the plot in 2010. Chevron removed Texacos above-ground pipeline in 2023 and has also cleaned up all contamination on land contained in Phases 1 and 2 of the project. Once Chevron completes remediation efforts on Phase 3 of the property, it can be sold to the Land Conservancy, Bohlman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Land Conservancy is currently negotiating with Chevron to purchase that final piece of land, he said. Around 2015, as Chevron began considering concepts for future uses of their property, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and our conservation partners expressed our desire to see this property brought into conservation for public benefit. Thankfully, we found a willing and patient partner in Chevron, Bohlman said in the news release. Was there ever such a vindictive act of educational vandalism as the Labour Governments policy towards independent schools? In the past week we learn that yet another excellent institution, St Hildas Prep School for Girls in Bushey is now facing closure the second one to go in that Hertfordshire town alone. Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, is only one of countless former pupils who must now mourn the needless loss of a much-loved establishment. One of the reasons why aspirational families like hers settled in Britain was the quality of its education system. Parents work hard to pay school fees, which will soon be out of reach for all but the wealthy. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, has dismissed their concerns thus: Our state schools need teachers more than private schools need embossed stationery. Our children need mental health support more than private schools need new pools. Our students need careers advice more than private schools need AstroTurf pitches. The language of them and us, coming from a minister of the Crown, is deliberately incendiary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This particular exercise in class warfare is already having a catastrophic effect on thousands of children whose parents are now desperate to find places in local state schools places that dont exist in many areas. Nor is this chastisement of innocents happening only in the mythical Tory shires. Even in Sir Keir Starmers own constituency of Holborn and St Pancras, the Village School for Girls has just announced its imminent closure. Nor is the ordeal over. VAT was imposed on fees in January, but the victimisation goes far beyond that measure. Next month independent schools will be hit by the removal of 80 per cent business rates relief. Coupled with the rise in National Insurance, these changes have wrecked the finances of many smaller, often girls schools. The effect will be to narrow choice. Fewer bursaries will be on offer. And good state schools will be even more overcrowded. The Conservatives need to fight back against this concerted assault. Laura Trott, the Shadow Education Secretary, is more than a match in debate for Bridget Phillipson. But she needs to explain to the public precisely why these punitive policies may produce no more money for state education and will certainly harm it by eliminating competition from the private sector. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Last week's volatile exchange in the Oval Office between President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Zelensky sent the world into a tailspin as the three leaders loudly argued over the US's support for Ukraine for over 10 minutes before the press. Trump and Zelensky arguing in Oval Office The unprecedented meeting went mega-viral and has been described by many as "shameful," "disgusting," and a "disgrace." Trump, Vance, and Zelensky arguing in Oval Office If you haven't seen it, it's worth the 10-minute watch: WATCH: Full Heated Exchange between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. pic.twitter.com/oMJUGPqbSU CSPAN (@cspan) February 28, 2025 Twitter: @cspan Advertisement Advertisement The meeting was so bad that Trump canceled the scheduled news conference with Zelensky, who was then asked to leave the White House early. Zelensky getting into his car at the White House to leave Conservatives (many who claim to have voted for Trump) are not holding back their frustrations about the whole debacle and how Trump is treating Ukraine. Here's what they're saying over on the r/LeopardsAteMyFace and r/Conservative subreddits: 1.This person called themselves an "avid trump supporter," but felt Trump went too far during the Oval Office meeting. Summary of tweet: The user comments on Trump's support for Ukraine, expressing surprise and a desire for less chaotic times, referencing the White House and a meeting 2.This MAGA voter said Trump is behaving like a "real clown": Social media post supporting Trump's foreign policy on Cuba and Venezuela, criticizing the previous administration, and warning about China 3."We might as well have voted for Vladimir Putin." Comment discussing impeachment, questioning the impact of Trump's policies, and expressing regret over voting decisions related to Russia and Ukraine Advertisement Advertisement 4.This "die-hard Republican" and MAGA voter is regretting supporting Trump, saying they didn't vote for the president of Ukraine to get "ousted." Barbara Hamblen's Facebook post criticizes the Republican party and tariffs, expressing frustration over job losses and urges the Trump administration to do better 5.This person said they were "nauseous" about Trump's changed support of Ukraine. Social media comment questioning Trump's changing support for Ukraine and its impact on Zelensky's actions regarding a deal 6."This self-aggrandizing bullshit is bad foreign policy." Greg criticizes an admin's foreign policy and calls it bad. Hey_ringworm agrees, mentions supporting Trump mostly, but criticizes his foreign policy 7.This person questioned Trump's thought process regarding how the Ukraine-Russia war began: Social media comment questioning why Ukraine is blamed for starting the war, asking if there's unknown reasoning for Russia's invasion Advertisement Advertisement 8."I voted for this guy, but his foreign policy is suspect." Comment criticizing a political figure's foreign policy and decision to take control of Gaza. User labeled as a top commenter 9."He makes it awfully hard to be conservative sometimes." Comment questioning a leader's stance on a conflict, criticizing their relationship with Putin and impact on global reputation What are your thoughts on Trump and Vance's treatment of President Zelensky in the Oval Office? Let us know in the comments below. NEW YORK A convicted double-killer from El Salvador has been arrested in New Jersey on a charge of illegally reentering the United States, prosecutors said. Cesar Eliseo Sorto-Amaya was taken into custody by federal authorities in Elizabeth on Friday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey. ICE agents found him sitting on the front porch of a home at an address provided by law enforcement in El Salvador, where hes wanted on charges of double aggravated homicide. Sorto-Amaya was convicted in absentia on April 24, 2024, and sentenced to 50 years in prison. No other information, including specific details about the crime, was provided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 28-year-old suspect also has a long history of deportations that dates all the way back to 2015. In February of that year, he was arrested by border agents in Texas and sent back to El Salvador on March 3, 2015, according to the criminal complaint. Sorto-Amaya was again deported after he crossed paths with ICE in October 2016. He was behind bars in Elizabeth at the time and was eventually convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon. However, he was shipped home before he could be sentenced, per the criminal complaint. He was arrested again the following year and sent back to El Salvador for a third time on Aug. 26, 2017. While its unclear when Sorto-Amaya returned to the United States, El Salvadoran authorities reached out to ICE last month, alerting them on Feb. 12 to his potential presence and recent conviction, according to the criminal complaint. Sorto-Amaya made his initial court appearance in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday, though its not clear what action, if any, was taken. A convicted double-killer from El Salvador has been arrested in New Jersey on a charge of illegally reentering the United States, prosecutors said. Cesar Eliseo Sorto-Amaya was taken into custody by federal authorities in Elizabeth on Friday, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey. ICE agents found him sitting on the front porch of a home at an address provided by law enforcement in El Salvador, where hes wanted on charges of double aggravated homicide. Sorto-Amaya was convicted in absentia on April 24, 2024 and sentenced to 50 years in prison. No other information, including specific details about the crime, was provided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 28-year-old suspect also has a long history of deportations that dates all the way back to 2015. In February of that year, he was arrested by border agents in Texas and sent back to El Salvador on March 3, 2015, according to the criminal complaint. Sorto-Amaya was again deported after he crossed paths with ICE in October 2016. He was behind bars in Elizabeth at the time and was eventually convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon. However, he was shipped home before he could be sentenced, per the criminal complaint. He was arrested again the following year and sent back to El Salvador for a third time on Aug. 26, 2017. While its unclear when Sorto-Amaya returned to the United States, El Salvadoran authorities reached out to ICE last month, alerting them on Feb. 12 to his potential presence and recent conviction, according to the criminal complaint. Sorto-Amaya made his initial court appearance in Newark on Friday, though its not clear what action, if any, was taken. ST. LOUIS The Missouri Supreme Court has overturned a St. Louis jurys 2022 decision to award $1.3 million to the family of a boy who was struck by a hit-and-run driver in 2019 after getting off a school bus. In October 2019, nine-year-old Dylan Jackson, a fourth-grader at KIPP Victory Academy, was dropped off from his school bus and attempted to cross the street at Goodfellow Boulevard and Lalite Avenue when a car drove around the bus, struck Jackson and took off from the scene, investigators say. $50K Missouri Lottery prize won at St. Louis Schnucks Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three years later, a St. Louis jury initially ordered school bus company First Student Inc. to pay damages to Jacksons family. At the time, jurors determined the bus company was negligent by not providing a new driver with instructions on where Jackson should have been dropped off moments before he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Leading up to that, a lawsuit alleged that First Student and its bus driver were negligent by letting Jackson off at the wrong corner, which required him to cross several lanes of traffic to get home,. The lawsuit also claimed that Jackson told the driver one day earlier that his normal drop-off location was a different corner of the Goodfellow-Lalite intersection. Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News On Friday, the Missouri Supreme Court voted 5-2 to reverse the $1.3 million verdict for a judgment in First Students favor. According to Missouri court documents, First Student argued on appeal that the circuit court should have ruled in its favor because the company could not be held liable for the criminal actions of the hit-and-run driver. The Missouri Supreme Courts ruling will send the case back to the St. Louis Circuit Court for review and orders for a rehearing to be refiled within 15 days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. ST. LOUIS One woman is hurt after a fender-bender crash escalated into a shooting Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of a Lees Chicken restaurant in north St. Louis, police say. The shooting happened around 3 p.m. Saturday in the 6200 block of West Florissant Avenue in St. Louis North Pointe neighborhood. A police spokesperson at the scene tells FOX 2 that there was a fender bender between two cars that triggered the shooting. After the collision, three men got out of a car and ran up to a female driver in a silver Buick vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thunderstorms with gusty winds expected Tuesday The driver was shot. Police say she was taken to a hospital conscious and breathing. One passenger inside the womans vehicle was not shot or injured. The three suspects took off in their car in an unknown direction. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is handling this investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) Crews in Lebanon County battled a house fire Saturday evening. Hummelstown Fire Department said in a Facebook post that the fire occurred on the 300 block of North College Street just before 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 1. Courtesy of Dustin Weese Courtesy of Dustin Weese The department says they were dispatched to Lebanon County to assist first-arriving units in Palmyra. Pictures show the house almost fully engulfed in flames. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No word on injuries or displacements at this time. This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. Crews battled wildfires in North and South Carolina on Sunday amid dry conditions and gusty winds as residents were forced to evacuate in some areas. The National Weather Service warned of increased fire danger in the region due to a combination of critically dry fuels and very low relative humidity. In South Carolina, where more than 175 fires burned 6.6 square miles (17 square kilometers), Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response effort, and a statewide burning ban remained in effect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews made progress containing a fire in the Carolina Forest area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach, where residents had been ordered to evacuate several neighborhoods, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Video showed some people running down the street as smoke filled the sky. But by late Sunday afternoon, the fire department announced that Carolina Forest evacuees could return home. The South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated Sunday evening that the blaze had burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers) with 30 percent of it contained. No structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning, officials said. In North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service said fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning in four forests across the state on Sunday. The largest, about 400 acres (162 hectares), was at Uwharrie National Forest, about 50 miles (80.47 kilometers) east of Charlotte. The Forest Service said Sunday afternoon that it had made progress on the fire, reaching about one-third containment. The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, urged some residents to evacuate Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there. The evacuations remained in effect Sunday. A decision on whether to lift them was expected to be made Monday after intentional burns are set to try to stop the fire from spreading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That fire has burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) as of late Sunday, with zero percent containment, according to the Polk County Emergency Management/Fire Marshal's office. The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting water drops and back-burning operations on the ground, and area residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said. Officials have not said what caused any of the fires. Europe stands at a crossroads in history, Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday as he called on nations to step up to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine. Hosting world leaders at an emergency summit in London, the Prime Minister said he was working on a coalition of the willing that would include British troops and fighter jets in Ukraine. European leaders promised in response to re-arm and were expected to announce major defence spending increases in the coming days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said Ukraine would be turned into a porcupine that could not be ingested by invading forces, while Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, declared that Europe has woken up. The summit was attended by Volodymyr Zelensky, who travelled to Britain wounded from a damaging row with Donald Trump that was broadcast live from the Oval Office. Mr Zelensky was embraced by the Prime Minister on arrival and met the King on Sunday in a show of unity that placed the monarch at the heart of frantic efforts to repair a transatlantic rift and push for long-term European peace. Sir Keir Starmer hosted leaders at Lancaster House, where he declared: We are at a crossroads in history today, this is not a moment for more talk. Its time to act, time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace. Volodymyr Zelensky, Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron at the summit in London - Justing Tallis/AFP via Getty Images He said Europe would have to do the heavy lifting and provide a peacekeeping force for Ukraine. Britain and France would lead the force if their troops had US security guarantees as a backstop to deter Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United Kingdom should step up and lead. We have done that historically as a nation, and we need to do it again, the Prime Minister said. A number of countries have indicated today that they want to be part of the plan that we are developing. Ill leave them to make their own statements about exactly how they want to make that contribution, but weve been able to move that forward, he said. Not every country will feel able to contribute, he said, but those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency. He added: The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Prime Minister also announced a 1.6 billion deal to supply thousands of advanced air-defence missiles to Ukraine. Urgent plan to re-arm Europe Mrs von der Leyen said she would present a comprehensive plan to urgently re-arm Europe. She called for a surge in European defence spending, and urged Europe to turn Ukraine into a steel porcupine that was indigestible to invaders. Mrs von der Leyen has previously warned the EU needs 500 billion (410 billion) in defence investment over the next decade. EU leaders will meet for a European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Ukraine and how to dramatically increase defence spending. The European leaders pose for a photograph at the Lancaster House summit - Justin Tallis/WPA Pool/Getty Images Ideas under consideration include relaxing EU fiscal rules to allow more public spending and, more controversially, pooling common debt to buy arms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, told reporters that several counties pledged to increase their defence spending targets at the London summit. This was very good news that more European countries will ramp up defence spending, Mr Rutte said. He refused to name which of the 18 nations present had made the pledge. Mr Trump has berated European countries for missing their Nato spending target of 2 per cent of GDP. Sir Keir announced a new 2.5 per cent target by 2027, described as the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, before meeting Mr Trump in Washington earlier this week. He said he wanted to hit 3 per cent in the next parliament. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In London, Sir Keir said leaders had agreed to keep military aid flowing to Ukraine and to increase the economic pressure on Russia, which would put Kyiv in a stronger negotiating position. Credit: Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, BBC They agreed that any peace negotiations must involve Ukraine, which has so far been shut out of US-Russia talks, and that any peace must ensure its sovereignty and security. If there was a peace deal, Europe would arm Ukraine further to deter any future invasion, he said. Sir Keir said plans announced earlier in the day for a coalition of the willing would help to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emmanuel Macron sat on Sir Keirs right-hand side when the Prime Minister opened the summit after a video call with leaders of the Baltic nations, who were reported to be upset at not having been invited to the meeting. Mr Macron and Sir Keir have emerged as key allies for Ukraine since Donald Trumps White House row with Mr Zelensky - Neil Hall/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The French president has emerged as a key ally since Mr Trumps fury at Mr Zelensky damaged the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the US. Before heading to London, Mr Macron said he was ready to open the discussion on sharing Frances nuclear deterrent with Europe. He added it would take five to 10 years for Europe to act independently of Washington. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor-in-waiting, has said Berlin will ask for the shelter of the French and British nuclear umbrella if US forces pull out of Europe. He has suggested Nato could be dead by June and urged Europe to build its capability so it can achieve independence from US security. His CDU party is in coalition negotiations with the centre-Left SPD. It was reported that the parties were considering a special fund worth more than 100 billion to revamp the German army. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Macron said: We have a shield, they dont. And they can no longer depend on the American nuclear deterrent. I believe that today is the moment for a strategic awakening, because in all countries there is confusion and uncertainty about long-term American support. We have to rely on ourselves Mr Merz, soon to be the leader of Europes richest economy, thanked Sir Keir and Mr Macron on social media for their leadership. Your efforts are key to build bridges across the Atlantic. We have to remain united in our goal to end Russias war of aggression, he said. Mr Tusk told his fellow leaders that more European troops needed to be stationed in countries bordering Russia on Natos eastern flank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: We have to rely on ourselves, being fully aware of our own potential and believing that we are a global power. A strong Europe, confident in its strength, well prepared to defend its borders, is a Europe that can guarantee peace. Poland, which will spend 4.7 per cent of GDP on defence this year, has been one of Ukraines strongest supporters. Turkeys foreign minister said European leaders planned to meet every two to three weeks to discuss the plans amid question marks over US support for the Continent. Heads of state and government rallied to show their support for Mr Zelensky after he was kicked out of the White House. But the pressure is on him to repair relations with Mr Trump, whose Republican allies have suggested Mr Zelensky must resign. After the talks, a refreshing cup of tea at Lancaster House - Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street Lord Mandelson urged Mr Zelensky to make up with Mr Trump and support his peace initiative saying it was the only show in town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britains ambassador to the US called on him to give unconditional backing to US plans to end the three-year war, including a deal granting access to Ukrainian minerals. Mr Zelensky told the BBC that Ukraine was ready to sign the deal giving the US access to rare Ukrainian minerals, which he expected to ink on the ill-starred visit to Washington. Asked if he knew about the plan for a temporary ceasefire in the air, at sea, Mr Zelensky said, Im aware of everything. He said he felt strong support for Ukraine at the summit and that European unity is at an exceptionally high level. The Kremlin said on Sunday that Mr Trumps Ukraine policy largely coincides with Vladimir Putins as it sought to widen divides between the estranged allies. Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary and an ally of both Mr Trump and Putin said the leaders had decided that Ukraine must continue the war. This is bad, dangerous and mistaken, Mr Orban, who was not at the London summit, said. Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, heaped more pressure on Mr Zelensky, who he warned would have to concede territory to Russia. He also said Ukraine could not join Nato as it wishes. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, defended Mr Trump. I really am puzzled why anyone thinks that trying to be a peacemaker is a bad thing. Its only a bad thing when its Donald Trump trying to do it. When its president Trump. Its absurd to me, he said. Meanwhile, JD Vance, the US vice-president, was ambushed by pro-Ukraine protesters furious at his treatment of Mr Zelensky. He and his family were forced to flee to another location after the demonstration at a Vermont ski resort. The London summit was held as Ukrainian soldiers made surprise breakthroughs on the front line, but there are fears the US could slow down or stop weapons supplies to force Kyiv to sign the minerals deal, while wider talks between Putin and Mr Trump are said to be on the cards. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Mar. 1MORAINE A crowd of people lined a busy street near a local Tesla Service Center on Saturday to protest the recent actions of the world's richest man, Elon Musk. It began around 1 p.m. and nearly everyone attending held a sign as they lined the block of West Dorothy Lane where the the service center is located. At the time, the temperature was in the low- to mid-30s with blustery winds. The protest is part of the #TeslaTakedown movement aimed at Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kathy Jones, one of the protest organizers, said she got the idea online after other people in the country started protesting. "I want to get Elon Musk out of the government. He was not elected; he needs to go," she said. "I want people all over the country to be doing this every single weekend until the message gets through. (The message) to get Musk out ... because this is our country, and I don't want anyone to take it from us." Carl Geisler, who attended with his wife Suzanne, said, "We're worried about our country becoming a dictatorship. We're worried about us being part of the axis of evil. Trump wants us to align ourselves with Russia, North Korea, China ... that's not who we are." Rich Cohen said he was protesting, despite the wind and the cold, because of what's going on in the government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There is a way to do things efficiently, but you don't just go in there and fire everybody. That is not the way its done ... That hurts us, and some of the organizations he's doing this to is going to threaten our health and the health of the world," he said. "It's been done the whole wrong way by someone who doesn't know what they their doing and is not appointed by Congress and he's operating illegally as far as I'm concerned." Protests like this one have been happening across the nation. Tesla has become a rallying point for protestors outraged with how Musk has participated in President Donald Trump's administration and led efforts to slash government agencies, according to Axios. "There's a lot of outrage that we're hearing from a lot of concerned voters about what's happened at the federal government and specifically today we all know Elon Musk's role in this DOGE department, as you can see by the huge crowd," said Kim McCarthy with the Greene County Democratic Party, who also helped organize the protest. "What they're doing is reckless, it's endangering our economy, and we are out here today to hopefully put some pressure on to show the Trump administration and Mr. Musk that we are not going to sit around and just let an unelected billionaire literally dismantle our federal government." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colleen Murphy said she was protesting to protect the democracy and get people's attention. "If we don't take this into our own hands and get rid of this administration that's absolutely tearing it down, we're going to be in trouble. We're going to be past the tipping point and it's frightening," she said. The protests are the first showing backlash to Musk's role. Tesla is his flagship company. Another protest is planned for Saturday, March 8, at the Dayton Courthouse Square. McCarthy said they are also organizing two more protests March 7 and 14 outside the main gates of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. There did not appear to be Musk or Trump supporters in attendance at the protest. WAITSFIELD, Vt. (AP) Crowds protesting Vice President JD Vance the day after an Oval Office blowout over Ukraine lined roadways Saturday near a Vermont ski resort where he planned a weekend vacation with his family. Many of the hundreds of demonstrators held signs in support of Ukraine, while other anti-war protesters waved Palestinian flags or signs in support of immigrant rights. Protesters showed up at several locations in the area, including both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield. Though demonstrations were planned days in advance, they were energized Saturday morning by a heated Oval Office exchange a day earlier between Vance, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ski Russia because JD Vance has no friends in Vermont, but hes got lots of friends in Russia, so he should go there for vacation, Tekla Van Hoven of Waterbury told WCAX-TV. Vance and his family arrived in Vermont ahead of the weekend, with plans to ski at Sugarbush Resort in Warren. A few protested at the resort on Saturday. There were a handful of protestors at the resort throughout the day, but all were peaceful and none were disruptive, resort spokesman John Bleh said in an email Sunday. He declined further comment, referring reporters to the White House. Messages left Sunday for White House officials weren't immediately returned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement on Thursday welcoming Vance and his family to the state, and asked Vermont residents to do the same even if they have political differences with the vice president. I hope Vermonters remember the vice president is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful, the statement said. A smaller number of protesters in support Vance and President Donald Trump also showed up with a welcome rally. Sir Keir Starmer was right to call the London summit to chart a way forward for Europe without the guaranteed backing of the US a crossroads in history. Leaders of countries that have cashed in the so-called peace dividend available since the fall of the Berlin Wall are now acutely aware that the free ride is over. America under Donald Trump is no longer prepared to provide the defensive shield that has helped bankroll the unproductive public sector and social entitlements that have ballooned over the past 35 years. This would be the reality whether or not last weeks White House meeting between Mr Trump and Volodomyr Zelensky, Ukraines leader, had gone so badly. The move towards disengagement is palpable and Europe needs to adapt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sir Keir is adamant that the US remains committed to Nato and to its all for one, one for all provision under Article 5. He said he was assured as much during his own talks in Washington last week and trusted what he was told. Yet given the unpredictable nature of the American president, the European powers need to plan and find the funds for a future with far less US involvement than we have seen since the end of the Second World War. That will inevitably mean far higher defence spending than already announced and cuts in areas that have grown like Topsy in recent decades, notably welfare. But the domestic implication of cutting these programmes in the face of a challenge from populist parties across Europe will be enormous. The immediate problem at the London summit was Ukraine. Sir Keir spent the weekend trying to put the supposed peace agreement back on track after the disastrous meeting in Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Prime Minister pointedly embraced President Zelensky, who later had a meeting with the King, though Sir Keir urged him to patch things up with the White House. He said he was seeking to lead a coalition of the willing to provide a reassurance force to police whatever is agreed. The UK and France will put a plan to the Americans in the hope they will provide a security backstop. But willing to do what, for how long and to what purpose? Moreover, the other party to this conflict has yet to come on board. The events of the past week will have made Vladimir Putin more inclined to exploit the very rifts in Nato that he was seeking to achieve all along. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Ben Proto is the states biggest cheerleader for President Donald Trump. He spoke with Dennis House on This Week in Connecticut. Watch the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. A former top aide for ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo said her former boss is unfit to lead NYC and predicts womens rights will suffer if hes elected NYCs next mayor. As a movement, we women havent done enough to toughen laws to protect women from such immoral, unethical, and what should be illegal behavior by men in positions of power, such as Cuomo, said Karen Hinton, who claims Cuomo made unwanted sexual advances towards her in 2000, when he was U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. This election should be an opportunity to make the case for womens rights, to give women a strong, powerful voice in City Hall [New York City] wont get it if [Mayor Eric] Adams or Cuomo is elected, she told The Post. Karen Hinton, a former top aide for Andrew Cuomo claims he made unwanted sexual advances towards her in 2000. Robert Miller Stay up to date on former Gov. Andrew Cuomos NYC mayoral campaign Hinton said Cuomo will be more careful around women if hes elected mayor, because the three-term governor learned a few lessons after resigning in 2021 following a report by state Attorney General Letitia James that found he sexually harassed 11 women, and that some top aides helped undermine his accusers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But voters and prospective employees should beware, she warned. Women and men employees should never trust him. He will be very demanding. Nice one day; nasty the next. Your best friend; then your worst enemy, she insisted. Hinton, who was not part of the James report, stepped forward shortly after it was released and accused Cuomo of sexual harassment before he resigned. Andrew Cuomo enters his residence in Midtown Manhattan after launching a comeback bid for New York City mayor on March 1, 2025. Michael Nigro In her 2021 book, Penis Politics, Hinton claimed Cuomo talked about lurid sex with his underlings, including salacious things involving his ex-in-laws, the Kennedys who, like Cuomo, have denied the allegations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuomo has also denied Hintons claim that he was physically aroused when he allegedly hugged her when she was his HUD press aide. Women and men employees should never trust him, Hinton said. Paul Martinka He approached me, embraced too tightly, too long, and was aroused, Hinton previously told The Post. I felt extremely uncomfortable and actually shocked. Nothing had ever happened that way between the two of us. Cuomo has adamantly denied all allegations of sexual harassment and has repeatedly accused Hinton of having a political ax to grind. Hinton a Mississippi native who is married to ex-state operations director Howard Glaser went to work for then-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2015 at a time when a political feud between de Blasio and Cuomo was simmering, leaving Cuomo fuming at the time, according to multiple sources and past media reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She resigned as de Blasios top press aide in 2016, in part because she felt undermined by de Blasio, sources then told The Post. Comparing the two Democrats she said: De Blasio, to my knowledge, never made sexual overtures to women he just didnt listen to them. Hinton said shes especially interested in this years mayoral race which shows Cuomo ahead in the recent polls because she still has three daughters who live in NYC. New York City may elect a mayor who has been rightfully accused of sexual misconduct by several young women who worked for him in up-close positions, she claimed. Hinton discussed her claims about Cuomo in her 2021 book, Penis Politics. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said his longtime boss continues to adamantly deny committing sexual harassment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we said from day one, the [governor] didnt harass anyone and years later, the facts have borne that out, he said. New Yorkers arent naive and understand that ugly political situation for exactly what it was. Today, New York City is in crisis a crisis of affordability, public safety and leadership, and that what Gov. Cuomo is focused on: The fight to save our city. When asked specifically about Hintons remarks, he quipped Hintons attitude toward the governor has always been based on whats best for Hinton and whether or not she has a book to sell. Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have warned that a halt in US aid to Ukraine would significantly boost Russia's chances of winning the war. This could result in heightened Russian aggression, territorial gains for Moscow and further destabilisation of the region. Source: ISW Details: In an assessment, ISW argues that halting or delaying US aid to Ukraine could be a decisive factor in shifting the balance of power towards Russia. Analysts stress that Western support is crucial for Ukraine to effectively resist Russian aggression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian forces are actively using US-supplied systems, including Patriot air defence systems and HIMARS and ATACMS long-range missile systems, to counter missile attacks, disrupt Russian supply lines, and weaken Russia's defence and industrial capacity. ISW has repeatedly noted the importance of the timely continuation of Western military aid to Ukraine, noting a correlation between delays or cuts in support and the scale of Russian advances. Quote: "Russia would leverage the cessation of US aid to Ukraine to seize more territory in Ukraine and attempt to exhaust European support the approach Putin has outlined in his theory of victory. Ending US aid to Ukraine and enabling further Russian gains would also embolden Putin and strengthen his belief that Russia can seize and control Ukraine and other former Soviet countries, including current NATO member states. The Kremlin will likely intensify its military campaign in Ukraine and attempt to exploit any delay or cessation of US military assistance to Ukraine as the Kremlin did in Spring 2024." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: ISW stresses that the primary obstacle to ending the war is Putin, not Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Quote: "Zelenskyy has continuously reiterated his commitment to obtaining a just and lasting peace in Ukraine through negotiations. Zelenskyy has indicated several times including in his 28 February Fox News interview that he is willing to make concessions on territory, Ukraine's NATO membership, and even his own tenure in office to secure a just and sustainable peace. Putin and other senior Kremlin officials have by contrast continuously reiterated their commitment to Putin's initial war aims in Ukraine, which amount to Ukraine's full capitulation, replacing the current Ukrainian government with a pro-Russian puppet government, and Ukrainian commitments to neutrality and demilitarisation all of which would leave Ukraine nearly helpless against future Russian aggression and destabilisation efforts." To quote the ISW's Key Takeaways on 1 March: Senior US officials are suggesting that the United States may cut all aid to Ukraine, although US President Donald Trump has not indicated any such intention. Cutting the current flow of aid to Ukraine would directly undermine President Trumps stated goal of achieving a sustainable peace in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces enabled by essential US assistance are inflicting unsustainable losses on Russian forces while holding them to marginal gains. This situation, combined with the severe challenges Russia will face in 2025, offers the US great leverage in peace negotiations. A suspension of ongoing US military assistance to Ukraine would encourage Russian leader Vladimir Putin to continue to increase his demands and fuel his conviction that he can achieve total victory through war. Curtailing aid to Ukraine would risk diminishing US influence in the world and emboldening US adversaries. Putin, not Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, remains the main obstacle to a lasting peace agreement on Ukraine. The Kremlin launched another informational effort intended to discourage additional US and European military assistance to Ukraine by claiming that Russia has won the war in Ukraine. European countries remain committed to supporting the Ukrainian military and defence industry, however, amid preparations for a European defence summit about Ukraine on 2 March. Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and Russian forces recently advanced near Velyka Novosilka. The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to recruit medically unfit soldiers in an effort to address personnel shortages. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The Czech volunteer initiative Darek pro Putina (Gift for Putin) has raised more than CZK 70 million (about US$2.89 million) to buy a Black Hawk helicopter for Ukraine. Source: data on the initiative's website, as reported by European Pravda Details: Czech volunteers report that over 20,500 donors have contributed nearly CZK 72.3 million (about US$2.99 million) in total. "Czechia has become the first country in the world whose citizens have pledged to buy a military helicopter for Ukraine. We've raised more money [than initially planned] and will use it to transport a Black Hawk UH-60 to Ukraine," Darek pro Putina said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also noted that they had managed to purchase "cheaper and newer" equipment that Ukraine needs to counter Russian aggression. The fundraising began in November 2023, when the initiative presented a used American Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter named Chester in Prague. Background: As of December, a Czech initiative to raise funds for the purchase of drones for use in the fighting in Ukraine had raised more than CZK 203 million (over 8 million). Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The newly formed Cabarrus County Schools finance committee held its inaugural work session Thursday evening to discuss how to improve the districts current financial situation. Chief Financial Officer Phillip Penn, in his monthly financial memo, detailed that the district has been trending in the positive direction in its bid to trim the deficit, which currently stands at around $11 million. Areas of improvement Penn talked about six specific items that reflected genuine improvement over the past month. They included: Estimated health care costs are trending about $986,000 lower than the budget. Utilities over the first six months of the year have been running about $300,000 below the same period in the prior school year. Interest income is expected to be roughly $50,000 higher than budgeted. The new ELA curriculum, which will be discussed in more detail during the Board of Education meeting Monday, will require less fund balance than initially expected. The final cost of $2.35 million is $450,000 less than the $2.80 million appropriation. Two additional rounds of budget cuts to the Central Office departments yielded $375,000 in savings. The district received additional exceptional children (EC) state funding, which reduced the deficit for EC to roughly $100,000. The items reflected an improvement of $2.1 million, compared with the districts financial position at the end of January. Over the next several weeks, Penn told the committee that the Central Office cabinet members will review their budgets for any additional reductions. The district also plans to limit the hiring of new employees, except for situations where there is a compliance-related need, or the funding source of the hire doesnt directly impact the current financial challenges, according to Penns memo. Many people have asked Penn if the district can overcome its budget challenges by June 30, which is the end of the fiscal year. He candidly told the committee, which includes Board of Education members Rob Walter, Sam Treadaway and Melanie Freeman, that he does not yet know. There are many factors that are simply beyond the districts control. EC students cost more With an uptick in the number of exceptional children enrolling in the district (at least compared to the general population), supporting the needs of those students costs around $8,000 more per student above and beyond their general education costs.The district receives $5,300 from the state per EC student, leaving a balance of more than $2,000 per student that must be made up in federal or local funds. For the 2024-25 school year, this has amounted to about $3.7 million more in local funding. Roughly 12.3% of the total district population are EC students, according to Superintendent Dr. John Kopicki. Once school districts across North Carolina get above 13%, they receive no additional per pupil EC funding from the state. Success, Penn wrote in the memo about how to tackle the financial challenges, will likely depend on our willingness to aggressively limit hiring and our openness to ask for relief where its warranted. Penn stressed the confidence he has in himself and his staff, saying that Collectively, as a team, weve got a lot of experience in solving these kind of issues. This is not the first time Ive solved a deficit Ive basically faced a deficit in every year that Ive operated within public finance. So were going to continue to work the problem and see where that takes us. The district plans to budget allotments very, very conservatively going into 2025-26, but Penn made clear that this did not mean that employees should worry about potential layoffs. Part of that is because the district organically experiences turnover every summer, to the tune of between 150 to 170 certified workers. Were retaining the people that want to stay here in a role that may look a little bit different than the one theyre in now, Penn said, but gets us closer to what the state level of funding looks like. The school board is slated to approve the districts proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget during its April 14 meeting. The district will submit its budget to the Cabarrus County Government the following day. The Cabarrus Board of Commissioners will vote to approve the county budget during its June 16 meeting. The finance committee meets the last Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. Its next scheduled meeting is March 27. On March 2, 1836, the first Texans declared independence from Mexico, and the Republic of Texas formed. Now, 189 years later, Dairy Queen is helping celebrate Texas Independence Day with a Texas-sized deal. The beloved fast food chain is dropping the price of a Texas burger on March 2. On Sunday only, you can order the Hungr-Buster for $2 when using the DQ App at participating Texas restaurants. "Texans are quite proud of their heritage and we are celebrating Texas Independence Day with our iconic Texas-sized burger," Lou Romanus, CEO of the Texas Dairy Queen Operators Council, said in a press release. "DQ restaurants in Texas have been a part of Texas communities for generations, and this exclusive $2 DQ app offer on March 2 is our way of thanking our fans for their loyalty and Texas-sized spirit." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hungr-Buster consists of a quarter-pound grilled beef patty topped with crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, purple onion, tangy pickles and bold yellow mustard. More Texas DQ menu items to pick from Other items in the Texas burger lineup include the Bacon Cheese Hungr-Buster, Jalitos Ranch Hungr-Buster, BeltBuster, Triple-Buster with Cheese and Hungr-Buster Jr. If you're not in the mood for a burger, other Texas favorites include the Steak Finger Country Basket, Texas T-Brand Tacos and Dilly Bars. To be the first to learn about Blizzard of the Month flavors, new product news from the Texas Dairy Queen Operators Council or find a store location, follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook or visit dqtexas.com. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Dairy Queen: Celebrate Texas Independence Day with a $2 Hungr-Buster DENVER (KDVR) A passenger in a car was killed in a crash that closed northbound lanes of Highway 93 in Golden on Saturday evening, according to Golden police. The agency said that the crash occurred at about 4:50 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 93 and Washington Avenue. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The Golden Police Department said that a female front passenger was pronounced dead at a hospital. No other information about injuries was known as of Saturday evening. At about 7:15, Highway 93 was closed at Washington Avenue so investigators could determine the cause of the crash. Drivers are asked to avoid the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials estimate that the roadway will be closed for two hours for the investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Mar. 2A deal that state officials hoped would bring striking corrections officers back to work doesn't appear to have gained support among the ranks, leaving the future of New York's prison system an open question. On Thursday night, after days of mediation between state officials and representatives of the union that represents COs, an agreement was struck that seemed to address many of the major concerns cited by officers who had walked off their shifts more than a week ago. But union support of a deal doesn't mean an immediate end to the strike the COs striking have done so without the sanction of the union, and in violation of state law that restricts public employees from leaving their posts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State laws regarding punishments and solitary confinement in prison have been at the core of the COs' grievances. They argue, citing state data, that violent incidents have become more common as the state has shrunk its prison population and closed dozens of facilities. They take issue with the HALT Act, which went into effect in 2022 and requires that solitary confinement be used sparingly, and only subject to court order, while also mandating prisons provide more programming for incarcerated people and guarantee at least four hours daily of rehabilitative programming for people in solitary confinement. The agreement detailed Thursday night included a promise that the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision commissioner would use his existing powers to suspend the programming requirements of HALT. For at least 90 days, the facilities would not be required to provide the education, therapeutic and skill-building programs required by HALT. After 30 days, a review would take place to see which aspects of those programs can be safely brought back. After the 90-day pause, the corrections department would engage with a regular staffing review on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays when most COs are off shift, and commit to suspending HALT programming when staffing levels were deemed too low to safely run them. The deal also outlined a plan to boost CO pay grades and funnel all legal mail sent to incarcerated people through a single security screening service, meant to cut down on the trafficking of illegal drugs into the prisons via the mail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other provisions include the formation of a committee to review staffing, and an agreement not to punish officers more than the already implemented fines if they returned to work by Saturday, plus an agreement to continue the boost to overtime payments and to keep National Guard soldiers in the prisons for an undefined length of time. Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard, reservists who make $165 per 12-hour shift and are on leave from civilian jobs, are expected to remain in the prisons for another six months to a year while policies are adjusted and long-term plans are approved. State and union officials stressed that Thursday's agreement had to go to the striking COs, and each individual officer had to evaluate if it was sufficient to return to work. As of Friday morning, demonstrations outside prisons across New York continued. The grassroots nature of the strikes has made it difficult to determine how many COs are striking almost all facilities with a demonstration have some officers still on shift, and prison leadership remains in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement COs who spoke with the Watertown Daily Times on condition of anonymity, to avoid potential legal action against them by state officials, said they were not convinced the deal was enough. Four COs from separate institutions have said that they didn't feel that the changes to HALT were going to be enough to assure their safety in the future, and were disappointed that demands to require body scans of all visitors and that the prisons engage with a secured vendor for all package service weren't included in the deal. They expressed disappointment that the union had backed the deal, and spoke to an undercurrent of distrust in the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents COs. While the Republicans aligned with the COs have stressed that they stand with the union, COs and their families have quietly indicated a lack of trust and a feeling that CO demands are not being defended seriously enough. "What they're doing isn't sustainable, and it's so disheartening to not have anybody listen to us, even our own union," one CO said. "I suspect a lot, like myself, will be looking for other jobs." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul, when asked by reporters at an event in Rochester, said she did not think that many COs would reject the deal. She said the protests outside facilities shouldn't be taken as evidence that a majority of striking officers are dissatisfied with the plan. "What you're seeing out at the sites is not all the corrections officers, many of them are at home," she said. "What you're seeing out there are some of them. Many are retirees and many are members of the community who have come out." Hochul said her team are working to contact as many officers as possible to communicate the terms of their deal. Later Friday, some striking officers and their families met with a lawyer Michael H. Sussman, a civil rights lawyer from Goshen also running as a Republican to be the Orange County executive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sussman, in a letter to the state-appointed mediator, requested a five-day delay in penalties and an opportunity for families and striking COs to negotiate with him directly, rather than through the union. In his letter, Sussman said the officers continued to demand a full suspension of the HALT programming provisions until a more thorough review than the union-negotiated deal contains, and a commitment to mandatory body scans for visitors and more secure screening for mail and packages sent to inmates. They also continued to push for an improvement in their pension tier ranking, higher starting salaries and a commitment to a reversal of the fines and penalties already charged to striking officers. "I am writing to formally reject the proposed Consent Award," Sussman wrote. "This agreement fails to address the root causes of the crisis that led to the strike and instead weaponizes punitive laws against officers." It's not clear what the next steps for the state prison system are going to be. The union is urging its members to return to work, and if they do so by Saturday, no further penalties will be enforced. If they don't return, they could be fired, fined or potentially arrested for violating a court order issued Feb. 21. State officials have already started civil actions against a few dozen COs identified as on strike. It's not clear if those cases will continue if the named officers return to work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the officers have been on strike, conditions inside the prisons have remained tense. Inmates reported dayslong lockdowns, and prisoner movements have been restricted at each facility since the first wave of officer walkouts. Showers, scheduled mealtimes, programs, education, medical care, work details and free time have been canceled indefinitely while the National Guard members serve as the ground-level authority figures in the prisons. Reports of unchecked inmate-on-inmate violence have spread, although DOCCS officials have characterized many reports as misinformation. State officials have said those conditions are untenable and must be corrected, but without a significant number of officers returning to the prisons, it will be left to the largely untrained National Guard troops to maintain order and security within the facilities. The state prisons have already been facing serious staffing shortages. DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III recently issued a memo to all staff indicating that the system was facing a structural staffing deficit. He ordered at the time that all prisons should reduce their staffing models to 70% of their standing plans. Officials walked that back in the first days of the strikes, but it doesn't change the fact that DOCCS doesn't have enough staff to fill the open positions in the 44 state prisons it operates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the number of people incarcerated has shrunk to roughly half of its 1999 peak, and the state has closed 26 prisons since 1999, CO headcounts have shrunk more slowly. At its peak in 1999, New York had more than 70 prisons and 72,600 inmates, managed by a staff of more than 23,000 COs. The number of COs rose a little in the early to mid-2000s, and then began dropping through the 2010s and 2020s. Now, to manage about 33,000 incarcerated people, the state has a staff of about 13,000 COs. A mass resignation of striking COs could make that under-staffing much worse. In her budget amendments released last week, Hochul asked for the power to close up to five state prisons with 90 days' notice a power she was given in last year's budget that she used to close two facilities. If CO shortages continue, the state could turn to closures and consolidation to reduce the impact of staffing shortages. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday sharply rejected veteran Democratic strategist James Carvilles suggestions for the Democratic Party to make a "strategic political retreat, asserting that Democrats have spent too long in a passive political stance. Democrats have been playing dead for too many years, Sanders said on NBCs Meet the Press in response to Carvilles aggressive advice to Democrats, which was outlined in a New York Times guest essay published last week. Sanders a two-time presidential candidate countered Carvilles take, decrying the influence of billionaires like Elon Musk and saying that Democrats need to stand firm on positioning themselves as a clear opposition to the Trump administrations agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think you stand up for the working class of this country and make the point that right now, the Trump administration is clearly an administration designed to represent the interests of the Musks of the world. Carvilles essay called for the Democratic Party to make a "strategic political retreat, advising members of his party to roll over and play dead while public support for the Trump administration dwindles, before then stepping back into the fray. Allow the Republicans to crumble beneath their own weight and make the American people miss us, Carville wrote. Only until the Trump administration has spiraled into the low 40s or high 30s in public approval polling percentages should we make like a pack of hyenas and go for the jugular. Sanders is focusing his efforts on mobilizing voters in key battleground districts. He recently announced a tour aimed to rally opposition to what he calls the oligarchy the growing influence of the super-wealthy in shaping U.S. policy. DES MOINES, Iowa The Des Moines Police Department is searching for a driver involved in overnight crash. The crash happened near the intersection of 28th Street and Grand Avenue around 2 a.m. Sunday. 1 killed, 1 injured in Worth County crash Officers on the scene say the driver hit the railing of a business then slammed into gas pumps at the neighboring gas station. The gas stations sign and pole were also damaged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver was the only occupant in the car and their identity and condition is unknown. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. As a Feb. 28 deadline to end diversity programs came and went, New York colleges and universities appeared to be taking a wait and see approach to whether the Trump administration will cut off federal funding. The State University of New York reaffirmed it would stand by its diversity, equity and inclusion commitments. Columbia University removed DEI references from school websites and made changes to race-based graduations, though it intends to follow through with the ceremonies. On Feb. 14, the U.S. Education Department gave schools two weeks to drop all policies and actions that treat students differently based on race. Colleges that do not comply risk unwanted scrutiny or a significant hit to their bottom lines, but few in New York have made sweeping changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overall, the reaction in the city more than the rest of the country is kind of a wait and see posture, said Ann Marcus, a professor of college leadership and administration at New York University. You dont want to go turning anything upside down and find out its not that serious. The guidance, in what is known as a Dear Colleague letter, dramatically expanded the Supreme Courts 2023 ruling against affirmative action in college admissions to all race-based efforts in schools. The memo, which provides notice of the Trump administrations interpretation of existing law, is currently being challenged in court. New York higher education leaders say the law is on their side. Last week, SUNY Chancellor John King, a former U.S. education secretary under President Barack Obama, declared he had no intention of retreating from diversity and inclusion. He said initiatives such as a pipeline program for Black college leaders would continue it would just be open to all applicants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The missives from the federal government to date have not been consistent with the law, King said Tuesday at a hearing on New Yorks higher education budget. His counterpart at CUNY made the distinction between the Education Departments guidance and his interpretation of the law. The Dear Colleague letter is a guidance letter, said Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez, who said CUNY would make any changes as needed. But until that happens, weve been working around all applicable federal and state and city law. Columbia, which became a target of the GOPs ire during last years pro-Palestinian protests, has taken additional steps to fall in line. The school has retracted the public DEI statements of some programs, removed faculty diversity data, and revised a calendar of multicultural graduation events. The missing diversity statements were first detected by the student newspaper, the Columbia Spectator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Special graduations for affinity groups gained popularity across American universities, including at Columbia, where the practice began two decades ago as an opportunity for graduates to celebrate with their community. In recent years, though, conservatives have condemned the ceremonies as an example of school-sanctioned segregation. In a shameful echo of a darker period in this countrys history, many American schools and universities even encourage segregation by race at graduation ceremonies, read the Education Department guidance, which explicitly declared the practice unlawful. Since last month, Columbia has removed any reference to diversity from the schedule, according to a review of the digital archive Wayback Machine. And while the ceremonies are scheduled to continue, they will not be called graduations anymore, but Celebrations for Graduates. Columbia did not return requests for comment, though Interim President Katrina Armstrong wrote to students and faculty that for months, the administration has been actively preparing for broader changes to federal policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot predict all that will unfold, but we are actively planning to mitigate the worst effects, she said. NYU, where President Trumps son Barron is a student, has largely avoided taking any official stance. The university provost told faculty members she heard from many of them expressing concerns about the uncertainty stemming from the Dear Colleague letter and other federal mandates. A NYU spokesman did not return a request for comment. I want to assure you that there are teams of people across the university, and beyond, closely monitoring these developments, Provost Georgina Dopico wrote in a Feb. 18 memo. As importantly, I want to affirm to you, amidst all of the uncertainty, that NYUs core values and commitments remain unchanged. NYUs Marcus explained that a lack of definitive statements should not be mistaken for inaction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the absence of universitywide guidance, Marcus said, some individual schools or programs are making their own decisions about how to proceed. On her campus, she had already heard of one event cancellation from a student. It doesnt mean that behind the scenes, theyre not making some moves to try to minimize this, Marcus said of college administrators. [The Trump administration] really want to destroy higher education. Its this mania about the elites and universities having progressive ideologies and woke-ness and all that, but its very hostile and not new. HARTFORD, Tenn. (WATE) Saturday I-40 reopened with one lane going in each direction at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line. This comes five months after the interstate was severely damaged during Hurricane Helene. Those driving on the interstate couldnt help but notice how narrow lanes are a result of ongoing road repairs. Many travelers were impressed by the extensive work completed by the highway departments of both states. U-Haul pursuit and suspect search in the river in Oliver Springs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They did a great job with the traffic. I think the lanes are a little narrow for my taste. But, you know, you got to do what you got to do. And you can see all the damage on the inside. But they did a fantastic job from what we could tell, engineering and getting that repaired so that people can actually thrive in such a short period of time, one driver said. Although the road is open, motorists can expect longer travel times with a 35 miles-per-hour speed limit. I just went through that stretch of I-40 that was so damaged and its really amazing how much damage there is. But the road is very passable. We are fortunate that there wasnt a lot of traffic, but beautiful scenery, said Justin McBride. THP: Suspect tazed after assaulting officer, leading pursuit in Sullivan Co. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The North Carolina Department of Transportation told 6 news earlier this week permanent repairs to the roadway are only about 10%-12% complete, and it may be two or three years until the road is back to what it was. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. (NewsNation) Suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangiones defense has filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing that Altoona police violated the 26-year-olds rights and unlawfully detained him. Blair County defense attorney Thomas Dickey, who is representing Mangione, alleges that police then illegally seized Mangiones backpack and other personal belongings. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former NYPD Lt. Cmdr. Joe Cardinale believes police were very professional. Unless theres something on video that we dont know about these cops acted very professionally. They werent rough or demeaning, Cardinale said during a Friday appearance on NewsNations Banfield. Police have to go in that bag. Youre dealing with somebody who you beyond reasonably suspect for the murder in NYC. You have to check the bag. Luigi Mangione awaiting trial Mangione is awaiting trial for the killing of Brian Thompson, the former United Healthcare CEO. According to police, this was a planned shooting, and Mangione came to the city from Pennsylvania to conduct it. As Mangione is awaiting several trials to start, heres a detailed breakdown of what happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Sean "Diddy" Combs' children are reportedly splurging his money on high-end shopping sprees and vacations as their famous father continues to stay in prison. The rapper's legal troubles are seemingly mounting as he has been accused of years of sexual abuse by various alleged victims. An anonymous accuser recently alleged in a new lawsuit that Sean "Diddy" Combs sexually assaulted him and claimed he was linked to Tupac Shakur's murder. Diddy's Children Are Reportedly Spending His Money Recklessly MEGA Diddy's children are said to be spending his money with reckless abandon, despite their father's ongoing incarceration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A source close to the embattled rapper told the New York Post that his children have been treating themselves to lavish island vacations and indulging in elaborate shopping sprees both within the country and abroad. "They wanna look like ballers and project this image on Instagram and TikTok," the source explained. "But that's Diddy's money. I mean, maybe he gave them permission to spend it, but I doubt it since he's got all these people suing him." According to findings by the news outlet, Diddy's private jet has gone on multiple local and international trips since he was arrested last September. Some locations offered by flight data include California, Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and several other states, as well as Mexico, Italy, India, Ireland, Canada, and St. Martin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Jet fuel ain't cheap," said the source. "Every other day, these kids are getting on Puff's jet, and every time they do that, it costs him thousands just for the f-cking fuel." The Rapper's Kids Love Showing Off Their Wealth Instagram | Diddy Diddy's children do not hold back when it comes to flaunting how much of a good life they can afford with their father's money. The rapper has seven children with four different women: Quincy, Justin, Christian, Chance, twins D'Lila and Jessie, and Love Sean. On his Instagram account, Christian recently shared a video of him playing on an ocean beach with the youngest of Diddy's seven kids, Love. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pictures also show him shopping for diamond-encrusted watches and designer jackets at luxury vintage clothing store What Goes Around Comes Around and exiting an SUV carrying shopping bags from five high-end shops. Other pictures show him riding camels in Mexico with his girlfriend Raven Tracy. On her account, he can also be seen with a massive diamond chain around his neck, while Tracy enjoys a spa and a lounge on a yacht. His brother Quincy also enjoyed some fun in the sun, while Chance recently rode horses along a sandy beach following a trip to an amusement park. Diddy's twins also went on a trip to St. Barts last month and took to Instagram to post photos, wearing matching Christian Dior bikinis aboard a dark blue yacht. Diddy's Children Are Allegedly Giving Out Cash To Their Friends For Free MEGA The source also added that they've not only been treating themselves well but have also been doling out cash to their friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When the cat's away, what do the mice do?" the source continued. "With him waiting in jail for this trial, those kids are doing whatever." Diddy is estimated to be worth around $400 million by Forbes, although, amid his ongoing lawsuit, it'll likely have taken a downward turn. "They're acting like he's been convicted already. Or he's dead. Like he ain't coming back. That's the entitlement of these younger folks," the source shared. "If the cat ever comes back, those mice are f-cked," they added. Diddy Faces Fresh Sexual Assault Accusations MEGA Diddy's legal troubles continue to compound ahead of his trial in May. He's currently being held at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a new lawsuit filed on Wednesday, February 26, a John Doe accused him of sexual assault as well as being involved in the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Court documents showed that Diddy allegedly threatened the anonymous accuser by claiming to have been the one who got "Pac hit." According to The Mirror, John Doe noted that he was a contractor for a "male companion service" in Florida and would often travel to New York at Diddy's request, adding that he believes he was lured to be sexually assaulted. Allegedly, one night at the New York City Intercontinental Hotel, Diddy ordered John Doe to "perform sexual acts upon a female companion" of his. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plaintiff recalls being directed by Diddy to perform oral and penetrative sex on the woman for "multiple hours" and "perform degrading acts upon her." The Rapper Allegedly Drugged And Raped His Accuser MEGA The plaintiff claimed that he drank water from a bottle Diddy gave him and began to feel "as if he had been drugged and not in complete control of his body." After he was done with the act, he got into the bathroom, but Diddy allegedly followed him, saying, "I really want you to stay, let's turn up, let's turn up." He claimed to have told the rapper that he was not feeling well and needed to leave, to which Diddy allegedly responded, "No, we're gonna have some fun," and "grabbed Doe's p-nis while he began to simultaneously touch himself." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diddy then proceeded to allegedly rape John Doe, threatening him not to utter a word about the incident. "You better not say a word to anybody about this. Did you hear me? I'm not f-cking playing with you," Diddy told John Doe, adding, "If I can get Pac hit, what the f-ck do you think can happen to you?" John Doe claimed he agreed not to say anything as he feared for his life. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, even more contagious than COVID-19 or Ebola. It can last in the air or on surfaces up to 2 hours after an infected person leaves a room. It can cause things like pneumonia, encephalitis, deafness, blindness, or death within weeks of initial infection and a progressive fatal brain disease (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis) up to a decade after initial infection. Measles is one of the leading causes of childhood death worldwide. In Lubbock, Texas, the death of a school-age child last week was the first measles death in this country since 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The unvaccinated child was part of an outbreak where at least 124 people have been infected. In 1963 a safe, effective vaccine was developed. A vaccine the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has staunchly opposed, both through his previous nonprofit, the Children's Health Defense, and in his involvement in the 2019 Samoan measles outbreak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: As fights rage over DOGE and USAID, farmers battle decades of government failure Kennedy, a man who has spent his career dismantling the science behind vaccines for his own personal gain, is now in charge of our nation's health. The secretary himself is a public health threat: Measles is just the beginning. Today's public health crisis feels like onset of COVID-19 Five years ago, the world felt like it was spiraling. The novel coronavirus was unleashed globally, and healthcare became its battle zone. Healthcare providers were at the frontlines, severely underprepared, but there. There because we took an oath: An oath of beneficence (to use treatment to help the sick to the best of one's ability and judgment) and to do no harm. We, alongside the scientists and epidemiologists who helped us emerge from the pandemic, were revered for a brief moment in time, and there was a powerful feeling of unity in the fight to protect all humans. A deep regard, from most, for science. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Married women could face new obstacles to vote. This is what conservatives want. And then things went back to "normal," like they tend to do. Skepticism around science began to resurface. The sacrifices we made, sacrifices in time, loss of loved ones and patients, mental wellness, distance from family, and even impact on our own physical health, had to be quickly pushed aside. Life marched on, and I remember reflecting at the time, "I never want to experience something like this again." But then the election of November occurred. In February, the U.S. Senate confirmed Kennedy. With this came an overwhelming feeling of doom and Deja Vu: The health and safety of humans again threatened, this time by the direct actions of highly unqualified men. Men who do not realize or care about the devastating long-term effects of their actions. Physicians, epidemiologists, and scientists are thrust right back into the frontlines, and we're not energetically recovered and ready to be here. Misinformation is the new pandemic we're up against. And with that misinformation comes the direct threat of resurgent and new epidemics, mental health crises, dissolution of reproductive healthcare, and the threat to the health and safety of our nation's most vulnerable. The battle against disinformation, the fight for truth and science Physicians have been battling misinformation for decades. But now we're fighting against misinformation on a scale beyond which we could rationally comprehend. It has become comparable to a David vs Goliath battle. Physicians and the entire science and healthcare community have proven themselves capable of such a fight. But as a plea from a very tired and beaten down pediatrician: Help us fight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Help us fight for science. Help us fight for vaccines. Help us fight for mental health, reproductive rights, and gender affirming healthcare. Help us fight against misinformation. Help us take down the Goliath that is RFK Jr. Help us ensure the future for our children is one we're proud of and one that will secure their health and wellbeing. Physicians, and the healthcare community at large, are stepping back up to the frontlines poised to fight, many still bearing the scars left behind from COVID, recognizing once again our duty to uphold our oath to beneficence and to do no harm. We're ready, but we cannot do it alone. One of the numerous public health threats close to my heart is the future of vaccines and the emerging measles epidemic. Having safe, effective, extensively studied vaccines to prevent disease is a cornerstone to a healthy community. Yet misinformation and people hoping to profit from the miseducation and vulnerability of others have usurped science. Even before the appointment of Kennedy came the misinformation surrounding measles. It has been a long fought battle for the pediatrician thanks to the disinformation surrounding a very flawed, debunked, and now retracted study claiming a link between autism and the measles vaccine. As a result, what was once an almost eradicated disease has resurfaced and is becoming an increasing (inter)national health threat. Misinformation is trumping reason. Trust the science. Trust the scientists and physicians who have nothing to gain but peace of mind that they are doing what they aspired to do: Protect others from horrible, preventable diseases. Please do not trust a man who has no appreciable, formal biological science or epidemiological training, claims a worm ate part of his brain, and is actively making money from anti-vaccine lawsuits. There is so much at stake these next four years, but lets fight to ensure our childrens and our own health and wellness are protected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bridget OBrien, M.D., is a Milwaukee pediatrician and firm believer in science and evidence-based medicine. She is fully vaccinated (and her dogs are, too). This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Measles death in Texas was preventable by safe vaccine | Opinion An ex-colleague described newly named DOGE acting administrator Amy Gleason as hard-working and apolitical. She was nicknamed "the green dot" for staying active on her work messaging system all hours of the day and night. One of Gleason's former health-tech employers was also subject to a critical audit and grand jury report. Amy Gleason, the little-known federal data cruncher who was recently named the Department of Government Efficiency's acting administrator, has at least one thing in common with Elon Musk: a fanatical commitment to work. Even before becoming a "special government employee" and DOGE's public face, Musk was known for flaunting his work ethos, even sleeping on the Tesla factory floor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a Florida-based healthcare executive, Gleason, 53, earned the nickname "the green dot" for being online on the work messaging system well past midnight, and then again at dawn, a former colleague told Business Insider. "She is a nice, sweet person, but she's just a superhuman when it comes to work product," said Travis Bond, the former CEO of CareSync, a Tampa-area medical technology startup where Gleason worked as chief operating officer and chief strategy officer until it folded in 2018. "I'm surprised, but I'm not surprised," Bond said of Gleason's new role, the latest in a career that has combined interests in nursing and technology over three decades. "She very good at taking large, complex systems and pushing them to efficiency," he said. Amy Gleason received an Obama administration "Champions of Change" tribute for her work with Florida med-tech firm CareSync. White House archives Gleason did not respond to requests for comment on this story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2015, the Obama administration named Gleason a "Champion of Change" for her work at CareSync, noting that she was inspired to help families "better coordinate care and improve health outcomes" after her daughter was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder. The company was previously the subject of controversy. The cloud-based medical record firm launched in 2011 after officials in Hardee County, Florida awarded a $2.6 million job-development grant to its predecessor, LifeSync Technology. Public records list Gleason as a witness on paperwork for the grant. LifeSync Technology later operated under the names Continuum Labs and then CareSync. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2013 Florida state auditor general report criticized the process through which the grant was awarded, finding that the company "had not been sufficiently determined to be financially responsible and fully capable of fulfilling its obligations under the grant." "The 2.6 million dollars didn't bring any economic benefit to Hardee county," according to the report. That year, a Hardee county grand jury report criticized local development officials as awarding the grant without sufficient review beforehand, or monitoring afterward. "There is much to be learned from the CareSync project and much incentive to not let this process repeat itself in the same way in the future," the report said. No charges were filed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, Gleason was named as a defendant in a creditor's action against CareSync brought in Hillsborough County, Florida. She was not a major part of the creditor's suit. Court papers claim that she once broke her leg and drank beer while using a scooter in the office; Bond told BI the detail was bunk. The company and its insurer ultimately paid $1.4 million to settle the case. Gleason, who was paid over $200,000 a year at CareSync, waived her claim to over $100,000 in severance as part of the deal, court papers show. Attorneys for both sides did not return requests for comment left by email and phone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gleason graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1993, according to a review of her LinkedIn profile. She worked as a data cruncher for the United States Digital Service from October 2018 until December 2021. Gleason was one of five federal specialists who marshaled the coronavirus data stream from labs and hospitals during 2020 and 2021, helping create reports and databases relied on by state officials and the public. "I got to work beside her every day for almost a year," Gleason's then-boss, Dr. Deborah Birx, the former White House coronavirus response coordinator, recently told CNN. Birx called Gleason a "really competent, hardworking, focused woman who understands the value of data." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After stints in the private sector, Gleason was working for United States Digital Service again, now rebranded the White House DOGE office, when she was tapped for the DOGE acting administrator job. Gleason is apolitical and unflappable, and will hold up well in the high-pressure, controversial new job, Bond told BI, predicting that she would "crush it." "She's extraordinarily calm under pressure," he said. "She was right under Dr. Birx during COVID, and I think that's where she earned her battle stripes," making the slides that Birx presented to the public, he said. "She's typically behind the scenes, but everybody goes to her." Read the original article on Business Insider Updated at 3:20 p.m. on March 2, 2025. If you have tips about the remaking of the federal government, you can contact Matteo Wong on Signal at @matteowong.52. Late Friday night, the Trump administration, as part of its push to modernize the government with software, laid off roughly 90 people from the General Services Administrationall federal technologists whose role was to modernize the government with software. Employees on the 18F team, a group formed in the Obama era to build and improve software for other agencies, were notified around midnight that their roles are being eliminated, according to several former 18F workers I spoke with. Team members were emailed termination letters, copies of which I obtained, stating that their position is being abolished as part of an agency reduction-in-force. (Last month, Elon Musk hinted at the groups demise when he wrote on X that 18F has been deleted.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For some of the workers, it was their second time being fired in a month. At least some of 18Fs probationary employees, who typically have been in their government role for only one to two years, had previously been terminated in the Trump administrations mass firings, then reinstated this week, and then fired again Friday night, according to former 18F staff I spoke with. The role of 18F was to help federal agencies improve their digital services. The group has worked on federal and state projects used by millions of Americans. It was, in essence, an internal consulting group within the federal government, deployed to other agencies to solve technical problems. By acting, essentially, as an in-house contractor for the federal government, the team did not need to directly spend taxpayer dollars and was instead reimbursed by partner agencies. 18F worked on projects including IRS Direct File, a new service that allows citizens to file tax returns online; covid.gov, which allowed Americans to apply for and receive free COVID tests during the pandemic; weather.gov, which provides weather forecasts and alerts to the entire nation; and a new way to file civil-rights complaints with the Department of Justice, among others. Without 18F staff to continue the work, many of these projects are now in jeopardy, former agency workers told me; current efforts under way, such as with weather.gov, will likely cease or face delays, and completed services could degrade as they stop being monitored or updated. The team was tailor-made for government efficiency and technologysomething the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency and its allies might, in theory, uplift. But as Trump and his surrogates continue to centralize power over government operations, it makes sense that DOGE would want to rein in, or simply bulldoze, 18F. Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who is now the director of Technology Transformation Services, an IT division of GSA that houses 18F, lauded the team as a gold standard for improving federal technology at a team all-hands last month. But in the same meeting, Shedd also described TTS as a failing start-up. (I obtained a recording of the meeting.) That was the day that Musk, DOGEs leader, reshared a post on X describing 18F as a far left government wide computer office and wrote that 18F has been deleted. This led to confusion for the team and its partner agencies; at the time, 18F persisted, but its X account vanished. At 1 a.m. Saturday, roughly an hour after employees were terminated, Shedd sent a message to TTS stating that 18F had been deemed non-critical as part of agency-wide downsizing. The Obama administration initially formed 18F, alongside the United States Digital Service, in 2014 to help with healthcare.gov, a health-care marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act. These projects have cut costs for some federal agencies by as much as 50 percent, according to a 2016 GSA press release, although the team has struggled to recover its own costs in the past. Past federal audits also found that the team failed to comply with some IT regulations. Musks comment about deleting 18F referenced previous X posts alleging that the team was a far-left agency that viciously subverted Trump during his first term, and singled out TTSs Inclusion Bot, which sent automated messages about inclusive language on Slack. (TTS removed the Inclusion Bot shortly after President Donald Trumps inauguration this January, one employee told me.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeff White, a spokesperson for the General Services Administration, told me in a written statement that 18F was eliminated in accordance with several executive orders mandating a reduction in the size of the federal workforce. GSA will continue to support the Administrations drive to embrace best in class technologies to accelerate digital transformation, he wrote. The lead-up to Fridays layoffs was drawn out and harried, according to the former employees. TTS workers had already received numerous messages from the new administration that they told me resembled phishing attemptsfrom a new email server, without standard headers and footers, also sent as late as 1 a.m.reminding them about the Deferred Resignation Program, an offer for federal employees to quit ahead of expected layoffs. Several federal employees described the emails, which I have reviewed, as pressuring them to resign. In one message, Stephen Ehikian, the newly appointed director of GSA, stressed that the offer is real and EVERYONE has to consider it seriously. He wrote twice that every GSA employee needed to make the best decision for you and your families. Amid talk of termination, TTS workers were subjected to brief interviews with DOGE stafferswho frequently showed up late and without revealing their last nameasking about the federal workers responsibilities, with questions such as Whats your superpower? GSA employees were also told they would need to work from a federal office, but without specifications of where; much of 18F worked remotely. One former 18F worker told me, Its chaotic, and it feels like its chaotic on purpose. The experience of 18F echoes a pattern of chaos in DOGEs actions across the federal governmentat USAID, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Human Health and Services, and elsewhere. DOGE has exposed potentially sensitive data on its website, and fired and then tried to rehire nuclear-security, bird-flu, food-safety, and medical-device experts. As my colleagues and I have reported, DOGE has flouted cybersecurity protocol to access data and IT systems at a number of federal agenciespotentially including sensitive information on U.S. citizens, defense technologies, and infectious diseases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGEs actions have been widely compared with the playbook that Musk used to decimate and remake Twitter into X: The inefficiency is the point. Asking workers to resign or justify their work through scrambled, aggressive messages almost inevitably prompts exodus and collapse, voluntary or not. But another useful comparison might be the playbook that Musk follows from space programs for his company SpaceX. Government teams, their staff, and the citizens they serve are like test launches of rocket prototypes: Try a new ship design uncrewed, knowing it could well explode, and repeat. But in this case, people are aboard. Correction: This article previously misstated Thomas Shedds title at TTS as acting director. Article originally published at The Atlantic The Department of Government Efficiencys (DOGE) structure and authority has become a central mystery in the barrage of lawsuits seeking to stymie its operations. After insisting Elon Musk isnt the groups formal leader, the White House under mounting pressure cleared up confusion over DOGEs leadership Tuesday, naming Amy Gleason as the cost-cutting panels administrator. But how exactly is Musk involved? And is DOGE an agency? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those open questions became front and center at a series of court hearings this week in some of the roughly two dozen lawsuits challenging DOGEs operations. Hanging in the balance is whether the group can enact its ambitious plans without congressional action, access confidential government systems and avoid open records requests. Elon Musks involvement Questions had been mounting about Musks role ever since the administration submitted court filings indicating the Tesla CEO is not a DOGE employee. The administration is really trying to, I think, create confusion about what Musks role is, said John Pelissero, director of government ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pelissero suggested that the confusion surrounding Musks role has allowed him to skirt typical ethics rules, such as filing financial disclosures or divesting from business interests that pose conflicts. The White House said earlier this month that the tech billionaire plans to file a disclosure, but it will not be made public, according to The New York Times. Its like an elusive object out there that no one seems to be able to rein in because Trump is letting Musk do whatever he wants, Pelissero added. Confusion about Musks authority also spawned a tiff with Trumps own Cabinet heads this week, when the tech billionaire asserted that federal employees who failed to respond to a government-wide email asking what they did last week would be fired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, several agencies told their staff not to respond to the email, and the White House later walked back Musks threat, seemingly siding with Cabinet secretaries. Judges have grilled government lawyers about Musks involvement in DOGE, given that he has publicly projected leadership over the group and promised maximum transparency. Tensions came to a head at a Monday hearing, when U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly pressed Justice Department attorney Brad Humphreys. What is his role? Is he sort of a separate advisor? Is he in the Chief Executive Office of the President? What is he? asked Kollar-Kotelly, an appointee of former President Clinton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont have any further information beyond a close advisor to the president, Humphreys responded. When Kollar-Kotelly moved on to ask who the DOGE administrator was, Humphreys replied, I dont know. Ok. Everybody speak up over there if you know anything else at the table, the frustrated judge told the other government attorneys in her courtroom. No answer came. The next day, the White House announced Gleason as the formal head of DOGE. Gleason, who worked at the U.S. Digital Service in Trumps first administration, rejoined the office last month. Super cabinet member or White House adviser? The administration maintains that Musk is simply a senior advisor to the president who has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself; rather he can only advise the President and communicate the Presidents directives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But multiple lawsuits claim Musk instead wields independent authority to the point where he should be deemed a principal officer, which would trigger a need for Senate confirmation under the Constitutions Appointments Clause. Norm Eisen, an attorney for plaintiffs in one such case, called Musk a super cabinet member at a Friday hearing. Hes beyond the power of a cabinet member. Hes reaching across the government, taking a wrecking ball to our systems. Its clearly an instance of a principal officer, said Eisen. Eisen previously served as counsel to Democrats during Trumps first impeachment and now leads State Democracy Defenders Fund, which has filed multiple lawsuits against the new administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later in the hearing, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang called it highly suspicious that the government could not produce standard forms establishing Musks appointment. Given that strange disconnect where he has always referred to himself as administrator of DOGE, not senior adviser to the president, until these lawsuits were filed, having some backup documentation might be beneficial, said Chuang, an appointee of former President Obama. Justice Department attorney Joshua Gardner noted that some agencies didnt oblige Musks government-wide email directing employees to reply with five accomplishments from the past week. If its the case that Mr. Musk has all this authority, then it seems inconsistent for all these agency heads to say were not going to do this, said Gardner. Is DOGE an agency? It depends, DOJ says The groups structure has been a source of confusion since Trump first announced in November that Musk would co-chair the group alongside fellow tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who stepped down just days into the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump initially said DOGE would provide advice and guidance from outside of Government. However, on his first day in office, he created DOGE from the existing U.S. Digital Service, renaming the office via executive order. In one recent ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates, an appointee of President George W. Bush, insinuated the administration was looking to hand DOGE legitimate authority without subjecting it to the transparency requirements agencies normally face. The judge summed up the governments position as a Goldilocks entity: not an agency when it is burdensome but an agency when it is convenient. I think its a question that the administration has tried to dance around, John Lewis, deputy legal director at policy think tank Governing for Impact, told The Hill. Thus far, it seems to want to have it both ways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration insists its position is tenable because federal laws define an agency differently. So while DOGE is not an agency subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the administration argues, DOGE is one under the Economy Act. The latter provides an avenue for the administration to fund the groups operations and detail employees across the federal bureaucracy. It has also become crucial in aiding the government as it seeks to fend off numerous lawsuits accusing DOGE employees of improperly accessing sensitive agency data in violation of the Privacy Act. Meanwhile, multiple groups have sought to persuade judges that DOGE must respond to records requests under FOIA. A hearing in one case is set for Friday. The Justice Department reiterated in court filings this week that DOGE is not subject to FOIA because it became a free-standing component of the Executive Office of the President that reports to the White House Chief of Staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis warned the administration really cant have it both ways. He pointed to a recent court ruling, finding that DOGE appears to constitute an agency under the Economy Act. The ruling allowed DOGE staff to access sensitive data at the Department of Labor, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Department of Health and Human Services seemingly a win for the Trump administration. However, Lewis said, The reasoning that court the engaged in is actually very problematic for DOGE, and if adopted more broadly, would suggest that DOGE should be covered by FOIA and other statutes that apply to agencies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. On an otherwise unremarkable March morning in a quiet SLO neighborhood, clear signs of a large and illegal street party just hours before remained visible to both student and non-student neighbors, driving frustrations and significant safety concerns. For those planning to once again attend this dangerous event this year, we want to be clear: What may have once seemed like a fun or harmless tradition over the years has become a dangerous and disruptive habit, with real consequences for both individuals and the community. Participating in these large and unsanctioned gatherings isnt just a poor decision its one that could lead to injury, legal consequences and a serious setback in your college experience. The San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly police departments are prepared to address this event with maximum resources to ensure safety and enforce the law, so the best choice is to skip the street party altogether. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cal Poly is not only one of the finest universities in California, but is also nationally recognized for its exceptional students, faculty and athletes. Cal Poly is a driving force in the cultural and economic vitality of San Luis Obispo, infusing the city with youthful energy and innovation. So, how is it that on one day each year, thousands of students many of whom arent even from the area turn the streets into a chaotic scene, celebrating St. Patricks Day in a manner that disregards the safety and well-being of their peers and the broader community? This behavior is not who we are, nor does it reflect the caliber of other students dedicated to growth and learning here in SLO. Your police departments support students in having the best college experience possible. College should be a time of making memories, growing as individuals and learning to be responsible community members and neighbors. But part of that journey is recognizing that our actions have consequences. The goal is to graduate with a great education and lasting, positive memories not with a criminal record, costly fines and citations and a history of poor decisions that follows you for years to come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In past years, St. Patricks Day celebrations have led to significant safety concerns, including injuries, alcohol poisoning and falls from utility poles. Unsanctioned events like these create chaos that overwhelms emergency responders and places everyone in harms way. By blocking streets and creating safety issues, these gatherings complicate efforts to help those who need it most. Looking ahead, we urge students to denounce unsanctioned street parties and instead take part in the many fun, organized activities at Cal Poly and in downtown San Luis Obispo. Lets come together as a community and show that we can celebrate responsibly while respecting our peers and neighbors. This year, lets make a change. The street party is over; dont make the trip its not worth your time or your future. Rick Scott is chief of police for the city of San Luis Obispo and Bryan Cox is interim chief of police for California Polytechnic State University. U.S. President Donald Trump named XRP, Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) as three assets to be included in a U.S. strategic crypto reserve on Sunday, providing the first details about what such a reserve may look like. Notably, Trump did not initially mention bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in his statement, but he later clarified that the reserve would include these assets as well. Trump made the announcements on Truth Social, his social media platform. "A U.S. Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration, which is why my Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA," Trump stated. "I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World. We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Following Trump's initial announcement, XRP, SOL, and ADA experienced significant price surges. The price of ADA soared by more than 63% within two hours after the president's post, while SOL increased by 23% and XRP by 32%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While fans of XRP, ADA and SOL celebrated the news, some BTC and ETH fans initially responded with a mixture of disappointment and surprise. Around an hour after his initial post, the president clarified that "BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be at the heart of the Reserve." Trump has been discussing the idea of a strategic crypto reserve since his 2024 presidential campaign. Soon after taking office in January, he signed an executive order directing a working group to evaluate the formation of a strategic crypto reserve, but the order did not explicitly mandate that the U.S. establish one outright. The order said the digital assets working group should "evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile." Trump said on Sunday that the group should "move forward" with formally establishing the reserve. The working group will host a summit on Friday with crypto industry and government representatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Cynthia Lummis previously introduced a bill to create a strategic bitcoin reserve for the U.S. She first advocated for one at July's Bitcoin Nashville conference, where then-candidate Trump also spoke. The bill proposed by Lummis would have authorized the U.S. Treasury to acquire one million bitcoins over five years, equating to approximately 5% of the total Bitcoin supply. A number of U.S. state legislatures have already introduced bills to create their own strategic crypto reserves, though most of these efforts have failed to take off. David Sacks, the White House crypto and AI czar, is a limited partner of Multicoin Capital, which is invested in Solana, a blockchain ecosystem focused on providing low fees and fast transactions. Sacks said in a 2021 interview that he was "hodling" SOL, the blockchain's native token. TRUMP, the president's memecoin, is also built on Solana. Sacks said on X (formerly Twitter) that Trump's announcement was "consistent with his week-one EO" shortly after Trump's posts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ripple, meanwhile, is in the midst of a years-long legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which charged the company with selling XRP the native token of the Ripple-supported XRP Ledger blockchain as an unregistered security during Trump's first term. In recent months, Ripple has sought to increase its profile in Washington, including by contributing heavily to Fairshake, a crypto industry super PAC, as well as to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund. UPDATE (March 2, 2025, 16:50 UTC): Adds additional information and Trump's second post. UPDATE (March 2, 17:15 UTC): Adds additional information and responses. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A Chinese newspaper's coverage of the meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in 2018. | Credit: Greg Baker / AFP / Getty Images It's hard to overstate how wildly Donald Trump's foreign policy is deviating from that of his predecessor and even "from his own campaign pitch of America First restraint", said Dave Lawler on Axios. Before taking office, Trump caused alarm by threatening to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland. Since then he has "stunned" even his own advisers with his plan for the US to take over the Gaza Strip. He says he wants Canada to become the 51st US state; he has taken an axe to America's main foreign aid agency, USAID. And now, to the horror of European partners, he is abandoning Ukraine. Although not the first Western leader to rail against the "dictator" that started the war, he is the first to have been referring to President Zelenskyy, not Putin. His projection of raw, unfocused power is fuelling the sense that Trump's America is to be feared, even by its allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, sometimes a tougher approach more vinegar than honey is needed, said Rich Lowry in the New York Post. In 2011, the then defence secretary, Robert Gates, gave a speech in which he warned Europe's leaders that there would eventually be "a dwindling appetite and patience" in the "American body politic" to expend funds on behalf of nations that weren't prepared to be serious partners in their own defence. Europe ignored that warning. Trump is "abrasive", but his message is hard to ignore. Even so, he should moderate his tone, said Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal. "The future will be a hard place", and we'll need old friends at our side. It is not wise to estrange them. Trump says he is disengaging from Europe to focus on the threat from China, but if he pushes the US's allies away, Beijing will reap the benefits, said Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. EU officials are now talking of expanding trade with China. Dismantling USAID will only make developing nations even more reliant on Chinese money, said Michael Schuman in The Atlantic. Indeed, there is evidence that Beijing is already moving to fill some of the gaps created by the US aid freeze. And by pulling the US out of the World Health Organisation and other bodies, Trump is clearing the way for China to use them as "instruments" of its power. His handling of Ukraine presents another opportunity for President Xi, who may in the future be able to make the case that only he can rein in Putin's territorial ambitions and in this way, expand China's influence in Europe. How is any of this in America's best interests? (NEXSTAR) It is not common for the oarfish, a deep-sea, ribbon-shaped creature, to wash up on shore, but when it does, some believe it could mean that something bad is going to happen. The oarfish is commonly known as the doomsday fish. The doomsday fish can grow to be up to 30 feet long and typically resides down to 1,000 meters in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean, according to Ocean Conservancy, making a sighting of the massive creature extremely rare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oarfish are filter feeders meaning they eat krill, plankton and other small creatures. They float vertically and use their reflective bodies as a type of camouflage. The fish also have clusters of red spines sticking out from its back. In this Aug. 17, 2015 photo provided by Annie MacAulay, the Mountain and Sea Adventures President, MacAulay poses with a dead oarfish on the beach on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California. The Orange County Register reports that the oarfish a rarely seen deep-sea creature was found Monday. (Fran Tablas/Courtesy of Annie MacAulay via AP) In Japanese, the oarfish is called ryugu no tsukai, which can be translated to Messengers from the Sea Gods Palace. These US beaches rank among the best in the world, according to Tripadvisor According to Yokai, an online database of Japanese folklore, the ryugu no tsukai is described as a large fish with a human head and horns. It can have long hair or a beard and grow to be 18 meters long and gives off light. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the legend tells it, these prophetic fish appeared on the coasts of Japan and brought news of a deadly disease that would only spare those who saw a portrait of the creature or those who heard its message. In more recent history, the message these fish are said to bring is that of pending disasters, most notably earthquakes. In 2011, the strongest earthquake ever to hit Japan also triggered a tsunami, which caused a nuclear disaster at a plant in Fukushima. The earthquake and tsunami killed more than 20,000 people. According to reports, several oarfish were reported on Japanese shores leading up to the earthquake. An oarfish washed up near San Diego on August 10, 2024, and just two days later, an earthquake hit the area. A similar occurrence happened in Grandview Beach in Southern California with the sighting of the doomsday fish happening in November, and an earthquake striking the area in December of the same year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the common occurrence of these deep-sea creatures and earthquakes, researchers are chalking it up to superstition. The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America published a report stating that relationship between deepsea fish appearances and earthquakes was hardly found. The Ocean Conservancy adds that when a fish that typically resides deep in the ocean comes to the surface, it could be a sign that the animal is disoriented, sick or could be dying. Still, whenever these doomsday fish come up to the surface for a rare sighting, so does the legend of impending disaster on social media. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. BOONE COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) The man who allegedly drove past Deputy Jacob Southworth on Friday night, hitting him with the side mirror of his truck, was arrested on Sunday morning. Throughout an investigation that began after Deputy Southworth was hit, the Boone County Sheriffs Office announced in a news release around 1:30 p.m. Sunday that the man whose truck mirror allegedly struck him was identified as John Graue, 58, of Sparta. The information came from a tip and with the help of the Kentucky State Police Department (KSP). LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies were able to get a search warrant at Graues residence and seized his company-owned utility truck, the sheriffs office said. Authorities were seeking an arrest warrant when, on Sunday morning, Graue went to the Boone County Jail, where he reportedly turned himself in. John Graue, 58, of Sparta, turned himself in at the Boone County Jail on Sunday morning. (Boone County Sheriffs Office) Graue was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment of a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident, and failure to give right of way to an emergency vehicle. He was lodged at the Boone County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond. Lexington woman dies in custody after being found unresponsive in her cell According to Kentuckys Slow Down, Move Over law, when any vehicle is stopped on the highway with any warning signal, drivers are required to move over a lane away from the disabled vehicle if it is safe to do so, or, if it isnt, to slow down if drivers are unable to change lanes or driving on a roadway of less than four lanes. Previous story: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A deputy with the Boone County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) was struck by the side rearview mirror of a truck on Friday evening as he was walking to his cruiser, prompting an investigation to find the driver responsible. According to a news release from the sheriffs office, it happened just after 7:15 p.m. on Friday at the 72-mile marker on I-71 South. Lexington woman dies in custody after being found unconscious in her cell Having started a traffic stop just a few minutes earlier, Deputy Jacob Southworth was walking to his cruiser when he was reportedly hit by a trucks passenger side rearview mirror. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video captured from Deputy Southworths bodycam shows the truck moving closer to him before the mirror reportedly impacted him. Video captured from Deputy Southworths bodycam shows the truck moving closer to him before the mirror reportedly impacted him. (Boone County Sheriffs Office) Video captured from Deputy Southworths bodycam shows the truck moving closer to him before the mirror reportedly impacted him. (Boone County Sheriffs Office) Video captured from Deputy Southworths bodycam shows the truck moving closer to him before the mirror reportedly impacted him. (Boone County Sheriffs Office) The driver of the truck allegedly fled south on I-71 towards Gallatin County, per the BCSO. Deputy Southworth was taken to Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Florence, where he was treated for minor injuries and released, authorities said. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies in Boone County are looking for a vehicle believed to be a white GMC or Chevrolet commercial utility truck with an unknown logo on the passenger side door. Anyone with information that could help law enforcement find the owner of the vehicle that struck Deputy Southworth is asked to call the BCSO at (859) 371-1234. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by sending an email to crime@boonecountyky.org. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. A 3-year-old boy who tragically drowned in a Westchester stream had just moved to the area with his mom, who was trying to start a new life for them, according to their heartbroken family. Zaire Alberick wandered from his familys Mamaroneck home with their dog Thursday around noon, setting off a frantic search by his grandfather and neighbors. He was reported missing around 2:15 p.m. Zaire Alberick, 3, wandered from his familys Mamaroneck home Thursday and was found dead in a river shortly after. Go Fund Me Police found the toddlers body about 20 minutes later in the Mamaroneck River, a seven-mile stream that runs through southern Westchester. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities believe he fell into the water about two blocks from home, drowned and was carried downstream to the Hillside Avenue Bridge where he was found. Zaire and his mother, Derly Dorval, were staying with family at the time, the boys aunt, Denise Barnes, wrote on a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral. Dorval had started working as a nursing assistant at a New Rochelle nursing home and was trying to find an apartment for her and her son. Both she and Zaires father, Zanetti Alberick, are devastated, Barnes wrote. Derly is currently hospitalized due to her grief of losing her only son. The boys grandfather and neighbors frantically searched for him before reporting him missing to police on Thursday. NBC12 We are asking for your prayers and support for this young family as they plan a funeral for their beloved 3-year-old son, she added. Dorval, 27, and Zanetti Alberick, 28, previously lived in Suffolk County, according to records. The fundraiser for the boy had raised over $12,000 as of Saturday afternoon. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said the prospect of an economic deal with Kyiv is not on the table at the moment after an Oval Office press conference involving President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went off the rails Friday "President Trump's idea for this economic arrangement was to further intertwine the American people and Ukrainian people and show no daylight," Bessent told Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation." "To show the Russian leadership that there was no daylight, and President Zelenskyy came into the Oval Office and tried to relitigate in front of the world the deal." Bessent has been a key figure in the White House push to get Ukraine on board with an economic agreement, and personally flew to Kyiv to present Zelenskyy with the administration's first draft of a deal in mid-February. An economic commitment, he told reporters in Kyiv, "will provide a long-term security shield for all Ukrainians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After weeks of negotiations, Zelenskyy came to the White House to put pen to paper. On Saturday, the Ukrainian president took to X to say he is still ready to sign the deal. "We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees," Zelenskyy wrote. "But its not enough, and we need more than just that. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. Weve been fighting for 3 years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side." But after Friday's blow-up in the West Wing, Bessent said its status is up in the air. "I think we have to see if President Zelenskyy wants to proceed," Bessent said. "What's the use in having an economic agreement that's going to be rendered moot if he wants the fighting to continue. President Trump wants a peace deal." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Zelenskyy had been excited to sign the deal Friday, even though some critics had likened it to a protection racket. I was with President Zelenskyy with a number of Republican and Democratic senators before he left for the White House," she said. "He was in great spirits. He was excited to go and sign this minerals agreement which is something that was very important to President Trump. As for security guarantees, Bessent put the onus squarely on Europe. "Well, look, I think the plan is for the European Union to provide this security, not NATO, the European Union," he told Brennan. Amid concern over Trump drifting closer to Russia, a number of European leaders have committed to ramping up defense spending. France and the United Kingdom have in recent weeks worked on a proposal to send peacekeeping troops into Ukraine at the end of its war with Russia. But a U.S. backstop is essential for a true security guarantee, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday. An economic agreement between the United States and Ukraine is not currently on the table, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump had been due to sign a deal on Friday that would allow the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals. But that plan fell apart after a heated exchange between the leaders inside the Oval Office over the path to a peace deal to end the war. Zelensky pushed for security guarantees, openly contradicted Trump, and called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "killer and terrorist." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky was made to leave the White House early without signing the deal that had been worked on for weeks. "I think we have to see if President Zelensky wants to proceed," Bessent told CBS News. "Whats the use in having an economic agreement thats going to be rendered moot if he wants the fighting to continue. President Trump wants a peace deal." Bessent continued: "All President Zelensky had to do was come in and sign this economic agreement, and again show no daylight no daylight between the Ukrainian people and the American people, and he chose to blow that up." "So the deal is no longer on the table?" moderator Margaret Brennan asked. Bessent responded: "Not at present. Before the blow-up at the White House, the treasury secretary had travelled to Ukraine to negotiate the agreement. Winston-Salem officials are requesting an additional restriction on who can serve on a state-mandated Civil Services Board, specifically that former city employees who want to serve on the board must have left the city in good standing to be eligible. Good standing, according to Senate Bill 189, means without a sustained conduct violation or disciplinary action, particularly any violation or action that would make the former employee ineligible for rehire by the city, as determined by the city. SB189 is in response to the creation of a Greensboro and Winston-Salem Civil Service Board, which was tucked into a local government omnibus bill Senate Bill 9 that became law in August 2023. SB9 established Civil Service panels specifically to hear and rule on city employee grievances in Winston-Salem and Greensboro. The panels have the power to overturn decisions made by the police and fire department heads, as well as give fire and police employees an extra opportunity to receive a hearing and plead their case against employment decisions before a five-member board. Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, filed SB189 at the request of Winston-Salem City Council and Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. "The bill amends the existing legislation to include additional language that minimizes the opportunity for anyone to challenge the integrity of the board or its membership," Lowe said. "The additional language ensures that any former employee wishing to serve on the board is one who separated from city government in good standing and is able to review any matter pending before the board without bias." Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said we did include this change in our legislative agenda we shared with our delegation. When asked about the intent of SB189, Joines said that Im not aware of a specific person who may want to serve that could be affected by the bill. Under the Civil Services Board law, former employees must wait for seven years after their last city employment to sit on the board. Current conflict-of-interest restrictions include those who work for the city, doing business with the city, having a immediate family member working for the city or having a financially beneficial relationship with the city. Those restrictions carry over for two years after those connections end. The original legislation stated that former city employees can be appointed, Joines said. Given that this board would be reviewing disciplinary actions and other personnel matters, it was our feeling that any former city employee should have left the city in good standing, so as to ensure non-biased review of cases. Winston-Salem Council has a webpage dedicated to its board at https://www.cityofws.org/3550/Civil-Service-Board. Joines said there have been no appointments to the board. Meanwhile, Greensboro has established its five-member board, each serving a two-year term. Meetings are held at 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month in the City Council chambers. Civil Service Board functions Several Winston-Salem and Greensboro officials, including Joines, objected to the Civil Service panels being created. Those officials said SB9 would usurp the authority of the city manager and his department heads to make personnel decisions. City administration did not ask for it, Joines said in August 2023. We were very much opposed to it. It strikes at the very heart of the council-manager form of government by taking away the power to make decisions. Lowe attempted to remove the Winston-Salem Civil Service Board from SB9. He said during the 2023 debate over the bill that a police chief needs to have the ability to use appropriate personnel in the jobs theyre doing. SB9 was amended to allow the police and fire chiefs to pick one member each to the five-member panel, rather than the city councils appointing two members each. The other members are two chosen by fire and police employees and the chair chosen by the council. The other major change clarified that the boards would not have hiring authority. Background The N.C. chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association has been lobbying for such boards for years. Asheville, Charlotte, New Bern and Raleigh have similar set-ups to hear employment grievances about such matters as dismissals, demotions/promotions, suspensions and uniformity in job classifications and qualifications. Former Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford, said during the 2023 debate on SB9 that he and other prime sponsors had conferred and agreed that Winston-Salem should remain in the bill. Besides Hardister, the prime sponsors are Reps. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth and Kyle Hall, R-Stokes. Halls district includes parts of northern Winston-Salem. There is a lot of support for it, too, Hardister said. I am not surprised that the senior leadership in the city is opposed to it because they see it as taking some of their purview away. It gives an extra level of due process. During 2023 hearings on the proposed legislation, state lawmakers heard opposition from Winston-Salem Councilman Robert Clark, Police Chief William Penn, Fire Chief William Trey Mayo and City Attorney Angela Carmon. Greensboro Police Chief John Thompson and Fire Chief Jim Robinson also spoke against the bill, but Robinson expressed thanks for the bill changes allowing the police and fire chiefs to appoint a member. John Midgette, executive director of the N.C. Police Benevolent Association, told state lawmakers that the existing grievance procedures in the cities amount to fake due process. You are appealing to the people who have punished you and determined you are guilty, he said. The news that 1871, Chicagos best known technology incubator, is leaving its longtime home at the Merchandise Mart seems at first blush like a warning sign yet another indicator of the citys declining business environment. Dont get us wrong, we dont see this news as a positive sign. But we also dont believe Chicagos future as a vibrant tech hub hinges on the future of 1871, whatever that ends up being now. Then a venture capitalist, JB Pritzker co-founded 1871 some 13 years ago, some six years before he first won election as Illinois governor. The incubators space at the Mart quickly became an energetic locus for tech startups in Chicago and, just as importantly, gave the citys nascent tech community a brand that was recognizable to Chicagoans outside the startup orbit as well as to funders and entrepreneurs in other cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No doubt the governor is experiencing the same bittersweet feelings we heard and read from others in the tech world. The success of 1871 served Pritzker well in establishing his business bona fides with voters during his first campaign against another businessman, then-Gov. Bruce Rauner. It branded Pritzker as someone with his eye on the future. Much has changed in the 13 years since 1871 started. Most obviously, a pandemic upended office life as we knew it and nearly overnight forced business of all kinds to learn to work effectively from remote locations. Just last week, we heard Walmart CEO Doug McMillon address the Economic Club of Chicago making the point that Walmart now thinks of itself more as an e-commerce company than a brick-and-mortar retailer despite the continuing ubiquity of its stores throughout the nation. McMillon said that technological change had upended everything about the company, at least beyond its commitment to its culture and low prices. But as important as the pandemics continued fallout in this instance: Chicagos tech scene has gravitated away from River North, where 1871 was located, and west to Fulton Market and the West Loop. Angel investors, venture capitalists, tech-focused bankers and entrepreneurs still gather in person; if ever an industry needs human connection, its the startup world. But they do so increasingly in each others offices, coffee shops and other dispersed locations like the Soho House. And those are largely in the West Loop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For 1871, as many employers discovered post-pandemic, physical space became an overly costly burden rather than a facilitator. The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the nonprofit that runs 1871, was losing money due to the rent it was paying at the Mart, and the number of tenants of space within the incubator had dwindled. CEO Betsy Ziegler said in a letter to members that we want to exit the leasing business. Will 1871 have a physical presence at all in the future? That seems an open question at this point. The organization will need to decide its future role now that the incubating part of what it does is over, at least in terms of physical space. The brand remains well-known, so we hope 1871 continues to play an important role in helping fledgling Chicago companies find their footing. But there are no guarantees. For Chicago leaders, the end of 1871 as a physical gathering space for techies is a reminder that nurturing and preserving the city as a tech hub is an urgent task. Chicago remains the capital of the Midwest and is the natural landing spot for ambitious, smart graduates from the universities throughout the region. The startup world is a youthful one, given the necessity of long hours and high energy to succeed as an entrepreneur or even a worker in the space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The job of marketing Chicago as a national tech player and serving as a fulcrum for what can be an insular world is critical and isnt a luxury the city can afford to do without. So who? What? Lets hope we know the answer to those questions soon. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. Preventing homelessness is a crucial piece of the puzzle for solving this problem in Los Angeles. It is easier and less costly to keep someone from becoming homeless than it is to help them out of the trauma of homelessness and find them permanent housing. No one wants to see more people forced into the pain of homelessness. And already there isnt nearly enough housing for the estimated 75,000 homeless people in L.A. This remains true despite efforts by the county and the city of Los Angeles to help finance the construction or purchase of housing units for homeless individuals and families. But prevention is not as simple as it sounds. Keeping people in their homes is not as expensive as building or procuring homes for the unhoused, but prevention does require millions of dollars in funding. County officials have said prevention is key, but programs haven't always gotten the funding they needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If homelessness prevention is the last thing that is funded and the first thing that is cut when budgets get tight, we are not investing in prevention the way that we have to if we are going to end homelessness in Los Angeles and elsewhere, said Adam Murray, the chief executive of the Inner City Law Center, a nonprofit firm on Skid Row that advocates for low-income and homeless individuals and families. Among other services, the center helps people fight eviction proceedings. Having a lawyer dramatically increases the chances of a tenant either winning eviction proceedings or reaching a settlement with a landlord that allows the resident to stay in place. But nearly half of people becoming homeless in California left a living arrangement where they were not the leaseholder, according to a recent study of homelessness in the state. So an eviction intervention couldn't have directly helped them. And that underscores the challenges of homelessness prevention finding the vulnerable people who are most at risk of homelessness, figuring out ways to direct them to prevention services (such as rental assistance) and then scaling up those services. At a recent conference on homelessness prevention organized by the California Policy Lab, a research institute at UCLA agency chiefs, academics, researchers, foundation leaders and community advocates all presented ideas that had worked and hadn't worked. (Murray was one of the panelists.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone agrees that a subsidy works. In Santa Clara County , people at risk of homelessness in 7,600 households received on average $7,000 in financial assistance. Two years later the vast majority (93%) of those residents had avoided becoming homeless. But even where money is available for this purpose, the problem remains how to get the subsidies to those who most need them. People may not know an agency exists that can give them funding. One solution is to focus on people who go to health services or other social service offices and reach out to those who appear to be at high risk of losing their housing. Nearly every speaker at the conference noted that the two biggest risk factors are very low income and a previous experience with homelessness. Janey Rountree, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UCLA, helped develop metrics that identify users of L.A. County services who may be vulnerable to falling into homelessness. The countys Homeless Prevention Unit uses the model, but the formula doesnt find everyone. We have developed a predictive model, says Rountree, but you have to be in the database. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Chicago, you can call 311 to request short-term financial assistance for rent and utilities. Sounds great. But not everyone in desperate straits knows this assistance even exists. And even when they do and make the call, most never get beyond the initial couple of screenings over the phone. A sizable portion of the funds from the Measure A sales tax that Los Angeles County voters approved in November will be set aside for homelessness prevention. Having a designated fund for prevention will be good and certainly rental assistance should be prioritized. But experts will still have to figure out the most effective methods for identifying the people who need it the most. In an effort to reach impoverished people who might lose their housing, that means targeting all the places they may go for services. That will involve healthcare providers, food banks, school administrators and others. People coming out of jails are susceptible to becoming homeless. So are youths transitioning out of foster care. Think of it this way: Its the equivalent of doing homeless outreach before people are homeless. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Candidate Donald Trump had his fellow Republicans in Congress kill a comprehensive bipartisan immigration deal a year ago that they helped write to deprive President Biden of a legislative success. So where is President Donald Trumps bill to reform a badly in need of reforming immigration system? Instead of a wholesale repair of the leaky structure, the White House is rolling out ineffective piecemeal measures that wont achieve anything. One example is leaning on a post-WWII law to say that all undocumented immigrants who did not enter the U.S. with a visa about 60% of the current undocumented population and are over 14 should register with the government or face potential criminal penalties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When these immigrants call their bluff and it is a bluff, given the administrations ultimate inability to force compliance with its current capacity and demonstrated incompetence then were just back where we started, but now with an undocumented population more fearful than before, which is of course a big part of the objective. Trump and his aides like Stephen Miller and Tom Homan know they can neither politically nor logistically go and round up immigrants around the country, so theyre relying on the strategy of making life unlivable in an attempt to convince them to leave of their own accord, and stop new folks from coming. All, of course, except rich foreign oligarchs and other very wealthy people, who can provide what Trump has always valued most: money. On Tuesday, Trump sat in the Oval Office and described something like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication, that he would call a gold card, presumably because he thought he couldnt quite get away with calling it something like the Trump Gold Select Residency. The program seems like itd be a revamp of the long-standing EB-5 visa program, already used by Trumps own family for years to advance their personal business interests. Now, Trump appears to want to drop the pretense of investing in needy projects altogether and just put up a pay-to-play sign on the United States Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The oligarch thing wasnt hyperbole; asked if the program would be open to Russian oligarchs, Trump said yeah. So heres what the administrations immigration vision has come down to: a moat around a country that was made a global superpower by waves of unrestricted immigration, essentially killing the goose that has for 200 years laid the golden eggs, but leaving just a narrow path for rich global elites to buy their way in. How was their wealth created? Not our business, MAGAworld says, as long as the checks clear. Of course, this visa is a thought experiment or at best a proposal for now, because as much as Trumps administration has taken control of the immigration system, the visa structure is something only Congress can change. Last year, after months of negotiations, the Senate came to a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform legislation. We thought it wasnt a perfect bill for a variety of reasons, but at least it was Congress taking a stab at moving on legislation that would make some changes to the underlying immigration system, something it has barely attempted in recent decades. Were still operating under the same basic framework that was created by the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act signed by Lyndon Johnson 60 years ago. Its long past time for Congress to tune out the ravings of the MAGA political movement and redraw an immigration system that acknowledges the enormous boon that immigration has been and provides a path to citizenship for those whove since followed the rules and made this country their home. ___ Negotiators with Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc and their centre-left rivals, the Social Democrats (SPD), are set to meet on Monday for another round of exploratory talks aimed at sounding out a possible coalition government in Germany. Merz is the likely next chancellor of Europe's biggest economy following the win by his Union alliance on February 23. The talks, which began on Friday, have taken on new urgency after US President Donald Trump's clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public blow-up, in which Trump accused Zelensky of being "not ready for peace" and ungrateful of US support in the fight against invading Russian forces, sent shockwaves across Europe. The exchange raised concerns about the future of critical US military aid to Ukraine and fuelled European fears that the US can no longer be counted upon as a reliable security ally. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the country "urgently needs a strong government" in place to deal with the unfolding crisis. When the talks will move beyond the exploratory phase and into formal negotiations remains unclear. Merz has said he aims to form a government by late April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Debate over boosting military spending and support for Ukraine played a major role in the election campaign, and is sure to dominant the coalition negotiations. The SPD, led by caretaker Chancellor Olaf Scholz, placed third in the election, behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The AfD, however, is frozen out of power due to a policy of non-cooperation by other parties, known in Germany as the "firewall." Egypt has criticized Israel's decision to halt all aid deliveries into Gaza, as Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty said on Sunday that starvation should not be used as a weapon. "The deal includes a full flow of aid, and it cannot be allowed or accepted that aid is used as a weapon for collective punishment and starvation," he said. "This is considered as a blatant and clear violation of international humanitarian law," Abdel-Atty told a press conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If the first stage has ended, then we must now begin talks about the second phase," he said, adding that mediators will continue their intensive efforts to sustain the ceasefire. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been acting as mediators between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 17-year-old El Paso Boy Scout spearheaded a month-long project to collect donations of luggage for children under the care of Texas Child Protective Services. Life Scout Max Estorga, with Troop 53, organized the effort to bring different organizations and people together in the El Paso community to help children with a case under Texas CPS. The campaign officially ended on Saturday, March 1 but Estorga plans to continue collecting donations in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before this, children were being transported from their homes or from foster home to foster home, using trash bags to store their belongings, which can be very demeaning if you think about collecting everything you own in your life and putting it in a trash bag. So being aware of this problem, we decided to start collecting suitcases to help these children move from home to home, Estorga said. Max Estorga Troop 53 Life Scout Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since 2023, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has been directed to provide luggage to children being removed from their home or who are changing placement, under House Bill 3756. That, however, has been a challenge for the DFPS branch in El Paso which relies solely on independent donations, according to the agency. Through Saturday, March 1, Estorga collected over 400 donations that were given to the DFPS branch in El Paso. The initiative was part of a required service project Estorga had to dedicate to a local organization to achieve the rank of an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Estorga said he came up with the idea of the luggage drive after reading an article that highlighted how children under CPS care were given trash bags to carry their belongings when being removed from their troubled home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that while he was excited about the idea of the project, he was worried that he wouldnt gather enough donations at first. Once I actually started going out and talking to people and hearing their response, it (became) more than just the suitcases, really. It was the response from El Pasoans, donation or not, their interest and their activity in spreading the word was really heartwarming. Just to be aware of problems in our community could open up so many possibilities to (get) help from so many people that are willing and generous in our community, Estorga said. Several local organizations, clubs, and even schools heeded Estorgas call, by collecting donations. We wanted to make it as easy as possible for people that were donating. So we partnered with the YMCA to hold a drive and collect suitcases there, or we opened our email to requests and met with people at their homes or businesses and collected luggage from them, Estorga said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Estorga said that while his Eagle Scout service project required an end date for submission, he will continue to accept donations in the future to continue helping the Texas DFPS office in El Paso and the children it serves. As this project was my own undertaking, I will be continuing to accept donations, intermittently at different scheduled times or different arranged pick ups, Estorga said. To arrange a donation drop off or pick up with Estorga, you can email him at max.estorga.53@gmail.com Beyond the luggage donations, the Texas DFPS branch of El Paso also has a Rainbow Room where they collect other highly-needed donations for the families they serve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To contact Amber Hansen, Rainbow Room coordinator for the DFPS branch in El Paso, you can email amber.hansen@dfps.texas.gov., or call (915) 201-7974. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. It was blue, so blue the clear sky, the water glistening in the sunlight, the shirts on the backs of hundreds who gathered along the Detroit River, and the ribbons that twirled from the tip of a small wooden stick in 10-year-old Harper Robinsons hand. She spun around, making the satin streams of blue dance. Her mother, Elissa Robinson, stepped before the crowd gathered on the Detroit RiverWalk on a crisp Sunday morning in early September and took the microphone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her blue shirt, the color of colorectal cancer awareness, said Survivor. Elissa spoke about the day when she walked into her gynecologists office as an ordinary mother, wife and journalist but left as a cancer patient. Talk about a day youll never forget, she said of May 4, 2021. That was the day Elissas doctor told her that the fluid she had drained from a cyst on her left ovary two weeks earlier was cancerous. The diagnosis blindsided me. Just like that, my husband and I found ourselves in a world that suddenly felt like it had been designed by someone with a really dark sense of humor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For months, Elissa had felt abdominal pain and bloating, especially on her left side, she told those gathered near the Detroit River that September day. Elissa recalled the fear that threatened to consume her as her doctor explained the culprit was not ovarian cancer but colorectal cancer, which had spread to her ovary. I started to panic. How far (had it spread)? was my first question, Elissa said. She didn't know. The next thing I said was, but I have a 6-year-old.' In that single vulnerable moment, Elissa came to realize what so many already know firsthand: Cancer is cruel. It doesnt care that youre only 37 years old, that you're the mother of a little girl who is your entire world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the only certainty was uncertainty, Elissa vowed to live. She chose to accept nothing less than surviving long enough to ensure Harper would remember her mother. Long enough to throw a lifetimes worth of softballs to the little girl with her same wavy, golden hair, long arms and legs, and broad smile. Long enough to jump herself breathless with Harpers hands in hers on the trampoline of their Macomb Township home and to take many more Mothers Day trips to Longboat Key, Florida, with her family. Long enough, she prays, to one day help her little girl shop for a prom dress and be there when Harper tosses her cap at college graduation, walks down the aisle and holds her first child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will never be enough, Elissa said. I think all the time, is she old enough now that shell remember me? The price has been steep for even the three years and 10 months since that unforgettable day at the gynecologists office. Elissa learned in the weeks that followed that her colon cancer was stage 4 and had spread to her liver and ovaries. Now there are about seven cancerous nodules on her lungs. She has endured 67 chemotherapy infusions that have brought relentless exhaustion along with waves of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. She underwent surgery that removed 60% of her liver, 25% of her colon, her ovaries and her gallbladder. At times, her hair falls out in clumps and her skin peels. She also has had neuropathy in her fingers and feet and cold sensitivity so intense, she sometimes cant even reach into the refrigerator for a snack. University of Michigan registered nurse Taylor Bitz sets up chemotherapy infusion for Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, at the University of Michigans Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor on Thursday, April 11, 2024. I'm practically a jigsaw puzzle at this point, but I am still here, still standing, still fighting, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She and her husband, Russell Robinson, have been dogged in searching for the top surgeons, leaders in interventional radiology, oncology and colon cancer research innovators in treatments who might give Elissa an edge over a disease that is expected to take the lives of 53,000 Americans this year. In her journey, all along, one of my roles has been to help identify the best possible people out there, whoever they are, wherever they are, Russell said. Thats how Elissa became among the first five people in Michigan outside of clinical trials and among the first 15 nationally to undergo a revolutionary new treatment pioneered at the University of Michigan called histotripsy, which uses ultrasound waves to target cancerous tumors in the liver. It essentially liquefies them without so much as a needle poke or incision, without burning any tissue, without radiation or chemo. Theres almost no pain or recovery time with histotripsy, and it is far less risky than other interventions. It was worth trying with the hope that it might give Elissa another year, another month, another week, another hour to spend not only with Harper, but with Russell, who holds the family together even as pieces of the facade crack and threaten to fall. Russell Robinson, of Macomb Township, checks out the bracelets his daughter Harper, 9, has chosen to wear for school on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. It was worth it to potentially buy more time with her parents, Betty and Sam Saputo, who already lost a child far too soon. Elissas only sibling, Nick Saputo, whose nickname, Nicho, is tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, died in 2010 in a car accident at the age of 28. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She still chokes up when she talks about him, knowing her parents will be childless if cancer takes her life, too. So she fights every single day even as she continues her work as a web editor at the Detroit Free Press, where shes often the person her co-workers rely on when news breaks to optimize and post stories on Freep.com, to come up with masterful headlines and catch spelling and grammatical mistakes. She writes stories, too, including creative historical lookbacks and photo galleries that often are among the sites top-viewed. Work, she said, puts my mind on something else. It keeps her busy. It keeps her from stewing about the cancer. She said shell keep at it as long as she physically is able. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think about my life expectancy several times a day, Elissa wrote in a June 2023 Facebook post. It's easy to find that dark hole and climb in. Thoughts of the future and my place in it sit in my brain 24/7. But with laughs, family and memories and quite honestly, work, to keep me busy, I can also put the ugly stuff away and enjoy the moment. Elissa Robinson, and her mom, Betty Saputo, sightsee in New York City days before Robinson's scheduled surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering in October 2021. Those moments include donning Honolulu blue and rooting for the Detroit Lions at Ford Field with her dad, taking Harper to see a Taylor Swift tribute band and making friendship bracelets with her, catching a Broadway play in New York with her mom before a doctors appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and date nights with Russell, seeing a comedy show, a movie or a concert. Through it all, Elissa has been incredibly open about her victories and her struggles with cancer, sharing her story at an event for Gildas Club Detroit, on local TV news programs and by posting on Facebook, always ending with the line: Check your colon to encourage other people to get colonoscopy screenings. Every year since her diagnosis, Elissa has walked 3.1 miles in the Detroit Walk to End Colon Cancer. She and her team of supporters have raised thousands of dollars for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Elissa Robinson's family and friends surround her with support at the Detroit Walk to End Colon Cancer on Sept. 8, 2024, at Cullen Plaza along the Detroit RiverWalk. From left are her mother and father, Betty and Sam Saputo; Elissa Robinson; her aunt, Gina Rogers; daughter, Harper Robinson; friend Tricia Presseller; husband, Russell Robinson, and friend Kelly Tylenda. Together, Elissa and her team of supporters have raised thousands of dollars for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Even when the walk falls on a chemo weekend, as it did in September, when the crippling exhaustion and nausea that follow treatment can knock her down, Elissa put on her aquamarine survivor T-shirt and joined the crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant believe shes doing this after chemo the last two days, Russell said on that crystal clear Sept. 8 morning. She was kind of worried and she said, I might need a wheelchair. But here she is, doing it. She walked the whole way. When it was all over, Elissa smiled and said: The adrenaline of this day always gets me through it. Concept of histotripsy takes shape: Can it help Elissa? Although Elissa and Zhen Xu, a professor of biomedical engineering at U-M, have never met, their stories connect in a way that had the potential to alter the course of Elissas life. But to make that connection, weve got to rewind the clock more than two decades to 2001, when Xu was a 22-year-old doctoral candidate at U-M. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She had moved to Ann Arbor from China to study biomedical engineering under the tutelage of Charles Cain, Ph.D., who founded the department of biomechanical engineering at U-M and was her mentor. Xu needed a project for her dissertation. A pediatric interventional cardiologist had come to Xu and Cain to ask whether they could create a tool that would allow him to treat infants with congenital heart problems without the risk of invasive surgery. Zhen Xu, Ph.D., is a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan. She was among the inventors of histotripsy, which uses intense, targeted ultrasound waves to destroy tumors in the liver. Xu helped to engineer the HistoSonics Edison System, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023 to mechanically destroy and liquefy liver tumors in a completely noninvasive way, without the use of heat or even so much as the poke of a needle. He basically said, It's going to be very valuable to have a medical technology or a tool that will allow us to do real surgery and physically remove tissue, but in a noninvasive way without having to cut open patients. A knifeless surgery is what he was looking for, and it was not available at the time, Xu said. She and Cain considered whether there might be a way to use intense, targeted ultrasound pulses to quickly expand trapped air bubbles in heart tissue and then force those bubbles to collapse. The action, called acoustic cavitation, would liquefy the tissue around the air bubbles, allowing doctors to use those concentrated, controlled soundwaves like an incision-free knife. That was the inspiration of inventing histotripsy, Xu said. The idea was seen as an impossibility, Xu said, because scientists hadnt yet figured out a way to precisely target a treatment area to control the process of cavitation. At the time, commercial devices were not capable of doing that, Xu said. So by inventing histotripsy, our group also had to not only come up with the specialized ultrasound pulse sequence, but we also had to reinvent the whole device so it could be specialized for histotripsy. We use microseconds of ultrasound pulse at a pressure level or amplitude that is 10 to 100 times of what is used for imaging so its really high. Nobody had ever tried that before. In the beginning, the work wasn't glamorous Xu recalls weekly trips to a slaughterhouse in Milan, where she said she begged for permission to rifle through the trash to retrieve discarded pig hearts for use in her research. I literally would go every week, and back then, they just threw the hearts in a trash can, she said. So I just had to do some digging in the trash can to get the hearts. She tried repeatedly testing the theory at a lab in Ann Arbor, using standard commercial ultrasound transducers and probes, but didnt get the effect shed hoped to achieve. They didnt work, she said. Still, Xu didnt give up. We had this huge amplifier that nobody was using. It was running on a 380-volt supply, she said. I was like, 'Im going to run it to the max that is allowed by the commercial device and just see what happens.' Zhen Xu, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Michigan, shows an image from a PowerPoint presentation that details her work on the U-M team that invented histotripsy. In the early 2000s, she tried using a huge amplifier with a 380-volt power supply to aim intense, targeted ultrasound waves at tissue from a pig's heart. It caused cavitation, or the destruction of the targeted tissue, which was the foundation for the next two decades of her work. On that day, 23 years ago: I saw smoke coming out of the pig heart, and I was like, 'am I dreaming?' Xu said. She captured the moment on video. The cells expand, and then kind of get squished and collapse, Xu said, showing the black-and-white footage of the phenomenon she recorded more than two decades earlier. You may not break up all the cells with one pulse, but if you do it over and over, tens and hundreds of times, eventually the cells will collapse. You can see there is actually a hole here. Shocked that it worked, she repeated the experiment. I did it again, and we were like, Oh my God! And then the third time, I knew it was real, Xu said. I literally walked into Charles office and said, Theres good news and theres bad news. He was like, What's the good news? I said, The good news is the experiments worked. The bad news is I destroyed the transducer. At the time, it was a really expensive machine, and I was just in my first year and I was a little worried about that because I wouldn't be able to afford to replace it. Rather than chastise her, Cain encouraged her to continue to refine it. We put our heads together and said, If we really want to pursue this, we have to build our own instrumentation because the commercial systems are not designed to produce super high pressure within microseconds. They named the phenomenon histotripsy, which is pronounced like this: HISS-toh-trip-see. Charles Cain is the one who came up with the name because he was trying to parallel it with lithotripsy, Xu said. Tripsy means mechanical breakdown in Greek. Litho actually means stone. So lithotripsy is the breakdown of stones. Histo means soft tissue in Greek, Xu said, So histotripsy is the breakdown of soft tissues, even though its a tongue twister. Xu and Cain knew we were onto something really, really important, but convincing the rest of the scientific world that what theyd just discovered was real took a lot of time and effort, Xu said. For the first 10 years of my career after I discovered the phenomenon nobody believed me, she said. I kept presenting data, and it's consistent data, but people just don't think you can control cavitation in a predictable way for surgery. It took another 10 years to work on the mechanism and to understand what was happening and to come up with instrumentation. It was a long road. Something borrowed, something blue As Xu worked to develop a technology that could revolutionize surgical care for people with advanced-stage cancer, Elissa graduated from LAnse Creuse High School in Harrison Township and went on to study journalism and electronic media at Eastern Michigan University. She interned at WDIV-TV (Channel 4), and later landed a job as a news producer at the station. It seemed as if life was coming together the way it should. She and Russell were engaged in 2008 and her career was taking off. Then came 2010, a pivotal year for Elissa and for Xu in ways both good and bad. In April, Elissa mourned the sudden death of her brother. It was Easter Sunday when she and her parents left the hospital with a hollow feeling that could never be filled without their Nick the strong, gregarious, musically gifted young man who could always coax a smile from Elissa and make her laugh. I sometimes stop to think, if he were here, would he be beside me today? she wrote in a Facebook post from her bed on the day after Thanksgiving 2024 at the Rogel Cancer Center at U-M as chemotherapy drugs were pumped into her body. Maybe (he would be) part of the village that helps watch Harper while we're in Ann Arbor? I know he'd be there to push me. But he's still making me stronger. This road isn't easy. My mind constantly races. But I'll keep celebrating the wins and living the moments I've been given. One of those moments took place just three months after Nicks death, when Elissa and Russell were married in Kauai, Hawaii. Nick was supposed to be there, celebrating with them. His plane tickets were bought, she said. His girlfriend was in my wedding party. We struggled with whether to go forward with it, but we agreed that he wouldnt want us to put it off. In keeping with the tradition of the bride wearing something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, Elissa slipped an opal ring onto her pinky. Her father gave that ring to Betty when they started dating years earlier. It represented her something old. Elissa's earrings were new, and she borrowed a tiara from her cousin Jill Saputo, who, unbeknownst to them at the time, would be diagnosed with colon cancer six years later; she died from the disease in 2017. Elissa also wore an ankle bracelet made by her aunt, Gina Rogers. That was her something blue. As Elissa and Russell said their vows, Xu and Cain were working to build HistoSonics, the company theyd formed in 2009 with Tim Hall, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and J. Brian Fowlkes, a professor of radiology and biomedical engineering at U-M. Their company created the Edison System, a device with a robotic arm that delivers precision histotripsy treatments using a specialized, high-powered ultrasound transducer through a tub of water. Although Xus experiments began in a quest to develop a tool for pediatric cardiovascular surgery, her efforts eventually shifted toward targeting tumors in soft tissue, especially those that couldnt be surgically removed. Instead of having to cut open the patient, now they just outline where they want to treat on the image, Xu said. Then, there is software they can use to plan out for the robot arm to scan through that volume the path created for treatment. The sound waves then travel through the body to the target zone, and blast away the tumor without damaging surrounding tissue. After treatment, the debris is absorbed by the body, Xu said. You see that the tumor has completely resolved and theres like a 1-millimeter scar and thats all thats left. Its almost like a surgeon went in and carved out the tumor. As they tested the effects of histotripsy in mice, Xu and her team discovered a surprising phenomenon. If they treated one liver tumor but left another tumor untreated in the mouse, the second tumor would shrink or disappear altogether as if destroying one mass with histotripsy triggered the immune system to attack cancer elsewhere on a cellular level something called an abscopal response. We said, What is going on? The tumors were in two different lobes. They were not even in the same lobe, Xu said. They were pretty distant. What we found out is that histotripsy actually stimulates T-cells and other immune cells, too, not only locally, but also systemically in other places in the body. Xu described another experiment in rats with highly aggressive liver cancer. Scientists deliberately treated just 50% to 70% of a tumor with histotripsy. It was to test what would happen if a clinician mistargeted and didnt treat the entire tumor, Xu said. One month after treatment, the tumor was gone even though we only treated 50% to 70% of the mass. It seems to stimulate more immune response than radiation or thermal ablation, she said. Xu began to imagine what this might mean for people with cancer if histotripsy activates the human immune system in a similar way. With a lot of cancers, people dont get diagnosed until its at a really late stage. So, the bodys immune system doesnt attack it because it doesnt even know the cancer is there. It hides behind the cell membrane ... and the body doesnt even know the invader is there. It cant even start the first step of attacking. Histotripsy disrupts the cell membrane, releasing tumor antigens that alert the body to a foreign invader. "So the body's reaction is: 'Something is invading. I need to check what's invading.' Then, a cascade of immune response can be triggered. ... But you also caused cell death with histotripsy. It is not natural within the body. And the body's first reaction to any unnatural cell death is to start a defense mechanism." Eight people were enrolled in the first human clinical trial of histotripsy in 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. One person had primary liver cancer. The others had cancer that originated in the breast, gallbladder, colon or rectum that had metastasized to the liver. In two of the patients, other tumors that hadnt been treated with histotripsy also began to shrink eight weeks after the initial mass was treated. Researchers noted that there was a reduction in patients tumor markers, too. Xu and her colleagues published their findings in 2021, showing what might have been the first evidence of an abscopal response in humans. But Xu and her colleagues would need far more evidence than just two people in a trial that enrolled a total of eight, so that research remains ongoing. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that histotripsy is a safe and effective treatment for liver tumors both primary liver cancer and cancers that originated elsewhere, but metastasized to the liver. In the fall of 2023, it authorized HistoSonics Edison device as a noninvasive ablation treatment option. In late December of that year, the first patients outside of clinical trials would undergo histotripsy treatments. Just when she thought it was over, Elissa's fight begins anew The Robinsons dared to dream about what histotripsy might do for Elissa. Nothing about the first three years of her treatments had been as simple or filled with as much possibility as histotripsy promised to be. In the fall of 2021, surgeons at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) in New York City removed more than half of Elissas liver in a massive surgery that also took her sigmoid colon, gallbladder and ovaries. She spent weeks in New York recovering. In true Elissa-like comedic fashion, she wore a blue T-shirt with the words Chopped Liver on the front to a follow-up appointment on Nov. 3, 2021, with her New York medical team. That day, she was declared cancer-free an enormous win. My cancer journey may not be over quite yet, but it sure feels like the beginning of the end ... and that feels amazing, she wrote at the time. She also underwent several rounds of postsurgical chemotherapy in Michigan to try to kill off any remaining cancer cells floating around in her body, and got CT scans every three months afterward to monitor for changes. Unfortunately, her cancer-free status didnt last long. In early 2022, doctors spotted liver tumors once again on one of Elissas surveillance CT scans. To say I'm heartbroken is an understatement, she wrote. My thoughts went from this could all be over to ... this fight is just beginning. Again. Another summer of chemo and all the harsh side effects it comes with brings tears to my eyes. I'm angry at my body. I'm scared for the future. I just want to hug my family and never let go. To stare into my daughter's eyes and tell her over and over just how much I love her. This isn't fair. I find myself begging God, on repeat: Heal me. I'm holding onto the faith that He will. I just need to keep doing my part. I'll get there. Doctors changed Elissas chemotherapy regimen, and she had thermal ablations to zap those tumors in March 2022 and again in March 2023. The Robinsons have a high-deductible preferred provider organization (PPO) health insurance plan through Russell's work as an education consultant. Each January brings a mountain of new medical bills as the health plan's deductible resets. The Robinsons have money withdrawn from their paychecks that goes into a Health Savings Account to help shoulder some of the cost. They set up payment plans for the rest. A GoFundMe account helped pay for Elissa's initial travel expenses in New York, but that money is gone now, and the Robinsons pay out of pocket for the airfare and the hotel rooms and the other expenses every time Elissa has to go back. "We are wracking up credit card bills for travel to New York," Russell said. "Every time she's gone to New York, no one's paying for that. No one pays $300 a night to get put up in a hotel. ... There are a lot of expenses that we have incurred." Though finding a way to finance it all can be a struggle, Russell says he knows they are fortunate. "It is a blessing to have employer-sponsored health coverage ... to have insurance that covers care in that particular state," he said. "That's huge." Despite all their efforts to treat the cancerous masses in Elissa's liver, one tumor just wouldnt go away. By early 2024, two additional spots had sprung up. She and her family hoped histotripsy could be the answer to their prayers and not only destroy those tumors, but perhaps also even trigger her immune system to attack the small nodules in her lungs. Still, they knew it wouldnt likely be able to vanquish the fear that accompanies life with stage 4 cancer. Its a life lived in increments between chemo, surgeries and imaging scans as they try to overcome the anxiety of what the next set of tests might show. Because even when treatments seem to be working, even when there is no evidence of advancing disease, even when Elissa feels pretty well, all things considered, its impossible to escape the knowledge that the cancer is there, lurking. What else is there that we cant see? she asked, as if to herself. A birthday celebration and new hope Elissas 40th birthday was just six days before her first histotripsy treatment in late February 2024. Betty arranged for friends and family to send her an avalanche of birthday cards, which Elissa set up in a colorful display on a table at their house a visible show of the love and support all around her. She snuggled with Harper, then 9, the night before the procedure, and they said their bedtime prayers. We've been very open with her from the very beginning about my situation, but we don't really stress the gravity of my health concerns to her, Elissa said. She knows that I've been sick, and she knows that I go to chemo every two weeks. She knows that I really wanted this procedure. She knows that I advocated for myself to get this procedure and it took us a while to get here. But we say prayers together every night about it. So I'll say my prayer, and then she'll say her prayer, and you know, she'll always say that she prays mommy's chemo is working, and that her procedure goes well, things like that. On the morning of the procedure, Harper wore one of her homemade friendship bracelets with blue-and-white beads and letters spelling out the name of one of her favorite Taylor Swift albums, which also happened to be an apt description for her mother: Fearless. Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, left, wakes her daughter Harper, 9, to get her ready for school on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Robinson will travel with her husband, Russell Robinson, to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor to have a newly approved by the FDA procedure of noninvasive histotripsy to treat cancerous spots on her liver. Dr. Mishal Mendiratta-Lala evaluated Robinsons case and approved her for the cutting-edge treatment. Robinson (in February 2024) is the fifth person in Michigan to receive the treatment and the 15th patient in the United States. Harper Robinson, 9, of Macomb Township, dons a T-shirt in support of her mother, Elissa Robinson, 40, that reads I Wear Blue for my Mom, a colon cancer awareness message as she gets ready for school on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, before her mom and dad, Russell Robinson, travel to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor for Elissa to undergo a new noninvasive treatment of histotripsy to target cancerous spots on her liver. U-M Dr. Mishal Mendiratta-Lala evaluated Elissa's case and approved her for the cutting-edge treatment. Robinson (in February 2024) is the fifth person in Michigan to receive the treatment and the 15th patient in the United States. Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, hugs her daughter, Harper, 9, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, as they walk to Harpers bus stop before Robinson travels with her husband, Russell Robinson, to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor to have a new procedure approved by the FDA of noninvasive histotripsy to treat cancerous spots on her liver. Dr. Mishal Mendiratta-Lala evaluated Robinsons case and approved her for the cutting-edge treatment. She cried as she said goodbye to Elissa, hugging her before she waited for the school bus to pick her up. Elissa and Russell then made the one-and-a-half hour drive to Ann Arbor in rush-hour traffic for her histotripsy treatment, uncertain what the future would hold. Three tumors in the crosshairs Dr. Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, an interventional radiologist and the director of abdominal MRI at U-M, had worked for years with Xu, studying histotripsy treatments both in animal experiments and in human clinical trials. Mendiratta-Lala told Elissa shed try to treat all three of her liver lesions in a single histotripsy session, but acknowledged that one of them might prove challenging. Thats because that tumor was in a spot just beneath Elissas rib cage. Since histotripsy uses ultrasound, if bones cover the treatment zone, they can obstruct the path of the sound waves used in the therapy. Still, Mendiratta-Lala said she would try. It was what the doctor didnt say that was most hopeful to Russell. She said, if she can only get two out of the three come back in a month, after your scan, and if it's still there, we'll take care of it, Russell said. It seemed like she had some knowledge to suggest that it was a very real possibility that that whole process with the immune system could work to attack that tumor beneath Elissas rib cage even if it went untreated with histotripsy. Three attempts at histotripsy A few hours later, Elissa wore a baby blue surgical gown and cap along with royal blue hospital-issued socks with the skid-proof treads. She was placed under anesthesia and intubated not because the histotripsy procedure itself is painful but because she would have to remain perfectly still to ensure the ultrasound probe delivered the intense acoustic cavitation to the targeted tumors. The medical team went to work, positioning Elissas body to give them the best angle to treat the first targeted tumor. A wide sheet of white mesh went over Elissa's abdomen. On top of that, the medical team added a clear, soft tub made of a gelatinous material. The tub was filled with water treated to remove any trapped air bubbles a process called degassing. Mendiratta-Lala placed her hand inside the water-filled tub and guided the histotripsy transducer across Elissas abdomen. Once she identified the tumor, she locked in the target, and the Edison System began to evaluate the tumor tissue. It determined the frequency and duration of the sound wave pulses necessary to collapse the tumor cells and ensure complete destruction of the mass without damaging surrounding tissue. The machine then suggested a path for treatment, and Mendiratta-Lala had the option of accepting that plan or declining it. With the push of a button, the machine went to work, applying histotripsy to the tumor. Each time a pulse of acoustic waves zapped a lesion, lines danced across the blue and black screen showing the ultrasound energy destroying the mass. Two of Elissas tumors were obliterated that day, but the third was too difficult to reach without repositioning Elissas body in a way that would have taken too much time under anesthesia. So the doctor told Elissa and Russell theyd try again a few months later if she still needed the treatment. One month after her initial histotripsy procedure, an MRI showed the tumors that were initially treated with histotripsy had disappeared, leaving behind nothing but tiny internal scars. However, the third liver tumor, tucked behind her ribs, was still there. It hadnt shrunk or gone away as part of her immune systems response to histotripsy as Elissa and Russell had hoped it would. Mendiratta-Lala made another attempt in May to get to it, collapsing one lung under anesthesia to create space for Elissas liver to shift. That moved the tumor into a place where it could be targeted through the space between Elissas ribs. Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, is comforted by her mother, Betty Saputo, at right, as she is prepared to undergo a second treatment of histotripsy to destroy a remaining cancerous spot on her liver at the University of Michigan Hospital on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Try as she might, Mendiratta-Lala still didnt hit the mark that day. Instead, she treated an area in Elissas liver that might have been a new mass forming. She brought Elissa back to U-M in early June for a third histotripsy treatment that finally liquefied the hard-to-reach cancerous mass. The perfect thing would have been OK, boom! All three gone the first time, Russell said. That's not reality. It's not how science works. So, we just learned from it. I think what we've thought all along for the last 3 years of the journey is just go to the next thing, whatever that is. Dr. Mishal Mendiratta-Lala, right, examines an ultrasound image in real time as Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb, undergoes a second treatment of histotripsy to destroy a remaining cancerous spot on her liver at the University of Michigan Hospital on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Although it took three tries to finally treat all of Elissas liver tumors with histotripsy, the procedures were so simple and pain-free, Russell was sold on the idea that it might help his wife live longer and with a better quality of life. Elissa had almost no recovery time after each procedure. She felt a bit sore, like shed done a few too many sit-ups. I told her, Well, hell, if you have to have histotripsy every 12 months to take away two or three liver spots, and you're living for another 50 years, thats OK, Russell said. What if this becomes revolutionary in cancer care, and youre at the forefront of this and then you can tell the story from the beginning? he asked. Just think about how much people clamor for research and changes and hope in cancer care. It takes forever for something new to come along. The bubble bursts: 'We ... don't have control of the cancer anymore' Ultimately, though, the Robinsons discovered histotripsy wouldnt be a panacea for Elissa. She had an MRI in late June, followed by an appointment with her oncologist at U-Ms Rogel Cancer Center. Elissa was nervous. Results from the MRI hadnt popped into her electronic patient portal as quickly as normal. Ordinarily, she and Russell would read the report at home, trying to gauge what the medical terminology means so they can mentally prepare for her doctors appointment and consider what questions theyd like to ask. This time, they were going in relatively blind. The imaging report from a CT scan the previous week suggested things were stable. But the MRI, they knew, would give a much clearer picture of what the cancer was doing inside her body. Elissa led the way to the second floor of the cancer center, hauling her trademark case of donated Girl Scout cookies with her. She brings cookies from her favorite scout, Harper, to chemo infusions and oncology appointments to pass out to the nurses and others on staff to thank them for taking such good care of her. Theyve come to recognize Elissa as the cookie lady, and smile broadly when they see her, shouting out their favorite kind Tagalongs! Thin Mints! Samoas! hoping to score a box. University of Michigan oncologist Dr. Christine Veenstra, left, is handed a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies that her patient Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, gives to workers at the University of Michigans Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Robinsons husband, Russell, sits next to her That morning, Elissa couldnt avoid a gnawing feeling in her gut because the MRI results hadnt posted to her patient portal. What was it they didnt want her to know, she wondered? Sitting in the waiting room, Elissas fingers ran over the blue-and-white beaded Fearless bracelet Harper had made for her. She and Russell held out hope that it was simply a technology glitch that caused the delay. Perhaps Dr. Christine Veenstra would tell them the MRI confirmed her histotripsy treatments had successfully destroyed all three cancerous tumors in her liver, clearing the way for a break from chemotherapy and a chance to treat the last of her metastases, the ones in her lungs. It would be her best chance of getting to the place where everyone saddled with a cancer diagnosis longs to be cancer-free. Heres what they heard instead: Although Elissas histotripsy treatments were successful in blasting her liver tumors, one of them had stubbornly returned in just a few weeks and was growing again. Worse, two new tumors had developed. We've got new spots coming up, and that's a sign that we systemically dont have control of the cancer anymore, Veenstra said. Russell tried to console Elissa and somehow managed to keep himself composed, holding up both of them through the disappointment. There would be no break from chemotherapy for the summer. The what-ifs racing through Elissas mind were almost visible on her face. Its not what we were hoping for, she said, her voice cracking. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she leaned into her husband under the cold fluorescent lights on another blue-sky day that was far too sunny when the news was so grim. Elissa Robinson, then 40, of Macomb Township, reacts to the news that her colon cancer is no longer responding to chemotherapy treatments as her husband, Russell Robinson, asks questions of her oncologist at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center on June 27, 2024, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I am concerned enough that I really think it's just time to switch the chemo, Veenstra said. We've been on this a long time, and I think we just need to try something different. We've gotten all the mileage out of FOLFIRI as we can for now. For more than two years, infusions of FOLFIRI, a combination of several drugs folinic acid, also known as leucovorin, along with calcium folinate, fluorouracil, known as 5FU, and irinotecan had somewhat controlled Elissas cancer growth. It was combined with a monoclonal antibody called Avastin. The drug cocktail is so toxic, Elissa is given a biohazard cleanup kit to take home with her in case the medicine that remains in the rubber bulb connected to the port in her chest leaks as it flows into her body for two days after each in-hospital infusion. Veenstra suggested trying a different treatment, called FOLFOX, which is the same blend of cancer-fighting drugs as FOLFIRI, but without irenotecan. Instead, Oxaliplatin is added to the cocktail. It's a platinum-based chemotherapy that damages the DNA of cancer cells so they cant replicate. A monoclonal antibody treatment called cetuximab also was added to the mix. The new concoction was to be delivered via twice-monthly infusions though each treatment would take longer, pushing the medicine into Elissas body for eight or nine hours at a time. Elissa was scheduled for more imaging tests in late August to see whether the tumors responded to the new therapy. Beyond FOLFOX and FOLFIRI, there are few other effective infusion-based chemotherapy options for Elissa's type of cancer. A few oral treatments have been approved by the FDA, but Elissa acknowledged they generally have a lower success rate and are typically used only after the infusion-based therapies fail. It scares me that we have to switch chemo because there's so few options, Elissa said, tears flowing freely. She had planned to finish her work shift remotely after her appointment with Veenstra that day, balancing her laptop on her legs in a bed at the Rogel Cancer Center while the poison pumped through her veins just enough to kill the cancer but not enough to kill her. But Elissa couldnt see straight, couldnt think straight. Her head was in her hands, eyes to the floor. As Elissa and Russell absorbed the emotional news, a text was sent alerting the newsroom that Elissa wouldn't be able to finish working. Oh god, the coworker responded via text. Ive got it covered. Just about everyone at the Free Press knows theres a fragile tightrope Elissa walks, one that could unravel at any moment. But shes been so reliable in working through her cancer treatments that many probably dont realize the pressure she puts on herself to be sharp enough, to have enough stamina to be on at work every day so her cancer is never an excuse, so she never lets down colleagues who also are friends and almost an extended family. Im sorry, she said in the room that day. I know this isnt the story you were hoping for, and it sucks. Ive never been the perfect patient, you know? Nobody expects perfect, Russell told her. Its too much pressure for anyone. Well get through it, he said. Well do what we have to do, right? Every step of the way. Already, Elissa has beaten the odds. She has lived almost four years past diagnosis. According to data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program, just 19.3% of people with stage 4 colon cancer survive to reach that milestone. Only about 10.5% are still alive 10 years past diagnosis. Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, looks up as registered nurse Taylor Bitz inserts a catheter into her port for chemotherapy infusions at the University of Michigans Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Its hard not to be greedy when it comes to time. She said, Let me have one day of being sad, Russell said. And I said, You can have as many days as you want, but then put your bootstraps back on and lets go. New pain and a December chill Elissa agreed to start the new chemo regimen, but as summer 2024 turned to fall, her imaging scans showed continuing progression of her disease. The doctors switched her back to FOLFIRI with Avastin, but at a higher dose. She was in New York City in late October, meeting with doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering to discuss whether they would be willing to treat her liver tumors or go after the lung nodules next when new imaging scans made it clear the calculus had changed yet again. Several new masses had popped up in her liver and that stubborn tumor that resisted histotripsy and microwave ablation had swelled ever larger. There's no consensus on how many there actually are, but we're looking at four to five tumors now, she said. The tumor board at MSK a panel of cancer specialists discussed Elissas case in early November and told her that she ought to continue systemic chemotherapy and avoid surgery on the tumors in her liver and lungs. Their thought was that any kind of surgical intervention could put me at risk for complications, she said. And if there are complications, that would take me off chemo. And if I'm taken off chemo, who knows what will happen? It was a big blow to hear that. I'm well aware of how limited my options are with chemo. Its the two main lines, and then you look at third-line treatments, which are grossly less effective. And beyond that, clinical trials. A December chill settled in, and Elissa felt it in her core. It wasnt just the cold air, but an increasingly foreboding pain as if she could feel cancers ferocious bite in the ache below her rib cage, no matter how much chemo pumps through the port in her chest. I would never tell my family this, but I do not have a good feeling at all, Elissa said through tears on an afternoon in mid-December. I've never had pain before. I have pain now where my liver is. I am really afraid that this shit has just gotten out of control. Everybody says you have to be positive. You have to think positive. But it's impossible not to think: Is this my last Christmas with my family? I'm kind of to the point where I've got to say, I'm not willing to accept that. She and Russell relentlessly read all they can about the latest advances in colon cancer treatments and seek doctors leading the cutting-edge work. "People think that you need to be a special person or something to be able to go to these hospitals, but you don't," Elissa said. "You can be just an average, everyday person. Just call the phone number and they will make you a patient. There's no secret sauce to try and get into the best institutions." Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, left, helps her daughter, Harper, 9, get ready for school on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, before she travels with her husband, Russell Robinson, to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor to have a new procedure approved by the FDA, of noninvasive histotripsy to treat cancerous spots on her liver. U-M doctor Mishal Mendiratta-Lala evaluated Robinsons case and approved her for the cutting-edge treatment. Robinson (in February 2024) is the fifth person in Michigan to receive the treatment and the 15th patient in the United States. Elissa appealed to all the doctors who had treated her in the past and some shed never met to consider every possible option. She said: I need you to think harder for me, to be more aggressive with me. I'm 40 years old. I need more.' " She sought an appointment with renowned surgical oncologist Dr. Yuman Fong at City of Hope near Los Angeles, who, in early October, told Elissa what she dreamed to hear: Youre still curable. He suggested she undergo surgery to remove the stubborn mass on her liver, which resisted attempts at thermal ablation and histotripsy. But now that there are more lesions on her liver, he said hed like to see her next set of scans taken just before Christmas to decide how to proceed. He says that he would probably cut out the bad tumor that won't respond and then put me on a hepatic arterial infusion pump or a HAI pump. It's relatively new. You can't get it just anywhere, Elissa said. Basically, it's like a pump that has the chemo inside of it, and they implant it under your skin. So it would be near my liver, and it delivers the chemo directly to my liver instead of through my whole body. It's just a straight shot to my liver, and essentially, every two weeks you go and you get it refilled. The problem with that strategy, Elissa said, is that she has cancer outside of her liver, too. I have disease in my lungs, she said. So if I'm only sending chemo to my liver, what's happening to my lungs? Fong told her treatment with the HAI pump can delay the development of lung nodules for as long as two years, she said. But of course, I already have lung nodules, so thats not very reassuring. It begs the question: Are we just going to let my lungs grow out of control for the sake of my liver if we do this HAI pump? Another surgeon suggested radiation could be added to the mix. A treatment called Y90, or yttrium90, would imbed radioactive beads into the blood vessels that feed her liver tumors, targeting the cancer but not the healthy liver tissue around them. And Mendiratta-Lala, the interventional radiologist at U-M who first treated Elissa with histotripsy a year ago, suggested she also could try histotripsy again. By early 2025, Mendiratta-Lala had treated 45 patients with it outside of clinical trials. We don't have enough patient data, but I think in some of our patients, we see a little bit of the abscopal response with certain cancer types, she said. The question is what might be triggering the response in some patients but not others. If we can find a way to truly elicit the immune system, perhaps in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, I think it can change the face of cancer, because patients can have a better prognosis. You can see cancer regressing and disappearing everywhere in the body. And again, it's very early, so I use caution when I say that, but as a researcher and a clinician, that would be a dream. Elissa also met with Dr. Mohammed Najeeb Al Hallak, an oncologist who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers and leads clinical trials at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. She acknowledged, however, that shes been holding onto the clinical trial card until she has little else in her hand to play. The odds that shell beat the dealer by enrolling in a clinical trial are slim, she said. Clinical trials are for the benefit of the trial, Elissa said. Theyre not really for your benefit. Really, you are helping them. The likelihood of finding a real benefit to you is not great. It feels like the last resort like, 'OK, this is it. Its all weve got.' And with the addition of that nagging abdominal pain, these questions swirled in Elissas mind with growing urgency: Which treatment would give her the most time with Harper, with Russell, with Betty and Sam? How would each of these options affect the quality of the life she has left to spend with them? Is the dream of being cancer-free completely unachievable now? You have to think about how aggressive you want to be, which is a really scary thing, she said. How do you make that decision? Of course, I want to do everything I possibly can to fight it, but do I keep fighting it until the writing is on the wall and give up my quality of life along the way? Elissa told Russell she wanted to draft end-of-life planning documents. Just the other day, I was telling him, We don't have any of our paperwork lined up, Elissa said in late December. So I told him, We really need to get our affairs in line. And you know, he agrees, but he's also like, I don't want you giving up. I don't want you to lose hope and just start resigning yourself to this is what the future is going to be. And I said, I'm not. I'm really not. But I also don't want to have to worry about this when I can't think straight anymore or it's too hard to think about or whatever. We have to think about these things now. We haven't actually done that yet, but it's just another conversation, another thing on the to-do list. It's not fun to think about. Elissa Robinson, 40, of Macomb Township, goes through her morning routine on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, as a family photo sits at right that includes her husband, Russell, and daughter, Harper. Robinson is preparing to travel with her husband to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor to have a noninvasive treatment called histotripsy to treat cancerous spots on her liver. It is growing increasingly difficult to shield Harper from the growing angst. At what point are we going to have to clue Harper in to how bad this is? she asked. Through the holidays, Elissa buoyed her little girls spirits and tried to make memories that would last long after shes gone whenever that day might come. On a visit with Santa Claus, Harper handed the jolly old elf a list of goodies shed love to see under the tree on Christmas morning things like press-on nails, skin-care products and slime. It was Russell who asked for what could be the best and possibly most difficult gift of all for Santa to deliver: A cancer-free diagnosis for my wife. As a new year dawned, Elissa and Russell agreed to try microwave ablation one more time on liver tumors at Karmanos with Dr. Hussein Aoun, an interventional radiologist, who works in conjunction with Al Hallak. He feels strongly that microwave ablation is worth another go, Elissa said. We asked, 'Do you typically do this on tumors that are not responding and are recurrences? And he said, Yes. He said he has an 80% success rate of it not recurring. He has a more aggressive approach than (Memorial Sloan Kettering) seemed to take. He made it sound like he could get this. He would go after the big one first, and then go back, probably a month later, to get another one or two. As exciting as that sounds, its also terrifying. Literally every doctor has a different opinion on what I should be doing. How are you supposed to make a decision? On Jan. 22, Elissa's microwave ablation was performed at Karmanos in Detroit, the same day that would have been her brother Nick's 43rd birthday. "I know he's always with me," Elissa said, "but I said a little prayer, and included Nick and asked him to put in a good word for me. ... It was like I needed a little more that day." Dr. Aoun treated the stubborn, 3.5-cm liver tumor using heat created with microwave energy to burn away the malignant tissue. He burned an additional 3.5 cm of tissue around the mass to ensure he got clean margins killing off any potential cancer cells lurking at the edges. Elissa Robinson recovers four days after a Jan. 22, 2025, ablation procedure at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. In all, he destroyed 7 cm of her liver. Elissa thought shed go home the same day, but the pain was the worst shed experienced after any of her previous treatments. Within a few hours of surgery, she spiked a fever. Elissa ended up staying in the hospital for four nights as nurses and doctors waited for her fever to break, for the antibiotics to work, for her body to heal. When she finally was discharged, she said it was a relief to get back home to Russell and Harper, and to prepare for the ocean cruise she and her family planned to celebrate her 41st birthday. The ship departed from Galveston, Texas, and stopped in Roatan, Honduras, along with a couple of ports in Mexico. She longed for balmy days, gliding across the shimmering blue water of the Gulf of Mexico, soaking up the sun with her favorite people, knowing that maybe, just maybe, better news would await when she returned to Michigan. The Robinsons' plane landed at Detroit Metro Airport on Monday evening, and Elissa was scheduled for an MRI at Karmanos the next day. Soon after, she learned that while the ablation was successful in destroying the large, stubborn tumor, a blood clot had formed in one of the veins in her liver. Now, she is taking a blood thinner and evaluating her next steps. Will future microwave ablations even be an option to target her remaining liver tumors, given the bleed risk blood thinners pose? Or would histotripsy be the better choice? Elissa is considering it all. Because she knows she must be vigilant to stay alive. She must constantly be one step ahead of the disease scrapping, praying, hoping that maybe the days will stretch out, and the weeks and months will run long enough to make more memories. So she can see her little girl blow out the candles on the cake she'll make for her 11th birthday. To celebrate another Christmas at home. To take another cruise, basking in the sun and in the love of family, surrounded by seas and skies that are drenched in blue her favorite color, the calming color of hope. Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Colorectal cancer diagnosis has young mom in relentless fight for life Tech billionaire Elon Musk agreed on March 2 with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the U.S. to exit NATO and the U.N. "I agree," he wrote in response to a post from a right-wing political commentator saying "it's time" for the U.S. to leave NATO and the U.N. The news comes after several Republican lawmakers submitted a bill on the U.S. exit from the U.N., claiming that the organization does not align with the Trump administration's "America First" agenda. The U.S. was among several countries, including Russia, Belarus, Israel, and Hungary, that voted against a U.N. resolution at the end of February condemning Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both NATO and the U.N. were founded by the U.S. and other victors of World War II to promote diplomacy and cooperation between nations as well as to prevent another global war. Musk, an unelected official, currently heads the so-called U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which has cut significant amounts of government spending, including life-saving foreign aid. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized fellow NATO countries for their perceived lack of contributions to the military alliance and has called for a spending target of 5% of GDP for all members. Kyiv sees NATO membership as a crucial safeguard against future Russian aggression, but Trump said in February that Ukraine "can forget" about joining the alliance, suggesting its bid was a trigger for the waran argument echoed by Russian state propaganda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Trump likes what Putin does, Bernie Sanders says in exclusive interview Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Elon Musk speaks during a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 26. Pool via Associated Press Elon Musk, who holds no official cabinet position in the administration, wrote on social media that he agrees the United States should leave NATO and the United Nations. On Saturday, Musk quote-tweeted I agree to a post from someone who wrote, Its time to leave NATO and the UN. NATO and the U.N. did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Martin Paasi, a member of the Finnish parliament, responded to Musks post, writing, I dont think anyone will trust the US government for the next few decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musks critique of NATO and the U.N. comes after Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visited the White House on Friday. Zelenskyy and Trump were trying to reach a deal that involved Zelenskyy handing over Ukraines rare earth mineral deposits in exchange for U.S. military aid that was already provided under former President Joe Biden. Musk, the richest person in the world, and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, a non-cabinet department, which aims to cut government spending, has become increasingly involved in Trumps administration, trying to dismantle several federal agencies, including USAID, which he called a criminal organization. Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, wrote on X on Thursday he and Trump had a talk, and the U.S. and NATO are getting stronger and NATO allies are preparing billions more in aid and contributions to security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump has been critical of NATO in the past. In January 2024, he said he doesnt believe NATO would be helpful if the United States was attacked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And you know, I hate to tell you this about NATO if we ever needed their help, lets say we were attacked, I dont believe theyd be there, Trump said in January at a Las Vegas rally. I dont believe. I know the people. I know them. I can tell you country by country who would be there and who but I dont believe theyd be there. Trump also called NATO obsolete, and in a 2023 campaign video said the U.S. should reevaluate NATOs purpose and NATOs mission. Related... Elton John is speaking out against the Trump administrations proposed cuts to USAID. The Trump administration announced plans on Thursday (Feb. 27) to eliminate more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Developments foreign aid contracts, as well as $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance worldwide, according to the Associated Press. USAID has been the worlds largest single aid provider for decades. More from Billboard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Administrations abrupt decision to cut over 90% of USAID contracts could have devastating effects on the HIV response, John wrote on Instagram Saturday (March 1) alongside an official statement from his Elton John AIDS Foundation. We are working with our 90+ partners to ensure they can continue to provide lifesaving services and are launching The Rocket Response Fund to help cover immediate gaps in essential care. John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 to fund research aimed at eradicating HIV and AIDS. Over the past three decades, the organization has grown into one of the worlds largest independent AIDS charity organizations. The iconic musician continued, We urge the U.S. government to continue the lifesaving work of bipartisan programs like PEPFAR. PEPFAR, the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was launched by President George W. Bush in 2003. The program has reportedly been credited with saving millions of lives globally by providing access to antiretroviral treatment, which helps people living with HIV manage the virus and stay alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations announcement follows a review period initiated in January, during which all projects funded by U.S. taxpayer money were evaluated to ensure alignment with the presidents America First policy, Reuters reports. The decision to cut funding has sent shockwaves through HIV programs in South Africa. We are being pushed off a cliff, Dr. Kate Rees, a public health specialist with one of the largest nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) fighting HIV in South Africa, told the AP. We will see lives lost, added Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Center. We are going to see this epidemic walk back because of this. Bekker told the AP that they expected the Trump administration to target specific programs, such as those supporting gay men and sex workers, but were surprised to find that the cuts affected almost every program. She noted that she wasnt aware of an HIV NGO or health center in South Africa that hadnt lost its USAID funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has been across the board, Bekker said. This is programs for children, orphans, for young women and girls. It is not hyperbole that I predict a huge disaster unless we can fill the gap. Best of Billboard Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. A Republican lawmaker wants additional oversight to county treasurers offices and more in-depth audits after a former county treasurer in rural Arizona pleaded guilty late last year to embezzling nearly $40 million. Those provisions come in legislation from Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix. The bill is advancing through the Arizona Legislature as Elizabeth Gutfahr, a Democrat who served as Santa Cruz County treasurer, awaits sentencing for embezzling public funds from 2014 to 2024. Gutfahr also pleaded guilty to money laundering, and tax evasion for failing to pay income tax of more than $13 million. The Arizona Auditor General, an office tasked by the Legislature with auditing state and local governments for years failed to discover the theft. The missing funds came to light in April after the county's bank flagged suspicious activity leading to investigations by the county, state and federal agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the ways Gutfahr was able to avoid detection for so long was by leveraging her knowledge of which months state auditors would review bank statements. Court records show that during the annual audit by the Arizona Auditor General, the agency reviewed June year-end financial statements from the preceding year. Gutfahr avoided diverting funds during those months. What would the bill do? State law already requires the Arizona Auditor General to conduct an annual financial statement audit of financial transactions and accounts kept by all counties. Gress' bill would seek to expand what the agency is required to review. The procedural reviews required by the bill include evaluating compliance with accounting standards and administrative and accounting internal controls. Following the review, the auditors would be required to submit recommendations to the county treasurer, county board of supervisors and the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. County treasurer's offices would be required to notify the auditor general whether the office agrees or disagrees with the findings of the review, and whether it will implement the recommendations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think that this really enhances oversight it also improves the county treasurer's ability to manage its affairs," Gress said at a legislative hearing on the bill. It passed the House on Feb. 18 and it is advancing in the Senate. State Rep. Matt Gress leads the House Education Committee before Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne delivers his State of Education speech on Jan. 21, 2025, in Phoenix. Coconino County Treasurer Sarah Benatar is one of the bill's supporters. Benatar was contacted by Santa Cruz County after the missing funds were discovered. She found the Santa Cruz County Treasurers Office was not complying with standard practices and procedures by failing to author accurate reports and reconcile bank statements in a timely manner, as well as relying on screenshots of bank statements rather than original documents, according to court records. I also support it because the auditors arent the police just catching deliberate bad actions," Benatar wrote in an email. "They are also a source of expertise to prevent unintentional deviations from legal requirements or best practices. Treasurers need to be able to draw on these kinds of audits to improve our offices. Since Benatar was first appointed to county treasurer in 2014 she has seen a change in how thoroughly the Arizona Auditor General audits treasurer departments. When she was first elected, she said auditors would meet with her department in person to conduct testing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said quality has decreased over time, with audits becoming less involved. Benatar said Coconino County recently hired a third-party auditing firm to specifically audit procedures used by the treasurers office and issues state auditors don't look at. This bill ensures its going to happen moving forward, she said. Gress said he spoke with Benatar and found there is a limited role for the Arizona Auditor General to review the county treasurer's office. "They just take financial information that the treasurer gives them they dont actually go into the office sit down with staff and understand what the processes are and collect information about how that office works," Gress said about state auditors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another supporter of the bill is Craig Sullivan, the executive director of the County Supervisors Association of Arizona. He said the county board of supervisors, which oversees county operations, doesnt have direct control over the office, making the bill necessary. "HB2369 aims to ensure these offices are adhering to statutory procedures and following proper accounting principles, and we think it improves the auditing process, he said. Proposed bill: Arizona drivers could be fined for having pet on their lap with proposed bill Other bills seek to expand the authority of Arizona Auditor General, require more training Gress has also introduced other legislation that gives more authority to the Arizona Auditor General and requires more training for elected officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 2368 would give the state auditors access to financial institution records directly from the institutions. This bill came after the Arizona Auditor General noted in a report of its investigation of Gutfahrs fraud that it lacked the authority to independently obtain the county treasurers financial information directly from a financial institution. The county was instead required to provide the required financial information, which resulted in auditors receiving fake investment statements. The bill was passed by the House on Feb. 18, and is being considered by the Senate. Another Gress bill, House Bill 2433, aims to address training of elected officials. It was also passed by the House and is advancing through the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would require county treasurers and boards of supervisors to complete continuing education courses. County treasurers would be required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education courses each year while serving in office, and at least one hour per year devoted to waste, fraud, and abuse. The board of supervisors would be required to complete at least six hours of professional development training, including courses on open meeting laws, finance and budget issues, and laws relating to county governance, among others. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ lawmakers want tougher audits after Santa Cruz County embezzlement Many of the nearly two dozen people President Donald Trump pardoned in January, who had broken into and blocked access to abortion clinics, are vowing to launch a new wave of civil disobedience. At a recent online event by the anti-abortion group Live Action, several of the activists released from federal prison said they will resume efforts in the coming months to shut down remaining clinics in America, and they urged fellow abortion opponents to join them. Get out there, whether it's outside the clinic or inside, or wherever you need to be to actually prevent unborn children's lives from being taken, said Herb Geraghty, a Pittsburgh-based anti-abortion activist who entered a Washington abortion clinic in 2020 to disrupt its operations and implore patients to not terminate their pregnancies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the heels of the pardons, Trumps FBI and DOJ dropped several ongoing investigations into threats against abortion clinics and issued a new memo signaling reduced enforcement going forward against such acts. Those developments along with a new push in Congress to repeal the law Geraghty and others violated indicate that clinics will reemerge as a front in the battle over abortion access, and a focus of a president who called himself the most pro-life in history. Geraghty, who served 17 months of a 27-month sentence before receiving a pardon he attempted to reject, told POLITICO that despite being traumatized by prison, his incarceration was worth it and he remains committed to nonviolent direct action in service of the pro-life cause. There's actual lives being saved every minute you are committing the crime, he said of the activists unauthorized entry into abortion clinics. Every minute that a rescuer is inside the building, they are not killing babies. Several others pardoned by Trump said they plan to go into abortion clinics either by force or stealth to rescue fetuses. And as they welcome new Justice Department guidance directing officials not to penalize such actions except under extraordinary circumstances with significant aggravating factors, such as death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage, they are demanding that state and local law enforcement give them similar leeway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Get out of our way and let citizens defend children in a way that maybe you aren't willing to do, Jonathan Darnel, who was sentenced to 34 months in prison for use of force and physical obstruction at a Washington abortion clinic in 2020, said during the event. If you're a Christian police officer, a pro-life police officer, you need to commit in your heart not to arrest rescuers that are defending children, leave them be, even if it costs you your job. If you're not willing to protect the children yourself, let us do it. Beyond pardoning Darnel, Geraghty and others serving time for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, the Trump administration also moved to dismiss with prejudice meaning a future administration cant revive the cases charges brought against anti-abortion protesters who blocked access to clinics in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee. One had barricaded himself in the bathroom of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood for more than three hours, forcing staff and patients to evacuate for the day and requiring nearly 50 appointments to be rescheduled, many for non-abortion services. Another group of protesters whose charges were dropped had posed as patients to gain access to a northeast Ohio clinic, where they disrupted more than two dozen appointments and forcefully grabbed a patients body and told her not to go through with the abortion, according to federal court records. The FBI has also recently informed some clinics that it is dropping ongoing federal investigations into threats made against them. Calla Hales, the executive director of A Preferred Women's Health Center, which operates several clinics in Georgia and North Carolina, said she recently received a call that the agency would be handing off to state authorities its work on a bomb threat one of her clinics received in July. The FBI declined to comment on the case. State authorities have yet to contact her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hales fears the pardons and new DOJ policy will be a catalyst for more protesting and more aggressive actions. Protesters seem to know that they're not going to be held accountable, she said, citing a lot more boundary-pushing over the last few weeks. Some anti-abortion activists have gotten multiple citations for trespassing at Hales Charlotte, North Carolina, clinic since Trump issued the pardons, and one protester posed as a patient to enter the clinic and attempted to access its administrative office. The lying, the harassment, the intimidation, it's definitely amping up, she said. There's less of a deterrent for protesters in a local trespassing charge than there was in FACE Act charges that could carry a federal prison sentence. Abortions have recently shifted away from the brick-and-mortar clinics the anti-abortion movement has long targeted, and most pregnancy terminations now happen at patients homes using medication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even so, the National Abortion Federation, which supports abortion rights, has tracked a steep increase in violence against clinics, staff and patients since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. From 2021 to 2022, the group documented a 538 percent increase in people obstructing clinic entrances, a 913 percent increase in stalking of clinic staff, and a 144 percent increase in bomb threats. NAF Chief Program Officer Melissa Fowler said while its too soon to have data on incidents since Trumps pardons and enforcement changes, they have received a spike in requests from clinics for on-site security assessments and trainings. The pardons are disturbing and infuriating, and they do invite anti-abortion extremists to step up their attacks on providers, she said. It really sends a message that you can break certain laws without penalty. Some of the pardoned individuals are still facing state charges for entering abortion clinics without permission. If convicted, they stand to receive a lighter sentence than the federal charges carried 30 days compared with several years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clinics in New York City and Washington where some of the pardoned individuals were arrested over the last few years told POLITICO they, like Hales, have seen an uptick in incidents this year. Two days after the pardons were announced, for instance, volunteers at Washingtons Planned Parenthood clinic told POLITICO that a particularly aggressive anti-abortion protester twice walked close to the door in a manner staff and patients found intimidating. Monica Migliorino Miller, the director of the anti-abortion group Citizens for a Pro-Life Society who has served time in county jail and federal prison for abortion clinic protests, predicts a minor revival in the short term of activists entering or blocking clinics, but not a return to the movements heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. Without the threat of the FACE Act, and instead going back to maybe getting penalties like a city citation or a state misdemeanor, there will probably be some increase in rescues in defense of the unborn, she said. The anti-abortion movement will need time to adjust and rebuild its wing focused on clinics after decades of living under the 1994 law, Miller added. And because the FACE Act remains on the books and has no statute of limitations, many may be deterred by fear of prosecution by a future administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Vaughn, who was convicted of blocking access to a Tennessee abortion clinic in 2021 and was pardoned by Trump, was more optimistic, telling his fellow abortion opponents at the Live Action event that the felony charges the Biden administration brought against the group backfired and emboldened us. They wanted to spread fear into the church and people that would dare stand up for the unborn, he said. And yet, God had other plans. Another activist charged under the FACE Act, Lauren Handy, stressed that she and the others would have been banned from standing within 1,000 feet of an abortion clinic upon their release from prison. The pardons, however, lifted that restriction. Being able to have freedom of movement, being able to go back and advocate and rescue, and do whatever I need to do that the lord is calling me to thats what Im very thankful for, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jason Storms, the leader of the anti-abortion group Operation Save America, told POLITICO hes convening a conference in South Carolina next month to train the next generation of clinic protesters and debate what tactics the movement should embrace. There is unity on the right, he said, that abortion needs to be opposed, even to the point of risking arrest or severe persecution, and that many believe sit-ins inside and outside of clinics and other acts of interposition are among the best ways to do that. Several of the pardoned protesters are former members of Operation Save Americas leadership or dear friends of the group, Storms confirmed, and theyve told him since being released from prison that theres a lot of enthusiasm about what they can accomplish with Trump in office. Some see our tactics as aggressive, he said in an interview. We don't believe they are, of course, not anywhere near as aggressive as what is going on inside of the abortion clinic, where little bodies are being torn to pieces. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misspelled Calla Hales' name. DENVER (KDVR) An Englewood dog rescue called Moms and Mutts: Colorado Rescue for Pregnant and Nursing Dogs Inc. received a license suspension from the Colorado Department of Agriculture on Friday, and the rescues director says they are being used as a political pawn. The license was suspended under the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act, which is a licensing and inspection program run by the Colorado agriculture department. MAMCO was the rescue where 11 puppies were euthanized after a puppy brought from Texas tested positive for rabies. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because the puppies were unvaccinated, and there are no licensed products for post-exposure prophylaxis of rabies in pets, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recommended the euthanasia. Additionally, animals must be euthanized to test for rabies, as the virus primarily attacks the brain, and specimens must be submitted to a rabies laboratory for testing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the suspension of the license, MAMCO has been ordered to immediately surrender all the dogs in their care, including both dogs in the shelter and dogs in foster homes, to other licensed shelter or rescue organizations, said Nick Fisher, PACFAs program section chief, in a release on Friday. According to the state, MAMCO voluntarily entered into a stipulation and order on Dec. 16, 2024, that placed the organizations PACFA license on probation for 18 months and also assessed civil fines. The suspension order says that the state found unclean conditions in pet animal areas and that MAMCO failed to remove animal and waste and debris from the pet animal facility as necessary to control infestation, among other alleged violations. MAMCO director says PACFA is promoting rabies protocol Aron Jones, the director of MAMCO, told FOX31 on Friday that Colorado PACFA has broken several laws and violated their own policies in order to make us the pawn in their political game. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have done nothing wrong, and this has been stated by Nick Fisher publicly, Jones said. They are perverting the rules in order to get their rabies protocols passed in the spring. These protocols will effectively disable most Colorado rescues as they will not allow rescues to bring in puppies under 12 weeks of age. Upside-down American flags hung as hundreds protest US Forest Service cuts at RMNP In the fall, PACFA proposed a rule that would require all pets brought to a licensed facility from out of state to have a rabies vaccine. Dogs must be at least 14 weeks old before they can receive a rabies vaccine. Jones said PACFAs latest failed inspection at MAMCO was based on completely false information, and said that the organizations lawyer requested a hearing to prove the false allegations in court. She said the license suspension was retaliation for the hearing request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is totally unfair and their harassment has effectively killed our rescue. Even when we win at the hearing, PACFA has no oversight and does not have to renew our license, Jones said. We will have to declare bankruptcy long before the hearing and close our doors. We are being required to transfer all of our dogs to other rescues and without adoption fees, we cannot pay the bills. Our staff will go unpaid and this has hurt them as well. This is not only displacing the dogs, it is hurting the people involved. She said that the rabies protocol will not do anything to prevent animal overpopulation, and said backyard breeders are allowed to have up to two litters per year without a license. Additionally, the breeders, Jones said, are not required to be spayed or neutered before theyre sold. She accused Fisher of wanting to close down animal rescues in the state. Jones explains what led to PACFA license suspension PACFA said that MAMCO was notified on Feb. 13 that it had failed two inspections for violations of the act, and said it believed there is an imminent threat to the health and safety of Colorado dogs and their owners. Jones said the issue centers around puppies MAMCO was caring for, which had their first positive fecal exam on Jan. 22, showing hookworms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early childhood intervention cuts for children with disabilities halted, program will go on as usual We began treatment. Hookworms are very common in rescue puppies, Jones said. The first puppy, Jag, got really sick and we took him to the vet. We got to the vet within an hour and considering rush hour traffic, that is not an unreasonable amount of time. Jones said the vet noted that Jag was really sick, and without knowing about the fecal exam, said it could be distemper or rabies. Once she learned about the fecal exam, she did an ultrasound and discovered an intussusception, Jones said. He was not well enough for surgery so we opted to euthanize at that time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said a few other puppies didnt look perfect the next morning, so she brought them to the vet as well and conducted a fundraiser to help with medical care for the large litter. Then PACFA showed up, Jones said. The puppies were isolated in a separate room, on a tarp, inside of a playpen. No other rescue dogs were allowed into the room. We do not walk on tarps. This follows the law 100%. PACFA told them that evening to quarantine the puppies because of suspected rabies, and Jones said she told the state organization theres no chance of any rabies exposure, as the puppies had never been outside, but asked the veterinarians office to conduct a necropsy. However, Jones said the state had already seized the puppys body for testing. Vet office turns away sick puppies due to suspected rabies A few days later, she attempted to take some of the puppies to the vet office again, but said she was turned away at the door because they had been told the dogs were suspected to be carrying rabies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colorado bees, crops could fail without federally published data, beekeepers say We had to wait hours for the tests to come back showing the dog was not rabid. By the time we got the test results and the vet would agree to see us, the three puppies were very sick, Jones told FOX31. We had done as much as we could and the vet gave us advice over the phone to the best of her ability. Jones said she recorded the calls, and when she was able to later that day, she hospitalized the puppies, but after a few hours the vet recommended euthanasia. Those three puppies died because PACFA is trying to get their political agenda passed. Not because of us, Jones said. We tried to get them seen, but their false rabies cries made it so no one would see them. They didnt die because of neglect on our part. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. The Tempe Police Department arrested a 39-year-old man in connection with a stabbing at the Tempe IKEA between Priest Drive and Interstate 10, just north of Warner Road. Francisco Javier Gutierrez was arrested in the Quartzsite area, believed to be fleeing to California when he was taken into custody without incident, Tempe police confirmed. "Mr. Gutierrez was booked into jail for one count aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of interfering with judicial proceedings," a statement from Tempe police read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Arizona Republic had reported on Saturday that a man who identified the suspect as his co-worker was hospitalized in critical condition after Tempe police and the Phoenix Fire Department responded to a call regarding the stabbing just after 11 a.m. He was in stable but critical condition as of Sunday morning, Tempe police said. The man who was stabbed spoke Russian, making initial information about the stabbing unclear, Tempe police confirmed. The police said Gutierrez and the stabbing victim were third party contractors and that Gutierrez had called their employer to admit to the stabbing. The motive behind the stabbing remained unclear, police confirmed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We would like to express our gratitude to the public for their assistance and to the Department of Public Safety for their help in successfully apprehending Mr. Gutierrez," said Tempe police. "The Tempe Police Department remains committed to ensuring the safety of our community and holding those responsible for violence accountable." This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tempe police arrest man suspected of stabbing co-worker at IKEA From the Dispatch Faith on The Dispatch Hi and happy Sunday. Call it a vibe shift, a resetting, a realignment, a big sort, or something else. Whatever moniker you choose, theres really no denying the U.S. is undergoing tectonic shifts in politics. On the surface, that shift may not seem as pronounced for Americans of faithparticularly Christians, who, according to some brand new Pew Research findings, still closely align with the Republican Party. But in this weeks Dispatch Faith, author and former Obama White House staffer Michael Wear argues theres a different shiftwhat he calls a paradigm shiftunderway with regard to how politicians may seek to relate to the faithful. The question is whether that shift will hinge more on what politicians, such as Donald Trump, want or on what the faithful want. Michael Wear: Whos Friendly to Religion? Thats No Longer the Question. Religious leaders lay their hands on Donald Trump in 2020. (Illustration by Adaam James Levin-Areddy/The Dispatch. Photo via Getty Images) There is much debate about whether Donald Trump will irrevocably disrupt our political parties or Americas role on the global stage. It will likely take some time to come to firm conclusions on these matters. However, when it comes to how we think and talk about religion and American politics, I am convinced that there is no going back. The old paradigm no longer fits, and will not snap back into place when Trumps presidency is over. He has remade the relationship between religion and politics in America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For at least 45 years, the dominant framework for thinking about faith and politics could be summed up by a Pew Research question that asked whether Americans viewed each political party as friendly to religion. For the last 25 years at least, Americans have viewed Republicans as more friendly to religion than Democrats. This has even been true for many voters who supported Democrats. In the 21st century, the political dynamics around religion both contributed to, and fed on, what was called the God Gapthe Republican Partys advantage among religious Americans, especially those who attend church regularly. The political successes and failures of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, John Kerry, Barack Obama, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump cannot be assessed without understanding these basic dynamics. But this era of religion and politics in America is over, and Trump ended it. He has confounded the question of friendliness to religion, and its meaning has essentially been made illegible. The question is what new paradigm will emerge. To be clear, I am not saying that the status of these dynamics has radically changed. I would imagine that if you polled the friendly to religion question today, Republicans would still hold the advantage. When it comes to weekly attenders, it appears the God Gap grew in 2024 compared to 2020. These facts still matterthough it seems Democrats are always pining for the election to arrive in which they do not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What has changed is that these modes of analysis have lost their explanatory value, which didnt happen overnight. Ronald Reagan kicked off the previous era when he told a gathering of conservative religious leaders: Now, I know this is a non-partisan gathering, and so I know that you cant endorse me, but I only brought that up because I want you to know that I endorse you and what youre doing. Reagan was referring to something called the Johnson Amendment, a provision which prohibits nonprofit organizations, including religious organizations and churches, from endorsing political candidates. But since Trump first ran for office, he has asserted himself with religious voters by promising to defend themwhile undermining their moral and substantive credibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his first presidential campaign, Trump called for ending the Johnson Amendment even though there was no broad, concerted advocacy to do so. Why? He wanted to fundamentally shift the relationship between religion and politicians. Its typical political rhetoric to say you stand with Israel or that you stand with Jewish Americans against antisemitism. Trump offers a different claim: If you fail to support him, you hate your own religion. Trump wants to judge religion in light of his political interest, but detests a religious judgment on him or his politics. Politicians have long appealed to religious voters, but Trump wants religious voters to appeal to and accommodate him. Have you noticed that the term values voters is essentially absent from national political discourse since Trump solidified his hold on the GOP? Its not because the media is more progressive or antagonistic toward social conservatives now than they were pre-Trump. Its because Trumps case was not based on shared values. George W. Bush said at a presidential debate that his favorite philosopher was Jesus Christ. Donald Trump told a crowd of Christian conservatives that he does not need Gods forgiveness. He rejected Jesus teaching to love your enemies at the National Prayer Breakfast. He does and says these things all while insisting on his audiences religious obligation to support him. In so doing, Trump fundamentally disrupted the typical understanding of what large, influential swaths of religious voters were looking for in a politician, and how a politician must approach them. Its hard to sustain the moniker values voters when the candidate receiving the support of those voters regularly disregards, or even flagrantly undermines, those values. Still, its the presidents reelection that requires voters to put away notions of returning to the old paradigm. It took an extra four years, but with Trumps second administration underway, the leader of GOPthe party that has been viewed as more friendly to religionis casting aspersions on the very idea of religious organizations receiving federal money, and openly attacking the credibility and sincerity of the Catholic Church regarding work it has done for centuries. So how could the question of friendliness to religion still be explanatory given all that? Presidents have traditionally (though not always, of course) shown respect and restraint toward religious leaders, even where there were profound disagreements. With Trump, there is no respect or restraint. He did not even pretend to find anything of value in Bishop Mariann Buddes sermon on unity and mercyhe and his team bashed her. In the friendly to religion era, a perfunctory I agree with her that unity and mercy are needed, even if we might disagree on what that requires would have been the response. No more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not even the pope provokes magnanimity or respect from Trump and his White House. When asked about Pope Francis letter to American bishops regarding Gods care for migrants and the dignity of the human person, Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, responded: I got harsh words for the pope: the pope ought to fix the Catholic Church and focus on his work, and leave border enforcement to us. He accused the pope of hypocrisy because Vatican City is surrounded by a wall. In terms of actual policy, President George W. Bush created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, partially in response to concerns that Christian and other faith-based groups had been discriminated against and locked out of government funding to serve in partnership with their government. Now, Trumps staffers are specifically targeting religious organizations that receive government funding as receiving illegal payments, and sharing a former Trump appointees allegation that they amount to money laundering operation. Religious groups have been defamed and have had their integrity questioned in the name of government efficiency. Legitimate religion for Trump is religion that can be used by and provide value to him. He views religious voters less as a constituency to attract than a territory to claim and refashion for his purposes. And to be truly religious is to accept his patronage. Reagan proclaimed his Republican Party was for Christianity; Donald Trump has offered a different paradigm: that religion is for MAGA. But Trumps new paradigm doesnt have to be what replaces the old one. The paradigm Trump offers requires a set of circumstances, real and perceived, that make it plausible. To seek a protector, you must feel you needand therefore prioritizeprotection. To cut a deal, you must feel sufficient anxiety about the future without one. To seek refuge with someone who will make light of what you believe, you must feel that discomfort to be more desirable than the alternatives on offer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What Trump promises is a future for Christianity, while claiming that the future he is promising is the only one on offer. Eric Trump claimed his father literally saved Christianity. During the last presidential campaign, Donald Trump told a gathering of Christians that in four years, you dont have to vote again. Well have it fixed so good, youre not going to have to vote. If Trump is to be successful in establishing this new paradigm, hell need help. Both Democrats and the broader cultural and media environment (and others) will have to cede the ground Trump wants in order to grant him his claim of guardianship. For Trumps approach to work, outside voices will need to say that the real problem is that Trump has given Christians too much power, that he likes them too much. Theyll need to accuse Trump of being a Christian nationalist, a term the majority of Americans indicate they dont understand, without ever being clear about what role they think Christians ought to have in the life of the nation. They will need to affirm his view of religious voters as just another constituency. They can affirm this paradigm through either antagonism or indifferenceanything that treats religious voters as a group that can either be granted or denied political favor or attention. Either approach will reaffirm the essential framework. There is one way I know to contest Trumps framing of religion and politics. Instead of a paradigm that centers status, we need one that centers service. Instead of a paradigm that centers affiliation, we need a paradigm that centers relationship and reality. Instead of a paradigm that centers Christian identity, we need a paradigm that welcomes Christian contribution. Democrats do not need their own partisan form of religionindeed, Christians should reject ideological capture and attempts by political parties to claim Christ for themselves. Christianity should not be viewed in our civic life as either useless or as something to be used, but as an essential source of civic vitality and well-being. Politicians should look to Christians not as mascots, but as partners and contributors to the public good. The task for all civic leaders of goodwillall civic leaders who understand that if you dont have a vision for the good, you only leave a vacuum for the maliciousis to cast a positive vision for the role Christianity can play in Americas future. A role of service. A role of welcomed contribution. That said, even now, with the immense cultural power of politics in our lives, it is not politicians who will have the primary say on these questions. Christians themselves will have to decide. They will have to speak for themselves. The paradigm for this new age of religion in politics in America will not ultimately be determined by how friendly politicians are to the religious, but how loving Christians are to the public. Knox Thames: Religious Persecution is Part of Russias Battle Plan A woman walks next to a portrait of Christ as she collects what remains after a Russian rocket destroyed an Orthodox church on Easter night in Komyshuvakha in 2023. (Photo by Andriy Andriyenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Hours before Fridays Oval Office blowup between Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, scholar and former State Department special envoy Knox Thames was meeting with a groups of Ukrainian pastors who had come to the U.S. to advocate for continuing U.S. support. For the site today, Thames writes about their message to him: that Russias war is about eradicating Ukraines identity, which helps explain some of the religious persecution weve seen in the conflict. The Ukrainian delegation carried three key messages for Americas faithful. First, they wanted to dispel Russian misinformation: Ukrainians enjoy full religious freedom. Second, they sought to correct the misplaced concerns about persecution by the Ukrainian government; the real persecution is happening in Russian-occupied territories. Finally, and most desperately, they begged for help in recovering the 20,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. One evangelical leader put it bluntly: This war is not about land, which Russia has plenty of. This war is about identity. Russia wants to erase Ukrainian identity from existence. It is an existential struggle. The pastors called on the U.S. to live up to its values. As one Baptist leader put it Friday, The United States has been blessed by God to be a light to the world. By helping Ukraine, you are being the United States. We are praying for a coalition of good to stand against the coalition of evilRussia, China, Iran, and others. Ukraines fight is an existential battle, but most Americans do not realize it. Ukraine is fighting for its survival, but also for the very values that America holds dearfreedom, democracy, and faith. If the world fails Ukraine now, it will not be long before Putin and his allies set their sights on other targets. When asked about trusting Putin, the pastors I met with were unequivocal. All of history speaks against that stupidity, one said. They urged America to not rely on promises from Putin. Read the whole thing. The Dispatch Faith Podcast Michael Wear joined me on this weeks Dispatch Faith podcast to discuss his essay and the evolving relationship between Christianity and the public square, particularly in light of recent political changes. He reflected on his journey to the White House, the role of faith-based initiatives, and some topline takeaways from the newly released Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study. These weekly conversations with Dispatch Faith contributors are available on our members-only podcast feed, The Skiff. Another Sunday Read Deepa Bahrath reports for the Associated Press on a Muslim community in Los Angeles that due to recent wildfires lost its mosqueand many members homesjust weeks before Ramadan, which began this week. For many, the mosque has been a second home. Salah Eddine Benatia, an Algerian immigrant, has been in the country for only three months. He discovered Al-Taqwa online and had been riding the bus from Pasadena for prayers. I felt so warmly welcomed by this community, he said. I miss home a lot especially around Ramadan. I was so sad when I heard the mosque burned down. Being here gives me a sense of being with family. Farzana Asaduzzaman, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2016, said Ramadan at the mosque has always been a family affair. Everyone brings food, we fast, we break our fast together, she said. The kids would play Uno, make arts and crafts, and assemble Eid gift bags. We would put up heaters in the outside area, sit down, sip hot chai and talk for hours. But a local school is providing space for the community to worship during Ramadan, Bharat reported. With Ramadan just days a way, their volunteer imam, Junaid Aasi, had good news to share. Clad in a white robe, black jacket and prayer cap, he walked onto the plush blue prayer rugs and placed a small karaoke machine in the middle of the multipurpose room at New Horizon Islamic School. Aasi announced the school was offering this space for four nights each week during Ramadan. There were gasps of relief, and utterances of Alhamdulillah, an Arabic phrase that means praise be to God. A Good Word Lester Holt announced last week that he will step down as anchor of NBC Nightly News later this year. As has been covered in other outlets, Holt is a devout Christian and has credited his faith in helping him perform his job. A few years ago he penned a first-person essay for Guideposts magazine about his faith and the upbringing he still credits. Church on Sundays? No arguing about that. My parents were two-times-on-Sunday-and-Bible-study-on-Wednesdays folks, and they remain faithful. That was the model I had. Dad was an elder in the church and a natural-born counselor, with a reassuring, calm and incredibly insightful manner. I can recall him holed up for hours on the phone or behind closed doors helping someone through a personal crisis. It was a good upbringing for a future journalist, not just the faith aspect but being around someone who was such a good listener. Dad is very level-headed. My parents both have strong values and a reliable moral compass. They taught us accountability, responsibility and compassion. Dinner table conversation was always something to look forward to (along with Moms pot roast!). All sides of issues were explored. Intelligent discussion and debate. Its something I still have a passion for. I want to hear other points of view and find great value in having my thinking challenged. A good news broadcast, I think, does just that. It compels us to examine other sides of an issue. I can also thank my parents for giving us a good grounding in the Bible. I credit my church upbringing, in part, with helping me become comfortable working in front of a crowd. Valuable training for a future broadcaster. He concluded the essay with a story about telling viewers of a program he was hosting he had to close quickly in order to get to a worship service. I dont know what viewers thought, but Mom was quick to say, Lester, you just showed the world that you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. I wouldnt be where I am without you. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said Ukraine must be put in a position of strength by providing it with defensive capabilities that will turn it into a "steel porcupine, indigestible to potential invaders". Source: Von der Leyen after the London summit, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength so that it has the means to fortify and protect itself from economic survival to military resistance. Its basically about turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And therefore the focus is not only on military supply but also, for example, on securing its energy system and making sure that over time, this is a strong and resilient country." Details: Von der Leyen revealed that the second key topic of the discussions in London was the urgent need to rearm Europe. Quote: "It is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time. Its for the security of the European Union. And we need, in the strategic environment in which we live, to prepare for the worst, and therefore stepping up the defence." More details: Von der Leyen is expected to present a new proposal on 6 March, the day of the emergency EU summit in Brussels, aiming at significantly increasing defence spending across all 27 member states. She stated that the proposal will be built on three pillars: loosening fiscal constraints to allow for more public financing, mobilising shared EU funds, and boosting the role of the European Investment Bank. Background: The UK earlier announced 1.6 billion in funding for Ukraine to purchase air defence missiles. In addition, the UK has confirmed its readiness to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine, ensuring "boots on the ground and planes in the air". Keir Starmer also said he is confident that the US can be brought back to the negotiating table despite tensions with Zelenskyy. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on March 2 that a number of European nations, including the U.K. and France, are developing a 'coalition of the willing' that will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to negotiate a successful ceasefire in Ukraine. Starmer added that for any coalition to succeed, Europe must "have strong U.S. backing." "(European allies) will go forth to develop a 'coalition of the willing' to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace," Starmer said during a press conference following a European leaders summit in London. "Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that can't mean we sit back. Instead those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The U.K is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Together with others, Europe must do the heavy lifting," Starmer said. "This is not a moment for more talk... If you want to preserve the peace, you have to defend the peace." Starmer is hosting President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders in London to discuss how to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace. The summit is even more crucial now after a fallout between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. The U.K. and France have spearheaded the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire. French President Emmanuel Macron and Starmer appealed to Trump to remain involved in maintaining a post-war order, but they failed to receive any concrete commitments as the new U.S. administration expects Europe to take responsibility for Ukraine's security. Starmer said that he spoke to Trump on March 1 to deliver plans of the proposed coalition, and added that the proposed coalition will succeed on the basis that Europe work "with the U.S. and that it will have U.S. backing." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer did not specify which other countries would participate in the coalition, but added that "a number of countries have indicated they want to be part of the plan we're developing." "The purpose of today's meeting was to unite our partners around this effort. To strengthen Ukraine, and unsure a just and enduring peace for the good of all of us," Starmer added. "We have to learn from the mistakes of the past. We cannot accept a deal like Minsk which Russia can break with ease." While most European leaders publicly voiced support for Zelensky after his spat with Trump, Starmer called both the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders in an attempt to bridge the rift. The prime minister reportedly aims to tell Zelensky that fixing relations with Trump would be necessary to ensure lasting peace. The British prime minister and French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Washington earlier this week, are seeking to mend the ties between Kyiv and the U.S. and present a united front on Ukraine and Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement European leaders had previously been sidelined from talks between the U.S. and Russia concerned that neither the EU nor Kyiv will have a role in negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine. Read also: Once in a generation moment Zelensky, Ukraines partners gather for key London summit after White House fallout Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The News Kyivs European allies gathered in London Sunday for talks aimed at crafting a peace plan for Ukraine after a disastrous meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the future of the continent in the face of Russian aggression uncertain. The London gathering followed a week of diplomacy by European leaders that ended in dramatic fashion on Friday, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly admonished Zelenskyy and ejected him from the White House. France and the UK have stepped into the breach: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron said they would present a peace plan to Washington, but stressed that a resolution to the conflict will require a US backstop to deter Russia from violating the terms of a deal. SIGNALS US-Ukraine mineral deal stalled for now Sources: NBC News, The Bell Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After weeks of momentum, Washington views talks with Ukraine as on hold after Fridays meltdown. The ball is in Zelenskyys court, a Trump administration official told NBC: Zelenskyy has to come back to the table and he has to be the one to come and make it right. What that means is unclear: Zelenskyy had come to Washington to sign a minerals deal that Kyiv hoped would give the US enough of a stake in the conflict that it would help Ukraine negotiate a peace deal on its terms, rather than Moscows, Russian economic outlet The Bell wrote. But with the minerals deal abandoned, Trump could pursue talks with Russia without Ukraine at the table; or he washes his hands of the entire conflict. Europe has an opportunity to finally step up Sources: The Economist, Die Welt For Europe, the geopolitical fallout presents a meaningful but fraught opening to finally take a leading role in its own future. European officials have talked about seizing frozen Russian assets and hiking defense spending, but action is lacking: The gulf between words and actions telegraphs weakness to the Kremlin, The Economist argued, stressing that Europe must meet the moment, or else. For the continent, nothing less than the future of its security order is at stake, Die Welt wrote, noting that the UK is setting the tone for what could become a cohesive European security policy. But whether its enough to convince the US to keep providing some security guarantee, however, remains to be seen. Russia is gleeful, while Ukraine is exhausted Sources: The New York Times, The Financial Times The blowup between the US and Ukraine could give Russian leader Vladimir Putin the kind of ammunition he needs to prolong the fight, The New York Times wrote: Putin could expand Russias military push on the frontlines as Moscow holds out for a deal on its terms especially if the US ends or downgrades its support to Kyiv, analysts warned. Kremlin officials were apparently gleeful after Fridays disastrous meeting and the subsequent Republican calls for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resign, a longtime goal of Moscows. Ukrainians, meanwhile, are confronted with no good options, the Financial Times wrote: Many would probably welcome peace even though they assume that no settlement can resolve the Russian threat for good. For now they are just waiting to see which way the great powers move. A large number of European leaders have arrived at Lancaster House in central London, where UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting an international security summit. Source: Sky News, as reported by European Pravda Details: More than a dozen leaders are expected in total. Among the first to arrive were French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Donald Tusk and Keir Starmer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: Sky News NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived shortly after. Also seen arriving were: Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Background: Media reports indicate that Starmer will call for a better relationship with US President Donald Trump's administration as the only way to ensure sustainable peace in Ukraine during a meeting of leaders in London on 2 March. During his meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday, 1 March, Starmer reaffirmed Britain's ongoing support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and its steadfast commitment to securing a sustainable peace. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! When shes not performing herself, Lindsay Bartlett is encouraging the next generation of musicians. That often means finding funding for arts programs. Bartlett, a flute player and teacher, is the president of the Lincoln Music Teachers Association, which just received a $10,000 Challenge America Grant for the first time. We hope we're growing the program this year, Bartlett said. For next year, we may or may not be able to continue in the same level or to have the same mindset of growth that we've had. The National Endowment for the Arts, the NEA, announced in February that it would be canceling the Challenge America Grant program and incorporating it into a different grant this coming year. Some Lincoln recipients of the 2025 challenge grants have utilized them for years, while others are new recipients. All face a different grant process next year. A canceled challenge The NEA canceled the Challenge America grant program for 2026. The grants were intended to support projects that bring arts to underserved groups or communities, according to Grants.gov. Organizations intending to apply for that program were encouraged to instead apply to the larger Grants for Arts Projects program, according to a NEA news release. Applications celebrating Americas 250th anniversary were also encouraged. In a webinar explaining the change, Michelle Hoffmann, the NEAs director of arts education, explained it was due to staffing shortages. The Lincoln Music Teachers Association received a grant this year to support a program offering free music lessons to students who wouldnt be able to get a lesson otherwise. Now that the NEA programs have shifted, the association could apply for a different grant. Bartlett said the association could apply for one of the two Grants for Arts Projects program rounds of funding. That program funds a variety of arts programs and awards larger grants. She said she anticipates most people to apply for the earlier funding, but the timing of the second round of grants fits better with the Lincoln Music Teachers Association's fiscal year. If we don't apply in the first round, there's this fear now that a lot of these opportunities are just going to be gone for future rounds, Bartlett said. In 2025, the NEA awarded about $36.8 million to arts projects across its programs. The NEA did not respond to questions about whether that amount would change. Bartlett used to work for the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and applied to the Challenge America grant then. She said it took her between 40 and 60 hours of work the first time. Because the Grants for Arts Projects program awards larger sums, it could take longer, she said. Bartlett works with other nonprofits as well and said funding in general is always a question. I think we're all asking ourselves about the stability in this work, which nonprofit work in general is unstable, right? We're all living one grant to the next, Bartlett said. Festival funding One Lincoln organization has already applied to the Grants for Arts Projects program and was awarded $40,000 for 2025. The Nebraska Crossroads Music Festival received a $40,000 grant, the first national award for the festival. The grant is a significant part of the festival's budget, said Artistic Director Erik Higgins. But more than anything else, a NEA grant is a kind of a stamp of approval, which makes it easier to apply for funding other places, Higgins said. The NEA feels like a stamp of approval because the process is so rigorous, he said. Receiving funding early on allows for the festival to take more programming risks without worrying about which other funding might not be awarded, Higgins said. The festivals big plans include performances in Lincoln and Omaha throughout the week of July 26, along with chamber orchestra performances. But grants like the festival's were frozen following a memo from the Trump administration in January. After getting its first federal grant, it looked like the festival could lose it. Following legal challenges to the grant freeze, the festival now expects to receive the funds. Higgins said he feels lucky. After the freeze was announced, Higgins wrote on the festivals website that the organization supported diversity even before diversity, equity and inclusion became a thing and that different genres of music are important to the program. At the festival when we are able to successfully bring together people who have very different backgrounds, their kind of shared joy of just discovering other humans that have the same loves as they do is so rewarding to be part of and it's so rewarding to see, Higgins said. Confidence in generosity The Lincoln Symphony Orchestra has been a frequent recipient of the Challenge America grants, including one for this year. Barbara Zach Lee, the executive director of the orchestra, said that losing any gift is a blow. The orchestra uses the Challenge America program to fund partnerships with Lincoln Public Schools and Lincoln City Libraries. However, if federal funding like the Challenge America grants isn't available, she said the community will step forward to support the access to programming that the orchestra provides. I'm confident in the generosity of Lincoln, Nebraska, and in our community and the people who love the children and the music making in this community, Zach Lee said. She said the loss of funding is what keeps an art administrator up at night, and every financial decision has artistic implications. Although money doesn't make great art, money supports great art, she said. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and other top Western officials gathered on March 2 for a London summit to discuss support for Kyiv. They are among the leaders and senior representatives of 15 countries invited to the U.K. by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss a path toward a just and lasting peace in Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. Zelensky landed in London already on March 1 following his trip to the U.S. Ukraine's leader left Washington without signing the much-anticipated natural resources deal after a public spat with U.S. President Donald Trump, prompting shock and concerns about the future of U.S.-Ukraine ties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and leaders or senior representatives of Germany, Canada, Czechia, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Romania, and Turkey have also arrived for the crucial summit. "On my way to London to highlight Europes ongoing support to Ukraine that can lead to just and lasting peace in Ukraine," von der Leyen said on X ahead of her trip. "The path to peace is strength. Weakness breeds more war. We will support Ukraine while undertaking a surge in European defense." The Baltic countries, which have been among Ukraine's staunchest supporters throughout the full-scale invasion, were not among the invitees, reportedly leading to Starmer issuing an apology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We gather here today because this is a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step up," Starmer said as the summit kicked off, according to Sky News. The summit is seen as a last-ditch effort to revive Western unity after seismic foreign policy shifts in Washington under the Trump administration. Both Starmer and Macron visited the U.S. earlier this week to convince Trump to play a role in Ukraine's post-war stability, but their diplomatic efforts were overshadowed by the unprecedented and televised quarrel in the White House on Feb. 28. The humiliating treatment Zelensky received from the U.S. president and Vice President JD Vance prompted Europe's leaders to speak out in support of the Ukrainian president. At the same time, some European officials have appealed to Zelensky to mend ties with Trump to ensure continued U.S. engagement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking ahead of the summit, the British prime minister revealed that the U.K., France, and Ukraine will spearhead efforts to create a joint ceasefire plan to present to Trump. The London meeting is also a chance for Ukraine's EU allies to coordinate strategy ahead of the European summit on March 6, which is under threat of being derailed by Moscow-friendly Hungary and Slovakia. Read also: Ill need more ammo Ukraines soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Evacuation orders have been lifted after several wildfires broke out in the Carolina Forest in Horry County, South Carolina. Dozens of people had checked into a Red Cross shelter as crews worked to contain the fires on Sunday. Along with Horry Countys massive wildfire, roughly 175 smaller wildfires had broken out across the state, impacting 4,200 acres of land, according to the state Fire Marshal. By Sunday afternoon, all but two of the fires were 100% contained. The smaller of the two the Blackthorn Drive Fire is 80% contained, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission. It has covered about 800 acres. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The larger Covington Drive Fire, which has covered about 1,200 acres, remains uncontained, officials said. Gov. Henry McMaster on Sunday declared a state of emergency to support South Carolinas ongoing response. The order continues indefinitely an outdoor burning ban and makes it easier for responders to coordinate their efforts. This state of emergency ensures that our first responders, who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect our communities from these wildfires, have the resources they need, McMaster said in a statement. Dozens of fire agencies from across the Carolinas have joined local crews as they work against the sweeping wildfire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite nearly 2,000 acres burning in Horry County, officials say nobody has been injured or killed, and no structures have been lost, State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said in a Facebook post. Around 11:50 p.m. Saturday, officials announced evacuations for the Indigo Bay, the Farm, and Summerlyn neighborhoods of Carolina Forest. Earlier Saturday evening, evacuation orders were lifted in some areas even as flames were visible on the horizon. By 7:30 p.m., residents of Tuckahoe Road and Wyandot Court were cleared to return home, although several other neighborhoods remained under evacuation as the 100-acre blaze shut down International Drive to Highway 90. Horry County spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov said about 20 people were sheltering at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center, while smoke and odor from the fire were observed more than 15 miles away. Photo courtesy of Paula Richardson Several local businesses also offered services, including free boarding VCA Palmetto Animal Hospital and discounted rates from lodging group Visit Myrtle Beach, which said Saturday displaced residents were eligible for $49 nightly rates through March 6 at Hotel Blue and Landmark Resort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Participants must provide proof of residence within Carolina Forest and call (866) 951-6806 to make reservations. Horry County officials also asked people to keep 911 lines open so people facing immediate risk can quickly connect with emergency response services. That agency, along with the state Department of Natural Resources, North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue, Horry County Fire Rescue and Horry County police were among those that responded. Kershaw County Fire Service personnel left the Midlands to assist Horry County through a mutual aid agreement. In North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service said fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning on more than 400 acres in four forests across the state on Sunday. The largest, about 300 acres, was at Uwharrie National Forest, about 50 miles east of Charlotte. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, urged some residents to evacuate Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there. On Sunday, officials said those evacuations remained in effect. That fire was burning about 400 acres on Sunday afternoon, with zero percent containment, according to the Polk County Emergency Management/Fire Marshals office. The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting helicopter water drops and back-burning operations on the ground, and area residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said. Officials have not said what caused any of the fires. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. Utah taxpayers could soon be able to donate to a Diapering Supplies Fund through a bill that advanced through a House committee on Friday. HB547 sponsored by Rep. Rosalba Dominguez, D-Salt Lake City, would create the Diapering Supplies Fund, to help provide diapers for families in need. The bill was heard during the House Health and Human Services Committee and will now go to the House floor. Its a need that is growing within our state, and its a need that I would love to help families and children to be able to participate in, Dominguez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The money donated to the fund by taxpayers would be available for nonprofits who provide diapering supplies to their communities. The extra money from this fund would help the organizations be able to fulfill the needs of the people they serve. Lack of access to diapers is a health problem for our children, because parents may have to leave their children in wet or soiled diapers longer than is healthy, leading to diaper rash infections, said Mallory Wheat who spoke in favor of the bill during the committee hearing. Another issue caused by a lack of access to diapers is parents not being able to send their children to daycare because many daycares require parents to provide their own diapers. What this bill would do? The creation of the Diapering Supplies Fund under HB547 would allow taxpayers to voluntarily donate money to help provide diapers for those in need on their state income tax returns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would require the Utah Department of Health and Human Services to award grants from the Diapering Supplies Fund to eligible nonprofits for the purchase of diapers. The nonprofits would have to have at least five years of experience distributing supplies for toddlers and babies. The grants would fund the purchase of diapers, wipes and other needed diaper supplies for individuals in need. If the bill passes, people would be able to donate to the fund when they file their taxes starting next year. The Utah Diaper Bank One of the nonprofit organizations that would benefit from the funding provided by this bill is the Utah Diaper Bank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Victor Velivis founded the Utah Diaper Bank in 2012 after he realized there was no government safety-net program for providing diapers for families in need and that Utah didnt have a diaper bank. In the first year the diaper bank provided 11,000 diapers and last year they provided 1.9 million diapers. There is still a need for more diapers as most organizations the diaper bank distributes to each month run out of diapers about halfway through the month. Velivis has worked with the Dominguez as she has workshopped the bill. She became aware of what were doing, and she wanted to help, Velivis said about the bills sponsor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The diaper bank distributes to 40 nonprofit and government agencies monthly, and to others once a year. Once a quarter they partner with the Utah Food Bank to send diapers to another 19 cities. Velivis said he hopes this bill and the fund it would create can help people be more aware of the need for diapers in Utah. But theres still a lot of people that arent aware that low income families are not getting assistance with diapers, Velivis said. Itll get the problem out in front of people, so they understand that there are people in need out there, that babies arent getting diapers. He added that the diaper bank uses the tagline Every baby deserves a clean diaper. LEXINGTON, Ill (WMBD) It was something that once started as just an idea. Weve always dreamed about opening a bookstore, but we never really knew if we would make it happen, co-owner of Emerald & Amethyst Books said. This past January, Jaime and Andy Hand made their dream a reality when they opened their business it got its name from their two kids birthstones. My husband and I have always loved to read. We met in college, got an English degree together at {Illinois State University} so its kind of something that brought us together, Jamie Hand said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its more than just a bookstore: they sell board games; have sweet treats and brew coffee. We get our Coffee from Gobena which is roasted here in central Illinois and their whole business model is any profit that they makes go towards administration fees for life, Jamie Hand said. Were serving some coffee with some purpose that helps kids. and then all of our sweets from common grounds which is right next door in Gridley. Jamie previously worked in corporate America, Andy an entrepreneur in gaming design. Now the couple works side by side every day. We already lived together, parent together run our lives together and now we work together. So, this is a lot of life together, Jamie Hand said. Weve adjusted well to it. We literally bump into each other sometimes because its so tight and figuratively bump into each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Life is busy for all of us, but the Hand family hopes their business can be a place for you to press pause. I really want people to slow down. Thats been something Ive been seeking in my own life, its just always go, go, go, Jamie Hand said. This is a place weve created where you can come and get something that interests you, get something sweet to savor and people can come hang out here for as long as theyd like. You can see their hours of operation by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. A former high-ranking official with the Cobb County Sheriffs Office is without a job after he was found guilty of lying to the police. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Friday, a Cherokee County jury found Braxton Tyree Cotton, 44, of Mableton, guilty on two counts of making a false statement and representation and falsifying and concealing a material fact. In July 2023, the Cobb County District Attorneys Office requested a substitute prosecutor for Cottons case, which led to Cherokee County District Attorneys Office taking over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This decision was made to ensure fairness and impartiality in the proceedings, Cherokee County District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway said. Channel 2s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michelle Newell broke the story in April 2023. At that time, Cotton was a major and chief of staff for the Cobb County Sheriffs Office. The conviction stemmed from an investigation initiated on March 15, 2023, due to the report of an accident. According to warrants, Cotton lied to a Cobb County police officer that he knew well about a hit-and-run accident that he claimed happened on March 14. The Cherokee County District Attorneys Office said Cotton first told a Cobb County Police officer that the crash occurred on March 4, 2023, around 8:45 p.m. on Macland and Lost Mountain roads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to warrants, he told the officer through texts and phone calls that someone had hit his car. License plate reading camera images showed Cottons car was not damaged hours after he claimed it had been. The warrant goes on to say that Cotton admitted to the officer that his car wasnt damaged in a hit-and-run and said it had been hit sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. on March 5 by a woman he knew. Cotton told police the woman was driving without insurance at the time. Traffic cameras prove that wasnt true, either. Flock cameras and surveillance video determined that Cottons car was hit sometime between 12:18 and 1:16 a.m. on March 5. A detective later identified the other driver, who was a woman with whom Cotton had a relationship. Cellphone data from Cottons phone service provider showed him in contact with the same woman before and after the alleged accident, which is inconsistent with what Cotton allegedly told the officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents show the woman received insurance coverage the day after the alleged accident. Cotton was arrested on April 28, 2024. TRENDING STORIES: During the trial, which occurred from Feb. 24 to Feb. 27, the State presented 79 exhibits and called four witnesses to testify, including the Cobb County police officer who took the initial report, the detective who investigated the incident, and an insurance investigator. The woman who rear-ended Cottons car also testified, admitting that she crashed into the Corvette and left the scene, according to the DA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One witness, Cobb County Sheriff Craig D. Owens Sr., testified on behalf of Cotton. Cotton was sentenced to five years, with the first six months to serve in confinement and the remainder to serve on probation. Cotton was also charged with criminal attempt to commit insurance fraud, criminal attempt to commit a felony, and two counts of violation of oath by public officer, but was acquitted by the jury on those counts in the indictment. Evidence presented at trial clearly showed that this man attempted to manipulate other law enforcement officers by fabricating facts surrounding a rear-end collision, all for his own benefit, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper of the Cherokee County District Attorneys Office. Such behavior cannot be tolerated, as it undermines the publics confidence in the integrity of law enforcement. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] In February 2025, Alnur Mussayev, a former Soviet and Kazakh security official, claimed in a Facebook post that U.S. President Donald Trump was recruited in 1987 by the KGB, the intelligence agency of the Soviet Union, and assigned the code name "Krasnov." Mussayev's post didn't state whether he personally recruited Trump or simply knew about the recruitment, nor did it state whether Trump actively participated in espionage or was just a potential asset. Trump did visit Moscow in 1987, but there is no clear evidence suggesting he was actively recruited by the KGB during that trip or at any other time. Mussayev's allegations that Trump was recruited by the KGB at that time don't line up with Mussayev's documented career path. Several biographies of him on Russian-language websites suggest that at the time Trump was supposedly recruited, Mussayev was working in the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the KGB. Trump's pro-Russia stance (compared with other U.S. presidents) has fed into past allegations that he is a Russian asset for instance, the 2021 book "American Kompromat" featured an interview with a former KGB spy who also claimed the agency recruited Trump as an asset. Again, however, there is no clear evidence supporting this claim. In late February 2025, a rumor circulated online that Russian intelligence recruited U.S. President Donald Trump as an "asset" in the late 1980s and gave him the code name "Krasnov," following allegations from a former Soviet and Kazakh security official, Alnur Mussayev. The claim appeared on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X, where one account published a thread in response to the rumor, purporting to tie together evidence to support it (archived, archived, archived, archived, archived, archived, archived, archived). (@anthony7andrews / X) That user wrote: "Now that it's been revealed that Trump has been a Russian asset for 40 years named Krasnov by the FSB, I will write a simple thread of various pieces of information that solidifies the truth of everything I've written." At the time of publishing this article, the thread had been viewed more than 10 million times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, one Threads user wrote about Mussayev alleging "that Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987 under the code name 'Krasnov.'" https://www.threads.net/@purveyorofdreams/post/DGYv0CbPJvt The claim gained traction when the news website The Daily Beast published a now-deleted story (archived) titled "Former Intelligence Officer Claims KGB Recruited Trump," using only Mussayev's Facebook post as a source. The article described Mussayev's allegations as "unfounded." We contacted The Daily Beast to ask why the story was deleted and will update this story if we receive a response. Meanwhile, Snopes readers wrote in and asked us whether the rumor that Trump was recruited to be a Russian asset was true. Here's what to know: The allegations don't line up with official records The allegations originated from a Facebook post that Mussayev published on Feb. 20, 2025 (archived). The post alleged that in 1987, the KGB recruited a "40-year-old businessman from the USA, Donald Trump, nicknamed 'Krasnov.'" Mussayev claimed he was serving in the KGB's Moscow-based Sixth Directorate at the time, and it was "the most important direction" of the department's work to recruit business owners from "capitalist countries." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mussayev's post didn't specify whether Trump participated in any spying, only that he was recruited. In an earlier post (archived) from July 18, 2018, he described Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin as follows: Based on my experience of operational work at the KGB-KNB, I can say for sure that Trump belongs to the category of perfectly recruited people. I have no doubt that Russia has a compromise on the President of the United States, that for many years the Kremlin promoted Trump to the position of President of the main world power. We also reached out to Mussayev for comment on the story and will update this article if he responds directly to us. However, on Feb. 26, 2025, he wrote on Facebook that he had received numerous requests from journalists and did not plan to give interviews. He added (archived): First of all, I would like to point out that the information is not completely new and has appeared on the Internet and mass media since 2015. And was reflected in the investigation by the US Special Prosecutor Mueller. Secondly, I do not need PR and publicity and, frankly, by the power of the profession, I am burdened by it. Further information will be issued in accordance with the rules of conducting information warfare. Trump did visit Moscow in 1987, reportedly to look at possible locations for luxury hotels. However, several Russian-language websites (of unknown trustworthiness) with short biographies of Mussayev revealed a discrepancy: While Mussayev claimed he worked in the Sixth Directorate of the KGB in 1987, those online biographies placed him in the KGB from 1979 until 1986, when he moved to the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs. The biography of Mussayev on Lenta.ru attributed that information to a Kazakhstani historian named Daniyar Ashimbayev. Moreover, according to a translated version of a Feb. 22, 2025, Russian-language post Ashimbayev made on his Telegram account, Mussayev had no connections to the First Directorate, the branch of the KGB responsible for recruiting foreign assets. (Ashimbayev noted that Mussayev could justify this by claiming his real responsibilities were top-secret information, however.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other sources corroborate that the Sixth Directorate's main focus was not foreign intelligence. Journalist and author W. Thomas Smith Jr.'s book "Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency" states that the directorate was responsible for "enforcing financial and trade laws, as well as guarding against economic espionage," while the First Chief Directorate was the KGB's main espionage arm. Previous accusations against Trump Trump's relatively pro-Russian positions compared with those of other U.S. presidents have led to past allegations that he is or was a Russian asset in some way. For instance, the controversial, flamboyant and untrustworthy Steele Dossier, released just before Trump took office in 2017, claimed Russia had incriminating tapes of Trump engaging in sexual activity with prostitutes in Moscow, among other scandalous accusations. CNN reported that the dossier's main source, Igor Danchenko, was mainly relaying "rumor and speculation," and in 2022 he was acquitted of charges of lying to the FBI about the dossier's sources. In the 2021 book "American Kompromat," journalist Craig Unger interviewed a former KGB spy, Yuri Shvets, who also alleged that Trump was compromised by Russia. Snopes previously covered that claim. The British newspaper The Guardian reported that Shvets had said Trump was "cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shvets claimed Trump first appeared on the Russians' radar in 1977, when he was the target of a spying operation 10 years before the recruitment alleged by Mussayev took place. Shvets said the KGB later went on a "charm offensive" when Trump visited Moscow and St. Petersburg for the first time in 1987 the same year specified by Mussayev. Shvets told The Guardian that Trump proved so willing to spread anti-Western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow. We aren't aware of any evidence corroborating these claims. The Mueller report documented the official findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and the Kremlin. That investigation which found that the Russian government did interfere in the 2016 presidential election "in sweeping and systemic fashion" and that there were "links" between Trump campaign officials and individuals with ties to the Russian government did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government. Sources: Cohen, Marshall. "The Steele Dossier: A Reckoning | CNN Politics." CNN, 18 Nov. 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/18/politics/steele-dossier-reckoning/index.html. "Donald Trump's Russian Spy Connection: Social Media Explodes with 'Evidence' about #Krasnov. Is It Just Another Wild Conspiracy Theory?" The Economic Times, 23 Feb. 2025. The Economic Times - The Times of India, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/donald-trumps-russian-spy-connection-social-media-explodes-with-evidence-about-krasnov-is-it-just-another-wild-conspiracy-theory/articleshow/118504492.cms?from=mdr. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Intelligence Officer Alnur Mussayev Claims KGB Recruited Donald Trump Under Codename 'Krasnov.' 21 Feb. 2025, https://web.archive.org/web/20250221153932/https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-intelligence-officer-alnur-mussayev-claims-kgb-recruited-donald-trump-under-codename-krasnov/. Kazakh Ex-Security Chief's False 'Trump KGB Recruitment Story' Gains Media Traction - The Times Of Central Asia. 24 Feb. 2025, https://timesca.com/kazakh-ex-security-chiefs-false-trump-kgb-recruitment-story-gains-media-traction/. Luczkiw, Stash. "'Trump Recruited as Moscow Asset,' Says Ex-KGB Spy Chief." Kyiv Post, 22 Feb. 2025, https://www.kyivpost.com/post/47630. Muller, Robert. Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election. U.S. Department of Justice, Mar. 2019, https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/dl?inline=. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No Label Defined. https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJvCWC3XXtyfvww8DjpQMP.html. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. Palma, Bethania. "Did Ex-KGB Spy Say Russia Cultivated Trump as an 'Asset' for 40 Years?" Snopes, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kgb-spy-russia/. Polantz, Katelyn. "How the FBI Attempted to Verify a Salacious Allegation in the Steele Dossier | CNN Politics." CNN, 9 Dec. 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/09/politics/fbi-steele-dossier/index.html. Smith, David. "'The Perfect Target': Russia Cultivated Trump as Asset for 40 Years Ex-KGB Spy." The Guardian, 29 Jan. 2021. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith, W. Thomas, and W. Thomas Smith. Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency. Infobase Publishing, 2003. "The Daily Beast Publishes, Then Deletes Story Alleging Trump Was Recruited by Soviet Spies." Yahoo News, 22 Feb. 2025, https://www.yahoo.com/news/daily-beast-publishes-then-deletes-234051086.html. Trump-Russia Steele Dossier Source Acquitted of Lying to FBI. 18 Oct. 2022. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63305382. Unger, Craig. American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery. Penguin, 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Web Page Template. https://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/kgb.html. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. "Who Is Alnur Mussayev? The Former USSR KGB Officer at the Center of Explosive Donald Trump 'Russian Spy' Allegations." The Economic Times, 23 Feb. 2025. The Economic Times - The Times of India, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/who-is-alnur-mussayev-the-former-ussr-kgb-officer-at-the-center-of-explosive-donald-trump-russian-spy-allegations/articleshow/118489046.cms?from=mdr. ", ." Lenta.RU, https://lenta.ru/lib/14190507/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. | . https://centrasia.org/person2.php?st=1130843514. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. By Andreas Rinke BERLIN (Reuters) -The parties in talks to form Germany's new government are considering quickly setting up two special funds potentially worth hundreds of billions of euros, one for defence and a second for infrastructure, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Economists advising the parties that will likely form a new government coalition estimate around 400 billion euros ($415 billion) are needed for the defence fund and 400 billion to 500 billion euros for the infrastructure fund, the people said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday's heated White House meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump increased a sense of urgency in Berlin to act faster on spending for Germany's own defence and for Ukraine, they said. Senior figures from Germany's conservatives and Social Democrats began exploratory talks on Friday about forming a coalition government in the hope that Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative bloc which came first in last week's election, would form a government by Easter. But the hope is that the funds would be approved in March during the current parliament before a new government is formed, the people said. The two special funds are being discussed by three parties - the Christian Democrats (CDU), the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz - and they are working on details, the people said on condition of anonymity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No final decisions have been made yet, they added. The parties declined to comment, citing confidentiality of the talks. ($1 = 0.9639 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; writing by Tom Sims;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle) Following recent bushfires, Australian wildlife advocates are calling for an urgent pause on kangaroo harvesting in Victoria's Grampians region. Experts are divided on the best path forward to protect wildlife, The Guardian reported. What's happening? Recent fires burned through 76,000 hectares of national park and farmland, raising concerns about the impact on native wildlife. The timing is particularly worrying, since Victoria just approved new harvest quotas that allow over 106,000 grey kangaroos to be culled annually 32,000 in the affected areas. Why are the Grampians fires concerning? The fires threaten both the immediate survival and long-term health of local wildlife populations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holly Sitters, who studies fire impacts on mammals, told The Guardian that large, intense blazes pose serious risks: "Some animals are able to move out of the way of the fire, whereas others may become injured or killed. Then during the weeks and months following the fire, some animals will survive; others will struggle to find sufficient food." This situation builds on a history of destructive fires in the region since 2006. For context, similar fires during Black Summer killed an estimated 200,000 kangaroos and wallabies. What's being done to protect kangaroos? Two approaches are under consideration. Wildlife Victoria wants to stop commercial harvesting until experts better understand the fires' effects. CEO Lisa Palma expressed concern about "the immediate and potential long-term impacts of the fire on kangaroo populations." However, some experts suggest controlled harvesting could help recovery. Euan Ritchie of Deakin University explained that kangaroo populations can spike after fires in the absence of natural predators such as dingoes, especially in wet conditions. This can lead to overgrazing that hurts native vegetation other animals need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state's environment department engaged in wildlife response efforts, including delivering emergency food packages to endangered southern rock wallabies. Meanwhile, Sitters urged immediate action, saying, "I think this is a time to take proactive steps to protect kangaroos from threats and ensure that future generations can enjoy seeing kangaroos in our landscapes." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. After 120 years, scientists in Mexico have rediscovered a type of rabbit long thought extinct. The Omiltemi cottontail rabbit was finally spotted on camera in the conifer forests of Mexico's Sierra Madre del Sur. The five-year mission to find the elusive Omiltemi rabbit was led by ecologist Jose Alberto Almazan-Catalan. Locals had claimed for years that they regularly hunted Omiltemi rabbits, but scientists could never seem to find them. But with the information from the locals, the scientists set up a series of cameras that eventually started capturing footage of the rabbits. And Almazan-Catalan was thrilled. "I was completely amazed and very happy to have had the opportunity to see one." The effort was done in conjunction with Re:wild as part of a global initiative to locate and protect animals and plants that have not been seen for 10 years or longer. The goal of the effort is to protect and restore our planet, and it has been successful. The Omiltemi rabbit marks the 13th species Re:wild has rediscovered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the work is not over. Now that the species has been rediscovered, scientists hope to learn more about the elusive rabbits. They want to gain insight into their reproductive habits as well as the role the species plays in the mountains so that they can be better preserved and protected. Conservation efforts are not limited to just rediscovering species. For example, conservationists have recently had success reintroducing pygmy pigs in India. And creative efforts in Tristan da Cunha helped save a very rare bird species, the Wilkins' bunting. The ability to save and preserve all the species on our diverse planet is extremely important. All species are part of our biosphere and are essential to a healthy and thriving ecosystem. The Omiltemi rabbits are a perfect example of this. As Jose Alberto Almazan-Catalan explains, "They are important for seed dispersal. Their droppings are important for soil fertility. They are the base of the food chain for predators such as snakes, owls, tigrillos, ocelots, pumas and coyotes." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christina Briggs of Re:wild applauded the efforts of the scientists. "Alberto and his team are helping fill a huge knowledge gap to make sure that the Omiltemi cottontail rabbit is never lost to science again." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Claim: A picture authentically shows Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell photographed together. Rating: Rating: True Context: WireImage photographer Kevin Mazur captured the photo of Musk and Maxwell at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on March 2, 2014. The picture stood as the only known image of the pair. No photographic evidence existed to suggest they conversed or greeted each other. Musk later responded to a question about the picture and claimed that he didn't know Maxwell, and that she had "photobombed" him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A photo supposedly showing billionaire Elon Musk and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell together at a party has circulated online for years. For example, on Feb. 22, 2025, a Reddit user shared (archived) a screenshot of an X post with the photo, writing, "Be a shame if this f***ing picture got around." The picture was real. In other words, a user did not create the image using artificial intelligence (AI) software or digital editing tools. A photographer captured the moment at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on March 2, 2014. Musk claims Maxwell 'photobombed' him On July 2, 2020, an X user asked Musk about the photo of him with Maxwell. In response, he referenced photobombing the act of posing behind someone in a picture without their knowledge writing, "Don't know Ghislaine at all. She photobombed me once at a Vanity Fair party several years ago. Real question is why VF invited her in the first place." Dont know Ghislaine at all. She photobombed me once at a Vanity Fair party several years ago. Real question is why VF invited her in the first place Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2020 The New York Times reported a spokesperson for Musk said of the moment, "Ghislaine simply inserted herself behind him in a photo he was posing for without his knowledge." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On July 4, 2020, Musk again addressed the picture, asking why Maxwell had been invited to the Vanity Fair Oscars party. I was at that Vanity Fair party with @TalulahRiley. Dont know Ghislaine. Real question is why did VF invite her? Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 4, 2020 We previously reached out to Vanity Fair in 2022 to ask about Maxwell's presence at the party but did not receive a response. Background on Epstein's death, Maxwell's conviction On July 6, 2019, federal officials arrested Epstein on charges of sex trafficking and engaging in sex acts with underage girls. According to The Associated Press, Epstein previously agreed to a secret plea deal that ended a federal investigation that could have landed him in prison for life. Then, on Aug. 10, jail guards found Epstein dead in his cell. According to a medical examiner's autopsy report, Epstein died as a result of a suicide by hanging. His death set off a wave of new conspiracy theories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for Maxwell, CNN reported that a jury in late 2021 found her guilty of five federal charges, including "sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and three related counts of conspiracy." Photos of the 2014 Vanity Fair Party According to the Getty Images website, WireImage photographer Kevin Mazur captured at least 565 pictures at the party, including the one of Musk and Maxwell. Another WireImage photographer, Jeff Vespa, made available for licensing 585 additional pictures of the party. Out of 1,150 total photos from the event, only the in-question picture showed Musk and Maxwell. No other evidence suggested the two had conversed or greeted each other at the function. Elon Musk and Ghislaine Maxwell an associate of Jeffrey Epstein both appear in a photo or picture from 2014. The full-length picture of Musk and Maxwell from the Getty Images website. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/VF14/WireImage) Mazur also captured pictures of Maxwell speaking with someone referred to as a "guest." Meanwhile, only one other photo showed Musk at the party an image of him with his wife at the time, actor Talulah Riley, and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, a fake cover of Time magazine featuring the photo of Musk and Maxwell circulated as purported evidence of the publication naming them its annual person of the year. USA Today reported on the misleading use of the photo. Time awarded the honor only to Musk that year. Additionally, the Australian website news.com.au published details of past purported interactions between Musk and Epstein before his death. Sources: Alhous, Peter, and Ryan Mac. "In 2011, Jeffrey Epstein Was A Known Sex Offender. Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, And Sergey Brin Dined With Him Anyway." BuzzFeed News, 9 Sept. 2019, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-bezos-musk-billionaires-dinner. Barnard, Anne. "What Charges Did Jeffrey Epstein Face?" The New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/02/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-charges.html. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Definition of PHOTOBOMB." Merriam-Webster.com, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/photobomb. Gariano, Francesca. "Elon Musk Named Time Magazine's 2021 Person of the Year." Today.com, 13 Dec. 2021, https://www.today.com/news/time-2021-person-year-elon-musk-t242943. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com/. Gramenz, Jack. "Elon Musk Defends Photo with Ghislaine Maxwell, Claiming He Was 'Photobombed.'" News.com.au, 5 July 2020, https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/elon-musk-defends-photo-with-ghislaine-maxwell-claiming-he-was-photobombed/news-story/e36a769f65b00f4da5ea22763bdc3ae1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hays, Tom, and Larry Neumeister. "Ghislaine Maxwell Convicted in Epstein Sex Abuse Case." The Associated Press, 29 Dec. 2021, https://apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-convicted-jeffrey-epstein-trial-verdict-63a71a2825eab41184a79e37bb967e90. "Jeffrey Epstein's Once-Secret Sex Offender Plea Deal Must Stand, Prosecutors Say." NBC News via The Associated Press, 25 June 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jeffrey-epstein-s-once-secret-sex-offender-plea-deal-must-n1021471. Stewart, James B. "The Day Jeffrey Epstein Told Me He Had Dirt on Powerful People." The New York Times, 12 Aug. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-interview.html. Vercellone, Chiara. "Fact Check: Image Claiming to Show Musk and Maxwell as Time's Person of the Year Is Altered." USA Today, 15 Dec. 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/12/15/fact-check-time-person-year-cover-shows-elon-musk-alone/6507248001/. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vitagliano, Brian, and Mallika Kallingal. "Judge Sets Tentative Sentencing Date for Convicted Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell." CNN, 14 Jan. 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/14/us/ghislaine-maxwell-sentencing/index.html. "Who Was Jeffrey Epstein? The Financier Charged with Sex Trafficking." BBC News, 29 Dec. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48913377. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The City of Fairborn celebrated the doll brand Barbie, on Sunday, with a party. The party was hosted by Fairborn Parks and Recreation, guests were encouraged to bring their favorite doll or borrow one from the lending library for the day. Spark-Fairborn had Barbie games, a beauty bar, party favors, snacks and more. The tickets were $15 for the families from Fairborn and $18 for families from everyone else. Which included the snacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Families enjoyed spending time together from noon to 2 p.m. National Barbie Day is celebrated on March 9. It was on March 9, 66 years ago, when the first Barbie doll debuted at the American International Toy Fair in New York. To learn more about Fairborn Parks and Recreation, visit their website here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. Just a few days after Antonio Scippio died at the hospital from gunshot wound injuries, family and friends gathered at his Orange County home to honor his life. They took a part of me that I can never replace. That was my only son. He never been in trouble, and he didnt deserve to be killed, said Gail Reed, mother of Antonio Scippio. Saturday, there was a candlelight vigil, balloon release, and prayer as they all shared heartfelt memories that Antonio brought them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Described as a gentle giant, Reed told Channel 9 her son struggled with mental health conditions, including schizophrenia. He was just a gentle giant reaching out for help. In return, he got killed in the process, said Reed. Reed said her son called 911, claiming he wanted to commit suicide and was going through a mental crisis. Investigators said when deputies got to the scene, they saw Scippio coming from a bedroom with a knife. Investigators said after several commands to drop it, he did not comply. Its at that point our deputies discharged their service weapons and struck the man several times., said Mina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Sheriff John Mina, deputies left the home while giving multiple commands for him to drop the knife before shooting. Reed said when deputies got to the home, she warned them about his condition, but moments later, they shot him. Days later, Scippio died days in the hospital. Reed said she wants the department held accountable and better judgment from deputies when it comes to mental response calls. I want them held accountable. A protocol needs to be put in place and how to handle a mentally ill individual when a call is made. When they call 911, [The call] is supposed to be put over to a crisis line. My son should have been held on the line until someone could get him the proper help, said Reed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mina was asked about the Sheriffs departments Behavioral Response Unit the night of the shooting and said that deputies are paired with a specialist, but not that night because they were not on duty. Several days later, the department said BRU deputy/clinician teams do not respond directly to calls where the subjects are armed. All of the calls even the ones where someone is in a mental health crisis are answered initially by first responding deputies to ensure the scene is safe and that the great majority of the calls, we get involving people in a mental health crisis do not involve weapons. Once first responding deputies determine there are no weapons and no danger to the clinicians, the deputy/clinician team can engage the person who is in a mental crisis. The Behavioral Response Unit is a Co-Responder Model pilot program in which trained mental health clinicians from Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health are paired with Orange County deputies to respond to calls for service involving mental health crises. The program started back in 2020. Each clinician is a mental health professional, and the deputies all are Crisis Intervention Trained (CIT) and have undergone 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Team training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the site for BRU, the teams will respond to calls for service related to mental illness, PTSD, and some substance abuse issues. The deputies will make sure the clinician and the area is safe. The BRU teams will spend their shifts monitoring the radio and responding to appropriate calls for service. They can also be summoned to a scene if a responding patrol deputy requests them. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is taking over the investigation, per protocol when a law enforcement agent fires their weapon. According to the department, the deputies that fired the weapons are on paid administrative leave pending the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department said it will conduct a internal investigation after the initial investigation from FDLE. Per the department, body-worn footage will be available 30 days after the shooting. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. **Related Video Above: Authorities reported Friday that Gene Hackman, wife tested negative for carbon monoxide SANTA FE (WJW) After the great actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their German Shepherd were all found dead at home Wednesday, the cause behind the tragedy is still not determined. Pill bottle found near Gene Hackmans wife is Very important evidence: sheriff However, People Magazine spoke with longtime family friends of the couple Friday to find more insight into their final days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel and Barbara Lenihan told the outlet Hackman was really slipping there, in the last months. FILE Actor Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) FILE Gene Hackman accepts his Oscar for best actor at the 44th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on April 10, 1972. (AP Photo, File) Actor Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa in June 1993. (AP Photo) FILE Actor Gene Hackman, winner of Best Supporting Actor at academy awards in March 1993. Hackman will turn 80 years on Jan. 30, 2010. (AP Photo) The Lenihans son Aaron recalled [Betsy] was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and healthy as possible. According to the Lenihans, Hackman, 95, had been more homebound over the past year. He used to ride his bike around the neighborhood, but had stopped doing so. Arakawa, 65, was reportedly in great health. The Bistro at Gervasi Vineyard named Ohios most beautiful restaurant Earlier this week, investigators reported that Hackman and Arakawa were found in separate parts of their home Hackman in the entryway and Arakawa in a bathroom. The dog was found inside a kennel and two other animals on the property were found alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials have said that the autopsy and toxicology reports could take months to complete. Carbon monoxide poisoning has been ruled out. They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind, Aaron told People regarding the deceased couple. They were reserved, but they were real, [and] a lot of fun. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) The search for a missing Brooklyn Heights man continued in Northeast Ohio Saturday. Get ready to spring forward: Heres when Friends and family of Calvin Bub Jones organized a community search in hopes of finding him or any clues about his whereabouts. The 37-year-old single father of three has been missing since August of 2024. Bub is strength, fun, caring, great father, his mother, Donna Ayers, told Fox 8 News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones was last seen in a 2011 Chevy Impala. The vehicle, last seen in Cleveland, reportedly has a cracked windshield and a Fan Fuel decal on the back. Saturday, loved ones split into two groups and searched for any clues surrounding Jones disappearance. We had like 980 shares just for the search alone with the community sharing it to different groups and things like that, so I think just putting the word out there, just letting everybody know that we are still searching for Calvin and that its not gonna go away until the family gets answers, said volunteer Nicole Matlus. All want peace: Rally to support Ukraine held in Parma Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brooklyn Heights police are still following up on leads and tips related to Jones disappearance. Just last week, investigators said they spent four hours following up on an anonymous tip, but it was deemed not credible. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. TYLER, Texas (KETK) The Tyler Police Department said a fatal crash on South Broadway Avenue left one person dead and two people injured on Saturday. East Texas high-speed chase ends in crash; one airlifted to hospital According to Tyler PD, the crash happened when an SUV turning to enter a Pizza Hut parking lot crashed with two motorcycles in the 7900 block on South Broadway Avenue at around 4:45 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One motorcycle driver reportedly died in the crash, a Tyler PD spokesperson said. The other motorcycle driver and the driver of the SUV where both transported to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Interstate 696 heading westbound was closed early Sunday morning near 11 Mile Road after a fatal crash around 7:30 a.m. Reports indicated there was one fatality in the crash. Traffic along I-696 heading westbound slowed to a crawl as Michigan State Police troopers addressed the scene. Michigan Department of Transportation announced on X at 9:50 a.m. Sunday that the crash had been cleared. It is unclear what caused the crash. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Long-term closure details: Construction project to close parts of eastbound I-696 until 2027: What to know Closure Impacts: I-696 roadwork will mean detours for thousands as businesses, residents weigh impact The crash on I-696 comes one day before the final phase of the "Restore the Reuther" roadwork project, which will shut down some lanes of the freeway. Officials initially planned to begin work Friday but pushed it to Monday in response to the weather. Contact Liam Rappleye: LRappleye@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fatal car crash near 11 Mile Road on westbound I-696 halts traffic The father of a British teenager who was murdered by two schoolchildren in a killing planned on Snapchat has sued Americas biggest technology companies, accusing them in a lawsuit of triggering an unprecedented mental health crisis. Stuart Stephens, whose 13-year-old son Olly was murdered in 2021, has accused US tech firms Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Google-owned YouTube of causing his son serious mental health harms including depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation [and] suicidality. Mr Stephens, from Reading, has joined 18 other families based in the US in legal action against the American businesses. It adds to a flood of litigation accusing them of building products that are addictive and harmful to children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the legal claim seen by The Telegraph, Mr Stephens said his son started using YouTube aged eight and Snapchat, TikTok and Meta-owned Instagram at 10. When he was 12, his parents realised he was no longer sleeping, the legal filing said. They would find him awake at 4am, unable to look away from his devices. The lawsuit claims that Olly fell into an engineered addiction, before the apps pushed him into engaging with strangers by claiming they were his friends. It was these strangers, known only to Olly through online chats, who would later kill him. In 2021, two boys aged 14 were convicted of murdering Olly after he attempted to stop them bullying another child. Olly had tried to alert the childs older brother by forwarding a video of him being humiliated. However, the other children in a group on Snapchat found out and began planning an attack on him, sharing hundreds of voice notes and messages about their intentions. In one message, a boy said: I actually hate the kid with a passion if I was to see him right now Id probably end up killing him. The private messages were never picked up by Snapchat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They hunted him, tracked him and executed him through social media, Mr Stephens told BBC Ones Panorama in 2022. Stuart and Amanda Stephens, whose 13-year-old son Olly was murdered in 2021 - ITV/PA Mr Stephens legal action says: The boy who stabbed him was someone Olly did not know in real life but who knew and/or knew of Olly due to connections defendants made for the sake of platform engagement. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, is being brought by the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is representing hundreds of families in cases against tech giants in the US. The legal claim alleges children are suffering an unprecedented mental health crisis fuelled ... by addictive and dangerous social media products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Stephens said: They robbed him of his childhood. Olly had seen stuff at 13 that I wouldnt see until I was 20. He added that technology companies had it in their power to remove harmful content for teenagers, such as knives, while they had increasingly used encryption to protect themselves from litigation, making it impossible for parents or police to access a childs data in the event of their death. He said: These companies have an air of unaccountability, they believe there is nothing wrong with their products. These companies are acting with impunity. He added the current Online Safety Act, the UKs tech safety laws which could lead to billions of pounds of fines, would likely need strengthening to protect children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesman for the Social Media Victims Law Center said the families were seeking basic corporate accountability for business decisions these companies made prioritising profit over the lives of children across the world. It follows a similar legal challenge brought by the law firm on behalf of four British families against TikTok after their children died in a viral blackout challenge in 2022. One party to the lawsuit is Ellen Roome, whose son Jools died in 2022. She has been campaigning for a change in the law to allow parents to access their childrens social media data in the event of their death without a court order. Ellen Roome with her son Jools Sweeney. Jools was found dead in his room in 2022 - Andrew Fox She told The Telegraph: I want social media companies to be held accountable. It is common knowledge that children are seeing harmful images online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve got to tighten up what our kids are seeing online. When is it going to stop? She said she very much anticipated more parents would join her in legal action. We are very much encouraging parents, if you want to come forward, come forward, she said. Growing numbers of parents have campaigned for a ban on younger teenagers accessing social media and urged other families to not buy devices for their children. Some MPs have urged a ban on phones for under 16s, while a private members bill has called for safer phones for children with a ban on addictive features. So far, the Labour Government has ruled out an outright block on phones for children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Snapchat has previously said that its users have no public profile and teens have control over who they add to their friends list. Meta, Google, Snap and TikTok did not respond to a request for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Margaret Reist Local government reporter Follow Margaret Reist 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 Heidi Martinez-Reyes always loved baking she was a make-it-from-scratch purist from the beginning but it was a visit to a Japanese restaurant in Chicago with the most exquisite desserts that clinched her culinary future. She returned to her home in Lincoln and bought some version of that dessert a chewy filled rice confection known as daifuku at an oriental market. It came in a box. It didnt measure up. Not by a long shot. And I was like, well, then, well just do with this what we do with everything else, she said. Just learn how to make it. So she did, building on an interest in Japanese culture that Martinez-Reyes has had since she was a child growing up in Cuba. There was a fairly large Japanese population where she lived, she said, and her father who practices traditional Chinese medicine in Hastings participated in martial arts and other cultural practices of the people there and by default, she said, it was a part of her life, too. I always enjoyed it, she said. In 1995, when she was 10, she and her parents both physicians came to America as political refugees and resettled in Hastings. Her grandma taught her to cook traditional Cuban fare but her real love, she said, was baking. And making things from scratch. Always. She came to Lincoln for college and earned a degree in French from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Shed dabbled in cooking Japanese dishes, but it wasnt until that trip to Chicago that she dived into desserts. She learned how to make her own bean paste, how to master the perfect rice flour dough. She made it for friends, and eventually began branching out to farmers markets, selling some of her desserts online. A friend told her about the ECHO Collective a program founded in 2020 by Kelly Ross that provides four-month business education courses for local immigrant and refugee women. A couple of years ago, she met Ross at the Asian Community and Cultural Centers Harvest Moon celebration, where Ross had a booth. Last year, she took the ECHO Collective courses, graduated and last week found herself at a podium in front of television cameras with the mayor, who was promoting the citys investments in workforce development. Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird spent the week touting those efforts a total of $12 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars given to various programs. Those programs, she said, have helped give more than 1,400 people new jobs skills and credentials. That included $200,000 to the ECHO Collective, which funded the classes for five graduates and will allow another 17 women to participate. Since it began in 2020, the collective has helped 53 women including Martinez-Reyes. She said it helped her with marketing and improving her online presence and branding all helpful for someone who just jumped into a new business with no experience. Everything just kind of clicked, she said. But making connections with other women entrepreneurs has been one of the biggest benefits. Sometimes we meet and bounce ideas off of each other, she said. Those connections are really just incredible and inspiring. Martinez-Reyes, who works as a bilingual legal advocate at the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence and is raising a 15-year-old son (who is a fan of her desserts), does her baking at night and sells her confections online, as well as at Snack Korner, 128 N. 13th St. She named her business Kuro Neko Desserts. It means black cat, and is a shout-out to the first black cat she owned as an adult. Shes always loved cats, but the one she had as an adult was, um, challenging. The cat, now deceased, was grumpy and hated everyone but me and my child, she said, and it was a little inside joke to create a business in his memory. Because the desserts are exactly what his personality was not: soft, cushy, delicate and sweet. Council aides Three people a high school student, a college student and a former councilwoman have been hired as aides (or interns) to three City Council members. Thats how at least to this point a new practice has played out since a lively debate during the budget process about whether council members should be allowed to spend up to $24,000 a year to hire aides to help them do their jobs. The three council members who have hired aides include the two council members who championed the idea Brodey Weber and James Michael Bowers and one who voted against it Tom Duden. Bowers argued that hiring aides was both an equity issue for council members who may not all have equal time or financial means to effectively carry out their duties; and a way to give the legislative branch more independence from the executive branch. He hired former Councilwoman Tammy Ward who he commended last week from the dais for her help with a handicap parking ordinance passed unanimously by the council. She decided not to run for reelection in 2023, and has her own consulting business and extensive experience in policy work for state and local officials. Weber who argued the practice would allow young people to get experience working with their local governments and help encourage a new generation of policymakers hired a high school student whod helped with his campaign. Duden hired a University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science major who he said is getting credit hours for the work hes doing. He said he voted against the practice because he saw it as an expansion of government. But he said a volunteer helping him didnt always follow through, and because he also teaches, he saw giving a college student intern experience as a benefit. Both the students were hired as part-time city employees; Ward was hired as an independent contractor. Setting records? Lincoln might just make it into the Guinness Book of World Records if the very determined fundraisers who love the Pershing Mural can make their case. Arts advocate Liz Shea-McCoy and retired Maj. Gen. and former Nebraska adjutant general Roger Lempke told the Lincoln City Council last week that theyre working on it. The small group dedicated to making sure the mural wasnt destroyed have raised $3.1 million, which allowed them to have the 763,000 tiles depicting 38 figures removed and stored. They also arranged to have the mural reinstalled at Wyuka Cemetery The group needs to raise the last $1 million necessary for that work, and appealed to the council for any funds that might be available. Another Pershing champion Tim Kenny has done a bunch of research on the world record angle. He said he started looking into it a couple of years ago and cant find another free-standing ceramic mural of that size. There is a bigger one in Vietnam, he said, but its not free-standing and parts of it have been dismantled. Kenny said he made a preliminary application to the Guinness Book of World Records and was told they didnt think it exactly fit into an existing category. But new categories can be created, so hes trying to be strategic in the way he makes the application, and hes trying to enlist some folks to advocate on the murals behalf. He said hes always been intrigued by the Guinness Book of World Records and having the Pershing mural be a part of it would be a great way to attract people to visit it once its reinstalled. Kenny said that even if they cant make their case for it being the biggest free-standing mural, it could well be the biggest mural ever moved piece by tiny ceramic piece. None of these guys could hold a candle to that, he said. CHICAGO A new set of federal cuts at the hands of the Trump administration will impact the number of grants the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can offer to organizations. Along with these latest reductions, HUD, like many federal agencies, has lost hundreds of employees as DOGE aims to reduce federal spending. This past Valentines Day, former HUD employee Jayna Lennon was just days away from completing her probationary period when she received a termination letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was really surreal. Yeah, it was a crazy day, Lennon said. Landlord convicted of murder, hate crimes in attack on Palestinian American family Often called the front door to HUD, Lennon worked in the departments Office of Field, Policy and Management. Among the jobs of that team is answering thousands of calls guiding residents to HUD resources. A lot of times, questions were about fair housing complaints, Lennon recalled. Without us, those calls will go unanswered. In 2023, HUDs Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity awarded about $30 million in grants to nonprofits nationwide. The money helped investigate and litigate housing discrimination and educate communities of their rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, The Associated Press reported the Trump administration plans to cut nearly half of the 162 HUD grants to organizations for fair housing. Without federal funding, those agencies will not be able to do the same work and then if HUD internally has less capacity, it just really dismantles a system to protect housing against housing discrimination, Lennon said. The consequences will be devastating: Pritzker, local Democrats speak out about proposed Medicaid cuts In a statement, a spokesperson for HUD told the AP: The Department is responsible for ensuring our grantees and contractors are in compliance with the Presidents Executive Orders. If we determine they are not in compliance, then we are required to take action. The Department will continue to serve the American people, including those are facing housing discrimination or eviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I left a separate job, took a pay cut to be able to serve my community, former HUD employee Frank Zhu said. After just six weeks serving as a financial analyst under HUDs Office of Public and Indian Housing, Zhu was terminated as well. His work ensured public housing authorities across the state, including the Chicago Housing Authority, and covered the housing costs of low-income residents. The Chicago Housing Authority covers about 80,000 families worth of housing. This includes family choice vouchers, this includes public housing; these are the families where HUB subsidizes a portion of their income to make sure they can cover rent, and if these funds are cut, were talking about tens of thousands, maybe millions of families that could lose access to safe and secure housing, Zhu said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Zhu, one of the things HUD is most known for is issuing community development block grants. Shelter and youth services, safety, mental health and supporting people with disabilities are just some of the areas those resources go toward. Now, many of the people who issue those community grants have been let go. That office within HUD that issues it, that currently has 900 plus employees and as far as weve seen, there are plans to cut it down to 150 employees, which is almost an 84% cut, Zhu said. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines In spite of this challenging and uncertain time, Zhu said hes most concerned about the residents he looked forward to serving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Honestly, I am much more bummed about the state of the country and being removed before I could even have a chance to really do my part for my compatriots, me fellow Chicagoans, Zhu said. Naturally, Lennon feels overwhelmed but said shes grateful for her support system. Ive learned that more than ever that its like the people around us who can lift us up, and I want to be mindful about what I can be doing, Lennon said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. 27,523 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? 27,523 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? Crowds of current and recently fired federal workers gathered at a job fair in Maryland on Saturday to search for new career opportunities as the Trump administration continues its purge of federal workers. Many were filled with despair and frustration over the cuts, spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Daniel Leckie was a historic preservation specialist for the General Services Administration who got fired in February. He attended the job fair with his wife and 6-month-old baby. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're now just incredibly terrified and scrambling to find new jobs to keep the roof over our head and feed our little one," he told ABC News. PHOTO: A former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) worker leaves USAID as he holds a box with his personal belongings, during a sendoff in Washington, D.C. Feb. 27, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Reuters) MORE: Fired federal workers see their dreams shattered and an uncertain future Leckie said he was fired for being a probationary employee and was just one day away from fully satisfying his probationary period. Leckie and his wife, Jennifer Hopkins, just bought a new home in Maryland, making their first mortgage payment just a few weeks ago. He was also working toward completing the public service loan forgiveness program. "I had about maybe two or three months left before I would have satisfied the terms of my student loans. It's an $80,000 proposition for our family. It's between this job, the student loan forgiveness that we were counting on and the job that we took included a promotion potential as long as I was performing fully, successfully in my duties, which I was," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That's what we based a lot of our financial future on, including deciding to start a family and taking out a mortgage and becoming homeowners here in the D.C. area," Leckie added. PHOTO: Former United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees, terminated after the Trump administration dismantled the agency, collect their personal belongings at the USAID headquarters, on Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) William Dixon, a 30-year veteran who has worked in the federal government for 23 years, told ABC News the layoffs are a "stab" against veterans. "Because after we've sat up here and put the sacrifice out, like we don't even matter, we don't count," he said. Dixon works in logistics for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but he and his wife, who also works for the Pentagon, are bracing for their jobs to be cut any day now as the Defense Department prepares to make sweeping layoffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dixon said both he and his wife received the email from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to list what they accomplished last week, but they've refrained from responding based on guidance from their supervisors. PHOTO: Elon Musk listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 11, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) MORE: Could the federal layoffs impact the Virginia governor race? He did, however, have a message for Musk and Trump. "Stop. You're hurting families. You're hurting people," he said. "Everybody depends on having a paycheck to take care of their family as well as to build for their retirement as well as take care of young ones. You're doing nothing but hurting, hurting the whole nation and their families. That's all you're doing." Federal workers laid off by DOGE sound off as they look for new jobs originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A FedEx cargo plane had to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport after striking a bird during takeoff. On Saturday, March 1, FedEx Flight 3609 traveling from Newark to Indianapolis returned to the airport at around 8 a.m. after the strike, which damaged one of the engines on the Boeing 767, the Federal Aviation Administration said. FedEx released a statement after the incident, confirming that the flight experienced a bird strike during takeoff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our B767 crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark after dealing with the resulting engine damage, including an engine fire, FedEx said. The training, expertise, and professionalism demonstrated by our FedEx pilots was exemplary. We are thankful for the quick actions of our crew and first responders. Videos shared on social media appeared to show the airplanes engine on fire while it was still in the air traveling over New Jersey. There were no reported injuries, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As a precaution, air traffic was paused, though operations have now resumed. Earlier in the week, several additional airline incidents occurred, including emergency landings and diversions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, Feb. 23, American Airlines Flight AA292 traveling from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome due to a bomb threat. American Airlines shared in a statement that the flight was diverted due to a possible security issue, which was later determined to be non-credible. Just days later on Tuesday, Feb. 25, Delta Flight 876 heading from Atlanta to South Carolina had to turn around and make an emergency landing after the cabin appeared to be filled with smoke. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Six people were dead and 13 injured after a fiery crash on Interstate 10 west of Phoenix involving multiple vehicles and tractor-trailers, authorities said. Eastbound lanes of the freeway were expected to be closed for hours. State troopers responded to calls of a collision on eastbound I-10 about 14 miles west of Tonopah, a community on the outskirts of the Phoenix area, shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, according to an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple vehicles caught fire after the crash, and initial reports from law enforcement indicated three people were dead, according to DPS. A photo supplied by the agency showed several vehicles scorched by fire and intact tractor-trailers positioned along the freeway shoulder. Interstate 10 was closed temporarily in both directions, and DPS said the eastbound lanes would remain closed for hours. The spokesperson didn't specify an estimated time for reopening. What caused the crash was not immediately known. Authorities provided updates throughout the day as the scene remained active and an investigation continued. Just before 7 p.m., a DPS spokesperson said the death toll had risen to four people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 7:40 p.m., DPS updated that figure to six people confirmed dead and 13 people taken to hospitals with injuries as a result of the crash and fire. The Arizona Department of Transportation said drivers headed east on I-10 were being exited onto Salome Road, a surface street that led to the nearest eastbound entrance at 411th Avenue. Westbound traffic on I-10 remained open. After 5 a.m. on Sunday, ADOT announced the eastbound lanes had fully reopened after the crash. Crashes involving multiple vehicles and multiple fatalities on Arizona's open roads have been relatively rare recently. In January 2023, five people died in a six-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 near Chandler Boulevard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A semitruck driver who was distracted by social media did not slow for slowing traffic, crashing into vehicles in front of him. He pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the deaths and was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. (This story was updated to add new information.) Reach reporter Rey Covarrubias Jr. at rcovarrubias@gannett.com. Follow him on X, Threads and Bluesky @ReyCJrAZ. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fiery I-10 crash west of Phoenix leaves 6 dead; eastbound lanes reopened (Bloomberg) -- Finlands President Alexander Stubb said neighboring Russia wont stop with Ukraine if its not countered with strength in any negotiations over a ceasefire or peace. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only thing that Vladimir Putin understands is power, Stubb said in a Bloomberg TV interview on Sunday in London. You show any kind of a weakness and he will basically go after you. The risk for any peace deal in Ukraine is whether it holds, Stubb said, suggesting Putin has failed to abide by the terms of ceasefire agreements 25 times since 2014 a tally cited before by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Putin, who launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, still controls about one-fifth of the countrys territory. I dont think anyone can trust Vladimir Putin, but dont underestimate the capacity of Donald Trump to negotiate a deal and a tough deal, Stubb, 56, said of the US president. The most important thing we have to understand is that if that deal shows any kind of weakness or loss for Ukraine, we have all lost. Stubb proposed a three-phase plan, in which Ukraine first must be put into a position of strength. More support, tougher sanctions on Russia and the use of frozen assets should be combined with security arrangements where Ukraine takes the lead, Europe supports and the US provides a backstop, the president said. That would be followed by a ceasefire and then peace negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Finland, Russias full-scale aggression was a wake-up call that prompted a rapid move to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2023. Its border with Russia exceeds 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) and now makes up more than half of NATOs eastern flank. The Nordic country has a history of wars with Moscow, and has provided Kyiv with military support including air defense and heavy ammunition. Finland, a country of 5.5 million roughly the size of Minnesota has more artillery than France and Germany combined and can call on as many as 280,000 troops in time of war. Theres a Russian saying that if you use a knife or a bayonet and push in and its soft, go all the way. If its hard, pull back. Lets be hard, Stubb said. --With assistance from Brenda Kerubo and Kevin Lam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. HARVEST, Ala. (WHNT) Multiple fire agencies responded to a car and house fire in Harvest Saturday afternoon. The Harvest Volunteer Fire Department said at around 2:40 p.m., on March 1, was called for a structure fire on Willow Oak Drive. Priceville Police arrest woman for credit card fraud When crews arrived on the scene, they found a vehicle on fire that had spread into a single-story home. HVFR said members from Monrovia Volunteer Fire-Rescue and Toney Volunteer Fire & Rescue arrived and assisted with the fire attack, search and overhaul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 3,000 gallons of water were used, with the damage being contained to the garage of the home. HVFR said crews worked for about 1.5 hours before returning to service. No injuries were reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. The Fall River Fire Department was dispatched to the old Silvia School on Hartwell Street to reports of a structure fire. Crews arrived around 3 PM and encountered heavy fire conditions and immediately engaged the fire inside the building. Around 30-40 minutes into battling the fire, crews were told to evacuate the building due to the structural integrity of the building. Crews then went into a defensive position and began battling the flames from outside the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews remain on the scene to make sure the fire remains extinguished and to monitor any hot spots. Because of the hazardous materials within the building, fire investigators were unable to enter the building and investigate the cause of fire. They will return in the morning to begin their investigation. 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 For the two Nebraska students selected to represent the state in this years United States Senate Youth Program, the opportunity puts them both just one step closer to achieving their future goals. Both Anneliese Bargen, a senior at Norris High School, and Sarah Lange, a senior at Raymond Central High School, aspire to pursue careers in law and government, aiming to someday make a positive change not just in Nebraska, but in communities across the nation. And the prestigious Senate Youth Program will help set them up to do just that. It's definitely such an amazing opportunity, Lange said. Two students are selected from each state annually to participate in the extremely competitive merit-based program to embark on a weeklong adventure in Washington, D.C., with more than 100 fellow delegates from across the country. The group touched down in D.C. on Saturday, ready for a week filled with touring the nations capital, meeting with U.S. senators, learning about the three branches of government, connecting with past and present program participants and hearing from a variety of leaders in law, media and government. But most of all, Bargen is looking forward to the opportunity to connect with students with different backgrounds who have similar interests as her. Theyre not only going to be connections that we make for next week, theyre going to be connections that last for the next five, 10, 15, 20 years and beyond, she said. So that's something that I'm really excited for. The Senate Youth Program, which is funded by the Hearst Foundation, was created in 1962 to help grow students knowledge of the American government. Not only is the program a once-in-a-lifetime experience for students, but each delegate will also receive a $10,000 scholarship for use at an undergraduate college, which will allow students some flexibility and financial freedom as they begin their college careers, Lange said. I feel really, really thankful, she said. During the application process for the program, students were asked to complete a series of essay questions, a quiz and an interview about their knowledge and interest in government and politics. Additionally, both Lange and Bargen are involved in a lengthy list of activities, which helped them float to the top of the candidate pool of about 60 "top-notch" Nebraska students, said Bre Wilton, the state selector for the program. "They're both so composed and professional. And for being such young adults, they had a pretty profound experience with working with government, trying to lobby for different legislation, that we had never really seen in a 17-year-old before," she said. "We look at applications to see what they've done compared to the other kids, and these two had a lot of great experiences." Lange is a member of the student council, FFA, FBLA, National Honor Society and Spanish Club, and has participated in 4-H. She was also selected for the American Legion Auxiliary Cornhusker Girls State program last year, as well as Girls Nation held in Washington, D.C., which is where she first became friends with Bargen. In addition to participating in both Girls State and Girls Nation, Bargen is also a member of the National Honor Society, Nebraska Rep. Adrian Smiths youth advisory council, Spanish Club, student council, the mock trial team, choir and the University of Nebraska-Lincolns Unicameral Youth Legislature. Both Lange and Bargen bonded over their applications to the Senate Youth Program, but they never expected they would both be chosen and have the opportunity to travel to Washington together again. The chances of both of us getting selected for Girls Nation and then for Senate Youth, I mean, it's just really unbelievable. It's amazing, Lange said. In early December, the two delegates were each surprised at school by a Nebraska Department of Education representative and their families with the news of their selection. Bargen was in her second-period AP Statistics class working on probabilities when she got the news, her hands immediately covering her mouth in shock. In that moment, it was just pure excitement and accomplishment, Bargen said. Lange, however, had been lured into the school cafeteria thinking there was an impromptu meeting with the senior class when she was surprised with her acceptance into the program. I was just totally shocked, Lange said. As both Bargen and Lange leave high school in May and begin their college careers, both of their sights are set on becoming changemakers. Lange plans to attend UNL to study economics and political science on the pre-law track, and later pursue both a masters degree in public policy or public administration, and a degree in law. Someday, she hopes to work in public policy, specializing in the intersection of law and economics. While Bargen is still undecided on where she plans to attend school possibly UNL or a college on the East Coast she hopes to follow a similar path as Lange. As an undergraduate student, she plans to major in political science and philosophy, and eventually go on to receive a masters degree in public administration and a law degree. In the future, Bargen hopes to run for a seat in the Nebraska Legislature and later represent her home state in the U.S. House of Representatives. For now, however, shes excited to get a taste of her future at the Senate Youth Program conference this week. I think that it really will help us find ways to make change, not only here, but at the national level. I think that there's a lot that we can take back from Washington, D.C., that we've learned and use it in our own communities, she said. Firefighters across north Georgia have been busy extinguishing fires this weekend due to stiff winds and dry conditions. In Fairburn, firefighters aggressively fought a fast-moving brush fire on Saturday. The fire destroyed a shed and damaged two trailers. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to three nearby homes. The Fairburn Fire Department wants to remind the public that a ban on all outdoor burning is in place this weekend. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Residents in multiple neighborhoods in the Carolina Forest area that were evacuated Saturday and Sunday are being allowed to return home as wildfires continue to burn across the Myrtle Beach area. As of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, residents of all neighborhoods previously evacuated due to the wildfire are now able to return home, according to an email from Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov. Residents will encounter law enforcement checkpoints as they return, Moskov said. Residents are told to watch for possible rekindling of hot spots in the area and call 911 if assistance is needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of 3:20 p.m. Sunday, the Carolina Forest area fire is roughly 1,200 acres, while a second wildfire near S.C. 22 is 800 acres, according to the the South Carolina Forestry Commission. The smaller fire is 80% contained, said Doug Woods, spokesperson with the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Blackhawk helicopters on Sunday, March 2, 2025, drop water on neighborhoods in the Carolina Forest area as wildfires rage across 2,000 acres. Firefighters have been battling wildfires since Saturday in the Myrtle Beach area. There are several wildfires raging across South Carolina on Sunday, but Horry County has by far the largest fire, Woods said. The fire near Carolina Forest has not been contained but there is a good line around the perimeter, according to Woods. The fire has not spread since reaching 1,200 acres. The path a South Carolina Forestry Commission airplane took while dropping water on a wildfire in the Carolina Forest area. Screenshot taken at 3:25 p.m. March 2. Flightradar24 shows planes dropping water on the fire have concentrated on an area east of Waterford Plantation and a second area northwest of Walker Woods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of this time, no structures have succumbed to the wildfire, and no injuries are reported, according to Horry County Fire Rescue on its Facebook page. There are over 20 agencies from across the Carolinas assisting with the wildfire. Horry County Fire Rescue urges everyone in the Carolina Forest area to continue monitoring fire conditions and prepare a go-bag and emergency plan. The smoke is also causing low visibility so take caution when driving, officials advise. State Representative Tim McGinnis said that two Blackhawk helicopters will be dropping water on the fire Sunday and additional tractors are on the way to help dig lines around the Carolina Forest fire. Where people were evacuated Residents in the Carolina Forest area of Blackberry Lane from the intersections of Spring Lake Drive, including Pennyroyal Court, Alyssum Court, Bluebonnet Court, as well as Harvest Drive from Moonbeam Court to Tidelands Court in the Spring Lake community were told to leave their homes Saturday and early Sunday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other evacuation areas include Arrow Wood Court, Indianola Court and Tuckahoe Road in the Walkers Woods neighborhood; Covington Drive from Summerhill Drive to the community center in the Covington Lakes neighborhood; and Indigo Bay, Farm, Summerlyn, Spring Lake, Covington Lakes, Waterford, Walkers Woods and Avalon neighborhoods, according to a Facebook post from Horry County Fire Rescue. Should an evacuation occur, public safety personnel will go through the neighborhood knocking on doors to notify residents of the risk of remaining in place. Authorities advise to act swiftly if told to evacuate. Evacuees are advised to go to Carolina Forest Recreation Center, where provisions were being provided for residents by Horry County officials and the American Red Cross. Fires continue to flare Sunday behind Springlake in Carolina Forest as more communities are evacuated. Firefighters continue to battle wildfires that rage in the Myrtle Beach area. Its estimated that more than 1,500 acres are burning. March 2, 2025 As of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, residents of Tuckahoe Road and Wyandot Court were allowed to return home. However, residents again were evacuated several hours later after the blaze threatened homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 7 p.m. Saturday, International Drive was closed to all non-public safety traffic as crews work to respond to the wildfire in Carolina Forest. A burn ban has been in place in Horry County since Thursday as dry and windy conditions persist. The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a burn ban on Saturday for all counties across the state until further notice. At least 102 wildfires were reported across the state on Saturday. The incident response has involved 410 personnel manning, among other vehicles, at least 127 fire apparatus. Personnel will continue to staff this incident until the fire is contained, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Fire contained near Lewis Bay Ocean Preserve Firefighters with Horry County Fire Rescue, North Myrtle Beach and South Carolina Forestry Commission battled a fire in the area of Old Highway 90 and Edge Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of 9:50 p.m. Saturday the fire was contained, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. However, crews will remain on the scene for potential flare-ups and people will continue to see smoke. A wildfire raged through the neighborhood of Walkers Woods, which could be seen off of International Drive Saturday evening. Firefighters have been battling the fires in several areas of Horry County since Saturday afternoon. Homeowners have been evacuated from their homes as fires threaten structures. March 1, 2025 At 1:25 p.m. Saturday, Horry County Fire Rescue was dispatched to the area of Old Highway 90 and Edge Road for a reported outside fire that was more than 100 acres. About 20 homes in that area are also being threatened and are being evacuated out of an abundance of caution, a Facebook post said. North Myrtle Beach Fire Chief Billy Floyd said Saturday that crews are working with Horry County Fire Rescue to battle the fire off of Highway 90 in the area of Lewis Bay Ocean Preserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews spent more than four hours battling the blaze from all sides, including near the industrial park, Floyd said. Floyd said he is keeping a watch that the fire doesnt move toward Water Tower Road and Barefoot Resort. It looks a lot better than 2 hours ago, Floyd said. An aerial view of homes on Tuckahoe Road in Carolina Forest shows the wildfires and smoke. Firefighters headed to the area to try and save the homes. Wood said Saturday that the crews are battling more than 100 acres along Lewis Ocean Bay Preserve. Bulldozers and varying types of equipment are being brought in to help fight the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The preserve is where forestry officials conducted a controlled burn last week that ended up getting out of control and spreading to 275 acres. Its unclear if the controlled burn also caused this fire, Woods said. We dont know a cause right now, Wood said. I dont know if its smoldering remains from the controlled burn. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. A federal judge on Saturday ruled that President Trumps firing of the head of an office designed to protect government whistleblowers was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favor of Hampton Dellinger, director of the Office of Special Counsel, who said he was fired from his post in a one-sentence email. An appointee of former President Biden, he argued that the firing violated his appointment to a five-year term in the office. A temporary restraining order was scheduled to expire Wednesday but Jackson extended it to Saturday as she weighed the further relief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no dispute that the statute establishing the Office of Special Counsel provides that the Special Counsel may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that the curt email from the White House informing the Special Counsel that he was terminated contained no reasons whatsoever, Jackson wrote. The Office of Special Counsel, which is different from Justice Department special counsels like Jack Smith, enables whistleblowers to report potential government wrongdoing and works to protect them from retaliation. It also responds to potential violations of the Hatch Act, the law that guards against electioneering by federal employees. Joshua Matz, a lawyer for Dellinger, argued Wednesday that the Office of Special Counsel is not a pure extension of the executive branch. It plays a significant role in reporting to Congress, existing to ensure the legislative branch knows if executive agencies are interfering with its attempts to protect whistleblowers, he said. The independence that exists here is about ensuring that whistleblowers who are going to report retaliation or inappropriate political activity can do so without fear of retaliation, Matz said, questioning why a president who swore to faithfully execute the law would want to eliminate a haven for whistleblowers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dellingers attorneys said that he is an inferior officer, which they argue means that Congress sets the terms of removal from the office not the executive. DOJ lawyer Madeline McMahon contrarily argued that Dellinger holds core executive powers and authority, including enforcement of four federal statutes and a roving investigatory function. She also said that the governments position is that the president, under his authority to supervise the executive branch, has a limitless ability to remove direct subordinates for any reason at all. To let Dellinger stay would undercut that power, she argued. Jackson sharply pushed back on that assertion, contending that the president has a lot of power already to remove the official, if hes done something wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He can remove him in situations where hes acting arbitrarily or negligently or corruptly, if hes done something wrong, something to give us concern give the president concern, the judge said. All the hand wringing about the fact that somebody cant be out there that the president cant control is not true. He has removal power. What were talking about is just a little piece of that, the narrow question about whether a president should be able to fire this particular person for no reason whatsoever, she said. McMahon said the judge does not have authority to grant injunctive relief, because any such order would disable Trumps power to remove Dellinger and select someone else to fill that office. Dellingers case already reached the Supreme Court, the first of several lawsuits challenging Trumps firings of independent federal agency leaders with statutory removal protections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The justices punted on the administrations request to wipe the lower courts temporary reinstatement of the official, holding in abeyance Trumps emergency application until the lower courts order expired Wednesday, effectively pushing off deciding whether the firing was legal. When Jackson extended her temporary restraining order, she acknowledged the unusual posture of the case, given its early trip to the Supreme Court, and said she would rule expeditiously while still giving full consideration to all the arguments. Democratic appointees to multimember commissions like the Merit Systems Protection Board, National Labor Relations Board and Federal Labor Relations Authority have also challenged their firings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. While theres nothing wrong with storing items on your property, it could be possible to take things too far. Especially if it negatively affects your neighborhood and the safety of those around you. In Tarpon Springs, Florida, one notorious man has reportedly been stockpiling home appliances and building materials damaged by hurricanes on his mothers yard. And while its been happening for years, neighbors have complained it has gotten worse following Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I had planned to retire here and now I'm rethinking it, Denise Ramirez, who lives next door to the property, shared with ABC Action News. I put all this money in and I may sell [my home]. I don't want to live next to this, this isn't how I want to spend my last years. With neighbors now calling it an appliance graveyard, it was only a matter of time before this unsightly salvation project made the news. One mans trash is another mans treasure Steve Kaufman, the man whos turned his mothers lawn into a suburban junkyard, says he is a general contractor but as ABC Action News reporter Adam Walser discovered, Kaufman doesnt have a state license. Walser caught up with Kaufman as he arrived at his moms property with wood beams and an old tire on top of his minivan. As Wasler asked Kaufman about the appliances that were riddled across his mothers front lawn, Kaufman implied that he fixes them for his customers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, I had to hang onto them for customers, temporarily. Im a general [contractor] so Ive got a buddy that does this with me. Some of whats included in Kaufmans collection are household appliances, disabled vehicles, lawnmowers, bicycles, mattresses, wood beams, assorted furniture and rotted drywall. And since its all been drenched in salt water from the hurricanes, neighbors cant quite understand what Kaufman is doing. Rotten drywall with mold is going to be converted into what, exactly? Ramirez asked Walser. Not only are the neighbors confused, theyre also concerned. The appliances on Kaufmans lawn including refrigerators and washing machines come with doors attached, and neighbors were worried about local children getting locked inside one of these appliances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont understand why, said Kaufman. Theres no locks on these things or anything. When neighbors escalated their concerns to the police, officers arrived at Kaufmans mothers property and removed the doors from the appliances. During a 2023 Tarpon Springs code enforcement board hearing, an officer testified that the property has looked like this for at least five years (since around 2018) and confirmed the amount of trash around the property and on the roof. Kaufman has refused to allow code enforcement officers to inspect the backyard, saying there were too many valuables stored behind the house. Angered by his non-compliance, the city has fined Kaufmans mother, Delores Kaufman, $125 a day since August of 2023. The collective fines are now approaching $75,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Walser spoke with Dolores Kaufman, she said she was aware of the situation with the fines and code violations, but also shared that she doesnt have any idea how to resolve it. I own the house but I can't do anything other than have him get rid of it, she says. He's the one who brings it all in, not me. Read more: Home prices in America could fly through the roof in 2025 heres the big reason why and how to take full advantage (with as little as $10) What rights do the neighbors have? Kaufmans neighbors are understandably upset that this situation has been drawn out for nearly two years, but unfortunately, there isnt much else that they can do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Its a hard challenge due to the fact that state law only allows us to do so much, says Tarpon Springs Major Taurean Mathis, a spokesperson for the city's code enforcement. I just ask that they [the neighbors] continue to work with us and let us do the right thing and let us do it the proper way." And while Major Mathis words dont offer the neighbors much hope, Ramirez and the other concerned neighbors have done everything right with regards to Kaufmans mothers yard. In fact, anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation with a trash-collecting neighbor should follow the steps that Ramirez took. Step 1: File a complaint with the city. This will get the ball rolling as it alerts the city of the situation. City officials will then perform an investigation and the trash-collecting neighbor will be put on notice. This will start to put some pressure on the neighbor to clean up their yard, and if that doesnt work, the city may be inclined to issue fines, adding even more pressure to the situation. Step 2: File a report with the police. This will escalate the situation while allowing the authorities to take action if its needed, like when the police removed the doors from all of Kaufmans appliances due to concern about local children potentially getting locked inside. If your trash-collecting neighbor didnt feel the pressure from the citys officials, a visit from the police may be enough to prompt the neighbor into action. Step 3: Alert your local news network. If steps one and two prove to be unsuccessful, contact your local news network and see if it may be interested in covering your story. Exposing your neighbors yard on TV could add even more pressure to the situation and may spurn the neighbor into action. What to read next Jamie Dimon issues a warning about the US stock market says prices are 'kind of inflated.' Crashproof your portfolio with these 3 rock-solid strategies I like this stuff: Self-made $500M mogul and YouTuber reveals his essential US portfolio that he says Amazon cant hurt heres his secret formula and how you can copy it in 2025 Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. TYLER, Texas (KETK) In this edition of East Texas In Focus, KETKs Tyler Henderson sat down with Longview City Manager Rolin McPhee to talk about his role in local government as a part of our new series on East Texas city managers. IN FOCUS: A conversation with Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller McPhee took the time to sit down with KETK to explain what he does on a day-to-day basis for the city and what the citys plans look like going forward into the future. What is a city manager responsible for? As Longview City Manager, McPhee is the head of the citys administration and operations. This means hes almost like a CEO in that hes appointed by the city council and mayor like a business board appoints a CEO to manage a company on their behalf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A city manager like McPhee has to manage all the citys departments and he must propose a budget to fund those departments. The citys departments oversee things like water, streets, parks, public safety and maintenance. All of these departments have to do their best work within the citys limited budget and thats what city managers like McPhee help make happen. Proposed food truck regulations could affect how Longview business operate I believe city managers jobs are actually supposed to make the departments within the city successful, and make sure they have the resources needed to do their job, in spite of the limitations, McPhee said. How does someone become a city manger? McPhee actually got his start as an engineer. He went to Texas A&M University in College Station and received his Bachelors of Science degree in civil engineering. He worked with water and sewer lines and then as a licensed engineer in Longview before becoming the city engineer of Marshall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 25 years ago in Dec. 2000, the City of Longview hired McPhee and he worked as utilities engineer. He then went on to work as an engineering manager, assistant director of public works, director of public of works and he was appointed by the mayor and city council as city manager in 2022. What are cities not responsible for? With all the things the city does manage like sanitation, water bills, maintaining the parks and the streets, it may make residents wonder just what doesnt the local government maintain? McPhee explained how the city has partners like SWEPCO which provides the citys gas and the various hospitals and businesses that keep Longview running have relationships with the city as well. Longview City Council buys land to expand Heritage Plaza Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have relationships with people who invest in our community, but we dont dictate where they invest and we dont dictate the policies of those respective organizations, McPhee said. What do people not realize cities are responsible for? We do a terrible job talking about the things we do, explained McPhee. For a city of more than 50,000 people, Longviews city government has to do a lot of stuff which goes unnoticed. McPhee told Tyler about how the city has to mow all the lawns in the parks, help clean litter, time all the traffic signals and they also provide housing and information services for other communities outside of Longview. Whats next for Longview? McPhee is optimistic about Longviews outlook going forward because of the communitys reinvestment in infrastructure and the services that the city provides like water which is a hot topic across Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newly purchased shopping center indicates continued growth for Longview Longview has had a continued reinvestment within the infrastructure over the last 20 years. In fact, when they brought me in back in 2000, we were building a new plan and securing water rights. And actually based on our current growth, if you look out 50 years, which is what the regional water planning groups plan for, Longview actually has enough water for the next 50 years, said McPhee. He credits the citys fortunate future to the thoughtful planning of other city government leaders who came before him. So Longviews in a really fortunate position. A long architect before me, I was not the one that should get the credit for it, but there was a lot of action put towards reinvestment in that infrastructure, McPhee said. And actually, the City of Longview utility system is actually in fantastic shape and real close to retiring its debt. So in a great position for the long term, for the next 50 years, theres a lot of good stuff coming out of Longview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tyler also asked McPhee several questions sent to KETK from Longview residents. All those questions and more can be seen in the full episode of East Texas In Focus above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. ABOVE: The latest forecast update from Severe Weather Center 9. To stay on top of changing weather conditions, be sure to download our free WSOC-TV weather app. FORECAST: Its much colder today with temperatures in the 20s and 30s this morning. High temperatures will struggle to reach 50 degrees. Winds are much lower than yesterday and will continue to fade through this afternoon and evening. Even with the improvements to the wind, it will still be very dry today, so burning is not recommended as fires could quickly spread. South Carolina also has a statewide burn ban in place as large wildfires continue to impact the Myrtle Beach area. Temperatures will improve through the work week with quiet conditions to start. Our next storm system arrives Wednesday morning, bringing rain for the morning commute and the potential for a few storms. The early timing will help keep bigger severe weather concerns to our east, but well continue to monitor that timing in case it shifts a little later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement >> Channel 9s Weather 24/7 stream has the latest local weather all day, every day. Watch wherever you stream on our website, or through your mobile app or smart TV. WEATHER RESOURCES: FOLLOW OUR TEAM ON X: A retired NYC firefighter was charged in the beating death of a Long Island man following an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, when an argument over an unpaid debt turned violent. James Rogers, 66, allegedly killed Mark Iacono, 65, with his bare hands Thursday evening following a Bay Shore AA meeting, Newsday reported. Rogers is a retired FDNY captain who lives in Babylon. He served 22 years with the FDNY, and now operates two assisted living facilities, Newsday reported. James Rogers is seen being led to a court hearing Friday. News 12 Rogers has allegedly denied beating Mark Iacono to death. News 12 Long Island investigators said the two men started arguing over money in the parking lot of the United Methodist Church just before 9 p.m., soon after the meeting ended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rogers allegedly grabbed Iacono and flung him to the ground. Iacono landed face down, and Rogers allegedly grabbed his head and smashed his face into the ground multiple times, News12 Long Island reported. After a witness pulled Rogers off Iacono, he continued to kick him. The fatal fight unfolded in the parking lot of United Methodist Church in Bay Shore, pictured above. News 12 Iacono died soon after arriving at South Shore University Hospital. News 12 Iacono was pronounced dead soon after arriving at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, not even 10 minutes later. Rogers was charged with first-degree manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip. He is scheduled to return to court on March 11. It wasnt clear from the reports who provoked the fight, or who owed money to whom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rogers lawyer, Islip Terrace-based attorney Robert A. Macedonio, told Newsday his client and Iacono had a prior business relationship and called the beat down an argument over a business dispute. Rogers could not be reached for comment Saturday. Mar. 1MORGANTOWN A former Morgantown City Council member and WVU College of Law graduate is facing a host of charges in Virginia tied to a string of burglaries spanning several counties. According to a Bedford Police Department press release, Ryan Wheeler Wallace was taken into custody without incident on Feb. 27 after a multi-agency investigation culminated in a search warrant for his residence. The Dominion Post has confirmed this is the same Ryan Wallace who represented Morgantown's 3rd Ward on Morgantown City Council for a single two-year term from July 2017 through June 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wallace graduated from the WVU College of Law in May 2018. While in school, he was named one of the top student leaders in the country by the National Jurist, which made him a finalist for its Law Student of the Year in 2018. According to the press release, the Bedford Police Department began looking into a burglary at an area business that occurred in January. The suspect captured by surveillance cameras appeared similar to an individual being sought for similar crimes in nearby Bedford and Botetourt counties. Through the collaborative efforts of all three agencies, a suspect was identified. In February, the Roanoke County Police Department took a report that a business in its jurisdiction had been burglarized. The same individual was captured by that business's cameras. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around this time, agencies in northern Virginia joined the investigation, as they had reports of similar crimes in their jurisdictions. According to the release, Wallace is facing, "a number of felonies and misdemeanors related to these crimes, with the possibility of more charges to come." All told, nine agencies contributed to the investigation. Wallace was 36 years old when he defeated incumbent Wes Nugent (1, 579 975) to win a seat on Morgantown City Council in April 2017. On March 22, 2019, just over a month ahead of the city's April 30 election, Wallace abruptly announced that he did not intend to serve a second term as he and his family were moving to Toronto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on city code at the time, it was too late to remove his name from the ballot. Come Election Day, enough voters were aware of the situation that one of the write-in candidates, Zack Cruz, was elected. Once in Canada, Wallace opened his own law firm, Wallace Legal. Since closed, that firm is currently under the trusteeship of the Superior Court of Justice and under investigation by Canadian authorities. According to information provided to The Dominion Post, Wallace cut ties with his family and left Canada on his own in March 2024. A former Ohio police officer will serve community control rather than going to prison for tampering with evidence in a death investigation. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Last week, a Butler County Judge sentenced 47-year-old Michelle Berling to five years of community control, our news partners WCPO-9 TV reported. She will be serving her time under probation and through monthly community service. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Butler County judge Kelly Heile ruled that if Berling violated any of the conditions of her sentence, she could face up to 3 years in prison. I think Judge Heile was very fair in what she did, Berlings attorney, Stew Mathews said. Appreciate it very much and Michelle appreciates it and I think it was appropriate and justice was served. In January, Berling pleaded guilty to one tampering charge, a third-degree felony, and the others were dismissed in exchange for the plea. The sentence stems from the death investigation of Brittany Sands in June on Schumacher Park Drive, where Berling altered Flock camera data and images, according to Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berling was placed on paid administrative leave when the investigation began in August, but she later resigned. The court received several victim impact statements from Sands family, while some were in support of Berling. In a letter to the judge, Sands mother, Rebecca McMurray, asked for truth and transparency, WCPO-9 TV reported. Medical records show Berling dealt with mental health issues, and she told Heile on Monday that shes been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for a while and that shes been working on it. Berling had a 22-year career with the West Chester Police Department. She also spent several years with the Butler County Sheriffs Office and the West Chester Fire Department. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Hosts of Fox Newss flagship weekend show Fox & Friends suggested on Saturday that the presidents diplomatic dumpster fire of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should earn him the worlds most coveted award for service to humanity. We have a president whos willing to do anything to bring about world peace, said co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is married to Sean Duffy, Trumps secretary of Transportation. Man, if he doesnt get the Nobel Peace Prize after this, that thing means nothing. Her comments came after a fractious meeting at the White House on Friday in which President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky for allegedly failing to express thanks for the United States support during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While playing clips from the summit, the team erupted in laughter at footage of the Ukrainian ambassador holding her head in her hands in the Oval Office as tension continued to mount between Trump and Zelensky. Co-host Peter Doocy insisted that Trump had made viable proposals to his Ukrainian counterpart on how to resolve the conflict and that Zelensky would, therefore, be responsible for any further bloodshed. [Trump] was giving Zelensky an offering. If you dont take it, the war continues, as Doocy put it. Campos-Duffy further railed against Zelensky for embodying what she described as the whole ungrateful European attitude. She then lambasted the Ukrainian president for his supposed sense of entitlement, a sense that Americas always going to be there to hand out money and protect them and fix things. Doocy agreed, noting that the overwhelming support from fellow leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was meaningless because, in the absence of assistance from the United States, there would be a Russian flag flying over Zelenskys house. DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) A Franklin County Sheriffs Department deputy is under an internal affairs investigation after he was arrested and accused of driving under the influence. According to municipal court documents, 38-year-old Tyrone Morgan was pulled over on Feb. 6, just after 11 p.m. while driving on Interstate 71 North in Berkshire Township, near the Galena rest area. A copy of the Ohio State Highway Patrol summons states that Morgan was operating a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup when he was clocked driving 88 mph in a 70-mph zone. Though Morgan refused a Blood Alcohol Concentration test, he was cited for OVI: Under the influence of alcohol/drug of abuse. The Franklin County Sheriffs Office confirmed that Morgan was arrested for OVI by troopers, and while his case is pending, he remains the subject of an internal affairs investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan is not permitted to operate a county vehicle, the sheriffs office said, and any disciplinary action will be determined in accordance with his union contract upon the conclusion of the case. A pretrial date has been scheduled for March 4. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Interstate 10 eastbound was reopened at 5:19 a.m. on Sunday after being closed for more than 16 hours west of Phoenix after a horrific accident that took the lives of four people. The Department of Public Safety originally told The Arizona Republic six people had died, but they confirmed Sunday morning that there were four deaths, two people in critical condition receiving life-saving treatment and six people taken to hospitals for their injuries. Five of those people had already been released. The crash occurred shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, according to a DPS spokesperson. The fiery crash happened about 14 miles west of Tonopah involving multiple vehicles and tractor-trailers, authorities said Saturday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warren Trent, an agency spokesperson, said on Sunday morning that DPS would lead the investigation into the incident while noting that it would take time to fully reconstruct what happened given the number of people and collisions involved. Trent said there was no evidence that speed or impairment were factors in the collision but that would ultimately be determined during the investigation. Adverse weather, however, might have played a role. "Troopers are investigating whether blowing dust was a significant factor in the collisions by potentially causing reduced visibility," Trent said. He urged anyone driving in conditions where visibility was limited to slow down at the very least as it takes longer for a vehicle to come to a complete stop the faster it goes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed there is construction at that location. Trent said the vehicles involved six commercial motor vehicles, four passenger vehicles, a van and a recreational vehicle towing a trailer. Trent said DPS was not yet identifying any of the deceased as troopers were still working to notify next of kin. "This is just a very tragic situation," Trent said. "Very tragic." Trent said he didn't know how long it took for troopers to respond to the scene, but there are troopers stationed across the state, so the crash's remote location shouldn't have been a factor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A photo supplied by the agency showed several vehicles scorched by fire and intact tractor-trailers positioned along the freeway shoulder. What caused the crash was not immediately known. Investigators worked at the scene late into the night. Drivers heading east toward Phoenix were required to exit the freeway at milepost 81, Salome Road, creating huge backups throughout Saturday. The accident occurred near milepost 88. (This story was updated to add a video and new information.) This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Eastbound I-10 reopens after 4 died in horror crash NEW YORK Neighbors and friends were left shocked at the news of the passing of civil rights icon and Harlem legend, which was announced Saturday morning. She was 92. Dukes son Ronald Dukes confirmed her death. Dukes, who was the NAACPs New York State Conference president, had been battling an illness in recent weeks, her son told the Amsterdam News. Karen Boykin-Towns, 59, a leader of the NAACP National Board of Directors, said Dukes called her her godchild. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive known Hazel Dukes since 1987 when I worked for David Paterson, Boykin-Towns said. I am the vice chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, for which Hazel was one of our esteemed members. And its because of her that I have risen to the highest positions in the organization. Due to her support, her leadership, her guidance and even chastisement. Dukes was an avid churchgoer who attended services every Sunday on Long Island and spent her time teaching Sunday school, Boykin-Towns said. Dukes recently ran the entire NAACP Annual Meeting on Feb. 15, where she gave those that were close to her a handwritten Valentines Day card along with chocolates in a small bag, according to Boykin-Towns. She was intentional with her love, she said. She loved so many, and she made everyone feel like they were her very special one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel Paterson, who is the brother of former New York Gov. David Paterson, came by Dukes Harlem apartment Saturday afternoon and praised her loyalty, dedication and upbeat personality. I mean, Hazel was always somebody who was in the mix, Paterson said, and as a Black woman working around leadership, Hazel was one of the few people, as a Black woman, to be able to rise up and engage in events and concerns that meant everything to everybody. If something happens in our community, Hazel shows up. Hazel was always on the front line. Dukes was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 2023 during the NAACPs 114th National Convention in Boston, which was presented to her by Hillary Clinton. There are very few words for this kind of feeling, Paterson said. But in one sense, were thankful for having had Hazel, but we are brokenhearted because we miss Hazel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reverend Diane Lacey, 86, who lived in the same building as Dukes, shed a tear after learning of the news of the trailblazers death. Lacey remembered Dukes as someone who was always on the go and a community woman. She was definitely a lady in every way, Lacey said. Always very well-dressed. We admired her clothes and her style. She was also very much like a regular person. Very down-to-earth person among her neighbors. And you could see her life played out in different ways; sometimes she had to be very strong and aggressive and outspoken. She was a leader of her association she belonged to. We saw her as both powerful and as a neighbor and a friend, Lacey said. Dukes was the first civilian in U.S. history to administer the oath of office to a governor when she swore in Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2023. Mayor Eric Adams on Saturday ordered all flags on city buildings to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Dukes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One neighbor, J. Gorham, 63 simply recalled Dukes as the sweetest lady ever. Shes been in the building for years, he said. She was the sweetest lady ever. Always said hi to everybody. She would always talk. Knowing her as a neighbor, yes, she was the sweetest lady. She was 92 years old and that says it all, Boykin-Towns said. We should all be so lucky to live that long and live a life like hers. Neighbors and friends were left shocked at the news of the passing of civil rights icon and Harlem legend on Saturday morning. She was 92. Dukes son Ronald Dukes confirmed her death. Dukes, who was the NAACPs New York State Conference president, had been battling an illness in recent weeks, her son told the Amsterdam News. Karen Boykin-Towns, 59, a leader of the NAACP National Board of Directors, said Dukes called her her godchild. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive known Hazel Dukes since 1987 when I worked for David Paterson, Boykin-Towns said. I am the vice chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, for which Hazel was one of our esteemed members. And its because of her that I have risen to the highest positions in the organization. Due to her support, her leadership, her guidance and even chastisement. Dukes was an avid churchgoer who attended services every Sunday on Long Island and spent her time teaching Sunday school, Boykin-Towns said. Dukes recently ran the entire NAACP Annual Meeting on Feb. 15, where she gave those that were close to her a handwritten Valentines Day card along with chocolates in a small bag, according to Boykin-Towns. She was intentional with her love, she said. She loved so many, and she made everyone feel like they were her very special one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel Paterson, who is the brother of former New York Governor David Paterson, came by Dukes Harlem apartment Saturday afternoon and praised her loyalty, dedication and upbeat personality. I mean, Hazel was always somebody who was in the mix, Paterson said, and as a Black woman working around leadership, Hazel was one of the few people, as a Black woman, to be able to rise up and engage in events and concerns that meant everything to everybody. If something happens in our community, Hazel shows up. Hazel was always on the front line. Dukes was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 2023 during the NAACPs 114th National Convention in Boston, which was presented to her by Hillary Clinton. There are very few words for this kind of feeling, Paterson said. But in one sense, were thankful for having had Hazel, but we are brokenhearted because we miss Hazel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reverend Diane Lacey, 86, who lived in the same building as Dukes, shed a tear after learning of the news of the trailblazers death. Lacey remembered Dukes as someone who was always on the go and a community woman. She was definitely a lady in every way, Lacey said. Always very well-dressed. We admired her clothes and her style. She was also very much like a regular person. Very down-to-earth person among her neighbors. And you could see her life played out in different ways; sometimes she had to be very strong and aggressive and outspoken. She was a leader of her association she belonged to. We saw her as both powerful and as a neighbor and a friend, Lacey said. Dukes was the first civilian in U.S. history to administer the oath of office to a governor when she swore in Gov. Hochul in 2023. Mayor Adams on Saturday ordered all flags on city buildings to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Dukes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One neighbor, J. Gorham, 63 simply recalled Dukes as the sweetest lady ever. Shes been in the building for years, he said. She was the sweetest lady ever. Always said hi to everybody. She would always talk. Knowing her as a neighbor, yes, she was the sweetest lady. She was 92 years old and that says it all, Boykin-Towns said. We should all be so lucky to live that long and live a life like hers. (WHTM) On This Week in Pennsylvania, we recap the top stories of the week in Pennsylvania politics. Last week, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that federal funds that were once frozen have now been made available to the state. This came after the governor filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. Penn State University looks at closing multiple Commonwealth campuses: Difficult choices Also, in recent days, state lawmakers heard from policymakers in appropriations hearings as the governors budget proposal undergoes its annual review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Midstate Congressman Lloyd Smucker (R) was also hailed for his efforts in getting a budget deal passed in the House, though it still must go through the Senate. His Pennsylvania colleague, Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, shared her views last week to share her concerns about the deal. Every week, This Week in Pennsylvania gives a comprehensive look at the weeks biggest news events in Pennsylvania, provided by the abc27 News team, along with the latest updates on local stories. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania Check your local listings for weekly air times. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) Funeral services were held Saturday for a Durham Uber driver who was killed in a shooting in Johnston County in January. The homegoing service for Emmanuel Kwame Gbedee Sr. was held at The River Church in Durham. The 57-year-old leaves behind a wife and four children. Police have arrested Tray-vion Brown, 18, of Dunn. Investigators say Bedee picked him up in Bensons Holly Grove Road area the night of January 11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bedee was found dead in his car early the next morning a short distance away from the location where authorities say he picked up the suspect. (Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Gbedee Jr.) (Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Gbedee Jr.) .(Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Gbedee Jr.) Emmanuel Gbedee Sr. (Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Gbedee Jr.) (Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Gbedee Jr.) Brown is charged with murder in the case. CBS 17 reporter Greg Funderburg spoke with Bedees family soon after the arrest. Sense of small relief: Durham family grateful for arrest in fathers murder He would give you a ride to school or some random event you brought up at the last minute. He was always ready to take you where you needed to go, said Eneye Gbedee about her father. The victims oldest son says his father has several degrees and spent many years in finance. His parents were high school sweethearts and were set to celebrate their 30th anniversary in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies believe Gbedee and Brown had no connection or association before the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard argued there is a big divergence between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the meeting between the two ended in a shouting match. Gabbard joined Fox News Sunday, where she weighed in on international relations after Zelensky and Trumps meeting had a fiery ending. President Trump recognizes the urgent need to end this war after three long, bloody years and has proven that he is the only person that can do this, Gabbard said. President Zelensky has different aims in mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard argued that Zelensky will only accept a deal that leads to what he views as Ukraines victory, no matter if it leads to a third world war. President Trump is committed to peace and to freedom, she said. Were seeing this big divergence here between his position and his commitment to these values and the interests of the American people and the interests of President Zelensky and these European leaders. Tensions between Trump and Zelensky had been ramping up before the meeting on Friday. Trump claimed the war with Russia never would have happened had he been in office and slammed Zelensky for his leadership, calling him a dictator. There are concerns about Trumps closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin and how he has sidelined Ukraine in the ceasefire negotiations. The meeting on Friday, to secure a rare mineral deal, was intended to smooth things over and reach a new point in the end of the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While critics say Ukraine has been put to the side, Gabbard argued that Trump wants to work with both parties. I can tell you, there were a lot of conversations that were happening through different emissaries both for Zelensky and for President Trump, leading up to his visit there to the Oval Office and President Zelenskys immediate escalation there was frankly quite a surprise, Gabbard said. This has created a huge rift in the relationship. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys immediate escalation during his White House meeting with President Trump created a huge rift in the relationship between the two countries. Gabbard joined Fox News Sunday, where she weighed in on the fiery meeting between the two leaders as they work to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. I can tell you, there were a lot of conversations that were happening through different emissaries both for Zelensky and for President Trump, leading up to his visit there to the Oval Office, and President Zelenskys immediate escalation there was frankly quite a surprise, Gabbard said. This has created a huge rift in the relationship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard slammed Zelensky for how he handled the situation with Trump. She argued that Zelensky would only accept a deal that led to what he views as Ukraines victory, no matter if it led to a third world war. President Trump is committed to peace and to freedom, she said. Were seeing this big divergence here between his position and his commitment to these values and the interests of the American people and the interests of President Zelensky and these European leaders. Relations between Trump and Zelensky have worsened in recent weeks, as Trump has gotten closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin and called Zelensky a dictator. President Trump recognizes the urgent need to end this war after three long, bloody years and has proven that he is the only person that can do this, Gabbard said. President Zelensky has different aims in mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. British spy agency GCHQ has cut ties with Stonewall as Donald Trumps crusade against diversity triggers a funding crisis at the controversial LGBT charity. GCHQ, which is responsible for the UKs signals intelligence, is no longer a member of the groups corporate diversity programme, it is understood, despite once being a vocal champion of the scheme. A reference to the agencys status as a Stonewall Diversity Champion on its careers website was removed after GCHQ was contacted by The Telegraph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision has emerged as Stonewall faces a funding crisis triggered by Mr Trump, who has declared his intention to destroy the deep state. Elon Musk has gutted US overseas aid spending as part of his government efficiency drive. Stonewalls largest funder in recent years has been the US state department. As well as wholesale cuts to foreign aid, Mr Trump has also launched a crusade against what he has termed radical and wasteful government DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] programmes. US security agencies including the FBI and CIA have been forced to close down their diversity functions as a result. Stonewall has said the US government is pursuing an agenda that will spread hate and fear. GCHQs decision to severe ties with the charity comes against a backdrop of strain on the relations between the five eyes intelligence alliance made up of the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Peter Navarro, a senior adviser to Mr Trump, last week reportedly proposed kicking Canada out of the group as a trade war tactic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cheltenham-based GCHQs break from Stonewall is notable given the agencys past ban on gay intelligence officers, which lasted until the 1990s. The agencys most celebrated member, the Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing, was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for his homosexuality several years after he left the agency. Turing underwent chemical castration and was stripped of his security clearance. He took his own life two years later. Code-breaker Alan Turing was convicted of gross indecency for his homosexuality - Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images In 2016, Robert Hannigan, then chief of GCHQ, spoke at Stonewalls annual conference to apologise for its past discrimination against homosexuality. Mr Hannigan said of GCHQs historical treatment of LGBT staff: Their suffering was our loss and it was the nations loss too because we cannot know what Ian and others who were dismissed would have gone on to do and achieve. We did not learn our lesson from Turing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And that is the real point of diversity for me. To do our job, which is solving some of the hardest technology problems the world faces for security reasons, we need all talents and we need people who dare to think differently and be different. The security agencys diversity website says it is committed to a truly equal and inclusive workplace, adding that it has profoundly supportive policies for people of all sexual orientations and has introduced best practice support for our trans and non-binary colleagues. Dozens of government departments and organisations have abandoned their Stonewall memberships since the pandemic, having once paid thousands of pounds to rank among its top 100 LGBT-friendly employers. GCHQ last featured on Stonewalls top 100 list in 2018 and was listed as a diversity champion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britains other security agencies have also featured prominently as backers of Stonewall. MI5 ranked as number four on the list in 2019 and MI6 was ranked number 88 in 2020. None have featured since. Stonewall, the largest LGBT rights group in the world, was founded in 1989 to campaign against a law banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools and local government. It has since been involved in some of the most high-profile LGBT rights campaigns, such as the repeal of a ban on gay people in the military. The group says its campaigns have achieved positive change in public attitudes and public policy. However, its value for money, its influence over corporate HR policies and the groups combative stance on trans rights have been criticised by politicians and gender-critical campaigners. Stonewall has faced criticism for its stance on trans rights and its value to corporations - Vuk Valcic/Getty Images Stonewall previously pushed companies to adopt gender-neutral language, encouraging organisations to use the term parent who has given birth in place of mother on forms to boost their ranking on its index. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most government departments dropped their internal Stonewall programmes across 2022 and 2023, after Liz Truss, then the equalities minister, urged officials to quit the scheme. The BBC, Channel 4, Ofcom and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have all given up their membership of Stonewall in recent years. Stonewalls latest ranking of the 100 most LGBT-friendly employers includes the law firm Linklaters, HSBC and Aviva as among its top-scoring businesses. While Stonewall has largely lost its influence within Whitehall, it continues to receive funding for its overseas work. In response to a parliamentary question, the Foreign Office last week confirmed that Stonewall would receive 650,000 for work spanning 2024 and 2025 helping LGBT people around the world in regions such as the Caribbean, Africa and Eastern Europe. GCHQ declined to comment on its Stonewall membership. MI5 and MI6 did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Stonewall spokesman said: Stonewall is proud to support the hundreds of organisations across the UK and around the world that choose to join and be part of our Diversity Champions programme, which has now been running for over two decades. These organisations are committed to developing inclusive practices and ensuring their LGBTQ+ colleagues are supported and included at work. There has always been a natural ebb and flow as organisations consider their priorities each year. New organisations continue to join the programme and others will take breaks for different reasons, including economic ones. We continue to support organisations wherever possible, through a range of initiatives, both inside of and outside of the Diversity Champion programme. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A new German-built cruise ship set off on its journey from a riverside shipyard to the North Sea on Sunday, with numerous people watching as it left the harbour. The "Asuka III" departed the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, near the north-western German border to the Netherlands. The approximately 40-kilometre journey over the River Ems to the Dutch port of Eemshaven began early on Sunday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the early hour and heavy fog, many spectators gathered in the Papenburg harbour and along the riverbanks to watch the ship leave, according to a dpa photographer. The ship was towed backwards along the narrow Ems by tugs, a method that has proven effective for transfers to the sea. The "Asuka III" is the first ship Meyer Werft has built for the Japanese shipping company NYK Cruises. The vessel, which is 230 metres long and nearly 30 metres wide, has a spa area with a Japanese open-air bath and can accommodate around 740 passengers - a far smaller number than the ships built by US companies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To move the ship, the Ems flood barrier has been closed to dam the river and raise the water level, a move criticized by environmentalists who complain about the ensuing damage to nature. The ship is due to arrive in Eemshaven by Tuesday morning. After technical tests, it will proceed to the German port of Emden, where it will be handed over to the shipping company. Meyer Werft has recently faced financial difficulties due to the global tourism slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, despite having a full order book. Last year, the German government and the state of Lower Saxony each acquired a 40% stake in the company. Germany and Uruguay want a quick ratification of the free trade agreement between the European Union and the Latin American trade bloc Mercosur, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Sunday. "We want, more than that, we need this Mercosur free trade agreement," Steinmeier said at a press conference with Uruguay's new President Yamandu Orsi in Montevideo. However, he added that some "campaigning" was still needed with some European member states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An agreement between the EU and the Mercosur states - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - would create one of the world's largest free trade zones with a population of more than 700 million. Its main aim is to reduce tariffs and thus boost trade. After more than 20 years of talks, the EU Commission and the South American Mercosur alliance concluded negotiations on a vast free-trade area in December. But there is resistance on the European side in countries such as France, Italy and Poland. German farmers meanwhile fear new competition that can produce much more cheaply than they can. Uruguay's President Orsi also called for the rapid implementation of the agreement. Noting how long the negotiations had taken, he thanked Germany for its involvement, saying: "The German support was particularly important for us." Orsi and Steinmeier jointly expressed hope that Argentina, with its ultra-liberal President Javier Milei, would not withdraw from the agreement as Steinmeier indicated this would have "implications for the entire concept." Inspired by big gains in last week's parliamentary elections, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is setting its sights on gaining control of a regional government for the first time in next year's state elections. The party wants to win 45% of the electorate in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt and therefore be able to name the state's premier or top leader, AfD state chairman Martin Reichardt said on Sunday. The goal is to make Saxony-Anhalt, which is west of Berlin, the first German state to be led by an AfD government, he said at the opening of a state party conference in Magdeburg, the state capital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germany's domestic intelligence agency is monitoring the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed right-wing extremist group. "Saxony-Anhalt will become the blue beacon of Germany," Reichardt said referring to the colour associated with the party. In last week's national parliamentary election, the AfD was the top party in the state with 37.1% of the vote. Nationally it came in second but it will not be in the government because other parties have refused to work with it. Germany's likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz intends to meet with US President Donald Trump at the earliest opportunity, according to his deputy Johann Wadephul. "Merz will meet Trump as soon as possible and hopefully by then he'll have higher defence spending in his toolkit," Wadephul told Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper on Sunday. Merz's centre-right alliance won last Sunday's German election, leaving him the favourite to replace the outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His bloc - made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) - is due to begin talks with Scholz's Social Democrats next week over the formation of a coalition. The negotiations are likely to be delicate after a heated election campaign, but Merz is hoping to have a government in place by the Easter holidays in April. However, the power vacuum in Berlin comes at a bad time for Europe, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's dramatic visit to the White House on Friday leaving European leaders scrambling for a response. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have met with Trump in recent days to try to persuade him to maintain support for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wadephul said that Merz could help to soothe tensions, "even though we know that all Europeans are having a hard time in Washington right now." John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, believes that Merz should seek contact with Trump even before his governing coalition is formed. Merz will control Europe's leading economic power reason enough for Trump to listen carefully, he added. In Bolton's view, Merz will benefit from the fact that he worked for US financial giant BlackRock before returning to politics. Bolton said Trump was not only making mistakes in his dealings with the Ukrainian president, but also failed to understand that his planned trade war with the EU would further drive up prices in the US. (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that a halt in fighting could be a starting point for potential peace talks for Ukraine. "It would be very helpful if the bombing were to stop...That would also be the starting point for talks that can then continue," Scholz told journalists after a meeting of European leaders in London. He said that a focus for allies will be to ensure that Ukraine has a strong army when the war there is over so that it can defend itself against any future aggression. "The basis of everything will be a strong army," Scholz said. (Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Ros Russell) Divisions between different factions of the GOP are beginning to take shape in key states ahead of the 2025 and 2026 elections. In Florida, first lady Casey DeSantis mulling a gubernatorial bid as Rep. Byron Donalds launches his campaign with the support of President Trump. In Arizona, a full-fledged primary battle could play out in that states governors race between Trump-backed Karrin Taylor Robson and former House Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Biggs. And in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton is giving serious indications that he will challenge incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the states Senate primary. These emerging dynamics could lead to expensive and bruising primaries as the party seeks to maintain its grip on power even red states throughout the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One common denominator in Florida and Arizona is the impact of Trumps endorsement. The coveted backing has given past GOP primary candidates access to resources and a boost in name ID. Trump backed Robson in December, and she has touted the presidents endorsement since announcing her candidacy earlier this month. The president similarly backed Donalds on Truth Social days before the congressman formally launched his campaign this week. Unlike Robson, Donalds is not facing a primary challenge yet. But the two races have the potential to see bruising GOP primaries play out for very different reasons. Florida governors race In Florida, the brewing battle can be traced back to Ron DeSantis and Donalds falling out over the congressmans decision to endorse Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. The two also sparred over state education guidelines set by Ron DeSantis on Black history in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donalds has been complimentary of the governor since announcing his run, but the governor has continued to tout the first lady as a strong, potential candidate. When asked about whether she would run for governor on Friday, Casey DeSantis told reporters when you see a fork in the road, take it. Early polling indicates the states first lady has an advantage over Donalds in terms of name ID. A poll released last week by the University of North Floridas Public Opinion Research lab found that 33 percent of registered voters in Florida had never heard of the first lady, while 66 percent said they had never heard of Donalds. Shes clearly not going to be receiving an endorsement from Trump, and what were potentially looking at is a Trump-versus-DeSantis Republican primary battle, said Justin Sayfie, a Florida Republican strategist. Arizona governors race In Arizona, Robson, a billionaire businesswoman and former gubernatorial candidate, is seeking to lean more into Trumps rhetoric and the partys populist wing after losing the primary and his endorsement to Kari Lake in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps endorsement of Robson this time around is seen as a significant boost, but Biggs has ties to the staunch conservative grassroots. While Robson is conservative, she certainly doesnt have the conservative record that Biggs has, said Brian Seitchik, an Arizona-based Republican strategist and former Trump campaign staffer. I still assert that Biggs is going to need a co-endorsement to make this a race and the two big factors are resources and the Trump endorsement and Karrin Taylor Robson, right now, has both, he continued. Im not saying that Biggs cant win without the Trump endorsement in the primary but Robsons resources with the Trump endorsement is a pretty powerful punch. A poll released this week by Arizona Public Opinion Pulse showed Robson with 11 percent support among registered Arizona Republicans, while Biggs came in with 14 percent support. Interestingly enough, conservative activist Charlie Kirk also received 14 percent support. Texas Senate race Its even more unclear how things will pan out in Texass Senate race, where Paxton has publicly flirted with the possibility of challenging Cornyn. Paxton told conservative commentator Tucker Carlson in an interview earlier this month that he did not know whether he was running for sure, but he was looking at it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early polling indicates Paxton could pose a serious threat to Cornyn in a Republican primary. A polling aggregate from the Texas Politics Project and the University of Texas at Austin shows Cornyn with a 48 percent approval rating among voters in the state who identify as Republicans. Paxton, on the other hand, had a 60 percent approval rating. Paxton has referred to Cornyn as anti-Trump and has argued he is more loyal to the president. Cornyn backed Trump during the 2024 GOP primaries but not until after he won the New Hampshire primary. The only outcome that I could see playing out in a positive way for most people would be for Trump to find something to give Paxton, said an unnamed Republican strategist. Is there something he could give him the admin to get him not to run because if Paxton runs, I dont know how Trump doesnt get behind him. That race and that scenario would test the bounds of Trump in DC by extreme measures in terms of his relationship with the Senate. But Paxton comes with baggage. He was indicted in 2015, during the first year of his tenure as attorney general, on charges of securities fraud over allegations that, while a state legislator, he solicited investments for a server company without disclosing he was being paid by that company. Paxton pleaded not guilty. After his trial was delayed, Paxton reached a deal with prosecutors in 2024 for him to pay $300,000 and take part in community service to avoid further proceedings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cornyn has significant resources behind him, as well. Punchbowl reported the Senate veteran raised more than $100,000 at an event kicking off his reelection bid in Washington this week. I think theres going to be a lot of tension in Texas political circles, in donor circles, in MAGA circles, as to what to do with that particular race, the strategist said. Strategists note that Trumps role in each of the primaries will differ based on the state. More importantly, it could play differently in a governors race than a Senate race. These gubernatorial races are so personal to states, the strategist said. Yes, the Trump endorsement will matter. Yes, whats happening in Washington will matter. Yes, what kinds of policies and successes we have as a party will matter. But the way voters in primaries and general elections view governors races is they are much more personal. They are more about the people involved in running. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON (AP) The centerpiece election legislation from congressional Republicans would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering, raising concerns among state election officials about how it would be implemented and who would pay for it. In recent interviews, secretaries of state from both parties said they were wary of federal lawmakers creating state election rules and of costly new procedures that would come with them, including collecting and storing sensitive documents. They also criticized a provision that would allow for civil or criminal penalties against any election official who registers someone without evidence of citizenship. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said there is no federal database that states can use to confirm a person's citizenship status. Election officials described databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security as unreliable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reasonable people can agree that only citizens should be voting in our elections, said Bellows, a Democrat. If they want us to prove citizenship, then they need to build the infrastructure for that to happen. House Republicans are ready to act quickly With the urging of President Donald Trump, House Republicans are expected to move quickly to advance the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. A proof of citizenship requirement was included in a package of priority bills that can bypass committee and head straight to a floor vote. That could happen as soon as this week, though the bills prospects in the Senate are uncertain amid likely Democratic opposition. State election officials said they generally support steps to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting, an issue that typically involves a tiny fraction of ballots and is more often an individual mistake rather than an intentional and coordinated attempt to subvert an election. Debates largely center on how best to accomplish that, whether the responsibility should fall on the voter or whether the federal government should do a better job providing states with reliable data to verify citizenship status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every time theres federal legislation, Ive got concerns, especially when the feds talk about things that the states typically do on a year-by-year, day-to-day basis, said Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican. Just because you think itll work in your state doesnt mean it will work in everybody elses state. Republicans in Congress have said the current process for registering voters is filled with loopholes that have allowed people who are not U.S. citizens to vote in past elections and relies on a system in which voters sign an oath that they are a citizen. Before the 2024 election, Trump pushed claims without evidence that such people might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. In fact, voting by noncitizens is rare and can lead to felony charges and deportation. Since his victory in November, Trump has continued to press for changes to how elections are run, including requiring proof of citizenship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No money included and the threat of prosecution Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican who oversees elections in her state, said she was concerned about federal overreach and the legislation lacking the support states will need to make it work. "It definitely shouldnt be on throwing election workers or secretaries of state or county clerks in jail for accidentally registering a noncitizen to vote when we dont have adequate tools to even verify citizenship, she said. Another concern is funding. The bill does not include an appropriation, leaving states to cover the costs of its implementation. Federal money for elections has long been a point of contention for some election officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you talk to the vast majority of election officials, they will tell you that federal investment in our elections is sorely needed, especially if folks in Congress are going to be talking about things like the SAVE Act, which will only increase costs of running elections and increase federal oversight and involvement in our elections, said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat. Concerns about voters having the right documents Voting rights groups have said married women who have changed their name could have trouble registering under the SAVE Act because their birth certificate lists their maiden name. Those groups also have criticized the bill's requirement that people provide documents in person, saying that could be a challenge for people in rural parts of the country where visiting an election office might require a long drive and taking time off from work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the current registration system, those seeking to register are asked to provide either a state drivers license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number and are directed to sign an oath swearing they are a U.S. citizen. A few states require a full Social Security number. Republicans say states can add people to the voter rolls even if they do not provide that information and that some noncitizens can receive Social Security numbers and drivers licenses. The legislation outlines documents that could prove citizenship, including a REAL ID-compliant drivers license, a passport or a birth certificate. It also allows for states to establish a way for voters to provide other supporting documents. Only about 50% of Americans have a passport, and adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of drivers licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by DHS. State citizenship requirements have mixed results Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, eight states have laws requiring proof of citizenship for voters while lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to add that requirement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Experiences have been mixed. In Kansas, where a proof of citizenship requirement was in effect for three years, the states own expert estimated that almost all the roughly 30,000 people who were prevented from registering to vote during that time were U.S. citizens eligible to vote. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has said his state has been successful in establishing a system with the states motor vehicle agency to verify citizenship. He and 20 other Republican secretaries of state sent a letter this past week asking the Department of Homeland Security to improve its database and eliminate fees for using it. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, described federal data as totally unreliable and pointed to an issue in his state, which has for years sought to implement a state-level proof of citizenship requirement. A recent state audit revealed instances in which U.S. passports might not prove citizenship because U.S. nationals those born in U.S. territories are eligible for passports but are not eligible to vote in U.S. elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve got so many issues to deal with and such a poor understanding of our own laws that I think a massive shift like this is just problematic, Fontes said. I dont think Congress has taken the time to ask the folks who actually do this work if what they are proposing is workable in the first place. And thats dangerous, especially when you are criminalizing some of these activities. ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is rightfully concerned about Russia reneging on agreements, as some Trump administration officials took to the airwaves to criticize the leader of the longtime U.S. ally. I understand Zelenskyy is rightfully concerned that Putin has violated every single agreement hes ever signed and that he cant be trusted, Lankford said in an interview on NBC News Meet the Press. His comments come after an explosive exchange in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy, in which the U.S. leaders berated the Ukrainian president for his approach to diplomacy and argued that he didnt sufficiently thank the U.S. for its support, despite Zelenskyy having thanked the U.S. numerous times. Current and former Russian officials praised Trump after the confrontation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskyy pointed out during the Oval Office exchange that Russia has previously broken ceasefires, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin killed our people and he didnt exchange prisoners. Asked Sunday about Putins not keeping previous agreements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ABC News' "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos that "moving forward is the question, not the past," before adding that the United States wanted to engage Russia in negotiations. Lankford was asked on "Meet the Press" whether he was concerned that the United States was turning its back on Ukraine, a longtime ally. Lankford said no. No, were not turning our back on Ukraine, nor should we, he said. Putin is a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has ushered in a new chapter of foreign relations. The president has falsely called Zelenskyy a dictator and cast blame on Ukraine for the start of the war, which began when Russia invaded its democratic neighbor in 2022. In February, the administration sided with Russia in a vote on a United Nations resolution that called for Russias withdrawal from Ukraine. U.S. officials have discussed whether to pause military aid to Ukraine after the Oval Office confrontation, according to two administration officials. Lankford also defended Trump during the interview, saying the president is trying to get both sides to the table. He added that both countries needed to work toward a resolution to the war. We need to get these two folks at the table, get to some kind of resolution, to something that may look like North and South Korea for a long time and have a line where people are looking at each other but not an active war, he said. Trump administration officials criticize Zelenskyy Trump said Friday that Zelenskyy has got to say I want to make peace, and several of the presidents allies have suggested Zelenskyy should resign, marking a rare public push by top U.S. officials for the end of a long-standing U.S. allys leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump administration officials fanned out across Sunday news shows to criticize Zelenskyy and cast doubt on his ability to participate in a U.S.-led peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Criticism of Putin, a U.S. adversary, took a back seat. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a video recorded Wednesday that the Trump administration is rapidly changing ... all foreign policy configurations, according to a Reuters translation. "This largely coincides with our vision," Peskov added in the video, which was published Sunday. In an interview on ABC News' "This Week," Rubio accused Zelenskyy of disrupting a push for parties to come to a negotiating table. He went on, arguing that Zelenskyy "found every opportunity to try to Ukraine-splain on every issue" and criticizing his comments with Vance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement National security adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday on CNN that we need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war. If it becomes apparent that President Zelenskyys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands, Waltz said. He added that ending the war would take concessions on both sides, including on territory and security guarantees. Separately, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Fox News that Zelenskyys requests of the United States, including requests for security guarantees, were ridiculous. Zelenskyy needed to hear it directly from the funding mouth of the United States of America: Were not going to give you money unless youre here for peace, Lutnick said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Fox News that Trump recognizes the urgent need to end this war, adding that Zelenskyy has different aims in mind. He has said that he wants to end this war, but he will only accept an end, apparently, that leads to what he views as Ukraines victory, Gabbard added. Even if it comes at an incredibly high cost of potentially World War III or even a nuclear war. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had initially suggested that Zelenskyy step aside, saying after the Oval Office meeting that the Ukrainian president either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change. Lankford rejected GOP suggestions for Zelenskyy to resign, saying Sunday that he thinks that would spiral Ukraine into chaos right now, trying to find who is the negotiator to bring an issue to peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A handful of Republicans in Congress have objected to the United States foreign policy realignment, though most have remained mum or echoed the Trump administrations perspective. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said he was deeply troubled by the United States United Nations vote, and Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said after the vote that the Trump Administration royally screwed up today on Ukraine. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, slammed the administrations perspective on Saturday, saying she was sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world. Waltz on Sunday cast doubt as to whether the administration could negotiate an end to the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know that we can get both sides to the table at this point, he said on CNN. Trump had previously said he could end the war in Ukraine in one day, or even before taking office. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he doesnt agree with the calls from some in his party saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should step down. Lankford joined NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday to discuss the explosive meeting between President Trump and Zelensky, and the subsequent calls from GOP leaders for a new Ukrainian leader. I dont agree, he said. Im not interested in calling on the resignation of other world leaders. I didnt like it when Chuck Schumer asked for Netanyahu to be removed. I dont like it when other members of the Senate ask for Zelensky to be removed either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lankford said he believes Zelensky being removed from office would spiral Ukraine into chaos. He noted that while the meeting between Trump and Zelensky ended horribly, theyve obviously had good conversations in the past. As Trump leads the U.S. and the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, there are concerns about how close he has become with Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Trump obviously met with Zelensky first, Lankford said. Everybody was working with the Russians. He wanted to personally meet with Zelensky first. I think thats a very clear sign of where he is and where he stands on this, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lankfords comments come after a contentious meeting between Trump and Zelensky last week, which devolved into a heated argument in an extraordinary turn of events. During the meeting, Trump called the Ukrainian president disrespectful and Vice President Vance accused him of not being grateful enough for the presidents help. Zelensky said late last month that he would step down from the presidency if it meant achieving a lasting peace in Ukraine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SOUTH CAROLINA (WJBF) Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order, declaring a State of Emergency Sunday to support South Carolinas ongoing response to wildfires burning across the state. This order enhances ongoing emergency response efforts as firefighters work to contain the wildfires affecting various regions. In addition, the order states that a ban on any outdoor burning shall remain in effect until further notice. This State of Emergency ensures that our first responders, who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect our communities from these wildfires, have the resources they need, said Governor Henry McMaster. Dangerous wildfire conditions require that a statewide burning ban remain in effect until further notice. Those who violate this ban will be subject to criminal prosecution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the State Fire Marshal, there are ongoing response operations to more than 175 wildfires, impacting 4,200 acres across the state, including Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union, and Pickens Counties primarily due to dry, windy conditions. On March 1, 2025, the South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a State Foresters Burning Ban for all counties. The ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, prescribed burning and campfires. While a majority of the current wildfire activity is concentrated in the Pee Dee region, the rest of the state is experiencing a dramatic uptick in wildfires, straining the capacity of Forestry Commission firefighters and local emergency response personnel to respond, said Darryl Jones, Forest Protection Chief for the South Carolina Forestry Commission. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. A small island nation is allowing people to pay for land but not to own, only protect. The small Pacific island Niue has dedicated itself to preserving its ocean environment, as reported by the Guardian. With just 1,700 residents and waters filled with marine life, Niue's government launched the Ocean Conservation Commitment to protect its seas while helping its economy. This initiative allows sponsors to contribute to conservation in exchange for symbolic guardianship of 1 square kilometer of ocean. The program highlights the island's mission to balance cultural heritage, environmental protection, and sustainable economic development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are not selling real estate," the president of Niue Ocean Wide, Coral Pasisi, told the Guardian. "That is why it's a sponsorship of 1 square kilometer rather than the full cost of a square kilometer. It is subsidized because the government will continue to manage and pay for resources." Niue's path to sustainability was accelerated after tourism dropped because of the pandemic, causing a dip in the local economy. The dip, along with the difficulty in accessing governmental funds for ocean protection, motivated Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi to launch the initiative. The OCC aims to raise NZ$18 million ($10 million) through sponsorships to fund its Moana Mahu marine protected area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the funds will go toward supporting local fishers and their families, especially those whose incomes are affected by the conservation rules. This comes at a critical time as Pacific islands have to deal with rising sea levels and economic impacts. Not only does this funding protect locals, but it also protects marine life. By promoting sustainable fishing and conservation through locally driven sponsorship, Niue is contributing to broader efforts to save the oceans. Niue has already raised nearly half of its fundraising goal with support from organizations like Conservation International and Blue Nature Alliance. With such a model, Niue is offering inspiration to other island nations grappling with the climate crisis. "This is our initiative, and we are proud of it," Tagelagi told the Guardian, underscoring Niue's commitment to sustaining the ocean's future for generations to come. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. The UK government has hired a unit to specifically target misinformation regarding heat pumps. According to reports by the Guardian, experts are saying misinformation online has impeded the widespread adoption of energy-efficient heat pumps. As a result, the government has hired experts from a "nudge unit" to assist ministers in the fight against misinformation surrounding heat pumps. The goal of the move is to debunk common misconceptions about heat pumps in an effort to encourage the transition away from conventional HVAC systems. Some of these misconceptions regarding heat pumps claim they are noisy, expensive to install, and don't function in the cold. To address these false claims and spread accurate information, the nudge unit will work with Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to develop a plan for the government to push back against misinformation. The government awarded the contract to BIT, which specializes in ideas to "nudge" the public into taking different actions, according to the Guardian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Information about heat pumps is being shared by the media and stakeholders, which may be skewed to negative, incorrect or exaggerated stories of heat pump adoption," states the contract. "Online information which is imbalanced or skewed towards incorrect and exaggerated claims could be considered an environment where misinformation is a problem." Currently, Britain has a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028, reported the Guardian, an initiative that is a part of its goal of reaching net zero by 2050. Compared to traditional gas boilers, heat pumps are three to five times more efficient, per the International Energy Agency. Since heat pumps move existing heat around rather than creating new heat, they utilize less energy and therefore decrease homeowners' energy bills. After making the switch to an energy-efficient heat pump, homeowners can expect to save $1,000 on utility bills each year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Heat pumps are a very efficient low-carbon system for keeping our homes warm but negative perceptions remain a barrier to their widespread adoption," the head of climate, energy, and sustainability at BIT Toby Park told the Guardian. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. While it feels like too many of our protected lands are being encroached upon these days, that's not always the case. In fact, the opposite is true in Lao PDR, where a huge stretch of land has been turned over to conservation, officially becoming Xesap National Park. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the protected land now covers over 200,000 hectares, including a nearly 50,000-hectare region known as the "Pale" area which is of particular importance as it provides a habitat for several rare and endangered species. "We believe this designation marks a crucial step towards enhancing conservation efforts and ensuring the sustainable management of Xesap's rich natural treasures," said WWF-Laos country director Loris Palentini. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of those rich natural treasures is the Saola, a wild cattle relative that's considered critically endangered. The newly protected space is believed to be an ideal area for these beautiful creatures to recover their population. The Saola is also referred to as the "Asian Unicorn." This is not only because of the creature's legendary elusiveness but also because it can appear to have one single horn when observed from the right angle. Although scientists discovered the Saola over 30 years ago, very little is known about it. This is due in part to the fact that the current population is believed to be no more than a few hundred. Because simply finding those populations has proved exceptionally difficult, the best way to protect them is to protect the land they're known to exist in. There are many other rare and beautiful endangered species in Xesap National Park's newly protected lands, too, including the red-shanked douc and the Annamite striped rabbit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While knowing that these amazing animals will now be better protected in Xesap is good news enough, that's not all. Protecting this huge stretch of land is a significant step towards meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework's 30x30 plan. This plan is a worldwide target to protect 30% of the planet's land and ocean by the year 2030. The target is designed to not only protect against environmental changes but to provide us with greater access to nature. Over 100 countries have signed on, but Lao PDR is leading the way. "This [new national park designation] represents a major step forward for conservation in Laos and a significant breakthrough in the global effort to reach the 3030 target," Wyss Foundation president Molly McUsic said. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, should be pardoned, says actor Nigel Havers. The Coronation Street star whose grandfather, the High Court judge Sir Cecil Havers, sentenced Ruth Ellis to death in 1955 for shooting dead her lover David Blakely, called for a posthumous pardon. Havers, who is playing his grandfather in a new ITV drama A Cruel Truth: The Ruth Ellis Story, revealed Sir Cecil was extremely upset by the case after a jury convicted her of murder, which came with a mandatory death penalty. Havers added that his grandfather had always believed it had been a crime of passion, which could have resulted in a sentence for manslaughter and would have avoided the death penalty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Descendents of Ellis, who was in an abusive relationship with Mr Blakely at the time, argue that she was a victim of a miscarriage of justice and are pushing for a posthumous pardon. Stephen Beard, Elliss grandson, told The Times: I wonder whether there is a KC who believes theres enough substance and weight here for Ruths case to be taken back to the courts If handled professionally and mercifully, the conclusion would have been that this was a case of both battered woman syndrome and diminished responsibility. High Court judge Sir Cecil Havers - Evening Standard/Hulton Archive He claimed Ellis was driven to shoot Mr Blakely because he had abused her and that her lifestyle and work as a nightclub hostess had unfairly affected her case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They pair had met in a London club, with Mr Blakely quickly moving into Elliss flat while being engaged to another woman. Ellis had told the jury during her trial that she had suffered a miscarriage after Mr Blakely punched her in the stomach. Speaking to the BBC, Havers agreed with demands to pardon Ellis. I love that. Of course I would, that would be my choice, too. I would love that to happen, he said. Describing filming his scenes for the ITV drama, he said: I burst into tears [after filming]. I felt very sorry for my grandfather because he was extremely upset. He wrote a letter to the home secretary at the time and said this woman must not be hanged and the home secretary ignored it. The drama also features Toby Jones, the lead actor from ITVs Post Office drama Mr Bates v The Post Office. Ellis is played by Lucy Boynton, who appeared in the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody. Boynton said: We acknowledge that we live in a patriarchy but feel very uncomfortable acknowledging that means that we live in a misogynistic society. We havent progressed [since 1955]. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Domestic violence statistics get worse every year and its an epidemic in the UK. I feel privileged to be a part of a show that really brings that to light and will hopefully be a catalyst of conversation for audiences. Elllis shot Mr Blakely dead outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead. The jury returned a verdict of premeditated murder in just 20 minutes and, as a result, it fell to Sir Cecil to don the black cap and pass down a sentence of capital punishment. She was hanged at HMP Holloway on July 13 1955. Elliss case led to a petition with 50,000 signatures being sent to the Home Office for clemency, but none was granted. Significant media attention made her execution a high profile event, which was a significant driver to ending capital punishment in the UK. David Blakely and Ruth Ellis at the Little Club in London in 1955 - Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix Family tragedy followed, with Elliss ex-husband suicide in 1958 and her son, Andy, who was just 10 when his mother died, taking his own life in 1982 while in his twenties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sir Cecil had sent money to Elliss son every year from her death until the judgess own in 1977, Havers told the BBC. As far as my aunt is concerned, what she told me was that he financed one of the children, he supported them, thats how strong he felt, he said. On August 13, 1964, Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen became the last men to be executed in the UK for beating and stabbing to death van driver John West. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. This is the first in a monthly series highlighting Arizona climate leaders and answering readers' climate-related questions. The stories, which will appear in print and online the first Sunday of the month, aim to help to connect and inspire Arizonans who care about protecting a livable climate and may be struggling to find hope in that effort lately. You can nominate an Arizona climate leader for a story or ask a question by filling out the form at https://forms.gle/QCCxBPSHGy1bUJQ99 or by emailing climate reporter Joan Meiners at joan.meiners@arizonarepublic.com. Roz Switzer remembers the day she met Kathy Ann Walsh in the White Mountains of Arizona as a howlin' good time. "I had heard about a comment period for a Mexican gray wolf recovery plan, so I thought 'I'll just wander up to Pinetop and see what this is about,'" Switzer said. "Kathy was there, and we just clicked. And that's how I got involved with Great Old Broads for Wilderness." Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Walsh was leading the Phoenix area chapter members refer to them as "Broadbands" of the national organization and invited Switzer to join. Switzer did, then she also ended up starting a more rural Broadband, The Middle Gila, spanning Casa Grande through Superior, "the whole rural suite between Tucson and Phoenix," she said. When Walsh died, Switzer stepped into the leadership role for both groups before consolidating them back down to one: the Sonoran Broadband. Today, the Sonoran Broadband and its sister chapters in Arizona the Tucson Broadband, the Yavapai-Prescott Broadband and the Northern Arizona Wild Broadband offer hikes, community, citizen scientist opportunities and campouts for (mostly) women over 50 who want to get involved in wilderness conservation and wildlife protection. But Switzer said they welcome anyone with these interests, and have members as young as 30 and some men involved. "We say broadness is a state of mine," Switzer laughed during a recent interview with The Arizona Republic. Advertisement Advertisement In a couple of weeks, Switzer and her current Sonoran Broadband leader, Emily Matyas, will gather the Old Broads together for a campout at Pinal County's Peralta Regional Park from Friday, March 14 to Sunday, March 16. Reportedly, Yavapai-Prescott Broadband leader Jenny Cobb will be serving up hot meals in the wild as the group chef. Those interested can email sonoranbroadband@greatoldbroads.org to learn more. Matyas and Switzer connected when Switzer put out a call to the mailing list for help leading the Sonoran Broadband, which consists of a core group of about 15 consistent, active members, another 20 who participate in events occasionally and about 100 who signed up for emails. Switzer had retired from a career in the pension business and Matyas was winding down her work as a photography teacher and art photographer. The women had a few long conversations about their visions for the Broadband, time commitments and priorities for the environment, and decided to team up. They've since led Spring Seeker hikes to locate and survey springs in the Sky Islands, answering questions on a smartphone app designed by the Sky Islands Alliance about whether water is flowing, the health of nearby vegetation, and if the area looks to have been recently impacted by cattle. They've partnered with Wildlands Network and the Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center to map environmental destruction and the status of wildlife movement corridors along the Arizona border near the San Pedro River after the expansion of the border wall. And in June, they put on a wildlife tracking workshop in the White Mountains near Big Lake Reservoir, and were rewarded with the discovery of Mexican gray wolf tracks traversing a meadow. "This work is so important, and it's fun, frankly," Matyas said. "And we've got a great group of people." Advertisement Advertisement But these old broads aren't just fun, they're also serious about science. "We have position statements on particular public land issues such as climate change, mining, roads and vehicular traffic, grazing and the use of fossil fuels," Switzer said. "Our mission is basically keeping wilderness and wild lands intact and protected, and ecosystems healthy." Learn about Arizona's famous "Five C's": 'C' is for Climate: How the force that built Arizona's 'sunshiny' frontier turned deadly Under Switzer's leadership, the Southwest coalition of Broadbands has also gotten deeply involved in recovery efforts for the Mexican gray wolf. They've taken the bold position that the federal species reintroduction approach has not followed the best available science, even that of their own scientists. Advertisement Advertisement "In our opinion, it's not as rosy a picture as has been painted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, especially after their recent five-year review," Switzer said. "They know what the best science is, it's been documented by their own work groups that they put together. But it's not being followed, where we really need to have three populations of wolves within the United States in appropriate ecosystems, so that if one catastrophe happens, you have two other populations that you can pass genetics between and the habitat is there." The Broads have been active in public discussions about wolf management and in educating people about the best scientific approach, in the hopes that priority might rise above other competing and powerful forces. "I always say, 'more wolves, less politics," Switzer laughed. Matyas brings more of a focus on the border. She used to live in Tucson and travel back and forth to Mexico for work, which helped her get to know not only people but the environments on both sides. She saw how communities ran out of water when corporations drained too much in one spot or when farm irrigation expanded while climate-intensified drought persisted. Advertisement Advertisement When Matyas and her husband started going camping in the Barry M. Goldwater Range in the relatively undisturbed Sonoran desert expanse between Tucson and Yuma, her continued observations of the contrasts across landscapes fueled a passion. "I got really interested in the environmental issues around the border wall," she said. "When they're building the wall, they've got water trucks going up and down spraying the ground to keep the dust down. The water in sacred Indigenous springs is being used up for this, and degraded by the contaminants they're using. They'll blow up a mountain to put a wall on top when the environment is already a natural barrier." Read our climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral: climate coverage from Arizona and the Southwest In response, the Sonoran Broadband developed a position on behalf of wildlife against an effort to lower military flyovers at the Range, and they work to bring more attention to the many ways human-caused climate warming is changing every conceivable situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Advertisement Advertisement "Climate change is such a top priority for us to try to mitigate and get the word out about as well as the truth, and having boots on the ground to monitor things and show what is actually happening really helps," Matyas said. "I've also been doing some hiking on South Mountain recently and it is the driest I've ever seen it. So we can see that with our eyes, but we don't always think about it enough. "As citizen scientists, we may not be the schooled experts," Switzer added. "But by collaborating with other organizations and with scientific experts, we can get something done. We can expand environmental knowledge." "And enjoy ourselves," Matyas agreed, finishing Switzer's sentence. The two women then looked at each other and broke into howls of laughter. Advertisement Advertisement Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @joanmeiners.bsky.social or email her at joan.meiners@arizonarepublic.com. Sign up for AZ Climate, The Republic's weekly climate and environment newsletter. Read more of the team's coverage at environment.azcentral.com. Support climate coverage and local journalism by subscribing to azcentral.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Great Old Broads' take science, climate change to communities SAINT ALBANS, Vt. (ABC 22 FOX 44) Green Mountain Transit, which serves multiple Vermont counties, is looking to shift some of its rural services over to other transportation companies. GMTs General Manager, Clayton Clark, says the decision comes after the transit company has continued to struggle with staffing and a $3 million budget deficit after the pandemic. Last May GMT began a study to explore other options. The conclusion we came to was that we either needed to consider having GMT ramp up its staffing, or potentially having GMT transferring its service to other providers, said the manager. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A final draft of proposed changes, brought to legislators this month, would have GMTs routes and staff picked up by Tri-Valley Transit in Washington County and by Rural Community Transport in Franklin County. This would leave GMT mostly focusing on urban transportation in Chittenden County. The transfer could potentially save taxpayer dollars So if were able to save funds and provide the same level of service for less money, then the overall transit system in Vermont is going to work much better, said Clark. RCT Executive Director, Caleb Grant, says he is looking forward to the changes and expects a smooth transition. However, unlike Tri-Valley Transit, RCT is not a union provider, leaving the six GMT staff in Franklin County wondering if they will get the same salaries and benefits. If the changes are implemented by legislators, Grant says he will work with drivers to find common solutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My hope for this entire process is that we provide both the volume and the quality of rides that the residents deserve, he said. While nothing is set in stone yet, according to Clark, bus riders could start to see some changes in July 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44. Cookie Talyor wants answers. Her 11-year-old granddaughter, Gwendolyn, attends Golda Meir Lower Campus, one of four Milwaukee Public Schools found to have dangerous lead levels. One of those schools tested for lead contamination was ordered closed while remediation work took place but that was not the case for Golda Meir. That concerned Taylor. She said there has been a lack of transparency between MPS and the citys health department on addressing dangerous lead hazards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats why I am here, said Taylor, 65. "I want more information on MPS position and the citys health department as it relates to schools lead detection not just for Golda Meir but all MPS schools. Taylor was among nearly 30 people attending a meeting Saturday held at the Washington Park Library about dangerous lead levels found in MPS buildings. The recently formed Lead-Safe Schools MKE hosted the meeting to demand more transparency and accountability from MPS. The group has launched a petition drive that has gathered 400 signatures so far. Lead-Safe Schools MKE hosted a community meeting at Washington Park Library to discuss the ongoing lead crisis in MPS schools. Our end goal is to prevent any children from being lead poisoned at school. It is a ridiculous thing to say out loud, said Kristen Payne of Lead-Safe Schools MKE and whose child is a third grader at Golda Meir Lower Campus, which serves students in grades three through five. She did have her child tested but before remediation took place and wonders if she needs to test her child again. The lead dust at Golda Meir is worse than at any of the schools, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am concerned about the kids wellbeing, Payne said. Last month, the Health Department confirmed a student at Golda Meir Lower Campus had tested positive for lead poisoning after being exposed to the toxic metal. The department identified lead paint in a basement bathroom at the school. No amount of lead is safe, especially for children. The case marked the first time the department had investigated a lead poisoning case coming from a MPS school. Most cases in Milwaukee are linked to lead hazards in a child's home, and lead-based paint and household dust in older homes, according to the Health Department. One school, Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies, was ordered temporarily closed by the Milwaukee Health Department after unsafe lead dust levels were found in the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Students will be relocated to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning, 1017 N. 12th St., while work to address the lead hazards is underway, according to a letter to staff and families from Health Commissioner Michael Totoraitis and MPS Interim Superintendent Eduardo Galvan. Milwaukee Health Department has issued orders to address lead hazards at Golda Meir Lower Campus, Maryland Avenue Montessori and Albert E. Kagel Dual Language School but Trowbridge is the first ordered to close for such work. It's unclear how long the school will remain closed. MPS has 144 school buildings, with nearly 90 percent built before the 1980s. Lead-based paint was commonly used until 1978, when it was banned due to safety concerns. While Saturdays meeting was to educate the community about the MPS lead crisis and connect parents with the resources, the group has several demands of MPS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group wants MPS to hold a community meeting exclusively to address the lead contamination problem. They also want the Milwaukee Health Department to create a lead-safe school program focusing on preventative action. Additionally, the group wants laws imposing stricter testing protocols. I think there is multiple points of interventions so that we dont end up here again, Payne said. But it is going to involve a lot of collective actions, and we are going to need people to be engaged with us on this. Some of the demands have already been met by the health department. The department has released the school lead assessments to the public as well as results from lead and water testing. The group is demanding more dialogue between MPS and parents. Payne said most parents found out about the lead issues from news sources. When lead remediation work was done at Golda Meir, parents were not informed, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It wasnt until after that remediation was done that we were alerted, Payne said. Part of what has been frustrating is the lack of transparency and timely communication to parents. While the focus has been on lead paint and lead dust, Payne said water should also be tested. Lead in the water hasnt got that much attention and is absolutely an important thing we need to be focusing on, she said. The EPA estimates 20% or more of a persons exposure to lead comes from water. We cant neglect that part of the conversation. Todd Bell of Brookfield attended the meeting with his wife. They are planning to send their 10-year-old to an MPS school next year. They came to learn more about the MPS lead crisis and to know what the agencys plan is to keep students safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have a few different options we are weighing right now, but we are trying to get as much data as we possibly can, Bell said. Joshua Taylor doesnt have any children in MPS, but he works in the special education department at Milwaukee High School of the Arts. He too is concerned about lead contamination. Though he doesnt know if lead has been found where he works, the health and safety of both employees and students should be paramount for everyone, he said. We should have full transparency, and if there are issues found, there should be quick and comprehensive action, Taylor said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lead-Safe Schools MKE wants transparency from MPS over lead levels (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo threatened to expel a political mission sent to his country by the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the political and economic bloc said on Sunday. A dispute over when Embalo's presidential term, which began in 2020, should end has heightened tensions that risk unrest in a nation with a history of military coups. The tiny West African nation's political opposition says Embalo's term should have expired last week, while the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that it ends on September 4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Embalo, who chaired ECOWAS from mid-2022 to mid-2023, said on February 23 that presidential and legislative elections would not be held until November 30. ECOWAS said in a statement on Sunday it had deployed a mission from February 21 to 28 together with the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) to help reach a consensus on how to conduct an election this year. But it added: "The Mission departed Bissau in the early morning of 1st March, following threats by H.E. Umaro Sissoco Embalo to expel it." On Wednesday, Embalo visited Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Guinea-Bissau is a former Portuguese colony that gained independence in 1974. (Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Four men were arrested after guns and drugs were seized in West Georgia on Friday. The Muscogee County Sheriffs Office working with the Georgia State Patrol SWAT And Aviation Unit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Gang Task Force, and the Lee County Sheriffs Office executed multiple search warrants across Muscogee County on Friday. The Muscogee County Sheriffs Office arrested Johnny Frank Rose (aka Daddiyo), Tevin Gary, Jaray Lott, and Steadmon Riggins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities seized six pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $26,840 and three guns. Rose, a validated gang member, is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of psilocybin with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, theft by receiving stolen property (firearm), possession of methadone, and cruelty to animals. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Lott, a validated gang member, is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gary is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Riggins is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of drug-related objects. The case remains under investigation. Additional charges may be pending. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Ten or 15 years ago, Friedrich Merz would have seemed a wildly unlikely candidate for the role of savior to Europes liberal democracy. Spoiler alert: He still does. But the internal decay of European politics has reached a critical stage, whose stakes were made abundantly clear by the ludicrous spectacle of Donald Trump and JD Vance berating Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office for insufficiently groveling before the Orange Throne. This was not the historical moment Merz expected, and it definitely isnt the one he wanted. But for better or worse, he looks to be Europes last man standing. If we flash back to the bygone days of the late 2000s, Merzs future looked to be in the past: He was Angela Merkel's defeated right-wing rival in the Christian Democratic Union, the mainstream conservative party that has dominated German electoral politics since the fall of the Nazi regime, first in the former West Germany and then, less convincingly, in post-1990 reunified Germany. Merz left politics and racked up millions in the private sector as a corporate lawyer, including a five-year stint as board chairman at BlackRock Germany, a major branch of the worlds largest asset management firm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He returned to the CDU in 2018 as the anti-Merkel, vowing to spice up the partys usual agenda of pro-business fiscal austerity and free trade with staunchly pro-American foreign policy and a dash of hard-right anti-immigration policy. Even amid the continent-wide political chaos caused by the Syrian migrant crisis and the rise of fascist-flavored parties in one country after another, it still took three tries for Merz to get himself elected party leader after Merkels retirement. After winning Germanys recent federal elections, in what may be remembered as a textbook example of Pyrrhic victory the CDU finished first with 28.5 percent of the vote, slightly better than its worst-ever result in 2021 Merz will now be forced to preside over an awkward coalition of center-right and center-left parties, whose primary purpose (at least on the home front) will be to fend off further advances by the not-quite neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany party, or AfD. If you want to find a silver lining to the German elections and frankly, that isn't easy it would be this: While the AfD finished second with 20.8 percent of the vote, basically doubling its 2021 total, theres no evidence that Elon Musks enthusiastic endorsement (or Vances slightly less overt endorsement) did them any good. On the international front, as last Fridays contretemps in the White House threw into sharp relief, Merz will become the leader of the largest and most important member of the European Union at precisely the moment when it must achieve independence from the U.S., to use his own words from a post-election press conference. On one hand, Merz is something of a black box, an untested leader who has never held a position in government and whose entire career seems mismatched to this perilous fork in historys road. On the other, he appears to grasp the magnitude of the current crisis, and has so far given no indication that he will seek accommodation with either Germanys far right or their MAGA pals in Washington. Merz has described the attempts by Musk and various other Yank interlopers to meddle in Germanys elections as no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow, and suggested that under Trump the U.S. appeared largely indifferent to the fate of Europe. This marks a startling reversal for the man described by German journalist Jorg Lau as the most pro-American politician in Germany and a lifelong believer in the transatlantic security alliance (i.e., in NATO, which Trump seems determined to demolish). That may also reflect a sense of injured pride and betrayal: Clear back to Konrad Adenauer in the 1950s, the CDU has always presented itself as a staunch American ally, largely aligned with what wed now have to call the vanished orthodoxy of the pre-Trump Republican Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Merz has described the startling surge of the AfD as the last warning to the political parties of the democratic center to reach consensus on immigration policy, economic reforms, a shared European defense strategy and numerous other thorny issues. Germany found itself under massive pressure from two sides, he said presumably meaning the U.S. and Russia along with significant internal divisions: The AfD dominated in the economically struggling states of former East Germany, while Merzs party won in the more prosperous west. (The rapidly fading Social Democrats won in Berlin, and almost nowhere else.) In historical terms, Merz concluded, it was five minutes to midnight for Europe. So, damn! Will this acrid-tongued, 69-year-old multimillionaire, a child of the rural Catholic haute bourgeoisie he was raised in the house his mothers family built in 1752 turn out, against all odds, to be the statesman the world needs now, ideology and partisan affiliation aside? Is he a latter-day Churchill standing astride the tides of history, ready to push back Vladimir Putin on one side and Trump on the other? Of course the real answer is that no one can see the future and its likely to surprise us: Maybe! Its just about conceivable that Merz, now liberated from his previous pro-American views and in a forced marriage with his domestic political opponents, will reveal that kind of strength. But honestly, that scenario requires a world-historical level of wishful thinking. For one thing, as Lau observes in the Guardian essay quoted above, Merz was effectively for Donald Trump before he was against him. He ran as an overtly MAGA-curious candidate during his failed campaign for CDU leadership in 2018, and only weeks ago pushed a harsh non-binding resolution on migrant policy through the Bundestag with the AfDs support. That Trump-style political maneuver, meant to shame outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz by capitalizing on a series of violent attacks committed by immigrants, did not technically violate the firewall that prohibits Germanys mainstream parties from forming coalitions with the far right. But as Lau suggests, it may have led normie voters to wonder whether Merz could be trusted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz isn't the only mainstream European conservative to turn bearish on America; it's starting to look like a trend. Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin is an old hand, having made world headlines back in 2003 by opposing the U.S. war in Iraq in an eloquent U.N. address. He's now considering a 2027 presidential campaign, in hopes of fending off rising far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. In a recent interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, de Villepin outdid Merz, proclaiming that "America can no longer be considered an ally of Europe" and that the world now finds itself divided between "three illiberal superpowers: Russia, China and the U.S." Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Both Merz and de Villepin see the opportunity, in the latter's words, for "a European awakening of democracy." That's an inspiring phrase, but one that avoids the larger historical question: Can the existing European order that elite political leaders like them are so eager to defend actually be saved, in anything like its current form? You dont have to be a Trumper or an ultra-leftist to observe that the so-called Western alliance has been decaying for some time; one of Putins guiding principles, which has yet to be falsified, is that if he jabs it in the right spot it will collapse altogether. Rethinking the relationship between Europe, America and the rest of the world shouldn't be left to JD Vance and his buddies in the nationalist new right. Its difficult to imagine that Merz by all accounts a person of highly conventional ideas, atop a fragile coalition with a narrow political mandate is ready to seize that portfolio. Even a cursory reading of German history suggests darker parallels: Merz looks and sounds an awful lot like the pro-business upper-crust German conservatives of the early 1930s, who assumed they could dominate the radical upstart with the dopey mustache and his dimwit followers. Those guys were astride the tides of history too, but not in a good way. Of course the past does not predict the future; it shapes it. That cautionary tale still has considerable resonance for Germans of Merzs generation, even if many people in that country and elsewhere around the world have grown tired of hearing it. Those who fail to learn from history, as Salon contributor Mike Lofgren said to me recently, are doomed to repeat famous quotations. Whatever Friedrich Merz does with his improbable starring role on the world stage, lets hope his lessons are in order. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The new Habitat for Humanity ReStore in the Colony West Shopping Center is ready to take donations. The project at Breckenridge and North Rodney Parham has been in the works for more than a year. Arkansas father and son find forever home through Habitat for Humanity after March 31 tornado destruction Proceeds from the ReStore will support Habitat for Humanity as they help families and individuals achieve home ownership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ReStore is a critical revenue for our mission, Kelly Fleming, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas said. Please come out and donate Tuesday through Saturday, 9 to 5. Saline County Habitat for Humanity asking for donations as building supply costs soar The ReStore will accept gently used home goods, furniture, appliances and building materials. For a full list of donor guidelines and volunteer opportunities, visit HabitatCentralAr.org. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Mar. 1The congregation at Maranatha Evangelical Church in East Central was smaller than usual when the Rev. Luc Jasmin Jr. rose last Sunday to address his flock about a somber subject. Some members of Spokane's Haitian community had stayed home out of fear because they already knew what the pastor's daughter, Katia Jasmin, was about to tell the 20 or so people in the pews. Three days earlier, the Trump administration had cut short a program that has allowed people from Haiti to live in the United States lawfully since 2010, when an earthquake devastated their island nation. When the pastor's daughter explained that Temporary Protected Status for Haitians would end on Aug. 3, the congregants began crying and murmuring in Haitian Creole, their shoulders shaking in a mix of tears and anxious, incredulous laughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "God is good, God has a plan for us," Rev. Jasmin reassured his congregation. "There is no reason to cry." In the nearly four decades since Congress last made a major update to U.S. immigration law, presidents have repeatedly used their authority to grant Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to let citizens of dangerous or unstable countries live and work in the United States until conditions in their homelands improve. Haiti is one of 17 countries currently designated for TPS, with people from four other countries eligible for a similar protection called Deferred Enforced Departure. In a news release announcing the decision to rescind the Biden administration's extension of TPS, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that more than 520,000 Haitians are currently eligible for the program, but according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, as of September 2024 only about 200,000 were approved for the status, which requires recipients to apply for renewal each time a president extends it. "Temporary Protected Status is always something that folks live delicately with, because it's not permanent," said Mark Finney, executive director of Thrive International, a Spokane-based nonprofit that supports immigrants in the Northwest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Generally, you can count on an American president to keep the status in place as long as the country of origin is not safe to return to, either because of military conflict, unstable government or lack of infrastructure from natural disasters," he said. "In this case, it appears that the current administration is less concerned about providing the protection for folks who literally can't live back in the countries that they came from, and so a lot of folks are really scared." In the complex patchwork of U.S. immigration law, people who qualify for TPS also may be eligible for other paths to legal status, such as requesting asylum, which requires proof of a more specific threat, said Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. That can confer what she called a "liminal status" while applications are reviewed, but if they have no other protection in place, Haitians could be subject to deportation when TPS ends in August. Much of the sermon delivered by the Rev. Jasmin surrounded the fear of deportation. He preached in English while his brother Claude Jasmin, the church's music director, translated his words into Haitian Creole from his piano. Rev. Jasmin, who is now a U.S. citizen, shared his own story of coming to the country at age 16 with his brothers and sisters, working to support family in the United States and abroad, all the while praying for stability for his family in Haiti. He implored his congregants to be patient and keep an unwavering faith while their status in the United States is upended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I prayed to the Lord, I am going to be free. Free to talk, free to walk, free to praise the Lord," Rev. Jasmin said, to a chorus of "amens" from the congregation. Katia Jasmin, who serves as executive director of the advocacy and support group Creole Resources, estimated that there are roughly 500 Haitians in the Spokane area, many of whom rely on TPS to live and work legally in jobs in the region. She said the fear of being sent back to their home country weighs heavily on the community. Joel Dumesle, a U.S. Army veteran who became a U.S. citizen after immigrating from Haiti in the 1990s, works in Spokane as a social worker and said members of the local Haitian community who aren't at risk of deportation still feel unsafe because of the Trump administration's move to end TPS. He has nine family members in the United States with various legal statuses, unsure of what's next but dreading that it means returning to Haiti. "Even the people who had homes, they're either burned down or are really just not safe," Dumesle said of his relatives in Haiti. "I think all of us have the same fear." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phamania Dalcima held back tears during the service. The 21-year-old, who goes by Phanie, has been in Spokane for almost a year on TPS, living with Katia Jasmin and working at the Jasmins' Parkview Early Learning Center while studying English at Spokane Community College. Once she passes English language classes, Dalcima said, she hopes to study sonography and become an ultrasound technician. "The use of TPS, historically, has been for these large groups of people who may not qualify for some other sort of status, but certainly can't be returned to their country of origin, even if they'd like to go back, because of the conditions there," said Putzel-Kavanaugh. "There's not a real alternative for people, unless they fall into one of those narrow categories of either being able to apply for asylum or having a family member to sponsor them, or qualifying for some other visa form." The protection applies to people from a designated country whether they entered the United States legally or not. In recent years, Haitians have arrived lawfully through several programs, including a recent one that allowed U.S. volunteers to sponsor immigrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Haiti occupies the western half of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, named by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus when he landed there in 1492. Three centuries later, in 1804, Haiti became just the second independent republic of the colonial era after the United States, where Columbus never set foot when enslaved Haitians revolted against French rule. But beginning in 1825, under threat of a naval invasion, France forced the newly free people of Haiti to compensate the French government and French slaveholders, an "independence debt" that totaled roughly $21 billion in today's dollars by the time the payments ended in 1947. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The United States has also played a part in making Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Although Haitian troops helped U.S. forces defeat the British during the Battle of Savannah in 1779, the U.S. government refused to recognize Haiti's government until 1862, isolating the world's first Black-led republic for nearly 60 years. After Haiti's president was assassinated in 1915, the United States invaded the country and occupied it until 1934. U.S. troops intervened in Haiti again in 1994, after the nation's first popularly elected president was ousted in a coup. Following the earthquake that killed more than 100,000 Haitians in 2010, the country slid deeper into dysfunction and violence, culminating in the assassination of another president in 2021. Since June 2024, a Kenya-led security force backed by the United Nations has been battling the gangs that control much of Haiti, which have overpowered Haitian police with the help of black-market guns from the United States. Claudnel Jean-Baptiste, a Haitian immigrant who studied medicine in the neighboring Dominican Republic before coming to Spokane in 2023 and finding work in a warehouse, said going back to his home country would amount to a death sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are no opportunities for the youth or for the elders. It's fighting all the time, gangs killing innocent people," he said through a translator. "The gangs have no pity for babies, pregnant women, nobody. In reality, there is no life, it's hopeless. People are staying because they have nowhere to go for refuge. It's a daily struggle." Jean-Baptiste applied for TPS after entering the country with parole, which allowed him to get work authorization. "The paperwork is still good until May, but once May comes, I have no idea what to do," he said, adding that the news of TPS ending so soon left him feeling "dead." Working in Washington state has allowed Jean-Baptiste to send money to his family in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries that share a roughly 30,000-square-mile island split by a border drawn when France controlled its west and Spain ruled the eastern half. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Even if it is my country, I have no desire to go back and I don't see how or why I would go back, the way things are," he said. "The way things are in Haiti, anybody who stays there, it's because they don't have the opportunity to leave the country." TPS is meant to last until conditions in a given country improve, but when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the program would end in August rescinding a decision by her Democratic predecessor to extend TPS for Haiti until February 2026 she didn't make the case that Haiti is safe. Instead, the department said the move is "part of President Trump's promise to rescind policies that were magnets for illegal immigration and inconsistent with the law." "We are returning integrity to the TPS system, which has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens for decades," an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a statement. "President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary." Trump has also moved to end the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, a separate process that helps people forced to flee their homelands resettle in the United States after being thoroughly vetted. Twenty-four hours after a federal judge blocked that effort on Tuesday, the State Department canceled contracts with refugee resettlement organizations across the country, effectively terminating the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Trump has offered refugee status to white South Africans, whom he claims are victims of discrimination because of a government policy designed to return land that was seized from Black South Africans during the white-minority apartheid regime that ruled the country until the 1990s. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Spokane Republican who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration, said he sympathizes with TPS holders but believes the program shouldn't last forever. Congress should pass immigration reform, he said, so that presidents don't decide U.S. immigration policy by fiat. "If I had the choice to live in the United States or Haiti, I absolutely would choose the United States of America, but that also doesn't mean the program wasn't meant to be temporary," Baumgartner said. "From an individual standpoint, I have a lot of sympathy for folks. But the reality is, as a policymaker, we have to have secure borders and an immigration system that rewards people who enter the country in an orderly and lawful fashion." Dalcima arrived in the United States after waiting in Mexico for 11 months for an appointment with U.S. immigration authorities that she booked through CBP One, a phone app created by the Biden administration in an effort to stem a flood of migrants who were crossing the border illegally to claim asylum, overwhelming courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The thought of returning to Haiti terrifies Dalcima, whose father was kidnapped by a gang in 2021 when he returned to Haiti after living in the United States. Assuming he was wealthy, the gang members demanded a $50,000 ransom. "They say, 'You have to give that money in 15 days,' and if not, they're going to kill you," Dalcima said. "They're not bluffing." Her father's wife took out a loan to pay the gangs, losing their home to partially repay the bank. They now live in New York. Dalcima is alone in Spokane while her mother, aunt and sisters live in the Dominican Republic, where Haitians face bigotry and the threat of deportation. Dalcima has returned to her home country around Christmas, when gangs promise a holiday gift of "no trouble, no crime, no nothing," she said, so emigrants can return home for a moment of peace. On one such homecoming, she passed out food to grinning and grateful kids around Haiti. She doesn't see much of a future for the people who remain there, she said, even while they find joy where they can. "We just know the day we sleep and wake up, this day we count," Dalcima said. "You don't know if you're going to go outside and return back home. So we have to be happy every day." In Spokane, she sees a life for herself giving sonograms to pregnant women, overjoyed by just the thought of listening to fetal heartbeats and seeing babies "even before they come into the world," she said. "Here, we are just immigrants," Dalcima said. "We are father, mother, we are hustler, we are student, who can contribute here. The United States needs immigrants. Immigrants need the U.S." Imagining what would happen if she is forced to return to Haiti, she laughed anxiously, suppressing tears. "We have to say, 'OK, we are ready to die.' " . Elena Perry and Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor. Slightly more than half of Americans have said they personally support Ukraine in its war against Russia, but only 11% believe that US President Donald Trump has prioritised Ukraine. Source: CBS/YouGov poll published on 2 March, conducted ahead of Fridays Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as reported by European Pravda Details: 52% of respondents said they support Ukraine in its war against Russia, while only 4% expressed support for Russia and 44% stated that they support neither side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Americans are largely split on whether Trumps actions and statements have favored Russia (46%) or treated Russia and Ukraine equally (43%), while only 11% believe he has prioritised Ukraine. A majority of Republicans (56%) say they do not take sides between Russia and Ukraine, whereas 72% of Democrats describe themselves as pro-Ukraine. About three-quarters of Americans believe that events between Russia and Ukraine have at least some significance for US interests. This view is shared across party lines, but Democrats are more than twice as likely as Republicans (48% versus 20%) to consider it highly significant. Most Americans (66%) view Russia as unfriendly or an enemy, but 41% of Republicans consider it friendly or an ally, compared to 26% of Democrats who share that view. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public is evenly split on whether the US should provide Ukraine with weapons and military aid 51% say it should, while 49% believe it should not. Among Democrats, 72% support such aid, whereas only 32% of Republicans agree. Background: On Friday, 28 February an altercation took place in the Oval Office between the Presidents of Ukraine and the US, as well as Vice President JD Vance. Trump, among other things, accused Zelenskyy of "gambling with World War III". European leaders and EU officials publicly expressed their support for Ukraine following the clash between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) The Holy Trinity Church community showed their support for their priest, Father Charles Jacobs, at a rally Saturday morning in Hartford. Parishioners approached the day with high hopes of Father Jacobs making a return to the church after he was accused of stealing parish funds for unauthorized and personal use. Lee-Ann Greco has been with the church for more than 25 years. She described Father Jacobs as a giving person who helps those in need in the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 8 Exclusive: Hartford priest accused of stealing money denies allegations We are here today to support Father Jacobs and give back to all he has given to us and his entire community, said Greco. I would like to see Father Jacobs restored because I believe that, if he is not, the parish wont be here anymore. This is all his following. Father Charles Jacobs was put on administrative leave after he was accused of taking money from collection baskets. While Jacobs denies those allegations, the Archdiocese of Hartford said the truth is not being told. I was at a meeting with him and the archbishop where he admitted to taking money for his personal use from his collection plate, said Father John Melnick from the Archdiocese. He has been denying that, and I guess now he is saying that he is taking it, but he gave the money to the poor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hartford priest accused of taking money from church, placed on leave In a News 8 exclusive interview with the priest on Thursday, Father Jacobs said People would constantly confront me at the door. People would need gas, food and medications so I would use those parish funds to give to those people who come to me in need. He says each week he would set aside about $80 dollars so that he can give it to the community. Regardless, the Archdiocese says he violated a commandment. While this alleged incident is still being investigated, people left the rally with this message best summarized by parishioner David Lemkuil when he said, He is the epitome of a great priest and we want him back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) Elected officials, schools and police leaders gathered in New Haven Saturday morning for a Know Your Rights immigration training. The New Haven Immigrant Coalition held the event at the Dixwell Q House to offer insight and share resources. Volunteers who attended Saturday discussed city and statewide policies. Lawyers offered Free legal advice to families on how to keep all family members safe when at home, at school or at work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So this is the basics of enabling people to use their rights in any given situation and help folks feel more empowered and less afraid, said Hope Chavez, New Haven Immigrant Coalition Leader. The training sessions are planned to continue. There is also a 24/7 rapid response phone line that can be reached at (854) 666-4472. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge 1 /4 COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Red-tailed tropicbird in flight near Kilauea Point in 2022. 2 /4 COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Red-tailed tropicbird in flight near Kilauea Point in 2022. COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE A rainbow visible over Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse, part of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 3 /4 COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE A rainbow visible over Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse, part of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, in 2022. COURTESY MEGAN NAGEL / U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE The endangered akepa is one of the smallest of the Hawaiian honeycreepers. The akepa was once found on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island but is believed to dwell only on Hawaii island today. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service works to protect the akepa by protecting its habitat at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge 4 /4 COURTESY MEGAN NAGEL / U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE The endangered akepa is one of the smallest of the Hawaiian honeycreepers. The akepa was once found on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island but is believed to dwell only on Hawaii island today. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service works to protect the akepa by protecting its habitat at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE Red-tailed tropicbird in flight near Kilauea Point in 2022. COURTESY U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE A rainbow visible over Daniel K. Inouye Kilauea Point Lighthouse, part of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, in 2022. COURTESY MEGAN NAGEL / U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE The endangered akepa is one of the smallest of the Hawaiian honeycreepers. The akepa was once found on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island but is believed to dwell only on Hawaii island today. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service works to protect the akepa by protecting its habitat at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge The Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai, with its historic lighthouse, attracts more than 500, 000 visitors a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many travel websites say its well worth the trek to Kauais northernmost tip for the refuges breathtaking vistas that provide a glimpse of one of the largest populations of nesting seabirds in the main Hawaiian islands. Kilauea Point is closed for repairs through April 30, and cuts to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field personnel may present challenges upon its reopening. The national refuge, one of three on Kauai, lost all four field staff members Feb. 14 as part of the Trump administrations mass firings of federal employees. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency slashed probationary positions across various divisions under the Department of the Interior, impacting the management and care of Hawaiis most precious habitats, wildlife refuges for endangered species and national parks from Kauai to Hawaii island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They include the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey, which runs the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory that updates the public on locally generated earthquakes and eruptions. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said the across-the-board firing of probationary employees was done in haste, without foresight and will cause lasting damage to communities in a letter urging Interior Department Secretary Douglas Burgum to reinstate the positions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public land managers play a unique role in protecting ecosystems that impact myriad community serv ices, Hirono said. While these services may not be well known to the general public, in Hawaii they are crystal clear as a result of being an island state. Hawaii has wildlife refuges statewidefrom Kilauea Point on Kauai to the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on Oahu and Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on Hawaii island. On Kauai, losses include a biologist and an employee responsible for controlling water flow for taro farms, Hirono said, which are prime habitat for endangered birds. Vacating this position could severely impact Hawaiis taro production, which was valued at over $6 million as of 2021. On Oahu, which has five refuges encompassing over 5, 700 acres, at least two Fish and Wildlife Service staff were cut. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exact number of Fish and Wildlife staff cuts statewide remains unknown, but sources said they have been across the board and include Honolulu-based employees responsible for reviewing environmental assessments and a statewide forest bird coordinator. Hirono also said an employee responsible for preventing the introduction of brown tree snakes to Hawaii from Guam was fired. If introduced, the snakes could cause an estimated $1.7 billion worth of damage to the state annually. The termination of this position jeopardizes the millions of taxpayer dollars that have been invested over decades to keep the brown tree snake out of Hawaii, she wrote. Valentines Day notice Eric Hamren, plant restoration lead at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge on Hawaii island, remembers well the day he and other field staff received an email notice that their positions would be terminated, effective immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The notice, which was distributed to all probationary employees Feb. 14, read, The Department has determined your knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the departments current needs, and it is necessary and appropriate to terminate, during the probationary period, your appointment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hamren, who was just two months shy of finishing his probationary period, took the new position after working two years at the National Park Service. The health of the rainforest at Hakalau on the upper slopes of Mauna Kea is not only vital for protecting endangered forest birds, but for the watershed and drinking water sources downstream and wildfire prevention. Hakalau, established as a refuge in 1985, provides forest habitat for 29 critically endangered flora and fauna, including seven bird species and 20 plant species found nowhere else in the world. The work includes growing native trees in a nursery in Waimea, collecting native seeds and maintaining fences to keep hooved animals out of the restoration area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We had more than 1, 000 plants up-potted, Hamren said, referring to plants grown from seeds until theyre ready to place in a pot. The goal is to grow 30, 000 plants a year, and we were just getting things going . Now its essentially on pause. Hakalaus seed technician was also cut, he said, eliminating the person in charge of collecting native seeds for use in forest restoration and fire suppression efforts. When fires spread up into forest land, they decimate native plants, which are replaced with more flammable, invasive grasses that make forests even more vulnerable to wildfires. Restoring the forests with natives helps to break that fire cycle, and the goal was to store seeds that would be ready to disperse immediately after wildfires. In Hawaii, managing these habitats is essential to protecting endangered species, including native seabirds and forest birds, before they vanish forever, according to Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They claim that this is somehow reducing fraud and waste, Greenwald said, but eliminating dedicated people who do critical work to conserve wildlifenothing about that is fraud and waste. The national organization has filed Freedom of Information requests to determine exactly how many Fish and Wildlife Service employees across the U.S. have been cut in order to get a fuller picture of the damage and risks to wildlife refuges. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, said she is also trying to get a handle on how many vital positions have been lost. She is on the situation, including from those who want to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Cuts at national parks The OPM and DOGE have also cut an undisclosed number of probationary employees from the National Park Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NPS operates Hawai i Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii island, Haleakala National Park on Maui and the USS Arizona Memorial and its visitor center at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which are all among the states top visitor attractions. In 2023, Hawai i Volcanoes National Park welcomed more than 1.62 million visitors, a nearly 2.5 % increase from the previous year. More than 1, 000 NPS employees are said to have been laid off nationwide, sparking outrage and prompting protesters to display an upside-down American flag off El Capitan in Californias Yosemite National Park. In a statement addressing staff cuts, the National Park Service said it is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management. We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks. Tokuda said she has heard that 15 people had job offers with the Park Service rescinded. We have had an army on the ground doing their work every single day, making sure that our natural resources are protected, that people can safely come and visit our parks and our refuges, Tokuda said. The fact that we have not had an incident is a testament to their success. They work quietly in the background. These were employees who did outstanding work, she said, with performance reviews that reflected this. Additionally, DOGE cut probationary employees from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which runs the National Weather Service, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, among many other endeavors. Support from nonprofits Hawaii nonprofit groups are stepping in to keep important conservation work going. The is fundraising a stop-gap measure to mitigate the impact of the staff losses, including for Hamren, so he can keep the plants growing at the nursery. We are in a race against time to stabilize and build up the populations of our rare Hawaiian forest birds, said Debbie Anderson, president of the Friends of Hakalau in a statement. These birds represent Hawaiian culture and heritage, play key roles in the forest ecosystem, and fill our days with beauty, birdsong, and inspiration. Hakalau is home to the akiapolaau, she said, a honeycreeper with an estimated remaining population of fewer than 2, 000 individuals. The e is doing the same while seeking more members and donations. These last few weeks with freezing of federal funds and indiscriminate cutting of staff from all the refuges in the state has been devastating to the refuge system, the group in a statement. It has left projects without funding or adequate staffing. The complex was already working with lower-than-recommended staffing, it said, as well as aging equipment and inadequate supplies. The nonprofit supports the three national wildlife refuges on that island by collecting donations that help underwrite a variety of programs, including habitat maintenance and restoration, visitor education, keiki field trips and rehabilitation of sick and injured birds. A California federal judge has ruled the probationary firings by OPM were invalid, but what happens next remains to be seen. The Trump administration has also directed refuge leadership to present plans for additional cuts in March.National parks and refuges in Hawaii KauaiKilauea Point National Wildlife RefugeHanalei National Wildlife RefugeHuleia National Wildlife Refuge OahuPearl Harbor National MemorialJames Campbell National Wildlife RefugePearl Harbor National Wildlife RefugeOahu Forest National Wildlife RefugeHonouliuli National Historic Site Maui CountyHaleakala National ParkKealia Pond National Wildlife RefugeKalaupapa National Historical ParkKakahai a National Wildlife Refuge Hawaii islandHawai i Volcanoes National ParkHakalau Forest National Wildlife RefugePu ukohola Heiau National Historic SiteKoloko-Honokohau National Historical ParkPu uhonua O Honaunau National Historical ParkAla Kahakai National Historic Trail Northwestern Hawaiian IslandsMidway Atoll National Wildlife RefugePapahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Source : Department of the Interior Mar. 1---- Pollutant trends for the Hawk Creek watershed remain stable for two of its major nemeses nitrogen and total suspended solids while decreasing for its third phosphorus. That's the quick take on the annual assessment of water quality in the watershed provided by Heidi Rauenhorst, director of the Hawk Creek Watershed Project, at its annual meeting on Feb. 19 in Renville. The watershed project serving Chippewa, Kandiyohi and Renville counties has been monitoring pollutant levels for nearly its entire 27-year history. Pollutant levels as measured in recent years do not clearly show whether they are trending up or down, but appear stable, according to information provided at the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The average levels of total suspended solids remain as among the highest being measured in Minnesota watersheds, coming in at anywhere from one and a half to more than twice the desired levels for a watershed in an agricultural area. The highest levels are found where the stream reaches the Minnesota River south of Granite Falls. The suspended sediments are mainly composed of soil, and serve as an indicator of how much erosion is occurring on the landscape, Rauenhorst explained. Nitrogen levels in the watershed tend to average out at the second but not the highest tier in terms of comparison to other agricultural watersheds in the state, but are still well above what is desired. There is no specific standard yet for nitrogen levels, she said. Phosphorus levels are over two times the desired levels, according to the data. "Cut and paste," said Rauenhorst. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She explained that much of the phosphorus is carried by sediment into the waterway, and so it mirrors the excessive levels of sediments washing into the waterway. The watershed district has been encouraging practices that slow or temporarily store water on the landscape to reduce sediment and phosphorus levels in the waterway. Rauenhorst pointed out monitoring conducted on Beaver Creek in that showed how rapidly soil is flushed through the system during a rain event. In the example, a rain ranging from 1 to 1.75 inches in the upper reach of the creek to 0.47 inch at the outlet was responsible for raising sediment levels tenfold in five days' time. Water volumes rose more than threefold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phosphorus levels showed their biggest decline during the years 2008 to 2012. The new Willmar wastewater treatment plant went online in 2010. Willmar switched its discharge of treated effluent from the south fork of the Crow River Watershed to Hawk Creek with the opening of the new plant, and in so doing, provided a consistent flow of low-phosphorus discharge to the system. Overall, Rauenhorst expressed optimism that things are getting nudged in the right direction. She cited the benefits made possible by some 1,769 best management practices the watershed district, in partnership with the Soil and Water Conservation Districts and other entities, have made possible on lands in the watershed. The practices to address erosion and slow the flow of water can be credited with preventing 61,529 pounds of phosphorus and 18,844 tons of soil, the equivalent of 1,884 dump truck loads, from reaching the creek's waters. Although there is currently no way to track it, some of the biggest reasons for her optimism are the changes she is seeing in agricultural practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you just drive around, you see more green in the fall. You see more cover crops and less of the intense tillage," said Rauenhorst. The watershed project has worked with its partners to encourage the use of cover crops and reduced tillage practices, holding annual outreach events and working with other partners on cost-sharing programs. As of 2024, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency lists 119 impairments on 41 water bodies in the Hawk Creek watershed. Thirty of the impairments are for portions of streams and ditches, and 11 for lakes. The causes range from poor macro-invertebrate life, excessive levels of nutrients, bacteria from human and animal waste, mercury, turbidity and PCBs to low levels of dissolved oxygen. PCBs stands for polychlorinated biphenyls, which are industrial products or chemicals. Like the state as a whole, the watershed is also seeing an increase in the number of water bodies with aquatic invasive species. Hawk Creek has eight water bodies listed for AIS. They include the Minnesota River for bighead, grass and silver carp, along with zebra mussels; and lakes Henderson, Long, Willmar, Ringo, Foot and Swan for zebra mussels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The watershed also works with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to monitor pesticides in surface waters, and with the MPCA to monitor for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. No water bodies in the watershed are on the list for PFAS at this time. Pesticides were found in more than one-half of the samples taken at various locations throughout the watershed in 2023. They included five termed "pesticides of concern" by the Department of Agriculture for higher than desired concentration levels. The Hawk Creek Watershed includes 623,000 acres, with 81% of its land in crop production, 7% developed, 4% wetlands, 4% grass and pasture, 2% wooded cover, and 2% open water. Work by the watershed project since its start in 1997 has brought $17,640,000 in funding to the area. The total includes $9,848,000 in grant funds, mostly federal, for projects, and $7.8 million in low-interest loans for septic systems, according to the director. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement it currently has $1.5 million encumbered for future work. Rauenhorst said she does not know if some of the funds could be threatened due to federal funding cuts. The watershed project was created to give the area its own voice and some local control over water quality issues, according to Rauenhorst. It is operated under a Joint Powers Agreement by Chippewa, Kandiyohi and Renville counties. A federal judge ruled Saturday that the head of a government watchdog agency whom President Donald Trump is attempting to fire is entitled to remain in the post, setting up a dispute that will almost certainly be decided by the Supreme Court. The ruling from US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson is a win for the head of the Office of Special Counsel, Hampton Dellinger, who sued the Trump administration over his firing in a case that has already gone to the Supreme Court once before. The latest decision removes some of the technical legal issues that complicated earlier appeals by the Department of Justice. The special counsels job is to look into and expose unethical or unlawful practices directed at federal civil servants, and to help ensure that whistleblowers who disclose fraud, waste, and abuse on the part of government agencies can do so without suffering reprisals, Jackson wrote. It would be ironic, to say the least, and inimical to the ends furthered by the statute if the Special Counsel himself could be chilled in his work by fear of arbitrary or partisan removal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ruling otherwise, she said, would offer the president a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will. The Trump administration is appealing the decision. Dellingers case may ultimately help to decide how much power Trump has to fire the leadership at independent agencies, many of whom are protected by federal laws that bar their dismissal absent neglect of duty or malfeasance. But until now, most of the legal wrangling has focused on procedural issues, such as whether certain temporary court orders can be appealed. Jacksons latest decision will clear away some of those procedural hurdles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im grateful to see the court confirm the importance and legality of the job protections Congress afforded my position, Dellinger said in a statement. My efforts to protect federal employees generally, and whistleblowers in particular, from unlawful treatment will continue. The US Office of Special Counsel is unrelated to special counsels like Jack Smith or Robert Mueller who are appointed to oversee politically sensitive Justice Department investigations. Instead, Dellinger handles allegations of whistleblower retaliation made on behalf of federal employees including some who are also losing their jobs as Trump attempts to rapidly shrink the size of the government. Congress has made clear that the special counsel, created during the Carter administration, could be removed by the president only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. The director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office fired Dellinger on February 7 in a brief email that cited none of those requirements, court records show. Dellinger was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2024 to lead the Office of Special Counsel for a five-year term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court has considered the controversy once before, in the first case tied to Trumps whirlwind of activity to reach the high court since the president began his second term. Five justices agreed late last week to hold the matter in abeyance for several days. That decision essentially allowed the court to punt the case until a temporary order handed down by Jackson was set to expire. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Katelyn Polantz contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Its Sunday, March 2. Take a look at our top stories with KELOLAND On The GO. A Sioux Falls man died this weekend due to complications following his heart transplant. Sioux Falls heart transplant recipient dies A wildfire burning in the southern Black Hills has grown to 150 acres. Wildfire update: evacuation notices lifted A task force will determine the next steps for the proposed mens prison. It consists of people on both sides of the debate who will work through the need, location and size of the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What lawmakers hope to see prison task force accomplish The second half of the weekend, while similar in regards to a breeze that kicks up and a good amount of sunshine, will be different in one major way: Itll be noticeably warmerespecially East River. Storm Center AM Update: Quiet Sunday; Messy Midweek A local hospital system is teaming up with South Dakotas largest hunger-relief organization to further assist patients. Avera partners with Feeding SD to help patients fight hunger Check out our Boredom Busters! Sunday Boredom Busters: March 2nd Download the KELOLAND News app to find the latest headlines while on the go. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. MAROA, Ill. (WCIA) No one was injured after a heavy fire broke out in a vacant building in Maroa on Saturday. Just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, the Maroa Fire Department responded to a building on fire, on north Wood Street, near Fourwinds RV. Once on scene, the first responders found a fully involved structure and requested more help from nearby fire stations. UPDATE: State Police, local fire departments recover vehicle from Sangamon River Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two other nearby buildings were damaged from the fire, but no one was hurt. All units were able to clear the scene by 9:15 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photos courtesy of Maroa Fire Department According to the Maroa Police Department, this incident is under investigation, and they will be working with the Illinois State Fire Marshals Office. The police added that this is an isolated incident, and that they do not believe there is a danger to the public. The public is asked to stay away from the property, excluding routine traffic on Wood Street. Christian Co. Crime Stoppers seeking tips on Taylorville burglary The Maroa Fire Department thanked the mutual aid departments and volunteers that responded. This included Argenta-Oreana Fire Department, Hickory Point Fire Protection District, Clinton Fire Department, Kenney Fire Department, Warrensburg Fire Department, Wapella Fire Department, Cisco Fire Protection District, Latham Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Cerro Gordo Fire Protection District, and Chestnut Fire/EMS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Sunday he is now directing all department civilian employees to respond to emails from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking for a recap of what they did the week prior. I am now directing each member of the departments civilian workforce just civilian to provide those five bullets on what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week, Hegseth said in a video posted to social media. To reply to that email and CC their immediate supervisor. Its a simple task, really, as Elon [Musk] said, as the president recognized in our first Cabinet meeting, just a pulse check Are you there out? to DOD civilians, Hegseth continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hegseth said in the video that the Department of Defense (DOD) civilian workforce would soon get a second email outlining next steps that they need to take in order to comply with this initiative. Pentagon officials initially instructed employees not to respond to the first OPM email sent on Feb. 22, but Hegseth said that was only a temporary pause to allow for a review of Pentagon procedures and consultation with the Office of Personal Management. He noted the department deals with sensitive issues and with matters of national security, so we needed to be careful on that front. The directive from Hegseth comes as federal employees have begun receiving a second version of the same OPM email, a controversial practice ignited by Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk faced pushback last week from some agency heads, who instructed their employees not to respond to the email from hr@opm.gov, even as Musk threatened that a nonresponse to the email would be considered a resignation. Musk, at the first meeting of President Trumps Cabinet on Wednesday, defended his email demanding all federal workers report their accomplishments to his office, calling it a pulse check and saying anyone with a heartbeat and neurons could complete it. The initial OPM email directive raised questions about how the emails would be reviewed. Hegseth touched on the matter in his video. We will take that into consideration, as we make sure were being as focused and as tailored as possible in looking at how we streamline our workforce, to both meet the fiscal demands of the moment but also ensure we have the strongest, most viable fighting force in the world, he said regarding the email responses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The City of Henderson is reviewing a financial consulting contract for a firm of which a former city councilman trounced by his opponent and unseated from office in Novembers election is a partner, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. A spokeswoman for the city provided a statement with regard to the company, Philo Ventures, and the former councilman of Ward II, Dan Shaw, who lost his re-election bid to a newcomer last year. Shaw served on the city council for seven years prior to being unseated by Monica Larson, who was sworn into office in January. Shakeup on Henderson City Council could change political scene in Nevadas second-biggest city Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The City is reviewing a contract with Philo Ventures for financial efficiency consulting services, the statement said. Mr. Shaw is a partner consultant at Philo Ventures. He is not serving the City as a volunteer and will not work directly on these consulting services. The city, however, would not provide the 8 News Now Investigators with any specifics or a copy of the consulting agreement. Further, the city did not answer questions about associating with Shaw for the purposes of financial matters. In 2022, Shaw defended the first of four federal lawsuits alleging predatory lending practices at his payday loan company, Green Arrow Solutions. Henderson city councilman sued for predatory payday loans, charging 700% interest Through a spokesperson, Dan Shaw declined the 8 News Now Investigators request for comment on this topic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the state legislatures 2025 session, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero and her staff testified about certain budget challenges including public safety expenditures, pension costs, and less revenue than expected heading into the next fiscal year. Prior to his tenure on the city council, Shaw spent 11 years on the Henderson Planning Commission. He joined the Henderson Parks and Recreation Board in 1987. Philo Ventures, headquartered in Salt Lake City according to public record and in the Utah suburb Lehi according to the firms website, lists Shaw as one of its capital advisers. A website for Philo Development, an entity advertised and linked to on the Philo Ventures webpage, lists Shaw as an advisory partner. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. (COLORADO SPRINGS) The FOX21 Storm Team is monitoring a spring storm that could bring high winds and high snow totals for some for the early work week of March 3 including Monday night into Tuesday. Heres what you need to know to prepare. What We Know: Models on Sunday morning showed an area of low pressure intensifying and bringing a spring-like storm to Southern Colorado A potent spring-like storm will arrive in the area starting Monday night and continue in the area through Tuesday. This system is expected to gain energy as it moves into Colorado and brings high winds and snow to the high terrain and lower elevations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, this system is expected to tap into some moisture which means the snow will be pretty wet and slushy in some spots and the moisture could also act as a snow total multiplier and bring heavier snow potentially to Teller County and areas near Palmer Divide like Monument, Black Forest, Palmer Lake, Gleneagle, Calhan and into the gap between Monument and Castle Rock. It also means that some will get just rain while others will see snow. The image below shows Sundays estimates where some will see rain (in green) and some will see snow (in white, grey, and pink colors). Sunday mornings European model shows a stark contrast between some seeing high snow amounts in the Palmer Divide and others seeing just rain. As this storm arrives in the area on Monday, it will first bring high winds and high fire danger to some dry areas including areas near Highway 50, and into the Raton Mesa and Baca County where humidity levels are expected to be below 15%. A Red Flag Warning is in effect for parts of the SE plains Monday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Southern Coloradoans are warned to be cautious with any ignition sources Monday. As the wind continues to blow into the evening hours on Monday, we will start to first see rain and then eventually snow. It is expected that the snow will start to get heavier overnight Monday into Tuesday and bring high snowfall totals to Northern El Paso County and Parts of the Eastern Plains. A Winter Storm Watch is in Effect for Monday night into Tuesday. Potential Impacts To Your Monday Night Into Tuesday With this storm, you are going to want to watch out for 3 things: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement High Winds up to 50 mph Bursts of Heavy Snow especially for the Pikes Peak Region Terrible Visibility Heavy Snow For Some As mentioned above, the moisture content in this storm as well as the systems interaction with our terrain are going to determine how much snow falls and where. Below is a comparison between two models: The European model and the GRAF model which the Storm Team consults in their forecasting frequently. As of Sunday morning, the European model and the American models were shown to have a similar forecast (which is on the left of the image below) of going quite low on storm totals. However, the GRAF (which is shown on the right) and other models showed more moisture content and more terrain interaction which is pretty typical for spring-like scenarios here in Southern Colorado. You can view the model comparison below. Here are the preliminary snow totals for Tuesday for Southern Colorado and the Pikes Peak Region where the greatest terrain interaction is expected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement High winds and diminished visibility This storm will also bring high winds. Winds are expected to gust up to 50 mph late Monday night through Tuesday afternoon. The winds will create the following issues: Blowing Snow and Blizzard Conditions which will knock down visibility. In some places, you will not be able to see the road in some spots. Danger to high-profile vehicles on west-to-east oriented roads. Slick conditions Wind chills will make it feel like single digits on Tuesday morning and teens in the afternoon. Road Conditions As you can see it is advised to stay home or at least limit travel as much as possible due to deteriorating travel conditions. Make sure to tune into FOX21s Storm Team Chief Meteorologist Matt Meister and Meteorologist Megan Montero will be live covering road conditions for Tuesday. You can also follow the Storm Team for the latest updates while not on air on the FOX21 Weather App. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. We heard of Hurricane Irma only a handful of days before it smacked straight through 5th Avenue in my hometown. The predicted storm paths sent the hurricane sweeping through Miamiacross the coast. When the storm path shifted, it was almost too late for my family to evacuate. Its 180 mph winds and 1015 foot storm surge were catastrophic, costing the lives of 84 people. It was the coordinated response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with state and local governments, that saved many more. Search and rescue missions conducted by both FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard saved 1,332 lives after Hurricane Irma, as well as 53 pets. After the immediate impact of the storm, FEMA transported over seven million meals to affected areas. FEMA has recently come under fire from the current administration, which claims that the agency should be abolished. However, now more than ever, FEMA is needed to protect U.S. citizens and serve as a guiding light for state response efforts. Climate change is expected to increase the severity and frequency of hurricanes in the United States throughout the 21st century. The combination of wind and temperature changes means that hurricanes are going to drop more rainfall, primarily affecting the Southeast coast of the U.S. To mitigate, prepare, and battle the effects of these storms, it is vitally important that we have a tiered disaster response structure. FEMA is necessary to help state and local governments when they are overwhelmed by disasters, such as during a hurricane. Without FEMA, these states would be forced to grapple with disasters alone, leading to the unnecessary deaths of individuals and the destruction of infrastructure. Beyond this, FEMA is responsible for mitigating the effects of disasters in the future. This can look like mapping areas that are at high risk after a hurricane or maintaining a watershed to reduce flooding and flood risk. By addressing these concerns before a disaster takes place, FEMA is able to reduce the burden of a disaster once it does occur. This not only saves lives but also resources and money. A benefit-cost analysis of FEMAs mitigation grants revealed that grants for mitigating a variety of disasters showed a financial benefit to society. This indicates that investing in mitigation strategies through FEMA saves money in the long run. Without FEMA, many states currently struggle with limited staffing and resources. This impacts the development and implementation of strategies. In particular, rural and marginalized communities are most affected by these limitations. Unfortunately, disasters disproportionately impact these communities. For this reason, state and local governments need the structure, funding, and resources from FEMA to overcome these disasters. FEMA particularly garnered backlash after its response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A devastating storm, Katrina cost the lives of 1,392 people. This destructive storm came shortly after the restructuring of FEMA under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003. After the reorganization, the time to dispatch FEMA personnel and supplies to areas in need after a hurricane dramatically increased. Furthermore, the dispatch rate and amount of damage were dependent on both the presidential administration and the FEMA director. In particular, by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there had been three major shifts in how administrations used FEMA. The first came during Ronald Reagans presidency: With Reagans appointment of an expert in terrorism preparedness as the director of FEMA, the agencys focus pivoted from disaster management to nuclear preparedness. This was a focus that lasted throughout the 80s and into the early 90s. During this time, FEMAs responses to natural disasters, such as Hurricane Hugo and Hurricane Andrew, were defined by slow speeds and bureaucratic disagreements. Revitalizing FEMA through a second shift came with Bill Clintons presidency. Sweeping reforms across the agency to refocus FEMA on emergency management meant that FEMA was better able to respond to disasters such as the Northridge Earthquake of 1994. The third shift came during George Bushs presidency: After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, Bush formed the DHS and redistributed many government agencies. Under the DHS, FEMAs goals shifted from all hazards to focusing on nuclear and chemical attacks. It was this last restructuring that led to the messy response to Hurricane Katrina. Under the DHS, it was now harder for FEMA to request resources and staff during disasters. This resulted in slower response times and greater destruction, as we saw in the aftermath of 2005. Ultimately, what is most dangerous to the functioning of FEMA is the restructuring of the agency to support the political goals of an administration. When emergency management is the heart of FEMAs focus, disaster response is efficient and effective. When Hurricane Irma washed ashore seven years ago, lives were saved by the joint response of FEMA and the local and state governments. It is not hard to imagine how the aftermath of the storm could have been different. With increasing storm severity expected in the future, it is vital that we demand our state representatives fight to keep FEMA from being dissolved or restructured by the current administration. Our livelihoods depend on it. Lucy Bowden is a medical student. RALEIGH Megan Moshman, a student at Highland Middle School north of Carolina Lakes in Harnett County, was recently named a first-place winner in the Aviation Art Contest. Moshman won in the intermediate range, which included those born between 2011 and 2014. The contest, sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, had a theme, Women with Wings, that encouraged students to celebrate the contributions of women in aviation, whether as pilots, skydivers, mechanics or engineers, through their artwork. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A panel of judges selected the winners based on creativity, technical quality and adherence to the theme, a release states. Judges reviewed this years entrants over several weeks. The judges included local art teachers, aviation experts, Gov. Josh Stein and NCDOT employees, including NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins. The North Carolina Airports Association sponsors the contest and provides cash prizes for state winners and their schools. The top three artists in each age category will advance to the National Aviation Art Contest in Washington, D.C., where they will compete for a chance to advance to the international level. Since 2017, 16 North Carolina students have placed in the top three nationally, and three have earned international honors. HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) The Greater Holyoke YMCA celebrated their volunteers Saturday evening during the annual Sneaker Peek event. Marshal Mania kickoff party raises funds for 72nd Holyoke Saint Patricks Parade These volunteers had the spotlight shined on them for their efforts, and the positive impact theyve had on the community through the YMCAs programs and services. Two volunteers were honored this evening for their contributions to the organization and the community. Molly LePage was the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Service Award and Arthur Bergeron received the 2025 Oldershaw Community Service Award. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For 139 years, we were founded on volunteers, said Conor Bevan, CEO of the Greater Holyoke YMCA. They are our lifeline. Without volunteers, we cant exist, so its our way to simply say thank you. We cant say thank you enough to our volunteers. The Greater Holyoke YMCA currently serves approximately 5,000 people within the community. To learn more about their programming and services, visit holyokeymca.org. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Saturday, friends and neighbors gathered for the Child Advocacy Centers Hope Rising Gala at Arbor at the Port. Its the organizations largest fundraising event of the year, where guests bid on silent and live auctions to fund the groups operating costs for its programs and services. (WROC/Melanie Sosa) Organizers said the goal of the gala is to connect with the surrounding community and raise money for children in need in the Greater Rochester area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our main message is that hope is possible for children, said Daniele Lyman-Torres, president and CEO of the Child Advocacy Center of Greater Rochester. We can restore hope to children and families who have experienced the unimaginable trauma of abuse, and it starts with supporting this work, this organization. GC3 Community Connections hosts annual gala They will be opening their second location this year at Skyview on the Ridge. Officials told News 8 they will be focusing more on prevention work and expanding mental health services. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. A woman who had been struggling with homelessness and drug abuse gave birth to a baby daughter in November 2022, and with the help of a friend, arranged for the newborn to be taken to a hospital. As the New York Times reports, due to a hazy bureaucratic screwup, the girl was given a truly bizarre name: "Unakite Thirteen Hotel." According to the girl's father, Jason Kilburn, the name appeared to have had a bizarre origin story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I was told it was a computer-generated name," he told NBC News after contacting the hospital where his daughter was born. Worse yet, Kilburn who has since been confirmed be the girl's biological father and was given custody has tried for years to change his daughter's unusual legal name, which has persisted to this day. And it's not just her name Kilburn has struggled to get his daughter a Social Security number since her birth certificate was labeled "for government use only." As a result, Caroline Unakite Thirteen Hotel's given name can't get health insurance and child care, among other services, the NYT reports. Kilburn's lawyer Joshua Livingston blamed a "circuitous, bureaucratic loop" in an interview with NBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's a precarious situation. "Three or four weeks ago, she was sick," Kilburn told NBC. "She had a fever and she was throwing up, and I had to weigh my options about what I was going to do." "It really sucks to sit here and watch her suffer when theres health care out there that I cant get because of this," he added. Surprisingly, nonsensical placeholder names are commonplace in the US healthcare system, as the NYT found. The names are usually abandoned quickly once custody is confirmed by a parent or guardian. Kilburn's lawyer has since voiced optimism that Caroline could finally get her name changed and receive a Social Security number. Media coverage could also help put pressure on the government to jump into action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The good news is that two-year-old Caroline has been completely oblivious to the bureaucratic nightmare unfolding. "Shes a joy to be around," Kilburn told NBC News. "She doesnt show signs of any trauma from any of this." More on names: Your Facial Features Gradually Change to Go With Your Name, Researchers Find Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) on Sunday called a budget resolution that was recently adopted by House Republicans a screw America bill. Its the screw America bill, and let me tell you why, Horsford said on The Hill Sunday with NewsNations Chris Stirewalt. Let me tell you why, the Nevada Democrat added. They are cutting $2 trillion on the backs of everyday Americans, seniors, those who are disabled, women, pregnant women, newborn children, to do what? To give tax breaks to the very wealthy, to big corporations, to tech tycoons. And theyre very clear and deliberate about how theyre going about it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House budget resolution was approved via a 217-215 vote on Tuesday night. Senate Republicans expressed their disagreements with the House measure, saying it wouldnt result in the Trump tax cuts from eight years ago being permanent. They also have been worried about cuts to Medicaid needed to finance it. We got it done, we had the requisite number of votes to move this process along, and now passing the budget resolution in the House, it will go to the Senate, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said to reporters in the wake of the vote. This is the first important step in opening up the reconciliation process. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) slammed the budget resolution in a video posted to the social platform X on Tuesday. Youre talking about $880 billion of cuts to Medicaid. And I get it, like $880 billion, like, what does that mean, right? Thats a huge number. Nobody understands. Let me tell you what that means. That means that sick kids die in this country. That means that hospitals in depressed communities, in rural communities, close their doors, Murphy said in the video. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. DENVER (KDVR) A house fire in Redstone has left residents displaced and caused thousands of dollars in damages to their home, according to the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District. The fire was reported at about 2 p.m. on Saturday in the 100 block of Redstone Boulevard. Firefighters arrived and found smoke coming from an exterior wall of the single family home. Deadly crash closes Highway 93 in Golden Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon entering the home, firefighters found the fire actively burning inside a kitchen wall. Sections of the kitchen wall were removed to ensure the fire was fully extinguished. Carbondale Fire said the homes residents have been temporarily displaced, but didnt say how many residents were involved. The agency also said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and the estimated damage to the home is about $40,000 to $50,000. The Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District shared this image of firefighters after a house fire in Redstone on March 1. (Courtesy the Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection District) Carbondale Fire was paged to this structure fire while crews were already responding to a car accident on Missouri Heights and a medical emergency in the Town of Carbondale, said Fire Chief Rob Goodwin in a release. Even with multiple emergencies occurring simultaneously across the fire district, our crews, in coordination with mutual aid partners, efficiently managed resources to staff all incidents and contain this fire, preventing further damage to the home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No injuries were reported to firefighters or civilians. Carbondale Fire, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue, the Pitkin County Sheriffs Office and Holy Cross Energy aided in the incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. House Republicans are planning to scrub the name from Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., a site that was renamed following the tragic death of George Floyd in May 2020. Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a white cop in a killing that ignited a nationwide movement calling for police accountability and racial justice. Protesters took to the streets of the U.S. capital, chanting the names of Floyd and other Black victims of police violenceBreonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among othersand were met with violence and tear gas near the site of the plaza. Shortly after, a mural was unveiled on the site to condemn police brutality and send the message loud and clear that the city recognizes peoples humanity, according to Black D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Now, following Trumps attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the administration will destroy left-wing pet projects and address partisan abuses such as Black Lives Matter Plaza, according to House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky. Trump has previously said he approves of taking over the nations capital, stating, I think that we should govern District of Columbia. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson drew a clear dividing line between himself and President Donald Trump as he claimed Russian President resident Vladimir Putin was dangerous and not to be trusted. In an interview with Dana Bash on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday, the speaker of the House praised the president for his peacemaking efforts but said Putin was an old school communist and aggressor in the war with Ukraine. During a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier this week, President Trump said he believed the Russian leader would keep his word after any peace deal was made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Bash questioned Johnson about his views on Putin, the speaker blasted the Russian president. I think Vladimir Putin is an old school communist, a former KGB agent, and hes not to be trusted, and he is dangerous," Johnson said. The way I view this is that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are engaged in a new axis, Axis powers, and they are not on Americas side. Lets be crystal clear about that, he added. Minutes before he made the damning comments, Johnson said Trump should not simply trust Putin but verify whether he would keep to an agreement. You have to have both parties at the table. To do that, you have to negotiate with both parties, and there has to be a willingness on this, on both sides to bring it to an end, he told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump has shown he will not tolerate someone not fulfilling their end of a deal, he added. Trumps role as a peacemaker has come under fire following a tense clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. During the nearly hour-long press conference in the Oval Office, the president said that he had very good discussions with Russian officials, including Putin. I spoke with President Putin, and were going to try and bring this to a close, he said in front of Zelensky, who moments before said Putin did not want peace. Trumps warming up to Russia has concerned some Republicans, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who said she was sick to my stomach to see the president embrace Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson faced further questioning on Trumps approach in a separate interview with Kristen Welker on NBC Newss Meet the Press. Welker asked the Trump ally whether he believed Zelensky may need to resign to achieve peace in Ukraine. Something has to change, he said. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. Its up to the Ukrainians to figure that out, he added. Welker challenged him on why he had not made the same comments about Putin, but Johnson dodged her question. Id like to see Putin defeated, frankly. He is an adversary of the United States, he said. But in this conflict, weve got to bring it into this war. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Along South Witchduck Road, hundreds of people stopped and honored the two fallen Virginia Beach officers, Christopher Reese and Cameron Girvin, one last time. Complete Coverage: Fallen VBPD Officers Reese and Girvin From the air, Drone 10 captured dozens of police vehicles and motorcycles escorting Girvin and Reese. On the ground, people lined the streets to say one final goodbye. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, she asked me a question a minute ago. She says, Dad, I dont know them. I told her, Thats right. They dont know you either, but they still defend you and protect you and our neighbors. So, its good to show them our support, said Forest Hickman, who watched the procession with his daughter, Wren. From watching out of the sunroofs of cars to others paying their respects, traffic stopped to remember the two Virginia Beach police officers. We might not know them, just like a lot of the officers who came down here might not have had a personal experience with them. We are all affected when something affects our community, no matter who it is, said Matthew Morris, VP of US Flag Runners. More than 350 flags were blowing in the wind down South Witchduck Road. U.S. Flag Runners says all of them were set up Saturday morning before the funeral. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They put their lives on the line for our communities every day. Why cant we show them a little bit of respect and a little bit of honor? Let [the] family know that we care, said Joseph Bain, President of US Flag Runners. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. When Hanford McCloud looks at the towering volcano that is the namesake of Mount Rainier National Park, he thinks about the generations of his ancestors that came before them. Called Tahoma by the indigenous tribes in Western Washington, McCloud says the mountain is the beacon of what lives in its shadows. She gives us life here in this region, McCloud said. Shes sitting there, shes controlling the weather to make sure the rain stays over here for her children: the salmon, the animals, and all of the things she brought here before us. Its our job now to take care of that. McCloud uses cedar from the park to weave hats, baskets, and other items, a skill that was passed down from his mother and her mother before that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These areas were protected for generations, upon generations upon generations. The sweat equity that my ancestors put in, I want to make sure is still there for my kids and their generation as they get older, so we have that value there. McCloud said. On Saturday, McCloud, his wife, and his children joined nearly 200 others at the Nisqually gate to Mt. Rainier to protest the recent cuts to park staff nationwide. Hundreds more joined across the sound at Olympic National Park, part of a national demonstration in support of park rangers nationwide. The White Houses Department of Government Efficiency announced the firing of 1,000 newer park rangers earlier this year. After some pushback, including from President Donald Trumps interior secretary, Doug Berman, 50 were reinstated. The cuts to staffing at National Parks are part of a stated effort of fiscal responsibility and removing wasteful spending in the government. There hasnt been a review of the existing budget, said Jim Walsh, the chair of the Washington State GOP who supports scaling down the federal governments size. He yearns for a zero-base budget where agencies advocate for all their funding from the start rather than adding new funding from existing budgets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whenever the Parks Service is pressed for efficiency, they tend to respond by changing the locks on the doors to the outward facing facilities. That creates a sense of hardship and allows them to argue against budget reform. KIRO 7 News spoke to several park rangers at the protest Saturday who feared to go on the record for fear of retribution and described parks running on tight budgets already. In 2024, the National Park Service released a report detailing a $23 Billion maintenance backlog. It all comes as parks, particularly Mt. Rainier, are seeing more visitors. To manage crowds, Rainier and other popular parks have implemented timed-entry reservations during peak seasons to avoid overcrowding staff and amenities. A retired park ranger, whom we will call John to hide his identity, disagrees with Walshs assessment of Park Staff. He says that during situations like shutdowns, parks are required to stay open but unstaffed, meaning trash builds up and facilities are unkempt. Its kind of getting to the point where were kind of loving them to death, John said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John says jobs that had hundreds of applicants when he started had been difficult to fill towards the end of his career. He remembers days of working unpaid hours to complete work that had to be done. He doesnt blame people for wanting to be paid for all the hours they work, understanding the pay isnt as desirable as it once was. We refer to it as getting paid in sunsets sometimes, John said. John had been a ranger in Rainier for 34 years, now volunteering with an organization that supports conservation at the park. That work and a relative who is a current Park Ranger have him fearing repercussions for speaking out. During his decades of service, he says more parks were added, but the NPS budget didnt increase accordingly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youve had an erosion of your current funding, and at the same time, your costs go up, John said. John says hes specifically concerned about wildfire response and search and rescue efforts during the peak season. After pushback, the Department of the Interior says it will add 7,700 seasonal workers in the summer, more than the around 6,200 average over the last three years. Park visitation has expanded to the point where its all months during the year, including the wintertime. Its gotten quite busy, John said. McCloud looks at the increase in visitors as a positive influence on the spaces he grew up appreciating. He hopes the people proposing the cuts will spend time experiencing the places that are affected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The money guys that are sitting at the table making these decisions, theyre surrounded by all four walls, so they dont get to see anything of importance that this money is coming into, but if they were to come here and see this firsthand where this money is going to and how much it has provided here in this region, he said. McCloud has a suggestion for the federal government if it seeks to continue the cuts or to cut back on the management and conservation of national parks like Olympic and Rainier. From the indigenous perspective, they took this area from us, and now they dont want to do anything with it. McCloud said, Give it back to us and let us take care of it. With the Trump administration promising the largest deportation effort in U.S. history, more than 200 people marched through downtown Ontario on Saturday morning in support of the Inland Empires immigrant community. The energetic crowd waved American and Mexican flags, banged drums and unleashed noisemakers as they paraded along the sidewalks. They chanted, We are not leaving," and the United Farm Workers motto, Si, se puede. Demonstrators erupted into cheers when vehicles along Euclid Avenue honked in support. The protest promoted on social media as a mass mobilization against mass deportation was led by the San Bernardino-based Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, which is comprised of more than 35 organizations serving the immigrant community in the Inland Empire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The region is home to a sizable immigrant population. According to a 2018 report from UC Riversides Center for Social Innovation, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the California Immigrant Policy Center, one in five Inland Empire residents was an immigrant, with nearly 1 million immigrants across Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Dozens of protesters from Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and several other Inland Empire organizations participate in a demonstration in Ontario on Saturday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) San Bernardino County also is home to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, one of California's largest immigration detention centers, which is managed by the private prison corporation GEO Group. A coalition of immigrant rights groups has advocated for the facilitys closure for years, citing health, safety and human rights concerns. Addressing the crowd before beginning the march, Javier Hernandez, executive director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, framed the administrations rhetoric as an attempt to sow fear and panic among the immigrant community; a ploy to make people cower in the shadows or self-deport. "The way we fight back is by coming out to the streets," Hernandez said. Were leaving fear behind and pushing forward with our fight for immigrant rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sin papeles, sin miedo, he cried out, leading attendees in a boisterous chant. Undocumented, unafraid. A protester wears a combination U.S.-Mexican flag at the rally. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Confronting that fear and speaking out for those feeling attacked and afraid to protest was on the minds of many protesters. Andy Garibay came to the country as a baby and now has work authorization and deportation protection through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. A mother of two, she lives in Rialto and works in payroll administration. She said the Trump administrations threats have her and her family on edge. Her family group chat seems to be constantly pinging with possible sightings of immigration officials near the warehouses where many relatives work, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: LAPD presence at South L.A. immigration raid sparks questions Why should it be like this? said Garibay, who held signs reading, One Love, and had a Mexican flag wrapped around her hair. Deanna Pennino, of Ontario, is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant. He taught her and her siblings to work hard and be proud Americans, while never forgetting their roots, she said. More than 200 people waved flags, banners and signs as they marched through downtown Ontario on Saturday in support of immigrant rights. (Rebecca Plevin / Los Angeles Times) Pennino, a respiratory therapist at a local hospital, said several colleagues have stopped coming to work, afraid immigration authorities could show up at any moment. Trump on his first day in office rescinded a Biden-era policy that protected certain sensitive locations , including churches, schools and hospitals, from immigration enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pennino also fought against Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot initiative that sought to bar immigrants lacking documentation from receiving any public benefits, including healthcare, education and social services. That experience, she said, proved to her that we can fight and make a difference. Read more: They patrol L.A.'s streets in search of ICE, Trump immigration raids During Saturdays march, she carried a sign reading Deport Elon, a reference to Elon Musk, a South African immigrant who is leading a controversial effort to weed out alleged fraud, waste and abuse from the federal government. Trump initially focused his rhetoric on tracking down immigrants lacking authorization and who have been accused of violent crimes. His administration now says it considers all immigrants in the U.S. without legal authorization to be criminals, because they have violated immigration laws. Dozens of protesters participated in a "mass mobilization against mass deportation" in Ontario on Saturday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already conducted well-publicized operations in Chicago and New York, among other places. The pledge of more enforcement actions has rattled immigrant communities throughout California and across the country and spurred a groundswell of activism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last weekend, rumors that the federal government was planning a massive immigration enforcement sweep in Los Angeles County put many people on high alert. At that time, ICE officials did not say whether any special operations had taken place and did not release daily arrest figures. However, it appeared any such operation had not been anywhere near as widespread as many had predicted. In early January, at the tail end of the Biden administration, Border Patrol agents conducted a multi-day raid in rural parts of Kern County , resulting in the detention and deportation of scores of laborers lacking documentation. Read more: 'They just got my uncle': Immigration arrests spark fear among farmworkers in Central Valley This week, ACLU attorneys representing the United Farm Workers and five Kern County residents sued the head of the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol officials, alleging the raid amounted to a fishing expedition that indiscriminately targeted people of color who appeared to be farmworkers or day laborers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article is part of The Times equity reporting initiative , funded by the James Irvine Foundation , exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address Californias economic divide. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Hundreds gathered in downtown Boston on Saturday afternoon to rally in support of Ukraine, following tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump. The emergency rally, organized by the group Boston Supports Ukraine, emphasized that peace cannot be achieved at the expense of justice or freedom. We want to show the United States, show Americans, that we are ready for a deal, for an agreement between the United States and Ukraine, but we just need security guarantees for our country, said Daria Sakhniuk who moved to Massachusetts from Ukraine shortly after the war began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the rally, protesters waved Ukrainian flags and held signs to demonstrate their solidarity with Ukraine, just days after a heated exchange between President Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office of the White House. In a dramatic meeting on Friday, President Trump told Zelenskyy that he was gambling with millions of lives, warning that his actions could potentially trigger World War III. This exchange occurred after Zelenskyy remarked that Americans will feel it in the future due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. President Zelensky has been an incredibly brave leader of a country in unbearable crisis, Senator Ed Markey posted on social media Saturday night. But instead of supporting democracy, Trump is siding with Putin, a true dictator. We owe President Zelensky our appreciation and support, Markey added. President Zelensky has been an incredibly brave leader of a country in unbearable crisis. But instead of supporting democracy Trump is siding with Putin, a true dictator. We owe President Zelensky our appreciation and support. pic.twitter.com/zTwrPwpFu2 Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) March 1, 2025 Despite the tension, Sakhniuk expressed optimism for future cooperation. Our presidents have some disagreements, but I believe that in the future we will reach an agreement and a deal, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the meeting, Zelenskyy thanked the American people and leadership, expressing hope for strong relations moving forward. 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 Leaders of Slovakia and Hungary on March 1 threatened to block EU statements during a key summit next week unless the bloc calls for an immediate ceasefire and launches talks with Russia. European Council President Antonio Costa called a meeting of EU leaders on March 6 to discuss defense spending, further support for Kyiv, and to showcase unity after U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance's humiliating treatment of President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office earlier this week. Zelensky has also been invited to the EU summit, which will take place after a meeting with international partners in London on March 2 that will exclude Slovak and Hungarian representatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a letter to Costa obtained by Reuters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reportedly urged the EU to abandon plans for a joint declaration in support of Ukraine and resume direct communication with Moscow like Washington did. "I am convinced that the European Union - following the example of the United States - should enter into direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and sustainable peace in Ukraine," Orban said. The Hungarian prime minister is broadly seen as the most Russian-friendly leader in the EU and a close ideological ally of Trump. Orban was one of the few EU leaders to voice support for the U.S. president rather than Zelensky after their heated exchange in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. Read also: A tragedy Russia strikes Ukrainian military training ground during exercises, Drapatyi says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Therefore, I propose not to attempt adopting written conclusions on Ukraine," Orban wrote, hinting at the fact that the decision must be adopted unanimously. Hungary's leader has repeatedly obstructed or blocked military support for Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow, leveraging the country's veto rights. Similarly, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico voiced doubts about Ukraine's ability to negotiate from a position of strength and said that the EU's summit statement should include a call for an immediate ceasefire. Issuing the statement after the disastrous White House meeting, Fico also said that Slovakia would not provide financial or military support to Ukraine. Fico halted military aid for Ukraine from Slovak army stocks after taking office in the fall of 2023 but permitted continued arms sales. Slovakia has also provided energy support amid Russian attacks against Ukraine's power grid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Slovak populist leader further demanded that the resumption of Russian gas transit to Slovakia a key issue in a conflict between him and Kyiv be included in the summit's statement. "If the summit does not respect that there are other options besides simply continuing the war, the European Council may not be able to agree on conclusions regarding Ukraine on Thursday," Fico said. The Slovak leader has previously promoted pro-Russian narratives on Ukraine and the war and met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last December to discuss gas transit issues ahead of Ukraine's planned transit halt. At the same time, Fico said that Slovakia "respects the need to increase Europe's defense capabilities" and the decisions of other EU members to continue providing military and financial support for Ukraine. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) An inmate was found dead Saturday morning in his cell at Hutchinson Correctional Facility. Lamoine Wiebe, 57, was found unresponsive in his cell, according to a news release from the prison. Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived but were unsuccessful. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy, the release said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senator Roger Marshall booed at northwest Kansas town hall The death is under investigation by the Kansas Department of Corrections and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Wiebe was serving a 233-month sentence for one conviction of voluntary manslaughter in Harvey County. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. DES MOINES, Iowa U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a 28-year-old man in Des Moines on February 21st. ICE agents and U.S. Marshalls initiated a routine traffic stop on February 21 in Des Moines and arrested Luis Enrique Baires, 28. Photo courtesy of ICE According to ICE, Baires is an illegal alien wanted in El Salvador, his home county, on two counts of aggravated homicide, two counts of proposition and conspiracy for the crime of aggravated homicide, and one count of illicit associations with the MS-13 Enfermos Criminales Salvatruchos clique. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DMPD note young adult involvement following federal weapons, drug investigation According to the Department of Justice, MS-13 is a gang primarily composing of immigrants and immigrants descendants from El Salvador. In the U.S., the gang originated in Los Angeles, California and engaged in turf wars for the control of drug distribution locations. They are reportedly one of the largest street gangs in the Unites States. Following the arrest, the Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office released this statement. Rural Iowa is not immune from central American criminals like Baires, and we will continue to face the challenge of tracking down and arresting the worst of the worst, said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office Director Matthew Putra. Thanks to U.S. Marshals Service for assisting us in this arrest to keep communities safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to ICE, Baires remains in ICE custody, without bond, pending the outcome of his removal proceedings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. A proposed Illinois bill championed by Gov. JB Pritzker would allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees, a move bill authors say would make baccalaureate degrees more accessible and mitigate workforce shortages. This is a natural extension of what were focused on as community colleges, (which) is our commitment to help improve career pathways for students, said Ken Trzaska, president of Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey. But universities in southern Illinois are apprehensive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were certainly 100% supportive of anything we can do to improve access for students who want to get a degree. We need to find, I think as a state, a way to provide that education, said Dan Mahony, president of the Southern Illinois University system. The question is, What is the best way to do that? Both Mahony and McKendree University President Dan Dobbins praised the existing collaboration between their institutions and community colleges. However, opening the door for community colleges to offer four-year degrees could lead to what Mahony called unproductive competition. I think theres more to be gained by collaborating and working as partners than potentially putting us into competition with one another, Dobbins said. Currently 24 states allow community colleges to offer bachelors degrees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of now, two area community colleges Southwestern Illinois College and Lewis and Clark Community College do not have concrete plans to expand or otherwise alter their offerings should the bill pass. But, more broadly, Trzaska is excited about the doors such legislation could open for students across the state. Bill advocate says change could make 4-year degrees possible for some students The bills text says students of color, those who work or have other responsibilities that prevent them from obtaining a traditional bachelors degree and those who live a considerable distance from a university in particular can benefit from bachelors degrees at community colleges. Trzaska said these programs also benefit nontraditional students, or those who pursue higher education later in life instead of right out of high school. Thats especially true, he said, if a student has already acclimated to a community college campus, its faculty and resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Being able to stay there and finish that four-year degree might be a lot more affordable, a lot more accessible, and, quite frankly, a lot more convenient for those students, Trzaska said. He also pointed to a recent survey. Of over 400 students from various community colleges in Illinois, 75% said they would be more interested in pursuing a bachelors degree if their community college offered one at a lower cost. Melissa McKaig, a Lewis and Clark nursing student from Jerseyville, said she knows of several students who would pursue a bachelors degree at the community college if they offered one. She spoke during a Monday afternoon news conference Pritzker conducted at Lewis and Clark as part of an effort to raise awareness about the bill. This might be the only way McKaig could get a four-year degree in her field, she said. Between family and financial obligations, switching colleges isnt possible right now, she explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposed legislation seeks to target in-demand career paths in particular. Along with being approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Illinois Community College Board, community college baccalaureate programs must meet specific conditions. One of those is to show how the new program meets unmet local workforce needs. In his State of the State address last month, Pritzker gave nursing, early childhood education and advanced manufacturing as examples. But between online programs and university-community college partnerships, there are already many options tailored to helping Illinois working, rural, nontraditional and community college students obtain a bachelors degree, Mahony and Dobbins said. The bill specifies that another higher education institution cannot prevent a community college from offering a baccalaureate degree program. However, in order to start a 4-year degree program, a community college needs to show that their new program will not necessarily duplicate the degree programs offered by other institutions of higher education in the community colleges district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also allows nearby educational institutions to weigh in before the program is approved. Theres one common thread in the universities and community colleges response to the bill: its important they work together when discussing potential new programs. SWIC leadership declined an interview, but President Nick J. Mance issued the following statement: Southwestern Illinois College deeply values its strong partnerships with all 4-year institutions. College administration is closely monitoring this proposed legislation regarding the potential offering of 4-year degrees. While we recognize this legislation is primarily aimed at addressing the hire-demand career path needs of local communities, it is still in the early stages of development; and we have no further comment. Could bill help undergrad enrollment in Illinois? A 2023 Illinois State Board of Education report shows undergraduate enrollment has dipped by approximately 20% since 2014. At the same time, the country is bracing for a decline in the number of 18 year olds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To Dobbins, this data reveals another flaw in the proposal. Why expand capacity at a time when demand will be declining? Dobbins questioned. Mondays press conference came on the heels of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville confirming layoffs and program cuts are coming to combat a $10.3 million deficit, one thats fueled by enrollment issues and increased operational expenses, St. Louis Public Radio reported. At the news conference, Pritzker was asked if providing four-year degrees at community colleges could cause further damage in such situations. Were working hard, again, to collaborate with the universities, Pritzker responded. We dont want to take students away, but the bigger issue, frankly, for many universities is funding ... Weve been working very hard over the last six years to improve funding for our universities, just as we have for our community colleges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trzaska previously told the BND that if there are more affordable, flexible bachelors degree options, such as those degrees being offered at community college, more people could access post-secondary education. Then enrollment could rise, he said. If they want to be part of these programs, why wouldnt we create broader pathways to support that? Trzaska said. THOMASBORO, Ill. (WCIA) Illinois State Police responded to a car that had caught on fire on I-57 in Champaign County Sunday afternoon. The car was sitting on the right shoulder of I-57 in Thomasboro, near milepost 246. State Police arrived on scene around 12:09 p.m. to investigate. Heavy Maroa fire damages building, fire marshal investigating Around 12:28 p.m. the right lane was shut down to extinguish the fire. It reopened soon after. The car fire also caused a grass fire in the right ditch, which was extinguished by fire crews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one was injured, according to State Police. State Police also said that no other information is available at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. Undocumented immigration is a key issue in American politics, but it can be hard to nail down the basic facts about who these immigrants are, where they live and how their numbers have changed in the past few decades. I study the demographics of the U.S. immigrant population and have seen how the data has changed over time. Here are some basics to set the stage as President Donald Trump begins his second term in office vowing to crack down hard on immigrants, including by conducting mass deportations. Immigration status My analysis of the Census Bureaus 2023 American Community Survey data, in collaboration with the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit immigration research group, finds that as of the middle of 2023, approximately 51 million foreign-born people lived in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most immigrants are in the U.S. legally. About 49% have become U.S. citizens by a process known as naturalization. Another 19% hold lawful permanent resident status and are eligible to become U.S. citizens through naturalization. Still another 5% are in the country on temporary visas, like those for international students, diplomats and their families, and seasonal or temporary workers. The remaining 27% around 13.7 million people are outside those categories and therefore generally considered to be undocumented. My analysis shows that the number of undocumented immigrants held steady at around 11 million between 2007 and 2019. In the next four years, the numbers increased by nearly 3 million. This recent growth is mostly attributable to large increases in border crossings by migrants from Central and South America who were seeking asylum or other forms of humanitarian relief. Starting in June 2024, however, the number of people entering across the U.S.-Mexico border fell back to normal levels when the Biden administration implemented the Secure the Border rule, which suspends asylum applications at the border when crossings reach a seven-day average of 2,500. These changes were accompanied by changes in the undocumented migration process itself. In the past, undocumented immigrants often entered the country by slipping undetected across the U.S. border with Mexico. But increased border enforcement made the journey more dangerous and expensive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead of paying smugglers or risking their lives in the desert, growing numbers of undocumented immigrants now either directly approach immigration officials at airports or land-border crossings and seek asylum in the U.S. Others are initially admitted to the country legally on a temporary tourist, student or work visa but then overstay the time period for which they have permission. Additionally, growing numbers of undocumented immigrants occupy what might be called a liminal or in-between status. The Migration Policy Institute analysis estimates this encompasses a range of groups as of the middle of 2023, including: About 2.1 million people awaiting a decision on their asylum claims. 521,000 parolees, allowed into the U.S. for humanitarian or national security reasons, like those paroled recently from Afghanistan and Ukraine. 654,000 people who hold temporary protected status because it would be unsafe for them to return home due to armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies. 562,000 who are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program because they were brought to the United States as children by their parents. The report estimates that just over one-quarter of undocumented immigrants currently occupy this type of in-between status. These immigrants are protected from deportation. Some even have a legal right to work in the U.S. Yet they do not possess a durable legal immigration status, and their rights could be threatened by policy changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Trump says he wants to deport as many as 11 million immigrants, analyses published by The New York Times and The Washington Post indicate that it may be difficult to remove many of them under existing U.S. law. The one group that is easy to remove those with a criminal record is relatively small, numbering about 650,000. Shifting countries of origin Since 1980, Mexicans have been the largest single national origin group in the United States. I found that 10.9 million Mexican-born individuals were living in the country in 2023, making up 23% of all immigrants. The second-largest group, immigrants from India, numbered just 2.9 million, or 6% of all immigrants living in the U.S. However, immigrants origins have been shifting away from Mexico. With the onset of the Great Recession of 2007-2009, work opportunities in U.S. construction and manufacturing evaporated. Many Mexican laborers had been working in construction at the time but went back to Mexico when the U.S. housing market collapsed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At that same time, Mexicos economic conditions improved, its population growth slowed, and many would-be migrants opted to stay home. For the first time in decades, from 2007 to 2022 the number of Mexicans who returned home exceeded the number coming to the United States. This trend was especially pronounced among undocumented immigrants. I found that Mexicans made up about 51% of the undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country 10 or more years ago. Central Americans made up 20%, and the remaining originated from other regions. However, undocumented migrants now come from across the globe. Among undocumented immigrants who arrived within the past 10 years, 19% came from Mexico. Larger shares came from Central America and South America. While some of these new migrants seek work, others flee crime, economic and ecological disasters, and political persecution in their home countries. Duration of residence Most immigrants, whether they are in the U.S. legally or illegally, have lived in the United States for many years. Just under half of foreign-born individuals have lived in the country for two decades or more, and more than two-thirds have lived in the country for at least 10 years. Only 20% arrived within the past five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a dramatic change from the early 2000s, when less than 10% of immigrants had been in the U.S. for more than two decades, and more than one-third had arrived within the previous five years. That means many of the people who are likely to be targeted for deportation in the coming months are settled, long-term members of American society. Place of residence As of 2023, 6.6 million immigrants reported on the Census Bureaus American Community Survey that they moved to the United States in the past five years. However, the effects of these new immigrants on American communities has been uneven. Although most communities are more racially and ethnically diverse now than in the past, the numbers of newly arrived immigrants are relatively low in most places. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fifteen states host fewer than 20,000 immigrants, and 33 states are home to fewer than 100,000. In contrast, over half of new arrivals live in just five states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas are the home of over half of new arrivals yet have only 37% of the U.S. population. Other states such as Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington also are home to large and growing immigrant populations. The U.S. immigrant population is changing rapidly. In the early years of the 21st century, Mexican immigrants dominated undocumented immigration flows to the United States. Decades later, many of these people continue to live in the country. In the past four years, however, the flow of undocumented people increased dramatically. These new arrivals tend to come from troubled nations in Central and South America, many of whom are protected from deportation and have a legal right to work in the U.S. Altogether, most undocumented immigrants either have lived in the country for decades or have legal protections. Neither of these groups fit the profile of undocumented immigrants who are typically targeted for deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Jennifer Van Hook, Penn State Read more: Jennifer Van Hook receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. She is a nonresident fellow of the Migration Policy Institute. There seems no escape from the news of Trump and Musk revamping our constitutional system of government and installing all authority and power in the presidency. Their rapid-fire attack on federal agencies and the firing of thousands of civil servants who keep the functions of government running has no precedent in American history and is already showing in polling that whatever authority Trump thinks he gained with his victory last November, 71% of his voters disagree with him on cutting Medicaid, and 60% disagree with him on cutting food and nutrition programs. As the negative consequences ensue from this decimation of federal agencies and are reported daily, even Trump voters wonder about their choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If there was ever a moment to slip into the confines of a good book, such a time is now. Hope is the order of the day. The Trump regime cannot and must not be our future. Both in nonfiction and novels, we can find inspiration from those who have come before us and faced odds greater than what Trump commands. Its times like these when we hope for a greater good to prevail, when we expect things to get better no matter how dismal our once democratic life seems to be. Now more than ever seems the time to recommit to a reading life that helps explain the human predicament in this decade of the 21st century. What is it about our own American history and the history of others that delivered us to this point in the life of our democracy, and how have people of our past dealt with the changing circumstances of their lives? There is no better example of a novel that shows us where autocracy leads and how people have struggled mightily to survive the dictates of a murderous regime than The Umbrella Makers Son. It is based on the real-life experience of the authors great-grandfather, Raphael, who intervened on the streets of Poland to save a Jewish man beaten by a Polish police officer. Raphael stabbed the officer with a dagger concealed in the stem of his umbrella. Fearing life imprisonment or execution, Raphael and his family fled Poland and wound up on Ellis Island in 1909. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The author of The Umbrella Makers Son moves his fictional protagonist modeled on Raphael to the late 1930s when a young Polish Jew, Reuven, is struggling with his family under the Nazi occupation of Poland. Facing Nazi atrocities in the Krakow ghetto and the concentration camp, Plaszow, Reuven convinces his family to escape and head east to a Russian town free of Nazis. Reuven experiences trauma and loss as he guides and cares for his own family, all the while hoping to find his young lover, whose family is also confined to the Krakow ghetto. Lendings novel reads like a thriller with nonstop action and carefully drawn examples of the people who risked their lives to help others at significant risk to their own lives. A Polish Catholic pharmacist plays a key role in helping Reuven and his family escape the ghetto. He is modeled on the career of Tadeusz Pankiewicz, who risked his own life running the only pharmacy in the Krakow ghetto, where he gave medicine and food to Jews seeking safety and also hid some he helped escape. The Krakow ghetto confined 18,000 Jews, 12,000 of whom were deported to Belzec concentration camp and murdered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reading and reflecting on such a horrific experience, readers may hesitate picking up a copy of this book for fear that it is just too difficult to fathom something that happened almost a century ago. But the passage of time can be no excuse for ignoring the lessons of history, especially something as horrifying as the Nazi genocide. Especially at a time when white Christian Nationalists here in America invoke Nazism as their north star. Reuvens story is one of hope and resilience, how those who suffer unimaginable loss and trauma can stare adversity in the face and renew themselves, declaring victory over brutality all around them. After reading The Umbrella Makers Son, a trip to the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights is in order, just to stand before the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and reflect on the courage those have shown when amid so much evil, they rose above the soul-shattering violence and prayed for a better day. Mark Twains famous line comes to mind that history doesnt repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Trump declares Ukraine the aggressor that started the war with Russia, he convolutes Putins war on Ukraine and ignores the United Nations report in late January that at least 12,456 Ukrainian civilians were killed between February 2022 and December 2024, and more than 30,000 were injured. Close to 7 million fled their country, mostly women and children. We are, indeed, living a rhyme of history, and there can be no accommodation when it comes to the support the United States must give Ukrainians. Here in America and in the lands of our transatlantic allies, we need that better day. Let us honor those who have fallen victim to war and torture, and those who have found a way to tell their story for all to hear. Let us also never refrain from conversations when Trump or his apologists minimize the harm Putin has inflicted on thousands of innocents who, like Reuven, are only yearning for the peace and safety of their homeland. Bob Kustra served as president of Boise State University from 2003 to 2018. He is host of Readers Corner on Boise State Public Radio and is a regular columnist for the Idaho Statesman. He served two terms as Illinois lieutenant governor and 10 years as a state legislator. Mar. 1An anti-discrimination housing bill is heading to the Senate. House Bill 339 passed the House floor by a vote of 42-24 on Saturday. The legislation would amend the Human Rights Act to label housing discrimination based on a source of income an illegal practice. The legislation specifically adds protections for Social Security benefits; pension, annuity, alimony or child support; and any form of assistance from local, state or federal governments or nonprofits, such as housing vouchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill sponsor Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, said she introduced the legislation because landlords are denying housing requests based on a potential tenant's source of income. "You can still do credit reports, you can still check their history, you can still do all of the things that you're doing already for tenants when you're looking for tenants," Rubio said in response to a question on the floor. "But you just cannot deny them just because of their source of income." If anyone believes they've been discriminated against for housing based on source of income, they could report it to the New Mexico Department of Justice along with a burden of proof something like a letter from a landlord listing a denial reason as not accepting Social Security, Rubio explained. She also said this effort could help to preemptively prevent homelessness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Mark Duncan, R-Kirtland, voiced concerns about landlords violating this bill if they don't fix up a housing property to meet low-income loan standards, and therefore don't accept housing applications from people with low-income loans or vouchers. To address this, he successfully amended the bill to ensure it doesn't require anyone to repair or improve a property to meet housing standards set by optional assistance programs. Duncan still voted against the bill, along with other Republicans. "There's a reason why they say you should make three times the amount (of rent)," said Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park, who said this would back landlords into a corner of human rights' violations and lawsuits. U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego said he will be working to make Arizona residents and congressional leaders aware of the human suffering that Republicans' proposed Medicaid cuts could cause. Gallego, a Democrat who began his six-year Senate term in January, heard from more than a half-dozen community health leaders on Saturday about the toll that cuts to the federal Medicaid program could take in Arizona, where the program enrolls 2 million people. Among the worries were increased medical debt, a rise in homelessness, a rise in incarceration, rural hospital closures and a rise in the number of Arizonans who don't get the health care that they need, including cancer screening and treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gallego pledged, after hearing the comments, to do more outreach about the issue, including in rural Arizona where funding reductions to the government health insurance program could hit especially hard. It's important for Arizonans to know what's at stake, he said. Medicaid in Arizona is a $21 billion program called the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, or AHCCCS, pronounced "access," for short. It is government health insurance that primarily covers low-income people, including nearly half of all births in the state, about one-third of the Arizonans who have a disability, and about 38% of the state's children. "We do have a very delicate balance here that we've put together in a very Arizona way," Gallego said. "AHCCCS is unique to Arizona and it is one of the best-run programs in the country. But even if you are not on AHCCCS, you benefit from AHCCCS. ... If you start pulling the strings away to our health-care network, it will affect everyone." 'With enough public push, we can limit the damage' The proposed spending cuts are part of a Republican budget resolution to decrease the federal deficit by $4.5 trillion through 2034. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has said he supports the resolution as part of an agenda to rein in what he calls wasteful spending, but critics of the cuts, including Gallego, emphasize that some of the savings from slashing Medicaid would go to tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. "It's a very narrow majority in the House and a very narrow majority in the Senate, and I think that with enough public push, we can limit the damage that they could potentially do to Arizona's families," Gallego said. "Right now, it looks like this is first going to go through the House of Representatives; it's been made very clear that they are going to go with a House approach. That budget resolution says they are going to cut $880 billion, and the only way they can really cut is from Medicaid." House Republicans took a first step toward cutting Medicaid last week when they passed a budget resolution that does not specifically mention Medicaid but is considered by many as a blueprint for making drastic cuts to the federal program over the next nine years. 'It will increase human suffering, homelessness' While many elected officials look at potential Medicaid cuts from an economic standpoint, an enormous potential human cost needs to be considered, including job loss, unpaid medical bills and untreated illnesses, Kathy Busby of the Arizona Nurses Association told Gallego. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You probably will have even less access to specialists in particular who diagnose things like Alzheimer's, dementia. You have populations with issues like mental health problems that will not be treated or diagnosed," Busby said. "It will increase human suffering, homelessness. It just kind of ripples out through the communities, particularly in vulnerable communities and rural areas." Busby was among a range of Arizona community health-care leaders, including Garrick Taylor of the Arizona Association of Health Plans, Brian Hummel of the American Cancer Society and Candy Espino, president and CEO of the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, who told Gallego about multiple bleak scenarios that drastic cuts to Medicaid could cause for Arizonans and Arizona health-care providers. She cited the likelihood of untreated mental illness and untreated substance use disorders. "It's kind of like, do you want to pay now or do you want to pay later? Because we will see an increase in homelessness. We will see an increase in emergency room visits and a huge increase in folks going to jails," Espino said. A rise in uncompensated care results in 'cost shifting' to others Taylor said when medical debt rises, hospitals and other providers see higher costs for uncompensated care, which means they have "got to make up that fiscal hole somehow," which results in higher health insurance premiums for people with private insurance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That drives up premium costs to commercial insurers, and commercial insurers then raise their rates with employers and their employees," he said. "If anything, it creates what you might refer to as a hidden health care tax, economywide. That creates a drag on the overall economy." Federal Medicaid cuts would end up shifting costs to the state, Taylor predicted. "Whether you are a state that has a Democrat governor or a Republican governor, they are going to be in a real pinch," Taylor said. "Forty-one states in this country made the decision to expand their Medicaid eligibility, which comes with a higher federal match. If that goes away, it creates all sorts of effects economywide." If Republicans were concerned about people taking advantage of Medicaid benefits, Taylor reminded Gallego that Arizona was about to submit a proposal to the federal government to add work requirements for "able-bodied" people as an AHCCCS eligibility requirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jessica Yanow, president and CEO of the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, said if people were healthy, they could get and retain jobs. One of the biggest problems with Medicaid cuts is that the reduced funding could hinder important access to preventive care, she said. "What that means is that people either go without care, or they wait until circumstances are dire and then they seek more expensive care at hospital emergency rooms," she told Gallego. "It really is shifting costs. People are still going to need the care, and by the time they get it, it's going to be a lot more expensive. To us, it makes a lot more sense that we would invest in primary care." Medicaid expansion, passed by a GOP Arizona governor, is now a target One of the potential targets of federal Medicaid cuts is Medicaid expansion populations. States get a 90% federal match rate for their adult Medicaid expansion population. Arizona has a law that if funding for its adult Medicaid expansion population drops below a federal match rate of 80%, the program goes away. The adult Medicaid expansion population in Arizona is 70,866 people. An additional population of 448,592 childless adults would be affected if the funding match drops below 80%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Republican Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer fought members of her own party in 2013 when she was governor and decided to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, a measure that included raising income limits for adults on AHCCCS and a hospital assessment that restored eligibility to childless adults. Medicaid expansion allowed more people to qualify for the government-funded program by expanding the qualifications to those earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or what now amounts to $21,597 per year in income for an individual. Brewer said at the time that she was a "deficit hawk" but that federal money was needed to protect rural and safety-net hospitals from being pushed to the brink by caring for uninsured people, CQ HealthBeat reported on Jan. 15, 2013. "With the realities facing us, taking advantage of this federal assistance is the strategic way to reduce Medicaid pressure on the state budget," the publication quoted Brewer as saying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What to know: What is Medicaid and how does it work in Arizona? Reach health-care reporter Stephanie Innes at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @stephanieinnes. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Medicaid cuts would devastate Arizonans, health-care leaders say PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) The public information that several news organizations including KELOLAND Media Group are now reviewing about how Kristi Noem used two state government credit cards during her six years as governor results from Dakota Scout suing to get the records. Records reveal Noems state credit card spending Dakota Scout is the official legal newspaper for the city of Sioux Falls. The public-records request for the Noem credit-card information was filed on June 6, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The South Dakota Office of State Auditor denied Dakota Scouts request, after conferring with the South Dakota Office of Attorney General. The denial cited exemptions in state public records laws for reasons of security while a governor is in office and a provision that keeps a governors exempt records closed until 10 years after leaving office. After the Office of State Auditor refused a second request, Dakota Scout on September 10, 2024, filed a legal complaint in Hughes County Circuit Court against State Auditor Richard Sattgast. On October 3, 2024, the state Office of Attorney General filed its answer, asking that the complaint be dismissed without merit and that, if the judge ordered that documents be produced, the judge should determine what information should be redacted. On December 19, 2024, Circuit Judge Margo Northrup told the two sides that she would conduct an in camera review of the records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On February 6, 2025, the two sides completed a stipulation in support of their joint motion for dismissal. State Auditor Sattgast agreed to provide 137 voucher invoices subject to the Dakota Scouts public-records request, with the auditor redacting security-related and other identifying information. The records were turned over that day. Judge Northrup dismissed the case on February 10. Dakota Scout published its first story from the information on February 23. KELOLAND News filed an open-records request for the information on February 26. State Auditor Sattgast granted the request. Sattgast said that The Associated Press had also filed a request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KELOLAND News received the information on February 27. KELOLAND News reported its first story on February 28. KELOLAND News continues to look over the records and will have more coverage on Noems spending. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Inglewood police said Saturday they are searching for two suspects in the shooting death of a man who intervened in an attempted catalytic converter theft last week. Early Tuesday morning, police said, the victim tried to stop two men from stealing a neighbor's catalytic converter in the 1000 block of North Chester Avenue in Inglewood. One of the men fatally shot the victim in the chest, police said. In a GoFundMe post, family members identified the man as Juan Sanchez, 48, and described him as a "a devoted husband, a loving father" and a "proud grandfather." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He was the kind of person who always put others before himself, offering a helping hand, a listening ear, or a smile that could brighten even the darkest days. His strength, wisdom, and generosity were the foundation of his family, and his loss leaves a void that can never be filled," the post said. As of Saturday, more than $36,000 had been raised support Sanchez's family, which the fundraiser said includes a wife, two children and a grandchild. Inglewood police said the suspects were driving a gold Toyota Camry with tinted windows and a sunroof. The model year is thought to be between 2002 and 2006. Inglewood Police Department notice. (Kristin Dennis) Police released a flier with surveillance video images and additional information on the suspects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the years, thieves in Southern California have made catalytic converters a popular target because they can be sold for their high concentration of precious metals. In the most notorious incident, "General Hospital" actor Johnny Wactor was fatally shot in downtown Los Angeles last May as he approached several men trying to remove a catalytic converter from his car, police said. Three months later, prosecutors charged four men in connection with the crime. In 2023, the Los Angeles City Council voted to make it illegal to possess an unattached catalytic converter without proof of ownership. Through the first half of 2024, 2,113 catalytic converters were stolen in Los Angeles, according to data the LAPD released last year. The figure does not include Inglewood or unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. (INSIDE CALIFORNIA POLITICS) This week on Inside California Politics, Sen. Adam Schiff discusses the likelihood of the current budget bill passing out of the U.S. Senate, the SALT deductions impact on California and his criticism of Elon Musk. Its been over two months since Prop. 36 took effect. Reporter Eytan Wallace takes viewers inside a state capitol hearing regarding funding for the anti-theft law. Political strategists Ed Emerson and Tim Rosales analyze recent events around the mayors of two of Californias largest cities. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass fired the citys fire chief over the departments response to the January wildfires. Meanwhile, San Franciscos new mayor, Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, called on city staff to return to the office four days a week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. The withdrawal of US military aid to Ukraine could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin closer to victory in his war against Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. A cut to US military and financial support for Kiev - as threatened by President Donald Trump - could "tip the balance of the war and give Russia greater advantages on the battlefield in Ukraine, increasing the likelihood of a Russian victory," the Washington-based institute said in an analysis published on Saturday. The ISW also warned that Putin could be emboldened to use force to achieve his strategic goals of controlling other post-Soviet states, including Baltic NATO members Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It added that cutting aid for Ukraine could also diminish US influence in the world. "Russia, Iran, North Korea, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have formed a bloc aimed at defeating the United States and its allies around the world and are currently testing the limits of US commitment to its allies in Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region." The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of the consequences of an end to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. "Every effort must be made to maintain the ceasefire so that lives are spared from hostilities, humanitarian aid enters Gaza, and more families are reunited," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said in a statement published on Sunday. "Any unravelling of the forward momentum created over the last six weeks risks plunging people back into despair," she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, Israel said it has halted all deliveries into Gaza following the conclusion of the first phase of a ceasefire-for-hostage agreement with Hamas because it said the Palestinian group had refused to accept a US framework for the continuation of the talks. Hamas has called the halt in humanitarian aid deliveries "unscrupulous blackmail, a war crime and a serious breach of the agreement." Tracey, a high school teacher in the Philadelphia School District, remembers the hurtful comments she heard from parents when she started her career over a decade ago as a young Black teacher in what was then a predominantly white area of southwest Philly. I can recall white parents making comments saying, Oh, this young Black teacher who doesnt have children herself how is she supposed to teach my child? she said. And Im like, what does my race and the fact that I dont have children have to do with me educating your child? Traceys frustrations mirror those of other Black teachers in Philadelphia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching profession faced what has been referred to as the Great Teacher Resignation. A national survey found that 64% of teachers were less satisfied with teaching after the pandemic compared with prior to the pandemic, and 74% would not recommend teaching as a career. In Philadelphia, a great resignation of Black teachers started well before the pandemic and continues today. The decrease in numbers of Black teachers in the district continues despite research that demonstrates Black teachers positive impact on Black students experiences in school and academic outcomes, as well as their positive impact on all students. We are a professor of urban education and a Ph.D. in sociology and education who research Black teacher attrition and other issues involving Black teachers and Black students. In 2021, we were part of a small research team that interviewed 30 Black teachers who either currently or formerly worked in the School District of Philadelphia. Tracey and other names used in this article are pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of our interview participants. This study was done in partnership with Research for Action, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit education research group focused on racial and social justice. Our findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Black Studies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We wanted to understand, from the teachers perspectives, why so many Black teachers are leaving the district and what the district can do to support and retain them. Black teachers have grown weary In 2000, there were 4,059 Black teachers in the district. That number had dwindled to 2,866 by 2022. Its not an issue that is unique to Philadelphia. An education researcher at Penn State University found that between 2022 and 2023, the attrition rate for Black teachers across Pennsylvania was well over double that of white teachers. Black public school educators in Philadelphia have grown weary, for good reason, wrote education scholar and author Camika Royal in her 2022 book Not Paved for Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our interviews suggest a key reason for this weariness has to do with experiences of racism within the larger school district that affect Black teachers across the system, but manifest differently depending on their schools locations. Segregated, underfunded schools The Black teachers we interviewed who taught in neighborhoods with a majority of Black residents said they faced systemic racism through lack of resources, including books and classroom materials, for their students. Philadelphia is one of the most racially divided cities in the U.S.. Among the nations 30 largest cities, it ranks second after Chicago in terms of residential segregation, according to researchers at Brown University. Schools reflect these neighborhood racial divides. I request things all the time and dont get them, said Nina, a middle school teacher in a majority Black neighborhood, Well, there wasnt enough books for all the kids. So, what Im supposed to do? Now I have to go online, find my own resources and things like that. Racial microaggressions Black teachers who taught in majority white sections of the city, meanwhile, spoke of their frustration with being the targets of chronic racial microaggressions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Examples of these microaggressions included hearing white parents complain about a Black teacher being assigned to teach their child, and working with white colleagues whom they felt ignored or actively avoided speaking to or acknowledging them. Im walking down the hall and I say Hello, one mid-career teacher reflected. If its just me and a white colleague and were passing each other in the hallway then they dont say anything to me. But the person behind me who was white, theyll say something to them before (the other person) even say(s), Good morning. Racial microaggressions toward Black teachers is certainly not a new phenomenon. Nor is it limited to Philadelphia. A recent nationwide survey also found that racial microaggressions are a major reason Black teachers across the U.S. are leaving teaching at high rates. Research demonstrates that Black teachers have a positive impact on Black students experiences in school and their academic outcomes. Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision Collection via Getty Images Support and validation Despite the many systemic issues and experiences of racism that Black teachers reported to us, most of the participants in our study 25 out of 30 were current teachers in the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In other words, they had, so far, stayed in the profession. These teachers reported they kept teaching because they were committed to students, particularly students of color. I stay because our (Black students), they need to see (Black teachers) in the classroom, said Mila, a veteran teacher for whom teaching was her third career. Many of the teachers also found support and motivation through affinity groups that provide them opportunities to meaningfully connect to other Black teachers. These groups are established by fellow teachers in the district but are organized independently of the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What allowed me to stay was finding networks, said Simon, another veteran teacher in the district. And then the network kind of made me find my niche, find my voice, find who I was, validate me. Keeping Black teachers in the classroom Education scholar Bettina Love argues that school districts and school officials should stop trying to recruit Black teachers until you can retain the ones you have. Some meaningful efforts are underway. The Center for Black Educator Development, founded in Philadelphia, works to recruit and retain Black teachers both in Philadelphia and across the country. Other nationwide organizations, such as the Black Teacher Project based in Oakland, offer fellowship and space for supportive affinity groups. School districts or administrators can offer Black teachers physical spaces, financial resources and dedicated time to meet with other Black teachers to discuss racism including ways to resist it along with self-care. This can help prevent an exodus of the Black teachers who have remained in the profession. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Lynnette Mawhinney, Rutgers University - Newark and Leana Cabral, Columbia University Read more: Research for Action received funding from the William Penn Foundation for this work. Leana Cabral is affiliated with Research for Action (RFA). RFA received funding from William Penn Foundation for this work. A Delta Airlines employee was struck by a vehicle on the tarmac at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Wednesday morning, requiring hospitalization. Officials at Delta and the airport said they are investigating the incident. Representatives at the airport told the Free Press that the worker was struck by a vehicle that was driving on the airfield. The worker was transported to a local hospital by the Wayne County Airport Authority Fire Department. The driver of the vehicle was operating a catering truck that was carrying food to be served on a flight, according to a spokesperson for Delta. After striking the employee, the driver fled briefly before being apprehended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Freeway shutdown: I-696 roadwork will mean detours for thousands as businesses, residents weigh impact More: Grosse Pointe teen pleads guilty to killing his friend in 105 mph car crash Officials at the airport said the driver had been taken into custody while their investigation continued. Delta representatives declined to respond to questions about the victim's condition or whether other factors such as drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident. "Our hearts are with our colleague who was involved in an accident with a catering truck in Detroit," a Delta spokesperson said. "Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers and we are fully investigating what happened." Contact Liam Rappleye: LRappleye@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Delta airlines employee struck by car on tarmac at DTW airport DENVER (KDVR) A deadly shooting that happened Friday in the parking lot of an El Paso County King Soopers was a murder-suicide, the sheriffs office announced Saturday. Around 12:20 p.m. Friday, the El Paso County Sheriffs Office and the Monument Police Department responded to a report of a shooting outside of the King Soopers on Baptist Road in Monument. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The person who called 911 said a man had walked up to a vehicle and opened fire, the sheriffs office said. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, they found a woman dead inside the vehicle. Police handed over the investigation to the sheriffs office at that point. According to a Saturday press release from EPCSO, witnesses said the suspect left the area in a green Subaru. About 22 minutes after the initial report, the Colorado Springs Police Department was notified of a suicide in the 6000 block of Bundleflower Court. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a green Subaru and detectives from the sheriffs office responded. Detectives interviewed several people and gathered evidence through Friday night. The sheriffs office announced Saturday that the case is now being investigated as a murder-suicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We believe our investigation indicates this incident is between two people known to each other, is an isolated event, and there is no further risk to the community, the sheriffs office wrote in a release. The investigation is ongoing and the El Paso County Coroners office will identify those involved and determine their official cause and manner of death. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) The Lewis and Clark interpretive Center in Sioux City hosted Midwest Mission of Iowa Sunday. Midwest Mission of Iowa is a humanitarian relief agency based in Jefferson, Iowa. Midwest Mission of Iowa puts together different kits for people in need like birthing kits, cleaning kits, school supply kits and health supply kits. Dakota City residents help mother and son after car crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was also a wooden loom on display where Midwest Mission shows how to put a sleeping mat together from discarded plastic grocery bags. The sleeping mats are than dispersed to the homeless. The mats are than dispersed. Weve sent quite a few of them go to Des Moines where there is huge homeless problem. I know one of the groups here in Sioux City thats been making them have been taking them to the Soup Kitchen here in Siouxland, said Alaire Willits, Volunteer Coordinator for Midwest Mission of Iowa It takes nearly one-thousand plastic bags and about 25-man hours to make each mat and when complete, the mats weigh about seven pounds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Flights from German flag carrier Lufthansa to Tehran have resumed, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday. After months of interruption due to high tensions in the Middle East, a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt landed in Tehran late on Saturday, IRNA said. The German airline suspended flights to Tehran and Tel Aviv in the autumn. The Frankfurt-based company restarted flights to Israel in February. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Irans parliament on Sunday impeached the countrys finance minister and voted to remove him from office amid growing concerns over the crashing rial and accusations of mismanagement. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf announced that 182 out of 273 lawmakers voted to dismiss Abdolnasser Hemmati, just six months after President Masoud Pezeshkians government took office. Pezeshkian, who defended Hemmati, emphasized that the government is locked in a tough battle with the West. He called for greater unity and cooperation from Parliament to face these challenges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision comes amid rising tensions over Irans nuclear program and worsening relations with the West. Irans economy has been severely affected by international sanctions, especially after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. In 2015, the rial was worth 32,000 to the dollar, but by the time Pezeshkian took office in July, it had plummeted to 584,000 to the dollar. Recently, it dropped even further, with exchange shops in Tehran trading 930,000 rials for each dollar. During the impeachment proceedings, Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a lawmaker supporting Hemmati, argued that rising inflation and exchange rates were not the fault of the current government or Parliament. He pointed to the budget deficit left by the previous administration, which he said contributed to the economic instability. Osmani also cited recent geopolitical events as factors that undermined public confidence, causing many people to convert their savings into foreign currency, which in turn further devalued the rial. Hemmati acknowledged the tough economic climate during his five months in office, including a 10% reduction in inflation. However, he acknowledged that inflation remained high, standing at 35%. He assured lawmakers that his team was working hard to address the issue, but warned that the process would take time. This latest development is another chapter in Irans ongoing political and economic struggles as the country continues to navigate a complex relationship with the international community. The Israeli government said it has endorsed a US proposal for an extension of the ceasefire with Palestinian militant organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In return for Hamas releasing hostages, the ceasefire would be extended for the duration of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover festival, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a security meeting held late on Saturday. According to the Times of Israel, Ramadan this year ends on March 29 while Passover ends on April 19. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel says Hamas has not accepted the proposal yet. Half of the hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip both living and dead would be released on the first day of the extended ceasefire, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office. The remaining hostages would be released at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is achieved. The statement said that the plan had been proposed by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas has so far rejected it, Netanyahu's office said, adding that if the group were to change its position, Israel would immediately begin negotiations on all the details of the plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first phase of a fragile ceasefire that had temporarily paused the 15-month-long war between Israel and the Hamas in Gaza ended on Saturday, which this year also marks the start of Ramadan for hundreds of millions of Muslims including in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. The beginning of the fasting month is determined by the sighting of the new crescent moon, which can vary by country. Ramadan is considered a time of heightened tensions, particularly in the occupied Palestinian Territories and Jerusalem. Passover is celebrated according to the Hebrew calender and which commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It lasts eight days. The News Israel halted aid deliveries to Gaza Sunday after the first phase of a US-negotiated ceasefire deal expired, raising fears of a resumption in the conflict. Israeli officials said Hamas had rejected a proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff to extend an initial six-week truce that would require Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages as prelude to further negotiations Hamas, meanwhile, accused Israel of violating the terms of the original agreement. Spurred by US President Donald Trumps much-criticized proposal to effectively depopulate Gaza and take it over, Arab nations are ramping up efforts to resolve the conflict: Egypt said it would present a Gaza reconstruction plan this week, although one question looms large, The Wall Street Journal noted: What to do with Hamas. Israel halted all entry of humanitarian aid and goods into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of further consequences after Hamas refused to accept its proposal to extend the first phase of the fragile ceasefire deal. The first phase of the ceasefire expired Saturday, and negotiations for the second phase, which would have ultimately led to the end of the war, have been stalled for weeks. Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease, the prime ministers office said in a statement on Sunday, adding, If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement on Sunday, Basem Naim, a senior official for Hamas political bureau, accused Israel of sabotaging the existing three-phase ceasefire agreement both sides had signed in January. People gathered to cleebrate Ramadan in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Saturday. He accused Netanyahu and the Trump administration of "a blatant coup against the ceasefire deal," adding that Israel bears "all the responsibility for escalating the situation and for the lives of the people on both sides." Naim called the decision to halt aid and close the borders, "a war crime in itself," and he called on the international community to pressure Israel to return to the terms of January's ceasefire agreement, "to prevent destabilizing the situation further." Israel's announcement to halt humanitarian aid came after Netanyahu held an overnight security meeting where Israel adopted a plan by U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to extend the first phase of the six-week ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the proposal, half of the remaining hostages, including bodies of those who have died, would be released on day one of its execution, with the rest released upon successful negotiation of a permanent ceasefire, according to Netanyahus office. Hamas has refused the proposal, insisting that the ceasefire talks proceed to the second stage, which would see the release of additional hostages and prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and lead to a permanent end to the war. Hamas said Israel's decision to halt aid amounted to blackmailing and urged mediators U.S., Egypt, and Qatar to put pressure on Israel to implement humanitarian protocol under the ceasefire. [Israels] announcement to stop the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip is a new confirmation of its failure to abide by its pledges and its evasion of its obligations in the ceasefire agreement, Hamas said in a statement Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It added that Israels decision was a continuation of the war of extermination against our people and the blackmailing of an entire people for their livelihood, a drink of water and a pill of medicine. On Sunday morning, thousands of aid trucks were seen piling up at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing after Israel closed its checkpoints into Gaza. Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect on Jan. 19, more than 10,000 aid trucks carrying food, medicine, and tents have arrived in Gaza, according to the United Nations top aid official, Tom Fletcher. The first phase also halted months of fighting and saw the exchange of 33 Israeli and five Thai hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people, and another 251 were captured, according to Israeli officials. Israels ensuing military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the local Health Ministry, destroyed much of the enclave, and forcibly displaced most of its population of 2.2 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli far-right lawmakers welcomed Netanyahus decision to block aid. The decision we made last night to completely halt the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza...is an important step in the right directionthe threshold of the gates of hell, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich posted on X on Sunday. He then called for the gates of hell to be opened "as quickly and as lethally as possible." On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he had signed an emergency declaration to expedite the delivery of "approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel." The decision reverses a partial arms embargo levied by the Biden administration, which withheld some weapons from Israel. The statement added that since taking office, the Trump administration has approved nearly $12 billion in "major" foreign military sales to Israel, under a program that facilitates the purchase of U.S. arms and military equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By Sunday morning, Israeli forces had killed at least four people across Gaza, Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, director general of field hospitals, told NBC News. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Israel on Sunday said it has halted all deliveries into Gaza after the first phase of a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas expired, leaving the population of the war-torn territory at risk of further deprivation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said "the entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted," accusing Hamas of refusing to accept a framework for the continuation of talks proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff. "Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages," the statement said. "If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamas accused Netanyahu of violating the ceasefire agreement, which went into force on January 19 after more than 15 months of war. Stopping humanitarian aid deliveries is "unscrupulous blackmail, a war crime and a serious breach of the agreement," the group said in a Telegram message, calling on mediators to exert pressure on Israel to end its "repressive and immoral measures." Since the ceasefire took effect, increasing amounts of aid supplies have been arriving in the devastated coastal territory. A halt of deliveries could have dramatic consequences for the approximately 2 million inhabitants of Gaza, who are living in precarious circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli government said overnight that it has endorsed Witkoff's proposal for an extension of the ceasefire for the duration of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends on March 29 and the Jewish Passover festival, which ends on April 19. Half of the hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip both living and dead would be released on the first day of the extended ceasefire, with the remaining hostages being freed at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is achieved. Netanyahu on Sunday threatened "further consequences" if Hamas does not agree to release the remaining hostages. At a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, he said "there will be no free meals." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If Hamas thinks it is possible to continue the ceasefire or enjoy the conditions of the first phase without us getting hostages back, it is very much mistaken," he added. Four killed in Gaza Also on Sunday, the Hamas-run health authority in Gaza said four people have been killed in Israeli attacks despite the ceasefire. Six people were injured and taken to hospitals, it said in a statement. The Israeli military said that it had identified several suspects planting an explosive device near its troops in northern Gaza. It said the suspects were struck by the Israeli Air Force in order to "thwart the threat." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the coastal territory. According to the Palestinian health agency, some 48,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the current conflict, which began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other groups invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. The figures do not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties. March 2 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel would not allow any further humanitarian aid into Gaza, a move the United States says it supports. Meanwhile, Palestinian officials said Israeli fighters had killed some 116 people since the tenuous first phase of a cease-fire took effect in January. "In light of Hamas' rejection of the Witkoff Outline, we decided to prevent any entry of goods and supplies into Gaza," Netanyahu said in a statement. "If Hamas continues to entrench itself and does not release our hostages, there will be further consequences." Netanyahu was referring to a new cease-fire extension plan proposed by Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East under President Donald Trump, after the terms for a second phase of the cease-fire were already negotiated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witkoff's new proposal, in favor of Israel, calls to extend the cease-fire through the end of Passover on April 20, and for the release of half of Hamas' remaining captives at the beginning of the extended cease-fire with the rest to be freed by the end of the period. Hamas has rejected that proposal, favoring immediately beginning the already negotiated second phase, which would release more Palestinian people held prisoner in Israel in exchange for the release of the rest of the Israeli hostages, Israel's withdraw from Gaza and the beginning of lasting peace talks between the two factions. Essentially, the original second phase of the cease-fire deal aimed to transition immediately into permanent cease-fire talks and was designed to set the stage for Gaza's long-term governance and reconstruction. Witkoff's plan delays Israel's full withdrawal and stretches out peace talks, effectively postponing any permanent cease-fire commitments. In a statement Sunday, the White House said it will support Israel's decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Israel has negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorist," National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement, ABC News reported. "We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas has indicated it's no longer interested in a negotiated cease-fire." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the State of Palestine, an agency under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, called for the international community to "force the occupation to allow the entry of aid into Gaza." The ministry warned of the risks of Netanyahu's decision and its "catastrophic consequences" because of the amount of suffering faced by Palestinians in Gaza amid the holy month of Ramadan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel, the ministry said, is seeking to "politicize aid" and use it to "blackmail" Palestinians, deepening the suffering of more than 2 million people facing a "war of genocide and displacement." Hamas, which leads Gaza, said Netanyahu's decision amounted to a "war crime." The news came as the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement that Israeli fighters had injured some 490 people for a total of some 48,388 people dead and 111,803 people injured since October 7, 2023, when the war began. (Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump Saturday night, ahead of a European security summit where she will meet Ukraines leader. The call with Trump was held in view of her meeting in London tomorrow with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, her office said in a brief, late-night statement that added no further details. European leaders are gathering in London Sunday for a security summit that has become more urgent after Trump and Zelenskiy clashed Friday during a meeting in Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trumps January inauguration, is a longtime supporter of Zelenskiy and has been seen as a possible diplomatic bridge between the White House and Europe. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on March 2 that Italy and the U.K. could mediate between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump following their dispute on Feb. 28, adding that any continued division "will make us all weaker," the Telegraph reported. With Washingtons role seen as crucial to any lasting peace in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have also reportedly sought to work behind the scenes to ease tensions between the two leaders. "I think it is very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. And I think on this, the U.K. and Italy can play an important role in bridge building," Meloni said upon arriving in London for the allied summit, as quoted by the Telegraph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Italy's prime minister met Starmer at 10 Downing Street for a bilateral talk ahead of the summit to discuss Ukraine, migration, and other topics. Prior to arriving in London, Zelenky was in Washington to sign a natural resources deal with the United States. His visit took a dramatic turn when a heated exchange with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance led to his expulsion from the White House. The clash erupted after Zelensky publicly stressed the need for security guarantees, citing Russias repeated violations of ceasefires before its full-scale invasion in 2022. Following the contentious meeting, Trump claimed that Zelensky was "not ready" for peace. Starmer has invited leaders and senior representatives from 15 countries to discuss strategies for securing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meloni believes her close relationship with Trump can help reconcile his relationship with Zelensky, according to the Telegraph. Read also: European leaders gather in London for Ukraine summit after White House fallout Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) A statewide burning ban is active until further notice as wildfires burn across the state. The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued the ban Saturday evening for all counties. Firefighters were busy battling multiple brush and wildfires that burned across the Lowcountry and in three Pee Dee; several prompting evacuations such as in the Prince George community of Pawleys Island and in Myrtle Beachs Carolina Forest area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ban prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris burning, prescribed burning and campfires in all unincorporated areas of the state. Very low relative humidities statewide, coupled with drying fuels resulting from the lack of significant rain, have resulted in 102 wildfire ignitions today alone. Much-higher-than-forecasted winds have led to these fires spreading rapidly and growing larger, explained state forestry officials. A statewide burning ban is now in effect due to dangerous wildfire conditions. That means you can and will go to jail for starting a fire outdoors in South Carolina. Period, warned Governor Henry McMaster. Locally, fires burned in throughout portions of Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties. A stretch of Halfway Creek Road was shut down in the Francis Marion National Forest due to fires, and multiple agencies responded to a brush fire near Henry Brown Blvd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fires were also reported in Ridgeville and in North Santee. The ban will stay in effect until further notice, which will come in the form of an official announcement from the Forestry Commission. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. Sen. James Lankford rebuked Republican calls for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to resign, which were sparked by Fridays heated Oval Office argument between Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. I don't agree. I'm not interested in calling on the resignation of other world leaders, Lankford (R-Okla.) said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. Quite frankly, I think that would spiral Ukraine into chaos right now trying to find who is the negotiator to bring an issue to peace. Lankfords remarks counter those made by Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday, who on "Meet the Press prior to Lankfords interview. Johnson said that Zelenskyy either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. The remarks came two days after the on-camera sparring between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and Vance accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful for the U.S.s assistance with trying to negotiate an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, even taking the attacks a step further by claiming Zelenskyy doesnt want to agree to a cease-fire. Though the visit was supposed to finalize negotiations on the Trump-proposed minerals deal, Zelenskyy was ejected from the White House after the Oval Office argument, making him a target for Republican criticism. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters outside of the White House on Friday that he wasnt sure the U.S. could ever do business with Zelenskyy again, initiating the calls for the Ukrainian president to resign. Lankford a longtime supporter of Ukraine is the latest Republican to come to Zelenskyys defense, highlighting significant clash on the issue within the party. Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, slammed Trump and Vances attacks against Zelenskyy on Friday , saying the U.S. is walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, in a post to X on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other senators also defended Zelenskyy. Speaking Sunday on Meet the Press, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that the calls for Zelenskyy to resign are a horrific suggestion. Zelenskyy is leading a country, trying to defend democracy against an authoritarian dictator, Putin, who invaded his country, Sanders said. I think millions of Americans are embarrassed, are ashamed, that you have a president of the United States who says that Ukraine started the war, that Zelenskyy is a dictator he's got it exactly backward. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said Zelenskyy had been excited to go to the White House before the ill-fated meeting. I was appalled by what happened in the Oval Office, she said on ABCs This Week. I was with President Zelenskyy with a number of Republican and Democratic senators before he left for the White House. He was in great spirits. He was excited to go and sign this minerals agreement which is something that was very important to President Trump and I think that's actually what's come out of this is not in President Trump's best interest. When asked by host Kristen Welker if he had concerns about the U.S. turning its back on Ukraine, Lankford said no, and denounced Putins behavior. No, we're not turning our back on Ukraine, nor should we, Lankford said. Putin is a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator there. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is dangerous and not to be trusted. What is your view of Vladimir Putin? CNNs Dana Bash asked Johnson on State of the Union. I think Vladimir Putin is an old-school communist, a former KGB agent, and hes not to be trusted and he is dangerous, Johnson responded. The way I view this is that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are engaged in a new axis axis powers, and they are not on Americas side. Lets be crystal clear about that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnsons comments follow a tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vice President Vance on Friday, which featured shouting and finger-pointing. The president and Zelensky argued over U.S. support for Ukraine. Following the meeting, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Ukrainian president is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace, Trump said on Truth Social of Zelensky. Trump has been pushing for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, with U.S. and Russian officials meeting in Saudi Arabia last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his State of the Union appearance, Johnson said that Trump is trying to be the change agent to broker a peace and an end to this conflict, and you have to have both parties at the table to do that, you have to negotiate with both parties and there has to be a willingness on both sides to bring it to an end. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might need to resign to bring peace to his country following a contentious meeting between Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday. Something has to change, Johnson said on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday, echoing comments made Friday by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. Johnsons comments on Sunday come on the heels of a heated exchange between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, where Zelenskyy was accused of not sharing enough gratitude for U.S.s role in trying to end the war and not wanting to come to a peace agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fact that he acted as he did, I think, was a great disappointment, Johnson said of Zelenskyys behavior in an interview on CNNs State of the Union. The meeting was supposed to be followed by the signing of a minerals deal aimed to provide future security guarantees for Ukraine. However, the rest of Zelenskyys visit was canceled after the Oval Office argument, with Trump posting to the social media platform Truth Social that Zelenskyy disrespected the United States in its cherished Oval Office and can only come back when he is ready for Peace. Zelenskyy was subsequently ejected from the White House, leading to additional criticism of Trump for his rhetoric and behavior that day. On Saturday, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski a sometimes critic of Trump since he returned to office disparaged Trumps behavior toward Zelenskyy on Friday in a post to X, saying the U.S. is walking away from our allies and embracing Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On CNN, Johnson said the Alaska Republican is plainly wrong, adding that the person who walked away from the table yesterday was President Zelenskyy. While Johnson offered support for Trump on blaming Zelenskyy for Fridays failed meeting, he did criticize Russia and Putin in both interviews something Trump has shied away from doing, particularly since returning to office. I'd like to see Putin defeated, frankly, Johnson said on NBC. He is an adversary of the United States. But in this conflict, we've got to bring it into this war. It's in everybody's interest. Putin is the aggressor, Johnson said on CNN. It is an unjust war. We have been crystal clear about that. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson shared his thoughts on President Trump's heated Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday. Moderator Kristen Welker asked Johnson what he thought about comments by Sen. Lindsey Grahama once staunch supporter of Ukraine on the Republican sidein which he said that for Ukraine-Russia peace agreements to occur, Zelensky may need to resign. What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful and I dont know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again, Graham said on Friday. "He [Zelensky] either needs to resign, and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson seemed to agree that something has to change in order for peace to occur. Either he [Zelensky] needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that, Johnson told Welker. At the same time, Johnson maintained that Republicans do understand that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a dangerous adversary to the U.S., and that the U.S. is not abandoning Ukraine. He also remained firm on his position that the potential U.S.-Ukraine minerals dealthe discussion of which was the original intent of Trump and Zelenskys Oval Office meeting on Fridaywould be a win for everyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson continued: It will give us access to rare earth minerals that we need, and it will provide a level of security for Ukraine. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Ricky Carioti/The WashingtonGetty Images The discussion about Zelenskys leadership coincided with the Ukrainian leader's trip to London. After touching down on Saturday, he and other European leaders gathered for a summit on Sunday to discuss a path toward peace for Ukraine. On Sunday evening, Zelensky sat down with reporters at London Stansted Airport before leaving the U.K. He was asked by Sky News what he thought of Graham and Johnson's comments about him perhaps resigning. In response, Zelensky said Graham is a "good guy," but went on to add: "I can give [Graham] citizenship of Ukraine and he will become a citizen of our country. And then his voice will start to gain weight, and I will hear him as a citizen of Ukraine on the topic of who must be the President." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added: "The President of Ukraine will have to be chosen not in Lindsay Graham's home but in Ukraine." On the wider topic of resignation, Zelensky echoed comments he made at a press conference on Feb. 23prior to his and Trumps pivotal meeting, but amid rising tensions when he said he would be ready to resign if it guaranteed peace for Ukraine and he could do it in exchange for NATO. Reiterating that stance on Sunday, he said: "I have said that I am exchanging for NATO membership, then it means I have fulfilled my mission. NATO means I have fulfilled my mission." Read More: World Leaders React to Zelensky and Trumps Oval Office Showdown Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In contrast to Graham and Johnson, some Republicans are uninterested in mentions of Zelensky resigning. Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford appeared separately on Meet The Press on Sunday, and said if Zelensky were to resign it would spiral Ukraine into chaos. He also showed an understanding of Zelenskys viewpoint, stating he was rightfully concerned about Russian negotiations. No, were not turning our back on Ukraine, nor should we, Lankford said. Putin is a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator. Other U.S. lawmakers to speak out against the mention of Zelensky resigning include Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whoalso on Meet the Presscalled Johnsons comments a horrific suggestion. Zelensky is leading a country, trying to defend democracy against an authoritarian dictator, Putin, who invaded his country, Sanders said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the aftermath of Trumps meeting with Zelensky, many European leaders have rallied behind Zelensky. Sunday's European leaders summit, led by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, considered short and long-term security plans for the country. I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes, everyone around this table, Starmer said to Zelensky at the summit, which was also attended by Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during his opening remarks. Starmer went on to share that he and other European leaders will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting amid Russias war in Ukraine, and will then present that to the U.S. Contact us at letters@time.com. JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) A church in Jonesborough is working to rebuild after Hurricane Helene floodwaters devastated the inside of the building. Enon Baptist Church partnered with the neighboring Trinity Baptist Church on Saturday for a night of Southern gospel to raise funds for Enons reconstruction. So far, the church has collected over $850,000 in donations. Enon Baptist Church Pastor Keith Malone said the idea of a benefit concert came from members of his former church, who had heard about the devastation and wanted to help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Creation Kingdom Zoo announces closure after 17 years Yeah, we have been very blessed, I had some old friends from our past church that reached out to me right after we heard they heard that the church had been flooded, and they had a gospel group their whole life with their parents and said that they wanted to do a benefit concert. And I said, Well, hallelujah, well do it when you wonder how quick you want,' he said. After the shock of the storm subsided, Malone said donations to his church began to pour in. And the donations started from the very beginning, right after the flood, he said. And to this point, we have raised 354,000 as of this afternoon (at the concert), plus a $500,000 grant from Samaritans Purse. So we are so blessed to have over $850,000 already. And we just turned all of the preliminary drawings back into our architect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crystal River Boys, Celestial City and the Slagle family performed at the benefit concert. And so, were so grateful to watch God use our other brothers and sisters in Christ to put our church back in our community, Malone said. Enon Baptist Church is still accepting donations through Venmo to @csEnonbaptist. Donations can also be mailed to P.O. Box 206, Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659. Call Kevin Burkey at 423-426-1894 for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Joseph Wambaugh, who has died aged 88, was a former Los Angeles detective who in the 1970s became a bestselling author of grim and gritty books about the police such as The Onion Field (1973) and The Choirboys (1975); later, in The Blooding (1989), he produced a highly-acclaimed account of the first British murder case to be solved using the revolutionary genetic fingerprinting technique. In a writing career spanning more than 30 years, Wambaugh the dean of crime writers as he came to be called was credited with redefining police fiction, transforming the cop novel from a hard-boiled sub-genre into serious literature and almost single-handedly reinventing the police procedural with novels like The New Centurions (1971). Wambaugh also sounded the death knell for the cardboard television cops of the 1950s such as Joe Friday of Dragnet and Eliot Ness of The Untouchables. For when, in the 1970s, Wambaugh created Police Story, a series for the American network NBC, he revolutionised the way police were portrayed on the small screen, letting cops be seen as human beings with human characteristics, flaws and failings. Later series such as Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue were said to owe their form and tone to Wambaughs pioneering work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At New Year 1987, Wambaugh read in his California newspaper about a murder inquiry in the English Midlands. All men aged between 17 and 34 in the villages of Narborough, Enderby and Littlethorpe and surrounding areas were being asked to volunteer samples of their blood and saliva so that they could be eliminated from police inquiries into the murders of two 15-year-old Narborough girls, Lynda Mann, who was raped and strangled in 1983, and Dawn Ashworth who met the same fate in 1986. Wambaugh: a twinkling, open and sociable man who would dispel hangovers with a two-mile run each morning - Avalan Wambaugh was struck by this unprecedented move, but by the time the police got their man the following September, Wambaugh had also learnt about the role played in the case by so-called DNA fingerprinting, a technique developed at Leicester University by the geneticist Dr Alec Jeffreys. Having secured a promise of co-operation by the detective leading the inquiry, Wambaugh flew to England and spent two weeks knocking on doors and conducting interviews with various participants in the case. To Wambaugh, an expert on police methods from his days in the LAPD, its attraction lay in the protracted testing of the bodily fluids of more than 4,500 men and youths. It was the first murder inquiry in which the new science of genetic fingerprinting proved to be critical; at first, the analysts unexpectedly cleared a much-fancied early suspect, and then, some months later, helped to convict the real murderer, Colin Pitchfork, a married man of 28 from Littlethorpe. Wambaughs account of the case in The Blooding was not his first excursion into the realms of non-fiction crime. More than 15 years before, with The Onion Field, Wambaugh had grappled with a true story that had obsessed him since his time as a cop, the execution-style murder of a policeman, Ian Campbell, by two small-time punks in a lonely Californian onion field in 1963, and the effects it had on the subsequent lives of the perpetrators and Campbells police partner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the murderers escaped the electric chair for seven years on a technicality (they had not been read their rights), they were eventually executed; neither expressed any remorse for what they had done. Very little... prepares one for the scabrous humour and ferocity of The Choirboys, enthused The New York Times critic. Each of the policemen wears his cynicism like a bulletproof jockstrap Two years later, Wambaugh produced his most successful crime novel, The Choirboys, a comic but ultimately tragic tale about a Los Angeles police nightwatch and the futile quest of 10 burnt-out LAPD officers for respite from the boring (but sometimes terrifying) demands of their shift on what they called choir practice, after-hours sex and drinking rituals among other things in MacArthur Park. Very little in Wambaughs first two novels prepares one for the scabrous humour and ferocity of The Choirboys, warned the critic John Leonard in the New York Times. Each of the policemen wears his cynicism like a bulletproof jockstrap. Wambaugh had a rough ride in Hollywood when it came to having his books made into films. He was so unhappy with what happened to his screenplay of The Choirboys, released in 1977, that he sued and won a $1 million settlement and the removal of his name from the script. Four years earlier Wambaugh had sold the rights to The Onion Field to Columbia Pictures, but when the studio abandoned the project, Wambaugh tried to buy them back. When Columbia refused to sell, Wambaugh sued and won, formed his own production company, hired his own director and sank $850,000 of his own money into the project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Released in 1979, with Wambaughs own screenplay, the film was hailed as one of the best of the year, with Newsweeks critic congratulating Wambaugh on a prowling, gripping disturbing movie that has its own far-from-simple vision of evil in our wretched and sinister cities. Yet such a gloomy scenario was strikingly at odds with its creator, a twinkling, open and sociable man with a relaxed sense of humour. He lived in a house overlooking the Pacific once owned by John Wayne; although a self-confessed hard drinker, he dispelled hangovers with a two-mile run each morning before sitting down to work. The former cop became a driven writer, never failing to make it to his desk even when Im sick, hung over, hands shaking at the typewriter or when its raining. Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh Jr was born on January 22 1937 in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of a policeman and a cleaner. The family was Roman Catholic working-class, three-quarters Irish and a quarter German, and during his childhood he served as an altar boy. When he was 14 the family moved to Los Angeles, where his father became a washing-machine repair man; in high school in the suburb of Ontario, young Joseph was, on his own admission, a terrible student, and in 1954, aged 17, he joined the US Marine Corps. Discharged in 1957, he enrolled at college and on matriculation the following year took day work, first in a steel mill and then as a police officer, while continuing his studies at night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finding that he was good at literature, he took a BA in 1960 and a Masters in English eight years later. Although he had planned to teach English, in 1960 Wambaugh instead decided to join the Los Angeles Police Department, and in 14 years rose to the rank of detective sergeant in the burglary detail of the Hollenbeck division, a socially blighted predominantly Mexican-American neighbourhood in east LA. In August 1968 Wambaugh witnessed the race riots in Watts, which made a profound impression on him. People were dropping dead all over the place, he recalled. I have no idea who was shooting. I had no idea what to do about it. All we did was sort of back up and protect our ass. In 1971 he used the experience as the basis for a highly moving scene in his debut novel The New Centurions. Wambaugh is interviewed by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, 1977 - Frank Carroll/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Throughout his years in the police, Joseph Wambaugh kept notes for use in any future career as a writer, jotting them on scraps of paper, even hamburger wrappers, and stuffing them all in a drawer. Id come back from a case with my hands sweating, he recalled. I thought that if I wrote it right, I could make other peoples hands sweat, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He began submitting short stories to magazines, receiving nothing but rejections until a former editor of Atlantic magazine, Edward Weeks, suggested he try writing a novel. So every night for six months, at the end of a full days work, Wambaugh wrote a minimum of 1,000 words, finally sending Weeks the 145,000-word typescript of The New Centurions. The book told the story of three fictional Los Angeles police officers through their first five years on the force as their initial idealism is corroded by hard and entrenched attitudes, while the public continued to regard the rookie cops as civilisations front line, not unlike the Roman centurions who had stood and fought against the Visigoths. Wambaughs story was not only published but proved to be one of the most successful books of 1971, selected by the Book of the Month Club and appearing in the bestseller list for 32 weeks, ultimately selling more than two million copies. It was made into a film the following year. When Wambaughs second novel, The Blue Knight, appeared in 1972, the New York Times noted approvingly that it abounds in vivid vignettes of police life and the Los Angeles streets. It recounted disgraced patrolman Bumper Morgans last days on the force, told, as another critic remarked, with great gusto, rough, tough language, affection and even reverence for Bumper and the law-and-order school he represents. His third book, The Onion Field (1973), was Wambaughs first non-fiction novel, written with the encouragement of Truman Capote, whose In Cold Blood (1965) had set the gold standard for true crime books for the second half of the 20th century. Wambaugh considered his first two books to have been practice runs for the story that made me want to be a writer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He took a six-month leave of absence from the LAPD to write it, spent a small fortune securing the co-operation of the chief protagonists and in legal and research fees, ploughed through 65,000 pages of court transcripts and interviewed more than 60 people. Even so, Wambaugh finished the book in five months flat and was already back on the beat when his leave ended. Shortly afterwards, Wambaugh retired from the police, finding it impossible to continue working as a celebrity cop. To the dismay of his former bosses in the LAPD he wrote The Choirboys (1975), with its roistering portrayal of the thin blue line. Among his other novels, The Glitter Dome was adapted in 1984 as a TV movie for HBO starring James Garner and John Lithgow as a pair of seasoned homicide detectives investigating a movie moguls murder. In the 1990s, after writing the script for a television film of The Blooding, Wambaugh was appalled (but scarcely surprised) to be asked if he could rewrite it and make the story happen in Kansas rather than rural Leicestershire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2006 he returned to the LAPD for Hollywood Station, the first in a series of five novels, the last being Harbor Nocturne in 2012. In 1955 Joseph Wambaugh married his high school girlfriend Dee Allsup; they had three children, one of whom died in a car crash in 1984. Joseph Wambaugh, born January 22 1937, died February 28 2025 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. OAKLEY, Kansas (KSNW) A town hall meeting hosted by Senator Roger Marshall in rural northwest Kansas Saturday morning included questions and answers, shouting, applause, boos and Senator Marshall leaving the event early. The meeting, at the Logan County Hospital in Oakley, started at 9 a.m. and lasted around 40 minutes. A video shared with KSN by one of the people at the event, showed that the event was contentious nearly from the start. Marshalls team later told KSN the event was sabotaged by Democrat operatives. A large group of people crowded into the room, with several standing around the limited chairs. Some wore shirts or carried signs critical of Marshall, the Trump administration and the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). Others wore hats or shirts representing military service. Within the first 5 minutes of the event Marshall referenced the crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of folks have traveled a long way to be here. This is really Oakleys town hall Im going to try to focus on their questions. said Marshall. He got a varied response. Some can be heard saying thank you, others saying he represents the whole state. Im going to say this one time. If you all keep cutting me off, if youre rude, which youre being, Im going to leave. The people from Oakley dont deserve this, said Marshall. If youre going to keep interrupting me, were not going to do this. If you have a question you can write them down and turn them in, my staff will get them all. Marshall said he wanted to take on the biggest issue of the last 24 hours, referencing what he called the blow up yesterday, a heated exchange in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have a deep amount of compassion and empathy from the people of Ukraine, said Marshall. He called Ukraine a bottomless pit financially, throwing good money after bad money. He defended the presidents plan saying my goal, I believe President Trumps goal, is to have peace in this situation and avoid World War Three. He answered several questions written on note cards from the crowd. Several times people called out questions about Elon Musk, DOGE cuts, the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. Some questions got responses of would you be quiet? from some, while others cheered. Marshall spoke about agriculture and defended Trumps support of Kansas farmers and ranchers and said he was prioritizing passing a new Farm Bill. He spoke on cuts to USAID, and changes to the Food for Peace Program, that he says is a good program and needs to be managed by the USDA. He referenced the cuts at NOAA including to National Weather Service meteorologists, saying theres some opportunity to make the weather service more efficient. Marshall said he was concerned about the rates of veteran and farmer suicide. When a woman calls out more questions to Marshall, a man can be heard saying Youre not from Western Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oh I am. Oh sir, I am, she responds. The crowd settles down when a man, identified by High Plains Public Radio as a local, Chuck Nunn, stood up and spoke directly to the senator. I want to thank you for coming out here, takes a lot of guts, said Nunn, who identified himself as a dying breed, a conservative democrat. He went on to say that he appreciates the effort to cut fraud and waste in government and fully supports it. But I think the way we are going about it is so wrong because there are unintended consequences. I support the veterans. What youre doing right now, what the government is doing right now, as far as cutting out those jobs, a huge percent of those people and I know that you care about the veterans are veterans. And that is a damn shame. That is a damn shame. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another man can be heard saying Im not a democrat, but Im worried about the veterans as several people applaud. Well, I yielded to one my elders, and I appreciate his comments, Marshall responded. I think its a great, Im not going to we dont have time for everyone to stand up. I do got two more commitments today. I appreciate everybody making the drive out and God bless America. Thank you. Marshall then walked out of the room as people yelled, booed and some called him a coward. KSN reached out to Senator Marshalls press team to request an interview after the town hall, and we asked several questions via email. We didnt receive a response to our specific questions, but instead received a statement attributed to Brent Robertson, Senator Marshalls Chief of Staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrat operatives who couldnt place Oakley, Kansas on a map before today sabotaged a local town hall even still, Senator Marshall stayed and answered every question that was asked for 45 minutes, said Robertson. Real Kansans overwhelmingly support President Trumps DOGE initiative, shrinking the size of the federal government, and firing career bureaucrats. Local Oakley citizens had no clue who these people were. Senator Marshall is to be commended for staying as long as he did. When KSN reached out and asked for clarification on our questions, if Senator Marshall was declining an interview, and if the staff could clarify what Kansans arent considered real in the statement, we received the same statement with one line updated: Local Oakley citizens had no clue who these people were and were embarrassed by the behavior. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. BURLINGTON, Kan. (KSNW) Quick action by a Master Trooper in the Kansas Highway Patrol is credited with saving a life. The Kansas Highway Patrol Life Saving Award was recently presented to Master Trooper Daniel Delgadillo. According to a social media post, he was recognized along with Burlington firefighters for rescuing a Burlington resident from a burning house. Delgadillo was on patrol on Jan. 7 in Coffey County when he got a report of a residential fire. He immediately responded and joined Burlington police officer Mike Roney and firefighter Adam Hoch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senator Roger Marshall booed at northwest Kansas town hall Upon arrival, he learned that there was still one occupant inside the house, Burlington Mayor Stan Luke said during the presentation. Facing heavy, blinding smoke, Delgadillo put on his gas mask and proceeded upstairs to locate and assist the occupant. The actions and quick response that Officer Roney, Master Trooper Delgadillo, and Firefighter Hoch exhibited in this life-threatening situation prevailed, and all the residents were saved from the fire. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. Just today, the royal family released a brand-new video of Prince William like we've never seen him before. But that wasn't the only royal post to hit social media. A few hours ago, the Kensington Palace Instagram account released its February Rewind, a social media review of the past month. By sharing pics and vids of Kate Middleton and her husband, it became clear that February was quite the busy month for the fam. Here are a few of the highlights from their Instagram Stories. Instagram / princeandprincessofwales Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first slide was an intro slide from the palace. This was quickly followed by an image of Princess Catherine standing all alone in the forest. If it looks familiar, it's because we first got a glimpse of it in early February. The photo was originally shared in honor of World Cancer Day and came with a special note: "Dont forget to nurture all that which lies beyond the disease. C #WorldCancerDay." Instagram / princeandprincessofwales But what's more, the photo was credited to Catherine's youngest son, Prince Louis. By the looks of this striking pic, the young royal is already taking after his mom, who has a passion for photography. The snap shows the princess standing with her arms outstretched and in full winter gear in the middle of the woods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We then got a pic of the princess getting a glimpse of The Centre for Early Childhoods Shaping Us Frameworkand showing off her new hair. Then, there was a glimpse of Prince William in Scotland... During the future monarch's trip to Scotland, he spent time at the Carnoustie and Monifieth Mens Shed. The initiative helps people develop new skills while fostering a strong sense of community. During the visit, he even rolled up his sleeves for a hands-on woodworking activity at East Screen Farm, gaining firsthand insight into the skills the organization teaches. The IG Stories also included a look at Princess Catherine visiting a mother and baby unit. Instagram / princeandprincessofwales Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outing was a visit to HMP Styal, a prison and young offender institution that houses a unit run by one of Catherines charities, Action for Children. According to its website, Action for Children's vision is "that every child and young person has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive." During the outing, the princess also was caught in a stunning photo walking in the rain. As always, the IG Stories concluded with a thank you message. Phew. And they say Princess Anne is the hardest working royal... Want all the latest royal news sent right to your inbox? Subscribe here. The Royal Family Is Already Grooming Kate Middleton to Become Queen The rate at which children are being hospitalized for the flu has skyrocketed to 145 percent since the start of the year, leaving doctors concerned. The number of kids admitted to the hospital for influenza has jumped from 959 on January 4 to 2,348 on February 1, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Doctors have characterized this flu season as one of the worst in recent history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Influenza comes around every winter. While there isn't really such a thing as a good influenza season every year we see thousands of deaths and hospitalizations seasons vary in severity from year to year, and this is a particularly severe season, Dr. Sean T. OLeary. chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. So far this year, 86 children have died from the respiratory illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate at which kids are being hospitalized for the flu jumped 145 percent since the start of the year as the rate of kids getting the flu shot drops (AFP via Getty Images) Death is obviously the most severe outcome, but there is a huge spectrum between well and not well, Dr. Anika Patel, a pediatric critical-care doctor in Washington, D.C., told the Washington Post. The flu can take a previously healthy kid and land them on a ventilator. Pediatric patients accounted for one-third of all flu cases seen in emergency departments for the week ending February 1, the highest percentage among children reported since October 2023, the Post noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cause of the uptick isnt entirely clear, but the declining rate at which children are being inoculated could be a contributing factor. Less than half of U.S. children have gotten the flu shot this season, CDC data shows. The vaccination rate among children, aged 6 months to 17 years old, has dropped in recent years, perhaps as hesitancy over vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic became more mainstream. In the same week in 2022, 52 percent of children received the flu vaccine; in 2021, 55 percent were vaccinated and in 2020, 59 percent were vaccinated. As of March 1, 86 children have died of the flu this year, according to CDC data. (AFP via Getty Images) As Covid-19 surged across the world, conspiracy theories claiming that the vaccine would alter ones DNA or included an injection of a microchip persisted online. Just six months after the vaccines were approved for public use, in May 2021, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who is now Trumps Health and Human Services Secretary, submitted a petition to the department he now leads demanding the authorization for Covid-19 vaccines be revoked. Now just weeks into Kennedy leading the nations health agencies, the FDA canceled its March meeting, where it typically selects the strains to be included in next seasons flu shot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cancellation of the FDAs Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting is alarming. We are in the middle of one of the worst flu seasons in years, and children are being hospitalized at concerning rates, Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the Post. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older should get a flu shot, noting that while it may not prevent contracting the illness, the vaccine could make symptoms less severe and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths in people who get vaccinated but still get sick. The best thing a parent can do to protect their family from influenza is to make sure everyone gets vaccinated, Dr. OLeary said. It's not too late for this season because were still seeing widespread circulation. President Zelensky arrived in the UK Saturday as the world reeled from his on-camera fallout with President Trump in the White House Friday. And after meeting with the UK Prime Minister who reiterated his countrys unwavering support for Ukraine, Zelensky has today met with King Charles at Sandringham House. This evening, His Majesty The King received the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the Saloon at Sandringham House, Buckingham Palace said in a statement today just after 6 p.m. in the UK. The pair posed for photographs on the steps outside Sandringham House and in front of the fireplace in the Saloon. T&C understands that Zelensky was warmly received by the King and that refreshments were served in the Norfolk residence for the meeting which lasted just under an hour. Joe Giddens The Sun newspaper reported today that a meeting between the King and Zelensky was being planned before Zelensky's heated on-camera exchange with President Trump and Vice President Vance the Oval Office Friday, and that the meeting was "not a reaction to the row." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevertheless, it was inevitably viewed as show of solidarity with the Ukrainian President. Journalists in the White House room had watched with gaping mouths Friday as what was supposed be a moment of diplomacy and formalities ahead of the signing of a US-Ukraine minerals deal turned into a full-scale on-camera row. Trump and Vance accused Zelensky of not acting thankful enough for the USs intervention to support Ukraine. Trump accused Zelensky of gambling with World War Three. European leaders rallied behind Zelensky after the exchange. It came after Keir Starmer had visited the Oval Office Thursday and extended an invitation from King Charles to President Trump for an unprecedented second State Visit. "This has never happened before, this is unprecedented. And I think that just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us," Starmer had told Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky was in the UK to attend a major summit today between European and Canadian leaders. On his arrival to the country he was greeted by cheering crowds outside Downing Street. At the summit, a four-step plan was agreed for peace in Ukraine and it was announced that the UK government will allow Ukraine to use 1.6 billion of export finance for air defense missiles. "Getting a good outcome for Ukraine is not just a matter of right and wrong, it is vital for the security of every nation here and many others, too, Keir Starmer said at the opening of the meeting, per Reuters. You Might Also Like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said during an interview that the future of the free world is before us in light of the heated White House meeting on Friday between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is no time for an apology war. There are lives at stake. There is peace at stake, and the future of really, I think it is not exaggeration to say, the future of Europe, the future of the free world, is before us, Klobuchar said during her Friday night appearance on CNN when asked if she thought Ukraines president should apologize for the contentious back-and-forth, something that Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested he should. Klobuchar, who was part of a bipartisan group of senators that met with Zelensky hours before the Oval Office huddle, argued that letting Russian President Vladimir Putin march through Ukraine, to go at these negotiations with surrender instead of strength, is a big mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the most troubling things to me was when Vice President Vance, as I noted today, as he accused President Zelensky of never thanking America, the Minnesota senator said on CNNs The Source. And as you just recently showed on your show, repeatedly, I have heard President Zelensky thank Republicans, thank Democrats, in private meetings, in public events, over and over, she added. Klobuchar was one of many Democratic lawmakers who rebuked Trump and Vance over their Friday spat with Zelensky, which appeared to have strained the relationship between Washington and Kyiv. The bilateral meeting went awry when Vance suggested that Trump would forge a peace agreement to end the three-year war through diplomacy. Zelensky questioned the point with Putins actions that quashed previous ceasefires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance said Zelensky was disrespectful for debating the premise in front of the media and that he was insufficiently grateful for the assistance that has been provided to Ukraine, adding that Kyivs head should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to his conflict. Zelensky said Washington has not directly felt the implications of the conflict due to its distance from Eastern Europe, a point that promoted a forceful response from Trump. You dont have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards, Trump told Ukraines president, emphasizing that he is gambling with the lives of millions of people, youre gambling with World War III and what youre doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, thats backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have. Trump wrote after the meeting that Zelensky is not prepared for a peace agreement that would end the devastating war and that the Ukrainian president can return to Washington when he is ready for Peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky said on Fox News hours after the heated discussion in the Oval Office that he would not apologize and that the meet-up ended badly for both sides. Klobuchar said Friday night that she has spoken to Republican senators who are interested in working on repairing the relationship between Kyiv and Washington. All President Zelensky was saying is that we need to make sure that the agreement is firm, or Vladimir Putin, as he has in the past, will violate it, the Minnesota Democrat said. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the majority of European leaders stood behind Zelensky after he met with Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Minnesota senator said three things will be important for fixing the relations between Ukraine and the U.S. The first would be signing the minerals agreement, which was supposed to be done on Friday but was canceled after the fallout. Second, it would be standing strong with Washingtons allies, and the final component to get it back on track is to just remember what is at stake here for American leadership across the world, and everything is on the table. I think we should be, in America, moving forward with our allies, and I would hope that tomorrow, that we can start resetting this again instead of dividing everyone, she said on CNN. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Kremlin has praised what it perceives as the U.S.'s foreign policy shift, claiming on March 2 that it "aligns" with its "vision" after U.S. President Donald Trump's public dispute with President Volodymyr Zelensky. "The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in comments published by state-controlled media. "There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, President (Vladimir) Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also praised Trump, calling him a "pragmatist" and adding that "that's what makes him interesting," state-controlled media reported on March 2. Lavrov claimed that the Trump administration's so-called common sense approach dictates "stepping aside" from aiding Ukraine. Trump, echoing Kremlin rhetoric on the war in Ukraine, said at the end of February the country should "forget" about joining NATO, which the country sees as a security guarantee against a future Russian invasion. Russia has repeatedly presented NATO expansion as a "justification" for the war. Overlooking the challenges of holding elections in a war zone, Trump on Feb. 19 called Zelensky a "dictator"a remark he later claimed he did not remember making. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. also voted alongside Russia on Feb. 24 against a U.N. resolution that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read also: Ill need more ammo Ukraines soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) After a sold out bal for the first time in 36 years, the Krewe of Gemini finished their Mardi Gras extravaganza with their highly anticipated parade. This year, the krewe embraced the theme of a dreamcatcher, celebrating the magic of childhood dreams with floats that brought to life superheroes, astronauts, courageous aviators, and daring pirates. The pirate float, led by float lieutenant Russ Friedrich, was 60 feet long and held 40 riders. It was built in four to six months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is our 36th year doing Mardi Gras. We are actually the group that brought Mardi Gras to the Ark-La-Tex; its grown so much over the years, said Friedrich. Friedrich says the Krewe of Gemini is the founders, and he is one of eight members who left the Krewe 36 years ago. I feel proud to be a part of the community and being able to give back so much to the community of Shreveport-Bossier, said Friedrich. With Louisianas rich culture, it is no surprise that the Krewe knows best in letting the good times roll. Mardi Gras rolls on with Krewe of Gemini and Highland celebrations A group of Longview, Texas residents dressed up in their finest purple, gold, and green, and crossed the border to celebrate Mardi Gras. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kim Miller, one of the residents from Longview, says this experience is marvelous and you couldnt ask for a better, fun time. This is Louisiana. Louisiana, they have the right to celebrate, and they have that heritage and everything, so, I wish Texas had something similar like this because this is a blast, said Miller. The group said they love dressing up and the festive season is the perfect time for it. Despite thousands of people from downtown Shreveport down Clyde Fant Parkway, there were plenty of throws for everyone. Friedrich said, The weather is fantastic this year. We had crummy weather last year, so we have a lot of throws left over from last year, so were going to be throwing lots of throws tonight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Speaking out Update: Constituents protest outside McClintocks Modesto office. What they want from him, (modbee.com, Feb. 24) As a Central Valley resident, stories like these, which share our communitys perspective on issues related to the current federal administration, are crucial. It is also important to emphasize the importance of Americans using their First Amendment right to talk with or send messages to our elected representatives. I had not known about the Mobilize app, and appreciate this vital information about organizing protests in our community. If we dont speak out now, while others are being impacted, who will speak out for us? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gabriel Heredia Tracy Opinion Injustice Update: Constituents protest outside McClintocks Modesto office. What they want from him, (modbee.com, Feb. 24) It was great to see so many people protesting the actions of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. With Congress cowed and Republicans fearful of speaking out, it is essential that we, the people, express our discontent with the direction our country is going. Political Scientist Timothy Snyder warns that in the face of budding tyranny, we should not obey. Instead, we should take a risk and do something. It is necessary to speak out when we see injustice. Kent Mitchell Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riverbank Californias anesthesia providers State bills would remove physician oversight from nurse anesthetists in Stanislaus County, (modbee.com, Feb. 25) The bill package from Assemblymember Heath Flora does not change the way anesthesia is provided in California, it reinforces long-standing laws that authorize Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists to practice independently. CRNAs have had the authority to practice independently for decades in California. They provide safe anesthesia care in hospitals, surgery centers and rural facilities. Healthcare facilities continue to have the ability to mandate physician supervision, however, it is not a legal requirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matthew McGuire Visalia Trumps DEI agenda Donald Trump Hit With Major DEI Legal Setback, (modbee.com, Feb. 26) Dont worry, diversity, equity and inclusion isnt going away: President Donald Trump is imposing his own DEI agenda division, exclusion and intimidation. It seems to be doing very well. Glenore Flanders Turlock Protect the CFPB Commentary: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has irked billionaires, but it serves the public well, (modbee.com, Dec. 19) Californias Central Valley has some of the lowest incomes in the state. Families have experienced rising costs of food, energy, rent and insurance. This will only be exacerbated by likely cuts to welfare and healthcare. Staying afloat will make vulnerable families subject to unfair and predatory financial practices. The only federal protection from these financial depredation is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency that was formed to protect consumers and has even returned many times in value to the nation than it cost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, this agency is being threatened with possible closure. This is a travesty. I urge everyone to contact their Congressional representatives to prevent this from happening. We are facing hard times again, and ensuring our communities are not unduly stressed helps us all. Alex Tolley Merced A 70-year-old Dalton man was scammed out of $36,000 after being deceived into making two deposits into a Bitcoin ATM machine and sending the money to the perpetrator, state police at Dunmore said in a news release. State police are investigating the theft by deception scheme, which troopers say occurred via a phone or computer between Feb. 21 at noon and Feb. 22 at 10:42 a.m., according to the release. The victim made two $18,000 deposits, police said. PLATTSBURGH A major renovation project at the St. Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing into Canada is expected to make life easier and better for cross-border travelers. While crossings are always dependent on staffing, volume and security situations, new state-of-the-art booths and a reconfiguration to remove pedestrians from the line of traffic can hopefully enhance the movement of cars North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas said. Also, there should be more efficiency in handling secondary processing for those needing to stop and go in, and the processing of bus passengers will be substantially enhanced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Douglas was referring to the full start of construction on major upgrades and changes by the Canadian Government at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing which is the Canadian side of the Champlain crossing on I-87/Autoroute 15. As a major stakeholder representative for this border crossing, we welcome the full start of construction on a project that we and our Quebec partners have been supporting for several years, Douglas said. It is another major step toward the Port of Excellence vision we laid out 25 years ago, seeking greatly improved border facilities at all North Country crossings, starting with $170 million for the new Champlain Port of Entry which began construction in 2005. The first stage of the Lacolle vision included a major new truck crossing and commercial processing facility that opened several years ago. The new three-year project will demolish outdated buildings at the car crossing, creating a reconfigured complex including all new booths and enhanced processing for buses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Construction will be staged to minimize the impact on continued operations including flow, the chamber said. We have been pleased to provide stakeholder input during the design process and will be taking part in a border crossings meeting in Quebec City in May, Douglas said. The chamber has also advocated for a planned new Rouses Point border crossing facility, including proper facilities for processing incoming Amtrak trains, with construction expected to begin in late spring or early summer. With all of the current atmosphere around potential tariffs, its good to have positive news about such border investments designed to enhance travel and commerce north and south, Douglas said. LAKE FOREST, Ill. A student at Lake Forest College was arrested Friday and subsequently charged with a felony after a report of aggravated battery involving a female victim on campus, according to Lake Forest police. Medical examiner IDs 2 teens, 17 and 16, who died after being found unresponsive in locked car in Hoffman Estates Luca D. Vulpescu, 22, has been charged with aggravated battery-strangulation, a Class 3 felony. Hes also been charged with three Class A misdemeanors: battery causing bodily harm, battery-insulting/provoking contact and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vulpescu made a first appearance hearing in Lake County Court on Saturday and was later released from custody on non-detainable charges with several conditions, including no contact with the victim and no travel outside Illinois. Hes also banned from the Lake Forest College campus. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Vulpescus next court appearance is scheduled for March 24 at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan. The investigation remains ongoing, and no further details are available at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. MANSFIELD Gov. Ned Lamont said he cant support a plan to give schools across the state $40 million to reimburse them for special education this year, despite both the House and Senate voting to do so. Earlier this week, both the House and Senate approved an emergency appropriation that would disperse that money to schools. Lamont said while the emergency appropriations are well-intentioned, they were hastily approved by the legislature, which shows how dangerously budgeting has been done in the past. A large investigation is underway after a man with a knife was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on Boylston Street. In a press conference held by Boston police, at approximately 5:27 PM on Saturday, two people ran inside a crowded Chick-fil-A, attempting to evade a man brandishing a knife. #BREAKING: Police say two men were being chased into the Boylston St. Chick Fil A by a man with a knife. An off-duty officer tried to talk the knife man down, but he refused. The officer shot, killed the man. Boylston will be shut down for hours. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/SYOx2HXKYq Daniel Coates (@danielcoates_25) March 2, 2025 The man with the knife was attempting to stab the two individuals. An off-duty police officer was also inside the Chick-fil-A. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The officer identified himself and began to try and talk down the individual with the knife, telling him to drop his weapon. The individual did not drop his knife, leading the officer to discharge his weapon and strike the individual. The individual was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The officer has also been taken to the hospital for stress evaluation. Suffolk County District Attorneys office will now be leading the investigation, looking at all video evidence and conducting numerous interviews with witnesses. The District Attorney believes that there may have been more than one individual in the area that knows something and is asking them to step forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The District Attorney also did not specify the ages of those involved but said they were young. No further injuries were reported, and the area will be closed off for some time. 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 A man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a scheme to steal Paycheck Protection Program funds intended to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jerry Baptiste, 47, is the last of 20 defendants charged in the scheme to be sentenced. Baptiste was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also has been ordered to pay $830,417 in restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On October 29, 2024, Baptiste pleaded guilty to money laundering. This sentencing wraps up an exhaustive investigation into a fraud scheme that stole emergency funds from businesses and individuals that desperately needed them during the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul Brown, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta said. The FBI will make every effort to ensure federal funds are used as intended and punish anyone who would steal from our government. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] All the defendants in Baptistes case have now been convicted and sentenced, with punishments ranging from probation to 15 years imprisonment: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 16, 2021, Darrell Thomas pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and money laundering. On May 9, 2022, Thomas was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $13,206,752.10 in restitution. On June 17, 2021, Andre Lee Gaines pleaded guilty to the charge of making a false statement. On October 5, 2021, Gaines was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $806,710 in restitution. On September 1, 2020, Kahlil Gibran Green pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On January 14, 2021, Green was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $830,000 in restitution. On March 11, 2021, Bern Benoit pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On September 8, 2021, Benoit was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,105,217 in restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On February 15, 2024, Carla Jackson was found guilty of money laundering by jury verdict. On May 16, 2024, Jackson was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $335,238.22 in restitution. On August 1, 2022, Ricky Dixon pleaded guilty to the charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On January 25, 2023, Dixon was sentenced to 100 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $4,320,928.31 in restitution. On July 27, 2022, Meghan Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On May 23, 2023, Thomas was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,381,760.35 in restitution. On March 15, 2022, Jesika Blakely pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. On February 8, 2023, Blakely was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,348,498.89 in restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 5, 2022, Amanda Christian pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On September 13, 2022, Christian was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $835,542 in restitution. On June 29, 2022, Dwan Ashong pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. On October 31, 2022, Ashong was sentenced to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $3,604,807 in restitution. On January 31, 2024, John Gaines pleaded guilty to the charge of money laundering. On June 26, 2024, Gaines was sentenced to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $806,710 in restitution. On November 2, 2021, Charles Petty pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On February 25, 2022, Petty was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $830,417 in restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On April 14, 2022, Derek Parker pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On August 31, 2022, Parker was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $163,620.40 in restitution. On May 25, 2022, David Belgrave II pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. On August 25, 2022, Belgrave was sentenced to nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, with 18 months on home detention, and ordered to pay $877,000 in restitution. On September 29, 2021, Charles Hill IV pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On January 12, 2022, Hill was sentenced to five years probation, with 27 months on home detention, and ordered to pay $1,004,805 in restitution. On May 25, 2022, Ryan Whittley pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On August 29, 2022, Whittley was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $797,275 in restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On August 24, 2022, El Hadj Sall pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On November 29, 2022, Sall was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $973,585 in restitution. On April 27, 2022, Rick McDuffie pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On August 23, 2022, McDuffie was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,125 in restitution. On February 15, 2024, Teldrin Foster was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, making a false statement to a federally insured bank, and money laundering by jury verdict. On June 25, 2024, Foster was sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $9,606,627.35 in restitution. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Europe must take responsibility for defending itself as world leaders met in London to discuss working together to stop Russias war in Ukraine. Britain hosted the summit Sunday to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an astonishing Oval Office meltdown with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. Starmer said Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles. Heres the latest: Starmer says Europe summit on Ukraine a once in a generation moment British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called a summit of European leaders that he convened in London on Sunday a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe. Here are his key takeaways: Starmer said he does not accept that the U.S. is an unreliable ally. The British prime minister said he spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday before announcing Sunday that the U.K., France and Ukraine will work together to develop a plan to present to the U.S. to stop the fighting. Starmer insisted any peace plan for Ukraine must have American security guarantees and said the plan is currently being developed on the basis that it will have U.S. backing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer announced around $2 billion in funding for Ukraine to buy more than 5,000 air defense missiles. He also set out four key points to ensure Ukraine gets a just and lasting peace: 1. Military aid to Ukraine will continue as will economic pressure on Russia. 2. Ukraine must be at the table for talks and any deal must ensure Ukraines sovereignty and security. 3. If there is a peace deal, the U.K. and other like-minded countries will keep boosting Ukraines defensive capability to deter any future invasion. 4. A coalition of the willing will be assembled to defend Ukraine and guarantee peace. The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, Starmer said although he did not name other countries which have also committed resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France, Britain propose one-month ceasefire France and Britain have proposed a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine in the air, on the seas and on energy infrastructure, French President Emmanuel Macron told Le Figaro newspaper. Macron did not speak to reporters as he left a meeting on Ukraine defense in London but spoke to Le Figaro on his way to the summit. Macron said he and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have devised a truce that would last a month. Soldiers would only be deployed on the ground at a later stage. There wont be any European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks, he said. The question is how we use this time to try and get an accessible truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a deployment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked at a press conference whether he was aware of the plan put on the table by Macron and Starmer, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said without elaborating, according to a BBC translation: Im aware of everything. Dutch leader Schoof says a secure Ukraine is in Europe's interest Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof says a safe and secure Ukraine is in the interest of all of Europe, including the Netherlands, and thats why a united Europe is now more important than ever. Schoof, who attended the security summit in London Sunday said Europe has to play a bigger role in safeguarding the security of our continent. He said that depends on a number of factors: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our unwavering support for Ukraine, to ensure that the country can negotiate from the strongest possible position and bring about a lasting peace; A European plan for robust security guarantees to protect our continent including Ukraine and deter further Russian aggression; Europe must take more responsibility for its own security, including by bolstering European defense capabilities. Close transatlantic relations are also essential in this respect. Czech leader welcomes role of Britain and France in work on ceasefire Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala welcomed the cooperation of Britain and France as they took a leading role in Europe to work on a ceasefire plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are the (U.N.) Security Council members, they are nuclear superpowers, Fiala told Czech public television after the London meeting. Its important that they work together and with our support. I think thats good news. EC chief says strong security guarantees needed to ensure peace in Ukraine European Council President Antonio Costa says strong security guarantees are required to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine and ensure the war-torn country is not invaded again. Costa, who heads the EU body representing its 27 member states, told reporters at the end of the security and defense meeting in London that allies should learn from the past and avoid repeating the Minsk experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That was a reference to the so-called Minsk Agreements, a series of ceasefire deals between Russia and Ukraine that failed to hold before Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022. And for that, we need strong security guarantees, Costasaid. Peacemaking goes hand in hand with peacekeeping. Scholz says Russian perspectives cannot be accepted in seeking end to war Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that the Russian perspectives cannot be accepted in seeking an end to war in Ukraine. Russia has always aimed to establish a government in Ukraine that follows its orders. This cannot be accepted, Scholz said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine is a European country that has chosen to seek membership in the European Union -- a democratic and sovereign nation. And it must remain so, Scholz said after the meeting in London. He also said that a Russian demand that Ukraine be demilitarized is not acceptable and that Ukraine must be strong enough to ensure that it is never attacked again. Zelenskyy meets with King Charles III Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Britain's King Charles III at his estate on the North Sea coast. Zelenskyy went to Sandringham after a meeting with other European leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine, shoring up the countrys defenses and working toward a peace deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meetings follow an extraordinary breakdown in talks between Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. Zelenskyy arrived in London on Saturday and met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Zelenskyy said he had requested the meeting with the king. Ukraine is a victim of great aggression, says Scholz German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said European leaders had all once again clearly affirmed our commitment to supporting Ukraine. It is the country under attack, the victim of great aggression. This is the undeniable truth for everyone. And, of course, it also means that we must and will act accordingly, he said. For us, it is also clear that this means we must support Ukraine both financially and militarily. International and transatlantic support for Ukraine remains crucial for the security of the country and of Europe. He added: The Russian perspectives cannot be accepted. Russia has always aimed to establish a government in Ukraine that follows its orders. This cannot be accepted. "The second issue is demilitarization. Russia repeatedly demands this, but it cannot be accepted. On the contrary, Ukraine must be strong enough - based on the experiences of the country, its citizens, and all of us - to ensure that it is never attacked again. This will also be of central importance for the future. Poland's Tusk says Europe needs to build our own strength Polands Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that no one in the West has any intention of capitulating to Putins blackmail and aggression. The best way to discourage Putin and other aggressors is to build our own strength, and the best way to convince President Trump to want to strengthen cooperation with Europe, and not weaken it, is our European strength. Everyone will want to work with a strong partner, Tusk told Polish reporters. UK pledges export financing for air defense for Ukraine British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine. Starmer wrapped up a security summit in London with other European leaders by saying Europe had to do the heavy lifting in defending itself. The meeting comes two days after U.S. support for Ukraine appeared in greater jeopardy after President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasnt grateful enough for U.S. support. Von der Leyen will present a report to rearm Europe European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she will present next week a plan to rearm Europe to bolster the blocs security. Speaking at the end of the summit on Ukraine defense and security in London, the head of the EUs executive branch said she will unveil the plan to heads of state and government during an EU summit in Brussels. We all have understood that after a long time of under investment it is now of utmost importance to step up the defense investment for a prolonged period of time. Its for the security of the European Union, she said. Von der Leyen added that the plan could for instance help develop advanced air shields. As for the future of war-torn Ukraine, von der Leyen said security guarantees are of utmost importance. We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength, so that it has the means to fortify itself and to protect itself, she said. Its basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders. London summit wraps up A European security summit focused on finding an end to the war in Ukraine has wrapped up. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, emerged from the meeting and told some reporters that Europe needs a surge in defense spending and must restock its arms, Sky News reported. Von der Leyen says they want the U.S. to see they are prepared to defend democracy. The meeting hosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer included more than 19 leaders, mostly from across Europe, but also included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NATOs Secretary General Mark Rutte. Ukraine supporters rally outside 10 Downing Street A crowd of thousands rallied in support of Ukraine outside the British prime ministers residence. A woman wrapped in the Ukrainian flag said they were grateful for the unwavering support of the U.K. and other countries. The demonstration occurred as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was meeting nearby in London with other European leaders focused on ending the war. A day earlier, Zelenskyy had arrived to meet Downing at 10 Downing Street and was greeted with loud cheers. The speaker who was not named called for a deal that punishes Russian aggression and secures Ukraines freedom and democracy. Zelenskyy says had a good meeting with Meloni Ahead of the a summit of European leaders in London on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said he had a productive meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace. Writing on X, Zelenskyy said it was important to maintain unity around Ukraine and to strengthen Ukraines position in cooperation with our allies the countries of Europe and the United States. Rubio says Putin must be brought to the table U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says peace can only come to Ukraine if Putin is involved in the negotiations, and that right now, Trump is the only person on earth who has any chance whatsoever of bringing him to a table to see what it is he would be willing to end the war on. Rubio, speaking of the Russians, tells ABCs This Week" that maybe their claims are what they want. Their demands will be unreasonable. We dont know. But we have to bring them to the table. He added: Maybe they dont want a deal, either. We dont know. But we havent talked to them in three years. But maybe they do. Americas top diplomat says the goal is to figure out is there a way to get the Kremlin off it war-footing. What are the Russians demands? Under what conditions would the Russians be willing to stop this war? Having security guarantees is all contingent upon there being a peace. Everybody is saying security guarantees to secure the peace. You first have to have a peace. We dont even know if the peace is possible. Ukrainian soldiers speak to AP about the blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy Ukrainian soldiers spoke to The Associated Press about their thoughts on the row in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelenskyy. Speaking from a wooden barracks in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, a soldier identified only as DSHB said fighting back against Russias invasion without U.S. support will be not just hard, but very hard. From their (Americans) point of view, maybe its right. But we definitely know that the United States has been a guarantor of security and now that they are backing down, its not entirely clear to people how that can happen, he said. A cat sitting on his lap, another soldier identified as Student" said he thought Europe would regret not stepping up to help Ukraine. I believe they need to make compromises on both sides, because this is just as important for them as it is for us. So, if this aggression in Ukraine isnt stopped, the aggressor will already move towards the borders of Europe, he said. "And there, I think, Europe will regret not helping us. Ukrainian defense minister says UK ready to increase assistance Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said after talks with his British counterpart in London that the U.K. is ready to increase military assistance to Ukraine and more actively involve European partners. The two officials also discussed funding weapons purchases through proceeds from Russias confiscated assets and the UK.s role in the Ramstein group, which includes Ukraine's NATO and EU allies, Umerov wrote on Facebook. US national security adviser: Ending the war will require concessions on both sides White House national security adviser Mike Waltz says ending the war will require Russian concessions on security guarantees as well as territorial concessions by Ukraine. Waltz says this will be clearly some type of territorial concession for security guarantees going forward, but hes not providing any more details about what the Russians would have to do. During an interview with CNNs State of the Union, Waltz said: This needs to be European-led security guarantees going forward. Part of that is Europes contribution to its own defense so it has the capability to do so. As for the United States, he said, What type of support we provide or not is to be negotiated. Waltz says the U.S. is looking for a Ukrainian leader who can deal with Washington, eventually deal with the Russians and end the war. And if it becomes apparent that President Zelenskyys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands. Starmer tells European leaders they need to step up to a once in a generation moment U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told European leaders on Sunday that they need to step up to a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe. Starmer told the London summit that getting a good outcome for Ukraine was vital to the security of every nation here and many others too. He was flanked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron. Meloni reassures Zelenskyy of Italy's support Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni met with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the London meeting on Sunday, reaffirming Italys support for Ukraine. Her office said she expressed support, together with European and Western partners and the United States, "to build a just and lasting peace, which ensures a future of sovereignty, security and freedom for Ukraine. It was in line with Italys position through the war while keeping the U.S. in the picture. Meloni spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on the eve on the meeting, but her office did not reveal the contents of the call. Meloni, who as head of a far-right party is a natural ally of the Trump administration, has found herself in difficult waters as he yanks support for Ukraine. US House speaker raises prospect of a change in Ukrainian leadership U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is raising the prospect that Zelenskyy may need to leave office if a peace deal is to be reached. Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that, the Louisiana Republican tells NBCs Meet the Press. Johnson says its up to the Ukrainians to figure that out. He adds that under President Donald Trump, the United States is reexerting peace through strength. The idea of Zelenskyy stepping aside had come up Friday after the Oval Office meeting. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters outside the White House that Zelenskyy either needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change. Russian drone attacks and Ukrainian shelling kill 2 people on each side of the front line, officials say A Russian drone attack Sunday on the Ukrainian city of Kherson killed one person and wounded six, according to the citys military administration chief, Roman Mrochko. Also in Ukraines southern Kherson region, which was mostly occupied by Russia early in the war but later partially retaken by Ukrainian forces, a man was killed in another drone attack some 57 kilometers (35 miles) away in a village on the right bank of the Dnieper River, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said Sunday. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Dnieper River, Moscow-appointed officials in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region said Sunday that two people died in Ukrainian shelling. Moscow sent 79 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraines Air Force, 63 drones were destroyed during the overnight attacks. A further 16 simulator drones were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russias Defense Ministry said Sunday morning that 62 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Russia over the previous 24 hours. The Clay County Sheriffs Office closed the entry gates to this years Strawberry Festival over traffic and safety issues today, according to Sheriff Michelle Cook. Visitors reported huge traffic backups in the area near the fairgrounds as people came in droves to the annual event. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Sheriff Cook released a statement Saturday blasting the organizers for what she calls inadequate staffing: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the past few years we have gone back and forth with the promoter about the security and traffic needs for the Strawberry Festival. A couple of years ago they literally hired 2 deputies to work the event. Although they have increased the number of off duty deputies, the staffing is still not acceptable. Our deputies have been out there all day with no breaks. Weve had to call in on duty personnel to assist. This is unacceptable. This will not happen again. Let me be very clear.the Strawberry Festival should hire enough staff to support an Incident Management Team (those that command and support the working personnel) and hire enough staff to support a full and comprehensive traffic plan - similar to what the Fair does - the CCSO will not support this event. The Clay County Agricultural Fair took to social media Saturday afternoon to assure that they werent responsible for the traffic this time. While we are certainly not perfect and have our bad days too, please know that we do staff vastly different than most to prepare for all different sorts of scenarios, the Clay County Fair organizers said. We work with what weve got the best we can, a two lane state road with one way in and out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fair continued, saying it added 200 additional parking spots last year and is doubling its CCSO officers for parking and traffic enforcement on 2025s busiest fair days. The Clay County Agricultural Fair begins April 3rd. Related: Clay County Fair announces 2025 concert lineup Sheriff Cook is encouraging neighbors and event visitors to email the Strawberry Fest organizers any feedback they have about the event, especially regarding traffic issues. The Sheriffs Office plans to have more on-duty personnel assigned to the event tomorrow, but emphasized that taxpayers should not have to pay for a private vendor event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Action News Jax has reached out to the organizers, Buckler Shows, for a statement. We are still waiting to hear back. Sheriff Cook also provided this link, where feedback about the event and traffic issues can be provided. She also encourages feedback to be sent to the organizers by sending it to bucklershows@yahoo.com [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. Mar. 2In the final weeks of this year's legislative session, lawmakers confronted with a chronic shortage of health care providers in New Mexico are poised to consider major changes to the state's Medical Malpractice Act. The first hearing on the topic could occur this week. As of Friday, 22 sponsors had signed onto one of the more comprehensive of the six measures before the Legislature, which is intended to make New Mexico more hospitable to doctors by curbing medical malpractice liability without reducing caps on damages. Opponents say it will hurt patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supporters of Senate Bill 176 argue that New Mexico's medical malpractice laws have made the state a magnet for out-of-state attorneys and discourage doctors from practicing here. In 2022, New Mexico had the highest medical malpractice insurance loss ratio in the country, according to a recent Think New Mexico report, meaning insurers paid out 183% of the premiums they took in. Indeed, New Mexico was one of only seven states where insurers lost money, making it much more expensive for them to function in the market. The result is insurers pull out of the market, or make it so expensive to get insurance in the state that doctors don't want to practice here: one big reason behind New Mexico's practitioner shortage. For example, New Mexico saw a decline of 30% in the number of primary care physicians from 2,360 in 2017 to 1,649 in 2021. Overall, New Mexico in 2023 had a shortfall of 5,704 registered nurses and clinical nurse specialists; 4,967 emergency medical technicians; in addition to shortfalls of hundreds of physical therapists, pharmacists, psychiatrists, certified nurse practitioners, primary care physicians and occupational therapists. But critics, including the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association, say the bill will make it more difficult for injured patients to sue their providers for negligence, and "does nothing to deter bad behavior in the future," said Albuquerque lawyer Kathy Love, a past president of the association. "We all want more doctors in New Mexico and higher quality care," she said. But this bill "is not going to fix the problem." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The debate over the effects of medical malpractice litigation on the health care workforce has spanned years, often drawing fierce debate and sizable campaign contributions to lawmakers by health systems, trial lawyers and other groups. Sen. Martin Hickey, D-Albuquerque, one of 22 co-sponsors of SB 176, argues that the risk of malpractice litigation has made New Mexico an unattractive state to practice medicine. "We're known all over the country as the worst place to practice medicine," said Hickey, the only physician in the state Legislature and former chief medical officer for Lovelace Health System. "Physicians are leaving, and finally people up here are acknowledging it," Hickey said of lawmakers. Patients have to wait months to get an appointment with a primary care doctor or a specialist. "You just hear all the time people can't get in to see a doctor." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico physicians pay more for malpractice insurance than counterparts in other states and rates increase each year, supporters contend. Think New Mexico, a nonprofit think tank that supports SB 176, found that New Mexico had the second-highest rate of medical malpractice claims in the U.S. in 2023, second only to Pennsylvania. An analysis by Think New Mexico, published in a recent report, found that the average annual premium for malpractice insurance is about $43,000 in New Mexico compared with $22,000 in Arizona, $23,700 in Colorado, and $28,500 in Texas. Love says those numbers are misleading because the premium cited for New Mexico also includes costs that stem from hospitals having to help replenish the state's patient compensation fund, which helps qualified providers pay malpractice settlements. The cost of malpractice insurance is expected to drop after the hospitals finish their payments at the end of 2026, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Physician groups put the onus on a change to the state Medical Malpractice Act, Senate Bill 75 in 2021, that raised the liability cap on malpractice damages against hospitals, clinics and individual doctors. For hospitals, liability increased from $4 million in 2022 to $5.5 million this year. Next year, the cap will rise to $6 million, with further increases slated in subsequent years. The 2021 law also changed the way funds are paid out from the state-administered patients compensation fund. The law allowed attorneys to seek lump-sum payments from the fund based on lifetime estimates of patient costs. Supporters of SB 176 contend that the lump-sum payments provide an immediate and sizable payout for malpractice attorneys. The bill would return to a pre-2021 practice of paying for medical expenses as they are incurred by patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The fund was established to take care of anyone who is injured and any subsequent medical needs due to that injury to take care of them for life," Hickey said. "And so getting it up front is really a disservice to the patients." Another key provision of SB 176 would cap attorney's fees at 25% of an award for cases settled before trial and 33% of a jury award. Supporters argue that the purpose of malpractice litigation is to compensate an injured patient and help pay ongoing medical expenses. But under current law, attorneys negotiate their fees with clients and typically receive 30% to 40% of malpractice awards and settlements. Las Cruces attorney Greig Coates, who also practices in Texas, said limiting attorney's fees to 25% effectively means small cases "all of a sudden are not financially viable for an attorney (to accept)." With small medical malpractice cases, he said, plaintiff's attorneys may end up spending more money in costs and fees than what the damages are worth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So there will be fewer cases being brought by plaintiffs' attorneys (against doctors and hospitals)," Coates said. "Going after attorney's fees effectively decreases the access to justice of those who have less than utterly life-altering, devastating injuries." A third provision on SB 176 would dedicate 75% of punitive damages to a new patient safety improvement fund administered by the state Department of Health. Money from the fund would be appropriated by the Legislature to improve patient safety and health care outcomes. New Mexico is one of the few states that currently has no limits on punitive damages awarded by juries, which can run into tens of millions of dollars. A jury in January awarded nearly $17 million in damages to a woman who carried a 13-inch metal instrument in her abdomen for two months following a 2019 surgery at Presbyterian Hospital. The verdict included $15 million in punitive damages against Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the state's largest health care system.A botched hernia surgery resulted in a $68 million jury award in 2023 against Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital in Gallup, including $50 million in punitive damages. The hospital appealed the verdict in June, and the case was settled in November for an undisclosed amount. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coates said he believes that would be an "unconstitutional taking" by the state of what a jury has concluded should be awarded to an injured plaintiff or their representative. "The unifying theme of all three components of the bill is to ensure that patients are made whole and also improve the health care system," said Fred Nathan, executive director of Think New Mexico. Three other states Pennsylvania, Alaska and Oregon use a portion of punitive damages for public purposes and none of those laws have been successfully challenged, Nathan said. "Punitive damages would not be limited, but if they are awarded, they would be largely put into a public fund rather than going to the law firm," he said. LANSING, Mich.(WLNS)The lawyer of a teenager charged for threatening another school shooting at Michigan State University says he wants the case dismissed. Prosecutors say Michigan State University Student Hope Duncan made a post to social media, saying there is going to be another school shooting at the school. The authorities arrested the 18-year-old, and prosecutors charged her with False Report or Threat of Terrorism and Using a Computer to Commit a Crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duncans lawyer, Mike Nichols, says that last week, the Michigan Court of Appeals declared that a False Report or Threat of Terrorism is unconstitutional. Count one dies because the statutes are not constitutional, said Nichols. Count two dies with it. The case never shouldve been brought like this. Nichols says what Duncan posted online was inappropriate, but it wasnt illegal. He says the recent appeals court decision in Michigan V. Michael Joseph Kvasnicka declared one of her charges unconstitutional. The way it was drafted, it covers too much language that would otherwise be protected by the First Amendment, said Nichols. and thats exactly what this was from what I can tell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nichols says he heard about the case from a law clerk and contacted Duncan. Shes a political science major, who was thinking about maybe becoming a lawyer or getting into public service, said Nichols. Shes a really good kid, and her parents are going through hell needlessly. He says Duncan was going through something mentally and that after she posted bond, the judge made her wear an ankle monitor. Nichols believes that was unfair. It basically tracks your whereabouts, and you cant go certain places as a condition of bond, and it should only be used in really serious cases like where there are allegations of someone who is a rampant sex offender or a threat to somebody, said Nichols. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duncans threat comes just a few weeks after the second anniversary of the MSU shooting that took the lives of three students. Nichols says he sympathizes with the situation. I get it. Weve got that, you know, were three years removed from the shooting on campus where young people died, and other young people had their lives forever changed, but this is going way too far, said Nichols. Way too far, and the charges need to be dismissed. Nichols says that Duncan was kicked out of school in the middle of her second semester. Prosecutors charged her on Friday, and a judge set her bond at $20,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. NEW YORK (PIX11) A special leadership summit, focusing on empowering current and future leaders to thrive and collaborate to meet their full potential in business, was held on Friday at the Metropolitan College of New York. Students got a chance to rub elbows with leaders from the finance world to healthcare, to top CEOs from corporate America and academia. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Hamilton Raymond, the colleges vice president, and Jarvis Harper were both in attendance. Raymond, Harpers mentor, called him a rising star. Last month, Metropolitan College of New York President Dr. Charles Gibbs was on Monica Makes It Happen to unveil a partnership with New York City, to help city workers get free college tuition. More Local News In addition, 70-year-old Margie Gonzalez, from the Upper West Side, started an exercise class in what used to be a storage room last September. She only had three pieces of equipment then. Shes now started a new class called Sit to be Fit, which helps circulation for older New Yorkers. Gonzalez hosts three hours of exercise programs a day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: John McMurtrie Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has released a lengthy statement outlining his position on Artificial Intelligence's impact on music and the arts. Page, 81, released his comments as the UK Government brings a public consultation on the Data (Use and Access) Bill to a close. The UK Government is proposing an opt-out system that its says would allow Artificial Intelligence (AI) to use existing music as part of its learning process unless artists elect not to have their work made available for that purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Page says the opt-out system is unworkable and would allow AI to exploit artists without proper compensation. Page, who recalls his days as a session musician in making his statement, says: "Today, as artificial intelligence seeks to mimic and monetise creativity, we stand at a crossroads. AI-generated art and music, synthesised from existing human works, lack the visceral essence that comes from lived experience. They are but hollow echoes, devoid of the struggles, triumphs, and soul that define true artistry. "Moreover, the ethical implications are profound. When AI scrapes the vast tapestry of human creativity to generate content, it often does so without consent, attribution, or compensation. This is not innovation; it's exploitation. "If, during my session days, someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We must champion policies that protect artists, ensuring that their work isn't siphoned off into the void of machine learning without due regard. Let us celebrate and preserve the human touch in art the imperfections, the emotions, the stories behind every note and cadence." He goes on to call for people to ensure human creativity is protected against the UK Government's preferred system, which he describes as "a sham". He adds: "In defending the sanctity of human creativity against the encroachment of AI, we safeguard not just the rights of artists, but the very soul of our cultural heritage. Yet, today, the UK government is proposing changes that would strip creators of this protection. Under the Data (Use and Access) Bill, AI companies would be allowed to take works, past and future, and use them as training data without consent or payment. "These models digest vast amounts of human-created content and then generate imitations, bypassing the rights of the original creators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The government's proposed 'opt-out' system the idea that artists will always be in a position to preemptively reserve their rights is a sham. It is technically impossible for artists to opt out. The government's consultation ends today, but we should be clear: this is not regulation; it is a free pass for AI to exploit creativity without consequence. "We must push for legislation that ensures AI cannot monetise human creativity without explicit consent and fair compensation. The government's preferred option in its current consultation does not do that. "Music is not a product of data. It is an evocation, a defiance of logic, a collision of time and place and soul. If we allow AI to co-opt the heart of human creativity, we are not ushering in a bold new era we are signing the death warrant of originality itself. "The choice is ours. Will we let the machines take the stage, or will we fight for the irreplaceable magic of human artistry?" The full statement can be read below. To the editor: How can Republicans sleep at night? How do they explain to their children that they watch as the Trump administration took bread from the mouths of the hungry and medicine from the dying by cutting the U.S. Agency for International Development? ("We may all regret dismantling USAID," Feb. 22) And it isn't just USAID. Don't we want our grandchildren to breathe clean air and be safe from storms fueled by climate change? Don't we all want to protect our healthcare and education systems? Who voted for Elon Musk to seize our private personal information and fire people? How can we allow an unhinged, heartless bully into the cockpit of our country when he plans to crash it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seizing the Panama Canal, Greenland and Gaza? Really? I am a grandmother who remembers marching for peace, civil rights and women's rights. We cheered with hope when the disgraced President Richard Nixon flew off in that helicopter and the good guys won. Resist this madness before the unhinged, heartless bully shreds our Constitution and our future. Keep the faith. Democracy will prevail. Joy Hamlat, Oxnard .. To the editor: America voted for change last November (by a small margin hardly a mandate), but not at a billionaire's whim. Congress should decide how we spend our money, but instead, casual cruelty has replaced debate and accountability. No matter who signs the order or sends the emails, no one should be allowed to disappear an agency such as USAID over a weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At under 1% of the federal budget, the highly skilled and dedicated USAID team at home and abroad has saved lives, prevented wars and helped America's farmers. USAID is not the problem. But Trump and his billionaire advisers have to find scapegoats to hide their self-serving priorities. Its not about waste. Its about how they can get more money and power. They dont care about the rest of us. Congress must protect USAID and the way we make decisions. Resist the billionaires. Reject appeasement every step of the way. Mary Malhotra, La Canada Flintridge This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. To the editor: Mayor Karen Bass traveled to Ghana to attend the inauguration of that nation's new president on Jan. 4, a day after the National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for Los Angeles. She landed in Africa on Jan. 5., and later that day, the weather service issued a red-flag warning. ("Former L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley appeals her dismissal by Mayor Karen Bass," Feb. 27) Warnings escalated several times on Jan 6., becoming a "particularly dangerous situation" by the late afternoon in Los Angeles. The inauguration ceremony in Ghana began on Jan. 7, around 2 a.m. Pacific time. A few hours later, around 10:30 a.m. in L.A., the Palisades Fire broke out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Social media photos showed Bass posing for photographs at a reception hosted by the U.S. ambassador to Ghana at around noon L.A. time, an hour and a half after the fire began. This is the same leader who criticized the fire chief for failing to act properly, a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. The chief's firing seems like an attempt to focus the problem on her and away from the mayor's failure to act in a more appropriate manner. Barry S. Rubin, Beverly Hills .. To the editor: During the Palisades fire, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told the media that the city had underfunded the LAFD, in effect laying the blame for the poor fire response at the feet of the mayor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe Bass showed great restraint in not terminating Crowley then and there. Later, a report in the L.A. Times made clear how the chief's inaction before the Palisades fire might have allowed it to become so very destructive. I believe Bass was correct to terminate Crowley. Mark Hollingsworth, Los Angeles This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Penn State trustees continue to retaliate On Feb. 27 the Penn State board of trustees nominating subcommittee reviewed the qualifications of candidates seeking approval to be on the ballot in the upcoming alumni trustee election. Candidate approval by the nominating subcommittee is required by the revised and controversial July 2024 bylaws. For the first time ever, a candidate was disapproved incumbent Barry Fenchak. This, of course, is no surprise. Our board has censured Barry, discontinued his social privileges and planned a vote to expel him only to have Centre County Judge Brian Marshall censure our board for obvious retaliation. Judge Brian Marshall said, Allowing his removal would recast a shadow over the financial operations of the defendants to the detriment of every Penn State stakeholder except those at the very top of PSUs hierarchy. In the same court order, Marshall said, The Court has been presented with credible and, in many instances uncontroverted, evidence that Plaintiff (Barry) has been the subject to ongoing incidents of retaliation by Defendants ... The boards hubris in denying a ballot position for incumbent Fenchak wreaks of further retaliation. Is our board so clueless and arrogant to ignore the gist of the judges ruling? What is so disheartening is that no one has worked harder than Barry to address our obvious budget woes ($100 million budget deficits, potential campus closures) and declining prestige (ranked last in Big 10 and 184/206 in U.S. News Best Value Universities.) Fenchak has consistently sought data and asked questions about financial and academic matters: a true disruptor challenging the status quo. Given our universitys woes, we need more Barrys, not fewer. Al Soyster, Boalsburg USAID must be protected The decision to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) poses a significant threat to both Penn State and global agricultural progress. USAID has been instrumental in funding critical research at Penn State, fostering innovations that have far-reaching impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, USAID awarded Penn State up to $39 million to establish the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current and Emerging Threats to Crops. This lab has been pivotal in developing strategies to combat crop diseases and pests, directly benefiting farmers worldwide and enhancing global food security. Additionally, USAIDs support enabled Penn State researchers to develop climate-resilient bean varieties, crucial for smallholder farmers facing challenges like drought and heat. These advancements not only aid global agriculture but also contribute to the universitys research excellence. The cessation of USAID funding has already led to the closure of numerous agricultural research labs across the United States, including those at land-grant universities. This halt disrupts essential research, undermines international collaborations, and threatens the livelihoods of countless individuals dependent on these initiatives. Dismantling USAID not only jeopardizes these critical projects but also diminishes Americas leadership in global development and humanitarian efforts. The loss of such an institution erodes international trust and compromises decades of progress in addressing global challenges. I urge our community and policymakers to recognize the invaluable contributions of USAID and advocate for its preservation. We must counter misinformation and protect this cornerstone of American innovation and compassion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniel Foster, State College Cuts wont help health goals Attention RFK, Jr.: You have announced that one of your goals as Secretary of Health is to evaluate and tackle chronic health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. I support those immensely difficult goals. The next time you talk with Co-President Musk and his DOGE teams, tell him you cant begin to accomplish those goals when he cuts FDA and NIH research funding to the bone, to strip away the very backbone of the research needed to work on these issues. Leigh Wheeler, State College McCormicks words dont match his behavior What happened to Senator Dave McCormick? The man who campaigned by trumpeting his honor and integrity, honed through his education at the U.S. Military Academy and military service. The man who advocated for strong national defense. The man who claims on his website that he isnt afraid to stand up to both parties to do whats right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That Dave McCormick is missing in action. McCormicks words do not match his behavior. McCormick voted for cabinet nominees whose inexperience gravely endangers the countrys safety and security. Pete Hegseth, credibly charged with financial mismanagement, and sexual and alcohol abuse, lacks the qualifications and leadership experience needed for Defense Secretary. Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, has zero relevant experience and has publicly supported our enemies. McCormick says nothing about a new nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who doesnt even meet the legal requirements for the job and nothing as Trump and Hegseth fire top military officials without cause! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCormick hasnt joined the chorus of senior military officers alarmed about the firing of top judge advocates general who interpret and enforce military justice. Hes mute as Hegseth calls them roadblocks to anything that happens, setting the stage for Trump to break the law. McCormick dishonors Americas long-standing policy of supporting democracy around the world. Hes silent as Trump capitulates to Putin, insults and extorts the elected leader of Ukraine, and turns his back on our European allies. Senator McCormick, thats sycophancy, not honor and integrity. Ed Satalia, State College This story is part of our weekly Hidden Gems feature series as the USA TODAY Network-Florida takes readers around the state to highlight some of our most interesting attractions. In a rural stretch of western Volusia County, drivers can see a metal menagerie near the U.S. 17 and State Road 40 intersection such as a (much) larger-than-life rooster sculpture or a 19-foot-tall metal giraffe standing near the road. Quirky sculptures are one of the main attractions at the Barberville Yard Art Emporium, a business that's not your typical outdoor decor shop. While in the area, history lovers could also stop by the Barberville Pioneer Settlement which is just down the road. The nonprofit museum features a wide range of buildings and displays that highlight "life in rural Florida in the bygone days of the late 19th and early 20th centuries," according to the attraction. Where is it? The Barberville Yard Art Emporium is at 140 FL-40, Pierson, FL 32180. It's in northwest Volusia County, about 25 miles west of Daytona Beach. What is the Barberville Yard Art Emporium? Shoppers walk underneath a giraffe sculpture as they enter the Barberville Yard Art Emporium on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The business describes itself as a place to shop for "one-of-a-kind lawn ornaments," including sculptures of horses, cattle, eagles, chickens, lions and zebras and some fantasy items, too, such as alien sculptures and bigfoot. The collection includes recycled cast aluminum creations, wrought iron and steel pieces and ceramics from Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our recycled cast aluminum yard art has been melted down and poured into molds that retain some imperfections, allowing the statues to have character and appear aged, which is the preferred look," according to the business. The crew hand paints aluminum pieces on site and offers custom orders. The inventory also includes teakwood creations "directly from the Indonesian jungle" that are "all hand carved out of stumps, branches and even roots." What is there to do at Barberville Yard Art Emporium? Look around. It's more like visiting a fun museum than visiting a regular store. Why should I go? It's a good stop for people who are looking for something to spice up their yard or who just want to discover a unique place in Central Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Visitors won't have to worry about toting their huge bear sculpture home, either. The business delivers around the state via "a zany giraffe box truck." While people can shop from afar, it's better to go in person, according to the website: "Our emporium is better enjoyed in person, since we offer a huge amount of one-of-a-kind handmade yard art, mostly custom painted on-premises, and therefore impractical to showcase on our website. Most of our inventory cant even be duplicated. Its our passion to offer you handmade, unique, (colorful) creations to uplift your spirit as well as your home!" When should I go? An alien and a mermaid lawn sculpture stand near each other at the Barberville Yard Art Emporium on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 . For people who are temperature or sun-sensitive, it's best to go when the weather's nice or to avoid the middle of the day. Many items are in unshaded areas. When is it open? A knight, ant and dinosaur sculpture stand near each other at the Barberville Yard Art Emporium on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check with the store for holiday hours. Where do I learn more? Go to barbervilleroadside.com, call 386-749-3562, or email info@barbervilleyardartemporium.com. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Barberville Yard Art Emporium is a whimsical stop in Central Florida Lithuania has reaffirmed its support for Ukraine in the defence sector, investing 20 million in the development of Ukraine's defence industry and initiating the creation of joint weapons production facilities. Source: press service for Lithuania's Ministry of Defence Details: The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence has expressed its intention to continue actively supporting Kyiv by investing in Ukraines defence industry. Dovile Sakaliene, Lithuanias Minister of National Defence, stressed the significant potential of the Ukrainian defence industry to become a key player in the global market, citing the high level of experience and motivation among Ukrainian engineers, as well as the determination and strategic thinking of decision-makers in the sector. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Lithuania will continue investing in the Ukrainian defence industry, procuring from Ukraine for Ukraine. We've allocated 20 million for this purpose and the amount will keep growing. However, we aim for even closer cooperation the development of joint Lithuanian-Ukrainian arms production both in Lithuania and Ukraine," said Sakaliene. The specific types of weapons covered by the agreement have not been disclosed for security reasons. In the coming weeks, Lithuania and Ukraine will hold joint meetings in Lithuania to discuss the implementation of the agreement and the next steps in developing cooperation in the defence sector. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Check here for live updates on the wildfires going on in Carolina Forest and other areas of the Grand Strand and Pee Dee. 11:45 A.M. MONDAY Horry County is under an air quality alert from the National Weather Service. It will be in effect until further notice. The alert says fine particulate concentrations within Horry County, particularly near Carolina Forest, may approach or exceed unhealthy standards due to local wildfire smoke in the Myrtle Beach area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with respiratory issues is advised to limit their time outdoors. Graphic courtesy National Weather Service 11:40 A.M. MONDAY The president of the Carolina Forest Homeowners Association credits the incredible work of first responders for ensuring that no lives or homes have been lost during the wildfires. Over the last 2 days, there have been many images of our beloved Carolina Forest out there with flames, smoke, and ash; but the real story is one of a community coming together, Vinny Napolitano said. Our first responders did an amazing job keeping our residents safe and informed. All residents are now home, and not a single structure or life was lost. And our community has jumped into action in every direction to support our neighbors and first responders by donating food, water, money, and prayers. Its been an exhausting 48 hours, but Carolina Forest has shown its strength, heart, and sense of community. 11:35 A.M. MONDAY Conway Medical Center has not treated any patients with medical emergencies related to the wildfires, a spokesperson told News13 in an email. 11:10 A.M. MONDAY As of about 10:40 a.m., more than a dozen fire departments were assisting Horry County Fire Rescue in battling the fire. Those include Williamsburg County, North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Dillon County, Lugoff, Marion County, Johnsonville, Howe Springs, Sandridge, Calabash, Tabor City, Olanta, Hannah-Salem Friendfield, Sardis-Timmonsville, Goose Creek, Florence, Surfside Beach, Wilmington, and Columbus County. 10:10 A.M. MONDAY The American Red Cross shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center is now closed, Horry County officials said. The facility will be used for wildfire response operations for public safety agencies in the meantime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The after-school program, typically held at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center, will be held at the Carolina Forest Senior Center, located next to the Carolina Forest library. All other programs are canceled. Residents still in need of assistance may call the American Red Cross at 843-477-0020. Athletic directors and coaches for Horry County Schools will adjust to indoor practices as needed throughout the week based on air quality concerns, Horry County Schools spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said. She also said that schools across the county will monitor the air quality based on the direction of the windy and adjust recess and outdoor activities as needed. 9:10 A.M. MONDAY Regional and state fire rescue crews are actively working the Carolina Forest-area wildfire incident, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heavy smoke is still in the area, with very low visibility along Highway 501 and Highway 31 to Water Tower Road, HCFR said. International Drive is closed to traffic, with fire gates down approximately a mile from Highway 90 and about one mile west of Ocean Bay Elementary School. The road will be closed until further notice, according to HCFR. The South Carolina Forestry Commission will continue to provide assistance with airplane water drops, plows, and strengthening and cutting lines as crews work towards containment. There are two additional helicopter resources that are dropping water as well. HCFR crews are conducting flying reconnaissance with drones, as well as on-site visual reconnaissance with supervisors to aid in response strategy. 6 A.M. MONDAY Heavy, low-hanging smoke will impact the morning commute for the Myrtle Beach area, according to the National Weather Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drivers should expect slow travel with limited visibility. It is advised to keep plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you, drive slowly and use your headlights. Visibility should improve around 9 a.m., the National Weather Service said. Horry County Fire Rescue asks drivers to avoid the general Carolina Forest Boulevard area due to lots of public safety vehicles on the move. Courtesy SCDOT Courtesy SCDOT Courtesy SCDOT News13 has reached out to Horry County Schools about how the Monday air quality will impact regular outdoor school activities. We are waiting to hear back from officials on what action may be taken. 10:40 P.M. Crews continued making progress toward containing one of two Carolina Forest area wildfires that burned roughly 2,000 acres over the weekend. The smaller of the two the Blackthorn Drive Fire is 100% contained, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission. 6 P.M. Horry County Schools will run on a regular schedule Monday based on re-entry protocols into several Carolina Forest neighborhoods, district officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We recognize that many students, their families and staff may still be affected by the wildfires. We are committed to being flexible and working with each individual on a case-by-case basis tomorrow, spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said. If you or your family are experiencing challenges due to the fires, we encourage you to reach out to your school to discuss your specific circumstances and needs. Bourcier said the district is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with county emergency management officials. 5:30 P.M. The Covington Lane wildfire grew to more than 1,600 acres and was 30% contained by 5:30 p.m., the state Forestry Commission reported on its official tracking site. Thats up from the 1,200 acres that officials were estimating through much of Sunday. 4:30 P.M. Horry County officials lifted evacuation orders for residents in seven Carolina Forest neighborhoods who were forced out of their homes. Law enforcement checkpoints are in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People who dont live in the impacted communities are asked to stay away so residents can safely return to their homes. The Red Cross of South Carolina said it was keeping its shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center open overnight. 4:20 P.M. Coastal Carolina University is not planning to change campus operations because of the Carolina Forest area wildfires. School officials say they were notified by Horry County that the fires do not pose a threat to the campus. Students and faculty members impacted by the fires and evacuations should work with their professors or supervisors to account for absences from in-person obligations during the next several days. 3:45 P.M. Despite nearly 2,000 acres burning in Horry County, officials say nobody has been injured or killed, and no structures have been lost, State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said in a Facebook post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McGinnis said he spoke with County Administrator Barry Spivey and emergency management director Randy Webster. They say where the fire is burning closer to the Walkers Woods subdivision is the portion thats giving them the most trouble right now, McGinnis said. 3:30 P.M. The South Carolina National Guards 59th Aviation Troop Command deployed two Black Hawk helicopters capable of carrying 600 gallons of water at a time to support local and state agencies. Photo courtesy of South Carolina National Guard 3:15 P.M. Crews are making progress toward containing one of two Carolina Forest area wildfires that have covered roughly 2,000 acres. The smaller of the two the Blackthorn Drive Fire is 80% contained, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission. It has covered about 800 acres. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The larger Covington Drive Fire, which has covered about 1,200 acres, remains uncontained, officials said. Evacuations are still in place for Indigo Bay Farm, Summerlyn, Spring Lake, Covington Lakes, Waterford, Walkers Woods and Avalon neighborhoods. Statewide there were 108 wildfire ignitions on Saturday, most of which have been effectively contained. With a statewide burn ban in place, there have been fewer than 10 new fire on Sunday. 3 P.M. Smoke from the Carolina Forest wildfires does not appear to be affecting flights in or out of Myrtle Beach International Airport. There are no cancellations showing on the airports website and nearly all flights through midnight are listed as on-time. 2:40 P.M. Horry County authorities and the American Red Cross are continuing to provide food and shelter to evacuees at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center. Pets are allowed at the center but unless its a trained service animal, it must remain in a crate or carrier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One evacuee told News13 about her experience. I had my brother call me and tell me to look out the back window, Penny McEntire said. Hes at the end of the street, where The Reserve is. That was all burning. I no more than hung up from him when I got a police officer knocking on my door, saying we have to evacuate. So, Ive been here since about 3:00 this morning. The Red Cross is also accepting donations to help those affected by the fires, while also providing some basic care items. The organization also has mental-health counselors on call. People can download the Red Cross Emergency app, spokesman Michael Hesbach said. Theres a map, and theres a pin on that map, right now, that shows the location of this shelter, if youre not familiar with it. That app will also give geographic-specific warnings as well, should there be any in the area. 2:30 P.M. Photo: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Photo: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources State Department of Natural Resources director Tom Mullikin and other top officials visit Lewis Ocean Bay Preserve in Horry County to assess fire damage and help secure local roadways. 1:45 P.M. The South Carolina Forest Commission shows 15 wildfire incidents in Horry County from the Green Sea area south to Carolina Forest. News13 video / Kate Blazo Photo courtesy of city of North Myrtle Beach Helicopters and air tankers continue to drop water as hundreds of firefighters from dozens of agencies work on the ground to bring the massive fires in the Carolina Forest areas under control. All but the two in the Carolina Forest area appear to be 100% contained. Those are the biggest 1,200 acres and 300 acres and the website shows zero containment. 11:50 A.M. Gov. Henry McMaster has issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency to support South Carolinas ongoing response to wildfires burning across the state. The order enhances ongoing emergency response efforts as firefighters work to contain the wildfires affecting the Grand Strand and other regions. His order also continues a statewide ban on outdoor burning until further notice. According to the State Fire Marshal, authorities are fighting more than 175 wildfires, impacting 4,200 acres across the state, including Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union, and Pickens counties. 10:30 A.M. Dozens of fire agencies from across the Carolinas have joined Horry County crews as they work against the sweeping Carolina Forest wildfire, including: Williamsburg County Fire Department North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue Myrtle Beach Fire Department Conway Fire Department Dillon County Fire Department Lugoff Fire Department Marion City Fire Department Johnsonville Fire Department Howe Springs Fire Rescue Sandridge Volunteer Fire Department Calabash Fire Department Tabor City Fire Department Olanta Fire Department Hannah-Salem Friendfield Fire District Sardis-Timmonsville Fire Department Goose Creek Fire Department Florence City Fire Department Surfside Beach Fire Department Wilmington Fire Department Columbus County Fire Department 10 A.M. Firefighters work in the Walkers Woods neighborhood inside Carolina Forest on Sunday, March 2. Photo / Skylar Musick More than 50 people have checked into a Red Cross shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center as state Forestry Commission officials estimate the wildfire to be at least 1,200 acres. Seven Carolina Forest neighborhoods have seen evacuations, most recently in Spring Lake and Waterford. Horry County officials said theres still no timeline for re-entry. 9:30 A.M. Aerial assets from multiple state agencies are arriving in Horry County to help put out hotspots around the Carolina Forest area, lawmakers said. Horry County officials work in the Emergency Operations Center in Conway on Sunday. Photo / Horry County Emergency Management Air assets from State Agencies (South Carolina Forestry Commission and the Department of Natural Resources) will soon be deployed in an effort to tamp down remaining hot spots in the Carolina Forest area affected by the wildfires, state Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Conway, posted to his Facebook page Sunday morning. State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said on his Facebook page that forestry officials told him Blackhawk helicopters are among the aircraft coming in. 8:45 A.M. Heres a map from the South Carolina Forest Commission showing the active wildfires across the state. 7:35 A.M. Fire resources from the Pee Dee are assisting with the Carolina Forest wildfire. Howe Springs Fire Rescue said Florence County has four engines, three tankers, three brush trucks and 28 personnel working the fire. 7:20 A.M. Evacuations in the Carolina Forest area expanded quickly early Sunday morning as a wildfire grew to 1,200 acres. Around 6 a.m., Horry County officials said evacuations were underway at the intersections of Spring Lake Drive, including Pennyroyal Court, Alyssum Court and Bluebonnet Court as well as Harvest Drive from Moonbeam Court to Tidelands Court in the Spring Lake community. Around 4:45 a.m., Horry County officials announced that public safety personnel were evacuating Covington Drive from Summerhill Drive to the community center in the Covington Lakes neighborhood, with nearby structures threatened. Evacuees are told to go to the Carolina Forest Recreation Center. Others are asked to avoid the area and leave roadways open for first responders. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Check here for live updates on the wildfires going on in Carolina Forest and other areas of the Grand Strand and Pee Dee. 8 P.M. MONDAY As of 8 p.m., the Covington Drive fire grew to more than 2,000 acres but remained at 30% containment, state Forestry Commission officials said. In addition, 10 new wildfires sparked throughout the day, though all were brought under control. 6:10 P.M. MONDAY Myrtle Beachs youth baseball and softball practices have been canceled for Monday due to air quality. A Facebook post from the citys parks, recreation and sports tourism department said it would continue to monitor reports to decide when to resume. 4:05 P.M. MONDAY Two South Carolina National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk teams are conducting wildfire suppression missions Monday to help the state Forestry Commission and state Department of Natural Resources. Authorities also mobilized a CH-47 Chinook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state National Guard has delivered nearly 60,000 gallons of water over 18 flight hours. Photo: SC National Guard / X Photo: SC National Guard / X 3:35 P.M. MONDAY An Horry County fire official says the Covington Drive Fire in Carolina Forest, which has covered 1,600 acres and is 30% contained, was initially reported Saturday afternoon as a small fire in someones backyard. The fire was first called in to dispatchers at 2:39 p.m. In addition, a South Carolina Forest official told News13 Monday afternoon that a prescribed burn in the area last week was a totally separate incident and not connected to the fire that started Saturday afternoon. The Forestry Commission will lead the investigation to determine the official cause of the fire. Click here to read the full story. 1:20 P.M. MONDAY No cause for the Covington Drive fire is known yet, the South Carolina Forestry Commission told News13 on Monday. The commission did say, however, that an investigation will be conducted as with every fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News13 has asked Horry County Fire Rescue about a possible cause, but we have not heard back as of about 1:20 p.m. 1:15 P.M. MONDAY Horry County public information officers will be available between 3 and 4 p.m. for a wildfire-related Q&A. News13s Annette Peagler and Edward Moody will attend. Officials also said Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner and public safety director Randy Webster will speak to wildfire operations at the councils 6 p.m. meeting on Tuesday. 11:45 A.M. MONDAY Horry County is under an air quality alert from the National Weather Service. It will be in effect until further notice. The alert says fine particulate concentrations within Horry County, particularly near Carolina Forest, may approach or exceed unhealthy standards due to local wildfire smoke in the Myrtle Beach area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with respiratory issues is advised to limit their time outdoors. Graphic courtesy National Weather Service 11:40 A.M. MONDAY The president of the Carolina Forest Homeowners Association credits the incredible work of first responders for ensuring that no lives or homes have been lost during the wildfires. Over the last 2 days, there have been many images of our beloved Carolina Forest out there with flames, smoke, and ash; but the real story is one of a community coming together, Vinny Napolitano said. Our first responders did an amazing job keeping our residents safe and informed. All residents are now home, and not a single structure or life was lost. And our community has jumped into action in every direction to support our neighbors and first responders by donating food, water, money, and prayers. Its been an exhausting 48 hours, but Carolina Forest has shown its strength, heart, and sense of community. 11:35 A.M. MONDAY Conway Medical Center has not treated any patients with medical emergencies related to the wildfires, a spokesperson told News13 in an email. 11:10 A.M. MONDAY As of about 10:40 a.m., more than a dozen fire departments were assisting Horry County Fire Rescue in battling the fire. Those include Williamsburg County, North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Dillon County, Lugoff, Marion County, Johnsonville, Howe Springs, Sandridge, Calabash, Tabor City, Olanta, Hannah-Salem Friendfield, Sardis-Timmonsville, Goose Creek, Florence, Surfside Beach, Wilmington, and Columbus County. 10:10 A.M. MONDAY The American Red Cross shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center is now closed, Horry County officials said. The facility will be used for wildfire response operations for public safety agencies in the meantime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The after-school program, typically held at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center, will be held at the Carolina Forest Senior Center, located next to the Carolina Forest library. All other programs are canceled. Residents still in need of assistance may call the American Red Cross at 843-477-0020. Athletic directors and coaches for Horry County Schools will adjust to indoor practices as needed throughout the week based on air quality concerns, Horry County Schools spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said. She also said that schools across the county will monitor the air quality based on the direction of the windy and adjust recess and outdoor activities as needed. 9:10 A.M. MONDAY Regional and state fire rescue crews are actively working the Carolina Forest-area wildfire incident, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heavy smoke is still in the area, with very low visibility along Highway 501 and Highway 31 to Water Tower Road, HCFR said. International Drive is closed to traffic, with fire gates down approximately a mile from Highway 90 and about one mile west of Ocean Bay Elementary School. The road will be closed until further notice, according to HCFR. The South Carolina Forestry Commission will continue to provide assistance with airplane water drops, plows, and strengthening and cutting lines as crews work towards containment. There are two additional helicopter resources that are dropping water as well. HCFR crews are conducting flying reconnaissance with drones, as well as on-site visual reconnaissance with supervisors to aid in response strategy. 6 A.M. MONDAY Heavy, low-hanging smoke will impact the morning commute for the Myrtle Beach area, according to the National Weather Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drivers should expect slow travel with limited visibility. It is advised to keep plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you, drive slowly and use your headlights. Visibility should improve around 9 a.m., the National Weather Service said. Horry County Fire Rescue asks drivers to avoid the general Carolina Forest Boulevard area due to lots of public safety vehicles on the move. Courtesy SCDOT Courtesy SCDOT Courtesy SCDOT News13 has reached out to Horry County Schools about how the Monday air quality will impact regular outdoor school activities. We are waiting to hear back from officials on what action may be taken. 10:40 P.M. SUNDAY Crews continued making progress toward containing one of two Carolina Forest area wildfires that burned roughly 2,000 acres over the weekend. The smaller of the two the Blackthorn Drive Fire is 100% contained, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission. 6 P.M. SUNDAY Horry County Schools will run on a regular schedule Monday based on re-entry protocols into several Carolina Forest neighborhoods, district officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We recognize that many students, their families and staff may still be affected by the wildfires. We are committed to being flexible and working with each individual on a case-by-case basis tomorrow, spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said. If you or your family are experiencing challenges due to the fires, we encourage you to reach out to your school to discuss your specific circumstances and needs. Bourcier said the district is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with county emergency management officials. 5:30 P.M. SUNDAY The Covington Lane wildfire grew to more than 1,600 acres and was 30% contained by 5:30 p.m., the state Forestry Commission reported on its official tracking site. Thats up from the 1,200 acres that officials were estimating through much of Sunday. 4:30 P.M. SUNDAY Horry County officials lifted evacuation orders for residents in seven Carolina Forest neighborhoods who were forced out of their homes. Law enforcement checkpoints are in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People who dont live in the impacted communities are asked to stay away so residents can safely return to their homes. The Red Cross of South Carolina said it was keeping its shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center open overnight. 4:20 P.M. SUNDAY Coastal Carolina University is not planning to change campus operations because of the Carolina Forest area wildfires. School officials say they were notified by Horry County that the fires do not pose a threat to the campus. Students and faculty members impacted by the fires and evacuations should work with their professors or supervisors to account for absences from in-person obligations during the next several days. 3:45 P.M. SUNDAY Despite nearly 2,000 acres burning in Horry County, officials say nobody has been injured or killed, and no structures have been lost, State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said in a Facebook post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McGinnis said he spoke with County Administrator Barry Spivey and emergency management director Randy Webster. They say where the fire is burning closer to the Walkers Woods subdivision is the portion thats giving them the most trouble right now, McGinnis said. 3:30 P.M. SUNDAY The South Carolina National Guards 59th Aviation Troop Command deployed two Black Hawk helicopters capable of carrying 600 gallons of water at a time to support local and state agencies. Photo courtesy of South Carolina National Guard 3:15 P.M. SUNDAY Crews are making progress toward containing one of two Carolina Forest area wildfires that have covered roughly 2,000 acres. The smaller of the two the Blackthorn Drive Fire is 80% contained, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission. It has covered about 800 acres. The larger Covington Drive Fire, which has covered about 1,200 acres, remains uncontained, officials said. Evacuations are still in place for Indigo Bay Farm, Summerlyn, Spring Lake, Covington Lakes, Waterford, Walkers Woods and Avalon neighborhoods. Statewide there were 108 wildfire ignitions on Saturday, most of which have been effectively contained. With a statewide burn ban in place, there have been fewer than 10 new fire on Sunday. 3 P.M. SUNDAY Smoke from the Carolina Forest wildfires does not appear to be affecting flights in or out of Myrtle Beach International Airport. There are no cancellations showing on the airports website and nearly all flights through midnight are listed as on-time. 2:40 P.M. SUNDAY Horry County authorities and the American Red Cross are continuing to provide food and shelter to evacuees at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center. Pets are allowed at the center but unless its a trained service animal, it must remain in a crate or carrier. One evacuee told News13 about her experience. I had my brother call me and tell me to look out the back window, Penny McEntire said. Hes at the end of the street, where The Reserve is. That was all burning. I no more than hung up from him when I got a police officer knocking on my door, saying we have to evacuate. So, Ive been here since about 3:00 this morning. The Red Cross is also accepting donations to help those affected by the fires, while also providing some basic care items. The organization also has mental-health counselors on call. People can download the Red Cross Emergency app, spokesman Michael Hesbach said. Theres a map, and theres a pin on that map, right now, that shows the location of this shelter, if youre not familiar with it. That app will also give geographic-specific warnings as well, should there be any in the area. 2:30 P.M. SUNDAY Photo: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Photo: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources State Department of Natural Resources director Tom Mullikin and other top officials visit Lewis Ocean Bay Preserve in Horry County to assess fire damage and help secure local roadways. 1:45 P.M. SUNDAY The South Carolina Forest Commission shows 15 wildfire incidents in Horry County from the Green Sea area south to Carolina Forest. News13 video / Kate Blazo Photo courtesy of city of North Myrtle Beach Helicopters and air tankers continue to drop water as hundreds of firefighters from dozens of agencies work on the ground to bring the massive fires in the Carolina Forest areas under control. All but the two in the Carolina Forest area appear to be 100% contained. Those are the biggest 1,200 acres and 300 acres and the website shows zero containment. 11:50 A.M. SUNDAY Gov. Henry McMaster has issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency to support South Carolinas ongoing response to wildfires burning across the state. The order enhances ongoing emergency response efforts as firefighters work to contain the wildfires affecting the Grand Strand and other regions. His order also continues a statewide ban on outdoor burning until further notice. According to the State Fire Marshal, authorities are fighting more than 175 wildfires, impacting 4,200 acres across the state, including Horry, Spartanburg, Oconee, Union, and Pickens counties. 10:30 A.M. SUNDAY Dozens of fire agencies from across the Carolinas have joined Horry County crews as they work against the sweeping Carolina Forest wildfire, including: Williamsburg County Fire Department North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue Myrtle Beach Fire Department Conway Fire Department Dillon County Fire Department Lugoff Fire Department Marion City Fire Department Johnsonville Fire Department Howe Springs Fire Rescue Sandridge Volunteer Fire Department Calabash Fire Department Tabor City Fire Department Olanta Fire Department Hannah-Salem Friendfield Fire District Sardis-Timmonsville Fire Department Goose Creek Fire Department Florence City Fire Department Surfside Beach Fire Department Wilmington Fire Department Columbus County Fire Department 10 A.M. SUNDAY Firefighters work in the Walkers Woods neighborhood inside Carolina Forest on Sunday, March 2. Photo / Skylar Musick More than 50 people have checked into a Red Cross shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center as state Forestry Commission officials estimate the wildfire to be at least 1,200 acres. Seven Carolina Forest neighborhoods have seen evacuations, most recently in Spring Lake and Waterford. Horry County officials said theres still no timeline for re-entry. 9:30 A.M. SUNDAY Aerial assets from multiple state agencies are arriving in Horry County to help put out hotspots around the Carolina Forest area, lawmakers said. Horry County officials work in the Emergency Operations Center in Conway on Sunday. Photo / Horry County Emergency Management Air assets from State Agencies (South Carolina Forestry Commission and the Department of Natural Resources) will soon be deployed in an effort to tamp down remaining hot spots in the Carolina Forest area affected by the wildfires, state Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Conway, posted to his Facebook page Sunday morning. State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said on his Facebook page that forestry officials told him Blackhawk helicopters are among the aircraft coming in. 8:45 A.M. SUNDAY Heres a map from the South Carolina Forest Commission showing the active wildfires across the state. 7:35 A.M. SUNDAY Fire resources from the Pee Dee are assisting with the Carolina Forest wildfire. Howe Springs Fire Rescue said Florence County has four engines, three tankers, three brush trucks and 28 personnel working the fire. 7:20 A.M. SUNDAY Evacuations in the Carolina Forest area expanded quickly early Sunday morning as a wildfire grew to 1,200 acres. Around 6 a.m., Horry County officials said evacuations were underway at the intersections of Spring Lake Drive, including Pennyroyal Court, Alyssum Court and Bluebonnet Court as well as Harvest Drive from Moonbeam Court to Tidelands Court in the Spring Lake community. Around 4:45 a.m., Horry County officials announced that public safety personnel were evacuating Covington Drive from Summerhill Drive to the community center in the Covington Lakes neighborhood, with nearby structures threatened. Evacuees are told to go to the Carolina Forest Recreation Center. Others are asked to avoid the area and leave roadways open for first responders. * * * Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. * * * Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. President Trumps public debacle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky halted hopes for a signed minerals agreement while dividing the world and Washington over their support for them both. Long-simmering tensions between Trump and Zelensky exploded into the open during a heated Oval Office exchange that will have ramifications for the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and all of Europe. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said to Chris Stirewalt on NewsNations The Hill Sunday that the recent heated meeting with President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Vice President Vance was not how you handle a situation if you want to be a mediator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Horsford later added that it appears that President Trump and Vice President Vance not only are abandoning Ukraine, but they are also seemingly abandoning many of our Eastern European allies. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called his vote to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in that meeting with Trump and Zelensky, a mistake in a Sunday interview with CNNs State of the Union. It was a mistake. I think a lot of us thought that Marco Rubio was going to stand up to Donald Trump on an issue like this, said Murphy. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in an NBC News Meet the Press interview that he believes someone besides Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should lead Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Sen. James Lankford (R-Olka.) said he doesnt agree with the calls from some in his party saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should step down. Some Republicans are looking to include additional cuts in the upcoming government funding bill in an effort solidify Trumps agenda. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will likely address the battle to secure the successful passage of the legislation required to prevent a government shutdown on March 14 on CNNs State of the Union and on NBCs Meet the Press. Read the full Sunday show lineup here and follow along below for todays live updates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Editors note: This story has been updated to correct timeline errors, reflect new information about Baylor College of Medicine. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) While some are visiting the Oregon Zoo in droves Saturday to get a glimpse of new baby elephant Tula-Tu, three others showed up advocating for her relocation. Free the Oregon Zoo Elephants (FOZE), a local activist group formed in 2008, recently launched a campaign to transfer the newborn elephant and her mother Rose-Tu from the zoo to an established sanctuary they claim has offered its space. Tula-Tu is Rose-Tus third baby. Her firstborn, 16-year-old Samudra, also lives at the zoo. Her second calf, Lily, passed away from a virus in 2018, just before she turned 6 years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mercy Corps warns of devastating consequences after Trump cuts 41 programs The zoos vet said theres now a special lab at Oregon State University to aid in quick diagnosis while scientists at Baylor College of Medicine are testing a new vaccine to prevent the disease. But the group said Lilys death preceded by the euthanizing of aging herd members Tusko, Rama and Packy brings them concern about the zoo breeding too quickly under the guise of conservation, when they claim the elephants are dying of preventable diseases. Activists with Free the Oregon Zoo Elephants stand outside the Oregon Zoo, campaigning for them to release newborn elephant calf Tula-Tu and her mother Rose-Tu, Mar. 1, 2025. (KOIN) The FOZE members stood outside the zoos entrance Saturday morning, holding up signs saying Elephants suffer in zoos and Free the Oregon Zoo elephants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have a new baby here and everyones very excited about her and I can understand shes adorable, said FOZE member Courtney Scott. But shes going to grow up and be an elephant and suffer and die just like all the other elephants, like Packy did. Hard decisions: Portland city administrator unveils proposed budget amid $93 million shortfall She continued, Were encouraging this zoo, like 38 zoos have already done, to close their elephant exhibit. FOZE said they have also submitted a formal petition to the Metro Council. Asian elephants reside in India and Borneo, but theyre highly endangered. There are only about 40,000-50,000 still in existence and much of their habitat overlaps with some of the most human populated regions on earth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KOIN 6 News has reached out to the Oregon Zoo for comment but has not responded at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Heres a look at some of the events scheduled at the state Capitol for Monday, March 3, the 30th working day of the 2025 session of the South Dakota Legislature. House State Affairs at 7:30 a.m. CT in room 414 considers six bills, including whether to establish conditions a prospective condemnor must satisfy before commencing condemnation proceedings. The committee returns at 3 p.m. CT to consider four bills. Lawmakers talk about roles on new prison task force Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Committee on Appropriations at 8 a.m. CT in room 362 considers three bills including whether to suspend the tax collection allowance credit for filing returns and remitting taxes electronically. Senate State Affairs at 10 a.m. CT in room 414 considers six bills including whether to prohibit the exercise of eminent domain for a pipeline that carries carbon oxide. The committee returns at 3 p.m. CT to consider four bills. House Judiciary at 10 a.m. CT in room 413 considers five bills including whether to revise presumptive probation. Other committees meeting Monday include Senate Health and Human Services, House Committee on Appropriations, Senate Local Government, House Commerce and Energy, and Joint Committee on Appropriations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate and the House of Representatives convene their general floor sessions at 2 p.m. CT. The Senate debate calendar has two Senate bills and five House bills, along with two possible 2026 ballot measures. The House debate calendar has one House bill and five Senate bills. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Heres a first look at meetings of our South Dakota state governments boards and commissions, as well as the 2025 legislative session, that are open to the public during the new week starting Monday, March 3, 2025. Click on the name (highlighted in blue) for meeting details. Please note that any could be postponed because of adverse weather or other reasons. Monday, March 3 Legislature, day 30, 7:30 a.m. CT, Capitol. Tuesday, March 4 Legislature, day 31, 7:45 a.m. CT, Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Economic Development Board, credit committee, 11 a.m. CT, teleconference and 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre. Housing Development Authority, 11 a.m. CT, teleconference. Crime Victims Compensation Commission, 1 p.m. CT, teleconference and 118 W. Capitol Avenue, Pierre. Wednesday, March 5 Legislature, day 32, 7:45 a.m. CT, Capitol. Water Management Board, 9:30 a.m. CT, Capitol. Thursday, March 6 Legislature, day 33, 7:45 a.m. CT, Capitol. 911 Coordination Board, 10 a.m. CT, teleconference. Game, Fish and Parks Commission, 1 p.m. CT, teleconference and 920 W. Sioux Avenue, Pierre. Friday, March 7 Game, Fish and Parks Commission, 8 a.m. CT, teleconference and 920 W. Sioux Avenue, Pierre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists Board, 9 a.m. CT, teleconference. Monday, March 10 Legislature, day 34, 7:45 a.m. CT, Capitol. KELOLAND Capitol Bureau Reporter Bob Mercer in Pierre assembled this information on Sunday, March 2, 2025. State law requires state government boards and commissions to post public meeting notices 72 hours in advance, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and official state holidays. The Legislature isnt subject to that public notice law. *Please check boardsandcommissions.sd.gov and sdlegislature.gov for any meetings of state boards and commissions and legislative meetings that were posted after this weekly listing was assembled. Livecasts of some meetings are available at sd.net. Many meetings are available by teleconference. Check agendas and sd.net for audio availability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. The time change everyone loves to hate is only a week away. Daylight saving time arrives Sunday, March 9. This is the one when we set our clocks forward an hour, losing an hour of sleep. By law, the states that observe daylight saving time which includes Florida have to follow the federally mandated dates on when to start and stop daylight saving time. Arizona with the exception of the Navajo Nation and Hawaii are the only states that do not recognize daylight saving time. They remain on standard time all year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daylight saving time must start the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. Florida has tried since 2018 to make daylight saving time permanent in the state. When does the time change 2025? Daylight saving time will start at 2 a.m. March 9. Countdown to start of daylight saving time Countdown Timer Spring time change 2025: Spring forward, fall back At 2 a.m. on March 9 or before you go to bed set your clocks forward one hour to shift from standard time to daylight saving time. When does daylight saving time 2025 end? Clocks will move back one hour, unless a new law is passed by Congress and signed by President Trump, at 2 a.m. Nov. 2. November 2025 until March 2026 is the period known as standard time. What's the difference between staying on standard time or daylight saving time all year? Daylight saving time would mean later sunrises and sunsets, which means more time for outdoor activities after work or in the evenings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Standard time would mean earlier sunrises and sunsets, which some argue increase safety in the mornings for school children and is more in line with our biological circadian rhythms, according to savestandardtime. "The medical and scientific communities are unified ... that permanent standard time is better for human health," said Erik Herzog, a professor of biology and neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis and the former president of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms. It's only an hour. Why do experts say time changes are bad for us? "The transitions between standard time and daylight saving time can pose serious challenges to your sleep," according to an article by the sleepfoundation. "A lack of sleep caused by the time change can affect thinking, decision-making, and productivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Especially when springing forward, studies have even found an association between the transition to daylight saving time and short-term risk of heart attacks, stroke, traffic accidents, emergency room visits, and serious mood disturbances." Why does changing the clock an hour affect our bodies? "Changing the time on the clock alters your normal pattern of daylight exposure. This can throw off your bodys circadian rhythm, the internal clock that helps control sleep and many other biological processes," according to the sleepfoundation. Daylight saving time is coming. How can you get your body ready for the time change? With daylight saving time just a week away, now's the time to start getting your body ready, especially since this shift is the tough one. During the week or a few days preceding the time change: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gradually adjust your sleep schedule: The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises trying to slowly adjust your schedule by going to bed around 15-20 minutes earlier each day. Gradually adjust other daily activities : Adjust the timing of other daily activities, such as meals and exercise, while you're adjusting your sleep schedule. "Bank" some sleep: Don't go into daylight saving time sleep deprived. "If youre already sleep deprived when its time to change the clocks, it can exacerbate the impact. Getting extra sleep beforehand can help you build up a sleep bank to better cope with the switch to daylight saving time. Consider relaxation techniques: Relaxation methods, ranging from basic deep breathing to mindfulness meditation, can help make the transition easier. Prioritize daylight exposure: "To decrease sleep disruptions after the switch to daylight saving time, make a plan for Sunday to go outside, ideally in the morning, and get sun exposure." Immediately after the time change, get some exposure to daylight to help your bodys internal clock get used to the new timing of daylight and darkness. More tips to help your body get ready for the time change from the Old Farmer's Almanac: Regular bedtimes: Get at least seven hours of sleep on the days before and after the transition. If you've had a rough time in prior years, use the method of adjusting your bedtime 15-20 minutes early each night prior to the time change. Caffeine: Don't drink caffeinated beverages four to six hours prior to bedtime. Exercise: Avoid workouts within four hours of bedtime. Screen time: "Electronics high-intensity light hinders melatonin, a hormone that triggers sleepiness." Avoid electronics near bedtime and for at least for a few days afterward. Food: Not only is it suggested to shift your mealtime a little earlier in the days before the time change. If you need a snack before bed, go for protein instead of carbs. Sunlight: It bears repeating: on Sunday after the time change, get outside to help regulate your internal clock. Nap: If you're still groggy, it's OK to take a nap, but make it short less than 20 minutes and not too late in the day. Will daylight saving time be made permanent? Almost every state, since 2015, has considered multiple time zone bills, but none of significance passed until 2018, when Florida became the first state to enact legislation to permanently observe DST, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the next six years, "20 states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation." Sunshine Protection Act 2025: Scott, Buchanan file bills to make daylight saving time permanent Americans are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year its an unnecessary, decades-old practice thats more of an annoyance to families than a benefit to them. My Sunshine Protection Act will finally LOCK THE CLOCK. https://t.co/lbo6kn3RcW Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) January 8, 2025 U.S. Sen. Rick Scott introduced legislation S.R. 29, known as the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 in January to officially lock the clock and end the twice-yearly time change and make daylight saving time the national year-round standard. Scott said it is time to "make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families." In the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan filed H.R. 139, also seeking (again) to make daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends permanent standard time The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports replacing daylight saving time with permanent standard time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By causing the human body clock to be misaligned with the natural environment, daylight saving time increases risks to our physical health, mental well-being, and public safety, said Dr. M. Adeel Rishi, chair of the AASM Public Safety Committee and a pulmonary, sleep medicine, and critical care specialist at Indiana University Health Permanent standard time helps synchronize the body clock with the rising and setting of the sun, said Dr. James A. Rowley, president of the AASM. This natural synchrony is optimal for healthy sleep, and sleep is essential for health, mood, performance, and safety." This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Daylight saving time 2025: Prepare your body for time change SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) High school students who are currently taking college classes through a university in Shreveport recently visited the campus for Dual Enrollment Day. Louisiana State University Shreveport hosted 125 students at the event held on Friday, Feb. 28. Students visiting LSU Shreveport on Friday had the opportunity to experience the physical campus and visualize what life might be like if they continued taking classes there. During the event, groups of students designed art using Adobe Illustrator in the Collaboratory. They played games, learned about potential careers, toured the library, and learned about campus housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ishmael Swiney is a junior at Captain Shreve High School. Hes currently taking history and French classes through LSU Shreveport. Dual enrollment students created logos and other art using Adobe Illustrator in the Collaboratory at LSUS as part of Dual Enrollment Day. LSUS welcomed 125 dual enrollment students to get a taste of college life Friday. (Source: Abigail Johnson, LSUS Media Relations) Its been an amazing experience because Im going to love to experience the freedom that college will bring, said Swiney. Its been great to see what LSUS has to offer. We wanted students to walk away with an understanding of what being in college means, what that experience is like, said Dr. Elisabeth Liebert, who serves as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and academic director of the Dual Enrollment and Academic Excellence programs. We wanted them to create those connections to our campus in the morning sessions before diving into academic immersion in the afternoon. One of our other goals is to really kindle a sense of excitement about the opportunities that college offers. Jennie Flynn-McKevitt, the director of career services at LSU Shreveport, encouraged students to pick a career path by considering what challenges they wanted to work on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 550 high school students are enrolled at LSU Shreveport through dual enrollment and academic excellence programs. That number has almost doubled in the past three years, potentially due to a push for students to graduate from high school with either college credit or a technical certification. Dual enrollment and academic excellence programs are growing in Northwest Louisiana. In the past 18 months, LSU Shreveport has partnered with Simsboro High, Plain Dealing High, and expanded class availability at North Caddo High. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Mar. 2With less than three weeks left in this year's legislative session, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attended an Albuquerque luncheon Wednesday to thank business leaders for supporting her public safety initiatives and commit to getting more done. Along with dropping news that she'll likely call a special session later this year to address proposed federal budget cuts and repeating similar sentiments that she wants more crime bills on her desk, Lujan Grisham hinted at more state involvement in transitional housing programs for people experiencing homelessness. Lujan Grisham brought up $110 million included in this year's budget bill for transitional housing and homelessness, adding that although she's a little nervous about it, the state could take more of a heavy-handed effort in the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think the state is likely to become the provider, and we will set the evidence-based standards for every single provider including shelters in the state," she said. "You want money? You've got to come through me. This is how you do it." Her thoughts on public safety and crime remain the same: Legislators need to send more bills to her desk on the fourth floor of the Roundhouse. "My expectation is that every good idea gets upstairs, and there are many," Lujan Grisham said. "There is no reason not to have racketeering. There is no reason not to have felon in possession." She was referring to Senate Bill 70, which would amend the state's Racketeering Act to add offenses like criminal exploitation of children, and a slew of other bills to increase the penalty for felons who have firearms, which is illegal. None of those measures had been heard by any committees as of Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the luncheon, supports both efforts, as well as pretrial detention making it easer to hold felons in custody pending trial and more aggressive penalties for juvenile offenders, said chamber CEO and President Terri Cole. In opening her speech, Lujan Grisham said she made everyone nervous when she called a special session over the summer to address crime issues, but she calls the sessions when necessary. The governor added that the Albuquerque chamber put the state in a good position to implement more evidence-based policies to prevent crime and hold criminals accountable. "Crime and public safety have needed New Mexico's attention for well more than a decade," Lujan Grisham said. Cole said despite a lack of progress in the five-hour-long special session, that's what pushed legislators to address public safety in the ongoing regular session. Lujan Grisham on Thursday signed a six-part crime package into law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor said she expects more crime-related bills to land on her desk before the end of the session, which is March 22. Cole said other chamber goals include reducing tax burdens, strengthening public education and attracting medical professionals to the state. She added that one of her biggest concerns is so few lawmakers have experience running businesses. Cole has been attending many committee hearings to fight against bills, including measures to tax employees and employers to provide workers with paid medical leave and increase the state's minimum wage to $17 starting next year. "Competition is a choice, and in New Mexico's case, it will require leaders to prioritize and address a set of serious challenges that currently put our state at a competitive disadvantage," she said. Megan Gleason is a business editor for the Albuquerque Journal. She also covers energy, utilities and government. You can reach her at mgleason@abqjournal.com. I can not remember many issues over the years where I have agreed with Sen. Thom Tillis. Whether it was during his time in state government where he supported budget cuts for our struggling public schools or as a U.S. senator where he has constantly supported Donald Trump, I have not found myself agreeing too many times with Tillis. So I must say, I am amazed to be writing this letter. I commend Tillis for his bravery last week when he stood in the Senate and told the truth about Ukraine and Russia. It is dangerous for a Republican politician to disagree publicly with Trump, but Tillis showed backbone when he supported Ukraine. Thanks for doing the right thing, Sen. Tillis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Benjamin Harris, Charlotte Thanks for nothing, Tillis Some may have seen Sen. Tillis espousing his staunch support for Ukraine. Lovely words, but as usual for Tillis, they are completely meaningless. President Elon Musk and felonious Trump are (again!) extorting Ukraine in this case, to steal its natural resources or shut off their internet access and hand the country over to the war criminal Vladimir Putin. Gonna do anything about that, Senator? Chris Porier, Charlotte CMS funds The Department of Education cuts to funding otherwise due to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools underscores the ongoing attack by the Republican Party on public education. It is already a disgrace that NC ranks among all the states 48th in per student expenditure, 38th in average teacher pay and 42nd in starting teacher pay, but to have the GOP controlled federal government add further cuts to expenditures is reprehensible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Added to the student voucher given to parents regardless of their income to support charter and private schools which are unaccountable for their results, our state legislature is already leading the charge to assure the failure of public education. Will Graves, Charlotte National debt The anger directed at an outsider like Elon Musk auditing our federal government is astonishing. Where is the outcry regarding our staggering $36 trillion national debt? For those who are so troubled by the current situation, I believe it stems from one of three reasons. They either dont pay federal taxes, dont have children or are personally benefiting from the wasteful, corrupt spending within the federal system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Howard, Marvin Griffin should pay North Carolina is the only state that has an election undetermined from 2024. Justice Allison Riggs won the election. You know, the most votes win. Now, we live in a Trump world where only Republicans can win unless an election is rigged. The taxpayers of NC continue to foot the bills for Judge Jefferson Griffin to appeal and appeal, like Trump, so the Republican-slanted state Supreme Court will agree with votes being purged. We have two parties that participate in elections, not one. The election had two recounts, Riggs remained the winner. If this election is overturned, more will come. I hope the NC Supreme Court will follow the state Constitution and believe in democracy. I think Griffin should pay all legal fees when he loses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Willa Hackney, Charlotte Emperor Trump Emperor Trump has brought shame and dishonor upon this country by throwing Ukraine to the Russian bear. He did it using the false pretext that Ukraine started the war. This is another Big Lie of his. Everyone knows it. This is appeasement of Russia. And we should know what happens when an aggressor like Putin is appeased he wants more. Dont we study history anymore? Dont we remember Europe in the 1930s? Thomas Jefferson said this: I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. We tremble with you, Mr. President, and pray for the swift awakening of his justice. John Cox, Charlotte French President Emmanuel Macron does not believe there will be a rift between his US and Ukrainian counterparts Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. In an interview with the Sunday newspaper La Tribune Dimanche, he described the dispute between Trump and Zelensky at the White House on Friday as a "press conference that went wrong." "I think that everyone needs to move beyond the anger and return to calm, respect and recognition so that we can make concrete progress, because what is at stake is too important," Macron told the Sunday newspaper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he had called both Zelensky and and the US president after Friday evening's row. As he told the newspaper, it would be preferable to have a strategic and confidential discussion to move forward and clarify misunderstandings, but not in front of witnesses. Macron is convinced that in the long term, the United States will have no choice but to continue supporting Ukraine. "The Americans' obvious destiny is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that," Macron asserted. He also explained that the US's involvement in Ukraine to date has been in line with its diplomatic and military tradition. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are working behind the scenes to pacify relations between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump following their public spat on Feb. 28. Macron has spoken with both Zelensky and Trump privately, telling La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published on March 1 that he took the initiative to mediate because "what is at stake is too important." "The manifest destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about it. What the United States has done over the past three years is entirely consistent with its diplomatic and military tradition," Macron said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I want to make the Americans understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interest." Macron also cautioned against signing a peace deal without any security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that "geostrategic deterrence capacity with regard to Russia, China and others, would vanish the same day ." If Russia's full-scale war of aggression is not stopped in Ukraine, it will "surely go to Moldova" and "perhaps beyond to Romania," the French president added. Starmer welcomed Zelensky in London on March 1 following Zelenskys contentious visit to Washington. The leaders are set to discuss joint defense and security plans later on March 2 during a summit with other allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of the summit, Starmer has cautioned Zelensky to make amends with Trump because "the U.S. has to be involved" in any lasting peace plans for Ukraine, an anonymous source close to the prime minister told the Financial Times on March 1. Both the U.K. and France have supported the idea of deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of the country's security guarantees. The U.K. is ready "to put boots on the ground, planes in the air to back Ukraine peace deal," Starmer said at the end of February. Macron, who has spearheaded the idea of deploying European troops on the ground in some capacity since last year, discussed "practical steps" of a possible peacekeeper deployment with Zelensky in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: UK to provide $2.8 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that a US withdrawal from supporting Ukraine would have catastrophic consequences not only for Kyiv but also for global security. He stated that if Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is not stopped now, he will wage war against other European countries. Source: Macron in a comment to French newspaper La Tribune Details: Macron emphasised that the US cannot withdraw from the situation, as its strategic role in global security is critically important. He warned that if Washington agrees to "sign a ceasefire without any security guarantees for Ukraine", it would only weaken the US position and undermine its influence in confronting Russia, China and other global players. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "I have no doubt that the clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians; about this. Distancing from Ukraine is not in the interests of the United States. What the US has done over the past three years is entirely consistent with its diplomatic and military tradition. I want the Americans to understand that disengaging from Ukraine is not in their interest." Details: However, Trump appears more inclined to negotiate a truce with Putin rather than uphold traditional American values. Macron believes this is a mistake. "Of course, we all agree that we want peace. But there can be no just and lasting peace if Ukraine is abandoned," Macron stressed. The French president believes Russia poses an existential threat to Europe, more dangerous than ever before. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "An overarmed and aggressive Russia stands at our borders. It is already carrying out terrorist attacks and large-scale disinformation campaigns in Europe". Details: Macron warned that Putin will not stop at Ukraine. He is convinced that if the Kremlin leader is not halted now, "he will undoubtedly move on Moldova, and perhaps beyond to Romania". Background: The Washington Post reported that US President Donald Trumps administration is considering suspending all current military aid to Ukraine. The New York Times stated that US President Donald Trumps administration may stop further indirect support for Ukraine, including other forms of military funding, intelligence sharing and military training. The US State Department terminated a US Agency for International Development (USAID) initiative supporting the restoration of Ukraine's energy grid after Russian attacks. Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) pointed out that Russia continues to show deepening ties with US adversaries. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Mar. 1ROCKPORT The federal government is discontinuing a $4.5 million grant program for Maine Sea Grant, one of the state's prominent fishery organizations, as one of the first major cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amid President Donald Trump's efforts to slash budgets and issue grant restrictions. The University of Maine System, which oversees Maine Sea Grant, said it was notified Friday night that NOAA was terminating a four-year agreement for funding that had gone into effect Feb. 1, according to UMaine System spokesperson Samantha Warren. The move leaves 20 employees and Maine Sea Grant's programming in limbo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This notice is devastating for our team and countless partners, the University of Maine and the entire state," Maine Sea Grant Director Gayle Zydlewski said in a written statement. Maine Sea Grant runs business development, research, marine science education and outreach and says it fosters $23.5 million in annual economic impact for Maine's fisheries. The organization's five core focus areas are coastal ecosystems, resilient coastal communities, safe and sustainable seafood, preparing for a changing climate, and environmental literacy and workforce development. Research topics vary from environmental sustainability and climate change impacts to lobstering culture all scientific issues that impact Maine's coastal working waterfront and communities. "Maine Sea Grant is an important partner in supporting coastal communities, sustainable fisheries, and preserving our way of life," the Maine Lobstermen's Association said in a written statement Saturday. "While we appreciate the importance of cutting fraud and waste from government spending, eliminating vital programs like Maine Sea Grant could have a negative impact on both our economy and our environment." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maine Sea Grant also runs fellowships and research opportunities that explore marine policy, management practices, and professional development and educational opportunities, including efforts to recruit and bolster Maine's coastal workforce. Under the now-terminated agreement, the program would have received $1.5 million in 2025 and a total of just over $4.5 million through January 2028, Warren said. In a termination letter that was provided to the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, NOAA official Timothy Carrington wrote that the activities of Maine Sea Grant are "no longer relevant to the Administration's priorities and program objectives." Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who leads the new Department of Government Efficiency, have focused on cutting government spending since the president took office at the end of January. Amid rounds of mass layoffs across the federal workforce, hundreds of employees more than 800, or about 5% of total staff, according to reports were fired from NOAA's National Weather Service division on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration has not publicly announced intentions to target specific NOAA fisheries work such as Maine Sea Grant, though legislation introduced earlier this month indicates that DOGE intends to "cut 50% of the NOAA workforce and 30% of the NOAA budget on coastal resilience." NOAA and the UMaine System formally notified Maine Sea Grant employees that the grant had been rescinded and their work was at risk Saturday. Many employees were gathered at the annual Maine Fishermen's Forum in Rockport when they got the news. Maine Sea Grant, founded in 1971, is a federal-state partnership program. Half of its budget is funded by NOAA, and the other half is funded by local entities, including UMaine and the state government. It was unclear Saturday whether NOAA's 33 other Sea Grant programs across the U.S. will see similar cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warren said the UMaine System has already had federal grants for different programs halted or entirely terminated by the Trump administration, but that this is the first order rescinding funding for an entire organization's operations. Maine Sea Grant and the University of Maine System declined to comment further while they assess the impacts of the termination. NOAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday afternoon. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link English should be the official language of the United States, says a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 1, 2025. The move follows the Trump administrations termination of the Spanish-language version of the White House website and its Spanish-language account on X, formerly Twitter. Both were abruptly shut down within hours of Trumps second presidential inauguration. Visitors to whitehouse.gov/espanol were met with page not found and a GO HOME button that sent the user to the English-language page. This button was later updated to read, GO TO HOME PAGE. In halting its Spanish-language communications, the White House is ignoring the demographic reality of the U.S. and rejecting a long-standing tradition in American government of making key civic information accessible to the public. These changes, while mostly symbolic, signal the Trump administrations unwelcoming stance toward Spanish specifically and multilingualism in general. US is a Spanish-speaking country This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish, Trump said in a 2015 debate during his first presidential run. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, as a linguist specializing in Spanish and bilingualism, I know that this is simply not true. Historically, the U.S. has had no official language, and Spanish was spoken in the lands that now make up the U.S. well before the countrys founding. Spain founded its first permanent settlement in whats now Florida in 1565, nearly 50 years before English settlers established Jamestown and the colony of Virginia. Spanish settlements in the Southwest began in the early 1600s, and large numbers of English speakers did not arrive there until the mid-19th century. Today, approximately 43 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish as their primary language, representing roughly 14% of the entire population. If those who speak Spanish as their second language are included, then the U.S. is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world after Mexico. Beyond population size, Spanish speakers help power the U.S. economy, contributing an estimated US$2.3 trillion. Thats more than the gross domestic product of any other Spanish-speaking country in the world. With the help of its Spanish-speaking population, Miami is the financial and commercial capital of Latin America. An inclusive communications strategy Responding to this demographic reality, the Spanish-language content was first included on the White House webpage in 2001 by the administration of George W. Bush, a Republican. CC BY-SA The Obama administration maintained the Spanish-language White House website launched under Bush. screenshot In a press release, the Bush White House said that the new WhiteHouse.gov website would now accomodate Spanish-speaking visitors. It included both Spanish-language translations of the English materials, as well as feature stories relevant to the Hispanic community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Bush White Houses website was inclusive in other ways, too, with enhanced content for people who are hard of hearing or visually impaired and special content for kids. The Obama administration maintained WhiteHouse.gov/espanol from 2009 to 2017. Under the first Trump administration, however, the page was quickly removed. At the time, the White House said that the site would be restored shortly. That didnt happen. The page did not reappear until the Biden administration in 2021. Following the latest removal of whitehouse.gov/espanol, a White House spokesperson has again said that the administration is committed to bringing back the website, although no timeline was given. US has multilingual history The Trump administrations effort to limit White House communication in languages other than English breaks with not just the recent past but also with the earliest traditions of the republic. Since the inception of the country, there has been a concerted effort to provide information to the public in relevant languages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, the U.S. Constitution was translated into German and Dutch in 1787 and 1788, languages that were widely spoken at the time, especially in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. These translations helped inform the public of the countrys foundational values and allowed for public engagement and participation during the ratification process. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the MexicanAmerican War and redrew the southern boundaries of the U.S., was written in both Spanish and English, ensuring that Spanish speakers in the territories newly claimed by the U.S. were informed about their citizenship and rights. Translators who spoke everything from Italian to Turkish to Albanian were stationed at Ellis Island in the early 20th century to help register and assist immigrants arriving to New York from across the globe. A few decades later, the U.S. government produced World War I propaganda posters in various languages, hoping to convince a culturally and linguistically diverse American public to support the war effort, buy war bonds and enlist in the military. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion and sex, also laid the legal foundation for multilingual services in federal assistance programs. In government programs such as Medicaid, people who speak a language other than English are entitled to treatment equal to that of English speakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has never embraced multilingualism. History is rife with campaigns to suppress foreign and Indigenous languages. But as these examples show, the U.S. has often taken a policy approach that acknowledges the linguistic needs of the U.S public. Spanish on the campaign trail, not in the White House Even Trump, who has made anti-immigrant and especially anti-Latino rhetoric a centerpiece of all his candidacies, released multiple Spanish-language advertisements during his 2024 presidential campaign, in hopes of improving his standing with Latino voters. Trump prays at a campaign event with the Latino community of Miami on Oct. 22, 2024. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images His campaign released several ads targeting swing states with large Spanish-speaking populations, such as Arizona and Nevada, and in October 2024 Trump even participated in a town hall meeting on the Spanish-language channel Univision, where audience members asked questions in Spanish. These voters helped put Trump into office: Exit polling data shows that Trump won 42% of the Latino vote in the 2024 race, the highest percentage for a GOP candidate in at least 40 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government continues to host Spanish-language information on a variety of agency websites and offers multilingual support for key civic processes, such as filing taxes and requesting passports. The shuttering of the Spanish-language White House website seems largely symbolic. His executive order making English the official language of the U.S. may end up being largely symbolic as well. It allows federal agencies to continue providing information in other languages, effectively separating Trumps public stance from its practical implementation. But for a president with a staunch anti-immigrant attitude, symbolism is politically advantageous. Trump, it seems, is willing to use Spanish on the campaign trail when it benefits him while reinforcing a public narrative of rejecting Spanish and Spanish speakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Daniel J. Olson, Purdue University Read more: Daniel J. Olson has previously received funding from the National Science Foundation. Mar. 1An Albuquerque man was recently arrested after allegedly gunning down a man defending his friend outside a smoke shop in Northeast Albuquerque earlier this year. Anthony Kennedy, 60, is charged with an open count of murder, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the Jan. 16 killing of Keyshawn Ball, 23. Kennedy was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Feb. 21. His attorney could not be reached for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A witness identified Kennedy in a photo and told police Ball was killed over a woman, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court. At 11:36 p.m. Jan. 16, the Albuquerque Police Department responded to a call of a gunshot in the 8300 block of Central, near Utah. Officers found Ball with a gunshot wound to the chest and a casing nearby, according to the complaint. A woman told police she heard two men arguing outside a smoke shop before hearing gunshots, seeing Ball on the ground and a white sedan drive away, the complaint states. The woman told police she believed someone inside the car shot Ball. Security video from nearby businesses showed Ball and a man later identified as Kennedy talking on Central and Utah when Ball turned to Kennedy and backed away, the complaint states. Kennedy raised his right arm toward Ball, "as if (he was) controlling the recoil from a handgun," and Ball ran backward before collapsing next to a white Lincoln, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy walked away before going inside Street Safe New Mexico, the complaint states. A woman with Street Safe told police Kennedy lived in the building and helped her install security cameras. On Jan. 20, a witness told police Ball was "murdered over a girl," a 30-year-old woman who went to Street Safe, police said. The witness told police, the woman, who was staying with Kennedy, began seeing Ball's friend, the complaint states. This upset Kennedy, who "started talking (expletive) and making threats" toward the friend, police said. The witness told police Ball stood up for his friend, saying Kennedy "wasn't going to do anything" to them, according to the complaint. The witness told police Kennedy said something he could not hear before Ball took a swing at Kennedy, who then pulled out a pistol and shot Ball in the face, police said. On Jan. 23, police found a handgun and ammunition belonging to Kennedy inside Street Safe along with a jacket they saw him wear on video surveillance from the night of the homicide, the complaint states. A man was arrested after leading deputies on a high-speed pursuit with a stolen car in San Bernardino County. The suspect was identified as Joel Maldonado, 27, from Las Vegas, Nevada, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department. On Feb. 25, deputies responded to reports of a stolen vehicle seen near Seneca and El Evado Roads in Victorville shortly before 4 p.m. When authorities tried pulling Maldonado over, he allegedly refused to stop, leading deputies on a pursuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the chase, authorities said he drove dangerously and hit high speeds before crashing into another car at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 395 in Hesperia. Maldonado stepped out of the car and began fleeing on foot before he was eventually apprehended. The driver that the suspect crashed into was transported to the hospital for treatment. Maldonado was arrested for grand theft auto, a hit-and-run, and evading police. No further details were released as the incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Victorville Police at 760-241-2911 or Sheriffs Dispatch at 760-956-5001. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anonymous tips can be provided to We-Tip at 1-800-782-7463 or online at wetip.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) A man died days after firefighters rescued him from a burning home in Gaithersburg, officials announced Saturday. The fire broke out at the single-family home in the Unit block of Oak Avenue, off Montgomery Avenue, in the overnight hours of Feb. 16. Crews respond to a house fire in Gaithersburg on Feb. 16 (Courtesy: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service via X/@mcfrsPIO) (Courtesy: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service via X/@mcfrsPIO) Man dies in hospital after fire breaks out at Kensington home Pete Piringer with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) said at the time that firefighters found a man inside the engulfed home and took him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Around 50 firefighters responded to the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Saturdays update, nearly two weeks after the fire ripped through the home, Piringer said that the man died in the hospital as a result of his injuries. As of Saturday afternoon, officials had not released the mans name. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) A man died in the hospital a day after firefighters rescued him from the basement of a burning home in Kensington. In a social media post on the afternoon of Feb. 28, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) spokesperson Pete Piringer said that crews were responding to the 5000 block of Aurora Drive, near Stillwater Avenue, for a house fire. There, crews arrived to find a fire coming from the basement of a single-family home. Around 65 firefighters responded to the scene, and a person was reported to be trapped inside, according to Piringer. Crews responded to a house fire in Kensington on Feb. 28. (Courtesy: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service via X/@mcfrsPIO) PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Two people, several dogs rescued from Kensington house fire Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an update a short time later, Piringer said that crews rescued the unconscious man who was trapped and took him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Another person who was inside at the time made it out by themselves but was also taken to the hospital with injuries. Several dogs were also rescued. On Saturday, Piringer announced that the man who had been rescued died at the hospital Friday night as a result of his injuries. There is no word on the condition of the other person who was injured. Piringer added that the fire, which started in the basement and left over $150,000 in damages, was ignited by accident and could have been caused by various things, including smoking materials, electrical items and a space heater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crews emphasized that the home did not have a working smoke alarm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) A man was shot and killed inside of a business on Saturday night in Prince Georges County. The Prince Georges County Police Department (PGPD) said it responded to the 2300 block of University Boulevard at about 8:25 p.m. 11 years later: Still no sign of missing Relisha Rudd Officers found a man inside a restaurant in the area suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for PGPD said they believed that all parties involved had been identified as of 10:20 p.m. They would not confirm which restaurant the man had been shot in. Anyone with information is asked to contact Prince Georges County Crime Solvers online or to submit a tip using the P3 Tips app. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. CHICAGO A 27-year-old man was found shot to death inside a South Shore residential building Saturday afternoon. Chicago police said the man was found at around 4:40 p.m. inside a building located in the 7700 block of South Kingston Avenue. 3 University of Chicago students targeted in early-morning armed robbery in Hyde Park The man was found with a gunshot wound to his face, neck and right shoulder, according to investigators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Man found fatally shot inside West Side apartment building Area Two Detectives are investigating and no other information was released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. A man living in Puerto Rico has pled guilty in his involvement in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine through New Hampshire. Joshua Baez Core, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Baez was previously indicted on December 20, 2023, along with five other defendants. There are now two co-conspirators who have been convicted. According to statements made in court, alongside a plea agreement, Baez Core would use fabricated information to send packages filled with cocaine from Puerto Rico to Manchester, New Hampshire, through USPS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These packages would go to his father, often in 500-1000 gram bundles, hidden inside childrens games. After the package had been sent, Baez Core would relay the information to his father, who would then send co-conspirators to track and receive the packages. The charges provide a sentence no greater than 20 years in prison, followed by at least three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of up to $1,000,000. 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 A 57-year-old man who had been in prison since November 2012 for the killing of his father was found unresponsive Saturday morning in his cell at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility, the Kansas Department of Corrections said. The cause of death of Lamoine Lynn Wiebe is pending an autopsy. Wiebe was serving a sentence of more than 19 years for voluntary manslaughter in the March 2011 killing of his father, 78-year-old Richard Wiebe, who was found dead in a fifth-wheel trailer at his home in the 3400 block of Southwest 60th, which is halfway between Newton and Sedgwick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An autopsy found that he had been shot in the chest with a shotgun, according to Eagle archives. Lamoine Wiebe had served time in Kansas prisons before this stint for more than a dozen charges, including one that involved the theft of a Wichita police car on Oct. 27, 1994. Here is what else The Eagle archive says about that theft: Police, at the time, said Wiebe was arrested on a drug charge at 10th and Ash. He was placed in a patrol car with his hands cuffed behind his back. The arresting officers were outside of the car talking with their supervisor when Wiebe wiggled the handcuffs under his feet, then climbed into the front seat and took off in the patrol vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The car was found less than an hour later, abandoned at 19th and Washington. Police said Wiebe was arrested the next day after stealing a pickup and leading police on a chase that ended in northern Sedgwick County, the story says. STURBRIDGE, Mass. (WWLP) A man was sentenced in federal court on Friday in connection with embezzling over $300,000 from a Sturbridge non-profit organization. Kyriakos Kapiris, 38, of Northborough, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Charging documents state that from April 2015 to May 2020, Kapiris worked as the Information Technology Manager at the non-profit Venture Community Services (VCS). VCS serves developmentally disabled members of the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Northeastern University counselor sentenced to prison for child pornography charges In his role, Kapiris was given access by VCS to two company credit cards to purchase equipment and services as needed. Documents stated that beginning in 2016, Kapiris purportedly used the credit cards to purchase equipment from two vendor accounts through the Square app and from one Amazon account. However, Kapiris three vendor accounts were reportedly used to embezzle the funds and fabricate sales invoices for the equipment he claimed to purchase. For the two Square accounts, Kapiris used the names of legitimate Massachusetts companies, while the Amazon account was named after a company that he controlled, NetworkingPlus. The charging documents further stated that Kapiris linked the vendor accounts to multiple of his personal accounts through Bank of America to transfer the funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In total, Kapiris embezzled approximately $366,477 from VCS and used the stolen funds for personal expenses, including building a house. This house has since been forfeited by the government and sold. The Court also stated at Kapiris sentencing that he had a prior conviction of stealing from a previous employer, and that he was on probation for the offense during the embezzlement period. Kapiris was sentenced to two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $371,088.97 in restitution. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) A 61-year-old man died Saturday evening after being strangled and assaulted outside a gas station in Hillcrest, authorities said. According to the San Diego Police Department, the situation unfolded shortly before 5 p.m. when witnesses called to report that a man was being attacked at 330 Washington St. The caller stated that a man was strangling another man and hitting his head against the ground. Did the roaring 20s-era castle in National City ever find royalty? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers responded to the scene and found the victim unconscious in front of the business. They provided aid to the man until paramedics arrived. The victim was then transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. His identity is being withheld at this time. Witnesses provided police with a suspect description and officers located a man matching that description near the intersection of West Washington Street and Albatross Street. The man, identified as 55-year-old Solomon Guerrero, was arrested and booked in San Diego County jail on suspicion of murder, police said. Detectives processed the scene for evidence and are canvassing the area for security video. They are also asking any additional witnesses to come forward. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531- 2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A man wanted for a domestic violence incident was arrested early Sunday morning after police said he tried to escape from the scene of a crash in Gresham, police said. At around 4 a.m., while conducting a traffic stop, officers witnessed a crash between two vehicles at at Southeast 181st and Stark Street. Toyota passenger calls 911 after hit-run in Fairview, dies The driver and passengers in one of the vehicles had only minor injuries, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police say a driver of the other vehicle identified as Diondray Anderson tried to run away from the scene. However, he was stopped and arrested by officers. While police said he was taken to the hospital for his injuries, he will be charged with felony hit-and-run, reckless driving, DUII, assault and other crimes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. ST. LOUIS As President Donald Trumps administration intensifies efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, thousands of federal employees across the country have been laid off or offered buyouts, posing a growing challenge for Missouri and Illinois. Trumps Executive Order 14210, Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, outlines a reform of the federal workforce. It warns agencies across the country to prepare for large-scale layoffs and prioritizes offices with functions not required by statute or law. The order includes all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, along with any programs, components or operations suspended or closed by the Trump administration. It also applies to employees not designated as essential in contingency plans, with exceptions for public safety, immigration enforcement and law enforcement functions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These efforts could possibly affect more than 200,000 federal workers, though the exact number is unknown. In the St. Louis area, FOX 2 has also learned that some employees with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency were offered buyouts, while the DOGE initiative says it has terminated leases or contracts of at least three federal agencies in the region. How many federal employees are there in Missouri? According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, there were 56,600 federal employees in Missouri as of January 2024. According to a Congressional Research Service report, the federal civilian workforce in Missouri consisted of 37,574 employees as of March 2024. That was the 17th most among all U.S. states. How many federal employees are there in Illinois? According to a February 2025 news release from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, there are around 81,300 federal employees in Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a Congressional Research Service report, the federal civilian workforce in Illinois consisted of 44,784 employees as of March 2024. That was the 13th most among all U.S. states. Whats next? Tens of thousands of federal workers have reportedly departed their jobs since the executive order, while a memo issued Wednesday to federal agency leaders provided further guidance on conducting workforce reductions. The Internal Revenue Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Park Service are among agencies that have already dealt with effects from workforce cuts. It remains to be see how much deeper the federal workforce reductions could go. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Before Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 93 into law this week, which introduces school vouchers in Idaho, his office received tens of thousands of comments. The legislation was backed by President Donald Trump. Littles subsequent approval signified a major victory for school-choice minded lawmakers after years of attempts to bring vouchers to Idaho, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. But only a small percentage of those who contacted Littles office wanted him to sign it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This weekend, Littles office issued its totals, showing that among more than 37,000 residents, over 86% asked that the governor veto the bill. Just over 5,000 calls and emails sided with Little signing it into law, according to Joan Varsek, Littles spokesperson. Its not clear how many calls and emails may be left to be counted. Gov. Little considers a variety of factors in weighing his decision on any bill that reaches his desk, Varsek wrote in the email. Those numbers removed duplicate phone calls i.e. people who called multiple times from the same number, she said. The legislation will set aside $50 million for $5,000 grants to students who dont go to public schools, according to previous Statesman reporting. Students with disabilities could receive more up to $7,500 annually. The grants would come as refundable tax credits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Idaho Education Association, the states teachers union, called the move a huge mistake. But bill co-sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, said this week it was a victory for parental rights and the future of education in Idaho. Trump endorsed this contested Idaho bill. Gov. Little issued his decision on school vouchers Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order on immigration. But what does it do? Secretary of State Marco Rubio brushed aside complaints from Donald Trumps critics about the latters handling of US-Ukraine relations on Sunday, his first public interview since the US president clashed with Ukraines president in the White House. He also took issue with Ukraines president presenting himself in the Oval Office as an expert in his own countrys affairs. Rubio appeared Sunday for an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week, where he called on the presidents opponents to grow up and recognize that the war in Ukraine risked spilling into a much larger conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a somewhat ironic statement, given that the US president and his sidekick, JD Vance, were ruthlessly mocked over Friday and Saturday and depicted as petulant children after their dust-up with Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president left Washington and immediately received a show of support across Europe from frustrated EU and Nato members disatisfied with his reception at the White House. The sooner everyone grows up around here and figures out that this is a bad war that's heading in a bad direction, with death and destruction and all kinds of danger surrounding it that could spiral into a broader conflict, the sooner people grow up and realize that, I think the more progress we're going to be able to make, Rubio asserted on Sunday. The secretary also identified what he thought Zelenskys biggest sin was in his meeting with Donald Trump and JD Vance: Ukraine-splaining. What Zelensky did, unfortunately, is he found every opportunity to try to Ukraine-splain on every issue, Rubio told Stephanopoulos. Then he confronts the vice president. When the vice president says the goal here is diplomacy, he immediately jumps in and challenges the Vice President. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump after an awkward dust-up with Ukraine's president in the Oval Office led to Volodymyr Zelensky leaving Washington without signing a rare earth minerals agreement. (ABC News) Republican allies of the president, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) say they dont know if Zelenskys relationship with Trump is salvageable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But European allies are rallying in support of Ukraine, while increasingly speaking of the necessity to end reliance on US leadership. Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. Its up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge, Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security, wrote on social media on Friday. Germanys newly-elected chancellor also vowed last week to achieve independence from the U.S. on the issue of defense capability. Sir Keir Starmer on Sunday hosted European leaders in London to discuss continued support for Ukraine in the absence of continued support from the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe, and we all need to step up, Starmer told those gathered Sunday. The Trump administration appears to be in damage control mode as a number of Republicans on Capitol Hill have joined their Democratic rivals in sharply denouncing the treatment of Zelensky in the Oval as well as the general trend of the US presidents favorable remarks about Vladimir Putin and Russia. In numerous occasions over the past weeks, months and even years Trump-aligned figures have refused to label Russia the aggressor in its conflict with Ukraine. It was a trend that became official US policy this past week as the US voted against a UN resolution in support of Ukraines territorial integrity a vote that isolated the Trump administration on the side of Russia, North Korea, and few others. Trump himself also labeled Ukraines president a dictator in a social media post blaming Zelensky for a law in place which suspends presidential elections during wartime. Several Republican senators including Lisa Murkowski, John Curtis, Thom Tillis and Kevin Cramer had already publicly rebuked the president over the disparaging of Zelensky before Fridays meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio responded to Murkowski, who wrote on Twitter that she was sick to [her] stomach over the on-camera clash with Ukraines leader, and denied that the US was placating Russia. We're a free country. People have a right to these opinions, said Rubio of his former colleague. I would just say to you, what have we done to placate the Russians? The only thing we've done is say, are you guys willing to talk about peace? Myla Eldridge was reelected as the leader of the Marion County Democratic Party on Saturday, winning about 56% of the vote. About 410 precinct committee chairs and vice chairs attended the meeting, said party spokesperson Jeff Harris. Eldridge became the party's leader in 2022, following former chair Kate Sweeney Bell's resignation. She won the seat that year with a landslide victory on a campaign to increase voter participation and unite the Democratic party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after the 2024 general election saw remarkably low voter turnout and continued division among Democrats, two challengers emerged with hopes of reinvigorating the party. Political commentator Dana Black and Pike Township trustee Annette Johnson won about 29% and 13% of the vote on Saturday, respectively. Wes Brown was elected as vice chair, Keith Potts as secretary and LaDonna Freeman as treasurer. In January, Eldridge described structural challenges during her tenure. She was the first person to lead the party after the end of slating, a controversial practice where the party endorsed a candidate for each race before the primary election. Participants had to pay a fee to be considered, and that money went toward a get-out-the-vote campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the Marion County Democratic Party raised less than $94,000 through mid-October and didn't employ any full-time staff. Before that time, by comparison, the party had full-time staff and field organizers and raised more than $1 million some years. More: Why some think Democrats' apathy in blue Indianapolis is hurting the party statewide Marion County's local leadership is majority Democrat, but no Democrat has won a statewide position in Indiana in more than a decade. That's thanks in part to Marion County's low voter turnout, according to some party members. The statewide Indiana Democratic Party will see a leadership change this year, with at least five people running to fill the vacancy left by Chair Mike Schmuhl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Marion County Democratic Party chair wins reelection Mar. 1A Massachusetts woman was killed in a snowmobile crash in Piscataquis County on Friday afternoon, officials said. Stefanie Cappello, 53, of Southborough, died after she was ejected from a snowmobile while traveling toward Millinocket, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesperson Mark Latti said in a news release Saturday. According to the release, Cappello was traveling on a snowmobile trail in a group of nine snowmobilers around 1:30 p.m. Friday when she was unable to navigate a left turn and went off the right side of the trail. She was thrown from her snowmobile and hit a tree, the release said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was declared dead at the scene, Latti said. The Maine Warden Service determined that operator inexperience was a factor in crash, though the incident is still under investigation, Latti said. Crews from the Warden Service, Maine Forest Service, and Greenville Fire and Rescue responded to the accident. Copy the Story Link HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Gov. Henry McMaster on Sunday declared a state of emergency to support South Carolinas ongoing response to hundreds of wildfires burning. The order continues indefinitely an outdoor burning ban and makes it easier for responders to coordinate their efforts. This state of emergency ensures that our first responders, who are working tirelessly and risking their lives to protect our communities from these wildfires, have the resources they need, McMaster said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 4,200 acres from 175 wildfires are burning across the state, including a 1,200-acre blaze thats forced multiple evacuations in Horry Countys Carolina Forest area. Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg and Union counties are also battling fiery conditions spurred partly by dry, windy weather. While a majority of the current wildfire activity is concentrated in the Pee Dee region, the rest of the state is experiencing a dramatic uptick in wildfires, straining the capacity of Forestry Commision firefighters and local emergency response personnel to respond, state Forestry Commission official Darryl Jones said. * * * Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. A murder-for-hire suspect tried to smuggle 21 ceramic scalpel blades into the MDC Brooklyn federal jail after a visitor handed them to him in a Doritos bag, federal prosecutors say. Angel Villafane, whos accused of being a member of the Valentine Ave. Crew in the Bronx, was indicted last week for the October attempt to bring the scalpels into the troubled Sunset Park jail. He slipped the scalpels into his shirt and when correction officers strip-searched him he tried to swallow the blades, prosecutors said at his arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villafane, 40, has been locked up since January 2021, when he was arrested on federal firearm possession charges in Manhattan in connection with a Bronx shooting. Hes since been charged alongside 15 other gang members in a March 2024 superseding indictment, implicating him in two nonfatal shootings, one of which brought him a murder-for-hire charge. The feds say Villafane paid a co-conspirator in July 2020 to lure a victim to a spot in Manhattan where he tried to kill him over a drug debt. The second shooting took place in January 2021, when Villafane ambushed a man coming out of his apartment in a building at Second Ave. and E. 97th St. in Manhattan, Manhattan federal prosecutors allege. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villafane told the victim, Whats up now, then pointed a gun at him as the man begged for his life, according to court papers. Villafane raised the gun and shot the victim in the neck, then advanced on him but ran off when a relative of the victim opened the apartment door, the feds allege. Villafane pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn Federal Court on the smuggling charges Tuesday and was returned to MDC Brooklyn. He could face up to five years on contraband charges and up to life in prison in his Manhattan case. His lawyer did not return a message seeking comment. MDC Brooklyn has for years been plagued by violence, medical mistreatment of inmates and dire living conditions. On Feb. 22, Karl Jordan, convicted of killing Run-DMC icon Jam Master Jay in 2002, was stabbed in the jail while awaiting sentencing. Last summer, the jail saw two fatal stabbings less than six weeks apart. And in a caught-on-video April 27 attack, three MS-13 members stabbed a man 44 times before a lone correction officer intervened. Editors Note: This story was produced through a partnership between Uncloseted Media and the Idaho Statesman. Uncloseted Media specializes in investigative LGBTQ+-focused journalism. Both organizations contributed reporting and editing. Ian Max Stevenson was the Statesmans reporter for the project. Idaho lawmakers were met in late January by a House committee hearing room full of constituents there to state their beliefs about the institution of marriage and whom it should extend to. After testimony from nearly two dozen people, the last to speak joined the hearing remotely, and thanked Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, for bringing forward a resolution to challenge same-sex marriages and ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its decade-old landmark ruling that granted the unions. Arthur Schaper, field director for a group called MassResistance, told the committee that activists at his international organization had brought forward similar resolutions in North Dakota, Montana, Michigan and Wyoming, and that state lawmakers had been taking it up. As of this week, at least nine states have proposed measures to roll back same-sex marriage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schaper defended the resolution with discredited claims about homosexuality, which the countrys major medical organizations agree is a normal part of human sexuality. People are born Black, Hispanic, or otherwise, Schaper said. They are not born homosexual. Schaper declined Uncloseted Medias request for an interview and did not respond to a list of questions sent via email. Idaho politicians suggestion that the U.S. Supreme Court overturn same-sex marriage rights ties back to a group out of Massachusetts. A three-decade history of fighting against LGBTQ+ rights The Idaho resolution was drafted by MassResistance, a far-right Christian organization that has been fighting against LGBTQ+ rights since it formed 30 years ago. The group is one of the most openly extreme anti-LGBTQ+ groups among the far right, advertising itself as engag(ing) in issues and events that most other conservative groups are afraid to touch and boasting about writing resolutions like the one passed in the Idaho House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MassResistance has drafted text for state legislature resolutions that call on the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse its infamous and illegitimate Obergefell ruling, the group shared on its website in January, referencing Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark decision by the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage. It also has criticized Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Family Research Council for their polite opposition to the latest left-wing lunacy, and stated that rather than being truthful and confrontational, too many pro-family groups want to be seen as reasonable and not extreme. In addition to its anti-LGBTQ+ activism on home turf, MassResistance works to roll back queer rights globally, with chapters in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and beyond. Justin R. Ellis, a criminologist at the University of Newcastle in Australia who has written about anti-LGBTQ+ groups and movements, including MassResistance, said that the successes of groups like ADF in rolling back some LGBTQ+ rights is exactly what allows MassResistance to take the spotlight. Them coming out with their framing and their litigation and their hostility toward queer issues emboldens other groups like MassResistance to go, Hang on, were gonna go bolder, Ellis said in a video interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MassResistances effort to overturn same-sex marriage is the latest in a long list of campaigns where the group has worked to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, from book bans to gender-marker restrictions, in state and local governments across the country, and even abroad. How MassResistance grew beyond its Massachusetts roots MassResistance was founded in 1995 in Massachusetts under the name Parents Rights Coalition by local activist Brian Camenker. After getting his start in activism as an outspoken opponent of LGBTQ+-inclusive sex education in schools, Camenker quickly led the groups first major campaign: drafting and lobbying for state legislation that required schools to notify parents and allow them to opt out of sex education for their children. The group emphasized that doing so would allow parents to ensure their children dont learn about homosexuality or so-called transgenderism. The campaign was successful, and the bill passed into state law in 1996. The group remained a significant player in Massachusetts state politics. After the Massachusetts Supreme Court made the state the first in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004, the group shifted its focus to fighting that decision. The group temporarily changed its name to the Article 8 Alliance, referencing part of the Massachusetts Constitution that outlines the impeachment of judges. Under this new identity, the group filed state legislation to impeach all of the justices who supported Massachusetts pro-same-sex-marriage ruling and to outlaw the unions under state law. None of the bills the group wrote were successful. Despite this, after rebranding back to MassResistance in 2006, the group continued to write legislation opposed to LGBTQ+ inclusion until at least 2017. In one bill from 2011, the group sought to repeal an anti-bullying law because of its protections for LGBTQ+ students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During this period, the Southern Poverty Law Center designated MassResistance a hate group, in part because it labeled Boston Pride a depraved display that featured a great deal of obviously disturbed, dysfunctional, and extremely self-centered people. In the mid-2010s, MassResistance expanded its focus to the national stage. Its first out-of-state chapter opened in 2014 in Virginia. In 2016, Schaper launched a chapter in California. And in 2020, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who MassResistance has said worked closely with members of its Georgia chapter, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. By 2022, the free speech advocacy group PEN America identified at least 16 MassResistance chapters in the U.S., with several more international chapters. PEN America also identified MassResistance as one of the most active groups in the national push to ban books with LGBTQ+ content from schools and libraries. The effort followed MassResistance publishing in 2017 its own book, The Health Hazards of Homosexuality, which claimed to compile scientific evidence supporting banning or restricting homosexuality. The 600-page book touts endorsements from various anti-LGBTQ+ activists, including Michelle Cretella, former executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate group known for publishing and spreading specious science about LGBTQ+ people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The book rails against the coarsening of our culture that has accompanied the normalization of homosexuality and makes numerous false or misleading scientific claims. For example, it cites statistics indicating higher rates of mental or physical illness among LGBTQ+ people as evidence of innate risks despite many experts agreeing that discrimination and lack of resources are more accurate explanatory factors. Where does the funding come from? According to IRS filings, MassResistance has received thousands of dollars from several donor-advised funds. They include the National Christian Foundation and Arthur G. Jaros Sr. and Dawn L. Jaros Charitable Trust both of which financially support other far-right groups, including the ADF and the Heritage Foundation, the group behind Project 2025. Uncloseted Media and the Idaho Statesman also identified IRS forms for Parents Education Foundation, a group run by Camenker and listed as related to MassResistance. Despite little to no public presence, on its most recent IRS filing from 2023, the organization reported revenue of $211,123, much of which was sourced via donations from large conservative donors and other mainstream donor-advised funds. The Parents Education Foundation lists Dr. Paul Church as a director. Church is a urologist who was fired from a Boston hospital in 2015 for likening a Pride event to a chosen social agenda, Fox News reported. MassResistance supported Church in his fight against the hospital, and, in 2017, he provided an expert endorsement in The Health Hazards of Homosexuality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Church could not be reached for comment. Idaho Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, presented a resolution opposing same-sex marriage to the House State Affairs Committee on Jan. 22 at the Idaho Capitol. MassResistance makes inroads into Idaho The current Idaho resolution is not the first instance where MassResistance has worked with the states legislators. In a collection of emails leaked by former conservative activist Elisa Rae Shupe, who died by suicide earlier this year, Uncloseted Media found correspondence from 2020 between Schaper and former Idaho state Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, who testified in favor of the anti-Obergefell resolution. Young discussed developing an anti-trans bill that would forbid changing gender markers on state birth certificates. The bill became law in Idaho in 2020. We are still going after the governor, though, to make sure that he signs or at least allow(s) the bills to become law, Schaper told Young in one email. MassResistance does send emails. They were looking for people to testify, but I did not make those arrangements with them deliberately. I let them know I would contact the bills sponsor, Young told Uncloseted Media over the phone in reference to the 2025 anti-Obergefell resolution, which she said she supports. Its a correct principle to allow those decisions to be made by the states and not by a single unelected panel of judges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if she takes issue with any of MassResistances stances on gay issues, Young said, Its probably not an issue that I have a relevant opinion on. Idaho has been home to some of MassResistances government targets. In 2023, activists from its state chapter and other anti-LGBTQ+ groups successfully campaigned to elect a majority of far-right candidates onto Kootenai Countys Community Library Network board. The board has since enacted multiple policies restricting minors access to LGBTQ+ content and libraries in general. At the 2023 Rexburg Pride Event in East Idaho, counterprotesters from Idaho MassResistance, led at the time by former Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, had physical confrontations with attendees. The spectacle caused police to heighten security and some organizations to pull out of the event the following year. MassResistance made a less conspicuous appearance in 2024 as well. Nate, now the president of the far-right Idaho Freedom Foundation, did not respond to Uncloseted Medias request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ellis, the professor who writes about anti-LGBTQ+ movements including MassResistance, said that coordinating these kinds of local attacks on the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups has become much easier with social media. One of the things that groups such as MassResistance can do is, through their online networks, coordinate protests against Drag Queen Story Time childhood literacy events, for example, and now same-sex marriage, and what they do is get people in other jurisdictions to go to those locations and protest in person, he said. Through social media, you can coordinate ideologically aligned individuals quickly and cheaply. MassResistance has taken credit on its website for the Idaho resolution carried by Rep. Scott. The group noted that an Idaho House member offered to spearhead the resolution this year, but did not name the lawmaker. In response to a public records request, Scott reported she had no communications with MassResistance, and she declined to respond to a question from a Statesman reporter about whether she worked with the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview on The Ranch Podcast in early February, Scott said she was first approached about opposing same-sex marriage in the Legislature eight years ago. Over the summer, she said, she was looking through a list of ideas for legislation, and decided to push (same-sex marriage) up to the top this year. Scotts resolution states that the Obergefell decision is anoverreach from the U.S. Supreme Court, which should leave marriage laws to the states. However, it also asks the Supreme Court to restore the natural definition of marriage, a union of one man and one woman. On the podcast, she underscored her perspective on gay marriage. Dont force me to say that thats a marriage, because in my eyes thats an abomination to God, she said, noting that she would support creating a legal relationship between LGBTQ+ couples that would provide them with the legal rights of marriage. MassResistances international footprint MassResistance also advocates against LGBTQ+ rights around the world. On its website, the group claims to have worked with activists from at least 24 countries and territories, including Mexico, Brazil, Croatia, Nigeria, Taiwan and Australia. Last year, the group started a new chapter in Kenya, where it reported on its website that it was holding trainings for youth to resist the LGBT agenda in schools. In many of these countries, the group circulates a video by Camenker titled What gay marriage did to Massachusetts. The video has been converted into booklets, which have been translated and circulated in Mexico, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and more. Once same-sex marriage gets a foothold, society becomes more oppressive, hammering citizens with the force of law. The judicial system becomes more radical and arrogant, and politicians become more cowardly. And once that concept is institutionalized, other boundaries on sexual behaviors continue to fall, Camenker said in the video. The push for gay marriage is really about putting the legal stamp of approval on homosexuality, and forcing its acceptance on otherwise unwilling citizens and on our social, commercial and political institutions. To those of you where this is being threatened, do not wait it is absolutely necessary for you to call, write, and even visit your elected officials. They must feel your outrage. Camenker did not respond to Uncloseted Medias request for comment. Some of MassResistences more noteworthy interventions abroad include helping keep anti-sodomy laws on the books in Sri Lanka and supporting propaganda campaigns against the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan. In the latter case, the group says that Schaper spoke directly with a representative of Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party and was invited to a party event in the U.S. over the course of the campaign. In Ghana, meanwhile, MassResistance has collaborated with Freedom International, an organization that congratulated Uganda for its anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that threatens life in prison for consensual same-sex relations, to start anti-LGBTQ+ youth clubs in secondary schools. (Africa) is the land of opportunity when it comes to restricting LGBTQ rights, Wendy Via, president and co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told Uncloseted Media. There are a lot of huge worldwide groups with lots of money who are working on the same thing, and they also come at it from a Christian point of view. Demonstrators arrived early and filled an Idaho House committee room, then stood and walked out as Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, presented a resolution opposing same-sex marriage on Jan. 22 at the Idaho Capitol. Will Idahos resolution survive the Senate? The future of Scotts resolution in Idaho is uncertain. It passed the Idaho House in a 46-24 vote in late January, meaning 15 Republicans joined the nine Democrats in opposition. Before a vote on the Senate floor, the measure must advance out of a Senate committee. The committees chairman, Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, told the Statesman he is not sure whether he will allow a hearing. The public has weighed in, and its been pretty one-sided in terms of, Why are we doing this? he said. Guthrie said he expects to meet with Scott to discuss her resolution before deciding whether to hold a hearing, but acknowledged his own concerns. The effect of it could be pretty harmful to a lot of people, making them feel for whatever reason that they dont belong. I just dont see the benefit being greater than the hurt, Guthrie added, noting that it could tear peoples lives apart. Via said MassResistances goal is to overturn Obergefell, and starting in deep-red pockets of the country is a trial run. The little, tiny resolution in Idaho, its like the butterfly wings, she said. Sam Donndelinger of Uncloseted contributed reporting. First lady Melania Trump is expected to speak publicly Monday, for the first time since her husband returned to office, highlighting her support for a bill aimed at protecting Americans from deepfake and revenge pornography. Trump will hold a roundtable discussion Monday on Capitol Hill, according to the office of the first lady, to shine a light on the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which boosts protections for victims of non-consensual sharing of sexual images, including content generated by artificial intelligence, also known as deepfake porn. In the past year, targets of AI-generated, non-consensual pornographic images have ranged from prominent women such as Taylor Swift and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to high school girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill, introduced by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, would criminalize the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII (or deepfake pornography), and require social media and similar websites to have in place procedures to remove such content upon notification from a victim, according to Cruzs office. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support during the last session of Congress and again in February but has yet to pass the House. Cruz and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, have supported the effort, and the first lady is now lending her support. During President Donald Trumps first term, Melania Trump unveiled her Be Best platform, which included a focus on online safety. She indicated in an interview shortly before the November election that she was interested in reinvigorating those efforts, and suggested she could take on new issues. Children are suffering. We need to help them and educate them, she told Fox News in October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first lady has so far spent limited time in Washington during her husbands second term. After attending the inauguration and joining her husband on a trip to North Carolina and California, states that have recently been impacted with natural disasters, Melania Trump was absent from the White House between January 24 and February 22, when she reemerged to host a dinner with the nations governors. The first lady was expected to spend a majority of her time between New York, where son Barron is attending college, and Florida, CNN reported during the presidential transition. Sources familiar with her thinking said at the time that she would still be present for major events and would have her own platform and priorities as first lady. Even as shes been open about traversing the East Coast, the first lady has previously emphasized that shed be in DC. Asked where she planned to spend her time in a January 13 interview with Fox News Ainsley Earhardt, Trump said, I will be in the White House. And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. She continued, But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife, and once we are in on January 20, you serve the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president has also spent significant time in Florida since Inauguration Day, traveling to Miami or Palm Beach for his first four weekends in office. This story has been updated with additional information. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com MERCER CO., Pa. (WKBN) The Mercer County Democratic Party is prepping for elections coming in May and November. The organization held a petition signing Saturday. Signatures are needed to get on the ballot for those looking to run. The number of signatures needed depends on the position. Local and county democrat politicians were there as well as candidates for judges five of them are looking to retain their position. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diane Syphrit with Mercer County Democrats explains why this election is important for their party. Its generational. If we do not retain these judges, it will be 10 years before we have an opportunity again to put a Democrat in those seats. Three of them are the Supreme Court. It helps us give the majority to the Supreme Court with what were doing in upholding Pennsylvanias constitution, which is really important, Syphrit said. Syphrit says the organization will be holding future events for petition signing. This also helps voters meet the candidates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor Olaf Scholzs Social Democrats won a regional election in the port city of Hamburg, a week after a crushing defeat on the national level. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SPD took 33.5% of the vote, ahead of the Christian Democratic Union of chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz at 19.8% and the Greens at 18.5%, according to preliminary official results. While Merzs Christian Democratic Union posted the biggest gain on Sunday, the result allows Hamburgs governing coalition of SPD and Greens to retain power with a slimmed majority in the city legislature. Dennis Thering, the CDUs mayoral candidate, said the Social Democrats should consider switching partners as they contemplate a potential role in a Merz-led coalition at the national level. Were seeing that were getting a grand coalition at the federal level, Thering said on ARD television. That would also work well in Hamburg. Scholzs center-left SPD has ruled Hamburg for most of the 80 years since World War II, including under Scholz between 2011 and 2018. Its victory might support the SPDs planned leadership change on federal level in Berlin and could strengthen its hand in upcoming coalition talks with Merzs conservative bloc. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamburg is economically important as Germanys largest port the third-biggest in Europe and a home of industry including an Airbus SE factory. The far-right Alternative for Germany the second-biggest party nationwide after the Feb. 23 federal election took 7.5% in Hamburg and the Left party won 11.2%. Merz wants to form a government led by his conservative bloc by mid-April. Unlike in the US or UK, parties in Europes biggest economy usually need to team up with another party to form a coalition that has a parliamentary majority. Those talks can drag on until party negotiators agree on a joint policy platform. Key officials from the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD met for a first round of exploratory talks in Berlin on Friday and are expected to continue conversations this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hamburg SPD benefits from a strong personal approval rating for Mayor Peter Tschentscher, 59, who has been in power since 2018. Tschentscher succeeded Scholz as mayor. The city one of Germanys 16 federal states represented in the upper house of parliament, or Bundesrat, in Berlin has about 1.3 million eligible voters. (Updates with official result starting in second paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect on Tuesday, but that President Donald Trump will determine whether to stick with the planned 25% level. "That is a fluid situation," Lutnick told the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures." "There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada. Exactly what they are, we're going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lutnick's comments were the first indication from Trump's administration that it may not impose the full threatened 25% tariffs on all goods from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada. He said the two countries have "done a reasonable job" securing their borders with the United States, though the deadly drug fentanyl continues to flow into the country. Trump sowed confusion last week when he mentioned a possible April 2 deadline in connection with tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but later reaffirmed the Tuesday deadline and said he would add another 10% tariff on Chinese goods on Tuesday, effectively doubling 10% duties imposed on Feb. 4. Lutnick said Trump is expected to raise tariffs on China on Tuesday unless the country ends fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. (Reporting by David Morgan, David Lawder and Leah Douglas; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Alistair Bell) A New York City middle school teacher has been arrested for allegedly possessing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Per a Manhattan legal complaint, Google reported middle school teacher Ross Lanvin, 41, to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in December 2024 after initially flagging 150 images and 90 videos of explicit illegal content on his account. Google also locked Lanvin from the account at that time, per the court document. According to the complaint, Lanvin voluntarily spoke to law enforcement on Feb. 13 when they searched his home, where he admitted that the Google account in question was his. It further states that he acknowledged that he had previously accessed child pornography on electronic platforms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The complaint states that Lanvin has been teaching on and off since 2006. Law enforcement confirmed they executed a search warrant at Lanvins Manhattan apartment in February and found child pornography on at least one of his electronic devices, per a news release from the United States Attorneys Office. Lanvin is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, "including images and videos of prepubescent minors and minors who had not attained 12 years of age, per the office. They also said the charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Getty Desks and chair in empty classroom (stock image) Desks and chair in empty classroom (stock image) Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In the release, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Matthew Podolsky, said that Lanvin had close contact with students as a teacher at a public school in Manhattan [and] possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His statement continued: Our investigation into Lanvin is ongoing, and we encourage anyone with information to contact Wendy Olsen-Clancy, the Victim Witness Coordinator at the United States Attorneys Office of the Southern District of New York, at 866-874-8900 or wendy.olsen@usdoj.gov. PEOPLE reached out to both the U.S. Attorneys Southern District of New York office and the NYPD on March 1, but they were unavailable for immediate comment. It is unclear whether Lanvin is represented by legal counsel at this time. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org. Read the original article on People YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) Miguel Angel Hernandez, known affectionately as Mike by his friends and family, passed away on Monday, February 24, 2025, in Youngstown, Ohio. Born in the beautiful town of Camuy, Puerto Rico on March 27, 1952, Mikes journey was one filled with laughter, love, and the warmth of family. His life was a testament to the joy and resilience that can be found in the everyday moments. Find obituaries from your high school Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike was a devoted husband to his beloved wife, Marianne (Novotny) Hernandez, and a loving father to his daughters, Juanita (Angel) Rivera, Shirley (Wayne Lee) Martinez, Elisa (Nasheed Jones) Hernandez, and Tina (Thomas) Ridge. He was a cherished grandfather to Liana, Michael, Elaina (Daniel), Angel, Jr., Anyeli, Jayden, Jonziel, and Celina. His legacy also includes numerous great-grandchildren, as well as a host of brothers, sisters, and loved ones, who were blessed to be a part of his extended family. A proud graduate of East High School, Mikes work ethic and commitment to his community were evident throughout his career. He spent many years at Columbia Iron and Metal, contributing to the industry with his hard work and dedication. Later, he brought his leadership and expertise to Petro Lube Bay, where he served as the Assistant Manager, respected by colleagues and customers alike. Mikes interests and hobbies were as diverse as they were passionate. He was an amazing cook, often found creating delicious cuisines in the kitchen, a place where he expressed his love and creativity. His voice, a vessel of his deep faith, could often be heard singing songs of worship, touching the hearts of all who listened. An avid fisherman, he found peace and tranquility by the water, and his adventures on his trike brought him immense joy. Vacations were not just trips for Mike, but cherished opportunities to create lifelong memories with his family. At home, Mike was the embodiment of warmth and comfort. His sense of humor was unmatched, and he had a natural ability to make people laugh, lightening the hearts of those around him. He was also incredibly handy, always ready to fix a problem or lend a helping hand. But above all, it was the simple pleasure of spending time at home with his wife that Mike treasured the most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Hernandez lived a life that was funny, handy, and loving. These words not only describe him but also encapsulate the spirit he brought into the world. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered as a beacon of joy and love in the lives of all who knew him. As we bid farewell to Mike, we hold tight to the memories that he has left behind. His laughter will echo in the stories shared, his wisdom in the lessons he imparted, and his love in the bonds that he strengthened. Though he has departed from this earthly realm, the impact of his presence will continue to be felt by all those who were fortunate enough to have known him. In remembrance of Miguel Mike Angel Hernandez, we celebrate a life that was as rich in kindness and humor as it was in years. We are grateful for the time we had with him and for the many ways he enriched our lives. His spirit lives on in each of us, guiding us with the same love and joy he shared so freely during his time with us. May he rest in peace, leaving behind a legacy of love that will always be cherished. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at St. Angela Merici Roman Catholic Parish, 397 S. Jackson Street, Youngstown, OH 44506. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arrangements handled by Borowski Funeral Services & Oak Meadow Cremation Services. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Miguel, please visit our floral store. A television tribute will air Monday, March 3 at the following approximate times: 5:17 a.m. on WKBN, 8:39 a.m. on FOX, 5:21 p.m. on WYTV and 6:35 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. KEVIN KNODELL / KKNODELL @STARDVERTISER.COM Staff Sgt. Steven Saunders carries the possible remains of American Vietnam War dead recovered from Laos at Hickam Airfield on Friday. 1 /3 KEVIN KNODELL / KKNODELL @STARDVERTISER.COM Staff Sgt. Steven Saunders carries the possible remains of American Vietnam War dead recovered from Laos at Hickam Airfield on Friday. KEVIN KNODELL / KKNODELL @STARDVERTISER.COM Staff Sgt. Ross Neely carries recently recovered remains from Laos that arrived Friday at Hickam Airfield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 /3 KEVIN KNODELL / KKNODELL @STARDVERTISER.COM Staff Sgt. Ross Neely carries recently recovered remains from Laos that arrived Friday at Hickam Airfield. SENIOR AIRMAN KATHY DURAN / U.S. AIR FORCE / 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Mitchell Hartman, an explosive ordnance disposal technician for the Defense POW /MIA Accounting Agency, surveys an area during a recovery mission in Laos, officially the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. 3 /3 SENIOR AIRMAN KATHY DURAN / U.S. AIR FORCE / 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Mitchell Hartman, an explosive ordnance disposal technician for the Defense POW /MIA Accounting Agency, surveys an area during a recovery mission in Laos, officially the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. KEVIN KNODELL / KKNODELL @STARDVERTISER.COM Staff Sgt. Steven Saunders carries the possible remains of American Vietnam War dead recovered from Laos at Hickam Airfield on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KEVIN KNODELL / KKNODELL @STARDVERTISER.COM Staff Sgt. Ross Neely carries recently recovered remains from Laos that arrived Friday at Hickam Airfield. SENIOR AIRMAN KATHY DURAN / U.S. AIR FORCE / 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Mitchell Hartman, an explosive ordnance disposal technician for the Defense POW /MIA Accounting Agency, surveys an area during a recovery mission in Laos, officially the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. Service members and military officials gathered Friday morning at Hickam Airfield to welcome a Hawaii National Guard C-17 airplane arriving with precious cargo. The plane was flying in from Laos with what the military believes could be the remains of Americans killed in a secret battle during the Vietnam War. Service members wearing white gloves carefully carried small boxes from the plane that were topped with folded American flags. The boxes containing bones retrieved from the area where the battle took place were then transported to the Defense POW /MIA Accounting Agencys forensic lab at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, where researchers will try to identify them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the largest forensic skeleton lab in the world, and I dont think a lot of people in Hawaii know that, said John M. Figuerres, the agencys acting deputy director for operations. To retrieve the remains, a team from the DPAA searched the highlands of Laos, working in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions. This was an extremely difficult site because the battle took place on top of a mountain in Laos, Figuerres said. After the battle, the remains were scattered. The Vietnamese forces actually threw the American bodies off the side of the cliff. Members of the recovery team trained at the U.S Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center to prepare for the mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. The conditions (in Laos ) were extremely difficult, Figuerres said. In January, the route that they were taking, even though we had previously cleared it, we discovered had mines on it from the war . I am so proud of these youngsters and these individuals who actually execute the mission to bring back these fallen warriors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, 1, 573 personnel remain missing from the Vietnam War, and some 280 are believed to be in Laos. During the war Laos was, at least on paper, a neutral country, according to the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos signed July 23, 1962. That meant both U.S. and North Vietnamese forces were prohibited from openly conducting military operations in the kingdom. But in practice, the North Vietnamese Army and South Vietnamese Viet Cong guerillas supported by the North used areas of Laos as part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to move fighters and equipment in and out of South Vietnam. They also provided weapons and other assistance to the communist Pathet Lao insurgency that was fighting to overthrow the Laotian government. Likewise, the U.S. military conducted bombing operations and occasional raids against communist Vietnamese forces, and the CIA fought both them and the Pathet Lao using an army of Indigenous Hmong tribal fighters. Since neither the U.S. military nor the North Vietnamese forces were supposed to be in Laos, neither side publicly discussed the fighting, which came to be known as the Secret War. The DPAA is hoping the remains recovered in Laos belong to Americans killed during the fierce Battle of Lima Site 85, until relatively recently a forgotten battle. Lima Site 85 was a clandestine base used by the U.S. military and the CIA to covertly support air operations against communist forces in Laos. A small team of American airmen and civilian technicians worked there operating radar and weather equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1968, North Vietnamese troops backed by Pathet Lao fighters launched several attacks against the base, which was defended by CIA-backed Hmong tribal fighters, and Thai troops and border police. In March of that year they encircled the small base and pounded it with artillery before eventually overrunning the facility with their combined forces. Of the 19 Americans there, 13 were killed along with 42 Thai and Hmong fighters. Among those killed were Air Force Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger, who aided the wounded survivors and was fatally wounded himself when an enemy soldier on the ground fired a bullet into the underside of an evacuation helicopter as it was leaving. The operation remained classified and Etchbergers actions were not publicly acknowledged until 1998. After the declassification of the base and the operations around them, the military reevaluated Etchbergers actions and posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor in 2010. The DPAA has spent more than two decades searching for the men who died in the battle for Lima Site 85, so far successfully recovering and identifying the remains of three. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senior Airman Layne Fitzpatrick of Kapolei, who was a member of the flight crew that brought the most recent remains to Hawaii, said, Its really cool to see how many people are involved with operations around Asia, just to all the hard work theyre doing, just to recover all the human remains for dignified transfer. Over the past 17 years, Hawaii Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Joleen Morse has flown several repatriation missions of American war dead. Shes flown remains from the Philippines, the South Pacific and now Laos. Every mission is special, Morse said, but the most emotional experience for her was bringing back 22 fallen Marines from the island of Tarawa in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. That was the first time we had to see the pictures of everyone that we moved, and theyd been there for 75 years, so they had no family when we came back, Morse said. Everybody we moved was 21 and under. Were bringing them home. It may take a while for us to ID them, but if you really think about it, the Vietnam War ended over 50 years ago, Figuerres said. Our warriors need to know that if something happens to them, there is an organization that will look out for them and bring them home. PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. Authorities seized nearly 200 suspected fentanyl capsules after a Missouri womans traffic stop took an unexpected turn earlier this week. Prosecutors have charged Shiniqua Ginell Glover, 33, of Rolla, with one felony count of first-degree drug trafficking in the investigation. According to a probable cause statement obtained by FOX 2, an officer pulled over Glover on Tuesday, knowing she had an outstanding warrant in Phelps County for a separate drug trafficking charge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement $50K Missouri Lottery prize won at St. Louis Schnucks After her arrest, Glover was then informed her she would be escorted through a body scanner at the Phelps County Jail to check if she had anything illegal in her possession. At that time, she confessed to stashing around 100 fentanyl capsules in her pants. Then, Glover was escorted to the back of a police vehicle to hand over the fentanyl capsules. Upon inspection, authorities counted nearly 200 capsules, nearly double that amount, of yellow and silver capsules containing a white powder substance, suspected as fentanyl. Glover has since been booked into the Phelps County Jail on a $250,000 bond, per Missouri court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. The Trump administration sent another obnoxious email to federal employees ordering them to list their achievements from the previous week, making clear it intends for the bureaucratic memo exercise to be a new weekly ritual for more than two million workers. The email from the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, was titled What did you do last week? Part II. Like the previous one, it instructed employees to please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets describing what you accomplished, and gave a deadline of Monday at midnight. The first such email was paired with a threat from Elon Musk, the head of President Donald Trumps so-called Department of Government Efficiency, who said nonresponses would be considered resignations. It prompted widespread confusion across agencies, with some department leaders telling workers to reply, and others telling them to ignore it and stay within their agency chain of command. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follow-up emails shared with HuffPost on Saturday showed some agency leaders falling more in line with Musk after OPMs second what did you do last week? demand. Leadership at the Department of Homeland Security sent an email to employees Saturday telling them they were implementing a structured process to submit a brief summary of their key accomplishments from the previous week. They called the new policy part of our internal accountability efforts, and said it would align with OPMs recent guidance. The previous week, DHS had instructed employees to pause any response to OPM and said no reporting action from you is needed at this time. In a sign of how time-consuming this exercise has already been, the acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, sent out a two-page memo to employees on Saturday trying to explain whats expected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It listed 17 questions and answers on the process, including What should I do if I did not work all or part of last week? (Answer: Respond and indicate you were on leave), and Should employees who perform the same activities each week send the same bullet points each week? (The TL;DR answer: If you are unsure about what to include, ask your supervisor for assistance.) One worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the exercise seems to be based on the premise that first-line supervisors pay absolutely no attention whatsoever to wtf their subordinates are doing. At the Department of Energy, Secretary Chris Wright had what one employee described as a change of tenor in the second week of OPMs demand. After originally being told they didnt have to respond, employees were notified Saturday that they should reply. Elon Musk speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, on Feb. 20 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Jose Luis Magana via Associated Press At DOE, we do impactful and vital work for America and are proud to share our accomplishments with others, Wright said in an email shared with HuffPost. To that end, I ask all DOE employees to reply to the OPM email by the requested deadline of Monday at 11:59pm ET each week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added, Employees currently without email access due to leave, temporary duty, or other valid reasons should submit their response within 48 hours of regaining access. Some agency leaders were still pushing back on the OPM directive, however. Both the State Department and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent messages to employees this weekend instructing them not to reply, according to a report in The Washington Post. The accomplishment memo is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to shrink the federal workforce, in large part by making employees miserable and encouraging them to quit. The White House has unilaterally shut down federal agencies, orchestrated the firings of thousands of probationary employees and tried to push out many more through a legally dicey deferred resignation proposal. Trumps implementation of workforce policies has been rife with chaos and confusion, as leaders contradict and reverse one another in pursuit of the administrations goals. After OPM originally ordered employees to list their weeks accomplishments, the agency later walked back its demand and said replying was voluntary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that advice was undermined by Trump himself, who said publicly Monday that workers could be punished for not replying to OPM. And then, if you dont answer, like, youre sort of semi-fired or youre fired, because a lot of people arent answering because they dont even exist, the president said. Are you a federal employee with something to share? You can email our reporter here, or contact him over Signal at davejamieson.99. Related... More than half of all Americans believe that President Donald Trump will attempt to go for a third term, according to a new poll. Survey participants were asked if they think Trump "will attempt to serve a third term" 21 percent said "definitely" and 31 percent said "probably." Trump cannot run for a third term as a constitutional amendment states that presidents aren't allowed to "be elected to the office of the President more than twice." That hasn't stopped the president from musing about the possibility. In the campaign, Trump said he wouldn't run in 2028 if he lost. But, now that he has won, he has floated a third term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Should I run again? You tell me," Trump said at a Black History Month event last week. More than half of Americans in a recent poll say they believe that Donald Trump will try for a third term, despite it being banned by the Constitution (AP) Trump also posted on his Truth Social platform that New York was "saved" after his administration announced that it was rescinding a congestion pricing proposal. "LONG LIVE THE KING!" he added. In the YouGov poll, 16 percent said Trump is "probably not" going to try to serve a third term, with 18 percent saying that he's "definitely not" going to do it, The Hill noted. However, a constitutional amendment was recently put forward by Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Oagles that would allow Trump to serve a third term so the U.S. can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recent poll, which included 2,900 people, was conducted on February 25. The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that presidents can only serve up to two full terms. Trump started his second term in January 2025 (via REUTERS) The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that presidents can only serve up to two full terms (eight years). Trump has said he may feel entitled to more while also suggesting he doesnt want to run again after his next term ends in January 2029. Congressional Democrats have proposed a measure to clarify that the 22nd Amendment expressly forbids a third term in office, and the 78-year-old Trump has at times admitted defeat to the constitutional guardrails hes up against, despite his rhetoric. The 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelts four terms in office helped inspire the 22nd Amendment in the first place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ratified in 1951, the amendment came after Roosevelt had been elected four consecutive times, from 1932 to 1944. He died in office in April 1945, shortly into his fourth term. The amendment states that presidents can serve a maximum of two full terms. If a vice president becomes president during the term of their predecessor, which has occurred nine times in U.S. history due to death or resignation, they can still serve two full terms as long as they serve less than half of their predecessors remaining term. Before Roosevelt, whose time in office coincided with the twin international crises of the Depression and World War II, presidents had observed an unofficial tradition of not serving more than two terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite Trump bucking constitutional guardrails in his first presidency, he would face a tall order in getting a constitutional amendment through Congress to try to secure a third term. A proposal for a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers. Ratifying an amendment would require the support of three-fourths of all state legislatures. MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WNCT) Morehead City Police Department Chief Bryan Dixon issued a statement to the community as assurance they are taking any and all school-related rumors or threats seriously. Chief Dixon said Please know that we hear the same rumors you do and look into all of them. With our first-class group of School Resource Officers and Detectives, please know that even if we think its someones malicious attempt to shut down the school and have a long weekend, we take it seriously. For every report, no matter how far-fetched or our own professional opinions on its validity, we respond. In this day and age, we take all such threats seriously and will have extra officers on campus no matter how improbable. Chief Dixon continued saying If we have the ability to substantiate rumors, we will take action as soon as possible, up to and including recommending to the school board any cancellations in the interests of life safety. At this time, we are aware of an unsubstantiated rumor circulating about the safety for school next week and will continue to ensure it is a safe place to be for everyone. We live here, we work here, our children go to school here this is our city, too, and we will continue to do all we can to keep it safe. Thank you for all the appreciation and positive comments. They mean a lot to us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A motorcycle driver was killed after a crash in Marshall County on Friday. At approximately 8:25 p.m. on February 28, the Mississippi Highway Patrol responded to a crash on Highway 302 in Marshall County. A 2011 Ford F-150 driven by a man from Hernando, Mississippi, was traveling east on Highway 302 when it collided with the rear of a 2005 Harley Davidson ridden by a man from Olive Branch, Mississippi, traveling east on Highway 302. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The motorcycle rider suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene. The crash is still under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. DENVER (KDVR) A man riding a motorcycle died after a crash Saturday afternoon in Aurora. The man was riding a Harley westbound on East 11th Avenue near Kingston Street when it ran into the back of a Jeep, Aurora police said in a Sunday morning press release. Watch: Crews battle early morning fire at abandoned historic truck stop The man, who police said was not wearing a helmet, was taken to a hospital and later died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two women who were in the Jeep were not hurt. Aurora police said this is the fourth traffic fatality of 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Police are investigating after a shooting left an 18-year-old hospitalized early Sunday morning in Chillicothe, Missouri. According to the Chillicothe Police Department, at about 2:10 a.m., officers were informed of an 18-year-old male who had been shot and taken to Hendrick Medical Center. Two 2-year-olds killed in overnight house fire in Butler, Missouri Police said the extent of the teens injuries has not been released; however, he is currently receiving medical treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When police arrived at the hospital though, an acquaintance of the victim, another man, was taken into custody. As police started working on their initial investigations, an on-duty patrol officer reported pulling over a woman in a routine traffic stop. The officer then allegedly found evidence in connection with the shooting. The woman and her child were taken to the Chillicothe Police Department, where the child was eventually released to other family members. After this incident, police got a search warrant for a home near Walnut Street and Ann Street. This led to the arrest of a man and woman, both of whom were taken to the Caldwell County Detention Center on a 24-hour hold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement String of break-ins overnight in KCs Waldo, Brookside neighborhoods Police said the individuals could face three charges: unlawful use of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence, and endangering the welfare of a child. In addition to these charges, officers said the 18-year-old who was injured in the shooting could also be facing criminal charges. A car has been taken into evidence, Chillicothe police said, and it is believed that this is an isolated incident. There is no ongoing threat to the public and the shooting remains under investigation with the Chillicothe Police Department. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Firefighters responded to a home on Charles Blvd. Saturday afternoon. Christopher May with Eastern Pines Fire Department says the fire started in a burn pit, and spread quickly to a home. He says about an acre and a half of land was burned. Multiple crews were on the scene including Eastern Pines Fire Department, Winterville Community Fire Department, Simpson Fire Stations, Red Oaks Fire Department, N.C. Forestry Services, Town of Winterville Fire Department, Greenville Engine 3 and Pitt County EMS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials say there were no injuries. WNCT 9 On Your Side will have more information as it becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. (WSPA) Multiple wildfires were reported Saturday across the Upstate, aided by high winds and low humidity. The South Carolina Forestry Commission reported fires in Oconee County, Pickens County, Spartanburg County, Greenville County, and Union County. In Pickens County, crews were battling a fire near Laurel Ridge Road off of Six Mile Highway. Residents of Six Mile Ridge and Pilgrim Circle were asked to evacuate the area, according to the Pickens County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A shelter was opened at Pleasant Hill Fellowship Hall at 3041 Six Mile Highway in Central. The fire on Six Mile Mountain was 230 acres as of 10 p.m., according to the SC Forestry Commission. Smoke from that fire spread over parts of Greenville. The plume of smoke was visible from a 7NEWS City Cam in downtown Greenville. In Union County, a fire broke out along Jonesville Lockhart Highway near Pineland Road east of Jonesville. As of 7 p.m., that fire was around 60 acres in size, according to the forestry commission. The Jonesville Fire Department said they were called to a large grass fire around 4 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some cars and outbuildings were destroyed by the fire, according to Jonesville Fire Chief DJ Long. Long said no houses were lost in the fire and firefighters will remain on scene throughout the night monitoring hot spots. That fire was contained by Saturday night. Fire damage in Union County after a wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Hwy., March 1, 2025 (Viewer Photo) Fire damage in Union County after a wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Hwy., March 1, 2025 (Viewer Photo) Fire damage in Union County after a wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Hwy., March 1, 2025 (Viewer Photo) Fire damage in Union County after a wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Hwy., March 1, 2025 (Viewer Photo) Photo showing flames and damage from a wildfire in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Grayson Smith) Photo showing flames and damage from a wildfire in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Grayson Smith) Photo showing flames and damage from a wildfire in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Grayson Smith) Photo showing flames and damage from a wildfire in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Grayson Smith) Photo showing flames and damage from a wildfire in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Grayson Smith) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) Crews battle wildfire along Jonesville Lockhart Highway in Union County, S.C., March 1, 2025 (From: Corinth Volunteer Fire Department) In Spartanburg County, firefighters responded to a fire between Miller Town Road and Blackstock Road. Forestry officials said that fire was 90 acres in size as of 6:30 p.m. Smoke from that fire, located just south of Pauline, was visible from the 7NEWS City Cam in downtown Spartanburg Saturday afternoon. A smaller, eight-acre fire was also burning along Newberry Road just south of Landrum in Spartanburg County, as of 6:45 p.m. That fire was contained by 8:15 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Inman City Fire Department said in a post on social media more than 20 brush fires were reported in Spartanburg County on Saturday, many of them occurred simultaneously. The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a statewide burning ban Saturday evening. The ban means that all outdoor burning, prescribed burns, and campfires will not be allowed in unincorporated areas of the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. Brush fires that erupted amid dry and windy conditions caused officials in both North and South Carolina to order evacuations Saturday. A fire in North Carolina's Polk County has burned between 400 to 500 acres and was at zero containment, according to Jeremy Waldrop with the North Carolina Fire Service. Waldrop said that structures could be at risk and officials would assess any potential damage Sunday morning. The NCFS on Sunday performed controlled burns to slow down the spread of the blaze and strengthened fire lines that were already in place, officials said. Polk County announced evacuations in a Facebook Post for residents along U.S. Highway 176 between Tryon and Saluda, warning that the fire is spreading rapidly, and multiple departments were working on containment. Tryon has a population of about 1,500 people, while Saluda's is under 1,000. The towns are approximately 40 miles south of Asheville. Firefighters battle a blaze in the Carolina Forest neighborhood on March 2, 2025 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Multiple forest fires in the area have caused evacuations along the South Carolina coast. / Credit: Sean Rayford/Getty Images In South Carolina, Horry County Fire Rescue evacuated residents from several neighborhoods in the Carolina Forest, around 10 miles west of Myrtle Beach, due to a forest fire that has burned at least 1,600 acres. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMacter issued a state of emergency on Sunday in response to the ongoing fire that was at 30% containment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are being evacuated from our neighborhood as winds have increased and shifted," resident Jason Jawz wrote Facebook, posting a video of billowing smoke on Sunday morning. Two planes and a Black Hawk helicopter were seen dropping water on the fire Sunday morning. Tractors also helped dig lines around the blaze in an effort to contain it. By late Sunday afternoon, Horry County Fire Rescue said all residents previously evacuated were able to return home, warning them to watch out for any rekindling and hotspots. A statewide burn ban for all counties was still in effect after over 100 ignitions were reported Saturday, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission. A red flag warning from the National Weather Service expired late Saturday night for western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina. Red Flag warnings indicate critical fire weather conditions are either occurring or imminent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vatican announces Pope Francis' funeral details as his burial requests are revealed From the archives: 1970 Earth Day special report with Walter Cronkite Remembering Pope Francis, the Catholic Church leader who broke with tradition Convicted murderer John Fitzgerald Hanson was returned to Oklahoma Saturday from a federal prison in Louisiana to face execution. The transfer came 40 days after President Donald Trump issued an executive order "restoring" the death penalty. The Biden administration had blocked Hanson's return in 2022. Hanson, 60, was serving a life sentence for bank robbery and other federal crimes at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana. He faces execution for murdering retired banker Mary Agnes Bowles after kidnapping her from the parking lot of a Tulsa mall on Aug. 31, 1999. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi last month directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to transfer Hanson "so that Oklahoma can carry out this just sentence." Oklahoma's attorney general, Gentner Drummond, said in a news release that the state Department of Corrections transferred the inmate late Saturday. Hanson now is being held at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. "For the family and friends of Mary Bowles, the wait for justice has been a long and frustrating one," Drummond said Sunday. "While the Biden Administration inexplicably protected this vicious killer from the execution chamber, I am grateful President Trump and Attorney General Bondi recognized the importance of this murderer being back in Oklahoma so justice can be served." Drummond asked for the transfer on Jan. 23, three days after Trump issued his executive order on capital punishment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is the policy of the United States to ensure that the laws that authorize capital punishment are respected and faithfully implemented, and to counteract the politicians and judges who subvert the law by obstructing and preventing the execution of capital sentences." Trump wrote. A federal judge in Louisiana on Wednesday refused to block the transfer. What did Hanson do? Hanson and an accomplice wanted Bowles' car for a robbery spree. The victim was 77. She was kidnapped after walking at the Promenade Mall for exercise. Mary Agnes Bowles PROVIDED BY THE OKLAHOMA OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL Hanson punched her in the face when she asked if he had anyone who loved him, the lead prosecutor, former Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris, said in a Feb. 20 court declaration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hanson shot her in a ditch near Owasso after the accomplice gunned down a dirt pit owner, Jerald Thurman, according to testimony at his trial. Her body wasn't found for days. The dirt pit owner had spotted them on his property. Hanson later confessed to a friend, saying, "Everything went bad." Hanson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the dirt pit owner's murder. Why was the transfer denied in 2022? Hanson had been set for execution in Oklahoma on Dec. 15, 2022. A regional director at the Federal Bureau of Prisons refused to release him, writing "his transfer to state authorities for state execution is not in the public interest." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The position was in keeping with the Biden administration's opposition to the death penalty. Joe Biden had promised during his 2020 campaign "to work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal governments example. After Biden took office, his attorney general, Merrick Garland, imposed a moratorium on federal executions. Bondi lifted the moratorium Feb. 5. When will the execution take place? Hanson could be executed in June. Oklahoma is set to execute confessed killer Wendell Grissom by lethal injection on March 20 at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drummond has said he will ask the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to schedule Hanson to be executed next. The court is now setting executions about 90 days apart. In his court declaration, Harris said the delay in carrying out the execution "has denied justice to the victims' families, the Tulsa community, and Oklahoma." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Trump's return brought a murderer back to Oklahoma for execution Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) condemned the Trump administration over the recent fallout with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during Fridays Oval Office meeting broadcasted by the American press. This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine. It ends with a tense, shocking conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine, Murkowski wrote in a Saturday post on X. I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her stance, notable from a Republican, echoes that of many foreign leaders who labeled the meeting a stark sever in American values, including the countrys tradition of fighting for democracy across the globe. During the meeting, President Trump and Vice President Vance slammed Zelensky, accusing him of not showing gratitude for the security assistance provided by the U.S. despite the Ukrainian leaders show of thanks in an early February post on X lauding the new administration for its commitment to peace in Eastern Europe. In recent weeks, the president has repeatedly sidelined Zelensky from peace negotiation meetings, claiming his Ukrainian counterpart has no cards and cannot offer a solution to the ongoing conflict. After yesterdays turmoil, the Republican administration again urged Ukraine to elect a new leader to help curb violence within the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to the meeting, the U.S. voted no on a United Nations resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine. The move was a subtle sign of division between Americas storied allies and a show of relations advancing with Russia, Belarus and North Korea, who also voted no on the resolution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. It's a week rich with local talent, from artists who were scene staples decades ago to brand new groups. Here are some of the best shows taking place around the Twin Cities this week. View the original article to see embedded media. Lazerbeak EP release show Wednesday, March 5 at Berlin Hip-hop scene veteran Lazerbeak, aka Aaron Mader, is celebrating the February release of his A Bridge Under the Alley EP. The Minnesota native will be joined by percussionist Zack Baltich to celebrate his atmospheric, laid back release that, as the cover suggests, feels like a beautiful record to throw on during a lazy, snowy afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to his numerous Doomtree collaborations, the musician and producer has worked with Lizzo, Doja Cat, Trampled by Turtles, and the Minnesota Orchestra. His omnivorous influences are deeply apparent on the new EP, his first solo studio release since 2021's Cameron. Paul Hecht and The Nunnery will open the set. Sndergard Conducts Mahler Symphony No. 1 Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8 at Orchestra Hall The Minnesota Orchestra presents a program featuring Dorothy Howell's "Lamia," Benjamin Britten's Arthur Rimbaud-inspired "Les illuminations," and Mahler's "Symphony No. 1, Titan," a piece that was first recorded by the Minnesota Orchestra, which went by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra at that time. The orchestra will be joined by Grammy-winning soprano Julia Bullock, who recently made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera. Cindy Lawson, The Unnamed, and Muun Bato Friday, March 7 at Cloudland Theater Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawson was best known for her work with The Clams, the all-female rock group that played around the Twin Cities for four years in the late '80s. She played in other Twin Cities and New York-based bands for a span before stepping away from music in the late '90s. But she returned with a bang in 2021, releasing her first new music in decades the following year. Since then, she's released a few singles and an EP of old school bar rock with a punk attitude. She's joined by The Unnamed and the pyschedelic Muun Bato (who may hit the spot for fans of The Flaming Lips). Morgan Wade Friday, March 7 at First Avenue The Virginia-born country artist is back at First Avenue following the release of last year's Obsessed, her fourth studio album. Wade's latest has a more confessional tone and a little more musical grit to it than her past releases, like her AMA-nominated "Wilder Days" from Reckless. Rage & Reset 2025 Friday March 7Sunday, March 9 at Pillar Forum Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pillar Forum is hosting three straight days of local punk music (to put a painfully broad label on it) during the second Rage & Reset. It's like a sampler platter of Twin Cities punk groups that dot the calendar every week. The lineup includes Anita Velveeta, Early Eyes, Valeska Suratt, Baumgardner, Haze Gazer, The Penny Peaches, and plenty more. Weekend passes are $50, while single-day tickets range from $15-$25. The full lineup can be found at the Pillar Forum website. Related: It's about damn time: Lizzo is back with new music and will play First Avenue in March Concerts on Monday, Mar. 3: Concerts on Tuesday, Mar. 4: Related: Simple Plan will bring a taste of Warped Tour to MN, even if the punk fest revival isn't coming Concerts on Wednesday, Mar. 5: Concerts on Thursday, Mar. 6: Concerts on Friday, Mar. 7: Concerts on Saturday, Mar. 8: Concerts on Sunday, Mar. 9: Related: Pantera will return to Minneapolis a year after surprise First Avenue show Just announced concerts: Related: Rilo Kiley will head to St. Paul during first tour in 17 years LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRN) Law enforcement in Alabama arrested a Nashville man who reportedly claimed to be a member of the Sinaloa Cartel after a shooting on Interstate 65 near the Tennessee/Alabama state line. According to the Limestone County Sheriffs Office, around 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, deputies received a report from a woman who claimed 35-year-old Joel Cespedes was following her vehicle on I-65 near Exit 365. The victim reportedly said Cespedes called and threatened to kill her if she did not stop the vehicle. She refused, and he allegedly began firing shots at her as they drove down the interstate. Authorities said the victim was able to record the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woman found guilty of murder after Nashville mans body dumped along I-65 in 2021 LCSO said while on the phone with dispatchers, the victim exited the interstate and drove to find a safe location. An Alabama state trooper in the area conducted a traffic stop on Cespedes, prompting a response from several other law enforcement agencies. During a search of Cespedes, law enforcement reportedly found a gun, several fraudulent identification cards, passports and credit cards belonging to other individuals. Joel Cespedes (Courtesy: Limestone County Sheriffs Office) Officials said probable cause was established to charge Cespedes with attempted murder and second-degree domestic violence (stalking). He was also charged with trafficking in stolen identities, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of fentanyl. Cespedes is being held on a $2,005,000 bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LCSO advised anyone who witnessed this incident or has additional information to contact Investigator Martin Evans at 256-232-0111. Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox. Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has expressed positive expectations for the summit in London, which will discuss European defence and support for Ukraine. Source: Rutte on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: Rutte is one of many leaders who have arrived at the London summit. "Very positive heading into todays meeting in London. Three key points: Support Ukraine today. All in Europe will need to give more We all want a peace deal, and it has to last. Europe is really stepping up here To keep NATO strong, Europe will increase defence spending," Rutte said. Background: Earlier, Rutte noted that sustainable peace in Ukraine requires joint work between the US, Ukraine and Europe and hopes for reconciliation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, after the spat in the White House. After the spat with Zelenskyy, Trump claimed that the Ukrainian president wanted to continue the war, while Russian ruler Vladimir Putin was ready for peace. Zelenskyy noted the White House incident was not beneficial for either side but explained why he had actively engaged in it. He later elaborated on his position, stressing that he could not agree to a truce without guarantees for Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! We are now two months into the administration of new North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, and soon hell make his first formal pitch to the General Assembly. Stein is a Democrat and the legislature is controlled by Republicans. They just invited him to deliver his State of the State Address on March 12. Good morning. Im Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observers Capitol bureau chief, and this is the governor edition of our Under the Dome newsletter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In North Carolina, the State of the State is given every two years during a joint session of the General Assembly. It is held in the House chamber, as the Senate chamber is too small to fit everyone. There are 50 senators and 120 representatives in the House. Extra chairs are brought in to fit the senators on the floor for the bicameral event. And its not just lawmakers and the governor. The Council of State is there, too, as well as the N.C. Supreme Court and the N.C. Court of Appeals. Gov. Roy Cooper leaves the House chamber after delivering his State of the State address to a joint session of the N.C. General Assembly on Monday, March 6, 2023. The speech will be Steins pitch to lawmakers for what he hopes will be accomplished during the two-year legislative session thats already underway. It will set his tone for potential legislative battles ahead. Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate, so they can override a Stein veto. And Republicans in the House are just one vote short of total control. Stein will give his speech at 7 p.m. March 12. The Republican response, which is usually pre-recorded, will follow immediately. The chambers take turns, so it is the Houses turn to give the response. House Speaker Destin Hall is in his first term as speaker and expected to give the speech. Two years ago, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who presided over the Senate as president, gave the response. Gov. Pat McCrory enters the House chambers before delivering his State of the State address Monday, February 18, 2013, at the state Legislative Building in Raleigh. The event is also the only time in two years that so many people from all three branches of government are in the same room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News & Observer photos from past State of the State addresses show former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and former Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue. In 2011, Perdue called for lowering corporate income taxes during her speech, which gained applause from then-Speaker and now U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Gov. Bev Perdues call for reduced corporate taxes for the state elicited not only a standing ovation but applause from Speaker Thom Tillis, right, during her State of the State address at the Legislative Building in February 2011. Steins speech is sure to touch on Helene recovery, which has been a focus of state leaders last fall and this year. With budget season starting, the speech is also an opportunity for him to talk about raises, education funding and other priorities. Stein has already called for a freeze on cuts in the individual income tax rate and corporate income tax rate this year. He is expected to give lawmakers his budget proposal soon. Stay informed about #ncpol Coming up Monday on our Under the Dome podcast, Im joined by politics reporters Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. We talk about scrutiny by the House Oversight Committee of the DMV, diversity, equity and inclusion, and more. Not a newsletter subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily. A police sergeant who served in the Marines and N.C. National Guard has sued his boss and North Carolina town, claiming $5 million in emotional distress and economic damages. James Burgess, a Black officer in the Gaston County town of Dallas, says he suffered those damages when he was retaliated against for complaining about being passed over for a promotion to captain because of his race. A white sergeant with far less law experience and who never served in the military was later promoted to the job, according to the lawsuit Burgess filed Feb. 24 in federal court in Charlotte. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said no one told him the outcome of the towns inquiry into his complaint. The lawsuit says Police Chief Robert Walls and town management also denied Burgess incentive and standby pay that white officers had no trouble getting. WBTV first reported on the lawsuit. Dallas town officials dont comment on active or pending litigation, Town Manager Jonathan Newton told The Charlotte Observer on Friday. Most senior sergeant in his police department In his lawsuit, Burgess said hes worked for the police department since 2016 and has 11 years of law enforcement experience. He was an active-duty Marine for four years and served 16 years with the North Carolina National Guard, retiring as a sergeant in 2020, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he was the most senior Dallas Police sergeant when he asked about being promoted to open captain and lieutenant jobs. The FBI trained him as a hostage negotiator, and he was the only Internal Affairs officer on the Dallas force, he said. Walls ignored a unanimous vote by the departments new Captain Promotion Board to promote Burgess to the role, the lawsuit says. In 2023, Walls issued new police cars to officers, including those who joined the department after Burgess, but Burgess did not receive one, the lawsuit says. That was retaliation for Burgess filing a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for being passed over for promotions, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burgess said hes suffered anxiety, depression, humiliation, embarrassment and loss of professional standing due to the retaliation. He wants a jury to award him back and front pay, and damages, in amounts to be proven at trial, he said. Editor Patrick Wilson contributed. North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek, who was elected last November, is a Republican. But he vowed to be an independent auditor who operates above the throes of partisanship. We know one way he can prove it. The state auditors job is to be a watchdog of public dollars, and Boliek and other Republicans have expressed a desire to rein in supposedly wasteful spending and mismanagement of government services. If theyre serious about that, they should focus their attention on a major expenditure thats already susceptible to abuse: the states private school voucher program. Thats what at least one state auditor is already doing. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, is attempting to audit his states voucher program to ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent correctly including by ensuring that students receiving a voucher meet the income eligibility requirements and that the money is disbursed appropriately. Sand says the states Republican governor and state agencies are blocking him from fully auditing the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In North Carolina, legislators have made the school voucher program universal, so there are no longer any income eligibility requirements for receiving a voucher. But that doesnt erase the need for oversight. Approximately $6.5 billion will be spent on vouchers over the next decade, making it a major budget expense. And that money comes with little accountability or strings attached. Not only is there little oversight over whether the funding is being used appropriately, schools that receive voucher funds are not held to the same standards regarding student outcomes. Teachers dont have to be licensed, and there is no standard curriculum that must be taught. Its why North Carolinas voucher program is one of the least accountable and transparent in the nation. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that at least some misuse may be occurring. An 2023 analysis from the N.C. Justice Center found dozens of instances in which a school received more vouchers than they had students. That same year, a WFAE reporter spent months trying to find the location of one Charlotte school receiving voucher funding, to no avail, and the State Bureau of Investigation launched a probe into a Johnston County private school over allegations it fraudulently received voucher funds for students who didnt attend the school. These occurrences, even if isolated in nature, suggest that an audit of the program might be warranted. The Office of the State Auditor welcomes all suggestions on what should be audited, and education is certainly an area of interest, Randy Brechbiel, a spokesperson for Boliek, said in an email. That said, we do not have unlimited resources, and the current focus remains the DMV. If the auditor is too busy, this could be a job for the legislature, which also seems to have a commitment to cutting what it believes to be wasteful spending. Republicans in the state House recently formed the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency, modeled after a similar initiative at the federal level thats spearheaded by Elon Musk. The committees goal is to examine state and local government operations for potential waste, duplication of services, mismanagement and violations of constitutional liberties. While there are certainly many operations that could fall under the scope of such a committee, lawmakers should consider making the Opportunity Scholarship program one of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shouldnt schools receiving voucher funds have to show some sort of proof that the investment is worthwhile and is achieving its intended purpose? Dont taxpayers deserve good stewardship of public dollars? For an expenditure that big, surely due diligence is warranted. Of course, theres always the chance that an audit of the program will find very little, if any, fraud or misuse. If thats the case, Boliek and Republicans can reassure North Carolina taxpayers that their money is being put to good use. If the program is as valuable and legitimate as they say it is, whats the harm in being transparent about it? The same standards of accountability and oversight should apply to every program not just the ones they dont like. Israel has halted all humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza after the first phase of a ceasefire deal with Hamas expired, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defending the move as necessary leverage to secure the release of remaining captives. "The entry of all goods and supplies to the Gaza Strip will be halted," Netanyahu's office said Sunday, blaming Hamas for rejecting a framework for continued negotiations proposed by US envoy Steve Witkoff. "Israel will not allow a ceasefire without a release of our hostages. If Hamas persists in its refusal, there will be additional consequences." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witkoff's plan apparently would extend phase one of the ceasefire, which ended on Saturday, and continue the release of hostages. That would mean the postponement of phase two, which had not only envisaged the release of all remaining hostages, but also Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a complete end to the war. At a Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu reiterated that aid would not resume unless Hamas complied with the new plan put forward. "There will be no free lunches," he said. "If Hamas thinks it can continue the ceasefire or benefit from the first stage without us receiving hostages, it is sorely mistaken." Hamas has not accepted this framework, prompting Israels decision to cut off aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Palestinian group called Netanyahu's move "unscrupulous blackmail, a war crime and a serious breach of the agreement" by Israel and Hamas announced on January 15. Hamas urged mediators to pressure Israel into reversing its decision. Since the ceasefire began on January 19, aid deliveries had increased into the war-ravaged enclave, where nearly 2 million people face dire humanitarian conditions. A complete halt to supplies could have devastating consequences. International criticism Egypt strongly condemned Israel's decision, warning that starvation should not be used as a weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The deal includes a full flow of aid, and it cannot be allowed or accepted that aid is used for collective punishment," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty said Sunday. "This is a blatant and clear violation of international humanitarian law." Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has been mediating between Israel and Hamas in an effort to prolong the ceasefire and secure further hostage releases. Abdel-Atty stressed that negotiations for the next phase must begin immediately. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to immediately resume humanitarian aid deliveries and for Israel and Hamas to make every effort to avoid renewed open hostilities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also warned of the consequences of an aid blockade and the breakdown of the ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every effort must be made to maintain the ceasefire so that lives are spared, humanitarian aid enters Gaza, and more families are reunited," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said. She cautioned that any setback in negotiations "risks plunging people back into despair." Hostage talks at an impasse The Israeli government said it had endorsed Witkoffs proposal to extend the initial ceasefire for the duration of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends on March 29, and the Jewish Passover festival, which ends on April 19. Half of the hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip both living and dead would be released on the first day of the extended ceasefire, with the remaining hostages being freed at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is achieved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The breakdown in talks comes amid ongoing violence. The Hamas-run health authority in Gaza reported four deaths on Sunday in Israeli attacks, despite the ceasefire. The Israeli military said its air force struck suspects planting explosives near its troops in northern Gaza. Since the ceasefire took effect, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian authorities. The overall death toll in the conflict stands at approximately 48,000 in Gaza since October 7, 2023, while Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200 people, with 250 taken hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his decision to stop allowing the import of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. "There will be no free lunches," the Israeli leader said at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday. "If Hamas thinks that it will be possible to continue the ceasefire or benefit from the terms of the first stage, without us receiving hostages, it is sorely mistaken," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Hamas persists in its position, there will be "further consequences," which the Israeli leader did not list. Netanyahu announced the decision after Israel and Hamas were unable to agree on an extension to a six-week ceasefire in the Gaza war. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A man has pleaded guilty to extorting and threatening Instagram users and influencers, according to court documents. Idriss Qibaa, 28, pleaded guilty on Feb. 21 to charges including extortion, money laundering and stalking, records said. The FBI arrested Qibaa last summer and said he extorted and threatened customers and Instagram influencers as part of an online business to block and unlock social media accounts. Qibaa ran the website Unlocked4life.com and uses the names Dani and Unlocked, documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Will Demi Moore be the first Best Actress from a horror film in 14 years? Qibaa outlined an extortion scheme during a podcast in 2024 where he also said he made more than $600,000 a month through his website, Unlocked4life.com, and its subscribers, the FBI said after his arrest. During the No Jumper podcast, Qibaa described locking victims and then charging the victims to unlock the account, documents said. Unlocked4life.com, which state records said was based in Henderson, advertised it could ban or unban social media accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram and TikTok, investigators said. Qibaa also offered a service to purchase digital tracking and personal information. Qibaa faces decades in prison, officials said. A judge will sentence him in May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. A specialized Haitian police task force hit the stronghold of the countrys most notorious warlord on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of several gang members, the countrys prime minister said. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime confirmed the strike in the lower Delmas 6 neighborhood on his personal X account, as rumors swirled in both Port-au-Prince and in the United States that the target of the attack, Jimmy Barbecue Cherizier, a former police officer who has become the countrys top gang chieftain, was either seriously injured or dead. But soon after the attack, Cherizier released a video in which he confirmed he is still alive, and didnt appear to be gravely injured. He said police used explosive drones in an attempt to kill him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video images shared on social media showed the remnants of drones reportedly used by police. In another post on X, the prime ministers office referred to the strike as a large-scale operation and that several gang members had been killed. Security forces are mobilized, and a state of readiness has been declared, the prime minister he said on the governments X account. The country will not yield to terror. Haitian people, keep hope alive: the government stands at your side in these difficult times. Victory against the gangs is on its way. Haiti will take control of its destiny once again. The post also noted that the task force carrying out the operation had been created by the government and the Transitional Presidential Council in less than 48 hours. Several sources said that the current police chief, Rameau Normil, was not told of the operation, which was carried out by others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A former police chief who became a gang leader, Cherizier was one of the principal chieftains of both the G-9 gang coalition and the powerful Viv Ansanm alliance, which made its deadly debut a year ago on Feb. 28. Gang members burned schools and police stations, raided the countrys two largest prisons and led insurgencies in many parts of the capital. More than 5,600 Haitians died in gang-related violence last year, according to the United Nations. Saturdays operation came after days of gang attacks that have destroyed more than three dozen schools just this year, and forced another mass exodus of people from neighborhoods in the capital. It also came amid ongoing tensions between the prime ministers office and the police hierarchy, and an open conflict within the police itself that has led to gangs further mobilizing to wreak havoc. The gangs now control as much as 90% of metropolitan Port-au-Prince. Declaring a state of emergency, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday suspended two landmark state environmental laws to expedite measures he said were needed to protect communities against devastating wildfires. Newsom suspended the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act as the two-month anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires approaches and the state prepares for the summer and fall fire season. The California Environmental Quality Act, requires local and state agencies to identify and mitigate environmental impacts of their work. The California Coastal Act lays out regulations for coastal development and protection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moves come as Newsom asks Congress for nearly $40 billion in aid for fire recovery and as President Trump and his allies have attacked the state's wildfire management. After the January conflagrations, Trump said California should do a better job "raking the forests" to prevent fires. His critics pointed out that the federal government owns more than half of the state's forest land while the state or local governments own 3%. Last month, Ric Grinell, the president's envoy for special missions, said that "there will be conditions" on federal aid to California, singling out the California Coastal Commission which was established by a voter proposition and made permanent by the coastal act and said it should be "defunded." The governor's office said the legal moves would fast-track vegetation and tree removal as well as the creation of fuel breaks and allow for quicker approval for more and bigger planned fires for forest management. In a statement, Newsom said the suspended regulations were part of his work in "cutting red tape and making historic investments." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire," he said. In January, Newsom eased requirements for rebuilding permits and reviews in both acts for fire victims, saying that he would "not give up" on the state's environmental rules but that "delay is denial" for people who have had "lives, traditions, places torn apart, torn asunder. In 2019, Newsom also declared a state of emergency and suspended environmental regulations that fell under the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency in order to speed up fire prevention projects. The year before, the Camp fire erupted in Northern California and nearly destroyed the town of Paradise. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Nine people were arrested Saturday afternoon at a raucous protest against Elon Musk at his Tesla car showroom in downtown Manhattan. Around 300 protesters flooded the street around 1 p.m. outside the Tesla showroom at Washington and and W. 13 Sts. in the Meatpacking District. Demonstrators signs filled the air with slogans like Dont Buy a Swasticar, Nazi, No Dictators in the USA, Musk Is Out of Control and F MAGA. Brian Flanagan, 66, and his wife, Shawn Haugen, 64, came to the protest from New Rochelle in Westchester to decry the budget-slashing head of DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk has aligned himself with Trump, Flanagan said. He basically bought himself a seat at the table. We know he has a seat at the table because Trump told all his cabinet members that, if none of them are happy about Musk, they can go take a hike. So this isnt something that the far left made up or liberals or woke people. This is real. Its happening. One of the things that I tell everyone, too, is we sit on the couch and we complain and we do all our social media, but we cant, we cant complain if we dont do anything, Haugen said. So were out here to make our voices heard and to tell people that were not happy, that this is not right. During the protest, two of the participants went inside the showroom and refused to leave, while six others sat at the front door and wouldnt budge despite repeated police orders to leave. Outside, the crowd erupted in songs and chants, including, No more business as usual! Stop the coup! and Nobody voted for Elon Musk! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The anti-Elon action was organized by Rise and Resist, a group formed in 2017 during President Trumps first term, over Musks being handed control of government payment and personnel systems, with the protest theme of Pull the Plug on Musk. During a moment of anti-Musk mayhem, one of the places glass front doors was smashed. Zack Winestine, a member of Rise and Resist, was one of the two protesters arrested inside the car showroom. He said he held an American flag and an anti-Musk sign and did not touch any of the pricey electric vehicles. He said there was a swarm of photographers at the protest jostling to get photos of them, one of whose gear accidentally swung at the glass door, cracking it. Very fragile glass, Winestine gibed. Its like a Cybertruck you tap the thing and the fender falls off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Winestine, a West Village filmmaker and activist, said eight protesters were arrested for trespassing and another for a minor violation. He received a desk appearance ticket. Police confirmed the arrests but did not specify the charges. [The protest was] to get the message out that Elon Musk, who owns Tesla, is an unelected billionaire, Winestine said, who is seizing power in this country and destroying many of the systems that people depend upon for healthcare, food distribution, disaster relief. . We were exercising our constitutional right to petition our government, and right now our government is Elon Musk, and if we want to petition our government, it looks like we have to go to a Tesla showroom. The courts will catch up with him, Winestine said, but hes doing so much damage now. By Eduardo Munoz and Rich McKay NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nine people were arrested during a raucous demonstration outside a New York City Tesla dealership on Saturday, protesting owner Elon Musk's role in sweeping cuts to the federal workforce at the behest of President Donald Trump. The protest, which police said involved hundreds of people, was one of a wave of "Tesla Takedown" demonstrations staged across the country targeting billionaire Musk, who is spearheading the Trump administration's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throngs of protesters also descended on the electric vehicle maker's showrooms in Jacksonville, Florida, Tucson, Arizona, and other cities, blocking traffic, chanting and waving signs reading "Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy," and "No Dictators in the USA." Musk, the world's richest person, is leading an unprecedented push to shrink the federal government that has resulted in the firing of thousands of employees and the termination of hundreds of aid contracts and federal leases. Tesla and a White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to attempts to seek comment by phone and email on Saturday night. In some cases, federal agencies have been forced to try to hire back key workers that had been fired, including some responsible for America's nuclear weapons, scientists trying to fight a worsening outbreak of bird flu and officials responsible for supplying electricity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least 100,000 of the 2.3 million federal employees have agreed to buy-outs or have been fired since Trump took office on January 20. "We are taking action at Tesla, Musk's flagship company," the organizers said on the website actionnetwork.org, calling for people to dump Tesla stock and "join the picket lines." "Detaching Musk from Tesla would be a meaningful blow against this administration and its prerogatives, because it would be a strike against what they hold most dear: money and power," actor and filmmaker Alex Winter wrote in a Rolling Stone article. Winter has posted on social media that he helped organize the protests. (Reporting by Carlos Munoz in New York, Rich McKay in Atlanta and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and William Mallard) KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) No one was hurt when shots were fired at a large party in Kalamazoo early Sunday morning, police say. Just before 3 a.m., officers with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety were sent to an apartment on Lafayette Avenue near Weaver Boulevard after receiving reports about gunfire. Responding officers found a large party. Witnesses said someone had been removed from the apartment and fired a shot into the ceiling before firing another round outside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one was hurt. KDPS said no suspects have been identified. An alert was sent out by Western Michigan University notifying students about the investigation and urged them to be cautious if they were in the area. The case remains under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Sen. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, speaks on the South Dakota Senate floor on Jan. 21, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE State Sen. Chris Karr didnt like the way former Gov. Kristi Noems administration spent money without legislative approval or oversight. Neither did his colleagues, judging by the support hes received for a legislative package he dubbed three big, beautiful bills. The package, which is headed to the House after its unanimous approval by the Senate, would establish new restrictions on the kind of state government spending, leasing and fund transfers that Karr said the Noem administration abused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was a pattern of saying, We dont need to get permission well just do it, Karr said. These bills make sure that doesnt happen again. The Sioux Falls Republican has served in the Legislature since 2017. He spent much of that time on the main budget committee, sometimes butting heads with fellow Republicans in the Noem administration over spending. He was elevated to the position of Senate president pro tempore this legislative session. Large GF&P expenditures The first bill would mandate that any Department of Game, Fish & Parks projects over $2.5 million receive legislative approval. Karr said the departments $20 million shooting range complex north of Rapid City proceeded despite lawmakers rejecting funding requests. He said the department is building the shooting range using a mix of its own budget, donations and a discretionary fund controlled by the governor, thereby bypassing legislative approval. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to strike a balance, Karr said. Nobody wants to call a special session to approve picnic shelters or boat ramps, but when taxpayer dollars are going toward multi-million-dollar projects, the Legislature should be involved. Oversight on long-term leases The second bill would require any lease exceeding 15 years and $5 million or costing more than $50,000 per month to receive legislative approval. Karr highlighted the controversial One Stop government service centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City as examples of why the measure is needed. The Noem administration entered into 30-year lease agreements that will ultimately cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars to consolidate state offices and employees in the buildings, without legislative approval. Skirting legislative approval, not owning the building despite the large investment, and the long-term spending obligation have some lawmakers upset. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not a good process, Karr said. I dont think anyone thinks thats a good process. Blocking budget transfers The final bill would tighten restrictions on budget transfers within state agencies. Currently, agencies have the authority to shift funds between budget units in the same fund, with approval from the Bureau of Finance and Management which is part of the executive branch. The bill would additionally require legislative approval. Karr referenced an instance when the Department of Corrections transferred funding and staff positions between prisons without informing lawmakers. Under the legislation, such transfers would have to receive approval from the Legislatures main budget committee. This ensures that the budget we pass is the same one we come back to next year, Karr said. It prevents agencies from shifting money around after the fact and fundamentally altering the budget we approved. The Future Fund Karr has also been a vocal critic of Noems use of the Future Fund, which is under the governors exclusive control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Dakota employers pay a fee to the Future Fund when they submit payroll taxes to the unemployment benefits program. State law says the Future Fund must be used for purposes related to research and economic development for the state. Unlike other funds administered by the Governors Office of Economic Development, Future Fund expenses dont go through a board of citizen appointees for vetting or approval. Noems uses of the Future Fund included $13 million to help construct the Rapid City-area shooting range, $2.5 million to promote and conduct a Governors Cup rodeo, and up to $9 million on a workforce recruitment campaign starring herself. Frustrations with Noems controversial uses of the fund motivated the Legislature to pass a bill last year requiring the administration to present twice-a-year reports on the fund to the Legislature. This year, Rep. Liz May, R-Kyle, introduced a bill to do away with the Future Fund altogether. She and others, including Rep. Marty Overweg, R-New Holland, said the fund undermines the Legislatures power of the purse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is taxpayers money, Overweg said. This isnt some magic money. The bill failed 32-36 in the state House of Representatives. Opponents of the bill said the states new governor, Larry Rhoden, should be given a chance to use the fund appropriately. Rhoden, the former lieutenant governor, was elevated earlier this year when Noem left to serve under President Donald Trump as his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated with a correction to remove inaccurate information. The original version of the story erroneously stated that legislators had not received a mandatory report from the Governors Office of Economic Development. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Update 3/2/25, 10:32 a.m.: SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Salt Lake City Police have provided new details in the case of a man making concerning comments at the University of Utah campus Saturday before fleeing police. At around 4 p.m. on March 1, SLCPD received multiple reports of a man with a weapon near 300 South 1300 East. Witnesses claimed the individual had multiple firearms and was in someones backyard without permission. Police responded and identified the suspect as Jeffrey Chadwick Jackson, 39. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson fled police at the scene and during the chase, Jacksons dog reportedly became aggressive and attempted to bite an officer. As a result, an officer fired their gun, striking the dog. Both Jackson and the dog ran from the scene, police said. Police also learned that Jackson had allegedly stolen a bike from campus. Officers later found the dog with a non-life-threatening injury to its back paw. Salt Lake County Animal Control took in the animal for further care. At around midnight on Sunday, a community member called police and reported seeing Jackson near 600 East 400 South. Police responded to the scene and brought Jackson into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on charges of felony theft, and is being screened for fleeing police and trespassing. No further information is available at this time. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Original Story: SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The University of Utah has issued a safety alert after a man made concerning comments on Saturday. The suspect is reportedly still at large. At around 4 p.m. on March 1, Salt Lake City Police responded to a report of an individual making concerning comments in the area of 300 South and University Street. During the response, police fired a non-fatal shot due to an aggressive dog at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The animal was minorly wounded by the shot, police said. 1 dead in Salt Lake City motorcycle crash, road closure in place The suspect identified as Jeffrey Jackson reportedly fled the scene and was last seen headed west on 200 South toward downtown Salt Lake City. Jackson is still at large at this time, police said. He is described as a White male wearing black tights, a black hoodie, sunglasses, and carrying a red backpack. Police have also located a bicycle Jackson allegedly stole from campus earlier in the day Saturday. If you see Jackson, or have any information regarding his whereabouts, please contact Salt Lake City Police at 801-799-3000 or University of Utah Police at 801-585-2677. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. Three civilian aircraft violated the restricted airspace over Mar-a-Lago on Friday ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to Palm Beach County, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said. The first violation occurred at 11:05 a.m. Friday, the second at 12:10 p.m., and the third at 12:50 p.m. NORAD F-16 fighter jets escorted the aircraft out of the area, the agency said in a release. Trump arrived aboard Air Force One on Friday evening for his fourth visit to Palm Beach since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During two of the intercepts, NORAD aircraft dispensed flares, using them to draw the attention of the pilots. NORAD said such flares burn out quickly and pose no danger to people on the ground. Three violations of Mar-a-Lago airspace occurred earlier last month, two on Feb. 15 and one on Presidents Day, NORAD said. Trump was visiting his Palm Beach residence at the time. NORAD is a joint U.S.-Canada entity that defends North America from airborne threats. They are called upon to enforce the airspace restrictions issued by the Federal Aviation Administration when the president is visiting. An aerial view of Mar-a-Lago, in a file photo. NORAD reported three violations Friday of restricted airspace over the club. The restriction is over the skies above Mar-a-Lago and a diameter spelled out by the FAA in what is called a VIP Temporary Flight Restriction. The TFR applies to all aircraft, which is why commercial jetliners arriving and departing from Palm Beach International Airport are diverted away from Trump's private club on Palm Beach, leading to homes and businesses in areas around PBIA to hear jet traffic to which they are not normally accustomed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Air crews are reminded to verify all FAA Notices to Airmen, especially in the region of Mar-a-Lago, NORAD said. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: NORAD: Three airplanes violated Mar-a-Lago airspace FULTONDALE, Ala. (WIAT) The North Jefferson Chamber of Commerce will host the National Civics Bee Regional Competition for central Alabama on March 15. This is the first year that the competition has been held in Alabama. The National Civics Bee gives sixth- eighth grade students the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their knowledge of civics. Alabama state leaders talk Department of Government Efficiency Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The competition will feature 20 finalists from across central Alabama competing against each other in a trivia-style format. The top three participants will be awarded trophies and cash prizes, while the first-place winner will advance to the State Level competition in Montgomery. Commissioner Joe Knight will serve as the events emcee. Judges for the competition include Sherry Buell, owner of Crazy Ds Food Truck, Jennifer Boully of Little School by the Creek and Billy Hughes of Fultondale City Council. More information on the National Civics Bee can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) North Las Vegas police located an endangered 37-year-old man. We sincerely thank the public for their assistance in helping us bring this matter to a safe resolution, police said in a news release. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. By David Shepardson (Reuters) - A FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane struck a bird while departing Newark Airport, New Jersey, on Saturday and made an emergency landing with one engine on fire. FedEx Flight 3609, which was headed to Indianapolis, landed safely nine minutes after takeoff at 7:58 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the strike caused one of the plane's engines to burst into flames, forcing the plane to quickly land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Video from the incident shows the quick-thinking pilots returning the plane to land safely while the engine is on fire," Duffy said. FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Duffy cited a U.S. Department of Transportation report that said there were over 19,000 bird strikes in 2023, up 14% over 2022. The report found 65% of bird strikes occur during takeoff or landing and around 5% of strikes result in damage to an aircraft. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nia Williams) Israel-bashing former New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman is creating a Super PAC aimed at ousting pro-Israel candidates. From Yonkers to Gaza and everywhere in between, we will fight for justice and reclaim our humanity, says the new Built to Win Super Pac pushed by Bowman, who was ousted in a Democratic primary last year in large part because of his anti-Israel stance. Bowman was even more explicit about his new PACs anti-Israel mission during a recent interview. Bowman was explicit about his new PACs anti-Israel mission during a recent interview. Michael Nigro for NY Post Any candidate that supports [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and genocide more than their constituents, any candidate thats tied up with corrupt crypto money, any candidate tied up with the real-estate lobby as opposed to renters, were going to go after those candidates very aggressively, Bowman told City & State. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a pro-Israel moderate, trounced Bowman by more than 10 percentage points in the past Democratic primary for the 16th House District that takes in much of Westchester County and portions of The Bronx. Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern, Jewish leader in Westchester, told The Post that Bowman again is showing his true colors. Bowman is a true, authentic antisemite, said Morgenstern, head of Young Israel of Scarsdale, a modern orthodox synagogue. The [super PAC] shows his true colors. Hes tripling down on attacking the Jewish people and the only Jewish state. Its disturbing and sad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liora Rez, a founder the watchdog group StopAntisemitism, said, Even if someone wanted to get more antisemitic, anti-Israel candidates elected, its hard to imagine theyd give their money to a failure like Jamaal Bowman. George Latimer, a pro-Israel moderate, trounced Bowman by more than 10 percentage points in the past Democratic primary for the 16th House District. Peter Carr/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Hes tripling down on attacking the Jewish people and the only Jewish state. Its disturbing and sad, said Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern, head of Young Israel of Scarsdale. Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/Shutterstock He already wasted the money that was donated to his own losing campaign, Rez said. Americans overwhelmingly stand with Israel and the Jewish people who have been a contributing and vital part of this great nation since the founding. New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said, Former Rep. Bowman would be better to devote his new PAC to helping underserved people in our communities as well as promoting the economic interests of working class Americans instead of continuing his antisemitic, pro-terrorist advocacy in a pitiful attempt to retain even a drop of political relevance. New York State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said Bowmans efforts would be of better use for helping underserved people in our communities instead of his anti-Israel stance. NY Dems Rory Lancman, a Jewish civil-rights lawyer and former Queens councilman, added, Last year, voters across the country said loud and clear that America stands with Israel and against anti-Semitism and terrorism, and they said it especially loudly to Jamaal Bowman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He noted that Bowman announced the formation of his political action committee days after the Palestinian terror group Hamas held a propaganda-filled parade as they handed over the bodies of tiny slain Israeli hostages Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were just 9 months and 4 years old when they were violently abducted, along with the remains of their mother Shiri. Thats all you need to know about Bowmans, and his PACs, values and, frankly, its prospects, Lancman said. Latimers coalition of backes included voters turned off by Bowmans criticism of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza after the terrorist groups Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish state. His well-funded backers included the United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that spent a staggering $14 million in the race, and a cryptocurrency group called Fair Shake that bankrolled another $2 million worth of ad spots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bowman accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and belatedly apologized for denying the horrific rapes of Israeli women during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed an estimated 1,200 people including 33 Americans. Bowman accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and previously denied the rapes of Israeli women during the Oct. 7 attack. Stefano Giovannini The weekend before the primary vote, Bowman vowed to show fking AIPAC the power of the motherfking South Bronx during a manic rally alongside fellow Squad Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York City. In Bowmans concession speech, he doubled down on his stance, telling supporters: We will continue to fight for a free Palestine, and God help us that we live in a better world where when we say, Free Palestine, it is not antisemitic. But even some black activists said the Super Pac wont revive Bowmans career. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jamaal Bowmans loss wasnt about Israelit was about his complete failure to represent the priorities of the Black community, said Darius Jones, senior adviser to National Black Empowerment Action Fun, in a statement. Voters rejected him because he championed an extreme agenda that ignored their real concerns. You cant oppose public safety in Black neighborhoods, deny Black families access to quality education through school choice, and neglect infrastructure and small business investment in Black communities while expecting Black support, Jones said. Thats why he lostplain and simple. Chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times Peter Baker joins The Weekend to discuss the Trump administration bucking decades of precedent to take control of the White House press pool. HONOLULU (KHON2) A teenager remains in the hospital on March 1 after a drive-by shooting in Kapolei on Feb. 27. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The shooting happened on a busy public road and officials said more needs to be done to curb local gun violence. Advocates against gun violence said a 2022 Supreme Court decision which ruled the right to self-defense includes carrying a loaded gun has trickled down to a troubling trend in the Islands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ala Moana shooting raises questions over Hawaiis sensitive places law In Hawaii, weve seen an almost 300% increase in permits to purchase firearms, which obviously means that weve seen that many more guns being legally brought onto the streets in Hawaii, said Chris Marvin of Everytown for Gun Safety. More guns equals more gun violence and we are seeing that play out on this island right now. The shooting on the night of Feb. 27 left three hospitalized the family of a 17-year-old boy who was rounded in the drive-by said he remains in the hospital in critical condition. Area Rep. Kanani Souza said constituents have constant concerns over ghost guns and she introduced legislation this session to increase felony penalties for perpetrators who commit a crime with those types of untraceable firearms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attempted murder investigation underway following Kapolei shooting Im a proponent of second amendment rights. And this particular bill is something that we all can agree on. Its stopping ghost guns from being used in the commission of a felony, Rep. Souza said. This is an area that I traverse commonly on my way to Ka Makana Alii, the shopping mall here in Kapolei. And a lot of my neighbors, friends, constituents all traversed this particular area. Theres a lot to be learned about what happened on Thursday night. But these un-serialized, unregistered, illegally produced guns that that we made illegal and also the ATF made it illegal. But theyre still hard to get off the streets. And so these are the types of laws that will help keep guns out of the hands of criminals, Marvin said. Honolulu police said on Feb. 27 that the suspect was unknown and no arrests were made, HPD did not respond to KHON2 on March 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was supposedly, allegedly a drive by shooting and there was multiple victims. And so this is happening in a residential area where theres families who live all alongside the corner where this occurred, which is near Kapolei Middle School, Souza said. Check out more news from around Hawaii Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Honolulu police. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. An Ohio man accused of hanging his dog and setting a house on fire has been formally charged, according to our CBS affiliate WOIO-19 TV. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] A Stark County grand jury indicted Bobby Lee Long, 29, on one count of attempted aggravated arson, one count of aggravated arson, and one count of cruelty to companion animals on Feb. 20. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Canton police officer was called to a duplex in the 1000 block of Troy Place NW on Dec. 26, 2024. Upon arrival, they found several broken windows, according to WOIO-19. Body camera footage shows Long stepping outside to talk with the officer. Long eventually tells the officer that there is a dead dog down in the basement. He also said he set the house on fire a few days ago. Canton police say when they went inside, they found a dog hanging by a cord in the basement. Long was on probation for a domestic violence charge at the time of this incident, according to WOIO-19. He was booked in Stark County Jail on a $25,000 bond. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] AKRON, Ohio (WJW) A Hazmat team and the EPA were called to assist with an oil spill Saturday in the Little Cuyahoga River in Akron. 1 killed, 3 hurt in multi-vehicle crash in Cleveland According to a press release from the Akron Fire Department, crews were first dispatched to the area around E. Market St. and Massillon Rd. to investigate a report of an unknown amount of oil in the river, reported by an anonymous caller. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire department arrived at the scene and confirmed the presence of oil in the river, the press release said. The Hazmat team was then called to contain the spill, and the EPA was called to assess the incident. Several teams, including the fire department, remained on the scene Sunday, the press release said. Family, friends search for missing Brooklyn Heights father The source of the spill is unknown at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A multi-vehicle rollover crash in Miami Township on Sunday morning caused one person to be hospitalized and a power pole to fall. According to the Miami Valley Fire District, the crash happened at approximately 6:40 a.m. at the intersection of Byers Road and Maue Road. Kettering dispatch said one of the vehicles crashed into an ASE Ohio pole. They said a person was taken from the crash to Sycamore Medical Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miami Township is handling the investigation. AES told our 2 News Team crews are still on the scene, at 10:45 a.m., and working to repair the power in the area. 2 News will update this article as more information is available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. The Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism has announced its plan to visit 10 college campuses that have experienced antisemitic incidents. The task force, led by member and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell, plans to follow on President Trumps executive order to combat anti-semitism. The task force has been made aware of allegations that schools could not prevent Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Terrell plans to meet with university leadership, students, staff, local law enforcement, and community members as it gathers information about these incidents and considers whether remedial action is warranted. The President, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and the entire Administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion, said Mr. Terrell. The Task Forces mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate Anti-Semitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this Administration is taking to deliver on that commitment. The 10 universities identified by the Task Force are: Columbia University; George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California. 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 NEW HARTFORD, NY (WUTE/WFXV/WPNY) One person was shot in the hallway between the Food Court and Target in the Sangertown Mall early Saturday afternoon. The suspect has not been taken into custody, but police do not regard this as an active shooter situation. Multiple police agencies have responded to the mall. The facility is being evacuated of both customers and business employees. Police are asking for the public to avoid the area of the Sangertown Mall. What is known is that at about 12:45PM Saturday and argument between men took place in the mall in the walkway between the Food Court and Target. One of the people involved in the argument shot the other person multiple times. Five shots were heard on surveillance tape from one of the businesses. That video was published by Antoine Spratt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect reportedly fled and was heading east of the mall. A Shelter in Place Alert was issued by authorities and the public is being asked to avoid the area. (Photo by Tom Coyne, Eyewitness News) We will update this story when more information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WUTR/WFXV - CNYhomepage.com. Voters are set to head to the polls in the northern German state of Hamburg on Sunday, a traditional stronghold of the Social Democrats (SPD) who are reeling from a crushing defeat in national elections a week ago. Polling stations open at 8 am (0700 GMT) and close at 6 pm in what is set to be Germany's only election at the state level this year. All eyes will be on how the SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz fare in Hamburg, a city-state of some 1.9 million that is home to the country's biggest sea port, after the party was dealt its worst result in 138 years in federal elections last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conservative bloc comprised of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) came out on top last week, with Scholz's SPD relegated to third place behind the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Hamburg has been governed by a centre-left coalition comprised of the SPD and the Greens for the past five years. Pre-election polling predicts another majority for the alliance led by Social Democrat Mayor Peter Tschentscher, though at a much smaller margin this time around. Speaking the day before the regional vote, Tschentscher said he was optimistic that his party would be able to shake the poor national result, pointing to long-standing support for the Social Democrats in Hamburg. "There is always an influence on state political decisions when the federal political situation is so complicated," he told dpa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevertheless, the people of Hamburg appreciated the fact that the city had come through the recent crises well under his coalition, the mayor added. At least 121 seats are up for grabs in the regional parliament in Hamburg, with five parties expected to make it in. If the voter surveys are right, the SPD would come in first with 33%, followed by the CDU at 18% and the Greens at 17%, according to the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen polling group. The Left, which surged to a surprise 8.7% in last week's national election, is predicted to rise to 12%, followed by the far-right AfD with 9%. Like in federal elections, parties usually need to secure at least 5% of the vote to enter parliament. But unlike in federal elections, where the voting age is 18, all citizens of Hamburg holding German citizenship are eligible to cast a ballot from the age of 16. In a sometimes combative interview Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posited that the thing that matters most when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war is getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and everything else is just noise. Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Rubio said: "The only way it ends is if Vladimir Putin comes to a negotiating table. And right now President Trump is the only person on Earth who has any chance whatsoever of bringing him to a table to see what it is he would be willing to end the war on." Rubio, who was present at Friday's ugly White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said to host George Stephanopoulos that the issue was not how well Trump and Vice President JD Vance treated Zelenskyy something that drew widespread criticism nationally and internationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that the cause of peace would not have been advanced if Trump were to have spent Friday's meeting joining Zelenskyy in saying how untrustworthy Putin is. "We've spent three years calling Vladimir Putin names," Rubio said. "That's not the point. And the point that we're at now is, we're trying to get the man to a table, the Russians. And Ive said from the very beginning, maybe they don't want a deal either. We don't know. But we haven't talked to them in three years. But maybe they do." Rubio repeatedly circled back to the importance of getting Putin to the negotiating table, even when Stephanopoulos tried to push him on specific points about Friday's heated meeting. For instance, the former Florida senator, when asked about the security guarantees that Zelenskyy is seeking, said it was premature to be talking about things that need to be negotiated, should negotiations occur. "The security guarantees which I actually like to call deterrents is all contingent upon there being a peace. Everybody is saying security guarantees to secure the peace. You first have to have a peace. We don't even know if the peace is possible," Rubio said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also said Zelenskyy should have understood that going into Friday's Oval Office meeting. "What Zelenskyy did unfortunately," he said, "is he found every opportunity to try to Ukraine-splain on every issue." He also said Trump deserves support for attempting to bring about peace. "I really am puzzled why anyone thinks that trying to be a peacemaker is a bad thing," Rubio said. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) An Ontario man died following a box truck collision on Friday in Buffalo, New York State Police announced. Troopers responded to the scene at 9:30 p.m. It was determined that 53-year-old Bhupinder Boyal was driving southbound on I-190 merging onto I-90 when he lost control of the box truck, which rolled onto the drivers side, police said. He was deceased at the scene and transported to ECMC for an autopsy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said the collision resulted in a large diesel fuel leak, which the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation then assisted with. Latest Local News Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. UPDATE (March 2, 2025, 10:45 p.m. ET): On Sunday night, Anora was named this years best picture at the Academy Awards. "Emilia Perez" won for best supporting actress and best original song. By most accounts, the Oscar-nominated Emilia Perez is a terrible movie. Mexican critics panned the films portrayal of cartel violence, while trans critics hated how gender transition was used as an empty plot device with a highly inaccurate depiction of the medical process of transitioning. And yet the musical has been nominated for an incredible 13 Oscars, the most of any film this awards season. With an audience score of 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, its clear almost everyone hates this movie, it seems, except for Oscar voters. While all of this film discourse has taken place, the Trump administration is in the midst of broadly sweeping away the legal existence of trans people across the U.S. This is not the first time Oscars voters have propped up a trans-related film in the middle of a national political movement against trans rights. In the lead-up to the 2016 Oscars, the state of North Carolina banned trans people from bathrooms in one of the first attacks on trans rights to reach nationwide awareness. The state was hit with mass protests and boycotts for its intolerance. At the same time, actor Eddie Redmayne was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Danish trans woman Lili Elbe, one of the first transgender women to get gender-affirming surgery in the 1930s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Redmaynes casting and subsequent Oscar buzz was widely decried by trans people, who argued that the role of one of historys most significant trans women should have been played by a trans actress. At the time, it was common practice to cast a cis male to play a trans woman in any mainstream Hollywood film, a decision that can incorrectly give moviegoers the idea that trans women are really men playing pretend as women. Just a year before, Jared Leto had won an Oscar for best supporting actor for playing a fictional trans woman in Dallas Buyers Club. A Redmayne win in 2016 would have given audiences the same idea. I can still remember the relief on trans Twitter that Oscar night when Redmayne didnt win. In the casting respect, at least, "Emilia Perez" gets it right, having cast trans actress Karla Sofia Gascon in the lead role as a trans woman. She is up for best actress in this years Oscars, but her chances of winning are complicated by a series of offensive tweets about Muslims and George Floyd that surfaced from years ago. As a trans person who also happens to run a podcast about cancel culture, I find it interesting that Gascon has been so quickly marginalized on the basis of old tweets, when other celebrities havent necessarily faced the same consequences for similar or even more egregious actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Make no mistake, the tweets are racist and Islamophobic, and should be condemned. But she would hardly be the first celebrity with bigoted opinions. I mean, Mel Gibson seems to be embarking on a comeback after his infamous antisemitic rants. Theyre still making Harry Potter movies for J.K. Rowling. Dave Chappelle still has a robust comedy career. The frustrating reality is that trans women are often the first to get thrown under the bus when it comes to controversies like these. Social media is littered with the former accounts of trans women who dared draw negative attention to themselves before being run off the internet. While Gascon said she still plans on attending the award ceremony itself, she has skipped the typical pre-Oscars pomp and parties that usuallt come with being a nominee. It feels to me as if she has been thrown out of the club to allow the absolutely horrid film she starred in to stay in the general Oscar hunt for other awards. Gascon may be seemingly out of the running for an Oscar even though shes nominated, but her cisgender co-stars and the film itself are still up for multiple awards despite near universal distaste for the movie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres precedent for all of this. In 2019, the Oscars gave best picture to Green Book, despite widespread criticism from Black film critics and audiences, and amid reports of derogatory tweets and racist language from co-writer Nick Vallelonga and co-star Viggo Mortensen. In the end, I wish films wouldnt get rewarded by the academy for telling awful trans stories, or for portraying trans women as men playing pretend. It bothers me that Emilia Perez is getting so many flowers this year while films like I Saw the TV Glow, an incredibly produced and nuanced horror film from A24 that tells an allegory about being in the closet as a trans person, has gone widely ignored (even, shockingly, by the GLAAD Awards). I Saw the TV Glow connected viscerally with nearly every trans person I know who saw it, and it was directed by nonbinary director Jane Schoenbrun. Emilia Perez, on the other hand, perpetuates a lazy trope about the trans experience that feels especially harmful in the present political climate. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com There is a common misconception about college; its not the parties, lectures or even tests. Its that people actually do assigned readings. Typically buried in the required content section, textbooks and assigned readings stay relatively untouched for most students. Recent articles from news outlets, such as The Atlantics The Elite College Students Who Cant Read Books, paint a grim picture for the future of Americas literacy and comprehension. However, as a current university student, I have a different story to tell. Weve reached a point where students no longer care to read their textbooks. This is why 30% of students reported reading their textbooks compared with 85% of faculty expecting students to read the textbook. The disconnect between academics and their pupils is growing due to a lack of understanding on what a student needs in order to learn and absorb information. New forms of media such as podcasts, videos or articles should not be considered as less valuable than a book or textbook. Visual learning is in itself a form of comprehension, and data shows that the majority of students are visual learners. In order to understand students' needs and how they can best learn, we have to accommodate, not criticize. The use of tools that emphasize speaking and listening over reading dont signal the end of literacy; they signal a change in how students want to learn. This is why academics who talk about a rise in shallow reading, the practice of students reading to gain information fast and efficiently, need to understand where students are coming from. The issue is college students are designed to be that type of learner, the fast learner. In order to keep up with massive textbooks assigned daily or weekly, the college student has no choice but to revert to the shallow reader. When in reality, faster learning is not better learning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The difference in expectations and reality between the student and the professor can be seen in data. According to the 2018 Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, 97% of professors think its important or very important that students come to class having finished their reading, however, a minuscule 3% believe that students actually do their readings. The straightforward takeaway that many have mistaken as the death of books and literacy is simply a caricature of the truth. The modern college student prefers information that is efficient and respects their time, which long readings have notoriously not done. While higher education is meant to be both mentally and academically challenging in order to grow skill, forms of media that fail to help students learn quicker should not be the primary content we use to learn. Students that prefer to be assigned Youtube videos do so because it opens up flexibility for studying and takes less time. This is why podcasts being utilized as a form of supplemental content is a learning innovation. Podcasts used for learning can improve literacy and expand curiosity. Considering the popularity of podcasts among young populations like myself, there is no reason not to use them. But new media is not the only solution facing dwindling literacy rates, The University of Texas at Austin implemented an innovative solution. Their class Analytical Reading and Writing aimed at helping students learn how to absorb and understand knowledge from long readings and textbooks. Courses like UT Austins help ease students into being able to comprehend academic texts; because if the student is confused by their reading, they wont do it. Colleges can also incentivize reading among students through voluntary book labs something Ive found helped reignite my interest in reading. Faculty submit books that they like and meet with students weekly to open discussion about the book. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the core, one thing students have not lost is their desire to learn and the ability to be curious. Teaching styles should use this to their advantage by allowing for independent studying and leaving room for creativity. My classes have taught me to be analytical and efficient. Creativity cant be supplemented, and in order to engage students again, we have to bring back curiosity. This need for engagement comes at a time when college students are increasingly under scrutiny and examination. Fortunately, issues such as the worsening student mental health crisis has increasingly been recognized and researched. The modern students of my generation faced variable workloads during the COVID-19 pandemic and have consistently been met with shifting expectations of what an education should look like. Today, education is no longer just about reading, and thats OK sometimes its about listening to what students have to say. Amid the rapid elimination of government oversight by the Trump administration, a pivotal turning point in the equitable access to internet bandwidth has been overlooked. On Jan. 2, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a decisive blow to net neutrality, overturning the Federal Communications Commissions 2024 rules. After facing constant challenges and reversals since its original adoption in 2015, this regulatory seesaw has effectively ended. This ruling is striking, but not surprising. The Sixth Circuit had suspended net neutrality rules last summer, signaling skepticism of the FCCs authority to issue them. At the time, the judges wrote, Absent a clear mandate to treat broadband as a common carrier, we cannot assume that Congress granted the Commission this sweeping power. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brendan Carr, the newly appointed FCC chair under President Trump, has frequently spoken out against net neutrality rules. Carr has argued that during the period between 2017 and 2023, when net neutrality rules had been struck down, internet speeds increased and coverage expanded. Carr and others have also pointed out that such regulations can stifle innovation and hamper expansion of broadband into rural areas. He views net neutrality rules as micromanagement by government bureaucrats. Carr makes valid and important points, but net neutrality is widely popular among the public. A 2022 survey conducted by the University of Maryland found that 73 percent of Americans supported it, including majorities of both political parties. Even the webs inventor, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has been steadfast in his support for fair and equal access. Is it possible to serve both perspectives? Neither Republicans nor Democrats want a future where Big Tech monopolies like Meta and Google pay to dominate available bandwidth. In such a scenario, the free market would grind to a halt, as smaller competitors are priced out. In a curious twist, Big Tech companies publicly back net neutrality; they position their support as altruism, while its also about keeping the antitrust bullseye off their backs and saving money by avoiding extra fees for fast lanes. The concept of prioritized internet lanes isnt hypothetical. As recently as 2023, major networks including T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon began testing preferential treatment in their 5G networks, using technology to give certain applications a faster path to users. Through a capability called network slicing, they designate portions of their wireless spectrum as premium lanes for services including video streaming, gaming and virtual meetings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump opposed net neutrality during his first term. Notably, this was prior to his founding of Truth Social. Interestingly, principles of neutrality have played a strong role in the level playing field for his platform. Entities like Truth Social, Bluesky, Mastodon and others provide access to their apps with the same bandwidth as the giants. Where they naturally compete is on features, design and unique user-experiences. Thats where the competitiveness is. Heres one analogy: All cars run on energy gas or electricity (or a combo) that is priced the same for everyone. The car itself is what varies. Consumers can pay for different engineering, luxuries and more features. But the energy that powers them is the same. Expanding the analogy, everyone benefits from free public highways, whether you drive a Rolls Royce or a Honda Civic. At the same time, drivers can choose to pay a premium for special express lanes and private highways. The existence of these avenues doesnt inherently diminish the experiences of drivers who dont use them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A similar framework can be established for the web. A good solution is a two-fold balancing act, legislated to support free market capitalism as well as established players ability to pay. This is the most important point. Unregulated pay-to-play broadband caters to deep-pocketed monopolies, while seed-funded startups wont see the light of day. For capitalism to flourish (versus monopolism), it is essential there be a free, high-quality standard of broadband. This is the online interstate highway for everyone. In tandem, ISPs can create premium fast lanes for sites and apps with the wherewithal to pay additional fees. This compromise serves both sides, and can be delivered through Congress via bipartisan legislation. Net neutrality in and of itself isnt going away. States are free to set their own guidelines. Several already have, including California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and New York. All have passed their own neutrality rules, and the federal ruling may inspire other states to legislate. In summary, the fix is to establish a new standard of broadband access that critically supports new competition and the free market. All while respecting the independence and freedom of ISPs to create premium options for those with deeper pockets. Everyone wins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mark Weinstein is a tech thought leader, privacy expert, and one of the inventors of social networking. He is the author of Restoring Our Sanity Online: A Revolutionary Social Framework. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. UPDATE (March 2, 2025, 10:45 p.m. ET): On Sunday night, "Anora" was named the year's best picture at the 2025 Academy Awards. The honor capped a night of wins for the acclaimed film, including best actress, best director and best original screenplay. On the surface, Sean Bakers Anora, which has been nominated for multiple Oscars and has already won the Palme dOr at Cannes, doesnt seem interested in the present political moment. For example, the films Russian and Russian American characters show no discernible awareness of a war started by Vladimir Putin in 2022. But upon closer inspection, the movie probes a timely subject: the superwealthy and how they bend and distort civil society to their selfish whims. Anora is many things at once. Its a meditation on sex work, a theme Baker examines with ingenuity in films like Starlet, Red Rocket and Tangerine. Its a genre-toggler shifting between a farcical rom-com, a gangster movie and an indie flick. Its also a handy introduction to oligarchs and the obscene power they wield over institutions and the lives of working-class people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At first, Anora appears to be stampeding to what in earlier decades would have been its Hollywood ending. We watch an exotic dancer from the outer boroughs named Ani/Anora (Mikey Madison) practice her craft at the local strip club. Because she speaks some Russian, her manager introduces her to a patron named Vanya (played by Mark Eydelshteyn). Cute and absurdly wealthy, 21-year-old Vanya takes an apparent shine to Ani. He invites her to accompany him from one bender to another. Ani, with tinsel in her hair, seems to like him too. Still, she negotiates her price on each cocaine-fueled outing. Soon they end up in Las Vegas, where assorted onlookers (and Sean Bakers giddy camera work) celebrate their shotgun wedding as fireworks discharge above. But then Anora subverts the feel-good vibe that movies like Pretty Woman radiated when portraying sex workers and their kindhearted johns. Hours after the Vegas wedding, Vanyas disapproving Russian parents spring into action. None too pleased about their sons marriage to a prostitute, they dispatch their local goon squad to annul the union. The goons are an Armenian Orthodox priest (Father Toros, played by Karren Karagulian) and his two enforcers Garnick (also Armenian, played by Vache Tovmasyan) and the Russian gopnick, or street thug, Igor (Yuriy Borisov). Garnick and Igor break into Vanyas Mill Basin mansion, a location with its own real-life connection to oligarchy. Vanya flees the scene, leaving his bride behind to deal with the intruders. What follows is no longer comedy, but every womans nightmare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having grown up in South Brooklyn, permit me to say that Mikey Madison does a spot-on imitation of a very pissed-off resident of Brighton Beach. Terrified Ani resists the goons and a wild melee ensues. After screaming rape at the top of her lungs, she is gagged. Father Toros not, I surmise, a pro-choice advocate in his ministerial capacity informs Ani that he will arrange an abortion should that be necessary. Where, oh where is Vanya? Our boy has scampered off to other benders. His lushery encompasses Everything We Talk About When We Talk About Toxic Man-boys. Inability to establish emotional intimacy? Check. Obsession with video games? Yup. Construing sex as a sort of sprint? That too. We soon learn how little he cares about his wife. It is only the sex worker, Ani, who behaves as if marriage is a sacrament. For oligarchs, by contrast, nothing is sacred. Vanyas parents so control the priest Toros that he abandons a babys baptism midceremony to heed their call. If religious leaders will always play ball with the wealthy, so will the judicial system. In one crucial scene, these Russian nationals use their well-compensated American lawyer to set up an emergency annulment hearing in a New York City courtroom which is the wrong place to annul a Nevada marriage. Now we are headed to Las Vegas. So are Vanyas parents, who recently alighted from their jet and were rapidly processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Vanyas mother, Galina (Darya Ekamasova), makes it very clear to Ani that she must agree to legally terminate her marriage (You are getting on this plane [to Las Vegas] and you are getting divorce). Failure to do so, she threatens gleefully, will result in legal destruction. Imagine that! A wealthy foreigner feels so flush with power that she can use the American legal system to bully a working-class citizen. Naturally, Galina insinuates that Ani will be physically harmed if she refuses to comply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As they part, Galina calls Ani a disgusting hooker. Ani bites back: Your son hates you so much, he married one to piss you off. Finally, the verbal smackdown we have been craving. Thats the stuff! Make the oligarchs squirm, Ani! But oligarchs, as it turns out, dont squirm. Anis sick burn immediately elicits uncontrollable laughter from Galinas husband (Aleksey Serebryakov). His Papa Karamazov cackle, at once nihilistic and demented, reminds us of a truism: The superrich find all of this human suffering stuff fantastically funny. Anoras final scene, which has been widely analyzed and debated, switches to art house mode. Ani initiates sex in a car with the gopnik Igor. She then breaks down and sobs over his supine body (the masculinity of the silent and supportive Igor might be usefully contrasted to Vanyas loud, party-boy antics). The credits roll to the accompaniment of the loudest windshield wipers in the history of cinema. Madison and Baker insist that the meaning of this cryptic scene is up to the viewer. With that interpretive license granted, permit me to advance my own. Yes, Ani is likely crying over the betrayal, violence and feelings of powerlessness shes endured. But in light of Anoras portrait of the elite, maybe we could think of this sobbing woman as us the U.S., weeping over what the wealthiest people in the world are doing to Americans. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com UPDATE (March 2, 2025, 10:48 p.m. ET): On Sunday night, Anora was named this years best picture at the Academy Awards. "Conclave" ultimately came away with only one Oscar, for best adapted screenplay. Theres a reason why Catholicism is one of the most misunderstood and the most portrayed religions in the movies. Ritual. Conclave, an Academy Award nominee for best picture, based on the 2016 novel by British writer Robert Harris, hits all the right notes as it illuminates the arcane world of the Vatican and its rituals surrounding a popes death. The surprise of the movie will be a shock to some viewers, but in other ways, the message behind the surprise is an important critique of the church and its traditions. But more on that in a moment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Director Edward Bergers film about the process of electing a pope has elicited many conversations about the cinematography, the acting and whether the ritual of the conclave is portrayed correctly. At the same time, theres the real-life story playing out in Rome as the 88-year-old Pope Francis battles a serious respiratory illness. Given the optics, it would be poetic if the movie were to win best picture. The biggest reveals in Conclave center around sex. While thats the last thing a conclave should be concerned with, human sexuality, and the choices about how to deal with it, are front and center. Its exploration of sex is where the genius and the banality of the movie resides. The movie asks viewers to consider the role that sexuality and gender have had in clerical life even as it falls prey to damaging tropes about both. Spoiler alert: If you havent watched the movie and want to keep the suspense, you should quit reading here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the moral conundrums facing the cardinals as they meet to choose the next pope are real, the two major plot twists of the movie involve a cardinal who has fathered a child and a secretly intersex cardinal. Cardinal Adeyemi, an African cardinal who is a strong contender for the papacy, is revealed to have had a child with a young nun. That makes him ineligible because he broke his vow of celibacy. This isnt as far-fetched as it might seem. One of the bigger issues for the Catholic Church is African priests who secretly marry. Many marry because they are in competition to attract members in predominately Muslim areas or simply dont believe priests should be celibate. So having this scene in the movie simply instantiates the issue, but it doesnt provide any explication about why this is a problem. Nor does it give much agency to the nun who put her child up for adoption because of the shame involved. Which, of course, she bore alone. A second, bigger, revelation involves the discovery of the cardinal of Kabul, Vicente Benitez, whod been secretly appointed by the pope and is invited to enter the conclave. A paragon of Catholic virtues serving people in the most dangerous areas of the world, the cardinal is an intersex person, which is only discovered after a scheduled medical procedure. The pope rejects the cardinals attempt to leave the priesthood and instead assigns Benitez to be the archbishop of Kabul. In a turn of events, this cardinal is elected to be the next pope. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the surface, this plot twist is a masterstroke. After all, given the discussion about whether there was a female pope, this development (which is not in the book) is a challenge to the Catholic Church to think about its relationship to gender and LGBTQ people, and to think about how a religious organization riddled with sexual abuse might redeem itself by embracing a pope who is male and female. Ralph Fiennes in Conclave. But the secret cardinal was also assigned to one of the most dangerous places in the world, Afghanistan, perhaps to disappear or die. This is a pointed commentary on the church's culture of secrecy. While I loved Conclave for the cinematography, the intrigue, the complex personalities and the predictably conservative Italian cardinals outburst, I remain troubled. After all, sex, and the denial of it, is so much a part of the church. But even in art, it seems hard to imagine the church capable of accepting the truths of human sexuality and gender and capable of acknowledging how keeping those secret can kill you. We need a bigger imagination, one that pushes the church to stop rejecting people who are fully sexual human beings and fully committed to a life of service and faith. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Public health authorities reported on Feb. 21 that an ongoing measles outbreak in Gaines County, Texas and Lea County, New Mexico was already the largest in decades. Of the 90 cases in Gaines County, 26 involved toddlers under four years of age; 51 children between five and 17 were afflicted, and 16 people had been hospitalized. All but five of the infected individuals had not been or were not known to have been vaccinated. Last week, the number of cases grew to 124 and one child, who was unvaccinated, died the first U.S. measles fatality in a decade. Vaccination of children is required in all 50 states. In 2013, 7.5 percent of parents or guardians in Gaines County filed for an exemption, while a decade later, 17.5 percent did so one of the highest exemption rates in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Exemptions have increased dramatically nationwide. As of the 2023-24 school year, about 280,000 kindergartners had not taken shots for measles, mumps and rubella. Fourteen states report exemption rates exceeding 5 percent, enough to prevent the acquisition of herd immunity. It should now be clear that the widespread dissemination of groundless conspiracy theories is undercutting confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccinations and presenting a clear and present danger to the health of all Americans. In the early 20th century, measles one of the most contagious of all diseases killed about 6,000 Americans each year. By mid-century, earlier identification and better treatment reduced annual fatalities to a still alarming 400 to 500; 48,000 people were hospitalized, about 1,000 of them with swelling of the brain. Following the widespread distribution of an effective vaccine in 1968 and state requirements that all school children be vaccinated, measles cases declined precipitously. In 2000, the Center for Disease Control declared that measles had been eliminated in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles vaccines are safe and effective. 10,000 unvaccinated children, according to the Yale School of Public Health, would suffer 2,000 hospitalizations; 10 to 30 deaths;10 cases of brain swelling; 1,000 ear infections, with the possibility of hearing loss; and 500 cases of pneumonia. By contrast, the adverse impact on 10,000 children who have taken the MMR vaccine will be three fever-related seizures, less than one case of abnormal blood-clotting and 0.035 allergic reactions. People born between 1994 and 2013 who take all vaccines recommended by the CDC will suffer 322 million fewer illnesses, 21 million fewer hospitalizations and 732,000 fewer premature deaths. This saves $295 billion in direct medical costs and $1.38 trillion in other costs to society. The CDC report was issued before the COVID-19 pandemic, which would have made the case for vaccinations even stronger. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that states can require vaccinations as an appropriate use of their responsibility to protect public health and safety. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905), the high court declared that personal liberties can be restricted when the common good of the community is at risk. In Zucht v. King (1922), the court decreed that a refusal by public school authorities to admit an unvaccinated student does not violate the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause. In Prince v. Massachusetts (1944), the court asserted that freedom of religion does not include liberty to expose the community or the child to communicable diseases or the latter to ill-health or death. In Phillips v. City of New York (2015), however, the court did allow students with genuine and sincere religious objections to vaccinations to attend school, but it authorized officials to send them home if and when a disease outbreak occurred. Most states have an opt-out for religious reasons, and about half of them now allow exemptions for personal or philosophical reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wields considerable power over the development and distribution of vaccines. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy promised, I am not going to take away anybodys vaccine. That assurance belies his long, long history as an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. Kennedy once claimed that theres no vaccine that is safe and effective. In 2022, a lawyer who works with Childrens Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization founded by Kennedy, petitioned the FDA to revoke its approval of polio vaccines. Kennedy himself asserted that the COVID vaccine had a 100 percent injury rate in early trials. He continues to base his assertion that autism does come from vaccines on a 1998 study of 12 individuals that was retracted by the medical journal The Lancet following revelations that the author falsified information and had a financial conflict of interest. The doctors medical license was subsequently revoked. Kennedy also ignores a raft of large-scale studies confirming that MMR vaccines do not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder. Kennedy has misrepresented his role in supporting anti-vaxxers during a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa. And after he claimed that measles vaccines push the immune response of Black people over the cliff, precipitating an attack on their autoimmune systems, the author of the study Kennedy cited corrected him, stating that his data does not show that one racial group experienced increased harm of autoimmunity compared to any other racial group. As Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) has said, relitigating and churning settled science has real-world consequences. Those consequences include reducing public confidence in vaccines, cutting funds for research and development, staffing the FDA and CDC with vaccination know nothings and increasing disease, hospitalization and death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The churning has already begun. On Feb. 14, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting federal funding for schools that mandate COVID vaccines. A public outcry against this assault on one of most effective and least expensive advances in the history of medicine, however, might give the Trump administration and Kennedy a motive to slow down or stop. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Bret Wagner is the best candidate for Madison School Board in the spring election because of his laser-like focus on improving reading. A former science teacher turned engineer, Wagner strongly supports Madison Superintendent Joe Gothards emphasis on phonics and other science of reading strategies to help all children master the core skill of literacy. Half of district students read below grade level, as do 9 out of 10 Black students, Wagner stressed during a meeting with our editorial board last week. Thats disturbing and demands greater attention. Wagner wants to make reading proficiency the districts top goal and gauge for whether Madison schools are improving. The State Journal editorial board endorses Wagner and his spirited mission in the April 1 election for Seat 3 on the board. Two other seats on city ballots are held by unopposed incumbents. If the state didnt require Madison and only Madison to hold local School Board elections for specific seats serving constituents citywide, our editorial board might be endorsing both Wagner and his Seat 3 opponent, Martha Siravo, a disability advocate. Unlike Madison, most communities in Wisconsin pool all candidates into a single race for school board, with the top vote-getters winning the number of seats available. If the normal process were applied to Madison this spring, that would mean four candidates incumbent board members Nichelle Nichols and Ali Muldrow, as well as Wagner and Siravo would all be vying for the same three seats April 1. Voters would have more choice, and the incumbents would face competition. Gov. Tony Evers told the State Journal editorial board last week he would sign legislation allowing Madison to hold School Board elections like other districts across the state. We urge Madisons representatives in the Legislature to take up this charge. For now, voters in the Madison district much pick between Wagner and Siravo, while Nichols and Muldrow get a free pass. We recommend Wagner for Seat 3 because literacy isnt just about reading. Its key to success in every school subject and walk of life. And far too many Madison students are struggling. Wagner says teachers must be well trained and supported to incorporate the latest science on reading into their lesson plans. He wants reading groups to be smaller for targeted instruction. Wagner would ensure tutoring programs are carefully aligned with district strategies, and that volunteers receive sufficient training for maximum impact. Wagners call for regular public forums on reading proficiency is welcome. Rallying the community around the cause should help drive improvement. Parents need to understand the districts benchmarks, warning signs for their kids and how to help at home. If young people learn to read well in early grades, they wont need remedial help later, saving money, Wagner noted. He also cited research suggesting children with solid reading scores require less redirection and discipline. Wagner makes a convincing case that stepped-up efforts on literacy in Madison could help convince the Republican-run Legislature to release nearly $50 million for reading instruction, some of which would help here. The state money was approved two years ago with bipartisan support, but less than $1 million has been disbursed. Wagner would be the only Madison board member from Fitchburg, which sends one-third of its children to Madison schools. He also would be the only father on the board with children in the district, at Leopold and Cherokee Heights. Wagner wants to adopt a clear and consistent cellphone policy for the district to reduce distractions from learning. He thinks Cherokees approach works well. At Cherokee, school officials take a phone from a student for the day if it is out during class when it shouldnt be. A second violation prompts a call to parents. If the district doesnt do more to limit cellphones, the state might force it to. The Assembly recently passed a statewide ban on cellphones in schools, with some exceptions. Gov. Evers told our editorial board he would likely sign the bill. OUR VIEW: Sean Duffy shorts home state of Wisconsin with odd birth-rate fixation Wisconsin native Sean Duffy isnt doing his home state any favors by oddly tying federal transportation dollars to birth and marriage rates. Like Wagner, Siravo is eager to serve on the board and brings passion and knowledge to her campaign. She met with our editorial board, too. She uses a wheelchair because of a spinal cord injury and is raising a daughter with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She volunteers for a nonprofit dedicated to inclusivity and accessibility. One of her top goals is to hire more special education assistants. Like Wagner, she wants to lobby the state for more special education funding. Both candidates would be strong advocates for teachers. Neither candidate talks much about the burden of property taxes in Madison, though Wagner said he wants to review positions at the districts central office for savings. He would bring a more analytical approach to spending and student outcomes. Wagner cites evidence from the parent-teacher group he leads that incentives such as a bike raffle and pizza parties can help improve school attendance and punctuality. Wagners urgency for better results deserves voter support. The Supreme Court on Wednesday night temporarily paused a looming deadline for the Trump administration to release more than $1.5 billion in foreign aid funding. Chief Justice John Roberts order was brief but still a major win for the White House in its effort to tear down the U.S. Agency for International Development. In coverage of and reaction to the Supreme Courts ruling, one fact has gone underemphasized: The lower court order, which is now on hold, required the government to pay for work that has already been completed. The administrations withholding of that money represents a stunning disregard for contracts signed and executed in good faith. This culture of deliberate default on display cant spring from nowhere it must be encouraged and supported at the top. Given the history of the two men driving this rapid, and likely illegal, dismantling of USAID, it follows that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk see paying bills as merely an option that can be discarded. Since Trump was inaugurated, USAID has been the most imperiled test subject of his administrations mad experiment to consolidate control of the federal government. The foreign aid freeze that he signed on his first day immediately jeopardized thousands of projects and many more lives around the world. A lack of understanding of how federal payment systems work reportedly led Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to say they believed USAID workers were willfully skirting the freeze and deserved to be made into an example. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk tried to dodge blame for one of the accidentally canceled programs, claiming that DOGE quickly restored funding for Ebola prevention that USAID administers. Current and former USAID officials told The Washington Post that is false. In fact, most of the aid work USAID was doing remains paused. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ordered the administration to disburse funding that USAID had previously promised to pay contractors and grant recipients. When the State Departments lawyers dithered in court Tuesday on whether that money had been released, the judge on Tuesday issued a follow-up order to have USAID pay up for work that had already been done prior to his initial Feb. 13 order. The Trump administration argued to the Supreme Court that there wasnt enough time to carry out Alis order, leading to Roberts stay. Purposefully letting bills go unpaid is something that most Americans have been conditioned to regard as rightly punishable; it is only the rich who can afford to disregard paying their creditors. Over the years, Trump and Musk have both been accused of reneging on deals after already receiving the benefit of others labor. Trump and his companies have been subject to numerous legal actions from contractors and others accusing the real estate developer of welching on deals. The actions in total paint a portrait of Trumps sprawling organization frequently failing to pay small businesses and individuals, then sometimes tying them up in court and other negotiations for years, USA Today reported in 2016. In some cases, the Trump teams financially overpower and outlast much smaller opponents, draining their resources. Some just give up the fight or settle for less; some have ended up in bankruptcy or out of business altogether. Another investigation that year from The Wall Street Journal found a pattern over Mr. Trumps 40-year career of his sometimes refusing to pay what some business owners said Trump companies owed them. Trump told the Journal he paid thousands of bills on time, which is not the same as all of his bills. He likewise told Reuters in a separate inquiry about his business practices: Ive had many people that when they work for me they get very rich, Trump said but, sometimes I renegotiate. Adding: Ill do that with probably 10 or 15 percent of contractors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musks companies have also been subject to similar complaints. Within four months of his takeover of Twitter (now dubbed X) in late 2022, six companies sued his new business over unpaid bills. After less than a year under Musk, the number of lawsuits over unpaid bills had grown to more than two dozen. Suing X, wrote Ars Technicas Jon Brodkin, seems to be the most effective method of collecting on unpaid invoices. Reuters also reported last year that based on a review of Texas property records, Musks rocket company SpaceX has been slow to pay bills for work done as it expands. Reuters noted at the time that it couldnt determine for every lien whether outstanding bills were owed by SpaceX or by one of its contractors who commissioned work or materials on its behalf, and Musk has attacked Reuters reporting repeatedly via his X account. As with Trump, many of those cases involving Musk have been settled while others face ongoing, potentially very expensive, litigation. The amount that Musk and Trump have been accused of not paying totals somewhere in the millions but the federal contracts at play are measured in the billions. State Department lawyers blamed the delay in restoring that funding on the complexity of the system, claiming it couldnt be turned back on like a spigot. But in the same filings, they also noted the administration is eliminating 90% of the contracts USAID administers and more than $60 billion in foreign assistance. In short, the Trump administration is arguing that the spigot is under its sole control, not the courts or Congress, and effectively claiming the right to break legally binding contracts on a whim. Based on the sweeping and arbitrary cuts to staff and funding were seeing, USAID wont be the only agency whose partners and contractors will be subject to this kind of capriciousness. It is entirely possible, though, that the work that still needs to be done in the areas where staffing has been cut and contracts ended will now be much more expensive in the long run. (Think about how Trumps reported issues with paying his lawyers on time drove up the prices for those attorneys willing to still take him on as a client.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk and DOGE claim that decimating USAID will save taxpayers money and increase government efficiency. Growing doubts that the federal government will pay for services rendered will likely be seen as a bonus for the architects of this quest to fracture the administrative state. If anything, removing trust in government contracts will more likely lead to higher costs for taxpayers, as expensive contractors require upfront payments to ensure that the U.S. wont simply leave them on the hook once the job is done. Moreover, blatantly disregarding USAIDs contracts poses a danger to the entire underpinning of our civil court system, which is built on the idea that contracts signed without duress are sacrosanct. Musk and Trumps actions have suggested instead that for a powerful enough agent be it a company or the federal government there can be no enforcement, no accountability should they change their mind. For that reason alone, the Supreme Courts hold cannot be allowed to stand on the merits, not if contracts are to have any weight of law. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com The dictatorships of Venezuela and Cuba received two devastating blows in less than 24 hours. The first was President Trumps announcement of an end to oil concessions to Venezuela. The second was the imposition of restrictions on U.S. visas for those who sponsor international medical brigades organized by Cubas communist regime. The first measure marked a clear and categorical decision on the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro that its oil cannot buy it an indefinite reprieve from the restoration of democracy. And here, the Trump administration went above and beyond by including the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. This new change of policy seeks to bury once and for all appeasement policies implemented by the Biden administration. The U.S. is finally calling out names and taking significant actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A new standard is being set for relations with Latin America. The security, prosperity and well-being of the U.S. is closely linked to the security and prosperity of this region. This administration is addressing the symptoms and root causes of migration. Trump is securing the borders and dealing with authoritarian regimes that intentionally generate greater immigration to the U.S.. He is holding every country accountable for its share of the problem a comprehensive and unprecedented approach. In 2022, the Biden administration authorized a general license for oil exploration in Venezuela in exchange for an empty democratic commitment from Maduros regime. The regime opened a dialogue, made many promises, held elections, lost them, kept power illegally and mocked the international community once again. After the elections and the lies of his regime, Maduro continued to enjoy the benefits of a license to export oil to the U.S. During the last two years, the regime has enjoyed more than $4 billion in revenues. That oil business ended this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration is increasing pressure on the Venezuelan dictatorship and showing greater support for the opposition. Trumps son, Donald Jr., held a podcast with Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelas main opposition leader. In this interview, it was revealed how Elon Musks Starlink technology gave a voice to the voiceless, and helped save key information to demonstrate Maduros electoral fraud. Trump also ratified his firm and unwavering position against the Cuban dictatorship. In record time, the U.S. reinstated its hardline policy against the regime, returning Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Sanctions were restored upon those who benefit from stolen property, and the Cuba Restricted List was reestablished, prohibiting financial transactions with corrupt military forces. In addition, Trumps administration did what no other president has ever done punish the regimes human trafficking of Cuban doctors. The so-called Cuban Medical Brigades have six decades of impunity, labor exploitation, human rights abuses and in some cases cover-up of military operations. Over the last two years the Mexican government paid $24 million to the Cuban dictatorship for its health care brigades. Last year, nearly 200 volunteer doctors arrived in Mexico. The islands tyranny will receive about $5,000 per person, whereas the doctors themselves will get crumbs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. is back and reassuming its leadership in Latin America. This time, it will not hand power over to China, Iran or any other Eastern Hemisphere power. Leadership through strength is fundamental. Like President Ronald Reagan, Trump is not willing to accept blackmail or pressure from any banana republic over key areas such trade, drug trafficking or migration. This administration is not afraid of conflict or controversy on the contrary, it sees these as a necessary part of the path to change. The policy of conquering in chaos is generating results in Venezuela and beyond. For the first time, Mexico is handing over dozens of key drug lords to the U.S. without denials or delays. The Attorney General of Panama has also declared unconstitutional its governments agreements with Chinese companies in the port sector. More countries are receiving migrants and creating programs to repatriate them. And the list goes on and on. These changes dont happen by accident, these changes are intentional, and its just getting started. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement America is back. Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States and former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense Universitys Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership course. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. America has supported world peace for many years through the terrible World Wars of the 20th century. Some have called it Pax Americana because America heavily invested with both lives and wealth in establishing peace through stopping nations from conquering other nations. This included stopping Japan and Germany and later North Korea and Vietnam in Asia and several nations in the Middle East. The efforts in the post-World War II wars have not always been clear victories, but national relationships were primarily stabilized. Now in just a few weeks of Donald Trumps presidency we are seeing the American leadership of the worlds nations turned upside down, primarily over the issue of peace between Ukraine and Russia. A major part of the world peace brought and supported by America for 80 years has been the protection of nations from invasion and manipulation by other nation states. Now, Ukraine, struggling to maintain its independent sovereignty has been invaded by Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, who claims that Ukraine is part of Russia. The Ukrainians have been resisting strenuously with the help of the United States and the help of other nations that agree with us and them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allies have been very important in the American effort to maintain world peace. Trump has contradicted our view and the views of our allies by blaming Ukraine for the invasion of their own land. Russia has committed atrocities, among the greatest of which has been the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Even the new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, spoke against Russian aggression and murderous attacks on dissidents back in 2014, but now as a supporter of Trump, Rubio is supporting Trumps criticisms of Ukraine. Even Republican leaders formerly strongly supported arming and enabling Ukraine to resist Putins Russia. These leaders have almost all modified their views to align with Trump in blaming Ukraine for Russias invasion. They are following Trumps dramatic departure from our nations long opposition to Putins murderous actions. Trump and his MAGA followers have created great nervousness in Europe over the future actions of Putin. He will very probably expand his invasion over Eastern Europe in an attempt to recreate the former Soviet Empire. Xi-Jinping of China is watching developments, especially the unwillingness of America to stop Russia. This will encourage China to invade democratic Taiwan and seek to expand its power in the Indo-Pacific. The lack of courage of Republicans to stand up to Trumps autocratic actions and efforts with Elon Musk to intimidate legislators, is already underway. One of the scare words that Musk and others use is bureaucracy, which he and others know is a word that individualistic Americans do not like. The solution, of course, is not the elimination of bureaucracy, but to continually make it more efficient. Personalistic rule, as with the strong man leader, is appealing to people who do not realize that is the old way of ruling through kings, queens and dictators. This is the way Trump has attracted MAGA followers, who think they are getting greater efficiency. What they are getting is a greater autocracy and unchecked arbitrary power of people who openly speak of going after enemies and getting revenge. The turning upside down of our relationships with our Allies, including our important NATO allies, threatens our position as a leader of the worlds nations. The approval of Kash Patel as Head of the FBI is linked to what is happening. Patel has large funds invested in the Cayman Islands, where China is also invested. Of course, China is the major adversary of the United States among the worlds nations. Will Patel be influenced in his personalistic dealings with China to overlook the safety of Taiwan? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Ukraine America has a brave and suffering ally that we have already helped a great deal. This aid has greatly checked Putin in his aims to expand Russian rule and influence. Ukraine is now a key to maintaining world peace. The turning of Trump and his diplomats against Ukraine is a major threat to Americas leadership because it will lift Putin to an equal or more powerful international leader than the United States in maintaining the world peace and lead to the distrust of America by many nations. More: Opinion: Christian nationalism has grown stronger under Trump and the Republican Party More: Opinion: One of Trump's many crimes against US Constitution is trying to eliminate USAID Robert Montgomery The Rev. Robert L. Montgomery, Ph.D., lives in Black Mountain. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Republicans lack courage to stand up to Trumps autocratic actions The U.S. has held a global leadership position in public health and health science research for decades. In the past 75 years, this research has brought many diseases under control through basic research leading to vaccines, drugs, healthy lifestyles and public health initiatives. These achievements are the result of a nationwide research infrastructure that includes many universities wherein the next generation of scientists is being trained, largely supported by grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. In 2024, NIH provided more than $37 billion in funding across every state, creating more than 400,000 jobs and generating $92 billion in economic activity. This funding is used for laboratory research, research centers and, most importantly, the education of trainees, the next generation of scientists. Trainees greatly contribute to the research and discoveries even while they are in training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the U.S. research and training infrastructure is under attack by the Trump administration, and there have been destructive consequences. The future of public health and health science research is at grave risk. The administration has issued a multi-pronged, anti-science attack on the health sciences. Possibly the most destructive is the recent slashing of research funding for both NIH and the National Science Foundation. Critical research in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, vaccine development and so much more will slow to a crawl and possibly stop as universities curtail health research efforts they can no longer support. But the hidden and potentially most lethal cost is that training will cease. NIH and NSF funding supports a great deal of training, from undergraduate through graduate and postdoctoral studies. The administrations actions will result in the loss of the next generation of scientists, the very people who will carry on the quest for discovery, who will discover new treatments and cures and develop new vaccines and strategies for a healthier society. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not hypothetical; we are already seeing universities cut back on admission of graduate students for health science programs, even rescinding offers of admission that have already been sent. Postdoctoral training and clinical research training programs will follow. And its not just the challenges on the university side; science-oriented high school and college students are already considering that a career in the health sciences and public health may be too risky. The number of U.S.-trained health scientists will grow smaller and smaller until the nations health science research and discovery becomes irrelevant. It has been argued that industry will pick up the lost research and training. This is unlikely since the research funded by NIH and NSF is long-term discovery-driven research that is often high-risk. The early discoveries made with NIH and NSF funding are often licensed to private industry for final development, testing and marketing. This pipeline will be severed, and investor-oriented, profit-driven companies will be loath to take on the expense of such research. Additionally, they could never duplicate the vast research infrastructure supported by NIH and NSF funding. Private industry also cannot confer degrees to trainees; universities provide this training to prepare their students for careers in either industry or academic research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has also been argued that other countries will do the work. While there is very good health science research going on in many other countries, particularly in China, the loss of the American research infrastructure and its worldwide collaborative nature will slow the worlds progress for many, many years. The strong collaborations that U.S. scientists have with scientists all over the globe has arisen, in large part, from relationships formed when foreign students are trained in U.S. universities, a prospect that will dim as the countrys research training dries up. We are facing the end of health research in the U.S. by eliminating the next generation of scientists. This will have terrible consequences in both chronic and infectious disease research as well as severe economic consequences. It is time for all of us to speak out against the destruction of the health sciences. It is time for all NIH-funded universities and institutions, as well as all health and life science professional organizations, to come together and form a united front to push back with messaging and legal actions to restore U.S. health science research and training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Alwine is a virologist, a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, a visiting professor at the University of Arizona and a fellow of the American Academy for Microbiology and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Elizabeth Jacobs is an epidemiologist and professor emerita at the University of Arizona and a founding member of the advocacy group Defend Public Health. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Donald Trump has barely been back in the White House for a month, and it already appears that many MAGA voters and politicians are having buyers remorse. Unfortunately, theres no return policy on the presidency. Trumps approvals have tanked, and he has the second-lowest approval rating of any president at this point into their tenure since 1953. The lowest? Also Donald Trump. So why, then, did they vote him back into office? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maybe it was collective amnesia. Maybe it was boredom. Maybe it was an impulse to set the world on fire just for the sake of spectacle. Maybe it was a combination of low turnout, post-COVID malaise and a global trend toward anti-incumbency (if not anti-democracy). Whatever it was, it was definitely a mistake. GOP Rep. Rich McCormick takes a question during a contentious town hall meeting on Feb. 20, 2025 in Roswell, Georgia. / The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Im Republican voters are showing up at town halls across the country to yell at their representatives. Indeed, there are all sorts of Trump supporters who are now shocked that they got exactly what they voted for. There are the Make America Healthy Again fans of RFK Jr. who backed Trump at their preferred candidates behest, only to now realize they hate most of his policies. Theres the lower the price of eggs contingent now paying even more at the grocery store. There are the drain the swamp proponents shocked by the decimation of the federal workforceespecially when it includes their peers and kin. There are those who were fed up with Joe Bidens pro-Israel stance but are now aghast that Trump has schemed to push Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip entirely. And there are those who seemingly crawled out from under a rock on Nov. 5 to cast their ballots, and are learning that maybe their preferred podcasters or MMA fighters arent the best people to take political advice from. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I read quotes from these folks I cant help to think about a famous Trumpism: Theyre not sending their best. These voters did not, to use a Melania-ism, Be Best. Or to quote the popular refrain, they are the people whose faces were indeed eaten after voting for the Leopards Eating Peoples Faces Party. It is hard to muster up any sympathy for them, especially when they have ledor were ledto so much suffering, with infinitely more incoming. No one needs to sympathize with these not-the-best voters or justify their actions. But its also necessary to resist the urge to shame or mock them (even if shame and mockery are indeed warranted). The Trump presidency is dangerous. Trump has appointed a cabinet that is farcical in its incompetence, and that is the point: People who know that they would never be in their positions of power under any other circumstances are loyal only to the person who has put them thereits not as if Kash Patel or Tulsi Gabbard has some sterling reputation to protect, or a professional future to consider, after all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are already seeing previously independent federal agencies begin to work not for the people, but for the president personally. And the number of checks on this kind of abuse of power are fewer and fewer. Trump has already signaled that he will simply disregard court decisionseven Supreme Court rulings, from a court stacked with his own judicial picks. There is little indication that the Republican Party, which was de-spined by Trump long ago, would stand up for the basic separation of powers and rule of law. Democracy really is on the line. That means liberals and other Trump opponents have a duty to welcome defectors, converts and the politically unmoored into the fold. A crucial thing to understand about normal-person politicsthat is, the kinds of people who might vote but arent reading political columns in the Daily Beast or anywhere else, though I of course encourage everybody to read political columns in the Daily Beastis that their impressions of Democrats and Republicans may be less shaped by what Democrats and Republicans actually do than how they believe Democrats and Republicans are. Their liberal and Democratic-voting friends, neighbors and co-workers in real life and on social media shape their perceptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will be much more effective to speak with them, share information and offer them some grace than to make fun of them or pull an I-told-you-so, even if you did tell them so, and even if they do deserve to be made fun of. This is how you build a coalition. Its how you build power. And its how we take America back from Trumpwhich is certainly more important than reminding everyone that you were right. (You can and should, of course, gripe about them to other friends in private. Thats what a group text is for.) If the stakes were lower, it would be easier to justify self-righteousness. But if you truly believe that the nation is as risk, then act like itwhich means pulling in potential allies to the cause, not ostracizing them. In the coming weeks and months, the number of people badly affected by Trump policies will grow. Each of these people could be one brick in an anti-Trump wall, if we can get them to stand with us. And to pull people in, you sometimes have to bite your tongue. None of this is to say that there should be no consequences. Those running the Trump administration, DOGE, and even Marjorie Taylor Greenes social media accounts should pay a steep price. (At the very least, none of them should be allowed anywhere near politics or power ever again.) And those who voted for any/all of the above have certainly ceded their right to be trusted with basic decision-making; I would personally struggle to maintain a friendship with someone who cast their ballot for Trump. But that struggle, and the struggle, is real. To have a post-Trump reckoning, we need to get to a post-Trump reality. The only way to do that is to meet disaffected Trump voters with an invitation to the other sidenot a slammed-shut door. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) This week, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek allowed the DMV to resume automatic voter registration under the so-called motor voter law. The governor paused the practice after DMV clerical and policy mistakes resulted in more than 1,600 people making it onto voter rolls without verification of citizenship. Newly elected Secretary of State, former State Treasurer and former state legislator Tobias Read joined this weeks Eye on Northwest Politics to discuss Oregon election integrity and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch the full interview in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -"Anora," the story of a New York sex worker who gets a chance at a new life when she marries a wealthy Russian client on a whim, won five Academy Awards on Sunday, including the coveted best picture Oscar. In addition to best picture, Sean Baker won for best director, original screenplay and editing to tie the record for most Oscars won by an individual in one year with Walt Disney who won for four different films in 1954. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The movie's 25-year-old star, Mikey Madison, was named best actress. "Anora" was made for $6 million, a tiny sum by Hollywood standards. It emerged as the winner in an unpredictable Oscars race that included papal thriller "Conclave," Jewish immigrant story "The Brutalist" and blockbuster musical "Wicked." "If you're trying to make independent films, please keep doing it. We need more. This is proof," said Baker, a director known for making small films about porn stars, transgender prostitutes and other marginalized people. Madison scored an upset over Demi Moore, who had been favored to win best actress for her role in "The Substance." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me," Madison said on stage. "To be here standing in this room today is really incredible." She said she wanted to "thank and honor the sex worker community." She said, "I will continue to be an ally." "Anora," released by independent distributor Neon, has generated $40 million at global box offices. "Wicked," by comparison, has hauled in $728 million. ADRIEN BRODY WINS BEST ACTOR Adrien Brody claimed his second best actor Oscar for his role as a Jewish immigrant and architect who chases the American dream in "The Brutalist." The 51-year-old New York City native had previously won for "The Pianist," when he became the youngest best actor winner at age 29. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Acting is a very fragile profession," Brody said. "No matter where you are in your career, it can all go away. I think what makes this most special is the awareness of that." Zoe Saldana was named best supporting actress for her role as the fixer for a Mexican drug lord in "Emilia Perez," a Spanish-language musical released on Netflix. The movie, which also won best original song for 'El Mal,' was a favorite for best picture earlier this year. Its chances dwindled when offensive social media posts surfaced from star Karla Sofia Gascon. The actress, the first openly transgender person nominated for an acting Oscar, disappeared from the awards circuit but attended Sunday's ceremony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kieran Culkin received the best supporting actor award for playing one of two cousins who travel to Poland to study their family's roots in "A Real Pain." Culkin thanked his wife and mother of his two children, Jazz Charton, and said he had recently told her he wanted a total of four kids. Culkin said she joked she would agree if he won an Oscar. "Let's get cracking on those kids!" Culkin said to his wife from the stage. Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes are chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN DOCUMENTARY A WINNER "No Other Land," a film showing Palestinian West Bank resistance to Israeli soldiers tearing down their homes and evicting residents to create a military training ground, won the documentary feature film Oscar on Sunday. The prize for best animated feature went to independent film "Flow," the first movie from Latvia to win an Oscar. Brazilian movie "I'm Still Here" received the best international feature award. Nominees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the Oscars celebration with a "Wizard of Oz"-themed medley including the showstopping hit "Defying Gravity" from their film "Wicked." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grande, Saldana, Selena Gomez and other stars wore shiny and sculptural gowns. Timothee Chalamet chose a canary yellow tuxedo, prompting a jab from the Oscars host, comedian Conan O'Brien. "You will not get hit on your bike tonight," O'Brien said. Midway through the show, O'Brien brought a group of Los Angeles firefighters to the stage and thanked them for their work during the January wildfires. He also invited them to deliver a few jokes. "It's great to be back with Conan," said Pasadena Fire Captain Jodi Slicker. "Usually when he calls, he's stuck in a tree." (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Danielle Broadway, Dawn Chmielewski and Nichola Groom; Editing by Mary Milliken and Howard Goller) President Trumps early presidency has brought unprecedented transparency to the White House. More than any other president, he wants the American people to see what he is doing in real-time. That is why the press has been allowed to witness him signing executive orders, meeting with his Cabinet, and having an intense disagreement with a foreign leader. This accessibility is one vehicle with which President Trump is forging his own distinctive relationship with the American public. The president is comfortable going directly to the people and positioning himself as their true spokesperson. It is remarkable how much he is willing to put on display. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, during a press availability at the start of a scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , President Trump allowed the cameras to roll and the press to see what was a startlingly acrimonious meeting in the Oval Office. As the New York Times reported, No president in memory has ever erupted at a visiting foreign leader in such a vituperous way on camera, not even enemies of the United States, much less a putative ally. As the meeting became more and more heated, Vice President JD Vance, who was also in attendance, accused the Ukrainian president of being ungrateful for American assistance and criticized him for litigating his version of events in front of the American media. The president had a different view. He turned to Vance and said, I think it is good for the American people to see what is going on. I think it is very important. Thats why I kept this going so long. That line, It is good for the American people to see what is going on, captures the essence of President Trumps embrace of a hyper-public presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That doesnt mean that the administration wont do anything in secret. It does mean that the president will be in almost constant communication with the public. Thus, in addition to his use of social media, during his first term, he averaged more exchanges with the press per year than any president in modern American history. Even though he now wants to determine which members of the press will have access to the White House and other venues, President Trump craves constant press attention. The New York Post reports that Trump has answered more than 1,000 press questions in the first month of his second term 7 times more than Biden in the same period. On February 24, The National Journals George Condon observed that Trump started answering questions inside the U.S. Capitol, less than an hour after taking his oath of office, when he was asked if he had any reaction to the pardons President Biden did at the last minute. The last questionNo. 1,009(as of that date) came more than 3,000 feet above North Carolina at 9:14 p.m. as he returned to Washington after five days in Florida. Condon quotes David Greenberg, professor of history, journalism, and media studies at Rutgers University, the presidents accessibility clearly shows a comfort level with being his own spokesman. He enjoys it. He thinks of himself as a persuasive personality or he enjoys the attentionor both. And he may not be wrong. He has demonstrated that he can command a following for the way he puts his ideas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scolding Zelenskyy and giving him a public dressing-down fits that profile. It projected a version of the strength that Trump thinks pleases the American public. So what might have been just another l meeting about Ukraine instantly grabbed international headlines. Everyone is now talking about what Trump said to Zelenskyy. Some of that talk is favorable, but much of it is unfavorable. What matters in the hyper-public presidency is that the focus is on Trump.Politico got it right in 2016: (T)he idea, unprecedented at this level of politics, is at the heart of one of the most remarkable mechanisms of Trumps risethe conviction that mistakes, flagrant provocations, and the attendant bad publicity genuinely dont matter, so long as they serve the goal of owning the spotlight. On the short list of Trumps most guiding, abiding beliefs, it continued, this is one that ranks near the top: that bad publicity doesnt have to be avoided, and doesnt have to be enduredthat it should be embraced, and even stoked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What happened on Friday with Zelenskyy is just the latest example. Since he came on the national stage, the president has shown unusual political bravado, letting the public see him, warts and all, swearing, mocking people, delighting in exacting retribution from his enemies, and violating the conventions of polite society. Some write this off, attributing it to his personality and what they see as a pathological need to stay in the limelight. But that is a mistake. Trumps willingness to be seen is more than that; it is deeply political. The fact that the president does not hide from the press reveals a conception of political power in which a political leader needs to be seen to create an unusual and powerful connection with the public they serve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps actions are part of an effort to change American democracy into what political scientists call plebiscitary democracy. They use this term to describe those systems wherein a leader is elected but once elected has almost all of the power. Plebiscitary politics is politics without intermediaries. Its appeal is its immediacy. So is its danger. Plebiscitary politics is often a tool of the autocrat. President Trump understands plebiscitary politics as well as anyone. He knows that the current political culture now demands the president to be a popular leader, with a duty constantly to defend themselves publicly, to promote policy initiatives nationwide, and to inspirit the population." MSNBCs Chris Hayes dubs President Trump the master of the attention economy. As Hayes puts it, He is the political figure who most fully exploited the new rules of the attention age. He seemed to sense intuitively born of a combination of his experience with the New York City tabloids and his own psychological needs that attention is all that matters. Hayes explains that Trumps approach to politics ever since the summer of 2015, when he entered the presidential race, is the equivalent of running naked through the neighborhood: repellent but transfixing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Washington Post captured this approach when it called Fridays exchange between the leaders of two countries a striking breach of Oval Office comity, where even tough exchanges have typically happened with calm voices and diplomatic languagewhich shocked global leaders. But creating such a shock may have been the point. That quality compels attention. The Oval Office dustup was a well-prepared trap for the Ukrainian President. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham suggested as much when he told reporters after the heated meeting that he had warned Zelenskyy to proceed carefully. I talked to Zelenskyy this morning. Dont take the bait. The trap was set and sprung for all the world to see. Zelenskyy took the bait and created another transfixing moment for Donald Trumps hyper-public presidency. As the meeting drew to a close, the president made that clear when he crowed: This is going to be great television." DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Over 200 protestors united to make their voices heard on Saturday. A peaceful protest was held in Moraine at the Tesla plant in West Dorothy Lane. Many demonstrators came out to speak out against Elon Musk and his ongoing involvement in the government. They also spoke out in support of Ukraine and condemned the Presidents handling of Americas involvement in the war. Were fighting to get Musk, who is not an elected official, out of our business. We are fighting to stand with Ukraine, we are fighting against Trump. We are going to take it to the street for as long as it takes until we make things better, said Julie Metter-Vann, a protestor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. La Paz, BoliviaTwo passenger buses collided Saturday on a highway in southern Bolivia, leaving at least 37 people dead including four minors, police said, in the countrys worst bus accident to date this year. So far we have 37 confirmed deaths, Colonel Wilson Flores told Agence France Presse (AFP) of the crash near the city of Uyuni in the department of Potosi. - Advertisement - Another 41 people were injured and transported to hospitals, police said in a later update, raising the toll from 30. Among the victims were at least two foreigners: an 80-year-old Peruvian woman and a three-year-old German girl. The other three deceased minors were aged 13, 15 and 17. The accident occurred on a narrow two-way road early Saturday. One of the buses was heading to the city of Oruro, the scene this weekend of the Oruro Carnival, one of the largest festivals in Latin America that attracts tens of thousands of people. It is still unclear what caused the accident, but police said that one of the buses had veered into the opposite lane. Officials also said one of the drivers, who survived the crash in grave condition, had alcohol breath, so a blood test was performed. Bolivias winding mountain roads are notoriously deadly. Road accidents kill an average of 1,400 people every year in the country of about 12 million inhabitants, according to government data. Saturdays accident comes less than two weeks after at least 30 people were killed when a passenger bus plunged into an 800-meter-deep ravine in southern Bolivia between the cities of Potosi and Oruro. In January, another nineteen people were killed when a bus careened off a road, also near Potosi. Editors note: The EPA clarified that the properties are too dangerous and not too toxic. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced earlier this week that it finished phase one of its work in the Palisades and Eaton fire areas, clearing about 9,200 properties. However, despite removing over 300 million tons of hazardous material, EPA deemed thousands of properties too dangerous for clearing until Phase Two which will be conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We, for this mission, do not have heavy equipment with us to help remove those physical safety hazards, explained EPA Palisades Branch Director Ashley Nilsen. So we have to defer those properties to phase two to the Army Corps, who, as a part of their mission, does have the right equipment and expertise to deal with those physical hazards on the properties. Residents cannot begin rebuilding until properties have been cleared, but officials said deferring the properties to the Army Corps shouldnt change the time frame when it comes to the rebuilding process. The Corps is already here, theyre following right behind us, Nilsen told KTLAs Erin Myers. As soon as we defer a property to phase two for the issues weve discussed, it goes right into the Corps bucket to address that property. Fire debris has also started to make its way into the ocean, leading to an ocean water advisory from Las Flores State Beach to Santa Monica State Beach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sediment tests are being done and the L.A. Countys Department of Beaches and Harbors has been removing debris daily. At this time, officials are encouraging beachgoers to stay out of the water. In addition, with more rain on the way to SoCal, there are concerns for those working in the toxic waste areas, but the EPA said teams have still been able to work during previous storms. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. In late February a young child in Texas died from the measles. More than one hundred other people (mostly kids) have gotten sick with the measles: 96% of those who got sick had not received the MMR vaccine, which provides protection against the measles virus. As a medical student here in Tennessee, it scares me to see painful and sometimes deadly viruses making a comeback. As a mother, it hurts my heart to think of the pain and suffering these children and families in Texas are enduring. And as an American, I also know people are tired of being lectured about vaccines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont want this to be a lecture, and I dont want this to be political. But as we watch the current measles outbreak unfold, I believe it is my professional duty to make sure parents know where the original MMR and autism myth came from. 1998 study on autism-vaccine connection was debunked and retracted So heres the truth. In 1998, a researcher published a study of 12 children with autism-like symptoms. Parents of eight of those 12 kids said that they thought their childrens autism traits started sometime after the child received the MMR vaccine. From this, the article tried to say that there was a link between MMR vaccine and autism. Not only is this downright bad science, but it was also later found that the researchers had used fake data in the study. To make matters even worse, the lead researcher was financially motivated to make the vaccine look bad. This so-called study was later removed from the medical journal that had published it, but its nasty legacy has been hard to shake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Doctors must have better conversations with patients about vaccines Parents deserve truth when making decisions about their childs healthcare. Many high-quality studies have since shown how safe the MMR vaccine is and proven that it does not cause autism. However, fewer and fewer children are getting the MMR vaccine, and we are seeing more and more measles cases each year in the U.S. Here's what measles is and the virus's effects on children's health Another misconception is that measles isnt that bad. This is unfortunately not true. Measles is a life-threatening virus, especially for young children. Measles can lead to brain swelling that leaves some children blind, deaf, or permanently intellectually disabled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even those who fully recover from the measles risk developing an incurable, fatal brain disease years later. To make matters worse, measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to mankind. It is nearly four times as contagious as COVID-19, almost five times as contagious as HIV, and nine times as contagious as Ebola. Measles is incredibly serious, theres no way around it. Politicians who act like measles is no big deal are lying by omission. As a mom, I understand wanting to do everything you can to keep your children healthy, happy, and safe. I also understand that many parents think their child could never get the measles if enough other kids are vaccinated. But sadly Tennessee is one of the many states whose MMR vaccine rate is too low to provide sufficient protection through herd immunity. The measles virus is making a national comeback and is not slowing down. Now is the time to get our kids the shot that can protect them. Please, dont let the legacy of a fabricated and unethical study or incomplete information from politicians be the reason you dont vaccinate your child against the measles. Reach out to your doctor with your questions or concerns today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caley Lane is a Davidson County, Tennessee resident who holds a Ph.D. in neurobiology. She is a third-year medical student at a Tennessee medical school going into pediatrics. However, this piece solely reflects her own opinions and is not intended to represent the opinions of her medical school. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Measles vaccine protects children's health and saves lives | Opinion DENVER (KDVR) Aurora police said charges are expected after a passenger died when he was ejected from a vehicle in an early Sunday morning crash. Officers responded to the crash at East Quincy Avenue and South Richfield Street just before 3 a.m. Police in a Sunday press release said a Kia K5 sedan was driving east on Quincy when the driver, a 23-year-old woman, jumped the curb and hit a light pole after veering off the roadway. Motorcyclist dies after Saturday crash in Aurora Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The passenger, a 27-year-old man, was ejected and suffer fatal injuries. He died at the hospital, police said. The woman was also taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Police have not arrested anyone, but said charges are expected, according to the press release. Police are investigating the circumstances leading up to the crash and any contributing factors. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. When youre accused of doing something you didnt do, thats bad enough. But when youre accused of a heinous act, arrested, convicted and locked away in prison for decades thats brutal. But thats exactly what happened to me after my husband was murdered 41 years ago. I spent nearly 40 years in prison for a crime I didnt commit. During those years, my supporters and I petitioned every governor and every court asking for justice. These pleas, for the most part, fell on deaf ears. On Dec. 20, only a few months ago, I was released. Outgoing Gov. Mike Parson commuted my sentence of life with no parole for 50 years. Although Im innocent, Ill be on parole forever, paying $30 a month for the privilege. Im still a convicted murderer in the eyes of the law. Over half of my life was wasted behind razor wire. But freedom is a wonderful gift. Im surrounded by loved ones, safe and warm in a beautiful home, and I enjoy every single minute of every day filled with unlimited hugs and snuggles, kisses, laughter, a soft bed, good and nutritious food, sweet dogs and cats that also are family, a bathtub, Alexa who knows all the songs, and quality time with my kids and fascinating grandchildren. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People keep asking if Im overwhelmed. No, Im not. Going to prison was overwhelming. Coming home is what Ive been training for all these decades. I have plenty of support, but many do not. How could I make it to parole meetings in Independence from Greenwood if I didnt have people with vehicles? Im 75, so I dont have to find a job. How do younger parolees find work with no transportation and no suitable clothing? We need to do better for parolees who need help. I still havent successfully signed up for Medicare. What a struggle. Missouri needs to create a better method for applying for clemency with accountability and transparency. The current method is cloaked in secrecy and bogged down by poor organization. There were governors who not once acknowledged my clemency application or the thousands of calls, letters or emails from taxpaying citizens demanding my freedom. My successful clemency application was filed in May of 2010. Before I experienced our justice system firsthand, I honestly believed that branch of government found and dispensed justice. The average person would be appalled at how poorly trials are conducted in America. The Midwest Innocence Project does the work that should have been done in the original court. Furthermore, our courts need to be more open to post-conviction appeals. For judges to deny DNA testing is ridiculous. What harm is a scientific test to a judge who is not paying for it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wont even go into how awful our prisons are in every way. I feel bad for all the good women I left behind. Most female inmates are mothers who were the primary caregivers for their children. Either a family member or the state must take responsibility for these brokenhearted children. Inmates are hidden in the shadows and our children suffer. Now that Im free, what am I doing now? I got my drivers license. Im looking forward to good weather. I hope to be able to see a dentist and a primary care doctor soon. Im studying to complete my bachelors degree in humanities from Washington University in the fall. Im also studying theater and literature with Prison Performing Arts in St. Louis. Im petitioning for a pardon from Gov. Mike Kehoe, and my memoir Trying to Catch Lighting in a Jar, describing my first 20 years in prison, will be published in May. Meanwhile, Im thankful and ecstatic to be free. I send my gratitude to everyone who supports justice, but there are still many changes that must come about to prevent others from suffering the injustice that I did. Patty Prewitt is a native of Lone Jack and Lees Summit class of 1967. She has four children, nine grandchildren and four great-grands. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Sunday sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's leadership of his country and said while President Donald Trump is working to end Russia's war, "Zelenskyy has different aims in mind." "President Trump is committed to peace and to freedom," Gabbard told host Shannon Bream on "Fox News Sunday." "We're seeing this big divergence here between his position, his commitment to these values and the interests of the American people and the interests of President Zelenskyy and these European leaders." A White House meeting between the two leaders collapsed during a press conference at the Oval Office on Friday after a remark by Zelenskyy indicating skepticism of diplomacy with Russia drew the ire of Vice President JD Vance. Trump and Vance then delivered a stunning takedown of Zelenskyy in front of reporters. And Trump asked Zelenskyy to leave the premises, declaring on his social media platform Truth Social afterward that the Ukrainian president "is not ready for peace." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gabbard on Sunday echoed that claim. "President Zelenskyy has different aims in mind," she said. "He has said that he wants to end this war, but he will only accept an end apparently that leads to what he views as Ukraine's victory even if it comes at an incredibly high cost of potentially World War III or even a nuclear war." Democrats and European leaders called the Oval Office meeting an ambush. Put Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a staunch Ukraine ally, in that camp. "I saw the meeting as a despicable display of bullying by the President of the United States and the Vice President of the United States against somebody whose country is at war with Putin, a brutal assault by Putin, who's lost thousands and thousands of Ukrainians," Van Hollen told Bream, also on Sunday. "Who wants peace more than anybody, but he also wants to make sure that it's a durable, sustainable peace." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Gabbard put the onus on Zelenskyy to repair the damaged Ukraine-U.S. relationship. "When President Zelenskyy directly challenged President Trump and Vice President Vance in front of the media and the American people, he really showed his lack of interest in any real, good faith negotiations," Gabbard told Bream. "This has created a huge rift in the relationship." And now? "There's going to have to be a rebuilding of any kind of interest in good faith negotiations I think before President Trump is going to be willing to reengage on this," Gabbard said. Gabbard also assailed Zelenskyy's leadership over his country, telling Bream that Kyiv had canceled elections and silenced its political opposition. Trump in February called Zelenskyy, who was elected in 2019, a "dictator without elections" and American negotiators have discussed the prospect of new elections in Ukraine in peace talks with Russian counterparts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But elections now could be perilous for Ukraine, and even Zelenskyy's top critics are opposed to the idea of holding votes during wartime, due in large part to the risk of Russians influencing campaigns. "We could go down a whole laundry list of issues that are against the values of democracy and freedom," Gabbard said, "So it really begs the question as Vice President Vance said again in Munich, it's clear that they're standing against Putin, obviously that's clear. But what are they actually really fighting for? And are they aligned with the values that they claim to hold in agreement with us?" HARRISBURG, Pa. At a dire point in the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, some say hope is springing from an unlikely place: the state of Pennsylvania. Maryland and other states filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency in 2020, arguing that heavily agricultural Pennsylvania was too far behind on its bay pollution commitments, and that the federal government, under Donald Trumps guidance, was ignoring its obligation to drop the hammer. The lawsuit was settled in 2023, with the EPA pledging to hold Pennsylvania to account, and today, with Trump back in office, the rhetoric about the Keystone State is altogether different. Politicians and some bay advocates in Maryland say they consider Pennsylvania an ally rather than a foe a stark change from years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a December convening of bay leaders, Gov. Wes Moore commended Pennsylvanias recent effort, saying: This is what it looks like when we have a united front to solve a big problem. A whole bunch of chemicals At the Pennsylvania Farm Show in January, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro roamed from booth to booth in the Harrisburg convention hall, stopping to watch a demonstration about farm field erosion. A showerhead sprayed small patches of grass in boxes, and a single patch with no plants at all, demonstrating the rapid erosion of fallow farmland. For a lot of years, Pennsylvania, as a result of this, Shapiro said, gesturing toward the muddy soil, was seeing a whole bunch of chemicals spill off into our waterways and pollute the Chesapeake Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shapiros state is home to 7.3 million acres of farmland, which pours polluted runoff into its thousands of miles of streams, many of which lead to the nations largest estuary. Thanks to livestock manure and other fertilizers, that runoff includes harmful nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus, which fill waterbodies with algae and deplete them of oxygen. Maryland and other groups filed suit against EPA in 2020. It came after surges of pollution and debris flowed from Pennsylvanias Susquehanna River during a rainy 2018, and after the federal agency approved what was seen as a deficient pollution reduction plan for the state. Trumps EPA had also referred to the bay pollution program as aspirational, rather than legally enforceable, infuriating environmentalists. In short, Maryland and Pennsylvania were at odds. But in 2022, Pennsylvania used federal coronavirus dollars to jump-start a $154 million program that would reimburse farmers for projects to reduce runoff, from fencing to keep livestock out of streams, to riparian buffers rows of newly planted trees meant to slow erosion near stream banks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The following April, after lengthy negotiations between EPA, Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation the 2020 lawsuit was resolved, with the EPA agreeing to increase its scrutiny on Pennsylvania farming operations. And in 2024, Pennsylvania lawmakers further committed $50 million in state funding to sustain the program beyond 2026, when ARPA funding would run dry. Were cleaning up the bay. Pennsylvanias doing a great job with that, and thats great for everybody, said Shapiro, a Democrat. A difficult juncture The program was long-awaited. Similar cost-share programs for farm conservation efforts were passed in Maryland and Virginia in the 1980s. And since then, the goalposts have moved, with scientific groups calling for conservation measures to be selected based on ecological benefits rather than being chosen by farmers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The infusion of cash and talking points from Pennsylvania also comes at a difficult juncture for the decades-long bay cleanup effort, with its 2025 pollution deadline unmet. The vast majority of the bay states, including Maryland and Virginia, fell well short of their 2025 commitments. And Pennsylvania didnt just miss the mark by a little. The Keystone State has achieved 29% of its required reductions in nitrogen, 50% for phosphorus and 58% for sediment, according to the EPA. As of 2024, 29.8% of the bay and its tributaries met water quality standards, including for clarity and algae growth. Go back to 1985, and the figure was 26.5%, showing just how little progress has been made. Meanwhile, the second Trump administration, which has sought to weaken environmental regulation, arrived in Washington with a bang. Funding freezes, buyout offers and personnel changes meant to shrink government have thrust the EPA into chaos alongside other federal agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Observers worry the EPAs Chesapeake Bay Program could fall into the presidents crosshairs. The bay cleanup under Trump During his first term, Trump unsuccessfully proposed defunding the Chesapeake Bay Program. Jon Mueller, the former vice president for litigation at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, worries Trump will go further this time, attempting to revoke a key regulation underpinning the restoration effort known as the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. The TMDL, established in 2010 by President Barack Obamas administration and compelled by litigation, set a total maximum daily load, for the amount of polluting nutrients entering the bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was the largest-ever TMDL pursued by the EPA, and it faced swift legal challenges, including from the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of Homebuilders. The case lasted for five years, with the TMDL ultimately winning out. If they decide to just abandon it, then were fighting over whether there should be a TMDL or not. Were right back to where we were in 2010, Mueller said. These days, the bay states are working on rewriting their 2014 compact to set new goals for an unspecified deadline beyond 2025. And some observers and politicians still strike an optimistic tone. With Pennsylvania leaders enthusiastically involved in the clean-up, things feel different, they say. The states can step it up and maintain the momentum. We just have to touch on it in different terms. Think about [the bay] as an economic driver, an economic engine. Think about it as a powerful, bipartisan kind of effort. So, Im not all doom and gloom, said Bill Dennison, a professor and vice president for science application at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In July, the center unveiled its annual bay report, featuring the estuarys highest score in decades a C-plus. With the northern section of the bay among the healthiest areas, Dennison decided to hold an event associated with the report in Harrisburg, to celebrate Pennsylvanias agricultural improvements. Afterward, he heard from Maryland farmers, who argued that they had been doing the same best practices for decades. My comeback to them is: We spent 40 years since the beginning of the bay program pointing fingers and bad-mouthing Pennsylvania. It hasnt gotten us a whole lot. Lets try something different, Dennison said. Behind the curve? Becky Nas, a farmer in Gettysburg, is a recipient of some of the Pennsylvania funding initiative, called the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program. Two days before Christmas, workers finished constructing a manure storage area for her chicken litter and cattle manure, shielding it from the elements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her farm borders the Rock Creek, which eventually flows into the Chesapeake. She was delighted to learn of the report card score last year. Its nice to know that what were doing and the decisions were making are having an impact, she said. Her farms manure area is one of 1,236 environmental projects fueled so far by the new influx of funding from the legislature.But some argue that Pennsylvania is still running behind. A stinging report from the Chesapeake Bay Program in May 2023 called the Comprehensive Evaluation of System Response diagnosed the shortcomings of the restoration. Among its findings? Voluntary programs paying farmers to implement conservation measures werent going far enough. Instead, farmers ought to be paid based on the pollution reduction associated with their practices, evaluated by third parties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that sentiment seems to have been buried by politicians, who appear reluctant to take a harder tack on the agriculture industry, said Gerald Winegrad, a retired Maryland legislator who helped craft Marylands own farm cost-sharing program. We need independent evaluations, he said. Why didnt they work? They didnt work as well as they were supposed to, because there was no verification. Driving through Pennsylvania farmland, Ted Evgeniadis, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, said he can see the difference. You can pass a farm and see: well, now theres a designated cattle crossing. Theres a riparian buffer, he said. Any time you see tree tubes, thats a good sign. But Evgeniadis sees the bad and the ugly along with the good. His team began a new bacteria monitoring program in 2024, and immediately found concerning bacteria results for the Pequea Creek, a Susquehanna tributary that runs through Lancaster County, which is surrounded by farmland, suggesting that farm runoff could be to blame. Each week was above and beyond any kind of state recreational standard. We have to scratch our heads and wonder why, he said. Scared to death John Painter, a dairy farmer in northern Pennsylvania, puts it bluntly. We used to think of them as the police. The minute you mentioned EPA, people would be backed up and scared to death, said Painter, chair of the dairy committee at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. But in recent years, the relationship has thawed considerably, in part because the EPA approached farmers differently, said Chris Hoffman, a first generation pig farmer in Central Pennsylvania, and president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Id never experienced someone coming and saying: I want to learn, Hoffman said. That was the approach taken by Adam Ortiz, the Marylander appointed by President Joe Biden to lead the EPAs Mid-Atlantic region office, Hoffman said. On the day of Trumps inauguration, Ortiz resigned, for a new deputy secretary post at the Maryland Department of the Environment. Its kind of saddening to me, right? Hoffman said. Because weve been working so close together, and hes been so bought in to helping us be successful. Still, some observers in the environmental community think the actions havent gone far enough over the course of the bay agreement. In an article published in the Environmental Law Reporter last year, Mueller, who is also the director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, said the EPA and the bay states have continually bowed to powerful economic and political interests and declined to take more aggressive steps, such as objecting to inadequate water pollution permits that make the bay goals challenging to achieve. Ortiz has said that while Pennsylvania needed more scrutiny and enforcement from EPA, he favored a balanced approach, which he referred to as tough love. We increased our inspections and other enforcement actions several factors over, but at the same time, we leaned in and listened and provided thoughtful assistance and encouraged others to step up, Ortiz said. That included Pennsylvanias own Hershey Company, which pledged $1 million, alongside an equal contribution from the EPA, to conservation measures on Land OLakes dairy farms in the state. The actions have helped to bring the large number Pennsylvanias small farms into the fold, which fall outside the regulatory purview of the EPA, Ortiz said. Early on, leaders on the bipartisan Chesapeake Bay Commission, including Ortiz and Sarah Elfreth, then a Maryland Senator, began whipping votes in the Pennsylvania legislature, advocating for the state to voluntarily commit some of its coronavirus relief funding to the agricultural cleanup program. Part of my strategy here was: Meet them where they are. Lets not try to cudgel them into caring about the things that Marylanders care about, said Elfreth, who was elected to Congress in November. Elfreth was joined by Republican senators from Pennsylvania, like Gene Yaw, who took a similar approach. His district in Pennsylvania stretches all the way to New York. His constituents dont head south toward the Chesapeake for water recreation, but rather lakes up north. I stopped talking about the bay. And I said: Heres what we need to do: Its in our own best interest if we clean up our own water, Yaw said. We can either do this ourselves, or somebodys going to force us to do something and we might not like what they force us to do. Hundreds of protesters showed up at Grand Canyon National Park and Saguaro National Park Saturday as part of a series of nationwide rallies on public lands. Videos posted to social media showed groups of protesters at some of the state's most iconic viewpoints. John Hockaday, an organizer of the protest at the Grand Canyon, said about 100 people turned out for the rally and were spread out among four protest sites on the South Rim. Organizers of the protest at Saguaro National Park reported 250 attendees, although videos posted to social media appeared to show a smaller crowd. Dozens of people also turned out at other protest sites across the state. Advertisement Advertisement At least five national parks, monuments and forests in Arizona were expected to see protesters. The list also included Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and Devil's Bridge in the Sedona-Coconino National Forest, according to a protest planner created by Resistance Rangers, a coalition of more than 650 national park and forest workers. The protests come in response to recent budget cuts at federal agencies, which led to mass layoffs of national park and forest rangers. Roughly 1,000 National Park Service employees and 3,400 Forest Service employees were terminated on Feb. 14. Many of those employees were in probationary periods the final step in the competitive federal hiring process. An earlier executive order forced the agency to rescind more than 2,000 seasonal and permanent job offers. President Donald Trump's order, which came during the first hours of his second term in office, directed a hiring freeze on all federal civilian positions. Hockaday, 33, said both actions had huge impacts in Grand Canyon Village, where he and his partner have lived for three years. His partner is a full-time employee at the park, and Hockaday works as a seasonal park ranger. Advertisement Advertisement "Honestly, we're all on edge," Hockaday said. "We don't know if my partner's job is safe or if she's going to be next. A lot of people she knows have been terminated. It's definitely been a big thing for us." Others are worried that they may not be able to get hired for seasonal roles that they've held year after year. Sean Adams, 29, of Flagstaff, said he has twice worked as a lead biological technician on the "fish crew" at the Grand Canyon, which works to remove invasive trout and conduct conservation research on native fishes. "My two seasons here with the fish crew have been highlights of my whole life," Adams said, adding that he hopes to "come back for more." How do the national cuts affect parks in Arizona? Arizona was particularly hard hit by the cuts. More than 10 million visitors annually flock to the state's iconic national parks, spending an estimated $1.2 billion and supporting about 17,300 jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Saguaro National Park announced last week that it would close both its visitor centers one day a week "until further notice." The park's statement did not list a reason for the cutback, but commenters speculated the reduction in service was related to the recent mass firings. Saguaro on the Golden Gate Road, February 12, 2016, at Saguaro National Park, the Tucson Mountain District (west), Arizona. Saguaro on the Golden Gate Road, February 12, 2016, at Saguaro National Park, the Tucson Mountain District (west), Arizona. Meanwhile, Grand Canyon National Park the state's oldest and most popular saw long entrance lines over President's Day weekend, attracting national attention. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said Friday that she would not use state money to ease the wait times. "I certainly am not interested in bailing out the Trump administration for dumb decisions they make, like cutting off funding and staff for one of the largest tourist attractions in the country," Hobbs said. Hockaday said he and other protesters spoke with park visitors on Saturday. They were largely met with support, he said. Advertisement Advertisement "I think people who come here realize how special the Grand Canyon is and how important it is to protect this place," he said. "It takes park rangers to make parks run, and we work for the people, not the billionaires." Arizona Republic reporters John Leos, Stacey Barchenger and Michael Salerno contributed to this article. This is a developing story. Return to azcentral.com for updates. Pushback: Gov. Hobbs won't use state dollars at Grand Canyon for 'bailing out' Trump This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: National parks protest: Hundreds rally at Grand Canyon, other AZ sites PERRY, Iowa The City of Perry will be hosting an International Womens Day event. Our Cinthia Naranjo sits down with the events organizers, Perry Mayor Dirk Cavanaugh and his wife, Carol. This years events include four keynote speakers, including local author Saily Bah. Local cafe is a classroom for Oskaloosa high schoolers The event will take place at the Hotel Pattee and is set for Saturday, March 8 from 10 a.m. 12 p.m. Doors will open at 9:15 a.m. A light lunch will follow, and it is $10 per person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can learn more about the event by going to their Facebook Page. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. Atlanta Police are investigating an overnight shooting that left one person wounded and another dead. Police say at 9:34 p.m. Friday night, they responded to a person shot call near Kimball Way SE and Decatur St. SE. When they arrived on scene, they learned a person had been shot at the location had arrived at Grady Hospital. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] They went to the hospital where they found the individual who was in stable condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation continued onto 50 Lower Alabama Street where police found a second victim, a 23-year-old man who was shot multiple times. Medical personnel pronounced the victim dead on the scene. TRENDING STORIES: Police say the investigation into the shooting is ongoing. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Putnam The nations only enlisted submariner to receive the Medal of Honor lies in a grave in St. Marys Cemetery. Year after year, volunteers would come to clean the headstone of Henry Breault. While the local veteran community knew Breaults distinction as Putnams only Medal of Honor recipient, Brian Maynard, the past commander of American Legion Post 13, said it took years before they knew the extent of his story. He did something that everybody in the military questions whether they would do, Maynard said. You hope that if that situation arose, you would, but everybody always questions, Would you? and Henry Breault did. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1923, when a Navy submarine started to sink near the Panama Canal, Breault sacrificed his only means of escape to ensure that his shipmate would have a chance at survival. After a 31-hour rescue operation, both men made it out of the wreckage alive. Today, more than a century after President Calvin Coolidge awarded Breault the Medal of Honor in 1924, a coalition of more than 2,000 men and women across the country are petitioning the U.S. Navy to name a Virginia-class submarine in Breaults honor. On Saturday, March 8, 101 years to the day after Breaults award, the town is placing a spotlight on the nationwide effort with Henry Breault Day in Putnam during a ceremony planned for noon at Veterans Park. He was the first submariner and to this day is the only enlisted submariner to ever have received the Medal of Honor, said Maynard, one of the founding members of the Henry Breault Association. For Putnam, it's a remarkable honor, because there's no other town that can claim this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Breaults story started in Putnam, where he was born on Oct. 14, 1900, but his legacy was solidified off the coast of Panama on Oct. 28, 1923, when a commercial steamship struck the USS O-5. Less than a minute after the collision, the O-5 sank. But before the submarine descended into the water, Breault had a choice. Instead of jumping overboard to safety through the access hatch, Breault closed the hatch, went back into the torpedo room where his shipmate was trapped, and sealed the chambers watertight door shut. Had he escaped and left the hatch open, those who remained on board would have died from the flooding. He made a split-second decision based on the fact that he hadn't heard that they were abandoning ship, said Ryan Walker, an adjunct naval history professor at the United States Naval Community College and the author of The Silent Services First Hero, a book on Breaults life. His action saved the life of (Lawrence) Brown, and likely another guy named Charles Butler, who managed to self-escape in a different compartment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walker was 20 years old when he first learned Breaults story in enlisted submarine school. It was the first time I understood what being a submariner meant, Walker said. He represents, in my mind, the entire submarine force and the duties we expect of submariners. When the O-5 sank, Walker said, the Navy had no established escape or rescue procedure for submarines. He said it was hours before a diving team tapped on the hull of Breaults chamber in search of survivors. The only way to escape that (the Navy had) tried was through the torpedo tubes, Walker said. One person can go in the torpedo tubes, and they could essentially flood the tube and let them swim out by opening the door. But crucially, one person would have had to stay behind to do that. So at some point, Breault and Brown look at each other and say, It's either both of us or neither of us are going to make it out of there. So they guess they had about 48 hours of oxygen (and) they decided to wait it out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As they waited, Walker said, a battery explosion ignited an electrical fire in an adjacent chamber. They must have literally felt they were boiling alive in the already tropical waters, Walker said. It took 31 hours to complete the rescue. Walker said barges carried the submarine through the Panama Canal, where divers could clear the wreckage and pull the vessel to the surface. The winch snapped three times before rescuers successfully lifted Breault and Browns chamber. When they raised they asked both of them, How did you guys make it? And Lawrence Brown said, Breault is the reason I made it. Breault saved my life, Walker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After 30 minutes, Walker said, Breault was taken away to a hyperbaric chamber for Caisson's disease, also known as the bends or decompression sickness. He almost died, Walker said. I firmly believe that's why he had a young life. He died in 1941 at 41 years of age, because he never probably fully recovered. After earning the Medal of Honor for his bravery and sacrifice on that day, Walker said, Breault went on to receive the Yangtze Service Medal and served in China during a period of time where China was not a safe place to be. By 1935, Walker said, Breault was disqualified from submarine service after failing an eye exam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He spends the rest of his career trying to get back on a submarine, Walker said. (When) he gets someone to sign off that he's requalified for submarine duty, he heads out to the lovely New London Submarine Base, he gets to the medical examination, and they say, This man belongs in the hospital. Breault was sent to a Naval hospital in Newport, R.I. Walker said medical records show Breault was experiencing severe chest pain and had difficulty breathing. On Dec. 5, 1941, the autopsy report says he was sweeping the passageway, he said he had a good amount of sleep, and suddenly while he was sweeping, he just keeled over dead, Walker said. They believe his heart gave out. Walker said Breault was largely lost to history until 2000, when the Navy launched an effort to incorporate Breault into the nations submarine heritage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walker said theres a pier at Pearl Harbor named in his honor and a plaque in Wilkinson Hall at the submarine base in Groton, but there's never been a Naval vessel named in his honor. Walkers petition to name a Virginia-class submarine the USS Henry Breault has amassed nearly 2,200 signatures from across the country, including communities in New York, Vermont, California and Washington, where Breault once lived. We just have a huge opportunity here to show unified support for the submarine force from multiple states and the entire nation, Walker said. This isn't just one person's idea, this is 2,000 people's idea. Walker said Breault personifies the principles of ship, shipmate, self, and the fighting spirit of the Navy in the Sailor's Creed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When faced with a tremendous situation, Breault chose above all to do everything in his power for the ship and the shipmates before worrying about himself, at great risk to himself, and probably to his detriment, Walker said. He did everything he could to make sure his friends, and the people on board would have a fighting chance, and there's something to be said about that. Breaults action that is the fighting spirit. And to embody that in a submarine, I think it would be great for the Navy's recruitment, for retention, and for recognizing how important its personnel are to the mission, Walker said. a.cross@theday.com We publish below the initial political assessment by the Revolutionary Communist Organisation, Greek section of the RCI, of the historic mass rallies that took place on Friday 28 February, on the second anniversary of the Tempi rail crash that killed 57 people. [Originally published in Greek at marxismos.com] I pray for your grace, my people, I bow my head to your suffering and admire your deeds, my people. We feel entitled to invoke these imposing and well-known lyrics by Michalis Stavrakakis from the song by the great composer Yannis Markopoulos in conveying the essence of what happened in Greece on Friday 28 February 2025. Historic proportions On Friday, in over 260 cities and towns across the country, and in over 125 cities abroad, millions of people mobilised for the largest strike rallies in modern Greek history. In Athens, over 1 million people gathered; in Thessaloniki the number of people gathered exceeded 300,000; while several hundred thousand more gathered across the rest of Greece. Unlike in the other very limited 24-hour general strikes, this general strike really was general. The state was paralysed and the whole economic life of the country was clearly locked down, reminding one of the pandemic lockdowns of 2020-21. The calls and preparations for the strike by the trade unions (which ranged from the non-existent to the rudimentary) certainly did not play the decisive role in the complete success of the strike. Rather, the key was the universal, spontaneous willingness of the working class to participate. It was this that pulled along hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses to close their doors, some out of a sincere desire to join the protest, others out of simple fear, impotence or even shame to stand against the massive, impetuous and spontaneous river of the workers and the masses. The rallies of 26 January could only be compared to the most massive rallies of the anti-Memoranda movement of 2010-2015. Fridays rallies, however, far surpassed even those. Furthermore, they surpassed in scale every other mass event that even the average elderly demonstrator could recall, with the exception, perhaps, of the spontaneous popular rallies of 24 July 1974, the day of the collapse of the military dictatorship and the return of Karamanlis to the country. What these enormous mass gatherings proved The unprecedented scale of Fridays rallies showed that the working class and the poor strata of Greek society have now decisively entered the historical scene and are determining developments in the country. This intrusion onto the scene has proved itself to be the most consistent and the most dangerous opponent of the government and of the rotten capitalist regime in the whole country. It is the only real political opposition. Compared, in particular, to the symbolic chatter of the official opposition in parliament, it has emerged as a truly irresistible force. It has thrown the seemingly powerful New Democracy government onto the defensive position and into a state of panic. Objectively speaking, Fridays rallies mark the entry of Greek society into a new period of pre-revolutionary upheaval. Indeed, it looked as though the ground was prepared from the very first phase of the mass movement that followed the rail disaster in Tempi in March 2023. But as a result of the temporary stabilisation of the regime following the premature end of that first phase, and the mass disillusionment that followed the comfortable re-election of the New Democracy government, it was postponed, as it turned out, to the beginning of this year. Fridays historic rallies were the most resounding refutation of all those analysts of the disaster, who, pointing to the successive electoral victories of New Democracy and the collapse of SYRIZA, spoke of a conservative turn in Greek society. In general, they refuted, in an astonishing fashion, every cynic and sceptic who rushed, directly or indirectly, to excuse the social-democratic and Stalinist political leaderships of the working class for the defeat of the anti-memorandum movement of 2010-2015. This is the answer to those who blamed ordinary working-class and poor people for the temporary, as it turned out, electoral revival of the right that followed that sell out. On Friday, these same masses struck en masse in workplaces where there are no unions, defying threats of dismissal and of violence by well-known representatives of the government and the regime, who spoke of imminent violent incidents which actually did unfold. They mobilised not for some economic demands, but for justice against the provocative and immoral actions of the regime. And they remained on the streets for hours, with admirable perseverance and composure, despite the chemical bombardment by the police. They thus demonstrated the highest degree of maturity and readiness to make sacrifices to change society. And finally, with their impressive mobilisation across the country, the masses showed the true balance of power in society, the balance that the political and trade union leaderships of the working class carefully conceal in their policy of compromise with the rotten regime, of passive and deflating tactics. The balance is overwhelmingly in favour of the forces of the working class and the progressive social forces in society, and against the forces of capitalist reaction and backwardness. it's been awhile since I've last felt so proud of being greek, but seeing hundred thousands or even million people in greece and even around the world filling the streets and protesting, gave me some hope again. first video is Athens, second Thessaloniki #Tempi # pic.twitter.com/9LB7VQaQ9e TEMPI (@xeleni_cherie) February 28, 2025 Ruthless state provocation and violence Against this rushing and overflowing river of popular anger, the government responded in the only way an authoritarian regime can respond: with provocation, state violence and terrorism. Thus, even before two hours had passed since the start of this magnificent, historic popular gathering in Athens, and before the militant representatives of the relatives of the victims of the Tempi crime had time to finish their speeches, the government put into action its well-tested method to disperse the gathering. According to hundreds of testimonies from those assembled, published on social media and documented by the reports of major media outlets, small armies of hooded provocateurs invaded the protests from different parts of Syntagma Square. They smashed bricks with sledgehammers and began throwing them at the police, along with Molotov cocktails, rallying by their example a few irresponsible, hot-headed and lumpen elements at the rally. This set the stage perfectly for the police to come in and disperse the gathering. The photojournalist Orestis Panayiotou was injured in the head by the unbridled display of police violence, as were dozens of other demonstrators. The massive use of tear gas and flash-bang grenades by riot police against an extremely packed crowd, due to the astonishing size of the gathering, showed what the major operation to protect the rights of citizens to demonstrate in Athens announced during the week by the police chiefs actually consisted of. It was merely a plan to protect the government and the regime by dispersing the gathering. In the conditions of chaos created by this standard plan, although on this occasion even more extreme in its recklessness than usual and completely ill-conceived, it is truly a miracle that no one was killed. It was a miracle owed entirely to the composure and maturity of the assembled masses themselves, who, though crowded, stoically endured the chemicals and guaranteed the orderly and safe removal of children and the elderly from this burning field of state violence. Indeed, there were notable instances in Athens and especially in Thessaloniki, of protesters, as seen in videos published on social media, attacking the provocateurs themselves and removing their hoods, causing them to flee. Unbowed fighting youth However, despite the orgy of government-state violence, tens of thousands of young people remained in the streets around Syntagma Square and began to return again in front of the Parliament building. Some of them, among them many students, raised their hands in the air on this return, in order to separate themselves from the provocateurs and to send the message that brutal police violence will not sap their will and courage in asserting their sacred right to assemble. The image of these young people re-entering the square with their hands raised in front of the all-powerful police was a vivid illustration of the qualitative shift taking place in the consciousness of the youth through their pioneering participation in the mass movement. Two more major and provocative police interventions were required to remove these spontaneous young fighters of the mass movement from the square, with the help not only of chemicals and grenades, but also of the polices special armoured water tank, Ajax. Finally, Mitsotakis Praetorian Guards took control of the square for good, a full 8 hours after the police began putting into action their plan to disperse the gathering. These were 8 hours in which hundreds of thousands of demonstrators were given a living political lesson in the reactionary nature of state power as a body ultimately composed of armed bodies of men in the service of the ruling class. Resign!: the change in consciousness Fridays rallies characteristically expressed the direct and decisive effect that a mass movement can have on the consciousness of the masses. On 26 January, the main slogan spontaneously raised at the rally at Syntagma square was Murderers!, a slogan that clearly attributes the responsibility for the crime at Tempi two years ago to the government, but which did not yet touch the question of the governments very position in power. At the beginning of Fridays rally, as a result of the insidious campaign to depoliticise the question by the government hypocritically and timidly advocated by the entire leadership of the parliamentary opposition not even the slogan Murderers! was raised. But as the rally progressed, the realisation of the sheer volume and power of the assembled crowd, combined with the scandalous attempt to break up the rally by the police, resulted not only in the reappearance of the slogan, Murderers!, but also in the spontaneous emergence of the slogan, Resign! This slogan exposed all those anti-political speakers, expressing in the simplest way the essence of Fridays huge mobilisation, namely, the fact that it raised the question of power. We are witnessing a historical moment in #Greece today a remarkable nationwide strike and protest that may be the largest ever since 1974.#28_ #Tempi #__ pic.twitter.com/HGYoZzHI9v (@TassosMorfis) February 28, 2025 The government and ruling class pretend not to understand Fridays historic rallies have intensified the panic in government and ruling class circles. Already, this panic, which began to set in after 26 January, led to the government repeatedly contradicting itself. Their public utterances ranged from openly attacking those intending to participate, accusing them of destabilising the country, to promising to be the protector and guarantor of the right to demonstrate on the eve of the strike. As night fell on 28 February, the governments spokesman congratulated the police for their responsible (that is to say, murderous) behaviour. The public utterances of the apologists of the establishment, such as those of famous journalists who delivered the propaganda news bulletins of the arch-reactionary and arch-pro-government SKAI, revealed real political desperation as they attempted to close their eyes to the new reality that these rallies have created. Their policy is pretend you don't understand. Highly characteristic of these attempts was the statement made by the director of Kathimerini, Alexis Papachelas, who, after being forced to admit the historical importance of the rallies, called on the government to take away the message that they must work to ensure justice and to create a modern state. But no matter how stubbornly the government and the ruling class close their ears to the thunderous popular chants of Resign!, they cannot turn back the overflowing river of popular anger. Fridays rallies have shown everyone what enormous power the working class possesses when it enters struggle. This, combined with the decisive politicisation of mass movement now reflected in its key demands, are now the decisive factor. Try as they might, the government and the ruling class cannot ignore this fact. The ruling class and its public representatives now consider prime minister Mitsotakis and his government as fatal to the political stability of the regime / Image: European Parliament, Flickr Already in the last month, weve seen increasingly open expressions of discontent even of open protest against the governments handling of the media coverage in the capitalist media of events surrounding the Tempi crime and the mass movement it has provoked. This reflects the extent of the governments social isolation, as well as the ruling class anxiety about the immediate political future of its regime as a whole. In fact, the ruling class and its public representatives now consider prime minister Mitsotakis and his government as fatal to the political stability of the regime. They attribute to them the lions share of the responsibility for the fact that, despite the relative economic stabilisation of Greek capitalism in recent years, their methods in politically handling the Tempi crime have succeeded in bringing the people onto the streets across the whole country in a movement unprecedented in its scale. Thus, were there parties or leaders at the ruling class disposal that could offer the regime a viable way out, they would jettison the government this very instant and push it for elections in order to undercut the mass movement. But they have no such political solution at present. Both the extreme right (Greek Solution, Victory, Voice of Reason) and the pro-memoranda centre-left (PASOK, SYRIZA, New Left) have but a weak electoral influence, and it is extremely doubtful they could form stable future governing partners with the New Democracy. This means that the bourgeoisie are forced to blatantly ignore the political will of the working-class and poor masses in struggle, and to support the Mitsotakis government until further notice. Their logic is the same as that which has governed the Greek railways themselves, ending in the crime at Tempi, it is the logic that is characteristic of the rot of Greek capitalism in general: Let us blindly go wherever Mitsotakis takes us, and see where we end up. What is to be done? It is clear then, that anyone who thinks that Fridays massive strike rallies, the largest in the countrys modern history, will be enough to realise the central goal of the movement, encapsulated by the ubiquitous demand Resign!, is deeply mistaken. The government will now cling to power tighter than ever. This means that only by escalating the struggle can the mass movement force the governments resignation. However, events have clearly shown that none of the trade union or political leaderships that formally support the mass movement want direct escalation. The leaderships of PASOK, SYRIZA and the New Left the latter representing a parliamentary force to be reckoned with but which is insignificant in terms of popular influence are competing with each other to set the most propitious date to table a motion of no-confidence against the government in Parliament. Such a move at this stage can clearly have only a symbolic character, since the government would simply rally its parliamentary majority. Meanwhile, it is known that the trade union bureaucrats that have a majority leadership in the GSEE were only forced at the last minute, under the spontaneous wave of the workers anger, to announce a 24-hour general strike for 28 February. Of course, they have no intention of escalating. Finally, the trade union leaders of the KKE (the Greek Communist Party) as well as the political leadership of the party as their entire history vis-a-vis the mass movement of Tempi has shown, including its first phase in March 2023 but also the period of the crucial month following the rallies of 26 January are only capable and willing of promoting a tactic of defusing the movement, although covered up in fighting talk about escalation. They have sufficiently demonstrated that the best we can expect from them are initiatives for sporadic mobilisations, even for new 24-hour general strikes of the trade unions controlled by PAME (the KKE's trade union front) alone. Such mobilisations would gather the support and participation of only a small part of the masses mobilised on Friday. They would thus clearly give the impression, not of escalation, but of de-escalation. The attitude of these trade union and political leaders is thus an obstacle to the necessary continuation of the movement until the realisation of the slogan Resign! The role then of the leadership of the Association of Relatives of the Victims of Tempi, with its most militant figure being the president Maria Karystianou, becomes crucial in order to immediately escalate the struggle. The Association, with its militant stance, has won prestige among the mass of working people and youth, the likes of which the (bankrupt) social-democratic and Stalinist political and trade union leaderships never managed between themselves to attain in previous years. Only sanctimonious sectarians or friends that is, veiled enemies of the mass movement could ignore this objective fact or, even worse, promote plans of militant action for the continuation of the movement that do not account for the decisive role that the Association plays in the mass movement. This idea of militant continuation without the Association (which is already being promoted in practice by PAME and by various organisations of the extra-parliamentary left) acts to undermine the movement. Any political or trade union organisation that promotes it only adds grist to the mill of the reactionary operation to spread hostility towards parties and politics among the masses. This is the policy being methodically applied by the government and every type of mouthpiece of the ruling class. If the leadership of the KKE today possessed a truly revolutionary policy and tactics, it would put the call out through the trade unions and student associations it controls for joint action with the Association to realise the central demand that the mass movement is now raising. It would explain to the militant and courageous parents and relatives of the unfortunate victims that the cause to vindicate their memory can only be achieved through the immediate overthrow of this government, which has not hesitated to conceal their childrens burnt limbs and to use mafia methods to deceive them and to cover up the crime. At the same time, it would honestly and clearly emphasise, both to the relatives themselves and to all the working people and youth involved in the movement in general, that demanding Justice is not only a matter of holding government officials criminally responsible to account, be they of the state or the company involved, but first and foremost, it is a political question. It is a question of implementing a political programme that can ensure in the most radical and effective way the safe and public service of the trains. Such a programme must include the nationalisation of the railways under workers and social control, and the uprooting of the rotten current state apparatus that covers up mafia crimes such as that of 28 February 2023. A revolutionary, anti-capitalist programme, which only a workers government can implement, with a genuine revolutionary communist party in the vanguard as its guarantor. Unfortunately, the leadership of the KKE does not want to adopt such a revolutionary policy, because, as it has repeatedly demonstrated in all the great movements of the last 15 years, it does not wish to assume the responsibilities that would flow from it. It has shown that it does not wish to wage a real struggle for power against capitalism and its rotten regime. However, this objective political fact is far from meaning that workers and young people should cross their arms and leave the escalation of the struggle to fate. Every pioneering militant among the labour movement and the youth must act in an organised and coordinated way in every workplace, neighbourhood, school and college to advance the cause of the immediate escalation of the struggle today. Demanding Justice is not only a matter of holding government officials criminally responsible to account, be they of the state or the company involved, but first and foremost, it is a political question / Image: Hellenic Red Cross, Twitter Revolutionary communists, as an integral part of the vanguard of the mass movement that is shaking the foundations of the rotten bourgeois regime in Greece, address ourselves to the thousands of fellow fighters in the movement, and call on them to fight with us for the following: Down with the New Democracy government responsible for the crime at Tempi and its mafia cover-up! The ubiquitous slogan Resign! that was raised at the rallies of 28 February must be put into practice through mass struggle, as an absolute precondition for any pro-people, pro-worker and progressive development in the country. For a workers government that will guarantee that all guilty parties are punished and will proceed to the re-nationalisation of the railways under workers and peoples control, in order to radically address their criminal neglect and avoid a new Tempi. For a new state power based on permanent democratic control and the active participation of the working people, which will be able to guarantee that the miserable phenomena of state cover-ups of crimes will be eliminated once and for all. At the same time, revolutionary communists propose to those whom we are fighting alongside the following tactics and methods of struggle for the victory of the mass movement: Immediate escalation of the struggle with a 48-hour political general strike. No complacency, no confidence in the trade union and political leaderships of the parliamentary opposition who want to defuse the movement and subordinate it to their own parliamentary and bureaucratic aims and plans. To elect, through assemblies in every workplace, neighbourhood, school and college, recallable Struggle Committees, committed to the goal of immediate escalation and organisation of the struggle to final victory. To seek the widest possible coordination among them in order to achieve unified and common militant action at the branch, neighbourhood, municipality, city, regional and national level. Nowadays as has been well demonstrated, not only by the political slogans of the rallies but also by all the available relevant polls that show an anti-establishment mood among the Greek people every militant or supporter of the mass movement realises that the problems in society are deep and systemic. Therefore, we call on all our pioneering comrades in the movement to organise themselves in the Revolutionary Communist Organisation, the Greek section of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI), in order to fight with us to build a mass revolutionary party, the catalyst which, if it existed today, would make the cause of the victory of the developing movement as simple and easy as its historical scale demands. PITTSBURG, Kan. Construction projects at Pittsburg State will undoubtedly have a regional impact and not just on students. We busted through the false ceiling that we had. Pittsburg State Vice President for Research and Economic Development Shawn Naccarato says hes spent nearly half of his life on campus either as a student or an employee and Theres never been a time, whether that was when I was a kid, or in the last 18 years, that has been anything like the last three or so years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes referring to the sheer amount of building projects being undertaken by the school. We currently have about one hundred fifty million dollars worth of projects. We of course have partners in this, the city of Pittsburg, the state of Kansas, federal investment, et cetera, but, yeah, were leading one hundred fifty million dollars worth of investment in this community right now in capital projects. One of those projects the Pittsburg Research Park will be built here and will serve as a STEM corridor. Another of those projects Gorilla Rising will see the Kelce College of Business among other things relocated to downtown Pittsburg leaving the city with a question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What exactly is downtown going to look like going into the future? Because we want to capitalize on the energy and the excitement that the students will bring to the downtown core, said Blake Benson, Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce President. Benson says the city along with the Chamber of Commerce are already considering exactly how to do that. Benson who also serves on the Kansas Board of Regents says aside from spurring more growth in Pittsburg the universitys investments into the community are also blazing a trail for others to follow. Its a great example of how, when the state invests, and the city invests in higher education, it not only benefits the students that are in school right now, it really has a significant impact, not just on Pittsburg, which it does, but really this entire region, said Benson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naccarato says while the university may be one of the more visible parts none of these projects would have moved forward without partnerships such as the Kansas Bureau of Investigation who are helping make the new regional crime lab and training center a reality. And he says this is just the beginning of what he believes is a renaissance period for Pittsburg. We are very much rooted in southeast Kansas. This is our home, and so, as our home, we should care about ensuring we are building the best possible home, not just for ourselves, but for everyone, said Naccarato. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) The skies above Horry County will be busy Sunday as multiple planes and Blackhawk helicopters are set to drop water on a 100-acre wildfire burning in Carolina Forest, a state lawmaker said. In a series of Facebook posts Saturday night, State Rep. Tim McGinnis, R-Myrtle Beach, said he spoke with Scott Phillips, South Carolinas top forestry official, to get an update on conditions and containment plans. McGinnis House District 56 covers Carolina Forest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He says lower wind and higher humidity over the evening hours will help with efforts to control the fire. He also says two planes and two Blackhawk helicopters will be dropping water on the fire in the morning, McGinnis wrote. State officials said more than 100 wildfires ignited around South Carolina on Saturday including an 800-acre blaze in Georgetown County that led to brief evacuations. McGinnis urge people to stay off closed roads including International Drive as firefighters and other crews are using it for access. We have multiple fires burning not just in Horry and Georgetown counties, but all over the state, McGinnis said. Right now, theyre not able to determine how big the Carolina Forest fire is, or how much is contained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Henry McMaster also issued a warning for residents amid a statewide burning ban that took affect Saturday afternoon. That means you can and will go to jail for starting a fire outdoors in South Carolina. Period, McMaster said on his X account. Our first responders and firefighters are risking their lives to contain many fires across South Carolina tonight. As of 9 p.m. Saturday, about 20 people were taking shelter at the Carolina Forest Recreation Center amid evacuations, but no structures had succumbed, county spokeswoman Mikayla Moskov said. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Authorities arrested a man accused of sideswiping a Northern Kentucky deputy on Interstate 71 Friday night and taking off. Boone County Sheriff's deputies arrested 58-year-old John R. Graue, of Sparta, Kentucky, after they say Graue struck Deputy Jacob Southworth with the passenger side mirror of his utility work truck, according to a news release. Graue is charged with wanton endangerment of a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to give right of way to an emergency vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Southworth had pulled someone over on I-71 going south and was walking back to his cruiser around 7 p.m. While he was walking back, Southworth was hit by the mirror of Graue's truck, contorting and injuring his arm, the news release says. Boone County Sheriffs Deputy Jacob Southworth. Graue fled and continued on I-71 south going toward Gallatin County. The deputy was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Florence and has since been released. Authorities later received a tip and identified Graue and his work truck at his home in Sparta. Deputies seized his company-owned utility truck and sought an arrest warrant, according to the news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Graue turned himself in to the Boone County jail Sunday morning and remains in custody on a $50,000 cash bond. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Police: Man arrested after sideswiping Boone County sheriff's deputy Boise Police arrested two people after an armed robbery on Thursday afternoon. A man brandished a handgun during the robbery, police previously said. Police then said the man fled the scene on a motorcycle with someone else, according to previous Statesman reporting. Shortly before the robbery took place, Boise Police responded to a false 911 call reporting an active shooter at a business on the 10400 block of W. Fairview Ave, Boise Police said in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement identified the caller, who they said allegedly knew the bank robbers and was an accomplice. She was arrested on suspicion of robbery (conspiracy) and resisting or obstructing officers, according to the news release. Her charges do not yet appear on Idahos online court portal. Police also arrested a man on suspicion of robbery, the news release said. His charges do not yet appear on Idahos online court portal. Law enforcement are still looking for a bald, white man, who is around 5 feet, 10 inches tall and has blue eyes, according to the news release. Anyone with information about him can call Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790. People can make an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 208-343-COPS (2677), www.343COPS.com, or leave a tip using the P3 Tips app for your mobile device. FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WHNT) The District Attorneys office said there is an open investigation into a school employee having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Tennessee District 17 District Attorney Robert Carter told News 19 there is an ongoing investigation for a male employee at Fayetteville High School who allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a female student. The DAs office said the Fayetteville Police Department is investigating the incident. News 19 reached out for a comment from the department and was told to direct all questions to the DAs office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carter said arrest warrants are pending at this time, but the identity of the suspect will not be released until after they are in custody. He also said that once the suspect is in custody, the DAs office can provide additional information regarding this investigation. News 19 will update this story as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. Police are asking for the communitys help in finding a San Bernardino County man who was last seen in a hospital on Thursday and has been missing since. The Victorville Police Department identified the missing person as 39-year-old Alphonso Johnson. The department said deputies were called to Desert Valley Hospital in the 16800 block of Bear Valley Road on Thursday for the missing person report. Upon arriving, deputies learned Johnson was last seen in the hospital around 6 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police described Johnson as a white man who stands 5 feet and 6 inches tall, weighs about 190 pounds and has brown eyes and short-light brown hair. In addition, the department mentioned Johnson was last seen wearing a red shirt, green camo shorts, black sunglasses and a black jacket. Johnson has an intellectual disability, has a medical condition requiring him to take medication daily, and has no cell phone, added the missing person report. Officials urge anyone with information about this investigation to contact the Victorville Police Station at 760-241-2911 or Sheriffs Dispatch at 760-956-5001. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the We-Tip hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463) or use the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 77-year-old woman was killed in a crash after she failed to yield the right of way while trying to make a lefthand turn and was hit by another vehicle earlier this week in El Pasos Lower Valley, police said. El Paso Police said that 77-year-old Norma Duarte was injured during a crash on Wednesday, Feb. 26 along the 9400 block of Alameda and died on Friday. EPFD: One person ejected on multi-vehicle crash on Alameda Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the crash happened at about 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday when Duarte was traveling eastbound along the 9400 block of Alameda and tried to turn into the parking lot at Walmart. She failed to yield the right of way and was hit by a vehicle traveling west on Alameda, police said. Police at the time of the crash said another person was injured as well. Failure to yield the right of way was a contributing cause in the crash, police said. This is the eighth traffic fatality of 2025 compared to 10 at the same time last year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. (Bloomberg) -- The presidential candidate of Polands main opposition party said he will push for lower taxes and signaled tough cohabitation with Prime Minister Donald Tusks cabinet once he is elected. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karol Nawrocki supported by the Law & Justice party pledged to veto any attempt to increase taxes, the candidate said at his convention in Szeligi near Warsaw on Sunday. Instead, he proposed cutting the main VAT tax rate to 22% from current 23% and offering exemption from income tax for families with two or more children. He will also seek to abandon taxes on savings, higher indexation of pensions and cutting electricity prices by a third. Nawrockis convention was aimed at reinvigorating his campaign after his gap with the ruling partys candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, who leads in the polls, widened in recent weeks. Nawrocki is also facing fierce competition from far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen, whose support is rising ahead of the first round of voting scheduled for May 18. Elections will be a referendum against of Donald Tusks government, Nawrocki, a historian and head of Institute for National Remembrance said. The President is to hold the cabinet accountable for earlier promises and and to push ministers to work. Nawrocki called for unilateral termination of the European Unions migrant pact, acceleration of investments in the army and artificial intelligence technology and the restoration of a new central airport hub project to its larger, original shape. He also said Poland is not ready yet to adopt the euro as its currency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The candidate urged Tusk to avoid any anti-American rebellion in the EU, amid a recent spat between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy. While Nawrocki pledged to continue supporting Ukraine, he declared a more assertive approach to its eastern neighbor to protect Polish farmers and industries. Nawrocki will also seek World War II reparations from Germany. Polands head of state can veto legislation, propose his own bills, appoint judges and influence foreign policy. Should no candidate win 50% or more on May 18, the contest will move to a second round two weeks later. The election will show whether Tusk will have an ally in the presidential palace, after some of his legislation was blocked by current President Andrzej Duda. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. The Pope attended Mass with his carers on Sunday before returning to his hospital bed as his condition started to stabilise. Italian press reports said Pope Francis alternated rest with prayer, while the Vatican said he no longer required the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe. The 88-year-old pontiff has been battling double pneumonia in Romes Gemelli Hospital for more than two weeks. He was admitted on Feb 14 with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The clinical conditions of the Holy Father have remained stable throughout the day, said the latest update about the pontiffs condition on Sunday. The Pope, it said, no longer needed the use of what the Vatican has called non-invasive mechanical ventilation but was continuing to receive oxygen via a small tube under his nose. Pope Francis was not able to lead his usual Sunday prayer with pilgrims for the third week running - Andrew Medichini/AP The statement said the Pope had not had a fever on Sunday. It said doctors were keeping his prognosis guarded due to the complexity of the clinical picture, meaning he is not out of danger. The Vatican said on Saturday that his condition had stabilised. Francis, who is spending his 17th night in hospital, met earlier on Sunday with two Vatican officials and offered thanks to well-wishers. Nuns pray in front of the statue of former Pope John Paul II at the entrance to Gemelli Hospital - Riccardo Antimani/Shutterstock I would like to thank you for the prayers, Francis said in a note released by the Vatican in place of his usual Sunday prayer with pilgrims, which he was unable to lead for the third week running. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I feel all your affection and closeness and ... I feel as if I am carried and supported by all Gods people, he added. At the hospital on Sunday Francis also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans number-two official, and Cardinal Parolins deputy, said Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman. The Pope, who is known to work himself to exhaustion, has continued to lead the Vatican during his hospital stay and last met Cardinal Parolin and the deputy at the Gemelli on Feb 24. Pilgrims hope for the Popes recovery - Franco Origlia/Getty Images Europe In St Peters Square at the Vatican on Sunday, pilgrims were disappointed they could not see Francis deliver his usual weekly prayers but also expressed hopes for his recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We still feel him here, said Annalisa Giona, an Italian. Hes in our thoughts, in our prayers, in our souls, hes here. Marzena Pilat, from Poland, said she expected to see Francis back at the Vatican soon. Were very sorry that he is not here, that we cannot see him, but we are very happy that we can show that we stand with him, she said. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Pope Francis, writing his Sunday prayer from his hospital bed while battling severe double pneumonia, called for world peace, saying "war appears even more absurd." The speech was only distributed in writing, due to the pope's illness. The spiritual leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics specifically mentioned Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, when asking for prayers for the war-torn regions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 88-year-old has been in the Gemelli Hospital in north-west Rome since mid-February. Francis' illness is again prevented him from delivering Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square - the first time in his 12-year tenure that he has missed them for a third consecutive week. From hospital, he expressed his gratitude in writing for the prayers and well-wishes for his recovery from all over the world. By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis remained stable through the day on Sunday and no longer required the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe, the Vatican said, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia. Francis has been in Rome's Gemelli hospital for more than two weeks. He was admitted on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The clinical conditions of the Holy Father have remained stable throughout the day," said the latest detailed update about the pontiff's condition on Sunday. The pope, it said, no longer needed the use of what the Vatican has called "non-invasive mechanical ventilation" but was continuing to receive oxygen via a small hose under his nose. The statement said the pope had not had a fever on Sunday. It said doctors were keeping his prognosis as "guarded" due to "the complexity of the clinical picture", meaning the pope is not out of danger. Francis suffered a constriction of his respiratory airways on Friday, akin to an asthma attack, which required him to be aspirated and placed temporarily on ventilation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Vatican said on Saturday that the pontiff's condition had stabilised. Francis, who is spending his 17th night in hospital, met earlier on Sunday with two Vatican officials and offered thanks to well-wishers for their prayers and support in a written message. "I would like to thank you for the prayers," Francis said in a note released by the Vatican in place of his usual Sunday prayer with pilgrims, which the pope was not able to lead for the third week running. "I feel all your affection and closeness and ... I feel as if I am 'carried' and supported by all God's people," the message said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis also met at the hospital on Sunday with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's number-two official, and Parolin's deputy, said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni, without giving further details about the meeting. The pope, who is known to work himself to exhaustion, has continued leading the Vatican during his hospital stay and last met Parolin and the deputy at the Gemelli on February 24. PILGRIMS HOPE FOR POPE'S RECOVERY A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorised to discuss the pope's health, said earlier on Sunday that Francis was eating normally and moving about his hospital room as he continued his treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. Double pneumonia is a serious infection of both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. The pope has not been seen in public since entering hospital, his longest absence from view since his papacy started in March 2013, and his doctors have not said how long his treatment might last. In St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday, pilgrims were disappointed they could not see Francis deliver his usual weekly prayers but also expressed hopes for his recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We still feel him here," said Annalisa Giona, an Italian. "He's in our thoughts, in our prayers, in our souls, he's here." Marzena Pilat, from Poland, said she expected to see Francis back at the Vatican soon. "We're very sorry that he is not here, that we cannot see him, but we are very happy that we can show that we stand with him," she said. (Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Malgorzata Wojtunik and Marissa Davison; Editing by Helen Popper, David Holmes and Ros Russell) Pope Francis' clinical condition remains "stable" on Sunday, the Vatican said, as the pontiff continues to be hospitalized for the 17th consecutive day. "The Pope does not require non-invasive mechanical ventilation, but only high-flow oxygen therapy," the Vatican press office said Sunday afternoon in a statement, adding that Pope Francis doesn't have a fever. "This morning the Holy Father participated in Holy Mass, together with those who have been taking care of him during his stay in the hospital, and so he alternated rest with prayer," the office added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a prayer published earlier Sunday, the pontiff thanked Gemelli Hospital's doctors and medical staff "for the attention with which they are taking care of me." The prayer -- the pope's weekly Angelus -- was dispatched from the hospital in Rome, where the pope was resting early Sunday after a "quiet" night, the Vatican said earlier Sunday in a brief statement. "The night was quiet, the pope is still resting," the Vatican's press office said. PHOTO: People pray around the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital, where Pope Francis is admitted for treatment, in Rome, Italy, March 2, 2025. (Dylan Martinez/Reuters) Francis in his prayer to followers said he felt "all your affection and closeness," adding that he felt "as if I am 'carried' and supported by all Gods people." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I feel in my heart the 'blessing' that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord," he said in the prayer. PHOTO: A nun walks with the 'Osservatore Romano' newspaper under her arm as Pope Francis is still hospitalized with pneumonia and will not lead the Angelus prayer, at St. Peter's square in The Vatican on March 2, 2025. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images) He added, "At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people." PHOTO: A nun prays in front of St. Peter's Basilica as Pope Francis continues his hospitalization and won't lead the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican, March 2, 2025. (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters) Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia. The 88-year-old pontiff had been in stable condition on Saturday, church officials said, following a bronchospasm attack on Friday. Pope Francis' condition remains 'stable' after 'quiet' night in hospital, Vatican says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Pope Francis spent another "peaceful night" in Rome's Gemelli Hospital following his recent breathing difficulties, the Vatican announced on Sunday. "The pope is still resting following a peaceful night," the Holy See reported on its Vatican News website. The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church is being treated at the hospital for double pneumonia. Francis' illness is again preventing him from delivering Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square - the first time in his 12-year tenure that he has missed them for a third consecutive week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pope has been hospitalized for 16 days and has not been seen in public since being admitted on February 14. There is no release date in sight and the Vatican said his "prognosis remains cautious." The Argentinian cleric was elected as the successor to the German Benedict XVI in March 2013. He is now the second-oldest pope in history. Pope Francis remained in stable condition and didnt need any mechanical ventilation Sunday, the Vatican said. It was a sign that he had overcome the possible complications from a respiratory crisis on Friday and that his breathing function overall was improving as he recovers from double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pope did continue to receive high flow supplemental oxygen after Fridays coughing episode, which sparked fears of a new lung infection. Doctors in their late Sunday update said Francis remained stable but again referred to the complexity of his overall condition and kept his prognosis at guarded, meaning he wasnt out of danger. Francis, who has been in the hospital since Feb. 14, rested, prayed in his private chapel and participated in Mass for the rest of the day after having a visit in the morning from the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his chief of staff, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra. The content of their talks wasnt known, but even when at the Vatican, Francis meets at least weekly with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He again skipped his weekly noon blessing to avoid even a brief public appearance from the hospital. Instead, the Vatican distributed a message written by the pope from Gemelli hospital in which he thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, and prayed again for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere. From here, war appears even more absurd, Francis said in the message, which he drafted in recent days. Francis said he was living his hospitalization as an experience of profound solidarity with people who are sick and suffering everywhere. I feel in my heart the blessing that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord, Francis said in the text. At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people. Signs point to a recovery Many signs indicated he was improving, especially after a respiratory crisis on Friday afternoon that resulted in him inhaling vomit during a coughing fit and raising the possibility of new infection. Doctors aspirated the vomit and put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation, a mask that pumps oxygen into the lungs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He used the ventilation on Saturday, alternating it with just supplemental oxygen, and by Sunday no longer needed it. Doctors also reported he had no fever or raised white blood cell levels, which would have indicated his body was fighting a new infection. The doctors had said they needed 24 to 48 hours after Fridays coughing episode to determine if there were any negative impacts on Francis overall condition. The passage of time and positive reports Sunday suggested he had overcome the episode successfully. The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into a complex pneumonia in both lungs. Prayers continued to pour in Francis hospitalization has come as the Vatican is marking its Holy Year, drawing pilgrims to Rome from all over. Many have added a pilgrimage destination to their itineraries so they can pray for Francis at the Gemelli hospital, which is around a 20-minute drive from the Vatican, longer in rush hour or on public transport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Rev. Riccardo Fumagalli had accompanied a group of young people from Milan to Rome for the Jubilee and would have attended Francis Angelus prayer in St. Peters Square on Sunday if he had delivered it as usual. Instead, they went to Gemelli. It seemed good to us to come here to express our closeness, especially of these teenagers, to be close to the Holy Father to pray for him, to pray for this moment of illness, he said. Cancer patient Antonino Cacace was also arriving Sunday at Gemelli from Milan for his own treatment, saying he has to undergo surgery in the coming days and was counting on Francis prayers. I am glad the pope is giving me help, he said. I am on the ninth (floor) and he is on the 10th (floor). I hope to meet him and see him, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ___ 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. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Pope Francis has survived 48 hours without breathing complications since his latest emergency on Friday, according to officials at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, where the 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church is being treated for double pneumonia. "The clinical condition of the Holy Father remained stable today," the hospital said in its latest update on Sunday evening without giving any further outlook. The Vatican had earlier said that the pope spent another "peaceful night" in hospital following his latest breathing difficulties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He suffered a bronchospasm, a tightening of the airways, on Friday afternoon. This led to a "sudden deterioration in the breathing pattern." It was said that Francis had to vomit multiple times and was subsequently mechanically ventilated. Francis' illness again prevented him from delivering Sunday prayers in St Peter's Square - the first time in his 12-year tenure that he has missed them for a third consecutive week. The pope has been hospitalized for 16 days and has not been seen in public since being admitted on February 14. There is timing for a possible discharge and the Vatican said his "prognosis remains cautious." In a Sunday prayer distributed only in writing, Francis called for world peace. From hospital, he expressed his gratitude in writing for the prayers and well-wishes for his recovery from all over the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Argentinian cleric was elected as the successor to the German Benedict XVI in March 2013. He is now the second-oldest pope in history and set to enter his 13th year as spiritual leader next week. The Vatican is meanwhile seeking to quell speculation that the pope might step down as his predecessor Benedict XVI did, with influential Italian Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco saying that there was no reason to discuss the matter. "The Church is not a business," Bagnasco said. Speculation about a possible new pope has increased as key dates in the Catholic calendar approach, notably Easter in April. A holy year in 2025 is meanwhile set to see many Catholic pilgrims travel to Rome. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Theres only one major U.S. city less diverse than Portland, according to a new report. On Wednesday, WalletHub uncovered its ranking of Arlington, Texas, Houston, New York, Charlotte N.C. and Los Angeles as the top five large cities for diversity. Does this look like a BMW neighborhood? The personal finance platform describes large cities as those with at least 300,000 residents. And out of the 64 cities ranked within this group, Portland sits at No. 63 with 65.55 points out of 100 for its diversity score. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only major metro with a lower score was Detroit. WalletHubs report covers more than just race. The website ranks each city across five categories of diversity: socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household and religious. It used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Religion Census to assess these categories. Dysentery cases rise in Portland metro area, health department reports The most diverse cities demonstrate diversity in many dimensions not just in race and gender but also everything from residents languages and birthplaces to their job types and household sizes, WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said in the report. These cities blend together a multitude of different perspectives, helping people to better understand the world around them and become more empathetic. This exchange of ideas also tends to increase the economic success of diverse cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When it comes to mid-size cities, or those with populations between 100,000 and 300,000, some Oregon destinations scored slightly better. Salem ranked at No. 71 out of 156 places, with Hillsboro at No. 82 and Gresham at No. 88. But Eugene was ranked the 150th-most diverse mid-size city and Bend fell to the 154th spot. Be suspicious: Sweet Home woman warns of chicken scam amid egg shortage Notably, Gresham was recognized as the mid-size city with the best income diversity. WalletHub reported that the Portland suburbs income diversity exceeds the average of all cities by 17.6%. In the small cities category, Beaverton had Oregons best ranking at No. 67 out of 281. Corvallis, Medford and Springfield all placed within the bottom half. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Montanas Democratic leaders and keynote speaker Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz grappled Saturday night at the annual Mansfield Metcalf event in Helena with what changes the party needs to make after losing every statewide election and all four seats in Washington, D.C., to Republicans. In several hours of speeches to a sold-out crowd at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, the states now-minority party said it was still defined by being a pro-labor party focused on the working and middle classes that supports womens rights, Native sovereignty, public education and lands, and affordability. But the states top Democrats House Minority Leader Katie Sullivan of Missoula, Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers of Belgrade and former Gov. Steve Bullock and Walz didnt dodge the fact the only gains the party made in Montana in November were picking up 12 legislative seats following redistricting, while it again failed to win back any statewide offices and saw three-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Tester ousted by Republican political newcomer Tim Sheehy. Waking up on the Wednesday morning after the election was jarring. Some of you may have felt total shock. Some of you may have seen this coming, Sullivan said. But either way, I think it is the wake-up call to many of us Dems that our position in Montana has changed and we need to pay attention. She said Democrats need to wrangle with the question of why Montanans are aligning with certain Democratic values, like protecting abortion access and public lands, but rejecting the party in favor of Republicans. Sullivan offered that national politics have taken over what used to be a locally driven conversation, and that now was the time to chart a new path. She had asked her caucus, who were working at the Legislature most of the day beforehand, what to tell the crowd of hundreds at such a juncture. The people that stood in this room told me Republicans act. Democrats are reacting. Sometimes we just seem to be a step behind. We dont always want to take a risk, but it seems like our opponents always are. Our opponents sometimes go for the throat, and sometimes we step back, Sullivan said. But we need to be brave; and if youre explaining, youre losing and it seems we have explained an awful lot. Sullivan said Democrats needed to stop being a circular firing squad and point their anger and action toward Republicans. She discussed a recent meeting with Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte and others with the federal delegation when they visited the Capitol last month in which they effusively praised Donald Trumps administration and were silent about the thousands of federal jobs being axed by the administration and Elon Musk. It was with great humbleness I came to realize that we, the House and Senate Democrats, are the last people standing between the good people of Montana and the bad things these guys will do, Sullivan said. Flowers talked about what he called his leap of faith in joining up with nine moderate Republicans on the first day of the legislative session to scuttle the GOP leaderships rules package and form a sort of coalition to fight some of the more right-wing measures moving through the body. He mentioned the passage of Medicaid expansion renewal, the blocking of several bills attacking the judicial branch and the quick failure of a right-to-work bill as proof the move has already paid off. It is constant care and feeding. Its hard work, but its very satisfying when, instead of last year, every day on every bill seeing 34-16, slumping lower and lower in our seats this year, were seeing 27-23, were a winner, he said. Sullivan said Democrats needed to get to work recruiting and staffing up while trying to meet Montanans at their level to break through and win in more Republican-leaning parts of the state. We will build up power. We will teach the voters what Montana Dems stand for. We earn their trust, we build our brand, and we will pick up seats. And its going to be hard, and it will take time, and we will fight, she said. But remember when youre angry at yourself, when you find yourself angry, point the anger where it belongs at the (expletive) in charge. Walz was introduced by Bullock and joined by his wife, Gwen, and daughter Hope, a Montana State University graduate who works for HRDC, which serves homeless people and others in communities in southwest Montana. He, too, reflected on Democrats widespread losses in November, including his own as Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harriss running mate, and what the Trump administration has brought to the table over the past month and a half. Walz ruminated on a conversation he had when he was in Amsterdam recently with Dutch officials following Vice President J.D. Vances speech at the Munich Security Conference in which Vance attacked Americas longtime European allies. Walz said he told them had he gotten done what needed to be done he would have been the one giving that speech instead and we wouldnt be in this (expletive) show. He highlighted that the American labor movement basically originated in Butte and that the Womens Protective Union in Montana was among the first womens rights movements, emphasizing that Montana had long led in those liberal movements. But, he said, winning hearts and minds hasnt worked in the face of the Republican partys focus on gaining power. He said Democrats shouldnt stoop but need to figure out how to get some of that power back while talking to voters. That message is the policies matter, but people vote on values and how they feel, he said. He walked the crowd through what he did as governor with a single-seat majority in the Minnesota Legislature, saying they were elected to burn political capital and pass everything possible, and had done so. He doesnt want to see a resistance movement like during Trumps first term, he said, but rather a fight from Democrats to go win. Every generation of Americans has been asked, What are you willing to sacrifice for the decency of this country? We get to live in this interesting moment, Walz said. Im proud to walk alongside you; Im proud of the work youre doing here, and we will be back in charge. And we will make a difference. (Bloomberg) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro got help from the opposition Socialists to avoid a political crisis, after he tried to put an end to speculation about potential conflicts of interest related to a family-owned firm. Montenegro on Saturday night asked parties to signal if his minority government could continue in power, and Socialist leader Pedro Nuno Santos said shortly afterward that his group wont back a censure motion that the Communists had just announced. The Socialists position will let Montenegro survive the vote. Questions about Montenegros family-owned company have been adding pressure on the prime minister, whose government took office in April with a weak position in parliament. Last month, Montenegro also got help from opposition parties including the Socialists to defeat a censure motion presented by Chega, a far-right party that demanded an explanation about the premiers firm in order to put an end to suspicions about a potential conflict of interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Socialists, the biggest opposition party, also allowed the center-right administrations 2025 budget pass by abstaining in a vote in parliament in November. The governments major plans include privatizing state-owned airline TAP SA this year. While the Socialists are helping the prime minister again in the next censure vote, party leader Santos said on Saturday night that the trust between the government and the Portuguese people has been broken. The Socialists wouldnt back the government if it were to present a confidence motion, he said. Montenegro, 52, said on Feb. 21 that he set up the family-owned company, called Spinumviva, when he wasnt active in politics and that its absurd to consider that owning a stake in the firm generates a conflict of interest. Hes said he never took any decision that involved a conflict of interest. Solverde, a Portuguese operator of casinos and hotels, told newspaper Expresso that it pays Spinumviva 4,500 ($4,669) per month since July 2021 for services related to compliance and personal data protection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prime minister, who worked as a lawyer earlier in his career, has said he wont take part in decisions involving companies that he has links to. For example, the government may have to take decisions about the Algarve and Espinho casino concessions, which end in 2025 and are currently held by Solverde. From now on, his familys company will be totally owned and managed by his children, Montenegro said on Saturday night. Minority governments in Portugal have tended to be short-lived. In 50 years of democracy, only two have survived a full four-year term. The Socialists and Montenegros center-right PSD party, which is the senior partner in the governing AD coalition, have dominated Portuguese politics in those five decades. A poll published by TVI on Feb. 3 showed the ruling AD coalition leading with 33% support, followed by the opposition Socialists with 27% and far-right party Chega with 17%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The premiers AD coalition got a narrow win over the Socialists in an early election held in March last year. Before the 2024 election, another snap vote was held in January 2022. Fiscal discipline has been a focus for successive administrations since the euro-area debt crisis, when Portugal needed a bailout. While in 2023 the debt ratio dropped below 100% of gross domestic product for the first time since 2009, its still at a high level and the memory of the debt crisis and Portugals bailout is relatively fresh. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. NEW YORK The head of one of the nations largest teachers unions is facing a serious leadership challenge a threat that could make it harder for him to play a decisive role in whats likely to be New York Citys most heated Democratic mayoral primary in years. As president of the nearly 200,000-member United Federation of Teachers, Michael Mulgrew has been a player in city politics since 2009. Hes helmed the union comfortably for most of that time, but is now in the midst of whats arguably the most competitive reelection of his tenure. The state of play was different in 2021. During that years mayoral race, Mulgrew was safely ensconced in his perch and used a super PAC partly funded by the union to shell out nearly $4 million to boost the mayoral campaign of then-Comptroller Scott Stringer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether Mulgrew can weather the storm as head of the UFT this year is an open question though, and where the union lands on supporting a mayor also remains unclear. However it plays out, the UFTs endorsement could move the needle in the upcoming Democratic primary. David Bloomfield, an education professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, contended that Mulgrews reelection prospects arent tied to his ability to deliver votes. But he said discontent among members could deter educators from following his lead. The resources they bring can have an influence, but I think delivering the teacher vote is more difficult than ever because of rank-and-file dissatisfaction with his leadership, Bloomfield said in an interview, adding that UFTs endorsement could help candidates but is by no means predictive of the outcome. The union will be counting the ballots from the end of May to the first week of June. And the timing of the unions endorsement in the June 24 mayoral primary could depend on whether Mulgrew is reelected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democratic primary for mayor is also expected to be hard fought. The incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, is facing federal corruption charges, sagging poll numbers and the dilemma of having to explain to voters his growing rapport with President Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice recently dropped corruption charges against him. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is dominating early polls and was the locus of several high-profile scandals during his tenure in Albany, appears poised to enter the race this weekend. And five other serious declared candidates including Stringer and the current comptroller, Brad Lander are also vying for the job. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is not related to the mayor, is weighing a bid as well. The citys most powerful unions will play a role in the final outcome. Exactly what it will be is still taking shape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council is, for the time being at least, in Adams corner. The New York City District Council of Carpenters appears poised to endorse Cuomo. 1199 SEIU, the nations largest health care union, has not yet announced its endorsement. And 32BJ SEIU and District Council 37 both of which endorsed Eric Adams in 2021 are privately encouraging Adrienne Adams to run for mayor. If theres a candidate that appeals to education or appeals to his members he may weigh in on the mayors race even though his race isnt over, someone familiar with Mulgrews thinking, who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, told POLITICO. Who the UFT ends up backing is also an unknown as is Mulgrews future as its head. He lost support from retired teachers upset about his role in the citys push to move them onto a privatized Medicare Advantage plan and has alienated working teachers angry over new curricula and what they view as inadequate pay raises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those issues are also at the root of educators frustrations with Adams. They havent been huge fans of the way that Adams has run the school system, said Peter Allen-Lamphere, a member of the Movement of Rank and File Educators, an opposition caucus. Usually they back the incumbent because the incumbent is likely to win and their main political orientation is backing the winner. Its not clear at all that Adams is the favorite in this race. Allen-Lamphere also pointed out that the unions ability to mobilize its membership in general has been steadily declining for years. Tough reelection race ahead Mulgrews Unity caucus has controlled the union since the 1960s. Since Mulgrew was elected to his first full term in 2010, he has won the majority of the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rank-and-file groups have attempted to wrest power from UFT leadership throughout the unions 65-year history, but have had limited success. They have won some divisions groups that represent different schools by grade level but none have succeeded in ousting an incumbent president. In 2022, a shift in attitude toward union leadership started to take shape when Mulgrew won reelection by his smallest margin yet. Opposition caucuses teamed up, frustrated over his approach to pandemic-era school policies and his push for Medicare Advantage. Tensions peaked in June when dissident retired teachers ousted his caucus in the Retired Teachers chapter election. The union caps retiree votes at 23,500 in the union election, but its usually a reliable voting bloc for Mulgrew. Everybody saw the results of the last election, Jonathan Halabi, assistant secretary for the Retired Teachers chapter, said. Everybody knows that the retirees shifting really would change how elections happen, and everybody is nervous or excited because nobody knows if thats a permanent change, a one-time change [or] a gradual change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then, Mulgrew withdrew his support for Medicare Advantage and advocated for changes to the citys math and reading curricula. Hes now seeking to bypass collective bargaining to boost the pay of teacher aides who support students with disabilities. The opposition movement has begun to take shape too. Olivia Swisher, a Brooklyn chapter leader, and Amy Arundell a former borough official the union reassigned after she allegedly criticized a resolution against Hamas attacks in Israel are challenging Mulgrew on separate slates. Its part of a growing movement aimed at ousting veteran union officials. George Gresham, the longtime leader of 1199SEIU, is facing an unprecedented challenge to his leadership as well. It makes sense to me that nationally, there are a lot of rank and filers who are throwing their hat in the race and trying to unseat these longtime powerholders, Swisher said. These longtime powerholders are very disconnected from the real working conditions of a rank and file member. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But any effort to topple Mulgrew will likely be an uphill battle. He remains influential among legislators, many of whom are aligned with the teachers union. In 2022, state lawmakers attached a class size-reduction mandate to a deal to let Adams retain control of the school system, in a win for Mulgrew, for whom the statute is a key priority. Two years later, he secured firmer commitments to ensure the city complies with the statute. Recently, he convinced some city lawmakers to get on board with efforts to circumvent collective bargaining to give paraprofessionals a pay bump. He will have a fight, but I believe that most people in the UFT support the Unity caucus and support Mulgrew because theyve seen his proven record of results, said former City Council education chair Danny Dromm, who previously served on the Retired Teachers chapters executive board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LeRoy Barr, UFTs secretary and Unitys chair, acknowledged frustrations among members. But he insisted members are sometimes unaware of the caucus track record, pointing to achievements such as pay raises in the most recent contract and improved pension benefits. Their strategy rests on putting in the work to highlight that record, he said. We are listening to the members, Barr said. We are making sure that as we move forward, we protect their rights, we protect their health care and do all that we can to make sure that they have a good life while theyre working and a good life after they finish working. Endorsement in limbo The UFT hasnt endorsed a successful mayoral candidate since 1989, when it backed the citys first Black mayor, the late David Dinkins. In 2013, the union endorsed Bill Thompson, who lost to then-Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mulgrew backed Stringer in 2021, but Adams ultimately won the primary. The union is planning to send out questionnaires next month to mayoral candidates who will then participate in a UFT forum. A committee that oversees the unions daily operations and the executive board recommend a candidate for endorsement, then the union-wide Delegate Assembly chapter leaders and delegates makes the final decision through a vote, according to the union. But rank-and-file union members believe that vote is a formality and that Mulgrew ultimately makes the decision. If the unions ultimate decision results in an endorsement of Cuomo, it would likely ruffle feathers. He resigned in 2021 after being accused of sexual harassment, which he denies, and amid reports his administration tried to cover up nursing home deaths during the Covid pandemic. His past education agenda, which included an overhaul of the states teacher evaluation system, was unpopular among educators. And the union opposed his Tier VI plan, which raised the retirement age and reduced benefits for new state and local workers in an effort to decrease the amount the state spent on employee pensions. Stringer, for his part, saw his 2021 mayoral campaign derailed by sexual misconduct allegations. Mulgrew stood by him, and the UFTs parent union is among Stringers consulting and lobbying clients. To win the union endorsement, Stringer would need to make a stronger showing in the polls, according to an individual familiar with Mulgrews thinking. Hes got a lot to think about before he endorses a mayoral candidate, George Arzt, a political consultant, said, referring to Mulgrew. If there is one person that stands out, I think he will go for them. If its Andrew, hell wait a little bit and go for Andrew. Mulgrew may be looking to tread carefully to avoid alienating more members, two former senior union officials and one rank-and-file leader told POLITICO. I dont believe the membership of the UFT would approve of endorsing Adams because of the state of the public school system and the damaging decisions that have been made since he became mayor, said Arundell, a former high-ranking union leader with extensive knowledge of the unions endorsement process. There is no way this membership will abide by endorsing Andrew Cuomo, the father of Tier VI. But two individuals familiar with Mulgrews thinking maintained the unions elections have no impact on the process. With a split ticket, I dont think hes as concerned, one of the individuals said. If it was one on one, hed be far more focused on that. With a split ticket, the math just isnt there. Union officials declined to comment on Mulgrews plans, but denied that he has the final say. He gets the recommendations and he trusts us to ask those good questions and for our recommendations, said Vincent Corletta, a member of UFTs Queens political action committee, referring to the unions endorsement process for races. Its always been me and my colleagues that are in the district talking to these politicians. The unions endorsement remains highly sought-after, given its past record of contributing significant amounts of cash to political efforts. Stringer as well as state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie told POLITICO theyre seeking the unions endorsement. Michael Ceraso, deputy press secretary for Michael Blake, a former assemblymember, also said Blake wants UFTs backing. Lander, a left-leaning Democrat, said he would love to have teachers support. A City Hall spokesperson declined to comment on whether Adams has been in communication with Mulgrew. Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and attorney Jim Walden, whos running as an independent, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Cuomo also declined comment. I see a very strong, powerful union, I see a very respected and accomplished labor leader and I expect that to continue, Stringer said. Whoever [is] the next mayor is gonna need an experienced leader to meet the educational challenges in the city. (WJET/WFXP) The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has fined the Presque Isle Downs & Casino over $80,000 for two infractions, the organization announced last week. According to the press release, the board approved fines against PID, LLC, the owner and operator of Presque Isle Downs & Casino, totalling $81,575. PID faces a $50,000 fine for having less than the approved number of active slot machines on the floor; and, a $31,575 fine for failure to timely file a Principal License application. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the board meeting, February 26, a total of 9 people were placed on the machines. Along with these two men, seven others were placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List, which prohibits individuals from either gaming in a casino, online, or Video Gaming Terminal location. Currently, 1,344 persons are on the Boards various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. Of these nine people, two men were banned from Pennsylvania casinos for leaving kids unattended. One man left a 5-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the valet parking lot at Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 12 minutes as he attempted to conduct financial business in the casino. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second man left a 10-year-old unattended in a vehicle with the windows rolled up and engine not running in the parking garage of Wind Creek Casino for 45 minutes with an outside temperature of 90 degrees while he gambled on slot machines. The board also reviewed one request by a female requesting to be removed from the Involuntary Exclusion List, which was denied. She was placed on the list after she, in 2022, left three minors, ages 10, 14, and 15, unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course for one hour 41 minutes while she gambled at slot machines. Actions such as these to deny statewide gambling privileges serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino since it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children, said the gaming control board on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Pentagon to stop offensive cyberoperations against Russia, according to one current official and two former officials briefed on the matter who spoke to The New York Times. The order was handed down before Fridays Oval Office blowup between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The measure appears to be an attempt to encourage Russia to join talks to end its war of aggression in Ukraine. The scope and duration of the order remain unclear as the difference between offensive and defensive cyberoperations is not always apparent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it remains important to retain access to Russian networks to understand Putins intentions when talks begin, and to follow the arguments between Russians regarding what issues to focus on and what could be given up to achieve a peace deal. The ex-officials told the paper that its common that civilian leaders order temporary holds on military operations during negotiations to avoid them being derailed. But stepping back from offensive cyberoperations remains a risk, as it counts on Russian President Vladimir Putin to also put a hold on what some call the shadow war against the U.S. and its traditional European allies. Hegseths order was initially reported by the cybersecurity publication The Record. Those traditional allies have said that their backing of Kyiv remains steadfast amid Trump at times openly supporting Putins version of events. Russia has carried on attempting to get into U.S. networks, including during the start of the Trump administration, U.S. officials have said, according to The Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, such efforts are only part of a wider Russian effort to destabilize the West. Ransomware attacks against U.S. hospitals, cities, and infrastructure have increased over the past year. Intelligence officials have said that such attacks have come from Russia in what are essentially criminal acts ignored or supported by Russian intelligence agencies. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a meeting with Saudi Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman at the Pentagon on February 24, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The secretary has ordered the Pentagon to cease offensive cyberoperations against Russia (Getty Images) Sabotage in Europe has also spiked in the last year to include the cutting of communications cables, mystifying explosions, and assassination plots emanating from Russia, such as against the chief executive of the largest arms maker in Germany. The U.S. has played a massive part in fighting back against these sabotage efforts, but that support could now end. Many of such efforts are operated from the British Government Communications Headquarters as well as by the Canadians. The U.K. intelligence agency is best known for breaking the Enigma codes during the Second World War. They may carry those efforts while the U.S. pivots to focus on China. Russia operated an influence campaign during the 2024 presidential campaign, reports by U.S. intelligence agencies during the Biden administration reveal. U.S. Cyber Command has conducted secret operations to take on those attempts in recent election cycles, The Times noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the Trump administration has begun picking apart efforts by the F.B.I. and other agencies warning about the dangers of Russian propaganda and meddling. The Pentagon order issued by Hegseth would put a pause on any future attempts to hamper Russian influence campaigns. Appearing on ABCs This Week on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the need to get Russia to the negotiating table, but he also acknowledged that it remains unclear if Putin is ready or willing to enter into an agreement to end the war. Youre not going to bring them to the table if youre calling them names, if youre being antagonistic, he told the network. Thats just the presidents instincts from years and years and years of putting together deals as someone whos in business. Rubio became defensive when asked why the U.S. was easing the pressure on Russia, such as by removing language from a U.N. resolution which stated that Russia is the aggressor in the war in Ukraine. The Trump administration went against Americas traditional allies, and sided with the likes of Belarus, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, as well as other states with authoritarian regimes. If this was a Democrat that was doing this, everyone would be saying, well, hes on his way to the Nobel Peace Prize, Rubio, known as a Russia hawk during his time in the Senate, told ABC. This is absurd. We are trying to end a war. You cannot end a war unless both sides come to the table, starting with the Russians, and that is the point the president has made. And we have to do whatever we can to try to bring them to the table to see if its even possible. ATTICA, N.Y. (WROC) While some correction officers in New York State returned to work on Saturday per an agreement between state leaders and the guards union, many persisted in striking calling for a revision to the deal despite penalties being threatened if they do not return to work. Saturday, more than 100 people took part in a parade past the Attica Correctional Facility, showing support for the guards who are still striking. Attica residents Michael and Beth Duerr have a son who works at the maximum-security prison, and took part in Saturdays parade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state and union deal isnt a deal, Michael said. Its just postponing the issues and kicking the can down the road. If these COs are working eight hours and somebody attacks you or gets in your face, you cant be prepared for that. I dont understand how the state can make them do it. Extensive overtime shifts are a primary concern of the striking correctional officers. In the current deal, Governor Kathy Hochul says this was taken into consideration and that there will be efforts to minimize and eventually eliminate these shifts altogether. 24-hour work shifts are too long, I understand, Hochul said on Friday. These individuals work in tough conditions; I know that and appreciate it. This creates time away from their families, and the unpredictability is not an ideal situation. Nobody wanted this. Hochul called this agreement a win for the prison guards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This will put the conditions back on safe operations while respecting the rights of incarcerated individuals, and it prevents future work stoppages, Hochul said. Retired Attica guard John Perry, who was at Saturdays strike, said he doesnt foresee the correctional officers who are still striking returning to work unless 24-hour overtime shifts are immediately eliminated and the HALT Act, which passed in 2022, undergoes a year-long and more extensive review. If Governor Hochul is serious about this, she really needs to sit down with these men and women, Perry said. They need to be brought together. Thats what needs to be done to come to an agreement. Per the current deal, the correction officers on strike were expected to return to work Saturday. Those who did not go back to work face job termination and other penalties, including the possibility of arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perry says many of the folks still striking plan to continue their efforts until the deal is reconsidered. James Miller, a spokesperson for NYSCOPBA, the union, confirmed March 1 that all striking correction officers and sergeants who did not return to work on Saturday as the consent award mandated will be terminated. A message sent to correction officers from the New York State Department of Employee Relations stated that the strikers will begin to receive termination notices on Sunday, March 2, and they will start to receive health insurance terminations on Monday, March 3. The health insurance termination for each guard will be backdated to when they went AWOL. According to the message, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will also seek fines and imprisonment for correction officers and sergeants who continue to participate in the strike, which violates the Taylor Law and was not sanctioned by NYSCOPBA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sunday, DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello released the following message to COs: Ive been talking to a lot of staff over the past weeks, yesterday I was on the road visiting facilities and will be traveling to several prisons again today to thank those that continued to work and welcome back the staff that are returning to their facilities. My message to you is this is the final push. Tomorrow, Monday March 3, anyone who remains on strike will have their s and their dependents healthcare removed retroactive to the first day they were AWOL, and you will not be eligible for COBRA. I want you to come back to work today. If you missed your shift, you should still report, and know that we will continue to have open dialogue on making facilities safer places to work. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. A private space mission has landed on the Moon as a new space age sees a growing fleet of companies scramble to reach the lunar surface. Texas start-up Firefly Aerospace became only the second commercial space company to land on the Moon after its robotic craft Blue Ghost touched down on Sunday. The mission, in partnership with Nasa, landed at 8.34am UK time on a dark basaltic plain called the Mare Crisium, or the Sea of Crises, near a solitary lunar mountain called Mons Latreille. Cheers erupted from Firefly workers and spectators at a viewing party at the companys headquarters after the flight controller announced: Were on the Moon! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blue Ghosts two week flight began with a launch on Jan 15 and it will now begin 14 days equivalent to a single lunar day of surface operations, armed with Nasa tools and equipment. These include a drill that will bury into the Moons surface to monitor its temperature. On March 14, it is expected to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse when the Earth blocks the sun above the Moons horizon. Two days later, it will capture the lunar sunset and collect data on the lunar horizon glow, a phenomenon first documented by Apollo 17 when lunar dust particles levitate and scatter the light. Then, it will operate for several hours during the lunar night. Staff at Firefly Aerospaces Mission Control near Austin, Texas, celebrate after hearing the message: Were on the Moon! - Nasa/Firefly Aerospace via AP Blue Ghost is on a mission called Ghost Riders in the Sky, named after a song popularised by Johnny Cash about a vision of the Devils red-eyed cattle herd, which damned cowboys must chase for eternity on horses snorting flames. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Houston-based Intuitive Machines became the first private company to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon in 2024. However, the Intuitive Machines mission was forced to end early after its lander fell over. Blue Ghost, by contrast, appeared to land upright as planned on the Moons near side, which can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. The landers mission has been partly funded by Nasa as the agency renews efforts to put humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972. Nasa is paying Firefly $101.5m (80.3m) for this mission under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme, which will pay as much as $2.6bn to private companies for lunar operations. The plan has been criticised by Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX who is also Donald Trumps government efficiency tsar. Mr Musk called the Moon a distraction in January, writing on his social media platform X: Were going straight to Mars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the billionaires distain, a growing number of private companies are targeting Moon missions. Blue Ghost is one of three landers planning to reach it in the next two months. Intuitive Machines will make a second attempt on March 6, while Japanese company Ispace has plans to send a craft in April, after a previous failed attempt in 2023. The companies are part of a booming global sector. On Friday, singer Katy Perry announced she would lead an all-female space mission on one of Jeff Bezoss Blue Origin rockets. The first image of the Moons surface from private lunar lander Blue Ghost after it touched down with a special delivery for Nasa - Nasa/Firefly Aerospace via AP Jason Kim, Fireflys chief executive, told Bloomberg: I could see us launching and landing on the Moon every year and starting to look into creating an ecosystem on the Moon. It is a major milestone for the rocket maker, which has had a turbulent history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Launched in 2014 as Firefly Space Systems, the company was hit with a lawsuit from Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic, which alleged that Tom Markusic, a former employee of Virgin Galactic and Fireflys co-founder, had stolen trade secrets and misappropriated confidential information. Mr Markusic denied the charges. The Blue Ghost craft before launch - Firefly Aerospace In 2016, a key investor pulled out, forcing the company to furlough all of its 150 staff and halt engineering work. The business was liquidated in 2017 and then relaunched as Firefly Aerospace. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) People in Northwest Arkansas came together in Bentonville Square in solidarity with Ukraine during the third anniversary week of Russias invasion. The protest comes the weekend after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance hosted President Zelenskyy to discuss the countrys ongoing war with Russia. Trevor Dane, one of the supporters at the rally, said he and the others in attendance are contacting their state representative to let them know they believe war funding for Ukraine should continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is very, very important that the members of Congress understand that their constituents here in Northwest Arkansas support Ukraine, support Ukraines democratic aspirations, support Ukraines freedom and support Ukraine in their war against Russian aggression, said Dane. Dane is on the board of directors for the Bentonville non-profit Hugs for Friends, which encourages United States children to create art showing support for Ukrainian children and their families impacted by the Russo-Ukrainian war. Tontitown residents respond to Waste Management statement regarding landfill Among the protestors was Ukrainian-born Nataliya Chapovska, who moved to the United States seven years ago. When I was living there it was a party country, said Chapovska. Everywhere, you can hear the laughs and smiles. A lot of families were walking outside and just happy place to be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She remembers what life was like before her native country became a war zone. But, on her most recent visit to Ukraine, Chapovska said something felt different. No matter what, you always sit down, Chapovska said. You talk to someone, and we always end up talking about the war and whats happening. Since Russias invasion, Chapovska said many Ukrainians are separated from their families and financially hurting to support the military. She also said that one thing that hasnt changed is the countrys optimism, which isnt just present in her home country but in her new one as well. $31M Market Center of the Ozarks to open soon Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I still feel optimistic because the United States role was always to be mediator, to be for peace, said Chapovska. Many of the speakers at the protest today encouraged those present to take action by calling their congressman. The action item for all of us today and all citizens of northwest Arkansas is to contact your members of Congress and tell them that you support Ukraine, said Dane. Some protestors said theyre planning to go to Washington D.C. in April to speak in person with Congress to show their support for Ukraine. Chapovska said her friends from back home ask her about how Americans feel about the war, and every time, she always points to the welcoming arms she feels from her neighbors in northwest Arkansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of Americans, they support Ukraine Like looking at our small community, we see big support, Chapovska said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. BEIRUT (AP) A prominent Druze leader in Lebanon said Sunday that he will soon visit Syria to meet its interim leader as tensions simmer between members of the minority group, the war-torn country's interim government, and Israel. The free Syrians must be cautious of the plots of Israel, veteran Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said at a news conference Sunday, accusing Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating sectarian division and chaos in the country. In Syria there is a plot for sabotage. There is a plot for sabotage in the region and for the Arabs national security. Syrian Druze gunmen have clashed in recent days with government security forces on the city of Jaramana, on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the downfall of President Bashar Assad in December, Israel has pushed its forces into southern Syria to create a demilitarized buffer zone. Israels defense ministry said Saturday that it was instructing the military to prepare to defend Jaramana and protect the Druze. In the Druze-majority southern province of Sweida, many who protested against the Assad government in recent years have also protested against Israels airstrikes and military push into the country. The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Over half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Jumblatt is one of Lebanon's most prominent political leaders and arguably the Mideast's most powerful Druze figure. He is both an outspoken critic of Israel and a supporter of the Palestinians, but also spoke out against the Assad dynasty in Syria. He last visited Syria in December, days after a lightning insurgency led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham overthrew Bashar Assad, and met with interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. In 2015 during the Syrian civil war, Jumblatt negotiated with Syrian opposition in Idlib, following reports of persecution and attacks on the Druze who lived in the northwestern province by extremist groups. The cap on enrollment and work requirements are the two most concerning parts of a Medicaid bill that the Indiana legislature is considering, said two public health researchers. At the federal level, Medicaid doesnt have work requirements or a cap on those who can enroll in the program, Leo Cuello, a research professor with the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That leads you to two ways in which this bill would propose to make some significant changes, Cuello said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, authored Senate Bill 2 which would place restrictions on Medicaid, like work requirements on an insurance program for Hoosiers with a medium income and between the ages of 19 to 64. The bill also creates a program cap, which threatens access for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers. The bill includes 11 exemptions for the work requirement, including volunteering, receiving unemployment, or participating in a substance abuse program. Mishler called Senate Bill 2 the right size for Medicaid, which has grown exponentially in recent years. In the last four years, Medicaid costs have grown by $5 billion, he said. Meanwhile, since COVID, Medicaid participants have nearly doubled from 390,000 to 750,000. Were spending more on Medicaid alone than the percentage of our total revenue, Mishler said. Youre going to see that when we do the budget that Medicaid and the Department of Child Services are going to suck up most of our revenue and were not going to have a lot left to do other programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Senate Bill 2, the Healthy Indiana Plan cant be advertised and the program is arbitrarily capped at 500,000, Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, said. We havent seen the data that demonstrates why it should be 500,000 people or how that is ultimately going to reduce costs. We know that every action has a reaction and our worry is that were going to end up paying for it, Pol said. Medicaid is a healthcare program operated under a federal and state partnership, Cuello said. Meaning, Medicaid was created under federal law but each state chooses if it wants to participate which all states have chosen to participate and the two government entities share in the cost. As the state spends money on Medicaid health services, it qualifies for federal matching funds, fairly generous federal matching funds. The federal government is always paying half or more than half of the bill. The state retains control over how the program is administered, Cuello said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government has a list of minimum requirements for states to meet to receive the funds, Cuello said. But Medicaid looks different across the country because states get to control how the program works, he said. In Indiana, the federal government pays 65% and the state pays 35% of the bill for standard Medicaid services, Cuello said. For the Medicaid expansion group, which includes adults 19-64 years old earning up to $1,800 a month for a single person or slightly above the poverty line, the federal government pays 90% and the state pays 10% of the bill, Cuello said, which is the case for all 50 states. As of 2023, 21.8% of Indiana residents are covered through Medicaid, according to Georgetown University data. Lake County has a rate higher than the state, with 24% of county residents covered by Medicaid, and Porter County has a lower rate than the state average, with 19.2% of residents covered by Medicaid, according to the data. For Indianas non-elderly adults, which most closely resembles those on the Medicaid expansion program, Cuello said, the state coverage rate is 17.6%, according to the data. In Lake County, 19.6% of non-elderly adults are on Medicaid, and in Porter County 16% of non-elderly adults are on Medicaid, according to the data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the federal level, Republicans in Congress are considering massive cuts to Medicaid. If the federal government decreases its contributions to the Healthy Indiana Plan and the state doesnt step in to fund the program, about 366,000 Hoosiers would be left without health insurance, according to a study from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (Indianas) legislation could be totally irrelevant based on what happens in the federal legislative process, Cuello said. When it comes to work requirements, Cuello said it leads to termination and suppressed enrollment for workers. Hardworking families, who are struggling to pay bills and juggling their childrens lives, will have to provide monthly documentation of their employment to have health insurance, he said. What this thing does is it creates red tape for working families and many of them dont get through, Cuello said. We know the majority of Medicaid enrollees are in working families. The data shows that the ones who arent working usually have a very good reason, they have a disability or they are in school. The whole thing is trying to solve a problem that doesnt exist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas and Georgia are the only two states that have implemented work requirements, Cuello said, and the results were concerning. During President Donald Trumps first administration, roughly a dozen states, including Indiana, requested and got approved for work requirements under Medicaid, Cuello said. The HealthWell Foundation and state partners filed lawsuits against the work requirements, and they won the lawsuits, he said. Arkansas was able to implement work requirements before the lawsuits were filed, Cuello said, and stopped the practice after the state lawsuit was resolved. But, when the work requirements were in effect for about six months, roughly 18,000 people in Arkansas were kicked off Medicaid, he said. About 18 months ago, Georgia implemented a work requirement, Cuello said, which resulted in 6,503 people enrolling in Medicaid, which is a microscopic fraction of the people eligible. In contrast, North Carolina, a state comparable in size to Georgia, started its Medicaid expansion program after Georgia without a work requirement and has enrolled more than 600,000 people, Cuello said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The work requirement basically, if you dump this onto the Indiana program, what its going to do is its going to take people who are currently enrolled and terminate a whole bunch of them and its going to really throttle new people getting on to the program. Its going to have that suppressive effect, Cuello said. In Arkansas, the data showed further that the work requirements didnt result in more people working, Cuello said. In fact, in many cases, Medicaid helps people continue to work, Cuello said, pointing to a case where a worker, who lost Medicaid, then lost their job because they could no longer afford their lung disease medication. The work reporting requirements dont help anyone work. They create that red tape, including for workers, and then when people fail to report their insurance gets taken away, Cuello said. The data tells the reason that people dont work. Its childcare, its transportation, lack of jobs or job training, and sadly, in a rural state like Indiana, dealing with the fallout of opioid addiction. Work reporting requirements dont help with any of those problems. Kosali Simon, associate vice provost for Health Sciences at Indiana Universitys Paul H. ONeill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said hospitals will be impacted if people dont have coverage under Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not that only insured people come to a hospital, Simon said. In 2005, Tennessee disenrolled 190,000 people from its Medicaid program, Simon said, which resulted in a reduction in mammograms and an increase in personal bankruptcies and eviction filings, among other things. People thought, in Tennessee, maybe when you cut peoples health insurance theyll want to go work and find a new job, but research papers just arent showing that people in Tennessee went to find new jobs, Simon said. For any program, Simon said the administrative costs of requiring people to file paperwork, like a work requirement, are very expensive, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anytime costs are being cut its got to be done very carefully in a way that ensures the state doesnt end up paying in some other way, Simon said. Medicaid is an entitlement program where eligible people have the right to enroll in, Cuello said, so placing caps on it could likely lead to legal action against the state. Its also unclear how the state will decide which people to kick off the program, he said. The legislature should steer totally clear of any kind of numerical cap on who should enroll in the program. Its just going to cause themselves a lot of headaches, Cuello said. Capping Medicaid is leaving a bunch of money on the table, Cuello said, because the federal government helps pay for the program. If federal funding is reduced, the state would be left alone to pay for those hospital care costs when people seek treatment, Cuello said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its nonsensical that the state wouldnt take that deal and would cap itself and limit the federal dollars that it can leverage to solve a problem it has, Cuello said. The state has a phenomenal thing going and to upend it for politics is terrible, terrible policy. akukulka@post-trib.com As a steady stream of people marched through Yosemite National Park, homemade signs held high over their heads, they echoed a single unifying message: Protect our parks. From the Grand Canyon to the Rocky Mountains to Yellowstone and beyond, thousands gathered at national parks across the country on Saturday to protest sweeping federal cuts to the United States historic public lands. In recent weeks, President Donald Trumps administration fired around 2,000 recently hired employees at the U.S. Forest Service and slashed an additional 1,000 jobs at the National Park Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mass terminations, part of an ongoing push to cut federal bureaucracy and spending, have raised concerns about the future of these lands. Affected national park and forest employees told NBC News that fewer workers will lead to longer lines, filthy bathrooms and unsafe hiking and camping conditions. We need to stop the nonsense, John Goodwin, a now-retired longtime park service employee, told NBC Bay Area while protesting at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. We need to hire back the people who were fired, not only at national parks but every federal employee who has lost their job in the last six weeks. Following initial backlash over the cuts, The Associated Press had reported that the administration would restore at least 50 jobs as well as hire nearly 3,000 additional seasonal workers. Protesters demonstrate against federal employee layoffs at Yosemite National Park in California on Saturday. Still, the discontent was visible leading up to Saturdays nationwide protests. At Yosemite a week earlier, a group of laid-off park employees hung an American flag upside down at the summit of El Capitan, a famed 3,000-foot vertical rock formation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An upside-down American flag is traditionally a sign of dire distress, according to the U.S. Flag Code. On Saturday, protesters showed up at national parks large and small, spanning dozens of states from coast to coast. Public lands belong to all Americans, and federal agencies and federal employees work on behalf of the American people, protester Peri Sasnett told NBC affiliate WJAR of Providence, Rhode Island, calling on the administration to rehire illegally fired federal employees. Protesters hold signs at Roosevelt Arch, the northern entrance to Yellowstone Park in Gardiner, Mont., on Saturday. She was demonstrating at the Roger Williams National Memorial, a 4.5-acre park in Providence. And in Washington state, local resident Austin Woods was one of more than 50 people who gathered to protest at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sometimes it feels like theres not a whole lot that we can do in the current political environment, he told NBC affiliate KNDU of Yakima, Washington. But one thing that we can do is be present, be vocal and be passionate. Since taking office in January, Trumps administration has executed mass firings across numerous sectors of government, targeting workers who were in probationary periods. This came after the administration attempted to offer buyouts to nearly all government employees and impose a hiring freeze for federal workers. On Wednesday, a Trump administration memo directed federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs, noting that Trump has required large-scale reductions in force. A day later, a federal judge ruled the memo was legally invalid and ordered that it be rescinded. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com JD Vances family ski trip in Vermont hit rocky terrain Saturday after the gratitude-demanding vice president was welcomed by hundreds of protesters following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The vice president along with his wife, Usha Vance, and their three children headed to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, as part of a planned vacation, and their visit was met with a sea of signs calling the former Ohio senator a traitor, telling him to fuck off and go ski in Russia. The demonstrators signaled their support of Ukraine following the blowout in the Oval Office where Vance and President Donald Trump publicly berated Zelenskyy for being disrespectful and not showing thanks to the U.S. (despite his public record of thanking the country). BREAKING: After torpedoing yesterdays meeting with Zelensky, JD Vance fled to Vermont for vacationonly to be met by hundreds of furious protesters. Couldnt have happened to a better guy! pic.twitter.com/dv5mVIFeSl Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) March 1, 2025 JD Vance went to Sugarbush for the weekend and is getting a warm welcome.I love Vermont! pic.twitter.com/twlDceivm1 Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) March 1, 2025 Vermont's message to JD Vance: Not in our town, you fascist piece of shit. pic.twitter.com/Pk4QwFu3fv Bill Madden (@maddenifico) March 1, 2025 Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) in a statement on Thursday reminded residents that while we may not always agree, we should be respectful as Vance and his family vacation in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sugerbush snow reporter Lucy Welch also had harsh words for Vance ahead of his ski outing, per Jason Kottkes blog Kottke.org, as she slammed the Trump administration in a daily report on Saturday. Right now, National Forest lands and National Parks are under direct attack by the current Administration, who is swiftly terminating the positions of dedicated employees who devote their lives to protecting the land we love, and to protecting us while we are enjoying that land, Welch wrote. The previously announced visit to The Green Mountain State sparked plans for protests, the VTDigger noted, as one organizer pointed to residents concerns with the Trump administrations mass federal cuts and firings, adding that the clash in the White House drew more protesters to the streets. People are angry, especially after what occurred in the White House yesterday where we absolutely humiliated an ally, said Tisa Rennau, an organizer with the Indivisible Mad River Valley group, in an interview with the VTDigger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are no longer the leader of the free world. What has happened? This is not the America we expect to be. VTDiggers Evan LRoy snapped pictures of protesters lining a nearby road with trans, Palestinian and Ukrainian flags, as well as signs reading Trump Vance betraying all that America stands for, JD Vance Zelenskyy is 10x the man you are, Have you no shame? Support Ukraine and Wheres your decency? Others at and near the resort held signs reading Spineless fascists cant ski, Warning thin ice and This is the coups last run. Every day, the Trump-Vance administration is putting Vermonters at risk and hurting Vermonters. Hes also hurting everyone in this country, and hes hurting our allies like Ukraine. Hes hurting people around the world, Dan Vidali, a Vermont resident, told the VTDigger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were here to say that we reject that in Vermont. Related... Vice President JD Vances ski trip went downhill fast when hundreds of protesters arrived to meet him at the slopes. Demonstrators were venting their anger at Fridays so-called peace talks between Vance, President Donald Trump, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraineand at seeing Vance call the Zelensky disrespectful, and repeatedly demanding that he thank the U.S. government. Vance, his wife Usha, and their three children drove to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, Saturday morning to be met by powdery snow, a sprawling resort, and a slew of angry protesters. One demonstrator held a sign that said, Vance is a traitor go ski in Russia. Vermont government officials had prepared for Vances trip. On Thursday, Republican Gov. Phil Scott released a statement telling Vermonters that while we may not always agree, we should be respectful. That didnt stop locals from showing up en masse to condemn the vice presidents recent behavior. Many skiers enjoy Vermont's famous ski resort Sugarbush. / Lauren Owens Lambert / Lauren Owens Lambert/REUTERS Protesters held pride flags, pro-Ukraine posters, and anti-Vance signs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sugarbush employee Lucy Welch even took to the resorts website to rebuke Vance. Welch typically writes morning snow reports to inform visitors about the days conditions. But her Saturday morning message looked a little different when she told readers, We are living in a really scary and really serious time. Welch wrote that the resorts natural beauty is threatened by the Trump administrations direct attack on national park employees, and negligence regarding climate change. She encouraged anyone frustrated at Sugarbush management to direct your anger to the source, an administration that is threatening our democracy, our livelihoods, our land. The upset worker added: This whole shpiel probably wont change a whole lot, and I can only assume that I will be fired, but at least this will do even just a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep. I am really scared for our future. Protesters were told to leave and Vance was relocated to an undisclosed location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Vance joined Trump in an explosive face-off with Zelensky. The vice president has never been to Ukraine but claimed Zelensky brings visitors on a propaganda tour. Both Trump and Vance went after the Ukrainian President and called him Vance was called Trumps attack dog by New York Times White House correspondent Michael D. Shear for his role in berating Zelensky and shouting over him. Although some say Vance has taken a backseat while Elon Musk steps up as Trumps seeming second-in-command, the vice president made his loyalty to Trump clear during Fridays Oval Office meeting. Have you said thank you once this entire meeting? Vance asked Zelensky. Vance wasnt always a die-hard Trumper. In 2016, he called Trump an idiot and tried to warn voters about his principles. In the years since, he has aligned himself with MAGA, shocking European officials by urging them to end the isolation of far-right parties. He even told Germans that they shouldnt decline to work with one political party that had used Nazi slogans. Shortly after Zelenskys visit to the Oval Office, global leaders, diplomats, and U.S. citizens alike expressed concerns about the volatile interaction. Trump accused Zelensky of gambling with World War III and later posted on Truth Social that the Ukrainian leader can come back when he is ready for Peace. WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Dozens of people are calling on the Trump administration to ease up on cuts to federal government jobs and programs. They took to the streets on Saturday to make their voices heard. The March as One Rally traveled from the sidewalks of the Luzerne County Courthouse to the heart of Public Square. Dozens joined area organizations to protest the latest actions taken by the Trump administration, just days before the State of the Union address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marching the streets of Wilkes-Barre, Dallas resident Kerry Anne Jones and dozens of others shouted to anyone who would listen. The state of our country, we are in a constitutional crisis, Jones explained. Dozens of people joined the 50501 Movement and Action Together NEPA Saturday afternoon. They rallied against what they call the immeasurable harm that the Trump administration has caused families and communities in Pennsylvania and worldwide. Theres trillions of dollars going to corporate subsides while they make billions of dollars off our hard work and labor, Eric Skelton from Wyoming said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trading in tomatos for shamrocks for 12th Annual Saint Patricks Parade The forefront of the protest centered on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) established by President Trump and led by Elon Musk. Elon Musk and his little rat pack of 21-year-olds. They gotta go. They dont work for the government, Skelton added. Skelton and other protesters oppose the freeze on federal funding, Trumps plans to dismantle the education department, and threats to cut Medicaid. Theres a million reasons to be here, but those are the top three that really scare me, Skelton continued. While we have no healthcare, no education, our criminal justice system is broken, Jones stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also showed their support to Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy one day after President Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukraines leader inside the Oval Office. Its insane. Ive never seen a US President do something like that, and nobody even understands why, Skelton said. Pennsylvania Congressman Rob Bresnahan provided the following statement to 28/22 News regarding the rally: I applaud these individuals for taking the time to make their voices heard. While we may not agree on everything, I will keep fighting for Northeastern Pennsylvania to get our economy back on track, secure our borders, and continue revitalizing our communities. Pennsylvania Congressman Rob Bresnahan In the meantime, people like Jones say they will keep fighting to get their message across. They are robbing our country for money, Jones added. Protestors say the Trump administration disrespects our Constitution and threatens the well-being of working families here in the commonwealth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. DES MOINES, Iowa One day after a controversial bill that removes gender identity protections from the states civil rights code was signed into law, Iowans continue to discuss its integrity. Its about freedoms and being able to be comfortable in who you are, said Janice Fenton a founder of activist group United in Solidarity. Weve come backwards. The bill, HSB 242, SF 418, was introduced just a week ago and removes gender identity as a protected class. That means protections from discrimination in employment, housing, wages, etc., have been now removed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After passing through the House and Senate on Thursday, Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill Friday afternoon. On Saturday, dozens of people collected at the statehouse for a March Against Hate. The event was organized by United in Solidarity, which was formed on Monday in response to the bill. The group gathered at the steps of the Statehouse and worked their way down through the East Village as they chanted about peace and love, and no hate in our state! The march was held on a significant day. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was signed into law by then President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1 and granted all citizens civil and legal rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, in Webster City on Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce held a forum with two GOP lawmakers who were grilled by constituents over the bill and other Republican-led legislative actions. It was a difficult topic, right? There were people on both sides, but at the end of the day we really need to afford protections for girls sports, girls in the bathroom, said Republican Franklin County State Rep. Shannon Latham. That was the real deciding factor for me. I think thats what people put us in office to do, said Republican Hancock County State Senator Dennis Guth. Im feeling confident that we should move forward. During the forum, lawmakers were also asked about a bill outlawing abortion drugs and the effort to make it law that students are educated through videos on the topic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day before the bill that would remove gender identity protections from the states civil rights code was signed, crowds of people filled the Capitol rotunda waving signs and chanting slogans in opposition. It will officially go into effect July 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. Matthias Warnig, a former spy and longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is reportedly lobbying the U.S. to support a potential restart of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the Financial Times reported on March 2, citing undisclosed sources. Warnig, who led Nord Stream 2s parent company on behalf of Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom until 2023, is reportedly trying to establish contact with U.S. President Donald Trump's team through American businessmen. His efforts come amid discussions on ending Russias war in Ukraine and reestablishing economic ties between Washington and Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea were built to supply natural gas from Russia to Europe. The Nord Stream pipelines, fully owned by Russia, were co-financed by five European energy companies. In September 2022, three of the four Nord Stream pipelines were severely damaged in an apparent sabotage attack. Warnig and Nord Stream 2 AG were placed under U.S. sanctions in 2022 by the administration of then-President Joe Biden. Any deal to revive the project would require Washington to lift these sanctions and for Germany to approve the resumption of Russian gas flows to Europe, according to the FT. A U.S. official, speaking anonymously, expressed skepticism over the viability of such an agreement, warning that Berlins involvement in Nord Stream 2s renewal could "cause huge rifts" with the EU, which maintains sanctions against Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several European officials aware of the backchannel talks "are concerned and have discussed the matter," the FT added. Read also: Two years on, the Nord Stream explosion remains a mystery, deepening European divide Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Kremlin celebrated President Donald Trumps radical overhaul of U.S. foreign policy, stating that Americas view of global affairs now largely coincides with our vision. Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov responded enthusiastically in an interview that aired Sunday to Trump opening lines of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin and taking a stronger stance against Ukraine in discussions about how to end the war. This was truly impossible to imagine, Peskov said, noting that the United States under Trump sided with Russia last week on two votes at the United Nations, downplaying its responsibility for invading Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new administration is rapidly changing [Americas] foreign policy configurations, Peskov added. This largely coincides with our vision. He noted that the two sides are attempting to re-establish all relations, though he said there is a long way to go, because enormous damage has been done to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leadersPresident Putin and President Trumpis maintained, then this path can be done quite quickly and successfully," Peskov said. It comes just two days after Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in full view of the nations press, trashing him as disrespectful and ungrateful for not sufficiently praising America for supporting his war-torn country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky had resisted Trumps demands that he do more to achieve a ceasefire agreement with Putin, who in 2022 ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in violation of international law. Russia under Putin has a long and sordid history of violating ceasefires and other agreements. Trump has, in recent weeks, has spouted a series of Kremlin-aligned lies about Zelensky, calling the democratically elected leader a dictator and falsely claiming the Ukrainian leader had a four percent approval rating. (Trump later backtracked on his dictator remark.) After Trump and Vance dressed down their visitor on Friday, talks with Ukraine about a potential economic partnership collapsed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky asked for security guarantees in exchange for sharing revenues from his countrys national resources, while the Trump administration suggested the economic partnership implied a security guarantee because the country would have to back up its economic interests. When asked by a reporter on Sunday about the developments, While Trumps relations with Zelensky appear at a nadir, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that his country has agreed to work with France and Ukraine on a ceasefire plan to present to the Trump administration. Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States, he told the BBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer, who is hosting a summit of European leaders, rejected calls by the opposition Scottish National Party to cancel a state visit by Trump. Im not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake herewere talking about peace in Europe," he said. Trump is only effective until effects are felt Flushing: To Voicer Dave Kalin: President Trump is effective at what? Making sensible, civic-minded people lose their minds? At allowing predators like noted (alleged) ketamine enthusiast and richest man in the world Elon Musk into the proverbial henhouse to find fraud and waste as head of DOGE? By which I mean admitting his team into the data systems of the Federal Treasury, Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, etc. Doesnt Musk have hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts with the government? How is that not a conflict of interest? You approve of Musk and his merry band of teenaged incel tech nerds rooting through our personal information in those computer databases? Letting kids barely out of high school fire thousands of civil servants? Well, at least theyre trying to rehire the people responsible for the security of the governments nuclear stockpile and such. Except Musks team apparently deleted the contact information for these workers, too. Oopsie. By the way, White House claims of Musk finding fraud and waste are entirely without evidence, which doesnt bother the good folks at Fox News, where Trumps achievements are being lauded by sycophants like Sean Hannity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has been effective at collecting his tribute, though. Its like the reception of a Mafia wedding all the supplicants lining up to give their envelopes of cash. Except these are all billionaires seeking the presidents favor. As one does in a democracy. Its only been a couple of weeks; reality will be setting in soon enough. Clyde Kerlew White-collar welfare Middle Village: Regarding the job justifications imposed by Musk, when corporate America runs (make that races) to our government with their tin cups looking for a handout or subsidy, will their upper management be asked to justify their jobs? John Puglisi Cap-and-divest Massapequa, L.I.: On the news was Trumps first cabinet meeting with all his picks sitting around a table, along with Trumps idol, the muskrat. Musk was neither elected nor confirmed by the Senate, but there he was squirming his way into the meeting. Musk may be the worlds richest man, but he should have spent a couple o bucks on an etiquette class. Normally when a gentleman walks into a public building, he removes his hat but not the muskrat, standing there wearing a black MAGA hat. Maybe he is bald like Trump, who could teach him to grow his hair and comb it over. They could look like twins. Ron Boehning Part-timer Brooklyn: Voicer John Dent asked if being semi-fired is like being semi-pregnant. Id say its more like Trump being semi-president. Ilsa Ruthen Give reasons to give Manhattan: Americans have always been generous when giving to charities. We all know these charities are meant to help people of lesser means and also to help the environment, education, cultural institutions and research, etc. It seems that politicians are cutting back on the role our government plays in this helping hand. For now, it is up to the individual taxpayer to fill the gap. To help them do this, I suggest we raise or eliminate the SALT deduction $10,000 limit. This will allow more taxpayers to itemize their deductions and encourage more gifts to charity. It would also be a good idea to extend the time limits for charitable deduction for 2024 into the early months of 2025 so that as we do our taxes, we can take advantage of the itemized deductions for charity for 2024. Lets make it easier to give more generously. Mary Smoke Egg-sistential dread Kings Park, L.I.: So, the most powerful man in the world can fire thousands of hard-working Americans at will but cant bring down the price of ordinary eggs. D.T., take note: Once your MAGA supporters come to the realization that they were conned and lied to and the only person who you care about is yourself, as the rest of us already knew, it will not be pleasant. Looks like the chickens are coming home to roost. John Karahalis Man of ideas Astoria: Trump is being castigated for two supposedly outrageous proposals: developing Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East and charging $5 million for paths to U.S. citizenship for the wealthy. The usual suspects whining dont see these ideas for what they are: thinking outside the box. Gaza is a bombed-out war zone. Conventional ideas have clearly never worked, but its also prime real estate, so why not? For decades, hordes of low-skilled illegal aliens have been streaming over the border costing taxpayers billions, so why not the inverse? A multimillion-dollar cover charge for people who will bring the rest of their fortunes into our economy, and many will start businesses employing Americans. Win-win. Bradley Morris Juries of his peers Philadelphia: Voicer Josh Greenbergers accusing the left of gross dishonesty while lauding Trump as one of the most honest and dignified human beings to occupy the White House is the most hysterically funny right-wing projection I have read in a long time. Josh asks what kind of degenerates did the convicting of convicted felon Trump? Ill tell you, Josh. Trump was indicted by a grand jury of 23 average Americans and unanimously convicted by another 12 members of a trial jury composed of average Americans. So stop trying to promote the ludicrous idea that the American justice system of trial by a jury of peers is comparable to the Russian justice system of trial by one judge and juror, Vladimir Putin. As far as Trumps honesty and dignity go, the number of certifiable, documented lies told by Trump during his first administration exceeded 30,000, an average of 21 lies a day. Duane Doberman Showing some spine Brooklyn: Three cheers for Gov. Hochul for standing up to Trump and defending what is best for New York (Hochul wont give in to fed push to kill tolls, Feb. 27). Not only was the governor decisive in defending the program, but she showed a clear understanding of what ordinary New Yorkers struggle with when our transit system fails. May she be this courageous in Albany. Theres an array of excellent bills that need her support, like the NY HEAT Act, that will build the clean energy infrastructure New York needs statewide. And theres the added bonus of showing Washington what good government can accomplish. Get it done for us, governor! Sara Gronim Self-determined Margate, Fla.: Voicer Michele P. Brown ignores the fact that the Arabs (they didnt call themselves Palestinian until 1964) rejected an independent state in 1937, 1947, 1948, 1967, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2019 and 2020. The only obstruction to Palestinian self-determination for nearly a century is Arab rejectionism. Richard Sherman Educational disorder West Barnstable, Mass.: The brazen seizure of Barnard Colleges Milbank Hall by dozens of masked pro-Hamas agitators is a grotesque assault on civilized discourse and a chilling threat to Jewish students. These radicals, cloaking their thuggery in the garb of activism, have crossed a Rubicon, disrupting academia with drumbeats of hate and flyers glorifying violence against Israel. Their demands to reinstate expelled peers and dismantle disciplinary norms reveal a deeper rot: a rejection of accountability masquerading as moral superiority. This isnt protest, its anarchy. A conservative lens sees through the veneer where liberals might dither over free expression, we recognize a clear line: When speech becomes a battering ram against reason and safety, it forfeits legitimacy. Israel, a democratic ally besieged by terror, deserves unwavering support, not campus vilification. Barnard must act decisively: Permanently expel and arrest every occupier. Anything less emboldens this mob, imperiling education and emboldening Jew-hatred. Ronald Beaty Data-driven Hamden, Conn.: The street gang database is an essential intelligence tool used by police departments everywhere that street gangs are active (Gang database battle, Feb. 25). Information in the database aids in ongoing investigations. The public advocate and City Council are entirely wrong in their push to stop the NYPD from using and even having it exist. Their excuse to get rid of it defies rational explanation, except that they are pro-crime. Chris Lyons Lost a legend Hallandale Beach, Fla.: Truly saddened to hear about the passing of Gene Hackman, one of my all-time favorite actors an absolute legend, a versatile entertainer. Hollywood has lost one of its greatest, but his performances will live on forever. Rest in peace, Gene. Youll be deeply missed. Paul Bacon Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? has stated that Serbia will withstand and defeat external forces attempting to undermine the country, Azernews reports. Speaking in Krepolyna, he emphasized that various groups have united against Serbia, causing economic damage through months of protests and blockades. "We will overcome this, we will raise Serbia to its feet. I believe that Serbia will be among the top three countries in Europe in terms of growth rates this year. We need a healthy, dynamically working, and forward-looking Serbia," Vu?i? declared. His remarks come as thousands of people, led by students, continue protests in Nis, the countrys third-largest city. The demonstrations reflect rising tensions amid political and economic uncertainties. On a recent Thursday afternoon, around five or six young people were busily preparing for an evening event at a street-side restaurant in Hangzhou, capital of China's eastern Zhejiang province, celebrating the major renovation of the steamed bun eatery that had opened eight months earlier. The Ummy Mummy bun restaurant stands out from traditional establishments with its beer bar at the entrance and buns with unique fillings, such as pig intestines. But it was the founders - four former colleagues laid off by Alibaba Group Holding - who propelled its rise to prominence on Chinese social media. While lay-offs are common in big tech companies during business adjustments, few opt to leave the industry entirely to open a restaurant. The founders, who were all terminated around the same time last year after spending at least five years at Alibaba, wanted to embark on a new chapter in their 30s, according to co-founder and store manager Xie Chenxi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "The attention we've received is encouraging," Xie said in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba. "Many view being laid off as a setback, but we've shown that there are many possibilities beyond working hard at large companies." Xie Chenxi, partner and and store manager of Ummy Mummy. Photo: Handout alt=Xie Chenxi, partner and and store manager of Ummy Mummy. Photo: Handout> Their story exemplifies how some employees at major Chinese tech firms are choosing to break free from the cycle of neijuan, or "involution", which refers to the kind of cutthroat competition that is common in China and often results in diminishing returns and stagnation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This phenomenon affects both individuals and companies across various sectors, prompting Beijing to take measures last year to reduce unhealthy competition, particularly in the e-commerce industry. However, a career shift can come with financial sacrifices. All four partners at the bun restaurant held P7 positions at Alibaba, which typically offer annual salaries nearing, and sometimes exceeding 1 million yuan (US$137,000) - a milestone for many young professionals in the industry. China's annual per capita disposable income last year was 41,314 yuan, according to official data. The 120-square-metre (1,300 sq ft) restaurant, a 15-minute drive from the Alibaba headquarters, is still striving for profitability. But Xie is optimistic, noting that they sell hundreds of buns daily and are exploring new revenue sources through live-streaming. Alibaba has slashed its payroll size as part of a major business restructuring. Photo: AFP alt=Alibaba has slashed its payroll size as part of a major business restructuring. Photo: AFP> Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since announcing a major business restructuring in 2023, Alibaba has been trimming noncore assets to refocus on e-commerce and cloud computing in a bid to regain its share in a highly competitive domestic market. The company has significantly cut its payroll size, with employee count falling by 24,940 last year, averaging 68 departures daily. Globally, the tech industry has also seen waves of lay-offs amid economic downturns and geopolitical tensions. In 2024, 550 tech companies laid off at total of 152,472 workers, according to data from online tracker Layoffs.fyi. Xie was among those laid off last April. When she learned that her department, part of Alibaba's local services group, would be undergoing adjustments and cutting staff, she was not surprised. "The wave of job cuts had been ongoing for quite a while last year - sometimes entire departments vanished," Xie recalled, adding that she was "mentally prepared" for the change. The decision to open a bun restaurant, rather than a coffee shop or any other business, stemmed from the founders' experiences at Alibaba. During their time there, they often found themselves too busy to have a proper meal, making buns a convenient lunch or dinner option. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's simple yet satisfying - you can enjoy staple food, meat, and vegetables all in one bite. It's a versatile dish," Xie explained, highlighting the variety of fillings available. Ummy Mummy is established by four former Alibaba employees. Photo: Handout alt=Ummy Mummy is established by four former Alibaba employees. Photo: Handout> They envision their restaurant as more than just a place to eat buns; they hope it serves as an emotional refuge and a source of inspiration for others facing career challenges. A programmer, who worked till late one evening and found that the restaurant was still open, said on social media that he felt "healed" by the venue's ambience. An e-commerce live-streamer overcame her work anxiety after taking part in the restaurant's activities, according to Xie, who said she welcomed anyone looking to explore new opportunities or re-evaluate their careers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In early January, the founders were invited back to the Alibaba campus to run a pop-up stall. Many Alibaba employees, including Xie's former colleagues, showed their support by queuing up to buy buns. Reflecting on her time at Alibaba, Xie acknowledged its lasting impact on her journey. "The mindset of constant innovation in the internet industry remains with us; it's something we apply to our store," she said. "After all, those of us from this industry are resilient." This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Two hours before the fireworks in the Oval Office between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump Friday, I met with a delegation of Ukrainian church leaders from Kyiv. Their visit had been long planned, and it only happened to coincide with the high-stakes presidential meeting. The pastors goal was simple but urgent: to thank the United States and encourage continued American support for their beleaguered nation. Our discussion was a somber one, held in a beautiful space across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. With my past diplomatic work focused on international religious freedom, I welcomed the opportunity to learn about conditions on the ground. The pastors shared firsthand accounts of Russias indiscriminate killing, religious persecution, and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Ukraine, facing an existential threat from its much larger neighbor, needs the world to understand what is truly at stake. And especially Americans of faith. Three years ago, Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine, triggering a humanitarian catastrophe. Russian President Vladimir Putin invoked religion as part of his justification, believing that their shared Orthodox Christian history lent credibility to his imperial ambitions. But Ukrainians begged to differ. Their courage, combined with U.S. and European support, has thus far prevented Putin from erasing Ukraine from the map. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine, in many ways, is a religious success story compared to its Russian neighbor. No country is perfect, and antisemitism and Islamophobia exist, as they do in many parts of the world. Many were concerned, including myself, about a religion law passed last fall banning the Russian Orthodox Church and organizations tied with nations at war with Ukraine. The law laid out a process for review, which has not resulted in widespread Russian Orthodox church closures as some feared. Different expressions of Orthodoxy coexist peacefully. Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church, and Judaism have all found a place in Ukraines social fabric. Islam is practiced freely. The parliament just established a national day of prayer. Compared to the former Soviet Union, Ukraine stands out as a model of religious pluralism.The Ukrainian government has protected space where faith can be freely expressed without fear of repression. Ukraine looks more like the United States in its approach to religious freedom than it does Russia. In comparison, Russia remains lightyears behind, both with how it treats religious freedom domestically and in occupied Ukrainian territory. Russias abysmal domestic record on religious freedom demonstrates what is at stake should Putin prevail in Ukraine. In a rare area of agreement between the first Trump administration and Biden administration, both have designated Russia as a religious persecutor in every year since 2020. Others agree. The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a coalition of countries committed to religious freedom launched during the first Trump administration, issued a statement on the anniversary of the invasion outlining many of Russias transgressions in the occupied territories and targeting within Ukraine. As one Ukrainian monitoring group reported, Over 630 places of worship, including churches, mosques, synagogues, and houses of prayer, have been destroyed or damaged by Russian shelling. UNESCO, the United Nations agency tasked with preserving cultural and religious heritage, has also verified damage to 149 religious sites due to Russian attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ukrainian delegation carried three key messages for Americas faithful. First, they wanted to dispel Russian misinformation: Ukrainians enjoy full religious freedom. Second, they sought to correct the misplaced concerns about persecution by the Ukrainian government; the real persecution is happening in Russian-occupied territories. Finally, and most desperately, they begged for help in recovering the 20,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. One evangelical leader put it bluntly: This war is not about land, which Russia has plenty of. This war is about identity. Russia wants to erase Ukrainian identity from existence. It is an existential struggle. Several pastors drew an alarming comparison to ISIS. Like ISIS, Russia has kidnapped children, brainwashed them, and forced them to fight against their own people. Like ISIS, Russia has developed religious justifications for genocide. One pastor compared Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church calling for a holy war like ISIS calling for jihad. Kirill has provided religious justification for Russias war crimes, using faith as a weapon to subjugate and destroy. A Baptist leader explained that while the West views the war through a logical lens, Putin sees it through an ideologicaleven spiritualframework. In other words, the United States is trying to discern Putins motivations based on logic and reason. However, they explained, Putin believes in the doctrine of Russkiy Mir (Russian World). Putin wants to revive the old Russian Empire, with the state and the Russian Orthodox Church working in tandem to oppress all other religious expressions. Nowhere is this clearer than in occupied eastern Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pastors shared how, in occupied Ukraine, religious leaders who refuse to bend to Russia face a grim fate. Many pastors have been taken to the basementa chilling euphemism for torture and likely death. The delegation knew of at least 36 ministers from different denominations who had disappeared this way. Now, after Fridays disastrous Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and Trump, whats next? Ukraine is not asking for American soldiers. It is not asking for America to fight its war. It simply asks for continued support in its struggle for survival. It hopes for a partnership to develop Ukraines natural resources and a stronger balance of support among the U.S. and European allies. If negotiations with Russia do not include the return of occupied territories, the pastors implored that the United States insist on religious freedom in occupied areas and the return of the kidnapped children. The Trump administration maintaining Russia as a country of particular concern for severe religious freedom violations is also crucial. As one Baptist leader put it Friday, The United States has been blessed by God to be a light to the world. By helping Ukraine, you are being the United States. We are praying for a coalition of good to stand against the coalition of evilRussia, China, Iran, and others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraines fight is an existential battle, but most Americans do not realize it. Ukraine is fighting for its survival, but also for the very values that America holds dearfreedom, democracy, and faith. If the world fails Ukraine now, it will not be long before Putin and his allies set their sights on other targets. When asked about trusting Putin, the pastors I met with were unequivocal. All of history speaks against that stupidity, one said. They urged America to not rely on promises from Putin. For the Ukrainian delegation, the message was clear. This is not just a war of weapons. It is a war of survival, a war of identities, and a war for the soul of a nation. Millions of Ukrainians are praying for U.S. support. America, they implored, must not turn away. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. The Eagle S oil tanker, which is thought to be part of Russia's "shadow fleet," was allowed to leave Finland's waters after it was detained on suspicion of sabotaging undersea Baltic cables, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported on March 2. Finnish authorities announced that there were "no longer grounds" to continue detaining the Russian-linked vessel Eagle S, though their criminal investigation remains ongoing. Three of the eight suspected individuals from the ship's crew have been barred from leaving Finland as authorities continue to probe the incident. In January, the Swedish Navy found an anchor at the site of the sabotaged cables in the Baltic Sea. Finnish authorities suspect the Eagle S intentionally dragged its anchor along dozens of kilometers of the Baltic seabed, according to AFP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vessel is believed to be part of Russias so-called "shadow fleet," a network of ships that Moscow allegedly uses to circumvent Western sanctions and continue exporting oil and gas. These vessels operate under opaque ownership structures, making them difficult to track and raising significant security and environmental concerns. In mid-January, senior officials from three nations said that recent damage to undersea cables was likely the result of accidents rather than deliberate sabotage by Russia. However, some analysts and officials believe the damage is potentially linked to Russias broader hybrid warfare strategya blend of cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and covert operations to stir discord in the West. Read also: Russias growing shadow fleet sends a dangerous signal, expert warns Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WASHINGTON (AP) Every time a baby is born in Louisiana, where Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson handily won reelection last year, theres more than a 60% chance taxpayers will finance the birth through Medicaid. In Republican Rep. David Valadao s central California district, 6 out of 10 people use Medicaid to pay for doctor visits and emergency room trips. And one-third of the population is covered by Medicaid in GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski's Alaska, one of the nations costliest corners for health care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each of these Republicans and some of their conservative colleagues lined up last week to defend Medicaid, in a departure from long-held GOP policies. Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. But as a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown nears, hesitation is surfacing among Washington's Republican lawmakers once reliable critics of lofty government social welfare programs such as Medicaid who say that deep cuts to the health care program could prove too untenable for people back home. I've heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid, Valadao said on the House floor. And I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind. And on Wednesday, President Donald Trump, too, made his position on Medicaid clear: Were not going to touch it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States and the federal government jointly pay for Medicaid, which offers nearly-free health care coverage for roughly 80 million poor and disabled Americans, including millions of children. It cost $880 billion to operate in 2023. Johnson has ruled out two of the biggest potential cuts: paying fixed, shrunken rates to states for care and changing the calculation for the share of federal dollars that each state receives for Medicaid. Just a few years ago, Johnson spearheaded a report that lobbied for some of those changes during the first Trump administration. Johnson insisted in a CNN interview that the focus will instead be ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse" in Medicaid, although it's unlikely to deliver the savings Republicans seek. GOP pressure over Medicaid is mounting, with some state party leaders joining the calls to preserve the program. States are already struggling with the growing cost of sicker patients and could be left to cover more if the federal government pulls back. In some states, the federal government picks up over 80%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than a dozen Minnesota GOP lawmakers wrote the president recently warning that too deep of a cut is unmanageable in any instance. Gov. Joe Lombardo, R-Nev., told Congress in a letter that proposed reductions would put lives at risk." In Alaska, state Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, a Republican and nurse, cited huge concerns during a floor speech. Nationally, 55% of Americans said the government spends too little on Medicaid, according to a January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Its now a very popular program that touches a very broad cross-section of American society, said Drew Altman, president of the health care research firm KFF. Roughly half of the American people say that they or a family member have at one time been served by the program. Significant changes to Medicaid are still on the table. They have to be for Republicans get the savings they need to pay for tax cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Work requirements, which could save as much as $109 billion over the next decade, seem to have solid support among GOP members, with some individual Republican-led states already moving to implement them. Republicans also could consider cuts in benefits or coverage, as well as eliminating a provider tax that states use to finance Medicaid, Altman added. Democrats warn that reductions are inevitable and could be dire. Starting Monday, TV ads will caution people across 20 congressional districts that hospitals are at risk of closing and millions of people could lose coverage if Republicans cut Medicaid "to fund massive tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires. The Democratic super political action committee House Majority Forward has launched the seven-figure campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and Republicans have for years called for lowering government spending on health care, but they have struggled to formulate a serious plan that gains traction. Trump, for example, has spent nearly a decade arguing for an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. His efforts to repeal the Obama-era national health care law failed during his first term, and in his most recent presidential campaign he offered only concepts of a plan to adapt the program. Michael Cannon, a director of health studies at libertarian Cato Institute, believes Medicaid needs an overhaul because it is a significant part of the federal budget and a contributor to the nation's growing debt. But Republicans, he said, are not looking at serious ways to drive down the cost of health care. The only reason for the cuts right now is to pay for the tax cuts, Cannon said. None of them are talking about the need to do better health reform. ___ Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Recent research has revealed that mosquitoes may be able to transmit diseases across long distances by traveling via high-altitude strong winds, expanding their harmful impact on human health. What's happening? A team of scientists conducted a study on the high-altitude movement of mosquito-borne pathogens. Science magazine reported on the findings, which support suspicions that mosquitoes can spread diseases farther than they otherwise would thanks to high-altitude movement. According to the report, mosquitoes typically stay close to the ground. They move at about the same pace as a human walking. Most travel no more than around three miles in their lifetimes. But some will soar between approximately 131 and 951 feet above ground. When this happens, they catch a high-altitude jet stream and can ride this powerful wind for 100 miles or more in one night. These trips appear to be purposeful, according to study author Tovi Lehmann, a mosquito ecologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Mosquitoes likely use the high-altitude winds to find resources elsewhere. And they can bring dangerous pathogens with them. Why is this mosquito movement important? The scientists captured over 1,000 mosquitoes moving at high altitudes over Mali and Ghana. They found mosquitoes carrying viruses like dengue, West Nile, M'poko, and avian malaria, per Science. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We cannot dismiss this movement of pathogens at altitude," Lehmann said. He continued, "The relevance to human health is high, as it is to animal health, both domestic and wild." Indeed, introducing such harmful pathogens to new locations could have catastrophic consequences, and Earth's rising temperature only makes it easier for these vector-borne illnesses to spread, as a warmer climate allows mosquitoes to expand their ranges and supports their reproduction. Moreover, changes in climate may be impacting the high-altitude jet stream. A 2023 study suggested that the jet stream will move faster as the world warms. Per the National Center for Atmospheric Research, analysis suggests it will accelerate by 2% for every 1.8 degree Fahrenheit of temperature rise. This means mosquitoes could travel farther and faster than ever before. What's being done about mosquitoes carrying pathogens long distances? Thankfully, scientists believe these movements may not massively impact the spread of diseases because traveling these enormous distances could weaken the mosquitoes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heather Ferguson, an infectious disease ecologist at the University of Glasgow, told Science, "We don't know if [they] would survive these long movements and be sufficiently fit to find and bite a host at the end of their journey." After further investigation, these findings may ultimately influence future insect control methods in development, which include releasing genetically modified mosquitoes to control disease spread in some African countries, according to the report. For now, insect repellents and wearing long pants and sleeves are some ways to keep yourself safe from potential mosquito-borne diseases. In the long term, reducing pollution associated with warming global temperatures can bring the planet back into balance and make things less favorable for mosquitoes. Upgrading to energy-efficient appliances and technologies, like LED light bulbs, are simple actions to help. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. As the climate warms, melting snow and ice are revealing how Earth looked and what went on in the not-too-distant past. A group of scientists made one such discovery that dates to nearly 6,000 years ago. What's happening? Researchers from Montana State University, the U.S. Geological Survey, and other institutions found about 30 trees 180 meters above the current treeline in Wyoming's Rocky Mountains, CBC Radio reported. The whitebark pines were discovered on the Beartooth Plateau, and the findings were detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "We were really surprised to find a forest was emerging from the margins of the ice. It was amazing," Cathy Whitlock told As It Happens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dating methods showed the "tall-standing" trees, about 10 inches around, were 5,440-5,950 years old. They were killed by a growing ice patch as the climate cooled. "As a scientist, I'm thrilled because it's a window on the past. It tells us what this high-elevation environment was like 6,000 years ago," Whitlock told the CBC. "... But as a person who worries about the future and climate change and what these alpine areas will look like for my grandchildren, it makes me really sad. These ice patches are melting, and they probably won't be there in a few more decades." Why is this important? The concern is that such processes, which have taken thousands of years, are only taking decades today. Whitlock said the environment is already warmer now than it was when the trees began to grow. The rising global temperature driven by humans' burning of dirty fuels for energy is melting ice, expanding seas, and causing increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather. Whitlock said the high elevation of the area makes it susceptible to the effects of the changing climate. It won't take much warming to turn tundra into forest, and the treeline far below will likely creep past where these ancient trees once stood if fire or drought don't intervene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There will be less snow, snowpack will melt, and a valuable source of water will be gone, as the Rockies are home to important headwaters. This is already happening, and if it continues, it will only make the West drier than it already is. What's being done about the changing climate? The toxic, polluting gases that are a byproduct of dirty energy envelop Earth like a blanket, trapping heat and harming our health directly via asthma, heart problems, cancer and more as well as indirectly by heatstroke, kidney injuries, death, and more. This kind of research shows what can change if the climate gets cooler or warmer. To create a healthier, safer future, we can invest in clean energy projects such as solar panels or community solar, make ecosystems more resilient by replacing grass with natural ground cover, and divest from single-use plastics. If none of these things are up your alley, check out TCD's guide to a cooler future, which provides countless options. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. A new data analysis found that India has successfully doubled its tiger population in just a decade. And experts say the endangered big cats have ongoing conservation efforts to thank for the resurgence. According to a study recently published in Science, the number of tigers in India grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022. There are currently an estimated 5,557 tigers in the wild, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population, according to the Associated Press. According to the World Wildlife Fund, tiger populations globally were devastated by decades of poaching and human conflict. According to the WWF, more than 3,500 tigers were seized from traffickers in over 50 countries between 2000 and 2020 almost equaling the entire population of wild tigers in India. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tigers have also been historically threatened by habitat loss both with human and environmental causes and lack of prey, conditions only exacerbated by planetary warming. WWF reports that tigers are often found in India's mangroves, regions especially susceptible to storm surges and wind damage. Rising sea levels caused by climate shifts threaten to wipe out these habitats, which could displace tigers and their prey if not mitigated. Tigers in India are spread across more than 53,000 square miles, which AP noted is roughly the size of New York state. A larger portion of that area a full 45% is shared with roughly 60 million people, making improving tiger-human relationships key to conservation. While human conflict has historically decimated tiger populations in the region, the study found that some local communities near current tiger habitats have actually benefited from the increasing tiger population due to tourism traffic and revenues. "The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations," Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at the Indian National Academy of Sciences and the study's lead author, told AP. "What the research shows is that it's not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet, wildlife experts and ecologists are cautious to celebrate the findings prematurely. According to AP, experts want the study's source materials made available to the wider scientific community for further study and verification. Some experts also point out that some of the estimates in the study are "significantly higher" than previous tiger population estimates using the same datasets. But one thing is certain: More work needs to be done to support and further increase the number of tigers in India. According to the study, only 25% of the area occupied by tigers is considered prey-rich and protected. The study's authors especially call for more wildlife protection laws in the region, calling this legislation the "backbone" of tiger conservation. How often do you worry about toxic chemicals getting into your home? Always Often Sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Habitat is not a constraint," Jhala told AP, explaining there is plenty of space for tigers to roam in India when left be by humans. "It's the quality of the habitat which is a constraint." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. (FOX40.COM) Sacramento Metro Fire and Folsom Fire responded to a residential structure fire on Sunday morning in Sacramento County. According to fire crews, the incident happened at midnight on the 9200 block of Madison Avenue in Orangevale. Two victims hospitalized after shooting in Sacramento When firefighters arrived at the scene, they saw a two-story home with moderate smoke coming from the second story, officials said. Firefighters worked to contain the fire and no injuries have been reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said that four occupants had to be displaced from their homes. A working smoke detector is what alerted the resident who called 911. Sacramento Metro Fire said, A reminder to our community to check your smoke detector and change the batteries twice a year. Remember, working smoke detectors can save lives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. Michael Schutz was sitting on the curb in the parking lot of the Carolina Forest Recreational Center. He and his dog had just been evacuated Saturday from their home in Birnamwood Court after wildfires raged through the neighborhoods of Walkers Woods and Avalon in the Myrtle Beach area. Its kind of eerie, Schutz said as he looked at the smoke billowing in the sky. Michael Schutz evacuated his home and went to the Carolina Forest Recreational Center after wildfires raged through the neighborhoods of Walkers Woods and Avalon. Firefighters have been battling the fires in several areas of Horry County since Saturday afternoon. March 1, 2025 Police began knocking on homeowners doors Saturday afternoon, telling them they needed to evacuate as the fire spread to nearby homes and structures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schutz said he and his wife grabbed important papers, tax documents and then left. Whatever we got, its something, he said. Its nerve-wracking. Before leaving the home, Schutz turned on all the sprinklers in his yard and aimed one of them toward the roof to prevent embers from catching his home on fire. It is unclear how big the wildfires are. Firefighters with Horry County Fire Rescue, North Myrtle Beach and South Carolina Forestry Commission are battling fires in the area of Carolina Forest and Old Highway 90 and Edge Road. The fire near Lewis Bay Ocean Preserve has grown to more than 100 acres. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fires in the Walkers Woods area turned the evening sky a bright orange and smoke hung heavy in the air. A wildfire raged through the neighborhoods of Walkers Woods and Avalon. Firefighters have been battling the fires in several areas of Horry County since Saturday afternoon. Homeowners have been evacuated from their homes as fires threaten structures. Evacuees checked into the Carolina Forest Recreational Center where provisions were being made for them to stay. March 1, 2025 Horry County Police and Red Cross workers were at the recreation center setting up provisions for those checking in. The parking lot was full of evacuees, and more vehicles were entering the parking lot as night fell. Adrianna Seals, Horry County public information officer, said that logistics were being coordinated for those who might need to spend the night at the shelter. A burn ban has been in place in Horry County since Thursday as dry and windy conditions persist. David Torres said he, his wife and son, along with their two dogs, left their home in the Avalon neighborhood after police drove through telling people to leave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im a little worried if our homes are OK, Dawn Bell said about 6:30 p.m. She said police knocked on her door at The Cloisters in Carolina Forest, telling them to evacuate. She, along with other neighbors, had been at the recreation center for about three hours. Horry County Fire Rescue posted on its Facebook page that part of International Drive would be closed to traffic beginning at 7:20 p.m. Saturday as crews worked to contain the fire in the Carolina Forest area. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A new restaurant in Youngstown opened this weekend. Mommas Kitchen hosted its grand opening with a ribbon cutting Saturday afternoon. Owner Richard Armstrong says the restaurant is named after his grandmother with her on the logo and all her recipes. They have chicken and fish on the menu and theyre known for their BBQ fish. Last year, they started with their food truck Mommas Kitchen on Wheels and now have their own space on Hillman Way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Armstrong says that the community has shown support. The community actually been showing up and showing out for us. Honestly, they share it its word of mouth. Everybody loves it, Armstrong said. Armstrong says the restaurant at 3920 Hillman Way will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week and 12 to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. They will be closed on Sundays. They also plan to keep the food truck going once the weather warms up. Tino DiCenso contributed to this story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A retired Henderson police lieutenant will answer an arrest warrant in justice court Tuesday on allegations of child abuse, neglect or endangerment, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. A criminal complaint filed in court by the Clark County District Attorney on Feb. 12 against John V. Bozarth, also known as Jeb Bozarth, says on Jan. 5 the longtime Henderson police officer grabbed a young woman by the arm and/or neck, forcibly moving her and pinning her to the wall while holding her by the neck and/or yelling and/or screaming at her. The Affidavit for Warrant, also filed in court and sworn out by the Henderson Police Department, indicated the young woman had two small bruises on her chest. The affidavit went on to say the victim stated it felt like a psychotic break with the way he [Bozarth] was acting and behaving. Bozarth retired on Jan. 12, five days after the alleged incident, according to information provided by a city spokeswoman. The spokeswoman confirmed Bozarth was hired by the Henderson Police Department in August 2006, and that the city classifies his leaving the department as a regular retirement with the rank of lieutenant. The 8 News Now Investigators had asked, among other things, whether Bozarth filed for an early retirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An interview with Bozarths wife before she got an attorney and stopped talking with police, part of the 13-page Affidavit for Warrant, provides what may be some context about her husband, saying Bozarth would come home from work either angry or defeated due to stress of his retirement and issues with the current administration, according to the affidavit. The woman also told police that after Bozarths retirement, he and his family were planning a move to Texas, the affidavit says. Indeed, the administration of the Henderson Police Department is in a period of upheaval after its chief, Hollie Chadwick, was given an ultimatum last month: resign by March 6 or be fired. Fallout from Henderson police chiefs abrupt departure escalates as councilwoman, city provide differing responses Other details about the Jan. 5 incident include one person saying that all of the internal home security cameras at Bozarths home, controlled by Jeb on his phone, had been removed after the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bozarths attorney of record, Lance Maningo, filed a Motion to Quash the arrest warrant in which the attorneys ask the judge to allow Bozarth to come to court voluntarily on Tuesday and be released from police custody on his own recognizance. One of Bozarths other attorneys, Robert Langford, provided the following statement to the 8 News Now Investigators, in its entirety: This is a serious allegation, the timing of which is still being investigated. At this time we have no comment and are looking forward to presenting the rest of the story which will clear Mr. Bozarths name but will sadly not restore his reputation. I would ask that the public be patient because allegations are just opinions. Sometimes they are outrageously wrong. 8 News Now profiled Bozarth, who also owns a security consulting firm in Henderson, at a training exercise for first responders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paramedics step up training for active shooting situations Additionally, Bozarth was cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal 2009 police shooting of a man at the Sierra Campus of St. Rose Hospital in Henderson. At the time, 8 News Now reported that the victim, Charles Campbell, arrived at the hospital with a gun, telling people he wanted to donate his organs. Police said Campbell was threatening people and refusing to give up when Bozarth and another officer opened fire. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. DUNMORE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A man known for his decades as a lawyer, judge, and veterans advocate can now add something else to his resume. On Saturday, Retired Judge Tom Munley was honored as this years Ancient Order of Hibernians Paul Hook OMalley Division Four Man of the Year. Munley received a plaque and sash at the awards dinner held at La Buona Vita Banquet Hall in Dunmore. The Scranton native is a Vietnam Veteran and former teacher who is well known for helping others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Runners hit the pavement for Leprechaun Loop in Luzerne County I was very surprised. I didnt think Id get it, but I got it, and Im enjoying every second of it, Munley said. His whole life has been about service, and what he does for Vets to this day is really remarkable. So, hes my hero, hes Americas hero, and were all very proud of him today, said Lackawanna County Judge Mark Powell. Munley will appear with the ancient order of Hibernians in next weekends Scranton Saint Patricks Parade. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. ISLAMABAD (AP) A black bear called Rocky has been rescued from abuse in Pakistans east and relocated to the capital for medical treatment, a welfare organization said Sunday. The bear, who is 7, had been kept illegally in Punjab province and abused in 35 fights. Local authorities intervened to move him to a safer facility. But the facility could not give him the care he needed and officials relocated Rocky to Islamabad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A team from Four Paws traveled to Pakistan to help Rocky. Veterinarians operated on him Sunday. We were able to release and cut the chain and nose ring, said Dr Amir Khalil. His condition is physically good, but he suffered. He has a fracture in the jaw and has no teeth. We have several wounds on the ear because of the fights and biting by dogs. Khalil said bear fighting was cruel and illegal in Pakistan but it was still practiced in some parts of the country. Pakistan has a troubled history with animal welfare. Last December, an elephant died at a safari park less than two weeks after being reunited with her sister. It was the latest tragedy to affect elephants in captivity in Pakistan. In 2020, a pair of sick and badly neglected dancing Himalayan brown bears left a notorious zoo in Islamabad for a sanctuary in Jordan. On the Southwest Side of Chicago, a Catholic church service was being held in Kiche, a Mayan language, and Olga held her daughter, who is 2 years old and 9 months, as they prayed. Both wore a picturesque and handwoven traje, or a traditional outfit from the highlands of Coban, Alta Vera Paz in Central Guatemala. Her young daughter and her family in Guatemala, she said, are her inspiration to stay resilient amid the newfound turmoil that immigrants, particularly those who are in the U.S. without permanent legal status, face under the administration of President Donald Trump, she said. She finds community at the service every Sunday. We come here every Sunday since it started, Olga said in Spanish after the service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the service, the roughly 60 congregants prayed for Pope Francis health and for Trump, so that God can soften his heart towards us, the minister said in Kiche. For Olga and countless others like her, the journey to Chicago has not been an easy one. Indeed, there are now about 30,000 Guatemalans who are living in the Chicago area without permanent legal status, according to data from the Guatemalan General Consulate in Chicago, as unauthorized migration from the Central American country to the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade. Many of them are coming from a region that is among the poorest and most rural: the Western Highlands, according to the Migration Policy Institute. An estimated 1.3 million Guatemalans were U.S. residents in 2020, up 44% from 2013, with more than half of them living in the United States without legal status, according to its 2022 report. Many only speak their native language, few know Spanish and most dont know English. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Chicago, the resources available to Guatemalans have not kept pace with their population growth. Few organizations offer resources in Indigenous languages. More so, most Indigenous immigrants dont trust governmental agencies, leading them to hide or live fully under the radar, experts said. While the resiliency of the Indigenous population in Chicago is admirable, said Pablo Pineda, a leader of the Guatemalan community in Chicago and member of the Coalicion Coordinadora Guatemalteca del Medio Oeste, it is also worrisome. Most have learned to live under the radar, never asking for anything, only going to work and home. Few understand what to do in case of getting arrested by ICE, he said. They have learned to live only by counting on each other. What to know about ICE raids in Chicago and what your rights are Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, their struggle goes beyond settling in a foreign land. They face the threat of an even greater fear: the possibility of deportation. Unlike other Central American immigrants, most Guatemalan immigrants do not qualify for Temporary Protected Status or asylum. But despite the challenges, a vibrant yet often unseen community has begun to flourish even amid the recent, turbulent immigration policies. Their roots in the Chicago area have grown deeper each year, forming a cultural mosaic that blends ancient traditions with the grit and resilience of life in a sprawling city. After Chicago, Bensenville has the largest population of recently arrived Guatemalans. Though not all, most come from rural Mayan towns in Guatemala, sometimes paying up to $20,000 to cross the southern border. While migration has become an increasingly common pathway out of poverty, food insecurity, violence, corruption and discrimination, many Guatemalan immigrants in Chicago, in particular Indigenous ones, want to return home one day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But for now, they are trying to rise above the fear and anxiety by creating community with each other. Praying for mercy Before Trump took office, more than 100 people would attend the church service in Kiche at a Little Village church. Sometimes, there were so many people that people would have to stand outside, recalled the Rev. Jorge Pec, who arrived in Chicago from an Indigenous town in Guatemala about six years ago. Soon after news of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago spread, only about 30 people would attend the service every Sunday. But their faith in God keeps them strong, he said. For many immigrants, the church service is the only place they can connect to other immigrants. It is their way to cope with the fear and anxiety of ICE agents knocking on their door. We must pray for those who intend to harm us and wish them love, Pec said in Kiche during the service. All the while everyone else sang alabanzas like they once did in their hometowns before arriving in Chicago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before they found the space in the Catholic church in the Little Village neighborhood to host their service every Sunday, just about a year ago, a group of immigrants began by gathering at one of their apartments, said Antonio, who arrived in Chicago four years ago. He did not provide his last name fearing for his safety. He said they collected money to buy musical instruments, including an electronic keyboard piano, a guitar, drums and more. Initially, it was just friends and family gathering to sing and practice their faith in their native language at the small apartment, Antonio said. But eventually, the group began to grow slowly. Thats when Pedro Seb, a missionary from a Mayan town in Guatemala, suggested they rent a place to host the service. But even after collecting money among the group, they figured they wouldnt be able to afford to pay nearly $4,000 a month to rent a storefront, Seb recalled. But then Seb met Dolores Castaneda, a community leader in Little Village. She helped to connect the group to the Catholic church in which they host their service now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a blessing to have this space, we are sad when we cant be close to God, Seb said in Spanish. Most of those who have recently arrived are young men and women, Pec said. They come with hopes of sending back money to help their families buy land, a home or start a business. Some men migrate alone to send back money to their wives and children. At the church service, a group of young men walked in together. Other young couples and families, like Olgas, prayed together. We pray that we reach our goals here, save money and return safely one day, Pec added after a recent Sunday service. A migrants dream cut short: Womans killing in Chicago prompts Guatemalan community to band together, speak out on dangers of migrating north Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the most recent weeks some immigrants have returned to Guatemala voluntarily, afraid that they would be suddenly arrested, detained and deported without a chance to take their savings home, Pec said. In Chicago, there are very few resources available in Kiche or other Mayan languages, and few have attended Know Your Rights workshops. Still, theyre grateful for the local politicians that have advocated for their rights, he said. Pineda has lived in the city for 22 years. He said he has witnessed the way the community has grown significantly. His restaurant in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, Latin Patio, has turned into a hub for the Guatemalan community in Chicago: He hosts fundraisers for those in need and Know Your Rights workshops in Spanish with people that help to translate the information to Mayan languages. Many dont know Spanish and some dont even know how to read because they come from very rural towns where they have no access to education. Most learn Spanish on their way to the United States, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of the children born in the United States learn a mix of their parents Indigenous language and Spanish. Guatemalan American children speaking up for their parents When reports of ICEs presence in late January spread in a Bensenville apartment complex mostly occupied by Guatemalan immigrants, Rep. Norma Hernandez, U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez and Rosario Ovando, the new ambassador of the Guatemalan Consulate in Chicago, rushed to the area hoping to get information and help families of those who had been detained. But after hours of knocking on dozens of doors, few opened up, Ramirez said. Even after passing out flyers and letting them know that they were there to help, neither Ramirez nor Ovando have confirmed any arrests made in the premises. It is clear that those families are living in fear, Ramirez said. In the few instances that people opened the door, it was children who would come out. It was my opportunity for those little kids to see me and know that if the daughter of a woman who crossed that border is now on the other side protecting them, those little kids should know that I want them to have the same opportunity that I had, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramirez, who grew up in Chicago, said that the community in Bensenville is the fastest-growing Guatemalan community in the state. But she acknowledged the challenges they face and the limited resources available in the area. They come from extremely impoverished areas in Guatemala. Ive been to those regions, she said. They face language and health issues because some only speak their Indigenous language, she added. When school buses arrived to drop off children from school that afternoon in January, only a few parents walked to pick up their children and rushed back inside their home. Heidi Giron, 15, went to pick up her siblings instead of her mother, who was still avoiding going outside. The teenager had stayed home from school to stay with her parents, afraid that if she came home, her parents wouldnt be there anymore. We dont know how many people they took, but we saw ICE here, said Giron, as she showed a video of the agents on her phone. As soon as they saw the agents walking outside their apartment in the morning, the family turned off all the lights, locked the doors and went to hide in one of the rooms, she said. After a few hours, the adults sent Giron, who was born in the U.S., to check if the ICE agents had left the premises. I fear that some of the kids here are getting home now and their parents arent there, Giron said. Her mother, Alejandra Garcia, said she had been staying home from work because of the continuous reports of raids and ICE presence in the area. But I dont know how long we can continue doing that, Garcia said. As school buses continued to arrive so did Heidi Rivas, a teacher at a local school. They followed the buses to the apartment complex to make sure the children arrived safely and with their parents after hearing of the rumors earlier that day, Rivas said. We heard about everything that went down this morning so we were making sure that our students got home OK, Rivas said. They were also passing out red cards, which have information in Spanish about what to do in case theyre encountered by ICE agents. Hi, Ms. Rivas, a young boy yelled from afar. Did you get home OK? she yelled back. Yes! he said. Saludame a tu mama. Say hi to your mom, she responded as she hugged Giron. Other people only looked out their windows, still afraid to go outside. Mistrust The mistrust the community has in local leaders and politicians is rooted in the way they were treated in Guatemala, Ramirez said Pineda said: Some are not even willing to attend workshops. The Guatemalan Consulate in Chicago mostly shares resources on its social media sites and invites people to visit pages that offer information in their different languages. Ovando said she hopes to expand the services offered at the consulate to provide legal help. She said her office has not received an exact number of how many Guatemalan nationals have been arrested or deported over the last month since Trump took office. The hidden world of Chicago ICE arrests The consulate is here for you with the services that we can provide, with our allies in jails, with our mainland who is already forming a plan to make a safe return and to have the tools to assist in the sense that we can guide them to find a job to return to their communities to insert themselves back to society there, Ovando said. Ovando acknowledged that the community in the area has vastly grown and there are limitations. Yet, she said that it is important for everyone to have their documents in order to safely return and encourage Guatemalan immigrants with U.S.-born children to apply for Guatemalan citizenship. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) on Sunday called Russia an aggressor in the war in Ukraine and said someone must stand in the middle to find a middle ground in the conflict. Russia is the aggressor. Clearly, theyre the adversary in this particular case, but somebody has to stand in the middle and try to find a middle ground to get to a ceasefire to stop the killing, Rounds told NewsNations Chris Stirewalt on The Hill Sunday. I think thats where the president wants to be in this case. Roundss comments come after a tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vice President Vance on Friday, which featured shouting and finger-pointing as the president and Zelensky argued over U.S. support for Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the meeting, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Ukrainian president is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. Trump has been pushing for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, with U.S. and Russian officials meeting in Saudi Arabia last month. The meeting resulted in blowback from Democrats aimed at the White House, with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) calling it an utter embarrassment for America. The president of the United States is a coward who is Vladimir Putins puppet, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said in an interview in the wake of the meeting. The vice president of the United States is a pogue and a coward who is Donald Trumps puppet. And so what we just witnessed was a meeting in the Oval Office between two cowardly puppets and a hero. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his interview on The Hill Sunday, Rounds said that the only type of a lasting peace with Mr. Putin is one which is enforceable, adding he believed that got lost to Mr. Zelensky in the discussions, and I hope we get it all back on track again. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Royal Mails 3.6bn sale to the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is being held up by a political crisis in Romania caused by claims of Russian meddling. More than two months after the takeover was waved through by the British Government, Mr Kretinskys EP Group is still waiting for approval from officials in Romania. The delay has emerged in the wake of a cancelled presidential election in Romania last year, which has sparked political gridlock. Romanias top court intervened to scrap the countrys presidential election following claims of alleged Russian interference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has since led to criminal proceedings against Calin Georgescu, the far-Right, pro-Russian candidate who was the unexpected frontrunner in the cancelled election. His campaign has sparked accusation of meddling by Russian foreign intelligence. Mr Georgescu has heaped praise on Vladimir Putin, Russias president, and criticised Ukraine, although he has rejected claims of support from Moscow. Another presidential election has now been scheduled for May. Far-Right, pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu has heaped praise on Putin and criticised Ukraine - Vadim Ghirda/AP Mr Kretinsky is unable to proceed with his acquisition of Royal Mail until the regulatory bar is cleared in Romania because part of the business operates there. International Distribution Service, the holding company that owns Royal Mail which Mr Kretinsky is buying, also owns a parcel business, GLS, which operates across Europe and North America. Officials in the US and the rest of Europe have already cleared the deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is understood talks with Romanian officials remain ongoing, and sources said there is no danger of the deal falling apart. Investors are set to be updated shortly. The standstill risks Royal Mail losing further ground to rivals, such as the fast-growing parcel locker business InPost. Mr Kretinsky is planning to roll out 20,000 UK lockers once his takeover is completed. Polish-based InPost currently has 9,200 locker locations in Britain, although UK boss Neil Kuschel told The Telegraph last week that he was aiming to hit 25,000 in the coming years. Mr Kuschel said InPost, which is backed by private equity firm Advent, would continue to make inroads into Britain after unveiling a parcel delivery service last week starting at 1.99 undercutting Royal Mails lowest price of 3.25. Daniel Kretinsky is unable to proceed with his acquisition of Royal Mail until the regulatory bar is cleared in Romania - David W Cerny/Reuters He said: In Poland, which is our home market, we have got over 80pc of people within a seven-minute walk of a locker. Thats our North Star [here in the UK]. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to have well in excess of 25,000 lockers. UK ministers approved Royal Mails 3.6bn sale to Mr Kretinsky last year, clearing the way for the business to fall into foreign ownership for the first time since it was established by Henry VIII in 1516. As part of a range of concessions to complete the deal, the tycoon has vowed to maintain Saturday deliveries for first-class letters, protect the Royal Mail brand and keep the companys headquarters in the UK. The looming takeover will expand Mr Kretinskys empire across Europe. The businessman, who made his fortune in energy, owns a range of companies across Britain, France, Czechia, Poland and Romania. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Royal Mail declined to comment. EP Group, Mr Kretinskys company, declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Secretary of State Marco Rubio threw a tantrum in an interview with ABC News after This Week presenter George Stephanopoulos claimed the Trump administration had taken steps to placate Putin. Rubio was fuming as he dodged questions from Stephanopoulos and made an eyebrow-raising comparison between the war in Ukraine to conflicts in the Middle East. Throughout the Sunday segment, which lasted over ten minutes, Rubio insisted Trumps central mission was to open peace negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president is basically saying, theres this horrible war, Rubio said. Its been going on for three years. It is a bloody stalemate, a meat grinder-type war, and he wants it to end. How does it end? Its very simple. The only way it ends is if Vladimir Putin comes to a negotiating table. Right now, President Trump is the only person on earth who has any chance whatsoever of bringing him to a table to see what it is he would be willing to end the war, he added. But just moments later, Rubio admitted that the Trump administration had no idea what Putins demands were for a peace agreement to be made, despite several talks between American and Russian officials over the last month. This includes at least one conversation held on the phone between Trump and Putin as well as a long and intimate meeting between the Russian leader and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rubio also met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia. Maybetheir demands will be unreasonable, Rubio speculated. We dont know, but we have to bring him to the table. Rubio even suggested that peace may not be possible as he surprisingly claimed that Americans had not negotiated with Putin since before Russias full-scale invasion began in 2022, despite engagements in the last month. Ive said from the very beginning, maybe they dont want to deal either. We dont know, but we havent talked to them in three years, he said. The interview became more fiery after Stephanopoulos asked Rubio why Trump officials refused to call Putin a dictator when they had so readily made the same claim about Zelensky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve spent three years calling Vladimir Putin names. Thats not the point, he said. We all understand that Putin is not going to be an easy negotiator, he added. In this regard. We all get that, but we have to start the process to see if something is even possible. And I honestly am puzzled. I just dont understand! The secretary of state had lost his temper by the time he made a bold comparison between Trumps treatment of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine and former President Joe Bidens treatment of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Biden administration berated Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israelis put all kinds of conditions and pressure on them to try to get a cease fire. In this particular case, weve been nice by comparison, and all were trying to do here is figure out whether a peace is possible, he claimed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the interviews climax came when the ABC News presenter pointed to Senator Lisa Murkowskis comments slamming Trump. Even some of your Republican allies are puzzled by the steps that President Trump has taken to placate Vladimir Putin, Stephanopoulos began. Which steps has he taken? Rubio snapped back. Which ones? Are we arming the Russians? Another tense moment came when Stephanopoulos pointed out that America had voted with Russia and Belarus in a United Nations resolution that called for an end to the conflict and contained no criticism of Russia. The job of the UN is to bring about peace in the world. I thought thats what the UN was created to do, to stop wars and to prevent them, and thats what the resolution did. Was it antagonistic towards the Russians? Back to the point, but it also didnt praise the Russians, Rubio answered. He failed to mention that the U.S. also voted against a European-drafted resolution that condemned Russia as an aggressor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The final conflict between Rubio and Stephanopoulos came as the ABC News host asked what concessions America expected Russia to make during negotiations. Why would I say that on the news broadcast? Rubio cracked. Thats what negotiations are about. Thats the problem here. Again, this is not a messaging exercise, okay? This is can they get to a table? And then theres hard work to be done. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that he had not had any communication with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following Friday's explosive White House meeting that erupted into a shouting match, but that he hoped efforts to end the devastating war in the country could be "reset." "I haven't had any contact with him since Friday," Rubio said during an interview with ABC News' "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos, adding that he also hadn't spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha, since then. As he has consistently done in recent days, the secretary defended the actions of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance while chastising Zelenskyy, saying the Ukrainian leader's comments in the Oval Office ran counter to efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, which was sparked by a full-scale invasion by Russia more than three years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: UK and France to prepare Ukraine peace plan for Trump, Starmer says "We have to bring [Russia] to the table. You're not going to bring them to the table if you're calling them names, if you're being antagonistic. That's just the president's instincts from years and years and years of putting together deals," Rubio argued. PHOTO: Secretary of State Marco Rubio on This Week. (ABC News) Stephanopoulos asked why the president then felt it was appropriate to call Zelenskyy a dictator, as he has done multiple times in recent weeks. "Listen, we've spent three years calling Vladimir Putin names. That's not the point now. The point that we're at now is we're trying to get the man to a table," Rubio responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the president and the vice president did during their meeting with Zelenskyy, the secretary also took issue with the Ukrainian President questioning the administration's diplomatic approach -- even though Rubio himself has said it's still not clear if the Kremlin truly wants peace. "This was understood by the Ukrainians. It was explained to them repeatedly," Rubio said. "Everyone knows the history here, the back and forth. We understand that. We all understand that. But the question now is, can we get them to a table to negotiate? That's our goal. Don't do anything to disrupt that." But the secretary alleged that Zelenskyy "couldn't contain himself in that regard," and derailed peace talks during the meeting by trying to "Ukraine-splain on every issue." MORE: Klobuchar says she was 'appalled' by Trump and Zelenskyy shouting match Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I hope this could all be reset. I hope he comes to the realization that we're actually trying to help his country here before it suffers thousands of more casualties," Rubio said. "Why is any of this good for anybody? And the argument that we're going to just keep it going forever? That's absurd." Rubio also acknowledged that achieving a diplomatic resolution to the conflict wasn't a certainty. "We are trying to end a war. You cannot end a war unless both sides come to the table, starting with the Russians," Rubio said. "I'm not promising you it's possible. I'm not telling you it's 90% likely. I'm saying it's 0% likely if we don't get them to a negotiating table." During the interview, Rubio also pushed back on criticism from Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who wrote in a post on X that "I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What have we done to placate the Russians? The only thing we've done is say, "are you guys willing to talk about peace?'" Rubio said. Stephanopoulos raised the administration's controversial decision to side with Russia in the United Nations Security Council this week by putting forward a resolution on the war that doesn't explicitly blame Russian aggression inciting the war, which was ultimately adopted by the council, while refusing to back a European-drafted resolution that condemned Moscow. "It basically said this has been a horrible war. It's time for it to end," the secretary said of the U.S.'s resolution. "The sooner everyone grows up around here and figures out that this is a bad war that's heading in a bad direction, with death and destruction and all kinds of danger surrounding it that could spiral into a broader conflict -- the sooner people grow up and realize that -- I think the more progress we're going to be able to make," he continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As it has ramped up its efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the Trump administration has faced criticism for publicly saying Kyiv will ultimately have to cede territory to Moscow and throwing cold water on Ukraine's NATO ambitions while saying nothing about concessions Russia will need to make. Stephanopoulos asked Rubio about what the Kremlin would need to yield in order to end the war. "Well, why would I say that on a news broadcast? That's what negotiations are about," Rubio said. "This is not a messaging exercise, okay? This is 'can they get to a table?' And then there's hard work to be done." Rubio hopes for 'reset': 'You cannot end a war unless both sides come to the table' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Russia, China, and other foreign adversaries of the United States have recently instructed their intelligence services to step up efforts to recruit American officials who were recently dismissed or are at risk of being dismissed. Source: CNN, citing four sources and a related document on the matter, as reported by European Pravda Details: Intelligence reports indicate that foreign adversaries of the US are looking to exploit the Trump administration's plans for mass dismissals of federal employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two sources told CNN that, among other things, Russia and China are focusing their efforts on recently dismissed employees with security clearances and probationary staff who may have valuable information about critical US infrastructure. A document produced by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, reviewed by CNN, suggests that intelligence agencies with "high confidence" consider it likely that federal employees will be targeted for recruitment. The document also states that foreign intelligence operatives were instructed to search for potential sources on LinkedIn, TikTok, RedNote and Reddit. Current CIA employees have been discreetly discussing this risk and ways to mitigate it in recent weeks, current and former intelligence officials told CNN. Background: Republican senators recently voiced concerns to the White House chief of staff about the aggressive approach to freezing funding and dismissing federal employees. Five former US defence secretaries publicly condemned Trumps "reckless" dismissal of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other senior officers, urging Congress to block any approval of their successors. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! By Samia Nakhoul and Timour Azhari LATAKIA, Syria (Reuters) - For years, soldiers from Russia's Hmeimim Air Base in Syria roamed freely through coastal cities. War planes flew from the complex to bombard Islamist rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad's repressive regime. No longer. With Assad gone, at both Hmeimim and at Russia's Soviet-era Tartous Naval Base 60 km (37 miles) south, small groups of former rebels guard the entrances, their Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamist force now in control of the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The khaki-uniformed guards escort any Russian convoys that venture out, they told Reuters reporters visiting the area last week. "They have to notify us before they leave," one of the guards said, declining to speak on record. The future of the bases, which are integral to Russia's military reach in the Middle East and Africa, is in the hands of Syria's interim President Ahmed Sharaa. He wants to renegotiate the generous Assad-era 49-year lease for Tartous and an indefinite lease for Hmeimim to secure better terms, but doesn't appear to want Moscow shut out altogether. Instead, it appears the bases may stay in exchange for diplomatic backing and financial compensation from Russia, deeply involved in Syria's economy and defence for seven decades before it joined the civil war in 2015 and wrought devastation that helped keep Assad in power for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assad fell in December, fleeing to Russia through Hmeimim. The Islamist Syrian leadership - once the target of relentless Russian airstrikes - is now engaged with Moscow at the negotiating table. For this story, Reuters spoke to eight Syrian, Russian and diplomatic sources who gave previously unreported details from the first high-level meeting between Sharaa and an envoy sent by President Vladimir Putin, including demands related to billions of dollars of debt, the future of Assad, and the repatriation of Syrian money alleged to be in Russia. Like others in the story, the sources requested anonymity to speak about sensitive matters. Putting enmity aside has benefits for both parties. Despite the EU and the U.S. easing some sanctions on Syria, the remaining restrictions make it hard to do business with the war-shattered and impoverished country of 23 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A restoration of Russia's traditional supplies of weapons, fuel and wheat could be a life-line. As such, the country's leaders are willing "to make peace, even with their former enemies," one Damascus-based diplomat told Reuters. "Moscow still has something to offer for Syria," and is too powerful, too entrenched to ignore, said Anna Borshchevskaya at The Washington Institute. "Russia simply needs a government in Damascus that would ensure its interests, and it would be willing to make a deal with that government," she said. One U.N. aid source said that Russia has not exported grain to Syria under the new administration. U.S. President Donald Trump has said little about Syria since taking office, but he has sought to repair U.S. relations with Moscow. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said with Assad gone there was an opportunity for Syria "to no longer be dominated and destabilized by Iranian or Russian influence." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. ally Israel, however, wants Russia to stay as a bulwark against the Turkish influence, Reuters reported on Friday. At the January 29 meeting in Damascus, Sharaa sought the cancellation of loans contracted with Russia under Assad, two of the sources told Reuters. Syria, which was largely free of foreign debt before the war, currently has $20 billion-$23 billion in external obligations, Finance Minister Mohammad Abazid said last month, without specifying how much was owed to Russia. During the three-hour encounter with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Syrian officials raised another key issue, the return of Assad to Syria, but only in broad terms, suggesting it was not a major obstacle to rebuilding ties, one of the sources said. Russia will not agree to extradite Assad, and had not been asked to do so, a senior Russian source said. Sharaa also urged the repatriation of Syrian funds his government believes were deposited by Assad in Moscow, but the Russian delegation, led Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, denied such funds existed, according to a Syria-based diplomat familiar with the talks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sharaa's office and the White House's National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement issued after the meeting, Syria's government said Sharaa stressed that new relations need to address past mistakes and demanded compensation for the destruction Russia caused. The meeting went relatively smoothly, all the sources said. A phone call between Sharaa and Russian President Vladimir Putin two weeks ago was described as constructive by the Kremlin. Asked by Reuters on Tuesday whether talks between Moscow and Damascus on the fate of Russia's military bases were progressing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: We are continuing our contacts with the Syrian authorities." "So, well, let's just say that the working process is underway," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russias Foreign Ministry did not reply to a request for comment. Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said this month that things were looking good for Moscow. The new Syrian authorities do not see Russia as a hostile country. But Russia will have to do something favourable for the Syrian government in return for these bases, he wrote on Telegram. SYRIA'S DILEMMA In an interview with Saudi Al Arabiya News in late December, Sharaa acknowledged Syria's strategic interests with Russia, which supplied the country's now defunct army for generations and financed power plants and dams along with other key infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In turn, with American troops in Syria's northeast, Turkish forces in the north and Israeli troops newly in southern Syria, Russia is resolute in maintaining its only naval base in the Mediterranean. Doing so would help Moscow retain political leverage amid a diplomatic scramble for sway over Damascus after Assad's fall. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Monday. Their talks included Syria, a Turkish source said. Turkey's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Damascus wants compensation for wartime destruction. Rebuilding costs are projected at $400 billion, according to the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow is unlikely to accept responsibility but instead could offer humanitarian aid, said a source familiar with Russia's view on the matter, In December, Putin offered the bases as hubs to deliver humanitarian aid to the Syrian people and Russia's ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya said Russia's alliance with Syria was not connected to any regime. The U.N. aid source said they were unaware of any aid having been moved through the bases. The fate of Assad and associates who fled to Moscow is a delicate matter. Russia remains resistant to surrendering Assad, insisting on continuity in its alliances, the Russian and diplomatic sources said. "Russia does not simply give people up because the wind changes direction," the senior Russian source said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RUBBLE Syria's war, which erupted nearly 14 years ago with protests against Assad's autocratic rule, left hundreds of thousands of people dead, some 13 million displaced and swathes of the country in ruins. Driving from Damascus along the highway to the Russian bases, entire areas stand as grim reminders of Syrian and Russian airstrikes. Buildings are gutted or reduced to rubble. Across the street from Hmeimim Air Base, shopowners sat in empty food stalls, lamenting their dire conditions in the dilapidated town. In its markets, store signs are in Russian, but the soldiers no longer visit or linger in cafes, locals said. "Russian soldiers used to come here to buy beer, whiskey and other drinks, but that's stopped," said the owner of a sandwich shop opposite the base. "Now, they only leave in convoys to their naval base. They don't stop or venture out anymore." (Reporting by Samia Nakhoul and Timour Azhari in Damascus; Additional reporting by Andrew Osborn and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, Maya Gebeily in Damascus, Jon Spicer in Istanbul; Humeyra Pamuk and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel) Any settlement that ends Russia's war on Ukraine must consider the Western sanctions that have helped constrain Vladimir Putin's military, a former State Department official said. If sanctions are lifted without any major changes to Moscow's foreign policy, Russia could accelerate the resurgence of its military as the wartime economy isn't going away. The unprecedented sanctions regime that the West imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine hasn't stopped Vladimir Putin's war machine, but it still transformed his economy, according to a former State Department official. As global powers struggle to bring an end to the fighting, the future of those sanctions will be critical to the postwar landscape, said Philip Luck, who served as the State Department's deputy chief economist in the Biden administration and is now director of the CSIS Economics Program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is vital to recognize the profound impact of these sanctionsnot only as evidence of their effectiveness but also as a stark reminder that the Russian economy of three years ago no longer exists," he wrote Monday in a commentary for CSIS. "Any rapprochement with Russia that eases sanctions without addressing its new war-driven economic model would risk profound destabilization. While economic measures alone may not be enough to secure a just and lasting peace, such a peace cannot be achieved without them." After the Oval Office shouting match between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, hopes for a peace deal sank. The ruble tumbled after the blowup, denting a massive rally built on expectations that the new Trump administration and a more favorable stance toward Russia would hasten a settlement. That could potentially lift sanctions, clearing the way for renewed business ties, hard currency inflows, investment, and energy export revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia's economy is showing increasing strains from all the sanctions, which Luck said has deprived Russia of more than $500 billion that it could gone toward its war on Ukraine. "However, despite these profound impacts, three years have also provided Russia with the opportunity to adapt, building alternative financial networks and establishing deeper economic partnerships with nations willing to defy Coalition sanctions," he added. That's as the Kremlin has poured billions into the military while trade partners like China have scooped up its discounted energy exports and helped Moscow evade sanctions. Russia's resilience and wartime shift have also created constituencies with a vested interest in sustaining the new economy, Luck noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Even if hostilities were to cease immediately, Russias economic transformation is unlikely to be reversed," he pointed out. "The Kremlin has redirected vast industrial capacities toward defense production, fundamentally reshaping the economic landscape." That indicates Russia is preparing for prolonged geopolitical tensions as the economy focuses on military capabilities, he added. To prevent future aggression from Russia, any relief from sanctions should not only require an end to the fighting but also be conditioned on verifiable reforms. "Lifting sanctions without securing tangible changes in Russias foreign policy and military posture could inadvertently accelerate the resurgence of its military strength," Luck warned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, he called for enhancing sanctions, closing loopholes, continuing support for Ukraine, and planning for postwar containment of Russia's military. Support from the US may not last much longer, as the Trump administration is reportedly considering a halt to all US military aid. But Trump's turn away from Ukraine and European allies may make the EU more willing to seize Russian assets it froze and use them to keep aid to Kyiv flowing. Europe is also contemplating a possible future without US leadership, and the EUs top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, signaled after the Trump-Zelensky shouting match on Friday that Europe will try to fill the void. The free world needs a new leader, she said. Its up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday praised U.S. President Donald Trump's "common sense" aim to end the war in Ukraine, but accused the European powers which have rallied around Kyiv of seeking to prolong the conflict. Lavrov said the United States still wanted to be the world's most powerful country and that Washington and Moscow would never see eye to eye on everything, but that they had agreed to be pragmatic when interests coincided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister of 21 years said the model of the U.S.-China relationship was the one that should be built between Russia and the United States to do a lot of "mutually beneficial things" without allowing disagreements to collapse into war. "Donald Trump is a pragmatist," Lavrov told the Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, according to a transcript released by the Foreign Ministry. "His slogan is common sense. It means, as everyone can see, a shift to a different way of doing things." "But the goal is still MAGA (Make America Great Again)," Lavrov said, referring to Trump's political slogan. "This gives a lively, human character to politics. That's why it's interesting to work with him." Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 with thousands of troops, triggering the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces. The West and Ukraine describe the 2022 invasion as an imperial-style land grab by President Vladimir Putin and Kyiv has vowed to defeat Russia on the battlefield, although Russian forces control nearly one-fifth of Ukraine. Putin casts the conflict in Ukraine as part of an existential battle with a declining and decadent West which he says humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by enlarging the NATO military alliance and encroaching on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence, including Ukraine. EUROPE OF 'TRAGEDIES' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, who spoke to Putin on February 12 and says he wants to be remembered as a "peace maker", has upended U.S. policy on the Ukraine war. Lavrov said that the call with Putin had been at Trump's initiative. Trump said last week that the war could develop into World War Three, that he had spoken to Putin on "numerous occasions" and that he thought that there would be a deal on Ukraine peace. On Friday, he and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office. Trump accused Zelenskiy of disrespecting the United States, said he was losing the war and had no cards left. European leaders leapt to Zelenskiy's defence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Lavrov criticised Europe, saying that for the past 500 years Europe had been the crucible of "all the tragedies of the world" including colonisation, wars, crusaders, the Crimean War, Napoleon Bonaparte, World War One and Adolf Hitler. "And now, after (former U.S. President Joe) Biden's term, people have come in who want to be guided by common sense. They say directly that they want to end all wars, they want peace," Lavrov said. "And who demands a 'continuation of the banquet' in the form of a war? Europe." Lavrov also dismissed European ideas for sending in a contingent of European peacekeepers and said Russia had no trust in Ukraine after the collapse of the Minsk agreements, which were designed to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Europeans, Lavrov said, could not explain what rights Russian speakers would have under the European peacekeeper plans, adding that Russia did not like the idea of Europeans propping up Zelenskiy. "Now they also want to prop him up with their bayonets in the form of peacekeeping units. This will mean that the root causes will not disappear," Lavrov said. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Helen Popper) Russia is spreading disinformation that accuses Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) of trying to instigate an armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, HUR said on March 2. The intelligence agency referred to a fake document presented as a report from HUR to Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk, which has been disseminated in Armenian Telegram channels. Armenia and Azerbaijan are bitter rivals who have clashed in several armed conflicts over border and ethnic issues since gaining independence in the 1990s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moscow has maintained mostly warm ties with Azerbaijan but was also seen as a key military ally of Armenia. Russia's relationship with Yerevan sharply deteriorated after Russian peacekeepers did not prevent Baku's lightning offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. The fake report accuses Ukraine's intelligence of trying to spark a new war to divert Russia's attention and disperse its forces, alleviating pressure on Ukraine. HUR noted that the document contains several spelling errors and does not meet the requirements of official communication. According to Ukraine's military intelligence, the fake report aims to "discredit Ukraine and undermine Ukrainian-Armenian and Ukrainian-Azerbaijani relations, which ultimately benefits Russia." Kyiv has maintained stable relations with both South Caucasus countries. Azerbaijan has provided humanitarian aid during the full-scale war, while Armenia's pivot away from Moscow signaled the potential strengthening of Ukrainian- Armenian ties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Editorial: A president just disrespected America in the Oval Office. It wasnt Zelensky Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Moscow has said the USs dramatic foreign policy shift largely coincides with its own vision. The comment from Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, aired on Russian state television on Sunday following the unprecedented clash between Donald Trump, the US president, and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, at the White House on Friday. In remarks that were recorded on Wednesday, before the Oval Office row, Mr Peskov said the US was rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations, which largely coincides with our vision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added: There is a long way to go because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, president Putin and president Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful. Mr Trump has sought to build ties with Russia since taking office in January, reaching out to Putin and siding with the country at the United Nations. Since the Oval Office clash, the mood in Moscow has lifted further, experts said. Discussing Fridays row, Dmitry Kiselev, a Russian television anchor, said: Trump behaved stoically. Trump stood up for Vance like a lion Trump looked like a [chess] grandmaster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A commentator on Russias News of the Week television programme also told viewers: Now everything is being decided inside a big triangle: Russia, China and the US. Within this, the new construction of the world will come to fruition. The EU as a united political force no longer exists. For his part, Putin has said he feels hopeful about Mr Trumps recent involvement in the Ukraine war. Speaking to Federal Security Service agents on Thursday, the Russian president said: You see, we all see how rapidly the world is changing, the situation in the world. In this regard, I would like to note that the first contacts with the new American administration inspire certain hopes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kirill Rogov, a political scientist and head of the think tank RE: Russia, went further, describing Moscow as a place where euphoria reigns. He added there had been quite a wonderful transformation of the mindset that existed among the elites, in Putins administration, and among the population. The apparent surge of optimism follows a period of listlessness, with the Kremlin seemingly as bereft of ideas about how to end the conflict as anyone else. Sam Greene, a professor of Russian politics at Kings College London, said Moscow had previously appeared to have no fixed war aims other than dont lose, and dont let the Ukrainians and the Europeans roll you back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, following Mr Trumps involvement, a more concrete version of Russian victory has suddenly crystallised. For Mr Putin, that essentially already feels like a strategic breakthrough at the geopolitical level by demonstrating that the Western-dominated world order is irretrievably broken according to a think tank funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled Russian tycoon and Putin-opponent. However, that success has not yet been matched on the battlefield, where Russian troops have advanced but so far failed to break the Ukrainian front, capture any major city or evict their enemy from Kursk. Nonetheless, the conversation has shifted. Russias status in the new global order is now taking shape, said Alexander Sladkov, a prominent Russian war commentator. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least two civilians and injured at least 20, including a child, over the past day, regional authorities reported on March 2. Ukraine's air defense shot down 63 of the 79 drones Russia launched overnight, the Air Force said. Drones were intercepted over Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolaiv oblasts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed and seven injured in Russian attacks, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin. Ten people, including a child, were also injured in strikes against Kherson Oblast, said the regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin. A 51-year-old man was injured and subsequently hospitalized after a drone strike in the village of Petropavlivka, according to Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Multiple settlements in the region were targeted not only with drones but also with guided aerial bombs. One woman in Khmelnytskyi Oblast was taken to the hospital after suffering an injury in a drone attack and was later discharged, Governor Serhii Tiurin reported. Ten homes were also damaged in the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 31-year-old woman was injured in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to Governor Ivan Fedorov. Local authorities recorded damage to at least 18 homes, apartments, and cars. Russian forces carried out over 450 strikes on the partially occupied region over the past day, including not only drone but also artillery strikes. Nineteen Shahed drones were shot down over Sumy Oblast, the local military administration reported. No casualties were given. Since the start of 2025, Russian forces have launched 575 drones at the region, frequently targeting civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, hospitals, and other vital services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: As long as Russia is advancing, the war will continue military analyst Rob Lee on what awaits Ukraine in 2025 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A Russian drone strike caused a fire and damage at a house in the village of Pyrohivtsi in Khmelnytskyi Oblasts Khmelnytskyi district on the night of 1-2 March, injuring a woman. Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Telegram; Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration on Telegram Details: The injured woman is 76 years old. The blast wave also damaged nine houses, an electrical transformer, power lines and the roof of a warehouse belonging to a local company. Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration reported that six Russian drones had been downed over the oblast. A total of 266 private and 11 business customers were cut off from the power grid. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! (Reuters) -Influential Russian parliamentarians dismissed a summit of European leaders in London on Sunday, saying it had produced no plan to settle the war in Ukraine. Konstantin Kosachev, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the only thing Ukraine could count on was an improvement in Russian-U.S. ties. He derided the outcome of the London meeting as "a desperate attempt to pass off as success the failure of a 10-year policy of inciting Ukraine towards Russia by the same Great Britain and, until recently, the United States". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Europe has no plan," wrote Kosachev, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russia's upper house of parliament. "And if Ukraine should count on something, it can only be on progress (if there is any to come) in Russian-American relations." He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who hosted the meeting, "cannot fail to understand this". Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the lower house's Committee on International Affairs, said the meeting would not save Zelenskiy's position two days after his talks in Washington with President Donald Trump broke down in acrimonious exchanges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The London summit will not save the ringleader of the Ukrainian Nazis," Slutsky wrote on Telegram. "Zero results, a failed attempt to restore the clown's political reputation after his resounding failure in Washington." Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior security official, dismissed the London gathering before it had ended, describing it on X as a "coven... to swear allegiance to the Nazi nobodies in Kiev" and a "shameful sight." Starmer, speaking after the meeting, said participants had agreed to draw up a Ukraine peace plan to take to the United States. Starmer said Britain, Ukraine, France and other nations would form a "coalition of the willing" to produce a plan. Zelenskiy said he felt strong support from Europe. He said he could salvage his relationship with Trump but that talks needed to continue in a different format. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alistair Bell and Bill Berkrot) A new team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on March 1, marking the first time the agency's monitors reached the site through the occupied territory. The Moscow-appointed head of the plant said the rotation of inspectors was facilitated by Russian forces and followed extensive talks between the heads of Russias state nuclear company, Rosatom, and the IAEA. The Kyiv Independent can't immediately verify these claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest rotation faced delays due to ongoing military activity around the site, with Kyiv and Moscow each accusing the other of violating safety agreements meant to ensure the IAEAs secure passage. Read also: Nuclear blackmail: Russia strikes Chornobyl as world leaders gather for Munich Security Conference The IAEA did not provide immediate comment and Ukrainian officials did not issue a statement on the matter. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the largest in Europe, during the early weeks of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. While the facility remains under Russian control, it is not currently generating electricity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since September 2022, the IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporizhzhia and Ukraines other nuclear facilities, aiming to monitor risks and ensure nuclear safety. The agency has consistently warned that ongoing hostilities in the area pose serious dangers. Despite its efforts, security concerns around the plant remain unresolved as fighting continues in the region. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has urged both Ukrainian and Russian forces to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could jeopardize the plants safety. Read also: Ukrainian forces destroy Russian thermobaric munitions depot in Donetsk Oblast, General Staff reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The situation for Ukraine's defence forces in Russias Kursk Oblast continues to worsen, as Russian troops focus on maintaining fire control over Ukrainian logistics routes. However, Ukraine has not taken sufficient measures to counter this threat. Source: DeepState analytical project Quote: "The biggest problem in Kursk Oblast is the enemy's fire control over all logistics of Ukraine's defence forces. Since January, Russian troops have been increasing their ability to monitor our movements, yet no adequate steps have been taken on our side to eliminate this issue. By February, it had reached its peak, with the most serious complications arising after the loss of the village of Sverdlikovo, the attempts to regain which were also not executed in the best-planned manner." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: DeepState reported that Russian troops managed to break through near the settlement of Novenke, Sumy Oblast, strengthening their forces and continuing their advance. "Although securing positions in this area is difficult due to the terrain and lack of infrastructure, the Russians are actively trying to establish themselves there. They have the necessary resources," analysts say. Quote: "The advance of Russian troops along the border between the settlements Zhuravka and Novenke is also an unpleasant moment. This area is responsible for most strikes on logistics routes [of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ed.] between the settlements of Yunakivka and Sudzha, and the situation there has been deteriorating for some time." Details: DeepState emphasises that the situation requires urgent intervention, as Russian forces have already destroyed "dozens of vehicles". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "The enemy continues to amass forces near the settlement of Sverdlikovo, maintaining pressure. The worst-case scenario would be Russian troops reaching the outskirts of Sudzha though, in terms of fire control, they are practically there already." Background: As of 22:00 on 1 March, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian defenders had repelled 16 Russian attacks in Kursk Oblast. Meanwhile, Russian forces carried out 22 airstrikes, dropping a total of 30 guided bombs and conducting 383 artillery strikes, including 4 with multiple launch rocket systems. On 20 February, DeepState reported that Russian troops were actively targeting logistics routes moving from Ukraine into Russias Kursk Oblast, launching fire strikes on everything moving in that direction from Sumy Oblast. On 27 February, reports indicated that North Korea had sent additional troops to Russias Kursk Oblast. The exact number of military personnel remains unknown. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Following a special Ukraine defence summit in London, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz firmly rejected Russia's stance on the conflict, emphasizing Ukraine's sovereignty and European aspirations. "Russia's aim was always to establish a government in Ukraine that dances to its tune that cannot be accepted," Scholz told journalists on Sunday. He stressed that Ukraine is a democratic, sovereign nation that has chosen a path toward European Union membership, adding: "It must stay that way." Scholz also dismissed Russia's demand for Ukraine's demilitarization, arguing instead that Ukraine must become militarily strong enough to prevent future attacks. "That will be of central importance for the future," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He referred to the financial burdens on European countries that will come with supporting the Ukrainian military, as well as ramping up their own defence capacities. "That will require an effort that many are not yet really sufficiently prepared for," he said. Scholz remained vague about a possible contribution from Germany to safeguard any peace deal to end the three-year war with Russia. There are fears in Kiev that without security guarantees, Moscow will not be deterred from attacking Ukraine again in the future. While he avoided direct criticism of the Washington's evolving Ukraine policy under President Donald Trump, Scholz emphasized that summit participants agreed on the continued importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation for security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The goal is to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and its trans-Atlantic partners," he said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's summit of European leaders, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, came after Trump's public clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Uncannily preserved in the sands of New Mexico, archaeologists have discovered the oldest evidence yet of a vehicle used by humans: drag marks, along with footprints, left in the ground that have been dated to 22,000 years ago. As detailed in a study published in the journal Quaternary Science Advances, these marks were left behind by a type of sledge known as a travois. Think of it as a wheelbarrow without the wheels. Typically comprising two wooden poles held in each hand at the front, and intersecting at the back in a V or X-shape, a travois would have been pulled across the ground, carrying meat, game or other supplies. Their usage is well-known to scientists but this is by far the oldest example, predating the invention of the wheeled vehicle in Mesopotamia by some 17,000 years, according to researchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's nothing this old," study author Matthew Bennett at the University of Bournemouth told New Scientist. The ancient runnels, as the authors describe them, were discovered in the dried mud of a bygone lake in White Sands National Park in New Mexico, hidden by sediment for untold ages, and finally exhumed by a chance mix of natural erosion and careful excavation by researchers. "The drag-marks extend for dozens of meters before disappearing beneath overlying sediment," explained Bennet in a writeup for The Conversation. "They clip barefoot human tracks along their length, suggesting the user dragged the travois over their own footprints as they went along." Rarely were they found in isolation, with the researchers discovering other tracks of footprints nearby all heading in the same direction. In many cases, based on their size, the prints were left behind by children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We believe the footprints and drag-marks tell a story of the movement of resources at the edge of this former wetland," Bennett wrote in The Conversation. "Adults pulled the simple, probably improvised travois, while a group of children tagged along to the side and behind." To New Scientist, Bennet added that while travois were often pulled by animals like horses in other cultures, the White Sands discovery only indicated human usage. It's possible some of the marks were left by dragging firewood, "but this does not fit all the cases we found," Bennett wrote in his Conversation essay. But perhaps the discovery's most staggering implication is that humans may have crossed into the Americas much earlier than commonly believed, with dominant theories which are being increasingly challenged holding that nobody made the trek until around 15,000 years ago. "The peopling of the Americas debate is a very controversial one, but we're fairly confident about the dates," Bennett told New Scientist. "The traditional story is that the ice sheets parted and they came, but you can come through before the door closes, too." More on ancient humans: Scientists Say Skeletons Show Ancient Humans With Huge Heads The cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD has fascinated researchers and historians for centuries. Since the early 1700s, engineers have been excavating the remnants of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, flash frozen in mounds of volcanic ash. And of all the narratives pulled from the rubble, one about a 20 year old man whose brain seemingly melted into glass might be the most mystifying. A hunk of glass in the Herculaneum man's preserved skull was first uncovered in 2020, coming off the back of research that estimated temperatures in the two doomed cities exceeded 900 degrees Fahrenheit at some points during the cataclysm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers were puzzled, because at that temperature brain matter ought to melt into goo, not solidify into glass. Of the roughly 2,000 bodies exhumed from the Vesuvian ruins, only this one's brain had been preserved this way. Courtesy of a paper published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine, we can even see what this glassified brain looks like. A brain that appears to have transformed into glass during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This made the question of how this unfortunate soul's head came to hold a hunk of glass something of a flashpoint for archaeologists and scientists studying the volcanic event. A number of hypotheses have come forward, like one that posited the man's brain was slowly braised like osso buco. Now, a fresh analysis by a team of researchers at Roma Tre University has found "compelling evidence that these are human brain remains, composed of organic glass formed at high temperatures, a process of preservation never previously documented for human or animal tissue, neither brain or any other kind." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The study is shedding new light on the process which preserved the man's brain for thousands of years, which Ars Technica notes is highly unusual. Researchers posit that the man was indeed flash-fried by a rush of superhot ash as he laid in his bed, which heated his brain to the temperature required to produce molten glass, fragmenting it into chunks. Though most of the brain fragments were badly damaged, some survived total devastation thanks to the unique position of the man's skull and spine at the time of his death which also explains why he was the only Herculaneumian to win the glass lottery. As the air returned to an ambient temperature, it cooled rapidly by hundreds of degrees, which is when one of the young man's remaining brain chunks became a solid mass. From there, what remained of his body was buried by layers of molten ash, rock, and gas that flowed across Herculaneum at lower temps than in Pompei, preserving the poor guy's glass brain for researchers to ogle thousands of years in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's a fascinating find with huge implications for a variety of fields, from forensic biology to volcanology to Roman history and, let's face it, a ghoulish curiosity even by the standards of the horrors of Mt. Vesuvius. More on ancient geology: Rover Discovers Evidence of Giant Ocean on Mars Scientists are warning that if heat-trapping pollution continues to rise, sea levels will very likely climb half a meter to two meters (1.6 to 6.6 feet) by the end of this century, a range that is 90 centimeters (about three feet) higher than the latest United Nations projections. What's happening? A team of researchers from the Netherlands and Singapore say that under a high emissions scenario, the very likely range of sea-level rise would significantly surpass projections from the United Nations. Very likely means a 90% probability that this could happen. "Under a low-emissions scenario, the fusion's very likely range of global mean sea-level rise is 0.31.0 m by 2100," according to the team's research article published in Advancing Earth and Space Sciences journal Earth's Future. Under a high-emissions scenario, the likely range is 0.5-1.9 meters. The scientists behind the article employed a new method known as the "fusion approach" to calculate sea level projections. The key points of this improved approach include fusing "the complementary strengths of alternative projections of sea-level rise" and using "a single probabilistic projection that quantifies a best estimate of scientific uncertainty." Why are these new sea-level rise projections important? The latest projection range points out how much uncertainty there is regarding sea-level rise. The researchers say that a high-end projection of nearly two meters especially highlights the need for the future plans of decision-makers to take precautions to protect critical infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This NTU research represents a significant breakthrough in sea-level science. By estimating the probability of the most extreme outcomes, it underscores the severe impacts of sea-level rise on coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems, emphasizing the urgent need to address the climate crisis," said director of Earth Observatory of Singapore at NTU and co-author of the study Professor Benjamin Horton, per Phys.org. Researchers tied sea-level rise to the extinction of a plant local to the Florida Keys. Our overheating planet is warming the oceans and melting ice sheets fast enough that it could dramatically alter coastal states. Miami may be the canary in the coal mine when it comes to cities already dealing with the impacts of rising water levels. Rescuers were called into Florida's second-most populous city last summer during a rare flash flood emergency. What's being done about rising sea levels? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, adaptation strategies include building flood barriers to protect infrastructure and elevating or relocating facilities. The EPA also recommends protecting nearby wetlands, as they provide a buffer during storm surge events. Drastically reducing the amount of heat-trapping gases released into Earth's atmosphere is the most effective way to combat sea-level rise. This will require embracing renewable energy sources like solar, wind, and geothermal energy. Modernizing our homes by upgrading to LED bulbs, signing up for community solar, and unplugging energy vampires are all ways we can help. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. As temperatures continue to rise due to ongoing climate change, scientists uncovered an unexpected domino effect that could put forests across North America in danger. What's happening? Researchers from the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory published their findings in the Nature Climate Change journal and predicted that hotter, drier conditions will hinder the growth of a fungus that typically limits the spread of the spongy moth, which is an invasive species "that has caused millions of dollars in damage to forests." The University of Chicago explained in a news release that the spongy moth "was first introduced to the hardwood forests of New England in 1869," and in the ensuing decades the caterpillars "carved a path of destruction through forests, defoliating and killing trees by the acre." However, the fungus Entomophaga maimaiga caused a lethal infection in spongy moths that curbed the spread, "sparing millions of trees." Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. While the fungus is a natural combatant that can grow and infect spongy moths before too much damage is done, the release stated that it grows "only if conditions are cool and moist." Greg Dwyer, professor of ecology and evolution at UChicago and senior author of the new study, warned that the reduction of the fungus could lead to a swift turnaround within the moth population and put forests at a significant risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Even small reductions in mortality rate for the moths lead to big increases in defoliation," Dwyer said. "If they don't get killed off when they're at low density one year, then the next year they'll be back at higher density. You get this multiplication process going on." Why is this important? Like most invasive species, the spongy moth poses a significant threat to the environment, so combatants like the fungus are essential to mitigate its impact. Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns caused by climate change can create favorable conditions for these invasive species to thrive and spread more rapidly. According to UChicago, the study's results showed that "as climate change brings hotter and drier conditions to forests, fungal infection rates over the next few decades will drop sharply meaning that more moths will survive to destroy more trees." To make things even more worrying, Dwyer reported seeing the effects of these changes sooner than expected, as below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures in recent years have already led to spongy moth outbreaks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our projections were pessimistic, but probably not pessimistic enough. It's very concerning," Dwyer said. What's being done about this? Dwyer said he hopes his research spotlights the importance of taking multiple species into consideration when predicting the effects of climate change. "The vast majority of previous climate change studies look at individual organisms, but a small amount of climate change can have a big effect when you compound it across multiple species," Dwyer said. "So, computer models are crucial for understanding the effects of climate change on species interactions." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. You may have heard unsettling facts and figures about our changing environment, but it's not always easy to understand exactly how those changes will impact us. Sometimes it takes looking at this information through a unique lens for it to really hit home. Like, say, the lens of beloved beverages. What's happening? Extreme weather exacerbated by a shifting climate may pose a threat to some of our favorite alcoholic drinks, Euronews reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether it's because of drought drying up crops or heavy rains degrading and eroding soil, many ingredients of popular beverages are becoming harder to source. For example, hop yields are expected to drop anywhere from 4-18% in Europe by 2050, per The Guardian. That means beer production will drop, significantly raising prices or eliminating certain beers entirely. To many, that's not just a loss of a beer, but also a piece of national identity. "We are just going to be importing beer, and we won't have the culture that goes with it anymore," said Danielle Whelan of England's Shepherd Neame brewery, per Euronews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With grape yields dwindling due to extreme weather, it's safe to say that environmental changes are a serious threat to wine, too. Prosecco production, in particular, is under threat due to soil erosion caused by severe rain. Why is it important to point out these endangered beverages? Hopefully, we've all got several more significant items on our priority lists than these popular alcoholic beverages. Still, that doesn't mean their potential disappearances are not important. Many of us assume that things that have always been around will never go away. Call it wishful thinking or faulty programming, but it's true of so many of us, even when all the information screams otherwise. Seeing the raw truth that these staple beverages are under threat can help to shake off that illusion. It allows us to put the impacts of our changing environment into an understandable context. If we do nothing, many of the things we've taken for granted may no longer exist. What's being done about dwindling crops? Where there's adversity, there's always resilience, innovation, and creativity. Dwindling crops are being addressed using all three of those valuable tools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A group of scientists has discovered a spray to protect grain crops from blight, while farmers in India are addressing environmental changes by growing saffron indoors. Elsewhere, researchers are using zinc oxide nanoparticles to grow rice in extreme weather. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Community members, including area leaders and law enforcement officials, as well as the loved ones of Hendersonville teen Sebastian Rogers gathered for a candlelight vigil at Celebration of Life Church Saturday. Earlier this week, the one-year anniversary of the beloved teens disappearance was marked by renewed hope. Sebastian means something to other people besides just me, Sebastians father, Seth Rogers, told News 2. Sebastian will be found. Sebastians alive and we will find him and we will bring him home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guests in attendance, also known as Sebastians Army showed solidarity by wearing green, saying Sebatians name and urging anyone who knows where Sebastian is to come forward. RELATED | We are going to find him: Sumner County teen Sebastian Rogers missing for one year We are just trusting we are believing with full faith that Sebastian shall return, said Joseph Morgan, Senior Pastor at Celebration of Life Church. Its so important that we unify. Forget the projecting and the speculation. Lets just make it about Sebastian. Keep the foot on the gas pedal. Act like this just happened, Sumner County Commissioner Don Schmit said, addressing the attendees. Lets act like this is brand new. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sebastians loved ones are leaning on their faith to get them through. The sleepless nights, the unknown God will give them peace in their minds and their hearts, said Yolanda Morgan, co-pastor at Celebration of Life Church. Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers, 15, was reported missing on Monday, Feb. 26 from the Beech area in Hendersonville. Sebastian Rogers: Description Sebastian is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 120 pounds with dirty blond hair. He was last seen on Monday, Feb. 26 near Stafford Court wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants, said the TBI. AMBER Alert Issued The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) originally issued an Endangered Child Alert for Sebastian on the morning of Feb. 26 as multiple agencies took to the area to look for him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on additional investigative information developed during the search, the TBI issued an AMBER Alert for Sebastian on the afternoon of Feb. 27. An AMBER Alert is issued when there is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, per the DOJ. Multiple agencies including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Nashville Fire Department, City of Hendersonvilles first responders, Sumner County Sheriffs Office and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire have assisted in the search for Sebastian. Who to Contact If you have seen Sebastian or have info about his whereabouts, call the Sumner County Sheriffs Office at (615) 451-3838 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Agristo Masa Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between Masa Global Food Pvt Ltd (a part Wave Group) and IMSTO NV (the holding company of Agristo NV, Belgium), is expanding its Bijnor plant with a Rs 750 crore new investment. The joint venture company said in a statement on Sunday that the fresh investment brings its total investment to over Rs 1,000 crore. The groundbreaking ceremony marking this milestone was graced by Princess Astrid of the Kingdom of Belgium, Finance Minister of Uttar Pradesh Suresh Kumar Khanna, Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh Manoj Singh, and members of the Belgian economic mission to India. Ensuring a holistic development of the region, around 2,500 farmers are expected to benefit from this expansion, the statement from the company stated Sunday. This is in addition to the 500 farmers in the region who have been provided sustainable livelihood opportunities through the plant's interventions. The plant, which caters to both domestic and export markets with North America, Middle East, South East Asia and Japan being the key geographies, had earlier entailed investment to the tune of Rs 250 crore for a potato flakes facility. The additional investment of Rs 750 crore will be done to install a new production line of French Fries, the statement added. "Our aim is to empower the farmers and diversify their cash crop beyond sugarcane. We have helped these farmers to double their potato output with the help of new technologies. Their income has increased by 50 per cent over the last 3 years," said Manpreet Singh Chadha, Chairman, Wave Group, that owns 50 per cent stake in the joint venture. Kristof Wallays, Director International expansion, innovation and sustainability of Agristo, said: "The Bijnor plant is a testament of how results can be achieved when vision and technical expertise are combined. Partnering with Masa Global Food has allowed us to contribute in a meaningful manner to the rapidly evolving Indian agriculture and food processing sectors and ensure development of all stakeholders." Based in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, Agristo Masa has been conducting guided farming since 2020, cultivating the Santana potato variety ideal for French fries in the area. It focuses on the private label market and serves retailers, food service distributors, fast food chains, and the processing industry. Minister-President of the Government of Flanders Matthias Diependaele noted how the Bjinor plant is a sign of strong relations between the Flanders region and India and demonstrates Belgium's commitment to participate in the India growth story. (ANI) The security and defence summit in London has concluded after approximately two hours long of discussions. Source: BBC; website of the President of Ukraine Details: Leaders are leaving Lancaster House one by one. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Sandringham for a meeting with King Charles III. Earlier, the Ukrainian presidents press service reported that the summit was attended by the leaders of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, Finland, France, Czechia and Sweden, as well as Turkiyes Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The summit was organised by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The event focused on challenges facing Ukraine and Europe as a whole, the fight against Russian aggression and pathways to a just and lasting peace. Quote from the presidential website: "The allies will coordinate their positions, develop a joint action plan, and outline concrete steps toward ending the war with a just peace and providing Ukraine with robust security guarantees." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! US Marines brave Arctic temperatures ahead of Joint Viking, the largest military exercise in Norway. About 10,000 troops from the US and NATO nations took part in the biennial cold weather training. Photos show Marines zooming on snowmobiles, trekking in skis, and plunging into icy waters. US Marines spent the last few weeks enduring frigid temperatures ahead of the largest military exercise in Norway, readying for a fight in the high Arctic. Joint Viking's objective is to boost NATO's power projection in the high Arctic, especially as Russia and China continue to demonstrate strategic interest in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Arctic warfare training aims to prepare troops for cold-weather combat, from learning how to maneuver in deep snow and mountainous terrain to conducting air and naval operations under Arctic conditions. The military exercise also comes at a critical time as the climate crisis continues to melt ice in the region, forming new sea routes that could be key to both military and commercial strategy. Arctic warfare US Marines wearing skis trek through the snow in northern Norway. US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr. Led by the Norwegian military, Joint Viking takes place in early to mid-March in Troms, a country in northern Norway located about 250 miles west of the Norweigian-Russian border. The Marine Corps will be among 10,000 troops participating in the biennial winter military exercise, which will also include armed forces from the UK, Canada, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Troms since January, the Marines will play a "significant role" in the cold-weather war games, testing how quickly they can mobilize and deploy a large force across the Atlantic in a crisis, the Corps said in a statement. Expanding NATO's strategic foothold A group of Marines race down a hill on a snowmobile course. US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Antonino Mazzamuto Joint Viking is one of several routine military exercises held in the Arctic Circle, including Nordic Response, Arctic Forge, Arctic Dolphin, and Joint Warrior. Beyond preparing troops for Arctic warfare, the military exercises are also intended to send a message to Russia about NATO's military readiness, especially as the war in Ukraine rages on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the last Joint Viking exercise in 2023, NATO commanders patrolled the border toward the Kola Peninsula, driving snowmobiles on the frozen Pasvik River. Russia's underlying Arctic threat Two Marines lie in the snow as they take aim at targets during live-fire training. US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr. The war in Ukraine has forced Russia to reevaluate its military posturing in the Arctic, especially after enduring heavy losses in its land forces, according to an article published in the peer-reviewed journal, Arctic Review on Law and Politics. Tormod Heier, a retired lieutenant colonel for the Norwegian Army, wrote that the Ukraine war acts as a sort of "Arctic tranquilizer," reducing tensions and the likelihood of direct confrontations between the US and Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is partly due to fear of nuclear escalation but also due to strategic necessity: neither US nor Russian forces can afford an overstretch problematique in the contemporary international environment," Heier, who now works as an associate professor at the National Defence University in Stockholm, wrote. "As both protagonists forge self-imposed restraints, Russia's 2022 invasion has inadvertently led to more Arctic stability." While Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine shifted some attention away from direct confrontation in the high north, the US and other NATO allies remain concerned about Moscow's ongoing military nuclear threat in the region, Heier wrote. China-Russia collaboration in the Arctic Two Marines fire an 81mm mortar embedded in a ditch in the snow during military exercises. US Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Antonino Mazzamuto In 2018, China also forced its way into the Arctic power competition after it declared itself a "near-Arctic state" to justify its strategic interests in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Western nations rejected China's claim because it has no geographical territory in the region, Russia welcomed the country's presence in the high north. China has since focused its efforts on scientific research, energy investments, and strategic infrastructure development in the Arctic. China's growing Arctic presence and close Russian ties have been seen as a potential threat by the US and other Arctic nations, using military exercises like Joint Viking as a "deterrent effect." China "is one of the newer entrants on the scene. Over time, the strategic interests that they have in the region are giving us pause," Iris Ferguson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Arctic and Global Resilience for the Biden administration, said in a December statement. A new battlefield in the Arctic A US Marine is drenched after participating in an ice breakthrough drill. US Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alfonso Livrieri Not only are the geopolitical tensions in the region ever-evolving, but the environment itself is reshaping as the climate crisis dramatically warms the Arctic at an unprecedented pace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melting ice is creating new shipping lanes along Russia's northern coast, potentially altering global trade routes. Growing access to resources, like oil, gas, and minerals that were recently impeded by ice, has led to countries, including the US, scrambling to stake their claim. President Donald Trump's approach to Arctic policy has also heavily impacted the region, reversing climate regulations in favor of oil extraction and even expressing interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark as part of his national security strategy. Read the original article on Business Insider Jonathan Capehart breaks down the state of American global politics after tempers flare in an Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. DEL MAR, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) The Del Mar train tracks were in the federal spotlight Saturday after national and local leaders toured the area amid the bluffs stabilization project. This comes amid the ongoing talks of moving the train tracks off the coast. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was among those in Del Mar, marking his first visit to San Diego since being sworn into the Senate. Having a chance to ride along the bluffs and see just how close this track is to the edge really helps to conceptualize the problem, Sen. Schiff stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man strangled and assaulted in Hillcrest; suspect arrested The senator rode on the second most used railway in the country amid the ongoing projects to stabilize the Del Mar bluffs by directing stormwater runoff. This is a must-do kind of project; this is not a would be nice to do, Sen. Schiff continued. Were not going to have the train falling into the sea, so we got to get it done and we also need to be thinking about the longer term. Discussions on the long-term project to move the train tracks off the coast of Del Mar is still ongoing. Just one day before Sen. Schiffs visit, the San Diego Association of Governments, also known as SANDAG, took the next step by approving five train realignment project options to go into the environmental review process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava said, Ultimately, the federal government will need to step in on this project that could cost anywhere from 1.5 to $5 billion. Sen. Schiff also discussed the projects future because of President Donald Trumps federal funding freeze. I am gravely concerned about the temporary halt or freeze or imperiling of this project and many others, he stated. Were going to continue to push hard to make sure that we get all the resources we need. As you all are aware we are a donor state in California, we send a lot more money back to Washington, D.C. than we get back, and so its important that we fight to make sure theres fair treatment for the Golden State. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. In a scathing interview on Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) condemned President Donald Trumps meeting chastising Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and doubled down on referring to Trumps administration as an oligarchy. Zelenskyy is leading a country, trying to defend democracy against an authoritarian dictator, Putin, who invaded his country. I think millions of Americans are embarrassed, are ashamed, that you have a president of the United States who says that Ukraine started the war, that Zelenskyy is a dictator. Hes got it exactly backwards, Sanders told NBC News Kristen Welker on Meet The Press. He also said it was a horrific suggestion for Republicans to call for Zelenskyys resignation. The people of Ukraine have lost tens of thousands of soldiers. Their cities are being bombed as we speak. And our job is to defend the 250-year tradition that we have of being the democratic leader of the world, not turn our backs on a struggling country that is trying to do the right thing, Sanders added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Trump, Vice President JD Vance and a member of the right-wing mediaberated Zelenskyy during his Oval Office visit in which they were due to talk about a mineral rights deal following aid that America gave to Ukraine when Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a full-fledged invasion of the country beginning in February 2022. (Its worth noting that Trump baselessly called Zelenskyy a dictator last month. However, ironically, Trump has repeatedly praised Putin and other well-knowndictators.) Video of the meeting, which did not result in an agreement, prompted widespread criticism of Trump and Vances handling of the situation. Echoing his previous claims warning Americans of the dangers of Trumps administration, which he calls an oligarchy, Sanders on Sunday also took aim at the administration for prioritizing the interests of the wealthy rather than Americans as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then offered advice to Democrats, who he claimed have been playing dead for too many years. (Political strategist James Carville recommended that Democrats play dead during Trumps administration to make Americans miss them, but Sanders had a differing opinion.) I think you stand up for the working class in this country and make the point that right now the Trump administration is clearly an administration designed to represent the interest of the Musks of the world, Sanders said. Thirteen of the people that he nominated to head agencies are billionaires. What we have right now in Washington, let me be very clear, is a government of the billionaire class, by the billionaire class, and for the billionaire class. And, he added, their greed is uncontrollable: more tax breaks for billionaires, cuts to programs for the elderly, the children, and the poor. Weve got to fight back. Related... PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced he will be skipping President Trumps first speech to Congress in his second term to hold an online town hall. During his constitutionally-required address to a joint session on Tuesday, President Trump is expected to layout his legislative agenda before Congress. Mercy Corps warns of devastating consequences after Trump cuts 41 programs Sen. Wyden will instead be choosing to hear from residents in the best state of the union, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyden has been a vocal critic of the actions in the Trump administration. In particular, as the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, he sounded the alarm after Elon Musk and DOGE were granted access to sensitive information held by the Treasury Department as well as Social Security data. Further, as co-chair of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, Wyden said that President Trump broke the law on the night of Jan. 24, when he fired 17 inspectors general without warning. Hard decisions: Portland city administrator unveils proposed budget amid $93 million shortfall For Wyden, who is in his 28th year as a United States senator, this virtual town hall and others he has held are opportunities to connect with the people he represents and to pass along information about what he and others are doing in Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this unprecedented time in American history, my top priority is making sure Oregonians from every corner of our state can keep weighing in directly with me, he said. Oregonians who want to ask a question during the virtual town hall can submit their questions in advance here. The event will stream on Tuesday, March 4 on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an interview that aired Sunday that the White House is an arm of the Kremlin following a tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The White House has become an arm of the Kremlin. Every single day, you hear from the national security adviser, from the president of the United States, from his entire national security team, Kremlin talking points, Murphy told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union. The last week, the White House has been pretending as if Ukraine started this war. Thats essentially saying that Poland invaded Germany at the beginning of World War II, the Connecticut Democrat added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murphys comments follow the tense Oval Office meeting between Trump, Zelensky and Vance on Friday, which featured shouting and finger-pointing as the president and Zelensky argued over U.S. support for Ukraine. Following the meeting, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Ukrainian president is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. It appears as if America is trying to align itself with dictators, that Donald Trump wants us to have our closest relationships with despots all around the world, because that makes it easier for him to transition America into a kleptocratic oligarchy, where Elon Musk and Donald Trump rule and steal from the American people, Murphy said on State of the Union. In another interview on State of the Union, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said that the president is trying to be the change agent to broker a peace and an end to this conflict, and you have to have both parties at the table to do that, you have to negotiate with both parties and there has to be a willingness on both sides to bring it to an end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sen. Roger Marshall talked about how inspired he is by Dwight D. Eisenhower several times during his (sort-of) town hall meeting in Oakley on Saturday. It might have been a whole lot more believable if Marshall wasnt a handmaid to President Donald Trump in betraying Ukraine and throwing dirt on the grave of everything Eisenhower ever stood for. Marshalls live infomercial sorry, its only a town hall if you take unscripted questions, which he didnt was a profile in the opposite of courage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the worst part of it was when he misappropriated the spirit of Eisenhower, the general who led the forces of freedom that defeated Nazism and a president who blocked Russian aggression in the postwar world. I looked up President Eisenhower, a big hero of mine, Marshall said. And he said, this is quoting President Eisenhower, may we always remember that no matter how certain we are that were right, if we truly believe in democracy, we must be willing to admit that we may be wrong. My first thought when he said that was go tell it to President Donald Trump, because no one has ever been more certain of their own infallibility than our narcissist-in-chief. Marshall continued: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I give a tour of the Capitol when people come to come to visit, bigger groups as well, and I always try to stop in front of President Eisenhowers statue and share a little bit about his history, that he was the 34th president of the United States, (and) of course, Supreme Allied Commander. When he finished his time of service, the historians said hes the 31st best president weve ever had. If statues could talk, the Eisenhower statue in the Capitol would be giving Marshall an earful. If theres anything Eisenhower understood better than anyone, its that you cant appease dictators with concessions. They invariably treat that as a sign of weakness, and a breather to replenish their armies and come after you again and again. Marshall spoke less than 24 hours after the surrender monkeys in the White House ambushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, demanding he agree to a peace plan giving up 20% of his country and 20,000 kidnapped children to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and his sidekick, Vice President J.D. Vance, stabbed Ukraine and our European allies in the back on international television, throwing this countrys support behind Russia and Putin to cheers from the Kremlin. Its a stain on the honor of America that will likely not wash away in our lifetimes. In the most un-Eisenhower move ever, Marshall parroted the administrations line that Ukraines courageous and world-inspiring resistance to Putin is a bottomless pit for American taxpayers, and he blamed Fridays fiasco on Zelenskyy, who could barely get a word in edgewise while being berated by our beet-red-faced president. I know I was not surprised at all to see the blowup yesterday based upon what the undercurrents were, Marshall said. There are ways to have avoided that event, but Mr. Zelenskyy insisted on coming to the White House to sign this agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was frankly sickening to hear Marshall imply that Eisenhower would have approved of any part of this. My goal, I believe President Trumps goal, is to have peace in this situation and avoid World War III, Marshall said. For those of you that want to keep warring over in Europe, I hope that youre willing to send your own son or daughter, or yourself to go over there and fight it out. But personally, I think weve done enough. Contrast that with what Eisenhower said as he sent 160,000 allied troops 73,000 of them American sons into the meat grinder of the D-Day invasion to free other peoples countries from brutal dictatorship: The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Today, the hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with the soldiers of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And our senator and president are telling them to throw in the towel and quit, because we cant be bothered to help them with supplies to continue the fight. Marshall doesnt even have the guts to defend his views to his own constituents. He deliberately scheduled his so-called town hall in the far corner of nowhere, and was shocked when concerned citizens drove eight to ten hours round-trip for the scheduled hourlong event. Marshall actually bailed out after only 37 minutes, when an audience member stood up and asked a hard but reasonable question about how many veterans have been caught up in the Trump administrations random purge of the federal workforce which by the way includes at least three staffers at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene. So if I may borrow from the line made famous by the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen in the 1988 vice presidential debate: Senator Marshall, youre no Dwight Eisenhower. Neither is Donald Trump. Not even close. OAKLEY, Kan. (KSNW) A town hall meeting hosted by Senator Roger Marshall in rural northwest Kansas Saturday morning included questions and answers, shouting, applause, boos and Senator Marshall leaving the event early. The meeting at the Logan County Hospital in Oakley started at 9 a.m. and lasted around 40 minutes. A video shared with KSN by one of the people at the event showed that the event was contentious nearly from the start. Marshalls team later told KSN the event was sabotaged by Democrat operatives. A large group of people crowded into the room, with several standing around the limited chairs. Some wore shirts or carried signs critical of Marshall, the Trump administration, and the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). Others wore hats or shirts representing military service. Within the first five minutes of the event, Marshall referenced the crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How the Trump, Zelenskyy meeting went off the rails A lot of folks have traveled a long way to be here. This is really Oakleys town hall. Im going to try to focus on their questions, said Marshall. He got a varied response. Some can be heard saying thank you, others saying he represents the whole state. Im going to say this one time. If you all keep cutting me off, if youre rude, which youre being, Im going to leave. The people from Oakley dont deserve this, said Marshall. If youre going to keep interrupting me, were not going to do this. If you have a question, you can write them down and turn them in; my staff will get them all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marshall said he wanted to take on the biggest issue of the last 24 hours, referencing what he called the blow up yesterday, a heated exchange in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I have a deep amount of compassion and empathy from the people of Ukraine, said Marshall. He called Ukraine a bottomless pit financially, throwing good money after bad money. He defended the presidents plan, saying, My goal, I believe President Trumps goal, is to have peace in this situation and avoid World War III. He answered several questions written on note cards from the crowd. Several times, people called out questions about Elon Musk, DOGE cuts, and the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. Some questions got responses of Would you be quiet? from some, while others cheered. Marshall spoke about agriculture and defended Trumps support of Kansas farmers and ranchers and said he was prioritizing passing a new Farm Bill. He spoke on cuts to USAID and changes to the Food for Peace Program, which he says is a good program and needs to be managed by the USDA. He referenced the cuts at NOAA, including to National Weather Service meteorologists, saying, Theres some opportunity to make the weather service more efficient. Marshall said he was concerned about the rates of veteran and farmer suicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After about 30 minutes, some in the crowd called out more criticisms and questions, Marshall responding at one point, Do you want to have your own town hall? Later, calling it one of the rudest audiences Ive ever had, a statement that brought some to applaud and cheer. When a woman calls out more questions to Marshall, a man can be heard saying, Youre not from Western Kansas. Oh, I am. Oh, sir, I am, she responds. The crowd settled down when a man, identified by High Plains Public Radio as a local, Chuck Nunn, stood up and spoke directly to the senator. I want to thank you for coming out here, takes a lot of guts, said Nunn, who identified himself as a dying breed, a conservative Democrat. He went on to say that he appreciates the effort to cut fraud and waste in government and fully supports it. But I think the way we are going about it is so wrong because there are unintended consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I support the veterans. What youre doing right now, what the government is doing right now, as far as cutting out those jobs, a huge percent of those people and I know that you care about the veterans are veterans. And that is a damn shame. That is a damn shame. Another man can be heard saying, Im not a Democrat, but Im worried about the veterans, as several people applaud. Well, I yielded to one my elders, and I appreciate his comments, Marshall responded. I think its a great. Im not going to. We dont have time for everyone to stand up. I do got two more commitments today. I appreciate everybody making the drive out, and God bless America. Thank you. Marshall then walked out of the room as people yelled and booed, and some called him a coward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE structure, authority emerge as biggest DC mystery under Trump KSN reached out to Senator Marshalls press team to request an interview after the town hall, and we asked several questions via email. We didnt receive a response to our specific questions but instead received a statement attributed to Brent Robertson, Senator Marshalls Chief of Staff: Democrat operatives who couldnt place Oakley, Kansas on a map before today sabotaged a local town hall even still, Senator Marshall stayed and answered every question that was asked for 45 minutes, said Robertson. Real Kansans overwhelmingly support President Trumps DOGE initiative, shrinking the size of the federal government, and firing career bureaucrats. Local Oakley citizens had no clue who these people were. Senator Marshall is to be commended for staying as long as he did. When KSN reached out and asked for clarification on our questions, if Sen. Marshall was declining an interview, and if the staff could clarify what Kansans arent considered real in the statement, we received the same statement with one line updated: Local Oakley citizens had no clue who these people were and were embarrassed by the behavior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, Sen. Marshall doubled down on his stance. He shared a comment from President Trump calling the people attending Republican town hall meetings paid troublemakers, saying, Can confirm. KSN reached out to Sen. Marshalls team again for comment or proof that people at his town hall were paid to be there, but we have not heard back. Also on Monday, Sen. Marshalls team held a live telephone town hall. Some Kansans received an automated phone call, telling them to call a specific phone number to enter the meeting. There, they were able to answer poll questions and ask approved questions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV. The webinar, held on Saturday, was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and was attended by Ministers of State SP Singh Baghel and George Kurian. Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the webinar. The webinar engaged stakeholders in focused discussions, strategizing the effective implementation of the 2025 Budget announcements. The webinar addressed key areas of agricultural growth and rural prosperity, ensuring a collaborative approach towards realizing the budget's vision. Furthermore, the event aligned key stakeholders, including private sector experts, industry representatives, and subject matter specialists and key stakeholders, including representatives from fishermen associations, fisheries cooperatives, and industry and private sector experts from mainland, Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands through structured, sub-theme-focused discussions. The webinar also aimed to facilitate dialogue, gather insights, and ensure timely and coordinated actions to achieve the set goals. The post-budget webinar featured parallel discussions on various sub-themes, each anchored by designated Secretaries. Key topics included Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana, Enhancing Credit through KCC, Building Rural Prosperity and Resilience, Atmanirbharata in Pulses, Comprehensive Programme for Vegetables and Fruits, National Mission on High Yielding Seeds, Mission for Cotton Productivity, India Post as a Catalyst for the Rural Economy, Framework for Harnessing Fisheries Resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and High Seas, and Support to National Cooperative Development Corporation. PM Modi, in his address at the post-budget webinar on agriculture and rural prosperity, highlighted the transformative impact of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) since 2019, which has strengthened fisheries' infrastructure, doubled production, and boosted exports in the sector. He emphasized the government's commitment to sustainable fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas through a strategic action plan. Urging swift implementation, he called on stakeholders to explore new ideas for Ease of Doing Business and enhance sectoral growth. The webinar discussions have laid a strong foundation for the structured and sustainable harnessing of India's marine fisheries resources, with a clear focus on balancing economic growth with environmental responsibility. The proposed framework will enable deep-sea fisheries development, strengthen regulatory mechanisms, and enhance infrastructure and market access. Also, the strategic emphasis on Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep will unlock their vast marine potential while ensuring long-term sustainability. The discussions also focused on seamless collaboration among stakeholders, adherence to international commitments, and effective policy implementation to help transform India's marine fisheries sector into a global leader in sustainable and responsible fishing. (ANI) Over two decades ago Jack Facente moved to his rural home on five acres in St. Cloud because he needed space and privacy for his milking business. Look at members of this herd and youll see why theyve got fangs. In a corner of his backyard in 2008 he created a state-of-the-art facility for 140 serpents, mostly coral snakes, housing them in grey plastic cubbies stacked nine high. Facente, 75, extracts their poison, then sells it to create antivenom to treat snake-bite victims. Who wants hundreds of venomous snakes next door to them? Facente asked. Thats the biggest reason I came out here in the middle of nowhere so I wouldnt have to deal with all that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But two planned road projects threaten to upend his business and the lifestyles of many of his neighbors underscoring the price of progress in a fast-growing county where many longtime residents nevertheless cling to the way theyve lived for decades. The projects one a 15- to 20-mile tolled highway by the Central Florida Expressway Authority known as the Northeast Connector and the other a roughly six-mile road by Osceola County called the Sunbridge Parkway Extension seek to connect critical thoroughfares in an area repeatedly named Floridas fastest-growing by state officials and census data. St. Clouds population has exploded in recent years. Census data from 2023 revealed just over 66,400 residents called the city home up nearly 13% in three years from 2020 estimates. Osceola County has grown by a similar proportion in the same time frame, reaching 440,000. With a ballooning population comes growing pains and residents at the center of the projects in the rural Bay Lake Ranch area are feeling the pain. The neighborhood was established roughly 30 years ago with many lots of 10 acres or more. The community is pocked by large, unruly trees and overgrown shrubbery where residents see coyotes, bobcats and once even a panther. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They worry property values will go down if an expressway traverses their backyards, and they fret about environmental impacts to nearby Lake Conlin and Lake X. "They're trying to place it right behind our neighborhood where there is a preserve and that's going to affect a lot of wildlife," said Alexandra Cardona, a Bay Lake Ranch resident. "A lot of us moved here for peace and tranquility and we pay higher property taxes because our yards are 1-acre minimum so there's just a lot of impact." Residents hosted meetings in January with CFX and the county that roughly 150 people attended, and a petition opposing the road projects has been signed by nearly 800 but they're up against the clock. In 2017, CFX began studying the same area for the Northeast Connector Expressway but paused the project over community opposition. Now the agency says it has to act fast before the area is built out with subdivisions to provide the eastern-most side of the county its only connection to Florida's Turnpike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Because of development, it's happening at such a fast pace [in Osceola County] that if we don't do it now, it might not be available in the future and if it is, it will be exponentially more expensive to get right of way," CFX Spokesman Brian Hutchings said by email. Developers D.R. Horton and Tavistock are hoping to build thousands of homes in the area. This is far from the first battle in Osceola pitting rural lifestyles against urban growth, and CFX is growing adept at prevailing. In May, the road agency won the right to build a controversial toll road through a portion of once-protected Split Oak Forest. And in November it made headway against opposition to the Southport Connector Expressway, a 15-mile elevated, six-lane toll road planned through Poinciana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet continued resistance from the community makes CFX's grand vision to connect all of Osceola the Southport Connector Expressway would link to the Northeast Connector Expressway and offer the county's sole southern highway loop all the more challenging. In addition, law firms have contacted Facente and other residents detailing how the Northeast Connector may require government to seize a portion of their properties using eminent domain. Last month, Facente received a letter from the Winter Park law firm of Harris Harris Bauerle Lopez stating his home could be at risk. Kurt Bauerle, an attorney at the firm who specializes in eminent domain, said many firms advertise services when there's a real possibility of property owners losing some or all of their land. But he acknowledged such proceedings are still years away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hutchings said it's too early to tell if the projects will involve the eminent domain process, which pays owners for their land while compelling them to sell. "We wont know any possible property impacts within the very large Northeast Connector study corridor until we have an approved alignment and more accurately if/when it is advanced into design," he said by email. "Finally, if a property is going to be impacted, we will contact the owner with a formal letter." The Northeast Connector Expressway is expected to run from the Turnpike northeast to U.S. 192 and north to State Road 534. CFX will build upon the 2017 study and examine new routes for the project, hopefully by year's end. Osceola County's preferred corridor for its new road will connect U.S. 192 to Nova Road using Botanic Boulevard, Old Melbourne Highway and Lake Conlin Road and meet Sunbridge Parkway at a proposed intersection on Nova. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maria Claudia Durango, Osceola's roads outreach consultant, said by email that the four-lane divided highway will feature pedestrian and bike paths and is moving forward to the planned development and environment phase. Durango said the preferred route needs more detailed analysis but will be presented at a public hearing later this year alongside a no-build alternative detailing what traffic could look like without the Sunbridge Parkway Extension. CFX will host a public meeting about the project March 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Harmony High School, 3601 Arthur J Gallagher Blvd., and a virtual meeting March 12 from 6-7:30 p.m. Those wishing to attend virtually can register here. The county will host a public meeting about the Sunbridge Parkway Extension on Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at the high school in the auditorium. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although much planning and decision-making remains, Facente is anxious. The 2017 study of the Northeast Connector resulted in five proposed corridors one of which ran through his backyard. "If they pick one of those paths then, yes, I'm concerned," Facente said. "I would probably have to consider stopping the business, because for me to sell and move, restricts where I'm going to go. "With all honesty, at 75 years old, I don't want to move again. I thought I was going to die here." Even the most jaded conservative would probably not expect championing sex-based discrimination to be a popular progressive cause. But when it comes to the state pension, it seemingly is. The Women Against State Pension Inequality, the so-called Waspi women, display quite some chutzpah in adopting that name. Inequality is emphatically not what the campaign is objecting to. They are now threatening legal action against the Government unless it pays compensation of up to 10.5bn to women born in the 1950s for this past non-wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the 2019 election, then Labour shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, had promised up to 58bn in compensation more than the UKs current annual defence spending of 53.9bn. But even the campaigners themselves seem to have given up hope of quite such a prodigious handout. In 1940, UK life expectancy was 65.7 years for women and 61.4 for men the state pension age for both sexes had been 65, but was reduced to 60 for women that year. Although the averages are brought down considerably by the high rates of infant and child mortality then prevalent, with those life expectancies, many still never reached retirement age. Those making it would expect to live on post-work for perhaps only a few years, not the decades that are the norm today. With longer female life expectancy, the reduction of the pension age for women was palpably unfair even at the time. The usual explanation for the move is a practical, utilitarian one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most women then married slightly older men and the difference would enable husbands and wives to leave work at roughly the same time and enjoy retirement together, however short it might be. As the UK moved through successive post-war generations and the sexes reaped the benefits of a greater degree of equality, the gender gap in age at marriage gradually diminished. (The average difference at first marriage now stands at around a year and a half 32.7 for men and 31.2 for women). Outdated policies tend to live on long after passing their use by date. Only in 1995, did John Majors government finally take the plunge and announce that retirement ages would be equalised by 2020. Then in 2011, the Cameron government moved this date forward to 2018 and announced that the state pension age would gradually start rising for all from 2020. So where does the alleged inequality come in? The campaigners argue that women born in the 1950s were insufficiently warned that they would receive the state pension later than they had been expecting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They received some backing for this claim last year when the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman reported on the issue. It found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had inadequately informed some women about the change in the state pension age. But its findings are rather more nuanced than the campaigners suggest. The report finds that the DWP did what it should in informing women of the change in retirement age up to 2004: Between 1995 and 2004, DWPs communication of changes to state pension age reflected the standards we would expect it to meet. Accurate information was publicly available through DWPs agencies, pension education campaigns, leaflets and website. In other words, far from covering it up, it was doing its very best to publicise the change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Where the criticism comes in is that research in 2004 showed that news of the changes were not reaching the people who needed it most, and after that point, the DWP did not do enough to reach these women. How such a narrow finding can possibly justify the campaigners demand for blanket compensation for all 3.8 million women born in the 1950s is a mystery. And even if it were not for the DWPs information campaign, would they really have a case? The changes to the state pension age were hardly a secret. They were announced to Parliament and then legislation, the Pensions Act 1995, had to go through all its stages in the Commons and the Lords. Now, I acknowledge my habit of reading Hansard as a leisure activity has for some unfathomable reason not become a widespread pastime. But this was front page news. It led radio and TV news for a prolonged period. It was the subject of endless broadcast discussions. Clearly planning on the basis of one set of rules, and then those rules changing, is far from ideal. But the change of rules was rectifying a clear, and under sex discrimination laws possibly illegal, injustice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 1995, the realisation that the cost of state pensions was rapidly becoming unaffordable could no longer be ignored, and this was one glaring oddity that could be rectified whilst also saving money. Much tougher choices will certainly follow in the coming years. For those facing hardship, I have every sympathy. But in this era of the clearly unaffordable triple lock, the needs of pensioners are being far from overlooked. It is hard to think of a less justified campaign for blanket state compensation. The Waspi women have not been wronged. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Gunfire was exchanged seconds after a man exited a busy convenience store in Maricopa and police attempted to stop him, according to the officers' body-worn camera footage. The gunshots in the parking lot left the man dead and an officer wounded Thursday afternoon. The Pinal Regional Special Investigations Unit identified Keith Tyler Prock, 38, as the man who died in the gunfire exchange with officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The officer, who was not identified, was reported in serious but stable condition at a Phoenix-area hospital. According to a news release from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, Prock was a known felon with outstanding warrants who was shot after he pulled a handgun and fired several times at Maricopa police officers as he tried to flee after walking out of a Circle K near John Wayne Parkway and Bowlin Road. A pair of Maricopa police detectives driving in an unmarked car also pursued Prock, with the one seated in the front passenger seat firing at him as the vehicle simultaneously struck the suspect, the news release said. Slowed-down footage provides a closer look The bodycam footage released late Friday shows the vantage points of the pursuing officers, with the wounded officer's video showing him getting out of the police vehicle after he parks it and then chasing a man seen some feet away from the store's front doors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This officer is heard saying, "Stop, man, stop." The man is seen tossing his merchandise to the ground. Slowed-down footage shows the suspect just outside the store's door as he pulls his handgun and directs it at the pursuing officer with a fired casing visible. Multiple gunshots can be heard as the second officer continues pursuit of the man after the first officer falls to the ground on his back, with rounds seemingly hitting the store's front awning. The officer on the ground can be heard shouting, "I'm hit. I'm hit." Further slowed-down footage shows what appears to be the man firing at the second officer pursuing him. The man is wounded by gunshots several yards from the store's doors, with the officer firing from the store's front curbside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the footage is blurred out when the unmarked car approaches the fallen suspect, the vehicle is seen as it strikes the man as he lies on the ground. A woman approaches the officer who shot the suspect and is pushed by him as he shouts for her to step back. According to the news release, Prock died at the scene. It was not clear why the officers were at the convenience store where the shooting happened. "This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers our officers face every day to keep our community safe," Maricopa police Chief Mark Goodman stated. "Thankfully, our officer survived, and their prognosis is positive. However, they sustained serious injuries that will take time to heal." What to know about Keith Tyler Prock Prock had an "extensive violent criminal history" and was affiliated with major gangs, the sheriff's office news release added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry, Prock was convicted of multiple felonies in Maricopa County, including aggravated assault, robbery, organized retail theft and discharging a firearm at a structure. He was released in January 2024, according to Corrections Department records. A Maricopa Police Department officer and two detectives were placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure, during the shooting investigation, according to the news release. The detectives were not wearing body cameras, the news release said. The Pinal County Sheriffs Office is investigating the shooting. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Video shows fatal police shooting, officer hit at Arizona Circle K SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Did you know there were once mule-drawn streetcars in Shreveport, Louisiana? I wish to rent that well-known Brick Livery Stable, front forty-two feet on Texas street, Shreveport Terms very low for such a building, situated in the centre of the city, with the city streetcars running immediately in front of said stable, wrote Jacob Hoss in an advertisement in The (Shreveport) Times on Nov. 16, 1877. Shreveport had mule-drawn streetcars for decades before they became electrified. And during those days, there were no age restrictions on the purchase of tobacco products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drivers of street-cars should not permit passengers to ride on the step of the car, wrote a Shreveport resident in The Shreveport Daily Standard on Nov. 11, 1879. Boys are particularly given to this practice. The disadvantages to pedestrians in getting in a car in motion are very great when they are deprived of the iron-rods on each side, which are for the purpose of assisting the, and which these hangers-on hold themselves on by. Besides, they interfere with he ingress and egress of ladies, by usurping the doorstep, to say nothing of the reprehensible practice of puffing tobacco smoke on the inside of the car, which seems to be the principal object in riding on the outside, since they are not permitted to smoke in the car. But cigarette-smoking little boys werent the only menace to Shreveport streetcar life. It turns out that women, in large groups on streetcars, could also cause a ruckus. You can read about it in the Dec. 19, 1879 Shreveport Daily Standard. When a man was bucked off of his horse in downtown Shreveport as a streetcar full of female passengers passed, the horse proceeding up the street alone, a discomfited, bruised horseman, gathering himself together and gazing vacantly at the preceding car of giggling female. By this token again, we are reminded that those liking to look at tumbles can have that predilection gratified by standing on Texas street nay evening and watching the rural inhabitants getting out of the street-cars while they are in motion, and piling on top of each other as the geologists say, in a shapeless chaotic mass.' Clip from The (Shreveport) Times, July 4, 1872, pp. 2 Streetcars were a societal hub in 1870s Shreveport. And although we know that young boys and ladies used the mule-drawn streetcars in historic Shreveport, another demographic may not have been given the same opportunities to ride on public transportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 1866, streetcar protests took place in New Orleans. The Civil War had just ended, and freedmen quickly became tired of having streetcar seats that were separated from white passengers. Many white citizens in New Orleans, who had been using the streetcar system since it was established in 1835, were not ready for the reality of a free society after the Civil War. Illustration from 1855 showing a horse-drawn streetcar in New Orleans, drawn by Fran Bellow. All those discrimination that had slavery at the bottom have become nonsense, declared the Tribune in New Orleans. It behooves those who feel bold enough to shake off the old prejudice and to confront their prejudiced associates, to show their hands. On Apr. 24, 1867, The Tribune launched a campaign for equality on streetcars. When protestors boarded streetcars in New Orleans during the movement, drivers simply stopped the streetcars. But the protests continued, and by May 8 streetcars in New Orleans had been integrated. Things didnt work in the same way in NWLA, though. Like streetcar operators in much of the American South, streetcar operators in 1870s Shreveport were in charge of who could and couldnt board their trolleys. And though Shreveports mule-drawn streetcar history is interesting, theres also something overtly underhanded about how the business operated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeff Williams, an African American man, died on the old Holmes place outside of Shreveports city limits in 1879 because of an incident on a streetcar. His wife stated that he was forcibly ejected from a street-car by the driver, and that he never rallied from the shock of the fall, which he suffered at the time of said forcible ejectment, we read on pp. 4 of The Shreveport Daily Standard from Nov. 27, 1879. The Shreveport Daily Standard, Nov. 27, 1879, documents a Black man being thrown from a moving streetcar in Shreveport. Despite the gains for streetcar equality in 1867 in New Orleans, Louisiana, streetcar discrimination was not over. Louisiana politicians enacted a law in 1902 that segregated streetcars across the entire state. Clipping from The (Shreveport) Times, May 22, 1902, pp. 1 shows another round of segregation laws for streetcars in Louisiana. A clipping from the front page of The (Shreveport) Times (see above) explained that a strong delegation in Shreveport was expected to fight the new law that would force all streetcars in Louisiana to segregate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law passed and it was back to square one for those who had been fighting for equality in Louisiana Public Transportation. First attack on segregation in Shreveport foreshadowed the civil rights movement By 1961, Freedom Riders in Shreveport took up the mantle again and did their best to stop the segregation of public transportation in the American South, but thats a different story. 1961: Six Shreveport Freedom Riders tried to desegregate Trailways Bus Center Excuse me, maam, but are you doing your nails? Streetcars were an important source of transportation for some residents of 1870s Shreveport. The fancy dress ball, by the E. Y. Ms, at Thatchers school houses, promises to be a brilliant affair, and all who attend may expect a pleasant time. The street-cars will run until the ball closes, stated the Shreveport Daily Standard on the day before Christmas in 1879. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The practice of running streetcars late into the evening wasnt just reserved for balls, either. In late May of 1880, streetcars were kept running for attendees of a Moonlight Picnic held at Fairfield Park from 6:00 p.m. until midnight. St. Marks Episcopal church organized the event to raise money for church building repairs. Ladies got into the event for free, where they could dine on strawberry ice cream, salads, and meats. But for ladies who lived in Shreveport in 1880, there were specific ways to behave if they wanted to ride a streetcar. Image shows Shreveports mule-drawn streetcars. Notice the dirt roads and the tracks going through the center of the historic city. (Source: public domain) When a Shreveport lady enters a car she should smile and bow slightly to the rest of the passengers. This is the latest French rule. If there are no passengers, we suppose she can shake hands with the conductor or pat the mule on the back, stated a reporter from The Shreveport Daily Standard on Jan. 3, 1880. Years later, on Mar 3, 1907, a newspaper called The Caucasian posed another question directed at ladies on the streetcar: I wonder if it is better to manicure ones finger nails in a streetcar before all the folk than never to manicure them at all? Ostrich-powered streetcar, anyone? By the early 1880s, news papers in Shreveport kept citizens abreast of the newest streetcar technologies. A few interesting options graced Shreveport newspapers in those years, including the following article: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Brooklyn bridge cars are to be heated by steam pipes underneath the seats by a patented process, by which the pipes will be kept warm for twelve hours at a time without having the steam renewed. If this result can be attained it will afford an easy means of heating city streetcars without the objectionable features attaching to stove, stated The (Shreveport) Times on Nov. 20, 1883. But steaming passengers was much easier to orchestrate than what the ex-Commissioner of Agriculture proposed for 1880s streetcars. Clipping from The (Shreveport) Times, Sept. 28, 1883, pp. 1 But despite the idea of using ostriches to pull streetcars, Shreveport moved boldly into a new electric future. By Oct. 28, 1893, some of the citys streetcars had been electrified. Notice is hereby given that during this week, and Sunday, conductors and motoreers on all the electric cars will have tickets for sale at 5 cents each, good for one ride each, during fair week, we read in The (Shreveport) Times on Oct. 28, 1893. Clipping from The (Shreveport) Times, Oct. 7, 1899, pp. 8 shows lots for sale near electric streetcar lines in Shreveport. By 1906, electric streetcars ran down Travis Street and Texas Street in Shreveport. Clipping from The (Shreveport) Times, Feb. 14, 1906, pp. 8 In 1943, a survey of wartime transportation in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Louisiana documented that the most efficient and clean local transit system is in the city of Shreveport, Louisiana, where electric, trackless trolley buses are used. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Five gas buses were added to Shreveports fleet of 17 electric trolleys in 1947. Sources: The (Shreveport) Times, Feb. 14, 1906, pp. 8. The (Shreveport) Times, Oct. 7, 1899, pp. 8. The (Shreveport) Times, Sept. 28, 1883, pp. 1. The (Shreveport) Times, May 22, 1902, pp. 1. The Shreveport Daily Standard, Nov. 27, 1879. Illustration from 1855 showing a horse-drawn streetcar in New Orleans, drawn by Fran Bellow. The (Shreveport) Times, July 4, 1872, pp. 2 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. Reactions are still flying in over the abrupt end to Ukrainian President Zelenskyys visit to the White House last week. Zelenskyy attended a summit of European leaders in London on Sunday. Former Governor John Kasich (R-OH) and former Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Chris Meagher share their thoughts on Fridays Oval Office meeting and the unexpected support from GOP lawmakers President Trump has received so far. A powerful early March storm that could produce a tornado outbreak in the South on Tuesday could deliver a significant shot of moisture to parts of Minnesota as well. Will it be rain? Mixed precipitation? Heavy snow? That's where things get uncertain, but there are signs that the looming system could pack a punch. Pivotal Weather The European, American and Canadian ensembles, which account for numerous possible outcomes and take the average, all agree that at least minor snow accumulations are possible in southeastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How much snow, and how north and west the accumulating snow reaches, is where the models begin to differ. The deterministic models, again using the European, American and Canadian options, are throwing out higher snow totals. Of course, these can't really be trusted fully just yet, but it does hint at the potential this system has. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities is advising "caution in buying into snowfall maps that display double digit snowfall totals on social media." Why the hesitation? "A transition to snow is looking more likely, but it's too soon to say whether or not snow amounts will be impactful," the NWS Twin Cities explained. Timing and temps will be critical in regards to snowfall potential. The storm track also needs to be closely monitored. Just 24 hours ago the models were keeping the track further south and east, which significantly reduced precipitation totals for most of Minnesota. It remains possible that the storm could barely clip southeastern counties while hammering Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Twin Cities has had 16.1 inches of snow since December 1. That's about two feet below normal for this time of year, so we might be due for a March snowstorm or two before spring takes up a more permanent residency in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. NEW YORK There used to be a time when customers at the Sandwich Spot Deli in Flatbush would buy a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich just to save a couple of bucks. It was a budget-friendly option to the roast beef and cheddar, or the popular turkey and Swiss. Not anymore, not since the cost of eggs has soared beyond the price of the golden ones that a certain goose once laid. A carton of eggs right now is like $12, said Abod Ali, 22, who makes sandwiches at the Flatbush Ave. Sandwich Spot. Its going up like crazy. I cant even make bacon, egg and cheese; sausage, egg and cheese, omelets; all that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously, a bacon egg and cheese sandwich at the deli would cost $4 or $5, he said. Ali said he used to sell about 100 of the sandwiches every day. Now hes only selling about 30. It dropped like crazy, he said. If they dont find a solution to this, Ill just buy a whole bunch of chickens and put them in the basement, figure something out. The egg price crisis, brought on by the bird flu epidemic, has cooked up some creative solutions. To boil down the sticker shock, several bodegas in the Bronx started selling eggs loosie style several eggs at a time the same way they do with cigarettes. When customers at the corner stores balked at paying $12 or more for a dozen eggs, store owners began selling them in smaller quantities. At Pamelas Green Deli in Morrisania, owner Radhames Rodriguez is selling three eggs in a plastic bag for $2.99. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive been in business for 40 years and Ive never seen the eggs so high like that, Rodriguez told CBS. He said the idea came to him after seeing customers leave full cartons of eggs on the counter. If you have $20 and you want to make breakfast for two or three people, and youre already spending $12 for one item, something, he said, how are they going to buy the bread, the milk, the butter and all that stuff? The nationwide average for egg prices isnt as high as it is in New York, but consumers across the country are still reeling from sticker shock. Data from the most recent consumer price index show that prices for a dozen grade A eggs in U.S. cities jumped 15% in the month of January alone to an average of $4.95, shattering the previous record of $4.82 from two years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past year, egg prices have increased 53% and have more than doubled from a low reached in August 2023. The price jump has not gone unnoticed at the White House, where President Trump mentioned the increase during his first Cabinet meeting. Eggs are a disaster, Trump said. The secretary of agriculture is going to be showing you a chart thats actually mind-boggling whats happened. How low they were with us (in the first Trump term), how high they are now. I think we can do something about it. With the price of eggs reaching record highs, the Trump administration is looking into importing more eggs from other countries and increasing funding for efforts to fight the spread of avian flu, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That would be good news for Joan Sheridan, 68, of Bay Ridge, a retired dental hygienist who said she somehow manages to make a dozen eggs last a whole month. Im still eating the same amount, she said. I eat them on the weekends, scrambled, sometimes hard-boiled. It bothers me because prices are high and Im on a fixed income. But its still not inhibiting me from buying it. I just eat it on the weekends because its like a luxury. She said she bought a dozen eggs recently for about $10. Thats a dollar more than they were going for at the Smoke Shop Deli and Grocery in Flatbush Customers there were paying about half that price just three months ago, said deli clerk Jordy Ortiz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everybodys struggling. Im just hoping that it comes down, Ortiz said. Sometimes the customers look at the pricing of the eggs, and theyll leave it there. But sometimes they ask us, Why is it so high? So I have to explain the best that I can that its not us. I mean, obviously we do set the pricing, but its because the market also has increased the pricing on us. But the egg news Ortiz gives his customers isnt all bad. He said a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich there is still five bucks. Doug Jackson liked working for the federal government. A U.S. Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War, he worked for a stretch at NASA and then in January took a job in the Internal Revenue Services Orlando office. The federal government which encouraged veterans to apply offered a stable, familiar workplace and one that counted his four years of military service toward retirement benefits. Not any more. Jackson, 40, of Orlando, this week found himself among the estimated 30,000 federal employees to suddenly lose their jobs amid the Trump administrations mass firings across swaths of federal agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has pulled the carpet out from underneath a lot of people, Jackson said. Now Jackson, a married homeowner, is unexpectedly worried about his finances and wondering why his work history, which also included a stint as an veterans advocate lobbying for legislation to benefit military retirees, has been suddenly devalued. This is a slap on the face when Ive spent my life serving in government or working for the public interest, he said. Billionaire Elon Musk and the ad hoc group DOGE have been targeting new, probationary hires like Jackson for termination across the board since President Donald Trump returned to office last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Jackson learned a fellow recent hire, a disabled Army veteran, had been fired via email, he was still working at the IRS but figured his survival may have just been an oversight. He was right. Hey, whos Doug Jackson? his supervisor was asked by her superiors, he said. I was just so new, I wasnt on some sort of roster that they used to compile all the probationary hires. His work at the agency is no longer in the public interest, a letter he received this week stated. Its completely impersonal, said Jackson. Its not based off of merit or someones credentials or even a performance report. Its just, Oh, youre probationary, or youre a new hire. Okay, youre gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The layoffs will leave federal agencies weaker, Jackson said. It will certainly make their recruitment efforts more difficult, retention efforts more difficult, and just overall create instability, he said. Which, I think, is all by design. The Trump administration claiming it was seeking to end waste and fraud has terminated employees in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Park Service, and the Weather Service, among many others. In addition, another 75,000 federal employees took what have been described as buyouts, the legal status of which remains unclear. A Thursday court injunction put a temporary restraining order on the Office and Management and Budget, finding its firing of probationary employees illegal, but the action does not affect Jackson and IRS employees, he said. The mass layoffs appear to be just beginning. Russell Vought, the OMB director, told agencies to prepare for an additional large-scale reduction in force by March 13. Vought has called federal employees villains who should be in trauma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the American public does not share those views. More than half said that Musk was cutting useful programs and only 38% approved of the job he was doing, according to a YouGov poll released this week. DOGE was also the most disliked federal office in the survey, with 37% of Americans saying they wanted the group reduced or eliminated, up from 34% last week. Theyre playing with fire now, said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. I dont think most Americans who voted for Trump were expecting large, indiscriminate cuts to peoples jobs as part of the bargain for voting for him. Venal depravity: Florida Dems spotlight people at risk in GOP budget cuts Such mass firings, Jewett added, seem really disrespectful and could also hurt the economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits last week jumped to 242,000, the highest in three months. That is all a potential problem for the president, Jewett added. Florida ranks fifth among the 50 states for the largest number of civilian federal employees, according to the Congressional Research Service, with more than 94,000 as of March 2024. More than 26,000 of those employees live in and around Orlando. The districts with the largest number of those employees are largely represented by Republicans in Congress. That includes more than 12,000 in Districts 7 and 11, held by Republican representatives Cory Mills and Dan Webster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veterans make up nearly 30% of all civilian federal employees. Mills, who served in the 82nd Army Airborne in Iraq and Afghanistan, did not return a request for comment about the layoffs left with his office. Jackson said the firings are creating a disproportionate impact among his fellow former servicemembers. An Alabama native, Jackson said much of the country seems unaware of how federal government operations impact their lives. Ive spoken to friends and even family who dont quite understand the work that Ive been doing for the last several years, he said. Theyre looking from the outside and just agreeing. Okay, yep, the budget is bloated. Government has gotten too big. We need to make some bold moves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Continuing to gut the federal workforce, he said, will have a negligible, almost immeasurable effect on the overall budget, as salaries make up only about 4% of the total. After leaving the military, Jackson pursued a masters degree at Rollins College. As a part of the Pathways program, which allows the government to recruit talent among those still pursuing degrees, Jackson worked in communications for NASA. With no permanent position available once he graduated, he worked as a government contractor for two years before beginning the months-long process of getting hired at the IRS. He was assigned to the downtown Orlando office, though his internal communications team mostly worked remotely. His teams duties included speechwriting for executives and writing guidance to employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IRS already struggles with public favor, he said. When its being gutted, its hard to imagine that their capabilities wont be impacted. Now he is anxious to find a new job quickly. Im not really looking at the federal government, Jackson said. That would be my preference, but Im looking towards the private sector. He also plans to write about his experiences and share that work publicly, hoping to educate others. Im trying to think of ways that I can contribute, in a small way, to explain to people who dont understand that there are specific consequences to whats happening, he said. Despite peoples eagerness to see a more efficient federal government, this isnt the way to do it. And its hurting people. SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) The 4th Annual Parker College of Business Gala brought together leaders from Georgias business community and Parker College alumni, faculty and students to celebrate the impact of the Parker College of Business throughout the state and region. All net proceeds from the gala support student scholarships. Featured speakers at the gala included Georgia Southern University President Dr. Kyle Marrero, Parker College of Business Dean Allen Amason and Parkers Kitchen founder and CEO Greg Parker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Georgia State Senator Billy Hickman was presented with the 2025 Distinguished Service Award. Nichols Cauley, a respected public accounting and business advisory firm with seven offices across Georgia, was honored with the 2025 Outstanding Corporate Partner Award The Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University creates successful business professionals who lead the way to a prosperous future through impactful teaching, grounded research and practical experiential service opportunities. The college graduates more than 1,000 students annually and has 29,000+ alumni across the country and around the world. Photos courtesy: Kaitlin Sells Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Anthony Hudson, a Republican candidate for Michigan governor, says he wants to reduce the size of the government and cut taxes. Hudson, a truck driver from the Grand Blanc area, is described on his campaign website as a candidate who embodies the principles, vision and drive that Michigan voters overwhelmingly supported when they voted for President (Donald) Trump. On Saturday, he sat down with News 8 to discuss his platform. Senate minority leader Aric Nesbitt will run for Michigan governor Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As an average guy that participates in my community, I see a lot of people struggling. And the most common reason why is financial, Hudson said, blaming high taxes and the government. I want to make a change. Hudson aims to eliminate property taxes and state income tax. We pay the state for the right to go to work, and I dont think thats fair, he said. Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson launches bid for governor The candidate for governor, who in 2024 ran in the Republican primary to represent Michigans 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House, told News 8 that he believes the government has grown too large. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to reduce the size of government, Hudson said. He said he would implement a Michigan version of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Hudson said he would also go one step further and add a Michigan Department of Voter Efficiency to police elections. Nearly 40% of contracts canceled by Musks DOGE are expected to produce no savings Some of Hudsons other goals include eliminating annual vehicle registrations; transitioning to at-fault auto insurance; reducing the funds that go to the Michigan Secretary of States Office; and getting rid of solar and wind farms on state land, instead favoring natural gas as an energy source. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the Republican side, Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, of Porter Township, has also announced a bid for governor. On the other side of the aisle, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson have launched campaigns. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an independent. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Actor Harrison Ford, who was scheduled as one of the presenters at the 97th Oscars, has backed out of presenting due to his recent shingles diagnosis. The 82-year-old actor is doing fine and taking rest after the diagnosis. Shingles is a "viral infection that causes a painful rash," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ford attended the Captain America: Brave New World and the Western drama television series '1923' season two in Los Angeles earlier this month. On the 1923 red carpet, he shared why he enjoyed working on the Western show: "I love the viscerality of it, I love the physical nature of the storytelling, I love being in natural circumstances, he said. "[It's] a kind of old-fashioned movie-making mostly, no CGI or very little CGI -- a little something to sweeten the location. But it's really essential, old-time storytelling and I love working with this kind of material," as per the outlet. The presenters for the prestigious award ceremony are Academy Award winners Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer), Emma Stone (Poor Things), (La La Land), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), according to The Hollywood Reporter. This year's confirmed presenters include Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez, Ben Stiller, Sterling K. Brown, Willem Dafoe, Goldie Hawn, Joe Alwyn, Ana de Armas, Connie Nielsen and Lily-Rose Depp. The Oscars is hosted by Conan O'Brien, and takes place at the Dolby Theatre. The ceremony airs live on ABC and is available for streaming on Hulu on March 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI) DENVER (KDVR) After several days of temperatures in the 60s in Denver weather, chances for snow and rain are in the forecast, prompting a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day issued for Tuesday. A winter system is expected to push in Monday afternoon, bringing snow to the mountains and rain to the metro, with a possibility for snow through Tuesday. Detours around I-70 and Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel As of Saturday, Pinpoint Weather meteorologist Travis Michels said there are many unknowns surrounding the storm and things could change, but forecasters have an idea of what to expect. Timing: Two-day storm The storm is expected to begin Monday afternoon or evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the city, precipitation will begin with rain through the evening. After the sun goes down and the atmosphere cools, Michels said temperatures will flirt with freezing and rain could transition into snow. Meanwhile, higher elevations where temperatures are lower are expected to recieve snow throughout the storm. March is usually the snowiest month of the year for Denver The storm is expected to wrap up by Tuesday afternoon. After several days of temperatures in the 60s in Denver weather, chances for snow and rain are in the forecast, prompting a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day issued for Tuesday. Which areas could get the most snow? The metro area could get some snow, but chances are significantly higher in the mountains. Michels noted that after several days in the 60s warming the ground, Denver may not see much accumulation as the atmosphere will be colder than the ground, making any snow melt quicker. Because of this, meteorologists are unsure of how much snow Denver could get. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denver temperatures land in the 60s, but the warm weather isnt here to stay The foothills and Palmer Divide, however, are just high enough in elevation that Michels said those areas could the biggest concern near the metro. Temperatures there will be cooler and there will be greater chances for snow. The mountains will have the highest chances for snow, with the storm hovering over areas like Aspen, Eagle, Steamboat Springs, Craig and Telluride. The metro area could get some snow, but chances are significantly higher in the mountains. Michels said exactly how much snow could fall is unknown as models show varying totals and do not yet account for melting. Impacts: Some roads could be snowy Besides the 20-degree drop in temperature being an inconvenience for those enjoying the sunny warm weather, the storm is expected to impact much of the state, particularly on roads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The metro area is expected to be wet, though colder temperatures and snow are possible. Its expected to swap over to snow overnight, but temperatures flirt with freezing in the city, so its going to be a melty slushy mix, Michels said. Weve also been in the 60s for seven days prior to this so the grounds already warm so were gonna get some melting there. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up for weather alerts from the Pinpoint Weather team The morning commute could be dicey Tuesday morning near the Palmer Divide in areas like Castle Rock and Monument Hill. Michels said drivers should prepare for potential delays and snow to stick on roads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The high country will likely see sticking snow with cooler temperatures. Tuesday and beyond are expected to bring temperatures in the 40s, a significant drop from the 60s Denver has enjoyed recently but normal for this time of the year. Be sure to stay updated ahead of this system the Pinpoint Weather Team will be tracking this storm and providing updates as details become clearer in the coming days. Denver, Colorado weather resources Stay prepared for storms and forecast changes, a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day and other important weather information: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Pinpoint Weather team will continue to update the forecast multiple times each day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. The boat bobbed gently off Malibus Big Rock Beach as a trio of scientific divers wriggled into wetsuits and double-checked tanks and regulators. Behind them unfurled a panorama of devastation from the Palisades fire a month earlier. Blackened vegetation dotted the hillsides rising above Pacific Coast Highway. Rubble and lonely chimneys littered the shore where beachfront homes once stood. One by one, the three divers slipped beneath the surface, nets and knives at the ready. They were seeking evidence of the fires underwater toll, particularly its effect on a vital anchor of the coastal ecosystem: kelp. Boat captain Joey Broyles, center, discusses the plan for the day during a kelp collection dive by Kelp Ark off the the coast of Malibu. (William Liang / For The Times) The divers were with Kelp Ark , a San Pedro-based nonprofit seed bank that preserves and stores genetic material from West Coast kelp species. The Feb. 10 dive was their second since fire and subsequent rains injected tons of ash and debris into the ocean ecosystem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we think about wildfires, we think a lot about how that impacts the terrestrial realm, how destructive it can be to the land, said Lori Berberian, a second-year PhD student in geography at UCLA who studies the effects of wildfire on kelp abundance and habitat distribution. But there are huge implications for the coast. Forests of kelp, a fast-growing brown algae, provide food and habitat for hundreds of marine species and absorb greenhouse gases that might otherwise hasten climate change. Yet kelp is also highly sensitive to environmental changes. Fluctuations in temperature, light availability, nutrients and pollutants can have surprisingly swift consequences on kelp populations, which have waxed and waned along the California coast in recent decades. And few things have shocked L.A.s ecology like Januarys Palisades and Eaton fires, which burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed at least 12,000 buildings and drained tons of ash, debris and toxic residue into the ocean. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one yet knows how sea life will respond to an urban fire of this magnitude. Kelp may be one of the first species to tell us. Theyre a big sentinel species that are indicators of how our coastal ecosystems are thriving, said Erin Hestir , a remote sensing specialist and associate professor at UC Merced. Hestir is the principal investigator of KelpFire, a NASA-funded research project that uses remote sensing and on-the-ground observations to track the effects of wildfire runoff on kelp populations. Sedona Silva enters the water during a kelp collection dive by Kelp Ark off the coast of Malibu. (William Liang / For The Times) While every rainfall washes dirt and urban gunk into the ocean, that process is turbocharged after a wildfire. Fire consumes vegetation that would otherwise hold soil in place and alters soil chemistry so that it absorbs less water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This massive infusion of sediment disrupts kelps access to two things it needs to survive: rocks and sunlight. A glut of dirt and pollutants can interfere with kelp spores ability to securely attach to rocks and reefs, either by binding to the spores themselves or by littering rock surfaces. And when ash and debris fall upon the oceans surface, it reduces the amount of sunlight that filters through the water and provides the light kelp needs to photosynthesize. Kelp isnt the only marine species that suffers when deprived of light or pumped with pollution. But the prominent role it plays makes it an important bellwether for broader problems spurred by a changing climate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berberian, the UCLA doctoral student, is also a member of the research team. She developed a Post-Fire Kelp Recovery Index to compare kelp canopy extent after a fire to its historical average. The team found that mature giant kelp beds shrank after the 2016 Soberanes fire in Monterey County, the 2017 Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and the 2018 Woolsey fire in the Santa Monica Mountains. They still havent returned to pre-fire levels, Hestir said. Sedona Silva, left, hands off her kelp during a collection dive by Kelp Ark off Malibu. The seed bank is concerned about the health of Southern California's kelp populations after debris from the recent wildfires was found in the area. (William Liang / For The Times) Recovery rates varied widely by location. Using satellite data, Berberian found that the median recovery rate of kelp beds near Malibu was a mere 7% in the two years after the Woolsey fire. In the same time period, beds off of Palos Verdes rebounded 61%, with some areas recovering almost completely. All of those fires dumped sediment into the ocean. But January's infernos introduced a new variable, said Kyle Cavanaugh , a coastal geographer and UCLA professor who is also on the KelpFire team. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previous wildfires burned mostly brush, trees and other organic material. The Palisades and Eaton fires incinerated homes, cars and everything in them: plastics, electronics, batteries, asbestos, lead pipes and household chemicals. No one knows yet what effect this will have on sea life. Theres certainly evidence that certain types of hydrocarbons and metals are toxic to early life stages of giant kelp, and you might expect that would be a bigger issue with all of the urban structures that burnt, Cavanaugh said. That's something somewhat unique about this." Declan Bulwa carries kelp he collected during the collection dive. Forests of kelp, a fast-growing brown algae, provide food and habitat for hundreds of marine species and absorb greenhouse gases that might otherwise hasten climate change. (William Liang / For The Times) Californias giant kelp faces a number of different threats, and Hestir cautioned between drawing a direct line between any single disturbance fire included and decline of visible canopy. Yet as the environmental disruptions pile up prolonged marine heat waves, changing ocean chemistry, stronger and more frequent storms so does the worry that the next disturbance could be a tipping point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we're concerned about is that these kelp are already under these stressors . . . and then you end up with a wildfire event, and maybe that's what really tips it over the edge and doesn't allow it to recover, Hestir said. Kelp Arks divers observed these challenging conditions firsthand during an initial post-fire collection trip on Jan. 27. Days earlier, the first significant rains since May sent contaminants surging into the ocean. Kelp is shown at Kelp Ark's laboratory where they store kelp seeds. (William Liang / For The Times) The ships wake was the color of chocolate milk. The ocean seemed to reek of burnt trash, said crew member Taylor Collins. The anchor chain, which on a typical day is visible for about 10 feet into the water, disappeared into opaque murk mere inches below the surface. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the divers rolled in, captain Joey Broyles let down a waterproof camera to assess conditions below. The first 3 feet of seawater were choked with soot, dirt and pollution, said Bernadeth Tolentino, lead scientific diver and a graduate student in the USC lab of Kelp Ark founder Sergey Nuzhdin . Visibility beneath the layer of soot was close to zero, she said. Divers held hands to keep track of one another underwater before calling it quits. It was almost like someone put a blanket over the ocean, Tolentino said. Hayden Schneider examines kelp at the San Pedro-based nonprofit Kelp Ark, which preserves and stores genetic material from West Coast kelp species. (William Liang / For The Times) Two weeks after that murky dive near Malibu Creek, the Kelp Ark team set out again to collect kelp samples to take back to their facility at AltaSea in the Port of Los Angeles for analysis and spore harvesting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For this outing they chose a spot popular with recreational divers, where kelp was frequently recorded prior to the fires. Two hours after plunging into the ocean, Tolentino and colleagues Declan Bulwa and Sedona Silva climbed wet and winded back into the boat. Theyd seen all the animals a diver would expect to see in a kelp forest, such as garibaldi fish and kelp bass. But the only signs of the big brown algae were a few loose floating pieces and some decaying holdfasts on rocks near the shore a sign that kelp had been there in the recent past, but no longer. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Endless thoughts, prayers and now support for Silvia Patlan after finding out her husband Rolando Pacheco went missing in the Arkansas River. Patlan says she hasnt been able to rest since and is now pushing her own rescue efforts along with others from the community to find her husband. I feel blessed because I never thought Id have this much support, Patlan said. One man still missing after boat capsized in Arkansas River on Sunday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rolando and his friend were fishing, when their boat capsized near a dam. His friend was rescued and at the time wasnt brought to anyones attention that Pacheco was still in the water. People cant believe hes not here, hes gone, Patlan said. Pulaski County Sheriffs Department officials confirmed that three hours after Pachecos friend was taken to the hospital and stable, he was able to tell them that he was not the only one on the boat. Little Rock woman speaks on continuing search for husband who went missing after boat capsized on Arkansas River Water Patrol and the Little Rock and Scott Fire Departments resumed their search but had no luck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its just hard, something that I never could have imagined Patlan said. Arkansas United has conducted three searches as well, and Patlan says shes not giving up. Her coworkers, family, and friends all helping, along with Mennonite Disaster Service. It feels good to know that I have people who care about me and my family Patlan said. Man rescued after reports of overturned boat on Arkansas River She says her husband is loved by many in their community and people have been worried, but somehow, shes found strength. He never liked it when I cried, so thats whats making me strong because I know he would be mad, Patlan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The search for Pachecos body will continue, but as for his spirit, Patlan feels hes close. He might not be here in person, but I know hes here with me with us, with my kids, I know hes here, hes with us Patlan said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Roadwork? Yesterday was typical, as I was driving to New Orleans on I-10. Even though it was a beautiful day at 8:30 in the morning, there were very few people doing anything to complete the roadwork between County Farm Road and Diamondhead. When I did see people in day-glow vests, more often than not, they were standing in small groups talking to each other. Miles and miles of inactivity, and absolutely no urgency to complete the job. Is this MDOT, the Highway Commissioner, the Board of Supervisors? Make Measles Great Again What do you know? Weve got an anti-vaxxer leading the Department of Health and Human Services and measles is back, baby. Texas just recorded the nations first measles death since 2015. What other eliminated disease will be next, one wonders. Grammar 101 It amazes me how many times people use the phrase I could care less. I heard two congressmen and the president say it on TV recently. I couldnt care less is the correct way to express having complete apathy toward something. When someone says, I could care less, theyre actually saying that they do care because there are other things they care less about. Come on folks, as leaders of our country, try to get it right. Even my nephew in middle school knows the proper grammar to use. Lower prices on day 1 When I see the price Im paying for eggs, Im comforted by the knowledge that the Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of America. USAID We have come a long way from The shining city on a hill, as Ronald Reagan said. A nation with the largest GDP in the world, run by the unelected richest man in the world, cant find it within its heart to help starving people with a very, very small percentage of its national wealth. This is not the Christian behavior I was taught. Exchange Israel is releasing Hamas terrorists back to Gaza by the hundreds, yet Hamas is giving back dead hostages that were killed in captivity? Make this make sense. Weekly report When you get an email that asks the basic question of what you did last week, if you cant reply to that simple email from the check printing service, OK then, youre fired. Immigrants Our country practically invited illegal immigration with porous border and benefits upon arrival. Tighten the border, deport the criminals but offer a path for legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the others. Common sense. We need legal immigration going forward. Peace in Ukraine The war between President Trump and the left-leaning mainstream media remains. Nothing has changed. Trump haters will soak up their vitriol like a sponge, never giving Trump any credit for anything. Peace is at hand in the Ukraine for the first time. No attempt was made under President Biden. Give peace a chance. Unconscionable The U.S. voted against a UN resolution condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine. President Trump then called Ukraines leader a dictator, while not willing to call Vladimir Putin one. Its no wonder people doubt Trumps interest in maintaining democracy as he tries to lay the groundwork for third unconstitutional term. DOGE Should I assume that the $38 billion that Elon Musks companies have received from the federal government arent a part of the DOGE-ing of our nation? Look at that Never, ever thought I would read these words in my lifetime: The Americans were joined by Russia, Belarus, and North Korea in voting against a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine. Our new allies. Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@sunherald.com. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) An indefinite statewide burn ban is in place after more than 100 wildfires ignited across South Carolina on Saturday. The state Forestry Commissions order prohibits all outdoor burning, including yard debris, prescribed burns and campfires in all unincorporated areas. Very low relative humidities statewide, coupled with drying fuels resulting from the lack of significant rain have resulted in 102 wildfire ignitions today alone, the commission said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said higher-than-forecasted winds have spread the fires quickly while boosting their size. The Pee Dee region is seeing the most activity but the rest of the state is experiencing a dramatic uptick in wildfires today, straining the capacity of agency firefighters to respond, the commission said. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. A Southern California man was convicted of the rape and sexual assault of a woman at a motel. Caleb Dean DeBinion, 36, was convicted by a jury on Feb. 21, according to the Ventura County District Attorneys Office. DeBinion is also a registered sex offender, officials said. The crime involved a woman who was 30 years old and homeless at the time. DeBinion had encountered the victim and her mother several times before. On May 24, 2023, he offered them the use of his motel room in Thousand Oaks to shower and freshen up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The women accepted the offer and made it clear that they would not provide anything in return, court documents said. The younger woman entered the motel room first. While showering, DeBinion walked into the bathroom, stepped into the shower while completely naked and sexually assaulted her, the DA said. Caleb Dean DeBinion, 36, was convicted raping and sexually assaulting a woman at a Motel 6 in Thousand Oaks. (Ventura County District Attorneys Office) Once out of the shower, DeBinion continued to assault the woman despite her telling him to stop. After the assault, he forced the victim to shower again. The woman was eventually able to escape the room and immediately contacted the authorities. DeBinion was arrested at the scene and was later convicted by a jury of forcible rape, false imprisonment, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery, two counts of sexual penetration by force or fear, and a special allegation that the victim was vulnerable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2009, DeBinion had pleaded guilty in a sex crimes case, the Ventura County Star reported. In the plea agreement, he admitted guilt to one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, but three other felony counts, including oral copulation of a person under 16, were dismissed. As part of that agreement, DeBinion was ordered to register as a sex offender. In 2010, he tried to appeal the registration but was unsuccessful. I extend my sincere gratitude to the victim for her bravery in facing her accuser in court, said Rosa Romero, a Ventura County District Attorney who prosecuted the case. We are grateful she was able to obtain the justice she deserves. I also want to thank the jury for their careful and thorough consideration of all the evidence. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. SpaceX pushed back the planned test flight of its Starship megarocket on Monday after issues cropped up in the final seconds before liftoff. Mission controllers paused operations with 40 seconds remaining in the countdown, as engineers worked through technical problems with the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft. They subsequently made the call to stand down. SpaceX officials said they could try again as soon as Tuesday evening, but no official time has been announced yet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The upcoming flight will be Starships eighth. During its last outing, about six weeks ago, SpaceX lost communication with Starship about eight minutes into the flight, and the vehicles upper stage blew up over the Atlantic Ocean. The explosion sent debris streaking through the sky. Dust and small pieces rained over parts of Turks and Caicos, but local authorities said there were no injuries. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation after the accident and grounded the rocket during the probe. On Friday, the agency cleared Starship to return to flight but said its investigation remains open. SpaceXs own investigation found that the likely root cause was leaking propellant in a section of Starship known as the attic, which is located between the bottom of the liquid oxygen tank and the rear heat shield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The leak likely sparked sustained fires that eventually caused all but one of Starships engines to execute controlled shut down sequences, SpaceX said in an update last week. Debris from a recent SpaceX launch streaks across the sky over Long Bay Beach, Turks and Caicos, on Jan. 16. The company said it stopped receiving data just over eight minutes into the test flight, and that the vehicle broke apart three minutes after that. SpaceX said it has since made several hardware and operational changes to Starships upper stage, but the company did not specify what those upgrades were. The FAA, which signed off on the upcoming flight, is one of many federal agencies that the Trump administration has targeted for budget and personnel cuts. Reuters reported that the Department of Government Efficiency, led by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has infiltrated FAA facilities and that SpaceX engineers have been working at the agency as special government employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear whether DOGE employees have had a presence within the FAAs commercial spaceflight division, which oversees private companies like SpaceX, but some lawmakers and critics, including Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., have nonetheless raised concerns about Musks conflicts of interest. Super Heavy on the launch pad at Starbase ahead of Starship's eighth flight test pic.twitter.com/MdiIQMy5EF SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 25, 2025 On the eighth test flight, Starship will attempt to release four mock Starlink satellites. If successful, that would mark the first time the vehicle has deployed a payload. The plan also calls for the megarockets hulking first stage to return to the launchpad after separating from the second stage, and for SpaceX to catch it there using giant mechanical arms on the rockets launch tower. SpaceX completed that part as intended during the January flight, leading the company to deem the test a partial success. The catch maneuver is a key part of SpaceXs goal to make Starship a fully reusable rocket system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If all goes according to plan in the upcoming test flight, the vehicles upper stage will fly for about an hour before splashing down in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia. Starship is the most powerful rocket ever developed, measuring 400 feet tall. The system has two parts: a first-stage booster known as Super Heavy and an upper-stage spacecraft. It is expected to play a crucial part in NASAs efforts to return to the moon. The agency selected SpaceX to carry astronauts to the lunar surface during NASAs planned Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2027. Musk has also said Starship could be used for future missions to Mars. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday rejected any possible subordination of Europe to US President Donald Trump or Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sanchez said that in the 21st century, relations between countries should be alliances and not vassalage. He made the remarks at a socialist party event shortly before departing for Sunday's Ukraine summit in London, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is joined by other European leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Europe, Sanchez said, defends an international order of free, equal and sovereign states, which is why it supports Ukraine against Putin's neo-imperialist threat. Sanchez emphasized that standing up for "more Europe" is not a slogan, but a necessity, describing it as a "life insurance." Spain faces challenges with its defence budget, with planned spending for the current year amounting to only 1.32% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to the El Pais newspaper. Europe's fourth-largest economy is not expected to meet NATO's 2% target until 2029. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana speaks at a press conference Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, after the U.S. House passed a bill that would prohibit transgender students from competing on women's school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) In 2021, Steve Berger, an evangelical pastor who has attacked the separation of church and state as a delusional lie and called multinational institutions demonic, set off on an ambitious project. His stated goal: minister to members of Congress so that what they learn is then translated into policy. His base of operations would be a six-bedroom, $3.7 million townhouse blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recently, the pastor scored a remarkable coup for a political influence project that has until now managed to avoid public scrutiny. He got a new roommate. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been staying at the home since around the beginning of this year, according to interviews and videos obtained by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. The house is owned by a major Republican donor and Tennessee car magnate who has joined Berger in advocating for and against multiple bills before Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past four years, Berger and his wife, Sarah Berger, have dedicated themselves to what they call their D.C. ministry center. In addition to Johnson, who is an evangelical conservative, the pastor has built close relationships with several other influential conservative politicians. Dan Bishop, now nominated for a powerful post in the Trump White House, seems to have also lived in the home last year while he was still a congressman, according to three people. A spokesperson for Johnson said that the speaker pays fair market value in monthly rent for the portion of the Washington, D.C. townhome that he occupies. He did not answer a question about how much Johnson is paying. House ethics rules allow members of Congress to live anywhere, as long as they are paying fair-market rent. The spokesperson added that Johnson has never once spoken to Mr. Berger about any piece of legislation or any matter of public policy. Berger and Bishop did not respond to requests for comment. The Bergers have described their mission as galvanizing political allies to take action. Its just iron sharpening iron, Sarah Berger said on a podcast last summer, explaining the couples approach to political influence. Like, Oh yeah, thats why Im standing firm on this policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steve Berger claims to have personally spurred legislation. Its a humbling thing, he said in a sermon in late 2022. You get a text message from a senator that says: Thank you for your inspiration. Because it has caused me now to create a bill that is going to further righteousness in this country. Bergers interests extend beyond his staunch social conservatism. He and the donor who owns the house, Lee Beaman, have publicly advocated together for numerous specific policy changes, including a bill that would make it easier to fire federal employees and a regulation that would reduce fuel efficiency standards for the automotive industry. After the 2020 election, they both signed a letter declaring that President Donald Trump was the rightful winner and calling for Congress to overturn the results. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, did not respond to questions about how he ended up staying at the home. Beaman did not respond to requests for comment. The earliest date ProPublica was able to confirm Johnson being at the Berger house was in mid-December. A video reviewed by ProPublica shows Johnson visiting the home on Dec. 15 with two women who appear to be his wife and daughter. They lingered outside before entering, while Johnson pointed around the building and down to the basement entrance as if he was giving a tour. Two days later, Berger sent a note to his supporters on social media: I so wish I could tell you all the massive doors that broke open this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the beginning of the year, videos and interviews show, Johnson has regularly left the house in the morning and returned in the evening. One day that Johnson was there recently, Berger was also at the home, opening the front door barefoot in pajama bottoms. (It appears Johnson may primarily be staying in the homes two-bedroom basement.) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Washington pieds-a-terre can prove a significant expense for members of Congress as they split time between the capital and their home districts. Johnson is less wealthy than many other lawmakers. He worked at conservative nonprofits before he entered public service, and on his most recent financial disclosure form he did not declare a single asset. When Johnson was elevated to the speakership in 2023, news reports indicated that rather than renting an apartment, he might be sleeping in his office. (Lawmakers must report debts, income and many financial holdings on disclosure forms but arent required to list living expenses like rent.) The Berger home is in an upscale D.C. neighborhood full of lobbyists and corporate attorneys. Though its not clear what the homes basement would fetch on the open market, its not unusual for two-bedrooms in the area to rent for as much as $7,000 a month. Discounts on rent are generally prohibited by House ethics rules as improper gifts, experts said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In sermons and on social media, Berger has mentioned some of the topics hes discussed with Johnson and other members of Congress. Last year, Berger, a passionate supporter of the Israeli right-wing, said hed had a great conversation with the speaker about Israel. Recently, Johnson has described his conversations with Trump to the pastor, according to Berger. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Berger said in a sermon that hed advised some congressmen to see the conflict through the lens of Ezekiel 38 and 39, parts of the Bible some see as prophesying a great war before the Second Coming. He did not specify what that meant from a policy perspective. An energetic 60-year-old with a white goatee and penchant for preaching in sneakers and jeans, Berger has strong views on a wide range of issues, including economic policy and public health. He is vehemently opposed to the World Health Organization, which Trump moved to withdraw the U.S. from last month, and recently predicted that COVID-19 vaccines will result in young people dropping dead all over the place. He attacked the World Economic Forum at length in a recent sermon, accusing it of taking advantage of COVID-19 to implement their satanic plot. Berger is also against same-sex marriage, saying it opens the door to all manner of sexual depravity and wickedness though he has said he has friends who are practicing homosexuals, people I care about. He opposes homosexuality and heterosexual sin in equal measures, hes said, referring to acts like watching pornography and sex between unmarried adults. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bergers operation is organized as a nonprofit called Ambassador Services International, which runs on a budget of around $1 million per year, according to tax filings. The home where it is registered in Washington and where Johnson has been staying was purchased in early 2021. Once the home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and later housing the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, it was advertised at the time as a four-level Second Empire-style townhouse of impeccable elegance and exceptional scale, offering bespoke tranquility in a coveted location. The buyer was Crockett Ventures LLC. Corporate filings show its sole owner is Beaman, the donor and businessman, who built a fortune on a chain of car dealerships started by his father. He has given millions to Republican political groups, including large donations to the Trump campaign and political committees for the Heritage Foundation and the House Freedom Caucus. Hes also served as the treasurer of a congressional campaign. Beaman was once so fed up with the restrictions that came with owning a home on a government-controlled lake that he bought a sprawling property with a 50-acre private lake of its own, according to a profile in an architecture book. He became a fixture of Nashville media in recent years because of sordid allegations made by his fourth wife during their divorce, including that he made her watch what he called training films of him having sex with a prostitute. Beamans lawyers wrote at the time that his wifes filing contained impertinent and scandalous matter only meant to harass Mr. Beaman. Beaman has attended a Tennessee church that Berger founded, but its not clear what role, if any, he plays in the pastors influence project in Washington. Its also unclear whether the pastors nonprofit pays for the use of the Capitol Hill townhouse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berger came to prominence in his home state as the longtime pastor of Grace Chapel, a large church outside Nashville whose members have included the current governor of the state. In 2021, Berger left the church and he and his wife launched their project in Washington. He soon began Bible study sessions with senators, representatives and congressional aides, according to the Bergers. Meanwhile, Sarah Berger spent her time in relationship with and pouring into the lives of congressional wives, tax filings say. Steve Berger quickly made connections at the highest levels of the Republican Party. Listen, I have confessed things to Steve that I wouldnt normally confess to anyone else, Mark Meadows, a White House chief of staff in the first Trump administration who remains an important ally of the president, said at a 2023 event with Berger. We have been praying together, having a Bible study each and every week. Not just me, but several members of Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A group of congressmen gathered on stage together to speak at the pastors 60th-birthday party in October, including Bishop, Rep. Barry Moore, Rep. Andy Ogles and Rep. Warren Davidson. All four are current or former members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus. (None of the four responded to requests for comment.) Evidence suggests that Bishop also recently lived at the Capitol Hill townhouse. Three neighbors told ProPublica that the FBI visited them this month asking about Bishop, seemingly as part of the background check for his White House job. They said that address, said one neighbor, adding that the agent showed a photo of Bishop. They said: He lived there up to a couple months ago. Do you know him? Trump has nominated Bishop to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, the powerful White House office that recently moved to freeze funding streams across the federal government. Berger celebrated the nomination on Instagram: I want to congratulate my dear friend and brother, Congressman Dan Bishop, for accepting this incredible opportunity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeff Frankl contributed research for this report. Do you have any information ProPublica should know about Steve Berger or Speaker Mike Johnson? Josh Kaplan can be reached by email at joshua.kaplan@propublica.org and by Signal or WhatsApp at 734-834-9383. Justin Elliott can be reached by email at justin@propublica.org and by Signal or WhatsApp at 774-826-6240. Actor and film producer Channing Tatum attended the pre-Oscars 2025 party with Australian model Inka Williams after they sparked romance rumours. Tatum's ex-fiancee Zoe Kravitz was also present. He wore a black T-shirt, matching pants and boots, and a beige jacket. Williams wore a strapless black dress with a tasseled skirt, black stiletto pumps, and large hoop earrings, reported E! Online. The party was held in Los Angeles one month after a photo of Tatum and a woman fans later identified as Williams walking together elsewhere in the city circulated on social media, as per the outlet. Kravitz and Tatum were engaged in October 2023, but they decided to part ways a year later, citing differing life stages, as per the outlet. Kravitz was not photographed inside the party venue or near the couple, who left the bash holding hands. She recently spoke about their past three relationship and breakups with Tatum, "I love this thing that we made together, and I care for him very much," said Zoe, adding, "Even when you bring up how great his performance is, it warms my heart to hear that, and I'm so happy that all of it happened. I just feel so grateful that we got to go on that journey together." "He has so much more coming, and I think he's in a place as an actor where he's feeling really confident and people are seeing different sides of him," Kravitz said. "He's got a lot to offer, so I'm excited for people to keep witnessing that," she added, reported E! Online. (ANI) With Elon Musks status as a special government employee comes a limit of 130 days in the executive branch but now the White House suggests no such limit exists for the tech billionaire. Musk has led the Department of Government Efficiency on a crash course through the federal government marked by slashed contracts and mass layoffs, which are sometimes followed by prompt re-hirings. The quick cuts have left the American public and members of Congress concerned about the roles of DOGE and Musk. The time limit of the SpaceX founders status special government employee perhaps provided solace to some that his time in the federal government would be short. The work designation allows for someone to work in the executive branch for a maximum of 130 days during a 365-day period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the White House, Musk isnt going anywhere anytime soon. No one here at the White House is tired of winning. The president has tasked Elon Musk with eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, a mission that will continue until completed, deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told Politico. Elon Musks status as a special government employee means a limit of 130 days in the executive branch but now the White House is suggesting he may work beyond that limit (AP) Press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that: President Trump and his team have accomplished more in 41 days than Joe Biden did in 4 years. This Administration is moving at warp speed to deliver on the promises President Trump made to the American people. If Musks start date is the same as Trumps inauguration, that would mean his last day is May 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A political adviser close to the president told the outlet: There are likely people who are counting the days until 130 days are up and will push against keeping him around, but I just think thats a losing battle. Musk is here to stay. Chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff James Blair and director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office Sergio Gor are some of the people allegedly looking forward to Musks exit, this source said. Leavitt said the characterization that they want him to leave was 100 percent fake news. Some of these Trump aides have taken issue with the SpaceX founders sudden decisions without first notifying core White House staff, Politico reported. One example was the recent email requiring federal employees to explain their recent accomplishments or risk being terminated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had Trumps permission before firing off the emails, Axios reported. In recent weeks, some have made references to Musks time limit in the White House. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President J.D. Vance tried to shut down Europeans criticism of the tech billionaires ties to the White House, telling the European crowd: And trust me, I say this with all humor: If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunbergs scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk. Meanwhile, others have left what happens after the 130-day mark more open-ended. Last week a reporter asked Leavitt at a press briefing whether the White House was planning on trying to work around the 130-day cap. So, today is February 25th, so I think we've been here about 35 days, roughly, so ask me in another 100 days, she replied. The consequences for surpassing the 130-day limit as a special government employee are not immediately clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Agencies ethics training guidelines for government employees provide some clarity, stating if an agency designates you as an SGE, but you unexpectedly serve more than 130 days during 365 consecutive days, you'll still be an SGE for the remainder of that period. But, during the next 365-day period, the agency should reevaluate whether you should still be designated as an SGE. This article has been amended to include a statement from the White House. Wrong split The proposed Keller ISD split is the latest destructive policy enacted by the Patriot Mobile-funded, Christian nationalist majority on the school board. (Feb. 23, 3A, Hillwood to Keller school board: Stop using Alliance ISD for new district made by split) It would represent a modern-day segregation, reversing many years of progress. It is a reflection of our worst impulses, sending the message that only the right people belong in the Keller district. As a member of the Keller High School Class of 2024 and a former speaker before the school board, I am unsurprised by this racist, harmful action. In recent years, as the board has undermined the communitys unity through book bans and the firing of many school librarians and other district employees, we have lost our sense of dignity and equality. We must demand a school board for all of us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Fallon Burleson, Keller Fund teachers Texas lawmakers are working toward implementing school vouchers. (Feb. 23, 4C, Were Fort Worth educators. Let us tell you how bad vouchers will be for schools) A $10,000 voucher to parents would help one kid. What if we provided a voucher to every teacher of $1,000 to $2,500, based on grade level and special needs? This money would eliminate the need for parents to purchase school supplies (helping the vast majority of Texas families) and provide fully stocked classrooms. We could set up regional supply depots as the only locations where vouchers could be redeemed. Any unused funds would roll into that teachers account to use the next year. Families would no longer have to fork over hundreds each August, and teachers could purchase items that benefit the individual needs of each student. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Laurie Ellison, Maypearl Duty to Ukraine I served in the U.S. Army for 31 years. The Soldiers Creed states, I will never leave a fallen comrade. Tragically, that is what the president plans to do the people of Ukraine, abandoning them to their invader. After three years of indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilians and the suffering of Ukrainian soldiers, we cant just turn our collective backs and walk away. We shouldnt deny them a place at the peace talks and tacitly agree to reward the Russians with a slice of Ukrainian territory. This is a tragedy on the scale of the Munich accord in 1938. It is a betrayal to those who look to the United States as a protector of democracy. What is next: abandonment of NATO or Taiwan? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - James D. Patton, Hillsboro No experience Few would disagree that government should work more efficiently. But where is the evidence that Elon Musk is the right person to lead this effort, as Mark Davis argues? (Feb. 23, 4C, If liberals are howling this much over DOGE, Trump and Musk must be doing good work) Musks slash-and-burn approach comes without appropriate review or understanding of the programs being cut, the humans within those agencies or the possible consequences. People are howling because we see chaos, panic and crushed morale. For Musk to claim legitimacy, he needs to show understanding of the programs he seeks to reform. Careful research before making cuts may not look efficient, but by what other path can DOGE prove its legitimacy and build public confidence? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Holly Gardner, Dallas Follow Trump In the chaos underway in the federal government, the problem is not President Donald Trump. The problem is Congress. Members of Congress ought to take on the same willingness to sacrifice in the service of their country, according to their oath of office, as those who volunteer to serve their country in the military service. It is the same obligation. - Stephen Mosher, Fort Worth Not humane The population of feral hogs in Texas needs to be controlled. But why do something cruel shooting them from helicopters? Would it be too much trouble to simply feed them something to prevent them from reproducing? - Frankie Andrew, Willow Park This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report Tuesday saying drug-related deaths are going down, but the Spokane Police Chief said his city is seeing a different story. CDC provisional data predicts a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from September 2023 to 2024 compared to the previous year. It is unprecedented to see predicted overdose deaths drop by more than 27,000 over a single year, Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, Director of CDCs National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, stated in the report. Thats more than 70 lives saved every day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Thursday that the Spokane Fire Departments calls for overdoses increased by 30% in 2024 over the previous year. Like every other urban police agency in the country, the Spokane Police Department continues to allocate more and more resources to address open air drug use, fatal drug overdoses and the overall harm caused to the community by fentanyl, he said. According to Hall, the Spokane County Medical Examiner reported at least 346 opioid related deaths last year, with more than 75% involving fentanyl. Related from MyNorthwest: Seattle Police recover large stash of fentanyl, meth, and cash in Capitol Hill Why are fentanyl overdoses so prominent? Hall explained that fentanyl is 40 to 50 times more lethal than heroin and is more easily accessible. He also shared how fentanyl enters the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From my experience in Southern Arizona, I know that most fentanyl enters the U.S. through legal ports of entry, concealed in commercial cargo trucks, passenger vehicles, trailers and RVs, Hall said. Recent seizures highlight the scale of trafficking along transportation routes. In Tucson, law enforcement intercepted 1.7 million fentanyl pills in just two stops in late 2024. Spokanes supply chain follows similar patterns, moving drugs from Mexico along interstates, I-19, I-10 and I-5, before reaching Eastern Washington via I-90. According to Hall, drug traffickers also use commercial trucks, passenger rail and commercial airlines. He cited a 2023 investigation at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that led to the discovery of 400,000 pills in checked baggage. He also cited a 2024 Seattle investigation that resulted in the arrest of 12 fentanyl traffickers, the seizure of mass amounts of the drug and dozens of weapons. Hall then called on Congress to pass the Stop Smuggling Illicit Synthetic Drugs on U.S. Transportation Networks Act. This legislation would expand non-intrusive inspection technologies such as drive-through and mobile X-ray sensors, specialized canine resources, vapor technology, to strengthen our ability todetect and disrupt fentanyl trafficking before it reaches our streets, he said. The fight against fentanyl is urgent. Its real. Strengthening our enforcement capabilities will save lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell stated, via a news release, that at the hearing, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, committed to working with her on legislation to stop fentanyl smuggling in the U.S. Students in the Palm Beach County School District are gearing up for spring break, which begins on March 24 and runs through March 28, with another day off on March 31 because of a teacher work day. Officials in two spring break fun spots Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale are already asking visitors to be mindful of rules meant to keep them and city residents safe. Fort Lauderdale has prohibited loud or live music on its beach. Alcohol, coolers and tents are prohibited, too. The city is also beefing up patrols. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will be out in force," Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bill Schultz said. "You will see us everywhere." South Florida cities enforcing spring break rules Fort Lauderdale's spring break rules will remain in effect until April 12. "Yes, with rules, you can still have fun," Schultz said. "Trust your instincts. If a situation does not feel safe, it likely may not be. Please reach out to your friends, reach out to officers, reach out to staff of restaurants and bars, and watch your drink. Never leave it unattended." Some of the restrictions Fort Lauderdale put in place for spring break are in effect year-round in Miami Beach, including a ban on alcohol consumption in public and a ban on coolers, tents, tables or loud music on the beach. Smoking is also prohibited on beaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Law and order is the number one priority in our city, and there is no compromising on that, Miam Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said during a recent news conference. While Palm Beach County School District students are looking forward to the end-of-month break, that's not the only one left on the school calendar. Additional days off for Palm Beach County students There is no school on March 31, a teacher workday or on April 18, a spring holiday. Schools will be closed on Memorial Day, May 26, which is just a few days before the last day of school on May 30. Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: When does spring break 2025 start in Palm Beach County, Florida The author as a young girl with her mother in Utah. What would you do to save a life? My friend Copley asked a group of us gathered in the days leading up to our peaceful disruption of a private jet airport near Concord, Massachusetts. My mind flitted through the countless stories of heroes who risked their own lives to save another; common people who return to burning buildings, dodging flames to pull anyone they can find from the rubble. Doctors who, as were in the middle of a hostile government takeover, are committed to providing their patients with gender-affirming care, even if that means risking jail time. Volunteers who operate crisis hotlines, staying on the phone to keep the person on the other end alive. The back of my eyes burn thinking of the people who on extraordinary and mundane occasions step outside of their egos without afterthought to serve a purpose larger than their own lives. Advertisement Advertisement What would you do to save a life? Copleys voice echoed as, days later at Hanscom Airfield, a cop snatched my fabric sign and squeezed handcuffs around my wrists. Sitting in the jail cell, uncertain about how long my fellow activists and I would be detained, I reminded myself of all the life we were fighting to save. A man and a young girl stand closely together inside a room, both smiling softly at the camera The author with her father as a young girl. I am the middle-class white girl who, at 10 years old in my nuclear familys living room, watched our unfolding crisis reflected in the eyes of starving polar bears filmed in Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth. Since that TV-dinner in 2008, not a day has gone by that I havent thought about the desecration of our Earth and all the life she sustains. With each passing day, it becomes more clear that Anthropocene really describes the effects from a small cohort of wealthy white men who carry on the genocidal legacy of patriarchal white supremacy, pursuing profit by pillaging, enslaving, exploiting, and polluting. Since my pre-teens, I was hellbent on doing everything I could to minimize my carbon footprint, and convince my family and friends to join me. I religiously followed the Journey to Zero Waste Facebook group, and rejoiced when my anecdote about walking to a local Mexican restaurant to purchase their house-made salsa with an old glass jar got 800 likes. But many of us on our pilgrimage to zero-waste grew restless in the face of a world indifferent to our homemade toothpaste and glass jars. We had to widen our circles, as Leah Cardamore Stokes put it. So I still cycle around with glass jars in tow, and my parents still hide their plastic film wrap every time I come home. But there are bigger fish to fry: divesting portfolios from fossil fuels, reminding white-collar commuters that there are no jobs on a dead planet, and preventing private jets from taking off with our futures. Our house is on fire, youth climate activist Greta Thunberg famously said. When climate activists block coal exports in kayaks or brave tear gas and rubber bullets to stop oil and gas pipelines from slicing through sovereign Indigenous lands, they are effectively running into a burning house, only the lives inside are ghosts from the future. In our fight against the expansion of fossil fuels, we cannot know exactly whose lives furry, feathered, and beyond will come out alive on the other side of this crisis. And we are already losing so many people and creatures to the metaphorical and literal flames. Illustrated protest banner of a stewardess, referencing private jet use and environmental impact with "Don't you know that you're toxic?" text A sign used in a protest by the author. Advertisement Advertisement Ive never seen a perfect world, storyteller Mary Annaise Heglar writes. I never will. But I know that a world warmed by 2 degrees Celsius is far preferable to one warmed by 3 degrees, or 6. And that Im willing to fight for it with everything I have, because it is everything I haveEven if I can save only a sliver of what is precious to me, that will be my sliver and I will cherish itThis planet is the only home well ever haveAnd home is always, always, always worth it. Heglar underscores what climate activists do when they put their bodies and livelihoods on the line for a livable future: running toward the flames set off by the billionaires and executives with a probably-psychopathic disregard for the devastating social and ecological consequences of their vampiric profit ventures. Its been a year since 20 activists and I stood out in the rain and peacefully prevented private jets from taking off at Hanscom Airfield. The jets stayed grounded for hours after we were hauled away. Private jets are essentially flying limousines whose flagrant emissions accelerate the climate crisis. They are the most conspicuous example of how this crisis is fueled by the greedy excesses of the rich, who leave the impoverished world majority to bear the brunt of the consequences. If you needed this in numbers format, the one percent out-pollute the poorest 66%; their luxury emissions overshadowed by their deep and vast investment portfolios soaked in fossil fuels. Billionaires cruising high above in their jets, filling their coffers with enterprise in deforestation, extraction, and Cancer Alleys, have for so long escaped blame for gambling away our collective futures. They get away with causing climate chaos partly because their high-flying lifestyles are glorified across media and culture. Who can hate the rich if 6 in 10 Americans say they want to be billionaires themselves? This April, my co-defendants arrested at Hanscom Airfield will stand trial, one of whom faces a felony charge for opening an exit door, while the real climate criminals count the zeros and commas in their bank account balances and sit back as their wealth generates more than 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Advertisement Advertisement What would you do to save a life? Generating huge amounts of wealth to spend on carbon-intensive activities isnt saving anyone. At best, its apathetic and complicit to ecological collapse; at worst, its homicidal. Wealthy people may think theyre creating a comfortable cushion for their own grandchildren, but as wildfires swallow multimillion-dollar homes in Los Angeles, the financial wealth they pass down might as well line a coffin. Indeed, levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are approaching the same amount of CO2 that concentrated in the atmosphere during the Permian extinction, which wiped out 90 percent of all life on Earth. I dont have a trust fund, nor do I have unlimited trust that billionaires and wannabes will do their part to halt this climate from careening off a cliff. But I will invest my faith in the courageous people who disrupt business as usual and run toward this burning house to pull as many species, including ours, from the flames. Miranda P. Dotson is a Boston-based climate activist with Extinction Rebellion and a PhD Candidate in Sociology at Northeastern University. She is originally from Chicago, the unceded and ancestral lands of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. You can read more of her scholarly work here or follow local activist gatherings in your community here . Do you have a personal story youd like to see published on BuzzFeed? Send us a pitch at essay-pitch@buzzfeed.com. Editor's note: The story was expanded by reporting from NBC News. U.K.'s Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to deliver a stark message to European leaders, urging them to confront the "brutal reality" of growing security threats and commit to higher defense spending. At a high-stakes security summit in London on March 2, he will push allies to take concrete steps to support Ukraine, emphasizing that diplomatic statements alone will not persuade Washington to maintain its security guarantees. The meeting which will be attended by leaders from France, Italy, Canada, Germany, and Turkey, has gained urgency following U.S. President Donald Trumps clash with President Volodymyr Zelensky, which raised concerns about future American support for Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid the diplomatic fallout, the Trump administration has privately signaled that it expects a public apology from Zelensky to mend relations, European officials told Bloomberg. An undisclosed U.S. official told NBC News that Trump believes that Zelensky has to be the one to come back to the table and make it right. In a bid to stabilize the transatlantic alliance, Starmer has taken on a central diplomatic role, leveraging his recent White House meeting to keep communication open between Trump and European leaders. Following Zelenskys tense encounter with Trump, British officials have worked behind the scenes to prevent the situation from spiraling further. Read also: We stand with Ukraine Starmer reaffirms support for Ukraine during meeting with Zelensky Starmer personally reached out to both Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron to encourage renewed dialogue, positioning the U.K. as a key intermediary between Washington and European capitals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, some NATO leaders, including Secretary General Mark Rutte, have encouraged Zelensky to rebuild ties with Trump, recognizing the U.S. remains Ukraines most important military backer. Starmer and Macron are also pushing for a European-led security initiative, including a potential peacekeeping force, to safeguard any future ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. While Trump has so far refused to back such efforts, Starmer will argue that a stronger European defense posture could help secure American support. He believes that demonstrating Europes ability to shoulder more responsibility may prevent Trump from fully disengaging from Ukraine. The challenge, however, is convincing other European nations to step up their own defense contributions and commit to long-term military assistance. With the London summit now a critical test for European unity, Starmer is working to prevent Trump from sidelining European leaders in any potential negotiations with Russia. His strategy hinges on ensuring that Ukraine remains central to peace talks while securing commitments from European allies to sustain military and financial aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Ill need more ammo Ukraines soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has arrived at the office of the UK prime minister for a bilateral meeting with Keir Starmer. Source: Sky News, as reported by European Pravda Details: Starmer warmly welcomed Meloni at the office door before the two leaders posed for photos and proceeded inside for talks. Once inside, they sat by the fireplace for discussions. Starmer stated that he was "very much looking forward to having the opportunity to talk to you about the important issues that face us". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have a very similar mindset, so I'm very much looking forward to hearing your view about these matters," he added. Meloni expressed her gratitude to Starmer for convening today's summit. "I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. I think on this, the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge building," she stressed. She added that if the West is divided, it will "make us all weaker". Background: On the evening of 1 March, Meloni spoke with US President Donald Trump ahead of the London Summit on European security. The Italian prime minister, the only EU leader to attend Trump's inauguration, is seen as a potential mediator between the US and Europe. Earlier, Meloni expressed her intention to organise an emergency summit involving the United States, European states, and allies to discuss Ukraine and future challenges. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Actress Tori Spelling revealed that she originally turned down the lead role in her latest film, 'Abducted in the Everglades, ' as she was occupied with another project. "I was offered this movie, but it didn't line up because I was doing Dancing with the Stars, and I was committed to that. You never know how long you're going to be on for," shared the actress while talking about her stint on the reality show's season 33, during which she was voted off early on, reported People. "I didn't expect to be eliminated the second show, and I was like, 'Oh, goodness,' but the silver lining, the Everglade lining, was this movie was still there, and they were like, 'Oh, we really wanted Tori to star in it,' and I was available," she said, adding,"So I went right after being eliminated from DWTS and dove right into the movie," as per the outlet. "I believe there [are] no coincidences in life, and everything happens when it's supposed to happen, and it's your journey," she said. 'Abducted in the Everglades' follows Indiana mom Beverly, who travels to Florida "when her college-aged daughter goes missing while on Spring Break down in Miami." There, she teams up with "rugged boatman Ray as they search the vast Everglades," according to the synopsis, reported People. Spelling shared that the role seemed to be perfect for her as "I love a good woman in peril movie, and it's nice to know that I can still be, like, kicking butt and doing my jam on a Lifetime movie. I loved it." "I was actually in the Everglades! I was actually in the swamp surrounded by alligators," she said. "I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But it was such a beautiful backdrop." "I think 70% of the entire movie we filmed actually in the Everglades. I did all my own stunts. I got to drive an airboat. It was amazing," she added. Spelling shared, "What this mother goes through in this movie is every mother's worst nightmare." "It was a great script, and everyone connected to it," she said. "We all became instant friends. It was just like one of those projects where you're like, 'Gosh, I'm so glad this worked out. This is exactly what I needed.' It was just like a magic of a production," reported People. 'Abducted in the Everglades' premieres on Lifetime on March 2. (ANI) United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a four-step plan for Ukraine. We are at a crossroads in history, Starmer said. His remarks come just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Trump to discuss a deal to end the three-year war with Russia, but the meeting ended with a shouting match and Zelensky departing the White House early. World leaders have rallied behind Zelensky and scrambled to come up with their own negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any deal must be backed by strength. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden, Starmer said. Starmer and other leaders have been meeting in the U.K. and working to secure a deal, now without the U.S. Leaders agreed to keep aid flowing into Ukraine for an extended period of time so it would be prepared if Russia tried to strike again after the ceasefire deal was secured, the first of the four-part plan, BBC reported. He also announced a deal that would finance 5,000 air defense missiles, which were to be made in Belfast and promote economic growth. The deal also confirms that lasting peace in Ukraine must mean the country remains sovereign and secure, and it must be at the negotiating table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Ukraine and Russia are able to reach a deal, European leaders also confirmed they will aim to deter future invasion. Those European leaders say they will form a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a 4-step plan for Ukraine. We are at a crossroads in history, Starmer said. His remarks come just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Trump to discuss a deal to end the three-year war with Russia, but the meeting ended with a shouting match and Zelensky departing the White House early. World leaders have rallied behind Zelensky and scrambled to come up with their own negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any deal must be backed by strength. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden, Starmer said. Starmer and other leaders have been meeting in the U.K., working to secure a deal, now without the U.S. Leaders agreed to keep aid flowing into Ukraine for an extended period of time so it would be prepared if Russia tried to strike again after the ceasefire deal was secured, the first of the four-part plan, BBC reported. He also announced a deal that would finance 5,000 air defense missiles, which were to be made in Belfast and promote economic growth. The deal also confirms that lasting peace in Ukraine must mean the country remains sovereign and secure, and it must be at the negotiating table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Ukraine and Russia are able to reach a deal, European leaders also confirmed they will aim to deter future invasion. Those European leaders say they will form a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will call for a better relationship with US President Donald Trump's administration as the only way to ensure sustainable peace in Ukraine during a meeting of leaders in London on 2 March. Source: Financial Times and Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda Details: A source close to Starmer says he will bring leaders together at the London summit and make it clear that the only ongoing negotiations are that of President Trumps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another FT source says Starmer will urge European leaders to turn their verbal support for Zelenskyy into action, stressing that Ukraine needs military and financial assistance rather than social media statements and rhetoric. FT and Bloomberg also reported that Starmer called US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron after meeting with Zelenskyy. Among other matters, Starmer urged Trump and Zelenskyy to finalise the minerals deal, which had been disrupted following their spat in the Oval Office. A European official told Bloomberg that the Trump administration has privately indicated it expects a public apology from Zelenskyy to restore relations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: During his meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday, 1 March, Starmer reaffirmed Britain's ongoing support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and its steadfast commitment to securing a sustainable peace. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A 56-year-old Davenport woman was in released on her own recognizance Saturday after the Iowa Finance Authority accused her of fraud, according to court records. Donna Smith, who was arrested on a warrant on Friday, faces charges of first-degree fraudulent practice and ongoing criminal conduct, court records show. Donna Smith (Scott County Jail) Affidavits say that Smith knowingly executed or tendered false certification from about May 5, 2021, through Sept. 19, 2022, to get rental assistance through the Iowa Rental Utility Assistance Program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith, affidavits show, did so by providing false/fictitious information and records to a state agency or subdivision for herself and a fictitious tenant. The information and records provided certified past due rent during the aforementioned time period in the amount of $13,650, affidavits show. Miller did not owe past due rent, nor was she the landlord owed past due rent, and the Iowa Finance Authority unwittingly paid out $13,650 in COVID-19 related rental assistance funds erroneously, court records show. Additionally, another affidavit says that Miller and a co-defendant knowingly executed or tendered false certifications to the Iowa Finance Authority from about Aug. 31, 2021, through Sept. 16, 2022, to get rental assistance through the Iowa Rental Utility Assistance Program. The two did this by providing false/fictitious information and records to a state agency or subdivision for three tenants living at a property owned by FIG Tree Holdings LLC and HABU Holdings LLC. The information and records provided certify that these three tenants owed past due rent during the aforementioned time period in the amount of $26,700, when their past due rent totaled only $14,245. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This resulted in an additional $23,625 in rental assistance being paid to FIG Tree Holdings, LLC and HABU Holdings LLC, owned by the co-defendant, who is not named in the affidavit, court records show. As a result, (Smith) and co-defendant deceived the Iowa Finance Authority who in turn unwittingly paid out $36,080 in COVID-19 related rental assistance funds erroneously, according to affidavits. Miller is scheduled for arraignment March 27 in Scott County Court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. For the second straight week, community members gathered at the Allen Street gates Saturday to show support for Ukraine, though the most recent rally was unplanned before Fridays events in the Oval Office that sent shock waves across the globe. President Volodymyr Zelenskys visit to the White House on Friday turned heated, with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouting at him and calling him disrespectful in a televised clash. Many leaders have come to Zelenskys defense, with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro accusing Trump and Vance of having advanced Russias propaganda directly from the White House. The contentious meeting which upended a planned minerals deal between the two countries was on the minds of many in the crowd of about 100 people on Saturday. Yuliya Ladygina, a Penn State associate professor of Slavic and global and international studies, said the impromptu rally was to show support for Zelensky and to protest Trumps reckless and outrageous response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of us getting together today, with students, with community members, is to show our protest to such behavior, to such a disregard for American people to begin with, but also to support Ukraine and show that there is more to the United States than the current administration, she said. Ladygina is the advisor of the Penn State Ukrainian Society, which organized Saturdays rally and the others that have been held locally since Russias Feb. 24, 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last weeks demonstration was held to mark that three-year anniversary. The crowd last week was a similar size, Ladygina said, but she noticed more non-Ukrainian local residents at Saturdays rally. Several of them took the open mic to share their feelings about the ongoing invasion and Fridays turn of events. Igor Latsanych, a Penn State senior and president of the Penn State Ukrainian Society, said while the Oval Office meeting was hard to watch and a really sad demonstration of what diplomacy has come to today, Zelenskys response was inspiring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our presence here today goes past words, Latsanych said. It shows solidarity through action, and we hope that we will be able to demonstrate to people that this is still worth fighting for and that this is something that really does matter, no matter what comes up in the news. The White House meeting prompted elected officials such as Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins and State College Borough Council member Josh Portney to attend Saturdays rally, with State College Mayor Ezra Nanes sending a message that was shared with the crowd. Community members came out despite it being State Pattys Day when many locals avoid downtown and temperatures in the low 30s. To see people out here, to see this group, makes me happy and makes me feel hope, Portney said. I know that there are communities just like ours all across the country that are standing up for their Ukrainian neighbors. Expect to see the group at future Saturdays, as well. Ladygina said they plan to meet at the Allen Street gates at 2 p.m. every Saturday until either a peace agreement or security guarantees are put in place. This will be an ongoing effort and an ongoing show of support for Ukraine, she said. ATLANTA, Ga. (WSAV) According to an article in Sundays Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the State Ethics Commission is investigating four Georgia state senators, including Sen. Derek Mallow (D-Savannah), for allegedly failing to file required campaign reports. Complaints obtained by the AJC say Mallow, along with Senators Colton Moore, Freddie Powell Sims and Kenya Wicks, failed to report campaign contributions or disclose details of their personal finances, as required by Georgia law. Candidates and elected officials are required to report campaign contributions and expenses on a regular basis. The law also states they must disclose some details of their personal and business interest annually. This gives voters information about the candidates and the business and political interests that support their campaigns. The State Ethics Commission audits the filings of all General Assembly members after each election cycle. The alleged violations by the four senators were found during one of those audits. The complaints were filed on Feb. 13, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report says Mallow failed to file six campaign contribution reports in 2024 and early 2025. He also failed to file a personal financial disclosure report for 2022. Ethics commission Executive Director David Emadi declined to comment to the AJC on the investigations, saying they would play out through the legal process as they always do. The three Democratic senators issued a joint statement saying they are fully committed to adhering to campaign finance laws and maintaining the highest ethical standards while in elected office. Sen. Mallow tells WSAV he will be getting the missing reports filled as soon as possible and hes already filled the missing PFDS for 2021 with the commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. Imagine a world where the biggest polluters help foot the bill for the consequences of their actions. That might sound like common sense, but unfortunately we're not quite there. However, a bill in California nearly made this ideal come true. The oil and gas industry was able to kill it, but it's on its way back, according to the Guardian. What's happening? This bill, dubbed "polluter pay," was able to move through several California senate committees in 2024. It would have set up a "climate superfund" on the dime of the companies producing the most planet-heating gases namely burners of fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pool of money which would have racked up tens of billions of dollars would have helped communities across the state recover from extreme weather disasters while reducing the impact of the events on local government budgets, the Guardian explained. Yet the bill was nixed in the end, saddling taxpayers with those costs instead. The polluting companies that would have been held accountable by the bill launched a massive $80 million lobbying campaign, and lawmakers caved to the pressure, per the Guardian. Now, in the wake of the L.A. fires, the legislation is back on the table, and the same industry that fought it the first time is already mobilizing again. On the day the wildfires broke out, the state's largest fossil-fuel trade group released more advertisements trying to discredit the legislation, the Guardian reported. The decision to run those ads right as a catastrophe began was appalling to Duncan Meisel, executive director of Clean Creatives, a group working to get advertisers to stop working with the fossil fuel industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm normally pretty measured about this stuff but this is despicable," Meisel told the Guardian. "It's absolutely wrong." Why is polluter accountability important? Globally, just 57 companies are attributed with 80% of planet-heating pollution. Yet these companies make boatloads of money every year. Chevron, for example, put away $30 billion in profits in 2023. Meanwhile, California is facing a budget shortfall of $32 billion and growing after the L.A. fires which killed 29 people and burned over 18,000 structures, according to NBC News. Fires are getting worse because of rising temperatures. Yet those responsible for the lion's share of that rise are "desperately trying to avoid accountability," said former Culver City mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells, per the Guardian. "Accountability is an existential threat to their business model, and their business model is an existential threat to all of us," she added. What's being done to get the bill passed? When the bill is reintroduced to lawmakers, it will likely look different. It previously worked like a tax, which meant it required a two-thirds majority to pass. Now, it may simply require companies to help cover costs when disasters happen instead of paying into an evergreen fund. That would scrap the two-thirds rule and make it easier to pass, the Guardian explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state of New York approved a similar "superfund" bill last month, which gives added confidence for the California effort's chances. "The latest fire shows exactly how Californians are paying for climate destruction," said Center for Biological Diversity attorney Kassie Siegel, per The Guardian. "We need to put the cost back on polluters." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. A Washington State Patrol trooper was in jail after a crash that killed a motorcycle driver Saturday night on Highway 240 in Richland. Sarah Lee Clasen, 35, a trooper who also serves as the Tri-Cities area spokesperson for WSP, was listed as an inmate of the Benton County jail Sunday morning. She was being held on suspicion of negligent vehicular homicide in the death of a Richland man. Jhoser Sanchez, who was driving the motorcycle, died, according to Dennis Morris, the Benton County chief deputy coroner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crash details were not immediately available, but Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste released a memo saying that Saturday evening a trooper was involved in a collision resulting in a death. There were no other injuries, he said. Trooper Sarah Clasen The trooper was not on duty and was driving their personal vehicle, according to Batiste. The Richland Police Department posted that the driver of a car involved in a crash with a motorcycle about 7:40 p.m. Saturday on Highway 240 near Horn Rapids Road was suspected of driving under the influence and booked into jail on suspicion of vehicular homicide. Sanchez was taken by ambulance to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, where he was pronounced dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An autopsy is planned by the coroners office. An independent investigation of the collision is being done by the Richland Police Department, according to Batiste. The Washington state Department of Transportation closed Highway 240 at milepost 26, which is about three miles northwest of the Jadwin Avenue intersection. Westbound traffic could not proceed past Kingsgate Way, but a detour was available for eastbound traffic. Batiste said he was confident that Richland police would investigate the case with great care and professionalism and that WSP would cooperate with the investigation. We are reminded in times like these that law enforcement officers are not immune from tragedy nor from personal accountability, he said in the memo. Authorities have identified the man shot by Covington police during an armed bank robbery Friday afternoon. Kentucky State Police said 62-year-old Charles Davis, of Covington, was shot by city officers after being seen fleeing the U.S. Bank on the 600 block of Madison Avenue while armed with a weapon, according to a news release. Covington police officers were on the lookout for a man matching Davis' description after learning a robbery had taken place around 3 p.m. and found him less than a block from the bank shortly thereafter, the department said in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State police say Covington officers told Davis to drop his weapon, and during the encounter officers fired at Davis, wounding him with non-life-threatening injuries. Davis was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was in stable condition as of Sunday morning, a state police spokeswoman told The Enquirer. No officers or other injuries were reported during the robbery and subsequent shooting, authorities said. The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team has been asked to investigate the shooting, while the FBI is investigating the bank robbery. Per Covington's department policy, the two officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. Police ask anyone with information to call 859-428-1212. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky State Police identify man, 62, that Covington officers shot The 2025 BRIT Awards paid a touching tribute to the late Liam Payne, celebrating his musical achievements and kind-hearted nature. Held at London's The O2 Arena on March 1, the ceremony paused to honour the former One Direction star, who tragically passed away in October 2024, according to Deadline. Host Jack Whitehall introduced the segment, describing Payne as "a very special person who meant so much to so many of the people in this room and to millions of you around the world." Reflecting on his untimely demise, Whitehall added, "He achieved so much in the short time that he was on this earth, and was not only a supremely gifted musician but an incredibly kind soul who touched the lives of everyone he came into contact with. We have so many amazing memories of Liam here at the BRITs, so tonight we celebrate his legacy, and look back and remember the remarkable Liam Payne," as per Deadline. Following this heartfelt introduction, a two-minute video tribute played, set to the iconic One Direction ballad "Little Things" featuring Payne's vocals. The montage showcased his early years, cherished moments with family, and the meteoric rise of One Direction, beginning with their formation on The X Factor UK in 2010. The tribute deeply resonated with fans and industry members alike, marking a poignant moment in the ceremony. Ahead of the awards, there had been speculation that the tribute could feature a reunion of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, and Zayn Malik, which would have been the band's first collective appearance in nearly a decade. However, no official reunion took place during the event. Liam Payne passed away on October 16, 2024, at the age of 31 following a fatal fall from the third-floor balcony of CasaSur Palermo hotel in Buenos Aires. His sudden death sent shockwaves through the music industry, with tributes pouring in from fans and artists worldwide. His funeral was held in Buckinghamshire in November, with close friends and family in attendance. Later, in December, authorities reported that five individuals had been charged in connection with Payne's death. According to Deadline, an Argentinian official ruling confirmed that suicide was not a factor, with toxicology reports and witness accounts citing drug use as a contributing context. (ANI) Rounded up and detained in facilities largely in the South, a map of where tens of thousands are being held in states across the U.S. paints a striking picture of the vast Trump administrations hardline immigration crackdown. With Immigration Customs and Enforcement detention facilities at capacity, The Independents map shines a light on where 43,759 people are being held in the centers across the country as of February 8 and more than half do not hold criminal records, according to data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Many will have to wait in the facilities for weeks and, in some cases, months before their cases proceed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detention centers in Texas and Louisiana have by far the most number of people overall, with one Mississippi center privately-run Adams County Detention Center in Natchez holding over 2,100 detainees on average, according to the data. Border states have detained the most people for years but under the first Trump administration, experts noted a shift to facilities in other southern states, reflected in the most current data. Texas has detained the most, with 12,259 being held in ICE detention centers across the state on average. Eight facilities in Texas out of the top 20 nationwide were each holding more than 800 people for ICE, according to the data. The Lone Star state was followed by 6,878 in Louisiana, 3,024 in California, 2,382 in Georgia, 2,300 in Arizona and 2,169 in Mississippi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Mississippis Adams County center, run by private prison company CoreCivic, the facility with the second largest population was the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, averaging 1,680 detainees. There are also more than 188,000 families and individuals in the system who are in the Alternatives to Detention programs of January 11, meaning they are being monitored via ankle monitoring, home visits and checks in at ICE offices. But the ICE figures only scratch the surface in Texas because of the number of migrants also in Customs and Border Protection detention and the states Operation Lone Star program, explained Daniel Hatoum, senior supervising attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Projects Beyond Borders program. Hatoum described Operation Lone Star, the border security initiative launched by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, as the states attempt to carry out immigration enforcement via a constitutional loophole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They charge folks with things like trespassing, specifically trying to target immigrants with state-level criminal violations, and so you have a lot of detention coming from that as well, he told The Independent. President Donald Trump has the mandate to go after migrants without criminal records after rescinding several Biden administration limitations on ICE arrests. Among the thousands in lock up, nearly 55 percent have no criminal record, the data shows. Often in some of these facilities, they hold people who have been convicted of crimes alongside people who are there simply because of their immigration case, said Jesse Franzblau, a senior policy analyst with the National Immigrant Justice Center, which provides legal services for people detained throughout the Midwest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the White House has declared all undocumented migrants criminals, there is no law that makes it a crime to live in the U.S. as an undocumented migrant and it is treated as a civil violation by the courts. Given that immigration detention is civil in nature, it really doesn't have anything to do with anybody's past infractions, Franzblau told The Independent. South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, which holds an average of 1,680 ICE detainees. It is one of the most populated holding facilities with immigrants being held on detainers (Google) The reason for the concentration of detention facilities in the South is down to a number of states phasing out immigration centers. With that comes a myriad of challenges for the people being held. A lot of these facilities are far from cities and that makes it difficult for access to legal counsel and for people to able to be in communication with family members, Franzblau said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It raises a lot of issues with these facilities being placed in remote regions in this way, he said. They are concentrated in the South and in states where you have a particularly strong influence from private prison contractors, the analyst added. Immigration advocacy groups have long warned about the conditions inside detention facilities where people face egregious abuses. While these abuses - such as holding detainees in solitary confinement and depriving them of medication - were also prevalent in previous administrations, there are fears that things will deteriorate more rapidly inside facilities under Trump. ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in the agencys custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments under appropriate conditions of confinement, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent. ICE continues to review its immigration detention centers nationally, monitoring the quality of life and treatment of detained individuals among other factors relevant to the continued operation of each facility. Port Isabel Detention Center in Texas, which is currently holding 980 ICE detainees. Detention centers in Texas and Louisiana have by far the most number of people overall (Getty Images) ICE under the Trump administration is only just getting started. Its network of detention centers in county jails and for-profit prisons had around 38,000 beds at the beginning of February, according to internal Department of Homeland Security data. Tom Homan, Trumps border czar, wants 100,000 detention beds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ICE spokesperson told The Independent that its significant number of arrests do require greater detention capacity. ICE is reopening an immigration detention facility in New Jersey, it was announced Thursday, after securing a $1.2 billion contract lasting 15 years with private prison company The Geo Group. The Delaney Hall facility in Newark will have 1,000 beds, making it the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its a sign of whats to come, campaigners said. What we're seeing now is something like over 110 percent capacity in ICE detention, Hatoum said. When you have overcapacity in detention, in prison, anything like that, conditions worsen. The Trump administration wants to detain more folks, Hatoum warned. Homan has called for things like tent cities and so the concern is that we're trying to build potential tools quick, without the resources...and the conditions are going to be so terrible that people are harmed. The Stoneham Police Chief is praising several officers and detectives for their exceptional teamwork and dedication during a bank robbery investigation. On Wednesday, February 19, around 2:03 p.m., the Stoneham Police Department responded to a distress call reporting an armed robbery at Citizens Bank, located inside Stop and Shop at 259 Main St. Within hours, officers had identified the suspect as 54-year-old Mark Amerault, arrested him and charged him with armed robbery while masked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the officers involved were Officer Antonio Ventresca, Sgt. Stephen Aprile, Detective Stephen Carroll, Detective Sean OGrady, and Detective Sgt. Christopher Dalis. Stoneham Police Chief OConnor commended them in a letter, highlighting their rapid and coordinated response, which resulted in the swift arrest of Amerault. The success of this investigation was due to the outstanding teamwork and investigative efforts demonstrated by these officers, Chief OConnor wrote. Detective Sergeant Dalis and Sergeant Aprile quickly took charge, providing clear direction and organizing the response. Detective Carroll and Detective OGrady meticulously followed leads, analyzed evidence, and pieced together vital information that led to the identification of the suspect. Officer Ventresca played an instrumental role by canvassing the area, gathering additional information, and providing crucial support throughout the investigation. Chief OConnor also praised the work of Dispatch Supervisor David Luciano and Dispatcher Jeremy Cefalo, as well as Detective David Ryan. Chief OConnor and also thanked the FBI Bostons Violent Crimes Task Force, which assisted in the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The teamwork and dedication shown in this case were essential in protecting the public and bringing a dangerous criminal to justice, Chief OConnor wrote in a commendation. As a department, we are incredibly fortunate to have such dedicated officers who work together seamlessly to serve our community. 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 KANSAS CITY, Mo. Kansas City police have arrested a suspect they say is connected to five break-ins at businesses in the Brookside and Waldo neighborhoods of Kansas City on Saturday, March 1. This recent string of break-ins impacted Big Chiefs Kush Dispensary and Waldo Cafe. Fiddly Fig Flowers, which is south of the Waldo neighborhood, was also hit. Its (Waldo Cafe) almost virtually a family-run restaurant. Its important for the neighborhood, and when the neighborhood is tarnished like this by this kind of damage, its pretty distressing, said Michael Grimaldi, who lives in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I see something like this happening, it really breaks my heart. KCPDs crime mapping site shows two non-residential burglaries reported early Saturday morning in the Brookside neighborhood, near Oak Street and East 62nd Street KCFD responds to massive scrapyard fire near I-435 And on Monday morning, two days after the incident, KCPD posted on X that a man had been arrested and is now facing charges connected to the burglaries. This isnt some of the big corporates where they probably have lots of national insurance coverage to protect them. When this happens to a small business like Waldo Cafe or any of the ones that its happened to on Troost Avenue or downtown and the river market area, these are hardworking people who are trying to make this community a better place to live and enjoy life, Grimaldi explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When something like this happens, you just wonder whats going on in the minds of the people who do this. Paulie Vega Jr., the owner of Big Chiefs Kush Dispensary, understands the stress small business owners face when dealing with damaged and stolen property. We operate on such thin margins as it is. We put in about 40 to 60 hours into the company every week, and then we have to worry about making payroll. So when something like this happens, yes, of course theres insurance, but they only help so much, Vega said. Vegas store was previously broken into. After the first incident, he boosted security, which likely prevented thieves from getting inside this time. Still, the dispensary was left with some damage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Luckily, they didnt get into our store, but they got into a couple of other stores. So I can only imagine, having the inventory costs and everything else, Vega said. Its the second time. Shout out to KCPD because they showed up this time and are already on top of it. Nothing was stolen from Waldo Cafe or Fiddly Fig Flowers during either break-in. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A Connecticut honors student is suing her school district, saying she is illiterate. Despite graduating from Hartford Public High School in June with honors and getting a scholarship to the University of Connecticut, Aleysha Ortiz is claiming she cannot read or write. The 19-year-old, who spent 12 years in the Hartford public school district, testified at a May city council meeting, explaining her unique situation and how the educational system failed her. Aleysha Ortiz is suing the Hartford Board of Education, the City of Hartford and her special education case manager for negligence. Youtube/WTNH News8 I decided, they [the school] had 12 years, Ortiz, a native of Puerto Rico, told CNN. Now its my time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ortiz is suing the Hartford Board of Education, the City of Hartford and her special education case manager, Tilda Santiago, for negligence. According to her lawsuit, she began having problems with letter, sound and number recognition as early as first grade, and because those issues were not addressed, she began acting out in school. I was the bad child, she told the outlet. When she was in 6th grade, she was reading at a mere kindergarten or first-grade level, Ortiz alleges. When Ortiz was a sophomore at Hartford Public High School, Santiago was assigned as her special education teacher and case manager. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Santiago bullied, harassed and stalked Ortiz, and was later removed from the role, the suit claims. Although she hardly speaks English, Ortizs mother, Carmen Cruz, did her best to advocate for her daughter, speaking to the principal and other school officials. I didnt know English very well, I didnt know the rules of the schools, she told the outlet. While Hartford Public Schools cannot comment on pending litigation, we remain deeply committed to meeting the full range of needs our students bring with them when they enter our schools, Hartford Public Schools said in a statement to CNN. Youtube/WTNH News8 There were a lot of things that they would tell me, and I let myself go by what the teachers would tell me because I didnt understand anything. By the 11th grade, Ortiz began taking matters into her own hands and started speaking up for herself, which led her teachers to suggest she get tested for dyslexia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just one month before graduation, she began receiving the testing, which was not completed until the last day of high school, the lawsuit states. The testing concluded that Ortiz was in fact dyslexic and required explicitly taught phonics, fluency and reading comprehension. School district officials told Ortiz she could defer accepting her diploma and receive intensive services, she alleges. While Hartford Public Schools cannot comment on pending litigation, we remain deeply committed to meeting the full range of needs our students bring with them when they enter our schools and helping them reach their full potential, Hartford Public Schools said in a statement to CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ortiz, who dreams of becoming a writer, is currently attending the University Connecticut as a full-time student, although she hasnt been to classes since Feb. 1 in order to get mental health treatment. To complete her college assignments, she is relying on apps that translate text to speech and speech to text, as she did in high school. The apps gave me a voice that I never thought I had, she said. The declarations of support for Ukraine from European leaders following this afternoons London conference on the conflict might provide a welcome boost for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after last weeks bruising encounter with US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office. But Sir Keir Starmers call for Europe to do the heavy lifting to safeguard Ukraines future independence will count for little unless he and other European leaders can persuade the Trump administration to support their initiative. It is all very well for Starmer to call for a coalition of the willing to protect Ukraine, one that could involve the deployment of British troops and fighter jets, but such pledges will count for little so long as European leaders fail to address the fundamental issue of their under-resourced and under-funded military forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the brutal truth is that, without the vital support of the US military, any attempt by the UK and its European allies to deploy forces to Ukraine would be unlikely to deter the Russians from committing further acts of aggression. On the contrary, the presence of European forces in Ukraine which Nato leaders have been keen at pains to avoid for fear of provoking a wider confrontation with Russia would only inflame tensions further, especially as Moscow has already stated it is totally opposed to such a deployment. Which is why Starmers hastily-arranged Lancaster House conference, under the ill-defined title Securing Our Future, seemed to be more of an exercise in wishful thinking than any meaningful attempt to resolve the crisis. The conference was a carefully-orchestrated attempt by Starmer and his European allies to demonstrate their support for Ukraine after last weeks unedifying row between Zelensky and Trump. Starmers desperation to show that the UK still remained committed to the Ukrainian cause even extended to the Ukrainian leader being invited to meet with King Charles at Sandringham. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But no matter how hard Starmer and other European leaders tried to demonstrate their pro-Ukraine credentials, by offering to maintain military supplies to Kyiv and insisting that Ukraine must participate in any discussions about its sovereignty and security, no one was under any illusions that European support would count for little without American support. As Starmer himself conceded after promising to commit British boots on the ground and planes in the air to secure any future peace deal in Ukraine, such an operation to support peace in Europe could only succeed with strong US backing. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. President Trumps public debacle with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky halted hopes for a signed minerals agreement while dividing the world and Washington over their support for the Republican inside the Oval Office or the embattled foreign head of state. As the tumultuous meeting played out in real time on Friday, GOP leaders lauded Trump for his harsh stance on the Ukrainian governments hesitancy to enter a peace agreement in its war with Russia without security guarantees. Democrats, meanwhile, condemned the president, arguing he was pandering Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mike Pompeo, a former secretary of state under Trump, will likely discuss the history of U.S. involvement in previous negotiations as an ally of Ukraine during his appearance on Fox Newss Sunday Morning Futures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House national security adviser Mike Waltz will likely look ahead to future U.S. relations with Ukraine following Trump and Zelenskys heated on air debate during an appearance on CNNs State of the Union. He may also discuss developments on the presidents long-awaited face to face meeting Putin. Kaja Kallas, the European Unions top diplomat, will likely slam Trump and Vance on CBS Newss Face The Nation after she called on Europe to step up after the clash, stating that the free world needs a new leader. Although the foreign conflict dominated headlines this week, federal employee firings have sparked discourse across the county over efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency to shrink the federal government and its workforce. Some Republicans are looking to include additional cuts in the upcoming government funding bill in an effort solidify Trumps agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will likely address the battle to secure the successful passage of the legislation required to prevent a government shutdown on March 14 in his two slated appearances on CNNs State of the Union and on NBCs Meet the Press. Heres a running list of this weeks Sunday show appearances: NewsNations The Hill Sunday: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) ABCs This Week: Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova; British ambassador to the U.S. Lord Peter Mandelson; David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNNs State of the Union: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); White House national security adviser Mike Waltz; Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.); Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) CBS Face the Nation: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.); Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and John James (R-Mich.); Kaja Kallas, European Union high representative for foreign Affairs and security Policy NBCs Meet the Press: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.); Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Foxs Fox News Sunday: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foxs Sunday Morning Futures: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Florida gubernatorial candidate; Vivek Ramaswamy, Ohio Gubernatorial candidate, Devin Nunes, chair of the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board; Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. QUICK WEATHER FORECAST: Today: Clouds increasing, high 34 Tonight: Mostly clear, low 22 Monday: Partly cloudy, high 45 (34) Tuesday: Chance of showers, high 59 (42) Wednesday: Rain & rumbles, 57 (31) Thursday: Light wintry mix, high 38 (29) FORECAST DISCUSSION: Today is going to bring plenty more sunshine to the area. Winds are also going to be significantly lighter. A high pressure system is moving closer and that is keeping conditions very stable. Highs are expected to reach the mid 30s. That center of high pressure will be positioned right over the Ohio River Valley tonight. Winds will be light and variable. Skies are staying clear as conditions remain very quiet. Morning lows will drop to the low 20s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warming trend continues into the new workweek. Monday will reach the mid 40s in the afternoon with clouds eventually returning. Skies by the evening will see a mix of clouds. Tuesday gets up to the upper 50s with a few light showers by midday day. Greater chances for rain roll in by the evening. Overnight Tuesday into Wednesday brings the next chance for showers and thunderstorms. At the moment they are not expected to reach the criteria for severe weather. Highs Wednesday top off in the upper 50s fairly early, then they will fall quickly as a cold front passes over Central Ohio. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Since taking office for his second term, President Donald Trump and his administration have made a point of trying to end "wasteful" government spending. This has led to the payment freeze for many programs, and funding to support countries adapting to the effects of the warming climate is also on the chopping block. What's happening? As reported by Politico, one policy reversal rescinds a $4 billion pledge to help improve climate resilience and reduce harmful pollution on the international level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The government of the United States rescinds any outstanding pledges to the Green Climate Fund," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, per the news outlet. During the Obama administration, the U.S. pledged $3 billion to the climate fund. In 2023, the Biden administration followed suit and pledged another $3 billion. However, as of 2025, only $2 billion had been delivered, per the report. "We have been made aware that the United States of America has notified the United Nations of its decision to rescind outstanding pledges to the Green Climate Fund," the U.N. wrote in a statement to Politico. Why is the U.N. climate fund important? The Green Climate Fund is a global initiative to invest in a more eco-friendly society for today and future generations. The fund helps to deliver money to over 130 developing countries to implement greener policies and real-world solutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of February, about $16.6 billion has been pledged to finance close to 300 projects. These projects range from providing fresh drinking water in the Maldives to developing renewable energy resources for Eastern Caribbean nations. By rescinding the $4 billion, the administration could jeopardize many programs. Since developing countries struggle financially, they often rely on aid to help pay for projects that would otherwise be too expensive to implement. Should governments be investing money into new, futuristic cities? Definitely No way Not sure Depends on the country Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What's being done about the U.N. climate fund? While the pulled financing negatively impacts the fund, other countries have strengthened their pledges. Over $5 billion of the climate fund has been disbursed, too, with nations such as Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom delivering over $1 billion each. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, the climate fund remains intact and continues to pursue projects. "Looking ahead, the Fund aims to grow its total portfolio to at least $50 billion by 2030," it said in a statement to Politico. "If pledges are not fully realized, our ability to support the climate ambitions of developing countries will be constrained." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Chennai has welcomed its first clothing store run by transgender women, 'Born2Win Trans Boutique' --an initiative designed to provide employment opportunities and financial independence to members of the transgender community. The boutique, located in Saidapet, was made possible by the efforts of Born2Win, a social welfare trust dedicated to uplifting transgender people through skill development programs. Working since 2013, the trust aims to support the transgender community by offering training in tailoring, driving, and education sponsorship, among other initiatives. With support from Altimetrik, a company that funded this initiative, five transgender women have been given employment and a chance to start their own businesses. The boutique offers customized clothing for women, tailored to their needs and preferences. Swetha, the Founder, Director, and CEO of Born2Win, spoke about the initiative and explained how it will help the community achieve their "dreams in their respective fields." "We created this initiative for the welfare of the transgender community. For the past six months, we have been training people in our tailoring classes. This initiative will help our community achieve their dreams in their chosen fields and will give transgender people the confidence they need," Swetha told ANI. Oviya, a transgender tailor at the boutique, shared her thoughts on the opportunity and mentioned how, in the past, people thought transgender individuals could only "beg or do sex work." She, however, emphasised that things are changing now, and people in their communities are focusing on building their "education and career." "I have 9 years of experience in the field of tailoring before transgenders used to be called they do sex and begging now even lot of transwomen are educated and coming up in their life. Hereafter, we won't call on these names even if we have dreams. We are working on our goals to succeed in our lives. We customize dresses for all women as per their needs. I believe a lot of customers will come to our boutique," Oviya told ANI. The main goal of Born2Win is to improve the socio-economic conditions of transgender individuals in India. Their mission is built on the 5Es: Equality, Education, Employment, Empowerment, and Environment. Through this boutique, they hope to change society's perception of transgender individuals and prove that, with the right support, they can thrive in any profession. (ANI) (FOX40.COM) The Sierra County Sheriffs Office arrested a suspect who has been involved in an online scam that defrauded a resident of almost $20,000. On Sept. 20, 2024, the sheriffs office received a report from a resident who lives in Sierra County regarding a false vehicle purchase that was made through Facebook Marketplace, according to authorities. Officials said that the victim had paid $19,800 for a vehicle that was never delivered and after crews investigated it was determined that the suspect had used a fake name, email, phone number, and website to create the false ad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the payment was received, the suspect deleted all communication which prevented the victim from making further contact, said SCSO. CHP investigates crash resulting in major injuries in Yuba County After an extensive investigation, on Dec. 26, 2024, investigators with the SCSO identified the suspect and obtained a warrant to arrest the suspect who was originally from New York, SCSO said. The warrant was issued for theft by false pretenses and three counts of money laundering. On Jan. 8, SCSO was notified by the New York Police Department that he had been taken into custody, and with the assistance of U.S. Marshals Service, he was extradited to Sierra County and booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility in Nevada County on Feb. 27, according to the statement by SCSO. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At this time, officials said that he is being held on $140,000 bail as he waits for court proceedings. SCSO said, The Sierra County Sheriffs Office urges residents to remain vigilant when making online purchases, particularly on social media platforms, and to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) The suspect involved in March 1s shooting at Sangertown Square mall has been arrested by New Hartford Police. Malachi T. Wynder was located by Utica Police and brought to The New Hartford Police Department. Wynder, a 20-year-old from Rome, New York, has been charged with the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attempted Murder, a class A Felony Reckless Endangerment in the first degree, a class D Felony Criminal Possession of a Loaded Firearm in the second degree, a Class C Felony Additional charges may be filed in this case. Wynder was brought to the Oneida County Jail to be held for arraignment. The victim shot at Sangertown Square mall is recovering from his injuries, police said. The arrest of Wynder was a result of warrants executed by The METRO SWAT Team, comprised of members of The Utica Police, New Hartford Police, and The Oneida County Sheriffs Office. Sangertown Square mall will reopen Sunday, March 2 at 11 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. A suspect is off the streets after two people said he attacked them inside their Des Moines home early Friday morning. Officers responded to a 911 call at 6:47 a.m. after a report that a man had entered a home and pistol-whipped two adults. Two children were inside the residence but were not harmed, according to the Des Moines Police Department. Investigators say one of the kids called 911. What we got told was somebody had broken into a house and had a firearm. And that, uh, he was in a fight with the parents, said Assistant Chief Cory Stanton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the victims was taken to the hospital for treatment. The victims told police they had hired Foster for construction work, and the attack appeared random and unprovoked. Police say Foster drove off, ditched his car nearby, and ran away. We called out, using the King County Sheriffs Office helicopter, we called out Guardian One to try to locate him. We also used drones, Stanton explained. Law enforcement agencies, including Tukwila Police, Kent Police, and the King County Sheriffs Office, launched an extensive search using a K9 unit, drone, and helicopter, but they could not find Foster. Authorities describe Foster as a 51-year-old man, 6-foot-1, weighing 225 pounds, with blue eyes and a shaved head. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stanton says Fosters lengthy criminal past could put others at risk. Hes been convicted, Stanton said. Hes still on DOC supervision. And he is a registered sex offender. Were gonna exhaust everything we possibly could to get him into custody. While detectives believe he may have still been in the Des Moines area, his last known address was in Renton. Police said he is not currently associated with any known cars. On Saturday, Des Moines PD, working with Bonney Lake PD and Sumner PD found the suspect and arrested him. The suspect was taken to King County Jail. Police shot and killed a woman after officers said she stabbed a man to death and came toward them with a knife. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Hiram police said the shooting happened around 1:14 p.m. on Sunday, at the Columns Apartments on Bill Carruth Parkway in Hiram. Authorities said Hiram police responded to an aggravated assault call where a woman was stabbing a man with a knife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Hiram officers arrived, the woman was armed with a knife, officials said. Officers tried to use a Taser, which the department said did not work. The HPD said the woman then advanced towards officers with the knife, and officers then shot the woman. TRENDING STORIES: Police immediately rendered aid to the woman and man. The man died from his injuries at the scene. The female suspect was taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead at the scene. Neither the womans nor the mans ages and identities were released. No officers were injured, according to HPD. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Paulding County Sheriffs Office and the Hiram Police Department requested the GBI to investigate the shooting. The sheriffs office is assisting Hiram police. The officers involved will be placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the investigation. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A man charged with the gruesome killing of a former coworker on her Queens porch hears voices and has hallucinations, his lawyer said Saturday. Francisco Sevilla, 40, allegedly struck Juliet Kashidas-Singh, 64, repeatedly about the head and body and then dragged her body using a cord that was tied around her neck at 103rd Avenue near 105th Street in Ozone Park, Queens, on Thursday, according to a criminal complaint. Francisco Sevilla, 40, stands before a judge on a murder charge in Queens Criminal Court. Brigitte Stelzer Sevilla was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge. Brigitte Stelzer Sevilla, who weighs 350 pounds and stands 5-foot-3, hears voices and has hallucinations, his defense attorney David Strachan said, as he asked for a psychiatric evaluation of his client. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sevilla pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, court records show. He told investigators he was under the influence and doesnt remember anything, according to sources. Kashidas-Singh, a breast cancer survivor, and Sevilla worked in construction together and were fighting over $300 that she apparently owed him, sources said. Francisco Sevillas lawyer told a judge he hears voices and has hallucinations. Brigitte Stelzer The 40-year-old accused killer walks into the courtroom with detectives. David Burns Sevilla, who was arrested hours after the murder with his hands still drenched in blood, was sent to Rikers Island correctional facility without bail, according to records. Sevilla is a Mexican national who has been in the US for two years, sources said. Its not known if he entered the country legally. The scene in front of 104-16 103rd Ave., where Juliet Kashidas-Singh was found murdered on Thursday. Georgett Roberts His next court date is scheduled for March 5. Additional reporting by Brigitte Stelzer DADE CITY, Fla. (WFLA) A man suspected of stealing a vehicle was the same person Pasco County deputies were looking for, for domestic violence charges. On Saturday morning, deputies were in the area of 21st Street and Long Avenue searching for a man they suspected stole a car. Person in custody after barricading themselves outside Florida Walmart According to the Dade City Police Department, the suspect deputies were searching for was the same man officers had pending domestic violence charges on, including robbery by sudden snatching and aggravated assault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect, 36-year-old Richard Lee Woods, was found near 17th Street and Moceri Avenue. Woods was arrested and booked into jail. No further information was provided. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. (KRON) The Hillsborough Police Department released a composite sketch on Saturday of the person wanted in connection to a shooting last month that injured an officer in the parking lot of the police department. Investigators also made an urgent plea to the neighboring community for assistance in potentially making an arrest. Ghost gun found in Santa Rosa traffic stop: PD Hillsborough PD said the incident occurred on Feb. 22 at 3:49 p.m. at the Town Hall at 1600 Floribunda Avenue. Police said the individual gained access to a restricted area of the police station and shot at an officer who then returned fire. The wounded officer was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to fully recover. The shooting prompted authorities to issue a shelter-in-place for residents in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with KRON4 days after the incident, Captain Meme Colla of the Hillsborough Police Department said that this is the first time a police shooting has happened so close to the police department. A little unsettling that someone would attack us in our home, but we are vigilant, and we are taking measures, said Captain Colla. Photo courtesy of Citizen App. Police confirmed that witnesses spotted the person of interest running southbound on El Camino near Carol, Cypress and Barroilhet avenues in Burlingame, less than two hours after the shooting, at 5:30 p.m. Police said the individual appeared anxious and was looking back frequently, suggesting an attempt to avoid detection. Police said the person of interest is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 25 to 27 years old, 5-feet-5-inches tall to 5-feet-7-inches-tall with a slim build. Police said the individual has a pale complexion with clean-cut, short black hair. At the time of the incident, they were seen wearing a black trucker hat, a black windbreaker-type jacket (possibly covering a white t-shirt), dark-colored sagging jeans with rhinestones on the back pockets, and flat-soled Nike shoes. Photo courtesy of the Hillsborough Police Department. In the news release, Hillsborough PD thanked the community for its support in the ongoing investigation. It said that police are asking local residents and businesses to look at any security camera footage from the afternoon or evening of February 22, 2025, for any unfamiliar individuals matching the description or any suspicious activity. If you recall seeing someone running in the area or an unknown vehicle parked nearby, please report it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Sergeant Ortiz @JOrtiz@Hillsborough.net or call 650-375-7561. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. HOUSTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) A teen faces multiple charges after allegedly striking the vehicle of a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and fleeing the scene. Clarksville police arrest man in connection with wifes death According to a THP preliminary crash report, a THP trooper attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Highway 13 near Coleman Loop on Friday just before 7 p.m. The 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was driven by a 19-year-old, fled from the trooper down a one-lane, dead-end gravel road. Once the Jeep reached the dead end, the teen turned around. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the teen backtracked, the Jeep struck the front passenger side of the THP troopers patrol vehicle. The driver then fled on foot, but was taken into custody a short while later. As a result of Fridays incident, the teen faces charges of drug possession without a prescription, evading arrest and assault on a police officer. Mt. Juliet police break up large gathering at unoccupied home No injuries were reported as a result of the crash. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. An 18-year-old has received a sentence of more than 37 years in prison for a 2023 fatal drive-by shooting in Austin. On Friday, Jenup Stepen Chop was sentenced to a total of 450 months in prison for the shooting that left Gumdel Gilo dead and two others injured. Chop pleaded guilty to one count of 2nd-degree murder and two counts of attempted 1st-degree murder late last year. The case was prosecuted by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellisons office at the request of the Mower County Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 9, 2023, Chop fired more than 20 rounds at a vehicle driven by Gilo, before then firing at a witness driving a motorcycle. Chop received a 297-month sentence for the murder of Gilo, along with a consecutive 153-month prison sentence and a concurrent 210-month for the attempted murders. A co-defendant who was with Chop at the time of the shooting is pending trial. My heart goes out to Jenup Chops victims and their loved ones during this extremely difficult time, Ellison said in a statement. I care deeply about the safety of the people of Minnesota, and I will continue to partner with law enforcement and county attorneys across our state to prosecute criminals who pose a danger to their fellow Minnesotans. Bollywood actor Preity Zinta recently visited the Maha Kumbh and later traveled to Varanasi to celebrate Mahashivratri with her mother. The 'Veer-Zaara' actress has now shared her experiences, emotions, and the lessons she learned from the journey. Preity took to her Instagram account on Sunday to share a compilation of videos and pictures along with a lengthy note describing the trip as an adventure. She also revealed how her mother wanted to "wrap up" their Maha Kumbh visit by seeking blessings at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The actress also shared how, due to the "heavy crowds," they had to leave their car behind and switch to an auto-rickshaw, then a cycle-rickshaw, before finally walking through the packed streets of Varanasi. Sharing how deeply moved she was by the positive energy of the people around her, Preity wrote, "What an adventure this trip has been. Mom wanted to wrap up our Maha Kumbh trip in Varanasi for Shivratri. So I told her, of course, Ma, let's go. Once we got there, we found out that due to heavy crowds, cars were not allowed, and roads were blocked after a point, so people could walk and do darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. We decided we would go for it. From sitting in a car to an auto rickshaw to a cycle rickshaw, we did it all and more as we walked forever in crazy crowds." The actress also shared that one of the most special moments for her was seeing her mother's happiness during the trip. She wrote, "It wasn't the destination but the journey that was important. It was my mom's shining smile I took back with me as Mahadev's blessing, and it was beyond precious. I love you, Ma." https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGsmRTkMERU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Earlier this week, the actress shared a small glimpse of her experience at the Maha Kumbh 2025. Taking to her Instagram handle, Preity shared a long note describing her experience of the visit. It was accompanied by a series of photos and videos featuring the holy dip at Triveni Sangam by the actress. Preity donned a saffron salwar and suit during her visit to one of the largest sacred gatherings in the world. Meanwhile, on the work front, the actress, who was last seen in Bhaiaji Superhit (2018), is all set to return to Bollywood with Lahore 1947, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Alongside Shabana Azmi and Ali Fazal, Preity will share the screen with Sunny Deol and his son Karan Deol in the upcoming film. (ANI) ST. LOUIS An investigation is underway after a 14-year-old was shot Saturday afternoon in north St. Louis. The shooting happened around 3 p.m. at a corner store at the intersection of Shreve and Anderson avenues in north St. Louis Penrose neighborhood. $50K Missouri Lottery prize won at St. Louis Schnucks According to police, the teen was standing outside of the store when a dark-colored vehicle drove by and fired multiple shots toward the teen. Upon arrival, police found the 14-year-old suffering from gunshot wounds and was listed in critical condition. Police say the teen was conscious and rushed to a hospital for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No suspect information is available at this time. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is handling the investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) Multiple law enforcement agencies are asking the publics help in finding a 17-year-old juvenile facing serious charges after fleeing from the scene of a shooting during a domestic incident just south of Chapel Hill. According to a release from the Orange County Sheriffs Office, deputies and officers from the Chapel Hill Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance around 11 a.m. Thursday on the 100 block of Dragonfly Trail off of Old Lystra Road. Deputies said they arrived at the area and witnesses said there was an argument between a woman and the 17-year-old juvenile. Witnesses told deputies that when the woman tried to leave, the teen went inside the house, got a gun and fired several shots at her before retreating back inside the home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers with Chapel Hill said they interviewed the shooting victim, who fled in a vehicle near the residence. The two agencies began evacuating nearby residents and called members of the joint Orange, Alamance, and Durham County Sheriffs Strike Team under the suspicion that the teen was still inside and armed. Alamance County Sheriffs Office Bearcat Armored Transport Unit in Orange County (Courtesy of the Orange County Sheriffs Office) The Alamance Sheriffs Office Bearcat Armored Transport Unit was also used to ensure the safety of law enforcement while executing the search warrant investigators petitioned. Upon arrival, the multi-agency warrant was executed, where deputies and officers searched the home. They also used an interior drone to help locate the suspect. We appreciate the cooperation of our law enforcement partners, and we are thankful Alamance County lent their armored vehicle and interior drone to assist with operations yesterday, said Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood. Both pieces of equipment proved invaluable to protect the safety of uninvolved parties, responding law enforcement officers, and the suspected offender. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies said that after searching the residence, they determined the teen suspect fled the scene before the agencies established their search perimeter. They said the juvenile is currently facing felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and kidnapping, as well as three misdemeanor charges for domestic violence, assault on a female, and injury to personal property. Absent a court order, state law prohibits the release of identifying information, as the alleged assailant is a juvenile, the release said in regards to any way to identify the juvenile at this time. The United States Marshals Fugitive Apprehension Task Force has adopted this case and is working to take the juvenile suspect into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. HONOLULU (KHON2) A 16-year-old male was arrested on March 1 and was charged with one count of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, five counts of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, as well as other gun-related charges stemming from a Lanakila shooting on Feb. 23. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You According to authorities, a group of five men were spending time together in a parking lot around 3:30 a.m. on the date of the shooting, when gunshots were fired in their direction. The males attempted to escape, but one of them, a 31-year-old, sustained a gunshot wound. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition via a personal vehicle after the shooting. The suspect fled the scene in an unknown vehicle, and the suspects identity was unknown at the start of the investigation. During the course of the investigation, authorities were able to positively identify the suspect as a 16-year-old male, who was already in custody on unrelated charges. The 16-year-old was then arrested on Feb. 28 for the crimes above, and was later charged. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) One Tennessee lawmaker would like to add a new kind of marriage to the books through a bill filed in the General Assembly. State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) has filed HB 0315, which would enact the Tennessee Covenant Marriage Act. According to its text, the bill would create a new kind of marriage agreement between Tennesseans. A covenant marriage is defined in the bill as one entered into by one man and one woman, each having reached the age of majority, who understand and agree that marriage is a lifelong relationship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill requires both parties to receive counseling emphasizing the nature, purposes, and responsibilities of marriage, and the marriage can only be broken legally when one person has committed a complete and total breach of the marital covenant commitment. Grocery shoppers are using these strategies to combat inflation: survey Under the text of the bill, a man and woman may contract a covenant marriage by declaring their intent to do so on their application for a marriage license and executing a declaration of intent to contract a covenant marriage. The application and declaration must then be filed with the county clerk who issues the marriage license. That declaration must contain a few things, under the proposed bill: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A statement made by both parties declaring solemnity and dedication to the covenant marriage under the law, as provided by the bill An affidavit by the parties that they have received premarital counseling from an ordained minister, religious priest or clergyman of a bona fide religion, or a counselor licensed under state law. Such counseling must include a discussion of the seriousness of covenant marriage, communication of the fact that a covenant marriage is a commitment for life, a discussion of the obligation to seek marital counseling in times of marital difficulties, and a discussion of the exclusive grounds for legally terminating a covenant marriage by divorce A notarized attestation confirming the parties were counseled as to the nature and purpose of the marriage and the grounds for termination; and the ordained minister, religious priest, clergyman, or licensed counselor provided to the parties the informational pamphlet developed and promulgated by the secretary of state. The attestation must be signed by either the religious figure or counselor, according to the bill. The signatures of both parties witnessed by a notary public The bill also provides a way for couples married before July 1, 2025, to execute a declaration of intent to designate their marriage as a covenant marriage. All they would need to do is provide the same declaration documents to the office of the county clerk who issued their marriage license. If a couple wants to designate their marriage as a covenant marriage but they were married out of state, the bill states they can provide their declaration with a copy of their out-of-state marriage license to the county clerks office where they live. In both casespreviously held marriages and to-be-covenant marriagesthe declarations must contain the following language signed by both parties: We do solemnly declare that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman who agree to live together as husband and wife for so long as we both may live. We have chosen each other carefully and disclosed to one another everything which could adversely affect the decision to enter into this marriage. We have received premarital counseling on the nature, purposes, and responsibilities of marriage. We have read the Tennessee Covenant Marriage Act, and we understand that a covenant marriage is for life. If we experience marital difficulties, we commit ourselves to take all reasonable efforts to preserve our marriage, including attending marriage counseling. With full knowledge of what this commitment means, we do hereby declare that our marriage will be bound by the laws of this state on covenant marriage, and we promise to love, honor, and care for one another as husband and wife for the rest of our lives. Tennessee Covenant Marriage Act statement Most Wanted man arrested for road rage incident Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As outlined in the bill, there are only specific circumstances for which those in a covenant marriage could end it. A non-breaching party to the marriage could choose to obtain a judgment of divorce for the following reasons: The other spouse has committed adultery The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or continuous confinement The other spouse has abandoned the matrimonial domicile for one year and repeatedly refuses to return The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the divorce or a child of one of the spouses The spouses have been living separately and apart continuously without reconciliation for two years, or for one year following an official date of legal separation The bill also outlines how someone in a covenant marriage could obtain a legal separation from a judge, including: Adultery Committing a felony and receiving life imprisonment or the death penalty Abandonment Living alone for at least two years without reconciliation On account of habitual intemperance of the other spouse, or excesses, cruel treatment, or outrageous conduct of the other spouse, if such treatment is of a nature as to render their living together insupportable Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite having grounds for separation and divorce, the bill states a legal separation does not dissolve the bond of matrimony, because the separated husband and wife are not at liberty to marry again. It further states spouses who are legally separated in a covenant marriage must stay in that marriage until they either reconcile or divorce. Finally, the bill requires the secretary of state to promulgate an informational pamphlet that outlines the consequences of entering into a covenant marriage. The pamphlet must be made available to the religious leaders and counselors outlined as provided in the bill. If passed, the Tennessee Covenant Marriage Act would take effect July 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. NewsNations Border Correspondent Ali Bradley and Senior National Correspondent Brian Entin give you an exclusive look at the border crisis in America and how the nations three borders southern, northern and aerial are kept safe. Watch the hour-long special, Crisis At The Border: On The Frontlines. (NewsNation) Patrolling the United States southern border remains a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week job. That is especially true in areas along the border that are used by smugglers and immigrants who enter the United States illegally to hide from U.S. border agents and other immigration officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mexico extradites cartel figures to US amid Trump tariffs threat NewsNation was given the opportunity to ride along with troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety along the Rio Grande Valley. The area has seen an uptick in migrants entering the United States illegally and smugglers who are looking to cash in and move people and illegal drugs across the border into the United States. Texas DPS says that smuggling networks are adapting faster, and they are making millions in the process. Even as the number of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally declines, Texas DPS officials are seeing a small surge in smuggling activity in the Rio Grande Valley. However, as officials try to manage that surge, one agency cannot do it alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texas DPS partners with U.S. Border Patrol agents and members of the Texas National Guard to try and track migrants that immigration officials characterize as gotaways. In most cases, the Texas DPS works to determine if it can file state charges against those they encounter and charge them with smuggling people across the border. In other cases, U.S. Border Patrol officials file federal charges for human smuggling. Cartel that killed family should be called terror group: Relative The agencies also work together to stop the flow of illegal drugs being moved across the U.S.-Mexico border. As the effort continues to try to locate and apprehend smugglers, smuggling groups in Mexico are moving in smaller groups, searching for areas that are not being patrolled. Working in conjunction with other agencies like the U.S Border Patrol, Texas DPS relies on tools like drones to monitor what is happening on the ground along the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its really a team effort, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Guadalupe Cazarez told NewsNation. The majority of time, our (Border Patrol) agents are processing individuals, and thats where we come in. We try to cover that gap so that these people do not get across (the border). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. President Donald Trump has long warned about an entrenched deep state of malevolent bureaucrats working to thwart his agenda. Many actual employees of the federal government have scoffed at this characterization, proud of the apolitical nature of the civil service and its ability to work across Republican and Democratic administrations. This time might have been no different if Trump and Elon Musk hadnt come in and declared war on them. While there were conflicts between Trump and civil servants in his first term, Trump may now be creating the broad resistance within the federal government he thought was there all along. Were looking to hear from federal government workers who have been laid off. If youre willing to talk with us, please email us at tips@nbcuni.com or contact us through one of these methods. Protests opposing the cuts and supporting laid-off workers have started popping up, but the real hotbed of organizing has been happening online, in Signal chats, on Facebook and in the popular FedNews channel on Reddit, where federal workers are sharing advice, talking about their experiences and encouraging opposition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KEEP SHOUTING THE TRUTH, KEEP RINGING THE BELL: Its working! read a post last week. I just got a mass email from my agency branch reminding us not to talk to the media, listing several regulations that state were not to talk to the media. They wouldnt have sent that if the media wasnt getting FLOODED with federal workers reporting the truth, reporting what is REALLY going on. Its affecting them. Ive heard so many people ask: WHY is Donald T. so hell-bent on destroying Federal workers? read another recent post. Because we are in his way. Hold the line. The totality of the effort is quite broad. Workers are filing lawsuits, joining protests and sharing internal documents with media outlets. Theyve launched anonymous websites and social media accounts to promote their narratives. Theyve built resource guides and recorded private meetings. And theyve resigned, sometimes in large numbers, to protest Musk and the U.S. DOGE Service. Amy Paris, who worked at the Health Resources and Services Administration, said she would have very willingly collaborated with the Trump administration if it had come in and looked for ways to increase efficiency. Instead, she and thousands of other federal workers were laid off last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They sowed chaos, she said. They made everyone scared for their jobs. What theyve done is theyve radicalized me. What theyve done is theyve taken someone who would have willingly served under their administration to help all of the American people, and what theyve done is theyve made me think that they want to destroy the republic. They want to destroy democracy. So now I am activated. Before she was fired, Paris was working on modernizing the federal web platform for organ transplants. She is considering appealing her termination. One civil servant at an agency within the Department of Commerce said they previously thought the idea of a deep state was ludicrous. Now, however, they believe Trump and Musk have created the conditions for such a resistance to thrive. That is definitely something that appears to be happening, this person said. I do not believe the deep state existed before, but they could be getting something like that as a response. Not trying to take over the world, just trying to oppose this. Demonstrators protest during a rally for federal workers at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 11. Limited options The Trump administration first targeted federal employees tied to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Office of Personnel Management, which has been working closely with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency effort, then offered most of the 2 million-plus federal workforce a deferred resignation to leave their positions. Weeks of confusion and court battles followed, though the program was allowed to move forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next, the administration proceeded to go after people like Paris, who are either new to the federal government and dont yet have full civil service protections, transferred to new departments or took a promotion. Many of these employees were told they were being let go for performance reasons, even though they had exemplary reviews. The next step will be a reduction in force, which will mean large-scale layoffs across agencies, according to a new OPM memo. All along the way, Musk and other members of the Trump administration have belittled, insulted and mischaracterized federal workers. The episode that stood out most to federal workers was a line in an FAQ that OPM shared to answer questions about the deferred resignation program that they felt diminished their efforts. The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector, the comment read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk himself has sent a number of missives to civil servants, including when he posted that he is 1000% more trustworthy than untold numbers of deep state bureaucrats and fraudsters or wrote on X that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all! That last comment followed Musks latest effort: telling federal workers that their jobs are at risk if they dont respond to an email asking them to provide five bullet points on what they did the previous week. That email was sent by OPM on Feb. 22, a Saturday. But it was only on his social media platform X that Musk said a failure to respond would be taken as a resignation. A second such email started going out Friday evening. The options for resistance are increasingly limited. Soon after taking office, Trump fired 18 inspectors general, who act as internal agency watchdogs. He also tried to remove Hampton Dellinger, who leads an agency tasked with whistleblower protection, as well as the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent body that weighs federal workers employment appeals. (Federal judges have so far blocked those moves.) Both Dellinger and the merit board chair were appointed by President Joe Biden. Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits, and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country who overwhelmingly re-elected him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With few options for pushback, federal workers have centered their opposition on influencing public opinion and shaping narratives. Theyre seeking to counter not just Trump and Musks effort, but decades of public perception that civil servants are unproductive and prone to wasting the taxpayer dime. Theyve held protests outside agencies DOGE has targeted, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of the Treasury. And the National Treasury Employees Union is slated to hold a protest near the Capitol on Wednesday. They may also be getting more involved politically with some expressing interest in running for office. Outside of a recent Democratic Party event in Virginia, a man named Matthew described himself as a political independent who never previously attended a Democratic gathering. That was until he was recently fired from his federal job. Asked if the layoffs may factor into his vote in the states 2025 governors race, he said: 100%. Demonstrators protest Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency outside the Treasury Department on Feb. 4. We are all desperately trying to figure out how to navigate this But a number of federal workers who spoke with NBC News said they recoil at the idea of being hostile to the administration writ large. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not comfortable with the word combat, because it shouldnt ever be adversarial, right? one assistant U.S. attorney said. We are all desperately trying to figure out how to navigate this. Whether or not I agree with the administrations priorities or their worldview of anything is absolutely, positively not relevant. And I worked for this administration the first time. I dont think Ive ever agreed with 100% of any administrations priorities. What I havent dealt with so far, and where I think were all extremely troubled, is that some of what is happening now appears to any reasonable observer to be blatantly unconstitutional, this person added. And so the question that we have in our minds is, how do we try to advance the administrations objectives without running afoul of the law, quite frankly. A staffer at the Small Business Administration said everybodys too afraid to take actions that could risk their employment. But those who have already been fired have had fewer reservations. Already, Democratic lawmakers including Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., have highlighted stories from ousted federal workers on the services they provided the public and what the firings have meant to them personally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said the most effective pushback to the cuts involves sharing stories about how the public is getting hurt. They need to share not just whats happening to them personally, which is important, but whats happening to the public as a result of the chaotic management that is current now, he said. Stier said the firings of the head of the Office of Special Counsel and inspectors general have served as a warning to any employees who consider speaking out even internally. By their oath of office, [civil servants] have a responsibility to speak up, Stier said. But I think you have an incredibly difficult situation for them because theyre being taught that to do so puts them in an additional harms way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans have largely expressed resounding support for DOGEs mission to cut federal spending and staffing, pointing to surveys that show support for streamlining government and adding that the mission was not only core to Trumps presidential bid but is an undertaking that any Republican officeholder in this era would be pursuing. But some grumblings over the effort have arisen, whether over Musk appearing to usurp powers that should be reserved for Trumps Cabinet heads, a lack of compassion in the broader restructuring, or having Musk, the worlds richest man, be the face of the effort. I dont think it sparks a resistance, one Trump ally said. I think those days are long over. I just think theres risk and potential blowback on the political side if something gets messed up. I also think theres risk in department heads appointed by the president clashing with Musk. You are already kind of seeing it in some instances. At Wednesdays Cabinet meeting, Trump asked Cabinet heads directly if anyone was unhappy with Musks leadership. None spoke up against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I still think what theyre doing is broadly popular, just that Elon is very off-putting and unpopular, a senior Senate GOP aide said, adding that the job cuts so far are small when compared to the depth of the federal workforce as a whole. Elon does this all very chaotically, but this is actually something I think you could have seen any generic Republican admin doing. Republicans have faced heat at town halls over the effort while others have shared concerns from federal workers in their own states. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told NBC News his biggest concern is that were being compassionate. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, told CBS Face the Nation: If I could say one thing to Elon Musk its, Please put a dose of compassion in this. These are real people. These are real lives. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Monday called for just a little bit of humanity and dignity to the process. Musk himself has bristled at some of the pushback, lamenting what he sees as a certain level of ridiculousness over federal employees stressing about responding to an email calling for them to list out their accomplishments. The email request was utterly trivial, as the standard for passing the test was to type some words and press send! Yet so many failed urged on in some cases by their managers, he posted to X. Have you ever witnessed such INCOMPETENCE and CONTEMPT for how YOUR TAXES are being spent? Makes old Twitter look good. Didnt think that was possible. But as civil servants and their advocates noted, there are codified processes by which federal employees have to go through performance reviews, are disciplined or terminated, and that the DOGE effort has so far skirted these systems. Theres a lot of civil servants who are trying in the best ways that they know how to resist what they believe are illegal actions, Paris said, adding: These are not people who are well-skilled in the idea of a resistance movement. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. AstroForge's Odin asteroid probe, the box-shaped spaceraft at center right, is seen after launch beneath the private Intuitive Machines Athena moon lander on Feb. 25, 2025 before its troubles began. | Credit: AstroForge/SpaceX The world's first private spaceraft built to visit an asteroid is slowly tumbling in space and the outlook is dire. The spacecraft, called Odin, launched atop a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday (Feb. 26) on a mission to fly by the small asteroid 2022 OB5 for AstroForge, a company that aims to eventually mine the nearby space rock. But just hours after liftoff, Astroforge hit snags with the probe. The last contact was 20 hours after launch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think we all know the hope is fading as we continue the mission," AstroForge founder Matt Gialich said in a video update on X early Saturday (March 1). "So we're going to keep our head up. We're going to keep trying over the weekend, and we'll see how far we get." At the time of Gialich's update Saturday morning, the Odin spacecraft was over 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) from Earth and largely following its intended trajectory. On Friday, AstroForge said the spacecraft's solar panels were generating power, with tracking data showing it at its expected position. But the probe has not sent full telemetry on its status. Gialich said AstroForge experienced challenges with ground stations designed to keep communication lines open with Odin after launch. "And I think missing our early ground stations really hurt the ability of us to fix any potential problems we had," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 265-pound (120 kilograms) Odin was only designed to last 2.5 hours on its internal battery, but AstroForge received its last contact from the probe 20 hours after liftoff, boosting confidence that the spacecraft is powered. AstroForge's Odin spacecraft before launch. | Credit: AstroForge Odin is tumbling ever so slowly as it flies through space, Gialich added, confirming one theory based on observations of the spacecraft. "And when I say tumble, this is a really, really low speed tumble," Gialich said. "But in short, we don't know why and that's going to be the problem going forward." AstroForge's mission team is working through the weekend on recovery efforts, but options may be limited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have a plan over the weekend, and there is still a chance that we are going to be able to recover the vehicle," Gialich said. "We do think we have some theories on what's going on, and if one of them is true, there is still a recovery path." RELATED STORIES: SpaceX rocket launches private moon lander and NASA 'trailblazer' to hunt for lunar water (video) Space mining company AstroForge identifies asteroid target for Odin launch next month Space mining startup AstroForge aims to launch historic asteroid-landing mission in 2025 Gialich said AstroForge will share a more detailed update on its website this weekend, followed by an in-depth analysis on the anomaly next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gialich founded AstroForge with the goal of mining the vast resources from asteroids for use on Earth and in space. The Odin mission is a scouting effort to fly by asteroid 2022 OB5 to record images and data that would set the stage for a landing by AstroForge's next mission, called Vestri. The company built Odin in just 10 months, Gialich said. It launched as a piggyback payload alongside the company Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer moon orbiter (which is also suffering issues after launch) and a small orbital tug demonstrator built by Epic Aerospace. Gialich stressed that AstroForge is committed to that Vestri asteroid landing mission despite the challenges facing its Odin probe. "We have probably the best group of investors in the world. A lot of them have doubled down on this company," Gialich said. "So regardless of the outcome of Odin, regardless if we ever talk to it again or we don't, we're going to roll these findings into the next mission. "And we'll see you back here in about a year when we take another stab at it." A third person has been charged in a fatal shooting that occurred after a suspected vehicle prowl was interrupted in Tacoma. Prosecutors charged Dominick Blair Byrd, 18, with two counts of second-degree murder on Friday, according to court documents. Byrd is accused of fatally shooting James Marsh, 53, outside the victims home. A plea of not guilty was entered on Byrds behalf during his arraignment. Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Barbara McInvaille set his bail at $1 million, records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elijah Alexander Andrews, 18, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court Jan. 15 with two counts of second-degree murder, The News Tribune reported. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. The judge in the case ordered that the name of the third defendant, 17-year-old boy, not be publicly released while the investigation is ongoing. Detectives identified Byrd as the third suspect in Marshs death through a witness statement, phone logs and a jail phone call between the teen and Andrews. Police were dispatched at 2:21 a.m. to the 4800 block of North 18th Street for reports of shots fired. Marsh was lying in the street in front of his home when officers arrived. He was injured from several gunshot wounds and was later declared dead at 2:37 a.m., according to a probable cause document. Officers spoke to 911 callers who reported seeing an older silver vehicle drive away on North 18th Street. There was also a vehicle across the street parked in front of another home with its drivers side door open, documents show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marshs girlfriend told detectives she was asleep before police arrived, prosecutors wrote. When she woke up to the police pounding on her door, she realized Marsh was no longer inside the home. Through their investigation, detectives learned from surveillance footage that three people were in the middle of a vehicle prowl in the neighborhood. Two people were looking into Marshs Land Rover Range Rover and a vehicle across the street, prosecutors wrote. Footage showed Marsh coming out towards the street where two people were, and lights flashed between the cars. The people ran back to their vehicle and drove off. Footage allegedly showed there was also a third person involved. Following the unnamed teens arrest on Jan. 10, detectives reviewed a jail call between him and Andrews where they discuss someone named Dom turning himself in, prosecutors wrote. The teen and Andrews alleged during the call that three of them were there during the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through a police database, detectives learned Andrews was listed in a police report with Byrd, prosecutors wrote. A witness who was close to Andrews told detectives that Dom Byrd was the third person involved in the homicide and was the person to fire the gun. Byrds phone records also allegedly showed that his phone was in the area of where Marsh lived right before police were dispatched to the scene. His phone was also in the area where another vehicle prowl occurred prior to the shooting, prosecutors wrote. Officers arrested Byrd on Wednesday after he left his apartment, prosecutors wrote. Byrd has not been previously convicted with a crime, records show. The 'Raazi' actress was later spotted leaving the venue in a casual yet stylish look. For the day, she opted for a white top and blue jeans, with minimal makeup and her hair left open. The actress made sure to pose for the shutterbugs stationed outside the venue before getting into her car. Alia also shared a glimpse of the event on her Instagram Stories. Posting a picture with her team, she captioned it, "What a day (sun emojis)." Take a look Meanwhile, the actress will be next seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love and War alongside her husband actor Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal. Love and War will be the first collaboration between Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Leela Bhansali since the actor's 2007 debut, Saawariya. While Vicky Kaushal has never worked with the filmmaker, Alia Bhatt teamed up with Bhansali in the 2022 drama Gangubai Kathiawadi. The film was officially announced in January 2024. The original announcement on Instagram read, "We bring you Sanjay Leela Bhansali's epic saga Love & War. See you at the movies". (ANI) SEVERANCE, Colo. (KDVR) A Severance, Colorado family says they recently received a threatening letter in the mail in response to a Make America Great Again banner posted in their front yard. The sign in their front yard reads, This is ultra MAGA country. A family member says the letter was delivered to their mailbox on Wednesday. Upside-down American flag hung briefly from 2nd flatiron amid NOAA, NWS layoffs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The typed letter said that if the residents keep putting them (MAGA flags) up for everyone to see, that someone might accidentally burn your house down. The family says the letter and envelope have been turned over to the Severance Police Department. They also have no plans to take down the banner. A U.S. Postal Service spokesperson told Nexstars FOX31 that anyone who receives a threatening letter should report it to the U.S. Postal Service Inspectors and keep the letter as evidence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Medical providers are barred from providing abortions in Oklahoma unless it's necessary to protect the mother's life, but still, several bills targeting the procedure were introduced in the state Legislature this year with some making progress. A reproductive rights advocate called the continued fight against abortion a larger effort to control the bodies of Oklahomans, adding that the proposed laws will deter medical providers from the state, impacting everyone who lives in it. More: Three conservative bills by Sen. Dusty Deevers fail committee with bipartisan disapproval Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, just four bills targeting abortion have been heard in committee, though a hearing doesn't guarantee a bill will pass through the Legislature. One of the four bills failed in committee while the three are still progressing. House Bill 1008 would classify abortion as a felony for providers The House Public Health Committee and the House Health and Human Services Committee approved a bill from Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, this month that would classify abortion as a felony for providers and grant protections for fetuses. If it passes the Legislature, the bill would revive Senate Bill 612, which was signed into law in 2022 before being struck down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2023. Under SB 612, abortion was classified as a felony for medical providers who perform the procedure with a potential of 10 years in prison or fines of up to $100,000. The law only allowed abortions in cases where they're necessary to save the life of the mother in a "medical emergency." Rep. Jim Olsen attends a Sept. 3 news conference for The Freedom Caucus at the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City. In 2023, the state Supreme Court ruled SB 612 was unconstitutional. The court decided that the Oklahoma Constitution already "protects the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy in order to preserve her life." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Olsen told The Oklahoman in December that he rewrote SB 612's language to match the Oklahoma Supreme Court's preferences. HB 1008 nixes the definition of "medical emergency" in SB 612 and prohibits providers from performing an abortion "unless necessary to preserve the life of a pregnant woman." But it's legislation like this that affects the retention and attraction of medical providers to the state, said Tamya Cox-Toure, the executive director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. She said doctors are leaving because they're not able to provide their best judgment care due to legal restrictions. "Because of ideological views, Oklahomans suffer from not having the best medical providers in our state because they're refusing to come to our state or they're leaving because of laws like these," Cox-Toure said. More: US Supreme Court sets date to hear Oklahoma's religious charter school case Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill also requires that the medical provider performing an abortion must prioritize "preserving both the life of the pregnant woman and the life of the baby" unless it's determined that the birth of the fetus is a threat to the life of the mother. Olsen said the intent behind including the preservation of the fetus is to "recognize the humanity of the baby." During the House Public Health Committee meeting on Monday, Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City, asked Olsen if under HB 1008, it could be confusing for doctors to determine if the pregnant woman's health is more at harm compared to the fetus' health. "I am confident that medical personnel have greater capabilities and qualifications to do that so they can make these determinations," Olsen answered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he's in favor of maternal health, adding that he also wants consideration for the life of the fetus. "This is an equal rights issue," Olsen said. "We want to consider the life of the mother. We want to consider that the baby has a right to life." HB 1008 is now eligible to be heard on the House floor. HB 1168 would impose drug trafficking charges on those delivering abortion pills Early this month, HB 1168 passed the House Criminal Judiciary Committee 4-1 and could impose drug trafficking charges on someone who possesses or delivers an abortion-inducing drug to another person intending to terminate their pregnancy. If passed, a person convicted of trafficking abortion-inducing drugs shall be guilty of a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000 or both. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill, authored by Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont, provides exceptions for lawful pharmacists, manufacturers and distributors. HB 1168 was referred to the House Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee. More: Gov. Stitt announces state partnership with ICE to arrest undocumented immigrants The author also introduced HB 1169, which would repeal sections in the Oklahoma Statutes related to abortion pills and nix language recognizing mifepristone as an FDA-approved drug for terminating pregnancies. The bill passed the Public Health House Committee. HB 1169 was referred to the House Health and Human Services Oversight Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite laws in states like Oklahoma that ban medical abortions, the right to receive abortion pills by mail remains legal in all states through services like Plan C. Plan C is a national information campaign that showcases avenues to obtaining abortion pills for people across the country. "With House Bill 1168, we don't know what the true impact is because one, it shouldn't be and it is not illegal for Oklahomans to get an abortion," Cox-Toure said. "They obviously aren't able to get it here in Oklahoma, but it's not illegal for Oklahomans to get an abortion." Several anti-abortion bills have yet to progress in the state Legislature One anti-abortion bill was granted a hearing in the Criminal Judiciary Senate Committee earlier this month, but was shot down by legislators from both political parties. Authored by Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, SB 456 would've allowed Oklahomans who obtain an abortion to be charged with first-degree murder. Sen. Dusty Deevers sits at his desk with a pile of bills May 30 at the Oklahoma Capitol. "We have a protected class of murderer in our state," Deevers said during the hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cox-Toure said Oklahomans don't want to see people obtaining abortions charged with murder regardless of how they feel about the procedure. "(Oklahomans) truly believe in the idea that the government should stay out of health care decision, and to go as far as making a very private health care decision to now be charged with first-degree, I think it's too extreme for anyone," she said. The bill failed 6-2 in committee with bipartisan disapproval. Sen. Todd Gollihare, R-Kellyville, told Deevers in the meeting that his bill wouldn't reduce the number of abortions, and instead, would expose women to capital punishment. Several other anti-abortion bills have yet to see a hearing in committee, including two from Sen. David Bullard, R-Durant: SB 883 and 884, one from Rep. Molly Jenkins, R-Coyle: HB 1724, and another from Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville: SB 989. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We continue to see anti-abortion bills because we have legislators that are so focused more on ideological issues as opposed to real world problems that Oklahomans are facing," Cox-Toure said. "Even though abortion is effectively banned in our state, it is important to know that our state Supreme Court has said there is a right to an abortion in limited circumstances." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: These anti-abortion bills are progressing in the Oklahoma Legislature Three civilians were injured in a Russian attack on the city of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the afternoon of 2 March. Source: Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Details: Ukrainian authorities noted that an 84-year-old man had been retrieved from under the rubble. He has been taken to hospital in a serious condition. Two women, 44 and 82, have also been injured. Emergency workers are working at the scene of the strike. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Three University of Chicago students were robbed at gunpoint Saturday morning in Hyde Park, according to the schools police department. Four to five unknown suspects, all carrying guns, got out of a white Alfa Romeo SUV and approached the three students, who were walking on a sidewalk near 5800 South Dorchester Avenue at 5:15 a.m., police said. The gunmen demanded and took property from the students before returning to their vehicle and driving southbound on Dorchester, police said. The vehicle didnt have license plates, police said. No injuries were reported; U. of C. police are investigating the robbery. Manfred Weber, the leader of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) in Brussels, has called for quick decisions on an independent European defence policy following the rift between the US and Ukraine. "If you look at Washington, you have to understand: Europe is alone and we must now arm ourselves independently," the German politician told the Funke media outlet in comments published on Sunday. Weber - whose EPP is the largest group in the European Parliament - said it was time to "take the first steps towards a European army." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Far too much time has been wasted," he added. European countries should increasingly procure defence equipment produced in Europe, Weber argued. "If the US is no longer a reliable friend and partner, then the question arises as to why we buy most of our weapons from the US." "We need to strengthen our own defence industry," said Weber. The EPP leader said that tough decisions must be made at a special EU summit on support for Ukraine and European defence set to take place in Brussels on Thursday. The comments came just two days after US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky fell out spectacularly in a televised meeting at the Oval Office. In our weekly list of business people on the move, we highlight Palm Beach County professionals who are making a difference. These are people from across the spectrum of public and private endeavors, those working in charities, court houses, private practices and beyond. They are moving up within their industry, advancing their careers and standing out for their services within our community. Here are this week's professional standouts: Discover The Palm Beaches notes promotions, hires Christine DeMichael Discover The Palm Beaches, the tourism marketing organization for Palm Beach County, recently announced new leadership hires and promotions. Christine DeMichael joins the company as the director of integrated marketing. She will manage all integrated projects and strengthen brand consistency. Erika Constantine has been promoted to senior vice president of marketing. She oversees integrated marketing efforts, marketing technology, social media, public relations/communications, and works on brand campaigns. Gustav Weibull has been promoted to senior vice president of business intelligence, strategy and destination development. In his position, he has developed extensive destination research models. Erick Garnica has been promoted to vice president of global leisure sales. He focuses on driving revenue growth, expanding key international markets, and analyzing sales performance. Robin Prakash has been promoted to vice president of group sales. He focuses on driving sales efforts, providing customer solutions, and exceeding group business metrics for both resorts and destinations. Sergio Piedra has been promoted to senior director of community engagement and advocacy. Piedra advocates for Palm Beach Countys tourism industry and DTPB efforts and initiatives to government officials, community leaders, local businesses, and county residents. Yacell Taveras has been promoted to director of human resources. She is responsible for employee engagement, compensation and benefits management, strategic planning, talent acquisition and development, and performance management. Erika Constantine Gustav Weibull Erick Garnica Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robin Prakash Sergio Piedra Yacell Taveras Palm Beach real estate firm names Chicagoan VP of asset management Alex O'Brien was recently appointed VP of asset management at Township Capital, the Palm Beach-based innovative real estate firm that bridges the gap between investors and commercial real estate. A Chicago native, OBrien is a seasoned financial analyst with a proven track record of success in commercial real estate and finance. Alex O'Brien Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Century-old West Palm firm elevates two attorneys Genny Bernstein Jones Foster, a full-service commercial and private client law firm with offices in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, and Jupiter, is pleased to announce that attorneys Genny Bernstein and Alexander L. Brams have been elevated to shareholder. Bernstein focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, wills and trusts, guardianships, special needs trusts, veteran benefits, and long-term care Medicaid. Brams focuses his practice on the areas of probate, trust, guardianship, and fiduciary litigation, as well as commercial litigation throughout Floridas state and federal courts. Alexander L. Brams Palm Beach County Food Bank appoints director, promotes two Linda Roman The Palm Beach County Food Bank has announced the appointment of its new director of development, Linda Roman. Additionally, the organization promoted Andrea Rendon to marketing and communications manager and Yanet Campbell-Saunders as its senior manager of finance and accounting. Romans responsibilities include donor relations and partnerships with foundations and businesses to advance hunger relief work. Rendon will oversee the food bank's digital and public engagement to educate and inform supporters about taking action to alleviate hunger locally. Campbell-Saunders oversees the accounts receivable and accounts payable teams, manages grant reporting and collaborates with the chief financial officer to prepare fiscal budgets and financial reports. With approximately 173,000 food-insecure residents throughout Palm Beach County, the food bank procures food from grocery stores, farmers, food distributors, wholesalers and other sources and distributes it to over 200 local community partners, including food pantries, soup kitchens and schools. Andrea Rendon Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yanet Campbell-Saunders Local restaurant chain TooJay's names latest CEO TooJays, the Florida restaurant known for its delicious and authentic deli-style menu and fresh bakery, has announced the appointment of Joe DiGangi as its new chief executive officer. With more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, DiGangi brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to guide TooJays into its next chapter of growth and success. DiGangi has held pivotal roles at renowned brands, including Corner Bakery and, most recently, Skillets, a Florida-based breakfast and brunch chain, where he spent the last eight years as president and chief executive officer. Founded in 1981, TooJays currently serves its New York deli-style menu, including handcrafted sandwiches, made-from-scratch soups and salads, and delectable desserts at 20 restaurants. Joe DiGangi If you are looking for more insight into the movers and shakers operating in the Palm Beaches, subscribe to our real estate newsletter, The Dirt, keep an eye out for stories and perspective from veteran reporters Kimberly Miller and Alexandra Clough. If you have an announcement for Business People on the Move, please send it to Pbbusiness@pbpost.com. Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Best businesses, professionals, business people in Palm Beach County National Security Advisor Mike Waltz suggested on Sunday that Ukraine needed to give up territory to Russia to end the years-long war, a nonstarter for the European nation that has been at verbal odds with Donald Trumps administration. Waltz suggested to CNNs State of the Union that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may not be the best leader for the war-torn country as the U.S. tries to broker a deal with Russia to end the war. We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war, Waltz said. If it becomes apparent that President Zelenskys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in the country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sentiment came two days after Zelensky, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance publicly feuded during an Oval Office meeting about the U.S.-Ukraine relationship, resulting in Zelensky leaving the White House early and little movement about a minerals deal with the U.S. Waltz also said U.S. citizens were growing increasingly impatient with Ukraine as the war stretched into its third year, noting the billions in aid the U.S. has sent the country in support. He said Ukraine would likely need to recognize its current statusand give up some of the land Russia took from the country. This war needs to end, Waltz said. Thats going to take concessions on territory. Thats going to take Russian concessions on concern security guarantees. Thats going to take all sides coming to the table. And we are working very hard to drive those negotiations forward. Waltzs comments echoed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths remarks last month that Ukraines goal of reclaiming Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014, was unrealistic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moderator Dana Bash pressed Waltz on what specific security guarantees the U.S. expected Russia to concede, considering it had not specified expected concessions from Russia. Waltz said the deal will likely need Ukraine to concede some land to Russia in exchange for other countries' help in maintaining securityeven if Ukraine has called Russias claims to the land it conquered laughable. Russia has said the regions it claimed throughout the war were non-negotiable points. This will clearly be some type of territorial concession for security guarantees going forward, Waltz said, saying the security must be European led. A number of U.S. officials and Republican lawmakers are continuing their criticism of President Volodymyr Zelensky, with some suggesting that Zelensky may have to resign, following the president's heated exchange at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 28. During an interview with NBC News on March 2, House Speaker Mike Johnson took aim at Zelensky suggesting he "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country." "What President Zelensky did in the White House was effectively a signal to us that hes not ready for (peace talks), and I think thats a great disappointment," Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson's remarks fall in line with Senator Lindsey Graham formerly a staunch supporter of Ukraine who said on Feb. 28 that Zelensky "is either going to have to fundamentally change or go." Zelensky rebuked calls for his resignation from Republican lawmakers following the exchange, saying on Fox News that "only Ukrainians vote for their president." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has defended Trump since the incident, also criticized Zelensky in separate interview with ABC News on March 2, stating that the United States will "be ready to reengage when theyre ready to make peace." Rubio added that he has not spoken to Zelensky or members of the Ukrainian delegation since they were ordered to leave the White House. Rubio's comments echo those of Trump who told reporters following the spat that the Ukrainian president was "looking for something that I'm not looking for" and again asserted that Zelenskyy wanted to "fight, fight, fight." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky pushed back on Trump's comments during his interview asserting that Ukraine is "ready for peace but we need to be in a good position." "We want peace... that's why I visited President Trump," Zelensky added. White House national security advisor Mike Waltz also criticized Zelensky on March 2, stating that "We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war." When asked if Trump wanted Zelensky to resign, Waltz declined to directly answer the question, responding that "If it becomes apparent that President Zelenskyys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waltz, in a comment to far-right media outlet Breitbart News on March 1, compared Zelensky to "an ex-girlfriend that wants to argue everything that you said." As U.S. officials continue to lambast the Ukrainian president over the incident, European allies are gathering in London to reaffirm their support for Zelensky and the embattled country. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview with the BBC on March 2 that the U.K., France, Ukraine, and possibly other countries will develop a ceasefire plan that will be presented to the U.S. Read also: Once in a generation moment Zelensky, Ukraines partners gather for key London summit after White House fallout Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Topanga Canyon Boulevard will remain closed due to public safety concerns while crews work to repair damage from the Palisades fire and recent rain, the California Department of Transportation said. Video from mid-February released by Caltrans shows State Road 27 between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive completely covered in mud, rock and debris prior to excavation. There is no estimated time of reopening, according to a community update released last week. Caltrans did not outline alternative routes for motorists. Read more: Will Rogers State Beach parking lot to be processing site for Palisades fire debris Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Along with impending repairs made after the fire and recent debris flows, Caltrans found and destroyed a massive boulder roughly the size of an RV that sat precariously above the road near a power line, the release said. Utility crews must reroute a main water line and underground electric lines under the road. Before the rain, workers found more than 20 locations along Topanga Canyon Boulevard that required debris flow barriers and culvert replacements, along with other safety measures such as rockfall cable mesh. "We recognize the critical role these corridors play in the clean-up and recovery efforts for the residents and the public. The decision to reopen lanes must be a joint decision from all parties with a specific plan in place and with safety as the top consideration," Caltrans said. The department said it would look into options for limited, escorted access to the area as repairs continue. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Speaking to reporters, Khattar urged voters to come forward and vote. "It is the right of every citizen, and they must exercise their franchise. I appeal to all voters to come forward and vote. I have never missed casting my vote," he said after casting his vote. The voting started at 8 am and will continue till 6 pm. The elections are being held for the general election of mayors and members of all wards of seven Municipal Corporations, presidents and members of all wards of four Municipal Councils and 21 Municipal Committees. The State Election Commission of Haryana has announced general elections for seven Municipal Corporations, four Municipal Councils, and 21 Municipal Committees. By-elections for vacant seats in various urban local bodies will also be conducted simultaneously. Polling is being held in seven key municipal corporations, including Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Karnal, Rohtak, and Yamuna Nagar. Notably, the Panipat municipal corporation polling will be held later this month. Additionally, 21 Municipal Committees saw electoral contests, including Barara in Ambala, Bawani Khera, Siwani, Loharu in Bhiwani, Jakhal Mandi in Fatehabad, and Farrukh Nagar in Gurugram. The re-polling, if required, is to be held on March 4 (except for Municipal Corporation, Panipat) and on March 11 for Municipal Corporation in Panipat, according to the State Election Commision Haryana. The results will be declared on March 12. (ANI) TORVAIANICA, Italy (AP) Moira Camila Garnica and a group of fellow migrant transgender women have been gathering at their parish church to pray for Pope Francis as he continues to battle pneumonia in a Rome hospital, about an hour away from this modest seaside town. Many grew up Catholic in Argentina like Francis, and their prayers encompass gratitude for his outreach several met him in person as well as hope that the door he opened toward a doubly marginalized community will not be shut in the future. The biggest fear is that you never know how things will be in the future, should he no longer lead the church, that it might go backwards, said Garnica, 47. We hope that the church will continue with this empathy, continue to be open to everyone, continue to help, because sometimes one person can take a big step forward and then others take three steps back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garnica and several other Latin American women, most sex workers who have been in Italy for a couple of decades, gathered for evening Mass in late February at the Blessed Immaculate Virgin Church. It was here they found food, medicine and basic financial assistance when Italys strict COVID-19 lockdown rendered them unable to work, isolated and destitute. The parish priest, the Rev. Andrea Conocchia, invited them to write letters to Francis outlining their needs. The Vaticans almoner office not only provided money but brought a few dozen of them to the Vatican for vaccines. Years later, some were invited to a lunch for the poor with the pope. In this Covid period, it was important that Pope Francis got inside the mind of transgender women, in the mind of the human beings that we are, and started to treat us like human beings, and that I think is the moment when faith or Christianity could embrace us, said Carla Segovia. The 48-year-old woman, of Indigenous Bolivian descent, left her native Argentina as a college student during its financial crisis more than 20 years ago. She has been working as a prostitute since she started to pay for her gender surgeries as a youth, and calls the violence and discrimination she has faced a tough test of your potential to survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now that Francis is ill, she said she wants to transmit to him our strength, the same thing that he brought to us in the difficult time of the pandemic. We want to inoculate him with this strength that is so crucial the fact that you need to fight for your life. Gender transition is a controversial issue in many countries including the United States, where Catholic bishops reject it, and immigration is also roiling politics on both sides of the Atlantic. But Francis has made inclusion a hallmark of his papacy; specifically, the Vatican has stated its permissible, under certain circumstances, for trans people to be baptized as Catholics and serve as godparents. Segovia and other women in their community were involved in the church as children but later felt their identity and work pushed them away until they came to the Torvaianica parishs food distribution site, during the pandemic lockdown. We Latin Americans are very Catholic, but being trans, many doors close, and people walk away from us, and we walk away too, Garnica said. The word-of-mouth was that this church welcomed you, helped you, and I came to ask for help because I felt so alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So did Minerva, a Peruvian 54-year-old who asked only her professional name be used, her voice shaking with emotion as she recounted how the experience changed her life in town. We had no work, we had no money to buy food. A friend through word of mouth told me, go to the parish and knock, ask for Father Andrea. I came, I knocked, and like never before he opened his arms, he provided a support so big that still today hes helping us, Minerva said. He opened for us so many doors. At the beginning even here people didnt pay attention to us. Now, when they see us, they greet us. For the Rev. Conocchia, helping this group of women is perfectly in line with the model of an open church reaching out to the margins that Francis has promoted, as well as the popes famous who am I to judge approach to LGBTQ+ issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We put the poor back at the center, we put people back at the center, and thats the Gospel, Conocchia said. What matters to me is a person, a persons life and their story a person is never what they do. He said the Vaticans more open attitude, as well as its concrete welcome for this group of women, can help abolish prejudices that religious people hold since its possible the womens clients might include people who attend Mass, he wryly noted. For the women, who often are rejected by their own families, its a moment of grace that went straight to the heart. A trans girl would have never imagined in her life that she could see the pope receive her, welcome her, and help her, Garnica said. Already here people mistreat you for being Latin American, imagine Latin America and trans. But thanks to Father Andrea, people understood that we also have a heart, we also can contribute, we need the church, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minerva was a First Communion catechist in her parish in Peru, until she said she was kicked out for her identity. In the Torvaianica sacristy, under a picture of Francis, she practiced singing a Spanish-language version of Amazing Grace in hopes of joining the local choir. One verse, that she likes to sing to Mary, is about coming out of the shadows and into the light. I am church not part of the church, I am church because each one of us is church, she 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. When authorities in Greenwood, South Carolina, arrived at the deserted intersection after 1 a.m. on May 7, 2023, they found a mangled BMW sedan in the road with debris scattered around it. On the shoulder near the woods, lay the car's fatally injured owner, 46-year-old Davis McClendon. But something about the scene seemed strange. McClendon was about 50 feet away from his car, suggesting he'd been outside standing next to it and been hit. His shirt and shoe were lying on the pavement. There was no other vehicle with relevant damage. McClendon's girlfriend, Meredith Haynie, was there by the time authorities appeared, but she said she hadn't been there to see the collision. Authorities would use an array of evidence to build a murder case against Haynie's soon-to-be-ex-husband Bud Ackerman, who would claim hitting McClendon with his truck had been an accident. But prosecutors argued the touch screen computer in the dashboard of Ackerman's Ford F-250 pickup truck provided a blueprint of the intent they needed to prove he'd been targeting McClendon that night and killed him with "malice aforethought." Davis McClendon's mangled BMW sedan. His body was found about 50 feet away from the vehicle, suggesting he'd been outside standing next to it and been hit. / Credit: Greenwood County Sheriff's Office Haynie tells "48 Hours" correspondent Anne Marie Green she'd been on a date with McClendon that night, before he'd vanished out of a local club at 12:51 a.m. Haynie's only TV interview is featured in "The Hit-and-Run Homicide of Davis McClendon," airing Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Haynie told authorities she and McClendon had begun the evening at a restaurant called Break on the Lake. Next, they'd gone to a party and then to a well-known club called Key West. When McClendon suddenly left out the back door, she said she had suspected he was going to meet Ackerman, who had been critical of her and McClendon for seeing each other before Ackerman's and Haynie's divorce was final. She said Ackerman had been compulsively calling her that night. And she allowed investigators access to her phone, which turned out to contain texts supporting her account. "What did the text messages reveal?" Green asked lead detective Lt. Matthew Womack of the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office. "It showed the pattern of what she was explaining to the on-scene investigators," Womack replied. "Like him calling multiple times, him texting multiple times, things of that nature." Bud Ackerman, left, and Davis McClendon. / Credit: Meredith Haynie Within minutes of arriving at the scene of the crash, authorities suspected Ackerman had run McClendon down. There was an oil trail leading from the crash site directly to the house where Ackerman was living. And evidence suggested Ackerman's pickup sideswiped the sedan, hitting McClendon next to the driver's door, carrying him across the road and depositing his body where it was found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having heard Haynie's story, investigators hoped they could get more information from Ackerman himself. They soon located him at his parents' home about a half mile from the crash site and they found his pickup truck leaking oil in the driveway. But when they tried to question him, Ackerman referred them to his attorney. In the coming days, investigators would retrieve time-stamped video showing Ackerman at the locations where Haynie and McClendon had spent their evening out and soon afterward, near the crash site itself. But Ackerman still wasn't talking much to them. That's when his truck started speaking for him. Womack says the touch screen computers or "infotainment systems" in many modern cars measure and store incredibly detailed information about how, when and where the vehicle is being operated. And Ackerman's pickup truck was no exception. When authorities extracted data from the onboard computer, they found a motherlode of incriminating measurements. The touch screen computer or infotainment system from Bud Ackerman's pickup truck stored incredibly detailed information about how, when and where the vehicle was being operated. / Credit: Greenwood County Sheriff's Office " In a 24-hour time period, it's over 3,000 events " Womack told Green. "And then each one is time-stamped for each event." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He says Ackerman's "infotainment system" logged a series of communications almost like digital "handshakes," in which the truck automatically pinged public Wi-Fi systems it happened to pass. "Let's just say there was a fast-food restaurant and the device will do what we call a handshake with that," Womack explained. "Essentially the fast-food restaurant will say, hey your device can connect to me and the vehicle says, I see you " By plotting the locations of the truck's digital handshakes and using other data from that night, authorities were able to establish a route Ackerman had traveled. It showed that over the course of the evening, he'd driven past the Key West Club, Haynie's house, Break on the Lake restaurant, and onto McClendon's street. Data also showed Ackerman's truck had been near the scene of the collision when it occurred. And that's not all. Womack told "48 Hours" the pickup also stored performance information, including measurements like speed and acceleration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It told you speed, um, it told you the braking. Whenever he shifts the gears, when he opens the door, when he connects his phone, when he disconnects his phone I mean, it tells you a lot of information." Experts would determine that seconds before the impact, Ackerman was driving about 25 miles per hour on the dark road. It was in his neighborhood, so it's likely he would have known it was a dead end. At precisely 1:11:33 a.m., the data showed a "wheel slip," in which acceleration or braking caused the tires to lose contact with the road. " We could narrow it down to tenths of seconds when the collision occurred," Womack said, adding that data show seconds later, Ackerman's truck had stopped. " Bud's opening the door to his vehicle, um then he shifts it to park." Womack said Ackerman then got out of the truck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement " Then he gets back in and then it's shifted to drive," Womack continued, adding that minutes later, Ackerman's truck stops again and his phone disconnects from the vehicle's computer. "That's when he got home and got out," Womack said. "And took his phone with him?" asked Green. "And took his phone with him. That's correct," Womack replied. Bud Ackerman had been arrested within hours after the collision, but his attorney Jack Swerling says much of the authorities' narrative of that night is not correct. A still from CBS News animation based on the defense theory that Davis McClendon was standing further out toward the center of the road, not next to his vehicle. / Credit: CBS News Swerling acknowledged Ackerman was unhappy his wife had begun dating before the divorce was final and even that Ackerman hit McClendon and his BMW that night. But he says his client was meeting with McClendon merely to speak with him. According to Swerling, McClendon was standing further out toward the center of the road than prosecutors contend. And it was too dark for Ackerman to see him before the last few moments. Swerling says hitting McClendon was an accident, in fact arguing Ackerman aimed for McClendon's empty car to stop the truck's forward momentum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement " He's trying to avoid hitting him," Swerling said. After a seven-day trial last fall, a jury disagreed, convicting Bud Ackerman of murdering Davis McClendon. The judge sentenced Ackerman to 45 years in prison. Preliminary autopsy report findings in deaths of Gene Hackman, wife Heated Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in Oval Office | Special Report Iconic rollercoaster Kingda Ka imploded at Six Flags Mar. 1The Trump administration's purge of the federal workforce has reduced staff at popular forests and parks in Alaska, raising concerns in the state's tourism industry that services will be cut back this summer, harming tour operators and communities. It's unclear how the federal firings at sites like Denali National Park and Preserve will ultimately play out, tourism representatives say. But they're concerned the losses will lead to cutbacks in emergency responses, guided tours, educational programs and visitor center hours. They say trash could pile up, and access to roads, campsites, bathrooms and trails could be reduced if fewer staff are available to maintain them, among other problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While they have high hopes for another strong summer, tourism representatives fear that the availability of fewer services will hurt the visitor experience and cause lasting damage if future travelers begin to look elsewhere, they say. "We're very concerned about what level, if any at all, visitor services are going to be available," said Jillian Simpson, president of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, which has urged Alaska's congressional delegation to address the hiring concerns. In a little over a month's time, the newly installed Trump administration has moved to slash the federal government. It has implemented a hiring freeze and offered deferred resignations to employees. It has launched mass firings of probationary employees who are often new in their position but may be longtime federal workers in a new role. Alaska, with its outsized proportion of public lands and 15,000 federal employees, could see large cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tourism representatives say that plans by the Trump administration for additional firings adds to the confusion just as parks and other visitor destinations in Alaska are usually looking to hire and train summer workers. Adding questions is a federal judge's ruling on Thursday that the mass firing of probationary workers is likely illegal. "I mean, the first cruise ship arrives in a month and a half, and so there's not really much time to figure it out," Simpson said. Impacts across Alaska One nonprofit said on Thursday that the firing of probationary staff at Denali National Park and Preserve, which gets more than 500,000 visitors annually, has forced it to shut down youth camps in the park this summer. The terminations included the park's education program manager, leaving no one available to hire staff to support the camping programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Juneau, tourism representatives say virtually all the employees at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, part of the Tongass National Forest, have been terminated. That's raising questions about reduced operating hours and services at a site that draws 700,000 visitors annually. And in Anchorage, the city's destination marketing organization and tour operators have fielded calls from potential tourists hoping to learn what the job reductions could mean for national parks in Alaska this summer. Spokespeople with Denali National Park and the Tongass forest, two of the state's most popular destinations, referred questions about staffing levels and service reductions to headquarters in Washington, D.C. The questions went unanswered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an email, an unnamed spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, said the Forest Service nationally has "made the difficult decision to release" about 2,000 probationary employees who aren't firefighters. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins "fully supports the president's directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA's many services to the American people," the spokesperson said. "We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people's hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy." A spokesperson with the National Park Service, who also didn't identify themselves by name, said in an email that the agency is hiring seasonal workers to "continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management." Tourism representatives in Alaska said a reduction in services could have harmful ripple effects on local communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 'Community-wide' impacts at Mendenhall Glacier Alix Pierce, visitor industry director for Juneau, said 1.6 million cruise guests support a $500 million tourism industry in the city. Reduced hours at the Mendenhall Glacier center, if that happens this summer, could hurt the economy, she said. It could also force thousands of tourists to other parts of town that aren't ready for huge crowds. "We don't really know how tourists and commercial activity operating outside of the Mendenhall Glacier will be affected," she said. "But we do know that any impacts to service will be felt community-wide, because it's our biggest attraction and it absorbs a lot of visitor volume for us." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shawn Eisele is the head of Discovery Southeast in Juneau, an educational nonprofit that runs the bookstore and gift shop in the visitor center. It uses the proceeds to support nature and science programs in schools. If the store is open for only limited hours, the authors, artists and other vendors will lose sales. "And half of our budget comes from bookstore directly," he said. "So if the bookstore isn't open, that's a direct economic impact for us. It's pretty serious." As far as Eisele knows, only one or two workers remain employed at the visitor center, and he's aware of many other employees at the Juneau Ranger District for the Tongass who have been fired, he said. Many are longtime federal workers with deep experience, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How services will be maintained in the district is uncertain, he said. "You can't have a million people without bathrooms available for them, or someone to manage their interaction with bears, or someone to take out the garbage, or someone to respond to emergency situations," he said. Reduced services at Denali National Park Chris Noel, mayor of the Denali Borough, said Denali National Park and Preserve will be open for tourists this summer. But staff there are looking at reducing services, such as maintenance for roads and bathrooms and staffing at the visitor center. About 15 year-round employees at the park have been fired or accepted the deferred-resignation offer from the Trump administration, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That leaves more than 100 employees, he said. But many workers are in probationary status and there's fear they could still lose their jobs, he said. There's also concern the park this summer won't build up the large seasonal workforce it usually hires, he said. The borough gets "90% of our tax revenue from hotel accommodations tax," he said. "So we really rely on that outdoor recreation economy and we want it to remain strong, and these cuts to the federal workforce really challenge the management of our national parks," he said. Jodi Rodwell, head of the Denali Education Center, said the staffing shortage at Denali National Park forced the nonprofit to cancel three weeklong camping programs there. Dozens of youths, mostly local, were expected to take part in the 25-year-old program this summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recent termination of the park's education program manager means no one is available to hire the summer employees who typically support the program, she said. "There's too much uncertainty as to whether the park will be able to have summer staff in place in time, so we can't plan," she said. Rangers and other park staff provide safety for the children campers, plus education, equipment and other support. "(The fired education program manager) worked tirelessly with us to ensure the success, safety, and enjoyment of our youth programs in the park that reach school-aged children from grades 1 12," Rodwell said in a statement. "We are crushed that she has been indiscriminately let go." Jack Bonney, a spokesman for Visit Anchorage, said the destination marketing organization and tourism operators have received inquiries from potential visitors seeking to understand how the cuts might affect services at Alaska's national parks and other destinations. That makes educating travelers about the issue, and about destinations in Anchorage and Alaska, very important, he said. "It kind of injects a little bit of hesitancy into people's travel decision-making," he said. "So if you're not sure whether something is going to be open or closed, or you're not familiar enough with Anchorage to know, it may be, 'Oh this is the year I pause. Maybe I wait a little while and see how this shakes out,'" he said. "And that can be really concerning, especially at a time of year where traditionally people are planning their vacations," he said. Alaska delegation says they're working on concerns Members of Alaska's congressional delegation said they understand the importance of maintaining access to public lands. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a telephonic town hall last week that the federal firings could have a chilling effect on tourism, among other concerns. She said she's working to ensure that seasonal National Park Service employees and wildland firefighters can be hired. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan's office said in a statement provided by spokesperson Amanda Coyne that he's been a "staunch fighter of our tourism sector and has had a number of initiatives that have passed the Congress to support Alaska tourism." "Senator Sullivan and his team are pursuing information about the cuts, weighing in with the Trump administration on positions that are important for Alaska's economy and small businesses, and highlighting instances where the elimination of such positions actually runs counter to President Trump's day one executive order to unleash Alaska's economy," his office said. U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III wants to "see taxpayer dollars spent responsibly and he is focused on efficiency in our federal government, not cutting vital services," said spokesperson Silver Prout. "We are closely monitoring how staffing changes may impact Alaska and will continue working to ensure that public land management remains focused on serving Alaskans and those who visit our great state." Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a recent post on X, acknowledged that it was a difficult time for federal workers and encouraged them to apply for work at the state. "There are certainly opportunities at the state system," he said. US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has proposed a new approach to potential concessions during negotiations on an agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Source: Waltz on CNN, as reported by European Pravda Details: Waltz stated that the war must end and territorial concessions will be necessary to achieve this. He added that Russia would also need to make concessions regarding security guarantees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "What Im saying is that this war needs to end, and thats going to take concessions on territory. Thats going to take Russian concessions on security guarantees. Thats going to take all sides coming to the table. And we are working very hard to drive those negotiations forward." Details: When asked by the host to specify what concessions Putin might have to make, Waltz responded: "We cant get any specifics from the Ukrainians, but this will clearly be some type of territorial concession for security guarantees going forward." He claims this issue has already been discussed in previous rounds of negotiations. "This needs to be European lead security guarantees going forward, part of that is Europes contribution to its own defence," Waltz stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, he stated that the issue of US security guarantees, or their absence, needs to be addressed. Waltz also reiterated US support for a change in Ukraine's leadership following Friday's spat in the Oval Office. Background: On Friday, 28 February, an altercation took place in the Oval Office between the Presidents of Ukraine and the US, as well as Vice President JD Vance. Trump, among other things, accused Zelenskyy of "gambling with World War III". European leaders and EU officials publicly expressed their support for Ukraine following the clash between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Journalists covering the Feb. 28, 2025, Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as a jaw-dropping spectacle and a striking breach of Oval Office comity. Slates Fred Kaplan asserted, Nobody has ever seen anything like it. People shouldnt have been surprised. The Oval Office encounter was expected to be an on-camera meeting between the president and the Ukrainian head of state before the signing of a crucial minerals deal between the two countries that was meant to be a key step toward ending the war in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as reporters described it, the initially routine meeting devolved into a fiery exchange in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated and harangued Zelenskyy after he pushed back on Vances assertion that Trumps diplomatic skills would ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin would honor a ceasefire agreement. Trumps compulsion to dominate both allies and enemies seems to have caused him to jettison the negotiation the moment that Zelenskyy declined to perform subservient fealty. The meeting, which was ended by Trump with no agreement signed, illustrated why authoritarians are lousy dealmakers, particularly when autocratic instincts are exacerbated by whats known as toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is a version of masculinity that discourages empathy, expresses strength through dominance, normalizes violence against women and associates leadership with white patriarchy. It devalues behaviors considered to be feminine and suggests that the way to earn others respect is to accrue power and status. As a communication scholar who studies gender and politics, I have written about Trumps displays of toxic masculinity and authoritarian tendencies in a variety of situations, during and after his first presidential term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps reaction to Zelenskyy in the Oval Office illustrates how these inclinations stymie the presidents purported dealmaking abilities, undermine democratic values and make the world a more dangerous place. Diplomat, dealmaker or mafia don? Trump staged the public Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy to showcase his ostensible prowess as in his words an arbitrator and mediator. Trump insisted during the first 40 minutes that my whole life is deals and asserted that he has what it takes to make Putin conform to a peace agreement with an embattled Ukraine. Apparently eager to project a persona as a successful diplomat and powerful dealmaker, Trump rejected a reporters suggestion that you align yourself too much with Putin and not with democratic values. Trump contended that in order to successfully negotiate, he couldnt alienate either Putin or Zelenskyy. If I didnt align myself with both of them, he said, youd never have a deal. Instead, he claimed, Im aligned with the United States of America and for the good of the world. Im aligned with the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance initially echoed Trumps message, casting Trump as a consummate diplomat and arguing, What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. But Vances tone shifted the moment Zelenskyy challenged Trumps framing. Zelenskyy provided historical examples of U.S. diplomatic failures and observed that Trump and other presidents had been unable to contain Putin. Vance responded by castigating Zelenskyy for not thanking the president and repeatedly instructed him to say thank you as the exchange grew more volatile. Trump, seemingly angered after Vance pointed out Zelenskyys lack of deference, dropped his diplomatic tone and informed Zelenskyy: Youve got to be more thankful because let me tell you, you dont have the cards. With us, you have the cards, but without us, you dont have any cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the meeting, both the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and Slates Kaplan compared Trump to a mafia don. The Daily Beast writer David Rothkopf suggested he was more like the Luca Brasi for mob boss Vladimir Putin, invoking Don Corleones henchman in the movie The Godfather. The comparison to famous fictional mafiosos was apt. As a scholar who studies both film and politics, I have observed how both fictionalized depictions of the mafia and MAGA Republicanism are deeply patriarchal and autocratic cultures that demand loyalty, breed abuse and foster corruption. After Trump suspended negotiations, canceled lunch and expelled the Ukrainian delegation from the White House, Reuters reported that most Republicans rallied behind Trump and Vance. Democrats, a few Republican outliers and the majority of European leaders backed Zelenskyy. President Donald Trump, center, and Vice President JD Vance meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Feb. 28, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images The art of the deals demise Trump cemented his reputation as an accomplished dealmaker in the 1980s, when he published the largely ghostwritten New York Times bestseller Trump: The Art of the Deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of his supporters voted for Trump in 2016 because they wanted a dealmaker in chief, as one poll characterized it, who could get things done in a fractured Congress. In his second term, despite having a Republican congressional majority, Trump has established himself as the nations sole authority, embracing toxic masculinitys theory of power and respect. Doing an end run around Congress and flouting the law, Trump initiated scores of policy changes via executive order and asserted that neither lawmakers nor judges have the authority to challenge or constrain him. Trumps blow-up at Zelenskyy is much more than a foreign policy snafu. Its a preview of what will happen when toxic masculinity drives U.S. foreign policy. Toxic masculinity on the world stage A screenshot of various U.K. newspapers headlines about the Oval Office meeting. CBS Evening News In his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy modeled a version of masculine strength characterized by empathy, discipline and mutual respect. Focusing on the needs of his people, Zelenskyy showed Trump pictures of Ukrainian prisoners of war abused in Russian custody and advocated for the return of thousands of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump initially acknowledged that Russian abuses were tough stuff, but concern for Ukrainians seems to have vanished after Zelenskyy politely challenged Trump. Decrying Zelenskyys insufficient gratitude and escalating the conflict, Trump asserted: Youre gambling with World War III. And what youre doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, thats backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have. Vance similarly shifted focus from the needs of Ukrainian civilians to paying homage to Trump, demanding that Zelenskyy offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country. A common tactic employed by abusers is to demand that the person they are bullying show them gratitude. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In their berating, bullying and humiliation of Zelenskyy, the president and vice president used the language and rhetoric of abusers in an apparent attempt to try to force the proud and dignified leader of a country at war to grovel and get in line. Their lack of discipline and decorum also upended the negotiation, jeopardizing a deal aimed at halting the fighting in Ukraine and advancing U.S. interests. In my view, the toxic masculinity on display in the Oval Office on Feb. 28 was a bald demonstration of something new and alarming to a public accustomed to decorum and diplomacy in that formal setting. For many, the enduring image of that meeting is an anxious Zelenskyy being hectored by a furious Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But theres another image that captures equally well the dynamic unfolding in the room. Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova sat in a chair just in front of the assembled members of the media. Papers held steady in her lap with one hand, the normally unflappable member of the diplomatic corps buried her head in her other hand, unable to even look at what was happening. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University Read more: Karrin Vasby Anderson 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. The White House revealed on Saturday that President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, a largely symbolic move designed to appeal to his nativist base. The order does not require any changes to federal programs, although it does rescind a Bill Clinton-era requirement that agencies and recipients of federal funding provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Agencies will be able to keep their current policies and provide services in other languages if they choose to. The executive order states, Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society, although its unclear how, exactly, that would be the case. Several other primarily English-speaking countries have declined to give any one language official status, including the United Kingdom and Australia, and there are no signs of social cohesion or efficiency being affected by the lack of an official national language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather than having any particular practical utility, the move is seemingly a nod to the English-only language movement, The New York Times explains. Key figures in the anti-immigration movement, including John H. Tanton, described by watchdogs as a thinly-veiled white nationalist, advocate for the restriction of bilingual education programs in areas with large Spanish-speaking populations alongside the restriction of immigration in an attempt to preserve American culture. Americans who speak a language other than English at homea group that includes Trumps wife Melania, who taught their son Barron her native language of Slovenianare already a minority, with 78.3 percent of Americans speaking English at home. Of the remainder, 61.1 percent speak Spanish at home, with 61 percent of those who speak Spanish at home also speaking English very well. The United States governments own website still currently states that the U.S. does not have an official language, although some states designate it as their official language30, to be precise. The website also states that Americans speak some 350 languages, which is consistent with Americas history of immigration from all corners of the globe; a history that is the precise reason this move has been condemned by pro-immigration groups, as well as Democratic leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on Friday that were going to have to examine if what hes doing is actually in compliance with the law and the U.S. Constitution, adding, And to the extent that its not, Im confident that he will be sued. Anabel Mendoza, communications director for United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country, said, We mean this with all disrespect: No gracias. She continued, We see exactly what Trump is trying to do by continuing to put a target on the backs of Black and brown immigrants and communities who speak different languages, and we wont tolerate it. Pablo Jose Hernandez Rivera, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, an American territory where 94 percent of residents speak Spanish, also condemned the move. He argues that the order reflects a vision of American identity that conflicts with our Puerto Rican identity, emphasizing that, There will be no statehood without assimilation, and Puerto Ricans will never surrender our identity. US President Donald Trump has designated English as the official language of the United States by executive order. The decree, issued late on Saturday, allows authorities to communicate exclusively in English. The move rescinds an order by former president Bill Clinton stipulating that official documents should be made available in other languages to help residents with poor English. English is by far the most widely spoken language in the US and is used for official communication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, unlike in some of the 50 states, there has been no official language at the federal level. Many authorities also publish their documents in Spanish, the second most widely spoken language in the country. "Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society," the executive order said. The text argued that learning English helps immigrants to gain a foothold in the labour market, but also to "engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, US organizations have warned that the decision will be used to exclude children from migrant backgrounds in schools. Shortly after Trump returned to office in January, the Spanish-language White House website was taken down. America's European allies are moving forward on a ceasefire plan for Ukraine and its happening without the United States. Rep. Sara Jacobs joins The Weekend to discuss the fallout from President Trumps disastrous meeting with Ukraines President. In the six weeks since Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term as president, he has signed 76 executive orders, including 26 on his first day in office. They cover a broad range of issues, from energy to health care to foreign policy, and theyve inspired dozens of lawsuits, many filed by Democratic attorneys general. In a new poll conducted by HarrisX for the Deseret News, Americans were asked about a broad range of issues covered by Trumps executive orders, and a clear pattern emerged on what actions they favored most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the top five most popular executive orders, three had to do with gender including a block on transgender women participating in womens sports, another declaring the federal government would only recognize two sexes in place of gender, and one that ends federal coverage of transgender treatments for minors. There are echoes in these findings of ads run by the Trump campaign in the final weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign that some pundits say put Trump ahead of his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris. One of the ads describes how Harris supported publicly-funded transgender surgery for prisoners, and ends with the line, Kamala Harris is for they/them, President Trump is for you. This one ad may have won Donald Trump the election, former CNN commentator Chris Cillizza wrote on his substack. The most popular executive order out of the 22 on the survey was Trumps decision to ban transgender women in female sports. More than 8 out of 10 Republicans said they support that order, while almost 6 in 10 independent voters said the same. This was also Trumps most popular order among Democrats, but only 4 in 10 Democratic voters said they supported his action on this issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if they favored Trumps executive order ending gender-affirming care and gender transition for those under age 19, 57% of Americans expressed support, including 82% of Republicans, 53% of independents and 34% of Democrats. This decision was more popular with men (63%) than women (51%), and was popular with religious voters, with 8 out of 10 evangelical Christians expressing support and 6 out of 10 Catholics. Support for Trumps executive order saying the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female, received very similar support by survey respondents. The other two executive orders rounding out the top five were support for declassifying records on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King was supported by 57% of respondents, and building a border wall and deploying law enforcement to the southern border was also supported by 57%. The poll was conducted among a representative sample of 1,009 Americans on Feb. 14-15, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. DN-EOmost Poll: Trumps executive order on renaming Gulf of Mexico least popular On the other end of the spectrum, voters do not appear to appreciate Trumps decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only 35% of Americans said they support this decision, including 61% of Republicans, 15% of Democrats and 26% of independents. The Associated Press decision not to change their style guide to reflect Trumps order to rename the body of water led to the White Houses decision to exclude the AP from covering Trump at certain events, as well as his press conferences in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One. A federal judge recently allowed the Trump administration to keep the ban in place while the lawsuit continued. Other orders or ideas that received poor support included dismantling the Department of Education, with only 37% support, ending birthright citizenship, with 41% support, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, with 41% support, and banning all federal diversity, equity and inclusion, with 41% support. Dismantling DEI programs was very popular among Republicans, with 73% saying they approved of Trumps decision, but only 21% of Democrats and 35% of independents said the same. DN-EOleast Poll: Trumps planned tariffs on Mexico and Canada unpopular While campaigning for president, Trump said frequently he planned to place tariffs on goods coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico. He said the tariffs were in retaliation for the flow of migrants and fentanyl coming across the borders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have both pushed back on the presidents assertions. So far, Trump has held off on levying the tariffs, but that could change in the coming days. Trump said on Thursday he would levy 25% tariffs on goods coming across the nations borders starting on Tuesday, March 4. That move is not popular with Americans. Only 43% said they approved of putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, while 46% said they dont approve. Americans were also slightly more likely to say they dont agree with Trumps decision to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, with 43% approving compared to 45% who dont approve. Do Americans like DOGE? On the other hand, Americans were much more likely to say they like Trumps decision to establish the Department of Government Efficiency, which is run by Elon Musk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Forty-six percent of Americans said they approve of DOGE, compared to 40% who dont. But while 75% of Republicans approve, only 40% of independent voters said the same, compared to 45% of independents who said they dont support the presidents decision. Unsurprisingly, Democrats do not like DOGE only 19% expressed support for the cost-slashing department. Another popular move by Trump includes his decision to pause Congress decision to shut down the app TikTok. He said it needs to be sold, but let the app stay up in the meantime. That decision was less popular with the older crowd only 37% of people aged 65 or older said the approved of Trumps decision. On Trumps decision to pause refugees coming into the U.S. for 90 days, 46% of Americans said they support the decision compared to 37% who were opposed. While Pope Francis has criticized Trump over his immigration policies, including his treatment of refugees, and the Catholic Church has sued the Trump administration over the freezing of refugee resettlement funds, 50% of Catholics who responded to the survey said they support Trumps decision to pause refugee resettlement. Fifty-four percent of evangelical Christians said the same, while 46% of non-evangelical Christians said they approved of Trumps decision. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday visited the Disaster Control Room at IT Park, Dehradun, for the second consecutive day to review the ongoing rescue operation for Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers trapped in Mana, Chamoli. The Uttarakhand government on Saturday released a detailed report on the avalanche that occurred near the BRO camp at Mana Gate in Joshimath on February 28. Rescue and relief operations are ongoing at a war footing under the direction of CM Dhami. Meanwhile, providing an update on the situation today, Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said, "Yesterday, doctors have confirmed 4 deaths. Earlier, the total number was 55, but now we have the information that one of the workers was on unauthorized leave, and he is home. The total number has reduced to 54, out of which 4 people are still missing." A senior officer said on Saturday that search and rescue operations for the four missing Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers have been temporarily halted at the site of the avalanche-hit Mana area of the Chamoli district following heavy snowfall and poor weather conditions. According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), "Rescue operations have been temporarily halted due to heavy snowfall and bad weather conditions. Teams remain on standby to resume at the earliest opportunity. Further updates to follow." After the avalanche incident on Friday, the state government deployed extensive aerial rescue operations, including one MI-17 helicopter, three Cheetah helicopters, two Uttarakhand government helicopters, and an AIIMS Rishikesh air ambulance for evacuation efforts. The Chief Minister had also directed authorities to deploy additional helicopters if required. Rescued individuals had been airlifted to Joshimath and received treatment at the Army Hospital. Nearly 200 personnel from disaster management forces, including the Army, ITBP, BRO, NDRF, SDRF, district administration, police, health department, and fire services, were engaged in relief efforts. (ANI) Trump lies about war in Ukraine Trump says Zelensky is a dictator and is to blame for the war in Ukraine. Everybody paying attention knows thats a lie. The truth is Putins forces invaded and occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014 and then did a full-scale invasion 3 years ago. Since then, Ukraine, under Zelenskys leadership, has been fighting a courageous war against a far bigger invader with amazing results. Theyve been aided by America and Europe, which have a huge stake in Putin being schooled that war criminals never prosper , so quit doing this! Its depressing how few Republicans have pushed back against Trumps initiative to stop aiding Ukraine and force it to surrender on terms that reward Putins aggression. They used to believe in defense against dictators. Rep. Dan Newhouse remains silent so far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps administration is insisting on official descriptions of the war that dont include words like invasion, which might offend Putin. He seems to think he and Putin can end the war without Ukraines consent. Experts are sure they will fail, though, because Ukrainians know first-hand what Putins forces do to conquered people. Rape, torture and death. Ukrainians will keep fighting just like the Chechens and Afghans did. Greg Carl, Richland Rep. Newhouse, where are you? Rep. Dan Newhouse, I applaud you for the courage you showed in voting to impeach Trump. You must summon that same courage to vote no on the budget resolution regarding crafting full-scale legislation to enact the Trump agenda and provide a parliamentary tool allowing Republicans to circumvent the Senate filibuster and opposition from Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Surely you realize the direction this administration is trying to take this country and only you and your fellow Republicans can save us. Are you up to the task or are you missing in action? Perhaps you dont realize the majority of your constituents do not agree with the actions of this new administration, but if you arent engaging with us, you will never know. What are you afraid of, Mr. Newhouse? Have you not the courage of your convictions and arent you willing to defend them in person? Or, do you only want to engage us when you are courting our vote? Again, where are you, Mr. Newhouse? Will you be a hero, or will you be remembered as a coward who just went along and will be responsible for the fall of our democracy? Dissent is the highest form of patriotism. Janet Peterson, Richland Why cant we find Rep. Newhouse? Its a question echoing through our community: Where is Rep. Dan Newhouse? Despite repeated attempts to engage with him on pressing local issues, he remains elusive. As constituents, we deserve accessibility and transparency from our elected officials. Yet, town halls are sparse, responses to inquiries feel canned, and opportunities for face-to-face dialogue are virtually nonexistent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public service is a two-way street its not just about casting votes in Washington but about staying connected to the people back home. Avoidance fosters distrust and frustration, leaving us to wonder: Is Newhouse deliberately dodging his constituents, or is there a breakdown in communication? We understand the demands of office, but representation loses its meaning without direct engagement. We call on Newhouse to step forward, hold open forums and rebuild the bridge to his community. After all, democracy thrives on dialogue, not distance. Lets hope he hears this message wherever he may be. Diana Wlodarczyk, Richland Social media and Musk not credible The Richland mayors comments about DOGE in the Feb. 23 Tri-City Herald informed me our mayor takes the words of Elon Musk as fact because, Hes being so transparent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She needs to research the meaning of transparent. Transparent, in terms of behavior or communication, means being open and honest, with nothing hidden. It means providing proof based on factual evidence. I have not read or heard any facts or evidence from Musk regarding the savings he claims. In fact, research by reliable news media has proved that Musks claims are either misstatements, uninformed assumptions or lies. I want government to be cost-effective, but to turn loose a billionaire with a hidden agenda who does not know what is needed in government is shooting from the hip. His advertised results are intended to appear effective, needed and worthy of the illegal authority Trump has given him. He is making points with Trump for personal gain: research my statements or watch Chris Cuomo on the News Nation channel. Social media promulgates conspiracy theories, lies and biased opinions by people who want to make themselves appear patriotic and intellectually superior. It is the root cause of divisiveness and uninformed voting. Jim Tow, Richland Know them from deeds, not words By their deeds you will know them. (Matthew 7:16 King James version) Lets look at DOGE and compare their words with their deeds. Trump and Musk claim they are hunting out fraud and abuse in the federal workforce. Lofty purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But their deeds say otherwise. Firing huge swaths of people and then besmirching their reputations, disrupting whole departments by shutting the workers out and then braying about it while waving a fake chainsaw around. Those are the deeds of Trump and Musk. Methinks their deeds speak more truth than their words. Kirk Williamson, Kennewick Please keep dogs secure I am writing to draw dog owners attention to the importance of keeping dogs secured at home or on leashes in public places as well as to be ready to protect themselves from dogs on the loose. On Feb. 20, I walked my two dogs on Harris Avenue. Close to the WSU campus, we were attacked and bitten by two dogs, possibly pit bulls. A man in a car stopped by and picked up those dogs but did not offer any help. I am very grateful to the person who helped me up and a man in a car who saw one of my dogs running. He followed her to our home and then found me. Because of the fall and bleeding, I had to go to the hospital with several puncture wounds and a three-inch laceration. A big thank you to the homeowner who let me use his phone and chair as well as the Kadlec Emergency team! Mila Townsend, Richland An open letter to congressmen To Reps. Dan Newhouse and Michael Baumgartner: Please do everything in your power to restore full funds to USAID. Our cancellation of funds hurts the United States both directly and indirectly. Our farmers produce most of the food for starving refugees. Without being able to sell wheat and other foods, our farmers may go bankrupt. Much of that food is rotting at ports, a terrible waste considering the hardships of those for whom it was intended. USAID offers not only food but also medicines and immunizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two consequences arise if those folks vulnerable to disease do not get protected. First, more people will get infected and the disease will spread, eventually to the United States. Second, if the disease is unchecked, viruses and bacteria will evolve into catastrophic organisms which are more difficult to control. Another reason to restore funding to USAID is that if we abandon those destitute people, Russia and China will take our place; one further consequence will be our potential loss of metals and raw materials essential for communication, transportation and alternative energy. Again, I beg you, gather other congressmen and unite to fully fund USAID; this is in the best interests of the United States! Bob Carson, Walla Walla Newhouse aide did make contact I am happy to report as a consequence of my last note to you (the Tri-City Herald), that Rep. Dan Newhouses chief of staff, Noah Yantis, reached out to me regarding my lament regarding the firing of inspectors general and senior FBI administrators. Apparently, my email that I sent to him somehow went amiss. Perhaps I mistyped his address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At any rate, Mr. Yantis and I had a very productive phone conversation. My read of what insights I could garner is that there is a level of frustration felt by our congressman regarding the assault on the interests of the state of Washington by the Trump administration and the political ability to stay in the Republican majority loop. I am somewhat reassured that Mr. Newhouse is doing his best to thread the needle of advocating the interests of the Fourth Congressional District and remaining relevant as a legislator in the Congress. I encourage all Tri Citians to make your concerns known to those who govern us. Jim Campbell, West Richland Restore public to our public health Im writing about Franklin County Commissioner Didiers motion to needle the Benton Franklin Health District over giving COVID vaccines. MAGA is plaguing us, as evidenced with the rise of Bobby Kennedy. The worst of the movement is reflected in Mr. Didiers efforts to get answers to these questions: to address corporate liability for vaccine products (see, National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program/ HRSA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Or, to give compensation and treatment for those harmed by vaccines. Most awful? To (r)equire informed consent, transparency and labeling. The Health Districts unnamed epidemiologist says Didiers effort is: based on conspiracy and misinformation against the COVID-19 vaccine.The Health District is the same agency now being sued by employees for workplace issues. An unnamed response to that lawsuit used words to the effect that the lawsuit is totally baseless. Both health district responses strike me as symptomatic. They dont seem to tolerate debate. The worst of MAGA is the stumbling way they keep landing on real problems: only to be met with superior dismissal by experts. This is annoying. Despite my longstanding affiliation as a Democrat, fully vaccinated sort-of liberal, it seems we should start getting the public back in public health. Or let DOGE do it. Jack Howard, Richland A lot of fuss over a dozen workers About a dozen DOE office workers are fired, and the Tri-City Herald attempts to scare readers into thinking this is a dangerous situation by showing photos of contractors working in HazMat suits and radiation warning signs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you have lived in the Tri-City area for very long, you know we have had layoffs of hundreds of contract workers at a time, mandatory and voluntary, over the years. According to hanford.gov, there are about 13,000 people working daily on the cleanup projects at Hanford. A dozen probationary office workers less will not affect the safety or progress of the work going on at the Hanford site. S. Boolen, Richland When it comes to the House GOP budget, Trumps new Gold Card visa for wealthy foreigners, or any other policy coming out of the White House, there is a common denominator: good for the extremely wealthy, bad for everyone else. MSNBCs Ayman Mohyeldin is joined by Francesca Fiorentini, Co-Host of the America Unhinged podcast and Imara Jones, Founder and CEO or TransLash Media to discuss the all-out class warfare being waged by the GOP and what can be done about it. (Bloomberg) -- US President Donald Trump is ordering the Commerce Department to launch an investigation into the national security harm posed by lumber imports, laying the legal groundwork for new tariffs hes pledged. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation will examine whether exporters like Canada, Germany, and Brazil are dumping lumber into US markets at the expense of American economic prosperity and national security, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity. Officials will examine the impact of foreign government subsidies, predatory trade practices, and derivative products and particularly if countries like China are artificially depressing the price of goods like kitchen cabinetry. Trump has previously said he is eyeing 25% tariffs on lumber in the near future, but the official said the investigation could also result in regulatory changes to ease harvesting of timber. Trump is simultaneously signing an executive order, titled Freeing our Forests, that will focus on streamlining the regulatory permitting process, allowing more harvesting of timber salvage. The official declined to say how long the investigation is expected to take, but indicated that the Commerce Department would move quickly. The official also declined to say if eventual tariffs that resulted from the probe were additive to Trumps existing plans to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on other countries, or a 25% levy on Canada and Mexico slated to hit next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The movement on lumber serves dual political purposes for the president. Trump has long blamed forest maintenance rather than climate change for a spate of wildfires in California, including the recent blazes that decimated large swaths of the Los Angeles area. And softwood lumber has been a decades-old irritant in the trade relationship between Ottawa and Washington, with the American industry accusing Canadian producers of dumping low-priced wood over the border. The US argues Canada subsidizes its loggers by charging cheap fees for harvesting, and has repeatedly slapped duties on Canadian softwood over the years. Last summer, the US hiked levies on Canadian lumber to 14.54%, a level that has already put pressure on production there and raised concerns over the future viability of some northern sawmills. Still, a 25% tariff especially if added on top of existing duties would cause economic pain on both sides of the border. US lumber production has been rising but the country still relies on imports to meet demand. A large majority of US softwood imports come from Canada, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump also signed an executive action in February directing the Commerce Department to examine possible copper tariffs, a move senior administration officials cast as necessary to help rejuvenate domestic production of a metal crucial for modern economies. Officials argued dumping and overcapacity in world markets had impacted domestic copper production, leaving weapons systems and other critical products dependent on imports. --With assistance from Brian Platt. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- The US administration of President Donald Trump has made it clear that it sees Volodymyr Zelenskiy as an obstacle to aiding Ukraine. Most Read from Bloomberg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question for Zelenskiy is whether Ukrainians agree. The US political assaults on Zelenskiy have escalated since Fridays White House bust-up, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance branded Zelenskiy disrespectful and suggested that his intransigence, rather than Moscows aggression, was the impediment to a US-brokered ceasefire with Russia. Zelenskiy, though, has no plans to leave office, according to his aides. His political future is a matter for the Ukrainian people and no one else, he says, telling UK media in London on Sunday that given what is going on, given the support, simply replacing me will not be simple. The main question now is what to do next, said Petro Poroshenko, Ukraines former president and the countrys main opposition leader, stressing that relations between Ukraine and the US are about more than just Zelenskiy and Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We hope that President Zelenskiy has a plan B, Poroshenko said in a weekend video address from Ukraines south, where he was delivering aid to troops. In Ukraine, the pressure is rising among a populace that has endured three years of war since Russias full-scale invasion. Elections have been put on hold indefinitely, and Zelenskiys ratings have dropped from the stellar levels of the early months of 2022. Though he remains popular, a commonly heard sentiment is that people are tired and want some fresh perspective. Against that backdrop, the sudden doubts cast over continued US support is one body blow among many. The MAGA world has taken up the gauntlet since Friday, with Tucker Carlson who interviewed Russian leader Vladimir Putin posting a string of conspiracy theories and misinformation on X, including that Ukraines government under Zelenskiy had committed a remarkable number of serious crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The paradox for Trump and Vance is the more they squeeze Zelenskiy, the more Ukrainians rally to their presidents side. Its a dynamic that was on show on the streets of Kyiv immediately after the Oval Office debacle. Trump wanted to humiliate us all, said Vladyslav Musiienko, 52, a photographer. Despite the fact that I didnt vote for Zelenskiy, my personal support for the president grew after this spectacle. General Oleksandr Syrskyi, head of the Ukrainian armed forces, posted his support for the president on X, saying the military was with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Poroshenko, too, acknowledged the need to pull together. People are waiting for me to criticize Zelenskiy, but no, I wont do that as its not what the country needs right now, he said. The only thing that Ukraine needs now is unity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How much longer people will remain united under such strains is another matter. While there is stabilization at the front, the Russians have superiority of manpower and weapons. Russians are at the same time increasing pressure on the information sphere, creating splits within military circles, between the military and society, and between Ukraine and its partners, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be named discussing strategic security matters. Even an eventual peace deal would almost certainly be hard for many Ukrainians to swallow, and potentially damaging politically for whoever is in charge. Zelenskiy has acknowledged the pressure from the US, reiterating to British media that hed resign if Ukraine secured NATO membership. Hes already said its clear he wont be in power for decades and that hed be ready to step down if it were to guarantee a durable peace for his country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, the share of respondents who say they trust Zelenskiy rose to 65% from 57% in January, according to Feb. 20-21 survey by the Rating Group agency. That was surpassed only by trust for former top military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraines ambassador to the UK, which held steady at 76%. Zaluzhnyi, known as the Iron General, hasnt explicitly ruled out running in an election against Zelenskiy. When asked about his political ambitions at an event in Kyiv on Feb. 19, he suggested the time was not ripe. On Saturday, he struck a tone of unity. This war is testing us for resilience and bravery. Additionally it shows who our true friends are, Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram. Referencing the London talks on more support for Ukraine hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he added: It will be difficult, but together we will overcome everything. Zelenskiys term expired in May of last year but neither his administration nor Ukrainians at large believe elections can be held now. Indeed, holding elections during martial law is not just legally prohibited, the practicalities of doing so rule it out. Whats more, parliament passed a resolution last week saying that Zelenskiy should remain in power as long as Russias war continues and that new elections may only be held once peace has been achieved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Putin, whose stated military goals in 2022 included regime change in Kyiv, weighed in on Ukraine and elections anyway. He claimed without proof last week that Zelenskiys ratings were half those of Zaluzhnyi, and said that Zelenskiy had zero chance of re-election. Putin also sided with Trump, saying that the US presidents pressure for Ukrainian elections was in the interest of the countrys sovereignty. Another Ukrainian official hinted at questions over Zelenskiys leadership style, saying that he should realize he needs strong professional advisers to whom he should listen. The president should stop being aggressive to those around him so theyre afraid to say what they think, said the person. Public sentiment would suggest that even a change of president wouldnt necessarily yield a leader more amenable to Trump and his plans for a rapid normalization of relations with Russia, however. Some 83% of Ukrainians surveyed by Rating Group said theyd agree to a cease-fire only under the condition that security guarantees are provided the same sticking point that contributed to the scenes at the White House. Just 2% would agree to a cease-fire without conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That reality made the escalation inevitable, independently of Zelenskiys personal history with Trump, according to Oleksandr Sushko, the head of the International Renaissance Foundation, a Kyiv-based charity that is part of the George Soros Open Society network. It would have happened anyway if not now, then in a month or two, Sushko said on Facebook. Trumps priority for a speedy peace accord can only come on Putins terms, and not a single Ukrainian leader would sign such a deal even under the pressure of losing US support. The drumbeat from Washington, meanwhile, is relentlessly hostile. The State Department this week terminated a US Agency for International Development initiative that had helped Ukraine repair vital energy infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks, NBC News reported. The move had been expected after USAID was ordered to suspend projects in Ukraine amid a broad US foreign aid freeze, but its a reminder of the consequences of Washingtons souring on Kyiv. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Trump administrations new world order, Ukraine is reduced to a mere submissive listener and an instrument of US will, said Kyiv pensioner Anatoliy Makarenko. We do not accept this role, said Makarenko. Zelenskiy was morally right to react so strongly, he added. But I doubt that this will benefit us. --With assistance from Andrea Palasciano. (Updates with Zelenskiy comments in fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Bloomberg L.P. President Donald Trump has shared a Truth Social post of commentary from a Tuscon-based wedding DJ who praised him for playing Russia and Ukraine like a master chess player. Michael McCune of Arizona has found viral fame after Trump shared excerpts from a Facebook post he shared Friday following the showdown in the Oval Office with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump shared McCunes words with his nine million Truth Social followers Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCune is from Benson, Arizona, a town outside of Tucson, and has a wedding DJ business, according to his Facebook profile. He also describes himself as a lifelong practitioner of martial arts, strategy and philosophy. The DJ, who frequently posts his political musings on his Facebook page, theorized that both Trump and Vice President JD Vance knew exactly what Zelensky was going to do and claimed the wartime leader would use the meeting to make a power play. Trump shared some of Michael McCunes words on his Truth Social platform (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social) Both Trump and Vance anticipated this, McCune said in the 600-word post, which outlined why he believed Zelensky was outmanouvered. Trump shared the final part of McCunes analysis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Zelenskyy will have no choice but to back down and accept Trump's terms, McCune concluded. But heres the genius partTrump is actually protecting Ukraine without dragging the U.S. into war. By negotiating a mineral deal, Trump ensures that Americans will be involved in Ukraines mining industry. This prevents Russia from launching an invasion, because attacking Ukraine would mean endangering American livessomething that would force the U.S. to respond. Michael McCune has found viral fame after Trump shared excerpts from a Facebook post he shared Friday following the showdown in the Oval Office with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky (AFP via Getty Images) Trump played both sides like a master chess player. In the end, Zelenskyy will have no choice but to concede, because without U.S. support, Ukraine cannot win a prolonged war against Russia, McCune said. His post finished by telling his followers not to underestimate the president. In this game of chess, hes 10 moves ahead of everyone, McCune added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Independent has contacted McCune for comment. McCune thanked Trump for sharing his thoughts in a follow up post and agreed with another Facebook user that it was an honor. His profile has since been inundated with comments both praising and criticizing him. President Trump designated English as the official U.S. language in a Saturday executive order that repealed former President Clintons executive action aiding individuals who are limited in their English proficiency. The order makes it so federal agencies are no longer required to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Federal agencies will still have the option to provide documents and other services in foreign languages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president said the goal of the order is to promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations. Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society, Trump wrote in the order. This order recognizes and celebrates the long tradition of multilingual American citizens who have learned English and passed it to their children for generations to come, he added. Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide updated guidance, consistent with applicable law on permissible services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order rescinds Clintons 2000 order to improve access to federally conducted and federally assisted programs and activities for persons who, as a result of national origin, are limited in their English proficiency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independents Anna Belokur breaks down the shocking argument that took place in the Oval Office on Friday, in which U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a perceived lack of gratitude for American assistance to Ukraine. The event has raised alarm bells regarding the future of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, and indicates a worryingly pro-Russian tilt by the current American administration. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Last November, voters elected a president whod largely campaigned on an unrelenting hostility to trans people and a plan to let Silicon Valley oligarchs gut the civil service and turn government into a machine for the presidents self-enrichment and political revenge. Much of the political press either ignored this stuff or didnt care enough to inform their readerssome were too busy trying to polish a mass deportation scheme into a sensible response to the housing crisisbut some of us, here at The New Republic and elsewhere, went hoarse trying to warn about the consequences. And now here we are. While its early days, Trumps second term has been going about the way youd expect the presidency of an anti-trans, pro-oligarch, corrupt mass deporter to go: not well! Migrants are effectively being thrown into internment camps, a gang of child cybercriminals are heisting our personal data, and whats left of the civil service is bogged down wondering whether or not they have to send busy-work emails to gang leader Elon Musk. Meanwhile, Trump has largely checked out, prompting Musk, on multiple occasions, to step in as the presidents emotional-support fascist during public appearances. If youre fond of certain social media memessowing/reaping, how it started/how its going, fuck around/find outthis is a real boom time. But heres the bottom line: Trumpism isnt working. This mostly portends pain for the country and the planet, but theres a silver lining to be found in a president who has screwed up so royally this soon into his post-inauguration honeymoon period: His opponents have an unexpected advantage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right now, Trumps biggest weakness is the very thing he believed was going to confer unprecedented strength on his return to power: his attempts to purge the federal government of its loyal workforce and replace it with subservient confederates. What Trump and his cronies misunderstand is that the civil service is essentially an extension of the peoples will. While this institution is too often castigated as a faceless bureaucracy, theres an important material connection between those who serve the public and the public thats being served. And when you rattle the cages in Washington, those vibrations spread outward. Its no wonder that a recent Morning Consult poll found majorities of respondents rejecting the idea that the civil service was too liberal, as the Trump administration has tried to get people to believe. Nor is it surprising to find that the same set of respondents are not exactly clamoring for DOGE cuts. At the same time, public approval is trending against Trumps Silicon Valley suck-ups, not to mention Trump himself, of whom half the country now disapproves. People should be worried about the destruction that Trump is wreaking. The civil service is a collection of people doing the mostly invisible work of keeping daily life thrumming along and keeping us safe from a multitude of harms. Now, everywhere you look, Americans are getting anxious. People are suddenly less convinced that they can travel by air safely. Consumer confidence is nose-diving. The percentage of Americans who feel the economy is on the wrong track has risen 10 points in less than a month. Reading the tea leaves, the administration is now desperately trying to finger Biden as the culprit for what could be an apocalyptic jobs report, which is pretty rich coming from the administration thats cutting programs and putting people on the unemployment rolls. It seems unavoidable that we are headed for a deep, deep recession, former U.S. Labor Department economist Jesse Rothstein told The Telegraph this week. Apollo Global economist Torsten Slok said that layoffs could approach 1 million after factoring in the likely chain reaction that Trumps cuts to the civil service will have; Slok went on to observe that the US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index was now higher than at any time during the great recession. So its hardly shocking that people are already starting to react as if something has gone very wrong. Republicans are facing torrents of angry voters at their own town halls, where representatives from deep-red districts are getting earfuls of anti-Musk invective and chants of Tax the billionaires! Some Republicans even seem chastened enough to offer the first stirrings of anti-Trump defiance that weve heard from members of his own party in a while. (Naturally, its now being suggested that Republican members cancel their town halls entirelya curious move for a party that claims to have a mandate to govern.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I may not be as confident as The American Prospects David Dayen, who says Trumps cooked, but the environment is certainly more favorable to such optimism than I imagined it would be a month agowhich makes this an apt time for Democrats to up the ante. As Senator Elizabeth Warren said during an interview on CNN this week, Our best strategy is to make sure everybody knows exactly what the Republicans are trying to do. Thats a plan that doesnt require a congressional majority, just a commitment. There really is a big opportunity here, to make some fundamental shifts in public sentiment on the value of the government that Trump is trying to burn to the ground. A 2019 study by the Niskanen Center found that Americans mistrust services provided by the public sector, even though they increasingly rely on government programs. The misalignment is so bad, in fact, that the public tends to misperceive good services rendered by the government as coming from the private sector. The biggest problem, according to the study, is that most of the good work the government does is invisiblewe only notice when its being done poorly. Because of that, the study concludes, the publics views of government dont become more positive even if they directly benefit. As Trump and Musk stampede through Washington, and the inevitable maladies of this destruction become more visible to the public, liberals might be staring at a historic opportunity to turn public opinion on the value of government around. And they can back up their case by showing some backbone in Washington, because the price of being associated with Trumpism is too high. This week, they passed an important test with flying colors when they voted in lockstep against the Republican budget plan, and with considerable aplomb: California Representative Kevin Mullin flew to Washington to cast his vote straight from being discharged from the hospital; his Colorado colleague Brittany Pettersen made a similar sojourn with her newborn son. All in all, this was an instructive week of how an out-of-power party can offer a steely response to, and take advantage of, a stumbling Trump. So let the cheap clickbait merchants beat on about how Democrats would be better off rolling over and playing dead. With public sentiment riding against Trumps designs and no end in sight to the chaos he and Musk foment, theres never been a better time for the party that believes in government to defend that government, connecting the ruination of the civil service to the ruination that will be visited on ordinary people. Democrats might be locked out of power, but they dont need a parliamentary majority to land damaging blows against a flailing president and party. Strike while the iron is hot. This article first appeared in Power Mad, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by deputy editor Jason Linkins. Sign up here. US President Donald Trumps administration views the situation following Fridays public argument in the Oval Office as uncertain and is awaiting the next move from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Source: several White House officials, speaking anonymously to NBC News, as reported by European Pravda Details: NBC News sources said that the incident at the White House was "not planned at all" and was "the exact opposite of how most people expected the exchange to go". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NBC News sources reported that Trump administration officials were displeased with Ukraines insistence on "security guarantees" in a minerals agreement. The Ukrainian side supposedly pushed for corresponding changes to the document ahead of the meeting. "Its been abundantly clear to Zelenskyy that there would be no security guarantees in this deal," one source told NBC News. White House officials say they are unsure what Zelenskyy could do to convince Trump to resume talks with him, as Trump remains unconvinced that Ukraines president is willing to negotiate "an end to the war". However, when asked whether US cooperation with Zelenskyy on a "peace deal" was still possible, one NBC source responded, "I still think so, yes". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The ball is in President Zelenskyys court. The president [Trump ed.] believes Zelenskyy has to come back to the table and he has to be the one to come and make it right," another source told NBC. Background: On Friday, 28 February, an argument between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice President JD Vance took place in the Oval Office. European leaders and EU officials publicly expressed support for Ukraine following the dispute between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday provided an update on the ongoing rescue operations in the avalanche-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, which entered its second day. The chief minister confirmed that four individuals had lost their lives due to critical injuries, while 46 others who were rescued from under snow in the February 28 incident are stable. One injured person has been referred to the AIIMS in Rishikesh for further treatment. The search and rescue operation for the four missing workers is ongoing, with multiple forces, including the Army, ITBP, Air Force, NDRF, and SDRF, working collaboratively to provide assistance. Speaking to reporters, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, " Four people have lost their lives as they were injured and were in critical condition. 46 people are stable, and one of them has been referred to Rishikesh (AIIMS). Bodies will be soon given to the families after completing the formalities. A search and rescue operation for the four missing workers is going on... We are making all the possible efforts - be it Army, ITBP, Air Force, NDRF, SDRF all are there working together..." Further, he added that ground-penetrating radar, thermal imaging cameras, and victim-locating cameras are being utilised to locate the four missing workers. He mentioned that weather conditions int he area are improving, but the possibility of avalanches remains high, prompting authorities to halt work in high-altitude areas as a precaution. Chamoli District Magistrate, Sandeep Tiwari, said today, "Yesterday, doctors have confirmed four deaths. Earlier, the total number was 55, but now we have the information that one of the workers was on unauthorised leave, and he is home. The total number has been reduced to 54, out of which four people are still missing..." According to Indian Air Force officials, a Mi-17 helicopter airlifted the drone-based Intelligent Buried Object detection system for search operations today in the avalanche-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. IAF Cheetah helicopters have been engaged in rescue operations in the Mana area of Chamoli since Saturday in the avalanche that happened at the BRO camp near Mana village in Joshimath on February 28. Injured BRO workers are being airlifted for further treatment at Joshimath Army Hospital. A team of SDRF left with a victim locating and thermal image camera on Sunday to search for the remaining workers trapped in the avalanche that happened near the BRO camp at Mana Gate in Joshimath on February 28. As per the instructions of the Inspector General of Police, SDRF Ridhim Agarwal, an expert team of SDRF has been sent to the site of the incident via helicopter from Sahastradhara with a Victim Locating Camera (V.L.C) and Thermal Image Camera to search for the workers missing during the avalanche in Mana. The search will be carried out with the help of these equipment (Victim Locating Camera (V.L.C) and Thermal Image Camera). (ANI) WASHINGTON (AP) The nation will hear a new president sing a far different tune in his prime-time address before Congress on Tuesday night. Some Americans will lustily sing along. Others will plug their ears. The old tune is out the one where a president declares we strongly support NATO, I believe strongly in free trade and Washington must do more to promote clean air, clean water, womens health and civil rights. That was Donald Trump in 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That was back when gestures of bipartisanship and appeals to national unity were still in the mix on the night the president comes before Congress to hold forth on the state of the union. Trump, then new at the job, was just getting his footing in the halls of power and not ready to stomp on everything. It would be three more years before Americans would see Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, then the House speaker and his State of the Union host in the chamber, performatively rip up a copy of Trumps speech in disgust over its contents. On Tuesday, Americans who tune into Trump's address will see whether he speaks to the whole country, as he mostly did in his first such speech in the chamber as president, or only to the roughly half who voted for him. They will see also whether he hews to ceremony and common courtesies, as he did in 2017, or goes full bore on showmanship and incitement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How Democratic lawmakers will react whether they make a scene is another question. At least four have invited fired federal workers to come as their guests. Trump gives the speech days after assailing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his face and before the cameras in the Oval Office for not expressing sufficient gratitude for U.S. support in Ukraine's war with Russia. It was a display of public humiliation by an American president to an allied foreign leader with no parallel in anyone's memory. Jarrett Borden, walking to lunch on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Florida, this past week, expressed ambivalence about Trump, having heard a lot of hogwash from him even while liking some of what he has done. Borden anticipates a good show Tuesday and will watch. I want to see if hes going to leave the mic open for Elon Musk, like its an open mic at a club or something," he said, citing the billionaire architect of Trump's civil service purge. "This is what hes been doing recently, which is comical. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Philadelphia, visual artist Nova Villanueva will spend Tuesday evening doing something anything else. She is into avoiding politics and social media altogether these fraught days. Yeah, its kind of sad, she said. "Its almost like I have to be ignorant to be at peace with myself and my life right now. A new president's first speech to Congress is not designated a State of the Union address, coming so close to the Jan. 20 inauguration. But it serves the same purpose, offering an annual accounting of what has been done, what is ahead and what condition the country is in, as the president sees it. It is customary in modern times for the president to say the state of the union is strong, no matter what a mess it may be in. Trump won the election saying the state of the union was in shambles and he was going to make it right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump who addressed Congress on Feb. 28, 2017, is recognizable now, despite the measured tone and content of that speech. After all, he had already shocked the political class by assailing American carnage from the inaugural stage. He told Congress that night he wanted NATO members to spend more on their armed forces, wanted trade to be fair as well as free, and wanted foreign countries in crises to be made stable enough so that people who fled to the U.S. could go back home. But he did not open his first term with the wrenching turns in foreign policy, civil service firings, stirrings of mass deportation or cries of drill, baby, drill of today. In a line that could have come from any president of either party, Trump noted in his 2017 speech that, with the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams. Now he belittles Trudeau as governor of a land he wants to make the 51st state and is about to slam with tariffs, along with Mexico. Canadians, not known for displays of patriotism, are seething about their neighbor and rushing to buy and fly their flag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Philadelphia, small-time entrepreneur Michael Mangraviti cannot help but take some satisfaction in Trump's scouring of the bureaucracy as the firings pile up with scant regard for how well people did their jobs or how those jobs helped keep services to the public running. He said for years and years, Drain the swamp, drain the swamp, Mangraviti said. But, you know, now is the time to actually drain the swamp. Weve seen time and time and time again that the government is horribly, horribly ineffective at everything it wants to do, he went on. "The fact that theyre actually taking action on something that they say theyre going to do, the fact that theyre ready to take the ax and take it to our government, is something I appreciate. To Cassandra Piper, a Philadelphia instrumentalist, Trump's move to stop making pennies was a fine decision" unlike everything else he has said and done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I comprehensively disapprove of the changes that are being made," Piper said, stopping to speak while walking by the Liberty Bell Center. Not that I was all too happy with the status quo beforehand in the first place, but theres absolutely no good that can come from the inhumanity of mass deportation, something that this country has already been scarred by. So, too, with Trump's selection of vaccination skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and his choice of Musk to lead the effort to effectively plunder the government of its resources, in Piper's view. In Hollywood, Florida, Borden, who is Black, said that to the extent Trump can take money that Washington spends overseas and pump it into the U.S. economy, then you are making America great again. But do that without the racial overtones. Do that without the negative energy, and were going to be OK." I think the world is just the world, and we should all just love each other, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abraham Lincoln might have agreed, as he summoned the better angels of our nature in an inaugural speech, a month before the Civil War, that pleaded with Americans not to break our bonds of affection." Trump had something to say on that subject, too, in 2017: We all bleed the same blood. ___ Associated Press video journalists Tassanee Vejpongsa in Philadelphia and Daniel Kozin in Hollywood, Florida, and AP Chief Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. In a shock to absolutely no one, talks between the Trump administration and Ukraine are on hold. Fridays meeting was already expected to be tense. But now, Trump wants Zelenskyy to stay silent about the very man causing it all, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long claimed Ukraine has no right to exist. This isnt just a low point for U.S. foreign policy. Its a reminder of how little some politicians care about real suffering in these wars. MSNBCs Ayman Mohyeldin is joined by TULSA A local historian grew up listening to the story of how her great-aunt survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by hiding in a theater, and she dreamed of hosting gatherings where the community could talk about such events while exploring other facets of Black history. Kristi Williams' sense of urgency grew in 2021 after the passage of a state law that some Oklahoma educators have said makes teaching about racism or gender issues more challenging and places them at risk for punishment. Though the first educators she asked to be part of her plans turned her down due to worries about backlash, the community activist found others and started Black History Saturdays in 2023 in a former school building owned by friends. The free community program offers breakfast, lunch and Black history education for children, teenagers and adults every month February through November. Kristi Williams is founder of Black History Saturdays, a free community program for children, teenagers and adults held monthly from February through November in Tulsa. The program opened its third season in February, at a time when laws aimed at quashing the contextual teaching of Black history and racism are popping up more across the country, racist rhetoric by elected leaders is becoming the norm and a push to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs have intensified from the statehouse and corporate world to the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Remembrance work with difficult pasts brings Oklahomans, Germans together "When we started this program, we started with a bold vision to ensure Black history is taught, preserved and honored, no matter what laws are passed, no matter what history they try to embrace, and no matter what obstacles come our way, and here we are, three years later, stronger than ever before," Williams told a crowd of about 275 people at the first Black History Saturdays gathering of the 2025 season. Children raise their hands in a class during Black History Saturdays in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. Black History Saturdays is a community education program with Black history classes for all ages. The day opened with a celebratory flair, and Williams has much to celebrate. In 2024, she was named a National Geographic Society Explorer and awarded a $100,000 grant to help her fund Black History Saturdays. She said the society has said more funding from the global nonprofit's endowment will be forthcoming for the next few years to help boost the community program and possibly expand it to other states. Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols Tulsa's first Black mayor showed up to help kick off the program's new season. He gave the crowd a brief Oklahoma Black history lesson, saying Black people who came to Indian Territory before statehood faced great obstacles but never stopped striving for better opportunities and never gave up hope. Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols speaks during the Feb. 8 Black History Saturdays in Tulsa. "What we know about Black folks in this state is, even when the odds are difficult, we've always proven that we can make a little something out of nothing in a place that doesn't seem like it wants us," Nichols said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So, as we meet the moment right now post-House Bill 1775, these attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion you all are doing exactly what every Black Oklahoman has done before you. You don't go in and go hide, you stand up. You come here on Saturdays. You learn about our history, and you take it and you apply it every single day." 'This is a movement' Williams' great-aunt Janie Edwards was in the Dreamland Theater when the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre occurred. She has been among the Black Tulsans helping to spread the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the prosperous Black business district called Black Wall Street and the Greenwood area that were destroyed by a white mob. Williams has also shared how the people of the Greenwood neighborhood rebuilt the area, showing strength and resilience in the face of racism. Williams said she was taken aback but not upset when some public school educators initially backed away from her idea for a community Black History program, afraid their livelihoods and even their retirements might be in jeopardy by being connected to the initiative after HB 1775 was signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt in May 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law prohibits instructors from teaching that "one race or sex is inherently superior to another," and that "an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive." It explicitly forbids critical race theory, which examines the way race and racism influence American politics, legal systems and society. Later, a federal judge's ruling limited the enforcement of the law, but it is being appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by individuals and groups on both sides. More: Local Black clergy disappointed in Stitt's approval of critical race theory bill Williams said she moved forward, determined to pay each educator who agreed to help teach the Saturday classes. Williams said the program was supported by donations from individuals and some groups who believed in her mission, but it was tough going. The grant from the National Geographic Society helped end the struggle for funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Let me tell ya'll, this is just the beginning," she said. "This is not just a program, this is a movement." Oren and Ariel Faulk draw on a poster with their daughter, Eleanor, 6, during a Feb. 8 Black History Saturdays in Tulsa. Mitch Sava, vice president of Edulab, a team in the National Geographic Society's education division, said the Wayfinder Award presented to Williams is an extremely competitive award program. "Essentially, we gave her a grant to pursue her vision," he said. "We're very proud of the work that she is doing." Meanwhile, after the crowd ate breakfast and sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is known as the Black national anthem, a representative of the National Geographic Society guided them through table discussions, which ended with groups making posters showing the words they felt were important to their Black history journey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crowd eventually divided into age groups and began to find their classrooms. LaTaja Rolle said she grew up learning Black history in church. She said she wanted her two daughters, ages 6 and 9, to be part of Black History Saturdays "because all our kids see the world run a certain way. ... I wanted them to know about Black history." Dwayne Dickens, 59, the instructor for high schoolers, said he didn't hesitate to join the program. "I believe that knowing your history and sharing that with others empowers everyone to move past what has already been established for them," he said. "People are looking for ways to succeed in spite of the challenges." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As she headed to the adult class, Helen Pipkins, 82, said she never misses Black History Saturdays. "I love history for one thing, and I want to learn as much as I can," she said. More: Plaintiffs again question federal judge about slow movement on critical race theory lawsuit Adults attend a Black history class during a Feb. 8 Black History Saturdays in Tulsa. 'This is your history' For Williams, the future of the program that she nurtured to fruition is bright. She said she has been asked to visit other states, including Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Arkansas, to show how to start the program there. "All year, we are teaching, learning and preserving Black history one Saturday at a time," she told the crowd as they prepared for a day in the classroom. Books are pictured on a shelf in a classroom during Black History Saturdays, a community program for all ages in Tulsa. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN She said she was grateful that they took the time to come out and bring their families on a chilly weekend morning. This historian promised them they wouldn't be disappointed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Black History Saturdays was created because we knew if they won't teach our children, we will," Williams said. "They are erasing our stories, but we're going to write them again. And also, when they tell us to be quiet, what we going to do, we're going to speak louder. I just want to say thank you guys this is your history. This is your legacy. This is your moment. So, we are going to claim this moment, and we're going to continue to claim it for years to come." Lataja Rolle and her daughters, Honesty, 9, at left, and Emery sing "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the Black national anthem, during Black History Saturdays in Tulsa. To learn more For more information, go to https://blackhistorysaturdays23.carrd.co/. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Black History Saturdays in Tulsa offers history lessons for free TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) Authorities in Tunisia say 64 migrants were rescued from a boat that capsized off the countrys eastern Mediterranean coast after running out of fuel. The countrys national customs agency said in a statement that maritime patrols sent to the capsized vessel rescued 64 people of various nationalities off the coast of Mahdia on Friday evening. No deaths were reported. The rescued migrants were trying to illegally cross by boat towards the European space, the customs agency said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initial findings of the investigation suggest that the migrants had set off from an unnamed neighbouring country, likely to be Libya. The migrants were taken to the port of Chebba, 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of Sfax, for further investigation. More than 30,000 migrants set sail from Libya and arrived in Italy in 2024, according to UNHCR. The UN refugee agency said 61% of those arriving in Italy by sea came from Libya, followed by 32% from Tunisia. The UN's International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 100 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia and Libya since the beginning of 2025. There is no official data about the actual number of migrants living in Libya. ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish and British officials will discuss Syria's future during a meeting in Ankara on Monday, with security, sanctions and economic development on the agenda, a Turkish foreign ministry source said on Sunday. NATO-member Turkey was a main backer of rebels who fought Bashar al-Assad for years and it has forged close ties with the new administration in Damascus following Assad's ouster last year. It has promised to help rebuild Syria and offered assistance to train and equip its security forces. Britain said last month it would adapt its Syria sanctions regimes after Assad's fall, but will ensure asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former government remain in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Turkish source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday's talks would be led by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and British junior Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer. Yilmaz will emphasise the need for sanctions on Syria to be lifted unconditionally for rebuilding and economic development, the source said. Yilmaz will also stress "the importance of the international community backing the Syrian administration's steps towards achieving national reconciliation within a central government", and push "to stop Israel's actions openly violating and threatening Syria's sovereignty", the source added. Reuters reported on Friday that Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey's growing influence in Syria, according to sources familiar with the efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Sunday Turkey had completed an initial phase of repairs and maintenance, including installing new equipment, at Damascus airport as part of Ankara's efforts to help rebuild the transport hub. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Helen Popper) A new art installation features three live piglets that will starve to death due to lack of food and water. The provocative exhibition, called And Now You Care, opened on Friday in Copenhagen. Artist Marco Evaristti is hoping the piece will shed light on the cruelty of modern pig production in Denmark, where about 25,000 piglets die daily as a result of poor breeding conditions. Evaristti, a native of Chile, generated angry responses when he posted about the exhibit, where the pigs are displayed in a cage made of shopping carts, on his Instagram. Artist Marco Evaristti is hoping to shed light on the cruelty of modern pig production in Denmark. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images As an ethical vegan I am appalled at this sick exhibition, one commenter wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not the way, go to the slaughterhouses for vigils like the rest of us. Dont participate in cruelty. Please do not starve these pigs, said a third. They do not deserve to die a slow painful death on account of making a point. You are no better than the problem you wish to solve. WHAT A SICK ACT OF TORTURE OF INNOCENT PIGLETS, someone else added. The pigs are being displayed in a cage made of shopping carts. AP Evaristti, a native of Chile, posted about the exhibit on Instagram, sparking outrage among users who found it cruel. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images Denmarks largest and oldest animal welfare organization, Animal Protection Denmark, expressed mixed feelings about the installation. We completely understand the indignation of the artist, said Birgitte Damm, a spokesperson for the organization. But we do not agree that three piglets, three individual living beings, should be starved and prevented from drinking until they die from it. It is illegal and it is abuse of the animals. Animal Protection Denmark has mixed feelings about the project, which also includes other artworks by Evaristti. AP Although she disagreed with the way Evaristti went about advocating for the animals, Damm did say he was correct in posing the large questions about who we are as human beings or want to be, and what we are doing to fellow creatures in the name of enormous amounts of mass-produced cheap meat. With Post Wires KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Bates County Sheriffs Office is investigating after two children were killed in an overnight house fire in rural Butler, Missouri. According to the sheriffs office, at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, deputies were called to the scene of an explosion and house fire at a rural property. String of break-ins overnight in KCs Waldo, Brookside neighborhoods Upon arrival, crews reported seeing a home fully engulfed in flames. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office said five people lived inside the home; however, only three escaped. This left two 2-year-olds stuck inside and not able to be immediately rescued. After units arrived on the scene, additional backup from other agencies was called. Deputies said their rescue efforts were deemed unsuccessful though, and the two children were pronounced dead at the scene. The other three occupants were taken to a hospital for treatment. Motorcyclist dies after hitting light pole in Northland: Kansas City police Our hearts go out to the families and friends of these children, Sheriff Chad Anderson said. Please keep them all in your prayers as they will have a rough road ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire is currently being investigated by the Bates County Sheriffs Office and the Missouri State Fire Marshals Office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Businessman and philanthropist Mohandas Pai has met with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday to discuss the pressing issues facing by Bengaluru. The Manipal Global Education Services Chairman, Pai met with Shivakumar on Saturday his Sadashivanagar residence in Bengaluru. Speaking to reporters after his meeting, Pai said, "Bengaluru is a great city, a global city and a science city. We need comprehensive development, including better footpaths, roads, and metro expansion. DK Shivakumar assured us that significant development would occur within six months. We are confident that our concerns will be addressed." Pai highlighted the city's impressive growth, mentioning that it is home to 65,000 IT companies, 25,000 startups, and 45 unicorns. "Bengaluru is the richest city in India with a per capita income of USD 15,000, and it exports USD80-85 billion in software," Pai said. He also pointed out that Bangalore has the world's largest concentration of people working in technology, including chip design and software development. The meeting lasted 1.5 hours, during which they raised concerns about Bengaluru's rapid growth and the challenges the city is facing. Further, he added, "When I speak about Bengaluru, some people take it positively, while others criticise me. No other city in India prioritises development like Bengaluru. Nowhere else do we see such harmony. Kannadigas should have access to better opportunities, and Bengaluru must continue to grow." "Bengaluru has gained international attention. People from different places ask me about it, and even friends from America call to inquire," Pai said. When asked whether he was speaking against a particular political party, Mohandas Pai responded, "That is incorrect. When Bommai was the Chief Minister, I spoke out against corruption. I have debated on TV and criticised Yediyurappa as well. I have voiced my opinions on every government in power, and every chief minister has sought my views." "Bengaluru is our city, and we have every right to discuss its development. Similarly, people in other cities talk about their own growth," Pai said. Earlier, Pai had lent his support to Shivakumar following a row over the latter's visit to an Isha Yoga Centre on Mahashivratri. Taking to X Pai had said, "We are with you Minister @DKShivakumar. We never need to justify being Hindus in our own country. It is shocking that in @INCIndia people have to be apologetic about being Hindus and practicing their faith while Party carries on with extreme Muslim appeasement openly. How do they ever hope to come back to power with such extreme appeasement politics? @Jairam_Ramesh wrong strategy! Very foolish!" Shivakumar told mediapersons on Thursday that he had attended the Maha Shivarathri celebrations at Isha Foundation. "It is my personal belief. I can't reply to everyone who posts something on social media. I don't want the BJP or anyone to welcome it. I don't want the media to discuss this either. This is purely my personal belief. Sadguru is from Mysuru, and he personally invited me for the event." All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary PV Mohan expressed his disapproval on X over Shivakumar's visit stating that his action "damages the core" of the party. (ANI) GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Fire crews worked to put out a two-alarm fire on School Street in Greenfield on Sunday. Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan said that the department received a call regarding a building fire on 75 School Street just after 6:00 a.m. Crews arriving in the area found that the fire was spreading from the second and third floors to the attic of the home, and the fire was upgraded to a second alarm as mutual aid was requested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marshal Mania kickoff party raises funds for 72nd Holyoke Saint Patricks Parade Strahan said that two firefighters working on the inside of the home became trapped under fire and debris when a large section of the attic floor collapsed. Mayday was declared and the firefighters were freed and cleared from the building. The firefighters were brought to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and have since been dispatched. No occupants of the home were injured in the fire and all were able to successfully evacuate. Chief Strahan said that efforts to put out the fire continued until around 12:00 p.m., and that high winds and low temperatures made conditions difficult. The water used by crews froze rapidly, and the ladder on the side of the home also froze as a result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Orange Fire Department, who was one of the crews that provided mutual aid, reported that a cat had also been rescued from the fire. The Greenfield Fire Department, State Fire Marshals Office and State Police are currently investigating the cause of the fire. Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. A leading packaging business is teaming up with one focused on sustainability, creating an alliance to focus on solutions for greener packaging options. Custom Box Pro (CBP), a packaging provider, and EcoShell, a company creating a variety of products derived from eggshells, have announced their partnership to support businesses in achieving their environmental goals. "Through our partnership with EcoShell, we're taking a bold step toward redefining packaging standards, delivering solutions that prioritise sustainability while enhancing the customer experience," CBP CEO Shireen Rizvi told Packaging-Gateway. EcoShell CEO Andrew Bliss also told the outlet, "Together, we aim to set new benchmarks for sustainability in packaging and help businesses meet their ecological commitments with confidence." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company's materials are derived "sustainably from bio inorganic substitute from eggshells and oyster shells," per the website, and can reduce plastic usage by up to 50%. Plastic packaging from shipping and other sources generates tons of waste every year that unfortunately doesn't break down. Supply Chain Solutions Center reports that 91% of plastic packaging is sent to landfills and often ends up in the environment. And producing plastic requires resources from dirty energy like petroleum, which releases pollution with long-term environmental impacts. Sustainable packaging is also a money saver for businesses, which can help save on costs being passed to customers. A report from PakFactory explains that recyclable and biodegradable options, like cardboard, can often be cheaper than traditional packing supplies, and require fewer resources. They are also lighter in weight, leading to reduced shipping costs, which are typically calculated by volume and weight. The outlet noted that customers are on board with these innovative solutions: "People, customers, and retailers alike don't just want products anymorethey want experiencesand sustainable packaging has become part of those key experiences that make them feel good about supporting your business." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fewer plastics companies use to ship items, the better chances we all have at a sustainable future. Thankfully, companies are showing interest in focusing on these greener options, like Amazon, which recently piloted a reusable packaging program in Europe and eliminated plastic wrap from its electronic shipments. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. An agreement on Ukraines natural resources collapsed after a heated argument in the Oval Office on Feb. 28 between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, casting doubt on the deals future. Following weeks of tough negotiations, Kyiv and Washington eventually came to an agreement on Ukraines critical minerals, oil, gas, and infrastructure. After the Trump Administration dropped some of Kyivs major objections to earlier versions of the deal, the Zelensky administration said it was ready to move forward with the agreement, despite the absence of security guarantees. That all fell apart after Zelensky traveled to Washington to sign the agreement in what was supposed to be a first step in jointly developing Ukraines resources. Instead, a press conference descended into Vance and Trump berating Zelensky, ending with the Ukrainian president being escorted out of the White House without an agreement in hand. While Trump and his VPs tirade against the Ukrainian president sets a firm wedge between the allies, Ukrainian business people and economists do not believe all is lost. Ukraine is still ready to offer up its resources for American investment, meaning another round of negotiations is possible once emotions cool off, they say. While political messaging might shift, the core economic and business relationships between the two countries remain resilient, Hennadiy Chyzhykov, president of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, told the Kyiv Independent. Read also: Kremlin says perceived US foreign policy shift aligns with its vision Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resources deal has been a rough road littered with controversies. Trumps initial demands would have given Washington as much control over Ukraines main sources of revenue as the Ukrainian government. Critics accused the U.S. of offering a colonial-style deal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed Trump for being selfish. Throughout the weeks of talks, Zelensky reiterated he wouldnt give up Ukraines resources without security guarantees, while Trump labelled Zelensky a dictator, seemingly in response to his unwillingness to sign the agreement. The last agreement, dated Feb. 25, still didnt offer any guarantees for protection against Russian aggression, but it did promise a more equal economic partnership to develop Ukraines resources. Many in Ukraine were cautiously optimistic that it could work out, funneling much-needed capital into Ukraine. Following the drama in Washington, the Kyiv Independent spoke to Ukraines business community to get their take on the fate of the deal and U.S.-Ukraine relations. Hennadiy Chyzhykov, president of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce What we are seeing now is a phase of recalibration in U.S.- Ukraine relations. While political debates and shifts in messaging can create uncertainty, strategic agreements especially those related to critical resources are rarely abandoned overnight. The U.S. and Ukraine both recognize the mutual benefits of energy and resource cooperation, and I expect that discussions will continue with an adjusted framework, potentially involving more European and private sector stakeholders. Ukraines resource potential remains immense, and the global demand for critical minerals is only growing. While a slowdown in negotiations with the U.S. could momentarily delay some opportunities, it also opens the door for broader diversification. Ukraine is actively engaging with European and Asian partners, and this moment may encourage a more balanced approach ensuring that we leverage multiple partnerships rather than relying too heavily on any single agreement. The U.S.-Ukraine relationship has proven to be resilient despite changes in political leadership and diplomatic challenges. It is important to separate political rhetoric from long-term strategic interests support for Ukraine, whether military, economic, or political, remains a bipartisan priority for many in Washington. Its also worth noting that international relations are dynamic. Moments of tension often lead to more structured and sustainable agreements in the long run. This is not a breakdown but rather a recalibration of expectations and priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most important thing is that discussions are ongoing, stakeholders are engaged, and there is a shared interest in de-escalation and finding mutually beneficial solutions. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, left, and US President Donald Trump look at photos during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. Feb. 28, 2025. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Arseniy Yatsenyuk economist, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, and founder of the Open Ukraine Foundation We urgently need to develop a roadmap on how to fix the situation we all find ourselves in. Neither Ukraine nor the Trump administration has benefited from this, only the war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. It is better to sign this (resources) agreement as soon as possible to show that Ukraine is ready for any kind of investment. If the U.S. president needs this deal to "sell" it to his MAGA base, we are okay with this. But we need real investments and economic cooperation. However, this deal has nothing to do with a real peace process. It is necessary to define the terms of this peace agreement that will meet the demands of Ukraine and international law. Everyone has to be on the same page the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ukraine, with the Russians on the other side of the aisle. We need to undertake enormous efforts to get the U.S. back on track. The president of Ukraine, together with our friends and partners from the EU and the U.K., should send a letter to the U.S. administration clearly defining the red lines that Ukraine will never accept. I would strongly recommend that our European friends make the terms of the peace deal framework public. We must clearly see what red lines are being set by the European Union and Ukraine. Ukraine will never accept any kind of legalization of any territorial concessions. Ukraine will never accept any disarmament. We need to work out in detail the issue of NATO and our membership perspective. We can discuss the timeframe of this, but this is the ultimate goal of Ukraine. These red lines should be clearly set in a joint statement by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine and sent to the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Ukraine war latest: Europe developing coalition of the willing to back ceasefire in Ukraine, Starmer says Igor Liski owner of the EFI Group There were, unfortunately, no security guarantees in the resources agreement, but it was a step in the right direction. So I was really upset and disappointed. I dont feel its the end. I believe that a reasonable second round should be prepared. From the business point of view, I believe that U.S. Investment will help to develop the country like it did previously with South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. We should sign the resources agreement. It will be the first step. But nowadays it's much more difficult because it's more emotional. For Zelensky, the security question is much more important, but this pragmatic approach from the Trump administration is now prevailing. Ukraine could have a lot of interest both from European and U.S. investment after the war and could be one of the hottest places on the planet if it is clear that the war is stopped I still think it's in Americas interest to be on the Ukrainian side, and I think we should find a way to save Trump and Zelenskys faces and relaunch this relationship. Its very important for Ukraine. US President Donald Trump greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrives at the White House in Washington, DC. Feb. 28, 2025. (Tierney L. / Getty Images) Andrey Stavnitser co-owner and CEO of TIS Port and founder of Superhumans Center Emotionally, this (dispute) was incredibly unpleasant. Of course, we are all capable of putting emotions aside, but a conversation that starts with a sarcastic question like "Dont you own a suit?" is hard to call constructive or respectful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine considers the United States a crucial ally, and we are deeply grateful to the American people and authorities at all levels for the immense support they have provided us over the years. Truth and justice must prevail; if the outcome is different, we will have to acknowledge that we are living in a world entirely different from the one we believed we inhabited. I am confident that we, along with European leaders and the United States, have the wisdom and strength to stand on the side of justice. I wont claim to have deep expertise to fully assess the resources agreement, but as far as I can judge, its main value lies in the declaration of the United States' intent to continue supporting Ukraine, also within the framework of business interests. This is an important agreement, but it is a framework one and depends entirely on the relationships and goodwill of the parties. It could become a more powerful tool for Ukraines protection only if hundreds, if not thousands, of further negotiations are successful and satisfactory for both sides, hypothetically leading someday to something more concrete in establishing a strong, long-term, and fair peace. The discussion (on Feb. 28) immediately went in a direction that does not suggest any positive steps moving forward. Nevertheless, Ukraine is still ready to sign the agreement peace is what we need the most. Read also: Italy, UK can help mediate Zelensky-Trump dispute, Meloni says Subscribe to the Newsletter Ukraine Business Roundup Subscribe Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. OLIVER SPRINGS, Tenn. (WATE) After a police chase and a search through a river, officers from the Oliver Springs Police Department apprehended a man driving a U-Haul that was reported stolen, OSPD said. On Saturday afternoon, officers initiated a traffic stop on a U-Haul that had been reported as stolen from Harrison County, Mississippi then spotted by a Flock camera in Oliver Springs. The truck wouldnt pull over, leading to a pursuit down Harriman Highway and into the Clax Gap and Blair Communities, OSPD wrote in a social media post. THP: Suspect tazed after assaulting officer, leading pursuit in Sullivan Co. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, the U-Haul left the roadway, and the driver, 40, abandoned it, fleeing into the Little Emory River, police say. Law enforcement used a K9 to track him. Soon after, they found and arrested him while he was trying to hide in a residence on Old Suddath Road. (Photo from the Oliver Springs Police Department) (Photo from the Oliver Springs Police Department) (Photo from the Oliver Springs Police Department) He has been charged with: Evading arrest Resisting arrest Reckless endangerment Reckless driving Active warrants in Roane County They did a great job: I-40 partially reopened at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line Our teams swift action and use of modern technology were crucial in bringing this suspect to justice, Police Chief David Laxton said. We remain dedicated to the safety of our community and will continue to vigorously pursue those who attempt to undermine it. I would like to thank the Roane County Sheriffs Office, Rockwood Police Department, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for their assistance in the search and apprehension of the suspect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side. LONDON Ahead of an emergency summit in London on Sunday to discuss the war in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. The U.K. and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this and that is why President [Emmanuel] Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the U.S., Starmer said during an interview on the BBC, the British broadcaster. In other words, weve got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward leaning, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plan emerged from an effort to contain the fallout of an extraordinary exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy at the Oval Office days earlier, where the president berated the Ukrainian leader for not being grateful to the U.S. for its support. Nobody wants to see that, Starmer said Sunday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at No. 10 Downing St. on Saturday. Referencing previous meetings with Trump, including at the White House earlier last week, Starmer said he was convinced that the president wanted to see a lasting peace in Ukraine. But Starmer reiterated that no peace deal with Ukraine would be possible without a security guarantee from the U.S. Ive always been clear that that is going to need a U.S. backstop because I dont think it would be a guarantee without it, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sundays summit will see the British leader host leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania, along with the European Unions Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Turkeys foreign minister will also be attending. During the summit, the British leader is expected to push his European counterparts to offer more concrete pledges of support to Ukraine in the hopes of reviving a peace deal with Russia. So far, most European leaders have verbally expressed support for Ukraine rather than trying to match the U.S. in weaponry and ammunition. The U.K. became the first European nation to increase defense spending and offer to deploy peacekeeping troops, while Germany on Saturday called for the quick release of $3.1 billion in Ukraine aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Expressing solidarity with Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock presented a six-point plan to enhance Ukraines and Europes security. Many of you will have slept badly last night after watching the unspeakable video from the White House. Me too, to be honest, Baerbock said in a statement Saturday. Unfortunately, it was not just a bad dream, it is harsh reality. Today, we are more horrified than ever, but also more committed. More committed to the people in Ukraine, to our own security and to peace in Europe, she added. Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed Europes peacekeeping efforts, saying on Sunday that European leaders continued to incite Kyiv for a war against us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While criticizing European leaders for leaping to Zelenskyys defense, Lavrov praised Trump for his common sense in pushing for an end to the war. U.S. President Donald Trump understands everything. ... He is behaving correctly, he said, while calling the president a pragmatist. Lavrovs remarks echoed statements from the Kremlin made earlier this week over the United States dramatic shift in foreign policy, and what it sees as closer alignment with Russias interests. The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from state television in an interview recorded Wednesday. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com LONDON (AP) U.K. Prime Minister says Britain to use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) to supply 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine. Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on March 2 that the U.K. had reached an agreement with Kyiv to provide Ukraine with 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) for the purchase of 5,000 air defense missiles. Although the terms of the agreement were not immediately available, Starmer said that the deal would be conducted through export financing, with the missiles being produced in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthening Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes," Starmer said. The deal, which Starmer announced during a press conference following the conclusion of a European leaders' summit in London, follows a separate commitment announced on March 1 that would provide a $2.8 billion loan backed by frozen Russian assets. Ukraine has long been calling for allies to provide additional funding for Ukraine's air defense needs as Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian cities with missile and drone attacks. Starmer on March 2 hosted President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders in London to discuss how to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace. The summit is even more crucial now after a fallout between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier in the press conference, Starmer announced that a number of European nations, including the U.K. and France, are developing a 'coalition of the willing' that will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to negotiate a successful ceasefire in Ukraine. Starmer said that he spoke to Trump on March 1 to deliver plans of the proposed coalition, and added that the proposed coalition will succeed on the basis that Europe work "with the U.S. and that it will have U.S. backing." In January, Zelensky and Starmer signed a 100-year partnership agreement during their meeting in Kyiv on Jan. 16. The wide-ranging deal encompasses cooperation in military, energy, scientific, cultural, economic, and other sectors. Read also: Europe developing coalition of the willing to back ceasefire in Ukraine, Starmer says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President Anbumani Ramadoss has criticized the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over its stance on the three-language policy, alleging that the ruling partyin Tamil Nadu is once again using the tactic of anti-Hindi narrative ahead of the elections. Speaking to ANI, Ramadoss said, "Elections are around the corner. As usual, the DMK is taking the anti-Hindi plank, and this is what they've been doing for the last 50-60 years. But at the same time, the Union government shouldn't enforce anything on the states. We have had a two-language policy for nearly 60 years. It has been successful. We have been successful as a state. Tamil Nadu is one of the most developed states in India. The Union Government should not force any state to adopt some policy..." On February 28, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin urged the people to "rise" to defend the state in a fight against the delimitation of constituencies and the "three-language policy" under the Centre's New Education Policy (NEP) Stalin criticised the three-language policy, saying that it had resulted in the Centre withholding the state's funds and that delimitation would now 'affect' the state's representation. "Their three-language policy has already resulted in the withholding of our rightful funds. Likewise, while they claim they will not reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats, they are unwilling to assure that the representation of other states will not be disproportionately increased. Our demand is clear: do not determine parliamentary constituencies based on population alone... We will never compromise on Tamil Nadu's welfare and future for anyone or anything...Tamil Nadu will resist! Tamil Nadu will prevail," Stalin said. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi said that there's a strong demand for implementing the New Education Policy 2020 because the youth feel "hugely deprived" of opportunities. "There is huge demand for implementation of the NEP 2020. The youth of this region feel hugely deprived of opportunities compared to those from neighboring states due to the rigid two-language policy of the State Government," the Governor said in a statement posted on X by the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan. He further stated that the 'stringent' two-language policy is "unfair" and that the youth "must have a choice to study language." The Tamil Nadu government has strongly opposed implementing the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, raising concern over the "three-language formula" and alleging that the Centre wants to 'impose' Hindi. (ANI) LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The U.S. Marshals arrested a man who was on the run since 2021 after he allegedly bought 40 firearms in Las Vegas for a Crips street gang to use in its feud with another gang in California, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Marshals Service Nevada Violent Offender Task Force arrested Davieon Rowe, 25, on charges of conspiracy to make a false statement in the acquisition of a firearm, aiding and abetting, and sale or transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person. In 2021 Rowe bought 40 firearms for a Crips street gang that was in a feud with another street gang in San Bernardino, California, the U.S. Marshals said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a criminal indictment, Rowe ordered the 40 firearms through an online firearm retailer from January 2021 through March 2021 to pick up at two gun stores in the Las Vegas area. The transactions described totaled nearly $28,000. While Rowe filled out a form claiming that he would be the actual buyer, Rowe was purchasing the guns for two other men, federal prosecutors said. Officials describe one of those men as a felon prohibited from possessing firearms. Federal investigators said they uncovered text messages in which the felon told Rowe what to buy and agreed to pay for the weapons. Investigators said the felon joined Rowe when he picked up the weapons from the gun store. Agents said they were able to intercept the weapons before they were transferred from Rowe. Man wanted, accused of buying guns in Las Vegas for a gang Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When investigators asked Rowe how he could afford the nearly $28,000, he said that he was recently fired from McDonalds but that various females pay him for relationships, according to the indictment. While the case was moved forward against Rowes two co-defendants, investigators said he went on the run. Rowe attended Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas. His nicknames include Dave or DaiBoi, Venegas said. On Feb. 28, around 2:40 p.m., the Nevada Violent Offender Task Force, with assistance from the Clark County School Police Department, located and arrested Rowe in the 2600 block of Concord Heights Street in the northwest Las Vegas valley. He is in federal custody and will go through judicial proceedings in the U.S. District Court of Nevada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Nevada Violent Offender Task Force is comprised of law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals Service; Carson City Sheriffs Office; Boulder City Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; City of Las Vegas DPS; City of North Las Vegas City Marshals; Clark County District Attorneys Office; Douglas County Sheriffs Office; Drug Enforcement Administration; Henderson Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; Lincoln County Sheriffs Office; Lyon County Sheriffs Office; Mineral County Sheriffs Office; Nevada Department of Corrections; Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles; Nevada Gaming Control Board; Nevada State Police; North Las Vegas Police Department; Nye County Sheriffs Office; Reno Police Department; Sparks Police Department; Washoe County District Attorneys Office; and the Washoe County Sheriffs Office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. WASHINGTON After Fridays public clash between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. officials say the path to a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine is deeply uncertain and wholly dependent the Ukrainian leaders next steps. Since the blowup, Trump administration officials have also discussed whether to pause U.S. military aid to Ukraine, according to two administration officials, though its unclear whether or when the president would take such a step. A White House spokesperson declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskyy was at the White House on Friday to sign a deal with Trump that would cut in the U.S. on money from mining rare earths and other critical minerals in Ukraine after the war with Russia ends. Trump has said the economic deal with the U.S. would serve as a security guarantee for Ukraine against a future Russian invasion like the one that started the war in February 2022. But the deal was never signed and remains in limbo. Trumps aides asked Zelenskyy to leave the White House after an Oval Office meeting featuring nearly an hour of remarks and questions from reporters devolved into a spat, which left the president angry and publicly questioning whether the Ukrainian leader wants to negotiate an end to the war. Zelenskyys public statements since he left the White House on Friday, including a social media post thanking Trump for hosting him and Americans for supporting Ukraine, have done little to move the president since then, and top administration officials believe that that peace talks with Ukraine are on hold, according to multiple administration officials. One of the administration officials said, The ball is in President Zelenskyys court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president believes Zelenskyy has to come back to the table and he has to be the one to come and make it right, the official said. Another administration official said Zelenskyy so far has not publicly shown any regret for what the White House views as a disrespectful approach to a meeting in the Oval Office, adding that the official is not sure where a peace process goes from here. Multiple administration officials pushed back on critics of how Trump handled the moment, some of whom have suggested that the tense exchange in the Oval Office between Trump and Zelenskyy was planned. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the scene a political ambush in a statement on Friday. It was not planned at all. It was the exact opposite of how most people expected the exchange to go, said a source familiar with the meeting. An administration official added, There was no setup. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ending the war in Ukraine was one of Trumps signature campaign promises, and he said during the 2024 race that he would do it within 24 hours of taking office. Fridays developments left the president further away from achieving that goal, a little over two weeks after Trump said hed spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine would begin immediately. Trump then called Zelenskyy to inform him of his conversation with Putin. What followed was two weeks of public and private back-and-forth between U.S. and Ukrainian officials that, from the Trump administrations view, was painstaking, according to two administration officials. Its been a challenging couple of weeks, one of the officials said. As three Trump administration officials put it, Zelenskyy approached meetings with top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, from a standpoint of wanting more from the U.S., and they said he came off as ungrateful and unaware of the political shift in the U.S. After Zelenskyy declined to sign an early version of a minerals deal that the U.S. put before him, Trump became frustrated and publicly referred to the elected Ukrainian leader as a dictator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But negotiations on a minerals deal continued. In the days leading up to Zelenskyys meeting with Trump, Ukrainian officials pushed for language tweaks in the deal, two administration officials said. When Zelenskyy, during his remarks in the Oval Office, raised the idea of real security guarantees from the U.S. beyond the economic deal on Ukrainian minerals reiterating his longtime public posture his comments grated on some administration officials. Its been abundantly clear to Zelenskyy that there would be no security guarantees in this deal, one of the officials said. Administration officials said they are unsure precisely what Zelenskyy could do to convince Trump to re-engage on negotiations with him other than to have, from their perspective, a complete attitude change toward the president. They said Trump remains unconvinced that Zelenskyy wants to negotiate an end to the war at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has not dawned on him the reality that there was a paradigm shift with the election on Nov. 6, an administration official said of Zelenskyy. Asked if its still possible for the U.S. to work with Zelenskyy to reach a peace deal, another administration official said, I still think so, yes. Zelenskyy has been in the U.K. this weekend for meetings with top European leaders trying to determine a way forward. He is set to attend a summit in London Sunday to discuss the war with more than 15 other European leaders. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Mar. 2The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments March 5 in a Texas case with implications for a private firm's plan to build a temporary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico. Justices will consider whether federal law gives the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) the power to license temporary nuclear waste storage at sites far from the reactors where the spent fuel was created. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez filed a brief in the case expressing the state's long-standing opposition to a company's plan to build such a storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The hardships that would be endured by New Mexicans in the construction of these nuclear waste storage facilities in and near our state would be monumental," Torrez said last week in a written statement. The NRC approved a permit in 2023 that would allow Holtec International LLC to build an above-ground storage facility between Hobbs and Carlsbad to store up to 500 canisters of spent nuclear fuel. New Mexico is suing the NRC to block the project. The case up for consideration before the Supreme Court addresses a similar storage facility in Texas, but the outcome may decide the fate of the New Mexico project. Justices in November agreed to reconsider a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that blocked the NRC's license for a temporary storage facility in Texas' Permian Basin proposed by Interim Storage Partners LLC. Texas opposes the project and sued the NRC to block it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amicus brief filed by Torrez and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Jan. 22 supports the appellate court ruling and argues that states should have a voice in deciding whether spent nuclear fuel should be stored within their borders. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued Holtec and ISP licenses to operate their facilities on 40-year renewable terms over objections from the host states and denied every attempt by opponents to intervene in the proceedings," the brief argues. The Holtec and ISP sites are located only 40 miles apart in the Permian Basin, "home to the most productive oil field in the world and one of the nation's most threatened aquifers," the brief argues. The license issued by the NRC in May 2023 would allow Florida-based Holtec to receive and store up to 8,680 metric tons of spent fuel for 40 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holtec officials have said they plan to eventually store up to 10,000 canisters throughout 19 expansions phases, according to the NRC. The regulatory agency would have to approve a license amendment for each expansion, pending NRC safety and environment reviews. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham opposes the facility and signed legislation in 2023 intended to block the project. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., has said it is misleading to call the facility "temporary" while the nation lacks a permanent place to store spent nuclear fuel. The brief filed by New Mexico and Michigan is one of nine amici briefs filed in the case by groups that include the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, Utah and six other states, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The U.K., France, Ukraine, and possibly other countries will develop a ceasefire plan that will be presented to the U.S., U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in an interview with the BBC on March 2. Starmer is hosting President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders in London to discuss how to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace. The summit is even more crucial now after a fallout between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. The British prime minister and French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Washington earlier this week, are seeking to mend the ties between Kyiv and the U.S. and present a united front on Ukraine and Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to the BBC ahead of the summit, Starmer said the joint ceasefire initiative would be "an important step forward" after the heated exchange in the Oval Office on Feb. 28. "President Zelensky is rightly concerned that if there's to be a deal, it has to hold. That's why we've talked extensively about what are the guarantees - in what way do we all defend the deal if that deal is made," Starmer said. The U.K. and France have spearheaded the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire. Macron and Starmer appealed to Trump to remain involved in maintaining a post-war order, but they failed to receive any concrete commitments as the new U.S. administration expects Europe to take responsibility for Ukraine's security. The humiliating treatment Zelensky received from Trump and Vice President JD Vance underscored the growing rift between Europe and the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While most European leaders publicly voiced support for Zelensky after the spat, Starmer called both the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders in an attempt to bridge the rift. The prime minister reportedly aims to tell Zelensky that fixing relations with Trump would be necessary to ensure lasting peace. Read also: Ill need more ammo Ukraines soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated that after discussions on 1 March, he reached an agreement with the leaders of Ukraine and France to prepare a plan aimed at ending hostilities, which will then be presented to the United States. Source: BBC, citing Starmer, as reported by European Pravda Details: Commenting on the spat in the White House between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, Starmer said that "nobody wanted to see that". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He recalled that yesterday, he met with the Ukrainian president and spoke with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, "and my driving purpose is being to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus". "We've now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we will discuss that plan with the United States," Starmer announced. He stressed that "it's really important that we keep our central focus, which is lasting peace in Ukraine". Background: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the White House ahead of schedule on Friday, 28 February, after a spat with Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. During a meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday, Starmer pledged Britain's continued support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and its unwavering determination to achieve a lasting peace. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday he does not see the U.S. as an unreliable ally, but Europe must continue to provide funding for Ukraine to put it in a stronger position if peace is negotiated. Wrapping up a security summit in London with other European and world leaders, Starmer said that nobody wanted to see the breakdown in talks that happened Friday at the White House but that the U.S. remains an important ally. The U.S. has been a reliable ally to the U.K. for many, many decades and continues to be, Starmer said. There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer said the plan he is working on for peace in Ukraine is intended to receive U.S. backing. The U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine, he said. And he warned that Europe had to do the heavy lifting in defending itself. The meeting comes two days after U.S. support for Ukraine appeared in greater jeopardy after President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasnt grateful enough for U.S. support. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below. LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told leaders gathered Sunday for a summit on the war in Ukraine that they need to step up and continue to support Kyiv and meet a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression, Starmer said at the opening of the meeting. Starmer, flanked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, said the three of them had agreed to work on a plan to stop the fighting, and take that to the U.S., which has discussed brokering a peace deal. We need to agree what steps come out of this meeting to deliver peace through strength for the benefit of all, he said. So, lets get started. The meeting has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding of Zelenskyy by U.S. President Donald Trump, who blasted him Friday at the White House as being ungrateful for U.S. support against the invasion by Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer said hes focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with Trump, Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron rather than ramp up the rhetoric. Sundays meeting is an important step The London meeting has taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and shoring up the continents defenses. Sundays summit is likely to include talks on establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire. Starmer said it would involve a coalition of the willing. Starmer told the BBC he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer said there are intense discussions to get a security guarantee from the U.S. If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again, Starmer said. That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if theres a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause. The three essentials Starmer listed for a successful peace deal were: arming the Ukrainians to put them in a position of strength; including a European element to guarantee security; and providing a U.S. backstop, to prevent Putin from breaking promises. Thats the package. All three parts need to be in place, and thats what Im working hard to bring together, Starmer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following a charm offensive last week to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also in attendance. European leaders are backing Zelenskyy Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe after the White House fiasco, an exceptional attack on an ally broadcast on live television. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer embraced Zelenskyy as he arrived at the meeting Sunday. Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Meetings in recent days had provided some hope until Zelenskyys visit to the White House. Visits to the Oval Office by Macron, who had declared his visit a turning point, and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within 12 hours of Starmers return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. Starmer did an impressive job of asserting Europes agency in the war on Ukraine and conveying to President Trump that Europe is willing and able to take a leading role in implementing any credible peace deal, said Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. Unfortunately, Fridays White House meeting was a major step backward. Ukraine can no longer count on military or political support from the U.S. after Trump declared himself neutral in negotiations, Ellehuus said. She said Europe needs to step in and could release some 200 billion euros ($207 billion) in seized Russian assets to help fund that effort. The immediate goal of the meetings in London must be to keep Ukraine in the fight so it can negotiate from a maximum position of strength, she said. European leaders pledge to increase military spending Starmer pledged this week to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP. If we dont increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we wont end up well, he said. Macron, who said it was legitimate for the U.S. to shift its focus to dealing with China and Asia, also called for more defense spending as he called for unity. We should have woken up earlier, Macron said. Ive been saying for years that we need a more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ___ Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Karel Janicek in Prague and Samuel Petrequin contributed. 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 By Andrew MacAskill and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday dismissed calls to cancel the offer of a state visit to U.S. President Donald Trump after his extraordinary row with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House. Starmer at a meeting in Washington last week used a mixture of flattery and the invitation from the royal family for an unprecedented second state visit to try to win a commitment from Trump for a U.S. security guarantee to protect Ukraine if a deal to end the war with Russia can be reached. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some British politicians, including the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), have called for the offer to be withdrawn after Trump accused Zelenskiy of not being grateful enough for U.S. support in Ukraine's war. Asked if the state visit should be cancelled, Starmer criticised politicians who he said wanted to widen divisions with Washington at a time when Europe faces a "moment of real fragility". "I'm not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake here, we're talking about peace in Europe," Starmer told the BBC. Starmer, unlike some leaders in Europe, has sought to avoid criticising Trump despite provocations on everything from Gaza to Ukraine and possible tariffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CEREMONIAL AFFAIR The invitation from King Charles, handed to Trump by Starmer in the Oval Office before the world's media, would make the U.S. president the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch. A state visit is a grand, ceremonial affair full of pomp and pageantry and usually includes a carriage ride and a lavish state banquet. During the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth only three U.S. presidents were given full state visits: Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Trump. Trump, whose mother was from Scotland, has spoken regularly about his admiration for the British royal family. Although the royals are meant to be apolitical, they are often deployed to try to secure favourable relations with world leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's first state visit in June 2019 lasted for three days, during which he attended a state banquet and had tea with Charles, who was then heir to the throne. The leader of the SNP, John Swinney, said on Sunday "it is hard to believe" that the offer to Trump still stands. An opposition Conservative lawmaker Alicia Kearns, previously the head of parliament's foreign affairs committee, also said that the visit should be paused until the U.S. had offered to provide the security guarantee to Ukraine. A petition calling for the invite to be cancelled has attracted almost 70,000 signatures and some of the normally right-wing British newspapers have also been critical of Trump since his row with Zelenskiy. The Telegraph said he had been "undeservedly and disgracefully bullied". (Editing by Ros Russell) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed suggestions that following recent events, the coalition of European states and Ukraine cannot rely on the United States. Source: Starmer at a press conference following the London summit, as reported by European Pravda Details: Starmer emphasised that after his phone conversation with Trump the day before, he was convinced that the US could be involved in efforts to guarantee peace in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prime minister stressed that he could not disclose details of the discussion but was hopeful of a positive outcome. Quote: "I would not be taking this step down this road if I did not think that it was something that would yield a positive outcome in terms of ensuring that we move together Ukraine, Europe, the UK and the US together towards a lasting peace." More details: Starmer also rejected journalists' suggestions that the US could no longer be trusted after the events in the Oval Office. "I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally," he said, citing previous long-standing partnerships with past administrations as evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also indicated that a key condition for peace should be guarantees that Ukraine will not face another attack. "If a deal is done, it has to be a deal that is then defended, because what weve seen in the past is a cessation of the hostilities without any back-up and that was readily breached by Russia. And that is precisely the situation that I think we need to avoid this time round," he stated. Starmer reaffirmed the UK's readiness to take part in a peacekeeping mission "with boots on the ground and planes in the air". Background: Earlier, Starmer announced that the UK would allocate 1.6 billion for Ukraine to purchase air defence missiles. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected calls to cancel a planned state visit for U.S. President Donald Trump, despite mounting criticism over Trump's recent clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy . The row erupted after Trump accused Zelenskyy of lacking gratitude for U.S. support, casting doubt on Americas commitment to Ukraine. The invitation, extended by King Charles and delivered by Starmer during a high-profile meeting at the White House on Friday, would make Trump the first elected leader to receive two British state visits. However, opposition voices, including Scottish National Party leader John Swinney and Conservative lawmaker Alicia Kearns, have urged the government to reconsider. A petition against the visit has already garnered nearly 70,000 signatures. Starmer, however, insists that maintaining ties with Washington is paramount, especially at a moment of real fragility for European security, according to Reuters. He has deliberately avoided direct criticism of Trump, despite tensions over Ukraine, Gaza and trade policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the wake of Trump and Zelenskyys heated exchange, Starmer met the Ukrainian president in London, welcoming him with a warm embrace. The British leader has since launched an urgent diplomatic push, speaking with Trump, Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron to rally European efforts for a peace plan. He argues that a "coalition of the willing" must act swiftly, rather than waiting for consensus across all European nations. Britain and France, he noted, have already signaled willingness to deploy peacekeeping troops. "Rather than moving at the pace of every single country in Europe, which would in the end be quite a slow process, we've got to probably get to a coalition of the willing now," he told the BBC. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trumps stance, accusing European nations of prolonging the conflict by backing Zelenskyy. While according to Reuters, Starmer found the Oval Office dispute uncomfortable viewing, he remains committed to bridging the gap between Europe and the U.S. as the war in Ukraine continues to test international alliances. The United Kingdom agreed to loan Ukraine around $3 billion on Saturday to support their efforts in the war against Russia after a contentious White House meeting left the world wondering about the nations ability to secure its sovereign borders. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the fellow European country for its assistance amid the conflict. This loan will enhance Ukraines defense capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets. The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine, the Ukrainian leader wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is true justice the one who started the war must be the one to pay. Current funds will be pooled from the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine (ERA) which is valued at $50 billion. Under the G7 ERA mechanism, Ukraine has already received $1 billion from the U.S. and Europe in addition to $3 billion from the European Union, according to Ukraines Ministry of Finance. The United Kingdom continues to stand in defense of Ukraine. Todays agreement, which contributes to strengthening Ukraines defense capabilities, confirms this. I am grateful to the UK Government for this support and personally to Rachel Reeves for her significant efforts that made this agreement possible, Ukraines Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said. The agreement follows the heated Friday Oval Office meeting, during which President Trump and Vice President Vance fired at Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful for U.S. support and aid. After the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskys meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was notably more friendly, with the Ukrainian leader referring to it as meaningful and warm in a post on X, Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Assaduddin Owaisi criticised the Maharashtra government for temporarily halting exemptions for delayed birth and death registration, highlighting the difficulties that children are facing in taking admission in schools. Maharashtra government has temporarily halted the service since January 21 after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged the issuance of fake birth certificates to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in some districts. Owaisi, taking to X, highlighted that how families who weren't registered due to lack of legal knowledge are struggling now as their kids are not able to take admission in schools. "The Government of Maharashtra has prohibited issuing birth and death certificates indefinitely since January 21, causing significant hardship to thousands of children born during or post-COVID. Many kids from poor families, especially in Makegaon, weren't registered due to lack of legal knowledge, illiteracy, or financial constraints. Consequently, they can't secure school admissions," Owaisi said in a post on X. Owaisi urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde to resume the services. "Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, please lift the ban or exempt birth certificate issuance for primary school admissions. The right to education, a fundamental right, shouldn't be denied to poor children in Malegaon and elsewhere due to delayed administrative processes," Owaisi said. Earlier, Owaisi hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his remarks on Urdu, saying that it was not the language of Muslims, but has been the language of country's freedom. He stated that Urdu was protected by the Constitution, just like other languages. Taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Owaisi said that they want this country have only one language, religion, ideology and leader. "UP CM doesn't even know that Urdu is a part of Uttar Pradesh's culture. People of RSS and BJP don't know that Urdu is protected by the Constitution, just like other languages. They don't know that every Muslim doesn't speak Urdu; this is not the language of Muslims. This has been the language of this country's freedom. This is the language of this country...BJP wants to build this country as per one language, one religion, one ideology and one leader," he said while addressing the gathering at the 67th revival anniversary of AIMIM. (ANI) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced the allocation of 1.6bn (approximately US$2bn) for Ukraine to procure more than 5,000 air defence missiles. Source: Starmer after the London summit on strengthening Europes defence capabilities and supporting Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda Details: In addition to the 2.2bn loan announced on 1 March, Starmer unveiled an additional 1.6bn in UK export financing, which will enable Ukraine to purchase over 5,000 air defence missiles, which will be produced in Belfast, "creating jobs in our brilliant defence sector". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now, and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes, because we have to learn from the mistakes of the past. We cannot accept a weak deal like Minsk, which Russia can breach with ease." More details: Starmer stressed that "the first priority of this government, of any government, is the security and safety of the British people. To defend the national interests, particularly in these volatile times". Starmer stated that he convened todays meeting "to unite our partners around the efforts to strengthen Ukraine and to support a just and enduring peace for the good of all of us". "Our starting point must be to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position now, so that they can negotiate from a position of strength and we are doubling down in our support," he added. Background: Earlier, Starmer said that this was a once-in-a-generation moment for Europes security. The British prime minister also stated that he trusts President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and does not believe he has done anything wrong in recent days. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) has reported that false information is circulating in the Armenian information space, accusing DIU of attempting to provoke or facilitate the outbreak of an armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Source: DIU Quote: "Disinformation spreaders claim that a new Azerbaijani-Armenian war would force Russia to open a 'second front', thereby dispersing its military forces, which they argue would benefit Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The source of this operation is a fabricated report, supposedly from DIU, addressed to Ivan Havryliuk, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defence. The document is riddled with significant errors (misspellings such as 'Yvan' instead of Ivan and 'SDR' instead of EDRPOU [Ukraines statistical business register]) and fails to meet the official standards for Ukrainian government documents." Details: DIU pointed out that this information operation is designed to discredit Ukraine and damage its relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, ultimately serving the interests of Russia, the aggressor state. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukraine signed a mineral and profit-sharing deal with the United States on Wednesday evening in Washington DC following two months of testy negotiations. The agreement will give the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraines reconstruction. Previous versions of the deal presented by Donald Trumps negotiators insisted that Ukraine pay back the aid the US had given it over the last three years of war. The latest version, according to Ukraines prime minister Denys Shmyhal, no longer makes that demand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, US president Donald Trump had claimed a rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine a crucial first step to achieving peace in the region was back on after Volodymyr Zelensky sent him a letter signalling his willingness to sign. After a series of spats between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky culminated in the deal being temporarily canned earlier and the Ukrainian leader being kicked out of the White House, the US president said in a speech to Congress that he had received an important letter seeking to end the disagreements. Quoting from the letter, he said Mr Zelensky told him that Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts, Mr Trump quoted Mr Zelensky as writing. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Trump added that Mr Zelensky said he was ready to sign the minerals deal at any. time that is convenient for you. On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department said: In recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Earlier, Ukraine had agreed to a revised deal with the US to secure support to end the war after the Trump administration dropped some of its toughest demands . Donald Trump greeted Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in Washington on Friday - the meeting did not go well (REUTERS) But a tense exchange between the two countries leaders earlier brought the negotiations crashing down again, with the Ukrainian president berated in front of cameras by Mr Trump and his second-in-command, JD Vance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The deal, which was touted as a central point of peace negotiations, was left unsigned and what can be salvaged from it remains uncertain. The US had been pushing for a deal that would grant it half of Ukraines revenues from critical minerals, oil, gas, and stakes in key infrastructure, such as ports, through a joint investment fund. A White House official said earlier that the minerals deal was a first step to lasting peace but Zelensky had overplayed his cards. Below, The Independent looks at what could be included in the deal now that it has been struck. What do we know about the deal so far? While negotiations were up in the air, it had been reported the preliminary agreement established a fund in which Ukraine would contribute 50 per cent of proceeds from the future monetisation of state-owned mineral resources such as oil and gas, which would be invested in Ukrainian projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced the news of the deal in a press release later on Wednesday, which described the agreement as a recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defence of Ukraine. As the president has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war, said Mr Bessent. This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centred on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term. The deal does not mention Ukrainian liability for past aid spent, which Mr Morezkho said on Wednesday was a victory. President Trump had previously demanded $300bn in back payments on the US contribution to the defence of Ukraine, which has in fact been about $130bn since 2022. Both countries will be equal parties in the sharing of investment and an equal share in the resources of Ukraine. The profits, for the first 10 years, for both countries, will be spent on rebuilding Ukraine infrastructure and local investment, Mr Morezkho told The Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier, the US reportedly dropped Mr Trumps initial demand for $500bn in potential revenue from Ukrainian resources, a condition which was rejected out of hand by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. I am not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay, Mr Zelensky had said. Despite this, negotiations intensified in the days that followed, and it was soon announced that a preliminary agreement had been reached and that Mr Zelensky would travel to Washington to sign the deal. Mr Trump had suggested earlier that the deal was close to completion, hinting at Mr Zelenskys upcoming visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US president announced earlier that the war-torn country was on board with his plan . We're telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths, Mr Trump said. What are Ukraines rare earths? Ukraine is sitting on one of Europes largest deposits of critical minerals, including lithium and titanium, much of which is untapped. According to the Institute of Geology, Ukraine possesses rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, used in TVs and lighting; neodymium, used in wind turbines and EV batteries; and erbium and yttrium, whose applications range from nuclear power to lasers. The EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves but detailed data is classified. Mr Zelensky has been trying to develop these resources, estimated to be worth more than 12 trillion, based on figures provided by Forbes Ukraine, for years. In 2021, he offered outside investors tax breaks and investment rights to help mine these minerals. These efforts were suspended when the full-scale invasion started a year later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anticipating the notoriously transactional Mr Trump might take an interest in this, Mr Zelensky then placed the mining of these minerals into his victory plan, which was drawn up last year. The minerals are vital for electric vehicles and other clean energy efforts, as well as defence production. Estimates based on government documents suggest that Ukraines resources are also highly varied. Foreign Policy found that Ukraine held commercially relevant deposits of 117 of the 120 most-used industrial minerals across more than 8,700 surveyed deposits. A map provided by Ukrainian group UnitedMedia 24 shows the location of critical mineral resources across the country (UnitedMedia 24) Included in that is half a million tonnes of lithium, none of which has been tapped. This makes Ukraine the largest lithium resource in Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20 per cent of global resources. The deposits are in the centre and west. It is not surprising that Mr Trump appears keen on benefiting from this, especially as China remains a key player in the mining of minerals such as titanium. But Vladimir Putins invasion has not only delayed Ukraines plans to mine these minerals, it has also led to much of these resource-rich areas being destroyed and then occupied. A little over 6 trillion of Ukraines mineral resources, which is around 53 per cent of the countrys total, are contained in the four regions Mr Putin illegally annexed in September 2022, and of which his army occupies a considerable swathe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That includes Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, though Kherson holds little value in terms of minerals. The Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed and occupied by Mr Putins forces in 2014, also holds roughly 165bn worth of minerals. The region of Dnipropetrovsk, which borders the largely occupied regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, and sits in the face of an advancing Russian army, contains an additional 2.8 trillion in mineral resources. Russian difficulties with major military operations seem likely to preclude a serious attempt to take the region but mining operations in the area would be perilous with Moscows soldiers so close. File. An aerial view shows a dragline excavator operating in an open-pit titanium mine in the Zhytomyr region, on 28 February 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. -- The United States and Ukraine on 30 April 2025 signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped (AFP via Getty Images) Other ores are well within the sites of Russias forces. One lithium ore on the outskirts of a settlement called Shevchenko in Donetsk is less than 10 miles from the town of Velyka Novosilka, recently captured by Mr Putins troops. However, while Ukraine has a highly qualified and relatively inexpensive labour force and developed infrastructure, investors highlight a number of barriers to investment. These include inefficient and complex regulatory processes as well as difficulty accessing geological data and obtaining land plots. Such projects would take years to develop and require considerable up-front investment, they said. What happens next? After signing the deal, Mr Bessent said in a statement: To be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine. The New York Times reported that the final US-Ukraine minerals deal does not include any guarantees of future US security assistance, which the US rejected early in talks. Despite the celebratory tone, the agreement, the outlet reported, may prove largely symbolic if the war with Russia continues. The Treasury Department said that the US International Development Finance Corporation will collaborate with Ukraine to finalise the agreements details. Ukraines prime minister said in a post on Telegram that both countries will have equal voting rights in the fund, Ukraine will keep full control over its resources and infrastructure, and all profits will be reinvested in Ukraine. Thanks to this agreement, we will be able to attract significant resources for reconstruction, start economic growth, and receive the latest technologies from partners and a strategic investor in the United States, Mr Shmyhal said in the post. Key developments on March 1 - 2: Europe developing 'coalition of the willing' to back ceasefire in Ukraine, Starmer says UK to provide $2.8 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets Macron, Starmer working to pacify Zelensky-Trump relations 'because what is at stake is too important' U.K. to provide Ukraine with $2 billion for air defense Top US officials, lawmakers lambast Zelensky over White House clash with Trump Kremlin says perceived US foreign policy shift aligns with its 'vision' U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on March 2 that a number of European nations, including the U.K. and France, are developing a 'coalition of the willing' that will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to negotiate a successful ceasefire in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer added that for any coalition to succeed, Europe must "have strong U.S. backing." "(European allies) will go forth to develop a 'coalition of the willing' to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace," Starmer said during a press conference following a European leaders summit in London. "Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that can't mean we sit back. Instead those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency." "The U.K is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Together with others, Europe must do the heavy lifting," Starmer said. "This is not a moment for more talk... If you want to preserve the peace, you have to defend the peace." Starmer is hosting President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders in London to discuss how to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace. The summit is even more crucial now after a fallout between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.K. and France have spearheaded the idea of deploying European peacekeepers in Ukraine to monitor a potential ceasefire. French President Emmanuel Macron and Starmer appealed to Trump to remain involved in maintaining a post-war order, but they failed to receive any concrete commitments as the new U.S. administration expects Europe to take responsibility for Ukraine's security. Starmer said that he spoke to Trump on March 1 to deliver plans of the proposed coalition, and added that the proposed coalition will succeed on the basis that Europe work "with the U.S. and that it will have U.S. backing." Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support Us Starmer did not specify which other countries would participate in the coalition, but added that "a number of countries have indicated they want to be part of the plan we're developing." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The purpose of today's meeting was to unite our partners around this effort. To strengthen Ukraine, and unsure a just and enduring peace for the good of all of us," Starmer added. "We have to learn from the mistakes of the past. We cannot accept a deal like Minsk which Russia can break with ease." While most European leaders publicly voiced support for Zelensky after his spat with Trump, Starmer called both the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders in an attempt to bridge the rift. The prime minister reportedly aims to tell Zelensky that fixing relations with Trump would be necessary to ensure lasting peace. The British prime minister and Macron, who visited Washington earlier this week, are seeking to mend the ties between Kyiv and the U.S. and present a united front on Ukraine and Russia. European leaders had previously been sidelined from talks between the U.S. and Russia concerned that neither the EU nor Kyiv will have a role in negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Once in a generation moment Zelensky, Ukraines partners gather for key London summit after White House fallout UK to provide $2.8 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets The United Kingdom signed an agreement with Kyiv on March 1 to provide Ukraine with a loan worth 2.26 billion pounds ($2.84 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets. The loan, which is part of the Group of Seven's (G7) Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) credit initiative, was signed amid Zelensky's visit to London to meet with Starmer. "The United Kingdom continues to stand in defense of Ukraine. Today's agreement, which contributes to strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, confirms this," Ukraine's Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The loan will go towards "purchasing defense equipment according to Ukraine's needs," the Finance Ministry said. In October 2024, G7 countries came to an agreement that pledged to provide Ukraine with almost $50 billion loan. The United States will contribute the bulk of the loan with $20 billion in assistance. The U.S. is closely followed by European Union countries, including France, Germany, and Italy, with a combined $19.4 billion. The remaining approximately $10 billion will be divvied up with Canada providing $3.7 billion, Japan providing $3.07 billion, and the U.K. providing $2.8 billion in loan funding. Under the G7 ERA initiative, Ukraine had previously received $1 billion from the U.S. and $3.1 billion from the EU. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Western countries have frozen $300 billion in Russian assets, they can only access the annual income generated by these funds, approximately $3.2 billion. These profits will back the $50-billion loan to Kyiv, while the vast majority of the assets are frozen in European countries. In January, Zelensky and Starmer signed a 100-year partnership agreement during their meeting in Kyiv on Jan. 16. The wide-ranging deal encompasses cooperation in military, energy, scientific, cultural, economic, and other sectors. Earlier in the day, Starmer, in line with European allies, reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine and Zelensky. "We stand with Ukraine for as long as it may take," Starmer told reporters at a press briefing alongside Zelensky, adding that Ukraine has "full backing across the United Kingdom." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: We stand with Ukraine Starmer reaffirms support for Ukraine during meeting with Zelensky Macron, Starmer working to pacify Zelensky-Trump relations 'because what is at stake is too important' Starmer and Macron are working behind the scenes to pacify relations between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Volodymyr Zelensky following their public spat on Feb. 28. Macron has spoken with both Zelensky and Trump privately, telling La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published on March 1 that he took the initiative to mediate because "what is at stake is too important." "The manifest destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about it. What the United States has done over the past three years is entirely consistent with its diplomatic and military tradition," Macron said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I want to make the Americans understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interest." Macron also cautioned against signing a peace deal without any security guarantees for Ukraine, adding that "geostrategic deterrence capacity with regard to Russia, China and others, would vanish the same day ." If Russia's full-scale war of aggression is not stopped in Ukraine, it will "surely go to Moldova" and "perhaps beyond to Romania," the French president added. Both the U.K. and France have supported the idea of deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of the country's security guarantees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Italy, UK can help mediate Zelensky-Trump dispute, Meloni says U.K. to provide Ukraine with $2 billion for air defense Starmer announced on March 2 that the U.K. had reached an agreement with Kyiv to provide Ukraine with 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) for the purchase of 5,000 air defense missiles. Starmer said that the deal would be conducted through export financing, with the missiles being produced in Belfast, Northern Ireland. "This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthening Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes," Starmer said. The deal, which Starmer announced during a press conference following the conclusion of a European leaders' summit in London, follows a separate commitment announced on March 1 that would provide a $2.8 billion loan backed by frozen Russian assets. Ukraine has long been calling for allies to provide additional funding for Ukraine's air defense needs as Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian cities with missile and drone attacks. Read also: Starmer aims to bridge Trump-Zelensky rift as US expects apology, Bloomberg reports Top US officials, lawmakers lambast Zelensky over White House clash with Trump A number of U.S. officials and Republican lawmakers are continuing their criticism of Zelensky, with some suggesting that Zelensky may have to resign, following the president's heated exchange at the White House with Trump on Feb. 28. During an interview with NBC News on March 2, House Speaker Mike Johnson took aim at Zelensky suggesting he "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country." "What President Zelensky did in the White House was effectively a signal to us that hes not ready for (peace talks), and I think thats a great disappointment," Johnson said. Johnson's remarks fall in line with Senator Lindsey Graham formerly a staunch supporter of Ukraine who said on Feb. 28 that Zelensky "is either going to have to fundamentally change or go." Zelensky rebuked calls for his resignation from Republican lawmakers following the exchange, saying on Fox News that "only Ukrainians vote for their president." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has defended Trump since the incident, also criticized Zelensky in separate interview with ABC News on March 2, stating that the United States will "be ready to reengage when theyre ready to make peace." Rubio added that he has not spoken to Zelensky or members of the Ukrainian delegation since they were ordered to leave the White House. Rubio's comments echo those of Trump who told reporters following the spat that the Ukrainian president was "looking for something that I'm not looking for" and again asserted that Zelenskyy wanted to "fight, fight, fight." Zelensky pushed back on Trump's comments during his interview asserting that Ukraine is "ready for peace but we need to be in a good position." "We want peace... that's why I visited President Trump," Zelensky added. White House national security advisor Mike Waltz also criticized Zelensky on March 2, stating that "We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war." When asked if Trump wanted Zelensky to resign, Waltz declined to directly answer the question, responding that "If it becomes apparent that President Zelenskyys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands." Waltz, in a comment to far-right media outlet Breitbart News on March 1, compared Zelensky to "an ex-girlfriend that wants to argue everything that you said." Kremlin says perceived US foreign policy shift aligns with its 'vision' The Kremlin has praised what it perceives as the U.S.'s foreign policy shift, claiming on March 2 that it "aligns" with its "vision" after Trump's public dispute with Zelensky. "The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in comments published by state-controlled media. "There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, President (Vladimir) Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also praised Trump, calling him a "pragmatist" and adding that "that's what makes him interesting," state-controlled media reported on March 2. Lavrov claimed that the Trump administration's so-called common sense approach dictates "stepping aside" from aiding Ukraine. Trump, echoing Kremlin rhetoric on the war in Ukraine, said at the end of February the country should "forget" about joining NATO, which the country sees as a security guarantee against a future Russian invasion. Russia has repeatedly presented NATO expansion as a "justification" for the war. Overlooking the challenges of holding elections in a war zone, Trump on Feb. 19 called Zelensky a "dictator"a remark he later claimed he did not remember making. The U.S. also voted alongside Russia on Feb. 24 against a U.N. resolution that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Read also: Ill need more ammo Ukraines soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A recently announced UK aid package worth nearly 2 billion will enable Ukraines Armed Forces to receive launchers and over 5,000 LMM (Lightweight Multirole Missile) interceptor missiles to destroy attack drones. However, production is anticipated for the future. Source: Defence Minister Rustem Umierov on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda Details: The record-breaking UK initiative to strengthen Ukraines air defence was announced at a press conference in London by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, although he did not specify the exact weapons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Umierov, who is a member of the Ukrainian delegation in London, has clarified that under this initiative, Ukraine will receive over 5,000 LMM RapidRanger interceptor missiles along with launchers. Quote: "LMMs are high-precision interceptor missiles that effectively destroy Shahed drones. They have already proven their effectiveness in combat from 2022 to 2024." Details: Umierov emphasised, however, that this is not an immediate delivery but rather a long-term effort to strengthen Ukraines air defence. Quote: "This agreement is one of the largest in Ukraines history in the field of security and defence. The 1.6 billion (2 billion) project is aimed at strengthening Ukraines air defence until 2030." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More details: The project to produce these weapons and missiles will be jointly implemented by the British company Thales, Ukrainian businesses and the UK government, the minister added. Quote: "In addition to providing weapons, the intergovernmental agreement involves local production and technology transfer, which will increase our strategic independence in air defence." Background: The UK earlier announced 1.6 billion in funding for Ukraine to purchase air defence missiles. In addition, the UK has confirmed its readiness to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine, ensuring "boots on the ground and planes in the air". Keir Starmer also said he is confident that the US can be brought back to the negotiating table despite tensions with Zelenskyy. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by several International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff members as a result of Russian blackmail. For the first time, the rotation of these employees at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant took place without Ukraine's approval. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Details: Ukraine has sent a note of protest to the IAEA leadership, though holding Russia fully responsible for these actions. The ministry stated that Russia is "creating artificial obstacles for the operation of international organisations in Ukraine, forcing them to violate Ukrainian law". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was specified that Russia refused to provide security guarantees for IAEA staff if they travelled through Ukrainian-controlled territory, thereby "forcing the Agency to accept Russian conditions". The ministry described the IAEA rotation as a "humanitarian evacuation under conditions of threats to life and health". Quote: "Ukraine has sent a note of protest to the IAEA leadership, condemning the violation of our state's sovereignty and territorial integrity and warning against any similar actions in the future. The Ukrainian side will also raise the issue of Russia's unprecedented blackmail at the upcoming meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Background: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom reported a new rotation of IAEA experts arriving at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which for the first time took place via Russian-occupied territory without Ukraines approval. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraines Ambassador to Poland, has described as unacceptable the remarks made by Polish MP and former Minister of Education Przemysaw Czarnek, who said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had behaved like a fool in the White House. Source: Bodnar on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda Details: The ambassador stressed that the statements by Polish Sejm MP Przemysaw Czarnek, which contained value judgments about Ukraine and its president, were absolutely unacceptable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "This rhetoric contradicts Poland's official position, the spirit of strategic partnership, and solidarity, while echoing Russian aggressor narratives and deliberately undermining the security of Poland and Europe. Ukrainians are exercising their inalienable right to an independent state, defending their European choice, democratic values and national identity." More details: The ambassadors reaction was prompted by comments made by Czarnek regarding Zelenskyys dispute with Donald Trump and JD Vance in the White House. "There were emotions involved. That is quite obvious. But a person like the president of Ukraine, travelling to the United States, to Washington, asking for further aid, without which Ukraine cannot remain independent, should be aware of where they are going and should behave like everyone else," Czarnek said during a conference for Polish presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Can you imagine the president of the Republic of Poland going to America and saying, 'I demand more American troops because otherwise America will be in danger'? We would call him a fool. That is exactly how (Zelenskyy ed.) unfortunately behaved, and there is no need to exaggerate this is exactly how the president of Ukraine acted," he added. Background: On Friday, 28 February an altercation took place in the Oval Office between the Presidents of Ukraine and the US, as well as Vice President JD Vance. Trump, among other things, accused Zelenskyy of "gambling with World War III". European leaders and EU officials publicly expressed their support for Ukraine following the clash between Zelenskyy and Trump in the Oval Office. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Ukraines army is finding some rare success along the eastern front, reclaiming key positions and inflicting unsustainable losses on Russian forces, according to battlefield reports. While the front-line axis has not changed significantly, Ukrainian forces have advanced against Russian troops close to the major eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, according to new reports. The Ukrainian armed forces are actively advancing in Toretsk, reclaiming key positions, said one war blogger closely observing the front lines. There are reports of complete encirclement of Russian occupiers in several areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Toretsk provides a vital link for Ukraine to logistics bases in Kostiantynivka, north-west of the city. The attacks are reportedly being conducted with US-donated armoured vehicles. Counter-attacks are also being conducted near Pokrovsk a key city for Ukrainian defences. Russia has been moving towards the city for the past year, and has advanced 40km (25 miles) west since February 2024. Last week, Ukraine announced a successful counter-attack to retake the settlement of Kotlyne, near Pokrovsk. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said: The year-long Russian effort to seize Pokrovsk has so far failed. Members of the Lyut joint assault brigade await orders on the Toretsk front line in the Donbas region - Maria Senovilla/Shutterstock Meanwhile, Russian military bloggers accounts which are often cited as sources of information in lieu of official commentary from the Kremlin reported that the Kremlins troops had lost ground in Uspenivka in Donetsk Oblast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ISW also said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were now inflicting unsustainable losses on Russian forces and holding them to marginal gains. DeepState, a Ukrainian war-tracking blog, also said that Russian troops occupied 192 sq km of Ukrainian territory in February, marking a decline compared to previous months. Despite losing momentum, with the pace of advance now comparable to last July, the enemy continues to suffer heavy manpower losses, DeepState said. The enemys activity has decreased, although it has not ceased entirely. Russian military bloggers report that the Kremlins troops have lost ground in Uspenivka in Donetsk Oblast - Anadolu Praise for the counter-attacks is being lauded upon Gen Myhailo Drapatyi, Ukraines ground forces chief, who also recently took command of fighting in the eastern Donbas region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 42-year-old commander is considered part of a new generation of younger Ukrainian general officers who have fought against Russian forces since 2014. Olena Mokrenchuk, the press officer of the Ukrainian armed forces, said previously that Gen Drapatyis strategies were always unexpected and unconventional, but meticulously calculated. Hes very effective. I believe that under his command, well be able to push the Russians back, she told Ukrainian broadcaster, Espreso TV. Toretsk provides a vital link for Ukraine to logistics bases in Kostiantynivka north-west of the city - Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade/Shutterstock In December 2024, Gen Drapatyi announced an ambitious transformation plan aimed at improving Ukraines position on the battlefield, including reforming training and providing Ukrainian soldiers with a technological edge over their enemy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, were building an army of the future an army that will defeat the enemy and overcome every obstacle on the way of transformation, Gen Drapatyi said. However, Moscow is still gaining ground. On Saturday, it said it had seized two villages in eastern Ukraine, Skudne and Burlatske, in the south of the eastern Donetsk region. DeepState also reported that Russia had advanced near Burlatske, Andriivka, Pryvilne, Sverdlikove and Mykolaivo-Daryne in the past few days. On Sunday, Russia conducted strikes on gas processing facilities used by the Ukrainian defence force. The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in its operational update on Friday that the army was involved in 60 combat engagements. Moscow seized two more villages in eastern Ukraine, Skudne and Burlatske, in the south of the eastern Donetsk region - Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade/Shutterstock The intense fighting comes as senior US officials have warned that Donald Trump may cut all aid to Ukraine, including any final aid shipments that Joe Biden, the former US president, approved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Writing about Ukraines recent gains and its army inflicting unsustainable losses on Russia, the ISW said: This situation, combined with the severe challenges Russia will face in 2025, offers the United States great leverage in peace negotiations. Ukrainian forces have leveraged US-supplied military systems including Patriot air-defence systems, Himars and Atacms long-range strike systems to defend against nightly Russian drone and missile strikes and improve its strike capabilities. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. NDRF Commander Sudesh Kumar stated that NDRF personnel are working alongside the Indian Air Force to enhance the search operation following the avalanche in the Chamoli district on February 28. Speaking to ANI, NDRF Commandment Sudesh Kumar said, "NDRF personnel are accompanying the Air Force to further the search operation. We have also sent dog squads and some equipment that detects objects buried under the snow. ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, Air Force, Army--all are cooperating in this rescue operation." While, DM Chamoli Sandeep Tiwari said, "The rescue started at 7 am today, and the weather is clear. 7 choppers of the Army and Air Force were indulged in the rescue operation...and we have deployed proper equipment along with sniffer dog squads to Mana for the search and rescue operation..." In a recent update, the body of one more missing person had been recovered by the Army on Sunday. With this, the death toll in the avalanche has gone up to five, and rescuers are continuing efforts to trace the remaining three missing individuals. The body recovered today is being brought to Mana post as per PRO (Defence), Dehradun. Army PRO Lt Col Manish Srivastava said on Sunday that senior army officials are closely monitoring the rescue operation He further stated, "Our army doctors are successfully treating the injured, and if necessary, they will be shifted to higher medical facilities. Senior officials from the army are closely monitoring the operation." Brigade GSO 1 Lt Col Devendra confirmed on Sunday that 46 people are receiving treatment at Joshimath Army Hospital. Four individuals were confirmed dead, and one critically injured worker was airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh for further treatment. He mentioned that BRO officials will release the names of the deceased soon. According to Indian Air Force officials, a Mi-17 helicopter will airlift the drone-based Intelligent Buried Object detection system for search operations on Sunday in the avalanche-affected areas in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. IAF Cheetah helicopters have been engaged in rescue operations in the Mana area of Chamoli since Saturday in the avalanche that happened at the BRO camp near Mana village in Joshimath on February 28. A team of SDRF left with a victim locating and thermal image camera on Sunday to search for the remaining workers trapped in the avalanche. As per the instructions of the Inspector General of Police, SDRF Ridhim Agarwal, an expert team of SDRF has been sent to the site of the incident via helicopter from Sahastradhara with a Victim Locating Camera (V.L.C) and Thermal Image Camera to search for the workers missing during the avalanche in Mana. The search will be carried out with the help of these equipment (Victim Locating Camera (V.L.C) and Thermal Image Camera). (ANI) Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect more accurate information on where the flags were hung. DENVER (KDVR) Hundreds peacefully protested the impacts to the National Park Service outside the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center at Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday. Some of the protestors hung upside-down American flags from Eagle Cliff, which is just inside the park boundaries. Colorado advocates say impacts of National Park Service layoffs will be visceral Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An upside-down American flag has been a form of protest for decades, according to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. A similar act was reported at El Capitan in Yosemite National Park earlier this week, and on Friday, an upside-down American flag was also hung from the 2nd flatiron. Its far from the first protest regarding federal layoffs, which have been determined under Executive Order 14210: The Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative. Local advocates with the National Parks Conservation Association told FOX31 on Friday that the NFS was given the green light to continue its seasonal hiring, but many positions were still eliminated at Colorado parks. It means shorter visitors hours, delayed openings, closed campgrounds, maintenance needs are going to pile up, trash will pile up. Its going to be visceral, said Tracy Coppola, the National Parks Conservation Associations Colorado senior program manager. Coppola also said that in 2023, gateway communities saw almost $800 million in spending from the approximately 7.3 million park visitors who come to Colorado. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its still unclear how many employees have been or will be fired. One group of nearly 500 outdoor-industry organizations said in a letter to Congress that between the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service and the National Park Service, approximately 5,700 people have lost their jobs. Saturdays protests were organized across the nation by Resistance Rangers, a group of over 700 off-duty park rangers who were illegally fired on 2/14, and seasonal rangers whose jobs were rescinded. All of this support has brought tears to my eyesand I know my fellow rangers are feeling the same way. Its been scary and overwhelming to go into work everyday and not know if we can uphold our mission statement and protect public lands. The first time Ive felt empowered again is when we asked people to show up in support, and not only did they, but they did it beyond our wildest imagination. Public lands are the heartbeat of what it means to be an American. To protect public lands is to stand up for who we are, and who we want to be, an organizer of the group said in a provided statement. A FOX31 viewer who was at the Estes Park protest shared photos from the event. (Courtesy photo) A FOX31 viewer who was at the Estes Park protest shared photos from the event. (Courtesy photo) A FOX31 viewer who was at the Estes Park protest shared photos from the event. (Courtesy photo) This was what greeted snowmobilers Saturday morning in the Dry Lake Trailhead parking lot at Buffalo Pass, just outside of Steamboat Springs in Routt County. Witnesses said US Forest Service staff was there and saw the signs, which were gone before noon. (Courtesy photo) Other protests found Saturday were not in-person: The sign board for the Dry Lake Trailhead parking lot at Buffalo Pass greeted snowmobilers with a number of for sale signs, and a central sign encouraging citizens to call their representatives and Keep public lands public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses told Shannon Lukens, of Steamboat Radio, that U.S. Forest Service staff was there and saw the signs, which were gone before noon on Saturday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Is this bananas? A simple travel mistake will likely cost one man a lot. Dylan OByrne, a New Jersey native who resides in Nashville, was returning from a trip in Southeast Asia when he accidentally skirted customs regulations by bringing in an unsuspecting yet prohibited item. His flight from Singapore landed at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, where he went through customs and was asked if he had any items to declare. At the time, he said no. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I never buy anything on trips maybe like a trinket or two for friends but not anything I would need to declare and we go on through, he said in a viral TikTok video with over 828,000 views. Then, they went to baggage claim. OByrne and his parents were tired and thrilled to be back in the States, only to be stopped by Border Patrol agents while trying to call an Uber. OByrne recalled the police dogs sniffing around his luggage and the officers asking if he brought back anything prohibited. After the familys adamant denial, the dog sat next to OByrnes bag. Im like, What could this dog have possibly found?' he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A banana. OByrne revealed the customs culprit: a banana. Tiktok/@dylanobyrne He claimed he forgot it was in his bag after he took it from an airport lounge. Tiktok/@dylanobyrne The officer didnt need to search hard for the smuggled fruit it was sitting right on top of OByrnes bag. He forgot that he snagged the banana in the airport lounge during his layover in Germany to save as a snack. The Border Patrol agents confirmed it was his before scanning his passport and informing him that he would likely face a penalty. I am like, Are they serious? Theyre joking, right?' OByrne said. Nope, theyre not joking. I looked into it, and even a banana can get you banned from Global Entry and a $500 fine, he added. At the date of posting last month, OByrne did not know whether he would actually face a punishment for bringing the prohibited item into the US. The Post has contacted him for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was rightfully flabbergasted. I know what can and cant be brought across borders Ive traveled my entire life, visited over 20 countries, and explored all 50 states thoroughly. But the way this was handled struck me as odd, he told Newsweek. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the US prohibits most agricultural products from entering the country due to the risk of pests and diseases that could impact the environment in the States. US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Anthony Bucci told the publication that, while the agency cannot discuss the details of individuals inspections, all agricultural items must be declared and prohibited items are confiscated. More importantly, civil penalties may be assessed for failure to declare prohibited agricultural products and may range up to $1,000 per first-time offense for noncommercial quantities, Bucci said. If the items are determined to be for commercial use, violations will be assessed at a much-higher rate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the CBP website, what fruits and vegetables are allowed into the US depends on a number of factors, citing an instance in the 1980s when one piece of contaminated fruit brought back to the US spread a fruit fly outbreak that cost millions in clean-up. The site also warns travelers that failure to declare agricultural items will result in a $300 fine for first-time offenders, while a second violation will receive a penalty of $500. He could now face a fine for his travel mishap. Instagram/dylanob1 Sometimes you travel for 42 hours, sleep less than 6, and you forget, OByrne said in the comments. TikTokers were quick to inform him that it is, in fact, a serious violation, while others said they could totally see how this could happen by innocently snagging a piece of fruit at the airport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc., can carry bugs or diseases that can impact our agriculture, one person commented. Almost like [they] tell you 100 times not to bring fruit before you even land, another chimed in. This just happened to a friend of mine for an orange, someone else said, claiming that the person paid $1,000 in fines. If you are the type of person who cant remember what they have or what is/isnt allowed just always declare, one user warned. You can declare snacks and then they will ask follow up questions and check your bag. But OByrne called on lawmakers and regulators to take into account the distinction between an honest mistake and an intentional attempt to circumvent border regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The laws that protect our borders are crucial, but so is applying them with fairness and discretion, he told Newsweek. I completely respect the need for border security, but I also hope theres room for common sense in how penalties are applied. Laws meant to protect our nation should focus on real threats, not travelers who make a minor, unintentional error after 40 hours in transit. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to suspend offensive cyber and information operations against Russia, according to a report by the Record. The decision aligns with President Donald Trumps efforts to negotiate an end to Russias war in Ukraine under terms that critics argue favor Moscow. Two U.S. officials familiar with the directive told the Washington Post that the pause will remain in effect while diplomatic discussions continue. Cybersecurity experts warn that the move benefits one of America's most persistent cyber adversaries, potentially weakening U.S. leverage in both cyber and conventional military operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps broader approach to Russia has raised concerns among U.S. allies. While negotiations with Moscow unfold, European leaders are ramping up their own defense measures to support Ukraine. Meanwhile, intelligence officials emphasize the risks of halting cyber operations against Russia, which remains one of the most active cyber threats to U.S. security. Read also: Ukrainian intelligence hackers disrupt Russias Gazprombank, source says The pause includes operations that typically expose or disrupt Russian malware before it can be deployed against American systems. A former senior defense official told the Record that suspending these efforts, even temporarily, could allow Russian hackers to regroup and strengthen their offensive capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order from Hegseth contradicts the administrations stated intent to adopt a more aggressive cyber posture against U.S. adversaries. National security adviser Michael Waltz previously suggested a shift toward stronger cyber deterrence, particularly against China and Iran, but omitted Russia from his comments. At a recent United Nations cyber meeting, a State Department official highlighted cyber threats from China but made no mention of Russian-backed ransomware groups, which have targeted critical U.S. infrastructure, including fuel pipelines and hospitals. Read also: As long as Russia is advancing, the war will continue military analyst Rob Lee on what awaits Ukraine in 2025 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The United States issued a stern warning to the Nicolas Maduro regime on Saturday following reports that a Venezuelan patrol boat entered into Guyanaese waters, threatening ExxonMobils offshore operations. Venezuelan naval vessels threatening ExxonMobils floating production, storage and offloading unit is unacceptable and a clear violation of Guyanas internationally recognized maritime territory, the State Departments Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said in its X account. Further provocation will result in consequences for the Maduro regime. The United States reaffirms its support for Guyanas territorial integrity. Earlier on Saturday, Guyanas President Irfaan Ali denounced the presence of the Venezuelan military vessel near the oil block run by ExxonMobil in the Essequibo, a Florida-sized region claimed by both countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking in a televised address, Ali said that his government had notified all of its international allies, including the United States. This incursion is a matter of grave concern, the president said. Guyanas maritime boundaries are recognized under international law. This is a serious development concerning our nations maritime territory. We will not tolerate threats to territorial integrity. In a statement released on Facebook, Ali added that during the incursion, the Venezuelan vessel approached several assets in our exclusive waters. Tensions between the two South American nations over the disputed mineral-rich region goes back for more than a century but intensified following a referendum held in December 2023, in which Maduro asked Venezuelans to grant him special powers to invade the neighboring country to take over the Essequibo by force if necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite clear evidence that the regime had tampered with the elections results, Maduro claimed that he got the approval from 98% of voters. All throughout the following year, Maduro sought to keep the issue alive in Venezuela through repeated TV spots asserting that the regime would not yield Venezuelas claim over the Essequibo region, which has been under Guyanese control since 1899. Maduro also issued laws declaring the region as the countrys newest state and boosted Venezuelas military presence near the border. The Essequibo contains six of the 10 regions that make up Guyana and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 inhabitants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saturdays events follows an incident occurring on Feb. 17, when the Guyana Defence Force reported that six of its soldiers were injured in an ambush on a supply transport carried out by alleged members of a Venezuelan criminal gang. The Caracas regime labeled the incident a vile frame-up. The Trump administrations decision to end almost all foreign aid spending from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is poised to plunge global health into chaos. The contract terminations announced Wednesday will end grants for HIV treatments and prevention, tuberculosis, polio, malaria, Ebola and numerous other diseases and conditions. Nutrition assistance programs for infants in developing countries have also been halted, organizations said. Nearly 5,800 projects funded by USAID have been terminated, ending the hope that contracts previously frozen might have been restarted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This reckless and unilateral move will cost millions of lives around the world, said the Global Health Council, an alliance of nonprofit organizations and companies that receive U.S. foreign aid funding, in a statement. With the stroke of a pen, the U.S. government has gutted decades of progress in global health, development, and humanitarian aid without due process, transparency, or good faith consideration of the consequences, the council said. The Global Health Council is one of the nonprofits that have challenged a freeze on foreign aid. Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration suspended nearly all foreign assistance, saying the funds needed to undergo a 90-day review to ensure compliance with the administrations policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The freeze led to thousands of humanitarian workers losing their jobs and life-threatening delays in food and medicine to impoverished areas around the world. A few days later, the State Department issued stop work orders on foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and USAID, including existing awards. The stop-work orders came without warning, sowing immediate chaos and confusion. The State Department then issued waivers to allow certain lifesaving programs, including the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to continue. But the waivers were unevenly applied, and organizations granted waivers said they still werent being paid. International health groups said they were under the impression the waivers would continue to apply through the 90-day review period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chaos and confusion of the last four weeks we thought had reached a fever pitch but what happened [Wednesday] night takes this to a new dimension. Every project imaginable in HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, nutritional support, has now been terminated, said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC, an international nonprofit focused on HIV prevention and one of the plaintiffs in the effort to unfreeze funding. The only strategy the administration seems to have is to sow chaos and confusion. Theres no effort to look at what aligns with foreign policy, diplomacy, partnerships. And no strategy to prepare for public health threats, Warren said. But on Wednesday night, the administration said it had concluded a a good-faith, individualized assessment of USAIDs 6,300 grants in less than a month. Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio has now made a final decision with respect to each award, on an individualized basis, affirmatively electing to either retain the award or terminate it pursuant to the terms of the instrument or independent legal authority as inconsistent with the national interests and foreign policy of the United States, the administration said in a court filing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The State Department has said the agency spared critical awards for lifesaving medical treatment, including those that had been operating under a waiver from the earlier funding freeze, but health groups say that is not the case. For instance, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation said three of its primary USAID agreements, which had received approval to resume limited work under the State Departments waiver for lifesaving work, were terminated. The projects supported more than 350,000 people on HIV treatment, including nearly 10,000 children and more than 10,000 HIV-positive pregnant people in Lesotho, Eswatini, and Tanzania. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said 46 of its USAID and State Department programs were canceled, including funding for operating nutrition assistance centers, which help severely malnourished children. Those had been operating under a waiver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Joint United Nations HIV/AIDS program said its U.S. government funding was also terminated. Global health experts said the effects of the cuts will be disastrous, both in terms of health and for how the U.S. is seen throughout the rest of the world. If a person with HIV stops taking the medication, the virus is no longer suppressed and can multiply, leading to weakened immune systems, illness and then potential spread to others. For malaria, the cuts mean programs that supplied mosquito nets for cribs wont continue, which means fewer babies protected from malaria. That increases malaria infections, which then can increase deaths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its just a cascading effect on almost every level that ultimately leads to more people being ill, more people dying, and ultimately more costs associated with running these programs and caring for these people, said Jirair Ratevosian, a fellow at Duke Universitys Global Health Institute who worked as a chief of staff for the PEPFAR program. So its counterintuitive to what were trying to do. Jen Kates, a senior vice president and director of the Global Health & HIV Policy Program at KFF, said the terminations could set back years of health progress that the U.S. and others have been working toward in developing countries. The U.S., frankly, has been one of the main forces behind health achievements in low- and middle-income countries. So a lot of money was provided to make these gains, and they could be set back, Kates said. The extent of the damage is not known yet, but I think in a lot of cases it might be hard to recover easily, even with the replacement funds at some point in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO of the aid group Alight, said she had to terminate programs for millions of displaced people in Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan. Wyatt said Alight was the largest health provider in Sudan, serving 2.1 million people. They operated under a waiver during the earlier funding freeze, but this week had to close 33 health clinics in the country. In Somalia, the group had to close 13 health centers, as well as a mobile clinic. In Sudan, it had to stop water and sanitation services and close three camps for displaced people and refugees. Were working in very remote regions. Humanitarian assistance was already very scarce. There were not a lot of services before, and now theres none, Wyatt said. These are lifesaving services. Theres no alternative, and people will die. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A proposal to restrict zoning and require compensation for downzoning in newly incorporated areas is drawing the attention of some of the people behind the push to incorporate part of the Ogden Valley. "This would create so many problems that are so unsolvable," said Brandi Hammon, who promoted the ballot question last November to turn the expanse around Eden, Wolf Creek and Liberty east of the Wasatch Back in Weber County into a new city. The incorporation measure passed by a wide margin, and the city is to formally come into being next January. Sen. Calvin Musselman, the sponsor of SB322, though, isn't looking for immediate action on the proposal, meant to address downzoning, or implementation of zoning changes imposing new restrictions on land use. Rather, he introduced the bill so the topic could get attention during the legislative interim later this year. "I don't want this bill passed. I just want it to get to interim," he said at a meeting Thursday of the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials ended up taking no action on the proposal, but its introduction earlier this week sparked a strong response from Ogden Valley incorporation proponents. Hammon worries the proposed change could hamper leaders of the new city, to be elected later this year, as they're trying to get the new locale up and running. A message Wednesday on the Facebook page of the group that spearheaded the incorporation drive, Ogden Valley Incorporation, blasted the legislation and called on Ogden Valley residents to reach out to their representatives to voice opposition. "These new rules DO NOT apply to the county or to other cities who make zoning changes just our new city. SB322 is a blatant attempt to hobble our new city government," reads the text of a message Ogden Valley Incorporation is calling on city boosters to send to lawmakers. Musselman didn't respond to a query seeking comment, but SB322, as written, would prohibit downzoning for at least a year after an unincorporated area is annexed into a city. It would also require a city to compensate a property owner whose property loses value due to downzoning after incorporation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Incorporation boosters touted incorporation of the Ogden Valley as a way of helping assure local control amid increasing development and growth pressures. The area is home to three ski resorts and Pineview Reservoir and is an increasingly popular getaway draw. But Hammon said downzoning hasn't been an intent of those who promoted incorporation. As is, the Weber County Commission governs the Ogden Valley area to be incorporated until the new city formally materializes in January 2026. "We're not looking at it at all because it's not our intention," Hammon said. At any rate, given the year-plus period between last Novembers annexation vote and formation of the city next January, developers already have time to develop their land before incorporation becomes official. So many variables figure in determining the potential loss of a parcels value due to downzoning, meantime, that such a task is incredibly difficult, she said, not that downsizing is contemplated. In the early morning hours of March 4, 2022, Kouri Richins says she found her husband Eric unresponsive in their bed. She said his death was an accident, but a year later she was arrested and charged with murder. The circumstances surrounding Eric Richins' death are investigated in "The People v. Kouri Richins," reported by contributor Natalie Morales. Kouri's family says she lost more than just the father of her three young sons and husband of nine years. She also lost a huge business deal worth millions. Kouri owned a real estate business specializing in buying and flipping houses for a profit. Her mother Lisa Darden says it was a constant rotation of new projects, and at any one time Kouri could be working on three different properties, "I would say on average." Darden had watched Kouri build the business from the ground up and says Kouri was proud of her success. Greg Hall was her friend and marketing director. He says the reason for Kouri's success was that she had something that a lot of people don't. "A lot of times you find an individual that is intelligent, but no common sense or common sense and no intelligence. She had both. She was a brilliant young lady," said Hall. Eric and Kouri Richins / Credit: Skye Lazaro Before Eric died, Darden says Kouri was working on the biggest house-flipping deal of her career. The project was a 10-acre estate in Heber City, Utah, not far from the famed Park City ski resort. It was prime real estate. "I think this was kind of her dream when she got into this idea of flipping houses was to be able to do properties like this," Kouri's attorney, Skye Lazaro, told Morales as they toured the property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 20,000-square-foot mansion and its 4,000-square-foot guesthouse were originally built in 2017 but never finished. Kouri discovered the abandoned project in 2019 and made an offer on it along with a group of investors for $3.9 million. According to Lazaro, Kouri's plan with the property was to "turn it into a recreational hotspot, given this is probably one of the most beautiful places in the world and, hopefully, sell it at a profit." And Kouri's mother says that potential was jaw-dropping. "Her and Eric sat down with an accountant one time, and he said, if you can get it done and stay under budget, you could walk away with $12 million," said Darden. The 20,000-square-foot mansion and its 4,000-square-foot guesthouse in Heber City, Utah, are not far from the famed Park City ski resort. They were originally built in 2017 but never finished. Kouri Richins discovered the abandoned project in 2019 and made an offer on it along with a group of investors for $3.9 million. / Credit: CBS News Darden says Kouri and Eric were excited about the opportunity and were celebrating finalizing the closing of the mansion the night Eric died. "Eric's saying, let's have a shot. Come on, let's celebrate Kouri," she said. And the celebration continued. Kouri told investigators she poured Eric another drink later that night, a Moscow mule, before the couple went to bed. It was hours later that Kouri said she found Eric unresponsive in their bed. The next day Kouri closed on the property, according to court papers. But the spokesman for Eric's family, Greg Skordas, says Eric did not want Kouri to buy the mansion. "I don't think he was ever in favor of that," Skordas said. Just days after Eric died, his family told an investigator "Eric and his wife were arguing" about buying the house. Eric's family believes Kouri was determined to go forward with the project, despite Eric's opposition. When Kouri Richins was arrested and charged in her husband's death, her hopes for the project -- and the potential $12 million payday -- came to an end. The mansion was put back on the market and recently sold for $3.75 million. Preliminary autopsy report findings in deaths of Gene Hackman, wife Heated Trump-Zelenskyy meeting in Oval Office | Special Report Iconic rollercoaster Kingda Ka imploded at Six Flags Amid a row over his visit to the Maha Shivaratri celebrations at Isha Foundation, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that the ideology of the Congress party is to take everyone in society together. "I believe in all religions, all castes. Congress party's ideology is to take everyone in society together. So, I don't differentiate. Some people may like, some may not like," DK Shivakumar told ANI. He further said, "Sadhguru is from Karnataka. He has been fighting for the cause of Cauvery water. He came and invited me personally. He has a huge following. He is doing some great work. MLAs and leaders of various political parties were there. So, I went there. It is my personal belief. In my constituency, a 100-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ was built by people in the local constituency. Then BJP called me 'Yesukumara'." Earlier, DK Shivakumar said that it is his personal belief and Sadhguru, who hails from Mysuru, personally invited him. "I attended the Maha Shivarathri celebrations at Isha Foundation. It is my personal belief. I can't reply to everyone who posts something on social media. I don't want the BJP or anyone to welcome it. I don't want the media to discuss this either. This is purely my personal belief. Sadguru is from Mysuru, and he personally invited me for the event," Shivakumar told the media. On February 26, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Secretary PV Mohan expressed his disapproval on X over Shivakumar's visit to the Isha Foundation. He said that his action "damages the core" of the party. Further, the Karnataka Deputy CM affirmed that he believes in his faith, and any opposition by people doesn't deter him. "I often go to Nonavinakere mutt, and people ask me why I go there so often but not to my community mutt. I go where my faith is. I go where I feel reassured," he said. "Among the voters in my constituency, the majority are scheduled castes and tribes. As much as 99 per cent of the Brahmins in my constituency vote for me. Can we say all Brahmins vote for the BJP? I don't politics of caste and religion, but I do politics of principle," he added. On Wednesday, DK Shivakumar termed the reports suggesting that he is getting close to the BJP "false propaganda," emphasising that he was a born Congressman. "I was born a Congressman, and I cherish it. It is being misled that I am getting closer to the BJP, which is a false conspiracy against me," Shivakumar said while addressing a press conference at his Sadashivanagar residence. "I am Hindu, and I respect all cultures. The Congress party has the doctrine of taking everyone together. Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and Indira Gandhi have done the same. I have seen Sonia Gandhi celebrating the Ugadi festival. She has adopted Indianity rather than us. We have such leadership," he emphasised. (ANI) Credit: Chauncey Dandridge - Anya Narysheva via Facebook - TikTok/me29526 Protesters targeting JD Vance and Elon Musk spread across the US at the weekend following Donald Trumps bitter row with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Demonstrators at resorts in Vermont told JD Vance, the vice-president, to go ski in Russia after he publicly castigated Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday. The protests were followed by demonstrations against Mr Musk outside Tesla dealerships across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Vermont, they held signs reading Vance = Putins pawn = traitor and Vermont stands with Ukraine. Some protesters included drawings of Nazi swastikas, while many also waved Ukrainian flags. Observers of the meltdown in the Oval Office have pointed the finger at Mr Vance for setting the tone, before Mr Trump appeared to back his vice-president in attacking Mr Zelensky. Other signs read Vance disgraces our country and Nobody voted for Putin After what he did yesterday, he crossed the line, protester Cori Giroux told Vermont Public Radio. In the extraordinary shouting match in the White House, Mr Trump and Mr Vance told the Ukrainian president to make a deal with Russia or we are out, said Mr Zelensky was not thankful enough for US support and accused him of being disrespectful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Vance has not commented on the demonstrations but reportedly moved his family holiday to an unknown location. The protest had been planned earlier in the week, before the public scolding of Mr Zelensky, but many signs referred to Fridays row. I think [Fridays] performance at the White House has probably galvanised even more people to come out today, Judy Daly, from Indivisible Mad River Valley, the group that organised the protest, told Vermont Public Radio. Demonstrators also gathered in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, and outside Tesla stores against founder Mr Musk. The protests were ostensibly aimed at Mr Musks efforts to slash government spending, but there were some pro-Ukraine demonstrators among the crowds. Credit: Chauncey Dandridge - Anya Narysheva via Facebook Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hundreds of people outside a New York City Tesla dealership on Saturday held signs reading Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy and No Dictators in the USA. Nine people were arrested. Mr Musk, the worlds richest person, is leading an unprecedented push to shrink the federal government that has resulted in the firing of thousands of employees and the termination of hundreds of aid contracts and federal leases. In some cases, federal agencies have been forced to try to hire back key workers who had been fired, including some responsible for US nuclear weapons, scientists trying to fight a worsening outbreak of bird flu and officials responsible for supplying electricity. At least 100,000 of the 2.3 million federal employees have agreed to buy-outs or have been sacked since Trump took office on Jan 20. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hundreds of pro-Ukraine protesters also gathered in Times Square in New York. In Los Angeles, demonstrators rallied outside a Space X facility, another company owned by Mr Musk. People protest inside a Tesla store holding signs, alongside a cutout of Mr Musk - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Meanwhile dozens of climate-change protesters occupied a Tesla showroom in Londons Westfield shopping centre on Saturday. Members of Climate Resistance claimed Mr Trumps ally has built his empire through ruthless exploitation, union busting, and dangerous working conditions. Around 20 protesters stormed into the shop and sat on the ground as they chanted hey hey, ho ho, Elon Musk has got to go for 25 minutes. In European capitals, crowds rallied to support Ukraine, including in Britain where people lined the streets as Mr Zelensky arrived at No 10. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Trumps approval rating in the US has dipped slightly to 44 per cent since taking office. A sketch from Saturday Night Live mocked Mr Musk and Mr Trump. Mike Myers, 61, the Austin Powers star, made a cameo on the US comedy show playing the Tesla billionaire. Dressed as Mr Musk, he enters the Oval Office with a chainsaw and says: Donald what are you doing in my office? You know Im the president now, right? Im kidding, Im kidding, maybe not. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Youve got to make a joke, you know. Legalise comedy, legalise comedy, come on legalise it! he shouts. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Emergency responders are currently on the scene after a vehicle went into the water behind the levee in Morganza on Saturday. According to the Pointe Coupee Parish Fire Districts, divers are working to perform any necessary rescue operation. Local law enforcement is also on the scene to secure the area and ensure the publics safety. The cause of the incident remains under investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials ask drivers to avoid the area while crews work to manage the incident. No further details were immediately available. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available. Latest News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News. Police in Columbia Heights are investigating a homicide that occurred Friday night. According to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, a gunshot victim was brought to North Memorial Health in Robbinsdale at 11:41 p.m. The victim's condition upon arrival at the hospital hasn't been revealed, but the victim died from their injuries. Authorities the victim was shot near the 4200 block of Central Ave. NE. Specifics, however, haven't been reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No arrests have been made. "Limited details are available and no further information will be released at this time," the sheriff's office said. Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcements latest version of events, and may be subject to change. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) At Superheroes Ice Cream in Virginia Beach, a childs dreams come to life when they see superheroes they idolize walking around the shop. On Saturday, people flocked to the ice cream store to honor a different kind of superhero. A fundraiser was held for Virginia Beach Police Officers Christopher Reese and Cameron Girvin. They were shot and killed in the line of duty last Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, a portion of every purchase went to the families of Girvin and Reese. Some kids who attended even offered up all of their birthday money to help out the families. For more ways to donate to the families, click here. Stay with WAVY.com for more local news, weather and traffic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Venkatesh Sunkad is the new director of JAGSOM Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSOM) in India has built a reputation for its progressive approach to business education. Now, under the leadership of Venkatesh Sunkad, the institution is set to take another step forward. With a strong background in technology, AI, and management, Sunkad brings a fresh perspective on how JAGSOM will prepare future leaders for an ever-changing world. In this interview with Poets&Quants Founder John A. Byrne, he shares his thoughts on the schools unique approach, the role of AI in business education, and how JAGSOM is evolving in a rapidly shifting landscape. John A. Byrne: Youve been in this role for about two months. What excites you most about leading JAGSOM? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Venkatesh Sunkad: Its been a fast-paced and exciting transition. I started in mid-December, so Ive had about two months to get a feel for the institution. But JAGSOM isnt new to meIve been connected to its sister institution, Vijaybhoomi University, so I already had a good sense of the vision and mission. What excites me most is the opportunity to shape business education in a way that blends technical skills with personal growth. Were not just training students in finance, marketing, or strategy; were preparing them to be adaptable, socially conscious leaders who can thrive in any environment. Byrne: What sets JAGSOM apart from other business schools in India and beyond? Sunkad: We take a very holistic approach to management education. Its not just about learning core business subjects; its about enhancing the personality of each student. We want them to graduate with a deep understanding of their industry, but also with the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and work seamlessly in diverse teams. Our Personality Enhancement Program (PEP) is designed to build leadership and soft skills, while the Social Immersion Program (SIP) ensures students engage with real-world societal challenges. Another key differentiator is our customizable learning experience. Students arent locked into rigid tracks. They can mix and match disciplines based on their interests. For example, a marketing student might also study HR analytics, giving them a broader skill set that makes them more marketable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrne: Technology and AI are disrupting nearly every industry. How is JAGSOM preparing students for this shift? Sunkad: AI is changing the way we work, and we see it as a tool to enhance productivity and decision-making rather than something to fear. Were incorporating AI into nearly 80% of our courses by the end of this yearnot to turn students into programmers, but to ensure they know how to leverage AI in finance, marketing, HR, and business strategy. A big part of my role is integrating technology into management education in a meaningful way. We want our students to be comfortable using AI to analyze data, optimize processes, and even enhance their creativity. The key is teaching them how to use AI effectively without losing their human intuition and leadership skills. Byrne: Some people view AI as just a tool, while others see it as a true collaborator. Where do you stand? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sunkad: It depends on the context. In some cases, AI is just a toollike in legal research, where it can scan thousands of cases to find relevant precedents. But in fields like medicine, AI works as a true collaborator, offering insights that complement human expertise. The way we teach AI at JAGSOM is based on this idea: understand when AI is a tool and when its a partner. For example, in HR analytics, AI can help recruiters shortlist candidates, but human judgment is still crucial for final hiring decisions. Byrne: Empathy is often overlooked in business education. How do you develop this in your students? Sunkad: Empathy is critical for leadership, and we cultivate it through experiential learning. Our Social Immersion Program sends students into real-world environments where they engage with communities they wouldnt typically interact with. One of my favorite examples is a project where our students tackled human-elephant conflicts in rural areas. Instead of resorting to traditional barriers, they came up with a sustainable solutionstrategically placing honeycombs along village borders, as elephants naturally avoid bees. Thats problem-solving with empathy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We also have the Personality Enhancement Program (PEP), which tracks students growth beyond academics. We measure not just technical proficiency, but also communication, teamwork, and emotional intelligence. Byrne: Whats your vision for JAGSOM in the short and long term? Sunkad: In the short term, I want to integrate AI and emerging technologies into the curriculum so that students are future-ready. In the long term, I want JAGSOM to be known for producing leaders who are not just skilled, but adaptable and ethical. The world is changing rapidly, and business schools need to train students for jobs that dont even exist yet. That means teaching them how to think across disciplines, embrace new technology, and lead with empathy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrne: You spent 21 years in the U.S. before returning to India. Many academics stay in the U.S. and have created amazing successful careers, often going to the very top of their organizations. Why did you go back? Sunkad: I left India in 1991, just before the country opened up economically. By 2012, I saw India going through another transformation, and I wanted to be part of it. India is a place of tremendous opportunity, and I knew my global experience could make a difference here. Byrne: Many young professionals in India struggle with whether to study abroad or stay in India. Whats your advice? Sunkad: If you have the opportunity, studying abroad is a fantastic way to gain global exposure. But India today offers immense potential for applying what you learn. My advice? Go abroad, gain experience, but come back to make an impact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrne: Did you enjoy your time in America? Sunkad: Absolutely. I loved my time in America. I was single. I was 22-years-old and had just finished my undergrad. Whatever I learned I learned in America to be fair. Byrne: That had to be daunting, to leave your families, your friends, and all that you know. Sunkad: One of the things I love most about America is that it is a country which is so open to outsiders and that is something. I really hope it continues. I can never forget America. It was so open, especially in education. You know its like a UN. You meet students from all over the world, not just from India. You know I have friends from China. I have friends from Poland because we became friends when we were students in university, and the friendships have continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrne: Sustainability and social impact are becoming major priorities for MBA students. How does JAGSOM address this? Sunkad: Sustainability isnt just a talking point for usits a core part of our curriculum. Every course has a sustainability component, and we ensure that our students work on projects with measurable social impact. Since we are AACSB-accredited, we align with global best practices in responsible management education. Byrne: What are the biggest challenges you see for JAGSOM? Sunkad: Our biggest challenge is getting JAGSOMs name out there globally. We have a strong curriculum, great faculty, and a dynamic student body, but we need to expand our brand presence. Were working on strategic partnerships, alumni engagement, and thought leadership initiatives to elevate our reputation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Byrne: When you look back five years from now, you probably will in part measure some of your success on the growth of the institution. Sunkad: Absolutely. Obviously, well have to grow, and theres no question about it. But growth can be in multiple ways. Growth can be in students, programs, and degrees. One of the things were looking into right now is a Phd program. We are trying to collaborate with multiple universities. So growth can be in multiple factors and multiple facets. DONT MISS: Commentary: Dont Turn Great Business Schools Into Mediocre Research Institutions The post A Vision For The Future: A Conversation With JAGSOMs New Director Venkatesh Sunkad appeared first on Poets&Quants. DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) The Manada Creek in Dauphin County is now stocked with thousands of trout thanks to help from volunteers. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says clubs and conservation groups help spread out 3.2 Million trout statewide each year. Some of the volunteers are experienced fishermen themselves. They give us the bucket at the truck, they tell us to get it in the water as quick as possible, Hunter Strohm, of Hummelstown, said. Give it a nice toss, so that way they dont get stuck in the mud and mess up all their gills. And then once they hit the water it gives them like a little bit of shock just to perk up and keep swimming. And all of them seem to be doing really, really well so far. Get daily news, weather, breaking news and alerts straight to your inbox! Sign up for the abc27 newsletters here Statewide opening day for trout season is Saturday, April 5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. National security adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday the U.S. does not see Ukraine being a member of NATO. One thing is clear, we do not see Ukraine being a member of NATO, because that would automatically drag U.S. troops in, Waltz told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union. But Dana look, we need to get all sides to the table, and were very frustrated that we did not see that from the Ukrainians after we had negotiated a minerals deal that would bind us together, grow their economy and change the nature of our aid, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waltzs comments follow a tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vice President Vance on Friday, which featured shouting and finger-pointing. The president and Zelensky argued over U.S. support for Ukraine. Following the meeting, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Ukrainian president is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace, Trump said on Truth Social of Zelensky. Earlier this week, Waltz said that Ukraines membership in NATO was not back on the table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do not see the United States having Ukraine enter into NATO and then having United States troops essentially obligated immediately in terms of Article 5 or coming to have U.S. troops, coming directly in for the defense of Ukraine. That is very different, Waltz said on Fox and Friends. In his CNN appearance, Waltz said that there is a need for a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war, and if it becomes apparent that President Zelenskys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. PARMA, Ohio (WJW) Hundreds of people filled St. Vladimir Grand Hall in Parma Saturday for a rally to support Ukraine. The event was organized by the Cleveland Maidan Association and United Ukrainian Organizations of Ohio. See the latest on the Russia/Ukraine conflict here Many speakers addressed the crowd. The list included leaders with various northeast Ohio organizations, local mayors and other elected officials. WJW photo One of them was the president of the Cleveland Maidan Association, Dr. Taras Mahlay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He told Fox 8 that they are hoping for a peace agreement that is just and prevents future violence. Trump says in social media post he plans to pardon the late Pete Rose We all want peace. We all want this to end, Mahlay said. We were doing this because were always concerned that whenever we have this peace, it has to be a lasting peace. Although the rally came just one day after a fiery exchange between leaders of the United State and Ukraine, Mahlay said the event was planned well before it, and what happened at the White House doesnt change their hopes for peace. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. AIIMS Rishikesh and the Army Hospital in Joshimath are actively treating injured individuals, with some patients in critical condition requiring intensive care. Speaking about the situation at AIIMS Rishikesh, PRO Sandeep Singh said, "Five people were scheduled to be brought here, but later, we came to know that 4 would be brought here. One injured has been brought here, and he has a spinal injury. He is being examined. His spine surgery will perhaps be done today. His legs are not functioning right now...The team is observing him...Another injured is also scheduled to be airlifted here today...He has suffered a pelvic injury. Other patients are being examined at the base hospital..." Meanwhile, Major Amit Kumar Mishra at the Joshimath Army Hospital provided an update on the condition of those admitted there, saying, "We have 45 patients here. Three are in critical condition--one is bleeding in the liver, and we are trying to manage it by blood transfusion. We are monitoring the situation, but as of now, all are stable." Earlier today, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the Disaster Control Room at IT Park, Dehradun, to review the ongoing rescue operation for the second consecutive day to rescue Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers in Mana, Chamoli. Meanwhile, the Army recovered two more bodies in the snow during the ongoing search operation from the site of the avalanche that struck a BRO camp near Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, while efforts continue to locate the last remaining worker who is is still missing. As per information provided by PRO (Defence) Dehradun, 53 workers out of 54 who had been trapped under snow after the February 28 morning avalanche have been rescued. A Mi-17 helicopter airlifted drone-based Intelligent Buried Object detection system for search operations today according to Indian Air Force. Injured BRO workers are being airlifted for further treatment at Joshimath Army Hospital. IAF Cheetah helicopters have been engaged in rescue operations since Saturday. (ANI) LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Chilly end to the weekend before a work week warm up with rain in the forecast. Waking up this morning there will be noticeable clouds with temperatures only in mid to upper teens. We gradually warm up as the day progresses with daytime highs depending on how much sunshine we see. If we see more sunshine today temperatures will warm into the mid-30s, if the clouds hold on temperatures remain chilly in the low to mid-30s. Clouds gradually start to clear this afternoon leaving mostly clear skies tonight with temperatures falling into the upper teens to low 20s areawide. Our warming trend starts Monday with mostly cloudy skies and a few peeks of sunshine, daytime highs get into the low to mid-40s. Ahead of our next weather maker, we could see some light rain showers for Monday night into Tuesday morning. A strong low-pressure system moves back into the area bringing with it soaking rain, windy conditions, and the chance for snow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This system arrives to the Mid-Michigan area late Tuesday afternoon with the heaviest rain looking to be overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Some spots could see almost a half inch to about an inch of rain with some higher amounts possible depending on where the center of the low pressure goes. Temperatures for Tuesday warm into the upper 40s to low 50s with that rain. Wednesday remains rainy and breezy with winds gusting into the 20 to 30+ mph range. On the back side of this system we could see some colder air work its way in allowing rain to transition into snow for a short time. No accumulations are expected but we could have some slick spots on untreated surfaces heading into Thursday morning. Temperatures tumble from the low 50s on Wednesday into the mid to upper 30s on Thursday. Our roller coaster weather returns by the end of the week with temperatures warming into the 40s but the 50s return for the week after that. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. DENVER (KDVR) Adams County fire crews early Sunday morning battled heavy flames at an abandoned historic truck stop restaurant off Colorado Boulevard. The fire, which crews responded to at about 4 a.m. Sunday, appeared in a video posted by South Adams County Fire Department to be at a now-closed restaurant called Denos 6 and 85 Restaurant and Lounge. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Adams County Fire said in a Facebook post that the building was unoccupied, and no one was injured. Crews battle an early Sunday morning fire at the now-closed Denos 6 and 85 Restaurant and Lounge. (Credit: Adams County Frie Rescue) Crews battle an early Sunday morning fire at the now-closed Denos 6 and 85 Restaurant and Lounge. (Credit: Adams County Frie Rescue) Crews battle an early Sunday morning fire at the now-closed Denos 6 and 85 Restaurant and Lounge. (Credit: Adams County Frie Rescue) They are still investigating the cause of the fire. Adams County Fire Rescue also assisted with the Sunday fire. According to the now-closed restaurants Yelp page, Denos 6 and 85 was the oldest truck stop in Colorado and provided rest, relaxation, and classic comfort food to truckers, travelers, and locals alike since 1947. The last review from when the restaurant was open was posted in 2017. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Mar. 1Commissioners meet with Aqua, developers On Feb. 20, the Lawrence County commissioners had a special meeting with the water company Aqua and developers who are trying to get water to their planned development of 18 tiny houses in Chesapeake. The issue at hand is whether or not the water tap that goes to the property, which used to be the site of the Pulley Nursing Home, is good enough to get water to those houses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because it was a special meeting, the only item on the agenda was the water issue. Commissioner DeAnna Holliday said the commissioners and the public were very supportive of the housing development. Developers Stephen and Matt Mann joined the meeting by phone. Dan Dunn, Aqua's area manager, said the issue was that the main water tap to the property is not up to state standards, which is set by Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. He said that the cost of the main water tap is to be paid by the property owner, rather than the company, which has to pass the costs on to existing customers. Commissioner Mike Finley asked if there wasn't a tap already there, because the property was sold with one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That tap is in bad shape, commissioner," Dunn said. "I know, but it is a tap, isn't it?" Finley asked. Dunn said the tap has been disconnected from the main. Matt Mann said the tap has not been disconnected. "It is in service," he said. "We will not reuse that tap, that tap is in bad shape," Dunn said. Holliday said the county land bank sold the property, and she was the president of the land bank at that time, and it had a water tap on it. "It was sold with that understanding, we had that understanding," she said. "We don't understand why that tap was disconnected. We didn't request that and, to our knowledge, we got no correspondence that would have let us know you were disconnecting our tap." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dunn said the tap would have been disconnected when the nursing home was demolished in 2019 and that the tap that was put in 1971 is no longer good. "I would say that it's the same age as a lot of taps in that area," Commissioner Colton Copley said. Dunn said those are still in use, but since this was a new development, they would ask for a new tap. Stephen Mann said that when they bought the property, they did check and they were told by an Aqua representative that all they needed was a meter. He said Aqua's requirements are pushing the project cost up by $200,000. Copley said that, in general, the commissioners are seeking clarity on this issue for future development and that they normally don't have meetings like this one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We, as the commissioners, sold this property through the land bank with a tap on the property and we are sitting here today because of that," he said. "We feel that we bear some responsibility. That's why we are having this conversation." He said he didn't want Aqua to think that the commissioners were coming for the company for this specific developer. Dunn said he understood. Dunn said he would talk with the engineers and the operating group and see if there "was some way to meet in the middle." Holliday said it was going be a beautiful housing development. "The layout and the design is very attractive," she said. "It's very pleasing aesthetically and it is going to provide opportunities for small families or single parents." WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH) The Brass City kicked off March with a bang Saturday with their annual St. Patricks Day Parade. Crowds gathered at the Washington Park House Saturday afternoon for the start of the parade hosted by the Waterbury Friends of the Hibernians. The event began with a flag raising and the Irish National Anthem. Then, at 1:00 p.m. attendees, motorcades and the floats made their way down Sylvan Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One attendee, David Ceccarelli, told News 8, A lot of people showed up. I like it with the kids You can see it brings people together with communities and stuff. Its a nice thing to see. Officials believe more than 400 people attended the parade Saturday. Over a dozen different vehicles and floats were involved. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. Two people have been found dead in a Waukesha home, and a person of interest is in custody on separate charges, the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department said in an update Saturday. The department initially found one person dead in the residence after conducting a welfare check Friday. At the time, authorities said the location of other family members living in the home was unknown. Officials have not shared information about the individuals found dead, their age or gender. The department has also not publicly disclosed the address of the home, but social media users have pointed to the village residential subdivision near Rose Glen Elementary School, off Genesee Road just west of the West Waukesha Bypass, or Highway 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation is "ongoing and remains active," the department said. A family member who requested the welfare check told TMJ4 that her son was found dead Friday in the home, and his wife and family dog were also found dead. Her step-grandson was missing, she said. The school district had contacted her, asking why her step-grandson hadn't been in school. Separately, police in WaKeeney, Kansas said Saturday they took a juvenile into custody that is a person of interest in a double homicide under investigation by a Wisconsin sheriff's office. The WaKeeney Police Department did not specify which case and if the arrest was related to the Waukesha death investigation. The juvenile was stopped after running a stop sign, and the vehicle came back stolen from Wisconsin, police said. Police learned the juvenile was wanted in Wisconsin and may have been armed with a handgun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The person of interest is being held in a juvenile detention center and awaiting extradition to Wisconsin, WaKeeney police said. This story has been updated to add video. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Two people found dead in Waukesha home, person of interest in custody JOLO, WV (WVNS) The community of Jolo, like the rest of McDowell County, is recovering from devastating flooding. Northfork VFD needs volunteers to keep donation operations going This severe weather hit very close to home for people affiliated with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. Even though Jolo is hundreds of miles away, both of these areas are tied together by their experiences with severe weather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This group of western North Carolinians recently endured the havoc of Hurricane Helene. Some of these individuals represented Mountain View Correctional Institution, while the others came from Catawba Correctional Center. The hurricane did not affect either facility, but it certainly did harm to their communities and families. Monique Cespedes is part of this group from NC DAC. You say flood or, you know, some type of natural catastrophe. [People] just do not know how it impacted. It flooded peoples homes like completely off the edge and they have lost everything. So, I think it is hard for people to imagine when they do not see it or they are not from the area or have family to experience it. It is just complete devastation, said Cespedes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burning restrictions return in West Virginia with the spring fire season April Parker is another representative from NC DAC. She told 59News that it took 5 days for her just to get to her son and his family in order to help them. Homes, bridges, and roads were completely gone after this Hurricane. Having family up there in the area that was hit really hard and being boots on the ground for a month every time I turned around, somebody from West Virginia [was] introducing themselves to me. They were either feeding us food, there was a group of men in there building roads for us to get into places, [and] we had search and rescue teams from West Virginia, said Parker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When McDowell County flooded, Parker and the others in her group wanted to return the favor to West Virginians. It all started with Parkers friend from Jolo. This friend put the crew in contact with the Jolo Family Worship Center, where there is a big donation drive taking place daily. We immediately knew that we were going to help them back. The warden at Mountain View Correctional helped me gather the supplies and stuff because he knows as well as I do that people from West Virginia was everywhere [in North Carolina] helping us, added Parker. Their recent dealings with disaster helped them properly prepare a trailer to bring to Jolo. Heaters, portable stoves, sleeping bags, extension cords, diapers, food, and water are just a few of the supplies this crew dropped off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parker said they are still recovering from the damages Helene left, which has forced many to reside in campers. She told 59News prayer and Samaritans Purse are great resources people can use to help western North Carolina and McDowell County both get back on their feet. Pocahontas Theatre in McDowell County announces temporary closure This crew from North Carolina included: April Parker, Monique Cespedes, Teresa Brittain, Jonathan Farthing, and Jhonnys Cespedes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. The White House is making clear it views President Donald Trumps Friday Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an overwhelming win that underscores Trumps America first leadership, dispatching top officials and allies to amplify Trumps handling of the situation even as European leaders are expressing unified support for Ukraine and its leader. Trump often took aim at US aid for Ukraine on the campaign trail, reflecting waning support among Americans for Ukraine and Zelensky over the past three years of the war. Trump views the conflict through an economic lens, seeking to rebuild a partnership with Russia and recoup some of the financial support the US has provided to Ukraine. The presidents top lieutenants, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick all of whom were in the Oval Office during the explosive meeting appeared on news shows Sunday to offer praise to their boss and criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart as Trump is dramatically reshaping US alliances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The efforts come as dozens of European leaders are gathering in London for what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe, a major show of support for Zelensky. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, France's President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Zelensky, Romania's Interim President Ilie Bolojan, European Council President Antonio Costa and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a summit in central London on March 2, 2025. - Justin Tallis/Pool/AFP/Getty Images I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes, everyone around this table, Starmer said in opening remarks at the Sunday summit. Trumps team, meanwhile, is doubling down, framing the contentious Friday meeting from a position of US strength, even as it has been met with glee by the Kremlin. During an appearance on State of the Union, Waltz indicated US support for new leadership in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war, Waltz told CNNs Dana Bash on Sunday. And if it becomes apparent that President Zelenskys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in this country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands, Waltz said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also suggested in an appearance on NBCs Meet the Press that Zelensky should potentially step aside after the tense meeting, saying, Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. Trump himself suggested after the meeting that Zelensky does not want an end to the war. Waltz said Sunday that the Ukrainian leader needs to make it clear publicly and privately that he is ready to go to peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waltz, who compared Zelensky to an ex-girlfriend that just wants to argue earlier in the weekend, continued to slam the Ukrainian leaders Friday actions and body language, castigating the shaking of the head, the kind of the arms crossed, we just we found it incredibly disrespectful. Rubio also went after Zelensky, who, he said on ABC News This Week, found every opportunity to try to Ukraine-splain on every issue. And Lutnick cast Trump as the peacemaker. Hes the peacemaker, and if Zelensky is not interested in peace, then he should go home and think about it, he told Fox News Sunday Morning Futures. Zelensky, Trump, and Vance at the White House on Friday, February 28, 2025. - Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images The White House press office has also sent multiple emails amplifying warm reviews and messages of support from key Republican allies on Capitol Hill, members of Trumps Cabinet and other top White House officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Support continues to roll in for the unwavering commitment of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Vance to the American people and the Trump Administrations relentless pursuit of peace, an email sent to reporters Saturday said, highlighting remarks from Johnson praising Trump for putting America first; from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard thanking Trump for his unwavering leadership; and from Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri asserting that the age of America last foreign policy is over, among others. Johnson, who spearheaded an effort to pass more aid to Ukraine last spring despite threats to his speakership from some hardliners in his own party, told Bash he had done so to allow Ukraine to sustain itself and position them for peace negotiations by extending support until Trump took office. The plan worked, but now Zelensky has to follow through, and the fact that he acted as he did, I think, was a great disappointment, the Louisiana Republican said. He said an assessment by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a frequent GOP critic of the president, that the Trump administration was walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, was plainly wrong, arguing that Trump, who has hesitated to call Putin a dictator, has been very clear that the Russian president is an aggressor in Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner, historically an avid supporter of Ukraine and hardliner on Russia, called Zelenskys actions during the meeting with Trump inappropriate. You got to hear President Trump. I mean he engaged by saying, you know, people are dying, the Ohio Republican congressman said on CBS Face the Nation. We need to stop the dying. Lets go forward with the peace negotiations, and then well determine what security arrangements need to be made around the peace negotiations. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Continuing their crackdown against drug-related activities, the Punjab Police, with the help of administration, demolished the two illegal properties of alleged drug peddlers at Khanpur village in Phillaur Tehsil of Jalandhar district. Phillaur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sarwan Singh said that drug peddlers had encroached upon land in two villages of the district. He added that the house of Jasvir Sheera, a notorious drug smuggler at Khanpur village, was demolished, and a similar action was taken against a woman drug supplier's property constructed illegally in another village. "Drug suppliers have encroached in two villages. A drug supplier identified as Jasvir Sheera had built a house here; it has been demolished. In another village, a woman drug peddler had built a house, and we are demolishing that as well. This is a clear message from the police. If anybody has built any properties or anything with drug money or illegal money, we will take action," DSP Singh told ANI. Earlier, on February 24, Punjab Police and the administration demolished an illegal construction linked to notorious drug smuggler Sonu of Talwandi village. According to Aam Aadmi Party, the drug mafia 'Sonu' was involved in drug-related activities for the past three years and has multiple criminal cases against him. A total of six FIRs were filed against him in this connection. Authorities have pledged to continue their efforts in dismantling drug operations and ensuring the safety and security of the community, the party's PRO stated. Meanwhile, in a statement, the Punjab government announced an intensive crackdown against drug abuse in the state, directing law enforcement agencies to initiate large-scale operations. The district administrations have been instructed to ensure the availability of adequate rehabilitation and de-addiction facilities. "The Punjab Government has decided to launch a massive war against drugs in the coming weeks through Law Enforcement Agencies. This could cause distress among habitual users of drugs. To slowly wean them away from drugs, all DCs are hereby directed to ensure an adequate number of rehab and Drug De-addiction centres equipped with the necessary equipment and medicines, including Buprenorphine medicine, testing kits, required staff, etc. A senior IAS officer was also asked to inspect all centres to review the preparation. (ANI) The White House is backing its ally Israel in its decision to block aid to Gaza amid Hamass refusal to agree to a second ceasefire deal. Israel has negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement. We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas had indicated its no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office announced that it would be halting the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas agrees to the next ceasefire phase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the conclusion of the 1st stage of the hostages deal and in light of Hamass refusal to accept the Witkoff framework for the continuation of the talks, to which Israel agreed, PM Netanyahu decided: as of this morning, entry of all goods & supplies to the Gaza Strip be halted, Israel said in a post online. The first round of the ceasefire deal marked a large turning point for the conflict, which began Oct. 7, 2023, and has resulted in the destruction of much of Gaza. The deal was secured just before former President Biden left office and President Trump was sworn in. With the first-round deadline wrapping up this weekend, tensions in the region are high while the deal stands at a fragile point. The move from Israel to halt aid to the thousands of Gazans in need is a significant one, even as Hamas refuses to agree and accuses Israel of attempting to derail progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group called Israels decision to stop aid a cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts Sunday to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced outlines of a plan to end Russias war. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden," he said. Starmers exhortation to 18 fellow leaders that they need to do the heavy lifting for their own security comes two days after U.S. backing of Ukraine appeared in jeopardy when President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he wasnt grateful enough for Americas support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting had been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding that took place on live television at the White House. Starmer used the opportunity as part of his broader effort to bridge the gap between Europe and the U.S. and also salvage what had seemed like the start of a peace process before Friday's spat. Starmer said he had worked with France and Ukraine on a plan to end the war and that the group of leaders mostly from Europe had agreed on four things. The steps toward peace would: keep aid flowing to Kyiv and maintain economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine's hand; make sure Ukraine is at the bargaining table and any peace deal must ensure its sovereignty and security; and continue to arm Ukraine to deter future invasion. A coalition of the willing Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finally, Starmer said they would develop a coalition of the willing to defend Ukraine and guarantee the peace. Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that cant mean that we sit back," he said. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency. The U.K. is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. It is far from certain whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will accept any such plan, which Starmer said would require strong U.S. backing. He did not specify what that meant, though he told the BBC before the summit that there were intense discussions to get a security guarantee from the U.S. If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again, Starmer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer said he will later bring a more formal plan to the U.S. and work with Trump. Before arriving in London, French president Emmanuel Macron suggested in an interview with a French newspaper that he and Starmer are proposing a truce in the air, on the seas and energy infrastructures that would last a month. There would be no European troops in the coming weeks and troops would only be deployed on the ground at a later stage, he said. The question, Macron said, is how we use this time to try and get an accessible truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a deployment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two diplomatic steps forward, one back Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war. Meetings last week had provided some hope until Zelenskyys trip to the White House on Friday. Visits to the Oval Office by Starmer and Macron, who had declared his visit a turning point," were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained that Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within 12 hours of Starmers return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Putin could be trusted. During his Sunday press conference, Starmer rejected the suggestion that the U.S. was no longer a reliable ally. There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries and our defense, our security and intelligence is intertwined in a way no two other countries are, so its an important and reliable ally for us, he said. Starmer does not trust Putin Starmer told the BBC before the summit that he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said she was sorry for what happened with Zelenskyy in Washington. Meloni is both a strong Ukraine supporter and as head of a far-right party she is a natural ally of Trump. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration. She said told reporters following the meeting that Europe must remain focused on its common goals and that dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone. We need to work to reinforce our unity, and I think that Italy can play a role, not just in its own interest, but in everyones," she said. I dont want to take any other scenario into consideration. Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following his charm offensive with Macron to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also in attendance. Turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine Starmer used sweeping terms to describe the challenge ahead, saying Europe was at a crossroads in its history and needed to step up to meet once in a generation moment. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen emerged from the meeting and said she would present a plan to rearm Europe to bolster the blocs security after a long period of underinvestment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for the future of war-torn Ukraine, von der Leyen said it needs security guarantees. We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength so that it has the means to fortify itself and to protect itself, von der Leyen said. Its basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders. Last week, Starmer pledged to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit. Starmer pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the U.K. will use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Colleen Barry in Milan, Karel Janicek in Prague and Samuel Petrequin contributed. (NewsNation) President Donald Trump is claiming that he has a new means of making the United States trillions of dollars. The Trump administration said Tuesday it would be revamping the U.S. investor visa, also known as the EB-5, increasing the funds required to secure the status while dubbing the new option a gold card. Its sort of a green card plus, and its a path to citizenship, Trump said. What is the gold card Trump is proposing? With the gold card, noncitizens can fast-track their visa status and potentially become U.S. citizens down the line for a price of $5 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were going to call it the gold card, and I think its going to be very treasured. I think its going to do very well. And were going to start selling, hopefully in about two weeks. Now, just so you understand, if we sell a million, right? A million, thats $5 trillion, he said. What is a golden visa, and where can you get one? While Trump has boasted that the new visa would be a boost for the economy, some experts NewsNation spoke with say Congress controls the budget and immigration policy, so new legislation might need to be passed to overhaul the current program. What is the current EB-5 visa? Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the new gold card would replace the current EB-5 program. The EB-5 visa allows qualified investors to become eligible for green cards if they invest between $800,000 to $1 million in commercial enterprise and create at least 10 jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program began in the 1990s to encourage investments in rural and economically depressed areas. E3IG CEO Matt Gordon, who advises EB-5 visa applicants, says it would be a mistake to simply replace the program. Youre talking three, $4 billion a year for rural communities, he told NewsNation. Crisis at the Border: On the Frontlines However, Ishaan Akanna of the American Immigrant Investor Alliance, says the gold card could be a brilliant idea if implemented in conjunction with the existing EB5 visa program. There is an opportunity here to really kind of take this forward, he said. I mean, the fact that this administration does and has claimed to support legal immigration. This is a fantastic way to do it. Would Trumps gold card have any requirements? Trump said Tuesday that the gold card would not have any requirements for job creation like the EB-5 program has. Some of the experts NewsNation spoke with argued that fewer people would be willing to pay for this kind of visa if it increased to $5 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said that Apple or other companies like it could buy gold visas and then get highly qualified foreign workers in return. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) For the 10th year in a row, the Junior League of Wichita Falls is fighting hunger with its annual Food Fight campaign. From 8 a.m. Saturday into the afternoon, representatives from the Junior League were taking food donations at Market Street on Fairway Boulevard. A majority of donations came from prepared boxes during the early parts of the campaign. Several others brought in donations in the spur of the moment, buying groceries at Market Street and donating them right after. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Mackenzie Burrus, the Junior Leagues Community Vice President, the last-minute donations add to the movements meaning. It means a lot just seeing someone go in and bring out one bag of canned goods, Burrus said. Theyre putting food on the table for another member of our community. So, it just means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to the League as well. Over the course of the campaign, the organization donated a grand total of 13,400 lbs of food to the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank. Even though the Food Fight is over, the food bank is always taking donations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. UPDATE: Georgetown County has lifted the evacuation order for the Prince George community as crews contain the nearby brushfire. No structures were damaged. County officials say firefighters will remain on scene overnight. A fire at North Santee is also contained. Staff on scene estimate about 800 acres impacted, but an official number will be determined by the Forestry Service at a later time, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A burn ban remains in effect. UPDATE: Georgetown County Emergency Management said the evacuation has been revised to include properties east of the traffic circle on Vanderbilt Blvd. All other Prince George Oceanside residents should closely monitor conditions, officials said. Emergency management said the clubhouse at Prince George Riverside is available for residents who need a place to go. The Waccamaw Regional Recreation Center is also available for any evacuees. GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Beachside residents in the Prince George community of Georgetown County are being evacuated due to wildfire conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The gated community is located in the Pawleys Island area. Residents of that area, prepare to leave your property, the county said. Georgetown County officials said additional information would be forthcoming. Midway Fire Rescue is working a large brush fire off nearby Beach Bridge Road. Fire officials said drivers should anticipate smoky conditions while traveling through the area. The county is under a burn ban until further notice due to increased fire risk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2. If you fish in your pocket or purse for a U.S. quarter today, theres a chance youll see Wilma Mankillers face. She was the Cherokee Nations first female principal chief, and she inspired generations of Cherokees and young Native people like me. In 2022, Mankiller was one of the first women honored by appearing on a series of quarters, along with renowned poet and activist Maya Angelou and physicist and astronaut Sally Ride. Mankillers quarter, issued in the summer of 2022, marks the first time that a Native American woman has been featured on a U.S. coin since Sacagawea appeared on the golden dollar in 2000. As a historian of Native American history, I credit my professional career to Mankiller, whom I heard speak at Salem Womens College when I was an undergraduate student there. I had never seen a non-Native audience listen so intently to a woman who looked like my fathers ancestors and grew up in rural Oklahoma, as he did. Like many young Cherokee people, I was raised outside the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following her lecture, I tore through her autobiography, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People. In her book and through her lifes work, Mankiller introduced a generation of people not just to Cherokee history but also to a model of Native womens leadership, leading by listening to the voices from her community and supporting the programs they sought. Early life Mankillers life resembled many Native peoples lives in the 20th century before she assumed the role of principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in 1985. She was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at an Indian hospital in 1945. She grew up on land secured by Cherokee people over three generations of shifting U.S. federal Indian policies, each with devastating results: the Treaty of New Echota in 1835, the Treaty of 1866 and the Curtis Act in 1898. Mankillers family relocated to San Francisco in the 1950s after Congress passed the termination and relocation policy, seeking to break up and relocate Native American tribes to assimilate them. In San Francisco she met Indigenous people from diverse communities. Mankillers duties as chief included attending the Arkansas Riverbed Authority meetings to discuss multiple Native communities access to water. Tom Gilbert/Tulsa World via AP Images She came of age in San Francisco during the Red Power Movement, which was marked by Indigenous peoples activism across the country and aimed to draw attention to broken treaty promises, widespread dispossession and police brutality. She and her siblings supported the occupation of Alcatraz, a takeover by Native activists that lasted 18 months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She married young, had children and willed herself through a college education. She divorced and returned home to Oklahoma in 1976 as a single parent with two daughters. Mankillers family history, like that of so many Native Americans in this country, cannot be told or understood without understanding changes in federal Indian policy, which often dictated where Native people lived and the economic opportunities available to them. What she means to Cherokee people Mankillers life was similar to those of many families who remained in Oklahoma on allotments or within Cherokee communities after Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Until the age of 11, she grew up in Adair County, which was about 46% Cherokee in the 2020 census. When she returned to Oklahoma from California in the late 1970s to work for the Cherokee Nation, she prioritized and supported a community-driven project that brought running water to the Bell community. Bell, a rural community in Adair County, is still home to large pockets of Cherokee people. This effort was later dramatized in the 2013 film The Cherokee Word for Water. Mankillers commitment to improving the lives of Cherokee people was central to her work, even before she became chief. Her rise to the position of principal chief in 1985 coincided with a moment when the efforts of civil rights activists, Black nationalists, Red Power and womens rights activists of the previous decades were bearing fruit. She represented and modeled what people like Gloria Steinem, with whom Mankiller formed an enduring friendship, hoped to see more people achieve in the larger U.S. President Clinton awards Wilma Mankiller the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images Mankillers impact extended beyond Cherokee people. In a nod to her accomplishments, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. Mankiller understood that she represented how far women leaders had come and the hope we might still arrive where we need to be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I still remember learning of her death from pancreatic cancer in April 2010 when I was a graduate student in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, not far from Salem College where she first inspired me. I, like many others I imagine, wept for her, enormously proud of all she had achieved. The Cherokee value of gadugi Mankillers transition to chief wasnt easy. People initially questioned a womans ability to lead the tribe. If there was any doubt of Mankillers capabilities as a leader when she took over as chief in 1985, in her second election to office six years later, she received almost 83% of the vote. She gained support by exemplifying gadugi a Cherokee word that means working together collectively for the benefit of the whole community. She drew upon her culture, history and tribal identity as a leader, and she raised her daughters Gina and Felicia Olaya to do the same. Though neither held office, both have worked for and supported the Cherokee Nation throughout their lives. During her time as chief, Mankiller provided a foundation for the continued growth of the Cherokee Nation. Enrollment in Cherokee Nation doubled under her leadership. She championed education and secured a US$9 million vocational center. A 1991 Parade Magazine profile described her leadership style as quiet but strong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At her mothers memorial, Gina, who died in October 2022, said that her mother taught her family how to laugh, how to dance, to appreciate Motown music, to be a humble servant to our people, to love one another unequivocally and to cherish each and every moment we spent together as a family. Mankiller articulated what generations of Cherokee people knew that Indigenous people are capable of generating the solutions to the problems they face. As chief, she focused on issues that benefited some of the most vulnerable Cherokee people, such as rural development, housing, employment and education. Mankiller listened to community members to determine the way forward. I believe her legacy, now enshrined on a quarter, will continue to inspire new generations of people seeking to make a difference in the world. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Julie Reed, Penn State Read more: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Julie Reed has received funding from various organizations for consulting work on Cherokee history including New York Historical Society, Cherokee Nation Businesses, and various k-12 textbook producers. She has also received fellowship and scholarship support from the Spencer Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and the Cherokee Nation Education Foundation. She is citizen of the Cherokee Nation. (FOX40.COM) After several days of warm weather and sunny skies, a downpour of rain is forecast to return to Northern California. Weve had temperatures going into the 70s feeling like spring, but it is coming to an end, said FOX40 Chief Meteorologist Adam Epstein. We return to Winter on Sunday. Although Saturday presented an abundance of sunshine, there is about an 80% chance of rain on Sunday. The estimated rainfall in the Valley is between .10 to .25 inches. For the Foothills, its expected to be from .25 to 1 inch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, between 2 and 8 inches of snow is forecast to fall in the Sierra, according to the National Weather Service. Chain controls and hazardous travel are expected because of slick road conditions. What is causing your spring allergies and what can you do to prevent them? The trend of rainfall is forecast to continue in the Sacramento Valley next week. Epstein said theres a slight chance of isolated showers on Monday and the probability significantly increases by Tuesday night. Come Wednesday, theres about a 60% chance of scattered showers throughout the region. Thunderstorms are also in the forecast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we get thunderstorms on Sunday, the most likely area for that is actually going to be south of Sacramento, Epstein said. Over the next few days, weather temperatures are forecast to range from 68 to 72 degrees in the San Joaquin Valley. Similar temperatures are forecast in the Sacramento Valley, 67 to 71 degrees. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. A 65-year-old woman has died in hospital after being injured by a Russian drone in the settlement of Antonivka in Kherson Oblast on the morning of 1 March. Source: Kherson Oblast Military Administration Details: Ukrainian authorities noted that her injuries had proved fatal. Russian bombardments also left 10 people, including a child, injured in Kherson Oblast on 1 March. Russian forces targeted social infrastructure and residential areas in Kherson Oblast, damaging an apartment block and 13 houses. The Russians also damaged a gas pipe, garages, buses and cars. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! A woman died after being hit by a driver while crossing a road in eastern Raleigh, police said. The driver has since been charged. Around 8:12 p.m. Saturday, Mark Baltimore Jr., 42, was driving a Honda Odyssey north on North New Hope Road when he struck Gihan Lamy, 55. Lamy was walking east across North New Hope Road outside of a crosswalk, according to a news release from the Raleigh Police Department. After crossing four lanes, evidence suggests, she was hit in the far-right northbound lane, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lamy died from her injuries. Baltimore was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. New Hope Road was closed between Buffaloe Road and Marsh Creek Road but has reopened. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said that he was not in Chandigarh on February 28, 2025 after the mother of Himani Narwal, a Congress worker whose body was found in a suitcase in Rohtak, Haryana, made a shocking allegation. The mother, Savita, held the election and the party responsible for her daughter's death, suggesting that Himani's rising stature in the party had created enemies for her. "I had no event on 28th February. I had gone to Chandigarh...," said Hooda. Meanwhile, according to Savita, Himani's mother, her daughter was at home on February 28 and had been receiving threats. Savita believes that Himani's close relationships with prominent Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and the Hooda family, had sparked jealousy among some individuals. "The election and the party took my daughter's life. Because of this, she made some enemies. These (the culprits) could be from the party, could be her friends as well...On February 28, she was at home," Savita said. "We received a phone call from the Police Station (regarding the incident). My daughter was very close to Asha Hooda (wife of Bhupinder Singh Hooda), I won't perform her last rites until she gets justice...," she added. The deceased woman's mother further said that her daughter Himani's stature was rising in the party. "She was going with Rahul Gandhi, she was close to the Hooda family, this is why people were having problems; they were jealous." Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda condemned the incident, citing a breakdown in law and order in Haryana, which he claims is the worst state in the country for crimes against women. "It is a very painful incident. There is a breakdown of law & order in Haryana. Haryana is number 1 in the country in terms of crime against women...The incident should be investigated as soon as possible," said Hooda. Hooda also lashed out at the BJP-led state government over the alleged murder of the Congress Party worker and demanded a swift investigation and strict punishment for the guilty, regardless of their affiliation. He revealed that he is in touch with police personnel and has spoken with the Superintendent of Police, who are hopeful of finding clues soon. "The incident should be investigated as soon as possible. I am in touch with the Police personnel, I also spoke with SP. They are hopeful that they would get some clues by the evening. I told them that this should be investigated and the guilty should be given the strictest punishment," Hooda said. The incident has sent shockwaves through the Congress party, with many leaders condemning the brutal murder. The police are currently investigating the case, and it remains to be seen who will be held responsible for Himani's tragic death. Meanwhile, the police have formed a Special Investigation Task force to probe into the alleged murder of the Congress party worker, Himani Narwal. The phone of the deceased has also been recovered, and the police are taking the help of the cyber and forensic teams, the official said. Sampla DSP Rajneesh Kumar said, "An SIT has been formed. Her phone has been recovered. We are using cyber and FSL. We are investigating all angles." DSP informed that the deceased lived alone in Haryana while her family stayed in Delhi. (ANI) A woman in custody early Sunday faces a charge of first-degree murder after Burlington Police found a deceased male who had been stabbed, according to a news release from the Burlington Police Department. About 5 p.m. Saturday, Burlington Police responded to an apartment on the 300 block of Angular Street for a report of an unresponsive male who had been stabbed. Officers found him with what appeared to be a single stab wound. Also in the apartment was 49-year-old Tisha Renee Bounds, the release says. Tisha Bounds (Burlington Police Department) The victim was transported by ambulance to Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center for treatment, and a short time later was pronounced deceased. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Burlington Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division identified Bounds as a suspect and arrested her. She was being held without bond early Sunday pending a court appearance. The identify of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family. The Burlington Police Department believes this to be an isolated incident and there is no further danger to the public, the release says. Burlington officers were assisted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. More details will be released as they become available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. A 45-year-old woman was fatally struck by a passing car after she exited a livery cab and stumbled onto a heavily traveled Brooklyn thoroughfare, police said Saturday. The woman was riding in a livery going down Flatbush Ave. near State St. outside the Atlantic Terminal Mall in downtown Brooklyn at about 11:10 p.m. Friday just before she was hit, cops said. As the livery cab idled in the middle lane, the woman inexplicably stepped out of the vehicle, lost her footing and fell onto the right lane, where she was run over by a passing Chevrolet Malibu driven by a 29-year-old man, cops said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EMS rushed her to New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, but she couldnt be saved. Her name was not immediately disclosed as cops tracked down relatives to notify them first. The driver of the Malibu remained at the scene. No charges were immediately filed. The FDNY slapped a woman with a $4,000 fine for having her car parked in front of a hydrant when a deadly Bronx fire broke out marking the first time the department issued a criminal summons for the infraction. A red sedan was illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant on Feb. 12, slowing firefighters response as they battled a three-alarm blaze that broke out in a Buddhist temple complex on Anthony Avenue in Tremont. The inferno, which was sparked by a space heater, killed two people, a monk and a temple visitor. The owner of a vehicle that was parked in front of a hydrant during a fire last month has been hit with a $4,000 fine. nyc.gov Officials said the car blocked the hydrant that was closest to the building. Photos from the scene showed a fire hose snaked around several cars to reach the water source on the tightly packed street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were not supposed to do it but where else am I going to park? the vehicle owner told ABC 7 at the time. You cant double park in these streets, these streets are small. Her car was booted days earlier for illegally taking up the spot and she didnt remove it by the time the fire broke out, according to reports. FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said the Bureau of Fire Prevention took decisive action following the fatal fire. I hope this significant fine sends a clear message to New Yorkers: Dont block a fire hydrant, Tucker said in a statement Friday. The February fire was the second in three days in which hydrants were blocked by cars during fatal fires. Matthew McDermott The car blocking a hydrant during a deadly Bronx fire was booted for taking up the spot days earlier. Matthew McDermott Seconds count in an emergency, and blocking a fire hydrant is a selfish decision that can kill people and endanger FDNY members as they work to save residents, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hefty fine was given under the NYC Fire Code that makes it illegal to render fire hydrants inaccessible or inoperable, and will require a court appearance. Fines for parking within 15 feet of a hydrant previously started at $115. More than 150 firefighters and EMS workers rushed to the scene of the Anthony Avenue fire on Feb. 12, 2025. Matthew McDermott The fatal blaze on Anthony Avenue was the second time in three days in which a fire hydrant was blocked by an illegally parked vehicle. On Feb. 9, two cars blocked the two closest hydrants at a fire in Bay Ridge that killed a man and injured a woman and a 2-year-old boy. Complaints of parked cars blocking fire hydrants skyrocketed in recent years, from 64,346 in 2020 to 134,377 in 2023, prompting legislation to impose harsher penalties and automatic summonses. An 18-year-old woman who wanted to get back at her ex-boyfriend is facing charges after she vandalized the wrong car. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Deputies responded to a vandalism call on Feb. 25 in Deltona, Florida, according to a Facebook post from the Volusia County Sheriffs Office. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon arrival, deputies found an 18-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl in the area. One of the two had yellow spray paint on her sweatpants, according to the post. The 18-year-old woman admitted to deputies that she was upset with her ex-boyfriend, so she and her friend decided to spray-paint and throw eggs at what they thought was his vehicle. However, the vehicle in question belonged to a neighbor, not her ex-boyfriend. The 18-year-old woman was charged with criminal mischief, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of alcohol under 21, and driving under the influence. Deputies saw her driving her vehicle with two open containers of Four Loko in plain view, according to the post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 16-year-old was charged with possession of marijuana over 20 grams. Deputies found the marijuana in her bag. Deputies also found an empty Crown Royal bottle, a scale and a can of yellow spray paint. Oops, wrong car. Overnight, deputies responded to a vandalism call in Deltona about a young woman spray-painting a... Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A man is speaking out after he and his co-workers rushed to help a 63-year-old woman who was being violently assaulted by a naked man in Sawtelle on Thursday. Rick Dreyfus, a general contractor, said he and his crew were working on their construction site on the 2400 block of Barry Avenue near the 10 Freeway when they heard the woman screaming for help. Part of you freezes and thinks, Is this really happening right now? And then part of you just knows, We gotta go help her, explained Dreyfus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dreyfus told KTLAs Angeli Kakade that when they got to her, the naked man had the 63-year-old pinned down on her stomach and was on top of her back, attempting to rape her. The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded to the 12:40 p.m. call reporting the assault and arrested the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Ishmail Bangura. LAPD confirmed to KTLA that before the attack, Bangura ran out of his nearby apartment and hit a 3-year-old child in the face. He then set his target on another apartment building, broke in, and began attacking the 63-year-old woman. Police said she was trying to get away by running outside, and thats when Dreyfus said he heard something he will never forget her screams for help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alongside many residents within the area, Dreyfus said this assault proves the growing concern about a nearby homeless encampment which is where he believes the attacker came from. A lot of these guys have weapons, and these [workers] went flying in there with no hesitation, Dreyfus recounted about his crews response. This is what were dealing with, and its been happening more and more and more. Records show that back in October, a resolution was passed to remove people found sleeping under the 10 Freeway, but the city is waiting for signage to be placed to enforce the new law. Councilmember Traci Park released the following statement on Saturday regarding the violent attack: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have always made my expectations of the LAPD clear they must take decisive action to remove dangerous and violent individuals from our streets before horrific incidents like this attack occur. Our residents deserve vigilant policing to maintain safety and security in our communities. As for the 63-year-old victim whose name was not immediately released, LAPD said she was taken to a hospital, treated for minor injuries and was able to return home that same evening. The 3-year-old was treated at the scene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggesting he is not genuinely seeking an end to the war with Russia. "Its not clear that Zelensky truly wants to stop the fighting," Waltz said following a tense meeting between the Ukrainian leader and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 28. "He came in, even though he was warned not to, determined to litigate all of that This was the wrong approach, wrong time in history, and definitely the wrong president to try to do this." Their 45-minute Oval Office press briefing escalated into a heated exchange over U.S. aid to Ukraine, ultimately leading to the cancellation of a planned U.S.-Ukraine mineral agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Zelensky, Trump get into heated argument while speaking with journalists in Oval Office Trump later took to Truth Social, accusing Zelensky of disrespecting the U.S. and declaring, "He can come back when he is ready for peace." Zelensky has taken a firm stance on peace and refused to accept a deal that could give Russia an advantage. The Ukrainian president asserted during his interview with Fox News that Ukraine is "ready for peace but we need to be in a good position." "We want peace... that's why I visited President Trump," Zelensky said, adding that he hopes that Trump would show stronger support for Ukraine rather than positioning himself as a mediator in the war. He emphasized that Russia was the aggressor, having launched the invasion. "I want really him to be more at our side," Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting, initially intended to formalize a deal on Ukraine's natural resources, instead highlighted deep divisions over Ukraine policy within Trumps administration. Ukraine-skeptic Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard echoed Trumps stance, with Gabbard claiming that Zelensky has been pushing the U.S. toward "a nuclear war with Russia/WW3 for years now." Gabbard has previously blamed NATO for Russia's war against Ukraine, and faced scrutiny for her controversial foreign policy views. Ukrainian-born Representative Victoria Spartz also condemned Zelenskys approach, accusing him of prioritizing political theatrics over Ukraines real needs. "Its such a disservice to the Ukrainian people to play hero and politics after how much was done by us for Ukraine and for Europe," she said. Read also: Ill need more ammo Ukraines soldiers react to Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) West Virginia University hosted Merit Badge University for Scouting America on Saturday, where around 300 scouts from all around the region came to earn merit badges in areas such as mining in society, nuclear science, and aviation. Scouts were given a choice of earning one or two of over 20 merit badges in just one day with the subject being taught by WVU staff. 12 News talked to Life Scout Lorelei Namsupak who explained what she enjoys about Scouting America, such as the opportunities it gives her to be a leader and improves in life skills, such as public speaking and making friends. Plus, earning merit badges allows her to try things she wouldve never tried before. Art Museum of WVU hosts paper making event From Pulp to Paper Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, while earning a nuclear science merit badge, Namsupak learned about radiation and half-life decay. Fellow scout Joey Herring, also earning a nuclear science merit badge, similarly said she enjoys spending time with her friends in the scouts, helping people, and going to events like the National Jamboree. Lauren Namsupak is the VP of Program for the Mountaineer Area Council and also Loreleis mother. She started volunteering with the Scouts when her daughter joined in 2018 when Scouting America opened up to girls. Namsupak told 12 News that the event provides a unique learning experience for the scouts. Its here on campus so the scouts get to see a real university setting, see what its like where the college kids go, but also get to work with the faculty hand and hand. This was Merit Badge Universitys 14th year being hosted at WVU. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. Mar. 1MORGANTOWN Have businesses across West Virginia been collecting sales taxes for municipalities they're not located in ? The answer to that question is almost certainly yes. Evidence shows it's been happening here. During a recent presentation of the city's proposed $45.4 million fiscal year 2025-26 budget, Morgantown Finance Director Jon Ferguson said the city's revenues are expected to stay relatively flat, with a notable exception. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the city has been notified by the state that it could see up to a 10 % reduction in sales tax revenue. The proposed budget conservatively anticipates just over $9 million in sales taxes. If that number holds, it would be the lowest full-year collection, by a considerable margin, since the city implemented the tax. Morgantown realized just over $9.8 million in sales tax revenue in 2024. It's currently sitting on just over $9.7 million in collections so far in the current fiscal year. "This is actually due to a change resulting from our neighboring municipalities that are actually establishing home rule, either have or will be establishing home rule, so they will be receiving that additional municipal sales tax, " Ferguson said, referencing Westover, which implemented a sales tax that took effect July 2024, and Granville, which is currently in the Home Rule approval process and plans to put a tax in place. He went on to note the real issue comes down to the state implementing a more precise method of determining what businesses are located within a municipality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So, what the state of West Virginia did is that instead of basing our boundaries for sales tax purposes on the zip code plus four, they are now using more precise GIS data, which we have provided, " he said. "And we have been told to expect a potential decrease of up to 10 % of municipal sales taxes." In other words, there have been businesses located on the periphery of the city that have been collecting Morgantown sales taxes and remitting them to the state for distribution despite the fact that they've never been within the city's footprint. Ferguson is quick to note this is through no fault of the city as all those determinations are made in Charleston. Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee said the city is not provided a list of businesses collecting the tax. According to the West Virginia Tax Division, there are 95 municipalities statewide with a sales tax in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dominion Post reached out to the state to ask how many municipalities have been notified of impending adjustments to their sales tax revenue and approximately how much money would be redirected statewide as a result. Stacy Acree, director of tax account administration with the West Virginia Tax Department, responded simply, "We cannot comment on this." The fact that this has been occurring shouldn't really come as a surprise. On July 2, 2020 the day after Morgantown's sales tax took effect, The Dominion Post reported that numerous businesses located in Granville had been told to start collecting the tax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Granville Mayor Patty Lewis reached out to then Morgantown Mayor Bill Kawecki about the issue and Granville officials went door-to-door passing out informational fliers to businesses. Lewis said she knows there were Westover businesses that were caught up as well because she was charged the extra tax at two Westover locations, one near the Morgantown Mall and one in The Gateway. Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said he reached out to Morgantown officials a short time later after he was charged the tax by Primanti Brothers, in Suncrest Towne Centre. He still has the receipt. Lewis said she believes the sorting process using the old nine-digit zip code method was severely impacted by so many businesses outside the city having Morgantown addresses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back in 2020, former Morgantown Finance Director Jim Goff told The Dominion Post that he and Geospatial Services Manager Marvin Davis, along with other city staff, spent months going back and forth with the state using the state's mandated procedurenine-digit zip codesto pick through which businesses were in and out. Once the city got the all clear from the state, there was no additional communication regarding which businesses would receive notice to begin charging the tax, he explained. At the time, Davis indicated there were more than 5, 900 nine-digit zip codes in the city and that any codes that straddled the city's boundary were to be considered out per the state's instruction. This story was produced in partnership with The Garrison Project, an independent, nonpartisan organization addressing the crisis of mass incarceration and policing. Cortlen Henry pulled his Jeep into Memorial Hospital Miramar and ran into the ER just after 4:30 a.m. on October 26, 2018. In the shotgun seat, Anthony YNW Sakchaser Williams lay dead with gunshot wounds to his head and body. In the backseat was Christopher YNW Juvy Thomas Jr., also shot dead. Henry said the trio were victims of a drive-by shooting after they left a Fort Lauderdale recording studio. He said he protected himself by ducking toward the Jeeps floorboard. When he sat up, he said he saw his friends had been shot, and drove to the hospital. The Jeeps interior was covered in blood, but strangely, Henrys black hoodie was clean. His T-shirt, however, was soaked in blood. As police began to investigate, Henrys story fell apart. When the group left the studio, rapper Jamell YNW Melly Demons was riding in the Jeep Compass, sitting behind Henry in the left passenger backseat, in a prime location to kill Sakchaser and Juvy. Data from cell phone towers allegedly also placed Melly in the car at the time of the killings. In February 2019, three months later, Melly, then just 19, was arrested and charged with double first degree murder in Broward County. If convicted, Melly could be sentenced to death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The double homicide happened as Melly was on the brink of breakout success. His 2017 single Murder on My Mind went viral after its music video dropped. A week before the shooting, he wrapped a mini-doc about his life that featured Sakchaser and Juvy, who were his childhood friends. Kendrick Lamar later referenced Melly in his anti-Drake diss track Euphoria. Yeah Cole and Aubrey know Im a selfish n, Lamar rapped. I pray they my real friends / If not Im YNW Melly. Im a household name, Melly said of Kendricks song. Just for the wrong shit!!! As jury selection for Mellys trial began in the spring of 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rescinded Floridas unanimous jury requirement for executions, lowering the threshold for juries to recommend death sentences from a unanimous vote to eight voices in favor of death just one above a simple majority and the lowest bar in the nation. A judge ruled that Mellys case fell under the new rules, forcing him to confront a low standard for execution, all thanks to the new law with shaky constitutional foundations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement *** Death penalty cases have two parts: a trial for guilt, and if the defendant is convicted, a penalty phase deciding whether the sentencing should be death or life in prison. After losing the 2016 U.S. Supreme Court case Hurst v. Florida which decided that only juries, not judges, could sentence people to death the Florida legislature amended its capital sentencing law, requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for a death sentence. Then came the 2022 trial of Nikolas Cruz, charged capitally with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. After a bitter and contentious courtroom battle, a jury delivered a split decision in his case, thus sparing his life. DeSantis was furious. I just dont think anything else is appropriate, except the capital sentence in this case, he said. DeSantis was also preparing for a fierce Republican primary battle against Donald Trump, a longtime death penalty zealot; at the end of Trumps first term, his DOJ executed more than one dozen people on federal death row. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeSantis and the Florida legislature then set about radically reshaping the states death penalty system. In April 2023, shortly before the Melly trial began, DeSantis signed a bill ending the unanimous jury requirement in death penalty sentencing. Two weeks later, DeSantis signed a bill broadening the application of the death penalty to sexual assault on children, flying in the face of a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that explicitly prohibited executions when victims arent killed. The effects of DeSantis new system for death sentences in Florida are just now being felt in the state. According to a new analysis by the Death Penalty Policy Project, non-unanimous death sentences three in Alabama and six in Florida accounted for more than one-third of the 26 death sentences imposed in 2024, and 16 percent of that years executions involved non-unanimous sentences. To start 2025, one out of every seven people facing execution nationwide had been sentenced to death when jurors did not agree on the outcome, including nearly 60 percent of Floridas death row. And under the new 8-4 standard for the state, the bar is half as high as Alabama, where only two jurors can be overruled by their peers. In Florida, we are seeing some of the most aberrant practices, says Robert Dunham, director of the Death Penalty Policy Project. The expansion is essentially a return to Jim Crow laws. Indeed, non-unanimous juries are often rooted in racism. Louisiana allowing non-unanimous juries to convict began in the late 1800s when white delegates to the states Constitutional Convention said they sought to perpetuate the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race in Louisiana. The state abolished non-unanimous juries in 2018. Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, under the Sixth Amendments right to a fair trial, a unanimous verdict is required to convict a defendant of a serious crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though its hard to say why these laws persist, their origins are clear, Justice Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, wrote in the decision. Citing Louisianas Constitutional Convention, Gorsuch wrote that with a careful eye on racial demographics, the convention delegates sculpted a facially race-neutral rule permitting 10-to-2 verdicts in order to ensure that African-American juror service would be meaningless. In Oregon, non-unanimous verdicts can be traced to the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. In early 2023, Oregon retroactively vacated the sentences of over 400 people who were convicted by non-unanimous decisions, while Louisiana chose not to retroactively apply the ruling to about 1,500 convicted individuals. Thats a vestige of a time when we should all be embarrassed about, but were back to it in Florida, Frank Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says of the state allowing non-unanimous juries to put people to death. *** Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The locus of Floridas death penalty and its new non-unanimous sentencing regime is Duval County, a populous part of Northeast Florida where DeSantis was born. It has the largest active death row in Florida, which leads the nation in dubious death convictions (15 percent of all death row exonerations since 1973), and has the third-highest number of total executions among active death rows, behind only Texas and Oklahoma. Duval accounted for 17 percent of Floridas death sentences between 2006-2016, by far the highest rate of death sentences in the state, according to a 2020 study from the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. The ACLU is suing the county for racially biased death sentence procedures, supported by expert analysis from Baumgartner and others. The proportion of Black residents to white residents in the county is nearly double the state as a whole, which Baumgartner says is often linked to more widespread use of the death penalty. Broward County, where YNW Melly is being prosecuted, has nearly identical Black-white demographics as Duval County, and is also a state leader in death sentences. In the summer of 2007, Herman Lindsey, a Black Broward County resident, was sentenced to die for a 1994 killing with an 8-4 jury decision. He maintained his innocence. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Florida found serious errors with his prosecution and trial and acquitted him of the crime. When you get put in that situation to actually see for yourself that it is real, that they really railroad you, its a different belief as far as what our system is really made of, Lindsey says. There is nothing easy about the death penalty except for people being able to receive the death penalty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement *** Broward County law enforcement has a long and troubled history clashing with the hip-hop business. In 1990, Broward sheriffs deputies arrested a record store owner who sold 2 Live Crews album As Nasty as They Wanna Be, and members of the group were arrested for performing at a club in Hollywood, Florida. When Mellys case was argued in July 2023, the outcome was a mistrial, with nine jurors wanting to convict and three looking to acquit. Since then, the case has been marred by allegations of prosecutorial and investigative misconduct. In October 2023, a judge removed the lead prosecutor from the case for concealing that the investigations lead detective said hed be open to lying to help the case. In late January, Mellys former girlfriend was arrested and held for 12 days in jail for not testifying during the first trial, in a rare application of Florida statute for civil contempt. She was only released under the provision that she wear an ankle tracker so law enforcement could monitor her location. The Melly saga proves that while the death penalty has been on a long, historic decline in 1996, there were 316 new death sentences in the U.S. and just 26 last year the punishment can thrive when states like Florida change the rules, especially in politically charged environments like the one surrounding the Parkland trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The death penalty has of course always been a political tool, says Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Governments primarily use the measure to repress dissent, punish opponents, and to instill fear in the populace, she says. The new legislative efforts that weve seen in Florida, I think, are the work of elected officials who may be trying to curry favor or score points with the governor or the new presidential administration. In February, the Republican-dominated Florida legislature passed a collection of bills targeted at enforcing President Trumps attack on illegal immigration, including another likely unconstitutional law that mandates the death penalty for unauthorized aliens who have been convicted of a capital offense. At the end of the month, Florida legislators introduced another bill to expand the death penalty to anyone who engages in sex trafficking. Following Floridas lead, Tennessee expanded its death penalty to child sexual assault, and Alabama is poised to do the same after the states House passed the measure in February. Chances are, the state of Alabama will get sued for passing a bill thats unconstitutional, well spend tons of taxpayer dollars defending it in court, state Rep. Phillip Ensler, a Democrat, said following the vote. The Constitution isnt really holding these legislatures back from passing these laws, but it is just very political use of what is the harshest punishment, says Ngozi Ndulue, former death penalty defense attorney and associate professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia. This undermines the rule of law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nationally, since 1973, at least 200 people have been exonerated from death row, and close to two dozen people are known to have been executed even though details show they were possibly innocent. Florida has the second-largest death row and leads the nation in exonerations. According to Hannah Gorman, director of the Balanced Justice Project out of Florida International University, when you look at the people who are genuinely at high risk, Florida is the most concerning state. A little over a month before the 2023 mistrial, the judge on his case ruled Floridas change to the non-unanimous sentence of death was only procedural in nature, so the lowered standard for execution still is a possibility for Melly. His new trial date is September 10, pushing the prosecution of the Sakchaser and Juvy killings to nearly seven years after they occurred. All the while Mellys been incarcerated for over 2,100 days in conditions his lawyers argue shock the conscience; they say he hasnt had a single phone call or visit with his family in over three years and hasnt had a private meeting with his defense team since March 2022. (The Broward Sheriffs Office is investigating one member of Mellys defense team for witness tampering, though they have not formally charged her). Its years of pretrial incarceration at the expense of Floridians and closure for their family members who have ongoing wrongful death civil cases against the rapper. A federal judge is considering whether he should be released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ironically, the prosecution may be the best thing to happen to Mellys music career. Since his arrest, Murder on My Mind has gone from certified gold to 6x platinum as a single, has over 670 million views on YouTube, and over a billion listens on Spotify. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A juvenile was found suffering from a gunshot wound in Henderson on Saturday. Around 9 p.m., the Henderson Police and Fire Departments responded to a reported shooting on the 1100 block of Wigwam Avenue, near South Las Vegas Boulevard and East Pebble Road. HPD said that when officers arrived, they discovered the girl suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to a nearby hospital and is reported to be in stable condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect left the scene, and authorities believe the incident was not random, as the suspect and victim were acquainted, police said. Police stated that the investigation remains active and ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Mahakumbh 2025 emerged as a historic event with its divine, grand, and well-organized execution, witnessing an unprecedented gathering of over 66 crore devotees. Held on the banks of Sangam in Prayagraj, this Mahakumbh marked a sacred occasion after 144 years, drawing immense crowds from across India and the world. Amidst the sea of devotees, many got separated from their loved ones. However, thanks to the foresight of the Yogi government and its dedicated efforts, 54,357 separated individuals were successfully reunited with their families, a release said. A significant number were women. The police also played a vital role in reuniting devotees from different states of India and Nepal with their families. The Yogi government implemented several exemplary initiatives to ensure the safety and seamless organization of this divine event. A key highlight was the establishment of the Digital Khoya Paya Kendra, which facilitated the swift reunion of more than 35,000 separated devotees and their families. During the Amrit Snan Parv on Makar Sankranti (January 13-15), 598 individuals were reunited, 8,725 people were reconnected during Mauni Amavasya (January 28-30), and 864 devotees were reunited during Basant Panchami (February 2-4). Additionally, 24,896 individuals who got separated during other bathing festivals and on regular days were reunited, bringing the total to 35,083 by the end of Mahakumbh, it added. On the initiative of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, 10 digital Khoya Paya Kendra were set up across the Mahakumbh area. These centers featured state-of-the-art AI-based facial recognition systems, machine learning, and multilingual support. Non-governmental social organizations also played a commendable role, with Bharat Seva Kendra and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Smriti Samiti leading the efforts. According to Umesh Chandra Tiwari, Director of Bharat Seva Kendra's Bhoole Bhatke Camp, the camp successfully reunited 19,274 lost individuals with their families by the end of the event. All 18 children who were reported lost were also safely returned to their families, as per release. The Khoya Paaya Centers proved particularly effective in reuniting separated individuals with their families and continuously tracking them until they were safely returned. On the final day of Mahakumbh, Krishna Devi from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, was reunited with her family, as was Jangi Devi from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Similarly, Jagjannan Dharu from Banke district, Nepal, and Bindi, wife of Sitaram Shah from Saptari, Nepal, safely reconnected with their loved ones, release said. The successful reunions at these centers prompted heartfelt gratitude from the devotees, who expressed their appreciation to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for this thoughtful initiative. Through meticulous planning and compassionate efforts, Mahakumbh 2025 became a symbol of spiritual devotion and set a benchmark for efficient crowd management and humanitarian service. (ANI) The West is at a crossroads in history, Britains Prime Minister Keir Starmer told European leaders at a pivotal summit in London on Sunday, as the continent sought to wrestle control of negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine war away from the US and present a united front amid a meltdown in relations between Kyiv and Washington. This is not a moment for more talk. Its time to act, Starmer said after a monumental day of diplomacy in London, which saw leaders on the continent attempt to forge a path towards a ceasefire in Ukraine. The urgency of the summit in Londons ornate Lancaster House was heightened after US President Donald Trump chastised Zelensky in the Oval Office, appalling the West and delighting Moscow in the process. Zelensky and an ensemble of European leaders were in attendance, at a moment of intense anxiety in the conflict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer told reporters he was working with France and a small number of other nations to craft a plan to stop the fighting, which would then be presented to the US. French President Emmanuel Macron outlined the contours of such a plan in an interview with Le Figaro, saying that France and the United Kingdom have proposed a month-long limited ceasefire in Ukraine. The initial phase of a French-British alternative peace deal for Ukraine would involve a month-long truce in the air, on the seas and energy infrastructures, according to Macron speaking to the French outlet. The second phase, he said, would involve troops on the ground. CNN has reached out to Downing Street for comment. The plan seems destined to rival the negotiation process that Trumps administration opened with Russia last month, and suggests a tacit acceptance that bringing Trump and Zelensky to the negotiating table together could result in tensions combusting once more. King Charles III met Zelensky at the Sandringham on Sunday. - Joe Giddens/PA But it would still require American support, Starmer again reiterated during a Sunday press conference. He insisted the US was not an unreliable ally after Trumps extraordinary argument with Zelensky deeply spooked Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The West will hope Sundays summit has revived momentum in a peace process that appeared to be slowly building this week, only to come crashing down in those nasty few minutes on Friday. It displayed European unity, and several leaders in attendance sought to correct a narrative that the continent was a bystander in the negotiations to end the war. In the end, a deal will have to involve Russia, of course it will, but we cant approach this on the basis that Russia dictates the terms of any security guarantee before weve even got to a deal otherwise, we wont make any progress at all, Starmer said. The UK and France have been attempting to put together a coalition of the willing that would enter Ukraine after a deal is agreed. If a deal is done, it has to be a deal that is then defended, Starmer said. Zelensky applauded Sundays summit on X, saying that Europes unity is at an exceptionally high level, one that has not been seen in a long time. In a separate statement, Zelensky said a potential peace deal should start with a prisoner exchange, and the return of children. This, he said, would demonstrate Russias true intention for peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Macron told Le Figaro that the advantage of the French-British proposed ceasefire is that it is easy to monitor. We know how to measure it, he said, adding: in the event of a ceasefire, it would be very difficult to verify that the front is respected. Macron, who the outlet reports spoke with Trump on Friday, told Le Figaro that there will be no European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks. The French newspaper also wrote that Macron does not believe in a ceasefire signed between the US and Russia because he is convinced that Vladimir Putin will seek to humiliate Ukraine. Zelensky said he was aware of everything when asked if he knew about the proposal. He did not say whether he agreed to the proposed ceasefire. Nobody wants to see that Zelensky enjoyed a heartfelt welcome from Starmer on Saturday that could not be more different than the reception he endured at the White House. King Charles also met with Zelensky at his Sandringham estate on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The earlier spectacle of the American president and vice president berating the leader of a war-torn ally added intensity to Sundays summit, which had initially been convened by Starmer to build on the progress achieved during a similar meeting in Paris last weekend. Trump and JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for American military support, for gambling with the lives of millions of people, and risking World War III by fighting Russias invading army in his country. The scenes were Europes worst nightmare. Nobody wants to see that, Starmer told the BBC on Sunday. He said he hit the phones as soon as he watched the furious argument, adding: My driving purpose has been to bridge this. Ukraines leader will return to Kyiv with more than just warm words. On Saturday Britain announced an agreement to accelerate $2.8 billion worth of loans to Ukraine. The first tranche of funding is expected to be disbursed next week, according to the UK government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a Telegram post on Saturday, Zelensky said the money will go toward the production of weapons in Ukraine. This is the fair way: the one who started the war should pay. He added that the loan will strengthen our defense capabilities. Then on Sunday, Starmer announced a new deal that allows Ukraine to use 1.6 billion ($2 billion) of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 advanced air defense missiles, which would be made in Belfast. A once-in-a-generation moment We gather here today because this is a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step up, Starmer told leaders as he opened Sundays summit. The meeting will have three goals, Downing Street said: Ukraines short-term needs, securing a lasting deal to end the conflict, and planning for strong security guarantees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes, everyone around this table, Starmer told Zelensky during his opening remarks. Starmer and Macron speak at the Sunday summit. - Toby Melville/Pool/AFP/Getty Images French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadas outgoing leader Justin Trudeau, and the heads of several European countries, the European Union and NATO were all present. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Starmer on Sunday it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides over the war in Ukraine. The two leaders may prove vital in corralling a peace process; both have developed strong relationships with Trump, and will be expected to use that influence to convince the president to listen to Europes proposals. CNNs Saskya Vandoorne, Catherine Nicholls, Svitlana Vlasova, Gul Tuysuz and Brice Laine contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Volodymyr Zelensky and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a "productive meeting" on the sidelines of an international summit in London on March 2, the Presidential Office said. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting leaders and top officials from more than a dozen countries, as well as leaders of the EU and NATO, to devise a strategy for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. "I had a productive meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy (Giorgia Meloni) to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace," Zelensky said on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "No one other than (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war. Therefore, it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen our country's position in cooperation with our allies the countries of Europe and the United States." I had a productive meeting with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy @GiorgiaMeloni to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace. No one other than Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war. Therefore, it pic.twitter.com/3xCF7qTiCv Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 2, 2025 Zelensky's visit to the U.K. follows his calamitous trip to the U.S. While expecting to sign a framework agreement on Ukraine's natural resources with U.S. President Donald Trump, the visit derailed after he got into a heated argument with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, leaving the deal's fate uncertain. European leaders have rushed to declare support for Zelensky but also urged him to mend ties with Trump to keep the U.S. engaged in the peace process. Meloni suggested that Italy and the U.K. could act as a bridge between Kyiv and Washington. Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have also reportedly sought to work behind the scenes to ease tensions between the two leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think it is very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. And I think on this, the U.K. and Italy can play an important role in bridge building," Meloni said upon arriving in London for the allied summit, as quoted by the Telegraph. Read also: European leaders gather in London for Ukraine summit after White House fallout Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. President Volodymyr Zelensky met with King Charles III on March 2 following the conclusion of the European leaders' summit hosted by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The meeting, which sources tell BBC News lasted just under an hour, comes as a show of support for the leader of the embattled country amid the fallout of Zelensky's heated meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. European leaders converged in London on March 2 to reaffirm their support for Kyiv and discuss how to strengthen support for Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier in the day, Starmer said that a number of European nations, including the U.K. and France, are developing a 'coalition of the willing' that will include "planes in the air and boots on the ground" in an effort to negotiate a successful ceasefire in Ukraine. Starmer added that for any coalition to succeed, Europe must "have strong U.S. backing." While most European leaders publicly voiced support for Zelensky after his spat with Trump, Starmer called both the Ukrainian and U.S. leaders in an attempt to bridge the rift. The prime minister reportedly aims to tell Zelensky that fixing relations with Trump would be necessary to ensure lasting peace. Amid Starmer's visit to the U.S. to meet Trump on Feb. 27, King Charles invited Trump to an "unprecedented" second state visit to meet the Royals. Trump previously visited the United Kingdom in his first term in office on the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky previously met with Britain's King Charles on July 18. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Europe developing coalition of the willing to back ceasefire in Ukraine, Starmer says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. U.S. President Donald Trump reposted a claim on his social media network Truth Social on March 2 that President Volodymyr Zelensky "will have no choice but to concede" to Washington's terms to the mineral deal because Kyiv cannot survive the war without U.S. backing. The reposted commentary, initially published by Michael McCune, comes after his public spat with Zelensky in the White House on Feb. 28 that upended plans to sign a natural resources treaty between the two countries. "Trump played both sides liked a master chess player. In the end, Zelensky will have no choice but to concede because, without U.S. support, Ukraine cannot win a prolonged war against Russia," Trump reposted on his Truth Social network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Trump is actually protecting Ukraine without dragging the U.S. into war," the commentary read, presenting the deal as "genius." The televised quarrel between Trump, his Vice President JD Vance, and Zelensky erupted after the Ukrainian president stressed the need for security guarantees and said that the Kremlin has repeatedly violated ceasefires, leading to the U.S. officials berating him as ungrateful and in a weak position. Following the heated exchange, Trump said that Zelensky is "not a man who wants to make peace." Trump told reporters on Feb. 28 that Ukrainian president was "looking for something that I'm not looking for" and again asserted that Zelenskyy wanted to "fight, fight, fight." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky pushed back on Trump's comments during an interview with Fox News asserting that Ukraine is "ready for peace but we need to be in a good position." "We want peace... that's why I visited President Trump," Zelensky said. In his post, Trump claimed that U.S. business interests in Ukraine would be enough of a security guarantee as Russia would not be able to threaten them "without triggering massive international consequences." "(B)ecause attacking Ukraine would mean endangering American lives - something that would force the U.S. to respond." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A number of U.S. officials and Republican lawmakers are continuing their defense of Trump while hurling criticisms of Zelensky following the exchange, with some suggesting that Zelensky may have to resign. During an interview with NBC News on March 2, House Speaker Mike Johnson took aim at Zelensky suggesting he "needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country." White House national security advisor Mike Waltz also criticized Zelensky on March 2, stating that "We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war." Waltz, in a comment to far-right media outlet Breitbart News on March 1, compared Zelensky to "an ex-girlfriend that wants to argue everything that you said." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: We need to get the U.S. back on track: Ukrainian businesses, economists react to mineral deal failure Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spent the last 24 hours making a public showing of gratitude by thanking leaders across the globe for their outpouring of support after Vice President Vance accused him of being ungrateful for U.S. support amid the countrys war against Russia. Zelensky shared his appreciation with the presidents of Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Romania, Latvia and the Netherlands, in addition to prime ministers from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, and many more, in separate posts that have overtaken his feed on X. Thank you for your support, he wrote in response to several world leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky also made a point to thank the United States. We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. Im thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion, Zelensky wrote in a Friday statement following a heated debate that led to his departure from the White House. Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders; its a historic and solid bond between our peoples. Thats why I always begin with words of gratitude from our nation to the American nation, he added in a separate post. The leader also posted a video highlighting the positives from the contentious Oval Office meeting. Before he met with President Trump, Zelensky shared a Feb. 12 post acknowledging his gratitude for a strategic partnership with the Republican leader specifically. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His efforts are being lauded by leaders across the globe who support Ukraines refusal to bow to Moscows aggression after years of repeated invasions. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a loan for approximately $3 billion on Saturday in an effort to support Ukraines efforts on the frontline. It still remains unclear if Trump will be open to further negotiations that include Zelensky or if he will approve additional funds for security assistance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. March 1 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia and called for a minerals deal after verbally sparring with President Donald Trump on Friday. "We are very grateful to the United States for all the support," Zelensky said Saturday morning in a post on X. "I'm thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support and [the] American people," Zelensky said. "Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky also expressed his desire to complete a rare earth minerals with the United States while continuing to work toward a peace agreement with Russia, the BBC reported. He said any peace agreement should include security guarantees by the United States, which Trump has declined to provide. "It's not enough," Zelensky said. "We need more than that. A cease-fire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine." He said Trump and others in the United States have sought "peace through strength," which he said is possible when the United States stands with Ukraine." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Kremlin spokeswoman described Friday's fallout between Zelensky and Trump an "epic and political and diplomatic failure." "Zelensky affirmed his status as the most dangerous threat to the international community as an irresponsible figure that can stirup a big war," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday in a news release. Zakharova said a "truly just and durable peace" only is possible if NATO does not expand its membership to include Ukraine and if Ukraine ends what she called the "systematic elimination of everything Russian, including language, culture and church." The fallout between Zelensky and Trump is "indicative of the political weakness and moral degradation of the European leaders who continue to support" Zelensky and Ukraine, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelensky traveled to the United Kingdom after his public argument with Trump and had a meeting scheduled with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday. He also is participating in the European leaders' summit on Sunday in London. Zelensky secured a $2.8 billion loan from the United Kingdom during his meeting with Starmer. He described his meeting with Starmer as a "meaningful and warm meeting" and said the loan will pay for weapons production in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at Lancaster House, where he has been warmly welcomed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Source: Sky News, as reported by European Pravda Details: The two leaders had a brief conversation outside before heading inside for an emergency international summit. Earlier, the summit was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and others. Background: Media reports indicate that during a meeting of leaders in London on 2 March, Starmer will call for better relations with the Donald Trump administration as the only way to ensure sustainable peace in Ukraine. During his meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday, 1 March Starmer reaffirmed Britain's ongoing support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes" and its steadfast commitment to securing a sustainable peace. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday and told him he had the U.K.s unwavering support, a day after the blowout at the White House with President Donald Trump. Zelenskyy arrived to cheers from people who had gathered outside of 10 Downing St., where Starmer gave him a hug and ushered him inside. The two leaders met on the eve of a meeting of European leaders in London called to discuss how European nations can defend Ukraine and themselves if the U.S. withdraws support, it has taken on new urgency following Trumps televised berating of Zelenskyy. And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer told the leader of the war-torn country. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zelenskyy thanked him and the people of the U.K. for their support and friendship. After the meeting, Britain announced it was extending a 2.26 billion pound ($2.84 billion) loan to Kyiv for military procurement, with the money coming from the profits on frozen Russian assets. Its Britains contribution to a $50 billion package of support pledged by the G-7 group of wealthy industrialized nations. Zelenskyy thanked Britain in a statement on X, saying: This is true justice the one who started the war must be the one to pay. Starmer spoke to both Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday evening after meeting Zelenskyy, the prime ministers office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting comes the day after an extraordinary diplomatic meltdown when Trump and Vice President JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on live television for not being grateful enough for U.S. support. Zelenskyy had been poised to ink a deal to give the U.S. access to mineral riches as Trump pressures Ukraine to reach a deal to end the war with Russia. But he left town without signing anything. Zelenskyy had been scheduled to meet with Starmer on Sunday before the European summit, but the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit. Zelenskyy will meet with King Charles III on Sunday before the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he trusts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and does not believe he has done anything wrong in recent days. Source: BBC, citing Starmer, as reported by European Pravda Details: When asked whether Zelenskyy had done anything wrong, Starmer replied: "No, I think this is a man whose country has been at war for three years." Starmer also confirmed that he trusted Zelenskyy and affirmed his trust in US President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The UK prime minister recalled previous discussions and meetings with Trump, emphasising his belief that the US presidents motivation is "a lasting peace". Background: Zelenskyy left the White House ahead of schedule on Friday, 28 February after a spat with Trump and Vice President JD Vance. During a meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday, Starmer pledged Britain's continued support for Ukraine "for as long as it may take" and its unwavering commitment to achieving a lasting peace. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! SI Deepak Sharma suffered head injuries during an exchange of fire between police and gangsters in J-K's Kathua in April 2024. He later succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the Government Medical College. https://x.com/DGPPunjabPolice/status/1896091196826775671 Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, said that the accused duo were arrested after a long chase and cross-firing. "In a major breakthrough, Jalandhar Commissionerate Police apprehends 2 associates (Sukhwinder @Sukha and Harpreet) of #USA based Sonu Khatri Gang after a long chase and cross-firing and recovers 2 sophisticated weapons," DGP Yadav said in a post on X. "Arrested accused were wanted in connection with the killing of Jammu and Kashmir Police Sub-Inspector Deepak Sharma on April 2, 2024," he added. DGP Yadav further said that the arrest of the accused "prevented 3 potential murders." Earlier in February, Punjab police's Anti Gangster Task Force arrested an associate of terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa Harike. The accused, Sukhchain alias Bhujia, is wanted in a number of criminal cases, including a recent attempt of a murder in Bhikhi in Mansa, according to the DGP, Punjab Police. Preliminary investigation had revealed that the arrested accused was planning to target rival gang members. One 32 Caliber pistol and five live cartridges have been seized from his possession. "Punjab police is fully committed to eradicate organised crime in the state and ensure a safer Punjab," a statement by the Punjab Police had said. (ANI) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has outlined details of his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in London. Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: Zelenskyy described the meeting as significant for developing a joint action plan to end the war with a just and lasting peace. "No one other than Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war. Therefore, it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen our country's position in cooperation with our allies the countries of Europe and the United States," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Ukraine needs peace backed by robust security guarantees. I am grateful to Italy for its continued support and partnership in bringing peace in Ukraine closer," Zelenskyy added. At a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Meloni emphasised the importance of preventing a split in the West. "I think on this, the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge building," she said. Background: The Italian prime minister, the only EU leader to attend Trump's inauguration, is seen as a potential mediator between the US and Europe. Earlier, Meloni expressed her intention to organise an emergency summit involving the United States, European states and allies to discuss Ukraine and future challenges. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! European leaders gathered in London on Sunday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, following a tempestuous White House meeting that thrust United States-Ukraine relations further into crisis. During a news conference following the summit, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "we have to learn from the mistakes of the past" and can't "accept a weak deal" that Russia can break. All European countries must contribute to making a strong deal and "step up their own share of the burden," Starmer added. Starmer outlined a plan to support Ukraine, including continuing the flow of aid to Ukraine and keeping up economic pressure on Russia. He said any lasting peace agreement must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the negotiating table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the event of a deal, Starmer said Europe will continue to help Ukraine militarily to deter any future military action by Russia. He also said there will be a "coalition of the willing" to help defend Ukraine. PHOTO: France's President Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskybegin a plenary meeting at a summit held at Lancaster House in London, Mar. 2, 2025. (Justin Tallis/Pool via Reuters) Starmer said the United Kingdom is ready to back the plan with boots on the ground and planes in the air. He said he also recognizes that not all countries will be able to make this kind of commitment. Starmer said that for a deal to work, it will need strong U.S. backing. "We are working on a durable peace," Starmer said. When asked by a reporter about whether President Donald Trump would support the plan's framework, Starmer said he spoke to Trump "last night" and that he "wouldn't be going down this road if I didn't think it had a chance." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starmer also introduced a 2.2 billion loan -- about $2.7 billion U.S. -- for Ukraine, backed by profits from Russian assets that his government announced on Saturday. Zelenskyy also met with King Charles III on Sunday at Sandringham House, Buckingham Palace said. PHOTO: Britain's King Charles III and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, pose for a picture during their meeting at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England, March 2, 2025. (Joe Giddens/Pool via AP) In a statement released Sunday evening, Zelenskyy thanked the European leaders for the London summit, saying: "We are discussing with our partners security guarantees and the conditions for a just peace for Ukraine." Zelenskyy said a series of important meetings are being prepared in the "near future." A special European Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday to discuss Ukraine, to which Zelenskyy has been invited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We feel strong support for Ukraine, for our people -- both soldiers and civilians, and our independence," Zelenskyy said. "Together, we are working in Europe to establish a solid foundation for cooperation with the United States in pursuit of true peace and guaranteed security." Earlier, Starmer told BBC News that he had agreed with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron that the U.K. and France would work on a Ukraine peace plan to then be presented to -- and discussed with -- the U.S. The prime minister added that "one or two" other nations may be involved in drafting the plan "to stop the fighting." In a statement, Starmer's office said the prime minister will "intensify his efforts in pursuit of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine" while hosting Sunday's summit in the British capital. Zelenskyy arrived in the U.K. on Saturday, straight from his visit to Washington, D.C., in which an Oval Office meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance descended into an open argument in front of gathered reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and Vance lambasted Zelenskyy, falsely accusing Ukraine of starting the war with Russia, which began when Moscow troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The American leaders also expressed frustration over a proposed minerals extraction deal with the U.S. and Kyiv's alleged unwillingness to reach a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a summit held at Lancaster House in central London on March 2, 2025. (Christophe Ena/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) When asked about the rapidly changing U.S. foreign policy on the war in Ukraine under the Trump administration, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a state TV reporter on camera Sunday that America's foreign policy is now "largely in line with our vision." Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he hasn't spoken to Zelenskyy since the explosive Oval Office meeting, which Rubio attended. "Well, I haven't had any contact with him since Friday," Rubio told "This Week" co-anchor George Stephanopoulos before pointing out the U.S. had a number of contacts with Zelenskyy over the last 10 days. "We have plenty of contacts with him, though, plenty." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement European leaders were quick to rally around the Ukrainian leader and his team, though several stressed the importance of Kyiv retaining good -- and repairing damaged -- relations with the U.S. "The prime minister has this weekend reiterated his unwavering support for Ukraine and is determined to find a way forward that brings an end to Russia's illegal war and guarantees Ukraine a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security," Starmer's office said in a statement. Starmer spoke with both Zelenskyy and Trump on Friday evening in the immediate aftermath of the Ukrainian leader's disastrous D.C. visit, which ended with the cancellation of a planned press conference and the Ukrainian delegation being asked to leave the White House. Leaders from Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council, traveled to London to take part in Sunday's summit. PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Starmer, center, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, left, and France's President Macron meet during the European leaders' summit to discuss Ukraine, hosted by Britain's PM Starmer, at Lancaster House, London, March 2, 2025. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP) NATO chief Mark Rutte said he was "very positive heading into todays meeting." Rutte said his "three key points" were that Ukraine needs more immediate support from Europe, that any peace deal "has to last" with Europe "stepping up" to ensure its success, plus that Europe needs to increase defense spending "to keep NATO strong." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X, "The path to peace is strength. Weakness breeds more war. We will support Ukraine, while undertaking a surge in European defense." Zelenskyy was the last foreign leader to arrive for the meeting, the Ukrainian leader greeted by cheering crowds and Starmer. PHOTO: Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they take part in the Securing our Future Summit on Ukraine and European security at Lancaster House in London, March 2, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP) Zelenskyy said in a post to X that he held a separate and "productive" meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "to develop a joint action plan for ending the war with a just and lasting peace." "No one other than Putin is interested in the continuation and quick return of the war," Zelenskyy wrote. "Therefore, it is important to maintain unity around Ukraine and strengthen our country's position in cooperation with our allies -- the countries of Europe and the United States. Ukraine needs peace backed by robust security guarantees." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Trump and Zelenskyy key takeaways: Oval Office meeting explodes into shouting match The British leader's statement said the key topics of discussion will include further military support for Ukraine, increased economic pressure on Russia, the need for a "strong" and "lasting" peace deal that "ensures that Ukraine is able to deter and defend against future Russian attack, plus planning for "strong security guarantees" provided by foreign partners. "In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees, alongside continued discussions with the United States," Starmer said in a statement. Zelenskyy on Saturday thanked Starmer for his "meaningful and warm" reception in London. The president also confirmed that Ukraine and London signed an agreement allowing Kyiv to access revenues generated by Russian financial assets frozen in the U.K. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I thank the people and government of the United Kingdom for their tremendous support from the very beginning of this war," Zelenskyy wrote on social media. "We are happy to have such strategic partners and to share the same vision of what a secure future should look like for all." PHOTO: President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as U.S. Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jim Lo Scalzo/pool/epa-efe/shutt/JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutt) ABC News' Rashid Haddou, Victoria Beaule, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Tom Soufi Burridge contributed to this report. UK prime minister announces framework for peace plan after summit with Zelenskyy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Support Local News Reporting Journalists at the Yakima Herald-Republic bring you timely, in-depth and credible local news. Your generous donation supports their work. A Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worker was airlifted from Joshimath to Rishikesh on Sunday after being rescued from the devastating avalanche in Mana, Chamoli, Uttarakhand. The worker's brother, Pankaj Kumar, shared the ordeal, revealing that his brother is currently undergoing treatment in Rishikesh. Pankaj Kumar stated that his brother, who was responsible for servicing trucks in the area, had been left with severe injuries. Speaking to ANI, Pankaj said, "The doctor has said that he will need to be operated on. He can't feel his legs," Pankaj Kumar said, expressing concern for his brother's well-being. The family is anxiously waiting for the operation, with Pankaj Kumar revealing that doctors have assured them of a positive outcome. "Doctors say that he will be fine, but he needs to be operated on... The family is worried. Doctors are cooperating with us." Pankaj Kumar last spoke to his brother on February 18, before the avalanche struck. The incident has left the family shaken, and they are now praying for the worker's speedy recovery. Meanwhile, the Indian Army on Sunday said that three more bodies had been recovered and that one worker continued to be missing after the avalanche hit the site of a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday. With this, the death toll in the incident has gone up to seven. Four workers died on Saturday. Bodies of BRO workers retrieved from the avalanche site airlifted today and brought to Joshimath military hospitalThere were 54 workers at the site when the avalanche struck early on the morning of February 28. The Army, ITBP, Air Force, NDRF, and SDRF personnel have been participating in the rescue operations for the past two days. In Dehradun, PRO Defence Lt Colonel Manish Shrivastava told ANI, "...Three bodies were recovered today and brought to Mana and now sent to Joshimath... We hope we will rescue the remaining one soon." The SDRF team searched the site with victim-locating and thermal image cameras to find the remaining workers. Earlier today, a Drone-Based Intelligent Buried Object Detection System was brought to Joshimath, from where it reached the avalanche site in Mana to assist in the search operations. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Rishikesh Public Relations Official, Sandeep Singh, said today, "...The patient who has been airlifted here is Pawan Kumar. He has a pelvic injury and has been brought here for further treatment. Yesterday, Ashok Kumar was brought with a spinal injury and due to that injury, his legs are not working, and he has to undergo surgery there. If his test reports are fine, then his surgery will be done today..." The AIIMS Rishikesh official said, "Five people were scheduled to be brought here, but later we learned that four would be brought here. Other patients are being examined at the base hospital." Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman had earlier said that the weather supported the search and rescue operations. "A total of 54 (BRO workers) were missing, 50 have been rescued, and four people have lost their lives. Four people are still missing, and a search and rescue operation is going on, and we hope that we will find them soon."The Army's Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in-C, Central Command and Lt Gen DG Misra, GOC Uttar Bharat Area had visited the avalanche site at Mana yesterday to oversee, review and coordinate the search and rescue operations. Lt.Gen Sengupta said that specialized recco radars, UAVs, quadcopters, avalanche rescue dogs, etc, were pressed into service to locate the survivors. Helicopters are also operating continuously for staging forward essential equipment, resources and evacuation of the injured," he said. (ANI) Ramadan is one of the most sacred months for Muslims around the world. It is a time of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. In 2025, Ramadan will begin on the evening of Sunday, March 2, and end with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on the evening of Sunday, March 30, depending on the sighting of the moon. We will explore the significance, history, and importance of this holy month, as well as the various traditions and practices associated with it:- The Significance of Ramadan Ramadan holds a deep spiritual significance for Muslims. It is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is considered one of the Five Pillars of Islam the five basic acts of worship that define a Muslim's faith and practice. The month is marked by fasting from dawn until sunset, which serves not only as an act of obedience but also as an opportunity for spiritual cleansing and self-discipline. Muslims believe that during Ramadan, the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This revelation is commemorated during the "Laylat al-Qadr" (Night of Decree), which is believed to fall within the last ten nights of Ramadan, typically on an odd-numbered night. This night holds great spiritual significance, as it is considered the night when the Quran was first sent down to the earth. Fasting during Ramadan is not just about abstaining from food and drink; it also extends to refraining from other physical needs such as smoking and marital relations during daylight hours. This is intended to help Muslims develop self-control and increase their empathy for the less fortunate. The History of Ramadan Ramadan has been observed by Muslims since the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the 7th century. According to Islamic tradition, fasting was initially made obligatory for the early Muslim community in Medina in the second year after the Hijra (migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina), making it a central part of Islamic life. The first revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during Ramadan is seen as a pivotal moment in Islamic history. The teachings in the Quran provide guidelines for Muslims on how to lead a righteous life, with fasting being a means to purify the soul, develop consciousness of God (Taqwa), and strengthen one's relationship with the Creator. The practice of fasting during Ramadan was further refined through the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who emphasized that fasting is not only an outward expression of worship but also a deeply personal and spiritual experience. The Importance of Ramadan Ramadan is not just about abstaining from food and drink; its importance goes far beyond that. Here are some of the key reasons why Ramadan holds a special place in the hearts of Muslims: 1. Spiritual Reflection and Growth Ramadan provides an opportunity for spiritual reflection. It is a time to strengthen ones connection with Allah (God) through prayer, recitation of the Quran, and acts of charity. Muslims aim to seek forgiveness, ask for guidance, and grow closer to Allah during this holy month. 2. Fasting as an Act of Discipline Fasting teaches self-discipline and control over one's desires. By abstaining from basic needs like food, drink, and sleep, Muslims learn to prioritize their spiritual needs. This practice also encourages Muslims to reflect on their behavior, become more conscious of their actions, and seek self-improvement. 3. Empathy and Charity Fasting allows Muslims to develop empathy for those who are less fortunate. By experiencing hunger and thirst, individuals are reminded of the struggles of the poor and needy. This leads to a greater emphasis on acts of charity (Zakat) during Ramadan, with many Muslims donating a portion of their wealth to help those in need. 4. Building a Stronger Sense of Community Ramadan is a time when families and communities come together to break their fasts, especially at Iftar (the meal to break the fast at sunset). This communal act fosters a sense of unity, brotherhood, and shared devotion among Muslims. Additionally, Ramadan is an opportunity for Muslims to strengthen their social bonds by gathering for prayers, attending mosques, and participating in charitable activities. 5. The Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr) The last ten days of Ramadan are especially significant, as they include Laylat al-Qadr, the "Night of Decree." It is believed that this night is when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Muslims believe that the prayers offered during this night are more powerful than those offered during other nights, making it a time for seeking blessings, forgiveness, and mercy from Allah. Key Practices During Ramadan - Sawm (Fasting): Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, refraining from food, drink, smoking, and marital relations. - Taraweeh Prayers: After the Isha (night) prayer, Muslims perform additional prayers known as Taraweeh. These prayers involve the recitation of the Quran and are held in mosques during the month of Ramadan. - Iftar and Suhoor: The fast is broken at sunset with the Iftar meal, often starting with dates and water. Before dawn, Muslims have Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, to sustain them during the fasting hours. - Zakat (Charity): Giving to charity is a major component of Ramadan, as Muslims believe that charity purifies wealth and helps those in need. Many Muslims pay Zakat (obligatory charity) during Ramadan. - Recitation of the Quran: Muslims aim to complete the entire Quran during the month of Ramadan. Many spend time each day reading or listening to Quranic recitations to increase their understanding and connection to Allah. Ramadan is a month of immense significance, spirituality, and community. It provides an opportunity for self-reflection, discipline, and growth while also fostering compassion and generosity towards others. As Muslims around the world prepare for Ramadan 2025, they will seek to deepen their faith, improve their character, and renew their commitment to Allah. Whether it is through fasting, prayer, or charity, Ramadan continues to be a time for spiritual rejuvenation and strengthening the bonds within the global Muslim community. As the crescent moon appears in the night sky, the worlds 1.9 billion Muslims welcome Ramadan 2025, a month of fasting, prayer, and self-reflection. This holy period is considered the most sacred in Islam, marking the time when the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Observed with deep devotion, Ramadan is not just about refraining from food and drink but also about spiritual purification, charity, and strengthening ones faith. As we embrace the blessings of Ramadan, it is a beautiful tradition to send heartfelt wishes and messages to our loved ones. Whether you're looking for Ramadan Kareem wishes, inspiring quotes, or thoughtful messages, we have compiled a collection of over 50 wishes to share with your family and friends. Ramadan Mubarak 2025 Wishes 1. Ramadan Mubarak! May this holy month bring you peace, joy, and countless blessings. 2. Wishing you a blessed Ramadan Kareem! May your fasts and prayers be accepted. 3. May the divine light of Ramadan shine in your heart and bring you happiness. Ramadan Mubarak! 4. Wishing you a month filled with forgiveness, kindness, and devotion. 5. May this Ramadan bring you closer to Allah and fill your life with peace. Heartfelt Ramadan Messages 6. May this Ramadan cleanse your soul and bring you closer to the Almighty. Stay blessed! 7. Ramadan Mubarak! May Allah shower you with endless mercy and guidance. 8. This Ramadan, may your faith grow stronger, and your heart be filled with gratitude. 9. May you find inner peace, happiness, and prosperity this Ramadan. 10. May every fast you observe and every prayer you offer bring you closer to Jannah. Ramadan Greetings for Family & Friends 11. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family! May Allah bless your home with peace and harmony. 12. May the spirit of Ramadan fill your heart with patience and gratitude. 13. Sending warm Ramadan wishes to you and your loved ones. Stay safe and blessed! 14. May this Ramadan bring you health, wealth, and prosperity. Ameen! 15. Wishing you and your family a Ramadan filled with love and togetherness. Islamic Quotes for Ramadan 16. "Fasting is the shield; it will protect you from the hellfire and prevent you from sins." Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) 17. "When Ramadan begins, the gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained." Sahih al-Bukhari 18. "Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven." Sahih al-Bukhari 19. "And it is better for you that you fast, if only you knew." Quran 2:184 20. "Ramadan is not just about fasting; it is about nourishing the soul with faith and good deeds." Inspiring Ramadan Wishes for Social Media 21. May your heart and home be filled with the divine blessings of Ramadan Kareem! 22. Wishing you peace, prosperity, and patience this Ramadan. 23. May the light of Ramadan guide you towards success and happiness. 24. Ramadan is the time for reflection, devotion, and forgiveness. May Allah bless you! 25. Keep your heart pure, your prayers sincere, and your fasts meaningful. Happy Ramadan! Ramadan Mubarak Messages for Colleagues & Boss 26. Ramadan Mubarak! Wishing you and your family joy and prosperity in this holy month. 27. May this Ramadan bring you success in both faith and work. 28. Wishing you a peaceful and productive Ramadan. May Allah bless you abundantly. 29. May the discipline of fasting bring you clarity and strength in all aspects of life. 30. Ramadan Mubarak to you and your team! May your efforts be rewarded. Beautiful Ramadan Messages for Your Special One 31. Ramadan Mubarak, my love! May this holy month strengthen our bond and bring us closer. 32. Fasting with you in spirit makes Ramadan even more special. May Allah bless us! 33. As the moon of Ramadan shines, I pray for your happiness and peace. Stay blessed, my dear. 34. Ramadan Kareem, my love! May our hearts be full of gratitude and love. 35. May Allah fill your life with happiness and your heart with purity. Happy Ramadan, sweetheart! Ramadan Greetings in Different Languages 36. Ramadan Mubarak! (English) 37. (Arabic) 38. Ramazan Mubarek! (Turkish) 39. Selamat Ramadan! (Indonesian) 40. Ramazannz Mubarek Olsun! (Azerbaijani) Eid Wishes for the End of Ramadan 41. May your fasts be accepted and your Eid be joyful! 42. Eid Mubarak in advance! May your Ramadan end with love and gratitude. 43. Wishing you happiness, prosperity, and good health as Ramadan concludes. 44. May Allahs blessings shine upon you this Eid and always. 45. As Ramadan ends, may your good deeds multiply and your prayers be answered! 46. Wishing you strength and patience as you observe this holy month. May your faith grow stronger with each passing day. 47. Like the sight of the crescent moon in the evening sky, may our lives get brighter with this holy month of Ramadan! 48. May this month of Ramadan light up your life with faith, peace, harmony and prosperity! 49. Ramadan Mubarak! May this holy month bring you peace, prosperity, and endless blessings. 50. May your fasts be easy, your prayers be accepted, and your heart be filled with faith. Ramadan Kareem! Images To Share On Ramadan Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbul afwa fafu anni." ("O Allah, You are Most Forgiving, and You love to forgive, so forgive me.") Hadith May this Ramadan 2025 bring blessings, joy, and peace to all. Share these beautiful wishes, quotes, and messages with your loved ones and spread the spirit of this sacred month. New Delhi: The mutual fund industry has seen significant growth in assets under management (AUM) -- from Rs 5.89 lakh crore in May 2008 to Rs 53.4 lakh crore in March 2024, a report showed on Saturday. The steady increase in the share of mutual funds in Indian household savings, from 7.6 per cent in FY21 to 8.4 per cent in FY 23, is a testament to the industrys growing relevance and the faith that investors have reposed in it, according to the report by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), along with Crisil. The mutual fund industry has played a pivotal role in empowering Indian households and investors to be a part of the countrys growth story, providing a platform for wealth creation and financial inclusion. Despite ongoing volatility in the stock market, assets under management (AUM) for all open-ended schemes grew marginally by 0.49 per cent to reach Rs 66.98 lakh crore in January. According to the AMFI report, mutual funds have made it possible for investors to benefit from a diversified portfolio managed by experienced professionals, even with a modest investment. The industry has seen a significant increase in digital transactions, with approximately 90 per cent of all mutual fund purchases being made through digital channels in FY 2024, the report mentioned. The regulator, SEBI, has played a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and stability of the mutual fund landscape. Chandigarh: Forty-six per cent of the more than 51 lakh eligible voters for civic body polls in Haryana exercised their franchise on Sunday, officials said. The polling was peaceful, they added. Voting was held to elect the mayors and ward members of seven municipal corporations -- Gurugram, Manesar, Faridabad, Hisar, Rohtak, Karnal and Yamunanagar. Bypolls for the mayors' posts in Ambala and Sonipat were also held. The voting was held from 8 am to 6 pm. The turnout in the civic polls was recorded at 46 per cent, the officials said, adding that the overall percentage may slightly increase once the entire data is collected. Elections were also held for the posts of presidents and ward members in four municipal councils -- Ambala Sadar, Pataudi Jatoli Mandi, Thanesar and Sirsa. A bypoll was also held for the president's post in the Sohna Municipal Council. Voting also took place for the election of the presidents and ward members in 21 municipal committees. Bypolls for the presidents' posts in the municipal committees of Assandh (Karnal district) and Ismailabad (Kurukshetra district) were also conducted. Ahead of the polls, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would win the contests and said work would be done three times faster after the formation of a "triple-engine" government, a reference to the saffron party being in power at the Centre, in the state as well as in the civic bodies. The Congress had appealed to the voters to elect the party candidates with a full majority. The grand old party, out of office in Haryana for more than 10 years, is looking to turn around its electoral fortunes in the civic polls. Union minister and former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was among the early voters, casting his vote at a booth in Karnal. "Voting is our democratic right and it is also our duty to exercise our franchise," he told reporters, exuding confidence that the BJP would win the polls. Another Union minister, Krishan Pal Gurjar, cast his vote at a booth in Faridabad. Haryana minister Anil Vij, who cast his vote in Ambala Cantonment, said, "All the voters should participate in the greatest festival of democracy. A triple-engine government will be formed in Haryana. People are aware that the BJP governs both at the Centre and in Haryana, and if the party also governs the urban local bodies, development will accelerate." Sunderlal Yadav, the BJP's mayoral candidate for Manesar, where municipal elections were held for the first time, cast his vote at a booth in the Manesar area. While some places saw a healthy voter turnout, the poll percentage remained comparatively low at places like Gurugram and Sonipat. Gurugram recorded a turnout of more than 40 per cent, with Farukh Nagar in the district registering a healthy poll percentage of nearly 77. Manesar recorded a 65-per cent voter turnout and Sohna 35.3 per cent. Sonipat recorded a poor turnout of about 29 per cent, though Kharkhoda in the district registered more than 62 per cent polling. Rohtak recorded a poll percentage of more than 53. In Ambala district, the turnout was nearly 32 per cent in Ambala, 52.3 per cent in Ambala Sadar and 67.3 per cent in Barara. In Faridabad, the turnout was around 40 per cent. However, in Fatehabad's Jakhal Mandi, the turnout was a healthy 85.2 per cent. In Jind district's Julana and Safidon, the turnout was recorded at 70.9 per cent and 81.5 per cent respectively. Narnaund in Hisar district recorded a healthy voter turnout of 82.7 per cent, while Hisar registered a poll percentage of 52.4. At Taoru in Nuh district, 78 per cent of voters exercised their franchise. In Karnal district, the turnout was 33.2 per cent in Assandh, 46.2 per cent in Karnal, 72.7 per cent in Indri, 67.4 per cent in Nilokheri and 76.4 per cent in Taraori. The start of polling was delayed by an hour at a booth in the Gurugram Municipal Corporation's ward number 5 due to a snag in the electronic voting machine (EVM), sources said. Haryana State Election Commissioner Dhanpat Singh had earlier said extensive arrangements, including those related to security, were made for free, fair and transparent elections. He said 39 candidates were contesting the elections for the mayors' posts in the nine municipal corporations and 27 were in the fray for the presidents' posts in the five municipal councils. A total of 151 candidates contested the polls for the presidents' posts in the 23 municipal committees. Only one candidate each was in the fray in ward number 36 of the Faridabad Municipal Corporation, ward number 22 of the Gurugram Municipal Corporation, ward numbers eight and 11 of the Karnal Municipal Corporation and ward number nine of the Yamunanagar Municipal Corporation, leading to their unopposed elections. The candidates for ward number 24 of the Ambala Sadar Municipal Council and ward numbers seven and 32 of the Thanesar Municipal Council were also elected unopposed. Besides, 17 ward members in various municipal committees were also elected unopposed. Polling for the Panipat Municipal Corporation will be held on March 9. The votes will be counted on March 12 and the results declared the same day. Haryana Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Sunday to investigate the discovery of Congress worker Himani Narwal's body in a suitcase in Rohtak district. The Congress has called for an inquiry into her death, as Narwal was linked to MP Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. The police said that the body was found stuffed in a suitcase near a bus stand in Sampla town on Saturday. The SIT has been formed. Her phone has been recovered. We are taking the help of cyber and FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory), Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajneesh Kumar said, IANS reported. He stated that the victim, an LLB-pursuing student, lived alone in the state while her family resided in Delhi. The postmortem has been completed, but her family members were not present at the mortuary to collect the report or the body for cremation. The body was found in the bag. Later, she was identified as Himani Narwal...We called her family to the spotWe are investigating various angles and will solve the matter as early as possible, Kumar said. The victim's mother blamed the elections for her daughter's life. The election and the party took my daughter's life. Because of this, she made some enemies. They (the accused) could be from the party, could be her friends as well...On February 28, she was at home, the victims mother Savita said. She was going with Rahul Gandhi and was close to the Hooda family, this is why people were having problems, they were jealous, she added. (With IANS inputs) Kerala Lottery Results Sunday 02-03-2025 LIVE: The Kerala Lottery Department, on behalf of the Keralan government, announces the "AKSHAYA AK-691" Lucky Draw Result today Akshaya AK-691, March 02, 2025. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Lottery Result 2025 for "Akshaya AK-691" will feature 12 series, with changes in series possible each week. A total of 108 lakh tickets are available for purchase weekly. The ticket prices may vary. Check the Akshaya AK-691 results right here to see if youre the first-place winner of 70 Lakhs. Stay tuned to this website for the live update of Kerala Lottery Akshaya AK-691 results today. Kerala Lottery Result 02-03-2025 March: FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR AKSHAYA AK-691 Draw LUCKY NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 70 LAKHS IS: AG 304976 LUCKY NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 5 LAKHS IS: AJ 649119 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1 Lakh ARE: AA 847480 AB 776242 AC 610177 AD 595004 AE 646874 AF 483920 AG 692745 AH 145240 AJ 213581 AK 410295 AL 128475 AM 126121 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE: AA 304976 AB 304976 AC 304976 AD 304976 AE 304976 AF 304976 AH 304976 AJ 304976 AK 304976 AL 304976 AM 304976 (For The Tickets Ending with The Following Numbers below) LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE: 0294 0502 1261 1803 2236 2437 3058 3360 3924 4978 5358 5806 5818 6668 7126 8910 9553 9880 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE OF RS 2,000 ARE: 0174 1111 1333 6908 7199 9360 9827 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE: 0282 0535 1274 1284 1757 1897 1911 2226 2326 2434 2988 3187 3322 3970 4274 4468 4502 4555 4699 5987 6708 6825 7548 8792 9250 9911 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE: 0017 0256 0354 0367 0590 0814 0996 1083 1183 1300 1518 1545 1553 1804 1819 1824 1873 2154 2250 2313 2519 2666 2691 2734 2956 3036 3054 3833 4038 4087 4215 4837 4885 4961 5369 5388 5659 5701 5735 5780 5787 5995 6038 6245 6433 6445 6772 6817 6874 6916 7021 7068 7090 7181 7550 7720 7980 8035 8086 8178 8312 8456 8727 8730 9043 9296 9317 9540 9645 9760 9833 9963 LUCKY NUMBERS FOR 8TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE: 0014 0112 0127 0161 0401 0481 0491 0524 0557 0601 0797 0920 0942 0968 1227 1229 1402 1430 1529 1580 1614 1632 1906 2063 2101 2217 2423 2538 2552 2570 2679 2683 2701 2851 3001 3186 3231 3261 3272 3339 3407 3428 3453 3472 3669 3683 3763 3809 3985 4113 4128 4133 4292 4357 4381 4386 4480 4580 4590 4604 4685 4729 4735 4848 4960 5205 5269 5355 5357 5363 5408 5424 5509 5546 5571 5748 5772 5860 6061 6076 6105 6141 6223 6713 6741 6937 6958 7147 7220 7374 7472 7489 7538 7546 7623 7647 7701 7741 8051 8166 8183 8189 8313 8542 8580 8611 8653 8705 8752 8801 8820 8860 9033 9075 9117 9149 9179 9286 9585 9600 9620 9627 9821 KERALA LOTTERY RESULT 02-03-2025 March TODAY: AKSHAYA AK-691 LOTTERY PRIZE DETAILS 1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakhs 2nd Prize: Rs. 5 lakhs 3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh 4th Prize: Rs. 5,000 5th Prize: Rs. 2,000 6th Prize: Rs. 1,000 7th Prize: Rs. 500 8th Prize: Rs. 100 Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000 (NOTE: Lottery can be addictive and should be played responsibly. The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.) Maharashtra Politics: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday put rumours of a rift in the ruling alliance, Mahayuti, to rest, saying that no matter how many breaking news stories come out, the alliance will not break. This comes days after Shinde made the 'lightly' remark, fuelling speculations in Maharashtra's political circles. With Shiv Sena and NCP dividing into two factions, the political equations have turned even more interesting as both factions allied with Congress and the BJP, respectively. While Eknath Shibnde's rebellion led to the formation of the Mahayuti government, the Sena leader was reportedly not happy with the BJP after Devendra Fadnavis was made Chief Minister. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Maharashtra Budget Session starting on Monday, Shinde said that there is no cold war in Mahayuti and it's only he and CM Devendra Fadnavis who have switched roles while Ajit Pawar is constant. During the press conference, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader was accompanied by Fanavis and Pawar. "This is the second session of our government. Only we (Devendra Fadnavis and I) have changed roles. But yes, Ajit Dada's role is constant...We have started many projects that were stopped by the MVA government. Ajit Dada will present the Maharashtra budget. No matter how much breaking news you give, we (Mahayuti) will not break. What is the Cold War? There is nothing like that. In this scorching heat of Maharashtra... how is a cold war possible?" Shinde said. Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar hold a joint press conference ahead of the Maharashtra Budget Session starting tomorrow i.e. March 3. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar says, "The opposition did not attend the meeting today ahead of the Budget pic.twitter.com/IcPGoSCyLk ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2025 Meanwhile, during the press conference, Ajit Pawar said that the ruling alliance will try to run the budget session as smoothly as possible. "The opposition did not attend the meeting today ahead of the budget session. The opposition has sent us a letter...we will try to run this session smoothly," he said. Earlier on Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said his party will stake a claim to the post of Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly. He argued that in the past, this post was given to opposition parties even as they had not won 10 percent of the seats at that time. The combined strength of the opposition parties in the 288-member state assembly is nearly 50, he said. The budget session of the Maharashtra legislature will be held between March 3 and 26. (With agencies inputs) Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Sunday fired back at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's sharp attack on Nitish Kumar, saying the people of Bihar won't go back to the "darkness" of the past, referring to it as the "Lalten Yug." He asserted that the Bihar government is a perfect blend of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's ideology and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support Singh emphasised that Bihar is witnessing a surge in development projects, and Tejashwi Yadav's words will not sway the state's people. "Bihar government is a government of Nitish Kumar's ideology and PM Narendra Modi's support... Development projects are constantly happening in Bihar. The people of Bihar will not go back to the darkness, to the 'Lalten Yug', just because of what Tejashwi Yadav says. The future of Bihar is bright," said Giriraj Singh Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav had launched a sharp attack on Nitish Kumar following the recent Cabinet expansion, stating that the people of Bihar don't want a "Khatara Gaadi" (outdated vehicle) in the state but want a "newer one." https://x.com/yadavtejashwi/status/1895656237485998265 In a social media post on March 1, Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the Nitish-BJP government has ruined the lives of two generations in 20 years and has become a burden on the people of Bihar. He emphasized the need for change. Tejashwi Yadav slammed Nitish Kumar in a social media post on X, saying, "The Nitish government of 20 years has spread terrible pollution in the form of poverty, unemployment, corruption, crime and migration in every street, every hamlet and every village of Bihar in the last 20 years." "The Nitish-BJP government has ruined the lives of two generations in 20 years. Now, this government has become a burden on the people of Bihar. Now it is very important to change it," he added. Meanwhile, on Friday, Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi said that whether Tejashwi Yadav will be the next Chief Minister of the State is in the hands of the people, not those of leaders. She also accused the NDA government in the State of doing "crimes". "It (whether Tejashwi Yadav will be the next CM or not) is in the hands of the people, not leaders. They are the ones who are doing every crime," Rabri Devi told reporters. Bihar Assembly elections are expected to take place in October-November 2025. (ANI) As many as 510 locations were raided, and 43 smugglers were arrested on Sunday as Punjab Police conducted an anti-drug drive, an officer said. The latest crackdown against drugs came two days after CM Bhagwant Mann set a deadline of three months to make Punjab a drug-free state. In the two days of the drive, 333 such people have been nabbed and 27 first information reports (FIRs) registered across the state. Police also recovered 776 grams of heroin, 14 kg of opium, 38 kg of poppy husk, 2,615 intoxicant tablets, and Rs 4.60 lakh in cash from these smugglers, the officer said. The state government has also constituted a five-member cabinet subcommittee to monitor action against the scourge of drugs. Special Director General of Police Arpit Shukla said over 300 police teams, comprising over 2,000 personnel, conducted raids across the state and checked as many as 619 suspicious persons during the daylong operation. A search operation resumed on Sunday to find four missing workers after an avalanche hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Mana village, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. Sniffer dogs and helicopters are assisting in the search. Body of one more missing person was recovered on Sunday, increasing the death toll to five. Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said clear weather would help speed up the operation. A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system from Delhi is expected to arrive soon. An Mi-17 helicopter is on standby in Dehradun to transport the radar to the avalanche site. The avalanche struck the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath on Friday. It buried 54 workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army. Initially, the number of affected workers was reported as 55, but one worker from Himachal Pradesh was later found safe at home. Rescuers pulled 50 workers from the snow by Friday. "The operation now focuses on finding the missing workers and evacuating those still stranded," Tiwari said. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have reached the site with sniffer dogs. Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in-C, Central Command, and Lt Gen D G Mishra, GOC, Uttar Bharat, are at the site to monitor the rescue efforts. Six helicoptersthree from the Indian Army Aviation Corps, two from the Indian Air Force (IAF), and one hired by the Armyare involved in the operation. Mana, located three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at an altitude of 3,200 metres. The missing workers are Harmesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh, Ashok from Uttar Pradesh, and Anil Kumar and Arvind Singh from Uttarakhand. Army officials said helicopters carried out most of the rescue operations on Saturday because snow had blocked the approach road, making vehicle movement nearly impossible. "The priority is to bring the rescued workers to the Army hospital in Jyotirmath and find the missing ones," officials said. If weather conditions allow, specialised RECCO radars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), quadcopters, and avalanche rescue dogs will be deployed, Lt Gen Sengupta said. "Everything depends on the weather," he added. More than 200 personnel from the disaster management authority, ITBP, BRO, NDRF, SDRF, IAF, district administration, health department, and fire brigade are involved in the rescue operation. New Delhi: Actress Anushka Sharma is in Dubai to support her husband, Virat Kohli, as he plays his milestone 300th ODI against New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy. A viral video shows Anushka visibly disappointed after the Indian star batter was dismissed earlier than expected in the crucial match. Seated in the stands alongside Virat's elder brother, Vikas Kohli, she was caught mouthing "Oh my God!" as New Zealand's Glenn Phillips pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to send Kohli back to the pavilion. Watch The Viral Video: How difficult it is to see your favorite person getting out in this manner. Anushka Sharma looked very Sad after Virat Kohli got out.If anyone knows lips reading then please tell us what she is trying to say #ViratKohli_ #ChampionsTrophy#INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/WPwPNJuZuH Tide Bhai (@Public_Voice0) March 2, 2025 Fans were left stunned as Virat Kohli stood frozen at the crease, struggling to process Glenn Phillips' moment of brilliance. On his milestone 300th ODI, Kohli managed just 11 runs off 14 balls. He started strong, smashing two boundaries in Matt Henrys over, looking set for a big knock. However, a powerful shot landed straight in Phillips zone at backward point, where the New Zealand star, known for his exceptional fielding, pulled off yet another breathtaking diving catch. Across 300 ODIs, Kohli has amassed 14,096 runs at an impressive average of 58.00, with 51 centuries and 73 fifties. His highest score of 183 places him as the third-highest run-scorer in ODIs, trailing behind Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs in 404 matches) and Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 runs in 463 matches). He also holds the record for the most ODI centuries. In the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025, Kohli has been in fine form, scoring 133 runs in two matches at an average of 66.50, including an unbeaten 100 against arch-rivals Pakistan. (With ANI Inputs) Los Angeles: The late Hollywood actor Gene Hackman's children are about to enter the dingy settings of the interrogation room. Cops are set to quiz Gene Hackmans three children as they try to discover the actor and his wifes last movements, reports 'Mirror.co.uk'. The star is survived by the three children he had with his ex-wife, Faye Maltese, Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58. Elizabeth and Leslie were photographed looking sombre a day after the couple's bodies were discovered, as Leslie revealed she hadn't spoken to her dad in months. As per 'Mirror.co.uk', police have confirmed they are speaking to family members as they try to piece together Gene and his wife Betsys final days. The pair were found dead in separate rooms of their New Mexico home earlier this week. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who gave a press conference on Friday, said that it had been a challenge so far to determine the last people the couple spoke to. It was previously suggested that the maintenance workers may have spoken to the couple last. But its now not clear if this was the case or not. Daughter Leslie, 58, has previously said that she hadnt been in contact with her dad for a while. She said, "We were close. I hadn't talked to them for a couple of months, but everything was normal and everything was good". Her sister, Elizabeth Jean, 62, previously said the family believed that toxic fumes led to the couple's deaths. But this has been ruled out after a postmortem. Cops also believe that two cell phones found at the property could hold a vital key too. They have taken them away to be analysed and may have to draft in external forensic experts to crack them. At a press conference on Friday, it emerged that Hackman likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities. Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman's pacemaker was February 17. When asked if this could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a "very good assumption". "According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life", Mendoza said. They were unable to establish if Hackman or his wife died first. Both were found mummified, as well as the deceased dog in the closet of the bathroom. Washington: Actor Harrison Ford, who was scheduled as one of the presenters at the 97th Oscars, has backed out of presenting due to his recent shingles diagnosis. The 82-year-old actor is doing fine and taking rest after the diagnosis. Shingles is a "viral infection that causes a painful rash," according to The Hollywood Reporter. Ford attended the Captain America: Brave New World and the Western drama television series '1923' season two in Los Angeles earlier this month. On the 1923 red carpet, he shared why he enjoyed working on the Western show: "I love the viscerality of it, I love the physical nature of the storytelling, I love being in natural circumstances, he said. "[It's] a kind of old-fashioned movie-making mostly, no CGI or very little CGI -- a little something to sweeten the location. But it's really essential, old-time storytelling and I love working with this kind of material," as per the outlet. The presenters for the prestigious award ceremony are Academy Award winners Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer), Emma Stone (Poor Things), (La La Land), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), according to The Hollywood Reporter. This year's confirmed presenters include Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez, Ben Stiller, Sterling K. Brown, Willem Dafoe, Goldie Hawn, Joe Alwyn, Ana de Armas, Connie Nielsen and Lily-Rose Depp. The Oscars is hosted by Conan O'Brien, and takes place at the Dolby Theatre. The ceremony airs live on ABC and is available for streaming on Hulu on March 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Actor Nani on Saturday released a video clip to announce the trailer release date of his production houses next film, Court State Vs A Nobody, much to the delight of fans and film buffs. Taking to his X timeline, Nani wrote, Truth will always find its way. Nothing will or nothing can change that. This film and this team will make you proud on March 14th. Trailer on 7th. #Court He also shared a link to a YouTube video that not just gave a glimpse of the film but also announced that the trailer of the film would be released on Friday. The video clip shared by Nani shows two youngsters a boy and a girl who only know each other over phone and continue to keep talking to one another. The boy who is eager to meet the girl asks her when they can meet and she keeps telling him that she will let him know when the time comes. Truth will always find its way. Nothing will or nothing can change that. This film and this team will make you proud on March 14th. Trailer on 7th. #Court https://t.co/YA5lGfj6ZY pic.twitter.com/FIs8yzGPiE Nani (@NameisNani) March 1, 2025 Simultaneously, a man named Shanmukha Reddy from Vizag is trying to meet his lawyer Mohan Rao. The lawyers assistant tells him that he can meet the lawyer on Friday as Saturday and Sunday are court holidays, allowing the lawyer time to discuss the case in detail. The clip ends with Friday, indicating that the trailer of the film would release next Friday. The film has triggered huge interest as it is being presented by Nanis production house, Wall Poster Cinema. Directed by Ram Jagadeesh, the film features Priyadarshi in the lead. It will also feature a host of actors including Harsh Roshan, Sridevi, Sivaji, Sai Kumar, Harsha Vardhan, Rohini, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Surabhi Prabhavathi and Rajasekhar Aningi in pivotal roles. Co-produced by Deepthi Ganta, the film has cinematography by Dinesh Purushothaman and music by Vijai Bulganin. Editing for the film is by Karthika Srinivas and screenplay is by Ram Jagadeesh, Karthikeya Sreenivass and Vamsidhar Sirigiri. Vivo T4x 5G India Launch: After launching the Vivo V50 smartphone, the Chinese smartphone brand has announced the official launch date of the Vivo T4x 5G in the country. The phone is expected to have the largest battery in the segment. The Vivo T4x 5G may offered in two colour options: purple and blue. Moreover, the phone is said to come with a bunch of AI capabilities, with features like AI Erase, AI Photo Enhance, and AI Document Mode expected to be included. Vivo T4x 5G India Launch Date And Availability The Vivo T4x 5G India launch date is set on March 5 at 12 pm. The phone will be available on Flipkart, Vivo online shop and other retailers. The phone is likely to intensify the competition in the sub- Rs 15,000 price bracket, going head to head with the likes of CMF Phone 1, iQOO Z9x and more. Vivo T4x 5G Price In India (Expected) The phone is expected to be priced at 12,499 for the base trim while the 6GB RAM variant may be priced at Rs 13,999 while the 8GB RAM variant could be priced at Rs 15,499. Vivo T4x 5G Specifications (Expected) The Vivo T4x 5G is expected to feature a 6.67-inch FHD+ LCD panel with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The phone is expected to be powered by the Dimensity 7300 processor, running on an Android 15-based skin with a promise of two years of OS updates and three years of security patches. A substantial 6,500mAh battery is likely to keep the phone running for extended hours. In the camera department, the smartphone may sport a dual rear setup, led by a 50MP primary sensor, while an 8MP front-facing camera is expected to handle selfies. London: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to find a way to restore his relationship with the American president after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday. Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that he really had to respect what (US) President (Donald) Trump has done so far for Ukraine. He was referring to the first Trump administration's decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion. Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy unfortunate, Rutte said he knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace with Russia. Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that a 2.26 billion ($2.84 billion) loan from the UK will be used for weapon production in Ukraine. This comes just a day after blowout with US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval office over American support for Ukraine. The loan agreement was signed by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Ukraine's Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko. The first installment is expected next week. Britain said the loan will be funded by profits from frozen Russian assets. This is part of a $50 billion support package pledged by the G-7 nations. Zelensky thanked the UK for its continued support since the war began. The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine, Zelensky said on X. I thank the people and the government of the United Kingdom for their great support since the beginning of this war. He added, Today, in our presence, a loan agreement was signed between Ukraine and Great Britain. A loan to strengthen our defense capabilities, which will be repaid from the income received from frozen Russian assets. The money will go to the production of weapons in Ukraine. That's just: the one who started the war must pay. London. A meaningful and warm meeting with Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer. During our talks, we discussed the challenges facing Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with partners, concrete steps to strengthen Ukraines position, and ending the war with a just peace, along with pic.twitter.com/IAwcPgbhYW Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025 Zelensky met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Saturday after he failed to secure the mineral deal with the US after spat with Donald Trump. On Sunday, he will meet King Charles III before attending a meeting at Lancaster House, a historic mansion near Buckingham Palace. Starmer also spoke with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday evening after meeting Zelensky, according to the UK Prime Minister's Office. Earlier, Zelensky arrived at 10 Downing Street, where he was greeted with cheers from the crowd. Starmer embraced him in a firm hug. And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer told Zelensky. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take, he added. (With AP inputs) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire proposal to present to the United States, Al Jazeera reported. Starmer said he believes US President Donald Trump wants a durable peace in Ukraine and reiterated his assertion that US security guarantees will be needed to make any peace deal work, as per Al Jazeera. "I've always been clear that that is going to need a US backstop because I don't think it would be a guarantee without it," Starmer said. The British PM said he hoped a European "coalition of the willing" would come together to support Ukraine but any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine again. "In other words, we've got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward-leaning," Al Jazeera quoted Starmer as saying. "The UK and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this, and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US," added Starmer, who spoke to Macron and Trump on Saturday after having talks with Zelenskyy in Downing Street. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia is likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine farther west unless it's stopped, as per Al Jazeera. "We have an overarmed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe," Macron told France's local media, as per Al Jazeera. If Putin is not stopped, "he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania," Macron argued. "It's our security that's at stake," he added. "The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that," Macron added. "I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests." Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer for his unwavering support during their meeting in London, calling it a "meaningful and warm" discussion. The two leaders spoke about the challenges facing Ukraine and Europe, coordination with international partners, and efforts to achieve a just peace with strong security guarantees. Haryana Minister Anil Vij on Sunday weighed in on the allegations surrounding the death of a Congress worker, whose body was found in a suitcase. Vij stated that the allegations are serious and pointed fingers at the Congress party, suggesting that they have a history of pushing others down to get ahead. "The allegations are serious. The people of Congress have done this before as well. Pushing others back to make progress is an old habit of Congress. The police are investigating this. Whatever truth comes out, it will be taken to its conclusion," said Vij. Vij's comments come after the deceased worker's mother made some shocking allegations. The mother, Savita, held the election and the party responsible for her daughter's death, suggesting that Himani's rising stature in the party had created enemies for her. According to Savita, Himani's mother, her daughter was at home on February 28 and had been receiving threats. Savita believes that Himani's close relationships with prominent Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and the Hooda family, had sparked jealousy among some individuals. "The election and the party took my daughter's life. Because of this, she made some enemies. These (the culprits) could be from the party, could be her friends as well...On February 28, she was at home," Savita said. "We received a phone call from the Police Station (regarding the incident). My daughter was very close to Asha Hooda (wife of Bhupinder Singh Hooda). I won't perform her last rites until she gets justice...," she added. The deceased woman's mother further said that her daughter Himani's stature was rising in the party. "She was going with Rahul Gandhi, she was close to the Hooda family, this is why people were having problems; they were jealous." Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda condemned the incident, citing a breakdown in law and order in Haryana, which he claims is the worst state in the country for crimes against women."It is a very painful incident. There is a breakdown of law & order in Haryana. Haryana is number 1 in the country in terms of crime against women...The incident should be investigated as soon as possible," said Hooda. Hooda also lashed out at the BJP-led state government over the alleged murder of the Congress Party worker and demanded a swift investigation and strict punishment for the guilty, regardless of their affiliation. He revealed that he is in touch with police personnel and has spoken with the Superintendent of Police, who are hopeful of finding clues soon. "The incident should be investigated as soon as possible. I am in touch with the Police personnel, I also spoke with SP. They are hopeful that they would get some clues by the evening. I told them that this should be investigated and the guilty should be given the strictest punishment," Hooda said. The incident has sent shockwaves through the Congress party, with many leaders condemning the brutal murder. The police are currently investigating the case, and it remains to be seen who will be held responsible for Himani's tragic death. Meanwhile, the police have formed a Special Investigation Task force to probe into the alleged murder of the Congress party worker, Himani Narwal. The phone of the deceased has also been recovered, and the police are taking the help of the cyber and forensic teams, the official said. Sampla DSP Rajneesh Kumar said, "An SIT has been formed. Her phone has been recovered. We are using cyber and FSL. We are investigating all angles."DSP informed that the deceased lived alone in Haryana while her family stayed in Delhi. (ANI) London: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire proposal to present to the United States, Al Jazeera reported. Starmer said he believes US President Donald Trump wants a durable peace in Ukraine and reiterated his assertion that US security guarantees will be needed to make any peace deal work, as per Al Jazeera. "I've always been clear that that is going to need a US backstop because I don't think it would be a guarantee without it," Starmer said. The British PM said he hoped a European "coalition of the willing" would come together to support Ukraine but any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine again. "In other words, we've got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward-leaning," Al Jazeera quoted Starmer as saying. "The UK and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this, and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US," added Starmer, who spoke to Macron and Trump on Saturday after having talks with Zelenskyy in Downing Street. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia is likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine farther west unless it's stopped, as per Al Jazeera. "We have an overarmed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe," Macron told France's local media, as per Al Jazeera. If Putin is not stopped, "he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania," Macron argued. "It's our security that's at stake," he added. "The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that," Macron added. "I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests." Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer for his unwavering support during their meeting in London, calling it a "meaningful and warm" discussion. The two leaders spoke about the challenges facing Ukraine and Europe, coordination with international partners, and efforts to achieve a just peace with strong security guarantees. Kyiv: Following the public spat with US President Donald Trump regarding the ceasefire in the ongoing war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasised that his country wants peace but stressed that a "just and lasting peace" is not possible without Kyiv being provided with security guarantees. In a long thread of posts on X, the Ukrainian President expressed his gratitude to the US government and the American people for its support in the war against Russia but also urged for a "strong US position" on its side. Blaming Russia, whom he called the "enemy", for bringing the war into Ukrainian territory, Zelenskyy expressed fear that Moscow might again violate ceasefire like it did "25 times in last 10 years". "We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I'm thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion. America's help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals," Zelenskyy stated. Quoting Former US President Ronald Reagan, Zelenskyy stressed the need for peace. Zelenskyy also said that ceasefires are not a plausible solution for the conflict and claimed that Russia has already broken it "25 times". He further added that the ongoing war is a question of their freedom and survival. "As President Reagan once said, "Peace is not just the absence of war." We're talking about just and lasting peace--freedom, justice, and human rights for everyone. A ceasefire won't work with Putin. He has broken ceasefires 25 times over the last ten years. A real peace is the only solution. It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do. We are the ones living this war in Ukraine," he said. "It's a fight for our freedom, for our very survival," he added. Zelenskyy said that he is ready to sign the bone of contention between Ukraine and the US- the minerals agreement in exchange for security; however, he needs the guarantee that Washington is on Kyiv's side. "We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees. But it's not enough, and we need more than just that. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We've been fighting for 3 years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side," he said. "Ukraine wants peace," he further said, adding that "Russia was the enemy". He said that Ukraine and its allies need to be strong at the negotiation table. "I cannot change Ukraine's position on Russia. The Russians are killing us. Russia is the enemy, and that's the reality we face. Ukraine wants peace, but it must be a just and lasting peace. For that, we need to be strong at the negotiation table. Peace can only come when we know we have security guarantees, when our army is strong, and our partners are with us," he said. "We want peace. That's why I came to the United States, and visited President Trump. The deal on minerals is just a first step toward security guarantees and getting closer to peace. Our situation is tough, but we can't just stop fighting and not having guarantees that Putin will not return tomorrow," he added. Zelenskyy stressed that it would be difficult for Ukraine to sustain in the war without Trump's support, but they need to remain strong. "It will be difficult without the U.S. support. But we can't lose our will, our freedom, or our people. We've seen how Russians came to our homes and killed many people. Nobody wants another wave of occupation. If we cannot be accepted to NATO, we need some clear structure of security guarantees from our allies in the US," he said. Zelenskyy said that although Europe was ready to fund their large army, they do not have enough weapons to keep Russia at bay. "Europe is ready for contingencies and to help fund our large army. We also need the U.S. role in defining security guarantees--what kind, what volume, and when. Once these guarantees are in place, we can talk with Russia, Europe, and the U.S. about diplomacy. War alone is too long, and we don't have enough weapons to push them out entirely," he said. Zelenskyy also said that the life of every Ukrainian matters, and he needs the US to stand more firmly in their support. Zelenskyy also added that Russia is a culprit as they invaded Ukraine and disrespected their territorial integrity. "When someone talks about losses, every single life matters. Russia invaded our homes, killed our people, and tried to erase us. This isn't just about territories or numbers--it's about real lives. That's what we need everyone to understand. I want the U.S. to stand more firmly on our side. This is not just a war between our two countries; Russia brought this war onto our territory and into our homes. They are wrong because they disrespected our territorial integrity," he said. Zelenskyy, adding on his appeal, said that as the US has always advocated for peace, and that Ukraine's relations with the US dates back in history. "All Ukrainians want to hear a strong U.S. position on our side. It's understandable the U.S. might look for dialogue with Putin. But the U.S. has always spoken about 'peace through strength.' And together we can take strong steps against Putin. Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders; it's a historic and solid bond between our peoples. That's why I always begin with words of gratitude from our nation to the American nation," he said. Zelenskyy said that the US always helped Ukraine, and that hoped that it would continue in the times to come. "American people helped save our people. Humans and human rights come first. We're truly thankful. We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them," he said. This is followed by Zelenskyy's verbal sparring with US President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance at the White House's Oval Office on Friday (local time). This shouting match between the leaders was witnessed by White House officials, mediapersons and other Ukrainian officials. US Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of "litigating" in front of the world's press, criticized him for taking part in photo-ops with Democrats during the 2024 campaign, and said his remarks were "disrespectful" to the administration. Following the Oval Office meeting, Trump said that the Ukrainian president was not willing to pursue an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing conflict with Russia. Zelenskyy left the White House earlier than planned without signing a much-anticipated minerals agreement or attending a scheduled press conference with Trump. Washington DC: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (local time) announced a significant boost in military assistance to Israel, with approximately USD 4 billion in aid set to be expedited. This move reverses the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which had withheld certain weapons and ammunition from Israel. "I have signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The decision to reverse the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump," said Rubio. The decision is seen as a testament to the strong alliance between the US and Israel, with President Trump reaffirming America's commitment to Israel's security. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly USD 12 billion in major Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Israel. "Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major FMS sales to Israel. This important decision coincides with President Trump's repeal of a Biden-era memorandum which had imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies," said Rubio. The Trump Administration has pledged to continue using all available tools to support Israel's security, including countering security threats. "The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America's long-standing commitment to Israel's security, including means to counter security threats," added the US Secretary of State. Biden had denied withholding arms from Israel, save for a single batch of 2,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs, which arrived in Israel last month after Trump unfroze the shipment, The Times of Israel reported. Rubio referred to Trump's rescinding on Monday of National Security Memorandum 20. The order, signed by Biden last year amid lobbying by progressives in his Democratic party, had required recipients of US arms to commit in writing not to use them to target civilians or restrict humanitarian aid, as per Times of Israel. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday that Indians cannot afford to distance themselves from the core values of Sanatan and engage in polarized, divisive activities. He lamented that politics has become polarized and deeply divided, with tensions running high. Dhankhar was delivering the fourth P Parameswaran Memorial Lecture, organized by Bharatheeya Vicharakendram in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. "Politics has become polarized, vertically divisive, and temperatures are ever high. Core national and civilisational values are no longer the central theme. As meaningful dialogue fades, so do the pillars of cooperation, collaboration, and consensus," Dhankhar said. "In this country that takes pride in its Sanatan values of inclusivity, where diversity is reflected in unity, we cannot afford to be distanced from these core values and engage in polarised, divisive activities. Time for us to fall in the groove of Sanatan Dharma, as enlightened by Shri P. Parameswaran Ji," he added. The Vice President hailed Parameswaran as "one of the greatest sons of Bharat" and a leading ideologue and thinker of Hindu philosophy in this century. "We are celebrating, by way of this lecture, one of the finest intellectuals committed to social work, and such a son of the soil is being honoured in the land of Kerala, God's own country," he said. He also noted that India is no longer perceived as a nation of snake charmers but now captivates the world with its vast potential. He said that Parliament must be a role model for people and slammed the disruption and disturbance in the "temples of democracy." "The largest democracy's Parliament must be a role model for people. It is a platform to transform the aspirations of the people into reality. It has to be an impregnable citadel of dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation. But what do we see today? Can there be sacrilege of more intense enormity than when temples of democracy are ravaged by disruption and disturbance?" he said. He warned that political intolerance and reckless stances prioritizing partisan and personal interests over nationalism need to be moderated. "Our democracy has to survive, and the first test is parliamentary functioning. We face situations where national interest is relegated. Anti-national narratives take wings. We are living in very dangerous times. Political intolerance and reckless stances promoting partisan and personal interest at the cost of nationalism need to be moderated. There is a need for social counseling. Young minds and senior citizens must converge to generate an ecosystem by becoming influencers of our mindset," he added. Dhankhar said that the influx of illegal migrants is a danger to the country and urged to thwart the "demographic dislocations courageously." "How can a nation suffer millions of illegal migrants? Look at their number. Look at the danger they bring to this country. I would urge that we must courageously thwart these demographic dislocations. They make demands on our employment, on our health, on our education sectors, and then become a factor in electoral politics. The unchecked flow is also threatening our culture. This is very urgent and has to be addressed. We are cliff-hanging. We must generate awareness. The mindset of the people must be activated," he said. The Vice President clarified that demographic concerns should not be mistaken for majoritarianism. "Demography does matter. Demography should not be confused with majoritarianism. We cannot have a society divided into these two camps. The nation is faced with grim challenges when it comes to demography. The demography evolution must be organic, natural, soothing," he said. "Only then it reflects unity in diversity. However, if demographic variations are brought about in the nature of virtual earthquake, there is cause for concern. If inorganic demographic variations take place with the intent to increase demographic components with the object to secure prowess, then we have to be alarmed. This is noticeably being done. We are at a crossroads where we can neither overlook nor countenance this highly destabilising development. We have to be extremely alert. All have to converge to preserve the pristine demographic sanctity of Bharat," he added. Earlier in the day, the Vice President and his wife, Sudesh Dhankhar, planted saplings in memory of their late mothers, Kesari Devi and Bhagwati Devi, at the Uday Palace Convention Centre premises in Thiruvananthapuram. Upon his arrival in Thiruvananthapuram, Dhankhar was welcomed by Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Kerala Minister GR Anil, and other dignitaries. (ANI) Hours after Bahujan Samaj Party supremo expelled her nephew Akash Anand from the party, the BSP Uttar Pradesh unit chief, Vishwanath Pal, said that Anand has "not been removed." "Akash Anand has not been removed; Mayawati keeps changing the position of the members and workers of the party," Pal told ANI. "Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam have been made the National Coordinators of the party," he added. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Sunday removed her nephew Akash Anand from all posts of the party. The BSP also announced the appointment of Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam as the National Coordinators of the party. In a press release dated March 2, Mayawati said she is expelling Ashok Siddharth, who is also the father-in-law of Akash Anand for "factionalism." "Being an honest and loyal disciple and successor of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, I have expelled Ashok Siddharth, who is also the father-in-law of Akash Anand, from the party in the interest of the party. He has done this heinous act of weakening the party by dividing it into two factions in the entire country, including Uttar Pradesh, which is absolutely intolerable, and all this was also seen in the wedding of his son." Mayawati said that Akash Anand is married to Ashok Siddharth's daughter and how much influence the latter has on his girl and how much influence she has on Akash, will have to be looked into seriously, which does not seem to be positive at all till now. "In such a situation, in the interest of the party that Akash Anand be been separated from all the responsibilities of the party, for which not the party but his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth is completely responsible and which has damaged the political career of Akash Anand along with causing damage to the party," Mayawati further said. "And now in his place, Anand Kumar will continue to do all the work of the party like before, he will continue to do all the work of the party during my visits to Lucknow and outside. He has not disappointed me in any matter till now, he has not caused any harm to the party and the movement till now," she added in the letter. In June 2024, Mayawati made her nephew Akash Anand her sole successor and entrusted the responsibility of National Coordinator of the party to him. Earlier, too, Mayawati had removed Akash from all the important posts of the party on May 7, 2024, in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, calling him 'immature'. (ANI) He also paid obeisance to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's idol inside the premises of the temple. The Prime Minister also offered a special 'puja' at the temple. PM Modi arrived in Gujarat on Saturday for a three-day visit, beginning with his arrival at the Jamnagar Airport. Prime Minister Modi will visit Sasangir in Gujarat's Junagadh district on Monday, on the occasion of World Wildlife Day. Earlier in the day, PM Modi extended his wishes to the people on the start of the holy month of Ramzan on Sunday. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "As the blessed month of Ramzan begins, may it bring peace and harmony in our society. This sacred month epitomises reflection, gratitude and devotion, also reminding us of the values of compassion, kindness and service. Ramzan Mubarak!" Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi met former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is currently visiting India. PM Modi also spoke about how Abbott, during a visit to the Dilli Haat venue in the national capital, enjoyed millets.Sharing a picture with Abbott on X, PM Modi stated, "Delighted to meet my good friend and former Australian PM Tony Abbott. He has always been a friend of India's. We have all seen him enjoy millets during his current visit." (ANI) Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar on Sunday backed BSP chief Mayawati's decision to remove Akash Anand from all party posts, saying it was ultimately Mayawati's call as party head. Rajbhar acknowledged that Mayawati has the authority to make decisions as she sees fit, emphasising that the party's interests should always come first. "Mayawati is the head of the party (BSP), she has to run the party. She is making decisions according to her wishes. The party is always paramount; it is her responsibility to run the party smoothly," said Rajbhar while speaking with ANI. This development comes after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati announced significant changes in the party leadership on Sunday during a high-level meeting in Lucknow. Mayawati removed her nephew Akash Anand from all party posts and appointed her brother Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam as national coordinators to oversee party affairs across the country. Meanwhile, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma said the decision was taken in the interest of the party and described Mayawati as a mature politician. "This is an internal matter of Bahujan Samaj Party, and Mayawati is a mature politician, she understands the good and bad of her party. I think whatever she would have done, she would have done it in the interest of her party...", he told ANI. Mayawati announced the appointment of Anand Kumar and Ramji Gautam as the National Coordinators of the party. In a press release dated March 2, Mayawati said she is expelling Ashok Siddharth, Akash Anand's father-in-law, for "factionalism." "Being an honest and loyal disciple and successor of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, I have expelled Ashok Siddharth, who is also the father-in-law of Akash Anand, from the party in the interest of the party. He has done this heinous act of weakening the party by dividing it into two factions in the entire country, including Uttar Pradesh, which is absolutely intolerable, and all this was also seen in the wedding of his son." Mayawati said that Akash's father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, is completely responsible for this decision. "In such a situation, in the interest of the party that Akash Anand be been separated from all the responsibilities of the party, for which not the party but his father-in-law Ashok Siddharth is completely responsible and which has damaged the political career of Akash Anand along with causing damage to the party," Mayawati further said. "And now, in his place, Anand Kumar will continue to do all the work of the party like before. He will continue to do all the work of the party during my visits to Lucknow and outside. He has not disappointed me in any matter until now, and he has not caused any harm to the party and the movement until now," she added in the letter. In June 2024, Mayawati made her nephew Akash Anand her sole successor and entrusted him with the responsibility of party National Coordinator. Earlier, too, Mayawati had removed Akash from all the important posts of the party on May 7, 2024, in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, calling him immature. (ANI) India's first World Peace Center established by Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti under the guidance of Jain Acharya Lokesh was inaugurated by former President, Ram Nath Kovind, Governor of Punjab, Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Bihar, Arif Mohammad Khan, Chief Minister of Haryana, Nayab Singh Saini, Founder of Art of Living, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, renowned Kathavachak Morari Bapu, Govinddev Giri and many eminent religious leaders in Gurugram. Swami Ramdev, the founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, virtually participated and extended greetings on the occasion. Former President Kovind said that the World Peace Center will work to establish peace and harmony in the world. The voice of this center in Gurugram will also be heard at the United Nations and the World Parliament of Religions. The inauguration ceremony of the World Peace Center is a 'Mahakumbh' of spirituality and social service, and from here, the wonderful future of world peace and harmony will gain momentum. Jain Acharya Lokesh said that the world is currently struggling with problems like violence, war, environmental pollution, and inequality. In such a time, the establishment of the World Peace Center will contribute to changing the direction and condition of society. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said that in the present times, when materialism is at its peak, it is a matter of pride for us that Acharya Lokesh is trying to re-awaken spiritual consciousness, moral values, and the feeling of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam through the World Peace Centre. Swami Ramdev said that under the leadership of Acharya Lokesh, the World Peace Center is continuously making efforts not only in India but worldwide to establish nonviolence, peace and harmony, uplift human values, and build national character. Morari Bapu said that it is evident that the ideals of great men like Bhagwan Mahavir, Bhagwan Ram, Lord Buddha, and Guru Nanak will be spread from the seven-story center standing on four pillars of right knowledge, philosophy, character, and penance in the capital of India, Delhi NCR Gurugram. Governor Gulab Chand Kataria said that the son of Rajasthan Acharya Lokesh was honored with the National Communal Harmony Award by the Government of India and the American Presidential Award; it is a matter of pride for Rajasthan and India. Governor Arif Mohammad Khan said that the establishment of the World Peace Center is another important step towards world peace and harmony. Through this center, an environment of religious and social tolerance and mutual harmony will be created. Govinddev Giri said that a spiritual and moral revolution is needed at present. Acharya Lokesh will work in this direction at the global level by establishing the World Peace Center. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said that the land of Gurugram, from where the message of Geeta was spread, will now spread the message of peace, harmony, and human welfare worldwide. It is a matter of pride for Haryana. Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya said that modern nation-builders had embodied the ideals of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity through the spirit of service. This center will work to further this objective. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday offered his condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased Border Road Organisation (BRO) workers who lost their lives in the avalanche that hit Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on February 28. The Chief Minister also prayed for the swift recovery of the BRO workers injured in the avalanche. Speaking to ANI, CM Dhami said, "The rescue operation was going on continuously for the last two days, and the entire rescue is almost complete. The 46 people who were found in it have all been shifted from Badrinath to Joshimath, and some from Joshimath to AIIMS Rishikesh." "May all of them recover soon and get completely cured, and some people are no longer among us. We pray to God to give peace to their souls and give strength to their family members to bear the loss," said CM Dhami. Meanwhile, Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari spoke to ANI about the development in the avalanche incident and said, "The operation was completed at 5:30 pm today, and out of the 54 Border Roads Organisation workers who were trapped there, 46 have been rescued safely, and there have been 8 casualties." "The district administration got full support from the central government and the state government, due to which this operation was successful. The bodies will be handed over to their families after completing the legal formalities," he said. The body of the eighth worker missing in the Mana (Chamoli) avalanche incident was recovered by the Army on Sunday afternoon during the ongoing search operation, officials said. Earlier in the day, three more bodies were found as rescue teams continued searching for the last missing worker. "All 54 persons have now been rescued or recovered. This marks the culmination of the Mana Village Rescue Operation," said Lt Col Manish Shrivastava, PRO (Defence), Dehradun. According to officials, the search operation resumed on Sunday morning to locate four missing workers believed to be trapped under the snow after an avalanche hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project site in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on February 28. With this, the death toll has risen to eight. Four workers had died on Saturday. The bodies of the BRO workers retrieved from the avalanche site were airlifted today and brought to the Joshimath military hospital, officials said. A total of 54 workers were buried when the avalanche struck on the morning of February 28. Army, ITBP, Air Force, NDRF, and SDRF personnel conducted rescue operations over the past two days. The SDRF team continued searching the site using victim-locating and thermal imaging cameras. A Drone-Based Intelligent Buried Object Detection System was brought to Joshimath today and deployed at the avalanche site in Mana to assist in the search operation. Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman stated earlier that favourable weather conditions aided the search and rescue efforts. On Saturday, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in-C, Central Command, and Lt Gen DG Misra, GOC, Uttar Bharat Area, visited the avalanche site to oversee and coordinate rescue operations. Lt Gen Sengupta stated that specialized reconnaissance radars, UAVs, quadcopters, and avalanche rescue dogs were deployed to locate survivors. Helicopters have been continuously used to transport essential equipment and resources and to evacuate the injured. (ANI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested Mukesh Arora, a key accused in a high-profile loan fraud case involving a property in East Delhi. The case, registered on August 5, 2020, pertains to cheating and misrepresentation in securing a Rs 5.05 crore loan, officials said on Sunday. According to police, the complaint was filed by Indiabulls through Suneela Sangwan, alleging that Mukesh Arora, as the director of Tradenext Securities Ltd., along with his late mother, Poonam Arora, had obtained the loan by falsely claiming that the property at A-172, Preet Vihar, Delhi, was free from encumbrances. However, investigations revealed that five flats in the said property had already been sold to the Indian Overseas Bank in 2005, a fact concealed by the accused, they said. After securing the loan, Arora and his mother defaulted on the EMIs. Further scrutiny uncovered that Arora had diverted approximately Rs 1.7 crore of the loan amount for personal use, despite taking the loan in his capacity as the director of Tradenext Securities Ltd, they said. Mukesh Arora, aged 50, was not only the director of Tradenext Securities Ltd. but also ran other companies, including Westcomb Commodities Pvt. Ltd., Trade Mode Commodities Ltd., and Siyaram Ltd. However, all these companies were shut down due to financial difficulties, said the police. Arora's main company, Tradenext Securities Ltd., was also embroiled in income tax cases related to tax evasion. Described as a failed businessman in dire need of money, Arora had sold or handed over all his companies before his arrest, added the police. (ANI) In a significant move in the promotion of spiritual well-being in the region, Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya inaugurated a meditation hall named the 'Pyramid' of Prajapita Bhamakumaris at Phulung in North Guwahati on Sunday. Speaking at the spiritual event organized by Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Governor Acharya praised the Brahma Kumaris as an institution that goes beyond spiritual awakening to uplift moral values, foster social service, promote scientific education, and raise awareness for the betterment of society. He expressed his deep admiration for the selfless service, dedication, and devotion exhibited by the members of the Brahma Kumaris, adding, "I bow to all the dedicated members of this institution who are working tirelessly for the welfare of humanity." Governor Acharya also spoke on the importance of meditation, stating that it is not about detaching oneself from the material world but about creating a deeper connection with oneself. "Yoga and meditation are the two pillars that bring balance to human life. Yoga is incomplete without meditation," he said. He encouraged everyone to integrate these practices into their daily lives for inner peace and self-awareness.Reflecting on India's rich spiritual heritage, Acharya noted that the country has been a beacon of spiritual awakening for millennia. "India's spiritual tradition has illuminated the path of yoga, meditation, Vedanta, and devotion for the world," he remarked. Acharya cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India as a global leader in spiritual and cultural values: "Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India's Sanatan culture, rooted in truth, compassion, and universal brotherhood, is enlightening the entire world." The Governor also paid his heartfelt tribute to Rajyogini Brahma Kumari Sheela Behen, whose lifelong spiritual service in Assam, especially in the Northeast, has touched many lives. Rajyogini Brahma Kumari Rukmani Behen, in Charge of the Guwahati Sub-zone; Rajyogini Brahma Kumari Jonali Behen, Zonal Coordinator of the Youth Wing, Gujarat; Rajyogini Brahma Kumari Jagriti Behen, in Charge of Brahma Kumaris, New Guwahati Center; Rajyogini Brahma Kumari Moon Behen, along with a host of other dignitaries, were present on the occasion. (ANI) As part of its ongoing efforts to promote commercial coal mining and attract private investment, the Ministry of Coal is organizing a Roadshow on Commercial Coal Mine Auctions and investment Opportunities in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, tomorrow. The event aims to bring together industry stakeholders, potential investors, and policymakers to accelerate private sector participation in India's coal sector, the Ministry of Coal said in a release on Sunday. Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Satish Chandra Dubey will grace the occasion as the Chief Guest. Joining him will be Rupinder Brar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, along with senior officers of the Ministry to provide insights into the auction process, investments landscape and Government initiative driving growth in the sector. The Ministry of Coal has been actively engaging with stakeholders through a series of roadshows to promote commercial coal mining. After successful events in Kolkata and Mumbai, the Ministry is now organizing a roadshow in Gandhinagar to attract potential investors and industry leaders. The upcoming 12th round of commercial coalmine auctions is expected to commence in the second week of March, further reinforcing the Government's commitment to enhancing domestic coal production and ensuring energy security. The roadshow provides a forum to highlight the Government's initiatives to boost coal production, enhance efficiency, provide policy support and drive self-reliance in the sector. Participants will gain firsthand knowledge of the availability of coal blocks, investment opportunities, and the ease of doing business in India's coal industry. Experts will also highlight advancements in coal technology, sustainability measures, and policy reforms aimed at fostering a transparent and competitive marketplace, as per the ministry. The commercial coal mine auctions have been instrumental in unlocking the true potential of India's coal reserves, attracting domestic and international players, and reducing import dependency. With investor-friendly policies and technological advancements, the Ministry of Coal is committed to ensuring a robust and sustainable coal sector that aligns with the country's energy security and economic growth goals, it added. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday participated in the 'Uttarayani-Makarain Mahotsav,' which was organised by the Mountain Migrant Jan-Kalyan Samiti in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad. The Chief Minister extended a warm welcome to the public at the Uttaraini-Makarain Mahotsav and said that this festival is a confluence of Uttarakhand's culture, costumes, food and belongingness. CM Dhami said the work done by the organisers to preserve our rich heritage and promote it is commendable. He said that such festivals, along with promoting our cultural heritage, folk art, and folk music, also work to tie the Uttarakhandi migrants in a thread of love. Traditional handicrafts, organic products and Uttarakhandi cuisine were displayed in the festival. The Chief Minister appealed to everyone to participate in the development of their ancestral village, the mountains located in Uttarakhand and said that by investing in their ancestral land, self-employment and small industries have to be promoted to take their birthplace forward. The Chief Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, development and heritage are being promoted together in the country. He said that major religious places are being developed and reconstructed in the country. "The Kashi Vishwanath, Ujjain Mahakal Lok, Shri Ram temple complex in Ayodhya has also become a grand divine complex. The Uttarakhand state government has also worked on the preservation of cultural heritage along with development," said CM Dhami. He said that development works are being carried forward in many areas like road, drinking water, education, health, rail, and air connectivity in the state and that works are also being done in many areas like Shri Kedarnath reconstruction work, the master plan of Lord Badri Vishal's complex, all-weather roads in all four Dhams, and a circuit of temples under Mansakhand Mandir Mala Mission. The Chief Minister said that Kumbh is going to be organised in Haridwar of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand in 2027, for which the work of Haridwar Rishikesh Ganga Corridor is also progressing rapidly. "Works are being done in the Sharda Corridor in Tanakpur. Along with development works in the state, employment and self-employment are also being promoted. Works are also being done to promote local livelihood through Homestay Scheme, Lakhpati Didi Scheme, One District Two Products and House of Himalayas," said CM Dhami. The Chief Minister said that development is being taken forward by creating coordination between ecology and economy in the state. The Chief Minister said that the state government has implemented a strong land law in the state in the budget session. He said that the state government will not allow the lands of the state to be wasted, and with the efforts of the public, the state government will keep the cultural tradition and heritage of Uttarakhand alive. (ANI) Police have registered a case against seven people and arrested one of them in connection with a molestation incident involving the daughter of a Union Minister and other girls in Maharashtra's Jalgaon, officials said on Sunday. The incident occured at Kothali village of Muktainagar taluka during a religious procession on February 28. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has condemned the incident, alleging that members of a political party were involved. He assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible. "There are officials from a party who have done such a thing, it is a cheap act. The police have registered a case, and some have already been made. Such harassment in public places is wrong; they cannot be forgiven, and strict action will be taken against them," CM Fadnavis said. According to Muktainagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Krishnat Pingale, the incident occurred during the procession at Kothali village in Muktainagar taluka of Jalgaon. The accused, identified as Aniket Ghui, along with six others, allegedly stalked and molested at least three to four girls. "On February 28, 2025, a yatra (procession) was taken out at Kothali village. Aniket Ghui and six of his associates, who were part of the event, allegedly stalked and molested three to four girls," SDPO Pingale said in a video statement. The police have invoked sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act in the case. "We have registered cases of stalking and molestation, along with charges under the POCSO Act and IT Act. One accused has been arrested, and three police teams have been formed to nab the remaining suspects," the SDPO added. Maharashtra Minister Pratap Sarnaik also condemned the incident, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting women. "It is our duty to protect our daughters and sisters... Whether it's the daughter of a Union Minister or the daughter of a poor farmer, both are equal to us; we will safeguard both," Minister Sarnaik told reporters. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government is unsparing in punishing drug traffickers and that the central government pledges to continue combating the drug menace to build a drug-free Bharat, a release said. In a post on X, Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government pledges to continue combating the drug menace with ruthless and meticulous investigations to build a drug-free Bharat. Home Minister said that as a result of a foolproof investigation with a bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom strategy, 29 drug traffickers have been convicted by the court in 12 different cases across India. As per the release, the success is a testament to the 'Bottom to Top' and 'Top to Bottom' approach adopted under Prime Minister Modi's leadership and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In pursuit of the Modi government's zero-tolerance policy against drugs, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has achieved this success. The 12 cases are from Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Cochin, Dehradun, Delhi, Indore, Kolkata, Jharkhand and Lucknow. These cases involve large seizures of narcotics such as Charas, Ganja, Opium, and Heroin, with severe sentences handed down to the accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. In the Ahmedabad Zone, in an operation in 2019, NCB Ahmedabad seized 23.859 kg of Charas from Mohd Rizwan and Mohd Jishan's possession at Sabarmati Railway Station. A third accused, Sahidul Rehman, was also arrested during the investigation. On 29.01.2025, the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad, convicted all three and sentenced them to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. In Bhopal Zone (Mandsaur), in July 2022, NCB Mandsaur intercepted two vehicles and seized 123.080 kg of Ganja. Four individuals--Shivam Singh, Sant Kumar Yadav, Balmukund Mishra, and Uttam Singh--were arrested in connection with the trafficking. The Special NDPS Court of Shahdol convicted the accused, sentencing them to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakh each on February 24, 2025. In a joint operation by NCB Chandigarh, a parcel containing 438 grams of opium was intercepted at DHL Express, Ludhiana, and linked to the accused Nasib Singh and Gobind Singh. Both were convicted by the Special Court, Ludhiana, on January 31, 25, and sentenced to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000. In another case, Bhim Lama was arrested in Chandigarh on December 30, 2021, with 390 grams of Charas and was convicted on January 8, 2025, for 6 months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. In 2021, NCB Cochin intercepted Sharon Chigwaza, a Zimbabwean national, with 2.910 kg of Heroin at Cochin International Airport. She was sentenced to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 3,00,000 by the Ernakulam Court on January 29, 2025. NCB Dehradun arrested Naman Bansal in 2018 with 450 grams of Charas. His co-accused, Ashutosh Uniyal, was also arrested. Both were convicted by the NDPS Court, Dehradun, with Naman Bansal sentenced to 1 year of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 on January 18, 2025. On March 19, 2021, NCB Delhi seized 1.950 kg of Charas from the accused Sahi Ram and Satywan @ Pandit. Both were convicted by the NDPS Court in Jind (Haryana) on January 10, 2025, with a sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. In February 2021, NCB Hyderabad seized 681.8 kg of Ganja from vehicles on the Nehru Outer Ring Road. Eight accused were arrested, and the Additional District and Sessions Court, Ranga Reddy, convicted them on 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. NCB Indore seized 152.665 kg of Ganja in September 2021 from a truck in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni. The accused--Mahendra Singh Yadav, Sohail Daud Khan Pathan, Suresh Gupta, and Ram Babu Yadav--were convicted and sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on February 22, 2025. In 2020, NCB Kolkata seized 1301 kg of Ganja from a vehicle near Plassey. The accused, Shajahan Tarafdar, was convicted on February 21, 2025 and sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. In separate cases in 2022 and 2024, NCB Lucknow seized 3.1 kg of Charas and 8 kg of Opium. The accused in both cases--Dashrath and Dheeraj Kr. Dangi--were convicted and sentenced to 15 years and 11 years of rigorous imprisonment, respectively, along with fines. These convictions reflect the unwavering commitment of the NCB in its efforts to curb drug trafficking and ensure strict enforcement of the NDPS Act. The NCB operates under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and is working towards realizing the vision of a "Nasha Mukt Bharat" by 2047, as outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NCB continues to encourage citizens to provide information related to drug trafficking confidentially through the MANAS Helpline Number 1933. (ANI) Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said on Sunday that his party supports the Haryana government in its investigation into the murder of Congress worker Himani Narwal, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase near the Sampla bus stand in Rohtak on Saturday. He added that the case should be treated as a law-and-order issue and not be politicized. "This is a question of law and order, which is the government's responsibility. The culprit should be caught. We stand with the government on this matter, but if it is politicized, it will be unfortunate. Murder is murder," Rawat told ANI. Haryana Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. Sampla DSP Rajneesh Kumar said, "An SIT has been formed. Her (the victim's) phone has been recovered, and we are using cyber and forensic teams to investigate all possible angles." According to the police, Narwal lived alone in Haryana while her family resided in Delhi. "Police reached the spot upon receiving information. The body was found inside a suitcase and was later identified as Himani Narwal. Her family was called to confirm the identification. We are examining various aspects of the case and will resolve the matter as soon as possible," DSP Rajneesh Kumar said. Himani Narwal's mother, Savita, alleged that politics and elections played a role in her daughter's murder. "The election and the party took my daughter's life. Because of this, she made some enemies. They (culprits) could be from the party or even her friends. On February 28, she was at home," she claimed. "Himani's stature in the party was growing. She was accompanying Rahul Gandhi and was close to the Hooda family. This made some people uncomfortable and jealous," her mother alleged. Meanwhile, Haryana Police have launched am investigation into the incident. They are also looking into the victim's personal and political connections to identify suspects. (ANI) The statement added that the officer and file staff undertook an evacuation operation on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kupwara, Ayushi Sudan. "During this operation, Rohail Mir (15), a resident of Kharwapra, and Bibi Sana (18 months old), a resident of Kona Gabra, both of whom required immediate medical intervention, were airlifted from Karnah. It added that after their safe evacuation to Kupwara, both patients boarded an ambulance to reach Srinagar for advanced medical care. After recent snowfall across the district, which resulted in the closure of various border roads of Karnah, Machill and Keran, the District Administration Kupwara had made adequate arrangements for a helicopter service for these snow-bound border areas to carry any medical exigency and evacuation operation, it said. To ensure seamless helicopter service to different border areas from the district headquarter, Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) Arshid Qadir Bhat have been designated as Nodal Officer of the service, as per the statement. Meanwhile, the local people of the Karnah area have expressed gratitude towards the DC Kupwara, Ayushi Sudan, for her pro-active approach to administration. They also appreciated the efforts of SDM Karnah, Tehsildar and Nodal Officer for their swift and coordinated response, as per the statement. (ANI) According to the police, the fire broke out around 3.01 pm at house number 10554 in Gai Wali Gali, Motia Khan. Upon receiving the information, four fire tenders reached the spot and started an operation. Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control, but a charred body was found on the fourth floor of the building. The victim's identity was not clear, officials said. During the operation, Station Officer Ravinder Singh and Fire Officer Ved sustained injuries due to the LPG cylinder explosion inside the premises. They were immediately given medical attention. Officials confirmed that the fire has been completely doused, and an investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the incident. (ANI) Raksha Khadse, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Sunday approached the police and lodged a complaint after her daughter was allegedly molested during a religious procession in Maharashtra's Jalgaon on February 28. Speaking to ANI after lodging a complaint with the police, Khadse, a BJP leader, said the accused not only harassed her daughter and her friends but also misbehaved with police personnel and even recorded videos of the incident. "My daughter and her friends went to a Maha Shivratri fair, where some people molested them. They also misbehaved with the police guard. They had the guts to molest and record videos, even in the presence of a police guard. This is not acceptable, and that is why I have lodged a complaint," she said. Urging other women to come forward, she added, "The incident that happened with my daughter and her friends is condemnable... There may be many such mothers who are suffering from this. They should go to the police station and file complaints." Following Khadse's complaint, Jalgaon Police registered a case under the POCSO Act and IT Act against seven accused and arrested one. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also condemned the incident and assured strict action. "The CM has assured me that strict action will be taken. Many school girls have come forward, claiming that these people harass them on their way to school. I have asked them to come to me directly and file police complaints," Khadse said. Maharashtra CM Fadnavis alleged that members of a political party were involved in the incident. "There are officials from a party who have done such a thing, it is a cheap act. The police have registered a case, and some have already been made. Such harassment in public places is wrong; they cannot be forgiven, and strict action will be taken against them," Fadnavis said. According to Muktainagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Krishnat Pingale, the incident occurred in Kothali village during a religious procession. The accused, identified as Aniket Ghui and six others, allegedly stalked and molested at least three to four girls. "On February 28, 2025, a yatra (procession) was taken out at Kothali village. Aniket Ghui and six of his associates, who were part of the event, allegedly stalked and molested three to four girls," SDPO Pingale said in a video statement. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at the Shri Somnath Jyotirlinga Mandir in the Gir Somnath district of Gujarat on Sunday, a few days after the conclusion of Prayaraj's Mahakumbh. A few days ago, the Prime Minister penned a heartfelt blog post a day after the conclusion of the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. In it, he said that he would visit the temple in Gujarat to pray for the well-being of everyone. The Mahakumbh concluded on February 26. The PM also paid obeisance to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's idol inside the temple and offered a special 'puja'. The PM arrived in Gujarat for a three-day visit. On Monday, on the occasion of World Wildlife Day, he will visit Sasangir in Gujarat's Junagadh district. "Impressed by the hard work, efforts and resolve of my countrymen, I will soon visit Shri Somnath, the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, to offer my resolve flower of devotion and pray for every Indian," the PM had said in the blog post. "The physical form of Maha Kumbh has attained completion on Maha Shivratri. But I am confident that like the uninterrupted flow of Maa Ganga, the flow of spiritual consciousness and unity of Maha Kumbh will continue to flow," the post added. In the PM's post, the Mahakumbh and everyone who attended witnessed the country's "awakened consciousness." "During the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, all the gods and goddesses gathered, saints and mahatmas gathered, children and old people gathered, women and youth gathered, and we witnessed the awakened consciousness of the country. This Maha Kumbh was a Maha Kumbh of unity, where the faith of 140 crore countrymen came together at one time through this one festival," the PM wrote. The PM added, "This Maha Kumbh event held in Prayagraj has become a subject of new study for management professionals of the modern era, for planning and policy experts. Today, there is no comparison to such a huge event in the entire world, there is no other example like this." Mahakumbh 2025 emerged as a historic event with its divine, grand, and well-organized execution, witnessing an unprecedented gathering of over 66 crore devotees. Held on the banks of Sangam in Prayagraj, this Mahakumbh marked a sacred occasion after 144 years, drawing immense crowds from across India and the world. (ANI) The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, hosted the inaugural National Association of Impact Leaders (NAIL) Meet 2025 in the picturesque setting of Goa on Sunday. According to an official release from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the event, attended by over 100 participants, served as a confluence of eminent ESG professionals, policymakers, and thought leaders, all brought together to exchange insights, deliberate on emerging sustainability trends, and chart the course for a resilient and responsible corporate future. The event was held under the esteemed guidance of Ajay Bhushan Prasad Pandey, DG and CEO, IICA and Chairman, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA). Setting the stage for an intellectually stimulating discourse, the event commenced with a Welcome-and-Context-Setting session led by Professor Garima Dadhich, Associate Professor and Head, School of Business Environment, IICA. She eloquently articulated the growing significance of ESG leadership in fostering corporate sustainability and underscored the need to align organizational strategies with evolving global frameworks. Further enriching the dialogue, Aruna C Newton, Vice President, Infosys Limited, presented an illuminating perspective on how robust governance frameworks can accelerate green technology adoption, ultimately fostering a culture of corporate sustainability. Her insights paved the way for Public Relations Associate, Private Sector Engagement, UNICEF, who provided an in-depth analysis of the social dimensions of Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) Core, reinforcing the imperative of inclusive and ethical business conduct. A panel discussion, expertly moderated by Professor Garima Dadhich, brought a dynamic exchange of ideas to the fore. It engaged distinguished NAIL members JP Dash from Batch I, Ashok Sethi and Sridhar L from Batch II, and Shalini Verma and Paritosh Chauhan from Batch III in an invigorating deliberation. This stimulating discourse delved into the far-reaching implications of regulatory transformations, including SEBI's new norms, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the dissolution of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), highlighting both challenges and opportunities for the corporate sector. Elevating this dialogue further, a senior official from the Department of Debt and Hybrid Securities (DDHS) - PoD, SEBI- offered a deep dive into the evolving ESG rating landscape, illuminating investor expectations and the strategic adjustments corporates must make to remain compliant and competitive. Complementing these insights, the official representative from the corporate finance department at SEBI provided an authoritative overview of industrial benchmarks set for BRSR Core and their tangible impact on businesses striving to enhance ESG compliance. Highlighting the transformative power of technology, a Senior expert in the ESG practice from KPMG India delivered a presentation on the role of artificial intelligence in revolutionizing ESG data analytics, reporting, and decision-making. This seamlessly transitioned into an engaging session led by Senior Expert WRI India and Senior Expert CEEW-CEF, who provided a meticulous analysis of greenhouse gas accounting methodologies and underscored the critical role of carbon markets in facilitating a transition towards a net-zero future, respectively. The event culminated with Professor Garima Dadhich's heartfelt vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to all esteemed speakers, participants, and stakeholders for their invaluable contributions. This was followed by an enriching networking session, during which attendees engaged in stimulating conversations on sustainable finance, ESG audits, decarbonization strategies, and business-biodiversity integration. During the event, IICA also announced the 3rd edition of the flagship ESG annual conference of IICA, organised with support from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the National Conference on Responsible Business Conduct (NCRBC), scheduled to be held on July 2-3, 2025. The National Association of Impact Leaders (NAIL) is poised to emerge as a premier platform for IICA-certified ESG Professionals and Impact Leaders, continuously driving knowledge-sharing, impactful leadership, and meaningful change in the realm of corporate sustainability. (ANI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday assured that despite the opposition's absence from the pre-session meeting, the government would strive to run the session smoothly. Maharashtra's Budget Session will begin on Monday and conclude on March 26. "The opposition did not attend the meeting today ahead of the Budget Session. The opposition has sent us a letter...we will definitely try to run this session smoothly," said Pawar. The State Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 will be presented in both Houses of the legislature on March 10 by Ajit Pawar, who also holds the portfolio of Finance and Planning. During the Budget Session, the Legislative Assembly will continue working on March 8, a public holiday. Maharashtra's top leaders, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, held a joint press conference on Sunday, the eve of the Maharashtra Budget Session. The session, scheduled to start on March 3, is expected to be crucial, with the opposition already sending a letter to the government. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde accused the previous Maha Vikas Agahdi government of stalling many development projects and asserted that the Mahayuti will remain intact. "This is the second session of our government. Only we (Devendra Fadnavis and I) have changed roles. But yes, Ajit Dada's role is constant...We have started many projects which the MVA government stopped. Ajit Dada will present the Maharashtra budget. In a lighter moment, Shinde jokingly dismissed the idea of a "cold war" within the government and expressed confidence in the government's unity. "No matter how many breaking news you give, we (Mahayuti) will not break. What is cold war? There is nothing like that. In this scorching heat of Maharashtra... how is a cold war possible?..," Shinde said. (ANI) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday visited the revered indigenous prayer center of the Nyishi Janjati, the Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo, located in the tranquil Pachin Colony of Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, along the banks of the Pachin River. The Namlo, dedicated to the worship of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo), holds profound cultural and spiritual significance for the Nyishi community and the region's indigenous people. Bhagwat was warmly received by the devotees and the Namlo committee, who expressed deep happiness and gratitude for his visit. The RSS Sarsanghchalak participated in the prayer ceremony alongside the local devotees, immersing himself in the sacred and peaceful atmosphere of the Namlo. His presence and active participation in the rituals highlighted his deep respect for the age-old spiritual heritage of the Indigenous communities in Arunachal Pradesh and their time-honored traditions. The Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo stands as a spiritual pillar for the Nyishi people, where prayers and rituals are performed every Sunday to honor Donyi Polo - the celestial deities symbolizing universal existence, enlightenment, and the harmony of nature. Bhagwat's visit was not only a gesture of spiritual solidarity but also an affirmation of the enduring cultural and religious traditions that bind the indigenous communities of Arunachal Pradesh. Throughout the visit, Bhagwat engaged in meaningful discussions with the Namlo priests and devotees, acknowledging their dedication to preserving their indigenous customs and traditions. He praised their unwavering commitment to maintaining the sacred practices of their ancestors while fostering spiritual unity. Bhagwat also underscored the importance of balancing the preservation of cultural heritage with modern aspirations, emphasizing that spiritual practices like those at Donyi Polo Nyedar Namlo are essential in strengthening societal harmony towards our common goal of nation building. The visit concluded with heartfelt prayers for universal peace, prosperity, and well-being, leaving the devotees and all present at the prayer center deeply inspired. Bhagwat's presence reaffirmed the profound significance of preserving indigenous cultural and spiritual traditions and their role in fostering a harmonious and inclusive future for all. The 4-day long Arunachal Pradesh visit came to an end today after the completion of the 2-day long RSS Karyakarta Shivir with gathering from the whole state. Dr Bhagwat will depart this evening to Guwahati for further deliberations. (ANI) The event saw a gathering of several prominent personalities from the medical field, with a focus on honoring the contributions of retired doctors. In his speech, the Tripura Chief Minister praised the retired doctors for their valuable service to the healthcare sector and emphasized the government's commitment to improving healthcare facilities across the state. He highlighted various initiatives taken by the government to enhance the healthcare infrastructure and provide better services to the people of Tripura. During the conference, Debashis Nath, the Organizing Secretary of TRDA, delivered the welcome address, while Dr Bikash Roy, the Patron of TRDA, presented the introductory speech. Dr Bholanath Saha, the Secretary of TRDA, also addressed the audience, stressing the importance of collaboration between the government and retired doctors for the improvement of healthcare in Tripura. A special moment of the event was the release of the souvenir by the Padmashree Prof. Arunuday Saha, former Vice Chancellor of Tripura University, who also delivered a speech on the occasion. The Chief Minister congratulated Dr Jiban Chakraborty and Dr Chiranjib Debbarma for their exceptional contributions to the medical field. He spoke about the government's ongoing efforts to combat drug addiction in society, stressing the need for more awareness and stringent legal actions. He called for the implementation of effective rehabilitation programs to help drug users recover and reintegrate into society. The event concluded with Dr NC Podder's presidential address and a vote of thanks by Dr Keshab Debnath, Vice President of TRDA. The 20th Annual Conference of TRDA served as a platform to celebrate the immense contributions of retired doctors and to discuss further measures for improving the healthcare system in Tripura. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday said that Uttarakhand--often referred to as 'Devbhoomi'--is making continuous efforts to preserve and promote its rich cultural heritage, taking inspiration from the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "...The work of laying the foundation of a new cultural renaissance in the country by building a grand and divine temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya has been accomplished under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. Along with this, our local economy is also getting a boost through initiatives like 'Vocal for Local' and 'Make in India'. Taking inspiration from this, continuous efforts are being made to preserve cultural heritage in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand," he said. Dhami participated in the Uttarayani-Makarain Mahotsav, which the Mountain Migrant Jan-Kalyan Samiti organised in Ghaziabad. The Chief Minister warmly welcomed the public to the Uttaraini-Makarain Mahotsav and said that this festival is a confluence of Uttarakhand's culture, costumes, food, and belongingness. CM Dhami said the work done by the organisers to preserve and promote our rich heritage is commendable. He said that such festivals, along with promoting our cultural heritage, folk art, and folk music, also work to tie the Uttarakhandi migrants in a thread of love. Traditional handicrafts, organic products and Uttarakhandi cuisine were displayed in the festival. The Chief Minister appealed to everyone to participate in the development of their ancestral village, the mountains located in Uttarakhand and said that by investing in their ancestral land, self-employment and small industries have to be promoted to take their birthplace forward. He said that development works are being carried forward in many areas, such as road, drinking water, education, health, rail, and air connectivity in the state, and that works are also being done in many areas, like Kedarnath reconstruction work, the master plan of Lord Badri Vishal's complex, all-weather roads in all four Dhams, and a circuit of temples under Mansakhand Mandir Mala Mission. (ANI) The Indian Army concluded the search and rescue operations at the Mana area of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand on Sunday. These operations were part of the relief efforts to rescue the trapped Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers after the avalanche on February 28. According to the Indian Army, 46 out of the 54 BRO workers were rescued and are undergoing treatment, while 8 people lost their lives in the avalanche. "Search and rescue operations at the Mana Avalanche site concluded today with 46 workers being rescued successfully, who are currently being given necessary medical treatment. However, despite relentless efforts, day and night, through inclement conditions by the search and rescue parties, 8 lives could not be saved," posted the Army on X. "The Indian Army extends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. We also salute the indomitable courage of all personnel of the Border Roads Organisation, who are our partners in developing remote areas of our country," read the post by the Army on X. Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday offered his condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased BRO workers who lost their lives in the avalanche. The Chief Minister also prayed for the swift recovery of the BRO workers injured in the avalanche. Speaking to ANI, CM Dhami said, "The rescue operation was going on continuously for the last two days, and the entire rescue is almost complete. The 46 people who were found in it have all been shifted from Badrinath to Joshimath, and some from Joshimath to AIIMS Rishikesh." "May all of them recover soon and get completely cured, and some people are no longer among us. We pray to God to give peace to their souls and give strength to their family members to bear the loss," said CM Dhami. Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari also spoke to ANI about the development in the avalanche incident and said, "The operation was completed at 5:30 pm today, and out of the 54 Border Roads Organisation workers who were trapped there, 46 have been rescued safely, and there have been 8 casualties." "The district administration got full support from the central government and the state government, due to which this operation was successful. The bodies will be handed over to their families after completing the legal formalities," he said. The body of the eighth worker missing in the Mana (Chamoli) avalanche incident was recovered by the Army on Sunday afternoon during the ongoing search operation, officials said. Earlier in the day, three more bodies were found as rescue teams continued searching for the last missing worker. "All 54 persons have now been rescued or recovered. This marks the culmination of the Mana Village Rescue Operation," said Lt Col Manish Shrivastava, PRO (Defence), Dehradun. According to officials, the search operation resumed on Sunday morning to locate four missing workers believed to be trapped under the snow after an avalanche hit a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project site in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on February 28. With this, the death toll had risen to eight. Four workers had died on Saturday. The bodies of the BRO workers retrieved from the avalanche site were airlifted today and brought to the Joshimath military hospital, officials said. A total of 54 workers were buried when the avalanche struck on the morning of February 28. Army, ITBP, Air Force, NDRF, and SDRF personnel conducted rescue operations over the past two days. The SDRF team continued searching the site using victim-locating and thermal imaging cameras. A Drone-Based Intelligent Buried Object Detection System was brought to Joshimath today and deployed at the avalanche site in Mana to assist in the search operation. Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman stated earlier that favourable weather conditions aided the search and rescue efforts. On Saturday, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in-C, Central Command, and Lt Gen DG Misra, GOC, Uttar Bharat Area, visited the avalanche site to oversee and coordinate rescue operations. Lt Gen Sengupta stated that specialised reconnaissance radars, UAVs, quadcopters, and avalanche rescue dogs were deployed to locate survivors. Helicopters were continuously used to transport essential equipment and resources and to evacuate the injured. (ANI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said her government will focus on developing the National Capital under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also paid tribute to former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, crediting him for initiating the city's development. "I am here today to pay my respects to late Madan Lal Khurana, whom Delhi still remembers. All the development work that happened in Delhi began during his tenure. I have come to seek his blessings... After 27 years, the BJP has come to power in Delhi," she said while speaking to reporters. She vowed to complete the projects left unfinished since Khurana's tenure. "We will take forward the work that was left incomplete after his time. We will develop Delhi under the leadership of PM Modi. Today, I am here with his family, cherishing his sacred memories," she added. Earlier in the day, CM Gupta highlighted the BJP's long struggle to return to power, stating that Delhi witnessed corruption scandals under previous Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments. "This victory is the result of years of struggle. In the last 27 years of the BJP's exile, Delhi saw scam after scam--whether by the Congress or the AAP governments. They indulged in corruption while we fought against it. We faced lathis and sticks for the people of Delhi," she said. "This victory is the result of years of struggle... In the last 27 years of the BJP's exile, Delhi saw scam after scam either by the Congress or the AAP governments... They did scams, and we protested against them... We faced lathis and sticks for the people of Delhi..." CM Gupta said. She also said that a lot of work has to be done in the National Capital. Addressing the Purvanchal BJP Morcha Function at the Delhi BJP office, Gupta said, "We are able to celebrate this victory after a long struggle. I congratulate my brothers and sisters of Purvanchal... A new era has started in Delhi. There is a lot to do... We have to fulfil Prime Minister Naredra Modi's dream of making a Viksit Delhi..." Earlier in the day, CM Gupta, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, and party MP Manoj Tiwari were felicitated at a party event. The BJP registered a massive victory in the recent assembly elections, marking its return to power in the national capital after 27 years. (ANI) The union government is promoting and acknowledging grassroots innovators for the first time in India, said Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Sunday while addressing the silver jubilee celebration of the National Innovation Foundation (NIF). The NIF is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology. Addressing the gathering virtually, Union minister Jitendra Singh emphasized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to 'Virasat Bhi aur Vikas Bhi,' integrating India's exclusive traditional knowledge with cutting-edge technology. According to a release from the Ministry of Science and Technology, he also released a postal stamp, followed by a Magazine titled 'Innovation Frontline' and a coffee table book. Highlighting the critical role of rural innovation in India's economy, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, and Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, Jitendra Singh stressed that innovations originating in remote villages will be scaled up, ensuring equal opportunities and resources as available in urban areas. He applauded India's transformation from the 'Fragile Five' to the 'First Five' and its soon-to-be fourth place in the global economy. He called for a scientific approach to harnessing underexplored sectors, including those in the rural areas, that were neglected under previous regimes. Singh also recalled PM Modi's clarion call to celebrate National Science Day with a festive fervour, as mentioned in last week's 'Mann Ki Baat' program. He described it as unprecedented for a Prime Minister to extend such patronage to science and technology. Expressing his delight after speaking to the Padma Awardees who fostered innovation, the union minister questioned the long delay in recognizing these unsung heroes, many of whom began their work as early as the 1990s. He credited PM Modi for transforming the Padma Awards into 'People's Padma' in the truest sense. The Minister highlighted the Micro Venture Innovation Fund (MVIF)--a pioneering initiative by NIF with SIDBI that has provided necessary risk capital to 238 innovation-based enterprise projects. Calling it a novel initiative, he debunked the myth that only elite scientists with fancy degrees can drive innovation and startups. He cited the success of the Lavender Revolution, backed by CSIR-IIIM Jammu, and the Floriculture Revolution, driven by CSIR-IHBT Palampur. Singh reiterated that India's technology is inherently affordable and cost-effective, making it globally appealing. Celebrating NIF's 25-year journey, he announced that 713 patents have been granted in India and 5 in the USA, underscoring NIF's role in fostering grassroots innovations. He also highlighted that NIF was one of the early institutions in India to host a Technology Business Incubator (TBI), now known as NIF Incubation and Entrepreneurship Council (NIFientreC). Over 25 grassroots startups and several hundred enterprises, some with Rs10+ crore annual turnover, are thriving under its support, creating rural employment opportunities. The Minister emphasized that under PM Modi's visionary leadership, India has unlocked the space sector for private participation. He also noted that, for the first time, the nuclear energy sector has been opened to private players, as announced in the recent budget. Building Viksit Bharat @ 2047 Dr. Singh called upon all innovators to contribute towards making India a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. Concluding his address, he described NIF's 25-year journey as a testament to inclusivity, shaping India's innovation landscape by successfully identifying, supporting, and disseminating grassroots innovations--reaching even the most remote border villages, added the release. (ANI) Speaker of the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, will meet the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday, March 3, at 10 am to formally express gratitude on behalf of the House for his Address to the Assembly on 25th February 2025, said an official release. A Motion was already passed in the House to express appreciation for the Lieutenant Governor's Address. In accordance with Rule 19(7), Speaker Vijender Gupta will personally hand over the formal communication and convey the House's acknowledgment of the Address. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Vijender Gupta stated: "The Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor's Address provided valuable insights into Delhi's vision and governance roadmap. It is my privilege to extend the House's gratitude in person." LG VK Saxena, in his address to the Delhi Assembly on the second day of the first session of the 8th Legislative Assembly on February 25, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra of 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikas, sab ka vishwas, sab ka prayas, sab ka Samman' would be the guiding factor for the state government. Further, he said that the government would focus especially on areas such as corruption, women's empowerment, the welfare of the poor, and world-class roads. Speaking at the session, the LG said, "PM Narendra Modi's mantra of 'sabka sath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas, sabka samman' will be the guiding factor of my government... My government will stand up to the people's rising needs and expectations. My government will pay special focus on these 10 areas- corruption-free administration, women empowerment, the welfare of the poor, improvement in health services, good education model, world-class roads, clean and pollution-free Delhi, clean Yamuna, clean water, and regularisation of unauthorised colonies." Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said her government will focus on developing the National Capital under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She also paid tribute to former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, crediting him for initiating the city's development. "I am here today to pay my respects to the late Madan Lal Khurana, whom Delhi still remembers. All the development work that happened in Delhi began during his tenure. I have come to seek his blessings... After 27 years, the BJP has come to power in Delhi," she said while speaking to reporters. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday sounded a strong warning against the central government's alleged attempts to impose Hindi on the state. He declared that Tamil Nadu would never accept the New Education Policy (NEP) and Hindi imposition in any form. Stalin emphasised that the state's Chief Minister, MK Stalin, has made it clear that Tamil Nadu rejects the NEP, delimitation, and Hindi imposition. He accused the central government of trying to "impose Hindi sideways" and through the NEP. "The Tamil Nadu CM is the person who has brought the Metro Railway project to Chennai. The CM said three things recently: we don't accept NEP, we won't accept delimitation, and we won't accept Hindi imposition. Today, the central is trying to impose the Hindi language sideways. Centre is directly trying to impose Hindi through the New Education Policy. Tamil Nadu will never accept the New Education Policy and Hindi imposition in any manner. We (DMK) are not feared by Central Government threats because the current regime is DMK, not AIADMK. The current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister is MK Stalin, not Edappadi Palaniswami (AIADMK Chief and Former CM)...," said Udhayanidhi Stalin. Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reiterated on Sunday the importance of promoting Indian languages through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Speaking in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, Pradhan emphasised that all Indian languages have equal rights and should be taught uniformly. He clarified that the NEP's three-language policy doesn't impose Hindi as the sole language, contrary to concerns raised by some in Tamil Nadu. "National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 should give importance to Indian languages... All Indian languages have equal rights, and all should be taught in the same way. This is the objective of the NEP. Some people in Tamil Nadu are opposing it for political purposes. We have not said anywhere in the NEP that only Hindi will be taught...," said Pradhan. The Tamil Nadu government has strongly opposed implementing the New Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, raising concern over the "three-language formula" and alleging that the Centre wants to 'impose' Hindi. Earlier, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin urged the people to "rise" to defend the state in a fight against the delimitation of constituencies and the three-language policy. Stalin criticised the three-language policy, saying that it had resulted in the centre withholding the state's funds and that delimitation would now 'affect' the state's representation. "Their three-language policy has already resulted in the withholding of our rightful funds. Likewise, while they claim they will not reduce Tamil Nadu's parliamentary seats, they are unwilling to assure that the representation of other states will not be disproportionately increased. Our demand is clear - do not determine parliamentary constituencies based on population alone...We will never compromise on Tamil Nadu's welfare and future for anyone or anything...Tamil Nadu will resist! Tamil Nadu will prevail," Stalin said. (ANI) According to a statement by the Defence Public Relations Office (pro), more than 3,000 former servicemen, war widows, and battle casualties participated in the rally. Major General H S Gill was the chief guest of the event. During his address, he expressed the organisation's commitment to the former servicemen fraternity for their sacrifices for the nation. According to the Defence PRO'S statement, Retired Brigadier Polash Choudhury, Director of the Directorate of Sainik Welfare, Assam, presented financial assistance to needy orphan children. In his address, the director expressed that the union government and Assam government "are very sensitive to the problems, issues and welfare of the ex-servicemen." "New welfare schemes & Job opportunities are extended for the benefit of ESMs (ex-servicemen)," the retired Brigadier said. He appealed to the ex-servicemen community to remain updated and avail of it. He also encouraged the ESMs to wholeheartedly participate in the Governor of Assam's Rashtriya Kritagyta Avm Jagrukta' yojna, which is meant to motivate students in schools and colleges towards discipline and teach the values of nation before self and patriotism. In the rally, various counters were set up for welfare and awareness of ESMs, like representatives from Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) (PCDA(P)) to address pension-related queries. Banks such as SBI, Axis Bank, and Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, Agricultural Department and many departments participated, facilitating all people with battle casualties, Veer Naris & Veer Mothers. (ANI) TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Sunday fired back at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, calling his recent statement "nonsense." This follows the Assam Chief Minister's earlier comments, who alleged that while speaking at the 'Vivekananda Sewa Samman 2025' in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi were mistaken if they thought of ending Hinduism. Ghosh emphasised that Bengal is a unique case in which people of all faiths--Hindus, Muslims, and Christians--unite in their support for Mamata Banerjee. "Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is talking nonsense... His party does Hindu, Muslim and Christian... But this is Bengal, here Hindus, Muslims and Christians, are all supporters of Mamata Banerjee," Ghosh told ANI. According to Ghosh, the secret to Bengal's harmony lies in its development schemes, which are secular and inclusive, bearing no religious labels. He cited the example of Mamata Banerjee's funding for Durga Puja committees, which was even increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite opposition from the BJP. "Entire Bengal (supports her), because the development schemes here do not have the name of any religion on them... For example, in Bengal, Mamata Banerjee funds every Durga Puja committee to promote Durga Puja. During the time of Corona, the funding was increased and the BJP opposed it... Now, they are giving statements. Himanta Biswa Sarma should not be involved in all of this now," he added. Earlier in the day, Sarma said, "Aurangzeb had vowed to destroy Hinduism, but Hinduism did not end, Aurangzeb ended...Today, I would like to say to Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi that if they think that they can end Hinduism, I would like to tell them that Hinduism will not end...Hinduism can never end." The Assam Chief Minister said that in India, whenever there has been a threat to 'Dharma, ' people have raised their voices to safeguard it. "Today we have honoured Swami Pradiptananda with the Swami Vivekananda Seva Award...In India, whenever there has been a threat to our Dharma, people have raised their voices to safeguard it... Swami ji has always accepted challenges that came in the way of protecting Dharma and has made a resolution to do everything for Sanatan Dharma. Such a personality is a guiding light and an inspiration for us," he said. Meanwhile, on Saturday, BJP leader Rahul Sinha urged the people of West Bengal to remove the TMC government from the state. Speaking to ANI, Sinha said that the leftists have been wiped out from West Bengal. "The leftists have been wiped out from the entire Bengal. Those who are left have taken refuge in Jadavpur University. TMC always spreads violence. Action should be taken against the students involved in this incident," he said. "Today, all the TMC leaders are protesting, but when the left-wing students attacked the Governor, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC supported it. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is anti-West Bengal. We urge the people to wipe out TMC just as they have wiped out the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from West Bengal," the BJP leader added. (ANI) AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday slammed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, accusing him of playing a "double game" with the BJP-led Centre. He said that his party would follow only the two-language policy. "We have clearly stated that we will follow only the two-language policy. When MK Stalin was in the opposition, he protested against PM Modi by waving black flags and balloons. But after becoming Chief Minister, he is now showing a white flag to PM Modi," Palaniswami said while speaking at an AIADMK programme in Theni. "When in power, he acts one way; when out of power, he acts another way--this is their double game. The DMK is part of the INDIA alliance, but it invites the BJP to the release function of Karunanidhi's coins because it is afraid the BJP will continue filing cases against it," he added. Palaniswami alleged that the current DMK government did not a bring a single welfare scheme Theni district. "It has been four years since MK Stalin became the Chief Minister, yet not a single welfare scheme has been brought to Theni district. Stalin is only focused on photo shoots. During AIADMK's rule, we fought a legal battle and successfully raised the Mullaperiyar Dam water level from 136 feet to 142 feet. Former CM Jayalalithaa legally fought and won the case to further increase the water level to 152 feet," he said. "However, after a change in government, this project was shelved. When AIADMK returns to power, steps will be taken to increase the dam's water level. Drug addiction, crimes, and sexual violence are increasing in Tamil Nadu. A DSP-ranked police officer was appointed to investigate the Anna University case, but he has now withdrawn from the investigation. People see this government as a failed administration," he added. Meanwhile, on Saturday, AIADMK National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said that the BJP's decision to boycott the all-party meeting on delimitation's impact on Tamil Nadu will not send a good or right signal. He also alleged a "secret understanding" between the BJP and DMK. "BJP not participating will not send a good or right signal. If Amit Shah has assured that the number of (Lok Sabha) seats for Tamil Nadu will not be reduced and Tamil Nadu will not be affected by delimitation, then the same should have been reiterated in the all-party meeting so that people get reassurance," Sathyan told ANI. "Not participating in that meeting clearly indicates that the BJP is playing into the hands of the DMK to create its own political narrative. Both are hand in glove, that is what is coming out. We have been saying that there is a secret understanding between the two," he added.Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai informed Chief Minister MK Stalin in a letter to him on Saturday that his party will boycott the all-party meeting convened on March 5. Annamalai accused Stalin of having misconstrued the delimitation exercise and of spreading "imaginary fears" and deliberately lying about it. (ANI) Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, emphasised the critical role of women in nation-building, stating that "a mother's lap is the world's best institution of learning," while addressing the Central Foundation Day of the All Assam Sonowal Kachari Women's Association (AASKWA) in Dibrugarh on Sunday. Speaking at the event, Sarbananda Sonowal praised the government's commitment to women's empowerment. He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the empowerment of women has paved the way for a prosperous and self-reliant society and nation. Citing the Rig Veda, the Union Minister stressed that women have historically played a fundamental role in shaping a progressive and holistic society. "A mother inspires her children to acquire knowledge and guides them with courage. Without effort and perseverance, it is impossible to realise one's full potential," Sonowal said. Sonowal further underlined the importance of balancing technological advancement with humanity, stating, "Progress is essential, but without humanity, it remains incomplete. We must prioritise human values to overcome the challenges before us." The Union Minister further highlighted the need for the Sonowal Kachari community to excel through skill, resilience, and dedication. "There are no shortcuts to success. Every achievement comes through competition and challenges. Assam's various ethnic groups must advance through education, culture, and sports. It is our responsibility to uplift the Sonowal Kachari community through action, not just words," he added. Calling on women to take the lead in driving change, Sonowal urged the community to embrace hard work and perseverance. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi sets an example by working nearly 18 hours a day with unmatched dedication. We must all emulate his commitment to the greater good of the nation," he said. Sonowal reiterated the government's continuous efforts over the past decade to empower women. "Millions of women in India have become self-reliant and are contributing significantly to national progress and economic growth. By 2047, we aim to build a self-reliant and developed India, and I call upon the women of this community to take a leading role in this mission. A strong and empowered women's force translates to accelerated national growth and prosperity," he added. The event was attended by several prominent figures, including Rashmirekha Sonowal, President of the All Assam Sonowal Kachari Women's Association (AASKWA); former legislator Jyotsna Sonowal; Dipuranjan Makrari, president of the reception committee; Shrutidhara Mahanta, professor at Dibrugarh University; Devananda Chelleng, president of the All Assam Sonowal Kachari Students' Association; and former chief executive member of the Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council, Dandi Sonowal, among other distinguished guests and local residents. (ANI) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday said that doctors' contributions to society are immense as they dedicate their lives to serving humanity. CM Saha on Sunday attended the 20th Annual Conference of the Tripura Retired Doctors' Association at the TB Association Hall in Agartala. On this occasion, the Tripura Chief Minister also addressed the delegates and honoured senior doctors of the state. https://x.com/DrManikSaha2/status/1896224604680814734 The event saw a gathering of several prominent personalities from the medical field, with a focus on honouring the contributions of retired doctors. In his speech, the Tripura Chief Minister praised the retired doctors for their valuable service to the healthcare sector and emphasised the government's commitment to improving healthcare facilities across the state. He also highlighted various initiatives taken by the government to enhance the healthcare infrastructure and provide better services to the people of Tripura. During the conference, Debashis Nath, the Organising Secretary of TRDA, delivered the welcome address, while Dr Bikash Roy, the Patron of TRDA, presented the introductory speech. Dr Bholanath Saha, the Secretary of TRDA, also addressed the audience, stressing the importance of collaboration between the government and retired doctors for the improvement of healthcare in Tripura. A special moment of the event was the release of the souvenir by the Padmashree Prof. Arunuday Saha, former Vice Chancellor of Tripura University, who also addressed the occasion. The Chief Minister congratulated Dr Jiban Chakraborty and Dr Chiranjib Debbarma for their exceptional contributions to the medical field. He spoke about the government's ongoing efforts to combat drug addiction in society, stressing the need for more awareness and stringent legal actions. He called for the implementation of effective rehabilitation programmes to help drug users recover and reintegrate into society. The event concluded with Dr NC Podder's presidential address and a vote of thanks by Dr Keshab Debnath, Vice President of TRDA. The 20th Annual Conference of TRDA served as a platform to celebrate the immense contributions of retired doctors and to discuss further measures for improving the healthcare system in Tripura. (ANI) Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Sunday emphasised that his priority is to ensure that the Delhi Assembly functions in accordance with the law, with active participation from both the ruling party and the Opposition. Speaking to media persons, Gupta stated that he would meet Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena to submit the motion of thanks on his address to the Assembly. "The discussion on the CAG report will continue tomorrow. I will meet the Lieutenant Governor and submit the motion of thanks on his address," he said. "Our effort is to conduct the House as per the law, ensuring participation from all members, including both the ruling party and the Opposition," he added. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta reaffirmed her government's commitment to the development of the National Capital under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Paying tribute to former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, she credited him for initiating the city's development. "I am here today to pay my respects to the late Madan Lal Khurana, whom Delhi still remembers. All the development work that took place in Delhi began during his tenure. I have come to seek his blessings. After 27 years, the BJP has returned to power in Delhi," she told reporters. She pledged to complete the projects left unfinished since Khurana's tenure. "We will take forward the work that remained incomplete after his time. We will develop Delhi under the leadership of PM Modi. Today, I am here with his family, cherishing his sacred memories," she added. Earlier in the day, CM Gupta highlighted the BJP's long struggle to regain power, alleging that Delhi witnessed corruption scandals under the previous Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments. "This victory is the result of years of struggle. In the last 27 years of the BJP's exile, Delhi saw scam after scam--whether under Congress or AAP governments. They indulged in corruption while we fought against it. We faced lathis and sticks for the people of Delhi," she said. (ANI) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his unwavering support during their meeting in London, calling it a "meaningful and warm" discussion. The two leaders spoke about the challenges facing Ukraine and Europe, coordination with international partners, and efforts to achieve a just peace with strong security guarantees. In a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, "A meaningful and warm meeting with Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer. During our talks, we discussed the challenges facing Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with partners, concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine's position, and ending the war with a just peace, along with robust security guarantees." As part of the meeting, Ukraine and the UK signed a loan agreement aimed at boosting Ukraine's defence capabilities. "A principled statement of support from the Prime Minister and an important decision: today, in our presence, Ukraine and the United Kingdom signed a Loan Agreement. This loan will enhance Ukraine's defence capabilities and will be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets," he said on X. "The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine. This is true justice - the one who started the war must be the one to pay," he added. Expressing gratitude to the UK government, he stated. "I thank the people and government of the United Kingdom for their tremendous support from the very beginning of this war. We are happy to have such strategic partners and to share the same vision of what a secure future should look like for all." Starmer's office had earlier confirmed his meeting with Zelenskyy ahead of a European leaders' summit on Sunday. The discussions will focus on shoring up support for "securing a just and enduring peace" in Ukraine. Sunday's summit is also expected to address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation amid fears about whether the US will continue to support Ukraine or NATO. (ANI) This initiative is part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, aimed at supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza, coinciding with the Holy Month of Ramadan. The ship carried 5,820 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food supplies, medicines, medical equipment, and shelter materials, to help alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people amid dire humanitarian conditions. This initiative aligns with the UAE leadership's directives, reaffirming the country's steadfast humanitarian commitment to providing aid and relief to those in need. Several humanitarian organisations are contributing to this effort, including the Emirates Red Crescent, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Fujairah Charity Association, the Dar Al Ber Society, the Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Foundation for Charity and Humanitarian Work, Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi Charity and Humanitarian Foundation, Sharjah Charity International, International Charity Organisation, the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation, Al Etihad Charity Foundation, and the Al Ihsan Charity Association. The dispatch of this aid-laden ship is part of a series of UAE-led humanitarian initiatives aimed at providing urgent relief to Palestinians, underscoring the country's unwavering commitment to humanitarian causes across the region. (ANI/WAM) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) has detected 11 Chinese aircraft, 6 naval vessels and 3 official ships operating around the island as of 6 am (UTC+8) on Sunday. Among them, five aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's central, southwestern and southeastern Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1896003178799514042 Sharing a post on X, MND wrote, "11 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 3 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 5 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's central, southwestern and southeastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1895640137218023443 On Saturday, Taiwan's MND detected 17 Chinese military aircraft, eight naval vessels and three official ships around the country "17 PLA aircraft, 8 PLAN vessels and 3 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 15 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern and southeastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded," Taiwan MND wrote on X. In recent weeks, China has been visibly boosting its ability to invade Taiwanese beaches with innovative new naval equipment. This includes the formal launching of an enormous landing helicopter assault (LHA) vessel, the likes of which no other navy in the world possesses, and the mass production of floating bridge docks to assist the unloading of ships during beach landings. Both types of equipment are strong indications that China is serious about one day invading Taiwan. The Taiwan-China issue is a complex and longstanding geopolitical conflict centred on Taiwan's sovereignty. Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), operates its own government, military, and economy, functioning as a de facto independent state. However, China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and insists on the "One China" policy, which asserts that there is only one China, with Beijing as its capital. This has fuelled decades of tension, especially since the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949), when the ROC government retreated to Taiwan after the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took control of mainland China. Beijing has consistently expressed its goal of reunification with Taiwan, using diplomatic, economic, and military pressure to isolate Taiwan internationally. Meanwhile, Taiwan, supported by a significant portion of its population, continues to maintain its independence. (ANI) Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti founder Acharya Lokesh Muni said that the World Peace Centre is being inaugurated to resolve the conflict whenever it arises in the world in time and make world stress-free and non-violence free. He said that World Peace Centre will have peace ambassadors around the world, whose responsibility will be to provide service for the peace in the world if conflict erupts in any part of the world. In an interview with ANI, Acharya Lokesh Muni said that the centre will be dedicated to resolving the issues that the world faces due to religious intolerance. He welcomed all the dharmacharyas and philanthropists who were present there for the inauguration of the centre. On the inauguration of India's first World Peace Centre, he said, "There is a vision behind this. There is a theme that if conflict arises anywhere in the world, it should be resolved in time. We are seeing that wars are going on in many parts of our world right now and it has been going on for years and the economy of the whole world is being affected, innocent children have been killed. women are getting widowed. After all, even after the war, they come to the negotiating table, so why not come to the table earlier. World Peace Centre will have peace ambassadors and peace soldiers all over the world, whose responsibility will be to provide service for the peace in the world if conflict arises in any part of the world whether in the name of race, religion or community, region." "And this was anekant darshan of Lord Mahavir, that we respect the views of others like our ideas. We respect the existence of others like our existence. This centre will be dedicated to the resolution of the issues that the world is facing because of religious intolerance. Along with this, the message of India's culture of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' and 'Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Niramaya' will be spread from here.... Today, it is going to be inaugurated to make our world stress-free, non-violence free. I am delighted that world-renowned top dharmacharyas and people's representatives are attending. Philanthropists from India and around the world are present on this occasion. I welcome them all," he added. India's first World Peace Centre will be inaugurated by former President Ram Nath Kovind, along with spiritual leaders Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Morari Bapu, and Avdheshanand Giri Maharaj, in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini and Delhi Minister Rekha Gupta today. Established by Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti founder Acharya Lokesh Muni, the World Peace Centre is a unique initiative dedicated to promoting peace and addressing national interest issues. On Virat Sant Sammelan and Amrit Manthan set to be held there today, Acharya Lokesh Muni said, "I am standing here, this is sector 39. The houses in front of me are from Sector 40 and sector 31 is on the left side of where I am standing. This confluence of Mahakumbh and Sangam, which was organized in Prayagraj. Today it is going to be a spiritual kumbh on the soil of Haryana and this is the land of Haryana from which the message of Gita came out and today the message of world peace will come out again from the land of Haryana and all Dharmacharyas are inside it and I welcome them all." (ANI) A FedEx plane made an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Newark Airport on Saturday as its right engine caught fire, New York Post reported. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and FedEx, the bird strike caused the sudden ignition. Video showed the Boeing 767-3S2F heading back to the tarmac as flames spewed from the right engine around 8 am (local time) on Saturday. Two Port Authority fire trucks headed near the the plane as it landed and extinguished the blaze. Later, the National Transportation Safety Board announced that it initiated an investigation into the incident, New York Post reported. According to the flight data, the plane was forced to land at 8:07 am (local time), just nine minutes after the takeoff. No one was injured in the incident. Air traffic was halted for a brief time as a precaution. However, the operations quickly resumed. According to Flight Aware, the extent of the damage was not clear. However, the aircraft was cleared to make the journey to Indiana at 9:30 am. Speaking to New York Post, a FedEx representative said, "FedEx Flight 3609 from Newark to Indianapolis experienced a bird strike during takeoff. Our crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark. We are thankful for the quick actions of our crew and first responders." The incident happened amid numerous passenger airplane accidents that have sparked concerns regarding air safety in recent weeks. On February 25, a Southwest plane narrowly avoided a collision at Chicago Midway Airport when a private jet rolled across the runway, New York Post reported. Earlier on February 24, a Delta Air Lines flight heading to South Carolina was forced to return to Atlanta when "haze" and smoke filled the cabin -- the second such incident in as many days. Earlier in February, 67 people were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with a commercial plane that was mostly filled with young competitive figure skaters and their parents. (ANI) Israel has adopted the framework of US Presidential envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire during Ramzan and Passover period. The decision was taken after a security discussion chaired by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with the participation of Israel's Defence Minister, senior security establishment officials and the negotiating team. In a post on X, the Israel Prime Minister's Office stated, "Following a security discussion chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and with the participation of the Defense Minister, senior security establishment officials and the negotiating team, it was decided. Israel adopts the framework of US Presidential envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire during the Ramadan and Passover period." On the first day of the framework, half of the living and deceased hostages will be released. Upon its conclusion, if agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, the remaining living and deceased hostages will be released, according to the statement released by Israel Prime Minister's Office. The statement released by Israel Prime Minister's Office states, "Steve Witkoff proposed the framework on extending the ceasefire after gaining the impression that, at present, there was no possibility of bridging between the positions of the sides on ending the war, and that additional time was required for talks on a permanent ceasefire." According to the statement, Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement but Israel has not been found in violation. As per the agreement, Israel could resume fighting after the 42nd day if it gains the impression that the negotiations have been ineffective. This article has been supported by the previous US administration and has also received the support of the Trump administration. Israel Prime Minister's Office states, "While Israel has agreed to the Witkoff framework in order to return our hostages, Hamas has, until now, clung to its rejection of this framework. If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on the overall details of the Witkoff framework." https://x.com/IsraeliPM/status/1896031604029734944 On February 26, US President Donald Trump, during his first Cabinet meeting, said that he was disappointed with the way Hamas sent the bodies of slain Israeli hostages. Trump said that the Hamas thinks they were doing a favour by returning the dead bodies. "I'm very disappointed when I see. Four bodies came in today, these are young people. Young people don't die, okay. They think they're doing us a favour by sending us bodies," he said. Trump said that Israel now has to take a decision and recounted an incident wherein an Israeli civilian lost her hand to a bullet fired at her. "A decision has to be made by Israel. We got a lot of hostages back, but it's very sad what happened to those people. I mean you had a young lady with her hand practically blown off. You know why it blew up -- because she put up her hand to try and stop a bullet that was coming her way and it hit her hand and blew off her fingers [and a] big part of her hand," he said. US President called Hamas a "vicious group" and talked about the plight of Israeli civilians who requested him to get the bodies of their kin. He said, "This is a vicious group of people and Israel is going to have to decide what they're doing. Phase one is going to be ending. Think of it- today they sent in four bodies, 'bodies' [as opposed to living people], and I will say one thing though- I've spoken to a lot of the parents and a lot of the people involved they want those bodies almost as much and maybe even just as much as they wanted their son or their daughter. [They said] Please sir please, my son is dead but they have his body please can you get it for us, it's the biggest thing." "It's incredible- the level they want the bodies of these people, they're dead. When I saw the ones that came in two weeks ago, they looked like they just got out of a concentration camp. Then the following week, a group came in and they weren't as bad in as bad a shape," he added. Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated that slain Israeli hostages, Shiri, Ariel and baby Kfir were buried on February 26. "Shiri, Ariel and baby Kfir were laid to rest today in Israel. We're sorry we couldn't save you. We vow to never forget you," IDF stated in a post on X. (ANI) Two leaders of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Balochistan were killed in the Zehri area of Pakistan's Khuzdar district on Saturday, according to officials, Dawn reported. The JUI-F leaders, Wadera Ghulam Sarwar and Molvi Amanullah, were heading to home in Zehri's Tarsani area, when unknown assailants riding motorcycles opened fire on them using automatic weapons. The two leaders died on the spot after being shot multiple times. One of the leaders' security guards also received bullet injuries. Levies took the bodies and injured to a local hospital while killers managed to escape. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which Levies officials called target killing. An investigation has been initiated into the incident. The bodies of the two JUI-F leaders were handed over to the families after completing medico-legal formalities. JUI-F central spokesperson Aslam Ghori condemned the killings and demanded the immediate arrest of the attackers, according to Dawn report. On February 28, at least six people, including the leader of political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami (JUI-S), Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, were killed in a suicide blast on Friday at the Darul Uloom Haqqania madarsa in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Nowshera district of Pakistan, Dawn reported. The blast tore through the main prayer hall of the madarsa as worshipers had gathered for their Friday prayer, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed said, "It was a suicide blast. Three policemen were also injured in the attack." Police inspector Hameed said that the blast occurred at 2 pm (local time) on Friday, with police and rescue teams immediately dispatched to the site of the incident. In a statement issued by the office of the hospital director, six people were killed in the attack, while at least 15 were injured. However, Rescue 1122 stated that after 5 PM the number of people injured had jumped up to 20. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Inspector General has said that JUI-S leader Haqqani, who also is the seminary's head, was the target of the suicide blast. No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. (ANI) The Tibetans-in-Exile in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala offered special Sang-Sol (incense burning) prayers on the third day of Losar, the Tibetan new year, and prayed for the long life of the Dalai Lama and worshipped the mother nature. Sang means incense and Sol means wake up. Tibetans also call it incense burning offering or smoke pooja. Hundreds of Tibetans gathered at the Lha Gyari temple in Dharamshala to celebrate this special occasion. They also tied colourful holy flags around this monastery and offered prayers here. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar this is the 'Wood Sanke' year 2152. Tibetans celebrate Losar for three days, however, in some regions, they also celebrate it for 15 days. Speaking to ANI, Techung, a Tibetan musician said, "This is the third day of Losar, our New Year. On the first day we have a family gathering, on second day visiting friends and on the third day, we have a very special occasion which is called Sang - Sol which is incense burning, offering smoke, essences and foods to the deities and this is a very ancient kind of Pre Buddhist sort of tradition whereby we honour the nature like water, mountains and all the spirits and this is the combination of the new year third day where the community come together to honour and respect the nature and for the abundance of rain and showers for the future." He also spoke about the importance of people tying holy flags around the monastery. He said, "These holy flags we call it lungta, they are supposed to carry your good wishes, spirits and also to honour spirits of the nature. This is basically for good luck to your family, to your beloved teachers." Tsering, a Tibetan-in-exile said, "it's the third day of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. We are doing a Sang-Sol just to pray for the long life of his holiness the Dalai Lama. These flags represent four elements sky, earth, water and fire so it's just to for good luck. These are our rituals to pray for good luck and long life of the Dalai Lama." (ANI) Former World Uyghur Congress President Dolkun Isa's brother Yalkun Isa is facing a 20-year imprisonment in China's Xinjiang for allegedly "inciting terrorism," according to local law enforcement and security personnel at the school where he worked, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported. At 63 years old, Yalkun was an educator at the Aksu Education Institute located in Aksu city, where numerous Uyghur instructors were detained in 2017 during a period characterized by mass arrests of Uyghur educators, entrepreneurs, and cultural figures under the pretext of re-education to combat what China termed terrorism and religious extremism, according to RFA report. Yalkun's brother Dolkun Isa served as the president of the Germany-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) from 2017 to 2024. Living in exile since 1994, Dolkun has consistently faced intimidation from China due to his advocacy for Uyghurs. A law enforcement officer confirmed Yalkun's arrest was due to his communication with individuals in foreign nations via phone but also indicated that he had accessed content from international websites, the report said. The officer mentioned that he had seen the sentence handed to Yalkun, which stated that the educator was sentenced to 20 years for supposedly urging those around him to create an organization and engage in "terrorism," as cited in the RFA report. Another police officer from Aksu, who chose to remain anonymous to discuss Yalkun freely, stated that the teacher was taken into custody in late 2017 as his phone records indicated he had conversed with individuals abroad, as per the report. During a month-long interrogation, Yalkun was pressured into confessing that during his conversations with Dolkun, he was allegedly instructed to establish an organization in Aksu and carry out acts of "terrorism," according to the police officer as quoted by RFA. According to a police officer at the Aksu Education Institute, Yalkun was handed over to state security agents for questioning. After his closed trial, he was transferred to Aksu Prison. However, political leader from Aksu's state security police said that Yalkun's case had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department, according to RFA report. The plight of China's Uyghur community, mainly located in Xinjiang, has garnered considerable global attention. Reports suggest extensive human rights violations, including forced labour, arbitrary detentions in alleged "re-education" camps, and invasive surveillance. (ANI) Tel Aviv [Israel], March 2 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it would present State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman with its internal investigations into the military's failures of October 7 and in the time leading up to Hamas's attack. The IDF said it would share its findings with Englman "as part of the recent dialogue with the comptroller, within the framework of the agreements that were formulated and the IDF's cooperation with the comptroller's office." The comptroller, also known as the state ombudsman, periodically releases reports auditing Israeli preparedness and the effectiveness of government policies. According to a series of army probes -- summaries of which were released publicly on Thursday -- some 5,000 terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad managed to attack numerous Israeli communities and overrun the army's border positions. The army's chain of command broke amid the chaos and soldiers were outnumbered. For years, the army misunderstood Hamas's intentions, and as October 7 approached, intelligence about the looming attack was misinterpreted. "We did not even imagine such a scenario," the army official said, explaining that Israel's attention was focused on threats from Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon. The army's probes only deal with issues of operations, intelligence and command, not decisions made by the political echelon. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi announced his resignation and is due to step down on March 5. The IDF Chief of Staff serves for three years with the possibility of a one-year extension. Halevi will be replaced by Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir. The last time chief of staff to leave the post before the end of his term was Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz who resigned in 2007 over IDF failures during the Second Lebanon War of 2006. There have been growing calls for the government to appoint an independent commission of inquiry to investigate political and military failures. Such commissions have broader authority to summon witnesses and collect evidence and are headed by a senior Supreme Court justice. They may include personal recommendations about individuals under investigation, though the government is not bound to act on the recommendations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government ministers say a state inquiry into failings that led to Hamas's October 7 attacks should only be held after the war. Critics accuse Netanyahu of delaying the inquiry and trying to water down the powers of a commission. After the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice to order the government to form such a commission, the justices gave the government a deadline of May 11 to update the justices on its position. The last state commission of inquiry, which investigated Israel's worst civilian disaster -- a stampede that killed 45 people at a holy site on Mount Meron -- held Netanyahu personally responsible for the tragedy in a report released in April. At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead. (ANI/TPS) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire proposal to present to the United States, Al Jazeera reported. Starmer said he believes US President Donald Trump wants a durable peace in Ukraine and reiterated his assertion that US security guarantees will be needed to make any peace deal work, as per Al Jazeera. "I've always been clear that that is going to need a US backstop because I don't think it would be a guarantee without it," Starmer said. The British PM said he hoped a European "coalition of the willing" would come together to support Ukraine but any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine again. "In other words, we've got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward-leaning," Al Jazeera quoted Starmer as saying. "The UK and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this, and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US," added Starmer, who spoke to Macron and Trump on Saturday after having talks with Zelenskyy in Downing Street. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia is likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine farther west unless it's stopped, as per Al Jazeera. "We have an overarmed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe," Macron told France's local media, as per Al Jazeera. If Putin is not stopped, "he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania," Macron argued. "It's our security that's at stake," he added. "The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that," Macron added. "I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests." Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer for his unwavering support during their meeting in London, calling it a "meaningful and warm" discussion. The two leaders spoke about the challenges facing Ukraine and Europe, coordination with international partners, and efforts to achieve a just peace with strong security guarantees. (ANI) China's military expansion in the southern part of the first island chain poses a significant danger to Taiwan's liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, a defence analyst cautioned in a report by the Taipei Times. In a bulletin published on the National Defence and Security Research's website on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting indicated that China could potentially disrupt Taiwan's energy sources. Since last year, China has fortified its position in the southern area of the first island chain, frequently with support from Russia, he noted, as reported by Taipei Times. In May of that year, a fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), which included a Type 054A destroyer, a Type 055 destroyer, a Type 052D destroyer, and a Type 0903 supply ship, was observed in the Sibutu Passage, a crucial maritime route off Malaysia connecting the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea, he mentioned. In June of the same year, another PLAN group featuring a Type 071 amphibious transport dock and three other warships was detected in waters southeast of Pilas Island in the Sulu Archipelago and north of Santa Cruz Island in the Basilan Strait, he stated, according to Taipei Times. In July, Russia conducted the Ocean-2024 exercise in the South China Sea, a major naval drill involving over 400 ships, submarines, support vessels, and 120 naval aircraft, where China took part as a principal partner, he explained. In October of that same year, a PLAN carrier strike group led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning was seen heading towards Sulawesi island in Indonesia, located southeast of the Philippine island of Mindanao, Huang reported. The Taipei Times report underscored that these actions demonstrated an intention not only to secure an alternative maritime route to the Malacca Strait but also to threaten a communication line critical for Taiwan during wartime for its energy procurement, Huang noted. Interrupting Taiwan's access to LNG would greatly diminish the nation's ability to withstand challenges during a conflict, he emphasized. Huang called for the government to closely monitor and react to the evolving situation in collaboration with allied countries, including the US and Japan, while enhancing intelligence sharing with the Philippines. (ANI) The Chinese military is practicing "gunboat diplomacy" through unannounced live-fire exercises near Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand and is signaling its aim to counter the US, according to a report by Taipei Times. On Wednesday, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) established a zone for "shooting" drills roughly 40 nautical miles (74km) off the coasts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung County without prior notification to Taiwan, as reported by the Ministry of National Defence and quoted by Taipei Times. On February 21 and February 22, the PLA performed a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea, located between Australia and New Zealand, again without advance notice to local authorities. Lin Ying-yu, an assistant professor at Tamkang University's Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, mentioned that these actions might be interpreted as a reaction to recent military and diplomatic moves concerning the US. This includes a joint naval exercise conducted by the US, Japan, and France in the Philippine Sea, the US Department of State removing language on its website that stated it does not support Taiwanese independence, and the release of previously frozen US foreign aid which includes USD 870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, Lin observed. According to Lin, the PLA's drills in international waters without prior notice exemplify "gunboat diplomacy," with Beijing employing military maneuvers to convey political messages to those nations and beyond. He noted that whether the PLA announces a drill in advance depends on its size and political objectives, with Beijing more likely to disclose larger exercises, as reported by Taipei Times. The presence of Chinese warships conducting drills off Taiwan's southern coastline and near Australia and New Zealand also reflects China's desire to demonstrate its capacity to obstruct US military intervention in matters related to Taiwan from the western and southern Pacific, he indicated. Su Tzu-yun, the head of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at the military-backed Institute for National Defense and Security Research, mentioned that the Chinese military is increasingly participating in "gunboat diplomacy" as its fleet continues to grow and evolve. China aims to display military strength and intimidate Taiwan through drills at strategic times, while in the long term, it seeks to transition from a land-based power to a maritime power, Su stated. (ANI) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (local time) announced a significant boost in military assistance to Israel, with approximately USD 4 billion in aid set to be expedited. This move reverses the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which had withheld certain weapons and ammunition from Israel. "I have signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The decision to reverse the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump," said Rubio. The decision is seen as a testament to the strong alliance between the US and Israel, with President Trump reaffirming America's commitment to Israel's security. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly USD 12 billion in major Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Israel. "Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major FMS sales to Israel. This important decision coincides with President Trump's repeal of a Biden-era memorandum which had imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies," said Rubio. The Trump Administration has pledged to continue using all available tools to support Israel's security, including countering security threats. "The Trump Administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America's long-standing commitment to Israel's security, including means to counter security threats," added the US Secretary of State. Biden had denied withholding arms from Israel, save for a single batch of 2,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs, which arrived in Israel last month after Trump unfroze the shipment, The Times of Israel reported. Rubio referred to Trump's rescinding on Monday of National Security Memorandum 20. The order, signed by Biden last year amid lobbying by progressives in his Democratic party, had required recipients of US arms to commit in writing not to use them to target civilians or restrict humanitarian aid, as per Times of Israel. (ANI) The Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), alongside the Quetta Press Club, has vehemently denounced the police operation at the press club, labeling it an assault on freedom of expression. According to a report by The Balochistan Post (TBP), the incident allegedly took place when police entered the facility and detained educators from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University (SBK). In a unified statement, the BUJ and the Quetta Press Club have called for the immediate suspension of the involved officers, a comprehensive investigation into the event, and strict penalties for those accountable. Journalists have characterized this action as unprecedented and intolerable, arguing that such measures create a perilous precedent for press freedom in Balochistan. They have accused both the district administration and the police of trying to stifle independent journalism, as reported by TBP. The journalistic community has warned that if no action is taken against those responsible, they will initiate a vigorous protest, holding the provincial government and the police entirely liable for any fallout. While Pakistan's foremost journalists' union plans to launch legal proceedings and a protest initiative following Ramazan to protect media freedom, Dawn reported on Wednesday. In a statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the government's attempts to introduce anti-media legislation and target dissenting voices under the guise of combating "fake news." The 'Islamabad Declaration,' as noted by Dawn, emphasized that Pakistan is currently facing one of its most difficult periods, with democracy being severely compromised since the adoption of the so-called hybrid system. In addition, protests and sit-ins are occurring in various cities across Balochistan, with families of individuals who have been forcibly disappeared and residents taking to the streets. Demonstrators are demanding an end to alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, blocking major highways, including critical routes associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Balochistan faces numerous issues, including state repression, enforced disappearances, and the extrajudicial killings of activists, scholars, and civilians. The region suffers from economic neglect and is marked by inadequate development, a lack of essential infrastructure, and limited political autonomy. (ANI) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) will conduct a three-day awareness initiative in Geneva to bring attention to Pakistan's control over Balochistan and the persistent violations of human rights occurring there. As stated in a post by BNM on X, this campaign is set to take place from March 27 to March 29 and will feature a high-level conference, a protest rally, and a photo exhibition displaying evidence of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. On March 27, BNM will organize a conference in Geneva themed "Occupied Nations and Exploitation of Resources: Exposing Pakistan's Oppression and China's Role in Balochistan." Experts and activists will explore the historical, geopolitical, and humanitarian dimensions of the occupation of Balochistan and its implications on a global scale. A demonstration against the genocide of the Baloch will occur on March 28 outside the UN Office, where participants will demand justice for the victims of Pakistan's state repression. In conjunction with the rally, a photo exhibition will present visual proof of human rights violations, and pamphlets and booklets will be distributed to enhance awareness about the fight for freedom in Balochistan. The campaign will wrap up on March 29 with a special photo exhibition titled "Balochistan- Dark Corners." This visual display will showcase images of enforced disappearances and fallen Baloch martyrs, exposing the severe human rights crisis in the region. Informational materials will also be available to enlighten the international community about the ongoing atrocities. Previously, Niaz Baloch, the Coordinator of the Foreign Department of Baloch National Movement (BNM), voiced deep concerns over Pakistan's deteriorating internal situation and its reliance on military measures to assert control over Balochistan. In a post shared by BNM on X, he underscored Pakistan's escalating instability, human rights abuses, and its economic dependence on Balochistan's resources to support Punjab, which was highlighted during a BNM event. Balochistan faces numerous challenges, including state oppression, enforced disappearances, and the extrajudicial killings of activists, scholars, and ordinary citizens. The region is characterized by economic neglect, lack of development, poor infrastructure, and limited political autonomy. (ANI) In a heartfelt address from his hospital bed, Pope Francis has made a passionate plea for peace, describing war as "absurd," according to the Holy See Press Office release. Pope Francis made a poignant plea for peace, specifically mentioning several conflict-ridden regions around the world. He urged the faithful to pray for Ukraine, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, Kivu, Palestine and Israel. In an Angelus address prepared by Pope Francis while he continues his hospital treatment and published by the Holy See Press Office, the Pope thanked the faithful for their closeness in his moment of "frailty." He urged them to continue praying for peace in the world, just as they pray for him. Expressing his gratitude for the faithful's prayers and support, Pope Francis urged them to continue praying for peace in the world and called for special prayers for these conflict-torn regions: Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu. "From here, war appears even more absurd," he said, calling in particular for prayers for "tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu," Vatican News quoted a statement published by the Holy See Press Office. Ukraine has been embroiled in a devastating conflict with Russia since 2014. Palestine and Israel, where tensions and violence have persisted for decades. Lebanon has faced numerous challenges, including prolonged economic and ongoing refugee crises. Myanmar, where the military has been engaged in a brutal crackdown on civilians since the 2021 coup. Sudan has been plagued by civil war, poverty, and humanitarian crises, while Kivu, a region in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been ravaged by armed conflict, displacement, and human rights abuses. By highlighting these specific regions, Pope Francis brought attention to the urgent need for peace, reconciliation, and humanitarian support in these areas. The Pope also reflected on his own illness, saying it has taught him to trust in the Lord and share in the suffering of others. He expressed his appreciation for his medical care and acknowledged the hidden graces within his illness. The Pope also expressed his gratitude to the doctors and healthcare professionals "for the attention with which they are taking care of me" and reflected on the hidden grace within his illness. "It is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord; at the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people," he said, as per Vatican News. Pope Francis went on to emphasise the importance of fraternal correction, encouraging the faithful to examine their own lives and how they look at others. Pope explained that Jesus asks us "to train our eyes to observe the world well and to judge our neighbour with charity." He emphasised that only a gaze of care, rather than condemnation, allows fraternal correction to be a true virtue. "Because if it is not fraternal, it is not correction!" he added. Pope then invited the faithful to examine their own lives: "How do I look at other people, who are my brothers and sisters? And how do I feel looked at by others? Do my words have a good flavour, or are they imbued with bitterness and vanity?" The Pope concluded his address by expressing his deep gratitude for the prayers and affection of the faithful worldwide. "I feel all your affection and closeness, and at this particular time, I feel as if I am 'carried' and supported by all God's people. Thank you all!", said the Pope. Pope Francis was first admitted to Rome's Gemelli Hospital on February 14, after being plagued by a string of lung-related medical struggles, including bronchitis and then pneumonia. His current hospitalization is his fourth, and now longest, stay since he became pope in 2013, as per CNN. (ANI) Paank strongly denounced the excessive use of force by Pakistani authorities against the families of victims of enforced disappearances in Hub, Balochistan. As stated in a post shared by Paank on X, reports reveal that police employed tear gas, conducted baton charges, and arbitrarily arrested peaceful protesters, including elderly women and young activists, on Sunday. Among those detained were notable activists like Seema Baloch, Mahzeb Shafiq, and the elderly mother of Zafar Gishkori. At least nine women have been forcibly taken to an undisclosed location, raising significant concerns about their safety and well-being, the post indicated. Such aggressive measures breach essential human rights, such as the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, as outlined in Pakistan's Constitution and international human rights agreements to which Pakistan is a party. According to the post, the demonstrators were seeking justice for their missing relatives, who have been forcibly disappeared by state security agencies. Instead of addressing their valid concerns, the authorities reacted with violence and repression. The ongoing trend of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, along with the absence of accountability for such serious human rights abuses, is profoundly troubling, Paank asserted. Previously, Paank voiced concerns about a recent increase in enforced disappearances in Balochistan, where seven individuals were abducted between February 27 and 28, 2025. These disappearances, reportedly involving Pakistani forces, have caused distress among families and intensified the ongoing issue of missing persons in the region. In a post shared by Paank on X, it was reported that four individuals Attaullah, Habib Ullah, Azum Qasim, and Hafeez Qasim were forcibly taken from Rahot Mashkai in the Awaran district after being extrajudicially detained on February 27. On the same date, Javed Baloch, the son of Ghulam Jan, was abducted from his farm in Shurodi, Mashkai Tehsil. Balochistan grapples with multiple challenges, including state repression, enforced disappearances, and the extrajudicial killings of activists, scholars, and civilians. The region is marked by economic neglect and suffers from insufficient development, inadequate infrastructure, and limited political autonomy. (ANI) Legal associations in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) have declared a boycott of court activities until March 13 because their demands have not been met, notably the long-awaited appointment of judges to the GB Supreme Appellate Court, as reported by Dawn. A joint meeting of the PoGB Bar Council, PoGB High Court Bar Association, and district bar associations, led by the President of the PoGB High Court Bar Association, Tanveer Akhtar Khan, expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of action regarding lawyers' demands, despite ongoing protests for the last five months, according to Dawn's report. On November 29 last year, the lawyers' committee had discussions with PoGB cabinet members to address their demands and submitted collective suggestions to the PoGB chief minister for consideration. The chief minister then issued orders to respond to these demands. The meeting criticized government's failure to carry out the directives and labeled it a failure on the part of the administration. It was unanimously decided to prolong the lawyers' boycott of court proceedings throughout PoGB until March 13, except for cases of emergency. Protests will also be organized on roadways across all ten districts twice weekly. One of the main concerns for the legal community is the unfilled positions on the PoGB Supreme Appellate Court, which serves as the highest judicial authority in the region. The ongoing delay in filling these vacancies has resulted in nearly 8,000 pending cases, as noted in the report. As reported by Dawn, another significant request is to extend the Lawyers Protection Act to PoGB by the federal government, which they contend is vital for safeguarding their security and professional rights. The proposed draft for Land Reforms has faced criticism from the legal community, which has characterized it as unclear and problematic. They insisted that their recommendations should be included before it is passed in the PoGB Assembly, warning that failure to do so would infringe on the rights of residents. They called upon the PoGB chief judge to take action in appointing judges for the vacant positions in labor, consumer, family, and anti-terrorism courts, as well as in the assistant registrar's office. The lawyers requested the advertisement of vacant civil judge positions and demanded that the roles of judicial magistrates be distinct from those of civil judges, in line with practices in other regions of the country, ensuring that appointments are made from the legal community based on merit. (ANI) Taslima Nasreen, Bangladeshi writer and activist, strongly criticised the interim government in Bangladesh and said the country is now occupied by the extremist 'Jamaat-e-Islami' group. She was addressing a program organised to mark the completion of 100 years of the Siddhibala Bose Library in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Speaking to ANI, Nasreen spoke about the "bleak caricature" of Bangladesh, soiled by the destruction of the country's history and vandalising of statues of their freedom fighters. "I think that the country is now occupied by the Jamaat-e-Islami jihadi and militant groups and they have been destroying the history of Bangladesh. They destroyed the sculptures of all freedom fighters, and they destroyed the museums of the liberation war in 1971. And also, they destroyed the house of the father of the nation, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. And also, whoever was involved in the Awami league party, they were either killed or they're imprisoned," he said. Nasreen, who has authored several books, currently lives in exile in India. Always voicing against religious extremism and emphasising values of secularism, women's rights and freedom of speech, she has been at the receiving end of extremist elements in Bangladesh. Last month, a group of madrasa students in Dhaka attacked a stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair over the display of a book written by Nasreen. The author further said that the interim government in Bangladesh is "illegal" and elections should be held quickly so that the rightful party that comes to power rules the country in a 'democratic' manner. "It's not just violence against women in the country. Theft, robbery, terror, rape, murder is all going on. That means law enforcement is not doing anything. So I think elections should be held quickly and the political party that comes into power is in power. It's good that they run the country. Because this government is illegal, and this government has no right to run the country," she said. Nasreen said that the current interim government itself comprises of extremist elements, because of which under their rule, statues are being vandalised, and minority Hindus and free thinkers in the country are being persecuted. "That is why all the statues of the country are falling apart. Hindus are being persecuted. The free thinkers are being persecuted. So we want the complete destruction of this government to go away. It can happen only if the people there want change. I have been thinking about Bangladesh since the last 6 months. I am writing," she said. Nasreen said that apart from women, the "Islamic terrorism" is torturing everyone belonging to Bangladesh's ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party, Awami League. "Not just women, but the entire country is being attacked- like the Islamic attack. So it's not just women. [It's] kind of Islamic terrorism. So there's not just on the women, but also those who were in Hasina's party," she told ANI. The Lajja author also said that she wants a "pro-liberation workforce" and a strict bifurcation between religion and the state as "religion-based politics is harmful for the society." "So it would be the pro-liberation workforce we want. We don't want Jama'at-e-Islami because it is religion-based politics. We don't need religion-based politics. It is very harmful for society. So we need separation, strict separation between state and religion," she said. Nasreen opined that the Jamaat-e-Islamist should be banned again as they don't believe in democracy and allegedly want to impose the Sharia law. Notably, the ban on Jamaat, put under Hasina's rule, was revoked by the current interim government last year. "Jamaat-e-Islamist politics, I think, should be banned because they're very harmful. They're against women's equal rights, against humanity, they want Sharia law, and they don't believe in democracy. They don't believe in secularism," she said. Nasreen said that the political parties who support free thinkers and the liberation war should be elected, and only such parties must participate in the elections, adding that if this happens, only then the country will be able to progress. "So I think that all the political parties who support liberation war, I think that should be elected, should participate in the election. And the they should rule the country, not Jamaat-e-Islami people who are against liberation war, who are pro-Pakistan and anti-India, and jihadi groups, and the terrorist groups, Islamic terrorist groups. They are now in the power, actually. They are ruling the country, kind of. So I think that they should go," the author said. "The progressive people, progressive politicians, who believe in democracy and secularism and women's equal rights should be in the power and then I think that the country will be really changed and there will be progress," she added. Nasreen said that there is "no democracy" in Bangladesh at this point, and the country needs change and restoration of democracy. "There is no democracy there. So we want democracy. So I think that now the situation is so worse in Bangladesh. There should be change in Bangladesh, political changes are needed... But in Bangladesh, you know, whether it will be under Islamic, Islamists and terrorists, we don't know. So it is very important that democracy should be again established in Bangladesh. Because if there is no democracy, there is no freedom of expression," she said. In the absence of freedom of expression, she said, if people say anything against the "fanatics", they are in danger of being persecuted. "Then whatever we say against the religious fanatics or rulers, you know, against religious fanatics or the rulers, then we will be in jail or we will be killed," she said. Talking about the importance of secularism, she said, "So it is very important that there should be democracy and secularism, of course. If there is no secularism, then the women will suffer. There will be religious laws. Under religious laws, women will not get any equality. And the minority also, the religious minority people will suffer if there is no election, secularism and democracy. So democracy and secularism must be restored," she said, highlighting the potential struggles of women in such a scenario." Nasreen said that although she personally doesn't practise religion, she believes in others' rights to enjoy freedom of practising any religion. "Muslims go to Kaaba, and Christians go to Jerusalem, Hindus go to Mahakumbh... I believe in secularism, so I think that every people have the right to practice their religion. Personally, I don't practice religion, but I believe in other people's right to practice religion," she said. She, however, also emphasised that the extremists do not believe in tolerance and may kill anyone who calls out their "fanaticism." "But the problem is that the Islamist extremists do not want our right to. That I would not practice religion, they don't tolerate this. They want to kill us. If we say anything against religious fanaticism, then they come to kill us. So this is a problem. They don't believe in freedom of expression. I believe in freedom of expression. I believe not only my freedom of expression, I believe my enemy's freedom of expression... But most of the time, we find that extremists do not believe in freedom of expression of other people who do not accept their ideas," she concluded. (ANI) During an Azaadi Convention organized by the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Saturday, members of the media, labor unions, academia, legal experts, and politicians raised concerns about the necessity of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), as reported by Dawn. Set against a gray background marked with splashes of red ink symbolizing blood, alongside images of a pen, notebook, camera, and microphone breaking free from bondage, speakers took to the podium one by one to caution about the impending dangers posed by Peca, which they claimed was hastily enacted without consideration of its adverse consequences, according to Dawn. Senior Analyst, Mazhar Abbas highlighted the gravity of the matter, stating that the law aims to regulate the media. "The Peca law resembles martial law," he expressed, adding that previously, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) was utilized to control electronic media, similar to how the Press and Publication Ordinance of the past was implemented to restrict the press. "Currently, they assert that Peca is intended to address issues of misinformation and cybercrime, but in reality, it is designed to limit the right to information," he remarked as cited by Dawn. On this occasion, senior PPP leader and former senator Raza Rabbani described the Peca law as a malign policy. "Digital freedom is already under excessive control, and now it will be stifled further," he stated. Karachi Bar Association General Secretary Rehman Korai reminded the audience that over the years, lawyers and journalists have defended the rights of the populace and supported movements that evolved into national causes and that the current circumstances demand a similar response from them. "Cease the injustices now, or you will end up as a subordinate who submits to all forms of oppression," he said. During the event, the KPC adopted a resolution urging the government to refrain from meddling with the media and called on political parties to scrutinize this legislation. It also insisted that all media organizations provide salaries and health benefits for their employees. It vowed to continue its struggle against the unjust Peca Act. (ANI) Prominent Baloch Activist, Mahrang Baloch, voiced her condemnation against the brutality exerted on her community by the state troops. "The entire Balochistan is currently protesting against the extreme severity of the Baloch genocide and state repression," she said. https://x.com/MahrangBaloch_/status/1895748904085324053 In the first two months of this year alone, nearly two hundred Baloch people have been forcibly disappeared and dozens of Baloch people have been extrajudicially killed. In these two months alone, hundreds of protests, rallies and sit-ins have been held in Balochistan against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, Mahrang's statement read. Relatives of missing persons are currently holding sit-ins at four locations in Balochistan, major highways are completely closed, and the entire province is in a state of protest. Every road, every area, every village--people affected by state repression are in a state of protest in the form of sit-ins and protests, her statement said further. "In Balochistan, the state and the state system have truly failed. In the last two months alone, the people affected by state oppression have taken to the streets dozens of times and completely blocked all the highways of Balochistan in protest, thus cutting off Balochistan's land connection with other regions and expressing their disgust with the state system," her statement read. The relatives of the victims of state oppression are aware of the suffering caused to the common people by the closure of the roads, but they have tried their struggle in every possible way, including the court, the constitution and the press club, but have not achieved anything except disappointment and further oppression from everywhere. Now, the only way left for them is to paralyze the state system against this system of oppression, her statement added. The relatives of those affected by state oppression have no desire to leave their homes in the bitter cold and rain and lie helpless on the streets, but rather, the state's atrocities and oppression have forced them to do so. Instead of blaming the relatives of those affected by state oppression, everyone should stand by their side in their struggle. The popular resistance in Balochistan has intensified, and the people are continuously protesting against the worst atrocities of the state from Quetta to Hub Chowki and from Sorab to Turbat. But instead of reducing its oppression and brutality and ending the Baloch genocide, the state is threatening the oppressed people more. The affected people who are protesting are being threatened with serious consequences and are being harassed, her statement added. "The state is unable to understand that the Baloch people are now completely fed up with state oppression and atrocities, and as a result of continuous atrocities, fear has disappeared from the hearts of the people. Now, threats and harassment cannot silence them; rather, these threats and use of force will provide more energy to the people's resistance. Instead of bowing down to state oppression, the Baloch people have made their suffering their strength," she stated. "Instead of threatening the people, the state should stop the Baloch genocide," she concluded. Balochistan - Pakistan's largest but least populous province - has a long history of marginalisation. The province was annexed by Pakistan in 1948, soon after its partition from India, and there has been a separatist movement since, as per Al Jazeera. In a 2016 report, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said their sources in Balochistan allege more than 14,000 people were missing there, but the provincial government recognised less than 100, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI) Nepal lawmaker Madan Kumari Shah on Sunday demanded the Indian government's plan for students who returned from KIIT (Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology) University of Odisha, India. Addressing a meeting of the National Assembly, Nepal's upper house, Shah demanded the government's plan to rehabilitate students still fearful of returning to the institution. "After the death of Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal in KIIT University in India's Odisha state, the behaviour that was shown by the administration there that was tyrant, injustice and inhuman behaviour towards the remaining Nepali students; Indian citizens, students union and other organization who voiced in support are to be thanked for. I would ask the government about the information of the students who have returned back after the incident, would inquire about the plans made by Nepal government about their rehabilitation," Shah said. A third-year BTech student from Nepal, Prakriti Lamsal, had ended her life by hanging in her hostel room following a suspected strained relationship with another male student from KIIT on February 16. Following the death, students particularly of Nepali origin took to the street demanding arrest of the boy responsible for abusing of the girl leading to her suicide. On 17 February, more than 500 Nepali students enrolled in the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) were forced to leave the campus in Bhubaneswar. The private institution in the state of Odisha announced sine-die for all Nepali students, sending busloads of Nepalese students to Cuttack Railway Station, 30km from the institute. Later in the evening, the institution retracted its decision and called back the students. Despite the institution's call to return to the university, hundreds of students have decided not to, fearing repression. Nepal doesn't have a record of Nepali students currently enrolled at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, India, nor definitive data on how many students have returned since the incident. Despite the significant number of returnees, officials at Nepal's Ministry of Education have stated they do not have accurate figures on the number of Nepali students originally enrolled at KIIT or who have since returned. Around 5,000 Nepalese students receive government-issued NOCs each year to study in India, with many others attending Indian institutions without formal approval. In the current fiscal year, 66,000 students have obtained NOCs in eight months, with 4,373 specifically for India. (ANI) The sit-in protest by the relatives of forcibly disappeared Baloch people entered its third day at the Hub Bhavani Bypass, where six affected families are protesting for the recovery of their kin, a statement by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee said. The state administration has not been able to recover the forcibly disappeared people, nor is it ready to take legal action against the state army, as per the statement. On the contrary, the affected families are being continuously threatened and harassed in the name of negotiations. https://x.com/BalochYakjehtiC/status/1896146991224131734 On Sunday, state troops and plainclothes intelligence agents brutally beat the protesters up, firing bullets and baton-charging them. Several people were arrested and shifted to an unknown location, including Seema Baloch, the sister of enforced disappearance victim Shabbir Baloch; Mazeeb Baloch, the niece of Rashid Baloch; and several women, including the frail mother of Zafar Geshkori. The affected families are steadfast in their stand and are not ready to allow their kin to be turned into mutilated bodies or killed in fake encounters by state institutions. The sit-in in Hub continues despite intense state repression and arrests, as per BYC. The Baloch Solidarity Committee (BYC) reiterated its commitment to stand with the families of the forcibly disappeared in this struggle and appeals to the entire Baloch nation, especially the people of Karachi and Hub, to immediately reach the Hub sit-in. "We want to make it clear to the state that violence against unarmed protesters and arrests of Baloch women are absolutely unacceptable. We warn the Hub administration that if all those arrested, including Baloch women, are not released immediately, we will announce our future course of action, for which the full responsibility will rest with the state and the Hub administration," the statement read. Earlier in the day, Paank strongly denounced the excessive use of force by Pakistani authorities against the families of victims of enforced disappearances in Hub, Balochistan. As stated in a post shared by Paank on X, reports reveal that police employed tear gas, conducted baton charges, and arbitrarily arrested peaceful protesters, including elderly women and young activists, on Sunday. (ANI) Praising India's distinctive approach to education and scientific research, Brian Greene, a renowned theoretical physicist, author, and professor of mathematics and physics at Columbia University, emphasised the enthusiasm and ambition of Indian students to make a global impact. "The passion for science and innovation that I have witnessed in India is unparalleled. The energy and curiosity among students here are truly inspiring," Greene said during his visit to the Taj Mahal, as quoted by the Ministry of Culture. Praising India's distinctive approach to education and scientific research, he emphasized the enthusiasm and ambition of Indian students to make a global impact. "India is even more beautiful from the ground," remarked former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, who has observed the country from space. Expressing his admiration for India's aesthetic appeal, he lauded the exceptional craftsmanship of the Taj Mahal, calling it a testament to India's rich legacy of engineering and design, the statement said. Greene and Mike Massimino are currently on a visit to India, immersing themselves in the country's rich scientific, educational, and cultural heritage. As part of their visit, they explored the iconic Taj Mahal, where they shared their admiration for India's advancements in science, engineering, and craftsmanship, as per the statement. Greene is celebrated for his groundbreaking contributions to superstring theory, including the co-discovery of mirror symmetry and the discovery of spatial topology change. Mike Massimino, a veteran of two NASA space missions, holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and currently serves as a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University. As the first astronaut to tweet from space, he has played a significant role in space exploration, particularly in the Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions in 2002 and 2009, the Ministry stated. https://x.com/PIBCulture/status/1895887886714909141 Throughout his career, Massimino has been honored with multiple NASA Space Flight Medals, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the American Astronautical Society's Flight Achievement Award. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor for Space Programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. "Greene and Massimino's visit to the Taj Mahal highlights India's growing influence in the global scientific community. Their journey serves as a bridge between India's historical excellence in craftsmanship and its rapidly advancing role in science and innovation on the world stage," the Ministry added. (ANI) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs is organising a six-day Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Executive Capacity Building Programme on human rights for senior-level functionaries of the National Human Rights Institutions of Global South. The programme to be held in the national capital is scheduled from March 3 to 8, the National Human Rights Commission stated in a press release. 47 participants from the NHRIs of 14 countries of the Global South are likely to attend the event. These are Madagascar, Uganda, Samoa, Timor Leste, DR Congo, Togo, Mali, Nigeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Mauritius, Burundi, Turkmenistan and Qatar, the statement said. This customized programme has been developed in accordance to the need of NHRIs of participating countries and feedback provided earlier. Eminent persons with domain knowledge and expertise in capacity building and imparting training, will be the resource persons, the release added. The programme will be inaugurated by Chairperson of the NHRC, India Justice V Ramasubramanian on Monday. The programme aims to provide insights into various dimensions of human rights, international perspectives, and share NHRC, India's experience over the past three decades to enhance awareness among participants of various NHRIs. It seeks to strengthen South-South cooperation, enhance collaboration and networking, and improve human rights protection mechanisms through comprehensive capacity building and experience sharing, as per the statement. https://x.com/India_NHRC/status/1896155791323017462 According to the release, the expected outcome includes developing a better understanding of international dimensions of human rights; a deeper understanding of NHRC, India's work in the field of human rights protection, and its best practices, which can be adopted by the other NHRIs; improved networking among NHRIs, fostering collaborations and partnerships at regional and international levels; and enhanced capability to contribute towards the protection and promotion of human rights. The participants will engage in lectures and interactive sessions by eminent persons and practitioners in the field, cultural immersion and field visits. The initiative is a part of NHRC's ongoing outreach efforts to enhance understanding and appreciation of various aspects of human rights and help in building capacity among senior functionaries of NHRIs, as per the statement. (ANI) Dubai [UAE], March 2 (ANI/WAM): Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, first deputy ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Dubai Judicial Council, chaired a meeting of the Council on Sunday. The meeting was part of Maktoum's regular review of Dubai's judicial initiatives that seek to uphold integrity, transparency, and the rule of law. During the meeting, which was held at his office, Maktoum approved the appointment of new judges at Dubai Courts, and the 2025 training and development plan for judicial authority members, reflecting his commitment to equipping judges and public prosecutors, particularly young professionals, with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in this vital field that plays a key role in social progress and stability. Maktoum also approved procedures to extend the service of judicial authority members who have reached retirement age, allowing the judiciary to benefit from their expertise and retain exceptional talents. The meeting also discussed the statistical report presented by the Judicial Council's General Secretariat, which highlighted the progress the council has made since its restructuring in 2021. Over the past four years, 223 studies were completed, covering research, legislative, and developmental areas. The Council also saw an 86 percent increase in legislation related to the judiciary and its members compared to the previous four years, resulting in full legislative compliance. Additionally, the introduction of new systems contributed to a more than 100 percent increase in the appointment of judicial authority members. Furthermore, the General Secretariat completed eight internal development projects. It supported the development of 17 projects in collaboration with judicial authority entities, including the Dubai Judicial Inspection Authority's development project, establishing an Inheritance Court, and forming a Board of Commissioners for the Dubai Court of Cassation. Dr Abdullah Saif Al-Sabousi, Secretary-General of the Dubai Judicial Council, said that under Maktoum bin Mohammed's guidance, the General Secretariat is committed to providing robust support to judicial entities and their members. He also noted that the Secretariat has maintained a strong focus on developing and refining procedures and legislative frameworks to manage both the Council's operations and the judiciary while enhancing collaboration among judicial entities. Dr Al-Sabousi also expressed his gratitude to Maktoum for his unwavering support and to the Council members for their continued collaboration with the General Secretariat. The meeting was attended by Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director-General to Makhtoum. The Dubai Ruler's Court, and Vice Chairman of the Dubai Judicial Council; Chancellor Essam Issa Al Humaidan, Attorney General of Dubai; Dr Saif Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Director-General of Dubai Courts; Dr Abdullah Saif Al-Sabousi, Secretary-General of the Dubai Judicial Council, and members of the Dubai Judicial Council. (ANI/WAM) Jerusalem [Israel], March 2 (ANI/TPS): Challenging conventional medical wisdom, Israeli scientists found that scar tissue formation in the heart occurs through two distinct mechanisms. This discovery could lead to new and more targeted therapeutic approaches for heart disease. The findings of what the Weizmann Institute researchers describe as "hot fibrosis" and "cold fibrosis" were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Systems. The research began as an unexpected collaboration between two scientists at the Weizmann Institute. Eldad Tzahor, an expert in heart disease, learned about a mathematical model developed by his neighbor, Uri Alon. That model, initially designed to classify scar tissue in various organs, suggested that fibrosis could be categorized based on interactions between just two cell types: fibroblasts, which produce collagen and provide tissue structure, and macrophages, immune cells involved in tissue repair and inflammation. "At first, it sounded too simplistic to me," admitted Tzahor. "Biological systems are incredibly complex, but the idea intrigued me. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with Uri, so I proposed we test the model on heart disease." Scar tissue forms in the heart when muscle cells are damaged, often due to heart attacks. While this scar tissue helps maintain the organ's structural integrity, it does not contract effectively, leading to impaired heart function over time. Since there is currently no effective treatment to eliminate or reverse heart fibrosis, medical efforts focus on prevention and minimizing scar formation. The first mechanism, "hot fibrosis," involves active interactions between myofibroblasts and macrophages. Because macrophages are immune system cells often linked to inflammation and fever, this type of fibrosis was named "hot." The second mechanism, "cold fibrosis," is independent of macrophages; instead, myofibroblasts sustain the fibrosis process autonomously by secreting molecules that perpetuate scar formation. "In medical textbooks, microscopic images of heart scars appear uniform, leading to the assumption that all fibrosis in the heart follows the same biological pathway," explained Shoval Miyara, a joint doctoral student of Professors Tzahor and Alon and one of the research leaders. "Our findings challenge that notion and show that these are, actually, two different diseases requiring different treatments," she added. Using real human heart tissue samples, the research team confirmed the model's predictions. The findings are particularly significant given the staggering number of heart cells affected by fibrosis. The left ventricle of the human heart contains roughly four billion muscle cells. During a heart attack, around one billion -- or 25 percent -- die. Understanding how scars form and how they can be treated more precisely may improve long-term survival and quality of life for millions of patients worldwide. "If we can identify whether a patient has hot or cold fibrosis, we could tailor treatments to target the specific process involved," said Tzahor. "This could lead to more effective therapies and better outcomes for people with heart disease." The practical applications of this discovery could significantly impact cardiology and fibrosis treatment across various medical fields. Understanding whether a patient has *hot fibrosis* or *cold fibrosis* could allow doctors to prescribe tailored treatments that specifically address the underlying biological mechanism. For example, drug companies may one day develop anti-inflammatory or immune-modulating therapies for hot fibrosis and drugs that block fibroblast self-sustaining signals for cold fibrosis. The research could open new avenues for diagnostic tools that differentiate between the two fibrosis types. Since fibrosis is a major factor in lung (pulmonary fibrosis), kidney, and liver diseases (cirrhosis), researchers may examine whether these organs also develop hot and cold fibrosis. The study hinted that a similar classification could apply to scars that form **after a stroke or in cancerous tissues. "This collaboration changed my perspective on the biology of the heart," said Alon. "Our combination of mathematical models, fundamental biology, and medical research has revealed something new. Now, future studies can explore whether this hot-cold fibrosis distinction applies to scarring in other organs." (ANI/TPS) During their meeting, the two focused on strengthening relations between the countries. Minister Saar reviewed with his Croatian counterpart the latest developments regarding the negotiations for the release of our hostages and the Gaza Strip. Saar thanked his Croatian counterpart for his support for Israel in its difficult time after October 7, which was also expressed in a solidarity visit to Israel. "Croatia firmly supports Israel's right to security and self-defense, within the international law principles," said Radman, adding that the Croatian government condemned the terrorist attacks of October 7, "showing solidarity with Israeli citizens. Ever since we have been stressing the urgent need for the release of all hostages, while being committed to stability and peace." "At the same time," he also said, "we stress the urgent need for the release of all hostages and for advancing the process towards a lasting ceasefire in Gaza." (ANI/TPS) Soldiers also confiscated around 120 weapons and destroyed hundreds of explosives. The operations focused on northern Samaria and other key areas to disrupt Palestinian terror networks. The army launched an ongoing counterterror raid in the Jenin refugee camp on Jan. 19. It has since expanded to the Palestinian city Tulkarem and an area of Samaria known as "the Five Villages." The raids come on the heels of the Palestinian Authority's failed crackdown in the Jenin refugee camp in January. Since January 19, Israeli forces have arrested more than 200 terror suspects, eliminated 71 others who were deemed security threats, and confiscated more than 300 weapons and explosives. Since Hamas's October 7 attack, Israeli forces have arrested 6,000 wanted Palestinians in counterterror operations in Judea and Samaria. Around 40 percent were affiliated with Hamas. (ANI/TPS) An Indian national was shot and killed at by the Jordanian security when he was allegedly trying to cross over into another country illegally, The Ministry of External Affairs sources said on Sunday. The Indian Embassy in Jordan has mourned the demise of the national, and said it is working closely with the authorities for the transportation of the mortal remains of the deceased. In a post on X, the embassy said, "The Embassy has learnt of the sad demise of an Indian national in unfortunate circumstances. The Embassy is in touch with the family of the deceased and is working closely with Jordanian authorities for transportation of mortal remains of the deceased." https://x.com/IndiainJordan/status/1896208742187995497 According to the MEA sources, the Indian Embassy in Jordan is in touch with the local authorities and following up on the matter. The Embassy has also informed the family of the death and is rendering all possible consular assistance. Notably, many foreign countries do not provide information on illegal stay in their countries, except when they are under orders of deportation and travel document/nationality verification is required, former MoS, V Muraleedharan informed Parliament last year. As such, Indian missions and posts do not have any reliable data on the number of Indians staying or working illegally in foreign countries. The procedure followed for deportation of foreign nationals also varies from country to country. Some countries do not arrest the deportee and keep them in detention/deportation centers until deportation, he stated. Moreover, the information about arrest/detention and deportation is not shared with Indian Missions/Posts, and the deportation is done directly by the host Government if the deportee has valid travel documents. Indian Missions/Posts are contacted by the host Governments only in such cases where the nationality verification and issuance of Emergency Certificate (EC) to the deportee is required. Since all foreign countries do not share details of all Indian deportees, the exact number of Indians deported from foreign countries is not available with the MEA. Notably, India signed a total of 12 Labour Mobility Agreements (LMAs) with countries including Israel, Denmark, Portugal, Japan, Mauritius, Jordan and GCC countries, the former MoS said. (ANI) After meeting UK PM Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday (local time) met Britain's King Charles III at Sandringham House. https://x.com/RoyalFamily/status/1896263573997051946 In a post on X, The Royal Family shared the picture and wrote, "This evening, His Majesty The King received the President of Ukraine, @ZelenskyyUa, at Sandringham House." Sandringham House is a private residence located in Norfolk, England, and is traditionally used by the British royal family. On Sunday, Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to 10 Downing Street on Saturday (local time), assuring him of the UK's continued support, Al Jazeera reported. The meeting came a day after Zelenskyy's tense exchange with former US President Donald Trump at the White House and cut short a visit to Washington, world leaders offered a strong show of support to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and promised to do more to help his nation. "You're very, very welcome here in Downing Street," Starmer told Zelenskyy. "And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom." "We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take." Zelenskyy responded that he had seen the hundreds of supporters gathered outside Downing Street and that "I want to thank you, the people of the United Kingdom, for such big support from the very beginning of this war." "I'm very happy that the King accepted my meeting tomorrow, and we are very happy in Ukraine that we have such a strategic partner," he added. "We count on your support." Notably, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a 2.26 billion (USD 2.84 billion) loan agreement on Saturday to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities. Following the meeting, Zelenskyy shared a post on X thanking Starmer for his unwavering support during their meeting in London, calling it a "meaningful and warm" discussion. The two leaders spoke about the challenges facing Ukraine and Europe, coordination with international partners, and efforts to achieve a just peace with strong security guarantees. In a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, "A meaningful and warm meeting with Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer. During our talks, we discussed the challenges facing Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with partners, concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine's position, and ending the war with a just peace, along with robust security guarantees." (ANI) OSAKA, Mar 03 (News On Japan) - Dubbed one of the worlds strictest anti-smoking measures, Osaka's citywide ban on street smoking has drawn scrutiny over its effectiveness. Now, a month after the regulation change, how has the city transformed? On January 15th at around 6:30 p.m., a fire broke out in a busy district of Osakas Umeda area. The blaze started from a pile of discarded cardboard that had begun to emit smoke before igniting into flames. Nearby workers quickly noticed the fire and managed to extinguish it before it spread further. Security footage from seven minutes prior to the incident captured two individuals smoking on the street. The video shows a man discarding his cigarette butt into the pile of trash, followed by a woman who tossed another cigarette butt in the same spot before both walked away. The discarded cigarettes were determined to be the cause of the fire. A local shopkeeper who witnessed the incident described the moment: The flames kept growing rapidly. This could have turned into a major disaster. He stressed the danger of careless cigarette disposal, stating, A single mistake can lead to a life-threatening situation. Until now, Osaka City had designated six no-smoking zones in high-traffic areas such as JR Osaka Station and Midosuji. However, the new regulation extends the smoking ban to all streets across the city. Additionally, heated tobacco products are now included in the restriction, with violators facing a fine of 1,000 yen. On February 4th, officials patrolled newly restricted areas such as Abiko, instructing violators to comply with the law. Many smokers claimed ignorance of the new regulation, with one saying, I didnt know about the ban. Authorities emphasized that smokers should use designated smoking areas and comply with the rules. However, enforcement remains challenging. With only 74 city officials assigned to patrol the entire city, ensuring compliance 24/7 is difficult. Officers report that some individuals resist instructions, with one official noting, Some people argue with us for over an hour, questioning why they should listen to us. To accommodate smokers, Osaka City has established approximately 190 public smoking areas, with an additional 140 spaces provided by private businesses such as pachinko parlors. However, a field survey in areas like Honmachi Stationwhere many office buildings are concentratedrevealed that existing smoking areas are often overcrowded. At lunchtime, lines form outside designated smoking spots, and some smokers resort to lighting up near the facilities due to the lack of available space. There arent enough smoking areas, one individual commented. They need to increase them. Maps published by the city show that smoking areas are concentrated in business districts, leaving other parts of the city with few or no designated spots. Karahori Shopping Street in Chuo Ward, for example, has no smoking areas within a 500-meter radius. The shortage has led to concerns from business owners, particularly in the restaurant industry. We dont know where to tell our customers to smoke, one restaurant owner complained. Some have suggested reallocating part of the city's tobacco tax revenueapproximately 30 billion yen annuallyto increase smoking facilities. Additionally, many smoking areas close at night, further reducing options for smokers. One such location, which shuts down at 8 p.m., had its doors locked well before closing time. Despite the new restrictions, some residents remain unconvinced. If Im not bothering anyone, I dont see the issue, one smoker said. This feels like an unfair crackdown. Osaka Mayor Yokoyama acknowledged the concerns but reaffirmed the citys stance. Our goal is to reduce secondhand smoke exposure and fire hazards. However, we also recognize the need to assess demand and make adjustments where necessary. Beyond Osaka, other municipalities are also strengthening regulations. Starting in April, Osaka Prefecture will tighten smoking laws in restaurants, lowering the threshold for indoor smoking bans from establishments over 100 square meters to those over 30 square meters. Some businesses are already preparing by installing smoking booths, though owners worry about the financial impact. Losing this space for a smoking room affects our revenue, one restaurateur admitted. Experts caution that simply passing new regulations is not enough. This policy was designed with non-smokers in mind, but it doesnt adequately consider the needs of smokers, said one public policy specialist. There should be more localized efforts, such as requiring large workplaces to install smoking rooms while keeping them away from childrens areas. As Osaka strives to position itself as a cleaner, more visitor-friendly city, both smokers and non-smokers will need to find a way to coexist under the new regulations. Source: YOMIURI HYOGO, Mar 03 (News On Japan) - Takarazuka Music School held its graduation ceremony, marking a new chapter for 39 students as they step into their careers as Takarazuka Revue performers. The school, which trains actors for the Takarazuka Revue, hosted its graduation on March 1st. The 39 members of the 111th graduating class, who have spent the past two years honing their skills in singing and dance, attended the ceremony in traditional formal attire, wearing montsuki kimono and deep green hakama. Graduate representative Yuna Mitsuda expressed their aspirations, saying: "We will uphold the spirit of 'purity, integrity, and beauty' and strive to become performers who bring joy to all who love Takarazuka." The graduates officially joined the Takarazuka Revue on March 1st and will make their debut in the Star Troupes performance, which opens on April 19th. Source: YOMIURI Bishop Jacob (Yaqub) of Bodbeli has dismissed speculation regarding Georgias elections, emphasizing that the process has already concluded and that external opinions hold little weight, Azernews reports. "I just returned from America, and there were no questions about the elections in Georgia. Yes, they believe it could have been organized better, but the other things being said are nonsense," the bishop stated. During his sermon, he urged people to accept the election results, criticizing those who continue to look abroad for validation. He also questioned Europes political stability, pointing to leadership changes in Germany, France, and the UK, while drawing comparisons to the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan. Bishop Jacob expressed optimism about future U.S.-Georgia relations, stating that a new global order is taking shape, and all nations will eventually find their place in it. Albania endorsed Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara as serious and credible and commended the kingdoms role in promoting regional stability. This came in a joint statement following talks between Albanian foreign minister Igli Hasani and his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. Albania recognizes the importance of the western Sahara issue for Morocco as well as the serious and-credible-efforts of Morocco within the framework of the United Nations to find a mutually acceptable solution, the statement said. Albania considers the Moroccan autonomy initiative, presented in 2007, a serious and credible foundation for the resolution of this regional dispute, it said. Albania also expressed support for Moroccos Atlantic initiatives aiming to unlock the commercial potential of the African continent, particularly in the Sahel. Albania highlighted and commended Moroccos role as a regional pole of stability and as relay for growth and development in Africa, the joint statement said. Igli Hasani praised the far-reaching reforms undertaken over the past two decades under the leadership of King Mohammed VI and the renewed efforts for political, economic, and social development of Morocco, and welcomed Moroccos New Development Model. Morocco, for its part, welcomed Albanias efforts to join the European Union and the comprehensive transformative reforms undertaken by the Albanian Government towards future membership. On the same occasion, Morocco lifted visa requirements for Albanian nationals in a move to enhance tourism, people-to-people exchanges, and strengthen bilateral relations, the statement said. French President Emmanuel Macron endorses the ultimatum issued by Prime Minister Bayrou to Algeria over its failure to take its nationals violating French laws. Speaking to the press, Macron said the 1968 deals giving Algerians preferential treatment in entering and settling in France needed a review, adding that the safety of the French people was above all else. This came after an Algerian national, who was rejected by his country fourteen times, killed one and injured seven others in the Mulhouse attack. Macron also recalled the ordeal of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal who has cancer and who has been arbitrarily jailed by Algerian authorities after an interview in which he spoke about the colonial nature of current Algerias borders with no antecedent in history. Macron had openly urged Algeria to release the novelist in vain. The arrest of Sansal came in a series of self-defeating political and economic retaliatory measures after France backed Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara. The backing was followed by visits to the Sahara by French business delegations, French culture minister and more recently by the president of the French Senate. France has said it will respond by restricting access to the members of the Algerian nomenklatura who were allowed to enter France using a diplomatic passport only. The first victim was the wife of Algerias ambassador to Mali who was denied access to France on grounds that she did not have enough cash. The rejection was reported by Algerias propaganda machine APS. Idriss Aarabi has replaced Hassan Abkari as director general of the Mediterraneans largest port, after the latter featured in media articles citing a conflict of interest. Abkari was cited in multiple stories, including in Barlamane news outlet, which published documents accusing him of setting up a port counselling company in Valencia, Spain. The move was interpreted as a conflict of interest with Abkari holding a sensitive job at the helm of the top management of Moroccos top port. Spanish ports have been complaining of the success of Tanger Med which unseated them as the largest in the Mediterranean with over 9 million containers handled last year. Abkaris company was apparently designed to offer advice to competitors of Tanger Med, Barlamane reported. Tanger Med Port Authority has not made a formal statement on the matter as it continued to investigate the issue. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux for New York Magazine By shouldering his way into the mayoral primary, Andrew Cuomo is betting that what New York voters want at City Hall is deep government experience, competent execution, and a mayor ready and willing to do battle with the Trump White House. His entry tests the political axiom that elections are about the future rather than the past. I think it changes everything and nothing at the same time, Laura Tamman, a professor of political science at Pace University, told me. All of the folks who are currently running have assumed hell get in the race; some of them have taken him on directly already. But at the same time, I think hes going to bring a focus and an energy to the race that we havent seen yet, because New Yorkers know who he is, and theyre going to respond to his candidacy. Cuomos nearly 12 years as governor not to mention four years as HUD Secretary and four as state attorney general allow him to accurately claim to have far more experience than any of his rivals. But that also saddles Cuomo with more than a decades worth of budget choices and half-forgotten projects, policies, political fights, and personal behavior that his opponents are already attacking. He spent years treating New York City like his personal punching bag, said candidate for mayor Scott Stringer, the ex-comptroller, on social media. Slashing MTA funding and wrecking the subway while funneling money to upstate ski resorts, and trying to cut billions in funding for public school kids and Medicaid for city residents. Upstate ski resorts? Outside of chambers of commerce in the Catskills and Lake George, only a handful of government insiders remember that five years ago, Cuomo championed tax breaks for upstate lodges that installed renewable energy-powered lifts, snowmaking equipment, and other machinery. But a far more serious chapter of Cuomos history is the barrage of sexual-misconduct and hostile-workplace accusations that forced him from office in 2021, and were backed up by findings from State attorney General Letitia James and the Justice Department under President Biden. Within hours of Cuomos video announcing his candidacy, the Working Families Party released a video, Women Deserve Better, that features well-known women activists reciting misconduct allegations and calling Cuomo a bully and an abuser. Those voices are not likely to go away. Ditto for those who criticize Cuomos handling of policies and information regarding nursing home deaths at the height of COVID and the $5 million advance he got for a book about the crisis that may have violated ethical rules by including work done by public employees. On the flip side of the coin, Cuomos sizable lead over his rivals in recent polls is based in part on a record of accomplishments, including those memorable daily briefings during the COVID crisis, the successful fight to legalize same-sex marriage in 2014, and the completion of long-stalled public works projects, including the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, the expansion of the Second Avenue Subway, the rebuilding of an expanded Kosciusko Bridge (the citys first new bridge in 55 years) and the creation of a new terminal at LaGuardia Airport. Cuomo is betting that a critical mass of voters will remember and reward his good deeds. When I wear my wedding ring and put it on every morning, the thought goes through my head that I wouldnt be able to wear it were it not for Andrew Cuomo, political consultant Jon Reinish told me. Not just people in New York, but for millions of people across the country, that memory is going to come back, and its a really big deal. Cuomos candidacy puts a spotlight on the central question of every municipal election year in New York: what are the main problems in the city that most urgently need fixing? For the last half century, each new mayor has been hired to fix a specific crisis that was caused, ignored or bequeathed by his predecessor. Heres how the shorthand, admittedly oversimplified, version of history goes: Ed Koch beat a crowded field in 1977 by promising budget austerity in the wake of the citys near-bankruptcy; David Dinkins unseated Koch in 1989 by proposing a calm, less divisive approach to community relations in the wake of high-profile cases like the Central Park Five debacle; and Rudy Giuliani beat Dinkins in 1993 by vowing to crack down on crime after New York hit an all-time high of more than 2,000 homicides in a single year. Mike Bloomberg, elected mayor less than 90 days after the 9/11 terrorist attack, won when the city needed a businesslike approach to reviving the local economy and rebuilding Lower Manhattan; left-leaning activist Bill de Blasios 2013 campaign was based on the argument that Bloomberg had built a prosperous city but neglected the needs of working families. And ex-cop Eric Adams was elected when the citys emergence from COVID was accompanied by a spike in violent crime that he vowed to reverse. Cuomos theory is that the main municipal crisis this election year is that Adams plagued by massive high-level turnover and resignations has turned out to be an ineffective leader who is too compromised as a criminal defendant to display the independence and forcefulness required to deal with President Trump. The ex-governor has a case to make, but it wont be easy. Every chief executive will have some accomplishments including Cuomo, Sal Albanese, a former city councilman who made his own run for mayor in 1997, told me on social media, describing Cuomo as a political mechanic with a ton of political baggage. Im not sure Cuomo himself would dispute that description. An image comes to mind of the ex-governor carrying a weathered, battered valise filled with a long list of allies, enemies, and tough decisions, slowly ascending the staircase into City Hall. A defense attorney for Luigi Mangione, the man charged with killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, insists a police search and arrest inside a Pennsylvania McDonald's late last year were illegal. https://t.co/3Z4EM4SCKW pic.twitter.com/tnIAfAMans ABC News (@ABC) March 1, 2025 Details have emerged about Luigi's arrest in Altoona, PA, where he was trying to eat a hash brown at the local McDonald's.-He was interrogated without being read his Miranda Rights-They did not explain why he was being questioned-He looked "suspicious" and/or "overstayed his welcome" at the McDonald'sAnother source alleges the cops re-packed his backpack after searching it. Around 14 years after the Fukushima disaster, Japan is preparing to increase its nuclear power capacity once again, to a mainly negative public reaction. Japans government has developed a revision of the country's basic energy plan, removing the statement that said it planned to decrease its dependence on nuclear power. This signals the governments intention to continue using nuclear energy to power the country. The 2011 Fukushima accident is seen as the second-worst nuclear disaster after the Chornobyl disaster of 1986. On 11th March 2022, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit the north of Japan, with the shock from the quake provoking a tsunami, the waves of which damaged the backup generators at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Although all three of the operating reactors were successfully shut down, the loss of power caused cooling systems to fail in each of them. Rising residual heat within each reactors core caused the fuel rods in reactors 1, 2, and 3 to overheat and partially melt down, leading to the release of radiation. Three explosions resulted from the buildup of pressurised hydrogen gas in the following days, leading to fears of leaked radiation and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people within a 30 km radius of the plant. The accident prompted a widespread distrust for nuclear power in Japan that encouraged the government to halt nuclear energy development and introduce targets to reduce the countrys dependence on nuclear power. However, at the beginning of February, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released a draft revision of the national basic energy plan, removing the statement on plans to move away from nuclear power. Later in the month, the Cabinet approved the revised Seventh Strategic Energy Plan. The new plan states that Japan should use as much renewable energy and nuclear power as possible to decarbonise the economy. It also says that nuclear energy should contribute around 20 percent of power production by 2040. Before 2011, Japan's 54 reactors provided around 30 percent of the country's electricity. However, following the incident, this figure dropped significantly, as the government halted production. Activities have since been renewed at 14 reactors, with nuclear energy now providing less than 10 precent of Japan's electricity. The plan states, Nuclear power has an overwhelmingly large energy output relative to the amount of fuel input, and as a quasi-domestic energy source that can maintain power generation for several years using only domestic fuel, it is a highly autonomous power source with excellent stable supply, and technological self-sufficiency, and has a cost level that is comparable with other power sources and has little fluctuation. It goes on to say, It is also a decarbonised power source that can generate power stably at a constant output regardless of the weather. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry adds, In order to utilise nuclear power as a decarbonised power source, we will work to develop and install next-generation innovative reactors that incorporate new safety mechanisms, aiming to improve the safety of nuclear power. In order to ensure a balanced power supply mix, we will work to ensure that operators who have nuclear power plants that have been decommissioned are able to replace their existing nuclear power plants with next-generation innovative reactors. To achieve the governments clean energy targets, experts say 33 reactors must come online. The government is expected to reopen some of its existing nuclear facilities, refitting them with modern technology. However, widespread objections from residents near the sites and thorough safety checks will likely slow the pace of plants recommencing operations. Daishiro Yamagiwa, an MP who was part of a government advisory committee on the energy plan, said, [The] most difficult problem is that each nuclear power plant is in a different location and will need its own safety protocol and infrastructure. Yamagiwa added, "We must check each of them carefully. It still takes time. Climate groups are concerned about the potential reopening of Japans ageing nuclear facilities. Aileen Smith, the executive director of the Kyoto-based group Green Action, explained, Nuclear plants are not where the Japanese government should be investing its money Many nuclear plants are old, and the technology they use is even older. The costs of retrofitting are high, so even operating existing plants is no longer commercially viable. Unlike many other countries that use nuclear power, Japan is vulnerable to strong earthquakes, which has raised concerns for the safety of old and new nuclear reactors. Campaigners argue that restarting Japans old reactors could leave the country vulnerable to more major accidents like Fukushima. Environmentalists are calling for the government to, instead, focus its attention on the development of Japans renewable energy capacity. However, the government sees nuclear power as key to supporting a green transition and achieving its mid-century climate goals. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Larger wind turbines and relaxed regulations have doubled Europes potential for commercially viable wind power, with France and Spain having the potential to meet the EUs 2050 energy demand. Europe generated more power from wind than coal for the first time in Q3 2023, and wind energy production was 20 percent higher than in the same period in 2022. Europe has been steadily ramping up its wind energy capacity in a bid to support a green transition and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. In the last quarter of 2023, the region succeeded in producing more power from wind than coal for the first time, and it has since increased the number of wind farms. In the Q3 of 2023, Europe generated a record 193 TWh of energy from wind turbines, compared to 184 TWh from coal plants. Wind power production stood at 20 percent higher than in the same period in 2022, despite several challenges contributing to lower-than-expected sectoral growth. Europes wind energy capacity is expected to keep on growing as several governments introduce favourable climate policies and encourage private investors to develop new projects. Larger wind turbines and the relaxation of rules for the distance turbines must be placed from buildings have helped to double Europes potential for commercially viable wind power since a previous analysis was carried out seven years ago. France and Spain alone could produce enough electricity equivalent to meet the EUs 2050 energy demand forecast of 4,000 TWh, according to researchers at the Joint Research Centre (JRC). The new assessmentsees substantially higher onshore wind potential as many EU countries double their installation capacity, meaning, onshore wind can play a much bigger role in the decarbonisation of Europe's energy system than previously thought. The report states that if deployed to its full potential, onshore wind operations could generate 19,000 TWh of electricity a year in the EU based on current rules. The strong potential reflects the improvements made in wind turbine technology in recent years. The assessment shows that using 100-metre-high turbines instead of the 80-metre-high models could significantly boost a sites energy generation capacity. A spokesperson for industry association WindEurope stated, Bigger, more efficient wind turbines are the key to more electricity generation reduces the number of turbines in a wind farm by 25 percent, while more than tripling the output of the wind farm. Scandinavia, Spain, France, Poland and Romania lead the EU in wind energy potential. While major wind energy-producing countries, such as Germany, have a lower production potential. This suggests that Europe would benefit from the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure to support energy sharing. Several European countries are already developing wind projects intending to fulfil their potential. In France, 1.4 GW of new wind capacity was installed onshore and 0.5 GW of capacity offshore in 2022, increasing the countrys total wind power capacity to 20.9 GW. In February, Siemens Gamesa commenced construction on its $210 million La Havre factory expansion. The French government is supporting the development under its green industries policy with a 25 percent government tax credit. The extension will allow the company to produce the latest generation of 14 MW turbines for offshore wind projects. The turbines are equipped with 115-meter-long blades and are constructed from fibreglass, reinforced epoxy resin and balsa wood. Yara Chakhtoura, Siemens Gamesas Managing Director for France, stated, The investment announced today confirms the importance of our French production site as a strategic production facility for the growth of the offshore wind market. We are increasing our capacity by strengthening the skills and infrastructure we already have locally. In Germany, a recent report from the German Wind Energy Association and engineering foundation VDMA Power Systems showed that the country achieved record levels of onshore wind energy production in 2024. Germany licensed over 2,400 onshore wind turbines last year, with a combined capacity of more than 14 GW. However, there are fears that the sectors expansion could be hindered under a new government. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the newly elected centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said last year that he thought wind turbines were ugly and hoped they would be dismantled eventually. Dennis Rendschmidt, the managing director of VDMA Power Systems, stated, momentum needs to be kept up by a new federal government. Rendschmidt added, All the conditions are really set for future growth. He suggested that the only thing that may impede sectoral growth is government intervention aimed at slowing expansion. Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, wind energy production almost doubled between September 2023 and 2024. This has resulted in periods of surplus energy, with the potential to support green hydrogen production and other projects. Wind is expected to be the biggest source of energy in the Netherlands by 2050, with the government supporting both onshore and offshore wind farm development. Europe is rapidly expanding its wind energy capacity in pursuit of a green transition. This trend is set to continue as the region aims to decarbonise at a faster pace, as well as reduce reliance on oil, gas, and coal. There is significant potential to develop both onshore and offshore wind across the region, which could ultimately benefit other clean energy sectors, such as green hydrogen. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Oil and gas producers in the United States will no longer be obliged to pay a fee for the methane they emit in the course of their operations after Congress voted to axe one of the most celebrated moves of the Biden administration in the energy space. With a 52-47 vote, senators repealed the fee, and now all thats left is for President Trump to sign it, likely adding more fuel to environmentalist organizations frustrations with the new federal government. The offensive against methane began early in President Bidens term. Widely considered a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide even though its effect is much more short-lived, methane got into the crosshairs of the federal government as a target in its transition policies. Oil and gas companies were the natural prime target for climate regulation in this respect, and the regulation promptly came, mandating financial penalties for so-called methane leaks. The Environmental Protection Agency acted as the executive body in the matter, setting methane emission limits and penalizing any exceeding of these limits. The oil and gas industry, perhaps surprisingly, was on board with this. The American Petroleum Institute voiced its support for the methane rule, with its chief executive saying that, This is a new position for API, but we think given where the industry is at this time and the continued importance of reducing methane, it was critical we update this position as the administration changes. Interestingly, the same American Petroleum Institute is now applauding the axing of the methane rule, saying that it was a duplicative, punitive tax on American energy production that stifles innovation, according to the AP. Related: Petrobras Gears Up for Offshore Boom Big Oil has also been on board with the methane regulationsbecause they can afford to invest in infrastructure upgrades to reduce methane leaks and because they have a reputational interest in doing so, in a world that has lately become quite hostile to the industry. Smaller oil and gas producers, however, would have been hit hard by the rule. As the AP noted in its report on the news, Most major oil and gas companies do not release enough methane to trigger the fee, which is $900 per ton, an amount that would increase to $1,500 by 2026. This is why they were in support of the fee and this is why they probably wouldnt care much about its repealment. Environmentalists will, however. Last year, the Environmental Defense Fund published a report saying that methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas industry were eight times above the target that the industry had set for itself. The report cited data showing that some 1.6% of gas produced in the U.S. was released into the atmosphere in methane leaks, which was eight times higher than what oil and gas operators had pledged in the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative and the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Chapter. Its a sorry testament to the influence of Big Oil on Capitol Hill that one of the top priorities of Congress is a blatant handout to the worst actors in the fossil fuel industry, the director of the energy program of Public Citizen told the AP. Republicans are helping out the absolutely worst offenders of methane leakage,' Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, head of the Senates environment panel said. The companies only pay the methane fee if they dont meet their own industry standard for ... avoiding leaks of a dangerous, explosive, poisonous greenhouse gas. It bears noting methane is what natural gas is mostly made of. Sen. Whitehouse also said, as quoted by Reuters, that the scrapping of the rule would raise energy prices and weaken environmental quality for consumers. We should be expanding natural gas production, not restricting it. Instead, the natural gas tax will constrain American natural gas production, leading to increased energy prices and providing a boost to the production of natural gas in Russia, the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Public Works told the AP. The Biden administration and Democrats in Congress passed the methane tax to single out and punish the oil and natural gas industry despite its already burdensome EPA regulatory framework, said the president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, Jeff Eshelman. Once the methane rule is officially scrapped after President Trump signs the bill, the reaction that would be interesting to see would be that of the European Union. The EU, like the Biden admin, is on an offensive against methane emissions and has devised a regulation on the methane emissions print of energy imports, meaning natural gas imports. During his term, President Biden asked the EU to consider U.S. LNG imports complying with his methane rule as compliant with EU regulation but now that the rule is gone, the compliance will automatically be overand the EU needs U.S. liquefied gas. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The scene was church basement social. People chatted in clusters around folding tables laden with party-size foil pans of homemade lasagna, shredded lettuce salad and pink sugar cookies. A chubby-cheeked infant in the arms of a grandmotherly woman worked that magnetic baby magic, drawing in an older man and woman and making their faces glow. The setting was an Omaha shelter for migrants seeking asylum. The time came to eat. A call arose for someone to say grace, and for someone who knew enough Spanish and English to interpret the prayer. The small clusters of people merged into one big circle as friends, family and strangers joined hands. The Rev. Tim Koesters, whose St. Michael Lutheran Church parishioners had brought the meal, led the prayer. Kelly Keller, a member of the west Omaha church who had organized the volunteers, braved an interpretation with the help of Google Translate. Thank you for this time together, Koesters prayed. Thank you for the people gathered around these tables. And thank you for the food you have given us to share. May it be a blessing to you. Amen, they all said, and lined up for lasagna. The dinner was at a shelter run by a small nonprofit called Omaha Welcomes the Stranger. The three-year-old organization, founded to help migrants who crossed the southern border fleeing from violence and persecution, regularly hosts such gatherings. Beyond the food itself, they give people from the community a chance to help and to meet migrants in person. The gathering with St. Michael parishioners at the shelter offered a window into how Omahans, who have been known for being welcoming to immigrants and refugees, are responding to the Trump administrations immigration crackdown and refugee resettlement shutdown. Migrants and the people whose job it is to help them are filled with angst. Nonprofit organizations are working to respond to the concerns. But even their everyday work of helping immigrants and refugees stay healthy and become self-sufficient members of the community are strained by freezes in previously promised federal funding and uncertainty about future support from Washington. If funding is not restored, nonprofits may have to lay off workers and wont be able to give people as much help integrating into the cultural and economic life of Omaha. Increased donations and other assistance from philanthropists, churches and individuals have helped to bridge the gap temporarily, leaders of nonprofit groups said. They have received many calls and emails from people offering support and asking how they can help. President Donald Trump and his administration, seeking to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations of people in the United States illegally, have taken several steps since his Jan. 20 inauguration. The Trump administration has said it will prioritize deporting undocumented illegal immigrants with criminal records, but that any undocumented person could be arrested during enforcement actions. The new administration cut off access to a U.S. government app, CBP One, many migrants were using to gain entry and proceed through the legal process of seeking asylum. The administration suspended the refugee system and at least temporarily froze previously approved payments to resettlement groups. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security rescinded a Biden-era policy that had limited immigration enforcement in such sensitive locations as churches, schools and hospitals. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a plan to require people in the country illegally who do not leave to register with the federal government. President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. Those actions are sending waves of fear and anxiety through many of the thousands of immigrants who live in Omaha and the local organizations who work with them, according to local service providers. Theres just a generalized fear across all immigrant and refugee communities that the government is now looking to detain and deport people, and theyre going to do it in locations that have been typically off-limits, said Erik Omar, executive director of the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement (CIRA) in Omaha. The nonprofit group serves immigrants and refugees with a wide range of legal and social services. Its affecting many groups of people in the community, including immigrants who have been in Omaha for years or even generations, with an immigration status such as temporary protected status for Afghans who helped the U.S. military in Afghanistan, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for people brought to the U.S. as children. Other groups have come more recently through Biden administration programs for people fleeing from danger in such specific nations as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. A lot of folks from those countries came here through humanitarian parole, Omar said. They came here though a legal program that the Biden administration opened up for getting temporary humanitarian parole status. And there are many people who came across the southern border through the asylum system. They crossed at a port of entry, were processed and were released with an immigration court date, or were brought through using the CBP One app that the federal government had set up to process asylum cases in a more orderly fashion. The Trump administration, saying that the programs have been used for the unintended purpose of allowing people to stay in the U.S. indefinitely, has revoked the statuses of some groups and signaled it will not renew others when they expire. The government hasnt taken any action on DACA. A lot of (the fear) is created by the administration forecasting to people that were coming to increase enforcement and detain and deport as many people as we possibly can, which was all the rhetoric we heard on the campaign trail, and now you are starting to see some of this action actually take place, Omar said. ICE media representatives did not respond to an email seeking comment about the agencys enforcement activities in Nebraska. Rumors, rhetoric have many on edge Rumors, national news and social media posts have heightened local anxiety, Omar and others said. In Omaha and Nebraska, there has been an increase of individual arrests by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and ICE has been more visible since Trump took office, according to court records and advocates. But there have been no confirmed reports of large-scale workplace raids or other broad enforcement actions. There also have been no confirmed reports that federal agents have gone into local schools, hospitals or churches to make arrests. School districts, hospitals and congregations have been making plans for what to do if ICE agents show up at their doors, Omar said. CIRA, the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations have been educating employers and individuals about their rights and how to exercise them, such as not allowing entry to ICE agents unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. At OneWorld Community Health Centers, whose patients include many migrants, health care providers have noticed more people canceling appointments since the inauguration, OneWorld CEO Andrea Skolkin said. Its been more than a handful, but less than hundreds of cancellations, she said, adding that other patients had filled the canceled appointments. So far, people are still coming and making appointments and picking up their medications, Skolkin said. Were seen as a safe place, I think, as a trusted entity. ... We have heard some anecdotes from people that answer our telephones that people are afraid to go out of their house so they need to cancel their appointment, but by and large theyre still coming. One of the major concerns she hears is about families with mixed immigration statuses. They fear that some members of their families, such as parents, might be arrested and deported, leaving their children alone, as has happened in the past. One of the services offered in legal clinics has been helping parents complete a form designating another trusted adult to take care of their children if they are arrested and deported. Sarah Miller, a pediatric nurse practitioner at OneWorld, said she and other OneWorld providers have treated patients dealing with the effects of the fear and uncertainty of such situations. Families are worried because some of their kids are American citizens by birth, and their parents may not be, so theyre fearful of that, Miller said. At least a few times a week were seeing kids who are anxious and sad because one of their family members has been deported or is in jail. Federal funding uncertain for immigration groups The federal funding issues also are disrupting nonprofit organizations ability to serve immigrants and refugees. OneWorld provides comprehensive medical, behavioral and dental care and pharmacy services at its South Omaha campus and other sites. A federally qualified health center, the nonprofit OneWorld offers a sliding fee scale for uninsured patients and accepts Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. Its patients come from more than 70 ZIP codes. Most live in Omaha, but others live in Iowa or other parts of Nebraska. About 65% are Latino. OneWorld served just under 53,000 patients in 2024, Skolkin said. OneWorlds main source of funding, an annual federal grant that covers the health centers payroll, was held up for several days after the White House paused payments of grants and loans nationwide in late January for the stated purpose of ensuring that the recipients are adhering to Trumps executive orders. Some community health centers elsewhere in the nation had to shut down or at least cut staff. OneWorld was able to continue normal operations, and the spending pause was partly lifted. But concerns remain. The new grant year began Saturday. OneWorld previously received a notice from the federal government that it would receive the grant and would be able to draw down from it for its payroll reimbursements. But it wasnt until late February that its leaders learned they would receive funds beginning in March, but only for five months. Skolkin said OneWorlds leaders are concerned about potential reductions in their grant and Medicaid cuts, but are cautiously optimistic, given the bipartisan support for community health centers. Hopefully as the continuing resolutions are worked out between the House and the Senate ... the remainder of our federal support will follow, Skolkin said. Meanwhile, U.S. funding for refugee resettlement has been halted, even the money that was supposed to have been disbursed under federal contracts to help refugees escaping war and famine that have already been brought to the U.S. We actually thought, kind of knew, that Trump would suspend the refugee program on his first day, said Dekow Sagar, CEO of the International Council for Refugees and Immigrants in Omaha. But no one actually foresaw the suspension of resources, or withholding of resources for clients that were already brought here. That has created a lot of panic for under-resourced organizations that were left with a significant number of new arrivals that required shelter, food and utilities before they could get a job. Nationally, some resettlement groups have recently scaled back services that are not subject to the overall halt in the resettlement program and have laid off or furloughed dozens of employees, including case managers who are the main point of contact for refugees, the Washington Post reported. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which also functions as a refugee resettlement agency, sued the Trump administration to recoup the nearly $25 million it says it is owed by the State Department, the Post reported. Donors, volunteers offer help In Omaha, officials at three resettlement agencies say they have been getting by with extra help from philanthropists and individual donors, but that is not sustainable. Sagar, who originally came to the United States as a refugee himself before founding the nonprofit several years ago in 2018, said the situation is particularly scary for newer, minority-led organizations such as his. Were reaching out to local foundations, were reaching out to national foundations, were looking for all kinds of options, Sagar said. But its a very overwhelming thing to deal with. The federal funding, of $1,350 per month per refugee for their first 90 days in a community, helps the organizations provide services to help the people get settled in a home and, for adults, working a job, or for children, in school. Local resettlement agency officials say they have depleted other funds to provide that support without the promised federal reimbursement. We reunified a family where the father had been settled to Omaha three years ago, said Chris Tonniges, president and CEO of Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska. He was an Afghan national who had assisted the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan. The man had had to leave his pregnant wife and their seven children behind, Tonniges said. They managed to get across the border and out of Afghanistan. After undergoing background and medical checks and the other vetting refugees are required to go through, they finally made it to the United States, and Omaha, on Jan. 22. They were the last arrivals that Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska placed before the refugee program suspension took place. We were super excited to reunite that family, Tonniges said. But the nonprofits also rely on federal funding to help provide services beyond the first three months, such as English instruction and workforce training, that help people gain and sustain self-sufficiency. The work doesnt stop, the expense doesnt stop, but the money stopped, Tonniges said. So the effect on us is sort of a squeeze because obviously we dont want to leave our clients high and dry. Part of the reason our program exists is to get them on stable footing and on a pathway to independence. While almost all federal funding has stopped, the community has been extremely supportive, Tonniges said. Longtime donors such as churches and foundations have provided additional support and so have others. Thats helpful, but donations will not be enough to support current levels of programming if the federal funding freeze continues, local resettlement agency officials said. Were already looking at trying to find some of our staff other positions with the organization, Tonniges said. Unfortunately, there are going to be individuals we that we wont be able to retain. At Lutheran Family Services, as at other agencies that do resettlement, many of the employees that provide direct services are former refugees or children of refugees. Back at the dinner table ... The people at the Omaha Welcomes the Stranger shelter are asylum seekers who came across the southern U.S. border using the CBP One app. As of last week, there were 39 people, including several children, staying at the shelter. Omaha Welcomes the Stranger was founded in 2022 by an Omaha couple, Tom and Margaret Hoarty, and three Catholic nuns: Sister Mary Kay Meagher, Sister Val Lewandowski and Sister Kathleen Erickson. Their stated mission is to serve migrants fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries by providing safety, hospitality, hope and assistance with establishing new lives in the United States. As of last week, 11 families were in the shelter and 10 had moved on to rental housing in the city. The adults who have work permits are working. Several are in limbo awaiting work permit approval, but that process has been halted since the inauguration, Hoarty said. From my perspective, the decision by the administration to deny work permits makes no sense at all, because these are people who want to work, Hoarty said. They will take jobs that employers otherwise would be unable to fill, he said. And its very frustrating to see them unable to get the work permit and do those things, Hoarty said. The nonprofit is supported by donations and volunteers. Hoarty said churches and others in the community have been very supportive, and that more people have been offering to help since the election. They include Linda and Charlie Duckworth, who volunteered to help drive people from the shelter to appointments. They went to the lasagna dinner to meet a man they would take to a doctors appointment the next day. These people have come in dire circumstances, said Linda Duckworth, who is also involved in another group called Mothers and Others: Justice and Mercy for Immigrants. For many, their lives were in danger in their home countries, she said. She wants them to know that there are people in the United States who are glad they are here and want them to be safe. Kelly Keller, the St. Michael organizer, said the church, whose members have a history of sponsoring refugee families, had no trouble recruiting people to bake lasagna and break bread with the migrants at the shelter. The answer was a resounding yes, she said. She met a 16-year-old at the shelter who had not been to school since age 8 because thats how long it took his family to get to the United States. When you think about the fortitude, and the faith that it takes for people to persevere though that journey, Keller said. Since the dinner, fellow church members have asked her if they can do that again, and how else they could help. A lot of people just have that feeling of helplessness with this horrific nightmare going on in our country, Keller said. And theyre asking what can we do? Bensons mayor of 1904 had a horses foot between his knees when asked about his towns beginning. Not much here then, said William Hackman, the village blacksmith. Not a house in Benson, nothing but a few scattered farmhouses out along the road. Just as (I thought) I had struck a good plot for a town to grow on, I settled down and opened a shop. Did he ever expect a town of the importance of Benson would sprout up around him? Of course I did, replied the mayor. Why shouldnt a town grow out here as well as in any part of Nebraska? The farmers are all well-to-do and have been here for years before I came. They want to get to town and back home as soon as they can, so as not to lose needless time, and why not patronize merchants and tradesmen right at their doors. Of course, I expected a big village to come, didnt we, Tom? And Tom, a farmer, nodded his head. I thought I knew as much about Benson as anybody. Back in 1987, I co-authored the Benson Centennial book with the late Rosemary Parenteau and Maxine Albright of the Benson Historical Society and without the luxury of digital archives searches. This retelling of Bensons history will rectify some inaccuracies from previous versions through the years. Benson was the largest suburb ever developed in Douglas County, 866 acres from the initial purchase in 1886 and 140 from a second in 1890. More than 1 square miles. Bensons founders, the money man and the idea man, werent looking to build factories. Omaha and South Omaha had those. They saw the opportunity to create a town of homeowners close to Omahas superhighway of the day the Military Road and were willing to build streetcar service (encountering some glitches) for faster commuting yet from the city. The money man, thus the towns namesake, was Erastus Benson. He was from Davenport, Iowa, just like many earlier speculators in Douglas County (think Florence). Through his partnerships, Benson was a landowner in Nance, Gosper, Furnas, Dawson and Boone Counties and was already involved in some deals in Omaha. The idea man was Omahas Clifton E. Mayne. In December 1886, Benson was looking at land on Council Bluffs west end when Mayne steered him to Omahas far west end. After carefully studying the map in every direction I made up my mind that John D. Creighton had the only piece on land large enough and after going over it carefully I was convinced that a more beautiful site could not be found, Mayne wrote for the Omaha Bee in January 1887. Benson and Mayne teamed for the biggest real estate transaction which has yet taken place in this city. On Dec. 29, 1886, John D. Creighton (not John A. Creighton, an uncle) sold his 866-acre Cole Creek farm to Benson for $130,000. The original boundaries for Benson started at the northwest corner of Emanuel Avenue (60th Street) and Mayne (Maple) Street. The easternmost 32 blocks had lots for cottages. From Leeroi (66th) Street to todays 72nd Street were blocks each divided into 12 lots. The western boundary generally was 78th Street. The northern boundary was north of Fort Street. Benson filed the plat for the town on March 9, 1887 (not March 4). It was March 4 when the county board approved a street railway franchise for the Benson Motor Co. On Aug. 29, 1887, was the first run of the Benson steam motor line from the junction with the citys horse car line at 36th and Cuming Streets northwest to Benson. Almost immediately, owners of horse-drawn carriages complained that the steam motors whistle was spooking the animals. A larger group of 150 farmers met to demand the infernal machines removal. The farmers won. A stable of 16 horses replaced the steam motor, and the line transferred to the Omaha motor line. Benson and Mayne anticipated100 housing starts the towns first year. Didnt happen. In March 1888, Benson sold 228 lots and 19 blocks to H.E. Cole for $185,000 so buying the Creighton farm turned a profit for Benson, who stayed in Omaha and was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in the 1900s decade. Mayne incurred several financial setbacks, including the failure of the National Bank of Commerce, and left around 1890 for a new start in San Francisco. William Hackman wasnt quite right about describing the village when his family arrived in 1888. There was one building Jurgen Thomsens saloon on the northeast corner of 61st and Mayne and one house, Thomsens. Hackman built his business between 60th and 61st Streets on the north side of Mayne. Two years later, there still was no post office or church. Businesses were Thomsens saloon, Hackmans shop and a general store. Erastus Benson, who had donated the land for Mount Hope Cemetery at 76th Street and Military and for a town school on the northwest corner of 63rd and Mayne, in 1890 sold two blocks along 60th Street to the Sisters of Mercy for St. James Orphanage. Bensons future changed in late 1890 with the 160-acre Halcyon Heights subdivision southwest of 60th and Maple. The land buyers were W.E.W. Johnson and B.F. Cronkrite from Chicago and Howard Butcher from Philadelphia, working with Crary & Crary of Omaha. The purchase price for the Weir farm was between $35,000 and $40,000 Now the town could develop a true main street with businesses on either side. The Halcyon Heights interests reintroduced the Benson streetcar. This time it would be electric powered. The Omaha Bee called the first run on Oct. 13, 1891, a red-letter day for Benson and Halcyon Heights. The white cars, with trimming in gold and silver, made the trip from Clifton Hill to the Benson schoolhouse in a little more than seven minutes. Everybody in that section of the city retired to be feeling jubilant over the certainty of rapid transportation hereafter, the Bee wrote. Thirteen years later, Hackman reflected that: Everybody was glad to see it come and no one would care to see it leave. No danger in its leaving, however, for its one of the best paying lines in the city for many months of the year. You see that is the line which brings the big crowds out to Krugs Park and the Country Club, and goodness knows how many more attractions. There is no more danger of us losing the line than there is of a cow losing her tail. Its here to stay, and so are we. Clackamas County Commissioner Ben West has called for an audit of Multnomah County due to extreme financial deficit. By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com Commission Ben West on X (formerly twitter) called for an independent audit of Multnomah County. In an article by Katu 2, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson last week called on the state government and other counties to come to the aid of Multnomah as its in a deficit of $104 million, which even Governor Kotek was dismayed and criticized chair, Pederson. Ben West retweeted by quoting his quote in the article and publicly calling for an audit. Commissioner Ben West, called for an independent audit of Multnomah Co. Its insulting to ask Clackamas County taxpayers to bridge this financial gap without explanation, reassurance or accountability, or Washington County TP or the rest of the state https://t.co/RYse4aJKQi Ben West (@BenforOregon) February 25, 2025 For the past week on X, the commissioner has been calling out the extreme deficit and frustration in Clackamas Countys request to bail them out and demanding to know where is the money going. WHERE HAS THE MONEY GONE! @multco just announced that it is $104 mil in the hole, and now is asking @clackamascounty taxpayers and the State to bail them out! Homelessness would have already been solved if money were the problem in Multnomah County. https://t.co/cHamz31GB6 Ben West (@BenforOregon) February 23, 2025 NOT ONE MORE DIME! WHERE HAS THE MONEY GONE! Im calling for an independent, robust audit into Supportive Housing Services tax dollars and operations of Multnomah Countys homeless services by an independent auditor or by the Oregon Secretary of State.https://t.co/N2F7JTzKVq Ben West (@BenforOregon) February 24, 2025 Local elected leaders expressed their consternation and shock at @multcos ineptitude last night during the Metro SHS workgroup meeting, which Metro President Peterson and I co-chair. The first inescapable fact is that Multnomah Co. has failedhttps://t.co/dXvD7k71cN Ben West (@BenforOregon) February 25, 2025 This also led to Commisornor Wests official move to call upon fellow commissioners to conduct a comprehensive performance and forensic audit of our Supportive Housing Services (SHS) programs and finances. **LEADING WHERE OTHERS HAVE FAILED!** Today, under my leadership, the @clackamascounty board of commissioners directed staff to prepare a plan for a comprehensive performance and forensic audit of our Supportive Housing Services (SHS) programs and finances. Metro explicitly https://t.co/qzYCWXQwQi pic.twitter.com/Nst10IKmO6 Ben West (@BenforOregon) February 26, 2025 Was this helpful? If so, Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). SB 702 would ban flavored nicotine products and cost Oregon nearly $200 million By Taxpayers Association of Oregon OregonWatchdog.com SB 702 would ban flavored nicotine products like vaping, hookahs and cigarettes and has a Salem Capitol hearing on Tues. March 4th. A SB 702 flavor ban would cause a big drop in tobacco tax revenue. One estimate puts it at nearly $200 million in tobacco tax health care dollars that would be lost. That means the Oregon Health department would look to raise more taxes and fees to make up for the lost $100 million revenue if SB 702 passed. In 2023, the Oregon Health Department witnessed 77 fee increases totaling $17 million. At this rate, the Oregon Health Department would need to raise 385 fees to make up the difference of a $100 million loss of healthcare dollars. Flavor bans like SB 702 will boost the black market. One estimate put the current number of illegal sales of tobacco products at 1 of 4 of all sales. That means Oregon would lose much of the $100 million in current health care tax dollars to criminal smugglers. Also, people find that vaping products are the #1 way that they are able to quit cigarette smoking. Please submit an online testimony at the State Capitol here and click the register to testify tab on top. SB 702 summary reads; Digest: The Act bans the sale of flavored products with tobacco or nicotine. (Flesch Readability Score: 67.7). Prohibits distributing, selling, attempting to sell or offering to sell flavored inhalant delivery system products or flavored tobacco products in this state. Defines flavored inhalant delivery system product and flavored tobacco product. Prohibits distributing, offering or providing, without compensation, any tobacco product or inhalant delivery system. Requires any sale of cigarettes, inhalant delivery systems or smokeless tobacco products to occur at licensed premises. Authorizes local governments to adopt regulations that are stricter than state law on the sale of inhalant delivery system products or tobacco products.Declares an emergency, effective on passage. Was this helpful? If so, Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty). BLOOMINGTON With commercially raised eggs growing higher in price and lower in availability, more shoppers may be turning to local egg producers to restock their refrigerators and McLean County stores and farms are ready to meet the need. While some chain supermarkets are limiting how many dozens of eggs customers can purchase, Green Top Grocery in Bloomington has not had to restrict sales or change prices, said the co-op's operations manager, Mary O'Meara. "Since all these egg prices have gone crazy, our local eggs' (prices) haven't moved. Not once," she said. "It's been phenomenal." Commercially produced egg prices are rising so much that the cost difference between those and smaller-scale, local egg prices are actually starting to even out. As of Friday, Goldhen Grade A large eggs, sold at Aldi at 907 Maple Hill Road in Bloomington, cost $5.97 a dozen plus tax and are limited to two per customer. At Green Top Grocery, 921 E. Washington St. in Bloomington, a dozen eggs from Hospelhorn Farms of Hudson cost $6.29 plus tax with no restrictions. "Our stock levels are better," O'Meara said. Green Top's suppliers are more consistent with their deliveries as well, said Karen Renski, the co-op's grocery lead. "In general, we have been getting at least part of our orders every week," she said. "Some weeks, our local farmers have been able to provide all the eggs that we ordered." That is especially significant as chickens tend to lay fewer eggs in the colder months, Renski said. This season, Green Top has experienced "maybe the slightest of shortages, but we have never gotten zeroed out on our local farmer egg orders, which is wonderful," she said. According to the Associated Press, egg prices from commercial producers could increase by as much as 41% this year based on USDA predictions. The predicted increase in January was 20%. It's not clear how much more farmers can do to keep out the avian flu virus. Egg and poultry farmers have worked to protect their birds since the 2015 bird flu outbreak by taking measures such as requiring workers to change clothes and shower before entering barns, using separate sets of tools and sanitizing any vehicles that enter farms. The challenge is that wild birds spread the virus as they migrate past farms. Complicating the situation is certain migratory birds' natural immunity to the avian flu, said Kyan Glenn, owner of the Table Farm and Workshop in Bentown, east of Bloomington. The virus can live inside waterfowl like ducks and Canada geese without killing them, he said. "When it jumps to other bird species, like a local songbird or a chicken, it'll kill that," Glenn said. While eggs are not a primary source of his farm's income, Glenn still has about 50 egg-laying chickens, he said. There are few things that small-scale, organic farmers can do to protect their flocks from avian flu, because it goes against their ethics, Glenn said. "All of the preventative measures that you can take to keep your flock safe translate to horrible conditions for your birds. ... Lock your birds up in a closed building and never let them see the sun, never let them see the outside and let nothing in from the outside," he said. "We're talking containment. Absolute, 100% containment procedures, which is not good for the birds," he said. However, large facilities where birds are caged up may make the problem worse, said Todd Hospelhorn, of Hospelhorn Farms. "I can understand these big commercial operations where they're all in one building" making it easier for the virus to spread from bird to bird, he said. The most obvious sign your flock has the avian flu is dead or dying birds, Glenn said. The virus is nearly always fatal and has an "extremely quick" incubation period in chickens, he said: "Like, it's less than 24 hours your bird is dead." However, there are still no signs of the disease at Glenn's or Hospelhorn's farms. "I can't say that, around here, I've seen a lot of dead birds," Hospelhorn said. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain People experiencing domestic violence are often urged to report their abuse to the police. But what if your abuser is a police officer? Our new research, drawing on 17 interviews with victim-survivors from two studies and published in the journal Violence Against Women, examined the challenges faced by victim-survivors in this situation. 'He knows how to make sure that there is no evidence' Victim-survivors told us their abusers often initially used their police role to project a "safe" image. Later, however, many perpetrators were able to draw on their police training and skills in control, surveillance and investigation to abuse and entrap their partners. One interviewee said, "He is a state-funded, trained master manipulator." Police also have access to weapons, and, importantly, knowledge about how domestic violence evidence is collected. One interviewee said, "They're doing things that they believe they can get away with or that they know they can get away with [] Police offenders are smarter than that and they're looking for these little insidious ways to skirt the system." One person who experienced coercive control from her police officer father-in-law said, "He knows how to make sure that there is no evidence." 'The people coming to interview me are his colleagues' Victim-survivors told us they faced many barriers when seeking help. Some victim-survivors had moved away from family and friends for the perpetrator's job and only socialized with other "police families," leaving them isolated. One person said her perpetrator "used to bitch about DVs, like just how it's that victim's moment of 15 minutes of fame, a moment of attention." This made some victim-survivors reluctant to report abuse. When they did report abuse, many encountered police reluctance or refusal to take action against "one of their own." One person said, "I tried to report his stalking to the local police station. The moment I mentioned the name, I was pretty much told to get the fuck out." Other victim-survivors we interviewed said, "I had to report at the police station where he works, where everybody knows everybody [] So the people coming to interview me are his colleagues [] You can't trust them, you don't feel safe, and even the police stations nearby, it's still regional and they still work with each other. They just had a chat to him and he went, 'No, that didn't happen' and then that was it. He just got more and more and more empowered." Some victim-survivors in our study felt no amount of evidence was sufficient to see the perpetrator charged or convicted. One told us: "Every time I spoke to a solicitor, they'd say, 'Oh, well. You'll have such ayou'll have a far higher threshold to prove anything because he's a police officer, and magistrates don't like giving orders against police officers because they get made non-operational.'" In some cases, the police perpetrator had the victim-survivor arrested or subjected to a domestic violence intervention order. One victim-survivor recounted: "He'd wake you up all night, he'd break in, he'd destroy property, intimidation. He did do an assault but it wasn't an assaultit didn't leave a mark, but then he said that I had dug my fingernails into his hand and that's what I was charged on the basis of. Minor, minor injury that I actually saw him do [] So I ended up with assault occasioning an actual bodily harm over that." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. 'I can call the police now if I want and get you sectioned' Some interviewees told us police officers can use police databases to get information (such as location) about the victim-survivor. In one case, a fellow police officer drove the perpetrator to the victim-survivor's "secure" location. Police perpetrators can also draw on their knowledge and connection with broader formal institutions. One interviewee told us: "He was convincing me that I had a mental health issue. He'd get me to a point where I'd be sobbing because he'd tell me everything that was wrong with me and berate me and then say, "I can call the police now if I want and get you sectioned and you have to go to a [mental health facility] for the night.'" Many interviewees expressed frustration that family violence cases where the perpetrator was a police officer are often not referred to Professional Standards Command, an internal police oversight body operating in most state and territory police forces. Calls for genuine accountability and independence Many victim-survivors interviewed said police perpetrators were notin their experiencelikely to be held accountable. One told us: "Police sought [an intervention order] for my protection and this was granted for 12 months. He has his weapon taken from him, then returned two weeks later." Another said, "He didn't get sacked, they let him resign [] and now he's on a nice cushy pension for the rest of his life." Another participant said her perpetrator was simply moved to another location. Cases were often handed back and forth between different police stations, Professional Standards Command, and other independent or semi-independent police bodies. There was often no transparency in how decisions were made and littleif anycommunication with the victim-survivor about the progression of their case. Legal or professional repercussions were rare and minimal. They also often failed to stop the abuse, and allowed the perpetrator to keep their job. Some state and territory police forces, including Victoria Police and Tasmania Police, now have specific police officer-involved domestic violence policies. For example, Professional Standards Command in Victoria has a Sexual Offenses and Family Violence Unit to investigate allegations that involve Victoria Police employees accused of family violence, sexual assault, serious sexual harassment and predatory behavior. Victim-survivors welcomed this but expressed concern these new dedicated teams may remain vulnerable to the "boy's club mentality" and information leaks. Ultimately, broader police responses to gender-based violence cannot improve while a problematic police culture persists. More information: Ellen Reeves et al, "The Fact That He Was a Police Officer Was Probably My Number 1 Challenge": Victim-Survivor Experiences of Officer-Involved Domestic Violence in Australia, Violence Against Women (2025). DOI: 10.1177/10778012251319761 This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Driver killed slamming into parked flatbed on Riviera Maya highway Riviera Maya, Q.R. The driver of a private vehicle was killed Saturday when he slammed into the back of a parked company flatbed. The accident happened around 3:00 p.m. approximately 10 kilometers south of Playa del Carmen along the federal 307. The driver of the company flatbed was parked along the shoulder of the Riviera Maya highway when the hatchback hit him. The impact left the driver of the car crushed behind the wheel. Solidaridad firemen along with other emergency services were at the Saturday afternoon scene where they located the deceased driver pinned in the car. National Guard Highways directed traffic while firemen worked to free the male driver. The driver of the double long company flatbed reportedly fled the scene before police arrived. Authorities have not provided an official cause for the afternoon accident. Nautical Association says 50 sunken vessels to be removed from Cancun lagoon Cancun, Q.R. The Nautical Association of Quintana Roo is working to clean up the Nichupte lagoon by removing at least 50 boats. The Association says there are at least 50 that have been left stranded in the lagoon. Nautical Association Director Ricardo Muleiro Lopez says those boats pose a risk for pollution as well as the navigation of other boats. On a tour at kilometer 4 of Kukulcan Boulevard, several half-sunken boats were located along the shore. According to Muleiro Lopez, theyve been there for several years. He said that they are working in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Cancun to clear the Nichupte lagoon of broken down boats. He says the two groups plan to extract 50 sunken vessels they have located. There are boats that have fuel and it spills. There are others that may have a system to prevent it from spilling, but the fact that it is sunken is already a visual impact that we are causing to tourism. Walking in the lagoon is not only seeing mangroves and the hotel zone in the landscape, but also seeing sunken, damaged, broken boats and that is not what we want for our destination, he said. The Navy Secretariat (Semar) is also taking part in the lagoon cleanup through the Port Authority, as well as the environmental authorities since the removal of the boats requires the corresponding permits and procedures, he explained. He said that the federal authorities have already given legal certainty to carry out the rescue work on these vessels, so they will be working together; in addition, the garbage will also be removed from the body of water. He said that each owner has the responsibility to take care of his boat, but unfortunately there are some very old ones and their maintenance costs are very high. Repairing them after they have sunk is more expensive than leaving them abandoned, he said. The cost of maintenance, of boat engines, electronic systems and devices, radars, GPS, is so high that the person who bought the boat probably did so during good times, but the fact of repairing or maintaining a boat or rebuilding it is more expensive than leaving it abandoned, he said. Portable generators being considered to meet Yucatan Peninsula power supply demands Riviera Maya, Q.R. Portable generators are being considered for several areas of the Yucatan Peninsula prior to the hot season. With Canicula or the dog days of summer nearing, Eugenio Alberto Ramirez Rios, President of the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, says the CFE is currently working on the installation of two. The two portable generators will be installed by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to meet the demand for electricity in the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatan and Campeche. According to Ramirez Rios, the extra power boost will help avoid power blackouts since the country faces a 30 percent deficit in electricity production. He says the deficit impacts supply, and among the regions most affected is the Yucatan Peninsula. Ramirez Rios says the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), through its international subsidiary, has launched a public call for the installation of portable plants to guarantee the required energy supply during the months of May, June, July and August, which is the time of greatest demand. He explained that with the entry of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador into the federal government, private investment in the production of electric energy was reversed, which caused a deficit in supply, hence the constant blackouts. Now, with Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo in the presidency, the priority is to address this deficit with investments from both the CFE and the private sector, a change that could reverse the deficiencies. There is a strong investment in electricity and the region will be key to this with solar and wind energy projects. However, these will be long-term projects so the CFE has to address the priorities, in this case the summer, with the introduction of portable plants that provide electricity to the region. Almost since the inauguration of Donald Trump, Jeanne Stapf has been trying to get a message to Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, her congressman. Last week, she took to Facebook noting shed finally gotten through. And she related how a Cline staffer had obscenely responded during the phone call Monday. Mike Parish, a reader in Troutville, brought that to my attention. Soon I was talking to Stapf. The retiree from Front Royal worked 36 years in the financial industry. She cares for her developmentally disabled sister, whos 64 and lives with Stapf. (A couple of months ago, Stapf joined the Warren County Democratic Committee. But shes only attended a single Zoom meeting, she said. Its obvious from her Facebook page that shes no fan of Donald Trump.) Anyway, Stapf wanted to inform Cline about her sister, whos also a 6th District resident, and the support her sister receives from federal health programs that are currently on the congressional chopping block. Her sibling has the intellectual capacity of an 8-year-old, Stapf told me. And she suffers from depression, anxiety and schizophrenia conditions for which she takes medication. Currently, Medicaid is picking up copays that total about $400 a month for her sisters medicines, Stapf said. Medicare covers the sisters physical and mental health needs. Stapf fears the budget House Republicans are working on now is going to cut off her sisters benefits. In that case, Stapf will have to pay for them out of her own pocket. But just for starters, neither Stapf nor her sister can afford the monthly copays for the medicines. Stapf said her own resources are thin, too. I have exhausted all of my retirement all of my 401k to take care of her, Stapf told me. Anyway, shes been trying to get that message to Cline mostly via the telephone. In the last couple of weeks, Ive been calling pretty much daily, she said. Some days Stapf called the Washington office, on other occasions she called Clines district office in Winchester. But until Monday shed been unable to get a living, breathing Cline staffer on the line. (I can identify with her frustration Cline staffers are highly skilled at ignoring emails from me.) Things changed Monday morning. Shortly after Stapf dropped off her granddaughter at school, she returned home and called Clines Winchester office. This wouldve been about 9 a.m., Stapf said. And this time, a male staffer answered the phone. Later in the conversation, he told Stapf his name is Drew. (According to the website Legistorm, Cline employs a staffer, Drew LeMay, in the Winchester office.) Stapf said the call lasted three minutes. She told Drew she was calling from Front Royal and inquired whether Cline would hold a town hall meeting anytime soon. Drew replied, There wasnt any room on his schedule, Stapf said. And I said, Well there are a lot of congressmen holding town halls around the country. She further told Drew she thought Cline should prioritize holding a town hall. His response blew her mind. It came as what Stapf described as a loud whisper. He said, I dont fing care! Stapf told me. At first I was shocked. It took a couple seconds to sink in. Then I said, Youre not allowed to talk to me like that! Stapf said it seemed to her that Drew belatedly realized he had messed up. Because the next thing out of his mouth was a profuse apology. Oh my God, Im sorry, Stapf told me Drew uttered at least twice. (It was during this part of the conversation that Stapf said she asked for his name, and he replied, Drew.) Stapf told me she still wanted to relate the information about her sister, and she didnt want to miss the opportunity, now that a Cline staffer had finally answered one of her calls. Congressman Clines constituents are growing very frustrated, Stapf told Drew. Then she decided to explain the specific impact the current House budget bill could have on her badly disabled sister. Maybe Drew relayed that to the congressman. If not, perhaps this will get the message to Cline. But theres another issue here, and thats the obscene utterance by a congressional staffer to a constituent. Thats certainly a no-no. Last week I called Clines Winchester office twice and left messages for Drew. They were fairly detailed. He failed to return either call. Wednesday, I emailed Clines communications director, Maggie Clemmons, regarding the controversy and posed four questions: Does Drew remain employed by Rep. Cline? Has Drew been counseled against using obscene language with 6th District constituents? Please inform The Roanoke Times readers of Rep. Clines opinion regarding his staffers verbally abusing constituents. Does the congressman discourage such communications? Also, does Rep. Cline plan to hold any town hall in the 6th district during his current 2-year term? Please tell me when and where. I asked for answers by Thursday but Clemmons did not respond. I also queried Stapf on what she thought should happen. She told me that she imagines Drew and Clines others staffers have been on the receiving end of torrents of blistering phone rants from unhappy 6th District residents lately. She sounded sympathetic. I do not think Drew should lose his job at all, she said. Stapf said she believes Cline is using his staffers to shield the congressman from contact with constituents and in that manner is throwing them under a bus. She further termed the act shameful and gutless. Stapf added: He refuses to talk to constituents. He will not do a town hall. I have to tell you, we feel ignored and neglected by Rep. Ben Cline. Shes not the only one. There was a recent demonstration outside Clines Roanoke district office downtown. More of those are coming, Stapf said. On March 4, his constituents will be at his district offices in protest, because we deserve a town hall meeting, she said. How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous! Dear How to Do It, Im queer and have been coming out of my sexual shell in the past couple years after previously only having one sex partner throughout my 20s. I am an analytic person by nature, and have found that while I can navigate a lot of emotionally connected and committed polyamorous relationships, I really enjoy and regularly crave the novelty of new dick/strap/pussyeven if my emotional, romantic, and sexual needs are being met. But with a busy schedule, its hard to prioritize this without a plan, so I gave myself a target number of new hookups: one a month, or 12 a year. Not all months go as plannedsome months, I see no one new. Others, I have multiple new partners. For me, its less about the body count than it is about committing to this new side of myself. It helps me feel less stagnant sexually. Also, Im just a planner! Usually, I chat with people and get coffee or drinks with them as a platonic and separate hang before we have sex. I hear about them, their background, their preferences, safe words, triggers, testing, etc., but it is always with the goal of low-stakes, often time-limited hook-ups. I had an interaction recently where I mentioned this to another queer friend, and they were clearly offended by it. I couldnt tell if having a specific goal number came off as objectifying or dehumanizing, or if I owe it to potential partners to detail all of this (including the goal). Am I supposed to go beyond the usual Hey would you be interested in a time-limited primarily sexual relationship? Advertisement Any advice on how to move through this with kindness, compassion, and transparency for folks? Or is the issue with having a number like that? Good With Google Calendar Dear Good With Google Calendar, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dont let one friends ambiguous, seemingly negative-leaning reaction to your way of organizing deter you. You have good reasons for setting goals here, and you arent particularly hung up on them. Plus, you dont know why your friend was put off. It could have to do with their ideas of etiquette/decorum, but they may just as easily be jealous or insecure. If they feel that they couldnt pull one body a month, or in contrast, know that they have way more sex than that and would rather be more moderate about things but are having a difficult time doing so, that could have colored their reaction. I know feeling judged can make things awkward, but ideally, you would have asked follow-up questions to understand where your friend is coming from. Sometimes people are able to give you valuable perspectives that may not have occurred to you, and sometimes peoples feedback is utterly worthless and based on their own prejudices/subjective experiences and can summarily be disregarded on sight. Only further information allows you to determine which category a specific reaction falls in. Advertisement Your description of the way you treat your partners is sound. It seems that you are straightforward about wanting a temporary/one-time hook-up. You talk to them and get to know them as people. They are presumably looking for something similarly fleeting. You dont owe anyone, not even a temporary trick, a full biography or explanation of how youre going about your sex life. They can glean that you are interested in casual, no-strings sex and should assume that if youre having it with them, you could be having it with several other people. If someone asks you about your hook-up frequency, I wouldnt lie. I dont think youre obligated to reveal any information that youre not comfortable with, and they may reject you for your answer, but everyones got their system and I think respecting their comfort levels with your own honesty is the compassionate way to go about this. Theres nothing in your letter that I find unseemly or unfair. You are allowed to organize your life however you want, no matter what other peoples opinions are. This information might be best kept to yourself to avoid the kind of disrupting judgement your friend gave you, but you have nothing to be ashamed of. Advertisement Advertisement Get advicesubmit a question! Please keep questions short (<150 words), and dont submit the same question to multiple columns. We are unable to edit or remove questions after publication. Use pseudonyms to maintain anonymity. Your submission may be used in other Slate advice columns and may be edited for publication. Thanks! Your question has been submitted. Dear How to Do It, * Your letter signoff Your pronouns Your email (optional and confidentialplease include if you're open to How to Do It following up) Submit Dear How to Do It, My husband and I moved from a small apartment into a beautiful older home. As another classic New England winter has set in, weve learned this place is so damn drafty and expensive to heat. But were both troopers! You put on your long sleeve tee, hoodie, thick socks and slippers, and throw another couple blankets on the bed. We really dont mind, except where its impacting our sex life. I cant help but yelp get those cold hands OFF of me! as soon as he gets under my shirt. What positions can be done under the heavy blankets without whoever is on top basically doing a weighted plank? Is this what assless chaps are for? Should we scour Facebook Marketplace for a poster bed with wool curtains, like an 18th century dutch merchant? Please help! (And please dont use this in a Slate+ exclusive, weve got to save up for a high efficiency furnace!) May to December Romance Dear May to December Romance, Advertisement Youre going to have to experiment with the best positions for you. The one that immediately comes to mind is from behind with the penetrated party lying flat on their stomach and the penetrator lying flat on top of them. But that might be the weighted plank you are trying to avoid. In that case, try side entry, with both of you lying on your sides either facing each other or from behind, which I prefer. That way the thrusting wont be hindered by blankets too much, as you wouldnt be going up and down. Advertisement Advertisement And yes, you can certainly try semi-clothed sexa onesie with a butt flap or buttons in the crotch area could help (he could wear standard long johns that would allow access to his dick with just an undone button or two). This is not a heating advice column, but a few other things you can play around with that may be cost effective: space heaters, a heated mattress pad or blanket, or maybe even one of those tents that goes over your bed (assuming that they actually can keep you warm and arent just for show). There are also heated gloves and hand warmers you could wear before you touch each other, and heated jackets and vests you can don if you dont want to crawl under 20 pounds of blanket. Having sex in a warm shower could also be a good way to bypass the drafts and chill of your bedroom. Advertisement Advertisement Send Us Your Questions About the Workplace! The columnists behind our new advice column, Good Job, want to help you navigate your social dynamics at work. Does your colleague constantly bug you after hours? Has an ill-advised work romance gone awry? Ask us your question here! Dear How to Do It, I recently purchased a $100+ rabbit-style vibe that was touted on lots of best of lists. Well, its a no-go for me. Im kind of tiny, and its just too big and uncomfortable. It cant be returned to the company I purchased it from since it was opened. How does one dispose of sex toys in an environmentally responsible way? Saving the Earth One Dildo at a Time Dear Saving the Earth One Dildo at a Time, Great question! I had no idea, so I reached out to Lisa Finn, a sex educator for the sex-toy boutique Babeland. She told me that because of the biohazard status of something that potentially has bodily fluids on it, a lot of e-waste facilities will not accept sex toys. But some will, so what youll have to do is look up the e-waste facilities around you and find their lists of what they do/dont accept. Be aware that not every e-waste facility that does accept sex toys will be so blunt about itthey may list the more euphemistic personal massagers in what they will/wont accept. Finding an e-waste recycler around you that does accept sex toys may be a slow process (I found a master list on the New York City Department of Sanitation website and then realized Id have to Google each one to see what they do/dont take), but hey, at least it will test your commitment to green living. Finn adds that there are places that will take a vibrator only if you break it apart, remove any silicone coating, and take in the motor. Be very careful with that if it is a rechargeable toyyou dont want to accidentally electrocute yourself if youre going to be cutting this thing open, warns Finn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another option: Pass it along to a friend. If you have a toy that is made out of a non porous material, so a silicone, an ABS hard plastic, a metal, a glass, something like that, if you have a friend that youre close to, its easy enough to disinfect this entirely so that its completely sanitized and see if your friend wants it. In not every friendship will it be appropriate to pay your vibe forward, but if you have a friend with whom you casually discuss things like sex and masturbation, this could work. But since you may have a hard time adopting out your rabbit, Finn presented another idea: The great thing about internal vibrators is that they can always double as external vibrators, said Finn, who suggested holding your rabbit like a wand and using the tip of the internal piece against the clitoris or nipplesalso if your partner has a penis, you could use it as a stroker by placing the penis between the arms of the rabbit. Advertisement Finns last suggestion: go the unhinged route and transform your toy into art. She told me that she made a coat hanger of upcycled butt plugs for a friends birthday. If you can figure out another creative use for your rabbit, its surely better than taking up space in a landfill somewhere. Rich More Advice From Slate My wife and I recently opened up our marriage. Its awesomeexcept now her hot sister wants to have sex with me. In fact, she propositioned me the other day. When I told my wife about it, she had a really surprising reactionone I never thought shed have. What should I do? Care and Feeding is Slates parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here. Dear Care and Feeding, Im a senior in college and have been friends with Rachel since our first year. Rachel has a disability for which she uses mobility aids, and she also has anxiety, depression, and a contentious relationship with her family. I also have anxiety and depression, which were particularly bad last year, to the point where I sometimes couldnt get out of bed; I am now on medication that has been very helpfulor, I should say, had been very helpful. This semester, Rachels going through it worse than everher mothers cancer has spread, and Rachel briefly flew home to be with her. Through this hard period for Rachel, Ive tried to be as supportive as possible. Ive brought her meals, talked her through breakdowns, and have been available to take her calls at all hours. Its honestly been very tiring. My mom has noticed how much more exhausted and depressed I seem, and she has repeatedly told me to prioritize myself more. I even made an appointment with a psychiatrist to up my antidepressants. But I have been trying hard to be a good, supportive friend to someone in an emergency situation, and downplaying my own symptoms. Recently, I was having a particularly bad day. My depression was severe enough thatjust like last yearI couldnt get out of bed. I asked Rachel if we could take a rain check on the dining hall dinner wed planned. I figured that she of all people should understand. Well, she didnt. She called me (twice, while I was already on a FaceTime call with my family at home) to tell me that she didnt feel that I was making her enough of a priority. All Ive done is make her a priority! I feel like I cant talk to her about my own life anymore, because shell take it as an attack (good things are rubbing them in her face, bad things are playing the who has it worse? game or adding to her load). And I have my own life, too, that I need to pay attention to (applying to graduate schools, finishing my senior thesis, being involved in campus groups). Meanwhile, last year, when I needed support, she wasnt there for me (which I excused, chalking it up to the limitation of her living across campus and physically having a hard time getting to me; I live right upstairs from her this year). Nor was she there for me over the summer, when my grandmother was in the ICU for even longer than her mother was. Its like only she matters, and all Ive done for her so far isnt good enough. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I sent her a message telling her I needed some space. My mom, who tends to get a little worked up over these things, is telling me to cut her off entirely and has even talked about a restraining order. I dont think Rachels a selfish person, just shortsighted at the moment, but Mom keeps bringing up past moments when our friendship hasnt been reciprocal, and how shes always had some crisis Ive had to help her with while she hasnt helped the same way with mine, or seen mine as on the same level as hers. But I feel guilty about not being there for her at this difficult time. Ill admit that my friendship with Rachel is the first best friendship Ive had in my life (its not her first), and I dont know the ruleswhats overstepping, whats selfishness, whats enough. Am I in the wrong here? What should I do? Nervous in New England Dear Nervous, Advertisement I cant offer you a rulebook (for best friendship or for any other relationships) because there is no rulebook. Every relationship has its own logic; no two are the same. But I will saywith concern, not judgmentthat both relationships you describe seem to be troubled. Your relationship with Rachel is unbalanced, and you have been bearing the entire load of it for a long time; if you are going to remain friends, this has to stop. And your relationship with your mom seems to be more enmeshed than is healthy for either of you. Advertisement I am all for children, even adult children, turning to their parents for help, counsel, and supportand for parents to be a source of help, advice, empathy, and encouragementbut your mother is doing too much and you are leaning on her too much at this juncture, in this situation. (Theres a vicious circle at work here, with the latter steadily feeding into the former.) One of the problems inherent in being in an echo chamber of your distress with your mother is that neither one of you is able to address your own role in the lopsided relationship with Rachelthe fact that (it would seem) you were so pleased to have your first best friend, you let things slide until the whole weight of this best friendship was on you. Advertisement Advertisement I dont know if you and Rachel will be able to stay friends once you address this imbalance, and Im guessing that the idea of losing her makes you sad and perhaps fearful. But what the two of you have right now is less a friendship than an arrangement in which one party (you) takes care of the other; there is no reciprocity. If you want to try to reframe this relationship, Id say go for it. Youll have to be honest with Rachel about your wish (a perfectly reasonable wish, I hasten to assure you) for balance between youyour need to be the one cared for as well as the one doing the caretaking. Advertisement Advertisement A word of caution: You may well be disappointed, so tread carefully and protect yourself. And I suggest that instead of quoting her chapter and verse about the way shes failed you, you simply ask her for help when you need it; give her the chance to show up for you. If she wontif she cantits time to let go of this friendship. (I know its hard. Ive done it. It hurts. I think it hurts just as much as ending a romantic relationship doesand maybe more.) As to your mother: Tell her you appreciate her advocating for you, you know she means well, and you realize that youve asked for her opinion and advice, but that youre ready to handle this on your own. Repeat as necessary. You are on the precipice of full adulthoodits time to take the reins of your own life. Advertisement Get parenting and family advicesubmit a question! Please keep questions short (<150 words), and dont submit the same question to multiple columns. We are unable to edit or remove questions after publication. Use pseudonyms to maintain anonymity. Your submission may be used in other Slate advice columns and may be edited for publication. Thanks! Your question has been submitted. Dear Care and Feeding, * Your letter signoff Your pronouns Your email (optional and confidentialplease include if you're open to Care and Feeding following up) Submit Dear Care and Feeding, My mother-in-law considers herself a very fancy lady, and ever since she was widowed, shes been living her life like shes in a 1920s mystery novel. My twins (a boy and a girl) are turning 8 in a few weeks; my mother-in-law wants to take them to an upscale French restaurant the weekend following their birthdayjust her and the kids (she wants to give us a date night at the same time). I wouldnt mind a date night, but Id prefer it under different circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement This just seems like a bad idea to me. One of the kids is a very picky eater, and both are reluctant to try anything new; the restaurant doesnt serve anything I think theyd enjoy. It also has dim, romantic lighting, which would be weird for them (and my daughters vision isnt great to begin with)and both kids get bored easily. They dont mind going out to eat, but a meal at a restaurant like that would last much longer than theyd expect. Also, while my daughter loves dressing up, my son doesnt: Hed be out of place in this setting. And then theres the cost! There are so many reasons she shouldnt do this. But my husband thinks we should just let her. Apparently, his mom is very concerned that the kids like my parents better, even though we only see them twice a year. Weve asked the kids if they want to go to a fancy restaurant with Grandma, and they are incredibly indifferent to the idea. But they also havent ever really experienced fine dining before. Im not sure if I should press this or just let it happen, and let her waste her own money and the kids time. Reality Check for Grandma Dear Reality, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe you are way overthinking this: You are micromanaging your mother-in-law and your kids experience of time with her. The money this meal will cost is hers to spend (or waste) as she chooses, and while this gift she has decided to give her grandchildren may not be one they particularly want, it will do them no harm. If youre worried that theyll be bored and restless because the meal takes longer than theyll expect, prepare them: Kids, just so you know, a dinner in a fancy restaurant takes longer than meals out at the restaurants we usually go to. Its all part of the experience. As to their not finding anything theyd like to eat on the menuwell, thats not your problem, is it? If they refuse to eat, they wont starvethey can eat their usual fare laterand if their grandmother can persuade them to try something new, so much the better. (Though even the fanciest French restaurant is likely to serve pommes frites.) If its your mother-in-laws hurt feelings or impatience with the kids youre worried about, feel free to gently warn her that your kids arent great about unfamiliar foods, though if she spends time with them, I imagine shes already aware. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think her wanting to take them out for a fancy dinner is a lovely gesture. The worst that can happen is that your kids dont enjoy it, which isnt all that bad. The best is that they appreciate this special time with Grandma, without their parents present (even if they dont end up eating much). And the possible bonus is that they enjoy this experience more than you suppose they will. You mention your concern that this dinner out will be a waste of their time. Do they have something pressing they should be doing during those few hours? My final thought on this matter: You are being pretty hard on Grandma. So she thinks of herself as fancywhats so terrible about that? Why should you care? Send Your Questions to Good Job! Laura Helmuth and Doree Shafrir want to help you navigate your social dynamics at work. Does your colleague constantly bug you after hours? Has an ill-advised work romance gone awry? Ask us your question here! Advertisement Dear Care and Feeding, About four months ago, my sister-in-law found out that my 17-year-old niece, Clara, had been lying about her whereabouts and driving two hours away to spend time with her boyfriend. My sister-in-law was livid and banned my niece from seeing her boyfriend; she took her phone and car keys away. Clara rebelled by using her friends phones to contact her boyfriend; her mother then called her friends parents to ban Claras use of their phones. Things escalated to the point that Childrens Protective Services and the police got involved. CPS closed their case but there is an active police investigation against my sister-in-law and her behavior toward Clara, as it had gotten physical. I do not know what my brother thinks about or is doing about any of this, as Im only getting information via text from Clara and her mother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do know that things have continued to decline, with Clara becoming more defiant and her mother calling the police and reporting her as a runaway whenever she leaves the house without permission. My sister-in-law no longer lives with my brother and Clara (she monitors the doorbell camera at their househer former houseand also continues to get updates from my brother, she says). Clara has asked to come live with me, my husband, and our 2-year-old daughter. Clara has five weeks left of high school and plans to go to college in the fall. Her high school is an hour from our house and we would not be able to drive her there if her parents dont let her bring her car. I want to be a positive influence in her life, and Ive let her know that she should call, text, or come over whenever she needs to, but Im torn on whether or not she should live with us under these circumstances. She needs to finish school! Obviously, I will talk to my brother before any decision is made, but what are your thoughts? School Is the Most Important Thing, Right? Dear Most Important, Advertisement Advertisement School is definitely important, and Clara of course needs to finish high school and go on to college as planned in the fall. But Im not sure that school is the most important thing in this situation. I would say that Claras safety and well-being are at the top of the listbut to tell you the truth, from what youve said in your letter, I cant tell whether she will be better served by living with you or living with her father. Since her mother isnt in the house anymore, the volatile relationship between mother and daughter is no longer front and center but is simmering in the background (or so it seems). Advertisement What confounds me about all this is that in the four months since this chaos began, youve not been in touch directly with your brother. How can that be? (Are you estranged? Is your plan to obviously talk to him before a decision is made about his daughters care one that youve made despite your estrangement?) Obviously you need to talk to your brother. You needed to talk to him way before this rather than settling for updates by way of your sister-in-law, who is separated from him. At the very least, you need to find out from him what is going on at home right now. Do this without betraying Claras trust; do not tell him anything she has said to you in confidence (including her request to live with you, if she has not informed her father of her intentions). Ultimately, though, since she is 17 she will likely need parental permission before she can even make any such moveanother reason you need more information, and potentially some legal advice from a family attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have no way of knowing whether Clara wants to live with you and commute to her school as an act of spiteIll show them I dont need them anymore!or if living at home, even without her mother there, is a source of so much distress and stress, she cant bear it, and because youve been a source of comfort and support, this seems a natural step for her to take. I dont know if she believes that living with you would mean shed get to do whatever she wants whenever she wants. I dont know if you have thought about what you would ask of her or what parameters youd set. And I also dont know if it might be possible for her to finish out the school year virtually (these days, this may well be a possibility) if she does move in with you for the remainder of the school year (because if Dad is on the same page as Mom about banning her from seeing her boyfriend, I cant imagine theyll return her car to her if she moves out), or if theres any other accommodation that could be made if indeed she needs to get away from both parents. You have got to find out more from Clara and her father before you proceed in any direction. Im glad she feels close enough to you and sufficiently supported by you to want to live with you and your family. But there are a lot of missing pieces for you to fill in before you say yes to this. Michelle More Advice From Slate My siblingsone sister and two brothers, with nine kids between usand I have a problem. Our mom, who is in her early 60s, has recently become a crazed conspiracy theorist, spouting the whole QAnon/Trump/Bill Gates BS thats been going around (with even weirder stuff that Im pretty sure she makes up). If you came into Im Still Here a few seconds late, or simply looked away from the screen during the title that identifies the time and place of its opening scenes, youd have no idea you were looking at life under a military dictatorship. Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres) floats in the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, 1970, while her children play on the beach nearby, hatching a scheme to sneak a stray dog into the house under the nose of their father, Rubens (Selton Mello). Its been six years since the army seized power, and yet life, at least at a glance, seems indistinguishable from the way it might have been beforehand. Everything is just so normal. The Paiva familys life doesnt stay that way for long. One day, armed men show up at the house and take Rubens in for questioning, although they decline to say who they work for or what questions hes meant to answer. And after that, nothing is the same. Brazilian audiences, who made director Walter Salles movie the most popular domestic release since the pandemic, might well have known what was coming next. Im Still Here was adapted, by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, from the 2015 memoir by Rubens son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, and Rubens himself was a prominent figure, an elected official before the coup, and an international face of the disappeared after he was taken into custody. But the movie doesnt view its story through the long lens of history, or even the eyes of its sources author. (Marcelo is such an incidental character, in fact, that its a surprise to learn that the entire project stems from him.) Instead, its focused on Eunice, who, with a husband in prison and five children ranging from elementary school to college age, has to decide each day how much to share with them, whether theyre better protected being shielded from the worst or preparing for it. Even during a dictatorship in which tens of thousands were tortured and hundreds murdered by the state, its possible for the Paivas to live what seems to be an ordinary life. Before Rubens arrest, hes a paunchy, middle-aged dad who works as a civil engineer and does goofy dances with his daughters; Eunice loves having guests over and basking in compliments about her perfectly cooked souffle. Its not until the men with guns show up that we learn he was ever involved in politics, let alone a political exile who had to flee the country, and much longer before we get a hint that his activities have been ongoing. Perhaps the couples tastes are a touch unconventionalone of the thugs looks disapprovingly at the painting of a mans mouth frozen in a gasp of horror on the cover of King Crimsons In the Court of the Crimson Kingbut they hardly read as radicals. To their kids, they might even seem a little bit dull. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate The Most Relevant Movie in Theaters Is Poised to Make Oscar History. It Would Be a Shameful First. Read More But as the political scientist Thomas Pepinsky wrote on the eve of the first Trump administration, everyday life in a repressive regime can often feel unremarkable. You go to work, you eat your lunch, you go home to your family. There are schools and businesses, and some people make it through hard work and luck. Most people worry about making sure their kids get into good schools. Under competitive authoritarianism, as defined by Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, the mechanisms of democracy remain outwardly intact, even if meaningful change, at least for the better, becomes impossible. In traditional American portrayals, such as the new version of Kiss of the Spider Woman that premiered at Sundance in January, authoritarian rule means boots in the streets and a permanent cloud over the sun; the only thing missing is a sign that reads Now Entering Dystopia. Even when we imagine it taking root at home, its as a reflection of our depictions of other countries, usually featuring imagery cribbed from propagandistic depictions of the Soviet bloc or the Axis powers that seems fundamentally incompatible with Americas image of itself. So even when were shown how it could happen here, were subtly reassured that it wont. (I mean, if people suddenly started throwing up Nazi salutes at political rallies, surely someone would do something, right?) Advertisement Advertisement What Im Still Here, which was made by people who lived through Brazils dictatorship, conveys is that its possible to live a normal life under a repressive regime, especially once youve learned to redefine what normal means. For Eunice and Rubens, thats an act of defiance more than a function of naivete. Theyre sufficiently invested in their countrys future to be marking out land for the construction of a new house, even as their friends are fleeing and urging them to follow suit. But the movie doesnt tell us that right away. It doesnt tell us everything is finein fact, early on, their eldest daughter, Vera, is roughly questioned by police on the side of the road, and the news of foreign diplomats kidnapped by anti-government radicals pours from their TV set. But even those abductions have become so commonplace that its hard to keep them straight. When Rubens middle daughter says she thought the kidnappers had already released their hostage, he responds, No, that was the German ambassador. This ones Swiss. Advertisement Advertisement Among the 10 Best Picture nominees, there are several with a claim on contemporary relevance, some more tenuous than others. Conclave depicts a centuries-old institution at risk of falling prey to far-right elements. Wicked: Part I describes a kingdom whose ruler whips up a xenophobic panic to cement his hold on power. Nickel Boys brings atrocities committed against Black Americans in the name of criminal justice to light. The Brutalist, which opens with an inverted Statue of Liberty, underlines the countrys shaky record of welcoming new arrivals, and Anora illuminates the mad scramble for survival in a culture that values net worth over everything else. But none feel as urgent, as essential as Im Still Here, or has a performance at its center as elementally powerful as Fernanda Torres. The actress, who is replaced in the films final section by her 95-year-old mother, Fernanda Montenegro, doesnt just possess the stoicism needed to endure decades of repression and uncertainty, but an underlying tenderness, a spark sheltered from the storm. That spark helps her survive, but more importantly, she knows shell need it in the months or years ahead, whennot ifthe country is ready to come back to life. One day, before hes detained, Rubens and Eunice decide to take their family out for ice cream. They sit around a table, and the room hums with life, crowded with people savoring a moment of sweetness. Later, they return without him, trying to recapture that feeling, but the air is heavy with grief. Eunice looks around, and everything seems the same: the same people, making the same carefree chatter. Life goes on, for good or for ill, and people adapt, even when they shouldnt. Veteran actor Morgan Freeman is set to honour his late friend and co-star Gene Hackman during the 97th Academy Awards. Veteran actor Morgan Freeman is set to honour his late friend and co-star Gene Hackman during the 97th Academy Awards The 87-year-old was a lifelong pal of The French Connection star, 95 who was found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 61, in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on 26 February and he will deliver a tribute to the late star on Sunday (02.03.25) during the 'In Memoriam' segment, commemorating Genes illustrious career and their collaborations in Unforgiven and Under Suspicion. The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O'Brien, 61, will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will honour the best films of 2024, with Emilia Perez leading the nominations with 13 nods, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Karla Sofia Gascon. It was revealed by the Daily Mail Morgans tribute to Gene is anticipated to be a poignant moment, reflecting on a remarkable career and a profound friendship. Gene and his spouse Betsys bodies exhibited signs of mummification, suggesting they had been dead for some time. A German Shepherd was also found dead, while two other dogs were discovered alive on the property. Authorities are investigating the deaths, with initial reports indicating no signs of foul play. Data from Hackman's pacemaker suggests his last recorded heartbeat was on 17 February. Toxicology reports are pending, but carbon monoxide poisoning has been ruled out. Gene, a two-time Oscar winner, was renowned for roles in films such as Superman, and The Royal Tenenbaums. He retired from acting in 2004, choosing a quieter life in New Mexico. Tributes have poured in from Hollywood greats. Clint Eastwood, 94, who directed and starred alongside Hackman in Unforgiven, described him as a dear friend and an excellent actor. He added: There was never a false note with Gene. Morga has also already expressed his admiration, stating: Gene was a true giant of our industry. Nathan Lane, 69, who co-starred with Gene in The Birdcage, recalled: Gene was a masterful actor and a generous scene partner. Genes daughters from a previous marriage, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58, had reportedly not been in contact with their father for months due to his reclusive nature. Gia xang dau trong nuoc hom nay (3/7) uoc du bao co the giam tu 6,8 - 7,5% so voi ky ieu hanh truoc o. Cu the, gia ban le xang E5 RON 92 co the giam 1.412 ong (6,9%) ve muc 19.118 ong/lit; xang RON 95-III co the giam 1.440 ong (6,8%) ve muc 19.670 ong/lit. Trong khi o, dau hoa co the giam 7,5% ve muc 17.631 ong/lit; dau mazut co the giam 7,2% ve muc 15.730 ong/kg; dau diesel co the giam 7,1% ve muc 17.977 ong/lit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the importance of U.S. support as he arrived in the UK on Saturday, following a tense meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. "It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do. We are the ones living this war in Ukraine. It's a fight for our freedom, for our very survival," Zelensky posted in a lengthy statement on X on Saturday. Zelensky's words come a day after his meeting with Trump, which was intended to strengthen relations between the U.S. and Ukraine, but devolved into a heated argument. Trump accused Zelensky of "gambling with World War III," when the Ukrainian president raised concerns over Russia's repeated violations of ceasefire agreements. The exchange has sparked diplomatic fallout, with European leaders working to de-escalate tensions ahead of a defense summit in London on Sunday. Zelensky joined efforts to repair the rift in his statement, acknowledging the vital role of U.S. aid. "America's help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners." However, he reiterated that a ceasefire without security guarantees would be dangerous for Ukraine, urging for more concrete commitments. As uncertainty looms over future U.S. support for Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to host Zelensky and other European leaders to discuss ongoing military and diplomatic efforts. The UK, France and Turkey have signaled willingness to deploy peacekeeping forces, amidst calls for increased European defense spending, The Guardian reported. "From Europe's point of view there is an even bigger priority than the future of Ukraine, which is the future of Nato," former Conservative UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said Saturday on BBC's Radio 4 Today program. "There's a simple message from what happened yesterday that we can't take that for granted." "There is one sliver of hope and that is that President Trump wants a deal and Zelensky is part of that," Hunt added. "We are really trying hard to be pragmatic," Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine's defense minister told BBC. "I think we will all calm down, emotions will be set aside and we will preserve our unity." With Ukraine's fight against Russia entering its third year, Zelensky stressed that the country must not be forgotten, adding, "We want only strong relations with America, and I really hope we will have them." Originally published on Latin Times Bilateral trade between Trinidad and Tobago and India reached a record TT$1.2 billion (US$368.96 million) in the last fiscal year, according to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. She disclosed this as she announced that her Government aims to expand exports to tap into Indias market of 1.4 billion consumers, and will pursue a Partial Scope Trade Agreementthe first from a Caricom countrywhile laying the foundation for a new Bilateral Investment Treaty. ON Thursday night, when hosted at the Diplomatic Centre, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an experience that has been preserved by the nations diaspora for 180 years. In images that have since gone viral, Modi was seen eating on the leaves of the sohari (Calathea lutea). In a social media post to Angelo Bissessarsinghs Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago Facebook page, Patricia Bissessar said the serving of food on the leaves of the sohari is a practice rooted in Indo-Trinidadian cultural heritage, particularly among the Hindu community. This years Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) results have revealed a concerning learning gap among primary school students, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath has said. Speaking at a recognition ceremony for the top five performers in the 2025 SEA yesterday at the ministrys head office in Port of Spain, Dowlath said the data will be analysed for better performance moving forward. Last Tuesday, Gwynne Dyer headlined his Express column Stupid old men. You could substitute all sorts of adjectives before the words, old men, to describe the characteristics of the cohort that has had the most influence on the world we inhabit. Greedy, self-righteous, racist, arrogant, selfish, a multitude of negative words readily suit the clique. At first, angrily thinking about the subject of todays column, I was focusing on Caribbean men in leadership positions who have been sleazy lechers, foisting themselves on hapless females and males with impunity. The six-week ceasefire in Gaza came to an end on Saturday, with Hamas stating that no discussions were taking place for the second phase. Hamas further accused Israel of failing to honor its commitment to fully withdraw from Gaza and bring an end to the war. Talks for the second phase were originally scheduled to begin several weeks ago. When the agreement was first announced in January, then-President Joe Biden emphasized that the ceasefire would extend beyond the six-week period, provided that the negotiations continued. However, despite this commitment, there has been no progress toward starting those discussions. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Al-Araby TV on Saturday that "there are no negotiations" concerning the second phase of the ceasefire. He added that Israel's proposal to extend the first phase was "unacceptable to us." The first phase of the ceasefire, which temporarily halted 15 months of conflict in the Gaza Strip, resulted in the release of 33 hostages, including eight deceased individuals, in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Representatives from Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States have been conducting talks in Cairo for the second phase, with the goal of ending the war by ensuring the return of all remaining living hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Hamas began the conflict with its attack on October 7, 2023, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people in Israel. In retaliation, Israel launched a military offensive that, according to Gaza health officials, has resulted in more than 48,000 Palestinian deaths. While these officials do not separate civilian casualties from those of combatants, they note that more than half of the deceased are women and children, highlighting the devastating impact of the ongoing violence on Gaza's civilian population. Hamas has turned down an Israeli proposal to prolong the first phase of the ceasefire by 42 days, arguing that it contradicts the terms of the truce agreement. The information came from a member of the group, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss the confidential negotiations. As concerns surrounding the ceasefire continue to rise, the Pentagon revealed on Friday that the U.S. State Department had granted approval for an emergency sale of nearly $3 billion worth of bombs and other weaponry to Israel. This sale marked the second instance in which the Trump administration had declared a state of emergency to facilitate such arms transactions with Israel since the previous month, further intensifying the ongoing debate over the U.S. role in the conflict. Alongside discussions for the second phase of the ceasefire, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last week that the mediators involved in the talks were also exploring strategies to improve the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. This initiative is part of broader efforts to ease the suffering of the population and foster stability in the region. Originally published on IBTimes Andrea Eger Tulsa World Projects Reporter 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 The long-awaited forensic audit of Tulsa Public Schools contained a few surprises for school district officials, State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd said at a Tulsa forum Thursday evening. Bombshell would be a more precise description for the revelation about longtime TPS executive Chris Hudgins, who had been managing hundreds of millions in voter-approved dollars for capital improvement projects since 2015 and assisting in that work for many years previously. State examiners found Hudgins to have been running a personal architectural consulting business on district time and computers and accepting payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Tulsa-based engineering firm that was a TPS vendor. Here it is, straight from the Feb. 27 state audit report: FINDING: Chris Hudgins, Executive Director of Bond & Energy Management violated policy and possibly statute by performing work through his personally owned company for TPS vendor Allied Engineering. Allied received payments in excess of $8.4 million from TPS between September 2015 and July 2024. Hudgins was responsible for managing TPS bond budgets, including projects Allied was hired to complete. He was one of three members on the committee that awarded some bids, gave instruction on the timing of project work, and also instructed Allied on what to bill TPS. Neither Hudgins nor Gayle Gwinup principal at Tulsa-based Allied Engineering Group, which provided engineering, architectural and construction services at numerous TPS sites responded to the Tulsa Worlds requests for comment. Real-time oversight now in place TPS has enjoyed great success in persuading local voters to support large-scale bond packages regularly over the past three decades in large part due to the formation in the mid-1990s of citizens committees to both develop bond proposals and then oversee all bond expenditures. Superintendent Ebony Johnson, who was not at the helm during the eight-year span scrutinized in the forensic audit, will meet with both committees in person during the next two weeks to address the ongoing situation, a TPS spokeswoman said Friday. Johnson has already penned a letter being shown to state lawmakers and others with questions about TPS initial response to the forensic audit findings. Its important to note that this audit looks at past finances and practices from Tulsa Public Schools. Under my leadership, and in collaboration with the auditors team, we have worked hard and changed areas that needed enhancement or revision. Weve taken bold action with real-time oversight, instituted strong monitoring systems to ensure adherence to policy and procedures, and mandated new protocols that streamline verification and approvals, Johnson wrote in the letter, dated Thursday. Among the list of corrective actions taken prior to the release of the audit report and immediate changes made since is: Enforcing employees adherence to board policy 4409, requiring acknowledgement and disclosure of any possible conflicts of interest as it pertains to district vendors, partnerships or employment. The school district has been expected to propose that the school board send a new bond package to Tulsa voters to consider in late 2025 or early 2026. Through my service on the committee for the last three to four years, we have not seen any of the issues in the audit report, said Greg Shaw, chairman of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee and father of two TPS graduates and one current student. I know it will create some hesitancy among some people, but the vast majority of Tulsans support the bond for the children and to make an impact on education. We do know that the bond affects our children in a positive way, from buildings to Chromebooks and so on. Thats why Im on the committee and why the other members serve, as well to help kids. Audit details employee's relationship with vendor In response to a public records request, TPS provided a copy of Hudgins resignation notice dated Feb. 14. In a special meeting Thursday evening, the Tulsa school board voted to accept that resignation. Caroline Crouch, executive director of communications and strategy at TPS, said readily available district records show Hudgins became a full-time employee at TPS in 2015, but more records searches would be needed to confirm in what capacity Hudgins worked at TPS before 2015. His publicly posted resume states his work for TPS began as a project manager in 1997. It also lists his experience as owner of M&G Consulting since 1999, with more than 15 school, community and church projects for which architectural services were rendered. Eight projects are for public school districts, but none at TPS are listed. That belies what the states forensic auditors found. In November 2019, Hudgins signed a liability insurance application that reported his M&G work address the same as his TPS work address and listed his five largest projects over the past five years as architect work on TPS locations, with total fees received for those projects at $290,000, the audit report states. A review of Hudgins TPS emails reflected he was conducting M&G business with TPS vendors while using TPS resources (i.e. time, computer, office space, vehicle, etc.). Numerous TPS emails were found indicating Hudgins spent time working on M&G-related business during regular TPS work hours. According to the state audit report, among the $8.4 million paid to Allied during the audit period was at least $1.6 million for HVAC work for which TPS was reimbursed through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief federal grant program intended to help schools address the needs of students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic between 2022 and 2024. Ball in AG's court on possible criminal charges While auditors reported the extent of the work Hudgins provided as a subcontractor to Allied through his firm is unknown, they found evidence that a substantial amount of money was involved. The report cites this example: In 2019 Allied was paid $812,772 by TPS and reported non-employee compensation to Hudgins totaling $319,024. During 2019, Hudgins was under contract and employed with TPS and received a salary of approximately $120,000. The subcontractor relationship Hudgins personal business M&G had with Allied, while Allied was under contract doing business for TPS, represents a conflict of interest as defined in TPS Policy 4409, reads the state audit report. These transactions also raise concern of possible violations of statute. When State Auditor Byrd appeared before a Tulsa audience on Thursday evening, she said the ball is now in the court of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond about whether further criminal investigation is needed or whether criminal charges could be brought as a result of the audit findings. Tulsa School Board President Stacey Woolley was alongside Superintendent Johnson, an attorney for TPS and the district's newly hired chief financial officer on Feb. 11 when investigators from the State Auditors Office gave their first briefing on their findings. When we heard about Chris Hudgins, everyone in the room with me let out an audible gasp, Woolley told the Tulsa World. There was no one in that room who was not completely shocked and disappointed. Stories related to the Tulsa Public Schools state audit The suspense surrounding one of the most unpredictable Oscar seasons in recent memory is about to come to an end. On Sunday, Hollywood's brightest stars will gather at the Dolby Theatre for the 97th annual Academy Awards, where several first-time winners are expected to take home the coveted golden statuette. This marks the second consecutive year that the Oscars have been scheduled earlier in the evening, aiming to reveal the Best Picture winner before audiences start heading to bed. The race for the top prize has been particularly intense, with "Anora" and "Conclave" emerging as frontrunners after securing major wins at other industry awards. Meanwhile, "Emilia Perez," the film with the most nominations this year, has seen its Oscar prospects clouded by controversy following the resurfacing of racist tweets from star Karla Sofia Gascon. As a result, the fate of Netflix's divisive narco-musical remains uncertain as the envelopes are opened on Sunday night. How to Watch the Oscars Start Time: The ceremony kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Pacific) and will be broadcast live on ABC. The network is available through traditional cable and satellite providers, as well as over-the-air with an antenna. Streaming Options: Viewers can also watch the Oscars via streaming services that provide live access to ABC, including Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV, and FuboTV. Additionally, the awards show will be livestreamed on Hulu. International Broadcasts: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has compiled a guide to help international audiences find local broadcasters airing the event. Red Carpet Coverage The Oscars red carpet is always a highlight, showcasing the most dazzling fashion moments as nominees and celebrities arrive for the ceremony. ABC's official red carpet pre-show begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, both on-air and on Hulu. E! will also host its signature coverage, "Live From E!: The Oscars," starting at 4 p.m. Eastern. Meanwhile, The Associated Press will provide a livestream of arrivals on APNews.com and YouTube. Predictions and Where to Watch the Nominated Films Film critics and industry insiders have weighed in on this year's likely winners, with AP Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr offering their expert predictions. For the first time, fans can also participate by making their own Oscar picks on APNews. For those looking to catch up on the nominees, many of this year's contending films are readily available on streaming platforms. Texas is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades, as cases have jumped from two to 146 in just one month. A child is dead, 20 more are hospitalized and the worst is likely still ahead, public health experts say, as Texas decreasing vaccination rates leave swaths of the state exposed to the most contagious virus humans currently face. State and local health officials are setting up vaccine clinics and encouraging people to get the shot, which is more than 97% effective at warding off measles. But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak publicly in press conferences, social media posts or public calls for people to consider getting vaccinated. State and local authorities in West Texas have not yet enacted more significant measures that other places have adopted during outbreaks, like excluding unvaccinated students from school before they are exposed, or enforcing quarantine after exposure. The response to Texas first major public health crisis since COVID is being shaped by the long-term consequences of the pandemic, experts say stronger vaccine hesitancy, decreased trust in science and authorities, and an unwillingness from politicians to aggressively push public health measures like vaccination and quarantine. Everybody is so sensitive to the vaccine topic due to COVID, said Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett. We need to be very careful about how we address this topic Our job is to provide the resources, not to tell people what they need to do. If there was ever an appetite for more aggressive government response to a disease outbreak, its long gone in Texas, said Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UTHealth Houston. I think theres less political will now than before COVID, she said. Texas is such an independent state. People dont want to be told what to do, forgetting that what they do can affect others. And measles is an example of that. [West Texas measles cases rise to 146 and the first case reported in Austin. Here is what you need to know.] Public health steps When Clark County, Washington identified its third measles case in January 2019, the county quickly declared a public health emergency. The state soon followed suit. You gotta jump on this, said public health director Dr. Alan Melnick. Measles is one where you have to jump on it right away, and all hands on deck. The county ordered all unvaccinated students in the county to stay home from school for 21 days, whether or not theyd been exposed. Melnick said this was a difficult decision, but he saw it as the only way to stop the highly contagious disease from spreading like wildfire through the schools. It doesnt matter whether its rural or urban. If you have congregate settings and if you have susceptible, exposed people, you have to do it, he said. Or youre not going to get control over this. Clark Countys outbreak ended four months later, with 71 total cases and no deaths. The public health response cost $2.3 million. Melnick said Texas fast rising case counts worried him, and he was shocked that unvaccinated students in the area were still being allowed to go to school. Im just blown away, he said. This is not politics. Im just talking science and medicine here. School districts in Texas are required to exclude unvaccinated students for at least 21 days after they are exposed to measles. Because measles is so contagious and can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left the area, large numbers of students could be excluded from school at once, Texas Department of State Health Services spokesperson Lara Anton said. But to proactively exclude unvaccinated students before they are known to be exposed requires the Texas health commissioner to declare a public health emergency, which can be activated when there is a health threat that potentially poses a risk of death or severe illness or harm to the public. Anton said there are no plans to declare an emergency at this time, noting that more than 90% of Texans are vaccinated for measles. State and local authorities are also recommending that unvaccinated people who have been exposed to measles quarantine at home for 21 days. But that quarantine period is not enforced or tracked, Anton said. In Ector County, where there have been two confirmed cases, Fawcett said he doesnt anticipate state or local authorities pursuing widespread shutdowns like during COVID. We havent really been given guidance of what perhaps even we should do in case of a county outbreak, he said. My best guess is to provide resources and information. Theres not going to be a call to quarantine, or any of that, unless an outbreak happens at a particular educational facility. [First death in West Texas measles outbreak is unvaccinated child] In a statement, Andrew Mahaleris, Abbotts press secretary, said Texas was prepared to deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans, noting that DSHS was helping local authorities with epidemiology, immunization and specimen collection, and had activated the State Medical Operations Center to coordinate the response. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Republican from Lubbock, said in a statement that he was closely monitoring the situation, and was praying for the family who tragically lost their child. At this time, there are no local unmet needs, but we are remaining vigilant and will respond as needed, he said. State Rep. Ken King and state Sen. Kevin Sparks, Republicans who represent Gaines County, did not respond to requests for comment about the measles outbreak. Neither they nor Abbott or Burrows have posted publicly about the outbreak. Vaccination hesitancy The last few weeks have felt like deja vu for Lubbock public health authority Dr. Ron Cook. A deadly disease is on the warpath. Theres a vaccine that can save lives. But too many in his community simply wont take it. Theres all kinds of social media stuff, anecdotal treatments, or people saying, lets have a measles party, or this is just big government overreach, he said. Cook and his team are having to battle long-standing misinformation about the measles vaccine, as well as new concerns from people who developed anti-vaccine views during the pandemic, he said. The number of people requesting vaccine exemptions for their children has almost doubled since 2018, to almost 100,000 families in 2024. Anytime a community drops below 95% vaccination status, they are vulnerable to a measles outbreak, Troisi said. Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, has among the lowest vaccination rates in the state at 82% in 2024 but half of counties in Texas are below the recommended vaccination rate. Thats a lot of people who might get the measles, Troisi said. This is entirely due to low vaccination rates. Measles spreads because kids arent vaccinated, she said. And kids arent vaccinated because there is so much misinformation out there. Theres so much distrust of government. The only answer, other than letting measles rip through whole communities of unvaccinated children, is to increase vaccination rates, Troisi said. Katherine Wells, public health director for the City of Lubbock, said theyve vaccinated more than 100 people over the weekend, many of whom said they felt like measles wasnt a big enough threat to justify getting the shot before now. In previous outbreaks, some areas have taken more extreme measures to enforce vaccination, either by revoking religious exemptions or, in the case of an outbreak in New York in 2019, mandating people in the most impacted areas get the shot, with a $1,000 fine for non-compliance. The Orthodox Jewish community at the heart of the outbreak challenged the order in court, but it was upheld by a judge. A fireman need not obtain the informed consent of the owner before extinguishing a house fire, Judge Lawrence Knipel wrote in his ruling. Vaccination is known to extinguish the fire of contagion. But Troisi and other public health experts dont anticipate similar action in Texas. Since the pandemic, Texas elected leaders have shown more support for the opposite, opposing vaccine mandates and loosening Texas vaccine exemption rules. There are bills proposed this session that would make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccines and prohibit schools from excluding unvaccinated students during an outbreak like the one Texas is currently facing. It remains to be seen whether the current measles outbreak will impact the direction of these bills, but Dr. Peter Hotez, a leading vaccine expert and dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said hes not optimistic that this will be a turning point. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. (Reuters) - Nicaragua's government described the Vatican as "depraved" and "pedophile" on Sunday, two days after an interview on Catholic television channel EWTN with exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez, one of the fiercest critics of President Daniel Ortega. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The comments are some of the Ortega government's harshest attacks yet against the Vatican, after it accused Catholic institutions of seeking to undermine the government and expelled nearly 50 priests and nuns. Analysts say heightened tensions could put additional pressure on Catholic bishops and priests who remain in the Central American country, and limit the possibility of rapprochement with the Holy See. ADVERTISEMENT KEY QUOTES Nicaragua's Foreign Ministry referred to the highest Catholic institution as the "depraved, pedophile Vatican State," saying it "allies with forces of darkness, barbarism, genocide and evil," adding that it was "very much guilty of crimes against humanity." CONTEXT Alvarez's television appearance on February 7 was his first interview since being released in January 2024 from more than a year in detention. He expressed gratitude for his physical and mental recovery and hope for the Nicaraguan people, saying, "In the diaspora, faith always grows, and hope gets stronger." Alvarez's arrest in 2022 was one of the most high-profile detentions during a crackdown on dissent that stemmed from protests in 2018 that killed more than 350 and sparked international outcry over rights abuses. ADVERTISEMENT THE RESPONSE In recent months, Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for Nicaragua, calling in December for "a path of respectful and constructive dialogue." (Reporting by Gabriela Selser; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) HCM CITY AkzoNobel Vietnam has received the Best Community Programme Award at the 17th annual Global CSR & ESG Summit 2025 for its impactful community initiatives in Viet Nam. Over the years AkzoNobels innovative products have enhanced living spaces and addressed global challenges, creating an impact that goes far beyond technological solutions. Initiatives such as the Lets Colour programme reflect the companys dedication to supporting communities, preserving cultural heritage and providing opportunities for future generations. Believing in the power of paint to uplift communities and make living spaces more vibrant and enjoyable, AkzoNobel has been driving the global Lets Colour initiative since 2009. This programme brings colour into peoples lives and creates opportunities for those who want to learn, grow, and flourish. In 2024 the company donated more than 100,000 litres of paint to renovate community living spaces in 25 countries, with over 2,000 employees volunteering their time. In Viet Nam, it has implemented influential projects under Lets Colour, such as the Lighthouse Protection Campaign, which began in 2017 and involved the restoration of historic lighthouses such as ai Lanh, Vung Tau and Cu Lao Xanh using Dulux Weathershield paint. Other efforts include the renovation of KOTO training schools in Ha Noi and HCM City and partnering with SOS Childrens Village to provide soft skills training and career guidance and promote innovation to reduce unemployment. Recently it contributed nearly 10,000 litres of paint to renovate 14 schools nationwide through the Paint the Future campaign. The Global CSR & ESG Summit and Awards is one of the longest-running sustainability events in Asia. This year's conference, Scaling Impact and Redefining Value in Sustainability, highlighted the pressing need for businesses to transition from compliance-based approaches to creating measurable value through sustainable practices while addressing the challenges and opportunities organisations and companies face worldwide. The event brings together leaders in clean energy, sustainability and green finance to drive a meaningful impact across industries. VNS HA NOI The Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) is organising a Trade Delegation to Japan, combined with participation in the World Expo Osaka 2025, to implement the 2025 National Trade Promotion Programme. The trade delegation is expected to include 20 to 25 representatives from Vietnamese agencies, organisations and businesses. From May 24 to June 1, the delegation will visit Osaka, Aichi and Tokyo to engage in a dynamic series of trade promotion activities. The programme aims to introduce Viet Nams high-quality goods and services to Japanese businesses. It also focuses on establishing sustainable partnerships through business seminars and facilitating direct meetings between Vietnamese enterprises and business support organisations, importers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and reputable manufacturers in Japan. Additionally, it serves as a golden opportunity to promote Vietnamese businesses and brands on the international stage, confirming their position and competitive capabilities. The programme is open to enterprises across all economic sectors, business and investment support organisations, industrial zones, export processing zones and representatives from ministries, sectors and localities. Priority will be given to industries with strong export potential to Japan, including mechanical engineering, agriculture, food, furniture, wood products, plastics, toys, textiles, footwear, handicrafts, information technology, advanced technology, digital transformation and green energy. Special emphasis will be placed on products recognised as National Brands in 2024. To ensure effectiveness, VIETRADE has called on businesses to register for participation before March 20. Following the Ministry of Industry and Trade's plan, many localities across Viet Nam have swiftly launched trade promotion activities to help businesses seize export opportunities in the Japanese market. The Binh Thuan Department of Industry and Trade has recognised the programme as an effective method to open doors for potential business and export activities. As a result, the department has actively coordinated with relevant agencies and associations within the province to disseminate information and encourage local businesses to register for participation. In 2024, Japan remained a key market for Binh Thuan, accounting for nearly 32 per cent of the provinces total export turnover, with major export products including shrimp, fish, other seafood, textiles and paper. BIZHUB/VNS HCM CITY A 40 per cent increase in infrastructure investment that Viet Nams Government is now planning would add approximately 2 percentage points to Viet Nams 2025 GDP growth - if the Government manages to hit its disbursement targets this year, according to Michael Kokalari, chief economist at VinaCapital. In his latest report, he said the Government increased its 2025 infrastructure spending target from 6 per cent of GDP to 7 per cent of GDP last week and simultaneously lifted its GDP growth target for 2025 from 7 per cent to 8 per cent. The increased 1 per cent/GDP of planned spending on infrastructure projects should help the country achieve the Governments new, 1 per cent higher 2025 GDP growth target and will also support the countrys long-term growth prospects and appeal to foreign investors. The Governments newly approved plan to increase infrastructure investment by nearly 40 per cent this year to US$36 billion (up from the $31 billion originally approved late last year), should help offset the hit to the countrys GDP growth we expect from slower export growth to the US, following a 23 per cent surge in Viet Nams exports to the US last year. The report also highlighted the Governments strong commitment to public investment disbursement this year. Several large projects were initiated/approved over the last two months, including a $67 billion high-speed rail line that would span the length of the country and the $8 billion Lao Cai - Ha Noi - Hai Phong railway. Meanwhile, the first section of HCM Citys long awaited metro line opened in December 2024, which VinaCapital believes is helping to support enthusiasm and momentum for accelerated infrastructure development going forward. Kokalari pointed out that the Government had ample fiscal resources to ramp up spending. Government debt is well below 40 per cent of GDP, and we estimate that the Government has over $40 billion of undisbursed funds previously earmarked for infrastructure spending. The primary bottlenecks to increasing infrastructure spending (or to achieving annual spending targets) have been bureaucratic issues impeding the project approvals and other processes entailed in large-scale project development, he said. Three major laws came into effect last month that are directly aimed at accelerating project approvals, streamlining investment disbursements, and driving greater private sector participation in infrastructure projects, and the laws should help expedite progress and ensure that spending targets are achieved. Kokalari said more than 80 per cent of planned infrastructure spending this year would be earmarked for boosting the countrys electricity generation and distribution capacity, and for improving its transportation network. By 2030, Viet Nam aims to double the total length of its highway network, double airport passenger capacity and increase the countrys seaport capacity by 50 per cent. The countrys Power Development Plan VIII, approved in 2023, anticipates 9 per cent annual electricity consumption growth for the foreseeable future. Viet Nam will need $135 billion to double Viet Nams electricity generation capacity over 2021-2030 with most of that growth expected to come from LNG (37 per cent of total planned capacity growth), renewables (27 per cent), and coal (19 per cent), according to Kokalari. The report also highlighted that in early 2025, the Government announced additional public investments into large infrastructure projects related to railways and ports to further streamline freight movement, improve workforce mobility, and facilitate more FDI inflows into Viet Nam. The Lao Cai - Ha Noi - Hai Phong rail lines (and two other lines of Lang Son Ha Noi and Mong Cai Ha Long Hai Phong) would link nine provinces in Viet Nam to Chinas Yunnan province, enabling a more efficient flow of goods across the two countries. This railway may also facilitate the transit of Vietnamese goods to Europe through China. Regarding ports, the Governments recent revision of its seaport development plan added the Can Gio port project, which would accommodate larger vessels, supporting the countrys goal of increasing its seaport capacity by 50 per cent by 2030, the report stated. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a dialogue with European enterprises in Ha Noi on March 2 to boost cooperation and investment, aiming to achieve a growth rate of at least 8% this year, paving the way for double-digit growth in the years ahead. The event also the attendance of Deputy PMs Ho uc Phoc and Nguyen Chi Dung, Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam Ambassador Julien Guerrier, representatives from embassies of EU nations, 15 leading Vietnamese groups and corporations and 16 top European firms. The European Union (EU)'s investment in Viet Nam now tops US$30.4 billion, ranking as the sixth largest foreign investor in Viet Nam. Two-way trade hit $68.5 billion last year. European representatives praised Viet Nam's business and investment climate, highlighting recent regulatory reforms that have improved transparency, clarity, and decisiveness in the legal framework for investors. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has further encouraged European businesses to expand their investments in Viet Nam, contributing to the countrys economic growth. Through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), the EU is supporting Viet Nam in achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. A recent survey revealed that 75% of European enterprises recommend Viet Nam as a key investment hub, reflecting strong confidence in the countrys economic potential. European enterprises expressed their commitments to long-term operations in Viet Nam, pledging to work closely with the Vietnamese Government, ministries and agencies to draw more international investors to the country. They called on Vietnamese ministries and agencies to effectively implement the EVFTA, particularly regulations on taxation and fees. They underscored the need for faster decision-making, streamlined administrative procedures, and simplified requirements for work permits. Expressing their interest in expanding investments in Viet Nam, especially in strategic infrastructure, emerging industries such as semiconductor, digital transformation, high technology, aviation, electronics, logistics, and clean energy, the representatives said they are willing to help Viet Nam achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2045. Viet Nam needs to ramp up global promotion efforts to attract tourism and investment, improving its national competitiveness and global brand presence, they said. Thanking the ambassadors, the Head of the EU Delegation, and European corporations in Viet Nam for their frank, sincere, and constructive and responsible discussions, PM Chinh assured attendees that the Vietnamese government, along with relevant ministries and agencies, would carefully review all feedback from the event, as well as define specific tasks, timelines, expected outcomes, and measurable results to promptly address key issues and achieve major development goals. PM Chinh stressed the need for global solidarity and approaches as well as coordinated efforts to effectively tackle fast-changing and unpredictable global challenges. Reflecting on 35 years of Vietnam-EU diplomatic relations, PM Chinh praised the EUs support for Viet Nams development, especially in the fields of economy, investment, and trade. He acknowledged Europes shared commitment to the Vietnamese peoples pursuit of freedom and prosperity. PM Chinh stressed Viet Nams economic growth targets of at least 8% this year and called for Europes continued support to help the country reach the goal, thus maintaining momentum for double-digit growth in the coming years. He highlighted Viet Nams strategic advantages, including a large population, a prime geopolitical position in Asias growth region, and a stable, peaceful environment conducive to development. These factors, he said, make Viet Nam an ideal hub for production, business, and exports. PM Chinh affirmed Viet Nams readiness to welcome high-level EU leaders for substantive visits aimed at fostering a more favourable environment for European businesses and improving Vietnams investment and business climate. Mentioning existing challenges, the PM acknowledged procedural bottlenecks, compliance costs, slow decision-making, and issues related to taxation and customs. He assured that the Vietnamese government is committed to resolving these obstacles based on principles that benefit both European businesses and Vietnams economic growth. Sharing Viet Nams socio-economic achievements in 2024, the PM expressed his gratitude for the EUs contributions and the role of European businesses in the countrys success. Looking ahead, he underscored Vietnams determination to achieve even higher growth rates and become a major economic, trade, and investment hub in Asia by 2030. The PM called on EU businesses to expand their operations in Viet Nam, positioning the country as a key production and supply chain hub. He reassured European investors of Vietnams commitment to providing opportunities, trust, and necessary conditions, making the nation a safe and beneficial investment destination. The Government leader noted that in 2024, Viet Nam saw its international credit rating upgraded, and in response, the country has focused on three strategic breakthroughs on institutions, infrastructure, and high-quality human resources development as well as on open policies, seamless infrastructure connectivity, and smart governance. He said to meet the demands of high-tech industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and quantum technology, Viet Nam aims to train 50,000 semiconductor engineers. The Government, meanwhile, is set to cut at least 30% of administrative procedures, reduce 30% of administrative costs, and shorten decision-making time for investment and business approvals by at least 30%. The PM stated that Viet Nam remains steadfast in maintaining independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political stability, social order, and legal stability, ensuring a secure and stable business environment for European enterprises. He called on European investors to carry out greater high-quality investments, boost advanced technology transfer, and support skilled workforce development for Viet Nam in such areas as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, creative economy, knowledge-based economy, sharing economy, new energy, development of financial centres, green finance, marine economy, biotechnology, and healthcare. PM Chinh also urged stronger collaboration between European businesses and their Vietnamese counterparts to assist the latters supply chain integration, market diversification, and turning into a long-term production and business hub for the EU. The leader also encouraged the European partners to engage in consultancy serving Viet Nams institutional building and policymaking. The PM called on the European business community to advocate for the swift ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by 9 remaining EU member states, as well as the European Commission (EC)s lifting the IUU yellow card against Vietnamese seafood exports. He called for their participation in the countrys project to grow 1 million hectares of low-emission rice in the Mekong Delta, and support for the EUs continue official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam through bilateral cooperation channels. The Vietnamese Government is committed to ensuring the foreign-invested sector remains a vital part of the national economy, while safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, PM Chinh affirmed. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has announced the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, a major step in administrative reform. The ministry is a result of a merger between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. This consolidation aims to enhance greater efficiency in managing 25 interrelated sectors, including climate change, land resources, and sustainable development. Deputy PM Ha stressed the ministrys role in eradicating hunger and poverty while leveraging digital transformation to optimise resources. Minister o uc Duy pledged to streamline operations, enhance policy-making, and eliminate institutional bottlenecks to drive socio-economic growth. He underscored the merger as an opportunity to better integrate environmental protection with agricultural and rural development. At the event on Saturday, leadership appointments were announced, with o uc Duy officially named minister. The new ministry now consists of 30 units, down from 53 under the previous two ministries, making it one of the most streamlined government bodies. The restructuring follows National Assembly Resolution No. 176/2025/QH15 and Government Decree No. 35/2025/N-CP, both effective March 1, 2025. VNS HA NOI Only when the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, along with every family and individual, effectively implement lifelong learning, build a contingent of cadres who dare to do, dare to speak, dare to take responsibility and dare to sacrifice, can we firmly step into a new era - an era of development and prosperity under the leadership of the Party, said Party General Secretary To Lam in his article titled Lifelong learning. The Vietnam News Agency respectfully introduces a translation of the article: Lifelong learning aims to dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to sacrifice for the common good, and to become useful persons for society. The scientific and technological revolution has been taking place strongly on a global scale, resulting in great changes in all aspects of social life, posing new requirements, and creating new demands, new tasks, and new ways of thinking and acting for every Vietnamese citizen, especially for officials and Party members within the political system in the process of building and safeguarding the socialist Fatherland. It is essential to seize opportunities, take shortcuts, and usher the country into an era of development and prosperity, standing shoulder to shoulder with world powers across the five continents. To successfully fulfil these requirements, tasks and responsibilities in the new period, lifelong learning to dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, dare to sacrifice for the common good, and to become useful persons is an urgent necessity for every individual and citizen, especially for officials and personnel within the political system. Lifelong learning is not a new issue. Immediately after the success of the August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh launched a nationwide campaign in the entire people and army to eradicate illiteracy, recommending that: If we want to know, we must emulate to learn. Learning has no limits. We must learn continuously to keep progressing. The more progress we make, the more we will recognise the need to learn further. As society progresses, work increases, and machinery becomes more sophisticated. If we refuse to learn, we will lag behind, and lagging behind means being eliminated and eliminating ourselves. Throughout various stages of the revolutionary cause, especially during the period of "oi moi" (Renewal), our Party has always paid due attention and encouraged lifelong learning and the building of a nation into a learning society. The policy of lifelong learning has been mentioned in many key Resolutions, Directives, and Conclusions of the Party, such as the Resolution of the 7th Party Central Committees 4th meeting on further reforming education and training; the Resolution of the 8th Party Central Committees 2nd meeting on strategic orientations for the development of education and training during the period of industrialisation and modernisation, and tasks until 2000; Conclusion No. 14-KL/TW dated July 26, 2002 of the 9th Party Central Committee's 6th plenary on the continued implementation of the Resolution of the 8th Party Central Committees 2nd meeting; as well as Resolutions of the 10th and 11th National Party Congresses, the 11th Party Central Committees Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW, dated November 4, 2013, on fundamental and comprehensive reforms of education and training to meet the requirements of industrialisation and modernisation under a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration. The 13th National Party Congress's Resolution also highlights the importance of promoting the building of a learning society and fostering lifelong learning because a revolutionist must learn throughout his life, learning from books, from one another, and from the people; and the ocean of knowledge is vast and endless. Realising the Partys viewpoints and policies, the building of a learning society and the promotion of lifelong learning have become not only a movement but also a genuine need and a cultural practice, achieving significant results. A unified national education system has been established, spanning from pre-school education to postgraduate training. Educational institutions and training forms have been diversified, creating learning opportunities for people of all ages. The method of connecting different educational levels has improved, while the educational network has expanded to all areas and regions. Educational campaigns promoting learning and talent development have become increasingly substantive across localities, and a healthy educational environment where learning is closely linked to practical application has been developed and integrated into campaigns to eradicate hunger, reduce poverty, and build cultural families and communities. In many clans, villages, and communes, learning emulation movements have been developing strongly. The spirit of lifelong learning has gradually become embedded in every family, residential area, educational institution, area and region. Numerous exemplary individuals have emerged, including farmers, workers, officials, and teachers who actively pursue self-study, innovation, and creativity in their work and daily life, making valuable contributions to their communities. Many have applied scientific and technical advances, developed innovative solutions with high practical values, and significantly improved productivity and living standards. Elderly individuals, through self-study and personal research, have applied their knowledge and experiences to production, helping their families escape poverty and contributing to the building of new-style cultural life and local socio-economic development. There are also inspiring models and bright examples demonstrating that it is never too late to learn. Some individuals, even at the age of seventy or older, continue their studies at the postgraduate level and pursue doctoral research, driven by a desire to set an example for younger generations and to encourage their descendants to embrace lifelong learning. Learning to work, to be a good person, to serve as an official, to serve the organisation, the class, the people, the Fatherland, and humanity - this spirit has been a crucial factor contributing to Viet Nams remarkable achievements after nearly 40 years of oi moi. Besides the achievements, the implementation of the lifelong learning policy still faces certain shortcomings and limitations. Training and further training have often prioritised quantity over quality. The self-learning, practical learning, and lifelong learning of officials and Party members have not yielded desired results. There remains a tendency to pursue learning as a formality, prioritising degrees over practical needs, while some hesitate to embrace challenges in education, lacking the determination to delve deeply into knowledge and conquer new scientific peaks. The limitations in professional expertise and competence, individualism and over-reliance on experience among some officials and Party members have affected the quality of the performance of public duties and services for the people. These issues hinder the willingness to dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, and dare to take responsibility. They also exterminate the momentum for innovation and creativity, leaving individuals without the necessary knowledge foundation and confidence to propose and implement breakthrough initiatives. A section of officials, civil servants, public employees, and workers remain complacent with the knowledge acquired from formal education and training institutions or pursue further studies merely to meet promotion requirements, rather than actively engaging in continuous learning to enhance their expertise, management capacity, knowledge, integration skills and adaptability. Another section exhibits a reluctance to learn, lacking the concept of regular and lifelong learning, so they become backward, conservative, and unable to adapt and keep pace with the rapid, ever-evolving requirements of the Industrial Revolutions 4.0 and X.0. The country is standing in front of new opportunities and chances to rise up and stand shoulder to shoulder with the world as per the wish of President Ho Chi Minh and the aspiration of the entire nation. Our Party has no interest other than advancing the country toward a society of prosperity, with well-being, freedom, and happiness for the people. Now more than ever, we need officials with groundbreaking mindsets, visions, and actions, who dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, and dare to sacrifice, especially in implementing the revolution to streamline the organisational apparatus, making it leaner, stronger, and more efficient, as well as in executing Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, dated December 22, 2024, of the Politburo, which focuses on breakthroughs in the development of science and technology, innovation, and national digital transformation. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 is taking place at an unprecedented scale and speed, driven by the rapid development of the knowledge economy, digital transformation, digital economy and digital society. As a result, a significant portion of today's school curricula may become outdated within just a few years. Moreover, many widely adopted concepts today did not even exist 10 years ago, and an estimated 65 per cent of current jobs will be replaced by technologies in the coming years. In a world of complexity, instability, and unpredictable changes, knowledge must be continuously updated. With longer life expectancies and extended retirement periods, the elderly are increasingly compelled to learn and stay active to avoid lagging behind in a rapidly evolving modern society. In this context, lifelong learning has become a rule of life, enabling individuals to recognise, adapt to and not to lag behind amid the worlds rapid transformations, enrich their intelligence, perfect their personality, and overcome difficulties and challenges to progress and position themselves in a modern society. More importantly, this is the vital key to enhancing intellectual standards, training the workforce, and boosting socio-economic development. It is the only path and the inevitable direction for every nation to ensure prosperity and sustainable growth. Lifelong learning helps every member of society to have enough conditions and opportunities to continuously improve themselves, enhance the quality of life for themselves, their families, clans, villages, wards, communes and the whole country under the leadership of the Party, on the path to become a strong, democratic, fair, civilised, and socialist country with rich people. Only by practically promoting lifelong learning can we cultivate a wealth of ideas, solutions, and initiatives to address urgent demands of the reality and new, unprecedented problems; to thoroughly overcome "bottlenecks" in policies and mechanisms as well as formalistic demonstrations in self-criticism and criticism, and eliminate stagnation and hesitation in dealing with affairs in localities, agencies and units. Lifelong learning will create a contingent of courageous cadres, who rightly understand objective rules, proactively think and master their thoughts, and dare to speak out issues emerging from reality, from life, from the renewal requirements and the aspirations of the people. Lifelong learning will create a contingent of officials who have the determination and dare to hold accountable for their work results, spheres and sectors they are in charge, dare to admit mistakes and correct them, and take responsibility before the people and the Party. Such individuals will possess the integrity to resist undue privileges and, if necessary, sacrifice personal interests for the Party, the Fatherland, and the people. By doing so, we will successfully build a contingent of officials with qualifications, competence, good virtues, and aspirations to rise up and develop, who dare to think, dare to do and dare to take responsibility for their decisions to realise revolutionary tasks and create breakthroughs for the benefits of the people and the nation's development. Building a learning society and lifelong learning can only be successful when each citizen is aware of his or her own responsibility for lifelong self-study; each cadre and party member is always aware that lifelong learning is a revolutionary task with a serious attitude and a high sense of self-awareness. Through lifelong learning, we can be aware of our responsibility for building and defending the Fatherland in each specific period and time; have the ability to master and organise our life; constantly progress, have better health and quality of life; understand, preserve and contribute to building national cultural traditions; believe in the future of the country, in the Party's sound guidelines and leadership, and have the aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country. Each citizen needs to constantly study political theory, professional knowledge, professional skills, working methods and experiences, and the ability to coordinate in a collective to improve discipline, increase labour productivity and promote the overall strength. Every cadre and Party member needs to learn the qualities of a revolutionary cadre, learn from books, learn from each other and learn from the people; continually self-study, self-update new knowledge, actively participate in the "digital learning" movement, improve scientific-technological and digital knowledge; actively disseminate and encourage relatives, families and clans to self-study for life. Through lifelong learning, we can fulfil all tasks assigned by the Party, the revolution and the people. Each Party committee, socio-political organisation, and professional association need to clearly recognise the main goal of lifelong learning as developing socialist people, thereby determining lifelong learning contents for cadres, Party members, and members in combination with launching emulation, evaluation, commendation, and reward. The Party and State will soon summarise, evaluate and research to promulgate regulations and procedures, renew viewpoints on assessment, selection and planning of cadres, in order to build a complete, clean, strong apparatus wholeheartedly serving the People; protect cadres who are ready to pioneer, ready to "break through barriers" for common interests. It is necessary to continue to perfect the education system in an open, flexible, and interconnected direction, creating lifelong learning opportunities for all citizens and implementing training based on the needs of the labour market. It is a must to take specific solutions to raise social awareness of the role and significance of lifelong learning and its contributions to improving the quality and competitiveness of national human resources. It is necessary to monitor, inspect, and supervise the pilot implementation of innovation proposals; proactively detect emerging issues, promptly encourage, support, and remove difficulties and obstacles, or review, adjust, and make decisions appropriate to the actual situation. There should be a policy exempting responsibility for cadres who pilot projects or jobs but whose results fail to meet or only partially meet the set goals, or in case of risks and losses due to objective reasons. We are living in an era when knowledge and understanding will help people maximise their potential to take advantage of opportunities and effectively respond to challenges for sustainable development. It is also an era when the volume of humanity knowledge increases exponentially every day. Only when the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, along with every family and individual, effectively implement lifelong learning, build a contingent of cadres who dare to do, dare to speak, dare to take responsibility and dare to sacrifice, can we firmly step into a new era - an era of development and prosperity under the leadership of the Party. VNA/VNS HA NOI The proposals on merging provinces and abolishing the district-level authorities must be submitted to the Party Central Committee before April 7, the Politburo and the Secretariat said in the latest plan. In Conclusion No. 127 issued last week, the Politburo and the Secretariat asked the Party Committee of the Government to work with the Party Central Committee's Organisation Commission, the Party Committee of the National Assembly, the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and relevant agencies to prepare proposals on the merger of certain provincial administrative units, the abolition of the district level, and the continued merger of commune-level administrative units. It aims to implement a two-tier local governance model to ensure streamlined, efficient, and effective operations. In addition to criteria like population size and area, provincial merging must carefully consider the national master plan, regional plans, local plans, socio-economic development strategies, sector development, spatial expansion, comparative advantages and development demands of each locality in the new era. Commune-level reorganisation must identify local government models for urban, rural, mountainous, plain and island areas as needed, considering population size, area, history, culture, socio-economic issues, national defence, security, ethnicity, and religion. The Politburo and Secretariat have tasked the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and central-level mass organisations to lead a comprehensive review of functions, tasks, and organisational structures of the provinces' and districts' affiliated agencies and organisations, especially media outlets, to ensure unified management and maximum streamlining, keeping only truly essential units. The Politburo and Secretariat have also assigned the Central Organisation Commission to lead the research and development of a proposal on the local Party organisational system (at the provincial and commune levels). This will focus on synchronised models matching local government structures and strengthening grassroots Party organisations. This proposal must be reported to the Politburo no later than March 12. The district-level court and procuracy systems will be abolished following the restructuring plan. The abolishing plan must be reported to the Politburo for guidance before seeking feedback from Party committees and organisations no later than March 9. The Party Committee of the National Assembly is tasked, in coordination with the Governments Party Committee, to direct research on amending certain articles of the Constitution, specifically regarding the political system's organisational structure. This must be reported to the Politburo in early March 2025 and submitted to the Central Committee by April 7, 2025. Finalisation of these constitutional amendments by the National Assembly is set for no later than June 30, 2025. The Party Committees of the Government and National Assembly will research and propose amendments to laws such as the Law on Local Government Organisation, Law on Cadres and Civil Servants, Law on Inspection, Law on Planning, Law on Elections of National Assembly and People's Council Deputies, Law on Promulgation of Legal Normative Documents, Law on Organisation of the Peoples Court, Law on Organisation of the Peoples Procuracy and other related laws. Decrees and regulations on mechanisms and policies for cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers affected by local administrative reorganisation will also be developed. These tasks must follow the overall timeline and be completed no later than June 30. The Politburo and Secretariat have ordered the temporary suspension of commune- and district-level Party congresses. After the 11th Plenum of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo will issue specific directives and guidance on this matter. As part of the restructuring plan, from March 1, 2025, Viet Nam has officially eliminated the district-level police and transitioned to a three-tier police structure: ministry, province, and commune. VNS HA NOI A delegation from the Swedish Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by Chairman Mr. Aron Emilsson, will visit Viet Nam from March 2 to March 5. The delegation comprises seven members of parliament and officials from the committee's secretariat, according to a press release issued by the Swedish embassy in Ha Noi on Sunday. During their visit to the Southeast Asian nation, the delegation will meet with Vietnamese officials and key stakeholders in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City to discuss bilateral relations and gain insights into Viet Nam's impressive economic growth and future potential. Discussions will focus on science, technology, and innovation, reflecting the shared vision of Sweden and Viet Nam to tackle common challenges and create sustainable development opportunities for both nations. Additionally, the delegation will connect with representatives from over 70 Swedish companies currently operating in Viet Nam across various sectors. Since 1998, the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament) and the Vietnamese National Assembly have shared a long-standing partnership, transitioning from aid-funded projects to collaboration between equals. This partnership has introduced elements of Sweden's governance model, including the establishment of ombudsmen and the organisation of youth parliaments, notably the first Youth Parliament in Ha Noi in 2006. Efforts have also been made to improve public engagement, with special collaborations developing between women parliamentarians from both countries. These initiatives have laid a strong foundation for increasing the number of full-time Vietnamese parliamentarians and facilitating more frequent exchanges. This collaboration remains the most extensive that the Swedish Riksdag has ever undertaken with a foreign parliament. The Swedish Parliament, or Riksdag, consists of a single chamber with 349 members elected every four years. It holds legislative power, determines taxation and state expenditure, oversees the government and public administration, and adopts positions on foreign policy. The Committee on Foreign Affairs, an integral part of the Riksdag, is responsible for shaping Sweden's foreign policy and international relations. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam will invest about VN12.8 trillion (US$501.2 million) to build a small-scale semiconductor chip manufacturing plant to serve research, design, production, packaging and testing. The information was revealed by Nguyen Khac Lich, Director of the Department of Information and Communications Technology under the Ministry of Information and Communications. He said that the Prime Minister had signed and issued the strategy for Viet Nam's semiconductor industry development until 2030, with a vision to 2050. This is the first time Viet Nam has had such long-term strategy. Lich said that the country needed to master research and technology development in the field of semiconductors and electronics, if it did not want to become a processing country. The country should promote geopolitical advantages, follow investment trends, focus on electricity and water infrastructure as well as have preferential and supportive mechanisms and policies. In the immediate future, Viet Nam would need a small-scale but high-tech chip manufacturing plant to meet domestic demand, participate in the global supply chain and ensure security and defence in case of supply chain disruption. Recently, the National Assembly voted to pass a Resolution on piloting a number of special policies and mechanisms to create breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. The important point in the resolution is to allow financial support for the construction of the first plant to serve research, training and production of semiconductor chips. Enterprises investing in the plant following the PMs request will be supported, according to Lich. The State will support 30 per cent of the total project investment directly from the central budget in case the plant is accepted and put into production before December 31, 2030, with the total support amount not exceeding VN10 trillion ($391.6 million). During the project preparation and implementation, an annual deduction of more than 10 per cent but not exceeding 20 per cent of the enterprise's taxable income can be made for the enterprise's science and technology development fund to supplement the project. The total amount of deduction must not exceed the projects total investment. The PM will decide to select enterprises to perform the task and specific level of support. Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that it was the first time the State supported investment projects for laboratories, so the first semiconductor chip plant would be both research and small-scale production. FPT and Viettel have now entered the field of semiconductor chip design and production. Viettel has announced the successful design of the 5G DFE chip the most complex chip in Southeast Asia to date. The chip processes 5G radio signals and can process 1,000 billion calculations per second. Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Head of the Semiconductor Technology Department under the Viettel Group, said: The semiconductor industry is a difficult industry, requiring in-depth knowledge in research, design, and production of electronic systems, information technology, and high-tech industry. Major General Nguyen inh Chien, Deputy General Director of Viettel Group, added: Viettel identifies it as a long journey, requiring a reasonable and solid approach in both basic research and business. To develop the semiconductor industry, it is necessary to design and manufacture chips that meet the needs of businesses, domestic electronic systems, and national security needs. "This is the foundation for developing advanced, new-generation chip technologies, and expanding supply abroad. Le Quang am, CEO of Marvell Technology Viet Nam, said it was a once in a century opportunity for Vietnamese semiconductors to develop in the context of continued complex geopolitical conflicts. This opportunity does not come by itself, we have to create it, he said. We have a clear strategy, with attention from the Government and Vietnamese or Vietnamese-origin engineers. Talents in the industry or outside the industry, need to unite to create value for the country. VNS HA NOI A ceremony has been held in Ha Noi to announce the project for receiving bomb and mine clearance equipment funded by Japan for the Viet Nam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC). Speaking at the February 28 event, Colonel Le Quang Hop, Deputy General Director of VNMAC, noted that the project would include the acquisition of four specialised pieces of equipment for mine clearance, as well as training and technology transfer. The initiative would provide hands-on training and technical guidance for VNMAC personnel on the latest demining technologies. This project is a priority in Viet Nams 2010-25 national mine action programme, aimed at minimising the impact of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from wartime. Japanese Ambassador to Viet Nam Ito Naoki recalled that on December 21, 2024, he and Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence, signed an exchange of notes in Ha Noi for the provision of mine clearance equipment for Viet Nam. The initiative, valued at JPY500 million (US$3.31 million), was part of Japans non-refundable aid programme for VNMAC. The ambassador expressed his hope that the project would enhance Viet Nams demining efforts, ensuring safer living conditions for communities in affected areas and fostering economic and social development. Chien, for his part, expressed deep gratitude to the Japanese Government and people for their meaningful support and highlighted Japan as a long-standing and important partner of Viet Nam. He noted that over more than half a century since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Viet Nam-Japan cooperation had yielded numerous positive and remarkable achievements, particularly in development projects supported by Japan for Viet Nam. The deputy minister affirmed that the modern equipment provided by Japan would significantly improve the countrys demining capabilities, accelerate the national mine action programme, and strengthen VNMACs role in UXO remediation and environmental protection. VNS HA NOI The Viet Nam National University (VNU) - Ha Noi, in collaboration with the Tsinghua University of China, held an international workshop in Ha Noi on Saturday, discussing opportunities and challenges facing Viet Nam China higher education in the 21st centurys digital intelligence era. The event served as an academic forum among researchers, education managers and lecturers from both countries. Discussions delved into how artificial intelligence (AI) can transform higher education, and explored solutions to ensure the sustainable and effective development of higher education systems in the modern era. President of the VNU - Ha Noi Le Quan said the synergy between the VNUs multidisciplinary strengths and the Tsinghua Universitys renowned expertise in engineering and technology provides an ideal foundation for bilateral cooperation. Prof. Dr. Qiu Yong, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Chairman of the Tsinghua University Council, expressed his strong commitment to deepening collaboration with Vietnamese partners in talent development, scientific research, and cultural exchange. Leaders of the two universities also discussed the establishment of a joint AI research centre, which will operate under a collaborative model involving universities, businesses, and top-tier international partners, with the Tsinghua University at its core. In addition, the two universities signed a student exchange agreement, building upon a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked in August 2024. Under this agreement, students will enjoy tuition-free exchanges, with credits fully recognised, and enjoy a range of support like housing, healthcare, and language training, creating a dynamic, multicultural experience that opens doors to new friendship and career opportunities. Looking ahead, both sides will also launch executive management training courses tailored specifically for Vietnamese business leaders and government officials. Research collaboration will also expand into high-tech fields like AI, information technology and new materials. As part of the event, the VNU - Ha Noi officially launched its Technology and Innovation Park (VNU-TIP), a project in line with the Politburo's Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthrough development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation. VNS Returning to his hometown of uong Lam Village (in Ha Nois Son Tay Township), artist-craftsman Nguyen Tan Phat has dedicated himself to revitalising traditional lacquer art. The rich culture of the Son Tay region continues to nourish his soul, fuelling his creativity and inspiring unique, folk-culture-infused artworks. Locals affectionately call him the "lacquer wizard" for his exceptional craftsmanship. Uong Ngoc and Quynh Hoa report. Inner Sanctum: You have recently completed the Thach Ong Gam Xa (Lacquered Laterite Snake) collection to welcome the Year of the Snake. Could you introduce this? The snake -- one of the 12 animals of the Eastern zodiac -- symbolises not only agility and intelligence but also prosperity, longevity, and balance in folk culture. My Thach Ong Gam Xa collection consists of 45 sculptures depicting coiled snakes rising high, representing vitality and the spirit of a new era for Viet Nam. The snake motif has been modernised, elegantly entwined around laterite stone, a material deeply embedded in Vietnamese cultural heritage. This collection celebrates both natural beauty and the artistry of traditional craftsmanship. The intricate gold, red, black, and brown lacquer details symbolise prosperity and good fortune. The meticulously painted snake scales mimic the fluidity of life itself, evoking adaptability and flexibility. Laterite, known for its solid structure and warm material, serves as a robust foundation, echoing the resilience of the Vietnamese people. Snake sculptures can be challenging to market due to common fears associated with the animal. To address this, I have stylised the design with geometric elements, making the figures more approachable and suitable for modern interiors. Inner Sanctum: You plan to have your lacquerware showcased at an exhibition in Paris. Could you share more about this? Lacquer is one of Viet Nams most distinctive art forms, developed from traditional son ta (natural lacquer) into a refined craft. Beyond lacquer itself, the art requires a specialised adhesive formula passed down through generations. My dedication to Vietnamese authenticity is reflected in my choice of materials, such as eggshell, coconut shell, laterite, and jackfruit wood, all of which add unique character to my works. The more meticulous the material selection and craftsmanship, the greater the artistic and cultural value of the final piece. In addition to aesthetic appeal, I integrate narratives of Vietnamese culture into my work. Each piece is not merely an art object but a vessel carrying the soul of Viet Nam. Recently, some of my lacquer sculptures were selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism for an exhibition in Paris, France, showcasing contemporary Vietnamese lacquer art on an international stage. I hope to gain more opportunities to bring Son Tay lacquerware to global audiences, promoting both the craft and Vietnamese culture. Inner Sanctum: Why did you choose to return to your hometown to develop traditional crafts? I studied and built my career in Ha Noi, but my heart always longed for my hometown. First, I wanted to give back to the land that nurtured me, shaping my artistic vision. Second, I believe in redistributing creative resources. Ha Noi is a hub of skilled professionals, but rural areas, including Son Tay, lack traditional craft villages. The handicraft sector is underdeveloped. I wanted to use my skills to establish a new craft industry and contribute to my community. Much of my success stems from the tranquillity of village life. Here, I find peace and depth necessary to reflect on ideas and focus on my work. The slower pace allows me to fully immerse myself in my art, channelling my thoughts into each creation. Inner Sanctum: How can buyers better understand the intricate process behind lacquer art and appreciate its true value? Lacquer art is not just about selling a product, it is about elevating it into an artistic experience. Each piece should convey a story through written descriptions, spoken narratives, and visual documentation of its creation. This helps buyers connect with the product on a deeper level, understanding the skill and passion embedded in each work. Inner Sanctum: You have been offering free lacquer painting classes. What insights have you gained from younger generations and visitors? I have been teaching free lacquer classes for more than a decade. Being in a tourist area has allowed me to engage with many visitors and young locals eager to learn. It brings me great joy to preserve a traditional craft and inspire the younger generation. Some students, even those pursuing different career paths, have found renewed motivation through this art form. Inner Sanctum: Every traditional craft must evolve with modern influences. How do your works balance cultural heritage and contemporary aesthetics? One of my guiding principles is constant innovation. My goal is to create unique, original works rather than follow conventional patterns. I do not chase profits; my focus is on cultural and artistic values. Some of my pieces are created solely for donation or community service, yet they have significantly helped spread awareness of lacquer art. I believe that valuable creations should come not only from individual artists but also from skilled artisans in traditional villages. Beyond fostering creativity and aesthetic refinement, handcrafted works should embody humanistic values, bringing joy and positive inspiration to peoples lives. Inner Sanctum: You have expressed a desire to bring Vietnamese lacquerware to the international stage. What does this mean beyond simply exporting products? I want Vietnamese lacquer art to gain greater global recognition. While Vietnamese lacquerware has already made an impression on the international market, it needs further expansion to solidify its place. My goal is not just for people to recognise Vietnamese lacquer products, but to see them as a reflection of Vietnamese culture. I want international audiences to view these pieces and instantly connect them to Viet Nams rich heritage, envisioning the stories of our land and people. VNS by Luong Thu Huong In a heartfelt homage to Vietnamese culture, London-based filmmaker Le Ngoc Han is set to debut her latest documentary, The Long Dress, this July. The film takes viewers on a journey across various cities and continents, where the ao dai is not just a traditional costume, but also a means of cultural expression. For Han, the project is deeply personal. Its inspiration comes from her strong connection with Vietnamese culture and her desire to share untold stories about the ao dai with the world. Growing up in Ha Noi, she was captivated by its elegant beauty and cultural significance. It is not just a piece of clothing; it is a symbol of history, identity, and resilience, Han said. Filming for The Long Dress began in July last year, bringing together a team of Vietnamese and international filmmakers. It follows three main characters from the US, the UK, and Viet Nam, all of whom share a love for the iconic attire: Thai Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American designer who was the first to bring the ao dai to the Oscar red carpet; Anna Hoang, a teenager in the UK who began creating unique ao dai designs at the age of 10; and a renowned Vietnamese ao dai designer. The film also explores the evolution of the ao dai at international fashion events and on the red carpet, featuring Vietnamese artists such as Ali Wong. As a filmmaker, I recognise the importance of preserving and honouring the ao dai. This film is my personal tribute to Viet Nam and its cultural heritage, and I also hope to introduce the ao dai to audiences around the world, Han told Viet Nam News. She spent months researching archival materials, interviewing designers, historians, and individuals to gain a deeper understanding of its evolution. She also explored how the ao dai is represented in Vietnamese art, literature, and cinema. The Long Dress was filmed in various locations, from Viet Nam to design studios in London and Los Angeles, where Han worked closely with featured designers to capture their creative processes and perspectives on the garment's future. The film combines intimate interviews, historical footage, and artistic cinematography to honour the beauty of the dress. The young filmmaker revealed she faced not only technical challenges but also the emotional weight of maintaining the authenticity of Vietnamese culture while ensuring accessibility for international audiences unfamiliar with the ao dai. "Financial issues were also a significant obstacle. As an independent filmmaker, securing funding for a cultural documentary is no easy task. I overcame this challenge by building strong collaborative relationships and working with individuals truly passionate about the project, Han said. "Additionally, coordinating an international production team across different time zones was complex. However, we maintained close communication thanks to technology. These challenges only strengthened my belief in the film's purpose." One of her most memorable moments was capturing young designer Anna Hoang as she prepared to debut her collection at an international fashion event at just 13 years old. Watching her seamlessly blend tradition with fresh creativity gave me hope that the ao dai will continue to evolve through the younger generation, she recalled. Although The Long Dress highlights the beauty of the ao dai, it aims to convey deeper cultural valuestelling the story of those who have preserved and evolved this national legacy through generations. "I want to highlight the ao dai as a bridge between tradition and modernity. It is not just clothing but a symbol of elegance and grace, and a unique identity for Vietnamese people around the globe. This film invites international audiences to explore the beauty and significance of the dress, embodying the essence of Viet Nam," Han said. I also hope The Long Dress will inspire audiences to cherish and preserve their cultural heritage, no matter where they are in the world. The documentary is expected to be completed in July and will be promoted in Viet Nam and abroad. Han, also a producer and writer, is the founder of Spira Films, an independent production company focusing on untold stories about Vietnamese culture and history. Born and raised in Ha Noi, her passion for filmmaking was shaped by a deep appreciation for Vietnamese traditions and heritage. She earned a bachelor's degree in film directing from the Ha Noi University of Theatre and Cinema and another degree in film & television production from the University of Gloucestershire. She later had a master's with honours in film production at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has worked across various fields, from television and documentaries to multimedia storytelling, leading projects for major organisations and global leaders. She has worked directly with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair at the UK Future Conference 2022, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and leaders from major corporations. Han has also produced 15 interactive films for the Science Museum in London and shared her insights at public forums, including TEDx Hanoi, where she presented her vision of cultural expression and its power to inspire meaningful change. VNS Clwyd South MS raises landfill site concerns with Welsh Government This article is old - Published: Sunday, Mar 2nd, 2025 A Member of the Senedd has taken concerns about a controversial landfill site in Wrexham to the top of Welsh Government. The site has been an ongoing bone of contention for local residents and politicians, who have raised multiple concerns over rancid smell coming from the site. A recent protest saw dozens turnout calling for action from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) over the worsening stink, with officers last month confirming that it was working with the site operator, Enovert, to ensure they comply with Environmental Permit requirements. Clwyd South MS Ken Skates previously called for the Hafod tip in Johnstown to be shut down, saying residents are sick of the stench coming from it and enough is enough. It is operated by waste management company Enovert and answerable to Natural Resources Wales (NRW). Mr Skates outlined his concerns to Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies, saying: I have held meetings with local residents, councillors, NRW and the company in recent years, but the issue is getting worse rather than better. In his response, Mr Irranca-Davies said: As you are aware, activities at the Hafod landfill are controlled by an Environmental Permit which contains conditions the operator must comply with to prevent harm to the environment or human health. Natural Resources Wales (NRW), as the waste regulator in Wales, is responsible for regulating the site and ensuring compliance. I understand the concern the local community has regarding the odour issues in Johnstown. NRW is taking this matter very seriously and are reviewing the site operators management procedures and working to reduce the potential for odours. NRW have completed several site inspections and an in-depth landfill gas emissions audit. The audit has provided several recommendations for improvements at the site, which have been communicated to the site operator. I have also been informed that NRW have met with Wrexham County Borough Council Public Protection and the operator, Enovert, to discuss air quality monitoring options to ensure that the monitoring is appropriate and representative. This monitoring would be additional to the permit monitoring requirements. NRW has launched a citizen space website which provides updates from NRW and Enovert, answers frequently asked questions and ensures an open line of communication. An enforcement notice was issued to the company in December 2023 over breaches of its environmental permit, which included failing to manage levels of contaminated liquids or leachate. The update to Mr Skates concluded: Permit revocation is considered when an operation poses a significant risk to the environment or human health and all other measures to mitigate odours have been exhausted. It is important to note that closing the site would not necessarily resolve the odour issues, as ongoing management of leachate and landfill gas is required to minimise any potential offsite impacts. If the site is not being managed this cost would then fall to the public sector who would need to undertake measures to mitigate the sites problems. In assessing whether a site should be closed, an important consideration is therefore whether an operator has ceased cooperating with NRW, which may trigger a range of regulatory offences against the company for breaching the permit. NRWs regulatory actions are guided by their Regulatory Principles, which ensures a balanced and proactive approach. Last week Wrexham.com reported that then steps are being drawn up by Wrexham councillors, who unanimously agreed to support a motion calling for action at a landfill site near Johnstown. Following the motion to Full Council on February 19, which was received cross-party support by all elected members present, several actions were agreed: Conduct a Community Concerns Assessment Review and demand on-going robust evidence on environmental performance and emissions regulations Full examination of potential waste management alternatives Effective Engagement & Communication Review and report Progress Wrexham Councils Homes and Environment Scrutiny committee will meet to discuss Hafod Quarry on 29 April at 10.30am. The meeting will provide an update to the committee and members on the works carried out and timescales at Hafod Landfill. NRW, Public Health Wales and Enovert have been invited to attended the meeting. The NRW Citizen Space website can be found here. Invitation to help carry the worlds first physical icon of mental wellbeing in Wrexham This article is old - Published: Sunday, Mar 2nd, 2025 A call has gone out in Wrexham inviting people to carry the worlds only known physical symbol of mental health. The Baton of Hope was devised by a suicide prevention charity as a parallel icon to the Olympic torch but one that celebrated mental rather than physical wellbeing. This years national event will see the Baton carried across the UK, and Wrexham was chosen to host a one-day leg of the tour representing Wales. A range of events will take place in addition to the Baton procession. Suicide survivors and those bereaved by suicide are being offered the chance to help carry the baton in honour of their own survival or in memory of a loved one lost. It will be the UKs largest ever single suicide prevention initiative. A similar event took place in 2023 and included twelve locations; this years will feature twenty. The project lead for Wrexham, Susan Dray said: Words cannot express how we feel about the importance of raising awareness around suicide prevention. Bringing the Baton of Hope to Wrexham will raise awareness significantly and help work towards removing the stigma surrounding suicide a stigma which prevents so many from asking for help. People can apply to carry the Baton through the charitys website. For more information, and to find out more about joining the Planning Team for the Wrexham leg of the tour and how you can get involved, please contact Susan or Zoe on zoe@abfwxm.co.uk or call 01978 364777. Alternatively you can join the Facebook group Baton of Hope Tour25 Wrexham for updates. If you, or someone you know, need immediate support, there are helplines available who offer 24/7 mental health support and advice: Samaritans Call 116 123 C.A.L.L Helpline Call 0800 132 737 NHS 111 Mental Health Support Call 111 and select option 2 Shout Wrexhams economy is going from strength to strength, says senior councillor This article is old - Published: Sunday, Mar 2nd, 2025 Wrexhams economy is going from strength to strength, as many businesses continue to thrive and invest in the city. That is the view of Cllr Nigel Williams, lead member for economy at Wrexham Council, following a visit to the Maelor Foods plant in Cross Lanes. The company, which employs over 250 people, processes around one million British Red Tractor-certified birds a week for the food industry. It also hopes to increase operations in the future, potentially creating a further 125 jobs and boosting the local economy by 13 million. Id like to thank Maelor Foods for inviting me to their site at Cross Lanes, and its fantastic to see another business thriving in Wrexham, said Cllr Williams. The facility is a state-of-the-art processing plant, and the companys commitment to the site is another example of the huge confidence that is helping to drive our local economy. It was a really interesting and informative visit, and a great opportunity to learn more about the companys ethos and goals. The council works with local firms to help them get the most out of being based in the county borough, and recently held a successful networking conference at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. Company Director Ricky Mehta said: At Maelor Foods, we are proud to play a significant role in Wrexhams thriving economy. Our state-of-the-art facility currently processes one million British Red Tractor-certified birds each week, and we are actively pursuing plans to double our processing capacity. As we look to the future, our focus remains on supporting the community and contributing to Wrexhams ongoing success story. Cllr Williams added: Wrexhams economy is going from strength to strength, as many businesses continue to thrive and invest in the city. But as a council, its important we get out and about and visit businesses, so we can understand and support economic growth. Over a thousand protesters got together today near Congressman Amodei's office in Reno, after requests for a meeting have been denied. The protest started around noon and was sponsored by a few local activist organizations in response to the recent passing of the sweeping federal budget bill. Protesters say they want Congressman Amodei to hold a town hall, so they can express their concerns with potential impacts that they bill could have on Nevadans that rely on federal programs. "This isn't rocket science, everybody knows that we don't need to tear apart Medicare, or Medicaid, that we don't need to take away protections for the disabled," said Christiane Brown. Organizers say they have been trying to meet with Congressman Amodei for several weeks and have yet to receive a firm response. "If he wont host a Town Hall for his constituents, well bring his constituents to him," says Kimberly Carden with Indivisible Northern Nevada. People in attendance also voiced their opinions on Elon Musk, federal job firings, as well as immigration. Congressman Amodei is set to be on another congressional break in March, and protesters say they plan to return. "I anticipate that there is going to be more protests. In fact, I do not anticipate, I know that there are going to be more protests. As far as my group Indivisible Northern Nevada, we have already got another one on the books that will be coordinated within the next couple of weeks," said Kimberly Carden. In the meantime, protesters say they are going to continue reaching out to Congressman Amodei and his team, looking for statements or responses to questions. Chamoli Avalanche: Death Toll Rises to 7, One Worker Still Missing as Rescue Race Against Weather Continues 2 The death toll in the Chamoli avalanche rose to seven on Sunday after the bodies of three more workers were recovered from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp, while rescue efforts continue for the last missing worker. The avalanche struck on Friday, burying 54 workers inside eight containers and a shed between Mana and Badrinath. Army doctors confirmed that 46 rescued workers have been admitted to the military hospital in Jyotirmath, with one critically injured worker airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh. Three remain in critical condition, Lt Col DS Maldhya stated. To speed up rescue efforts, helicopters, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) are being used, as authorities fear deteriorating weather on Monday could hamper operations. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the State Emergency Operation Centre to oversee the efforts and instructed teams to expedite the search. The Indian Army, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, and other relief forces are working round the clock at the disaster site. The GPR system from Delhi is expected to enhance the search operation, and six helicopters, including three from the Army, two from the Indian Air Force (IAF), and a civilian chopper, have been deployed. Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari confirmed that an Mi-17 helicopter is on standby in Dehradun to transport the GPR system to the avalanche site. Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta and Lt Gen D G Mishra are monitoring operations, ensuring that every possible resource, including UAVs, quadcopters, and avalanche rescue dogs, is used to locate the missing worker. With more than 200 personnel from various agencies engaged in the rescue mission, officials warn that everything depends on the weather. Dhananjay Munde's Resignation Imminent? Estranged Wife Karuna Sharma Drops Bombshell 2 Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde is facing mounting pressure to resign amid allegations linking his close aide Walmik Karad to an extortion case and the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. His estranged wife Karuna Sharma-Munde claimed on Sunday that senior leaders had already sought his resignation, which would be announced before the state budget session. The 13-day budget session begins Monday, and the speculation over Mundes exit has intensified. Speaking to a Marathi news channel, Sharma stated, As per my sources, Mundes resignation was sought two days ago, and he will have to step down before the session. She further pointed out that Munde had earlier admitted Karad was his close aide and had promised to resign if Karad was found guilty. With Karad now named in the chargesheet, Sharma asserted, For moral or other reasons, Munde will have to resign. The case has caused a political storm, as the chargesheet alleges that Karad ordered the murder of anyone obstructing his extortion attempts from a wind energy company. This revelation has provided fresh ammunition to the opposition, demanding Mundes immediate resignation. When contacted for a response, Munde stated that he would attend the state cabinet meeting later in the day, avoiding direct comments on the resignation speculation. With the budget session around the corner, all eyes are now on whether Munde will step down or fight back against the mounting controversy. Raut Hits Back at Shinde: 'Did Modi Ever Visit Kumbh Before Becoming PM?' 2 Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde on Sunday for questioning Uddhav Thackerays absence from the recently concluded Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Raut not only dismissed Shindes remarks but also turned the tables, questioning whether RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat or even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended previous Kumbh fairs before coming to power. Taking a dig at Shinde, Raut remarked that BJP should train him on how to ask questions, adding that Shindes missteps are exposing the BJP more than Uddhav Thackeray. He also pointed out that past RSS chiefs, Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and even BJP stalwarts never made it a point to visit Kumbh Mela, questioning why Thackeray was being targeted. Raut further intensified his attack by alleging that Shinde secretly met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Pune on February 22 at 4 AM to complain about Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to Raut, Shinde expressed dissatisfaction over his diminishing influence in the government and hinted at merging the robbed Shiv Sena into the BJP to reclaim his position as CM. When asked about the meeting, Raut dared Shinde to publicly deny it, stating that even Fadnavis was aware of the complaints made against him. With the Maharashtra budget session set to begin, Raut also revealed that Shiv Sena (UBT) will stake its claim for the Leader of Opposition (LoP) post, asserting that constitutional provisions do not permit the House to function without one. As political tensions escalate in Maharashtra, Rauts explosive claims have added fresh fuel to the already simmering rivalry between the Shinde-Fadnavis government and Uddhav Thackerays faction. Vestavia Hills police investigate an assault that took place Saturday, March 1, 2025, at MarQ Vestavia Apartments. (Carol Robinson) Two people are into custody after a woman showed up at a Vestavia Hills gas station with cuts to her arms and a leg. Officers were dispatched about 8:45 p.m. Saturday to Chevron in the 700 block of Montgomery Highway. They arrived to the find the injured woman who had gone there for help. Vestavia Hills firefighters treated her on the scene and then transported her to the hospital, said police Capt. Michael Keller. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Officers determined the woman had been injured at a different location, which was the MarQ Vestavia Apartments, formerly known as Arboretum, which are off Massey Road. Two people were taken into custody at the apartment complex. They are being held in the Vestavia Hills City Jail pending formal charges. Keller said all involved know each other. This is an opinion column. U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill came home to Jasper during the Reagan years. It was his 10th term in Congress, and I remember it only because it was my first year on the job. I was woefully unprepared to talk policy or politics. But I didnt have to, because he didnt talk about that. He talked about how his constituents in northwest Alabama had been neglected when the interstate building boom began decades before. He spoke of Corridor X, the Birmingham to Memphis connector that, three decades later, would open as I-22. I dont remember much more of the conversation. When I walked away that day I didnt know what he thought of national divides, or Reagan, or Iran-Contra. But I walked away from my time in his district sure of two things: That guy cared about making the lives of his constituents better; and those constituents knew it in their bones. I havent thought about Bevill in a while. Maybe because I havent happened by Bevill State or Bevill Lock and Dam or the Bevill Industrial Park or half a dozen more centers or buildings named for him and the pork he brought home. But Bevills daughter, Patty Bevill Warren, today wrote an essay for AL.com that not only reminded me of her father, but by comparison shamed our current political flock. It is worth the read. It is worth the thought. She tells a story relayed by an underling who would later become a well known judge about how her dad once delayed a call with the Secretary of Defense in order to speak with a very average voter named Mrs. Brown. We work for Mrs. Brown, Bevill told Jim Hughey at the time. It is a striking truth. Or it was. Rep. Tom Bevill, who served in Congress for 30 years. Bevill family collection Ive been collecting responses from the Congressional delegation and other politicians for months now, and there is little true conversation, other than talking points, defensive emails, lecturing and canned policy jargon. RELATED: Patty Bevill Warrens letter As workers around Alabama worry how cuts at Social Security, NIH, NASA, the VA and everything else will affect their lives and futures, Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville pose in social media posts with Elon Musk, the South African architect of the cuts to American life. Enjoyed meeting with @elonmusk and members of the Senate DOGE Caucus about ensuring hard-earned taxpayer dollars are utilized responsibly and transparently, Britt posted as her own constituents tried to see through the confusion without answers. Sen. Katie Britt and Elon Musk special At least Britts office does seem to respond to voters who beg her to think of constituents, though the responses Ive read seem as if they were written by an AI writing tool developed by CPAC. They offer condescending fourth-grade civics lessons written in a style that, according to the Flesch-Kincaid grade level analysis, often reads at graduate school level in a state with an historically low literacy rate. But hey, its better than Tuberville, who responds, often by form letter, to those who disagree. Your comment has been passed along to the appropriate staff member, a recent letter said. We appreciate your patience as we review your correspondence. If you are reaching out for assistance with casework or a federal agency, we will pass your message along to one of our caseworkers in the state. Being better than Tuberville is not a high standard. And its a far cry from Mrs. Brown. Alabama needs real answers. Not pandering pics, form letters and opaque claims about transparency. Alabama is a largely Republican state in a largely Republican nation in a very Republican moment. The Democrats are hapless, the courts stacked, the culture wars won and a foreign-born billionaire has access to Americas data. But it is a scary time for a lot of people in Alabama. They worry about Social Security benefits, if not jobs, about children and neighbors and businesses and restaurants that survive because other people get paychecks. They worry about careers in research, about the economic health of their communities, about the rise of White Nationalism or the tenuous nature of democracy or World War III. Alabama doesnt need political canoodling and more lip service about hot button issues. This is a state that receives more from the federal government than it pays in taxes, more in NIH grants than most states. It has a tax system that already disproportionately hurts those with the least money, and will suffer more from arbitrary cuts than most because its citizens struggle more than most. We dont need politicians to snuggle up to power and avoid constituents who have real questions. We need them to come home to answer tough questions from real voters, in town halls or hearings that arent just partisan plays. We need them to treat us all as if we are important. Like Mrs. Brown. John Archibald is a two-time Pulitzer winner. By Gene Johnson Associated Press SEATTLE President Donald Trumps plan to pull federal funding from institutions that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth will remain blocked on a long-term basis under a federal judges ruling in Seattle late Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King previously granted a two-week restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, Oregon and Minnesota sued the Trump administration Colorado has since joined the case. Kings temporary order expired Friday, and she held arguments that day before issuing a preliminary injunction blocking most of Trumps plan pending a final decision on the merits of the case. The judge found the states lacked standing on one point: the orders protections against female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is already illegal in the four states that are part of the lawsuit, and the judge said the record is bereft of any evidence that the plaintiffs plan to perform such procedures. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown praised the ruling. The presidents disregard for the Constitution is obvious and intentional, he said in a statement. But once again, states and the courts have stepped up to affirm the rule of law and the values that hold us together as a nation. An email message was sent to the White House seeking comment. Two of Trumps executive orders are at issue in the case. One, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism, calls for stripping federal money from programs that promote gender ideology. The other, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, calls for the federal government to cut off research and educational grants for institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, that provide gender-affirming care to people under age 19. Several hospitals around the country ceased providing care, including puberty blockers and hormone treatments, following the order. Medicaid programs in some states cover gender-affirming care, and Trumps Protecting Children order suggests that practice could end. It also raises the prospect that medical professionals could be criminally charged for providing gender-affirming care under a law that bans medically unnecessary genital mutilation of underage females a notion that the states suing Trump call repugnant and legally unsupportable. Young people who persistently identify as a gender that differs from their sex assigned at birth a condition called gender dysphoria are far more likely to suffer from severe depression and to kill themselves if they do not receive treatment, which can include evaluation by a team of medical professionals; a social transition, such as changing a hairstyle or pronouns; and eventually puberty blockers or hormones. Surgery is extremely rare for minors. In her ruling Friday, the judge said the order was not limited to children or to irreversible treatments and that it doesnt target medical interventions performed on cisgender children. In fact, its inadequate means-end fit would prevent federally funded medical providers from providing necessary medical treatments to transgender youth that are completely unrelated to gender identity, she wrote. For example, a cisgender teen could obtain puberty blockers from such a provider as a component of cancer treatment, but a transgender teen with the same cancer care plan could not. In his arguments Friday, Washington Assistant Attorney General William McGinty stressed the urgency of the issue. There are going to be young people who are going to take their lives if they can no longer receive this care, he said. The executive order uses derisive terminology words such as maiming, sterilizing and mutilation that contradicts what is typical for gender-affirming care in the United States. Such care is widely endorsed by the medical community, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. King, the judge in Seattle, grilled Justice Department attorney Vinita Andrapalliyal in court about the meaning and effect of Trumps executive orders. What is gender dysphoria? she asked. Your honor, I am not a medical provider, Andrapalliyal responded. Its a thing, correct? King asked. Its a medically recognizable diagnosis? I dont have an official position on that, Andrapalliyal said. The judge continued to press, saying she was looking for a legitimate government interest that would justify Trumps orders. The four Democratic attorneys general suing in Seattle argued that the orders violate equal rights protections, the separation of powers and the states' right to regulate issues not delegated to the federal government. The Trump administration disputed those claims in court filings. The Presidents authority to direct subordinate agencies to implement his agenda, subject to those agencies' own statutory authorities, is well established, Justice Department attorneys wrote. In addition to the orders on health care access and defining the sexes as unchangeable, Trump has also signed orders that open the door to banning transgender people from military service; set up new rules about how schools can teach about gender; and would ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and womens sports. Many legal challenges have been filed. In 1993 my dad, Tom Bevill, U.S. Representative from Alabama for 30 years, was working late one night in his office while the House was still in session. It was standard practice that someone on his staff would stay late as well to handle phone calls or any business that needed immediate attention as the hours pushed on. On this night, Jim Hughey, a junior staffer, was given this duty. He was at his desk when three calls came in. One from Mrs. Brown who was from the district and was a frequent caller to the office as her family circumstances required a lot of assistance. She was not wealthy or a strong community leader. But she was well-known in the office. The second call was from a Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Since Dad was a Chairman on the House Appropriations Committee, this would be considered a high level conversation -- when a chairman from one chamber is speaking with a chairman of the other chamber. Immediately a third call came in from the Secretary of Defense Cabinet level. Hughey went into Dads office with the note of three calls. He ordered them in the way you would expect -- in order of political prowess, saying, this one was the Secretary of Defense... Hughey, upon sharing this story with me, noted that it was just the two of them in the office. Dad could have said anything. This, in Hugheys opinion, was a situation where true colors show. Having listed the three calls, Hughey asked, Would you like to call the Secretary of Defense or the Chairman of the Committee first? Dad said, Well, Jim, actually, I want you to get Mrs. Brown on the line. We work for Mrs. Brown. There was a time when elected officials understood who they served. It wasnt their political party; it wasnt the occupant of the White House. It was their constituents those who hired them. As we engage in debate about our government and what it should and shouldnt do, we cannot forget that our government is us. We the People... Rep. Tom Bevill, who served in Congress for 30 years. Bevill family collection Our countrys founding fathers designed a democracy that has been the envy of the world for almost 250 years. And this privilege, this freedom, requires that each of us take responsibility for maintaining our democracy. We the people maintain control of our government. Dad gave many graduation speeches during and after his 30 years in Congress, and he always emphasized to the young people in high schools through law schools, to take seriously their role as a citizen. Our country is the greatest on earth. Our democracy has lasted longer than any other form of government in the world. There is a good reason for that. We have more freedoms than any people anywhere. One of the most important freedoms we have is the right to vote and to select those who represent us in government. 1 As his high school graduation speech in May 1995 continued, We cannot afford to take our democracy for granted. We must work to keep it strong. That means we must guard against our enemies, both foreign and domestic. With the bombing of the Oklahoma Federal Building, it suddenly dawned on us that there are enemies of our democracy living among us. We dont overthrow the government because it has made mistakes. Government is, after all, composed of people and people sometimes make mistakes. When mistakes are made, it is our job as citizens to steer our government back on course in a thoughtful law-abiding manner.1 Dads generation was genuine in their defense of democracy, of Americas soul. They committed more than words. They put their lives into it. Many losing their lives. Thankfully, most from that generation are not here to see our democracy in such peril. Our elected officials may need to be reminded that they have a responsibility to hold each other accountable to the U.S. Constitution. They took an oath, before God, that they would do so. Dads father, Herman Bevill, ran a country store in Townley, Alabama. He was well-respected in the community -- he wasnt wealthy, but he had a good name. Dad grew up in a time when a mans name was everything. A mans name was not built with letters, but with solid core values and honesty. He was someone who could be trusted. To be caught in a lie would tarnish a mans name severely, taking a long time, if ever, to regain his footing and respect. Herman Bevill gave Tom Bevill a good name, and Tom Bevill maintained it. A country is the same a good name does not mean letters on a map. It means earning the respect of others around the world. America has always been the leader of the free world, a partner with other democracies to ensure a stable and peaceful world that could hold back the threats of Russian aggression or Communism. A country who could be trusted. We cannot be the leader of a world we have withdrawn from to embrace dictatorships. When our country was attacked 9/11/01, our allies stood shoulder to shoulder with us against a common enemy. This alignment with our allies has been our strength. We must maintain it. We as a country cannot stand alone. Weve had strong leaders in FDR and Ronald Reagan who were willing to stand up to the bad actors who took the moral stand on behalf of American values, who recognized the threat of the brutal dictators to the peace and strength of America. It is up to us, all of us, each of us, to do the same. Dad served with seven presidents -- WITH seven presidents, not FOR seven presidents. He understood that Congress was a co-equal branch of government. He understood that he was representing his constituents in Alabama. He listened to them. As someone who accompanied him on quick runs to the store, I can tell you...he listened to EVERYBODY who stopped him. He pulled his little notebook out of his shirt pocket and with his pen, wrote down their name, what their concern was, and stayed in touch with them. And, most importantly, we -- as a people -- expected that. Anything less would be unacceptable. He understood that our government, as defined in the Constitution, was designed to keep the people in charge never about political parties and certainly never about one man. That would not be a democracy. Our representatives work for us. They need to hear from us. They should not be allowed to hide in silence as you make phone calls, attempt to set up meetings, write letters. As with any employee, we cannot blindly accept their claims of accomplishment without checking into it. We cannot accept being lied to, over and over again. We see with our own eyes that January 6 was not a Day of Love. We see with our own eyes that Russias invasion of Ukraine was a brutal act and we know that Ukraine did not ask for this. We know the law, and we know when it is broken, and it should matter to us. We know right from wrong. And wrong is not acceptable. The Bevills as a new Congressional family in 1967 -- Susan, Don, Tom, Patty and Lou. Bevill family collection As we celebrated Presidents Day this month, much was written about the history of this day. We were reminded that this was not intended to be a day of retail sales, but a day to celebrate the birthday of our first President a man who led the revolutionary army to victory; a man who rejected the opportunity to assume personal power over a young fledgling nation, who understood the greater good and the strength of a government of the people, by the people and for the people. This is a day to reflect on who we are as a country. A day to remember the country each of our familys past generations fought and died for, and the country we will pass on to the next generations. We have dropped the baton. And we need to pick it up. Quickly. Before we lose everything. I hope you will always remember how important it is to support our democracy. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. I hope you will leave here tonight with fresh energy and a bright outlook. America needs you and we are all very proud of you. Thank you and Congratulations. (Excerpts from Tom Bevills commencement speech, Asheville High School graduation, May 1995.) Patty Bevill Warren, youngest of Congressman Tom Bevill and Lou Bevills three children, moved with the family from Jasper, AL to the Washington, D.C. area in January 1967 as he was sworn into the 90th Congress. A retired engineer, she currently resides in Birmingham. Framed by heavily armed Mexican authorities, relatives of the LeBaron family mourn at the site where nine U.S. citizens were slaughtered Nov 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) AP U.S. gun companies are asking the Supreme Court this week to stop an unusual lawsuit from Mexico, a case that coincides with a critical moment for relations between the two countries. The lawsuit seeks to hold major firearms manufacturers accountable for gun violence in Mexico, testing long-standing protections from liability for the nations firearms industry as President Donald Trump separately promises to take on Mexican drug cartels and illegal immigration. Trump is adding U.S. troops to the southern border and threatening to impose tariffs on Mexico as soon as Tuesday, the same day the lawsuit against the gunmakers will be argued at the high court. For years, Mexicos drug cartels have obtained most of their guns from the United States, according to U.S. and Mexican officials, in what anti-violence activists refer to as an Iron River of weapons. As fentanyl and other narcotics flow north, they say, the guns flow south. Just as [American officials] are worried on the movement of drugs from Mexican territory to the United States, we are worried and working on the entry of weapons from the United States to Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a recent news conference. A lot of the drug abuse is in the United States, while the violence, the loss of lives, is in Mexico. Mexico alleges that U.S. firearms manufacturers know their guns are trafficked into Mexico and make deliberate design, marketing and distribution choices to retain and grow the profitable but illegal market. Theres a special-edition Colt handgun known as the Super El Jefe pistol, a term used to refer to cartel bosses, and the Emiliano Zapata 1911 pistol, engraved with the Mexican revolutionarys pronouncement: It is better to die standing than to live on your knees. Lawyers for the gun manufacturers - including Smith & Wesson Brands, Beretta USA, Glock, and Colts Manufacturing Co. - declined to comment for this story. In court filings, they say the Mexican government is using the litigation to limit Second Amendment gun rights in the United States, which the conservative Supreme Court has expanded in recent years. They warn of harmful implications for other U.S. companies if the justices allow the foreign governments case to proceed. In its zeal to attack the firearms industry, Mexico seeks to raze bedrock principles of American law that safeguard the whole economy, wrote Noel J. Francisco, who is representing the companies and was solicitor general during Trumps first term. There is good reason Mexican narcos seek U.S. weapons. Under Mexicos strict gun laws, it is extremely difficult for citizens to purchase a firearm. The country has only two legal gun stores - both run by the Mexican military. It can take months to complete the requirements for a purchase. While there are no firm figures on weapons trafficked from the United States into Mexico, a 2013 study by the University of San Diego estimated the number at 253,000 a year. Only a small fraction are confiscated. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has found that at least two-thirds of the roughly 30,000 weapons seized in Mexico and sent for tracing per year originated in the United States. For two decades, U.S. law has provided broad protection for gunmakers from civil lawsuits filed by people injured by their firearms. Mexicos lawsuit is the first filed by a foreign government in U.S. courts over gun violence abroad. A U.S. district judge in Massachusetts dismissed the complaint in 2022, finding that the companies were shielded from liability by the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit reversed the judges decision based on a narrow exception to the law that allows suits against a gunmaker that knowingly violates state or federal statutes. The appeals court said Mexico had sufficiently alleged the companies have been aiding and abetting the illegal trafficking of guns by supplying dealers known to sell guns that cross the border. The gun companies are not mere passive observers of the buyers illegal activity, but more akin to a calculated and willing participant in the supply chain that ends with a profitable illegal firearm market in Mexico, the unanimous three-judge panel wrote. - - - Rings of gun buyers Most American weapons seized in Mexico originate in either Arizona or Texas. The most active gun-trafficking route runs from Phoenix to the Nogales border, U.S. officials say. Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped a vehicle heading across the border with 42 AK-47 rifles. Thats a significant load of dangerous or powerful firearms, Michael Humphries, the CBP director in Nogales, Arizona, said in an interview. Were not getting stuff that theyre going to go dove hunting with. Such weapons are often trafficked through straw purchasers - U.S. citizens with no criminal records who are recruited to buy weapons for others who arent eligible. Criminal cases in U.S. courts illustrate how the illicit market works. Javier Ramos-Velderrain was a 19-year-old college student when he walked into a gun store in Tucson in June 2020. Employees were happy to sell him an AK-47-style semiautomatic rifle. Within four days, he returned for another. Then, in a shop outside Phoenix that fall, he purchased a .50-caliber Barrett sniper rifle, capable of shooting armor-piercing bullets the size of carrots. Three weeks later, CBP officers spotted the weapon in a blue bag in a Chevy Suburban van crossing from Nogales, Arizona, into Mexico. It turned out to be one of 15 rifles and pistols packed into the vehicle, bound for Mexican crime groups. Arms smugglers will often assemble a ring of buyers like Ramos, then gather the weapons and transport them over the border. At the time of his arrest, Ramos was working part time at Panda Express and at a call center. He spent $15,833.97 on firearms from a variety of stores during a period in which he earned only a few thousand dollars from his legitimate jobs, prosecutors said in court records. Ramos was paid $1,000 per gun purchase, they said. He was convicted in October 2023 of making a false statement while buying the sniper rifle, and sentenced last year to 21 months in prison. His lawyer, Charles Thomas, declined to comment. The driver of the van packed with the 15 weapons had an even more surprising profile. Luis Manuel Bray-Vazquez was a Mexican employed as a driver for the U.S. consulate just over the border from Nogales, Arizona, according to court documents. He used official U.S. vehicles to smuggle weapons to a criminal organization in Mexico, earning $150 for each rifle and $50 for each pistol he ferried, according to a U.S. criminal complaint. Bray-Vazquez pleaded guilty to weapons smuggling charges and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. - - - The legal argument As part of its lawsuit, Mexico is seeking billions in financial damages to account for the cost to its military, police and judicial system from cartel violence fueled by U.S.-made weapons. Nearly half a million Mexicans have been killed since the government declared a war on drugs in 2006, including politicians Mexico Citys police chief and journalists. More than 100,000 people are registered as disappeared. The appeals court said the governments suit could proceed despite strong federal protections for the gunmakers because it was foreseeable that Mexican drug cartels - armed with defendants weapons - would use those weapons to commit violent crimes that caused the Mexican government to incur costs. Jonathan Lowy, president of Global Action on Gun Violence who is co-counsel to Mexico, said the issue before the Supreme Court should have broad appeal. If people are concerned about the trafficking of fentanyl and overdoses in the United States or migration from Mexico to the United States, he said, they should also be concerned about stopping the crime-gun pipeline to Mexico, because that pipeline facilitates all of those problems. The gun manufacturers say their alleged connection to the harm is too tenuous, noting that Mexico has not shown that the firearms industry is coordinating with illicit sellers, smugglers or cartels. When a criminal misuses a lawful product, the companies say, the criminal is responsible for his actions, not the manufacturer or seller. They argue that under Mexicos theory, a company like Budweiser could be liable for failing to cut off the supply of beer to college town bars filled with underage drinkers. David Kopel, an adjunct scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute, joined a brief on behalf of the National Rifle Association in support of the companies. It says Mexico-style cases could bankrupt the American firearms industry despite failing to allege that the manufacturers violated any law, were aware of any unlawful sale, or took any affirmative act intended to further a crime. - - - An interstate lined with gun shops On the U.S. side of the border, there are more than 100 gun stores tucked along the 70-mile stretch of Interstate 19 from Tucson to Nogales, according to a separate lawsuit filed by Mexico against several Arizona gun dealers. Many are low-key establishments in shopping plazas or on quiet roads. The suit says the vast majority of guns recovered from crime scenes in Mexico come from a small number of U.S. dealers. At Baja AZ Guns, a few miles from the Mexican border, Susan Andersen says she watches for suspicious types - the young person who wants to buy a $15,000, top-of-the-line .50-caliber sniper rifle, or the purchaser who comes in often buying a lot of weapons. With gray hair and rhinestone-trimmed glasses, she looks like a grandmother, she acknowledges. But her earrings are tiny jeweled handguns, and shes got a pistol strapped to her ankle. Shes a New Yorker and a former corrections officer at Rikers Island. If she can help it, no one will get away with anything at her shop in Rio Rico, Arizona, she said. Am I psychic? No. I do the best I can. Unlike a popular stereotype, were not here handing guns out to people, Andersen said. The vast majority of gun shops follow the rules. - - - State and local firefighters were working to quell at least two wildfires in the Jefferson County area as of 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to representatives for the Alabama Forestry Commission. The first fire was reported shortly before 9 a.m. in the Quinton area, near the Walker County line. The AFC said that fire is roughly 30 acres in size, and while it was not contained at 3:30 p.m., representatives told AL.com it appeared to be dwindling down. A second fire was reported in Dora area around 2 p.m., and local firefighters were able to get it under control by the time AFC firefighters arrived, representatives said. Another fire was reported near Pinson around 2:15 p.m. No information is currently available about its size. The fires in Quinton and Pinson were not yet contained, but no structures were threatened as of 3:30 on Saturday, according to the AFC. Other fires were reported in Talladega, Cullman, St. Clair and Bibb counties. A Red Flag Warning remains in effect until 6 p.m. in central Alabama. A brush fire near the Great Wall Chinese restaurant on Valley Avenue was contained before it could cause any injuries or damage any structures, according to Birmingham firefighters. Crews were dispatched at 6:40 p.m. Saturday to Valley Avenue and Beacon Parkway East. The fire caught the attention of many people who drove by the area Saturday night. Some on social media expressed concern it would spread to nearby apartments. This is an opinion column Click here to sign up for the Comeback Town newsletter. By David Sher Ive been publishing ComebackTown for 13 years and Ive never asked you to do anything. But this time is different. Its time for all of us to take action. UAB saved my wifes life from a very aggressive breast cancer. Ive been diagnosed by UAB doctors with a leaking heart valve that will eventually need replacement. I have two close family members who work at UAB. And my company does business with UAB. UAB means life, death, and financial security to me, my family, and many of you. But UAB is facing a monumental challenge. The new federal administration announced NIH (National Institute of Health) funding cuts that could severely impact UABand ultimately all of us in Birmingham and in Alabama. UAB ranks in the top 1% of NIH-funded institutions in America. In the past six years, UAB has received over $3 billion in NIH Funding. In the 1930s Birmingham was a one industry town. Alabamians suffered through the Depression, posting higher unemployment rates than any other southern state and boasting the dubious distinction of Birminghams being arguably the hardest-hit city in America. Even in the 1950s, when I was a child, if there was a work stoppage or strike at TCI (Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company), the Birmingham economy would literally shut down. Birmingham might be a bit more diversified now, but UAB is, by far, our biggest economic engine. Birmingham wouldnt be much without UAB. To stress that point, I published a column a few years back What would Birmingham look like without UABAnniston? My first thought was to throw a bunch of UAB numbers at you, but thats probably not necessary. Lets just stick with these four: And its not just UAB that will be impacted. There are NIH funding cuts proposed for Auburn , Hudson Alpha in Huntsville, Southern Research in Birmingham, The University of Alabama, and the University of South Alabama in Mobile. At the time of this writing, a federal judge temporarily blocked the new policy and everything is on hold. But we must take action. Senator Richard Shelby was responsible for bringing $100s of millions to UAB, Birmingham, and Alabama. Im sure Senators Britt and Tuberville dont want to be responsible for our State losing $100s of millions. Take action now: Your life and financial health may depend on it. Call, e-mail, or request a meeting with Senator Britt by clicking here. Call, e-mail, or request a meeting with Senator Tuberville by clicking here. Senators Britt and Tuberville, please stand up for UAB and Alabama. David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. Hes past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP). Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com Protesters line Main Street in Waitsfield, Vt., to protest Vice President JD Vance's visit on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Erin Minichiello via AP). AP Crowds protesting Vice President JD Vance the day after an Oval Office blowout over Ukraine lined roadways Saturday near a Vermont ski resort where he planned a weekend vacation with his family. Many of the hundreds of demonstrators held signs in support of Ukraine, while other anti-war protesters waved Palestinian flags or signs in support of immigrant rights. Protesters showed up at several locations in the area, including both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield. Though demonstrations were planned days in advance, they were energized Saturday morning by a heated Oval Office exchange a day earlier between Vance, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. Ski Russia because JD Vance has no friends in Vermont, but hes got lots of friends in Russia, so he should go there for vacation, Tekla Van Hoven of Waterbury told WCAX-TV. Vance and his family arrived in Vermont ahead of the weekend, with plans to ski at Sugarbush Resort in Warren. A few protested at the resort on Saturday. There were a handful of protestors at the resort throughout the day, but all were peaceful and none were disruptive, resort spokesman John Bleh said in an email Sunday. He declined further comment, referring reporters to the White House. Messages left Sunday for White House officials werent immediately returned. Republican Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement on Thursday welcoming Vance and his family to the state, and asked Vermont residents to do the same even if they have political differences with the vice president. I hope Vermonters remember the vice president is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful, the statement said. A smaller number of protesters in support Vance and President Donald Trump also showed up with a welcome rally. Severe storms will be possible in Alabama starting on Tuesday night and lasting into Wednesday morning. The areas in yellow have a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather, and the areas in dark green have a Level 1 risk. Forecasters think strong winds will be the main concern with Tuesday's storms, but tornadoes will also be possible. Storm Prediction Center Get ready, another round of strong to severe storms will be possible across all of Alabama on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service thinks the storms will arrive in the form of a squall line starting Tuesday night in west Alabama and quickly move eastward across the state through early Wednesday morning. Forecasters are concerned about the possibility of damaging winds with Tuesdays storms. Those winds could gust as high as 70-80 mph, according to the weather service. Theres a chance for power outages and downed trees. Forecasters said a few tornadoes will also be possible with the line of storms as well as heavy rain. Tuesday will also be a windy day -- and it will be windy long before storms arrive and possibly after they depart. Expect the winds to begin to pick up by Tuesday afternoon. Tuesday will be a good day to relocate anything outside that could be blown away by wind gusts as high as 40 mph, which is tropical storm strength. Wind advisories will likely be issued for parts of the state on Tuesday, according to the weather service. NOAAs Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather for a large part of Alabama. A Level 2 risk means that scattered severe storms will be possible. The Level 2 risk area has been trimmed back slightly on the east side in the latest forecast update on Sunday afternoon. Areas in east Alabama have a Level 1 risk and could have to deal with isolated severe storms. Forecasters think the strongest storms will likely affect west Alabama as the line moves in from Mississippi. Storms could enter west and north Alabama between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday and track eastward through the night, according to the weather service. Heres a look at timing from the weather service: NORTH ALABAMA [6 am] The next chance for severe storms is Tuesday evening as a line of severe storms capable of damaging winds and heavy rainfall moves through the area. Gusty winds are also expected before the storms arrive on Tuesday. #HUNwx pic.twitter.com/oydjMyXPOo NWS Huntsville (@NWSHuntsville) March 2, 2025 CENTRAL ALABAMA Here's the outlook for central Alabama on Tuesday. NWS SOUTH ALABAMA Heads up: There is a potential for severe thunderstorms to impact portions of the area Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. There's still uncertainty on timing and threats. What to do now? Monitor the forecast and review your severe weather safety plans! pic.twitter.com/1H1f91rIip NWS Mobile (@NWSMobile) March 1, 2025 ABOUT The Fleetwoods were a highly acclaimed male-female doo-wop/pop trio with a sweet sound and a flair for romantic ballads that became famous during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Best known for such oldies classics as "Come Softly To Me" (1959) and "Mr. Blue" (1959), which both topped the Pop/Rock charts and made the R&B Top 5, other hits include "Runaround" (1960) and "Tragedy" (1961). Formed in 1958 in Olympia, Washington, the lineup consisted of Gary Troxel (b. 1939), Gretchen Christopher (b. 1940), and Barbara Ellis (b. 1940), who met while in high school. First known as Two Girls & A Guy, they renamed themselves The Fleetwoods after the Fleetwood telephone exchange. They were discovered in 1959 by producer and Dolton Records founder Bob Reisdorff, leading to a recording contract. The Fleetwoods string of hits continued through mid 1963, ending with "Goodnight My Love." Their numerous honors and accolades include being inducted into both the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame of America in 2006. LINKS For more info about The Fleetwoods, visit thefleetwoods.com. SHOP EXCLUSIVE RECORDINGS FOR THE FLEETWOODS Disclosure: The following links will take you to various online merchants outside of allbutforgottenoldies.net that sell recordings and other merchandise for the performing artist featured on this page. Please note that these are referral or affiliate links from which allbutforgottenoldies.net may receive, at no additional cost to you, a commission if you should make any purchases through them. SONGS To listen to a song clip, click any song title that has a speaker icon. This will take you to a list of links to CD and/or MP3 product pages from one or more online merchants that have sound samples. The Fleetwoods Across America, universities are openly defying President Trumps Executive Order 14151, issued in January 2025, which aimed to end the radical and wasteful DEI bureaucracy infecting institutions nationwide. The order mandates merit-based practices and the termination of DEI initiatives in federal agencies and contractors. Despite this, many universities continue to reinforce their ideological grip on academia, prioritizing DEI over federal law. The Universities Which Refuse to Comply A sampling of prominent universities openly defying the executive order includes: Harvard University -- Publicly rejecting any rollback of diversity policies. A Harvard official remarked, "Harvard stands firmly behind its commitment to DEI as part of our core educational mission." -- Publicly rejecting any rollback of diversity policies. A Harvard official remarked, "Harvard stands firmly behind its commitment to DEI as part of our core educational mission." University of California System -- Upholding DEI policies across all campuses. According to a university representative, "We will continue to implement DEI initiatives to ensure an inclusive learning environment for all students." -- Upholding DEI policies across all campuses. According to a university representative, "We will continue to implement DEI initiatives to ensure an inclusive learning environment for all students." University of Michigan -- Defending DEI as essential to an inclusive academic environment. The universitys press release explained, "Diversity, equity, and inclusion are foundational to the success of our academic community." -- Defending DEI as essential to an inclusive academic environment. The universitys press release explained, "Diversity, equity, and inclusion are foundational to the success of our academic community." University of Pennsylvania -- Expressing concerns about restrictions on DEI. In a statement, they emphasized, "Our university remains committed to policies that ensure equality and support for all students." -- Expressing concerns about restrictions on DEI. In a statement, they emphasized, "Our university remains committed to policies that ensure equality and support for all students." University of Colorado Boulder -- Maintaining DEI programs despite funding threats. The university president noted, "We will not allow political interference to dismantle the values that define our institution." -- Maintaining DEI programs despite funding threats. The university president noted, "We will not allow political interference to dismantle the values that define our institution." Western Michigan University -- Continuing DEI initiatives. A university spokesperson stated, "Our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment is central to our mission and will not be compromised." -- Continuing DEI initiatives. A university spokesperson stated, "Our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment is central to our mission and will not be compromised." Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) -- Reaffirming institutional commitment to DEI. The schools administration declared, "Our DEI programs are integral to fostering a welcoming and respectful academic environment for our diverse student body." This defiance raises a critical question: Are universities still educational institutions, or have they become ideological fortresses? From Education to Indoctrination This ideological shift comes at the cost of academic performance and leaves students unprepared for the real world. Once globally competitive, U.S. students now rank far behind their peers in math, reading, and science. Countries that focus on rigorous academics outperform American students. Instead of preparing students for a competitive workforce, universities have embraced ideological programming that leaves graduates unprepared for real-world challenges. Universities have shifted from centers of debate to centers of conformity, where: DEI bureaucracies dictate policy, silencing free thought. Professors prioritize activism over education. Dissenters face harassment, censorship, and exclusion. If DEI were truly about excellence, the U.S. wouldnt be falling behind in global education rankings while importing STEM talent from abroad. DEI policies have undermined academic quality. The Damage to Students: The Real-World Consequences Instead of addressing these failures, universities continue to defy federal mandates, worsening the situation. The U.S. now ranks 25th in math, 13th in reading, and 18th in science among industrialized nations, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Meanwhile, companies increasingly hire foreign STEM graduates because U.S. universities are producing activists rather than engineers, doctors, and innovators. Employers report that recent graduates lack problem-solving skills, resilience, and critical thinking. Many struggle to adapt to workplaces that require merit, collaboration, and diverse perspectives. The damage extends beyond academics: a 2024 study from the American Psychological Association found a 50% increase in anxiety and depression among college students in the last decade, linked to safe-space culture, ideological isolation, and a suppression of open discourse. The Consequences of Defying Federal Law As universities continue to defy federal law, a federal judge has partially blocked enforcement of Trumps executive order due to free speech concerns. This highlights a broader issue: when institutions selectively follow laws, governance collapses. The Trump administration must enforce its executive order by: Cutting federal and state funding to noncompliant institutions. Holding university leadership accountable for violating federal law. Supporting legal challenges against discriminatory DEI policies. Eliminating DEI bureaucracies that promote ideological uniformity. The Hypocrisy of Federal Funding With massive endowments and financial resources, why are these universities still receiving federal funding? Institutions like Harvard and the University of California system have multi-billion-dollar endowments yet continue to demand taxpayer dollars, even as they openly defy federal mandates and embrace divisive, ideological programming. If these universities believe so strongly in their DEI policies, they should transition to private status. They have the financial means to operate independently. Continuing to accept federal funding while undermining the values it supports is hypocrisy. Why should taxpayers fund universities that reject federal mandates and promote policies that harm academic excellence? If universities are committed to their ideologies, its time for them to sever ties with the federal government and operate as private institutions. The Path Forward: Reclaiming Higher Education Parents expect their children to receive an education, yet many return indoctrinated by faculty and administrators. To reverse this trend, decisive action is needed: Defund ideological programs -- Alumni and donors should withhold contributions. Demand transparency -- Universities must disclose DEI spending and hiring practices. Empower students -- Encourage legal action and documentation of classroom bias. Elect leaders -- Support policymakers who will enforce anti-DEI measures. The Time to Act Is Now: A Call to Action Universities have abandoned their educational mission in favor of ideological enforcement. If unchecked, they will continue to expand their ideological control into every facet of society -- free speech, religious liberty, corporate policies, and governance itself. This is not just a battle for Washington -- it is a fight for the future of the next generation. Parents, alumni, lawmakers, and students must take decisive action. Now is the time to stand up and reclaim our educational institutions. Wendy Kinney is a devout Christian, legal strategist, attorney, and entrepreneur committed to free speech, financial freedom, and the Constitution. As Founder & CEO of Revere Payments, she protects businesses from financial censorship, ensuring American enterprises remain free. She speaks truth to power with conviction, standing firm in faith, justice, and the unwavering belief that freedom must always be defended. Her work is rooted in light, guided by principle, and fearless in the fight for truth. Image: Quinn Dombrowski We call these times post-Christian because Christs Gospel was abandoned over the last many decades by, of all people, pastors with weak faith. Such feeble shepherds of the flock have confused social reform pushed by Godless political activists with social reform preached by the Son of God. Instead of taking Gods Word to heart and mind, such religious leaders have let word snipes like rigid, backwards, outdated, and other excuses for ignoring Christs teachings make a mess of their mission. This carelessness has made them and those they serve open up to moral indifference, believing they have opened up to God. They have accepted progress without God, never once considering the damning consequences of that choice. Such delinquent pastors have fallen for lies regarding Christianity, such as the one that says that since Gods love is unconditional, sin is forgiven with no further accounting. According to this take on Christianity, sin is an obsolete concept having no relevance to todays people. So, doing what you desire is equal to doing what you ought. There really is nothing special you need to do for your path to heaven except make a difference (according to the media, of course), write checks, and wish everyone a nice day. This gospel of indifference permits skipping the Commandments, for starters, and allows religious leaders to adapt scripture to the times, making it possible to follow ones inclinations without reference to morality, rather than follow the will of God. What could be wrong with this putting self ahead of Christ? Well, smack off the bat, it obliterates the most precious relation there is to ones Creator. And it makes you think that God changes his mind, from time to time, about the most important things in life. Ive said this before, even to pastors, and I repeat: God does not change; people do not change; what God stands for does not change. Trying to make Christianity compatible with the times is a futile exercise that violates divine purpose and blocks the way to real human progress. Distorting Christianity may win people, but to what? Does it make people flock to a Heavenly Shepherd or to an earthly disarray of Pied Pipers? How did we get so far away from the faith? Decades of layman research let me offer the following brief account. In the formative years of this country, prominent Unitarians, New England transcendentalists, and kindred elites of the mind busied themselves spreading notions of heaven-on-earth fit more for novels than for actual consumption. These intellectual aristocrats rejected ideas for societal reform that challenged their inner goodness of man take on idealism. I sometimes think that we might all be better off today if these pie-in-the-sky pundits of reform had instead been men of the world and canny about people as Homer who recorded that men grow tired of sleep, love, singing, and dancing, sooner than war. (I sense the need to eliminate sin in the philosophy of such reformers.) Its difficult to exaggerate the hubris from these New England Brahmins, filling heads with ideas out of the range of reality. They were joined by other utopian romantics who, while not openly professing atheism, were bent on establishing their pet notions for a better world. The varied approaches to global reform without the aid of God settled into a hybrid theology with some of the flavor of Christianity and none of its substance and vitality. It bamboozled many. And it provided faithful Christians with ammunition and targets for fighting a holy war in modern times. (It is ongoing.) The theology of reformed Christianity flooding the mainstream churches over the past many decades featured core elements of secular humanism and it included Liberation Theology, both ideologies rejecting a divine Creator. The general ignorance regarding the Marxist character of Liberation Theology made that Godless ideology enter the church through the back door. The persistent, ongoing inattention to Christs teachings, for which his disciples dedicated their lives to make known and bequeathed us a Gospel for that purpose, has created many Christians-in-Name-Only, whether they are aware of it or not. Among the vanguards of Gospel deniers are ex-Communist and leftover Sixties political rebels, now collectively called the Left, sexually disoriented bullies pushing their perversion, and mercenary moguls waving Christianity like a flag to gain support. The scriptural insight that the poor will always be with us matches the truism that the wicked will also always be with us. The one calls for action that comes from the heart; the other calls for a change in heart in all who habitually harm others regardless of reason. This violates the call of Christianity to treat our neighbors as ourselves. When this elemental requirement of Christianity is snubbed even by those who claim to be Christian, then true Christians must press for an unqualified return to the faith established by Christ in its original fullness. Where is that never-surrender attitude that once made faithful Christians stand down opponents of the faith and made many sing Onward, Christian Soldiers? The prayers of a great many have apparently been answered in the recent presidential election, with the return of a fighter possessed of the daring of a David against a Goliath. Whatever the outcome of Trumps Judeo-Christian reset of the political and social scene, his God-driven call for sanity and justice should rouse many to their senses and lead to reforms that respect the Word of God. Americans of divergent origins, customs and persuasions, who in the last election spoke loudly and clearly enough to upset and upstage the plans for a world order without God, have demonstrated the resilience and the power of all who stand with this great nations motto: In God We Trust. Image from Grok. Vice President JD Vance recently delivered a significant and historic address at the Munich Security Conference. Speaking directly to the government, business, military, and diplomatic leaders who form the core of Europes and the Wests elite foreign policy establishment, he firmly asserted that the primary purpose of the United States is to protect and preserve individual liberty, rather than to establish global governance or uphold multinational alliances. For years weve been told that everything we fund and support is in the name of our shared democratic values, said the Vice President. Everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy. But when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether were holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard. In response, German diplomat and conference chair Christoph Heusgen, visibly moved, exclaimed, It is clear that our rules-based international order is under pressure. It is my strong belief that this multipolar world needs to be based on a single set of norms and principles, on the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This order is easy to disrupt, its easy to destroy, but its much harder to rebuild, so let us stick to these values. Let us not reinvent them, but focus on strengthening their consistent application. Image by Grok. These remarks highlight a fundamental divide. The political elite in Europeand many in the United Statesprioritize the so-called Rules-Based International Order, which seeks political and economic stability. This stability serves to secure the power of those who uphold it, often at the expense of citizens who cherish individual libertythe very principle Vance came to Berlin to advocate. Since the end of World War II, European elites have placed stability over freedom. Their greatest fear is the rise of populist governments, which they equate with the authoritarian regimes of Mussolinis Italy, Francos Spain, or Hitlers Germany. To maintain stability, they have relied on American financial and military resources for decades. However, this arrangement has been challenged. European leaders overplayed their hand by asking the United States to bankroll the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. With President Trumpnot President Bidennow controlling the U.S. checkbook, the expectation of unlimited support has come under scrutiny. As Vice President Vance suggested, foreign entanglements are not inherently American. Geographically separated by two oceans from Europe and Asia, the United States was predominantly isolationist from its founding until World War I. This philosophy can be traced back to President George Washingtons Farewell Address: Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course... Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice? It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. A recent article, Anatomy of Isolationism, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, echoes this sentiment: Throughout, with the exception of the nations entry into World War I, the United States sought to avoid entanglement in great-power rivalry and resisted the temptation, which was so enthusiastically embraced by other states of similar rank, to extend its reach into and to exert its influence over distant strategic theaters. The test of Americas isolationist credentials was not its mounting ambition in the Western Hemisphere or its insatiable commercial appetite. These were foreordained. What was optional was following in the footsteps of Europes imperial powers and seeking to shape the balance of power in theaters far afield. On this front, the United States passed the isolationist test with flying colors. In other words, theres something more to the divide between American and Europe than just Europes fear of another Hitler or Mussolini. Instead, there is a stark difference between Americans and Europeans regarding the primacy of individual freedom versus political stability. Why is this? One answer lies in Americas foundational belief that God, not the government, grants individual liberty. The governments role is to protect and preserve that liberty, not to dictate or restrict it. In America, sovereignty belongs to the people, not to the state. This principle is enshrined in our founding documents and ingrained in our national identity. In contrast, the monarchies of old Europe operated under a different philosophy. There, the sovereign was the king, whose authority was divinely granted, and the peopleafter the aristocracywere merely subjects. Rights were not inherent but bestowed at the rulers discretion. Although we may think of this as an outdated perspective, the reality tells a different story. Even today, twelve monarchies remain in Europe, including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Luxembourg, and Vatican City. Ultimately, the speech by Vice President Vance underscored a fundamental divergence between American and European worldviews. While Europe continues to prioritize stability through collective governance, America, under President Trumps stewardship, remains steadfast in its commitment to individual liberty. As global challenges mount, this philosophical divide will likely shape the future of international relations, compelling the United States to reassess its role in foreign affairs. Abdul Hamid Muhammad Al-Dubiba, the prime minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, Libya (the Libyan government that the United Nations recognizes) has told the U.S. government that Libya will take 100,000 to 200,000 refugees from Gaza. The Libyan offer is the first such proposal to receive Gazan refugees into a Muslim country that President Trump has received after announcing on Wednesday, February 5, in his press conference with Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the United States would take over Gaza, relocate the residents, and rebuild the area as a Riviera on the Mediterranean. This follows Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis decision to reject an open invitation to the White House for talks as long as Palestinian relocation is on President Trumps agenda. In Egypt, we have been warned since the beginning of the crisis that what was happening was an attempt to render the Gaza Strip uninhabitable, paving the way for the displacement of the Palestinians, al-Sisi insisted. He added, the displacement of the Palestinian people from their place is an injustice. We cannot condone or be a part of the unjust displacement of Palestinians. Jordanian King Abdullah II joined al-Sisi in rejecting Trumps proposal. Egypt has announced it will host an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on February 27 that would include the state of Palestine. In January, the United Nations and World Bank estimated that 72 percent of the territorys housing, 84 percent of its health facilities, and 92 percent of its primary roads had been damaged or destroyed. Without water, sanitation, or electricity, the estimated 1.8 to 2.3 million Gazans face returning to the rubble that is todays war-devastated Gaza without the essentials required for healthy daily living. Image: Truth screen grab. The United Nations, the European Union, and the World Bank estimate that more than $50 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza over the next 10 years, with $20 billion needed in the first three years. Francesca Albanese, a UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Gazan human rights, has insisted that the forced removal of the residents from Gaza would constitute mass ethnic cleansing, reminiscent of the Nabka, the Arabic word for catastrophe that the United Nations uses to accept the Arab narrative to describe the exodus of people following the 1948 Arab-Israel war. Every time Israel has floated the idea of dispersing the Arab residents of Gaza, Judea, and Samaria from Israel to the surrounding countries, the Arab residents have been unwilling to go, afraid that leaving Israel would be tantamount to abandoning the idea of creating a Palestinian state. Obviously, the success of President Trumps Middle East plan depends upon the willingness of various Muslim countries in the region to welcome Gazan refugees into their countries. This is a serious proposal that the Libyans are prepared to negotiate and implement. By acting quickly and responding positively, the White House can affirm that President Trumps out of the box proposal has a chance of being implemented in a conflict that has remained stuck in a dysfunctional repeat pattern since the 1948 Arab-Israel war, for 75 years, three-quarters of a century. President Trumps suggestion that the U.S. would cut foreign aid to Egypt and Jordan over their refusal to relocate Gazans is consistent with Elon Musks plan to end USAID as an independent agency. That threat is most likely aimed at forcing those governments to welcome refugees, rather than the Gazans themselves. I dont think people should be going back to Gaza, Trump said at his February 4 meeting in the Oval Office with Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. Theyve lived like hell; theyve lived like youre living in hell. Gaza is not a place for people to be living. The only reason they want to go back, and I believe this strongly, is they have no alternative, theyd much rather not go back to Gaza and live in a beautiful place thats safe. In response to pushback from Egypt and Jordan, Trump told Fox News on February 21, The war to do it [redevelop Gaza] is my plan. I think thats the plan that really works. But Im not forcing it. Im just going to sit back and recommend it. That interview came just a day after an investment conference in Miami Beach on February 20 where Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, and Steven Witkoff, Trumps special envoy to the Middle East, touted applying their real estate prowess to developing the Gaza with private capital. The Future Investment Initiative Institute hosted the conference, which was paid for mainly by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, a fund overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that has invested an estimated $2 billion in Kushners private investment firm. In 2020, Kushner played a major role in negotiating the Abraham Accords. Witkoff profited handsomely from developing tenement buildings in Harlem and the Bronx and later iconic properties like the Woolworth Building. Whether Kushner or Witkoff are tapped for the honor of redeveloping Gaza, there are plenty of actors in the world of BlackRock who would relish the chance to be involved. Keeping the momentum going, on February 26, Trump posted on TruthSocial.com an AI-generated video featuring Trump Gaza as the centerpiece of Gaza private redevelopment. Viewing Trumps Gaza video, we are invited to enter a stretch of private land on the Mediterranean that has been developed and enriched by private capital, a project that does not require neighboring states to pony up $50 billion or more of generally very costly sovereign debt. That Libya is the first Muslim country to offer to take in the Gazans, a population that fomented trouble in those nations that previously accepted them, suggests strongly that President Trump may find the most responsive countries will be the Muslim nations across North Africa and the Middle Eastern nations more distant from Israel. Very possibly both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates might be more receptive nations than Egypt and Jordan to welcome Palestinian refugees relocated from Gaza. President Trump has a unique opportunity to break through the Middle Easts historically unsolvable problem by renewing the push to finish the implementation of the Abraham Accords that he began implementing toward the end of his first term. The only real solution in the Middle East is economic. A Muslim world that agrees to co-exist with Israel has the potential to experience long-term economic growth. The Libyan GNU government clearly aims to win favor with President Trump, seek a new election unifying the nation, and embark upon a path to economic growth. With massive oil and natural gas reserves, the United States can apply the strategy of buying oil futures from Libya (comparable to obtaining future options on Ukraines rare earth minerals) as an investment, rather than a give-away. By responding positively to Libya in a White House meeting with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Muhammad Al-Dubiba, President Trump can expand on his out of the box suggestion that the United States take over the management of Gaza, creating the reality that the United States and Israel are resolved to create peace by bringing prosperity to the Muslim world in North Africa and the Middle East. Israel can police a Hamas-free Gaza without the need for U.S. troops. Our management of Gaza will thus involve setting the stage for private capital to accomplish a lasting peace that decades of Middle East accords have failed to achieve. Meanwhile, Libya will offer the relocated Gazans an opportunity to work and enjoy a standard of living never attained under decades of rule suffered under the grip of Hamas, a group that was never able to imagine a governing policy other wiping Israel off the map of the Middle East. It was an eventful week, with the SDNY FBI office apparently defying Attorney General Pam Bondis demand that it turn over all its Epstein files to her. Newly confirmed FBI director Kash Patel headed over there to search the premises and interview staff to find out where they are or even if they still exist. The week ended with a blowup of what was supposed to be the signing of an agreement between the Ukraine and the U.S., a preliminary step for opening negotiations with Russia to end the war. How you view the consequences of the blowup seems like an inkblot test: If you see the U.S. abandoning a faithful ally, you probably are a Democrat. If you see Volodymyr Zelensky as an arrogant grifter who overplayed his hand, you probably arent. Luckily the entire meeting is available on video so you can see for yourself the context in which the last few minutes occurred. Those few minutes being the only thing most viewers saw. Not without basis, President Trump believes that China, not Russia, is a bigger threat to this country and disengaging Russia from this fight will further our chances of drawing Putin away from alliances with China. Not without reason, the President believes the war is a meat grinder, an ongoing stalemate which could well lead to World War III if Ukraine is admitted to NATO and more weaponry and manpower from elsewhere are poured into the conflict. Not without reason, the President thinks both Russia and Ukraine have suffered substantial human and economic losses which will only continue unless both sides make some concessions and none of the suggested concessions he has hinted at supporting jeopardize either countrys vital interests. Not without reason, the President wants to know to what use Ukraine put all the billions of dollars we gave them to defend itself from Russia. Zelensky has three times indicated a willingness to sign an agreement with us, granting us mineral rights. The president thinks that once we establish that we have these interests in Ukraine, Putin will not further attack. Zelensky, doubtless egged on by those who wish the war to continue, wants a promise of more concrete security guarantees -- i.e., NATO troops on the ground and more military equipment -- but he nevertheless agreed to sign on to this, once in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant when he said hed sign at Munich, again in a second meeting at Munich when he said he'd sign at Washington, and a third time when he was invited to do so in the Oval Office. Having pledged three times to do so, in a public meeting in the White House (in which disrespectfully he appeared in some kind of athleisure wear) he regularly interrupted the president, insisted once again on a firm security pledge, not only the mineral rights agreement. He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and brought his countrys ambassador to tears with his performance. Finally, he was escorted out of the White House without an opportunity to enjoy the luncheon planned for him. The post-signing press conference which had been scheduled was cancelled. Zelensky clearly misjudged his bargaining strength or the consequences of this stunt. Im quite sure his fanciful overestimation of his strength and the U.S. support for him was due to people like Antony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, and Alexander Vindman, who reportedly encouraged this intransigence to come to terms, and equally toothless and discredited EU officials and members. Shortly after the contretemps Alexander Dubinsky, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, presently a prisoner of the regime, posted that this outburst marked the final act of the regimes collapse. I was thrown into prison not for a crime, but for speaking the truth. The very truth that Trump has now stated: Zelensky has lost. He has no cards left to play, he is running out of soldiers, and the country has reached a dead end due to his stubbornness. I demand the immediate convening of an emergency session of the Parliament, where Parliament must initiate impeachment proceedings against Zelensky for: - the failure of foreign policy, which has led to Ukraine's international isolation and the loss of allied support. - a lost war, which is the result of incompetent leadership and catastrophic decisions. - violations of citizens' rights and the usurpation of power, manifested in the suppression of the opposition, persecution of dissenters, and authoritarian rule. I appeal to all Members of the Ukrainian Parliament: stop wasting time, stop waiting! Zelensky is bankrupt. Zelensky is not Ukraine! It is time to put him on trial. If he cannot offer a real way out of the crisis, then it is up to us to make fateful decisions. Zelensky thought he could rule Ukraine through force. Now he has lost. Ukraine must decide - will it continue its freefall into the abyss, or will it begin the fight for true independence? Cooler heads than those who advised him to stand tall and be tough, obviously got Zelenskys ear because he quickly asked to come back to the White House but Trump refused, saying he couldnt do that. Instead, he officially halted all weapon shipments to Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated U.S. support for the restoration of Ukraines energy grid. Certainly, the audit of the over $175 billion Trumps presidential predecessor sent to Ukraine will be expedited and strengthened. The EU, whose position had been why dont you (the U.S.) fight Russia to save Europe is suggesting theyll step into the breach, but theyve neither the military might nor funds and weaponry to contribute. Statements of support arent like, you know, actual support. No one seems to wants to die for the EU in the muddy fields of Ukraine (not even Ukrainians who are being forcibly conscripted on the streets). The Presidents final words on the matter: Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. Its amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace. Heres my take: A clear-eyed, masterful negotiator looked at the field, came up with what he believes is the best available deal for his client (us) and the world and a posturing midget egged on by arrogant armchair warriors failed to grab it. Instead, Zelensky used this opportunity to insult his strongest benefactor and seems stunned to learn that was a stupid move. If this administration had a coat of arms, it would be encircled by a motto reading FAFO. How a nation treats its handicapped tells us a lot about them. To take one example, one of the most inspiring things about DOGE and its small team of engineers, attorneys and forensic examiners is the number of people who have handicaps in its stellar efforts to end waste and fraud and remake the government into a system that works for the American people. This isn't the result of DEI policies, which seek to fill bureaucratic cogs with certain numerical quotas. It's just utilizing excellence. Elon Musk, who himself has Asperger's Syndrome, has many talented engineers with some kind of autism, as there are many autistic people whose abilities with numbers are brilliant. And as the New York Times went around doxxing DOGE workers this past week, we learned there is at least one deaf person, too, who overcame tremendous obstacles to become the data scientist of excellence that she is: I have been doxxed. Rather than let others control the narrative, I am addressing this directly. My name is Jennica Pounds. I recently resigned from my job to pursue DOGE-adjacent efforts full-time. While my background check is still in progress, my ultimate goal is to work with DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) February 26, 2025 The story described is awful. But a first-time reader can't but be struck by how many obstacles this person has overcome to become the brilliant data scientist she is, one whose talents were recognized by Musk himself. It's interesting. They don't at DOGE advertise themselves as a hirer of handicapped people. But they manage to find so much talent in this group, talent that is rarely utilized in many other lines of work. They are the best. And all one can say is 'this is America.' Compare and contrast to this ugly picture ... unfortunately, in Ukraine. Ukraine military conscript, anyone they see fit into the army, Volodmyr Zelensky is forcing Down Syndrome men to fight on the battlefield And the army is dragging anyone they see off the streets and into their unmarked military vans Team @KremlinRussia_E We support you pic.twitter.com/rJdQjgJcam BobOhio (@Bob_Bob_2222) February 25, 2025 Yes, they have to have a draft -- they are at war, and don't have enough people, and worse yet, young people are fleeing. But there's a reason for that -- combat duty in Ukraine is called "a meat grinder" and thousands of young men and women have already been killed. Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, wants more, and he wants both European and American troops to fight this no-win mission. But for now, the handicapped will do. Maybe there is more to this story beyond this video, but it seems obvious they are taking helpless people and putting them to their worst uses -- combat veteran positions, which require, speed, reflexes and strength, all of which people with Down Syndrome, who may have other talents, do not have. They are only there because they could not resist not being dragged away for this duty and their casualty rate will undoubtedly be high. What a cruel way to treat handicapped people. How different from the picture at DOGE, where the differently abled are able to shine in their best possible way. Image: X video screen shot Its been funny to watch the tabloids in Europe regarding the Zelensky visit to the Oval Office on Friday. Andrew Neil, a British columnist of mostly tabloid expertise, defends Zelensky as Europe has now for yearsas a heroic martyr (but hes still alive) to Russian perfidy. The heads of state, or the stateless heads of the EU hegemony (still also alive and well in Brexit Britain via EUs still active EU International Court of Justice there) sent out an apparently coordinated tweet in support of Zelenskys untoward behavior in the Oval Office. One wonders about the very recent U.S. visits from Starmer and Macron. Were they a set up, too? After all, Europe has been in a tizzy ever since President Trump made clear his intention for peace in this war. Thus far, as long as we pay the tab, Europe has signaled its good for more fighting...as long as Ukrainians spill their blood and America foots the bill. European courage hasnt always been all its cracked up to be. It was France that, for years, played dead for Hitlers occupation, until American troops liberated Paris. Were it not for Churchill, Britain would have surrendered to Hitler in the name of a false peace. The Zelensky kabuki theater on Friday wont stand the test of a week or so. In America, we are beginning to find out a little of what went on under Biden, war-funding-wise. This would include, of course, hundreds of billions (final figures TBA) in the form of weapons and taxpayer cash to Ukraine. Regarding that cash, as many of us suspected would happen, its been lost in the politically storied Biden Ukraine memory hole. President Trump also recently said that the EU was created to oppose the United Statesanother bon mot from a real American leader who has a unique ability to speak honestly. Europe has been in a jealous tear about America since our Founders first declared and fought for liberation from the stranglehold of legal and civic inequality and injustice in Europe. And, yes, to the now not-so-mainstream media, we know that Russia can be and always has been a fighting Bear. How many of us are aware that Russia, however, was an ally to both Europe and the United States in winning World War II? Of course, that doesnt erase what Russia did in the years after WWII, during the Cold War, but its a reminder that nothing, including enmity, is permanent. Smug moral generalities from NATO and the like are very easy to make when it comes to delegating the ravages of war to those who must fight on the battlefields. President Trump was correct yesterday when he dismissed Zelenskys spoiled, belligerent presumptions of further gravy trains from the US to Ukraine, with no commitment to peace. Of course, the predictable Democrats are trying to make hay of Fridays Oval Office tussle between the two Presidents (a false equivalency if there ever was one). But the Dems fake takeaways dont weigh in so much now, given what we are finding out. Zelensky arguably had no plans to sign a mineral deal before or during his Oval Office visit yesterday, despite his own Parliaments support for the deal. He has scammed his way in and out of our country before. During those orchestrated visits, Biden lay on his back for a tummy scratch. President Trump would not oblige. The surpassing value of all human life: thats what President Trump gets, and bravo; thats what a newly powerful America is all about, again. YouTube screen grab. European politics are driven by a fusion of leftism, arrogance, and a desperate desire to avoid a repeat of WWI and WWII, the two most destructive wars in European (and probably world) history. However, national character may be destiny, because, if British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has a say, theyre lining up for a repeat. Most people know that WWI started because of a cascade of events, each of which, if stopped, could have prevented that blood debacle. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was visiting Sarajevo, Serbia, a city then located in the Austro-Hungarian empire, when Gavrilo Princip, a member of a movement that wanted Bosnia to gain independence from the empire, assassinated him. The Austro-Hungarian foreign minister used the event as an opening to declare war on Serbia, an act he knew would have German support. From that point forward, a combination of bad timing, stupidity, and various machinations by bad actors on all sides led directly to a conflagration. Russia responded to the Austro-Hungarian declaration by preparing for war against Germany, so Germany preemptively declared war against Russia. At this point, France began mobilizing to aid Russia against Germany. Germany therefore also declared war on France. Germany followed this declaration by invading Belgium, at which point Great Britain got involved. While Great Britain had no beef with Serbia, Russia, or France, it had previously committed to defend Belgium. Therefore, it declared war on Germany. From there, the cascade was unstoppable: Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia on August 5; Serbia against Germany on August 6; Montenegro against Austria-Hungary on August 7 and against Germany on August 12; France and Great Britain against Austria-Hungary on August 10 and on August 12, respectively; Japan against Germany on August 23; Austria-Hungary against Japan on August 25 and against Belgium on August 28. Italy eventually joined, too. The war ended only when America entered on the British side, breaking a trench war stalemate that, in all likelihood, would eventually have favored Germany. Along the way, of course, the Bolsheviks took over Russia. WWI resulted in over 17 million military and civilian deaths. It was also the perfect vector for the Spanish Influenza, which killed around 25-50 million worldwide. By paving the way for the Bolshevik takeover, it laid the groundwork for the approximately 100 million who died in the 20th century because of communism. And of course, WWI paved the way for WWII, which saw almost the entire European Jewish population erased (6 million dead), along with the deaths of around 70 million other people, both civilian and military. Why does all this matter? Because of what Keir Starmer said when Zelensky (egged on by Democrats from the Deep State and Congress) walked away from a Trump-brokered agreement that was a start to ending the war: The Prime Minister said Britain and France were developing a coalition of the willing, and that talks would intensify to create security guarantees that include British troops on the ground in Ukraine and fighter jets. [snip] Sir Keir said Britain was doubling down on support for Ukraine and pushed for a greater contribution from European allies to continent-wide security, but needed US backing. He also announced a new 1.6-billion-pound deal that would allow Ukraine to purchase 5,000 air-defence missiles using export finance. Holy shit UK PM Starmer proposes a new plan for Ukraine and wants Europe to up their economic spending and says the UK are prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air. Its about to become clear to the world that NATO are the ones pushing for WW3. pic.twitter.com/jjQsmXXbi2 Clandestine (@WarClandestine) March 2, 2025 I dont care if Europe finally steps in to fund the misbegotten war, since Americas already spent tons of money with no direct benefit to itself. Trumps proposal about mineral rights was an effort to recover some benefit for all those taxpayer dollars (at least half of which ended up vanishing). Americas contribution to funding the Ukraine warand its carried most of the funding compared to Europehas always been all about keeping Europe happy. So, now, let Europe pay. But boots on the ground? Really? Has Starmer learned nothing from history? What were witnessing is a territorial squabble over land along Ukraines Eastern flank. It never should have come to this (we can thank Obama for this disaster), but having Europe go head-to-head with Putin will not make things better; it will only make them worse. Europe is rapidly becoming a too dumb to live continent. Image: X screen grab. In the 48 hours since Ukrainian President Zelensky went rogue after showing up at the White House for what was to be a routine event to sign an already agreed-upon deal that would bring about a ceasefire while protecting American interests, people are increasingly convinced that Zelensky did not act alone. Behind that conviction lies a rogues gallery of Democrats, both Obama-era Deep Staters and elected officials. Assuming those rumors and suppositions are true, we need to talk about what those Democrats accomplished and why they need to face consequences. At this point, everyone has probably seen the fireworks that happened on Friday, February 28, when Zelensky showed up at the White House. As many have noted, how people view those fireworks is a litmus test on how they view President Trump and the war in Ukraine. Trump supporters saw Trump and Vance standing strong as Zelensky upped his demands, while Democrats saw the valiant little Zelensky stand up to the American behemoth. The results have been significant. The deal is (currently) off the table, even though America needs those minerals, whether because we lack them or because environmental regulations prevent us from accessing them. They have become integral to the modern era, powering the computers that power the civilian and military worlds. Meanwhile, Trump has announced that hes cutting off weapons shipments to Ukraine. If they dont want peace, we wont be providing for their war. YouTube screen grab. However, its not until you watch the entire event or (as I like to do, read the whole transcript) that you realize that something was off about the whole affair. In the beginning, it was clear that the purpose was for Trump and Zelensky to execute an already negotiated and finalized agreement. Indeed, Trump explicitly stated, I think were going to sign the agreement at the conference in the East Room in a little while, right after lunch. And well be having lunch together. In the world of diplomacy, this was a done deal. Moreover, Zelensky agreed. I hope that this document, first document, will be first step to real security guarantees for Ukraine, our people, our children. I really count on it. Again, a done deal. The parties would agree to the broader parameters and finalize the details later. And then, suddenly, everything changed, as Zelensky got more and more aggressive, attacking America for failing to understand Ukraines suffering, demanding more weapons, and speaking about American boots on the ground, something that was always going to be a non-starter. Its that sudden change that raises questions. Almost instantly, as Monica Showalter detailed, people noticed that Susan Rice seemed to be remarkably conversant with the deals details, considering that shes no longer an administration official. Rumors also started flying about Antony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, and Alexander Vindman, all people who are Obamites, who created the conditions in 2014 that led to the war, and who were involved in trying to bring down the Trump administration. In addition to those four names, people are also speculating that some Democrat senators also began advising Zelensky against the Trump agreement: Before meeting Trump, Zelensky met with anti-Trump Democrats who advised him to reject the terms of the mineral deal the president was offering, according to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Just finished a meeting with President Zelensky here in Washington. He confirmed that the Ukrainian people will not support a fake peace agreement where Putin gets everything he wants and there are no security arrangements for Ukraine, Murphys office posted on X at 11:15 a.m. Friday. He attached a picture of Zelensky at a conference table, with Murphy seated on the opposite side. Some have suggested that, if Democrat politicians and Deep State operatives were indeed conducting their own foreign policy, theyve violated the Logan Act, a 1799 law that makes it a criminal offense for an American citizen to negotiate disputes between the US and a foreign government. Many, however, believe that the Logan Act is unconstitutional, and, in any event, Ukraine is not our enemy (although its not currently acting like our friend). Mark Wauck, a retired FBI agent, believes that if Democrats went rogue, the law they were violating was the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), which bans people from representing foreign interests without publicly disclosing that fact. If everyone from Rice on down was guiding Zelensky in how to deal with President Trump, each of those people was acting as an agent for a foreign country. Moreover, they were acting against American interests because, as noted above, we can use those rare-earth minerals. So can Europe, which now has a chance to get them. And heres something else to contemplate. Wauck indicates that many see the Chinese being involved in advising Zelensky, too. With that in mind, Clarice Feldman makes an excellent point: Not without basis, President Trump believes that China, not Russia, is a bigger threat to this country and disengaging Russia from this fight will further our chances of drawing Putin away from alliances with China. Thats the last thing, of course, that China wants. So, we have American politicians and officials possibly conspiring with China and Europe against America. Whether this rises to the level of treason or sedition is unclear, but what is clear is that, to the extent it harms America, what they allegedly did is unpatriotic and downright evil. Attorney General Pam Bondi has already begun cleaning house at the DOJ. "On her first day in office, [Attorney General Pam Bondi] announced the creation of a 'Weaponization Working Group,' purportedly intended to root out 'abuses of the criminal justice process'..." "... by local and federal law enforcement officers, including those who had investigated Mr. Trump. Current and former Justice Department officials view those claims as merely an excuse to justify the brazen politicization of the department under Mr. Trump and his team. It has left many employees angry and worried for the departments future. The [Eric] Adams case brought those concerns to a head. One veteran prosecutor told a friend late Thursday that he was not answering phone calls, in hopes of avoiding a demand to take an action that would force his resignation...." Actually, substantial housecleaning was under way before her first day in office. Perhaps the most illustrative case involved the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, who resigned after being ordered by acting AG Emil Bove to dismiss the criminal case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. That case, and others, reflect attempts by Democrats/socialists/communist (D/s/c) to argue the Department of Justice is an agency independent of presidential authority. Their argument asserts the POTUS has no power to supervise or regulate the DOJ and any attempt to do so is political and unconstitutional. Graphic: X Screenshot Is it possible a NYC Mayor could be corrupt? Of course. I make no finding on Adams criminal culpability or lack thereof other than to observe he was prosecuted by the Biden/ Garland DOJ after coming out, even relatively weakly, against illegal immigration when the costs for NYC became too much to bear. Might that have been a coincidence? Might there be additional evidence of wrongdoing? Possible. As the sole politician directly elected by all the American people, the POTUS has Article II, express executive authority. Hes the boss in the Executive Branch, which includes the DOJ. He hires; he fires. One can make a reasonable argument that its best that the POTUS not micromanage the DOJ or any other agency, but he has that power. He can tell the US Attorney handling Des Moines, Iowa to prosecute or not to prosecute a given case. But what if that decision is corrupt? What if the POTUS is protecting a political narrative or covering up a crime? If the POTUS is a D/s/c, thats just fine. Its hes a Republican, its a coup, hes a dictator, hes destroying our democracy. In either case, the US Attorney has two choices: they can follow orders, or if they cant, they can resign, but the latter choice does not invalidate the POTUS power to issue those orders. Also, in either case, if the public believes the decision to be corrupt, they can vote the POTUS out of office at the next opportunity, which is what happened to Joe Bidens handlers. Pam Bondi is an appointee, an employee of Donald Trump. He appointed her because he believes she believes in and will implement his agenda, the agenda that caused the American people to vote for him. She serves as long as his belief in her ability to implement that agenda remains. Her authority is on loan from him; she acts in his stead. It is not only constitutional, but entirely ethical for a POTUS to require his appointees and every federal employee working for him to enact the agenda for which he was elected. But thats politics! Yes. Your point? Of course its politics. The Presidency is an inherently political office, as are the House and Senate. We have a Constitution to limit the powers of government, however, since government is comprised of men, those limits have frayed which is why were having the kinds of arguments that would have been familiar to the Founders. There is no question under Bidens handlers, the DOJ, FBI, indeed, the entirety of government, became weaponized against the political enemies of D/s/cs. Those enemies amounted to half or more of the American people. That means there are many, likely tens of thousands, of bureaucrats that have broken faith with the Constitution and the American people. In so doing, many have broken the law. They must be removed and as appropriate, prosecuted. Normal Americans who work for a living are amazed and disgusted by federal parasites who refuse to return to work, and who think being asked to list five things they did in a week of supposed work to be an outrage. Normal Americans would have no trouble listing five things they did in the last hour, nor would they think such a request a personal affront. Removing those that do is a first step necessary to putting the people, through their elected POTUS, back in charge. On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. One of the things thats a hallmark of a world without a moral compass is that its lost touch with reality. We see that in America with the insistence that sex is a mental construct, not a biological reality, a fantasy thats led to child mutilation, adult mutilation, women raped in prisons, and a general unleashing of immoral insanity across Americas institutions. Germanys unhinged Jew hatred also led it to the madness of genocide and a destructive belief that it could use its military to conquer the world. And then theres Israel. The facts on the ground are that Israel is a remarkably small nation that Jews have inhabited for around 3,800 years, that they retained as a homeland through purchase and official world recognition, that they held against repeated enemy attacks, and that they augmented through legitimate conquest when victorious in these wars. Other facts are that Israel is the only pluralist, liberal democratic republic in a region dominated by Muslim tyrannies. You can spin however you like, but those facts are actually indisputable. Heres another set of facts. Israels enemies have been open in their desire to erase Israel from the earth and have been unashamed of their belief that Jews should be exterminated. They have repeatedly rejected land for peace (Israel has equally repeatedly been willing to engage in such deals) and routinely violate ceasefires. Oil trucks heading into Gaza in January. YouTube screen grab. The most significant ceasefire violation was on October 7, 2023, when thousands of people from Gaza, some wearing Hamass uniform and some in civilian gear entered Israel, slaughtered over 1,200 civilians, along the way raping and torturing men, women, and children to death, and kidnapped over 240 more. Theyve used the kidnap victims as bargaining chips, whether they were alive or, as in the case of the Bibas family, already murdered. From the beginning, many in the world had a you deserve it attitude toward Israel for that nations daring to occupy that small spot of land when the surrounding Muslims so desperately want them dead. Really! How dare Israelis cling to the right to life? And how dare they argue that, unlike the Arabs who drifted into the land beginning in the 1830s, their historic ties are deeper and stronger in a region that believes history writes the future? Once Israel decided that it had no choice but to erase Hamas, a military organization, through legitimate warfare, the hatred against Israel escalated. The fact that Hamas embedded itself amongst civilians, guaranteeing their deaths in urban warfare, didnt resonate with the haters at all. Every civilian death (and those numbers were massively exaggerated) was Israels fault. Meanwhile, the world was silent as Hamas (later joined by Hezbollah) rained 10,000 rockets and missiles on Israels civilian centers. Israel wasnt congratulated for having created an infrastructure to protect her civilians. She was castigated for making it harder for Hamas to succeed. And then there was Israels own miscalculations. She desperately tried to curry favor with a world that had no favor to give by supplying Gazans with food, fuel, and medical supplies, whether by directly supplying those goods or by allowing the rest of the world to flood Gaza with those supplies by crossing borders that Israel controlled. While these were ostensibly meant for civilians, everyone and his uncle, including in Israel, knew that Israel was actually resupplying a genocidal enemy. I consider Israels policy in this regard insanely stupid and, indeed, immoral as to her own people. If youre damned if you do and damned if you dont, as is the case with Israel, then you must do whats best for youand supplying your enemys military so it can keep fighting is not what is best. Israel has finally wised up, though, and is refusing to send any more supplies to Gaza. Predictably, the world, which denies reality and lives in an immoral, antisemitic fantasy, is literally outraged. We know thats true because its right in the headline of the APs report. Recall that for decades, AP operated in the same building as Hamas, causing AP to cry that it was shocking and horrifying when Israel bombed the building. AP always has the adjectives when it comes to Israel hatred. But back to the latest AP report: Outrage as Israel cuts off Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept a new ceasefire proposal Israel faced sharp criticism on Sunday as it stopped the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday and warned of additional consequences if Hamas doesnt accept a new proposal to extend a fragile ceasefire. The foreign minister of Egypt, a key mediator in the conflict, accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon in a flagrant and clear violation of humanitarian law. Saudi Arabia called Israels decision a tool of extortion. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the ceasefire hours after its first phase had ended and said Israels decision to cut off aid was a war crime and a blatant attack on a truce that took a year of negotiations before taking hold in January. Israel has finally wised up for shes realized that nothing she does will be good enough. The only thing she can do is survive, and she cannot survive if she takes advice from a world gone mad. John Brennan has once again emerged from the shadows, taking to MSNBC to deliver a diatribe against JD Vance and Donald Trump for daring to advocate a pragmatic, negotiated resolution to the bloodshed in Ukraine. In Brennans mind, any deviation from full-throated, open-ended military engagement is tantamount to appeasement. In reality, it is a simple acknowledgment of geopolitical reality: Ukraine cannot win a war of attrition against Russia, and continued Western intervention only prolongs the suffering while draining American resources. But, I ask, should anyone take foreign policy advice from Brennan, a man whose hands are stained with the blood of failed wars, covert destabilization, and reckless warmongering? YouTube screen grab. No. John Brennan should not be appearing on TV as an expert. He should be standing trial for his actions. To understand why Brennan has no credibility, one must examine his record, a sordid chronicle of reckless interventionism and duplicity. He played a central role in some of the most catastrophic military blunders in modern history, from Iraq to Libya to Syria. And yet, despite these failures, he still carries himself as a moral authority, as if his judgment has not already led to ruin. Brennan was a key advocate of the Bush administrations invasion of Iraq, a war based on a lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. This lie led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, the destruction of a country, and the rise of ISIS. The war destabilized an entire region, fueled anti-American sentiment, and created a breeding ground for terrorism that persists to this day. It was a disaster by every conceivable measure, yet Brennan has never expressed real contrition for his role in advancing the false intelligence that justified the war. Instead, he continued to ascend the ranks of the intelligence bureaucracy, rewarded for his loyalty to the war machine rather than his competence or wisdom. Brennans influence only grew under the Obama administration, where he became one of the chief architects of the U.S. drone programa program that operated with almost no oversight and resulted in the deaths of thousands, including innocent civilians. Under Brennans guidance, the CIA carried out drone strikes across Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia, killing not just terrorists but also wedding parties, children, and American citizens without due process. This was extrajudicial assassination on an industrial scale, but Brennans only defense has been that such actions were necessary for national security. Then there is Libya, a nation that, under Brennans influence, the Obama administration helped turn into a failed state. Sold as a humanitarian mission, the intervention toppled Muammar Gaddafi and plunged the country into chaos. Libya swiftly turned into a breeding ground for jihadists and human traffickers. The brutal murder of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi was a direct result of this reckless operation. Syria was another one of Brennans pet projects. The CIA, under his guidance, armed and trained so-called moderate rebels in a covert operation that turned out to be a colossal failure. Many of these rebels ended up joining al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, effectively meaning that Brennan and his allies armed and funded jihadists. Beyond his foreign policy disasters, Brennan played a key role in manufacturing and promoting the Russiagate hoax, the greatest intelligence deception of the 21st century. As CIA Director, Brennan was instrumental in pushing the fraudulent Trump-Russia collusion narrative, a baseless conspiracy theory that consumed the media and political class for years. He worked closely with figures in the intelligence community to frame Trump as a Russian asset, despite knowing full well that the so-called evidence was flimsy at best and outright fabricated at worst. His goal was clear: To delegitimize and undermine an elected president, weaponizing intelligence agencies against a political opponent in a move that smacked of Soviet-style tactics. Brennan openly admitted that he wanted Trump removed, and he used his position to push a false narrative designed to cripple his presidency. In any functioning democracy, such actions would have resulted in legal consequences. Instead, Brennan secured comfortable contracts with outlets like the aforementioned MSNBC. John Brennan is not a man of wisdom or integrity. He is a failed intelligence officer, a warmonger, and a professional liar. He has been wrong about every major foreign policy decision of the last two decades. When he appears on media outlets to attack the president and vice president for wanting to avoid another prolonged conflict, he does so not from a place of principle but from a place of self-interest. America should not be taking advice from Brennan. It should be investigating him. A man with his record should not be pontificating about diplomacy and democracy. He should be answering for the lives lost and the wars prolonged by his reckless, deceitful policies. In December of 2024, in Secret Service Secret Marksmanship, I took to task the unnamed Secret Service Agent who fired at least six shots at the second Trump wannabe assassin from a distance of only a few feet and missed every shot. One would think Secret Service agents on a presidential detail would be better shots. One would apparently think wrongly. One would also think theyd be better shots than the average local patrolman. In that case at least, one would also think wrongly. One of the articles of faith and narratives of anti-liberty/gun cracktivists is the police are highly trained marksmen. We must leave guns to them because Normal Americans arent so highly trained and will just shoot themselves, their families and worse, they might shoot criminals. The truth is quite different. Graphic: Glock 17, a common police duty handgun. Author. Putting on the blue suit and a badge does not bestow upon police officers magical shooting abilities beyond the abilities of citizens. Only a small portion of any police force are gun guys and girls. Most police officers have only a single gun: their agency-issued handgun. The only training they get comes from their basic academyprivate or publicand whatever refresher training their agency provides. Periodic qualification doesnt count. Unless a given officer spends the time and money in regular practice and in advanced, private training, thats all theyll ever have. For most agencies, qualification is a once-a-year burden. Ammo is expensive, and so is taking officers off the street. They have to be replaced by other cops at overtime rates. Qualifications normally fire no more than 50 rounds at never-changing stationary targets at known ranges, usually no greater than 25 yards, and commonly no greater than 15 yards. Often, strings of fire arent timed, and only 70% proficiency is the usual standard. Officers pass if they miss only 30% of their shots. Even better, officers are allowed to reshoot the course of fire as many times as necessary to pass. Were that not true, were officers required to be 70% proficient on demand, far too many would fail, which means theyd be desked until they could meet that standard, or fired, which is much too expensive. Dont ask how often officers clean their handguns, whether theyve been trained to do it or have the proper equipment. Keep in mind large blue city police agencies tend to have even lower standards. Their executives are politicians who have to reflect their bosss beliefs if they want to keep their jobs. That means they dont like guns, dont like cops and trust neither. Theyre not going to do whats necessary to ensure officers have a high degree of shooting ability. Two examples illustrate reality: The New York City Police Department issues guns with 12-pound trigger pulls. Standard Glocks have 5.5 pound triggers. The heavier the trigger, the harder it is to shoot accurately. NYPD brass are worried about negligent discharges, so they issue hard to shoot guns. The results are predictable: In 1990, NYPD officer hit potential was only 19%. That means 81% of the rounds they fired at criminals missed. At less than three yards, they hit only 38% of the time. From 3-7 yards, 11.5% and from 7-15 yards, only 9.4% Some of those less than 3-yard shots were at muzzle-touching range. There are many cases on record of police officers emptying their guns at crooks at inside-a-phone-booth range and missing every shot. Those 1990 results havent improved with time. Heavy triggers combined with poor training have inevitable consequences. We now move to Los Angeles, setting for innumerable police dramas where sharp shooting cops never miss. Graphic: KTLA5 Screenshot In 2013 LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner, a large black man, was fired for cause and began hunting superiors he thought responsible. He was reportedly driving a pickup truck. Eight LAPD officers, including a supervisor, were covering the home of a LAPD Captain, a potential Dorner target, when a blue pickup entered the neighborhood. Those eight officers unleashed 103 rounds at the truck, which did not contain Dorner but two Hispanic women delivering newspapers. This was a classic example of me too! police shooting. One officer shoots at something and every nearby officer, having no idea why theyre shooting, joins the fun. Fortunately, their marksmanship was reliably poor. They hit the truck, seven nearby homes and nine other vehicles. The women were only wounded. They were awarded $4.3 million, and none of the officers were disciplined. Im not denigrating the police. I used to be one. They do a difficult job that requires they always be right amazingly well. But shooting is a perishable skill. Unless one learns the right techniques and regularly practices and improves, they'll fail under stress. Many citizens spend that necessary time and money. Most cops dont. As with politicians we get the police, and police marksmanship, we deserve. On a different subject, if you are not already a subscriber, you may not know that weve implemented something new: A weekly newsletter with unique content from our editors for subscribers only. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription. Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor. On February 28, 2025, the Oval Office echoed with the undeniable strength of President Donald Trumps leadership as he participated in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and demonstrated American resolve at its finest. What began as a discussion about a potential minerals deal and U.S. support for Ukraines conflict with Russia transformed into a defining moment of Trumps presidencya bold, unapologetic stand against perceived ingratitude and diplomatic overreach. Rather than being a misstep, this encounter became a masterclass in prioritizing America first, underscoring Trumps unwavering commitment to his nations interests and his refusal to be dictated to by a foreign leader, even one steeped in wartime sympathy. The scene unfolded with Trump at the helm, his commanding presence evident as he sat beside Vice President J.D. Vance, a loyal partner in this high-stakes exchange. Zelensky, invited to discuss terms to offset billions in U.S. aid through Ukrainian mineral resources, arrived with a demeanor that quickly grated on his host. Trump, embodying the clarity of a seasoned negotiator, pointed out what he viewed as Zelenskys failure to acknowledge Americas generosityhundreds of millions in weapons, cash, and goodwill had flowed into Ukraines defense. Youre not in a position to dictate, Trump declared, his voice cutting through the room with the authority of a man who had weathered political storms and emerged stronger. Vance emphasized this point, questioning whether Zelensky had ever managed a simple thank you, a fair critique considering the scale of U.S. sacrifice. Zelensky, for his part, attempted to push back by waving photos of war-torn Ukraine and invoking Russias broken promisesa tired strategy that did little to sway Trump. His tone, laced with defiance, only intensified the Presidents frustration. Here was a leader, Trump argued, gambling with World War III by rejecting reasonable peace terms with Russia, all while expecting American taxpayers to foot the bill indefinitely. The press pool, which included a Russian journalist who was swiftly removed, captured every tense moment, but it was Trumps determination that stood out. When Zelenskys arguments failed to resonate, Trump made the call: no joint press conference, no further talks. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office, Trump later wrote on Truth Social, a sentiment that summed up his decision to send Zelensky packinga move as decisive as it was justified. The reaction was electric. On X, supporters rallied behind Trump, celebrating his refusal to coddle a leader who had overplayed his hand. Beyond social media, the narrative took root among those who view Trump as a guardian of American sovereignty. His base cheered the optics: a President unafraid to draw a line, demand respect, and prioritize his people over endless foreign entanglements. This wasnt chaosit was control, a deliberate display of power that reminded the world why Trump reclaimed the White House in 2024. Critics, predictably, clutched their pearls. European leaders, including Frances Emmanuel Macron, offered quiet support for Ukraine, while Democrats in Congress denounced Trumps firm stance as cruelty. Zelenskys allies in Kyiv presented him as a martyr, but their appeals felt empty against the reality of Ukraines dependence on U.S. support. Trumps frustration wasnt newit traced back to 2019, when a phone call with Zelensky sparked an impeachment circus that only solidified his resolve. Now, back in power, hes reshaping the narrative. The minerals deal, a smart strategy to offset aid costs, stalled not because of Trumps temper but because Zelensky miscalculated his leverage. Who blinked first? Not the man behind the Resolute Desk. Trumps approach here was vintage: bold, brash, and rooted in a dealmakers instinct. Hes never hidden his disdain for leaders who take Americas support for granted, and this showdown was no exception. His offhand remark about Putinhes gone through a hell of a lot with mewasnt a concession but a flex, a nod to his ability to stare down any adversary, from Moscow to Kyiv. Battered by war and desperate for aid, Zelensky gambled on guilt-tripping Trump and lost. The photos and lectures landed like a feather against a freight train. Whats next? Trump holds the cards. He could cut aid, forcing Europe to scramble, or use this rupture to push Ukraine toward a peace deal on terms he favorsperhaps one that stabilizes the region without bleeding America dry. Either way, the Oval Office clash wasnt a misstep but a statement. Trumps not here to play nicehes here to win. Zelenskys silent exit, his delegation trailing behind, said it all: when you challenge Trump on his turf, you leave empty-handed. This wasnt just a meetingit was a reminder of why America chose him again, a leader who bends the world to his will, not the other way around. YouTube screen grab. European leaders in Brussels declare themselves the leaders of the free world while arresting citizens for memes. Likewise, they claim Putin woke up one morning, had a cup of coffee, and attacked the beautiful democracy of Ukraine...unprovoked. Who do they think theyre trying to fool? Americans ought to know that the war started in 2014 when Yanukovych was forcibly removed from office. Some Ukrainians call it a coup, others a glorious revolutionthe only difference being political affiliation. Supporters of Yanukovych, mostly in Donbas, chose to secede and, like most secessions, it led to a civil war. Much later, the Minsk agreement was brokered to give Donbas some degree of autonomy. A Ukrainian attack on a Donetsk bus in 2015. YouTube screen grab. Despite this agreement, Kyiv intermittently shelled the folks in Donbas, most of whom have Russian ethnicity, over a period of six years. In 2022, after years of failed negotiations, Russia decided, rightly or wrongly, to take matters into its own hands, vowing to end the conflict. Kiev blamed Russia for the shelling. Residents in Donbas blamed Kiev. Who was at fault? Who knows? Either way, none of that matters now. Its 2025, a million people have died, maybe more, and there is no end in sight. Indeed, despite spending hundreds of billions on a foreign conflict that doesnt directly affect the American people, our establishment media advocates spending more tax dollars to save a fellow democracy, while omitting the fact that Zelenskyy arrests dissenters and political opponents, while using the war as an excuse not to hold elections. (Many nations, including our own, have managed elections during a war.) I wonder if perhaps its time for those who display their Ukrainian flags to rethink what it means: Specifically, does it mean supporting Brussels, a large, inefficient, bureaucratic machine that blames Russia for all of Europes economic woes and whose war mongers thump their chest like foot-dragging, knuckle-dragging Neanderthals? Or does it mean supporting the Ukrainian military, which goes door-to-door, dragging men to war, forcing conscription? How many of us would volunteer to travel to Ukraine to fight on the front-line? Regarding peace, Zelensky and Brussels incessantly use two phrases: lasting peace and security guarantees, but their proposals are vague and unrealistic. In the real world, a security guarantee would mean American boots on the ground in Ukraine. I would argue that Trump made the right decision. The jingoism in Europe may expand the war, but we should not get involved. HONOR just dropped a bombshell announcement in Barcelona at MWC 2025, following its HONOR Alpha Plan announcement. The company announced that it will offer 7 years of major Android OS updates to its Magic series devices. HONOR promises 7 years of major Android OS and security updates for its Magic series devices This includes 7 years of security upgrades, of course. This brings the company amongst the very top in the industry, as several others offer 7 years of major Android OS updates, such as Google, who debuted that practice. By doing this, HONOR says that it ensures that Magic Series users will enjoy access to cutting-edge AI features and innovative functionalities for years to come. There are obvious benefits from such long support, if you aim to keep your device for many years. You wont only benefit from new features that the new version of Android delivers, but the company will make sure that the security level is always up to date. This also ties into HONORs sustainability efforts This also ties into HONORs sustainability efforts. Reducing e-waste and supporting a more circular economy is one of the companys goals. This move also moves HONOR up the ante when it comes to device lifecycle management, thus aligning with the EUs Circular Economy and Ecodesign Regulation. Do note that HONOR did not mention what devices this applies to. Does it apply to flagship Magic devices only from this point on? Or perhaps flagships that were already announced, at least from the Magic7 series. We were not sure, so we decided to reach out to HONOR for some additional comments. To clear things up, the company confirmed that the Magic7 Pro (presumably including the Porsche Design model) is eligible, not any other devices that have already launched. Moving forward HONOR said that next upcoming devices will be supported, so presumably not only flagship Magic models. TECNO has introduced a couple of AI-powered smart glasses ahead of its MWC 2025 event in Barcelona. The brand simply called them the TECNO AI Glasses and AI Glasses Pro, claiming they are as light as sunglasses and offer several artificial intelligence-powered features. The company will unveil the AI glasses alongside the TECNO Camon 40 series, Spark Slim smartphones, and the MegaBook S14 laptop at its MWC 2025 event between March 3rd and March 6th. Features of the TECNO AI Glasses and AI Glasses Pro The smart AI glasses from TECNO flaunt a frame designed using light composite materials and aluminum alloy. The brand will produce them in Aviator Style and Eyebrow Frame options. While they appear to resemble a pair of spectacles, they provide support for artificial intelligence features. The TECNO AI Glasses model has support for multiple software features that require a built-in camera. The company has equipped the Pro variant with an AR display. It allows users to see a live view of navigation instructions, among other things. Both the TECNO smart wearable products feature a built-in AI assistant that supports various voice commands with a touch on their temple. You can also view flash notes, memos, and schedule using the assistant. They feature object recognition, information summarization, tourist information, and even recommendations. Weve yet to know how the TECNO AI Glasses and AI Glasses Pro will work. However, the brand will give people a sneak peek at their functionality at MWC 2025. The company will share some details regarding their pricing and the availability of these smart glasses in the coming days. TECNO will also introduce new smartphones and a MegaBook laptop at MWC 2025 Furthermore, TECNO will introduce a few new smartphones and a MegaBook series laptop at its upcoming MWC 2025 event. The company will showcase a few Camon 40 series handsets with a dedicated camera shutter. They will also offer an impressive photography experience and advanced AI capabilities. The latest MediaTek Ultimate processors will power these phones and enable advanced multi-skin tone imaging for more natural and vibrant images. TECNO has already confirmed that it will showcase the Spark Slim as the worlds slimmest phone at the MWC 2025. The phone will have only a 5.75mm waistline and will feature two 50MP cameras and a massive 5,200mAh battery. Other highlights of the phone will include a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with curved edges, a 1,224p resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, and 45W fast charging capabilities. Similar to the brands new phones and glasses, the new TECNO laptop will also offer AI features. Unfortunately, TECNO hasnt yet shared any details regarding the hardware of the new notebook. However, the brand did reveal that the MegaBook S14 would be the worlds lightest 14-inch laptop with an OLED display. Singaporean authorities have charged three people with fraud in cases allegedly linked to the possible smuggling of NVIDIA chips into China. According to a Channel News Asia report, investigators are linking the case to probes into whether Chinas DeepSeek artificial intelligence startup managed to access NVIDIA chips, despite the export controls mandated by the US government. For those unaware, US law prevents the legal sale of the tech giants advanced AI chips to Chinese companies without a license. Three persons charged the authorities with misrepresenting the end destination of NVIDIA chips According to the CNA, Singaporean police and customs authorities arrested nine people in a raid across more than 20 locations on Wednesday. They also charged three persons in connection with misrepresenting the end destination of NVIDIA chips, reports the publication. Two of the trio charged with criminal conspiracy to commit fraud are nationals of Singapore. One of the individuals charged with committing fraud on a supplier of servers by fraudulently making false representations is a national of China. Furthermore, the report states that the Chinese national whom Singaporean authorities charged claimed that a company called Luxuriate Your Life was the end-user of the NVIDIA chips in question. However, the authorities say that it was a false representation. Media reports suggested that intermediaries in Singapore illegally moved NVIDIA chips to China. They were bypassing US export controls, which led to the raids. Washington officials are scrutinizing Singapores role as a transshipment hub for advanced chips After the massive success of Chinese startup DeepSeek and its ability to offer advanced AI models as powerful as those manufactured by US developers, Washington officials are scrutinizing Singapores role as a transshipment hub for advanced semiconductors. Notably, NVIDIAs revenue in Singapore is growing much faster than in all other locations across the globe. NVIDIAs Singaporean revenue increased by 10 times in just two years. It has risen from $2.3 billion in the 2023 fiscal year to $23.7 billion in its most recent fiscal year, ending this January. The rapid increase in revenue has sparked questions about how many of NVIDIAs chips destined for customers are based in Singapore. Singaporean authorities say that they dont condone businesses using the city to bypass export controls imposed by other countries. US officials are currently reportedly probing if DeepSeek circumvented the countrys export controls by purchasing advanced NVIDIA AI chips through other parties in Singapore. We expect more details on the matter to emerge soon, so stay tuned for regular updates. European leaders will gather in London on Sunday to forge a common position on ending the war in Ukraine, before the countrys premier heads off to meet the King. While Donald Trumps America is the driving force behind brokering a peace with Russia, Sir Keir Starmer wants Europe to be ready to lead peacekeeping efforts should a deal be struck. At Lancaster House, a mansion near Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister is expected to urge the 18 countries in attendance to follow the UK in answering the USs calls to boost defence spending. Sir Keir pledged this week to raise the UKs defence spending to 2.5% of its economic output by 2027. The summit comes after several days in which the foundations of the transatlantic Nato alliance have been shaken. Vice president JD Vance, right, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and President Donald Trump at the White House (Mystyslav Chernov/AP) A clash between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, in which the US President claimed his counterpart was gambling with world war three. It resulted in Ukraines president being kicked out of the White House, and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support was placed on ice. Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting, in which he and his vice president, JD Vance, engaged in heated exchanges with Mr Zelensky. European leaders soon rallied in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, while Sir Keir tried to keep the peace and spoke to both presidents over the phone. The Prime Minister then welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street on Saturday, in a meeting described as meaningful and warm by the Ukrainian leader. The two men embraced as they met, and again later as they parted, and Sir Keir took the unusual step of walking Mr Zelensky to his car, instead of waving him goodbye from the front step of No 10. Sir Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky as he leaves 10 Downing Street (James Manning/PA) Ahead of Sundays gathering, Chancellor Rachel Reeves meanwhile signed a loan agreement worth 2.26 billion with her Ukrainian counterpart, to pay for further military support and the rebuilding of Ukraine in future. The UK hopes to recoup the costs from frozen Russian assets locked in bank accounts across Europe. Mr Zelensky is expected to meet the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk on Sunday, after attending the summit. The embattled Ukrainian leader meets Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US presidents support. Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump on Sunday, for the second evening in a row, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, as he seeks to be a bridge across the Atlantic and smooth out the ongoing division between Western allies. In other developments: Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, told the BBC he urged Mr Zelensky to repair his relationship with the US president in a Friday-night phone call, as the alliances members need to stick together against Russia. Mr Zelensky described Mr Trumps support for Ukraine as crucial, in a sign he was willing to mend the relationship with the US. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned in a Telegraph newspaper article that Americas commitment to Europe cannot now be taken for granted, after urging Sir Keir to push for concrete pledges during the summit. The Liberal Democrats called for Sir Keir to restore the size of the British Army to 82,000 troops, in step with the commitment to boost defence spending by 2027. Hollywood star James McAvoy has said it is massively humbling to be recognised for his outstanding contribution to cinema by his home city. The actor was presented with the Cinema City Honorary Award by the Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) on Sunday. In a career spanning film, TV and stage productions, McAvoys best-known roles include Dr Nicolas Garrigan in the 2006 film The Last King Of Scotland and Professor Charles Xavier in the blockbuster X-Men franchise. He was presented with the award during an event at the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), not far from where he studied at the the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD), now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. James McAvoy with his Cinema City Honorary Award (Robert Perry/PA) Speaking outside the GFT, he said: Its humbling, its a massive honour. I never thought for a second when I started acting at the age of 16 that I would even get another job, let alone be here, 29 years later, getting a lovely award from my home city. So yeah, massively humbling, and its quite sentimental as well. Other major roles in his career have included Robbie Turner in the 2007 adaptation of Atonement and Lord Asriel in the His Dark Materials TV series. The 45-year-old is currently working on his directorial debut with California Schemin which tells the tale of two Scottish rappers who pretended to be an American rap duo to secure a record deal before the hoax unravelled. It is based on the story of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, from Dundee, who reinvented themselves as Californian rappers Silibil N Brains. McAvoy said directing is a very different tempo from acting but that he is really enjoying it. He said: I am six weeks into the editing process, wont be finished post-production until August but its going really good. My cast are amazing and they make me laugh and cry every day in the edit. And its also just a whole new world for me because Im just used to finishing a job and going onto the next one, but now I live with it. So its been two-and-a-half years till we started shooting, probably be a full year of my life, through production and post-production. So a very different tempo, but Im really enjoying it. James McAvoy spoke to fans as he arrived at the GFT (Robert Perry/PA)Jam The film is based on Gavin Bains autobiography titled California Schemin, which was later reprinted as Straight Outta Scotland. McAvoy, who grew up in the Drumchapel area, said that coming from a council estate in Glasgow himself he wanted to tell stories about people from similar backgrounds but also create something entertaining. He said: I was interested in telling a story, not just solely set in Scotland, but about people who come from backgrounds where they have less opportunities, whether thats council estates or whatever it is, but at the same time, telling a story that was entertaining and aspirational, and not just living in the grime and the dirt, which is part of that sort of lower economic background, definitely. But its not all it is, and sometimes it is all it is on film. And I come from a council estate in Glasgow, I wanted to tell stories about people from that kind of place but also entertain. And this story definitely gives the opportunity to do that. McAvoy took part in a sold-out In Conversation event at the GFT on Sunday, looking back at a career that has taken him from Glasgow to the heights of Hollywood stardom. It was followed by a special screening of his breakthrough role in The Last King Of Scotland, introduced by McAvoy himself. In the 1930s, Glasgow was said to be home to more cinemas per person than anywhere else in the UK and became affectionately known as the Cinema City. Last year, the inaugural Cinema City Honorary Award went to The Lord Of The Rings star Viggo Mortensen. Sir Keir Starmer has arrived for crunch talks on the war in Ukraine with political leaders. The Prime Minister is welcoming leaders from across Europe and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also expected at the meeting at Lancaster House in London. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be among those in attendance at the summit before he heads off to meet the King. He travelled to the UK on Saturday after his Oval Office confrontation with Donald Trump which has created a divide between the US and its European Nato partners. French President Emmanuel Macron was pictured arriving at the summit around lunchtime on Sunday. He was embraced by the Prime Minister before heading inside. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has also arrived, as well as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. They were followed shortly afterwards by other leaders including Mr Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Before the meeting, Sir Keir spoke to the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and agreed that Europe must unite and drive forward urgent action that will secure the best outcome in Ukraine. Issuing a readout of the call with president Alar Karis of Estonia, prime minister Evika Silina of Latvia and president Gitanas Nauseda of Lithuania, a Downing Street spokesperson said: The Prime Minister updated them on his discussions with the leaders of Ukraine, France and the United States in recent days and underlined his focus on securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that ensures their future sovereignty, backed up by strong security guarantees. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron to Lancaster House, London (Toby Melville/PA) Sir Keir had said earlier on Sunday that the UK will work with France and possibly one or two others on a peace plan for Ukraine that will be discussed with the US. He told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States. European leaders rallied round to support the Ukrainian president after the scenes in the Oval Office on Friday evening, which saw Mr Trump publicly berating Mr Zelensky. Sir Keir told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the encounter made him feel uncomfortable, adding that nobody wants to see that. The important thing is how to react to that, said Sir Keir. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said her heart went out to Mr Zelensky following his clash with Mr Trump. She told the same programme: I watched it and I couldnt believe what was happening, he was being humiliated. The King has met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Charles welcomed Mr Zelensky to the estate for just under an hour on Sunday, immediately after the latters attendance at the defence summit on Ukraine in London. A military helicopter carrying Mr Zelensky could be seen flying low and descending over the estate at around 5.25pm. Local people, some holding Ukraine flags, gathered outside the estate to try and catch a glimpse of the arrival. A motorcade then took the president through the grounds of the estate to Sandringham House, where Charles greeted him at the doorstep. They embraced and shook hands before chatting briefly and posing for photos. Charles warmly embraced President Zelensky as he arrived outside Sandringham House (Joe Giddens/PA) The monarch then warmly received Mr Zelensky in the houses Saloon room, with tea being served. A helicopter departed the estate at around 6.35pm. Mr Zelensky, whose plane left from Stansted Airport later on Sunday night, posted a picture of the meeting on X, saying I am grateful to His Majesty King Charles III for the audience and adding pictures of the Ukrainian flag and the Union flag. The pair previously met during Mr Zelenskys surprise visit to the UK in February 2023 in a historic audience at Buckingham Palace. I am grateful to His Majesty King Charles III for the audience. pic.twitter.com/qHPhiXv8fu Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) March 2, 2025 They also shook hands and had a private summit at the European Political Community summit in Oxfordshire in July 2024. Their latest meeting came after Mr Zelenskys unprecedented public clash with US president Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance in the White Houses Oval Office on Friday. A day prior, Charles invited Mr Trump to the UK for an unprecedented second state visit. World champion Luke Littler swept past James Wade 11-2 to win the UK Open title in Minehead. Veteran Wade, a three-time former UK Open champion, had been in vintage form earlier on Sunday, knocking out world number one Luke Humphries during the afternoon session before brushing aside Josh Rock 11-2 in the semi-finals. Littler, though, also brought his top form to the final, building on an early break to take a commanding 5-0 lead into the first interval. LITTLER IS THE UK OPEN CHAMPION! Darting domination from Luke Littler! The World Champion demolishes three-time winner James Wade 11-2 to lift the UK Open title for the very first time! https://t.co/NoQ0dOaEl5 #UKOpenDarts pic.twitter.com/VSpv4i0X4U PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) March 2, 2025 The 18-year-old never looked back, forging ahead as Wade struggled to find his range, winning another four consecutive legs before The Machine who appeared to stab himself in his throwing left hand with one of his own darts finally got on the board at 9-1. However, that was only delaying the inevitable and, after 41-year-old Wade picked up another score in the 12th leg, Littler eventually got the job done after twice missing at double 12 to claim yet another title and the 110,000 top prize. It is one I have wanted to win, Premier League champion Littler said on ITV4. Another one ticked off the list for Luke Littler How many more will he win in 2025? #UKOpenDarts | @LukeTheNuke180 pic.twitter.com/ey2buhEadc ITV Sport (@ITVSport) March 2, 2025 It is my third time here. I came here two years ago as a 16-year-old, last year I was in the quarter-final and now I have gone two better this year to win it. I had a job to do, I just wanted to pick up the trophy and it is one I can tick off the list now. Littler, who dispatched Jonny Clayton 11-6 in the semi-finals, added: I am looking at the Premier League, making sure Im in the top four and making sure I go to the O2 (for the play-offs). I have got the Pro Tour, the Players Championship and back to the Premier League, so it is going to be a long few weeks. Littler hit nine 180s and averaged 101.51 to Wades 88.06 in a one-sided final. Veteran James Wade came up short in the final (Bradley Collyer/PA) I played well in the semis, in the final he just completely gassed me out, said Wade. Im the senior dart player, absolutely bashed me to bits. What can you do against that? He was the far superior player, as much as it kills me to admit it, but it is what it is. For me, it is a great step in the right direction. Fair play to Luke at the moment, hes probably the best or the second-best darts player in the world comfortably. Beast A reminder James Wade threw maximums to knock Luke Humphries out of the #UKOpenDarts pic.twitter.com/kuBZfEIa5k ITV Sport (@ITVSport) March 2, 2025 Earlier, Littler had seen off Dutchman Gian van Veen 10-4, hitting seven 180s with a match average of just over 107 during his quarter-final in Sundays afternoon session. World number one Humphries, though, was not able to follow on from his Premier League success over Littler in Exeter on Thursday night as he lost a last-leg decider to Wade, who landed 10 maximums. Northern Irishman Rock beat Nathan Aspinall 10-7 to take his place in the evening semi-finals, while Welshman Clayton had edged out former world champion Michael Smith 10-8. Bernie Sanders at a confirmation hearing in Washington DC, on 19 February. Photograph: Nathan Posner/REX/Shutterstock Independent US senator Bernie Sanders has dismissed as horrific claims that Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelenskyy may have to resign after a diplomatic meltdown in the Oval Office with Donald Trump. Sanders comments, in an interview with NBCs Meet The Press on Sunday morning, served as a retort to pro-resignation remarks from his fellow US senator Lindsey Graham, which in turn had been affirmed by the Republican House speaker Mike Johnson. I think that is a horrific suggestion, Sanders told NBCs Kristen Welker in the interview. Zelenskyy is leading a country, trying to defend democracy against an authoritarian dictator, [Vladimir] Putin, the Russian dictator whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. I think millions of Americans are embarrassed, are ashamed that you have a president of the United States who says Ukraine started the war, that Zelenskyy is a dictator, Sanders continued, referring to Trump. Hes got it exactly backwards. Related: Defiant but tactful Zelenskyy seeks to move on from White House fiasco The people of Ukraine have lost tens of thousands of soldiers, their cities are being bombed as we speak. Our job is to defend the 250-year tradition that we have of being the democratic leader of the world, not turn our backs on a struggling country that is trying to do the right thing. The comments from Johnson came after Zelenskyys contentious meeting on Friday at the White House with Trump and JD Vance. As part of a deal with the US involving minerals in Ukraine, Zelenskyy had sought security guarantees from the US as Ukraine defended itself from Russias invasion. That prompted the US vice-president to accuse Zelenskyy of not being grateful enough for US aid and for the US president to ask Zelenskyy to leave the White House without the minerals deal being signed. Trump is the not first US president during Ukraines war to accuse him of being ungrateful for the US militarys assistance. In October 2022, citing four sources familiar with the exchange, NBC News reported that then president Joe Biden lost his temper in a phone call with Zelenskyy in which he told Zelenskyy he had authorized another $1bn in assistance for Ukraine to which Zelenskyy responded by listing the additional help he needed. NBC reported that Zelenskyy issued a statement praising the US for its aid after that call with Biden. And, in an Twitter/X post on Saturday, Zelenskyy thanked the US and Trump for all the support during these three years of full-scale invasion. Nonetheless, on ABCs This Week on Sunday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio accused Zelenskyy of undermining Fridays talks by failing to contain himself trying to Ukraine-splain on every issue. I hope this could all be reset, Rubio said. Meanwhile, on Meet the Press on Sunday, Johnson told Welker that something has to change with Zelenskyy. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that, Johnson said. Johnson claimed Zelenskyy should have shown gratitude and thanks to the US in the meeting and argued the push for US mineral rights in Ukraine as part of a peace agreement is a win for everyone that will give the US minerals it needs and Ukraine a level of security. On CBSs Face the Nation, Johnsons fellow Republican congressman Mike Turner, the chairperson of the House intelligence committee, added: Instead of taking that win, Zelenskyy turned it into a debate on American security guarantees [on the] peace negotiations. Turner also said: [Zelenskyy] needs to not have this precondition of American security guarantees, which are not coming. The derailed meeting incited pro-Ukraine protests around the US. And leaders across Europe, along with the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, posted messages of support for Ukraine. For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X after the White House meeting. Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace. Only 4% of Americans say they support Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, according to the results of a CBS poll published on Sunday. Notably, though, only a slim majority of Americans say they support Ukraine: 52%. And a large minority 44% say they do not support either Russia or Ukraine. Speaking to Face the Nation on Sunday, Democratic US senator Mark Kelly of Arizona said Zelenskyy was cornered and bullied in the Oval Office on Friday during what was a sad day for our country. It was a dumpster fire of diplomacy, Kelly said. Related: Pro-Ukraine protests erupt across US after Trump and Vance ambush Zelenskyy Alaskas Lisa Murkowski was one Republican US senator who condemned the Trump administration over the way Fridays meeting with Zelenskyy unfolded. In an X post, she called the meeting a shocking conversation. I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach that the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embrace Putin, a threat to democracy and US values around the world. Republican US senator James Lankford, for his part, said he disagreed with calls for Zelenskyy to resign. Im not interested in calling on the resignation of other world leaders, Lankford told Meet the Press. Quite frankly, I think that would spiral Ukraine into chaos right now. Composite: Observer design;Getty/iStockphoto Oscar Wildes quip, Life imitates art far more than art imitates life, needs updating: replace art with AI. The Amazon page for Alexander C Karp and Nicholas W Zamiskas new book, The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief and the Future of the West, also lists: a workbook containing key takeaways from the volume; a second volume on how the Karp/Zamiska tome can help you navigate life; and a third offering another workbook comprising a Master Plan for Navigating Digital Age and the Future of Society. It is conceivable that these parasitical works were written by humans, but I wouldnt bet on it. Mr Karp, the lead author of the big book, is an interesting guy. He has a BA in philosophy from an American liberal arts college, a law degree from Stanford and a PhD in neoclassical social theory from Goethe University in Frankfurt. So hes not your average geek. And yet hes an object of obsessive interest to people both inside and outside the tech industry. Why? Because in 2003 he together with Peter Thiel and three others founded a secretive tech company called Palantir. And some of the initial funding came from the investment arm of wait for it the CIA! The name comes from palantiri, the seeing stones in the Tolkien fantasies. It makes sense because the USP of Palantir is its machine-learning technology which is apparently very good at seeing patterns in, and extracting predictions from, oceans of data. The company was founded because at the time all the Silicon Valley tech companies either disapproved of government, or were staffed by engineers who were adamantly opposed to working for the US military. This created an opening that Karp and his colleagues astutely exploited to build a company which is simultaneously appears to be booming (current market capitalisation: $200bn), while also being regarded by critics of the industry as the spawn of the devil. Those critics will disdainfully read the book as a kind of extended tender for public sector contracts. Civil servants contemplating employing Palantir may be interested in the description of the approach its employees adopt when working in a clients organisation. Interestingly, its an approach borrowed from a Toyota executive, Taiichi Ohno, as a way of getting to the root cause of a problem occurring in some part of an organisations operations. Its called the Five Whys: ask why a problem occurred, and then ask why four more times. Why did an essential update to an enterprise software platform not ship by a Friday deadline? the co-authors write. Because the team had only two days to review the draft code. Why did they only have two days to review? Because it had lost six software engineers in the budget review cycle late last year. Why did its budget decrease? Because the head of the group had shifted priorities elsewhere at the request of another group lead. Why was the request made to shift priorities? Because a new compensation model had been rolled out incentivising growth in certain areas. Why were certain areas selected at the expanse of others? Because of an ongoing feud at the company between two senior executives. You get the idea. Its not rocket science. Or AI, come to that. Maybe Keir Starmer should try it out. And itll be cheaper than employing McKinsey. Silicon Valley was built on a technological foundation that was laid by the state, and yet its beneficiaries have nothing but contempt for government But I digress. The argument of the book is suffused with indignation at what Karp sees as the arrogance and small-mindedness of Silicon Valley, which has collected the greatest concentration of engineering skill the world has ever seen and then deployed it to create consumer toys and diversions that make tech founders insanely rich rather than using that talent to create technologies that would buttress the national welfare and security of the United States. Whats particularly galling to him is the fact that the wealth of Silicon Valley was built on a technological foundation that was laid and paid for by the state, and yet its beneficiaries appear to have nothing but contempt for government. They have prioritised consumer gratification and their own wealth-creation over everything else. The grandiose rallying cry of generations of founders in Silicon Valley was simply to build, write Karp and Zamiska. Few asked what needed to be built, and why. For decades, we have taken this focus and indeed obsession in many cases by the technology industry on consumer culture for granted, hardly questioning the direction, and we think misdirection, of capital and talent to the trivial and ephemeral. Much of what passes for innovation today, of what attracts enormous amounts of talent and funding, will be forgotten before the decade is out. Underpinning much of the books lamentations are two enduring themes. The first is a kind of nostalgic longing for the wartime and postwar collaboration between the American state and the scientists and engineers which made the US a technological colossus. For Karp, as for many other thinkers like him (including the UKs own Dominic Cummings), the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb looks like a lost nirvana. The second theme is a chronicle of what the authors call The Hollowing Out of the American Mind: the abandonment of belief, the agnosticism of technology, the assumption that the correctness of ones views from a moral or ethical perspective precludes the need to engage with the more distasteful and fundamental question of relative power with respect to a geopolitical opponent, and specifically which party has a superior ability to inflict harm on the other. The wishfulness of the current moment and many of its political leaders may in the end be their undoing. This is the soft belief of the books subtitle, and its why this section of the book sometimes evokes echoes of the conservative philosopher Allan Bloom on song. Theres a lot of hegemonic anxiety in Karps musings. For him, American primacy is the key to the survival of the civilisational values that he reveres. Hes also a disciple of the Nobel laureate economist Thomas Schelling, and shares his view that to be coercive, violence has to be anticipated The power to hurt is bargaining power. To exploit it is diplomacy vicious diplomacy, but diplomacy. But the power to hurt is a prerogative of hard (ie military) power, and Karp seems particularly incensed by what he sees as the precious reservations of Google employees about the possibility that their technologies might be put into military hands. (It may also have been one of the motivations for the founding of Palantir.) His irritation seems unduly harsh to me. All of these employees (and their parents and grandparents) have lived through an era in which the idea that the United States might again be involved in an all-out war seemed as preposterous as the idea that their inventions might be used in battle. In that sense, the west has been on an 80-year-long holiday from history, from which Putin has rudely awoken us. The lesson that Karp and his co-author draw from all this is that a more intimate collaboration between the state and the technology sector, and a closer alignment of vision between the two, will be required if the United States and its allies are to maintain an advantage that will constrain our adversaries over the longer term. The preconditions for a durable peace often come only from a credible threat of war. Or, to put it more dramatically, maybe the arrival of AI makes this our Oppenheimer moment. For some critics, the reconceptualisation of AI as technology for national security will seem like an unmitigated disaster In the summer of 1939, Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard sent a letter to President Roosevelt, urging him to explore the construction of an atomic bomb and quickly. The rapid advances in the technology, the two scientists wrote, seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the administration, as well as as a sustained partnership with permanent contact maintained between the administration and physicists. In that historical context, maybe the arrival of this book is timely. For those of us who have for decades been critical of tech companies, and who thought that the future for liberal democracy required that they be brought under democratic control, its an unsettling moment. If the AI technology that giant corporations largely own and control becomes an essential part of the national security apparatus, what happens to our concerns about fairness, diversity, equity and justice as these technologies are also deployed in civilian life? For some campaigners and critics, the reconceptualisation of AI as essential technology for national security will seem like an unmitigated disaster Big Brother on steroids, with resistance being futile, if not criminal. On the other hand, some of the wests adversaries (Russia, China) are already using this technology against us, and we urgently need to tool up to address the threat. When these thoughts were put to Mr Karp by a New York Times reporter, he replied: I think a lot of the issues come back to: Are we in a dangerous world where you have to invest in these things? And I come down to yes. All these technologies are dangerous. The only solution to stop AI abuse is to use AI. Hobsons choice, in other words. The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief and the Future of the West is published by The Bodley Head (25). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply This article was amended on 2 March 2025 to correct the spelling of Nicholas W Zamiskas surname. Tackling abuse of women and girls was a Labour manifesto pledge. Photograph: Elva Etienne/Getty Images The government has cut millions of pounds in funding for victims services, prompting warnings that criminals will go unpunished unless it urgently changes its position. The Victims Commissioner has written a letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves, shared exclusively with the Observer, saying a combination of funding reductions and the upcoming employers national insurance increase was creating an existential crisis for charities. The commissioner and charities in the sector are calling for an urgent funding increase in the next spending review, which concludes this spring. These crucial services ensure victims have the support they need to recover from crime and stay engaged in the pursuit of justice, Baroness Helen Newlove wrote. Without this support, prosecutions will falter, criminals will go unpunished, and we risk jeopardising a sense of security and justice in our communities the failure to prosecute may contribute to further offending. Rape Crisis England and Wales said it had already shut two of its centres, and Victim Support, which works across all crime types, estimates it will have to lose more than 80 staff and help 5,000 fewer people a year. Groups supporting rape and domestic abuse victims say the cuts will undermine Labours manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. In her submission to the Treasury, Newlove warned that thousands of victims stuck in record court backlogs might not last the distance without support and that others may never feel able to report offences to the police. She added: The need for victim support services has never been greater, yet these services are facing an increasingly precarious position.To honour its manifesto commitment on VAWG [violence against women and girls] and fulfil its Safer Streets mission, the government must act swiftly and decisively to safeguard these vital services. The cost of inaction is a price this nation can ill afford. Charities have not been exempted from the employers national insurance increase announced in the autumn budget, and in December the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) informed police and crime commissioners (PCCs) across England and Wales that the core grant for victims services would fall by 4.2% in April. Victim Support estimates that the combination of national insurance rises and cuts to PCC funding will amount to a loss of 3.5m loss in the next financial year, equating to 84 full-time posts and 5,000 fewer victims receiving support. The Home Office has axed a separate support and specialist services fund for violence against women and girls which began in 2022, telling charities it would end in March because it needed to prioritise within a limited budget. The fund made up a significant portion of annual funding for the Jewish Sexual Abuse Support charity, which said it now fears having to cut trained advisers who support victims through court cases. The charitys chief executive, Erica Marks, told the Observer: So many of our clients tell us theres no one else if we cease to exist, then what? Theyre self-harming, theyre suicidal, theyre hearing voices, what option are we leaving people with? Marks accused successive governments of failing to back up years of pledges to tackle sexual abuse with adequate funding, adding: If the government claims they understand the depth of the problems, theyre not showing it in their actions. I dont understand the disconnect between saying violence against women and girls is a priority and taking away this kind of funding. About a fifth of the victims seen by the charity go on to contact the police after receiving support. Marks said it was very clear that reporting will decline as a result of shrinking services. Rape Crisis chief executive Ciara Bergman said that two of its centres have been shut in recent months because of acute and chronic underfunding and others are reducing the services they provide, which include specialist psychotherapy and counselling. These services are too often framed as a wash-up end point of a criminal justice process, and thats entirely wrong, she added. Theyre actually the entry point to the criminal justice process a lot of the time the loss of services translates into people not being able to disclose abuse. Bergman said that while some funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence support had been ringfenced, PCCs would have to make difficult decisions due to the reduction in their core victim services grant. We all need more funding and theres desperate competition, she said. We cant understand how the government will be able to halve rape and sexual violence if those services arent there. Some PCCs, who have had responsibility for funding victims services using government money since 2014, are trying to mitigate the looming cuts using separate budgets. But the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners leads for victims have warned of a national real terms decrease in central governments financial support for victims of crime. The Victim Support charity warned of a perfect storm, as a growing number of people need support because of years-long waits for court cases. Chief executive Katie Kempen said the charity had nothing left to trim and would have to make cuts from the next financial year onwards because the vast majority of its funding comes through police and crime commissioners. It means were going to be cutting staff and reducing hours across most of our services, she added. Closing our doors to vulnerable victims is the last thing we want to do and were calling on the government to reverse the cuts and increase the Ministry of Justice grants to cover the national insurance rise. A government spokesperson said: We are determined to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, which is why we have given police across England and Wales a 1bn boost to restore neighbourhood policing, in addition to confirming over 190m in support for the next financial year for a range of organisations supporting victims of crime. We will not stop until we have a system that protects victims, supports their journey to justice and holds perpetrators to account. We are committed to supporting organisations that help victims of crime, building on our activity over the last six months, to better protect victims and pursue perpetrators. This includes launching new domestic abuse protection orders, starting the roll-out of domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, strengthening the police response to spiking and stalking, and pioneering a truly cross-government approach to tackling these issues. This article was amended on 2 March 2025 because an earlier version attributed to Rape Crisis a figure which came from Victim Support. Keir Starmer speaks at Lancaster House Sir Keir Starmer was right to call the London summit to chart a way forward for Europe without the guaranteed backing of the US a crossroads in history. Leaders of countries that have cashed in the so-called peace dividend available since the fall of the Berlin Wall are now acutely aware that the free ride is over. America under Donald Trump is no longer prepared to provide the defensive shield that has helped bankroll the unproductive public sector and social entitlements that have ballooned over the past 35 years. This would be the reality whether or not last weeks White House meeting between Mr Trump and Volodomyr Zelensky, Ukraines leader, had gone so badly. The move towards disengagement is palpable and Europe needs to adapt. Sir Keir is adamant that the US remains committed to Nato and to its all for one, one for all provision under Article 5. He said he was assured as much during his own talks in Washington last week and trusted what he was told. Yet given the unpredictable nature of the American president, the European powers need to plan and find the funds for a future with far less US involvement than we have seen since the end of the Second World War. That will inevitably mean far higher defence spending than already announced and cuts in areas that have grown like Topsy in recent decades, notably welfare. But the domestic implication of cutting these programmes in the face of a challenge from populist parties across Europe will be enormous. The immediate problem at the London summit was Ukraine. Sir Keir spent the weekend trying to put the supposed peace agreement back on track after the disastrous meeting in Washington. The Prime Minister pointedly embraced President Zelensky, who later had a meeting with the King, though Sir Keir urged him to patch things up with the White House. He said he was seeking to lead a coalition of the willing to provide a reassurance force to police whatever is agreed. The UK and France will put a plan to the Americans in the hope they will provide a security backstop. But willing to do what, for how long and to what purpose? Moreover, the other party to this conflict has yet to come on board. The events of the past week will have made Vladimir Putin more inclined to exploit the very rifts in Nato that he was seeking to achieve all along. Slice of cake People should not use colloquial phrases like a piece of cake and kill two birds with one stone because they are very British-English and may not be understood by foreigners, a university has suggested. The University of Cardiff has told students that such idioms do not usually translate well with other cultures, not because people have poor English skills but because this is very British-English. Other guidance issued in an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) awareness module says that other common phrases should not be used because of their origin stories in ableism, racism and sexism. The EDI guidance states: In the English language, many of those origin stories are based in ableism, like the blind leading the blind, or racism, like hes a slave driver, and in sexism, like man up or like a girl. Political minefield Free speech campaigners accused the university of attempting to police language, and warned that the EDI guidance was calculated to turn every casual conversation into a political minefield. It comes amid a wider fear that free speech and academic freedoms are being eroded on British campuses because of the growth of cancel culture. Lord Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, told the Mail on Sunday: Language guides like this are always badged as inclusive, but in fact they are exclusionary. The Free Speech Union has defended over 3,500 people in the past three years and many of them are older people who have been accused of hate speech, for not using the correct woke phrase for something or other. A Cardiff University spokesman said: Our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Awareness module was created through the collaboration of EDI experts from our institution and students. Feedback from students revealed that 85 per cent rated the module as good to excellent, while 92 per cent felt the concepts were effectively explained. As a university, we take pride in our initiatives promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. The Telegraph approached the university for further comment. Elon Musk with Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC, on 11 February 2025. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters He is slashing US government agencies, building electric vehicles and space rockets and running one of the worlds biggest social media platforms. But Elon Musk has still found time and money to meddle in a relatively obscure election in a state of 6 million people. The close ally of Donald Trump is spending millions of dollars in an effort to tip the scales in favor of a Republican candidate running for a seat on the highest court in Wisconsin. Critics regard it as a statement of intent by Musk to expand his political power in America by playing an insidious role in key races across the country. Its one of the most significant threats to our democracy in the current moment, said Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. Youve got money and power in one person whos been given access to the upper echelon of the federal government. Hes fused the power of the Oval Office with his almost unlimited amount of money to support Republicans, both at the state level and national level. Musk has grabbed attention during Trumps first month in office with his so-called department of government efficiency, or Doge, a team of mostly young male software engineers who have laid waste to the federal government and dismissed thousands of workers in ways that have been challenged in the courts. Musks startling ascent was on vivid display when he spoke to reporters alongside Trump in the Oval Office and wielded a chainsaw before a cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Earlier this week, he held court at a cabinet meeting, where the president dared any of his officials to express discontent about Musks scorched-earth approach. No one did. But away from the TV cameras, Musk is also at work in Wisconsin, which holds an election for its state supreme court on 1 April. The vote will decide whether liberals maintain a 4-3 majority with major cases dealing with abortion, union rights, election law and congressional redistricting already under consideration by the court or expected to be argued before it soon. Such campaigns are now non-partisan in name only. Republicans are lining up behind Brad Schimel while Democrats are backing Susan Crawford. It could be the most significant US election since November, an early litmus test after Trump won every swing state, including Wisconsin. Crawford has received $3m from the state Democratic party, including $1m that the party received from the liberal philanthropist George Soros and $500,000 from the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker. Musks America political action committee is spending $1m to back Schimel, a former state attorney general who attended Trumps inauguration last month. Another group Musk has funded, Building Americas Future, is spending $1.6m on TV ads attacking Crawford, a Dane county circuit judge. It reportedly had to withdraw one social media ad after it featured a photo of a different woman named Susan Crawford. Crawford told a recent meeting of the Wisconsin Counties Association: Elon Musk is trying to buy a seat on our supreme court so Brad Schimel can rubber-stamp his extreme agenda. Schimel denies that money would affect his independence on the court. He told reporters: I dont have any agenda that Im working alongside anyone. Im grateful for our supporters, but theyre getting nothing except me following the law. But Musk has both business and political incentives to back him. Tesla, the electric car company owned by Musk, has a lawsuit pending in Wisconsin challenging the states decision blocking it from opening dealerships. The case could ultimately be decided by the Wisconsin supreme court and Schimel has not committed to stepping aside. Furthermore, in the event of a disputed election in the crucial swing state in 2028, the supreme court could be decisive. Musk tweeted last month: Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud! And as Doge lays siege to the administrative state, the courts have provided the strongest pushback. Tilting them to the right could neutralise that opposition and work to Musks advantage. Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin, said: He is not the first far-right billionaire to pour money into a Wisconsin supreme court election but he is spending money hand over fist at the same time the whole world is wondering whether courts will ever be a check on the Musk/ Trump/GOP attack on the rule of law. While hes firing veterans with disabilities in Wisconsin from the veterans administration, hes also working to buy a supreme court majority that could eliminate any possibility of accountability to state law. Musk exploded onto the political stage last year, spending nearly $300m supporting Republican campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission filings. While most of his efforts went toward electing Trump, a super political action committee he founded also spent millions of dollars on House of Representatives races to keep Republicans in control. Musk also dabbled in state politics in Texas, where he had moved several of his businesses. In 2024, he gave $1m to a tort reform group supporting Republicans in state legislative races and $2m to a political action committee that campaigned to elect Republican judges in the state. Wikler believes there is more to come. Theres been a question about whether Musk would follow Trump in only caring about elections when Trump is on the ballot. The answer is now clearly no. Musk wants control over every level of government at the same time as he takes control of peoples personal tax information and treasury payments that keep childcare centres open in Wisconsin, he said. He added: Musk is trying to execute a uniquely and profoundly grotesque perversion of justice by buying the court system while defying the constitution in order to rip off the poor and the middle class to enrich himself. Not even Republicans are safe from the worlds richest man, whose fortune is estimated at $426bn. Musk threatened to fund primary election challengers to members of Congress who failed to back Trumps cabinet picks and legislative priorities. Charlie Sykes, a conservative political commentator based in Wisconsin, said: Elon Musks money is the bullets in the chamber aimed at wavering Republicans: You dont support us, Elon Musk will come into your state or your district [and] he will spend more money than God has to defeat you in a primary. Musks control of the X social media platform gives him profound influence over online discourse and the flow of information. His own feed, with 219 million followers, has become like a running commentary on the Trump administration. He has even sought to flex his muscles abroad, backing Germanys far-right AfD party, calling for Nigel Farage to quit as leader of Britains Reform UK party and pushing false claims that white people are persecuted in South Africa. But while he currently appears omnipotent a Time magazine cover depicted him sitting behind the Resolute desk like a president there are signs of growing public discontent. In a Washington Post-Ipsos opinion poll, 34% of respondents said they approved of how Musk was handling his job, compared with 49% disapproving and 14% not sure. Protests against the tech oligarch have been held across the country and congressional Republicans have faced the backlash at raucous town halls. Sykes questions how long Musks political honeymoon can last: Hes signalling that, at least for now, hes going to be Trumps enforcer and hes going to be the force multiplier for the right wing. But as he does so, hes also establishing himself as an independent force. The dilemma for Trump is that Musk is useful until hes not but hes not easy to get rid of. In the end, there can only be one. The dilemma right now is its important to keep the focus on what Elon Musk is doing but not forget that the only reason hes been empowered to do it is because of Donald Trump. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, among other European leaders in London for talks. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA Britain and France are trying, with Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to develop a peace plan to end the fighting in his country, in the aftermath of his disastrous White House summit with Donald Trump. However, the initiative announced by Keir Starmer on Sunday raises questions about whether peace is possible, and on what terms, in the face of continuing Russian hostility and uncertain US intentions. Is peace achievable in the current climate? Though both Ukraine and Russia say they want an end to the war, the countries remain a long way from agreement. The Kremlin still wants to dominate Ukraine, seize large amounts of territory and ensure that Kyiv does not join Nato. Ukraine, meanwhile, is fighting for its survival and to establish a secure independent future within the western sphere. My view is that what Russia wants, the US cant deliver and the Ukrainians wont accept, says Sir Lawrence Freedman, an emeritus professor at Kings College London. Though Ukraine has indicated it may accept a de facto partition roughly along the current front lines, it will almost certainly want to fight on rather than accept more onerous terms. Most Ukrainians do not want to fall under a Russian sphere of influence. The desire to resist Russian domination remains widespread across Ukrainian society. What happens if the US abandons Ukraine? Fridays fiasco at the White House has left the diplomatic relationship between the US and Ukraine in tatters, raising the question of whether the US would move to cut all future military aid to Kyiv, its single most powerful piece of short-term leverage. Though there is nearly $4bn of unallocated military aid left, from approvals granted during the previous Biden administration, there were hints on Friday it could be cut immediately. A halt to US military aid would make the battlefield situation more difficult for Ukraine, though it would take time to take effect. Ukrainian defence officials estimate that about 20% of the military hardware being used in the war comes from the US (plus about 55% from Ukraine and 25% from Europe), though it is acknowledged that the 20% is among the most capable and the hardest to replace by Europe or elsewhere. But while Ukraine remains largely on the defensive, Russian advances into Ukraine were slow during 2024 and came at high rates of casualties, often more than 1,000 killed and wounded a day. No significant towns were seized, and it would take Moscow two more years to capture the rest of Donetsk region in the east, at last years rate of advance, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Can Europe plug the gap in US military support? It is hard to see how Europe can replace everything that the US provides, meaning that Ukraines military situation will remain difficult. Rachel Ellehuus, the director general of the Royal United Services Institute, says the US contribution is particularly important in three areas: air defence, where there are only limited European alternatives to Patriot systems; longer-range ballistic missiles, with Germany having declined to give Taurus missiles and Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles in short supply; and, thirdly, satellite communications, where Elon Musks Starlink remains critical at the front. There is also the question of cost. So far, the US has given $33.8bn (27bn) in arms and ammunition and provided Kyiv with funding for a further $33.2bn to buy US-made weapons. European military aid has been at a near identical monetary level, at 62bn (51bn) according to the University of Kiel in Germany, meaning that donations would have to double to plug the gap in full. That would be a significant uplift, leading to fresh suggestions that some of Russias $300bn in frozen central bank assets should be used to help fund Ukraines war effort, though it is unclear if it is legally possible to do so. Could Europe guarantee a peace in Ukraine without the US? Though there have been discussions about creating a European-led reassurance force to help guarantee a peace in Ukraine, this would require at least a ceasefire. Russia has already said it is opposed to countries that are members of Nato providing peacekeepers, but while it may not be able to exercise a veto over territory it does not control, its opposition would leave European troops in the country in a risky position. Related: Trump said Zelenskyy does not have the cards. But how well is he playing his own hand? | Olga Chyzh Britain had been pushing for the US to provide a backstop to any stabilisation force in Ukraine, most likely in the form of air power, but Starmer did not extract a firm commitment from Trump in his own White House meeting with the US president on Thursday. Fridays clash between Trump and Zelenskyy made the prospect even less likely, with the US president accusing his counterpart of gambling with world war three. Is Europe going to get a backstop commitment from the US? I dont think so, concluded the former national security adviser Lord Ricketts. That, however, raises the difficult problem of how the safety of European peacekeepers in Ukraine would be guaranteed if Russia were to break whatever truce had given them the confidence to enter the country. Where does this leave Nato and the transatlantic security alliance? The evident reality is that, while Trump is president, the compact that underlined European security for decades has disappeared. Europe had been able to prioritise economic development, while the US extended a growing security umbrella extending to almost the entire continent. Now, Trumps commitment to Nato is uncertain, and it is unclear if all the 100,000 US troops in Europe will remain and the White House is still keen to pursue direct security talks with Russia. Its been clear for some time that the US has other security priorities domestically and in the Pacific, where it sees a long-term challenge from China, said Ellehuus. Its something Nato allies have known for a decade, but until now, there has been nothing to shake them into action. Will Nato survive now? Thats a harder question. Major fast food chains opened more than 300 new stores in Australia last year. Almost all chains have partnered with delivery platforms such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, making unhealthy food more accessible than ever. Composite: Guardian design It wasnt that long ago Australians had only a handful of fast food options. Want a burger? Then it was probably McDonalds or Hungry Jacks. Desire for a chicken dinner would have led you to KFC, Red Rooster or, for those in Western Australia, Chicken Treat. Many will still remember Pizza Huts phone number jingle unless you preferred Dominos. The number of fast food options have exploded over the past two decades. According to those who track the industry, store numbers will rise even faster over the coming years as international chains see massive growth potential in Australia amid a cost-of-living crisis. But at what cost? Food fiesta Major fast food chains opened more than 300 new stores in Australia last year, according to data analysis firm GapMaps, led by heavyweights KFC, McDonalds, Subway and Hungry Jacks. Guzman y Gomez and Zambrero also contributed strongly to the expansion in what was a golden year for Mexican-themed food. Mad Mex, Bettys Burgers and El Jannah each added 10 stores to their networks. Overseas chains not already in Australia also want a piece of the market. The US burger giant Wendys re-entered Australia in January by opening a store on the Gold Coast, the first of an anticipated major expansion. US chains Chuck E Cheese and Firehouse Subs are also planning to open local stores. According to researcher IbisWorld, more than 40% of fast food and takeaway services have a burger-based menu, followed by chicken (20%) and pizza (16%). The decision to expand store networks which, for some chains, has more than offset closures was made despite the prevailing cost-of-living pressures that have prompted many households to cut back on restaurant and cafe eating. Related: Guzman y Gomez struggling to break into US market despite offering bigger burritos Peter Holmes, the chief operating officer at GapMaps, says fast food chains see Australia as a growth market. If you go to LA youll have 10 options in a row; we still only have a handful of the big players, he says. They do recognise that consumers are probably spending a little less per ticket due to cost of living, but they are trying to make sure they make themselves more accessible and broaden their offering. In general, fast food is cheaper than dining out, and they are working hard to attract customers. Analysts at IbisWorld credit the trend to consumers trading down from expensive restaurants to more affordable outlets amid persistent living cost pressures. The researcher expects the number of fast food and takeaway businesses in Australia will rise from about 36,000 currently to more than 39,000 by 2030, marking an 8% lift in numbers. Health cost Australias growing population is opening up new areas for fast food outlets. Major chains tend to work on a ratio of one store per 20,000 to 30,000 residents, according to GapMaps. Many of those stores are in outer suburban fringes, described by Holmes as the heartland for the sector. Prof Nicky Morrison, director of the Urban Transformations Research Centre at Western Sydney University, says fast food outlets target young families in outer suburban communities where there is often less competition from independent restaurants. Their goals are to grow and to nourish their shareholders essentially, instead of nourishing their customers Dr Kate Sievert She says those communities are doubly penalised because they have less access to healthy fresh food, including supermarkets. Morrison was part of a 2022 study using Penrith in Sydneys west as a case study that found suburbs with the highest concentration of fast food outlets also had the highest obesity and cardiovascular disease rates. Dr Priscila Machado, a research fellow at Deakin University, says all fast food brands even chains that make sandwiches in front of you and promote their burgers as healthy are considered ultra-processed foods, which carry their own health harms, including increased risk of cancer and cardiometabolic multimorbidity. These are ultra-processed foods that are made of industrial ingredients that have been modified [they] go through several processing techniques plus the use of artificial ingredients like additives, Machado says. She points to fast food buns being so soft and fast food cheese being so melty as examples of how ultra-processed foods are designed to be easily consumed. The refined ingredients, which tend to have less fibre and protein, make it difficult for the brain to recognise when you are full. We tend to have higher eating rates when consuming these ultra-processed foods [because] youre eating more per minute without realising it, Machado says. Guzman y Gomezs ingredients list shows it uses a range of industrial ingredients used in ultra-processed foods, such as modified starches, thickeners such as maltodextrin in its seasoning, and anti-foam agent in its corn chips and churros. These are often used to help foods maintain their texture when high temperature and high-pressure techniques are used in food processing. Guzman y Gomez tells Guardian Australia that while it aims for minimal processing some menu items require functional additives to ensure guest safety and maintain product integrity. Its definition of clean is taken to mean no added preservatives, artificial flavours, added colours or unacceptable additives, the spokesperson says. Fast food getting bigger Fast food is set to become even more prevalent across Australia. To get people to visit more often, stores are heavily promoting their breakfast and snack menus alongside their traditional lunch and dinner items, while making their menu items more convenient to purchase. Subway and Grilld are among those to recently open drive-through options, while Guzman y Gomez now has stores open 24 hours a day. New entrants, including Wendys, also want to open lots of stores, quickly, given chains rely on expanding networks to improve name recognition and economies of scale. Related: Australians in outer suburbs have far less access to schools, healthcare and public transport, report finds Almost all major fast food chains have partnered with delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Menulog and many have their own apps, making unhealthy food more accessible than ever, especially to younger, digitally savvy customers. Morrison says she wants to see local and state planners implementing zoning regulations to limit the concentration of fast food outlets in certain areas, particularly near schools and residential zones, and encouraging a wider variety of healthy food options and pedestrian-friendly spaces to reduce dependence on car-centric fast food options. Dr Kate Sievert, from Deakin Universitys Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition, says the policy solutions put forward in Australia have generally been piecemeal and only focus on consumer choice, for example improving food labelling. However, choice is a very small part of the picture when it comes to food, she says, with more policies needed that target every level of the supply chain, from distribution to retail. When it comes to fast food companies, Sievert says, their goals are to grow and to nourish their shareholders essentially, instead of nourishing their customers. Greater Manchester Police say the girl was rescued from the property in Gateshead Close, Manchester, on Sunday but had serious injuries - Ryan Jenkinson/Story Picture Agency A 44-year-old woman has been arrested after a four-year-old girl died in a house fire in Manchester, police have said. Greater Manchester Police said the youngster was rescued from the property in Gateshead Close at 12.35pm on Sunday but had serious injuries. She died in hospital soon after despite the best efforts of paramedics. The arrested woman, who was known to the child, was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life. A scene remains in place and officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances. There is no wider threat to the community, police said. This is a breaking story. More to follow. Violence broke out in Athens on Friday after a rally on the second anniversary of the railway disaster. Photograph: Giorgos Arapekos/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock The Greek prime minister has vowed to upgrade the countrys railways as his embattled government braces for a vote of no confidence after huge protests over a 2023 train crash that killed 57 people. Two days after hundreds of thousands took to the streets in fury over the response to the disaster on its second anniversary, Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged that not enough had been done to build a safe and modern transport system, saying the largest protests in recent history had emphasised the demand for action. The collision occurred on the Athens-Thessaloniki line when an intercity train crammed with students hit a freight train head-on in the gorge of Tempe. Our infrastructure must be modernised and made safe, because what has been done in recent years is simply not enough, Mitsotakis said in a weekly online address, dedicated solely to the disaster which killed 57 mostly young people and left scores of others injured on the night of 28 February 2023. The citizens both those who marched in protest and those who grieved in silence demanded the obvious: truth and justice for the victims, a state that takes action to ensure such a tragedy is never repeated [and] safe and modern public transport that the country deserves. Change, he vowed, would begin with the Athens-Thessaloniki line where the locomotives had careered towards each other at high speed along the same track. The scale of Fridays protests have proved beyond doubt that Mitsotakis is facing his biggest test since being elected in July 2019. Critics accuse him of putting the needs of his fractious New Democracy party before public outrage in what is seen as a rare miscalculation by a politician who has prided himself on his ability to handle crises. Confidence in his ability to deliver is evaporating, said the prominent political analyst Maria Karaklioumi. This is the first time that this government has confronted such huge opposition from society at large. People are extremely despondent. Its no longer simply about the train crash but a much broader political crisis. Two years on, no official or state body has been held accountable for the tragedy and the glacial pace of Greek justice means a trial has yet to take place. Anger has been further fuelled by the sense of a cover-up, aggravated by Greeces air and rail accident authority releasing a 178-page report on the eve of the protests revealing the possible presence of an unknown and highly flammable substance at the scene of the crash increasing suspicions that the freight train was smuggling explosive illegal chemicals. The report highlighted the lack of respect and order shown by officials in electing to clean up the accident site which had, they said, led to loss of evidence. Judicial investigators are expected to call new witnesses to testify this week amid mounting concerns that key evidence was deliberately concealed. On Sunday Mitsotakis accepted that the reports findings had exposed a situation far from what we aspire to and appealed to Greeks to not lose faith in the judiciary. In a state governed by the rule of law, only the judiciary has the responsibility, authority, and ability to bring clarity to a case that has caused us so much pain not political parties, nor public opinion, he wrote. But with polls showing the overwhelming majority of Greeks no longer have any trust in public institutions or the judicial system, opposition parties are determined to keep up the pressure. The main opposition Pasok party has signalled it will file a vote of no confidence on Wednesday that is expected to trigger days of fiery debate in parliament, while protesters continue to hold vigils in honour of the dead outside the building. Palestinians gather to receive aid at Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip on 2 March 2025. Photograph: Mahmoud Issa/Reuters Briefing the Israeli press after Benjamin Netanyahus order to turn off the aid supply to Gaza, government officials claimed that the Palestinian territory had several months worth of food stockpiled from earlier deliveries. However, the announcement led to an immediate jump in prices of basic necessities in Gaza, with residents saying they had doubled. Aid agencies say the population of Gaza remains highly vulnerable and that the blockade of humanitarian supplies to a civilian population is unacceptable in any circumstances. Oxfam said: Israels decision, to block aid to over 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins, is a reckless act of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law. The government of Israel, as occupying power, has the responsibility to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach the population in Gaza. Related: Gaza ceasefire talks stall, as Egypt proposes long-term reconstruction plan The international court of justice, weighing an allegation of genocide brought against Israel, has instructed Israel to facilitate aid deliveries to Gaza and its remaining population of 2.2 million. The international criminal court said when it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu last year that there was reason to believe Israel had used starvation as a method of warfare. Israel has consistently denied allegations by aid organisations during the 15-month military campaign in Gaza that it was using food as a weapon of war, insisting that blockages in supplies were a result of other factors. Sundays announcement by Netanyahus office made no attempt to disguise the governments actions or the goal behind them, which is to gain advantage at the negotiating table. For the duration of the ceasefire, about 600 trucks a day have crossed into Gaza, carrying a total of 57,000 tons of food. This is a similar level to prewar aid deliveries, but aid agencies say that was for a population in a much better physical condition than the undernourished inhabitants now, and that also had the capacity to produce some of its own food. The situation in Gaza now is far more precarious. Nearly 70% of the buildings across the coastal strip have been destroyed or damaged. In those circumstances, Oxfam called the aid that reached Gaza during the six-week ceasefire a drop in the ocean. In its latest report, in late February, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 876,000 Palestinians in Gaza still suffered from emergency levels of food insecurity, and 345,000 were facing catastrophic food insecurity. Even in the six weeks of the ceasefire, Israel kept tight control of what was allowed in humanitarian shipments. Aid agencies complained that a lot of medical equipment was blocked on the grounds it was dual use and that water tankers were also blocked, leaving people dependent on wells, which in the wake of conflict are insufficient for the populations needs. There are about 1,500 water access points operating across Gaza, and the UN says water production and supply are at about a quarter of prewar levels. Health issues remain a primary concern, with an estimated 80% of Gazas health infrastructure destroyed by the war and 1,000 medical workers killed. The World Health Organization has estimated there are up to 14,000 Palestinians in Gaza in need of medical evacuation, including 4,500 children. The health situation in the Gaza Strip is a catastrophe, said Amjad al-Shawa, the director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network. He said that in Gaza City alone there was 180,000 tons of solid waste that Israeli authorities had blocked from being removed, with the result that sewage was overflowing. That has severe health implications in the conditions now in Gaza, Shawa said. Kathleen Spencer Chapman, the external affairs director at Plan International UK, said: Without the influx of humanitarian aid promised by the ceasefire agreement, thousands more could die from hunger and related diseases alone. A scene from Seven Jewish Children: A Film for Gaza. Photograph: PR The premiere of Caryl Churchills short play Seven Jewish Children at the Royal Court theatre 16 years ago proved to be one of British theatres most controversial opening nights. Audiences were immediately divided by the British playwrights deliberately stripped-back treatment of Jewish generational fear and Israels history of conflict. The public attacks it prompted have echoed on. In 2022, Churchill was deprived of the lifetime European Drama award she had received earlier in the year, due to criticism of the play and her pro-Palestinian campaigning. Now the play has been filmed and is to open officially in London at the end of this month, at a time when the Middle East has been rocked by devastating violence and, in Britain, allegiances are more contested than ever. Behind the film is London-based Omri Dayan, a 23-year-old US-Israeli director, who said this weekend that he was braced for all the contention to come, but was drawn to make his version not because of its politics, but because of its humanity for me it is a family story. Like the play, Seven Jewish Children: A Film for Gaza tells its story through glimpsed moments of Jewish family life. It starts with the Russian pogroms of 1903 and finishes with the 2008-09 Israeli action in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead. With a repeated refrain, each family questions in turn what they should tell a young daughter setting up taboos that, it is implied, will have serious consequences. Making his film, Dayan said, was the first time he had embraced his heritage in his work. This play made me realise that I am Jewish, I am the son of Israeli parents, and this is a story I need to tell, he said. And it was a family project. The directors father, Ami Dayan, and his grandmother the Israeli actress Rivka Michaeli are in his cast. Because the film is rooted in family, them being right beside me really helped, said Dayan. Churchill, 86, has given the film her approval. Made by a crew of 50 which worked for nothing and included Israelis and Palestinians, it will be shown free on Monday 31 March in London, at the Prince Charles Cinema off Leicester Square, to raise money for Medical Aid for Palestinians. It will then be released on YouTube. When Churchill wrote the play she stipulated it could be read or performed anywhere as long as no admission fee was charged and a collection was taken for this charity. The director hopes the film will go on to be shown to invited groups in universities, schools, community groups and synagogues. The script is so clear, even though the issue is so complex, said Dayan. The play did an incredible job of showing what different positions have been taken, as well as looking at the times we are in. I hope that the film helps in the same way. Before the film starts, a note on the screen spells out it was made before the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. However, Dayan and his team were editing the film that day. We took a break for a while, he said, because I didnt want what we did to be a reaction. We had all known, of course, that there was going to be another chapter one day. It is incredibly sad. While he anticipates protest, as well as support, Dayan said he hopes that audiences from all sides will listen. We hope that [we] can guide people to a place where they are not putting up their usual defences, he said. Everyone has a view, but we are asking them to put those aside for 15 minutes, to let the characters speak. Then afterwards, if they want to, they can pick up set attitudes again afterwards. Some critics at the time argued the play was antisemitic. The Timess 2009 review said it was evidence of straitjacketed political orthodoxy, while novelist Howard Jacobson described it as a hate-fuelled little chamber piece in the Independent, warning it was part of a gradual habituation of a language of loathing. Jacobson added: Caryl Churchill will argue that her play is about Israelis not Jews, but once you venture on to chosen people territory feeding all the ancient prejudice against that miscomprehended phrase once you repeat in another form the medieval blood-libel of Jews rejoicing in the murder of little children, you have crossed over. This is the old stuff. In contrast, the Guardians Michael Billington praised Churchill for capturing the transition that has overtaken Israel, to the point where security has become the pretext for indiscriminate slaughter, adding: Avoiding overt didacticism, her play becomes a heartfelt lamentation for the future generations who will themselves become victims of the attempted military suppression of Hamas. In the aftermath of the row, the Guardian also ran a full transcript of the play. Dayan believes many attacks on the play had no true merit because the people criticising it had not seen it. There is a real fear that goes down generation to generation that Churchill shows. This play should be seen as something that can help explain it, he said. Instead, there was a real jump to delegitimise it. Last week the BBCs board apologised for significant and damaging mistakes in the production of a documentary on Gaza which featured the son of a Hamas official. It has now been taken down. Dayan said he had not seen the programme, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, but believed it should still be available to watch. I dont yet know the details, he said, but it should be shown as long as there is full disclosure. It is very difficult to tell these stories now, but that doesnt mean we shouldnt try. My instinct is that it should be seen. Discussion is the most important thing. Such divisions in culture and over media coverage must be fought if they lead to censorship and cancellation, he argues. We have already been disinvited from showing our film at festival for the Jewish community at a centre in New York. Influenced by Lars von Triers film Dogville, Dayan set his film on a basic sound stage, with different domestic spaces marked out on the floor: My first thought had been to set each scene in its location, but it didnt work, he said. Dominic Cooke, the original director of the play, has saluted his choices, calling the film a terrific achievement. Caryls vision of an Israel trapped in cycles of trauma is sadly more pertinent now than ever, Cooke added. Dayan said he hoped reaction to his film would take the form of conversation, not argument: Ill be pleased if people see it, even if they go on to disagree about it. That was part of the intention of making it; that, and the fundraising. People gather on Saturday on the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Gaza - Basher Taleb/Getty Israel has approved a US proposal to extend the truce in Gaza through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday in mid-April, the office of the Israeli prime minister has said. A statement from Benjamin Netanyahus office said Israel accepted the proposal from US President Donald Trumps envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. Israel adopts the plan of the US presidents envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary truce for the periods of Ramadan due to end in late March and Pesach, the eight-day Jewish Passover to be observed in mid-April, said the statement, released just after midnight (10pm GMT on Saturday). The first phase of a ceasefire that took effect on January 19 expired on Saturday. A second phase of that deal was supposed to secure the release of dozens of hostages still in Gaza and pave the way for a more permanent end to the war. According to Mr Netanyahus office, Witkoff tabled this temporary extension as a stopgap after concluding that Israel and Hamas were at a negotiating impasse and could not immediately agree on the terms of a permanent ceasefire. A statement from the prime ministers office originally published in Hebrew said: After a security discussion chaired by Prime Minister Netanyahu and with the participation of the Minister of Defence, senior defence officials, and the negotiating team, it was decided: Israel adopts the outline of the US Presidents envoy, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire for the Ramadan and Passover periods. Steve Witkoff had determined there was an impasse between Hamas and Israel over permanent ceasefire terms - Jim Watson/Getty On the first day of the outline, half of the hostages, both alive and dead, will be released, and at the end - if an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire - the remaining hostages, both alive and dead, will be released. Witkoff proposed the outline for extending the ceasefire after he was impressed that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that additional time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire. While Hamas has repeatedly violated the agreement, Israel is not in violation. According to the agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective. This clause was supported by a side letter from the previous US administration and has also received the support of the Trump administration. While Israel agreed to the Witkoff outline with the aim of returning our abductees, Hamas has so far stuck to its refusal to accept this outline. If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter into negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan. Hamas said on Saturday they had rejected Israels formulation of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza but did not reference Mr Witkoffs plan. Aid trucks carrying humanitarian supplies enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Feb 23 - Anadolu Israel halted all humanitarian aid to Gaza on Sunday after Hamas refused an offer to extend the first phase of the ceasefire. Benjamin Netanyahus office said Israel decided that as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease after the end of phase one of the ceasefire on Saturday . The Israeli prime minister said: Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. He added: If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be additional consequences. The Turkish Red Crescent team distributes food to displaced families in Khan Yunis, Gaza - Anadolu Hamas refused to accept a proposal by Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, to extend the first phase, instead insisting that phase two be implemented immediately. The second phase includes complex negotiations for a permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal, reconstruction and then the release of prisoners. Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, accused Israel of reneging on the original terms of the ceasefire agreement by seeking to extend the first phase of the ceasefire and allow more hostages to be freed. Shortly after the ceasefire agreement officially ended on Saturday night, Mr Netanyahus office said it had agreed to Mr Witkoffs proposal for a temporary truce during the periods of Ramadan, due to end in late March, and Pesach, the eight-day Jewish Passover to be observed in mid-April. According to Mr Witkoffs plan, half of the living and deceased hostages would be released on the first day of the ceasefire, while the remaining hostages would be freed if Hamas and Israel agree to a permanent ceasefire during that phase. There are 59 hostages left in Gaza, with Israel estimating that 25 of them are still alive. Israel has been reluctant to implement the second phase of the ceasefire as it stipulates that IDF forces completely withdraw from Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates Egypt from Gaza. An Israeli official told The Telegraph that Israel will not leave the corridor as it would risk Hamas beginning to smuggle weapons into Gaza again. In Israel, former hostages continued to call on the government to continue the ceasefire and not leave anyone behind in Gaza. Alexander Troufanov, who was released from Gaza last month, said in a video statement: Being held hostage is an unbearable psychological game. I urge you dont let feelings of revenge, anger and rage outweigh the values of unity, brotherhood and the sanctity of human life. When I speak about bringing the hostages home, I mean everyone both the living and the deceased. The Israeli army said it launched airstrikes against several Palestinian suspects who operated near IDF troops in northern Gaza and were identified planting an explosive device in the area. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said that two people were killed in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, a woman was killed near Khan Younis and another person killed in Rafah, both in southern Gaza. Sundays attacks were, however, not isolated incidents. Israel has fired both warning shots and direct fire at Palestinians getting too close to the border fence or soldiers during the ceasefire. Both Israel and Hamas accuse each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire in the past 42 days, but a renewal of the war is expected to be announced formally and not through isolated attacks from either side. Since the ceasefire was implemented in January, 25,200 trucks with humanitarian aid have entered Gaza. An Israeli official told The Telegraph that there is currently enough to feed Gazas two million people for several months. The Telegraph has not been able to verify this assessment. A proposed Montana bill would make the state's Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship Program more accessible and affordable. The proposal comes as lawmakers are working to address Montana's growing childcare access and affordability issues. They are looking to take advantage of tax credits that would provide another avenue of relief for parents, childcare workers, and employers. Making Child Care More Accessible and Affordable Rep. Jonathan Karlen introduced a pair of proposals this month that both try to use an income-based state assistance program to help Montana families. This is the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship Program that could address the rising costs of child care across the state. House Bill 456 would allow all childcare workers at licensed facilities who work a certain number of hours to qualify for the program, regardless of their income. On the other hand, House Bill 457 plans to reduce the family income eligibility threshold from 185% of the federal poverty level to 85% of the state median income, according to the Montana Free Press. The two measures also come with budget requests from the state General Fund worth $5.5 million and $17 million, respectively. Karlen said on Feb. 21, 2025, that one of the biggest problems that childcare providers face is recruitment difficulties and keeping professionals. Read more: Judge Questions Why West Virginia Foster Care Kids Are Being Housed in Hotels Following Suicide Attempt The representative said this is mainly due to the low wages of childcare workers across the state. Karlen then referenced a 2023 report from the state Department of Labor and Industry that found the average childcare worker earned $23,000. He said that even employees in retail stores can earn more than that amount. Amanda Frickle added that the proposed bills resolve the tension between allowing officials to pay childcare workers more and not putting the burden on parents. The Daily Montanan reported that she called this a win-win-win situation for workers, families, and businesses. Thousands of Children Enrolled Under the Program House Bill 456 comes as last year, there were an estimated 4,500 children who used Best Beginnings every month, based on data from the Department of Public Health and Human Services. The Montana Budget and Policy Center revealed that 6,500 children were enrolled in the program over a year. Karlen noted that 66,000 Montanans do not fully participate in the workforce due to insufficient child care. Economic data supported his claims, as the Bureau of Business and Economic Research estimated that the detrimental effect of inadequate child care on Montana businesses was around $54.6 million, as per The Pinnacle Gazette. Anneliese Dodds, who resigned as international development minister on Friday. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images Keir Starmer is facing a backbench revolt by Labour MPs this week as anger mounts over the governments decision to cut the international development budget by almost half in order to pay for an increase in defence spending. The Labour chair of the all-party select committee on international development, Sarah Champion, who has already called on the government to rethink the decision, has secured a debate in the Commons on Wednesday at which dozens of Labour backbenchers are considering intervening to express their dismay. One of those who may speak out, according to colleagues, is Anneliese Dodds, who resigned as international development minister on Friday. In her resignation letter Dodds, formerly a close ally of Starmer, suggested that discussion about altering the governments fiscal rules to avoid having to cut international aid should have taken place before a decision was made. There is also mounting concern spreading across ministerial ranks over how many of Labours core policies will have been thrown overboard to allow the government to keep within the chancellor Rachel Reeves self-imposed fiscal rule of not borrowing for day-to-day spending. One government source said: This is the real debate now. What will be left afterwards? With everything that is going on in the world, what will be left of the Labour programme? Other sources said that it was all very well increasing defence spending, as Donald Trump had demanded, and as was necessary, but there needed to be sacred areas of policy. Unease over the aid decision is also likely to surface when Starmer makes a statement to the House of Commons early this week on his visit to the White House, and on his subsequent meetings with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. Labour MPs are also expected to speak out on the aid cut during a debate on Thursday on International Womens Day. Over recent years the debate has become an occasion for MPs to focus on violence against women and girls. This year, charities such as Care International have arranged for celebrities to focus on womens rights around the world in response to the US aid cuts and the Trump administrations roll-back of reproductive rights. Writing for the Observer online today the Labour MP for Milton Keynes Central, Emily Darlington, a former special adviser to the late Labour chancellor Alistair Darling, breaks ranks to criticise the aid cuts, saying that as a result the world will become less safe. National defence and international development are two sides of the same coin, she writes. Our long-term security requires us to invest in both. Drawing on her experience of living in Kenya before becoming an MP at the last election, Darlington says: Like many African countries, Kenya has huge potential but it also has a violent recent history and is plagued by the threat of international terrorism. So when the US or the UK withdraws funding for clinics offering sexual and reproductive health services, young women cant take control of their lives. When the US or the UK withdraws funding for schemes to combat young men being fed disinformation, the risk is that they become more easily recruited by malign actors, armed groups and even terrorist networks. On Friday the Labour peer Lady Chapman was appointed to succeed Dodds as international development minister, a decision which also caused dismay among MPs of all parties and aid groups, who complained that as a member of the House of Lords she would not be able to answer questions in the House of Commons on aid issues. The former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, a Tory MP, said: The decision to place a minister from the House of Lords in charge of international development is part and parcel of the Labour governments failure to understand that international development contributes to safety, security and prosperity. It was also wrong, Mitchell suggested, that no MPs will be able to question her routinely in the Commons. After Starmer made the decision to slash development aid Champion said: Cutting the aid budget to fund defence spending is a false economy that will only make the world less safe. Conflict is often an outcome of desperation, climate and insecurity; our finances should be spent on preventing this, not the deadly consequences. In 2023, Ukraine received 250m in UK aid, more than any other country. We simply cannot afford to undermine this investment by putting more into a war chest. Although there will be no separate vote on the aid decision after Wednesdays debate, MPs say the debate will show the extent of unrest on the Labour backbenches as well as disquiet among MPs of other parties. Today the CEOs of many of the countrys leading aid NGOs have issued a statement to the Observer condemning the decision to cut the international aid budget. They say: Its deeply disappointing that, after watching Labour MPs protest against the previous governments cuts to UK aid in 2021, the prime minister and Treasury have taken the same path. Given Labours manifesto commitments and their promise to restore the UKs reputation as a trusted global partner, we had hoped for a clear plan to gradually return to the 0.7% aid target. Instead, without any apparent impact assessment or consideration of the consequences, they have once again raided an already diminished UK aid budget, leaving those facing conflict, poverty, and climate change to bear the cost of the UKs financial choices. This was not an inevitable decision. Labour had alternatives, such as a modest 2% wealth tax on assets over 10m impacting just 0.04% of the population which could generate 24bn annually. Rather than pursuing fairer funding solutions, they have chosen a path that leaves their credibility on international development in tatters and damages the UKs standing on the global stage. Signatories include Halima Begum, CEO of Oxfam GB, Christine Allen Executive Director, of Cafod, the Catholic development agency, Adrian Lovett, executive director, of One, the nonpartisan organisation advocating investments in economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa, Rose Caldwell, CEO of Plan International UK, Patrick Watt, CEO for Christian Aid and Romilly Greenhill, CEO of Bond, the UK network for NGOs working on international development. On Wednesday Labour MPs and peers packed a meeting room in parliament to be briefed on the prime ministers announcement. The defence secretary John Healey was joined by Africa minister Lord Collins to face dozens of angry questioners. MPs said several Labour grandees including Harriet Harman, Peter Hain and Paul Boateng were in attendance. A particular focus of MPs questions was on the amount of foreign aid still being used by the Home Office to pay for hotels housing asylum seekers. The Centre for Global Development estimates that after the cuts are implemented, around half of the aid budget will be spent in the UK as a result. In an attempt to placate Labour MPs, ministers gave assurances that there would be no cuts to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) until 2027, but this was not repeated in the written briefing sent to MPs by email the same day. The prime ministers rushed announcement, after a cabinet meeting where ministers were informed of the decision, said aid would be cut from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income when defence spending rises to 2.5% of gross domestic product in 2027. MPs are demanding that the FCDO now conduct a rapid impact assessment before the cuts are made. Charities are mobilising their supporters to flood the email inboxes of MPs and are using social media to connect Starmers decision with Trumps unpopularity. Internet memes featuring Trump as a puppet master pulling Starmers strings are being circulated in an echo of American charities using images of Trump being manipulated by Elon Musk. Keir Starmer has said Europe is at a crossroads in history and must act to support Ukraine to secure a lasting peace as he confirmed the UK and France would lead a coalition of the willing to help end the fighting. After a crucial defence summit in London, Starmer said any plan for a lasting ceasefire would have to be delivered together with the US to provide a deterrence to Russia, as he continued attempts to repair frayed ties between Kyiv and Washington. Starmer announced a deal that would allow Ukraine to use 1.6bn of export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, to be made by Thales in Belfast and therefore creating jobs, as part of the governments plan to boost economic growth. The prime minister had spent 48 hours engaged in intense diplomacy after the disastrous White House meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump on Friday, during which the Ukrainian president was berated live on camera by the US president and his deputy, JD Vance. The defence summit, which brought together major European powers as well as Canada, was intended to develop a united European response to the shift in the transatlantic consensus towards Ukraine but it took on a new urgency after the diplomatic clash. Trump responded on Sunday night to criticism of his increasing closeness to Russia on Ukraine, saying the US should worry less about Vladimir Putin. We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country - So that we dont end up like Europe! Trump posted to his Truth Social platform. The UK summit took place in the grand surroundings of Lancaster House, surrounded by a ring of pro-Ukrainian protesters. Starmer told a press conference afterwards that Britain and other European nations were willing to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to help provide an effective deterrent to Russia. Its time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace, he told reporters. If you want to preserve the peace, you have to be prepared to defend the peace. Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, called the meeting historic. Starmer failed to secure concrete promises of extra military support from other Nato members, but Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said she would follow it up on Thursday with her own plan to rearm Europe. Its basically [about] turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders, she added. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, later told Le Figaro that he and Starmer had suggested a one-month truce in the air, on the seas, and on energy infrastructure to get more time to de-escalate the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Related: Starmers diplomatic flurry puts him at centre of attempts to shape Ukraine-Russia deal The truce would not cover ground fighting, he said, conceding it would be very difficult to police a complete ceasefire given the length of the frontline. Macron also spoke about the need to relax EU fiscal rules to allow countries to spend more and use innovative financing to fund defence spending. Starmer said that to ensure Vladimir Putin did not breach any ceasefire with further attacks on Ukraine, there would have to be security guarantees from the US, with senior British officials saying that air, logistics and intelligence support would be necessary. To succeed, this effort must have strong US backing. Were working with the US on this point after my meeting with President Trump last week, Starmer said. Let me be clear, we agree with the president on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver together. Trump has repeatedly resisted making any sort of military commitment to securing peace in Ukraine. Instead, he has suggested that an economic backstop of US civilians working on a multibillion-dollar critical minerals deal in the country would be sufficient. Some in the British government believe this will be enough to provide security to Ukraine. Peter Mandelson, the British ambassador to Washington, told ABC Newss This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday: Ukraine should be first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow. British officials are still hoping the minerals deal can be resurrected, with Starmer having urged Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday to return to the negotiating table. However, with little sign of the White House wanting to re-engage in talks with Zelenskyy, Downing Street has shifted its attention to building Starmers coalition of the willing instead. At the London summit, the leaders agreed to keep military aid flowing to Ukraine, including after any ceasefire agreement, so that Kyiv would be in a strong position to deter any further attacks from Russia. Other nations are also planning to raise their own defence budgets, after Starmer announced last week that the UK would increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with an ambition to hit 3% soon afterwards. Any deal must be backed by strength. Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden, Starmer said. The prime minister said the leaders had also agreed to increase economic pressure on Russia. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will sign a 2.3bn loan deal to allow Kyiv to buy more weapons, to be paid back using profits generated on Russian sovereign assets that are under sanctions. She has also said she will change the remit of the 27.8bn national wealth fund so it could be spent on defence as well as infrastructure projects. Leaving the summit, von der Leyen said European leaders recognised they had to urgently rearm the continent, with the commission due to propose a plan on Thursday. We need to prepare for the worst, and [are] therefore stepping up the defences, she said. Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, said Europe was stepping up to make sure Ukraine could continue to defend itself if necessary, and had discussed what security guarantees they could provide, while following the UK by increasing their own defence budgets. After the summit, Zelenskyy travelled to meet King Charles at Sandringham, with the offer of a royal audience interpreted at Westminster as a deliberate move to give the Ukrainian president equal treatment to Trump, who was last week presented by Starmer with an invitation to a second state visit to the UK. Speaking to reporters later on, Zelenskyy said he regretted the fact the meeting with Trump on Friday had taken place in front of cameras. I do not believe it is right when such conversations are absolutely open because the emotions or information etc, the foes can take advantage of them, he told LBCs Andrew Marr. Therefore, the format of what happened, I do not think that it brought something positive or additional to us as partners. A picture caption in this article was amended on 3 March 2025 because an earlier version referred to Prince Charles rather than King Charles. The King shakes hands with Volodymyr Zelensky on the Ukrainian presidents arrival by helicopter at Sandringham - Joe Giddens/Pool/AFP via Getty Images Five years ago before cancer, before Oprah, before becoming King the then Prince Charles spoke of his hopes of being a peacemaker. I have spent much of my life trying to bring people together, he said. I try. After an extraordinary row at the White House, now, finally, is his chance to broker peace on a global scale and, in doing so, cement his legacy as King Charles III. The King, whether he entirely chose to be or not, now finds himself at the centre of a triangle that seems to hold the fate of the Western world in its hands: Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Sir Keir Starmer. Mr Trump counts the King as a friend. Charles has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, meeting Mr Zelensky and his wife twice before. Sir Keir, his third prime minister, sees him at least weekly for counsel. With the two presidents smarting from a showdown at the White House that horrified Europe and left Russian state media cheering, Sir Keir must now walk a diplomatic tightrope he could not have prepared for. A mediator is needed, and fast. The King, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, finds himself in the frame. It was only three days ago that Sir Keir presented a personal letter from the King to Mr Trump, handing it over with great flourish in the White House. Donald Trump described the King as a beautiful man after being presented with his invitation to a state visit by Sir Keir Starmer - Carl Court/Pool via AP The moment was received as a triumph for the special relationship, with a warm two-page letter offering the Trumps a trip to Balmoral or Dumfries House next time they are in Scotland to iron out the details of a future state visit. Beautiful man, a wonderful man, said Mr Trump in response, after Sir Keir loudly spelled out the special and unprecedented nature of the offer. The answer is yes. From there, the situation has moved with dizzying speed. The next day, Mr Zelensky, whose country and cause the Royal family has supported vocally and in person throughout the past three years, found himself in that same Oval Office chair in a shouting match with Mr Trump. Their talks, for now, are over. Calls to cancel Trump state visit Calls for the King and UK Government to cancel the state visit before planning even begins are loud and growing. Sir Keir called the exchange uncomfortable but said he had taken the decision not to ramp up the rhetoric but to roll up my sleeves in response. Mr Zelensky, who is in Britain for a summit with European leaders, said he was very happy that His Majesty the King accepted my meeting. The King and Mr Zelensky were photographed shaking hands at Sandringham on Sunday. Mr Zelensky, who had requested the meeting, which was agreed to by the Government, flew to the Norfolk residence by helicopter. Both men smiled for the camera ahead of the meeting, which took place on sofas in front of a fireplace with a large photograph of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in the background. Buckingham Palace confirmed the King received president Zelensky in the Saloon at Sandringham House. The meeting lasted just under an hour. The president was warmly received, said a palace source. Mr Zelensky said they had a very good meeting, adding: We are grateful. As is conventional, the details of their discussions will not be shared. It is unlikely that much time was wasted in small talk, other than an exchange of good wishes about their health and between their wives, Queen Camilla and Olena Zelenska, who have met before. The King received President Zelensky in the Saloon at Sandringham, his residence in Norfolk - Joe Giddens/PA Wire There is little precedent here. Never in the Kings reign, and seldom in the late Queens, has a monarch been so publicly involved in global current affairs. Elizabeth II had her moments: she is often cited as a discreet, persuasive force in the ending of apartheid. She cherished her role in reforging the former empire into a family of nations as head of the Commonwealth. Closer to home, the smallest of interventions ahead of the Scottish independence vote (she was heard to say she hoped people will think very carefully about the future) and a historic handshake with Martin McGuinness will go down in the history books. King dedicated to conciliation For the King, things have moved much faster. The active decision, made in discussions with Foreign Office and palace advisers, to allow his signed letter to Mr Trump to be conveyed so publicly has propelled the King into the heat of the moment. But, his supporters would argue, he is well prepared. His long working life as Prince of Wales was dedicated to what the palace likes to call convening. Interfaith dialogue is one of his key causes; he recently hosted the leaders of all four nations, including Michelle ONeill of Sinn Fein, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, to dine together at Windsor Castle. He has visited Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories, condemning the Hamas terror attack outright and handing out humanitarian medals to those providing relief in Gaza. In 2020, Charles, then Prince of Wales visited Bethlehem in the West Bank, accompanied by Rola Maayia, the Palestinian tourism minister - Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images He is always someone who wants to understand before he says anything, a senior palace source has said of the King, adding that he is a listener more than a talker who is keen that difficult issues are not ducked. It is a little over a year since the King was diagnosed with cancer. It would be only human for him to have considered his life and legacy afresh at times. He wants to help, he has said repeatedly to make a difference. His time as Prince of Wales is remembered for his transformative Princes Trust and his lifelong campaign to save the planet. If he deploys those convening skills over the coming weeks with care, his time as King could now see him in the peacemaker role he craves. The stakes, at this point, could scarcely be higher. Volodymyr Zelensky: Some sort of presence of the United States is necessary - Getty/Justin Tallis Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine needs the United States to guarantee peace, in the wake of his row with Donald Trump. At a press conference on Sunday night, the Ukrainian president said some sort of presence of the US was necessary, whether it be intelligence support or planes. He said he had no right to be depressed following his humiliation in the Oval Office on Friday. He also said he was willing to step down from his role as president but only in exchange for Ukrainian membership of Nato. The Telegraph was invited to the press conference of a dozen journalists just before the Ukrainian president flew back to Kyiv on Sunday night, after European leaders met in London to discuss ways they could provide security guarantees. Mr Zelensky said that would not be enough, and that he hoped Washington would step up. Some sort of presence of the United States is necessary, he said. We can talk about forms: intelligence, sea, air. I think our relationship will continue. We are grateful We see the US as a strategic partner. In a nightly address early on Monday, Mr Zelensky promised more diplomatic efforts to be united with Washington. There will be diplomacy for the sake of peace and for the sake of us all being together - Ukraine, all of Europe and definitely, definitely America, he said. Of course, we are aware of the importance of America, and we are grateful for all the support we have received from the United States of America. There has not been a day when we have not felt this gratitude. At the intimate press conference on Sunday night, Mr Zelensky was asked about his meeting in the White House last week, where he was involved in a shouting match with the US president. He had been there to sign a rare-minerals deal, which Mr Trump sees as being vital for peace, but following the row he was ejected from the White House without one. I had to protect the dignity of our warriors. It is their right to be free. Mr Zelensky added: I have not got the right to be depressed. The minerals deal is ready. I believe the US is ready. It was important for me that the Ukrainian voice [in the meeting] was heard. I did not want to be ambiguous. [My words] were not emotional. They were about justice and truth. The deal will be signed if the parties are ready. On resigning as president in exchange for Nato membership, he said: Regarding my resignation, to me now will not be easy you would need to stop me from participating in elections. Mr Zelensky added: [But I would] exchange it for Nato membership. That would mean Ive fulfilled my mission. He said he had had a very good meeting with the King: We are grateful. Volodymyr Zelensky joins Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders at Lancaster House - Christophe Ena/AP On Sunday, Lord Mandelson urged Mr Zelensky to make up with Donald Trump and support his peace initiative, saying it is the only show in town. Britains ambassador to the US called on the Ukrainian president to give his unconditional backing to US plans to bring an end to the three-year conflict. He called on Ukraine to be the first to commit to a ceasefire and warned that if the US presidents peace initiative goes wrong, then Britain would have to support Ukraine in the event of a Russian attack. Lord Mandelson was hand-picked by Sir Keir to take over as Britains ambassador to the US, as part of his plans to act as a bridge to Mr Trump. However, there were fears he would not be approved by the new US administration after one of Trumps allies called him a moron. Lord Mandelson said he wanted to see Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump getting back on the same page. We need a very radical reset and it has to consist of the United States and Ukraine getting back on the same page, and president Zelensky giving his unequivocal backing to the initiative that president Trump is taking to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine, he told ABC. And the Europeans too, they need to back the calls for a ceasefire; and by the way I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow. Credit: ABC's This Week by George Stephanopoulos The peer added: It takes both the United States and Ukraine to come together and make sure that this whole initiative is given the best possible likelihood of success because it is the only show in town. Its the only negotiation available and its got to be made to work, and that is what we in Britain are very committed to help bring about. Under the deal that was expected to be signed on Friday, an investment fund would be set up for Ukraines reconstruction, which would be managed by Kyiv and Washington on equal terms. Ukraine would contribute 50 per cent of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil and gas to the fund. However, discussions were cut off when Mr Zelensky called for security guarantees from the US that went beyond what had been agreed in the draft deal, angering Mr Trump and JD Vance, US vice-president. After Mr Zelensky left the Oval Office abruptly, Mr Trump wrote online: Come back when youre ready for peace. On Sunday, Lord Mandelson urged Mr Zelensky to sign an economic deal with the US to tie the country into any future peace negotiations and give peace a chance. After what happened on Friday, its clear that we need to bring the United States and Ukraine together again, he said. I think the first thing that President Zelensky can do is to make clear his commitment to the initiative that president Trump is taking. I do think it would be a good idea if he signed an economic and commercial deal put forward by the United States. The reason I say that quite apart from the economic gain that Ukraine will derive from that, it will also give the United States a stake in Ukraines future: it will mean that US commercial interests, US individual citizens will be on the ground there, and that will be an even greater added incentive for the US to protect Ukraine in future and make sure that war does not ensue again. Thats what I want to see, thats what we all want to see. A top adviser to Mr Trump said on Sunday that Washington wants to secure a permanent peace between Moscow and Kyiv that involves territorial concessions in exchange for European-led security guarantees. Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, said: We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians and end this war. He added: If it becomes apparent that president Zelenskys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said he had not spoken with Mr Zelensky since Friday. Well be ready to re-engage when theyre ready to make peace, he added. The row triggered a backlash inside Westminster over the invitation extended to president Trump last week for a second state visit. The day before Mr Zelenskys humiliation in the Oval Office, Sir Keir held convivial talks with Mr Trump in the same room, at which he presented a letter of invitation from the King. On Sunday, Sir Keir admitted the clash between the leaders made him feel uncomfortable, adding: No one wants to see what happened on Friday. However, he rejected calls for the state visit offer to be rescinded, saying he was concentrating on building bridges with the US. Ive seen people ramping up the rhetoric and taking to Twitter and saying what they would do good for them, Im not that interested in that, he said. Im interested in what are the practical steps, what are the bridge building that I can do, what are the relationships that I can mend and take forward to take us to lasting peace in Europe. Sir Keir told the BBC he trusts Mr Trump and insisted he wanted a lasting peace in Ukraine. Sir Keir said: Do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes. But one Labour backbencher said: Trump is only interested in economic gain for US commercial interests. The British Prime Ministers partnership with the US president makes it look like they see [Sir Keir] as a sucker. While the main party leaders have backed Sir Keirs decision to offer a second state visit, there is growing opposition from senior figures in their ranks. Badenoch forced to clarify Kemi Badenoch was forced to clarify the Tories position after some Conservative MPs and peers suggested the visit should be cancelled. Alicia Kearns, shadow home affairs minister, had told the Mail on Sunday: State visits should be conferred on the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour. No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the USs commitment to her allies is assured. His Majesty should not have to carry the weight of Keirs diplomatic failings. A spokesman for the Tory leader said: Personal views of individual MPs are not official Conservative party positions. In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs. Sir Vince Cable, former Liberal Democrat leader, said the visit should be called off, telling Times Radio that using the Royal family in that way is not very clever. He said: The danger of going ahead with it is that it locks us into a sort of totally craven relationship. I think in any event there will be mass demonstrations that will make it abundantly clear to Trump that hes not welcome. It provided a bit of short-term relief for the Prime Minister in easing through his interview, but using the Royal family in that way, I think, is basically not very clever. Sir Vince said he disagreed with Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader, who said the state visit should go ahead and be used to secure guarantees for Ukraine. We need to stand up to Trump, and I dont agree with [Mr Davey] on this particular point. I think it was a very bad move. I think it will avoid a lot of embarrassment for this country, for the Royal family, if we find a way of quietly dropping it. Martin Seddon played a key role in developing alternative sanctions to prison in eastern Europe Photograph: none My colleague, Martin Seddon, who has died aged 78, was an innovative probation officer. Later he was an international consultant and adviser on criminal justice reform in eastern Europe and the Balkans. Martin played a key role in developing alternative sanctions in eastern Europe. He persuaded leaders in the justice sector that reform and rehabilitation of offenders, through community-based programmes, is more effective than incarceration. He worked principally in Russia and Ukraine, but he also spent time in Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Romania, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Born in Crediton, Devon, Martin was the younger son of John Seddon, an accountant, and Eileen (nee Whicher). Martin went to Exeter school and studied mechanical sciences at St Johns College, Cambridge, graduating in 1968. The following year he did a BA postgraduate course in offender management at Exeter University. He joined the Probation Service in 1972 in Southampton, moving to Doncaster and later Hereford and Worcester, and progressing to be an assistant chief probation officer. In 1989 he left to join the charity Crime Concern as a crime prevention adviser; from 1994 to 2001, he worked with Group 4 in prison regime development in the UK, South Africa and Australia. In 2001 Martin became an independent consultant specialising in penal reform in developing countries. Over 20 years he completed 40 prison and probation projects in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. His clients were the EU, the Council of Europe and the Department for International Development. Martin and I worked together in Moscow from 2007 to 2009 on an EU-sponsored programme delivering alternative sanctions to prison and introducing for the first time in Russia a pilot electronic monitoring scheme, in a penal colony called Pereleshnoye. At that time, the Russian prison population was 820,000. When the electronic monitoring pilot was successful, the justice ministry wanted to extend the model to 200,000 pre-trial detainees so that most of them could be tagged, rather than remanded in prison. The electronic tagging model was also extended to probationers in the city of Voronezh. By the end of 2009, the chief legal adviser to the Duma, together with MPs, was satisfied by pilot outcomes and approved the introduction of electronic monitoring to the Russian criminal justice services. Martin was strategic, effective and brilliant at staff training and organisational development, with a warm and engaging personality, and the ability to get along with key ministerial and probation personnel. He said that his partner, Julia Stafford, whom he met in 1990, and his children gave him the best sense of well-being in his life. He also loved sailing, classical music concerts and refurbishing jukeboxes. He is survived by Julia, his civil partner since 2020, and their children, Luke and Ruth, and by his children, Rachel, Jack and Amy, from his earlier marriage to Tricia Langford, which ended in divorce, and six grandchildren. Experts say the Nigerian criminal still poses a high risk of serious harm to the public - LordHenriVoton/E+ A psychotic Nigerian armed robber and crack cocaine dealer has been spared deportation because he would be considered possessed in the African country. The criminal was jailed for seven years for carrying out an armed robbery on a brothel in 2011, and seven years later was jailed for supplying crack cocaine. A deportation order was made more than 10 years ago in April 2014, but he appealed on human rights grounds. The serial offender is still in Britain a decade on and has been allowed to stay because he believes he is possessed and treatment in his home country is not good enough, a judge has ruled. The case is the latest example exposed by The Telegraph where migrants or convicted foreign criminals have used human rights laws to remain in the UK or halt their deportations. They include an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation after claiming his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, and a Pakistani paedophile who was jailed for child sex offences but escaped removal from the UK as it would be unduly harsh on his own children. The criminal who cannot be named for legal reasons has spent much of his time here in a secure mental health hospital and hears voices all the time. But he is now back in the community. Experts say he presents a high risk of serious harm to the public. He is also addicted to crack cocaine. But because he is undergoing treatment and will not get the same care in Nigeria, he has been allowed to stay. Belief in demonic forces Stephen Smith, an upper tribunal judge, has ruled a previous judge made an error of law. He said: We note the appellants recurring belief that his mental ill-health is a result of being possessed. We assess that him expressing this belief would increase the likelihood that others will see his illness as being a manifestation of possession. The court heard that a report prepared by Amnesty International for this appeal said: It is our assessment that on return to Nigeria [the appellant] is likely ... to encounter widespread attitudes that confirm and amplify his belief in demonic forces and witchcraft as being at the root of his problems. He is, moreover, at substantial risk of being identified as suffering from demonic forces and faces a resultant risk of being targeted as a result. A doctor found the appellant suffered from a trauma-related disorder with psychotic features. His report found that the criminal experienced intrusive memories and nightmares and was preoccupied with demonic forces playing tricks with his mind. His sleep was affected in a pathological manner, and he claimed that demons prevented him from moving when he woke up. I want to live a normal life Judges said that the decision to deport the man to another country would require a comparison between the highly prescriptive treatment environment currently enjoyed by the appellant with the removal of such provision in the destination country. The man has said: I really want to stay away from crime. I dont want to get into that predicament again I want to live a normal life. While living in the community, his key worker said he had been attending the gym five to six days a week and working as a volunteer once a week. Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: I think this is a worrying case and situation. Why should we as a country, be picking up the health problems of people from other countries who have committed serious crime? I appreciate this man has serious mental health issues, but why should it be the responsibility of Britain to solve them, fund them and allow him to stay when he is a very serious criminal? It shows serious issues with the law. A new hearing can now take place. Clockwise from top left: Mark Jenner aka Mark Cassidy; Mark Kennedy aka Mark Stone; Marco Jacobs; John Dines aka John Barker; Jim Boyling aka Jim Sutton; Carlo Soracchi aka Carlo Neri; Lynn Watson; Bob Lambert aka Bob Robinson. Composite: Guardian design At least 25 undercover police officers who infiltrated political groups formed sexual relationships with members of the public without disclosing their true identity to them, the Guardian can disclose. The total shows how women were deceived on a systemic basis over more than three decades. It equates to nearly a fifth of all the police spies who were sent to infiltrate political movements. Four of the police spies fathered, or are alleged to have fathered, children with women they met while using their fake identities to infiltrate campaigners. One woman, known as Jacqui, has said her life was absolutely ruined after she discovered by chance that the father of her son was an undercover officer, more than 20 years after his birth. The officer, Bob Lambert, abandoned them when the son was an infant, claiming falsely that he had to go on the run abroad to escape being arrested by police. Other women had intimate relationships lasting up to six years with men who concealed the fact they were undercover officers who had been sent to spy on them and their friends. More than 50 women are so far known to have been deceived by the undercover officers, although the total is unknown at the moment and is likely to be higher. They unknowingly shared their most intimate lives with the spies and some attended weddings and funerals with them. The women were devastated when they discovered how the men had betrayed them, leaving them profoundly traumatised and unable to form trusting intimate relationships again. The scale of the deception has been revealed as ITV starts to broadcast a major series on what has become known as the spy cops scandal. Starting on Thursday, the series made in collaboration with the Guardian shows how five women pieced together disparate clues to expose the real identities of their former boyfriends. The identities of its covert officers is one of the British states deepest secrets. The women scoured obscure archives and even travelled abroad to unmask the men after they abruptly vanished from their lives using what turned out to be fake claims. Their detective work over many years led to a series of revelations that have exposed the highly secret undercover operations to infiltrate political campaigns and misconduct by the spies, forcing the government to set up a public inquiry. The long-running inquiry led by the retired judge John Mitting is examining decades of undercover deployments. A key part of the inquiry is looking at how the women were deceived and who among those supervising the undercover work knew about it. David Barr, the inquirys chief barrister, told a hearing last year that it was not scrutinising whether sexual deception was justified. It was not, he said. Years of campaigning and legal action by the women have forced police chiefs to apologise and admit that the abusive, deceitful, manipulative relationships resulted from a wider culture of sexism and misogyny within the police. The police have also admitted that the managers supervising the officers imbued with that culture failed to prevent the abuse from happening. The deceptive relationships were a frequent part of intensely secret operations that began in 1968 and lasted more than 40 years. The relationships started in the 1970s and continued until 2010. Only two of the 25 officers were women. Many of the identities of the police spies remain secret, meaning there is an unknown number of women who may be unaware that they had been deceived into sexual relationships. In total, about 139 undercover officers employed in two covert squads spied on more than 1,000 political groups. Tens of thousands of mainly leftwing and progressive campaigners were put under surveillance. Related: Who were the undercover cops who deceived women into sexual relations? Many of the spies created aliases based on the identities of dead children after searching through archives containing birth and death records to locate suitable matches. The officers typically spent four years pretending to be campaigners while they infiltrated political groups, befriending activists while simultaneously hoovering up information about their protests. They routinely gathered huge amounts of information about the personal lives of political activists, such as their holiday plans, sexuality and bank accounts. As well as the 25, there are a further three spies who deny they had sexual relations under their fake identity. The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed airs on Thursday 6 March at 9pm GMT on ITV1, ITVX and STV. Keir Starmer at the Lancaster House summit Fridays confrontation between President Trump and President Zelensky shocked the world. The most powerful man on the planet was trying to bully the leader of a country fighting murderous subjugation by a tyrant. It was an odious spectacle. But perhaps it is a good thing it happened when it did. Other leaders of the free world, many of them gathered in London today, should study not just the last four minutes when the Oval Office meeting fell apart, but the whole 50-minute show. Then they will know what is needful. This evening, Sir Keir Starmer led them in a series of measures designed to be as positive as possible about helping Ukraine without inflaming any divisions with the United States. His proposed coalition of the willing is trying to show Trump that it wants to help his peace efforts by underwriting those efforts with the security guarantees Ukraine needs. The Kings reception of Zelensky at Sandringham last night is a dignified way of indicating to Ukraine and the world that Britains heart is in the right place. The tweet by Lord Mandelson, our new ambassador in Washington, that Zelensky should now give unequivocal backing to Trumps initiative is evidence that Britains head might be somewhere else. Sir Keirs bridging approach must be right at this stage, but the gulf is ocean-wide. Do not imagine that Fridays clash was just an outbreak of Trumpian temper at being disrespected by someone who dared to disagree with him. It was the Presidents choice to conduct the conversation in front of the media. He himself said that the American people should see this great television. The meeting laid bare that Ukraine means nothing to Trump, beyond a collection of what he keeps calling raw but means rare earths which America should exploit. He has no interest in it being a free, sovereign country, and is not greatly concerned about the wider effects of a Russian victory on the peace and freedom of Europe. Its a tough neighbourhood, he shrugs. He is not necessarily rejecting Nato, but he is intimidating Ukraine. In his mind, Ukraine and Joe Biden are inextricably combined, so Ukraine deserves contempt. It was Bidens fault that Putin invaded and as he constantly asserts if he, Trump, had been around it would never have started. Biden didnt speak to Russia, whereas Trump and Putin have very good conversations. Trump believes that the Biden administration, via Joes son, Hunter, had a corrupt relationship with Ukraine. He remains annoyed with Zelensky personally for deflecting his demand, in a 2019 phone call, that he investigate the Hunter Biden affair. Trump is also angry that the Democrats tried so hard to smear him over unproved Russian connections. His sympathy here is with poor, wronged Vladimir: Putin went through a hell of a lot with me, he told Zelensky, as if the two had been comrades-in-arms: He had to suffer through the Russia hoax. He is absolutely consistent in never blaming Putin for anything important. That is sinister. Because, for whatever reasons, Trump and Putin are friends, Trump discounts everything Zelensky says about the Russian President. One of Zelenskys strongest points is that a ceasefire could do nothing but harm because Putin has already broken 25 of them. In Trumps eyes, that is Bidens fault. Putin never broke with me. By Trumpian logic, Zelensky must be bearing an unreasonable grudge against Putin. The President criticised Zelensky for the hatred he has for Putin: Its not a love-match... thats why youre in that situation. It follows, for Trump, that Zelenskys demand for security guarantees behind any deal is unnecessary. Let me make the deal first, he hustles, that is 95 per cent of it: then security will follow. The presence of American people, digging, digging, digging for the Ukrainian minerals he wishes to secure, will mean that no one will go back to fighting. Zelensky must insist on security guarantees because his country has lethal experience of the value of Putins assurances, but to Trump this makes him the block to peace. Youre gambling with World War III, Trump told him when, towards the end, tempers rose, Youre not acting at all thankful. Although the discussion the world witnessed on Friday was, in a sense, spontaneous, some interventions were clearly planned. Quite early on, Brian Glenn, the journalist boyfriend of the extreme Trumpian congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, suddenly asked Zelensky why he was not wearing a suit. It was his second consecutive question, and Zelensky answered only his first. Perhaps fearful the question might have been missed, Trump intervened: Brian, he helpfully prompted, you had a second question? Brian was happy to oblige, A lot of Americans have problems with Zelensky being thus dressed for the White House, he said. Zelenskys riposte that he would come back, suited, once the war was over, was to the point. This diversion might have sounded strange, but the suit jibe rang a bell with me. When I was in Ukraine last week, I found that anti-Zelensky propagandists, who are stirring at present, throw this at him, suggesting that his semi-combat dress vaingloriously presents him as a war leader. Trumpians are grabbing this idea, just as they use memes produced by the Kremlins propaganda machine, such as the lack of elections, ignoring the fact that fair elections are impossible when their partially occupied country is fighting for its life. Undermining Zelenskys democratic legitimacy is the intended prelude to a coup detat. The unfriendly interventions by the Vice-President, JD Vance, also seemed on cue. By attacking Zelensky for being discourteous, he opened the way for Trump to be discourteous back. Trump ended the meeting, as if Zelensky had disgraced himself. He had simply put his countrys case, as a war leader must. Last Monday in Kyiv, which already seems an age ago, Europeans leaders and officials gathered to mark the third anniversary of Putins invasion. I watched them queue to vow support for Ukraine. But since then, the Zelensky/Trump row has made it unambiguous that the President of the United States repeats the lines of the President of Russia. If Zelensky ever does kiss his ring, it will be, in effect, as a captive, not an ally. So the continentals and Sir Keir Starmer have to ask themselves more seriously than ever before if they mean what they say. Does the peace of Europe depend upon a free Ukraine? If so, which nations of Europe are prepared to defend that peace without America? And can they? One can discern an arc of resistance to Putin which stretches from Britain in the West, possibly includes France, and embraces Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Poland to the East. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni, might also help. But what of the rest, above all of Germany, which now has nearly 30 per cent of the seats in the Bundestag held by Russia-appeasing parties of the far Left and far Right? Can we agree on what to let ourselves in for? Will the coalition of the willing will the necessary means? Few resonant phrases are repeated in politics without a deliberate reason, and Keir Starmers use of coalition of the willing on Sunday could well have been intended as a reminder to the US diplomatic and defence community: we helped you out; now return the favour. The most famous, or infamous, coalition of the willing was the 30 nations who publicly gave at least some support to George W Bushs US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. This group was assembled after Washington decided that the Iraq regime possessed weapons of mass destruction that were an immediate threat, and that an invasion was required before UN-mandated weapons inspectors had completed their work. The resultant invasion force, which failed to find the weapons but toppled Saddam Hussein and pushed Iraq into a long period of internal chaos and bloodshed, was dominated by 150,000-plus US forces. Related: Trump doesnt understand who the aggressor is: fatigue and anger in Odesa The biggest contingent from the willing partners, as Starmer will know, was the UK, which sent 45,000 troops. Australia sent about 2,000 and the other nations generally committed many fewer, often just a handful of people, or simply allowed the coalition to use their bases. Starmers decision to reintroduce the term came during a BBC interview on Sunday morning where he unveiled an Anglo-French plan to work with the US on a peace deal for Ukraine. Other partners were expected, he added. That is a step in the right direction. This is not an exclusion the more the better in this. But we need to move to a quicker, more agile way of going forward, and I think that is a coalition of the willing states. Speaking at a press conference after the summit of leaders Starmer had convened in London on Sunday, the prime minister said a number of other countries had agreed to join this coalition. He did not name them, saying it was up to individual leaders to set this out. In the end, Bushs coalition expanded from 31 countries to 38 after the invasion. Whatever the murkiness of its intent and the mayhem it unleashed, it was an enterprise of many nations. Starmer is not about to have 38 countries sign up to his coalition. But he will very much hope that among the willing will be Donald Trumps US. Keir Starmer hosted a defence summit with representatives from Europe, Turkey and Nato and had the backing of the leaders of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AP As Keir Starmer and his aides huddled to discuss their response to Fridays calamitous White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the prime ministers team pondered whether to issue a statement on social media. Already messages of support were flooding in for the Ukrainian president from other European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron of France and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. But the prime minister decided to stay silent and instead display his backing with action rather than words. After a series of phone calls on Friday night, Starmer brought forward a planned visit by Zelenskyy to London, giving him the opportunity for a symbolic meeting at Downing Street followed by an audience with King Charles. Related: UK gives royal welcome to Zelenskyy after White House meltdown I picked up the phone to President Trump, and I picked up the phone to President Zelensky, Starmer told the BBC on Sunday. That was my response. Starmers flurry of diplomatic activity has resulted in a Franco-British peace effort which puts the prime minister at the centre of European attempts to shape any deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Starmers was a big gesture, said Bronwen Maddox, the director of the Chatham House thinktank. Having Zelenskyy here, having that meeting, mattered. There is no need to go rushing around tweeting. Hes now trying to be a bridge between the US and Zelenskyy and Europe, which is a reasonable ambition. Some even believe this could be Starmers Falklands moment, referring to the way Margaret Thatcher took on Argentina over the Falkland Islands and in doing so rebooted her flagging premiership. By Sunday morning, Starmer was being backed by the leaders of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Its really important that this summit the prime minister is having today goes well and we support him in that, the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, said on Sunday. Starmers calls with Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday night focused on trying to get the minerals deal between the two countries back on track. One Downing Street official said: We need to ensure there is a minerals agreement and there is a plan for stopping the fighting and giving Ukraine the security guarantees it needs. The minerals deal is still on the table. Officials rejected reports that Starmers call with Zelenskyy had been emotional, but said the Ukrainian president had clearly found his encounter with Trump bruising. The two men agreed that Zelenskyy would visit London 24 hours earlier than planned, allowing him time for a longer meeting in Downing Street before a trip to Sandringham on Sunday to meet King Charles. Officials said the visit to see the king was a deliberate message to Washington, where Trump is eagerly awaiting his own audience with the monarch, with US officials pushing for a state visit as soon as this year. Starmer then spent Saturday around the cabinet table in discussions with Jonathan Powell, his national security adviser, and other senior officials. They had come to the conclusion there was little they could do to restart US-Ukrainian talks, so decided to come up with an alternative plan to help shape the peace deal. The plan they hit upon was a separate set of discussions, this time involving Britain, France, Ukraine and potentially one or two others, to formulate their own prospective deal to present to the US. The talks would provide a counterbalance to those between the US and Russia which have excluded Ukraine and European countries. Starmer called Macron, who welcomed the idea. But there was one more hurdle to clear: the prime minister had to call the US president for the second time in two days to make sure he was not opposed. Officials briefed on the call would not say what Trumps reaction to the idea was, or even whether he indicated he would not stand in the way. But the prime minister was sufficiently emboldened by the conversation that he decided to announce the talks on the BBC on Sunday morning. The second Trump call was much more focused on not wanting to go back over what has happened, but saying, if we move forward with this other plan, would you be interested in us doing that? said one British official. There is no point in us doing this if the US didnt feel there was space for that. Clearly we are doing it, so we thought it was a worthwhile exercise. Saturday evening culminated with Starmers Downing Street talks with Zelenskyy. In front of the assembled press, the prime minister took the unusual step of leaving No 10 to greet Zelenskyy from his car, before walking him back down the street again after their meeting. And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer told his Ukrainian counterpart. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. Sunday was yet another intense day of diplomacy for the prime minister, who began by speaking to the leaders of all three Baltic states and then hosted the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, at Downing Street. Meloni, who arguably has the best relations with Trump of any European leader, has called for an immediate summit between the US, EU and other allied countries to discuss Ukraine. From there, Starmer travelled to Lancaster House for his defence summit, which was attended by representatives from across Europe, as well as officials from Turkey and Nato. British officials are aware that all this activity may result in very little. They have yet to secure their main objective a promise from Trump to offer military backing to any British and European troops posted to secure a new border between Russia and Ukraine. But for now, Downing Street is delighted that the prime minister has managed to navigate the turbulent geopolitics of a Trump-led US, and in doing so prove that post-Brexit Britain can still play a global leadership role. Its a testament to the relationship the prime minister has with the presidents of both America and Ukraine that he was able to host Zelenskyy and speak to Trump not once but twice over the days, said one official. Additional reporting by Angela Giuffrida in Rome A UK teen lost a court case against his parents, who reportedly tricked him and left him in Ghana after enrolling him in a boarding school as they feared for his safety in Britain. The two London parents became afraid that their son was becoming more involved with a gang and failed to address his behavior. They then tricked him into traveling to Ghana, got him into a strict boarding school, and left him there. Leaving Teen in Ghana On Thursday, a judge ruled that the parents were indeed acting in their teenage son's best interest when they left him in Ghana. The teen, who is now 14, decided to take his case to the London High Court. This was in response to his parents' tricking him into traveling to Ghana, the couple's home country, in March last year. However, the teenager, who was born in Britain, argued to the judge that he was worse off in Ghana, both educationally and socially, according to the New York Times. Justice Anthony Hayden ruled that the decision falls within what he regarded as the "generous ambit of parental decision-making." He added that this was when the state had no dominion over their actions. The father of the teen told the court that he did not want his son to be just another Black teenager who gets stabbed to death in the streets of London. This was supposedly a reference to rising concerns about knife crime in Britain and the many victims of gang-related incidents. Parents Worry About Knife Crime in Britain The teen said that if he were aware of what his parents were trying to do, which was to send him to a boarding school in Ghana, he would not have agreed to it. The 14-year-old boy also wrote a statement to the court, saying that he felt like he was living in hell in Ghana, BBC reported. Justice Hayden ruled that the situation was a "sobering and rather depressing conclusion." He added that the parents were driven by "deep, obvious, and unconditional love" when they tricked their son into going to Ghana. It was revealed that the teenage boy had poor school attendance, was aggressive, and was accused of stealing phones while he was in Britain. The court also heard that he was at risk of being groomed and was involved in Snapchat conversations that were described as "worrying," as per LBC. Leaders at Londons Lancaster House on Sunday. The hastily arranged gathering was undeniably dramatic. Photograph: Javad Parsa/Reuters After Fridays calamitous scenes in the Oval Office there were immediate calls for quick answers, new eras and pages of history being turned. Keir Starmer, it seems, is the person now forced to say: hang on, it is a bit more complicated than that. The hastily arranged gathering of leaders at Londons Lancaster House on Sunday was undeniably dramatic, with the UK prime minister at its centre including in the group photo, where he stood between Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Related: Keir Starmer says Europe at crossroads in history and must support Ukraine There was also a very real sense of Europe reshaping its defence and diplomatic priorities on the hoof after Donald Trump and JD Vances public dressing-down of the Ukrainian president, with Starmer talking of a continent at a crossroads in history. Other countries had signalled a willingness to join the Anglo-French coalition of the willing to try to devise their own peace plan for Ukraine, he added. Yes, Starmer agreed, this was Europe stepping up. But it was not because Trumps US was now absent. I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally, he told the press conference. There are easier political paths to tread. Most British voices including rightwing papers previously hostile to Starmer appear to agree that Trump and Vance treated their guest abominably and MPs from all sides of the political divide, not to mention voters, would quite enjoy Starmer pointing this out. His approach has instead been to try to very personally mend the fissure, speaking to both Trump and Zelenskyy after their meeting ended prematurely, and treating the US president as a rational and predictable ally despite the evidence. Ive seen people ramping up the rhetoric and taking to Twitter and saying what they would do, Starmer told the BBC earlier on Sunday when asked why Trump had been invited to the UK for a second state visit. Good for them. Im not that interested in that. That is not to say that Starmer has been diplomatically silent. His hug with the Ukrainian president outside Downing Street on Saturday was hugely eloquent. Perhaps more telling still was the fact that Zelenskyy went from the Lancaster House summit for a chat with King Charles not at a royal palace but at Sandringham, a family residence. Trump is very delighted with his own invitation, but will also be aware that Zelenskyy received a more personal, intimate and revealing gesture. It is a tricky balancing act, all the more so given how things with Trump can head south at speed, as demonstrated by the 24-hour gap between Starmers cosy Oval Office chat on Thursday and the ambushing of Zelenskyy. Starmer is once again fated to pretend that such chaos is not endemic in the current White House, largely in the hope that saying it could make it true and that Trump may continue to offer the USs military and diplomatic might towards the cause of peace in Ukraine. To a great extent there is little choice. As has been repeatedly noted since Friday, the EUs combined population and GDP should make it able to protect Ukraine alone. But it would take years or even decades to untangle the mutual US-Europe reliance of Nato. A peace deal with no US security guarantee would probably unravel at speed. For Starmer personally, there is more to it. As the Labour leader in opposition, he made a virtue of what some complained was uninspiring pragmatism, contrasting it with what he derisively called the politics of protest. There are a lot of people who would have liked Starmer to have protested loudly about Trump. But whether or not his Ukraine plan works, that is not, and was never going to be, the politician he is. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron hold talks after the summit in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/EPA Europe is at a crossroads in history, said Keir Starmer as he hosted 18 leaders at a Lancaster House summit in London to discuss a new plan for peace in Ukraine. Related: Keir Starmer says Europe at crossroads in history and must support Ukraine The UK, France and others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and discuss that plan with the US, and take it forward together, the prime minister said. Addressing the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was sitting alongside him, Starmer added: I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. Everyone around this table. Among those in attendance were the French president, Emmanuel Macron; the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Canadian prime minster, Justin Trudeau; the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni; and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission. Here are some key takeaways: Ukraine must be put in strongest position for future negotiations Starmer added another 1.6bn in UK export finance for Ukraine to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, which will be made in Belfast, on top of the 2.2bn loan he had announced on Saturday This would be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now, and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace, when it comes, he said. There will be a coalition of the willing Any deal must be backed by strength so Russia cannot breach it, Starmer said. Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that cant mean that we sit back, the UK prime minister said. The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air together with others, Europe must do the heavy lifting, Starmer added. The plan must have strong US backing While Europe would do the heavy lifting, backing from the US was needed. We are working with the US on this point after my meeting with President Trump last week, Starmer said. We agree with the president on the urgent need for a durable peace, now we need to deliver together. The US was not an unreliable ally, Starmer said when asked. It was a strong and reliable ally to the UK, adding that he had spoken with Trump on Saturday night. The discussions we have had today, particularly on the coalition of the willing is on the basis that this is a plan that we will work on with the US. That is the purpose of the plan. Leaders agreed to keep military aid to Ukraine flowing Starmer said they agreed that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraines sovereignty and security and Ukraine must be at the table. He added: In the event of peace deal we will keep boosting Ukraines own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasions. Leaders will meet again very soon Starmer said: We are at a crossroads in history today, this is not a moment for more talk, its time to act, time to step up and lead. And united around a new plan for a just and enduring peace. Nato chief says talks were really positive The Nato chief, Mark Rutte, said that more European countries will ramp up defence spending but did not go into specifics. He described increased defence spending as very good news and reiterated the need for more of a fair balance with the US. He told reporters the first step was to make sure there is a peace deal before there are discussions about how to guarantee it. Aurimas Mockus is battling winds up to 100km/h and heavy seas up to seven metres in the Coral Sea due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Photograph: Australian Defence Force A Royal Australian Navy ship is bound for the Coral Sea after a Lithuanian man attempting to row across the Pacific Ocean from San Diego to Brisbane got into trouble. Aurimas Mockus activated his emergency beacon on Friday night about 740km east of Mackay, Queensland, and 90km west of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. He is travelling solo on the rowing boat from the Californian city to Brisbane and was battling winds up to 100km/h and heavy seas up to seven metres on Sunday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said. Mockus departed the US in mid-October 2024. On Sunday afternoon, an Amsa spokesperson said the agency had communicated with Mockus through an interpreter via its Challenger rescue plane. Mockus reported he had no major injuries. Related: Aurimas Mockus has been rowing across the Pacific for months. Now hes weeks from Australia if he can avoid Cyclone Alfred The Cairns-based Challenger jet didnt spot his vessel on Saturday but managed to make contact with Mockus then. He said he was tired. Another aircraft was sent from Royal Australian Air Force Base Edinburgh near Adelaide. HMAS Choules, a 16,000-tonne navy landing ship, was en route from Brisbane to the Coral Sea to assist. Amsa said the ship was expected to reach Mockus by Monday morning. Images taken by an RAAF aircraft showed the tiny vessel rolling on massive waves in the Coral Sea. On Thursday, Mockus said that rowing was out of the question I need to survive. By that evening, he told his team that he was in Gods hands and that the coming days were crucial. Last night was utterly sleepless, but with immense effort I successfully navigated around the Chesterfield Islands reefs. From here on its in Gods hands. The most important thing is to endure the next few days they will be crucial, he said. Right now, Im being carried at a very high speed, but not yet in the direction I need. Im drifting a bit too far west toward the approaching typhoon [cyclone]. I hope the north wind will allow me to escape the typhoon (pushing me downward) as the drift is already massive I dont need to row. There are 500 nautical miles left if I manage to row directly toward Brisbane. But thats hard to say because the typhoon is waiting ahead. Theres no sun out in the ocean, so I must conserve my battery power as much as possible Ive already reached a critical limit. Ive shut down everything I can, leaving only the ability to communicate with my shore team. I just spoke with them, and they had nothing reassuring to say I must endure this wind. Mockuss team had not provided a further update by Sunday afternoon. Amsa said on Sunday afternoon that weather conditions had eased slightly, however, the area is still within the influence of Tropical Cyclone Alfred with winds up to 100km/h and 5-7 metre seas. The cyclone was about 500km east of Rockhampton on Sunday. The category two cyclone was forecast to move south, roughly parallel to the coastline, before weakening slightly and moving to the south-east on Monday. It was then expected to slow and turn west from Tuesday, travelling back towards the southern Queensland coast. The Bureau of Meteorology said strong to gale-force winds could impact Kgari also known as Fraser Island on Sunday. If Mockus makes it to Queensland, he would be the first person to row across the Pacific on this particular route, he has said. If he reached Australia in less than 22 days from Sunday he would set a new Guinness record. A small group of people have crossed the Pacific single-handed, including the Britons Peter Bird in 1983 and John Beeden in 2015, and the Australian Michelle Lee in 2023. Also in 2023, 24-year-old Tom Robinson attempted the feat but was rescued by a cruise ship after his boat capsized. In 2020, the Paralympic rowing star Angela Madsen died while attempting a solo journey from California to Hawaii. Ukrainians protest in New York A key political ally of Donald Trump has warned that Vladimir Putin is dangerous and cannot be trusted after a public falling out between the US president and Volodymyr Zelensky. Mike Johnson, the speaker in the US house of representatives, called the Russian president an old-school communist. The comments form part of what is being seen as a muted backlash against Mr Trump among Republicans over the Oval Office clash on Friday. Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, a long-standing Republican critic of Mr Trump, led some of the sharper criticism. Credit: Chauncey Dandridge - Anya Narysheva via Facebook - TikTok/me29526 I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and US values around the world, she said. This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine, Ms Murkowski said. It ends with a tense, shocking conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all US support for Ukraine. Protest in Times Square Mike Johnson - Will Oliver/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The Trump administration stood firm on Saturday, with Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, blaming Ukraine for the impasse. We need to get all sides to the table, he told CNN. Were very frustrated that we did not see that from the Ukrainians after we had negotiated a minerals deal that would bind us together, grow their economy and change the nature of our aid. The criticism of the handling of the White House summit coincided with protests across the country, with much of the anger being aimed at JD Vance, the vice-president, who was seen as provoking the spectacular shouting match which erupted in front of the media which had gathered for what was expected to be a routine photocall. While protesters took to the streets in Los Angeles, Boston and New York City to voice their support for Kyiv, it was Verrmont which saw demonstrators target Mr Vance. Hundreds gathered at Waitsfield, where Mr Vance and his family had planned a ski trip. The Vances were moved to an undisclosed location as protesters swapped insults with Maga counter-demonstrators on the snow-covered streets. The attack took place on Seven Sisters Road in Islington - Tom Bowles Three girls have been charged with killing a 75-year-old man who died in north London. The man, named on Saturday as Fredi Reviro, was attacked on Seven Sisters Road in Islington at about 11.35pm on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said. He was treated by officers and paramedics at the scene but died in hospital on Friday. Three teenage girls, aged 14, 16 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm before the mans death but have now been charged with manslaughter. A special post-mortem examination will be held in due course. The man is thought to be a Bolivian national. The girls, who cannot be named because of their age, will appear at Highbury magistrates court on Monday, the force said. Supt Annmarie Cowley, a senior officer, previously said: I know this death will cause shock and very real concern in Holloway and the wider Islington area. I share those concerns, and I want to assure local people that a thorough police investigation is underway. There are additional police patrols in the local area. I urge local people to speak with these officers if you have any information or any concerns. Anyone with information that could help police has been asked to call 101 or contact @MetCC on X, quoting CAD 8184/27Feb, or to contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. People look on at the Spit, on the Seaway on the Gold Coast, on 3 March. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP People have been warned to leave or prepare for the worst, with a tropical cyclone on track to cross a densely populated part of Australias coast for the first time in 50 years. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is looming off Queenslands coast, threatening to bring heavy rainfall, damaging winds and monster waves. The Bureau of Meteorologys cyclone forecast published on Monday evening, said Alfred was expected to maintain intensity as a category 2 cyclone and make landfall between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast late on Thursday or on Friday morning. Communities from Sandy Cape south to Grafton, including Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay, were in the watch zone. Related: Ocean rower Aurimas Mockus stranded by cyclone off Australias east coast safely rescued It would mark the first time since 1974 Queenslands southeast has taken a direct hit from a cyclone. The crossing location is more likely to be near Brisbane with towns south of the city at risk of the most serious rain and wind conditions. Island communities east of Brisbane are warned to leave now or be prepared to ride out the storm. There will come a point where itll be too late to leave those islands, state disaster coordinator, Shane Chelepy, told reporters on Monday. Ferry and barge services may cease to islands in the next 24 to 36 hours. Generators, health professionals and emergency services are set to be deployed to the islands. Emergency services have urged anyone living on house boats to consider evacuating while low lying or coastal southeast communities should begin sandbagging before heavy rainfall begins. Shipping operations at the Sunshine Coasts Mooloolaba have stopped until Alfred passes. Two cruise ships are looking for alternate ports to dock while another will land at Brisbane to offload passengers. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said weather modelling from overnight and Monday morning had reinforced the prospect that Alfred would soon veer towards southeast Queensland. Crisafulli said there was now a high likelihood that the storm would reach landfall between Kgari and the New South Wales border, a large stretch of coastline that includes heavily populated areas with about 4 million people, and the city of Brisbane. The cyclone is forecast to cross the coastline as a category 2 system on Thursday or early Friday. More than 700 mm of rain could inundate parts of southeast Queensland and northeast NSW later this week as Tropical Cyclone Alfred makes landfall over a densely populated stretch of Australias east coast. https://t.co/02pqygr9CV pic.twitter.com/AGtvLofT8b Weatherzone (@weatherzone) March 3, 2025 Alfred is a category one system in the Coral Sea, about 450km northeast of Brisbane. It is yo-yoing between a category one and two system as it travels abount 20km/h south east. The system is expected to slow and do a U-turn towards the Queensland coast on Tuesday before making landfall later in the week. Winds at the centre of the cyclone are 95 km/h with gusts of up to 130 km/h. Marine Rescue Queensland has urged boaties to stay home and not go fishing while the system sweeps through. Crisafulli said the storm brought three layers of threat to residents largely unaccustomed to a tropical cyclone hitting the coast so far below the tropic of capricorn. The first was from large surf, tidal storm surge and coastal erosion. Some Queensland beaches recorded waves of up to 14m at the weekend and there is increasing concern for Golden Beach, at the southern tip of the Sunshine Coast, after surging tides cut through the northern tip of Bribie Island. The island provides a natural barrier that otherwise protects Golden Beach. Without it, there is serious concern about the impact of storm surge. Crisafulli said there was concern among authorities that the cyclone could cross the coast coinciding with a high tide, which would be particularly destructive along the coast. A second concern was from damaging winds as the storm nears. The third is from heavy rainfall that would probably concentrate at the southern fringe of Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it crosses the coast. Authorities have moved to a preparatory footing several days ahead of the predicted impacts, given the potential path of the cyclone includes the heavily populated areas around Brisbane. The Queensland capital is particularly flood-prone and has been severely inundated three times in the past 15 years. This is a serious impact, Crisafulli said. The modelling does show that it is likely to cross the coast and we want people to be as prepared as they can be. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that heavy rainfall will be concentrated to the south of wherever Alfred makes landfall, and that the system could bring 300mm to 600mm over multiple days. Related: Tropical Cyclone Alfred could make landfall near Brisbane. Why is this a big deal and when could it hit? While Brisbane and nearby communities begin to prepare, there is an immediate threat of intense winds and potential storm surge in island communities and along the coast. Decisions have not yet been made about potential school closures or event cancellations. Crisafulli said the state would provide information but that many of these decisions would be left to businesses or sporting associations. The Brisbane lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said many of the citys residents had never experienced a cyclone before as he stressed the very real threat to south-eastern Queensland. It is rare but not unheard of for tropical cyclones to reach landfall south of the tropics. The closest a cyclone track has come to Brisbane was in 1990, when Tropical Cyclone Nancy tracked erratically towards the Queensland capital, before making a southward turn just off the coastline and never reaching landfall. Tropical Cyclone Wanda the cause of Brisbanes historic 1974 floods crossed the coast near Kgari and Hervey Bay. A severe tropical cyclone crossed the coast near Tweed Heads in 1954. It is far more common for a tropical cyclone to cross the coast north of the tropic of capricorn and return overland to the south-east as a destructive low storm. This occurred with Cyclone Debbie in 2017. The cyclone watch area spans from Kgari to Grafton, NSW for heavy rain, damaging wind and monster waves. In NSW, where the northern coastline could be affected, the State Emergency Service urged residents to prepare for damaging winds, large surf and heavy rainfall with major riverine and flash flooding expected from Wednesday. We are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that if you are asked to evacuate you have a plan for yourselves, your families and your pets and know where you will go, NSW SES assistant commissioner Dean Storey said. NSWs Northern Rivers is only just getting back on its feet after flooding three years ago that claimed five lives and destroyed homes. NSW emergency services minister, Jihad Dib, assured locals authorities were doing everything we can to prepare for the looming system. Were cognisant of what the Northern Rivers have gone through and some of the trauma that they carry, he said. Britain and France will work on their own peace plan for Ukraine, Keir Starmer has said, as European leaders scrambled to respond to Fridays disastrous White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The prime minister told the BBC on Sunday that he and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, had agreed to begin negotiations separate to those between the US and Russia, after a series of hurried phone calls on Saturday evening. Starmer told the BBCs Laura Kuenssberg: Weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States. He added: The UK and France are the most advanced in the thinking on this, and thats why President Macron and I are going to be working on this plan, which well then discuss with the US. That is a step in the right direction. This is not an exclusion the more the better in this. But we need to move to a quicker, more agile way of going forward, and I think that is a coalition of the willing states. Starmer spent Saturday engaged in intense diplomacy after Zelenskyys meeting in Washington, during which the Ukrainian president was berated live on camera by Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance. The prime minister hosted Zelenskyy in Downing Street before calling both Macron and Trump as he sought to show solidarity for Ukraine while also repairing frayed ties between Washington and Kyiv. Zelenskyy will meet King Charles at Sandringham on Sunday, while Starmer will host European leaders, as well as those from Canada and Turkey, for a defence summit in central London. Meanwhile, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will sign a 2.3bn loan deal to allow Kyiv to buy more weapons, to be paid back using profits generated on Russian sovereign assets that are under sanctions. Reeves has also said she will change the remit of the 27.8bn national wealth fund so it could be spent on defence as well as infrastructure projects. Unlike several other European leaders, Starmer has so far refused to criticise Trump for his actions on Friday, a stance he defended on Sunday. I felt uncomfortable nobody wants to see that, he said. But the important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are, or not. The other is to do what I did, which is, roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelenskyy, then invite President Zelenskyy for an extensive meeting yesterday And then further, pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards, because my reaction was, we have to bridge this. Starmer said the Franco-British peace plan could include one or two others, which he described as a coalition of the willing. Related: In this dangerous age, Britain needs to exert soft power as well as the hard stuff | Andrew Rawnsley He said the talks would involve discussions over where the border would be drawn between Ukraine and Russia, but he admitted that any plan would still rely on American military cooperation, something Trump has not yet agreed to provide. It means a line that is agreed in the terms of the deal, and then that that line is defended, Starmer said. We [he and Trump] discussed this at length on Thursday, because you cant have a deal that then falls apart. Starmer has said he is willing to commit British troops to defending any peace deal in Ukraine, but that doing so would not be safe unless they received communications, logistical and air support from the US. He added that he did not trust the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to stick to the terms of any deal. He said, however, that he did trust both Zelenskyy and Trump, despite the latters wavering support for Ukraine. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said on Sunday her heart went out to Zelenskyy. She toId the Kuenssberg show: I watched it and I couldnt believe what was happening. He was being humiliated. I dont think we should conduct these sorts of difficult conversations in front of the cameras, and we have to remember that President Zelenskyy is a hero. Gen Myhailo Drapatyi, 42, is part of a new generation of younger Ukrainian general officers who have fought against Russian forces since 2014 - Genya Savilov/AFP Ukraines army is finding some rare success along the eastern front, reclaiming key positions and inflicting unsustainable losses on Russian forces, according to battlefield reports. While the front-line axis has not changed significantly, Ukrainian forces have advanced against Russian troops close to the major eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, according to new reports. The Ukrainian armed forces are actively advancing in Toretsk, reclaiming key positions, said one war blogger closely observing the front lines. There are reports of complete encirclement of Russian occupiers in several areas. Toretsk provides a vital link for Ukraine to logistics bases in Kostiantynivka, north-west of the city. The attacks are reportedly being conducted with US-donated armoured vehicles. Counter-attacks are also being conducted near Pokrovsk a key city for Ukrainian defences. Russia has been moving towards the city for the past year, and has advanced 40km (25 miles) west since February 2024. Last week, Ukraine announced a successful counter-attack to retake the settlement of Kotlyne, near Pokrovsk. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said: The year-long Russian effort to seize Pokrovsk has so far failed. Members of the Lyut joint assault brigade await orders on the Toretsk front line in the Donbas region - Maria Senovilla/Shutterstock Meanwhile, Russian military bloggers accounts which are often cited as sources of information in lieu of official commentary from the Kremlin reported that the Kremlins troops had lost ground in Uspenivka in Donetsk Oblast. The ISW also said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were now inflicting unsustainable losses on Russian forces and holding them to marginal gains. DeepState, a Ukrainian war-tracking blog, also said that Russian troops occupied 192 sq km of Ukrainian territory in February, marking a decline compared to previous months. Despite losing momentum, with the pace of advance now comparable to last July, the enemy continues to suffer heavy manpower losses, DeepState said. The enemys activity has decreased, although it has not ceased entirely. Russian military bloggers report that the Kremlins troops have lost ground in Uspenivka in Donetsk Oblast - Anadolu Praise for the counter-attacks is being lauded upon Gen Myhailo Drapatyi, Ukraines ground forces chief, who also recently took command of fighting in the eastern Donbas region. The 42-year-old commander is considered part of a new generation of younger Ukrainian general officers who have fought against Russian forces since 2014. Olena Mokrenchuk, the press officer of the Ukrainian armed forces, said previously that Gen Drapatyis strategies were always unexpected and unconventional, but meticulously calculated. Hes very effective. I believe that under his command, well be able to push the Russians back, she told Ukrainian broadcaster, Espreso TV. Toretsk provides a vital link for Ukraine to logistics bases in Kostiantynivka north-west of the city - Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade/Shutterstock In December 2024, Gen Drapatyi announced an ambitious transformation plan aimed at improving Ukraines position on the battlefield, including reforming training and providing Ukrainian soldiers with a technological edge over their enemy. Today, were building an army of the future an army that will defeat the enemy and overcome every obstacle on the way of transformation, Gen Drapatyi said. However, Moscow is still gaining ground. On Saturday, it said it had seized two villages in eastern Ukraine, Skudne and Burlatske, in the south of the eastern Donetsk region. DeepState also reported that Russia had advanced near Burlatske, Andriivka, Pryvilne, Sverdlikove and Mykolaivo-Daryne in the past few days. On Sunday, Russia conducted strikes on gas processing facilities used by the Ukrainian defence force. The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in its operational update on Friday that the army was involved in 60 combat engagements. Moscow seized two more villages in eastern Ukraine, Skudne and Burlatske, in the south of the eastern Donetsk region - Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade/Shutterstock The intense fighting comes as senior US officials have warned that Donald Trump may cut all aid to Ukraine, including any final aid shipments that Joe Biden, the former US president, approved. Writing about Ukraines recent gains and its army inflicting unsustainable losses on Russia, the ISW said: This situation, combined with the severe challenges Russia will face in 2025, offers the United States great leverage in peace negotiations. Ukrainian forces have leveraged US-supplied military systems including Patriot air-defence systems, Himars and Atacms long-range strike systems to defend against nightly Russian drone and missile strikes and improve its strike capabilities. Ella Darron, an American living in the UK, said Donald Trump did not deserve the pomp and circumstance of a state visit. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Observer The pageantry of a state occasion is something Joanna Chin usually enjoys. She stood on Thames Street in Windsor, outside the castle, to celebrate the Queens 90th birthday and Harry and Megans wedding. Will she come out for President Trump? I cant stand the man, she said. Its difficult to even believe its happening that somebody like that can be president of the United States. Hes dangerous. Having said that, we cant afford to fall out with America, so theres that balance between what we believe and whats the most expedient thing to do to protect the interests of the country. Will I come out to watch him? No. Keir Starmers offer of a royal invitation for a second state visit is as unprecedented as Trumps 10-minute tirade at Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House. But even before the Oval Office meltdown, Britons were both sceptical and resigned about the presidential visit. There were calls from the SNP and the Scottish Greens to cancel the trip. In the letter that Starmer gave to Trump, King Charles invited the president to Balmoral or Dumfries House as an aperitif to a grander occasion, probably involving Windsor. On Saturday afternoon it was revealed that Zelenskyy would see the king first, however later on Sunday while he is in London for Starmers European defence summit. Trumps first state visit in June 2019, hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, ended two days before Theresa May stepped down as prime minister. How did Starmers White House performance go down with people in Windsor on Friday? Simon Pitt, a Starmer fan, said it all seemed to go very well he didnt fall into any traps or look stupid, and you never know how its going to go in the lions den. Below the castle, Pat Simpson thought the prime minister didnt have any choice. Hes got a lot on his plate and hes got to do things you dont agree with, she said. Tony, her husband, a lifelong Labour supporter, said: Hes got to; whether you like him [Trump] or not, America plays a large part in Britains economicand political life. But Chin, not a natural Labour supporter, said she felt Starmer came across as incredibly wet, sucking up to Trump. Foreign policy is often a respite for prime ministers struggling domestically, and even solid supporters such as Pitt have been disappointed with the Labour government so far. Spooked by Reform UKs 26% opinion poll figures, Labour figures have spoken of becoming a more insurgent government, and last month Starmer told his cabinet We can either be the disrupters or the disrupted. There are whiffs of how this approach might potentially appeal, with some in Windsor holding their noses to admit they felt that Trump had got an awful lot done in three weeks. But a Trumpist approach would not work, according to research by More in Common and University College Londons Policy Lab. It found that, although about half the public had expected to see things get better within a year of Labour taking office, only 27% believe Starmer should be more like Trump. There is no appetite for disruptive populism, the researchers said. Too often, commentators assume the future belongs to the populist right, said Marc Stears, UCL Policy Lab director. Our research demonstrates that is far from obvious. There is an electorally significant constituency in Britain that wants change, not chaos; radicalism, not recklessness. The centre ground remains the crucial space in British politics, and despite all the noise and energy created by Trumpism, it is vital that we all remember that. Many of those 27% voted Reform UK last year, and they are at odds with the rest of public on many issues, including Ukraine. Nigel Farage said during the election campaign that Putin was given a reason to invade by Natos ever-eastward expansion. Its a vein of opinion popular among those of his supporters who want Russia to defeat Ukraine and agree with JD Vances suggestion in 2023 that US money was paying for Ukrainian yachts, and that he didnt care what happened to Ukraine. Most of the British public believe instead that Zelensky and Ukraine are fighting against invasion and war crimes, and Starmer accused Farage of fawning over Putin last week. For some Americans in the UK, however, the Trump White House is uncomfortable viewing. Ella Barron, an American who was moving to Windsor from Brighton last week, said she hoped people would remember that America is a big country with a lot of different political views. I dont think Keir Starmer should try to cosy up to Trump because, from what weve seen in the past, it wouldnt be a politically beneficial thing to do, she said. Trumps actions towards Canada show the UK should look for closer ties with the Commonwealth and Europe, she said. Will she watch if Trump comes to Windsor? I might, just because it will be very impressive, she said. But I would like Trump not to destroy the US presidency as an institution. Id like the institution of the presidency to still be respected outside of the US not that I think he, as a person, deserves the pomp and circumstance. A strong performance by UK film industry talent at the Bafta awards last month suggests the countrys best hopes for Oscar success could lie in the categories that celebrate achievement behind the camera. Two of the UKs most promising Oscar contenders are Daniel Blumberg, up for best original score, and Lol Crawley, for best cinematography. Both have been nominated for their work on the epic period drama The Brutalist and both triumphed in their respective categories at the Baftas two weeks ago. Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales with their award for best production design at the 2025 Baftas on February 16 (Ian West/PA) Another UK pair who could see a repeat of recent Bafta success are the production designers Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, who have been nominated for an Academy Award for their efforts on the musical fantasy Wicked. Laura Blount, Frances Hannon and Sarah Nuth, the British team responsible for make-up and hairstyling in Wicked, missed out on a Bafta but are among the nominees for an Oscar though they face tough competition from the all-French team that worked on body horror film The Substance. The religious thriller Conclave delivered two Baftas for the UK this year, one for Nick Emerson for best editing and one for Peter Straughan for best adapted screenplay. Both individuals have been nominated at the Oscars. Ralph Fiennes, who plays the lead in Conclave, is the only British hopeful among the nominees for best actor. Despite appearing in films for more than 30 years, Fiennes has never won an Academy Award. But he faces very stiff competition from his fellow nominees, particularly frontrunner Adrien Brody, US star of The Brutalist. No UK performers have been nominated for best supporting actor for the third year in a row while Felicity Jones is the sole UK nominee in the supporting actress category, for The Brutalist. (PA Graphics) Cynthia Erivo is the only UK nominee up for best actress, for her role in Wicked. A win for Erivo would mark only the third time in the history of the Oscars that the award has gone to a non-white performer. The last time the UK won an Oscar in any of the acting categories was in 2021, when Sir Anthony Hopkins was named best actor for The Father and Daniel Kaluuya picked up best supporting actor for Judas & The Black Messiah. There is a big hitter for the UK among the hopefuls for best animated feature film, in the shape of Bafta-winning Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. A win would represent the UKs first victory in this category since 2006, when in a neat bit of symmetry the award went to Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Elsewhere, the UK is represented three times in the category for best sound: by Paul Massey, one of the team who worked on the Bob Dylan biographical film A Complete Unknown; by Gareth John, one of the group of sound editors for the science fiction epic Dune: Part Two; and Simon Hayes and Andy Nelson, both part of the team who worked on Wicked. Further chances for success could come in the categories for best visual effects, where British talent appears in two of the five teams of nominees, and for best costume design, where Janty Yates and Dave Crossman are jointly nominated for Gladiator II. Sir Elton John has a chance of securing the third Oscar of his career, for the song Never Too Late, co-written with his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin plus US artists Brandi Carlile and Andrew Watt. Nominee Sir Elton John has already won two Oscars (Aaron Chown/PA) The song appears in the documentary of the same name, which focuses on Sir Eltons recent farewell tour. His previous Oscar wins came in 1995, for the song Can You Feel The Love Tonight from the animated film The Lion King, and 2020, for the song (Im Gonna) Love Me Again, from the film Rocketman. Success in some of the writing and technical categories could spare the UKs blushes at failing to bag the more high-profile acting and directing awards. Last year, the UK was responsible for two of the five Oscar nominees for best director, including the winner Christopher Nolan. This year, not a single nominee for best director is from the UK. None of the 10 movies nominated for best film this year are wholly UK productions, though three are co-productions between the UK and other countries: The Brutalist, Conclave and The Substance. Posted by Heather on at 04:00 PM CST Nick made a stop at the Hasbro booth at Toy Fair New York and man... LOTS of goodies A special thanks to Hasbro for giving us access to their private booth at Toy Fair New York 2025. A professor who flagged that Elon Musk may have broken the Royal Societys code of conduct by spreading misinformation has said this is not about policing political views ahead of its meeting on Monday. Nobel prize winners were among more than 2,400 people to sign an open letter that alleged Mr Musk had broken the Royal Societys code of conduct by promoting unfounded conspiracy theories. Fellows will meet on Monday to discuss the principles around public pronouncements and behaviours of fellows, the Royal Society said in a statement after the letter was published. The billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is a fellow of the oldest scientific academy that counts many of the worlds most eminent scientists in its ranks. Emeritus Professor Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, wrote the open letter and told the PA news agency that Mr Musk is widely reported to be one of the most active disseminators of misinformation on Twitter. Ahead of Mondays meeting, Professor Curry said that scientific integrity, as well as adherence and respect for evidence and truth, are central to the code. He added: This is not about policing political views, this is not about enforcing some kind of political conformity. I think the main charges that are troubling to many people is that Elon Musk has not shown respect for evidence. Hes widely reported to be one of the most active disseminators of misinformation on Twitter and thats not something that is consistent with the code of conduct. The structural biologist said fellowship is an honour predicated on following the code, and fellows are responsible for exemplifying the very highest ideals and standards of behaviour expected of all scientists. In that respect it seems to me, and it seems to everybody who has signed the letter, that Mr Musk has deviated from that standard in a very serious way, he added. In the open letter published a fortnight ago, Professor Curry said he is writing to express my dismay at the continued silence and apparent inaction from the Royal Society over the fellowship awarded in 2018 to Elon Musk. He wrote that concerns regarding Mr Musk potentially breaching the code were raised more than six months ago. Professor Curry also mentioned the tech entrepreneurs X post in which he attacked safeguarding minister Jess Phillips over the issue of historical grooming gangs in the UK. The letter was sent to Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society. Sir Adrian then sent fellows a letter announcing a meeting would be held in March. On Tuesday, the Royal Society released a statement headed science under threat that Professor Curry said addresses some concerns he raised. It does not name Mr Musk but the professor said it was a step in the right direction and he was pleased to see it. The statement said: Ideological agendas are being used to suppress research, threaten academic freedom and to cut funding. Scientific evidence and those who advocate for it are under attack by those who wish to undermine rational debate. Platforms that should facilitate open, transparent debate are giving free rein to harmful misinformation and ideological attacks on people and ideas. The Royal Society will use its voice and the expertise of our fellows to resist the various challenges to science. It added that the academy stands for equality, diversity and inclusion. Professor Curry told PA that he does not believe the Royal Society will reach a decision about Mr Musk on Monday. But people need a clear account of the academys options and whether it is satisfied that Mr Musk did not breach the code, he said. I think if they want to maintain the trust of the wider scientific community, which I think they do, then some explanation of the action or inaction that theyve taken is warranted, he added. Professor Curry is not invited to the closed meeting as he is not a fellow. Some people he has spoken to will be making their feelings known but there is a spectrum of opinion that he welcomed. After the fellows meeting it will be for the leadership to decide whether to make a statement, he said. Saturday Night Live (SNL) has recreated the White House clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in a skit featuring Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers. The US president and his Ukrainian counterpart met in the Oval Office on Friday where a series of testy remarks between the two leaders prevented the two nations from signing a minerals deal. Austin Powers star Myers, 61, made a cameo on the US comedy show as billionaire and close Trump ally Elon Musk, who now runs a non-governmental agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street, London, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Saturday (Peter Nicholls/PA) The skit begins with a voiceover that says: Yesterday, president Trump hosted Ukrainian president Zelensky at the White House, and it went really, really well. The world is now a safer place. James Austin Johnsons Trump welcomes Zelensky, played by Mikey Day, to this incredible trap before introducing US vice president JD Vance, played by Bowen Yang, and US secretary of state Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez). Vance tells the Ukrainian president: You havent said thank you to us once the past 15 seconds Ive been yelling at you. During the White House meeting Mr Vance said to Mr Zelensky: Have you said thank you once this entire meeting?. He then asked him to offer some words of appreciation for the Unites States of America and the president whos trying to save your country. Later in the skit, Myers, dressed as Musk, enters with a chainsaw and says: Donald what are you doing in my office? You know Im the president now, right? Im kidding, Im kidding, maybe not. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Youve got to make a joke, you know. Legalise comedy, legalise comedy, come on legalise it!, he shouts. Mr Zelensky left the White House early, putting on hold plans for he and Mr Trump to sign a deal granting the US access to rare minerals in exchange for further military aid. Mr Trump claimed Mr Zelensky was gambling with World War Three in the diplomatic blowout broadcast around the world. On Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer met with Mr Zelensky and told him he had full backing across the United Kingdom and that Britain stands with Ukraine for as long as it may take. European leaders will join Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky in London on Sunday for a defence summit. Sir Keir Starmer has urged leaders to step up at a once in a generation moment for security in Europe at the start of the defence summit on Ukraine. Leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte are gathered at Lancaster House in London to forge a common position on ending the war. The Prime Minister told those present that this is a once in a generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step up. Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Lancaster House (Toby Melville/PA) He said that getting a good outcome for Ukraine is vital to the security of every nation here and many others too. The summit comes after leaders rallied round Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his confrontation with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, which has created a divide between the US and its European partners. The Prime Minister said that it has been agreed that a group will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the the fighting and then discuss that with the US and take it forward together. People take part in a rally in support of Ukraine outside Downing Street (PA) Ukraines allies need to also continue their support in the moment, Sir Keir said, adding: Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression. He concluded: That is the agenda and we need to agree what steps come out of this meeting to deliver peace through strength for the benefit of all. He had earlier told the BBC that weve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he arrives at Lancaster House, London, for the summit (Toby Melville/PA) Among those in attendance at the meeting at Lancaster House are Mr Zelensky and Mr Macron as well as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau is also at the meeting, alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Sir Keir told the gathered leaders that a crowd who welcomed Mr Zelensky with applause ahead of his visit to Downing Street over the weekend was totally spontaneous. Sir Keir Starmer welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose nation is a Nato member, to Lancaster House, London (Toby Melville/PA) Addressing the Ukrainian president who was sat alongside him, the Prime Minister added: I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. Everyone around this table. Sir Keir was flanked by Mr Zelensky and Mr Macron as he delivered his remarks at the top of the meeting. Leaders had earlier posed for a family photo in front of their national flags before the discussions got under way. European leaders rallied round to support the Ukrainian president after the scenes in the Oval Office on Friday evening, which saw Mr Trump publicly berating Mr Zelensky. Sir Keir had earlier told the BBC that the encounter made him feel uncomfortable, adding that nobody wants to see that. The important thing is how to react to that, Sir Keir told the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. The UK has signed a 1.6 billion deal to supply more than 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine using export finance. Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) will be made in Northern Ireland, creating 200 jobs. He added: This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes because we have to learn from the mistakes of the past. The missiles, which are capable of flying at 1.5 times the speed of sound and striking targets over 6km away, can be used to attack enemy vehicles, boats and drones. They will be manufactured at the Thales weapons plant in Belfast. Defence Secretary John Healey said: This new support will help protect Ukraine against drone and missile attacks but it will also help deter further Russian aggression following any end to the fighting. This new deal delivers on the UKs ironclad commitment to step up military support for Ukraine whilst boosting jobs and growth at home. The contract will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF). In September, the Government announced a 162 million deal to send 650 LMMs to Ukraine. Wigan thumped rivals Warrington in Las Vegas which broke new ground as the first Betfred Super League game to be played in the United States. The historic encounter at the Allegiant Stadium saw Matt Peets defending champions go 24-0 up at half-time after tries from Tyler Dupree, Abbas Miski, Bevan French and Harry Smith. The Warriors added further scores after the break through Jai Field, Jake Wardle and Luke Thompson, with Adam Keighran converting all seven tries to make it 42-0 before the hour mark. Warrington grabbed consolation tries through Arron Lindop, James Harrison, Matt Dufty and Matty Ashton while Liam Marshall scored late on for Wigan and Keighran ended with eight goals. For Wolves boss Sam Burgess, whose arrival in Las Vegas earlier this week was delayed by visa complications, this was a massive disappointment. It was his teams first defeat of the season as Wigan, last seasons quadruple winners, backed up their 46-4 victory at Hull FC last week with another huge victory. Around 10,000 English fans were in the crowd for the first part of a quadruple header involving two NRL fixtures and womens Test match between England and the Australia Jillaroos. Inside the opening exchanges, an incident involving Warringtons Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Warriors prop Liam Byrne led to a green card. Fitzgibbon was caught late and hurt in the challenge before referee Chris Kendall placed the incident on report. Warrington thought they had opened the scoring when captain George Williams sent a high, hanging kick inside the left channel for Toby King to touch down before Kendall signalled a try, although the score was reviewed by video referee Liam Moore. Moore deemed that King had stripped the ball from Keighran and a penalty was awarded to Wigan, who went close themselves moments later when Marshall dived over to score in the left corner. Jai Field crosses over for a Wigan try (David Becker/AP) Kendall awarded a try before going to the video referee, who chalked it off for the winger dropping the ball as he dived over. But Wigan opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Dupree went over from close range before Miskis acrobatic finish saw him dive over in the right corner six minutes later. In the 28th minute, the talismanic French found space to go over and the Warriors had their fourth shortly before half-time. Smith swapped passes superbly with half-back partner French to cross the line and Keighrans fourth goal made it 24-0. Liam Marshall sealed the win with Wigans eighth try (David Becker/AP) The procession continued after the break when Marshalls neat pass sent Field racing over and try number six came when Wardle touched down after fine work from the mercurial French. Thompson added number seven in the 54th minute after more classy play from French and Keighrans conversion stretched the lead to 42-0. Warrington were stunned, but they came back when Lindop touched down a kick from Williams and then Harrison went over from close range before Dufty crossed, with Josh Thewlis converting all three scores. Marshall went over in the left corner and Keighran kicked his eight conversion from as many attempts, before Ashton scored a superb long-range interception effort converted by Thewlis. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." The Substance actress Demi Moore has been famous for so long, she essentially came of age in the spotlight. Her many romances accompanied her, becoming the subject of celebrity gossip and the center of her vivid 2019 memoir, Inside Out. Now in her early sixties, Moore seems to be single and enjoying it. Its a process of learning to love yourself, she said on a 2020 episode of SiriusXMs The Jess Cagle Show. Accepting who you are just as you are. For me, I had changed myself so many times over and over to fit what I thought somebody else wanted. Moore continued, Its that idea that were kinda conditioned to work toward being desired, but were not supposed to have desires of our own. It really is commendable in our disposal times to go through the journey of really honoring the love that brought you together in the first place and to really give it everything youve got. But you cant do that without that love and acceptance of yourself. In 2024, Moore confirmed she was single on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, joking that he dogs all sleep in her bed. If anybody saw my nighttime routine, if it was filmed, they would really see how eccentric I really am, Moore laughed. Hence why Im single! As Moores hit 2024 film The Substance has taken off, she has received nominations and accolades for her performanceand several wins. After receiving an award for Best Actress at the 2025 Golden Globes, she shared a much more serious and moving acceptance speech that included some wonderful thoughts about self-love. In those moments when we dont think were smart enough or pretty enough, or skinny enough or successful enough, or basically just not enough, Moore explained. I had a woman say to me, Just know, you will never be enough. But you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick. She continued, And so today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me. Heres Moores full dating history, with much of the story in her own words. Freddy Moore Married from 1980 to 1983 Ron Galella - Getty Images Demi Moore got her last name from her first husband, Freddy Moore, putting away her maiden name, Guynes, forever. Freddy was a rock musician and 12 years older than the 17-year-old bride. Their wedding took place in 1980, and they stayed together until 1983. Their separation lasted two years, and the divorce was finalized in 1985. In her 2019 memoir, Inside Out, Moore admitted that she cheated on Freddy the night of their wedding, which she later felt was an expression of her doubt in the relationship. She wrote, The night before we got married, instead of working on my vows, I was calling a guy Id met on a movie set. I snuck out of my own bachelorette party and went to his apartment. Why did I do that? Why didnt I go and see the man I was committing to spend the rest of my life with to express my doubts? she continued. Because I couldnt face the fact that I was getting married to distract myself from grieving the death of my father. Because I felt there was no room to question what Id already put in motion. I couldnt get out of the marriage, but I could sabotage it. Freddy passed away at the age of 72 from Alzheimers disease in August 2022. Timothy Hutton Dated in 1983 Moore dated actor Timothy Hutton in 1983, just after splitting from her husband. Theres not much info on their relationship or why it ended. But they did attend at least one red carpet event together that year in October: the Sixth Annual Carousel Ball to Benefit the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes. Ron Galella - Getty Images Jon Cryer Dated in 1985 Kristina Bumphrey - Getty Images Moore worked with actor Jon Cryer on the 1985 film No Small Affair. They had a brief small affair of their own and in her memoir, Moore agonized about taking his virginity. She wrote, It pains me to think of how callous I was with his feelingsthat I stole what could have been such an important and beautiful moment from him. I was sort of losing it right then, and I was definitely not in a place to take care of someone elses feelings. Cryer gallantly let Moore off the hook on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying it was not in fact his first time. Well, the good thing about this is she doesnt have to feel bad about it anymore, because while Im sure she was totally justified making that assumption based on my my skill level (and the stunned look on my face at the time), I had actually lost my virginity in high school, he joked. But he added, But shes right [about] the other part, I was over the moon for her during a very troubled time in her life. I have nothing but affection for her and not a regret in the world. Emilio Estevez Dated and got engaged from 1985 to 1986 Terry McGinnis - Getty Images Moore received a huge break in 1984 with a role in the massive hit St. Elmos Fire, during which she sparked a romantic relationship with costar Emilio Estevez. But they had been friends before then; Estevez said to The Washington Post, Weve known each other for a long time. The romance was still a bit of a whirlwindthey got engaged after six months together. They even planned the wedding and mailed invitations before breaking up in 1986. In her memoir, Moore accused Estevez of lying to her about cheating with an ex-girlfriend. Emilio and I had in fact just mailed out the invitations for our wedding when a friend told me she had seen him out with someone else in L.A., Moore wrote. He denied it, of course, but I was having a hard time trusting him. During a two-week breakup a few months before, hed slept with an ex girlfriend, lied about it, and then been forced to tell me the truth when he found out she was pregnant. Estevez did have a child with Carey Salley, one of two they would share. At the time, People reported it was their busy schedules that ended the plans for the wedding. First, the run of The Early Girl, an off-Broadway play that Demi was appearing in, was extended, the publication shared in early 1987. Then the release date of Wisdom, which Estevez wrote and directed, and both he and Moore star in, was moved up to this week. Between wrapping up her play and promoting their film, not to mention preparing for last weeks 25th-anniversary party for Emilios parents, the would-be bride and groom were pretty busy, so they called the marriage offfor now. Despite the break up, they stayed friends and even starred in the 2006 movie Bobby together. Bruce Willis Married from 1987 to 1998; welcomed three children together Ron Galella, Ltd. - Getty Images Moore met actor Bruce Willis when she was still with Estevez at a screening of Stakeout, starring her then-fiance. Willis and Moore started dating very shortly after her split. She and Willis were soon living together and got married on Nov. 21, 1987. Their first ceremony was in Las Vegas. We were moving to the gambling tables when Bruce said, I think we should get married, she recalled in Inside Out. Wed been joking about it on the flight there, but suddenly it didnt seem like he was kidding. They had a second ceremony a month later, officiated by Little Richard, that included their friends and family. She and Willis welcomed three children: Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah. In 1998, the pair announced they were separating. They finalized their divorce in 2000. I still love Demi. Were very close, Willis told Rolling Stone in December of that year. We have three children whom we will continue to raise together, and were probably as close now as we ever were. We realize we have a lifelong commitment to our kids. Our friendship continues. The institution has been set aside. He also shared his perspective on why things ended. I can give you the philosophical answer, which is also the most universal: Things change. People grow at different rates, he explained. People change at different rates. Its difficult for any couple to keep their marriage intact under the best of circumstances, and our marriage was under a huge magnifying glass all the time. So it might have been a little more difficult for us. Phil Faraone/VMN18 - Getty Images Moore agreed that their breakup was very amicable and talked about co-parenting in Inside Out. Its a funny thing to say, but Im very proud of our divorce, she wrote. I think Bruce was fearful at the beginning that I was going to make our split difficult, and that I would express my anger and whatever baggage that I had from our marriage by obstructing his access to the kidsthat Id turn to all of those ploys divorcing couples use as weapons. But I didnt, and neither did he. Oliver Whitcomb Dated for three years in the early 2000s Martial arts instructor Oliver Whitcomb dated Moore for three years soon after her divorce. In 2001, Hello! Magazine even reported that he had proposed and they were engaged. However, the relationship ended for unknown reasons. Ashton Kutcher Married from 2005 to 2011 Christian JENTZ - Getty Images Moore met her third husband, Ashton Kutcher, in 2003 after being introduced at a dinner party. They were wed on Sept. 24, 2005, and much was made of their 15-year age gap. NBC - Getty Images In her memoir, Moore said being with Kutcher felt like a do-over, saying it felt like I could just go back in time and experience what it was like to be young, with himmuch more so than Id ever been able to experience it when I was actually in my twenties. The former couple had some difficult moments in their marriage, including the loss of a pregnancy. In 2019, in an interview with Diane Sawyer, Moore talked about experiencing a miscarriage at six months. I cant even really bring fully to words how lost, empty, desperate, confused [I was], she said. I really lost sight of everything that was right in front of me, which was the family that I had. There were also accusations of cheating, which Moore later wrote Kutcher confirmed. I knew she wasnt lying, Moore wrote about a woman who claimed in the tabloids that shed slept with Kutcher. He admitted it right away. They separated in 2011, and their divorce was finalized in 2013. In a statement at the time, Moore wrote, It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton...As a woman, a mother, and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life. In a statement from Kutcher, he wrote, I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world, and unfortunately, sometimes they fail. In 2020, during an interview on WTF with Marc Maron, Kutcher said he and Moore have a friendly relationship. Theres no badness, he said. Its all good; we dont hang out. I make a really conscious effort to stay in touch with the girls. It was eight years. He added, I was helping raise teenage girls through their adolescence. I love them. Im never going to stop loving them and respecting them and honoring them and rooting for them to be successful in whatever they are pursuing. Sean Friday Dated in 2013 and 2014 Rebecca Sapp - Getty Images In May 2013, Moore was introduced to Dead Sara drummer Sean Friday by Moores daughter, Rumer Willis. Rumer brought [Demi] to a show in Los Angeles, said a source. She thought he was a fun guy her mom would like. In January 2014, Us Magazine reported they were still together and enjoying a trip at Tulums Be Tulum resort in Mexico with Rumer and her boyfriend at the time, Jayson Blair. The source said it was not serious and theres no info on why it ended. Daniel Humm Dated in 2022 Jean Catuffe - Getty Images Moore and Swiss chef Daniel Humm started dating in 2022. The Michelin-star chef behind New York City restaurant Eleven Madison Park was seen on Moores Instagram timeline in June of that year. They were enjoying the French Open Finals together. Demi met Daniel through mutual friends and they clicked right away, a source said in April of that year. Hes very charming, loves the finer things in life and is extremely cultured, plus they share the same devilish sense of humor and sense of adventure. By late 2022, however, things had fizzled out. Shes in a good place, a source told People. Shes happy and enjoying her children and her friends. You Might Also Like President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile stance toward traditional US allies will eventually benefit China, undermining what had been his own top priority coming into his second term, according to Evercore Vice Chairman Krishna Guha. President Donald Trump's increasingly hostile stance toward traditional allies puts China in a "sweet spot," according to Evercore Vice Chairman Krishna Guha. Prior to Trumps second administration, Beijing was concerned that the U.S. would leverage its allies in North America, Europe, and Asia to make it harder to side with China, he told CNBC on Friday. In particular, China feared the U.S. would attempt to compel countries to adopt U.S. technologies and countermeasures against China trade. "Instead what we see, in the first month and a half of this new administration, the conflict is between the U.S. and its allies," Guha added. "The conflict is with Canada, its with the E.U. This leaves the Chinese in a sweet spot." That's as Trump plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico in the coming week and slap the European Union with tariffs too. And on Friday, tensions grew further between the U.S. and Europe after a public meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turned into a screaming match, prompting European leaders to reaffirm their support for Kyiv. While tariffs on China are already in effect with plans for more, Trump has continued to direct his ire across the Atlantic, telling reporters earlier this week that The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. Thats the purpose of it, and theyve done a good job of it. Backlash ripped through Europe, as Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, which carries the EUs revolving presidency, responded to Trumps comments saying in a post on X, Quite the opposite. It was formed to maintain peace, to build respect among our nations, to create free and fair trade, and to strengthen our transatlantic friendship. When asked if tariff drama limits the U.S. ability to leverage Europe, Guha said that America still has the upper hand. I think the reality is still, that the U.S. has more leverage over Europe on tariffs, than Europe has over the U.S. he said. Although a full-blown trade war between the two would be substantially damaging to both sides, including the U.S. Guha says the U.S. economic prosperity is driven by domestic demand, while Europe relies on global demand. The U.S. is still the mightier partner when it comes to trade conflict, but dont underestimate (that) the E.U. is a big market and has the ability to hurt the U.S. in a tit-for-tat situation, Guha said. Lets really hope that we can avoid that for everyones sake. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Elon Musk speaks next to U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The Trump administration sent out a second round of emails on Friday evening demanding all federal employees summarize their work over the past week after the first effort a week ago fizzled amid a wave of confusing directives. Reuters has confirmed that the emails from the governments human resources arm, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, were sent to multiple agencies, asking workers to list five things they accomplished during the week. The move marks a renewed push by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team to assess the performance of government employees as the administration looks to mass layoffs to dramatically trim the federal footprint. The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch, Musk wrote on X. Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive." Musk attempted a similar tack last week, along with a threat that noncompliant workers could be fired, but he was stymied when some agencies such as the State and Justice Departments told their employees to stick to the chain of command. Ultimately, OPM informed agencies that responding to the emails was voluntary. But Musk, with President Donald Trumps backing, continued to press for the emails as a means they said to hold workers accountable. Both men suggested that some federal employees on the payroll do not exist. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and labor unions, say widespread cuts could hamper crucial government functions and services. The second round of emails does not include any threat of retaliation for noncompliance but say workers are expected to send responses at the beginning of each work week. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed Pentagon workers to comply, according to media reports, but the State Department again told their employees to hold off, according to a directive seen by Reuters. The Department of Homeland Security told its employees to respond to an internal DHS email address, labeled "accountability" because of its national security responsibilities, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters. The Justice Department also received the directive. The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, told workers in his office to comply, according to a message seen by Reuters. "All federal government departments are cooperating with @DOGE," Musk posted on Saturday. "For State, DoD and a few others, the supervisors are gathering the weekly accomplishments on behalf of individual contributors." Reuters was able to confirm the emails were also sent to employees at the Internal Revenue Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institutes for Health. Those agencies have all been targeted by DOGE for layoffs. Musks team last week instructed agencies across the government to submit plans by March 13 for a significant reduction in staffing across the federal workforce. Layoffs continue Already, about 100,000 workers have taken buyouts or been fired after DOGE was dispatched by Trump to gut federal staffing and spending. There are about 2.3 million federal employees in all. The layoffs have occurred in such haphazard fashion that some agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration have been forced to recall key personnel in order to ensure public safety. On Friday, the Social Security Administration, which sends out benefit checks to tens of millions of Americans, said it would cut 7,000 people from its workforce and shutter several regional offices. Most recently, the Trump administration has pulled the plug on a team of tech-savvy civil servants that helped build the Internal Revenue Service's free tax filing service and revamped websites across government. In an email sent overnight to employees of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and seen by Reuters, the GSAs Director of Technology Transformation Services Thomas Shedd said the team known as 18F had been identified as non-critical. Formed at the tail end of the Barack Obama administration, the unit acted as an internal tech consultancy within government, ferreting out duplication and waste, streamlining bureaucratic processes, and making public-facing websites more user-friendly. Questions about Musk's role and DOGE are at the heart of multiple lawsuits seeking to block them from accessing government systems and confidential data. The suits allege that Musk and DOGE are violating the Constitution by wielding the kind of vast power that only comes from agencies created through the U.S. Congress or appointments made with confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Musks actions have also caused some tension and confusion among Trumps White House aides, although Trump himself is said to be wholly on board with the effort. The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is not a Cabinet-level official and did not face U.S. Senate confirmation. The Trump administration has been evasive about exactly what role he plays within DOGE. (Additional reporting by Humerya Pamuk, Tim Reid, Rafael Satter, Jasper Ward, Marisa Taylor, Sarah N. Lynch and Ned Parker. Writing by James Oliphant, Editing by Franklin Paul and Marguerita Choy) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOGE cuts: Federal workers hit with second email demanding job details Crowds of current and recently fired federal workers gathered at a job fair in Maryland on Saturday to search for new career opportunities as the Trump administration continues its purge of federal workers. Many were filled with despair and frustration over the cuts, spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Daniel Leckie was a historic preservation specialist for the General Services Administration who got fired in February. He attended the job fair with his wife and 6-month-old baby. "We're now just incredibly terrified and scrambling to find new jobs to keep the roof over our head and feed our little one," he told ABC News. PHOTO: A former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) worker leaves USAID as he holds a box with his personal belongings, during a sendoff in Washington, D.C. Feb. 27, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Reuters) MORE: Fired federal workers see their dreams shattered and an uncertain future Leckie said he was fired for being a probationary employee and was just one day away from fully satisfying his probationary period. Leckie and his wife, Jennifer Hopkins, just bought a new home in Maryland, making their first mortgage payment just a few weeks ago. He was also working toward completing the public service loan forgiveness program. "I had about maybe two or three months left before I would have satisfied the terms of my student loans. It's an $80,000 proposition for our family. It's between this job, the student loan forgiveness that we were counting on and the job that we took included a promotion potential as long as I was performing fully, successfully in my duties, which I was," he said. "That's what we based a lot of our financial future on, including deciding to start a family and taking out a mortgage and becoming homeowners here in the D.C. area," Leckie added. PHOTO: Former United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees, terminated after the Trump administration dismantled the agency, collect their personal belongings at the USAID headquarters, on Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) William Dixon, a 30-year veteran who has worked in the federal government for 23 years, told ABC News the layoffs are a "stab" against veterans. "Because after we've sat up here and put the sacrifice out, like we don't even matter, we don't count," he said. Dixon works in logistics for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but he and his wife, who also works for the Pentagon, are bracing for their jobs to be cut any day now as the Defense Department prepares to make sweeping layoffs. Dixon said both he and his wife received the email from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to list what they accomplished last week, but they've refrained from responding based on guidance from their supervisors. PHOTO: Elon Musk listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 11, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) MORE: Could the federal layoffs impact the Virginia governor race? He did, however, have a message for Musk and Trump. "Stop. You're hurting families. You're hurting people," he said. "Everybody depends on having a paycheck to take care of their family as well as to build for their retirement as well as take care of young ones. You're doing nothing but hurting, hurting the whole nation and their families. That's all you're doing." Federal workers laid off by DOGE sound off as they look for new jobs originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Blog Archive: Jul 2025 (25) Jun 2025 (150) May 2025 (155) Apr 2025 (9) Mar 2025 (149) Feb 2025 (139) Jan 2025 (155) Dec 2024 (144) Nov 2024 (143) Oct 2024 (155) Sep 2024 (149) Aug 2024 (155) Jul 2024 (155) Jun 2024 (150) May 2024 (153) Apr 2024 (149) Mar 2024 (155) Feb 2024 (145) Jan 2024 (155) Dec 2023 (155) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) Exterior facade of the building housing Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund Daya Anagata Nusantara, or Danantara for short, in Jakarta on Feb. 24, 2025. (Bay IsmoyoAFP via Getty Images) Sovereign wealth funds are becoming the hottest thing in global finance. Indonesia launched its second state investment fund, the Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency, or Danantara for short, earlier this week. The fund exists alongside the Indonesia Investment Authority, itself a relative youngster, only being launched in late-2020. Sovereign wealth funds arent a new idea. Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and China, among others, have long invested surplus funds, whether earnings from natural resources, foreign exchange reserves or pensions, in the hopes of getting a return. Yet the concept is back in force. Both developed economies and emerging markets have recently established their own funds. Even the U.S. is exploring the idea: Earlier this year, President Donald Trump ordered the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, with a plan due by early May. Governments increasingly want to leverage public funds to captureor recapturestrategic sectors. Its an extension of a countrys industrial policy, says Priyanka Kishore, an independent economist and founder of consulting firm Asia Decoded. Take Danantara, for exmaple: "Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto says it's a 'powerful development tool', clearly emphasizing its focus on industralizing Indonesia," she explains. And as global economics and global politics combine, these funds could become a valuable tool of government policy. Sovereign wealth funds vs. state investors? Many of the most prominent sovereign wealth funds, like Norways Government Pension Fund, are akin to asset managers, taking stakes in public companies and acting as a relatively passive investor. The first modern-day funds were set up by oil-rich countries hoping to leverage their financial surplus, with Kuwait setting up the earliest such organization in 1953. But todays funds can also be different and take a more active role, investing in private markets, backing up-and-coming startups, and making a play for strategic sectors. Take Singapore, which has two sovereign wealth funds. The first is GIC, which follows a more traditional long-term model by investing the countrys financial assets in public equities, bonds and real estate. Temasek, on the other hand, is a much more active investor. Besides investing in listed entities, the fund sometimes owns companies outright. The fund invested in companies that played a role in Singapores growth, like PSA International, DBS, and Singapore Airlines. Outside of Singapore, Temasek also backed leading startups like Ant Group, DoorDash, and Zomato in a bid to boost returns. But its also had some high-profile flops like the crypto exchange FTX and Indonesian fishing startup eFishery. The state investor model is getting more global traction. Hong Kong established its own government investment company, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, at the end of 2022. HKIC, like its much larger peer Temasek, is looking for opportunities in strategic technologies and the Greater Bay Area, a group of eleven cities in southern China including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. It exists alongside the Exchange Fund, the citys de facto sovereign wealth fund. Even traditional sovereign wealth funds are hoping to become more active investors. In the Middle East, sovereign wealth funds like Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund and the UAEs Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are funnelling money into sectors like AI, video gaming, and even professional sports, while also bankrolling new endeavors in sectors like tourism to build a post-oil economy. Southeast Asian countries are also embracing the sovereign wealth fund to invest in infrastructure and green energy. Indonesias new president, Prabowo Subianto, has pitched the countrys newest sovereign wealth fund Danantara as a supercharged investment vehicle, backed natural resources and state-owned enterprises. Yet critics have pointed to governance concerns due to a revised law that gives the Indonesian president greater control of the entities and the billions of dollars in annual dividends. Jakarta isn't the only Southeast Asian country to recently set up a sovereign wealth fund. The Philippines also started one in 2023, when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. established the countrys first sovereign wealth fund, the Maharlika Wealth Fund. Why do governments want SWFs? Governments often set up state investment funds to reinvest surpluseswhether from natural resources, foreign exchange, or even bumper tax revenue. Traditionally, theyve been established by countries with a rich commodity sector, like oil-rich Saudi Arabia or Norway. But other surpluses can fund an SWF. China, for example, draws on its massive foreign exchange reserves; Ireland, long a haven for Big Tech looking for low taxes, is funneling some of its government revenue into its Future Ireland Fund. A SWF is a way for countries to take advantage of public revenues that have high variance, says Srividya Jandhyala, an associate professor of management at ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific. For example, countries may want to ensure a sudden windfall from a temporary spike in high oil prices is put towards a project with a long-term return. Sumit Agarwal, professor of economics at the National University of Singapore, points to Singapore as an example of having well-run SWFs, crediting professional management and low tolerance for corruption. But sovereign wealth funds are still ultimately tied to governments, which can both affect how they make investment decisions, as well as how other governments perceive those investments. Jandhyala from ESSEC points out that investments from a sovereign wealth fund could be treated with more scrutiny by other governments, particularly when theres geopolitical friction. For example, the U.S. under the Biden administration, increased its scrutiny of Middle East based wealth funds as part of a broader pushback on entities that are deemed to have close ties with Beijing. Trump's play for a sovereign wealth fund The U.S. is the largest economy to think about a sovereign wealth fund. Earlier this year, Trump ordered officials to plan to launch such a fund within the next year, and in comments to reporters even suggested that it could buy the social media app TikTok. But its not only Trump. Top aides to former president Joe Biden also reportedly worked on a proposal to try to create a sovereign wealth fund that would allow the U.S. to invest in national security interests including technology, energy, and logistics. U.S. economic luminaries, however, have criticized the prospect of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers blasted the suggestion last September and pointed to the United States big budget deficit in a Bloomberg interview. Some individual U.S. states like Texas and Alaska already have their own state-run investment funds, financed by their energy and mineral resources. Others see public funding as a key part of the U.S.s revived interest in industrial policy. Saule Omarova, professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and a one-time Biden nominee for a Treasury position, has proposed the creation of a National Investment Authority, an "ecosystem of public investment funds" that would manage investments and offer both credit- and investment-based financing to worthy projects. Agarwal thinks Trumps idea of having a sovereign wealth fund isnt unworkable, but notes "you need to have a surplus. The U.S. ran a budget deficit of $1.83 trillion for its 2024 financial year and a trade deficit of $918.4 billion in the 2024 calendar year, meaning that it doesnt have a surplus that could be used to back a sovereign wealth fund. While the U.S. does have natural resources, that revenue will need to be used to pay the interest on U.S. debt. Its an idea that Trump came up with because he sees things that work elsewhere, and asks, why arent we doing it? he says. Theres a reason. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com A Florida man will spend the next 18 years behind bars for raping a 13-year-old girl, whose family he was staying with, and then forcing her to take Plan B, the emergency contraception pill. Robert McGuire Jr., 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery upon a person 12 to 18 years of age last week, according to a statement from prosecutors. A judge sentenced him to 18-and-a-half years in the Florida Department of Corrections. McGuire will also have to register as a sex offender and complete 10 years of sex offender probation, once he finishes serving time. Police said DNA linked Robert McGuire Jr., to the crime. sao5.org The cruel actions and intent behind this defendants crimes are repulsive, said Walter Forgie, Floridas chief assistant state attorney. Despite being victimized and threatened, this courageous young victim spoke up and sought help; ensuring McGuire would eventually be held accountable. The rapes occurred, twice in consecutive days, in October 2021 while McGuire was staying with family friends, the News & Observer reported. McGuire had been living in a spare room in the familys house for about six months, according to a Hernando County Sheriffs Office arrest affidavit. The victim told a trusted adult about the assaults. Authorities then spoke with the girl, who said she was sexually battered by McGuire. The girl said McGuire told her he would kill her if she spoke to anyone about the rapes. The sicko also forced her to take Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill. Surveillance video from a CVS showed McGuire buying the Plan B pill, facebook/HernandoSheriff Cops managed to match DNA from the crime scene linking McGuire back to the sexual assault. Surveillance video from a CVS also showed McGuire buying the Plan B pill, according to prosecutors. McGuire had previously denied the claims against him. Elon Musk attends the first cabinet meeting hosted by President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., February 26, 2025. - Brian Snyder/Reuters Editors Note: This analysis was originally published in CNNs Meanwhile in America newsletter. Read past issues and subscribe here. First, they fired the people who look after the nuclear bombs, then had to hurriedly find where they went and hire them back. They got rid of the government agricultural workers responsible for fighting bird flu which has sent the cost of Americas breakfast soaring. Then, amid rising public concern that an Ebola outbreak in Africa could leapfrog to the US, Elon Musk took his chainsaw to the most prominent US experts on the disease. We wont be perfect. But when we make mistake, we will fix it very quickly, later backtracked Musk, who is running President Donald Trumps effort to eviscerate the federal government. With USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola, Ebola prevention. I think we all want Ebola prevention. So, we restored the Ebola prevention immediately, he said. This haphazard nihilism is symptomatic of Musks approach with the de-facto Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): destroy first, ask questions later. Claims that DOGE has already saved tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer cash are dubious despite evidence trumpeted by conservative media of frivolous spending. Trumps claim, for instance, that the now expunged US Agency for International Development spent $100 million on condoms for Hamas is absurdly untrue. The presidents voters will shed few tears for federal workers kicked out of their jobs with little notice and less compensation. Tearful USAID workers had only 15 minutes to clear their desks on Thursday. But then, as with much of the Trump agenda, the cruelty is the point. Theres nothing wrong with curtailing bloated government. When the public thinks its cash is being wasted, governance loses legitimacy. But screw-ups by Musk and his DOGE boys are revealing one key truth they have no clue how government works. Conservatives might view the federal government as the home of liberal elites. But it pays out pensions, administers health care for seniors and the poor, and keeps keeps planes in the sky. Every state capital has a big federal building and its now dawning on some of Trumps cheerleaders that hundreds of thousand of government jobs exist outside the Beltway. A backlash is building as GOP lawmakers get upbraided by constituents back home. Things are happening so fast and furiously, Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said. We need to take a step back and make sure that were doing things in a way that we are rooting out the waste, the fraud and the abuse and the mismanagement, making programs efficient but not resulting in unintended consequences. Thats not Musks way. Hes treating the government to the kind of creative destruction with the emphasis on destruction that rocked his tech businesses, rocket ship company and social network X. If this carries on, Trump may pay a price for giving the worlds richest man almost limited government power, come the midterm elections next year. Even when government is working, financed and fully staffed, things can go badly wrong the botched response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the comically mismanaged Obamacare website come to mind. But when the government is being deliberately desecrated, disasters are all but guaranteed. Thousands of lives at stake The obliteration of USAID has had a devastating impact on global public health programs like PEPFAR, the global HIV/AIDS program initiated by President George W. Bush that has saved millions of lives and was one of the most successful US foreign policy programs in decades. The Trump administration insists that it has offered waivers for life-saving treatments. But reports on the ground suggest that cash often isnt getting through to clinics. This doesnt just affect HIV/AIDS patients whose US-provided anti-retroviral drugs keep the disease not just from worsening, but from spreading to new victims. It also risks dismantling the early warning health systems that stop outbreaks becoming epidemics. Meanwhile wanted to find out whether an emergency operation like the one mounted by the Obama administration that successfully put down a 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa would be possible after Musks carnage. Heres what Dr. Yukari Manabe, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who is also a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told us. There have been some restrictions on travel for people that would normally respond (to outbreaks). So, I think that there are going to be difficulties sending the number of people in addition, people who might normally have dealt with viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks may not be able to do that. Theyve either been fired or they are not around to do that, Manabe said. Without the same support, vital health services USAID built could crumble, she said. Having people from whom you can bounce ideas off, I think, are very important, and having people who have helped build that capacity. Theyve trained people on the ground to be able to do this as well, Manabe said. So, countries in the West African Ebola outbreak who had had PEPFAR as part of the programming that they had within their countries, in general, did better in terms of the number of cases that they had. What to look for next week Trump will take his latest victory lap on Tuesday night with a prime time, televised address to Congress. A man who loves adulation will get plenty from Republican lawmakers who control both chambers. It will be another moment of vindication for a president whose followers smashed their way into the very House of Representatives chamber from where hell speak, on January 6, 2021. Trumps message will be simple: Hes saving America. But the GOP euphoria will be tempered by the reality that the presidents agenda hangs on the miniscule Republican majority in the House of Representatives. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik hasnt yet taken up her post as the new US ambassador to the United Nations because House Speaker Mike Johnson cant afford to lose her vote. Its one thing for Trump to fire off executive orders, to trample US treaties, to call for the annexation of Canada and to threaten to invade Greenland and Panama. True, lasting, political change requires Congress to act. If he wants his huge tax cut and to fund his mass deportation plan, Trump must inspire unity among his political troops. Keep an eye on which Supreme Court justices show up. Their attendance at such events is always politically charged even though theyre usually stone faced and sit out standing ovations. The high court will have the critical final say on the legality of many of Trumps power grabs and will define the destiny of his presidency and the Constitution. That means even a stray smile from one of the arch conservatives on the bench that implies favor for Trumps political cause could ignite a political furor. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic ; Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Isabella Rossellini and Elettra Wiedemann attend "Burt's Buzz" screening on May 29, 2014 in New York City ; Roberto Rossellini and Isabella Rossellini attend a Screening of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" on October 25, 2016 in New York City. Isabella Rossellini, the daughter of Casablanca star Ingrid Bergman and famed director Roberto Rossellini, is Hollywood royalty and her children Elettra Wiedemann and Roberto Rossellini are forging their own creative paths. The Blue Velvet star was married to model-turned-Microsoft executive Jon Wiedemann from 1983 to 1986 and they welcomed their daughter Elettra in 1983. She later welcomed her son, Roberto, via adoption when he was about 9 years old. After they grew up, Rossellini wanted them to continue experiencing a part of her own childhood. Speaking to the Golden Globe Awards in 2012, Rossellini opened up about the kind of memories she wished to pass on to Elettra and Roberto, including laughter and singing. She elaborated on wanting to share the "same warmth and cheerfulness that I had when I grew up." The following year, the Death Becomes Her actress founded Mama Farm, an animal sanctuary and bed and breakfast in Bellport, N.Y., in 2013. Today, the sister and brother work together on the Long Island establishment. In addition, Rossellini has inspired both her children to follow in her modeling footsteps and when they're not in front of a camera, they've joined her on the red carpet for her projects. Most recently, she received her first Oscars nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her work in the political thriller Conclave. Here's everything to know about Isabella Rossellini's two kids: Elettra and Roberto. Elettra Wiedemann, 41 Noam Galai/WireImage Isabella Rossellini and Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann attend "Burt's Buzz" screening at Crosby Street Hotel on May 29, 2014 in New York City. Rossellini and Wiedemann welcomed Elettra-Ingrid Rossellini Wiedemann on July 26, 1983. She was named after one of Rossellinis middle names (her full name is Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini) and her twin sister, Isotta Ingrid Rossellini. Elettra graduated from The New School with a bachelor's degree in international relations and from the London School of Economics with a master's degree in biomedicine. Apart from her studies, she has a long string of modeling credits to her name, including being photographed by famed artists like Annie Leibovitz and Mario Testino, and appearing in magazines like Elle, GQ and Vogue. In 2018, she and her mother appeared in a Mothers Day campaign for Mene jewelry. The pair are both longtime models for Lancome as well. It was her modeling career and the long days that came with it that inspired her to find fast ways to eat healthy. Elettra founded the food website Impatient Foodie and published a cookbook of the same name in 2017. Lars Niki/Getty Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann attends "Fashionscapes: The Diamonds of Botswana" screening on February 5, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Today, shes using that food sensibility at Mama Farm, where shes program director. Mama Farm presented me with an opportunity to take my life experiences and weave them together in a way thats meaningful to me, she told GOOP. And my responsibilities in helping develop the farm and its role within the community have given me a new challenge to contend with. Its been a real gift. She lives next door to Mama Farm with her family. Elettra and her husband, Pretty Little Liars Caleb Lane married on May 31, 2023. They are parents to sons Ronin, born in 2018 and Viggo, born in June 2021. Roberto Rossellini, 40 Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan via Getty Roberto Rossellini and Isabella Rossellini attend a Screening of David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" on October 25, 2016 in New York City. Roberto Rossellini was born in Italy in 1982 and Rossellini adopted him in 1993. He spent his childhood as a bandwagon baby, as he described it to W Magazine in 2016, traveling across Europe and America with his mother wherever the next project led them. Its how, Roberto said, he picked up French and Spanish, in addition to the English and Italian the family spoke at home. Talking to Oliver Peoples, Rossellini explained that it was actually Roberto who inspired the family's move to Long Island. We left New York City for Robertos sake, she said. He was having a difficult time in New York, and one day after school, he came home and told me, to my surprise, that he wanted to move to the countryside. And then we ended up moving to Brookhaven, and Roberto went to high school here before going back to the city again. Roberto studied marine biology for two years before pivoting to a creative pursuit, getting his degree in underwater photography from the International Center of Photography in New York. After graduating, he worked as a photographer for a few years before pivoting to modeling. Ive always had a thing for fashion. ... Im using this as a way to learn more about it, he told W. While hes still passionate about underwater photography, Robertos main career is in fashion, both as a model and photographer. Roberto has done extensive print work, and also walked the runway for brands like Bottega Veneta and Michael Kors. Jason Mendez/Getty Roberto Rossellini at New York Fashion Week: The Shows on September 08, 2021 in New York City. In addition to his work in front of the camera, he has also shot work for outlets like Vogue and Vogue Italia. In 2017, Rossellini and Roberto appeared in a campaign together for Sies Marjan. Since I first picked up a camera in high school, I have wanted to dig deeper and capture images that say more than the imagery that often accompanies celebrities in popular culture in general and artists and musicians of color in particular, Roberto told Oliver Peoples. He continued, So I am interested in who they really are, their unique ways of communicating, their gestures, and what style means to them. Rossellini, Elettra and Roberto have even walked the runway together, appearing in a Dolce and Gabbana show in 2018. Elettras husband Caleb and their son Ronin also made an appearance. When it comes to his modeling career, My mom always gives me tons of advice, Roberto told W Magazine. Make sure youre always walking straight; make sure your back is tall; dont ever look down. ... Be normal and be cool. Be happy. He lives in New York with his wife, filmmaker Kirsten Tanjutco, but still spends a lot of time at the farm. Agriculturally learning about food and where your food comes from is so important, Roberto told High Snobiety. That to me was something I was just very driven towards. Read the original article on People The Los Angeles man brutally beaten up by a mob of bike-riding teens had hoped to make a quick trip to the store and watch a Lakers game before the violent attack derailed his night, leading to two arrests. Maurice Benaim had stopped his car at the intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and Carillo Drive near Central LA when a group of 20-30 teens took over the roadway he wanted to cross. My day was so vanilla. All I wanted to do was go to the store, get my tangerine juice, maybe get some food and watch the Lakers game, he told NBC Los Angeles. Maurice Benaim shows off the facial injuries he sustained during the attack on Feb. 22, 2025. GoFundMe Its a sad thing to have to deal with in general, he added. Benaim claimed he honked his horn to alert the teens of the impending light change, but the group grew upset and began to kick his car. One of the cyclists claimed he had a gun in the bag before smashing Benaims right taillight, the outlet reported. Benaim was attacked when he got out of car and confronted the teens. He suffered injuries to the face and head and was also left dealing with trauma from the attack. Multiple cyclists surround Benaim after they pushed him to the ground during the attack in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Police Department The juveniles kicked and punched Benaim before fleeing the area. Los Angeles Police Department The delinquents fled the scene after bystanders intervened to help Benaim, who had been brought to the ground during the altercation. Im thankful to God that it was only as bad as it was, but still, I dont think anyone should have to worry, Benaim said. Benaims upper right eyelid sustained a large bruise, according to a photo shared by his brother on GoFundMe. The family set up the fundraiser to help pay for Benaims medical bill and the costs needed to repair the family car. The funds would also help pay for Benaims therapy and psychological support to help cope with the trauma he sustained that led to him having trouble sleeping. Benaims brother, Judah, said they were hoping some of the $22,000 goal would be used to pursue justice against the perpetrators. No one should have to endure such a terrifying experience. By coming together, we can help Maurice heal and regain a sense of security, Judah said in the post. Benaim was left lying in the middle of the road as the cyclists left the area. Los Angeles Police Department Los Angeles police in the Wilshire Area arrested two juveniles involved in the attack, the department said. The two youngsters, who werent publicly identified, were found on Feb. 26 after a tip was sent into the LAPD. Police did not release the ages or charges for the two suspects. Los Angeles police arrested two of the suspects involved in the attack on Feb. 26, 2025. Los Angeles Police Department Benaim hopes the arrests would send a warning to the other teens involved. I just hope its a sign for them and their friends to put down the violence, he said. Food & Wine / Getty Images Just because an ingredient or dish is polarizing doesnt mean its not worth your time. As a child I didnt like mushrooms their somewhat slippery texture can be off-putting but learning to love them over the years has opened up new opportunities to enjoy a meaty, umami-packed, and versatile ingredient. What would I do without buttery mushroom pastas and crispy fried fungi in my life now? Among the world of misunderstood ingredients, perhaps none is as renowned stinky cheeses. Taleggio, Limburger, Epoisses, raclette, and Gruyere are all varieties of this pungent category of dairy products. While their funky, earthy aromas may make it difficult to try them at first, their scent reveals incredibly complex, delicious, and often milder flavors beneath. In a recent episode of the podcast Pizza Quest with baker, author, and bread expert Peter Reinhart, the host sat down with fellow food enthusiast Mark Todd, often known as the cheese dude, to learn all about the fascinating production process and history of stinky cheeses. As Todds nickname implies, he has consulted for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and the California Milk Advisory Board about what he loves most: cheese. So who better to explain the nuanced background behind these funky cheeses and potentially convince you to try one? Stinky cheeses are actually called washed-rind cheeses I regret to inform you that this genre of dairy products is not officially titled stinky cheeses. The proper term for these aromatic delicacies is washed-rind cheeses, which points to the unique process that makes them. Todd starts out by noting that the production of these cheeses is so intricate, the food science that goes on inside washed-rind cheeses is probably second only to the Maillard reaction as far as the complexity of the chemistry that goes on on the surface of that cheese. But to give a very brief overview, as these cheeses mature, their rind is regularly washed with a brine. Some may occasionally be rinsed with other liquids like wine or beer, but a salt water solution is the most common. Related: 27 Irresistible Baked Cheese Recipes While this brine can prevent the growth of mold, it does encourage the cultivation of certain bacteria, the most common of which is Brevibacterium linens. Todd notes that its Brevibacteria that causes that orange rind a hallmark of many washed-rind cheeses, which you can often recognize by their orange-colored exterior as well as their distinct smell and funky flavor. Washed-rind cheeses have a long history Diving into the history of washed-rind cheeses, which dates back as far as the 7th century, gives even more insight into how they're made. Todd explains the story of the first stinky cheeses, saying There's debate as to whether it was an accident or an intention, but basically a Benedictine monk in the Alsace-Lorraine region, doing his diligence of trying to keep mold off the cheese, would take his little wash which was either alcohol, like [diluted] beer or wine or salt water, or both, and rub the cheeses to keep the mold off. He noticed that mold was coming back on one, so he would scrub it and scrub it and scrub it. Three or four days later, the mold's back. So he would scrub it again. And god, this one would not quit, and it molded again and it molded again. Related: 5 Surprising Facts You Should Know About Cheese, According to an Expert And about the fifth time it molded, he had kept the cheese so moist with his cleaning that it encouraged different bacteria completely to grow on the outside of the cheese because of the moist environment. That had not happened before. And this young monk went to his boss and said... Hey, boss. Come here And the boss said, Dude, you made it. You taste it. And the next [thing] you know, it's all history after that. If the monk hadnt washed the mold off of this cheese, it would have become something more similar to a Brie, which is covered in white mold as it matures, but ends up with a much milder flavor than its washed-rind cousins. Although there are a wide variety of washed-rind cheeses theyre not all soft, small wheels like an Epoisses, which looks strikingly similar to a Brie, and some are quite hard such as Gruyere this comparison does a good job of demonstrating how much funk and aroma bacteria can contribute. Yes, you can eat the rind Dont let the word bacteria scare you, the rinds of these stinky cheeses are absolutely fine to eat. While tasting a variety of Taleggio with the cheese dude, Pizza Quest host Peter Reinhart exclaims that although the interior of the cheese is soft and flavorful, the rind is on another level altogether. Todd says this is because the super complex food chemistry going on, that rind is where it's happening. For a firm washed-rind cheese like Gruyere, it may be physically harder to eat the rind because it's hard, but you still can if you'd like. Consider this a friendly reminder that you can actually eat the rinds of most cheeses just avoid any that are coated in wax or cloth. Of course, if you still dont want to eat the rind on a stinky cheese, you can also trim it off but both Todd and Reinhart say it would be a waste, especially if you want to taste the full flavor potential of a washed-rind cheese. Read the original article on Food & Wine By Poppy McPherson and Mikhail Flores BANGKOK/MANILA (Reuters) - Four Chinese nationals accused by the Philippines of espionage led Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups that made donations of cash to a Philippine city and vehicles to two police forces, according to photos, videos and online posts seen by Reuters. Wang Yongyi, Wu Junren, Cai Shaohuang, and Chen Haitao were among five Chinese men detained by Philippine investigators in late January for allegedly gathering images and maps of Philippine naval forces near the South China Sea. The five men had flown drones to spy on the Philippines' navy, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), adding that it had found photos and maps of sensitive sites and vessels on their phones. A senior NBI official told Reuters that the men had been charged with espionage, which carries a prison term of up to 20 years. Reuters could not identify a lawyer for the men or establish how they intend to plead. They have not spoken publicly about their arrests and questions directed to them via the Chinese embassy in Manila went unanswered. The four men were leaders of civic groups overseen by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) foreign influence network, according to Reuters' review of articles and multimedia posted by the two groups and in Philippine media. China's foreign ministry, in a statement to Reuters, said China required its citizens to abide by local laws and that the civic groups "spontaneously formed and self-managed by the relevant Chinese citizens ... have no affiliation with the Chinese government". Wang, Wu and Cai made the donations to the city of Tarlac and to the police forces via the Chinese-backed groups in 2022 and continued to host officials at events through 2024. Reuters could not establish the reason for the donations. Tarlac is home to major military bases, including one used by the Philippines and the United States for live-fire exercises during annual military drills. Photos of bases in the area were not among the sites that NBI said were found on the men's devices. All five detained men also met China's military attache in Manila, Senior Col. Li Jianzhong, at least once in the weeks before their arrest, Reuters found. Images and videos additionally show Wang, Wu, and Cai meeting the attache at least three times in 2024, including in May, when he opened the civic groups' office in Manila. Details of the donations made by the men, their interaction with Li, and their association with the CCP have not previously been reported. The ties revealed by Reuters go beyond public statements made by Philippines investigators, who have said the men disguised themselves as "harmless" members of a legitimate organization. The NBI said the men were apprehended after "hot-pursuit" operations. It did not specify who the men were suspected of working for. But Beijing has denied the accusations of espionage, which state media has branded the "smear tactics" of a nation whose Chinese policy "is slipping into an impulsive and irrational abyss." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Manila embassy did not respond to requests for comment. The office of the mayor of Manila, whose police force took motorbikes from the men, said in response to Reuters' questions that the "deed of donation and motorcycles... were found to be in order". The mayor of Tarlac city and the two police forces did not respond to requests for comment. The Philippines does not have a specific foreign interference law, but is currently drafting one amid rising tensions with China. Government agencies are permitted to receive donations but contributions from foreign authorities must be approved by the president, according to guidelines. The practice of donations has been criticized by academics and the Transparency International non-profit, which has noted that Philippine leaders have sometimes used such donations to solicit bribes. Reuters uncovered no evidence of bribe payments in this case. An academic paper co-written by retired Philippine Rear Adm. Rommel Jude Ong and posted this month on the Social Science Research Network platform said that Chinese businesses and diaspora networks served as "critical intermediaries" in promoting Beijing's agenda and Philippine local governments were vulnerable to influence via "economic incentives and donations." China has said countries including Australia that have tried to fend off foreign interference by passing new laws are damaging bilateral relations. CHINA'S "MAGIC WEAPON" The CCP's United Front Work Department oversees influence operations carried out by the Chinese diaspora and was once described by Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a "magic weapon." The U.S. State Department says it has penetrated governments worldwide "through propaganda and manipulation of susceptible audiences and individuals." The Philippines has arrested at least eight alleged Chinese spies in recent weeks. Their detentions have fuelled tensions between the two countries, which share a maritime border and have conflicting claims over territory in the South China Sea. Manila, a treaty ally of the U.S., has become a site of geopolitical struggle between the two superpowers, especially since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. brought the country back into Washington's orbit after a pivot to Beijing under his predecessor. The recent arrests demonstrate the Philippines' "need to reconfigure its national security outlook beyond traditional or conventional security threats," said Don McLain Gill, an international relations expert at Manila's De La Salle University. A spokesperson for the Philippine government did not address questions sent via a messaging app. 'TELL CHINESE STORIES WELL' Wang, Wu, Cai and Chen lead the Philippine China Association of Promotion of Peace and Friendship, a civic group founded in 2016. The association's leaders in 2022 formed a second entity, the Qiaoxing Volunteer Group. The groups share a website that advertises their CCP affiliation. Both are overseen by the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC), a CCP-led body engaged in united front work, as Beijing terms influence operations. The website appeared to no longer be accessible as of Feb. 28. United Front Work Department officials have spoken at the Philippine-based groups' meetings, according to the website and an ACFROC social media account, with the latest event occurring in May 2024. Philippine officials have raised concerns about United Front activities. The military chief said in July the United Front was "slowly entering our country and trying to influence various sectors of our society." The detained men openly presented themselves as promoting Chinese interests. In an article on the social media account of ACFROC's Shandong province branch, Cai was quoted as saying Qiaoxing would follow the brand spirit of the Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, promote China's excellent culture, tell Chinese stories well and make the future of China-Philippines friendship more glorious. The groups offered the men opportunities to rub shoulders with prominent Philippine officials. A July 2022 article published on Shandong ACFROC's social media account included a photo of Wang handing a check worth 500,000 Philippine pesos (about US$8,600) and labeled as a municipal "poverty alleviation bursary" to the mayor of Tarlac. Over the following months, the men continued with the same playbook. In September, Wang, Wu and Cai donated 10 Chinese-made Sinski motorbikes, worth around $2,500, to the Manila city police. A video broadcast by local media showed the vehicles adorned with red ribbons as a smiling Wang stood alongside the capital's mayor, Honey Lacuna, and fist-bumped a police chief. Lacuna's office told Reuters it was the only time the mayor met with any of the members of the group. The same month, Qiaoxing gave 10 patrol vehicles to Tarlac police and the city government, according to Shandong ACFROC's social media account. The two Chinese groups also publicized regular interactions with the Chinese military attache in Manila. Photos on their website, for instance, show four of the men dining and drinking with Senior Col. Li and Manuel Mamba, a pro-Beijing provincial governor, at an award ceremony in June 2024. Mamba told Reuters the men took a picture with him but there was "no conversation as far as I can remember". Similarly in May 2024, Li was seen in photos and videos posted on Qiaoxing's website onstage during a party at an upscale Manila restaurant to mark the anniversary of the group. Nearby, Manila vice mayor John Marvin "Yul Servo" Cruz Nieto cut a five-tiered cake. The vice mayor told Reuters he did not recall the interaction but said he meets many Chinese organizations as part of his job. While civilian diplomatic officials regularly interact with civil society, Gill said it was unusual for a defense attache to engage in the way Li did. One of the last accounts on the group's website is of a January Lunar New Year event hosted by the Chinese embassy, where all five of the detained men posed on stage with the ambassador and Li. The next week, the five were arrested after traveling to naval detachment Oyster Bay, next to the South China Sea, where authorities said they had been "conducting aerial surveillance" while posing as buyers of marine products, roaming around the city." (Reporting by Poppy McPherson and Mikhail Flores; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Katerina Ang and Kevin Liffey) The Norwegian government has moved to ease concerns regarding the refuelling of US Navy vessels after one company spoke out on social media, saying in the wake of Donald Trumps showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, it would no longer supply American ships. "We have seen reports raising concerns about support for U.S. Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegian government's policy," Norway's Defence Minister Tore Sandvik said in a statement. "American forces will continue to receive the supply and support they require from Norway," he added. Sandvik issued his statement after privately held Norwegian fuel supplier Haltbakk Bunkers said that it would stop supplying U.S. Navy ships in response to how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was treated at the White House on Friday. "Huge credit to the president of Ukraine restraining himself and for keeping calm even though USA put on a backstabbing TV show. It made us sick... No Fuel to Americans!," the company said in a now deleted Facebook post. Haltbakk Bunkers CEO Gunnar Gran confirmed to Norwegian newspaper VG that the company made a decision not to supply the US military, but said the move would have a "symbolic" impact as it didn't have a fixed contract. The Norweigian government regularly refuels US Navy vessels such as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, shown here (US Navy) Following the Oval Office discussions heard around the world, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he has not spoken with Zelensky since. The former Florida senator said on Sunday's This Week on ABC. Rubio also said he has not spoken to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha since Trump and Zelenskiy clashed at the White House and failed to sign an expected minerals deal."Well be ready to reengage when theyre ready to make peace," Rubio said on the show. Rubio has been roundly criticized following the meeting, given that the Republican has previously been outspoken in his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, at one point calling him a butcher after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's industry minister requested a tariff exemption in talks with the U.S. administration, Seoul's industry ministry said on Saturday, as Washington moves forward with plans to impose new tariffs. Ahn Duk-geun met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington this week, seeking tariff exemptions from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and discussing ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the ministry said in a statement. "Minister Ahn discussed strengthening partnerships in strategic industries such as shipbuilding and advanced industries with commerce secretary Lutnick. At the same time, he conveyed South Korean companies' concerns regarding the U.S. government's tariff measures and requested tariff exemptions," the industry ministry said. South Korea and the U.S. have also agreed to set up a working-level channel to discuss tariff-related issues and cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, Seoul's industry ministry said. Ahn's meeting with Lutnick marked the first ministerial-level trade talks between the countries in Trumps second term, taking place amid a diplomatic vacuum as impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol is suspended from duties over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Ahn travelled to Washington, D.C. earlier this week to push for an exemption from U.S. steel tariffs and discuss ways to cooperate in energy and shipbuilding. The trip came less than a week after Deputy Trade Minister Park Jong-won led the first major South Korean government delegation to visit Washington since Trump took office, asking his administration to exempt Seoul from steel and aluminium tariffs. As a major global exporter and top trading partner with the United States, South Korea has viewed Trump's measures with increasing concern. Asia's fourth-biggest economy is among 20 countries that have comprehensive free trade pacts with the United States. In the Asia-Pacific region, these include Australia and Singapore, while Japan has an agreement that focuses on critical minerals. While the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) allows most goods to be traded without tariffs, Trump this month announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium globally, including on South Korea. The new tariffs are set to take effect in March, while the U.S. president has also announced reciprocal tariffs on trading partners from April. South Korea's acting President and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a video call on Friday to pay attention to South Korea's contributions to the U.S. economy in Washington's policymaking. (Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Additional reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Russian soldiers taken captive by Ukraine WESTERN UKRAINE Thousands of Russian soldiers taken captive by Ukraine are receiving the best medical care and food they ever have in their lives and none of those interviewed by The Post say they support the war. The Post last week went inside the largest of Ukraines five camps for Russian POWs hundreds of miles from the front lines to speak with prisoners about their treatment at the facility, their views on the bloody conflict and how they ended up fighting in it. Most of the more than 25 Russian soldiers who spoke to The Post said they only joined the war to provide for their families. The Post last week went inside the largest of Ukraines five camps for Russian POWs to speak with prisoners about their treatment at the facility. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post If youre willing to become cannon fodder, its an instant job, explained a 20-year-old soldier with a wife and four children to support. Their time as POWs in Ukraine is in stark contrast to that of the thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of Russia who are regularly beaten to the point of brain damage and broken bones and starved so they appear as gaunt as Holocaust victims upon release that is, if they arent shot first, according to testimonies and photos of survivors. The lucky ones The Ukrainian camp is calm: No sudden movements, no sadness or happiness, either. While a few of the captured Russian soldiers sat and played chess with one another, no obvious camaraderie was seen between them. But despite their stoic faces, the prisoners here know they are the lucky ones, said Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs spokesman Petro Yatsenko. For every one Russian troop captured, roughly a thousand more have been killed in the war. A few of the captured Russian soldiers sat and played chess with one another. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Since the wars start, Ukrainian soldiers has been killing Russians on a scale of roughly three to one, according to Ukraine. Kyiv is currently taking out about 1,000 Russian fighters each day, Yatsenko said. The Russian prisoners at the camp know they are not only lucky to have survived the carnage, they also realize the care they are receiving is worlds better than what their Ukrainian counterparts get. The Russians broken bones are examined with state-of-the-art X-ray machines, dental exams and treatments often the first the Russians have ever had are performed on them when needed, and new warm clothing, three pairs of shoes and fresh toiletries are doled out upon each Moscow prisoners intake. Dental exams and treatments are performed on them when needed. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Their original clothing is collected and washed and stashed away for their eventual release. Thats the ultimate goal of the entire operation: to return the Russian troops to Moscow in exchange for Ukrainian POWs. Generally, the longer a prisoner has been in Ukraines custody, the fatter they are, too. Though each Russian POW spoke to The Post of wanting to return home, none said they hoped to return to the fight and thats exactly where Russia would send them if they are released before the war ends. The ultimate goal is to return the Russian troops to Moscow in exchange for Ukrainian POWs. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post I was [drafted.] They took us to the assembly point, and from there, we started transporting anyone who could fight, a prisoner named Anatoly said. I would not love to kill someone and take their lives. But that was the fate and circumstances. I dont see the point in shedding blood both here and there, he said. There are so many ways to solve problems. While the Russian soldiers are in the fight because of physical or economic coercion, the Ukrainian fighters see their cause as noble and worth dying for to save their country. Though each Russian POW spoke to The Post of wanting to return home, none said they hoped to return to the fight. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Ukrainian amputees with whom The Post spoke with in Irpin during US special envoy Gen. Keith Kelloggs visit last week carried this spirit. Even missing arms and legs, about half of the 20 or so Ukrainian troops with whom The Post and the general spoke indicated they wanted to return to the front lines to continue battling for their country. Russia also has wounded soldiers fighting in its ranks but by force. Recently, intelligence videos have been circulating online that show Moscow troops marching forward on crutches as their fellow comrades push them forward at gunpoint. I would not love to kill someone and take their lives. But that was the fate and circumstances, a prisoner named Anatoly said. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Forced to fight None of the Russian POWs interviewed for this story said they support the war. The prisoners at the facility here said they arrived anywhere from a few days to more than two and a half years ago. Russia doesnt seem to want them back, either: The Kremlin will publicly announce that it wants a prisoner exchange, then decline to take the men when Kyiv calls, Yatsenko said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out this situation in his explosive exchange with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Friday, noting that his country has tried to make prisoner exchange deals with Russia, who has rejected such offers time and again. Its another example of how little Moscow cares about humanity even its own people. Long before the Russian soldiers were prisoners of war, most were captives of circumstance having no ability to make money in Russia or even get a drivers license without joining the military or conscription orders. Others were Russian criminals that Moscow released from prison to fight in the war. At first, the Russian POWs will say they began their military service to protect the motherland. But with the slightest follow-up question What does the motherland need protection from? that claim falls apart. They called us to the military registration and enlistment office. [The official there] offered good money and benefits for the family, said Denis Makarov, a Russian POW who was being treated by the Ukrainians for a gunshot wound to leg. I decided to go for the sake of my family, so that the family had prosperity and my relatives had everything fine and benefits and I kind of went to defend the homeland. [The official there] offered good money and benefits for the family, said Denis Makarov, a Russian POW. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post The Post asked Makarov, Defend it from what? He replied, To be honest, I didnt really think [Russia] was under attack. Its just that I went more because of finances and my two children and a wife in Astrakhan had very little income. There was a catastrophic shortage of money, Makarov said. And that is why we have so many soldiers in Russia. They are like me, he added. To be honest, I didnt really think [Russia] was under attack, Makarov said. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Most Russian troops who The Post interviewed said they joined the war to provide for their families. Others, such as Dmitry Nikolaevich, said they took up arms simply because it was better than rotting in Russian prisons and even at that, they werent given a choice. Moscow has forced more than 180,000 of its prisoners to invade Ukraine. Nikolaevich was born in Ukraines Donetsk region, parts of which have been under Russian occupation since Moscows initial invasion in 2014. He spent eight years in Russian prisons his crimes were not clear before he was forced to fight for his jailers. I really want this war to end, he said. Moscow has forced more than 180,000 of its prisoners to invade Ukraine. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post We, the people of Donbas, including all the people of Ukraine, raised Ukraine from its knees after the collapse of the Soviet Union. We did it all the economy was better than that of Russia and better than many countries, he said. Who even came up with [the idea of this war] European provocations or Russia? Caring for the enemy Ukraines dignified care of the Russian POWs is a tough pill to swallow for many of the families of Kyivs soldiers held by Russia. The kin struggle with the idea that Ukrainian tax dollars are being spent on the very people who tried to kill their own sons and daughters, Yatsenko said. Every day, our guys and girls are tortured, so its very hard to explain to their families. They say that all the [Russian POWs] should be killed immediately, he said. But we explain that we need them to provide the next prisoner swaps, so we are keeping them healthy just to preserve their lives for the next trade. Many of the families of Kyivs soldiers held by Russia are upset about Ukraine caring for Russian POWs. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post We need them to take ours back from these very ugly conditions the Russians provide. We should treat them well because we are humanistic and we are not like Russians, he added. Maybe this war with Russia is because of this difference Ukrainians are very keen, the Ukrainians have enough food, the Ukrainians like coziness. Most Russians do not have this. For us, we give this even to our enemies. We should treat them well because we are humanistic and we are not like Russians, Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs spokesman, Petro Yatsenko, said. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post When prisoner exchanges happen, most of the Ukrainians who come back arrive with health problems ranging from malnutrition to serious injury or amnesia from repeated beatings to the head. But they at least survived a rising trend of Russians executing Ukrainian surrenderers at point-blank range instead of taking them prisoner in accordance with the Geneva Convention. The Post reached out to multiple Ukrainian veterans who returned from Russian captivity. While some detailed horrors of their time there, none wanted to speak publicly for fear of Moscow cracking down even harder on the POWs still under their control. One Ukrainian recently released after spend 33 months in Russian captivity said he had experienced intensified beatings and worsened treatment after returning POWs detailed their torture to the media while he was still in custody. The idea was to make clear to the Ukrainian captives that their brothers in arms would pay if they spoke out, several said a concept that apparently worked on some. There are some things I dont talk about publicly: details of the conditions of detention, the regime of detention, stories about the use of physical force, etc., he said. All this can harm those who remain there. Box of chocolates A chocolate thief stole around 5,000 worth of confectionery on a shoplifting spree across England. Ionit Rova, 20, targeted nine Tesco stores and an Aldi supermarket between August and January as he criss-crossed the country plundering thousands of pounds worth of chocolate. The serial shoplifter was jailed for 10 weeks at Reading magistrates court. Magistrates heard Rova stole 800 worth of items from Tesco in Daventry, Northants, on August 20. The following month, the criminal stole 800 of items from Tesco in Amersham, Bucks,, then 600 worth of chocolates from another Tesco in Princes Risborough, Bucks, three days later. On Oct 15, Rova stole 500 worth of confectionery from Tesco in Faringdon, Oxfordshire and on Halloween stole 400 worth of chocolate from Tesco in Warfield, Berks. On Nov 13, he stole 600 of items from Tesco in Swaffham, Norfolk, and later on the same day shoplifited 300 worth of items from a Tesco store in Dereham, Norfolk. On Nov 25, Rova stole 502.50 worth of items from a Tesco in Leatherhead, Surrey. He struck another Tesco in Oakham, Rutland, on Dec 2, stealing 672 worth of items, before finally stealing 238.14 of items from Aldi in Wokingham, Berks, on Jan 18. At his sentencing on Feb 17, Rova was told his jail term had been reduced from 45 weeks because he admitted the thefts. Stores hit by shoplifting crisis Latest Home Office figures reveal the number of shoplifting offences going unsolved has risen by nearly a fifth in a year. Around 270,000 shoplifting cases in England and Wales were closed without a suspect being identified in the year to September 2024. Just 88,165 shoplifting offences last year resulted in a charge or summons 18 per cent of all cases, according to an analysis of Home Office data by the Liberal Democrats last month. Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that overall offences in the year to June 2024 hit nearly 470,000 up 29 per cent on the previous year. There are more than 9,000 shoplifting offences a week, or 1,290 a day, and more than two a minute based on average UK store opening times of 10 hours a day, the figures show. These figures are the highest since records began in March 2003, with retailers warning the crisis adds at least 6p to every store transaction by customers. Lisa Smart, the Lib Dem home affairs spokesman, previously said: For too long, shopkeepers have been left vulnerable while criminal gangs are allowed to operate with virtual impunity. Our high streets and communities deserve better than this. If the Government wants to deliver safer streets, getting a grip on the unsolved shoplifting epidemic must be a priority. The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to keep their promise by restoring proper community policing with more bobbies on the beat focused on stopping and solving crime. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered a warm embrace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a Friday clash with President Trump which prompted questions about future U.S. support for the Eastern European nation. You have full backing from the United Kingdom and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take, Starmer, who visited the White House on Thursday, said during a presser with Zelensky. And I hope youve heard some of that cheering in the street, that is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with unwavering determination, the British leader added. The meeting between the two European leaders follows the Friday blowout between Trump, Zelensky and Vice President Vance televised from the Oval Office. Trump, Vance and Zelensky engaged in a heated discussion surrounding proposals for peace after Zelensky asked Vance to clarify his remarks about using diplomacy to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States words mattered more than the president of the United States actions, Vance said. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy, he added. Thats what President Trump is doing. Zelensky then pointed out Russias repeated invasions of Ukraine since 2014, citing a violation of past ceasefire agreements. What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean? Zelensky asked the vice president. The conversation quickly became heated, with Zelensky then leaving the White House ahead of a scheduled joint press conference. After the meeting, Trump said the Ukrainian president was not ready for peace. Its amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations, Trump wrote on Truth Social. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE, Trump continued. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace. Dozens of European leaders took to social media to signal solidify their support for Ukraine after the Friday spat. Starmer and Zelenskys Saturday meeting also comes a day before European leaders will gather in London to brainstorm efforts to end the three-year war with Russia. Leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council are expected to attend. Zelensky is also slated to meet with King Charles on Sunday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Two men who barricaded themselves inside a Brooklyn apartment were arrested following an hours-long standoff with law enforcement Saturday afternoon, according to police and sources. Two men who barricaded themselves inside a Brooklyn home were arrested following an hours-long standoff with law enforcement Saturday afternoon, according to police and sources. Authorities responded to 164 St. Johns Place between 6th and 7th avenues in Park Slope around 1:30 p.m. after receiving reports of shots fired later recovering two shell casings at the scene, police said. Two people were arrested following reports of shots fired in Park Slope. Annie Wermiel/NY Post Police cordoned off the area during the hours-long standoff. Annie Wermiel/NY Post Police, who had the area cordoned off, said no injuries were reported. The two perps were taken into custody around 4 p.m. when authorities gained access to the brownstone after negotiations speahreded by the citys Emergency Service Unit, police and sources said. The NYPDs Aviation Unit was also on scene. Police said there were no injuries. Annie Wermiel/NY Post Onlookers at the scene in Brooklyn. Annie Wermiel/NY Post A firearm was not recovered at the scene, said police said, who are in the process of securing a search warrant for the dwelling. The investigation remains ongoing. KSL News Utah/YouTube Jennifer Gledhill's pre-trial and detention hearing on Feb. 28, 2025 Jennifer Gledhill, the Utah mother of three charged with killing her husband after he allegedly discovered she was having an affair, has been denied bail after new evidence was brought forward in her case. During a Feb. 28 detention hearing, which was shared online by local news outlet KSL 5 on March 1, prosecutor Emily Paulos from the Salt Lake County District Attorneys office alleged that Gledhill, 42, called an informant and confessed to killing her husband, Utah National Guardsman Matthew Johnson, 51, on Sept. 22, 2024 six days before he was reported missing. On September 22, the defendant confessed to the informant that she shot Matthew in the master bedroom with a gun as he slept, Paulos said at the hearing, referring to Gledhill. She also confessed that she loaded Matthews body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs and loaded him into her minivan. She buried him in a shallow grave and cleaned everything up. Paulos went on to reveal more details of the alleged phone call, which prosecutors said the informant recorded, including that Gledhill allegedly told the informant that she did not want them to view her as a monster after learning what she had done. Gledhill also allegedly said that it broke her heart that the informant was now scared of her, and she seemingly attempted to justify her actions by saying, Like, he [Johnson] just he is he's not a person. He wasn't a person anymore. He wasn't Matt anymore," Paulos said. Paulos added that Gledhill allegedly referred to her husband in the past tense on the call, despite him not having been reported missing yet. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Additional evidence was also brought forward during the hearing, including maps tracing Gledhill's whereabouts the morning after the alleged crime, as well as images of a storage container containing traces of Johnsons blood. Later in the hearing, defense attorney Jeremy Deus spoke, saying: I think when youre looking at evidence, oftentimes, when were doing this job, you realize pretty quickly that there are often [...] two sides to every story. [...] I think theres a lot of that here in this case. The Salt Lake City District Attorneys Office and Deus did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Sunday, March 2. Gledhill was charged in October 2024 in connection with the disappearance and death of her husband, per a media release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney. Gledhill has pled not guilty to nine felony charges against her, including first-degree murder, and she has waived her right to a preliminary hearing, according to court documents previously reviewed by PEOPLE. According to local media outlet Fox 13 News Utah, Johnsons body is yet to be found. Gledhill allegedly told the informant he was buried somewhere north of their Cottonwood Heights home, per the detention hearing. Read the original article on People Coca-Cola cans move down a conveyer belt in a bottling plant on October 20, 2023, in Denver. - Brittany Peterson/AP American consumers dont need to fret about President Donald Trumps tariffs on aluminum raising the price of their can of soda. Two weeks ago, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States that would go into effect March 12, worrying some soda drinkers that another staple will take more out of their wallet. But shortly after the executive order, beverage companies began assessing what the tariffs could mean for their industry and the results werent too concerning. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey suggested the company could move away from using aluminum and increase production of other packaging materials to ensure affordability and meet consumer demand. If aluminum cans become more expensive, we can put more emphasis on (plastic) bottles, Quincey said in the companys fourth-quarter earnings call on February 11. The tariffs will likely have almost no impact on consumer prices, according to Adam S. Hersh, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. Corporations have more than sufficient profit margins to absorb small price increases to a small input to production, he said. In 2023, data showed the Coca-Cola Company packaged almost 50% of its drinks in plastic bottles, 25% in aluminum cans, and the remaining 25% in glass bottles and other packaging. Data from Keurig DrPepper showed they packaged 27% of their drinks in plastic bottles, 13% in aluminum cans and 8% in glass. Quincey also made clear that while tariffs on aluminum will likely result in an extra cost, they are unlikely to have a significant impact on beverage corporations the size of Coca-Cola. I think were in danger of exaggerating the impact of the 25% increase in the aluminum price relative to the total system. Its not insignificant, but its not going to radically change a multibillion-dollar US business, he said. Its a cost. It will have to be managed. It would be better not to have it relative to the business, but we are going to manage our way through. A can costs a little bit less than 4 cents to produce, according to Hersh. If we put a 25% tariff on that, it would raise the cost of the can to 5 cents, he said, adding that it would increase the production cost of a six-pack by 6 cents. Investors largely agree aluminum tariffs wont result in significant cost hikes as share prices of beverage corporations have been relatively stable since they were announced, according to Hersh. Bottlers drive packaging decisions Most beverage corporations outsource packaging to bottlers, and it is the bottlers who purchase raw aluminum and ultimately decide on pricing and strategy, says Filippo Falorni, a beverage analyst at Citi. Coca-Cola sells its concentrate to bottlers, who mix it with water and package it on production lines that are interchangeable. Its quite easy to change production lines from cans to bottles, Falorni said. Coca-Cola products at a grocery store in Miami Beach, Florida, in May 2022. - Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Increasing the use of plastic packaging instead of aluminum is primarily a cost-mitigation strategy, given the ease of switching production lines and not necessarily because of prohibitively high aluminum prices, he said. But switching to other kinds of packaging might be more complicated for smaller beverage companies and ones that package in-house, as CNN previously reported. Moving away from aluminum cans can be a colossal decision, and it normally takes a period of years to make a transition like that successfully, said William Pietersen, a professor at Columbia Business School and former CEO of Lever Foods, Seagram USA and Tropicana. Since Trump announced the new tariffs, aluminum prices have climbed over 4%, which Hersh called relatively stable. The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) said 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum could directly harm domestic manufacturers. Re-imposing 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from our allies and without a workable exclusion process puts U.S. manufacturers directly in harms way, according to a statement from CAMMU. Foreign customers are shifting their supply chains away from U.S. producers. Once removed, especially for smaller, family-owned businesses, it is difficult to regain that lost business, the statement reads. In 2024, the United States imported about 47% of the aluminum consumed domestically, according to the US Geological Survey. Different strategies But when combining the tariffs from Trumps first term, the price of aluminum traded on the market and the domestic production of aluminum have seen a real impact in recent years, Falorni said. Within the beverage industry, companies adapt to price hikes in different ways. Companies like Coca-Cola, with only 25% of their revenue coming from the United States, can offset rising costs by leveraging earnings from other markets. This flexibility makes the company less vulnerable to aluminum tariffs than companies like Keurig Dr Pepper, which relies heavily on the US market and is more exposed to domestic price fluctuations, Falorni said. While about a quarter of Coca-Cola products come in aluminum cans, consumers are also accustomed to plastic and glass bottles. Energy drinks like Monster and seltzers like White-Claw are predominantly sold in cans, with few viable alternatives. For these brands, shifting to other materials could hurt demand, leaving them with little choice but to pass higher costs on to consumers, according to Falorni. Environmental impact While switching to plastic and glass packaging would have a minor financial impact on soft-drink companies like Coca-Cola, it could be devastating for the environment, according to Judith Enck, the president of Beyond Plastics and a former regional administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency. Any significant shift toward more plastic bottles is a huge environmental problem, Enck told CNN. Refillable glass containers are the most sustainable packaging option for beverage companies, followed by aluminum cans (because they can be easily recycled) and then single-use glass bottles. Plastic is one of the least sustainable, as about 16,000 chemicals are used to produce plastics, according to Enck. Coca-Cola bottles are the worlds No. 1 source of plastic pollution. In December, the company announced a drastic reduction of its packaging sustainability goals. Beverage corporations likely wont feel much blowback from the Trump administration should they choose less sustainable packaging. The Trump administration is sending a very clear message that they do not prioritize environmental protection, Enck said. I dont think big companies feel any pressure to change. CNNs Jordan Valinsky and Alicia Wallace contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com by Sumon Corraya Youth from around the country travelled to Birishiri, Diocese of Mymensingh, for the gathering promoted by the Bishops' Conference in the Jubilee Year. Archbishop Bejoy N. D'Cruze of Dhaka urges youth to be more actively engaged in the Church, making it more vibrant and beautiful. Dhaka (AsiaNews) The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is currently celebrating its National Youth Day (NYD), which began last Wednesday at the Don Bosco School & College in Utrail, Birishiri, Diocese of Mymensingh. Centred on the theme Youths are pilgrims in hope, the six-day gathering brings together some 500 college and university students, youth workers and Church leaders from all over the country. Organised by the Episcopal Commission for Youth, the gathering includes various activities, including Holy Mass, adoration of the cross, meetings, catechetical and motivational sessions, confessions, a cultural festival, stands and presentations by different dioceses. On Thursday, Archbishop Kevin Stuart Randall, Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh, led the Holy Mass. In his homily, he urged young Catholics to follow Catholic social teachings and remain steadfast in their faith. Different opinions and doctrines may come your way, but always trust in the teachings of the Catholic Church. Prayer is the medium through which we connect with God. Just as you use your cell phone multiple times a day, you should also pray multiple times daily, he emphasised. The archbishop further reminded youth that holiness is not reserved only for priests, nuns, and religious brothers but for everyone. Let us realize this in our lives. Through baptism, we have made a commitment to God. In this Jubilee Year, I pray that hope and inspiration will fill your hearts. Ankur Johan Costa, one of the youths present, expressed his joy in participating in National Youth Day. Today, I am very happy. I have learned many things from this event, he said. As a young Catholic, I now realise that I can contribute significantly to the Church. Our Church leaders have inspired us, and I will actively participate in Church activities. Another participant, Romana Gomes, shared her experience. This is the Jubilee Year, and we had insightful sessions about its significance. Our speakers showed us love and trust, giving us hope and inspiration, she said. The Catholic Church needs us to make it more vibrant. I am already involved in Church activities, and in the future, I will be even more committed to supporting the Church. We, the youth, have gathered from across the country for NYD. We are praying, eating, and dancing together while learning from one another. We will return home with renewed hope and inspiration, she added. The Diocese of Mymensingh has a substantial Garo tribal Catholic community. Participants were able to enjoy local food and traditional dance performances, with young people holding placards with messages such as Sunday is the Lords Day, Attend Holy Mass, The Lord is My Shepherd, and Light of NYD, Shine in the Hearts of Youth. In his address, Archbishop N. D'Cruze of Dhaka, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh, encouraged young people. You are receiving valuable education here. I hope you will embrace it, strengthening your faith and Christian values. I expect you to be more actively engaged in the Church, making it more vibrant and beautiful. The Episcopal Commission for Youth aims to promote Christian values, personal development and social awareness among high school students, encouraging them to assume their responsibilities for society, the Church and the country. ECCLESIA IN ASIA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY SUNDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE. Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. 2 March 2025 15:01 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. In todays globalized economy, forging strong international partnerships is essential for sustained economic growth and mutual prosperity. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 2 March 2025 21:01 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more Friedrich Merzs long-anticipated victory in Germanys federal election on February 23rd marked a shift in the countrys political landscape. His Christian Democratic Union (CDU), along with its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), secured the top spot. However, their 28.6% share of the voteone of the lowest in their historydampened celebrations at CDU headquarters. The unpopularity of Olaf Scholzs outgoing government had raised hopes for a stronger conservative resurgence, yet the real winner of the night was the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which claimed nearly a quarter of Bundestag seats and established dominance in the east, while making significant gains in the west. The CDU found some relief in the failure of the Free Democrats and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance to surpass the 5% threshold required for parliamentary representation. This allowed Merz to form a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) rather than requiring a third partner. Coalition negotiations are set to begin soon, but the question remains: Can Merz steer Germanyand by extension, Europethrough its mounting crises? A new era for Germanys role in Europe? Germany finds itself at a crossroads. With Donald Trumps return to the White House and his threats to scale back U.S. military commitments to NATO, the burden of European security may shift dramatically. In a geopolitical climate where Russian aggression looms and NATO members brace for the worst-case scenario, Germany faces mounting expectations to take the lead. And that scenario is an attack on NATO territory. NATO is currently conducting its largest military exercise since the Cold War, meant to demonstrate collective military power. With 32 NATO countries agreeing on collective defense, Germany has emerged as a crucial logistical hub due to its central location in Europe. In recent years, it has significantly increased its defense spending and has become Europe's largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine. But despite these efforts, Europe still heavily relies on the United States for military capabilities. The U.S. not only supplies the bulk of NATO's weaponry but also maintains around 100,000 troops on European soil. About one-third of these forces are stationed in Germany, reinforcing the country's critical role in European security. However, Trumps demands that NATO members increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP have added further uncertainty to the alliances future. Germanys historical reluctance to assume a military leadership role dates back to its post-World War II restrictions and the Cold War era. The defeat of Nazi Germany led to the dissolution of its military, and during the Cold War, both East and West Germany were rearmed only for self-defense within their respective alliances. Following reunification in 1990, Germany further reduced its defense budget, prioritizing economic and diplomatic leadership instead. That stance changed dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, forcing Germany to rethink its military strategy. Merz assumes office at a time when Germany has been increasing its defense spending and playing a central role in NATOs largest military exercises since the Cold War. Chancellor Scholz announced a historic 100 billion defense fund to modernize the German military, including investments in air defenses, tanks, F-35 fighter jets, and helicopters. For the first time, Germany is establishing a permanent military presence outside its borders, with a new base in Lithuania. It has also committed to NATOs 2% defense spending target, though analysts argue this may still be insufficient. Yet, challenges remain. According to a 2024 government report, Germanys military remains under-equipped and understaffed, with discussions underway about reintroducing conscription. Defense spending is a politically divisive issue in Germany, and opposition parties have capitalized on public skepticism regarding Berlins support for Ukraine. Populist parties, particularly the AfD, have gained ground by questioning Germanys military commitments and advocating a more isolationist stance. Perhaps, the success of the military-political program depends on economic reforms, and we will soon see if the right-wing can make Germany great again. Can Merz change Germany's direction? Germanys reluctance to lead Europes defense is also reflected in its approach to Ukraine. Instead of taking charge, Berlin prefers to act within alliances. Meanwhile, other European nations have stepped up their defense investments. Poland plans to spend 5% of its GDP on defensemore than the U.S. The Baltic and Nordic countries are also increasing military spending, fortifying their borders with Russia and Belarus. Sweden has even distributed wartime preparedness booklets to millions of households. Despite these regional efforts, Germanys leadership remains crucial. France and the UK possess strong militaries and nuclear capabilities but are facing domestic political crises. With Brexit, the UK has distanced itself from European leadership, leaving Germany as the logical candidate to spearhead European security efforts. But can Friedrich Merz shift Germanys traditional stance? Merz is a staunch conservative with pro-business credentials, a commitment to NATO, and a more assertive foreign policy approach compared to Scholz. His party on the other hand is not entirely unfamiliar to Trump and European Union. Notably, it is also the party of Angela Merkel, the former German Chancellor, with whom he is well acquainted. Additionally, its important to highlight that Friedrich Merz, although from the same party, holds more conservative views than Merkel did. In fact, Merz temporarily left politics in 2009 because he felt he could not compete against Merkel due to their differing political ideologies. He returned to politics in 2018 after learning that Merkel would not be running for office again. Perhaps, the circumstances are different this time. The party now faces the "Ukraine problem," which carries the risk of a large-scale war and Donald Trump who has adopted a tougher stance on his foreign policy than during his first term in office. Perhaps amidst the leader vacuum in Europe, Merz, like Merkel before him, can find common ground with Trump, either alone or alongside Emmanuel Macron (who was quite good in terms of easing the 'tensions' with Trump with and without Merkel), to resolve existing issues. His leadership will be tested by the challenge of balancing Germanys economic priorities with its growing military responsibilities. If he fails, Germany may find itself unable to rise to the occasion just as Europe needs it most. In the face of an unpredictable U.S., and a fractured Europe, Germanys future role in continental security will define not only its own trajectory but that of the entire region. Whether Friedrich Merz is the man to meet that challenge remains an open question. Image credit: Jess Frampton 2 March 2025 11:01 (UTC+04:00) A memorial event was held in Munster, Germany, to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Khojaly genocide, Azernews reports. Organized by the European Azerbaijan Center with the support of the Alliance of Azerbaijanis in Germany, the event aimed to honor the victims of the tragedy, raise awareness within the international community, and advocate for justice and peace. The commemoration began with the playing of Azerbaijans National Anthem, followed by a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs. Addressing the gathering, Chairman of the European Azerbaijan Center and Board Member of the Alliance of Azerbaijanis in Germany, Zaur Aliyev, underscored that the Khojaly tragedy was not just a crime against Azerbaijanis but against humanity as a whole. He highlighted the role of the Azerbaijani diaspora in ensuring that the truth about the tragedy reaches the global audience. Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Azerbaijanis in Germany, Altay Rustamli, described the Khojaly tragedy as a deep wound in Azerbaijans history. He emphasized that the international community has yet to fully recognize and assess the tragedy in legal and political terms, stressing the importance of continued efforts by the Azerbaijani diaspora in this regard. Several Azerbaijani expatriates, including Eldar Guneyli, Elgiz Hagverdiyev, Zaur Guliyev, and Javid Alizadeh, addressed the audience in German, providing historical context and insights into the tragedy. To further spread awareness, books and brochures detailing the Khojaly genocide were distributed to over 100 attendees, including representatives of different nationalities. The event also featured presentations in German, screenings of documentaries depicting the tragedy, and personal testimonies from witnesses who shared their harrowing experiences. The memorial event served as a solemn occasion to reflect on the tragic events of Khojaly while reinforcing the call for international recognition and justice. 2 March 2025 11:31 (UTC+04:00) Kazakhstan has reaffirmed its commitment to an objective and transparent investigation into the plane crash near Aktau, Ambassador Dauren Abayev told RIA Novosti, Azernews reports. "We have nothing to hide, we support an objective and transparent investigation," Abayev stated, emphasizing that the process is being conducted in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. Azerbaijan, Russia, and Brazil have appointed representatives to participate in the investigation. He also noted that the preliminary report published by Kazakhstans Ministry of Transport has been well received by ICAO, which praised its detail and completeness. The final report is expected to be released by December 2025. The Embraer 190 aircraft, operated by Azerbaijans AZAL airline, crashed near Aktau on December 25, 2024, while en route from Baku to Grozny. Out of 67 people on board, 29 survived. According to preliminary findings, the crash resulted from external physical and technical interference in Russian airspace. Russian President Vladimir Putin has since apologized for the incident. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in a December 29 interview with AzTV, outlined Azerbaijans three conditions for resolving the matter: an official apology, recognition of responsibility, and compensation for Azerbaijan, the victims, and the crew members. 2 March 2025 10:00 (UTC+04:00) British officials have failed to persuade the US administration to resume negotiations with Kyiv on a minerals deal that collapsed following a dispute between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Azernews reports, citing Bloomberg. According to sources, Washington rejected the UKs request, stating that the US leadership needed time to cool down. The sources also noted that the US administration specifically demanded that Zelensky publicly apologize for what transpired during the negotiations as a prerequisite for restoring relations. The failed attempt to revive the deal highlights the ongoing tensions between Washington and Kyiv, despite broader Western support for Ukraine. It also underscores the complexities of geopolitical alliances, where personal disputes between leaders can directly impact economic and strategic agreements. 2 March 2025 12:00 (UTC+04:00) Billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), agreed with the idea of the US withdrawing from the UN and NATO, Azernews reports. I support this, he commented on a user's post about the time for the US to withdraw from these organizations. In February this year, US Republican Senator Mike Lee announced that an initiative has been submitted to the Senate to withdraw the US from the UN and stop funding the organization. This is about the complete withdrawal of the US from the UN and its related organizations, which would also include the cessation of their funding by Washington. In addition, the initiative envisages the cancellation of the agreement with the UN, which gives it the right to have an official headquarters in New York, and will also deprive UN employees of diplomatic immunity in the United States. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of NATO. Even before his election, he threatened to withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Alliance if European partners do not take greater financial responsibility for their own security. 2 March 2025 14:29 (UTC+04:00) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could face dissolution in its current form due to growing disagreements between the United States and its European allies over support for Ukraine, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral James Stavridis, has warned. According to Azernews, citing The Daily Telegraph, Stavridis suggested that NATO might be replaced by a "European Treaty Organization", as European nations take on a larger role in defense. We may be witnessing the end of NATO and the beginning of what could be called the European Treaty Organization, Stavridis stated. He noted that former US President Donald Trump has made it clear that the US does not wish to continue military assistance to Ukraine, calling this stance an "epic geopolitical mistake." Stavridis emphasized that European nations must now take the lead in supporting Kyiv. Furthermore, he pointed out that Washingtons pressure on European allies to increase defense spending is straining trust within NATO and could weaken the foundation of the alliance. 2 March 2025 17:33 (UTC+04:00) Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah has called for the United States to withdraw from NATO, Azernews reports. In a post on X, Lee responded to remarks by Richard Grenell, the US Presidents Special Representative for Special Operations, who criticized Slovenia for not contributing enough to NATO. "It's time to withdraw from NATO," the senator wrote. Meanwhile, The Washington Post, citing sources, reported that former President Donald Trump may order the withdrawal of 20,000 US troops from Europe if re-elected, a move described as a "nightmare for European security." The report highlighted growing concerns among European leaders about Washingtons commitment to the alliance, emphasizing the 80-year-old security framework that has defined US-Europe relations since World War II. European officials have reportedly sought guarantees that any troop reductions would not result from direct negotiations between Washington and Moscow. Trump himself has previously stated that the US could leave NATO if other member states fail to meet their financial commitments. In response to these developments, Swiss parliamentarian Jacqueline de Quattro warned on December 3 that a potential US withdrawal would weaken NATO. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that the biggest threat to NATO comes from the presence of countries with weak militaries within the alliance. 2 March 2025 19:29 (UTC+04:00) The European Investment Bank (EIB), through its EIB Global division, has partnered with Sparkasse Bank AD Skopje to support North Macedonias transition to a greener financial system, Azernews reports. The collaboration, launched at a workshop in Skopje, is part of the Greening Financial Systems (GFS) technical assistance program, designed to strengthen financial institutions ability to finance climate and sustainability projects. The program is funded by the German government through the EIBs International Climate Initiative Fund and operates in collaboration with the NDC Partnership. EIB representative to North Macedonia, Bjorn Gabriel, underscored the significance of the initiative in addressing climate challenges and promoting green investments among small businesses. Sparkasse Bank, which has invested over 115 million euros in more than 140 green projects, views the initiative as a key step in advancing sustainable lending. Deputy President of the Management Board, Nina Nedanoska, noted that the partnership will enhance the banks green finance efforts, benefiting both clients and society. In the past two years, the EIB and Sparkasse Bank have allocated 46 million euros to companies in North Macedonia, including 19 million euros under the EIB green credit line. Other banks involved in the GFS program include NLB Bank Skopje, ProCredit Bank, and Komercijalna Banka. 2 March 2025 22:03 (UTC+04:00) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has stated that Serbia will withstand and defeat external forces attempting to undermine the country, Azernews reports. Speaking in Krepolyna, he emphasized that various groups have united against Serbia, causing economic damage through months of protests and blockades. "We will overcome this, we will raise Serbia to its feet. I believe that Serbia will be among the top three countries in Europe in terms of growth rates this year. We need a healthy, dynamically working, and forward-looking Serbia," Vucic declared. His remarks come as thousands of people, led by students, continue protests in Nis, the countrys third-largest city. The demonstrations reflect rising tensions amid political and economic uncertainties. 2 March 2025 22:33 (UTC+04:00) UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Sunday plans for a UK-France initiative to craft a lasting peace plan for Ukraine, following the public debacle between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, Azernews reports. This step is signaling a push for greater European leadership in resolving the ongoing conflict, with the UK returning into the European spotlight following Brexit. What is the plan for the UK and France? Speaking on the BBC, Starmer emphasized the importance of Europe in stepping up its role in global diplomacy, particularly in light of the war in Ukraine, which has devastated the region since Russias invasion in February 2022. The UK premier is joining those growing calls for European nations to take more responsibility in addressing international crises rather than relying heavily on the United States. Weve now agreed that the UK, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then well discuss that plan with the United States, Starmer told the BBC on Sunday morning. Starmer revealed that he engaged in a day of high-stakes diplomacy on Saturday, following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys tense meeting in Washington, where he was publicly confronted by Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance. The British PM welcomed Zelensky to Downing Street before reaching out to both French President Emmanuel Macron and Trump in an effort to demonstrate unwavering support for Ukraine while attempting to mend strained relations between Kyiv and Washington. This shows the clear intention of London to work as a mediator between Europe and the US. 2 March 2025 23:05 (UTC+04:00) NASA confirmed Sunday that Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed near Mons Latreille within the Mare Crisium basin on the Moon. This milestone marks Firefly's first lunar landing and the first delivery under NASAs Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, Azernews reports. The Blue Ghost lander carries 10 NASA science and technology instruments that will operate on the lunar surface for about 14 Earth days. These include lunar subsurface drilling, regolith sample collection, and radiation-tolerant computing experiments. NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro highlighted that this incredible achievement demonstrates how NASA and American companies are leading the way in space exploration for the benefit of all." Having traveled over 2.8 million miles since its January 15 launch, the Blue Ghost mission also tested GNSS tracking at a record-breaking distance of 246,000 miles. CEO Jason Kim expressed excitement for future commercial exploration, emphasizing its potential impact on missions to the Moon and Mars. 2 March 2025 23:35 (UTC+04:00) Bishop Jacob (Yaqub) of Bodbeli has dismissed speculation regarding Georgias elections, emphasizing that the process has already concluded and that external opinions hold little weight, Azernews reports. "I just returned from America, and there were no questions about the elections in Georgia. Yes, they believe it could have been organized better, but the other things being said are nonsense," the bishop stated. During his sermon, he urged people to accept the election results, criticizing those who continue to look abroad for validation. He also questioned Europes political stability, pointing to leadership changes in Germany, France, and the UK, while drawing comparisons to the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan. Bishop Jacob expressed optimism about future U.S.-Georgia relations, stating that a new global order is taking shape, and all nations will eventually find their place in it. Regarding the recent Israel /Iran Conflict (the "12 Day War"), culminating in the United States Air Force employing seven B2 Bombers to complete a 33 hour flight, dropping 14 fifteen ton bunker busting bombs on three Iranian nuclear facilities buried deep under mountain rock, which destroyed Iran's nuclear ambitions against Israel and the United States: Should President Trump have unilaterally made the decision to make such a bold decision to conduct this operation, without first running this prospective operation before the US Congress for their approval? 14.29% No, The War Powers Act prohibitions, which requires NO presidential military action without congressional approval.85.71% Yes, the President has Article 2 Constitutional authority to take unilateral military action to protect the American People, providing he does not break congressional codes, which he did not.0% Don't care, never have. Alliance Party deputy leader Eoin Tennyson said the DUP needed to change its attitude within the Stormont Executive (Liam McBurney/PA) Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has been accused of holding up delivery in the Stormont Executive by Alliance Party deputy leader Eoin Tennyson. Mr Tennyson said the DUP politician was sitting on Executive papers for months on end which prevented issues being agreed. On Thursday, First Minister Michelle ONeill and Ms Little-Pengelly formally announced that the devolved Executives delayed programme for government had been agreed. The final version of the document will be made public when it is formally presented to the Stormont Assembly this week. During an appearance on the BBC Sunday Politics programme, Mr Tennyson was asked why the devolved powersharing Executive struggled to deliver major capital projects on time and within budget. He said: There is a fundamental issue, to be frank about it, the deputy First Minister sitting on Executive papers for months on end. Take the environment strategy as one example. It took (Alliance Environment Minister) Andrew Muir six months to get the strategy, which was largely uncontroversial, through the Executive. Not only do we need a change in terms of the structures at Stormont but we need a significant change of attitude from some of the parties in the Executive to make progress for the people that we represent. Asked if he was referring specifically to the DUP, Mr Tennyson said he was. He added: It isnt exclusively the DUP, in the past we have seen Sinn Fein sitting on papers as well. But so far in this mandate, my analysis is that it has been the deputy First Minister largely holding up progress within the Executive by refusing to even let papers onto the agenda for discussion, never mind agreement. That is not good enough, it is anti-democratic and it is holding up delivery in the Executive. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly announced the programme for government had been agreed on Thursday (Liam McBurney/PA) I think we need to see change of the structures so that cant happen, but in the meantime a change in attitude from our partners in government to ensure that people are respected around that Executive table as equal partners. Mr Tennyson said his party did not get everything it wanted out of the programme for government (PFG). He said: We were disappointed that the Communities Minister (Gordon Lyons) didnt include a commitment to social strategies, and to the LGBTQ+ and gender equality strategies for example. We were disappointed that poverty hasnt featured more in that section of the PFG as well. No party gets everything it wants. It is not a document that we would have written. But it is a foundation, not the ceiling, on our ambition. Every minister around that Executive table is free to go further and deliver more than what is in that document. DUP East Belfast MLA David Brooks said the Alliance Party should spend less time trying to lecture everyone else. He said: Alliances definition of agreement seems to be if we want it, we should get it. Thats not how powersharing works, and its certainly not how democracy works. The DUP has consistently brought forward proposals to deliver for families, businesses and public services. If Alliance spent less time trying to lecture everyone else and more time respecting that real agreement requires compromise, the Executive might actually get more done. Exclusive | Stormont told a judge that tarmacking 3,000 acres of farmland would be less polluting than the industrial farming it has encouraged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday embarked on a visit to Brazil to participate in the 11th BRICS Parliamentary Forum where he is scheduled to prese ... Tanaiste Simon Harris said there is now a gulf between the US and Europe over Ukraine (Brian Lawless/PA) A gulf has emerged between Europe and the US over Ukraine, Irelands deputy premier Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris said he will be bringing a proposal for a package of 100 million euro (82.4 million) in financial assistance for non-lethal military support for Ukraine to Cabinet this week. During an appearance on RTEs This Week programme, Mr Harris said Ireland and Europe will continue to stand with Ukraine following a public Oval Office row between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Harris said he had a deep sense of being unsettled when he saw the exchange. He said: There is only one aggressor here and the aggressors name is Putin. There arent two equal people and I dont like any attempt to portray what is happening to Ukraine as some sort of squabble between neighbours. There is a country that was living peacefully in Europe that has been brutally and illegally invaded by Russia. Ireland will stand with Ukraine, so will Europe, and this week at Cabinet I will bring specific proposals to provide more financial assistance from Ireland to Ukraine in a practical way. It is fair to say a gulf has emerged between the United States and European Union in terms of this issue. That wasnt just seen in the Oval Office last week, though that was a very tangible way of seeing it, it was also seen at the UN General Assembly where the United States of America voted with Belarus, Russia and North Korea and not with their European allies. I think that does give you a sign of the gulf in terms of approach that has developed. But what is within the control of the European Union and Ireland is providing practical assistance to Ukraine. What we are seeing in our nearest neighbour the United Kingdom today is a practical way of bringing together nations who share a view. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hosting a number of European leaders in London on Sunday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Ms Harris said his plan for additional non-lethal military support will be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday. He said: That will basically involve providing money that will be used to purchase things like armoured vehicles, that can assist in demining and cyber protection measures, non-lethal use of military equipment. Separate but linked to that will be the European Council meeting later in the week where the European Union will decide a package of support that it wishes to put in place, and Ireland will obviously have to contribute to that as well. Mr Harris was asked whether he would support US President Donald Trump being invited to Ireland (Carl Court/PA) Whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, in terms of the defence of a sovereign country, the largest country on the continent of Europe. This is a time to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN charter, stand up for freedom, stand up for a countrys sovereignty. Mr Harris was asked if he would support Mr Trump being officially invited to Ireland. He said: Presidents of the United States, and indeed leaders from around the world, are always welcome in Ireland. We always take the approach you are better to engage with people where you have points of difference rather than take yourself off the pitch. Tanaiste Simon Harris stated that no peacekeeping mission had been authorised by the UN Security Council since 2014 (Brian Lawless/PA) Draft legislation to amend Irelands triple lock on the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas will be brought to cabinet this week, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris said Irelands proud tradition in peacekeeping cannot be held up by paralysis at UN. The deputy premier insisted that the proposed changes had nothing whatsoever to do with Irelands military neutrality. Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council as well as approval by the Government and the Dail. Mr Harris told the RTE This Week programme: The idea of the UN Security Council having a veto on where we deploy Irish troops in relation to peacekeeping is something that needs to be modified. The UN Security Council hasnt found itself in a position to authorise a peacekeeping mission since 2014. I think everybody in this country is very proud of the work done by the men and women of Oglaigh na hEireann overseas in peacekeeping but we cannot have a situation where any one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia or anybody else, can veto that decision. Mr Harris said he was proposing increasing the number of troops who could be sent on peacekeeping missions without triggering the triple lock from 12 to 50. He said: That is in line with military advice. That 50 includes all of the various personnel that would be required to go on a mission. Secondly, I am proposing instead of the UN Security Council and effectively Putin or others having a veto on where our troops go, that missions would have to be in line with the UN Charter. This has nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality. We are remaining militarily neutral. I value Irish neutrality, we are not joining any military alliances. But it does mean we have to be empowered to work particularly with other European countries on peacekeeping missions. US President Donald Trump (right) and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House (Carl Court/PA) Sir Keir Starmer has said he is not going to be diverted when asked about calls for the state visit invite to Donald Trump to be rescinded. The Prime Minister dismissed people trying to ramp up the rhetoric after the confrontation in the White House between the US president and Volodymr Zelensky. European leaders are gathering in London on Sunday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine after the public clash in the Oval Office on Friday. A day earlier, Sir Keir had presented the American leader with a letter from the King inviting him for a second state visit, after he was hosted by the late Queen in 2019. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Sir Keir would not be drawn into a debate over revoking a second state visit for Mr Trump. Im not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake in Europe, the Prime Minister told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. He told the same programme that the clash in the Oval Office made him feel uncomfortable but he decided to roll up my sleeves rather than ramp up the rhetoric in response. Scottish First Minister John Swinney told the Sunday Mail that the state visit cannot go ahead if the US pulls back on its support for Kyiv. If the US withdraws support from Ukraine, abandoning an ally and betraying democracy, the state visit cannot go ahead. That is simply unimaginable, he said. If, despite what President Trump said, a state visit can help solidify US support for Ukraine, if the US maintains its support for Ukraine, then perhaps it can proceed. Shadow minister Alicia Kearns told the Mail on Sunday that state visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies. John Swinney said the state visit should not go ahead if Donald Trump withdraws his support for Ukraine (Jane Barlow/PA) No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the USs commitment to her allies is assured, she said. A spokesperson for Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the views of individual MPs are not the position of the party. In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King, who extended the invitation, and not for MPs, the spokesman said. He said it is imperative that the UK remains close to America and they dont disengage from Nato if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Prime Minister should use Mr Trumps visit to leverage security guarantees from the US. Asked on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg whether he thinks the visit should be called off he said: No, I dont. What weve said in the Liberal Democrats all along is that the state visit should be used to secure guarantees for Ukraine. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the deal is not in our national interest (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The Conservatives will not drop their opposition to the Chagos Islands deal, Kemi Badenoch has said, despite the US president signalling he would back it. Donald Trump recognises the strength of the deal to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, Downing Street said, after Sir Keir Starmer met with the president at the White House on Thursday. The agreement includes a plan to lease back the strategically important US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers expense. Speaking in the Oval Office alongside the Prime Minister, Mr Trump said it is a very long-term, powerful lease, a very strong lease, and that I think well be inclined to go along with your country. Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch argued it is not in the UKs national interest to give away the territory, when speaking to the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme. Asked if her party will change its position on the deal after Mr Trump appeared to give it the green light, she said: I dont work for the American president, this is about UK national interest. Kemi Badenoch was asked about the deal on the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA) It is not in our national interest to give away the Chagos Islands and pay for the privilege of doing so. That is taxpayers money. That is money which the Prime Minister seems to have confirmed is coming out of the defence increase that he has just announced. Thats terrible. He did not deny it when he was asked. So, we will not stop our opposition to the surrender of the Chagos Islands, we will continue. Sir Keir Starmer met Donald Trump at the White House last week (Carl Court/PA) Under the plan, the UK is expected to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years, with an option for a 40-year extension. The Prime Ministers spokesman said on Friday: We welcome the fact that the president recognises the strength of this deal, which is rooted in a rational and hard-headed determination to protect UK security. He would not specify time-frames but said the deal is progressing. The UK still needs to work with the Mauritian government to finalise the deal and put it before the UK Parliament for approval. The Sunday papers highlight Volodymyr Zelenskys warm welcome to the UK in the wake of the tense words between the Ukrainian president and his US counterpart Donald Trump. Images of Sir Keir Starmer hugging Mr Zelensky outside Downing Street adorn the front pages of the Sunday People, Sunday Mirror and The Sunday Telegraph, with the latter carrying the headline: You are very welcome to No 10. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The Sunday Times reports Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a 2.26 billion loan agreement to support Kyivs military and the costs of rebuilding after the war. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content King Charles has invited Mr Zelensky to Sandringham on Sunday, according to The Independent. The Mail on Sunday says a number of public figures have called for Mr Trumps state visit to Britain to be shelved following the presidents calamitous White House meeting with Mr Zelensky. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content And the Daily Star Sunday says racing fans could save money by watching Cheltenham from Spain. Crowds protesting over vice president JD Vances conduct the day after an Oval Office blowout over Ukraine lined roads near a Vermont ski resort where he planned a weekend holiday with his family. Many of the hundreds of demonstrators held signs in support of Ukraine, while other anti-war protesters waved Palestinian flags or signs in support of immigrant rights. Protesters showed up at several locations in the area, including both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield. Though demonstrations were planned days in advance, they were energised on Saturday morning by a heated Oval Office exchange a day earlier between Mr Vance, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Vance berated Mr Zelensky for challenging Mr Trumps assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. Ski Russia because JD Vance has no friends in Vermont, but hes got lots of friends in Russia, so he should go there for vacation, Tekla Van Hoven of Waterbury told WCAX-TV. Mr Vance and his family arrived in Vermont ahead of the weekend, with plans to ski at Sugarbush Resort in Warren. A few protested at the resort on Saturday. There were a handful of protesters at the resort throughout the day, but all were peaceful and none were disruptive, resort spokesman John Bleh said in an email Sunday. He declined further comment, referring reporters to the White House. Messages left Sunday for White House officials were not immediately returned. Republican governor Phil Scott issued a statement on Thursday welcoming Mr Vance and his family to the state, and asked Vermont residents to do the same even if they have political differences with the vice president. I hope Vermonters remember the vice president is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful, the statement said. A smaller number of protesters in support Mr Vance and Mr Trump also showed up with a welcome rally. The Popes time in hospital comes as the Vatican is marking its Holy Year (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) Pope Francis is in a stable condition and resting as he continues his recovery from double pneumonia, but he has again skipped his weekly noon blessing on Sunday to avoid even a brief public appearance. Instead, the Vatican distributed a message from the Pope in which he thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers. He said he is living his time in hospital as an experience of profound solidarity with people who are sick and suffering everywhere. I feel in my heart the blessing that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord, Francis said in the text. Nuns pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic where he has been treated since February 14 (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people. It is the third weekend in a row Francis has cancelled the Sunday appointment delivering the Angelus prayer in person. He could have done so from his 10th floor hospital suite at the Gemelli hospital if he was well enough. Despite the absence, many signs indicate he is recovering and improving. The night was quiet, the Pope is still resting, the Vatican said in update on Sunday morning. Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his chief of staff, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, visited the Pope on Sunday the second time they have done so since he was admitted last month, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni. He gave no details on what was discussed, but the mere visit suggests Franciss condition is stabilising. He has no fever or signs of elevated white blood cells, which would signal his body is still fighting an infection. Doctors on Saturday reported Francis was in a stable condition, with no mention of him being critical, and signalled once again continued improvement. A man shelters from the rain as he prays for Pope Francis in front of the hospital where he is being treated (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) That upbeat assessment came a day after a respiratory crisis resulted in Francis being put on non-invasive mechanical ventilation. The 88-year-old had a good response in his gas exchange levels even during the long periods he was off the ventilator mask, and only using high-flow supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said. The Pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into a complex pneumonia in both lungs. The fact Francis was able to use just high-flow oxygen for long periods, without any significant effect on the levels of oxygen in his blood, was a sign his respiratory function was improving. He was eating and drinking and continued his respiratory physiotherapy, and spent 20 minutes in his private chapel down the hall on Saturday, the Vatican said. Franciss time in hospital comes as the Vatican is marking its Holy Year, drawing pilgrims to Rome from all over. They are walking through the Holy Door at St Peters Basilica and also making pilgrimages to the hilltop Umbrian town of Assisi, to pray at the home of Franciss namesake, St Francis. Every day were praying for the Pope, said the Rev Jacinto Bento, a priest visiting Assisi on Saturday with a group of 30 Jubilee pilgrims from the Azores Islands. Were very sad for his situation. Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores across the US on Saturday to protest against the automakers billionaire chief executive Elon Musk and his push to slash government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump. The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Mr Musks disruptive role in Washington. Critics of Mr Trump and Mr Musk hope to discourage and stigmatise purchases of Tesla, the electric car company that is the worlds most valuable automaker. Liberal groups for weeks have organised anti-Tesla protests in hopes of galvanising opposition to Mr Musks Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) and energising Democrats still demoralised by Mr Trumps November victory. Demonstrators take part in a protest against Elon Musk and Tesla outside a Tesla showroom in New York (Adam Gray/AP) We can get back at Elon, said Nathan Phillips, a 58-year-old ecologist from Newton, Massachusetts, who was protesting in Boston on Saturday. We can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas. Mr Musk is taking direction from Mr Trump to slash federal spending and sharply reduce the workforce, arguing that victory gave the president and him a mandate to restructure the US government. Doge officials have swiftly gained access to sensitive databases, directed thousands of federal job cuts, cancelled contracts and shut down sections of the government, including the US Agency for International Development. Mr Musks critics say his actions defy Congresss power to control the US budget and present a host of ways for him to enrich himself. He leads several other companies, notably SpaceX, which conducts launches for Nasa and the intelligence community, and the social media platform X. Protests will not deter President Trump and Elon Musk from delivering on the promise to establish Doge and make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country, said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields. Tesla did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Protesters rally outside a Tesla store in Boston (Rodrique Ngowi/AP) More than 50 demonstrations were listed on Saturday on the website Tesla Takedown, with more planned later in March from coast to coast in the United States along with England, Spain and Portugal. News reports showed demonstrations in recent days in US cities including Tucson, St. Louis, New York City, Dayton, Charlotte and Palo Alto, California. Some Tesla owners have also reported their vehicles vandalised with spray-painted swastikas amid what Jewish groups and observers fear is a rise in antisemitism. Federal prosecutors charged a woman in connection with a string of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, which included Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words Nazi cars spray painted on the building. Saturdays demonstration in Boston had a festive atmosphere, with a brass band playing music as protesters carried signs and chanted. Several of the signs mocked Mr Musk and Doge, with one reading: Stop Elon and his despicable Muskrats. This government led by Trump and Musk, its gone completely off the rails and we are here to stop that, said Carina Campovasso, a retired federal worker. And I hope they listen. About 300 demonstrators protested at a Tesla dealership in New York City on Saturday. Police said nine people were taken into custody but did not elaborate on the charges they faced. Teslas share price has fallen by nearly a third since Mr Trump took office, although it is still higher than it was a year ago. Mr Musks current net worth is an estimated 359 billion dollars (285 billion), according to Forbes, which calculated his 2024 net worth as 195 billion dollars (155 billion). A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kherson has killed one person and injured six, according to local officials. Also in Ukraines southern Kherson region on Sunday an area mostly occupied by Russia early in the war but later partially retaken by Ukrainian forces a man was killed in another drone attack 35 miles away in a village on the right bank of the Dnieper River, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. On the other side of the river, Moscow-appointed officials in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson said two people had died in Ukrainian shelling on Sunday. Moscow sent 79 drones into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraines Air Force, 63 drones were destroyed and 16 were lost, likely having been electronically jammed. Russias defence ministry said on Sunday morning that 62 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over Russia over the previous 24 hours. The developments come as Britain hosts a summit of European leaders to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once-staunch allies stand. European leaders are meeting to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (PA) Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced on Sunday that Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has already said that sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine, as could be the case under a deal, would amount to a continuation of Europes incitement of Ukraine to wage war against Russia. In comments published on the foreign ministrys website, Mr Lavrov said European leaders want to prop up (Zelensky) with their bayonets in the form of peacekeeping units. Mr Lavrov also commented on the warming US-Russia relations, describing negotiations between senior diplomats of both countries and other officials in Saudi Arabia in February as a completely normal conversation between two delegations. He added: We will never think alike on every issue of world politics. We acknowledged this in Riyadh. Two serious countries simply sat down to talk about where they are going wrong, and what their predecessor messed up in four years, he added, accusing the Biden administration of destroying all channels of contact without exception. As the summit got under way in London on Sunday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson raised the prospect that Mr Zelensky may need to leave office if a peace deal is to be reached. Something has to change, the Republican said on NBC. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. He said its up to the Ukrainians to figure that out, adding that under Mr Trump, the United States is reasserting peace through strength. The idea of Mr Zelensky stepping aside had come up on Friday after the Oval Office meeting. US Republican senator Lindsey Graham told reporters outside the White House the Ukrainian leader either needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change. Meanwhile, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz says ending the war will require Russian concessions on security guarantees as well as territorial concessions by Ukraine. Mr Waltz said this will be clearly some type of territorial concession for security guarantees going forward, but he was not providing any more details about what the Russians would have to do. During an interview with CNNs State Of The Union, Mr Waltz said: This needs to be European-led security guarantees going forward. Part of that is Europes contribution to its own defence so it has the capability to do so. As for the United States, he said: What type of support we provide or not is to be negotiated. Mr Waltz says the US is looking for a Ukrainian leader who can deal with Washington, eventually deal with the Russians and end the war. And if it becomes apparent that President Zelenskys either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands. If the DUP is serious about winning Catholic support, its approach to the Pope needs to change drastically To this day, there are DUP figures who think they can be gratuitously offensive to Catholics while still counting on their votes in a border poll and thats politically absurd "Pope Francis has not influenced the world through temporal power, but through gestures..." Sam McBride Sun 2 Mar 2025 at 10:00 The oldest public document in Belfast's Public Record Office is a Papal Bull issued by Pope Honorius III in 1219. Groundhog day for terrorists as yet another government puts on the kid gloves Idea of having gentle word in ear of the men of violence is as old as the hills Hilary Benn (far right) alongside Micheal Martin TD Ivan Little Sun 2 Mar 2025 at 13:00 All that was missing was actor Bill Murray. Gigs of the week: Grammy winner Sabrina Carpenter headlines Dublin double-header Also shows from likes of You and Me at Six, Alabama 3 and Napalm Death Sabrina Carpenter John McGurk Sun 2 Mar 2025 at 11:00 Fresh from winning two awards at the Grammys last month, Sabrina Carpenter is playing her first full-length gigs of the year in Ireland this week. Comedian Lou Sanders has admitted she backed out of a trip to Belfast, not that any fans were left disappointed. Thats because she was lined up to appear on the BBCs Mastermind, which is filmed in Northern Ireland. but Belfast city councillor Ian McLaughlin says he severed ties years ago from Heather Street club in Shankill A DUP politician is among the co-owners of a notorious loyalist social club closed by the courts following a police anti-terror investigation targeting UDA drug dealing. But councillor Ian McLaughlin, who is not involved in criminality, says his name should have came off the deeds of the Heather Street club in the Shankill area of Belfast years ago. Caral Ni Chuilin challenges Christian leaders in Stormont debate over proposals An MLA challenged Christian Institute leaders as they urged the Assembly to ensure new laws include the right of churches to remove gay people from church positions. Would-be assassins identity an open secret in republican circles Dissident feud shooting victim Sean OReilly has identified the man who tried to kill him. But sources say he has refused to provide the assassins name to the PSNI, despite it being widely known in republican circles. 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. Shah Brothers announces expansion to revolutionise single use manufacturing capabilities March 04, 2025 | Tuesday | News Advanced ISO class 7 Inteviz Single-Use facility: Transforming Indias Biopharma industry Shah Brothers, a trusted partner in single use solutions, is constructing a new manufacturing facility in Vadodara. The three state-of-the art buildings, covering 87,220 sq. ft, enhances manufacturing capacity for single use technology products in India. The advanced ISO Class VII Inteviz facility will transform single-use assembly manufacturing with superior processes ensuring flexibility, compliance, and scalable production. In addition, indigenous manufacturing of fluid handling solutions will ensure increased production capacity and tailored solutions to meet growing industry demands. This milestone strengthens our ability to serve our Indian and global partners with enhanced momentum, customized solutions, and unmatched reliability. said company director Nishant Shah. As the company embarks on this exciting journey, it reaffirms its commitment to excellence. As the industry needs growth, Shah Brothers continues to supply the biopharma and biotech industries with a range of innovative products, from upstream to fill-finish, including our flagship products under Inteviz customised single-use assemblies & Floviz brand, as well as connectors, tubing, pumps, mixers, and other single-use solutions. For more details, click here CANYON CITY A serial poacher from Grant County has had his Oregon hunting privileges taken away for life for the third time in the last 10 years. Travis Alexander Palmer, 34, of Mount Vernon, was facing eight counts of wildlife violations in Grant County Circuit Court. After initially pleading not guilty to the charges, he reached a negotiated settlement with prosecutors. On Feb. 6, Palmer pleaded guilty to two felony counts of violation of a wildlife law with a culpable mental state. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of taking, angling, hunting or trapping in violation of a wildlife law or rule and one count of hunting without a license, all misdemeanors. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the plea deal. According to prosecutors, Palmer illegally killed two trophy-size game animals, a bull elk and a buck deer. The case against him specified that he shot both animals with a rifle during archery season, hunting at night with a spotlight from his vehicle on a public road all without a license. In a separate case, Palmer was charged with 31 fishing violations. He pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of taking, angling, hunting or trapping in violation of a wildlife law or rule, and the remaining 25 counts were dismissed. On Tuesday, Feb. 25, Judge Rob Raschio pronounced sentence in both cases. Palmer was placed on supervised probation for 18 months, fined $22,500, sentenced to 55 days in jail and ordered to perform 260 hours of community service or work crew duty. He may not possess firearms or other weapons during the period of his probation, and he was ordered to participate in a mental health evaluation and follow the evaluators recommendations. Palmers Oregon hunting and fishing licenses were revoked for life. In addition, he must forfeit all animal parts and game calls in his possession, as well as a Weatherby Mark V 7mm rifle, a compound bow and arrows, and his Coleman spotlight. Palmer has a long record of convictions for wildlife offenses, with escalating consequences over the years. According to court records and information from the Grant County District Attorneys Office, Palmer lost his hunting privileges for two years in 2008, when he was just 17 years old. Two years later, he was convicted of another wildlife violation and lost his hunting privileges again, this time for three years. In 2015 Palmer was convicted of another wildlife offense and received a lifetime hunting license revocation. The lack of a license, however, did not deter him from hunting. Another conviction followed in 2023, and Palmer received his second permanent hunting ban. Apparently he still didnt learn his lesson, and now his hunting privileges have been revoked for life yet again. Palmer is a habitual offender who does not care what restrictions are placed on him, District Attorney Jim Carpenter said. He is going to trophy-hunt or fish as he wishes without regard for the law or other people. Palmers behaviors make it harder for the law-abiding hunter and wildlife enthusiast in the pursuit of their activities, be it putting food on the table for their families or recreational enjoyment of spotting wildlife in their natural habitat. Palmer is currently incarcerated in the Grant County Jail, where he has begun serving his sentence for his latest criminal wildlife convictions. He is also awaiting trial on a felony charge of third-degree assault for allegedly injuring a man by hitting him with a stick. Palmers attorney did not return a phone call seeking comment. Saturday Night Live (SNL) has recreated the White House clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a skit featuring Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers. The US president and his Ukrainian counterpart met in the Oval Office on Friday where a series of testy remarks between the two leaders prevented the two nations from signing a minerals deal. Advertisement Austin Powers star Myers (61) made a cameo on the US comedy show as billionaire and close Trump ally Elon Musk, who now runs a non-governmental agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). Zelenskyys White House meeting with Trump and Vance pic.twitter.com/l7T2GCvVJW Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) March 2, 2025 The skit begins with a voiceover that says: Yesterday, president Trump hosted Ukrainian president Zelensky at the White House, and it went really, really well. The world is now a safer place. James Austin Johnsons Trump welcomes Zelenskiy, played by Mikey Day, to this incredible trap before introducing US vice president JD Vance, played by Bowen Yang, and US secretary of state Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez). Vance tells the Ukrainian president: You havent said thank you to us once the past 15 seconds Ive been yelling at you. Advertisement During the White House meeting Mr Vance said to Mr Zelenskiy: Have you said thank you once this entire meeting?. He then asked him to offer some words of appreciation for the Unites States of America and the president whos trying to save your country. Later in the skit, Myers, dressed as Musk, enters with a chainsaw and says: Donald what are you doing in my office? You know Im the president now, right? Im kidding, Im kidding, maybe not. Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. Youve got to make a joke, you know. Advertisement Legalise comedy, legalise comedy, come on legalise it!, he shouts. Mr Zelenskiy left the White House early, putting on hold plans for he and Mr Trump to sign a deal granting the US access to rare minerals in exchange for further military aid. Entertainment Liam Paynes family forever remember the joy his... Read More Mr Trump claimed Mr Zelenskiy was gambling with World War Three in the diplomatic blowout broadcast around the world. On Saturday, British prime minister Keir Starmer met with Mr Zelenskiy and told him that Britain stands with Ukraine for as long as it may take. Advertisement European leaders will join Mr Starmer and Mr Zelenskiy in London on Sunday for a defence summit. An Israeli blockage of humanitarian aid into Gaza poses a serious risk to peoples lives, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said. The Minister for Foreign Affairs said he was concerned the situation could lead to Irish aid stocks in Jordan not being able to reach their destination. Advertisement Israel has stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and has warned of additional consequences if Hamas does not accept a new proposal for a ceasefire extension. A Hamas spokesman said blocking supplies to Gaza was cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the [ceasefire] agreement. In a statement, Mr Harris said: I am very concerned at reports Israel has halted humanitarian aid entering into Gaza. Recent weeks saw a much-needed increase in aid reaching people in Gaza. Any threat to that poses a serious risk to peoples lives. Advertisement The Tanaiste said the ceasefire deal had brought hope to Israelis and Palestinians. I am very concerned at reports Israel has halted humanitarian aid entering into Gaza. Recent weeks saw a much-needed increase in aid reaching people in Gaza. Any threat to that poses a serious risk to people's lives. pic.twitter.com/QX4tRhmg74 Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) March 2, 2025 He added: It is essential that both sides maintain this agreement and meet their commitments through all of its phases. We need to see a further release of hostages. Above all, a resumption of hostilities must be avoided. There is an enormous need for humanitarian aid in Gaza. Advertisement Ireland has been supporting our UN partners to deliver aid to people in Gaza. Ireland Taoiseach urged to speak up for Gaza and Ukraine... Read More We also have trucks with food and shelter ready to depart Jordan. These trucks are carrying aid donated by Ireland and will bring much-needed relief. I am concerned that a decision to halt aid entering Gaza will lead to delays in these Irish stocks reach the people they are intended for. Draft legislation to amend the States triple lock on the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas will be brought to cabinet this week, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris said Irelands proud tradition in peacekeeping cannot be held up by paralysis at UN. Advertisement The Tanaiste insisted that the proposed changes had nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality. Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council as well as approval by the Government and the Dail. Mr Harris told the RTE This Week programme: The idea of the UN Security Council having a veto on where we deploy Irish troops in relation to peacekeeping is something that needs to be modified. The UN Security Council hasnt found itself in a position to authorise a peacekeeping mission since 2014. Advertisement I think everybody in this country is very proud of the work done by the men and women of Oglaigh na hEireann overseas in peacekeeping but we cannot have a situation where any one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia or anybody else, can veto that decision. Mr Harris said he was proposing increasing the number of troops who could be sent on peacekeeping missions without triggering the triple lock from 12 to 50. He said: That is in line with military advice. That 50 includes all of the various personnel that would be required to go on a mission. Advertisement Secondly, I am proposing instead of the UN Security Council and effectively Putin or others having a veto on where our troops go, that missions would have to be in line with the UN Charter. Ireland Gulf has emerged between US and EU, Tanaiste says... Read More This has nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality. We are remaining militarily neutral. I value Irish neutrality, we are not joining any military alliances. But it does mean we have to be empowered to work particularly with other European countries on peacekeeping missions. Taoiseach Micheal Martin should use his face to face meeting with US President Donald Trump to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, an opposition TD has said. Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly said that what happens in the Oval Office in front of the cameras would only make up a small part of the Taoiseachs visit to the US to mark St Patricks Day. Advertisement Government minister Michael Moynihan said continued Irish engagement with the US was important following the heated exchanges between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Taoiseach Micheal Martin arriving for a Cabinet meeting at Parliament Buildings, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Martin has been invited to the White House on March 12th. Sinn Fein has said it will not be travelling to the US in protest against Mr Trumps threat of mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, but has said that the Taoiseach should meet the president. Ms OReilly told the RTE The Week in Politics programme: For the vast majority of Irish people, what we want to see is Micheal Martin using the bilateral engagement that he has to speak up in favour of Irish unity, the Good Friday Agreement and protection of peace, to speak up for the Irish diaspora and in particular the undocumented Irish living in America, to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, and to speak up for FDI and those trade links around tourism and jobs and those long-standing links that have been there for decades. Advertisement She added: It is important not just what happens in front of the cameras, that is only a small part. There will be engagements with the State Department, there will be direct engagement with the president, and the Taoiseach needs to use those engagements to highlight those things that are important to the people of Ireland. I do believe when we hear Trump talking about the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians that actually yes, Micheal Martin should use every opportunity to speak up for the people of Gaza and to speak up for the people of Ukraine. The Taoiseach is not among European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, but will be taking part in an EU leaders summit later in the week. Advertisement Mr Moynihan, Minister of State for Disabilities, said the Taoiseach was being kept updated on all developments. He said: Every European leader is very much focused on the enormous challenges and the flux in which the world finds itself. The European leaders meeting is on Thursday and there will be serious discussions. But serious discussions will continue, today, tomorrow and right through because of developments and a sense of trying to bring peace to Europe but also to try to find something that will be positive and long-lasting. Advertisement He added: I think it is very important we engage (with the US) in a meaningful way. Tanaiste Simon Harris has said he wants to see an increase in defence spending. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. We have an opportunity on March 12 for the Taoiseach to meet the President of the United States. There is huge amount of commonality between us. We have to make sure we continue engagement with the United States. It is one of our major trading partners, it is a huge economic stability for us, not just from foreign direct investment, but also investment into the United States. Advertisement We have to make sure that we look at the ties that bond Ireland and America over the centuries but also to make sure we have economic bonds as well. Mr Moynihan was also asked about Irelands defence spending. The programme for government pledges to increase it from 1.35 billion to 1.5 billion euros by 2028, but Tanaiste Simon Harris has said he would like to see that doubled. Ireland Woman (40s) dies after car hits three pedestrians... Read More The Fianna Fail minister said: At the moment the policy that is underpinning the Government is the programme for government. I think there will be huge engagement in light of what is happening in the world to make sure that we are protected in terms of cyber, in terms of other issues. The programme for government underpins what we are going to spend but I am sure there will be high level engagement not just with Government but across politics and society as well about further spending. The UK has signed a 1.6 billion (2 billion) deal to supply more than 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine using export finance. British prime minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that the lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) will be made in Belfast, creating 200 jobs. Advertisement He added: This will be vital for protecting critical infrastructure now and strengthen Ukraine in securing the peace when it comes because we have to learn from the mistakes of the past. The missiles, which are capable of flying at 1.5 times the speed of sound and striking targets over 6km away, can be used to attack enemy vehicles, boats and drones. They will be manufactured at the Thales weapons plant in Castlereagh. UK defence secretary John Healey said: This new support will help protect Ukraine against drone and missile attacks but it will also help deter further Russian aggression following any end to the fighting. Advertisement This new deal delivers on the UKs ironclad commitment to step up military support for Ukraine whilst boosting jobs and growth at home. The contract will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF). Meanwhile, Tanaiste Simon Harris said he will be bringing a proposal for a package of 100 million in financial assistance for non-lethal military support for Ukraine to Cabinet this week. During an appearance on RTEs This Week programme on Sunday, Mr Harris said Ireland and Europe will continue to stand with Ukraine following a public Oval Office row between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Advertisement Mr Harris said he had a deep sense of being unsettled when he saw the exchange. He said his plan for additional non-lethal military support will be brought to the Cabinet on Tuesday. He said: That will basically involve providing money that will be used to purchase things like armoured vehicles, that can assist in demining and cyber protection measures, non-lethal use of military equipment. Separate but linked to that will be the European Council meeting later in the week where the European Union will decide a package of support that it wishes to put in place, and Ireland will obviously have to contribute to that as well. Advertisement Whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, in terms of the defence of a sovereign country, the largest country on the continent of Europe. This is a time to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN charter, stand up for freedom, stand up for a countrys sovereignty. The Tanaiste also confirmed that draft legislation to amend the triple lock on the deployment of Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas will be brought to the Cabinet this week. Mr Harris said Irelands proud tradition in peacekeeping cannot be held up by paralysis at UN. Advertisement He insisted the proposed changes had nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality. Under the current system, Ireland cannot deploy any more than 12 Defence Forces peacekeepers overseas without a peacekeeping mission being approved by a vote of the UN Security Council as well as approval by the Government and the Dail. Mr Harris said he was proposing increasing the number of troops who could be sent on peacekeeping missions without triggering the triple lock from 12 to 50. He said: That is in line with military advice. That 50 includes all of the various personnel that would be required to go on a mission. Secondly, I am proposing instead of the UN Security Council and effectively Putin or others having a veto on where our troops go, that missions would have to be in line with the UN Charter. Ireland Gulf has emerged between US and EU, Tanaiste says... Read More This has nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality. We are remaining militarily neutral. I value Irish neutrality, we are not joining any military alliances. But it does mean we have to be empowered to work particularly with other European countries on peacekeeping missions. Britain's King Charles has met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy at his Sandringham estate in eastern England. Charles welcomed Mr Zelenskiy to the estate for just under an hour on Sunday, immediately after the latters attendance at the defence summit on Ukraine in London. Advertisement A military helicopter carrying Mr Zelenskiy could be seen flying low and descending over the estate at around 5.25pm. Local people, some holding Ukraine flags, gathered outside the estate to try and catch a glimpse of the arrival. Charles warmly embraced Mr Zelenskiy as he arrived outside Sandringham House (Joe Giddens/PA) A motorcade then took the president through the grounds of the estate to Sandringham House, where Charles greeted him at the doorstep. They embraced and shook hands before chatting briefly and posing for photos. Advertisement The British monarch then warmly received Mr Zelenskiy in the houses Saloon room, with tea being served. A helicopter departed the estate at around 6.35pm. The pair previously met during Mr Zelenskiys surprise visit to the UK in February 2023 in a historic audience at Buckingham Palace. Charles and Mr Zelenskiy previously met at Buckingham Palace (Aaron Chown/PA) World 'Coalition of the willing' to present Ukraine peac... Read More They also shook hands and had a private summit at the European Political Community summit in Oxfordshire in July 2024. Advertisement Their latest meeting came after Mr Zelenskiys unprecedented public clash with US president Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance in the White Houses Oval Office on Friday. A day prior, Charles invited Mr Trump to the UK for an unprecedented second state visit. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has praised US president Donald Trump's "common sense" aim to end the war in Ukraine, but accused the European powers which have rallied around Kyiv of seeking to prolong the conflict. Lavrov said the United States still wanted to be the world's most powerful country and that Washington and Moscow would never see eye to eye on everything, but that they had agreed to be pragmatic when interests coincided. Advertisement President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister of 21 years said the model of the US-China relationship was the one that should be built between Russia and the United States to do a lot of "mutually beneficial things" without allowing disagreements to collapse into war. "Donald Trump is a pragmatist," Lavrov told the Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, according to a transcript released by the foreign ministry. "His slogan is common sense. It means, as everyone can see, a shift to a different way of doing things." "But the goal is still MAGA (Make America Great Again)," Lavrov said, referring to Trump's political slogan. "This gives a lively, human character to politics. That's why it's interesting to work with him." Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 with thousands of troops, triggering the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War. Advertisement The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces. The West and Ukraine describe the 2022 invasion as an imperial-style land grab by president Vladimir Putin and Kyiv has vowed to defeat Russia on the battlefield, although Russian forces control nearly one-fifth of Ukraine. Putin casts the conflict in Ukraine as part of an existential battle with a declining and decadent West which he says humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by enlarging the Nato military alliance and encroaching on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence, including Ukraine. Europe of 'tragedies' Trump, who spoke to Putin on February 12th and says he wants to be remembered as a "peace maker", has upended US policy on the war in Ukraine. Lavrov said that the call with Putin had been at Trump's initiative. Advertisement Trump said last week that the war could develop into World War Three, that he had spoken to Putin on "numerous occasions" and that he thought that there would be a deal on Ukraine peace. On Friday, he and vice president JD Vance clashed with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office. Trump accused Zelenskiy of disrespecting the United States, said he was losing the war and had no cards left. European leaders leapt to Zelenskiy's defence. But Lavrov criticised Europe, saying that for the past 500 years Europe had been the crucible of "all the tragedies of the world" including colonisation, wars, crusaders, the Crimean War, Napoleon Bonaparte, World War One and Adolf Hitler. Advertisement "And now, after [former US president Joe] Biden's term, people have come in who want to be guided by common sense. They say directly that they want to end all wars, they want peace," Lavrov said. World 'Suicide in the White House': Russia reacts to Zel... Read More "And who demands a 'continuation of the banquet' in the form of a war? Europe." Lavrov also dismissed European ideas for sending in a contingent of European peacekeepers and said Russia had no trust in Ukraine after the collapse of the Minsk agreements, which were designed to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine. Europeans, Lavrov said, could not explain what rights Russian speakers would have under the European peacekeeper plans, adding that Russia did not like the idea of Europeans propping up Zelenskiy. "Now they also want to prop him up with their bayonets in the form of peacekeeping units. This will mean that the root causes will not disappear," Lavrov said. Senior Russian politicians have reacted with glee to what they see as Volodymyr Zelenskiy's White House humiliation at the hands of Donald Trump, saying the Ukrainian leader got what he deserved and that US military aid to Kyiv must now be cut. The acrimonious shouting match could be helpful to Moscow, which is working to build ties with Trump's new administration while trying to discredit Zelenskiy and undermine the legitimacy of someone they accuse of wanting to continue the war to stay in power at any cost, something Zelenskiy rejects. Advertisement Hardline nationalist TV commentator Vladimir Solovyov on Friday announced a special show devoted to what he called "Zelenskiy's suicide in the White House". Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Zelenskiy, who was accused by Trump and vice president JD Vance of being disrespectful towards the United States, had received a "solid slap". The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is "gambling with WWIII." Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) February 28, 2025 "A brutal dressing down in the Oval Office," Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, posted on Telegram. He said the Ukrainian leader had finally been told the truth to his face that, as he put it, "the Kyiv regime is playing with World War Three." It was not enough though, said Medvedev, saying military aid to Ukraine should now be halted, something Moscow has long pushed for. Advertisement Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it was a miracle that Trump and Vance had restrained themselves from hitting Zelenskiy during the Oval Office clash. In a statement on Saturday, Zakharova said Zelenskiy had behaved boorishly during what she said was a total political and diplomatic failure for Kyiv. It was time, she suggested, for Europe, like Washington, to realise who it was dealing with. "The sobering beating given by the American president to Zelenskiy in the White House, unprecedented in the history of international politics and diplomacy, is also evidence of the political weakness and utter moral degradation of those European leaders who continue to advocate supporting the mad leader ... who has lost touch with reality," said Zakharova. Advertisement Russia has long portrayed Zelenskiy as an unstable and self-obsessed US puppet who was used by the previous Biden administration to try to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow by "fighting to the last Ukrainian." Zelenskiy has rejected that characterisation, saying he is doing all he can to defend his country from Russia with help from Ukraine's allies. Moscow's rapid rapprochement with Washington under Trump has worried Ukraine and its European allies, who fear that Trump and president Vladimir Putin could cut a deal that leaves them sidelined and undermines their security. Putin has said repeatedly that Zelenskiy is not a legitimate leader because his five-year term expired last year. Ukraine has been unable to hold elections because it has been under martial law since full-scale war erupted in February 2022. Advertisement World JD Vance takes on attack dog role for Trump Read More Former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov said the Oval Office clash was likely to accelerate the end of Zelenskiy's political career, who Zakharova said was not capable of agreeing a peace deal. "The main conclusion that everyone has drawn from the public scandal of Zelenskiy and Trump is that Zelenskiy is completely out of line and should step down from the presidency as soon as possible," said Markov. Konstantin Kosachyov, deputy chairman of Russia's upper house of parliament, said the bruising encounter had shown Zelenskiy in his true colours. "Zelenskiy lost this round with a deafening rattle. And he will have to crawl to the next one on his knees," Kosachyov wrote on Telegram. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni warned Keir Starmer the West must avoid the risk of dividing during a visit to Downing Street on Sunday. The British prime minister welcomed Ms Meloni for a bilateral meeting ahead of a summit of political leaders in London focused on Ukraine and wider European security. Advertisement British prime minister Keir Starmer greets the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, outside 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: Ben Whitley/PA Speaking in Downing Street, Ms Meloni said that in a precious moment it is very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate. World 'Suicide in the White House': Russia reacts to Zel... Read More She told Mr Starmer: We are all very committed about a goal that we all want to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. And I think on this the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building, lets say. You know I have been also proposing a meeting between US and European leaders if we divide ourselves that will make us all weaker. Mr Starmer, who welcomed Ms Meloni on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street prior to the summit, said he was looking forward to having the opportunity to talk about the important issues because I think we approach them with a very similar mindset. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will meet with Britain's King Charles on Monday where he will discuss US president Donald Trumps threats to make Canada the 51st state. Charles has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Mr Trumps threats to annex Canada. Advertisement Mr Trudeau said in London on Sunday that he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles, and said nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation. Donald Trump meeting British prime minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House. Photo: Carl Court/PA Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. Overall, the anti-royal movement in Canada is small, but the silence of the monarch on Mr Trumps threats have spurred talk in recent days. Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney said for Canadians disappointed that King Charles has not commented on Mr Trumps threats, he can only act on the advice of Canadas prime minister. Advertisement The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty, Mr Kenney posted on X. The king, who met on Sunday with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has invited Mr Trump to come to Scotland for a state visit. Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the late Queen, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for 45 per cent of Canadas existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch. Advertisement World Trump says he is serious over Canada becoming 51st... Read More Visits by Charles over the years have attracted sparse crowds. Canadians will need to decide what purpose King Charles III serves as King of Canada if he cant even speak up for our sovereignty, Artur Wilczynski, a former Canadian public servant, posted on X. Abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. That is an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 41 million people that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. Saturdays order allows government agencies and organisations which receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in languages other than English. Advertisement It rescinds a mandate from former president Bill Clinton which required the government and organisations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society, according to the order. The Constitution of the United States was written in ENGLISH! pic.twitter.com/UQangljxUG The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 2, 2025 In welcoming new Americans, a policy of encouraging the learning and adoption of our national language will make the United States a shared home and empower new citizens to achieve the American dream, the order also states. Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society. Advertisement More than 30 states have already passed laws designating English as their official language, according to US English, a group that advocates for making English the official language in the United States. For decades, lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation to designate English as the official language of the US, but those efforts have not succeeded. Within hours of Mr Trumps inauguration last month, the new administration took down the Spanish language version of the official White House website. Hispanic advocacy groups and others expressed confusion and frustration at the change. Advertisement The White House said at the time it was committed to bringing the Spanish language version of the website back online. As of Saturday, it was still not restored. The White House did not immediately respond to a message about whether that would happen. Mr Trump shut down the Spanish version of the website during his first term. It was restored when then president Joe Biden was inaugurated in 2021. British prime minister Keir Starmer has said European leaders have agreed to draw up a Ukraine peace plan to take to the United States, a vital step for Washington to be able to offer security guarantees Kyiv says are vital to deter Russia. At a summit in London on Sunday just two days after Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed with US president Donald Trump and cut short a visit to Washington, world leaders offered a strong show of support to the Ukrainian president and promised to do more to help his nation. Advertisement European leaders agreed they must spend more on defence to show Trump the continent can protect itself, and with many nations struggling with already stretched public finances, the European Commission chief suggested the bloc could ease its rules around debt. Starmer, who welcomed a visibly shaken Zelenskiy on Saturday with a warm hug, said Britain, Ukraine, France and some other nations would form a "coalition of the willing" and draw up a peace plan to take to Trump. He did not mention which other nations, but said more countries were willing to join. "We are at a crossroads in history today," Starmer said. "This is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace." After Trump's shouting match with Zelenskiy in the Oval Office raised fears of the US pulling support for Ukraine and instead imposing a peace plan negotiated with Russia, Europe is scrambling to ensure Kyiv is not squeezed out of any talks. Advertisement To do so, several leaders said they must increase defence spending something that could help bring Trump on side to offer a US security guarantee in the event of peace. "After a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. "Member states need more fiscal space to do a surge in defence spending," she said, adding Europe needed to turn "Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders". Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said leaders agreed Europe needed to take on more responsibility and start bearing the burden of "more spending on its defence budgets within Nato". Advertisement He added the leaders all agreed they must keep close ties with the US. Weaponry and ammunition Lacking the weaponry and depth of ammunition stocks of the US, Europe hopes to convince Trump that it can defend itself, but that Russia will only adhere to a peace deal that comes with the backing of the United States. Talks with the US have centred on Washington providing a so-called backstop for a European peacekeeping role, possibly in the form of air cover, intelligence and surveillance and a greater as yet unspecified threat if Russian president Vladimir Putin again sought to take more territory. But crucial to getting any agreement from Trump is for European nations to increase defence spending and signal they would take part in any peacekeeping role something Starmer acknowledged was difficult to get unanimity on. Advertisement Starmer increased defence spending before his visit to Washington last week, and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said some European leaders had privately set out new plans on defence spending at the meeting but he declined to give details. 'Uncomfortable viewing' Trump has upended US policy on the three-year-old war since he returned to the White House in January, casting doubt on its military and political support for Ukraine and Europe and ending the isolation of Moscow. He had blindsided Europe by calling Putin without warning and sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russia without including Ukraine or Europe. Trump has falsely suggested that Kyiv was responsible for starting the war and on Friday, he criticised Zelenskiy for not being grateful for US aid. Zelenskiy's row with Trump on Friday ended a week when Europe had appeared to be in a better position in its drive to encourage Trump to continue to offer support to Ukraine after cordial visits to Washington by French president Emmanuel Macron and Starmer. Advertisement Starmer described watching the spat between Zelenskiy and Trump in the Oval Office as uncomfortable viewing, but was keen to push the conversation forward by offering himself as a go-between for Europe and the United States. In a further show of support for the Ukrainian leader, Zelenskiy later flew to meet King Charles at his private residence in eastern England. World Russia praises Trump and scolds Europe for being t... Read More In a sign of the still-fractious relations between Washington and Kyiv, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told CNN on Sunday that the US needs a Ukrainian leader who is willing to secure a lasting peace with Russia, but that it is not clear Zelenskiy is prepared to do so. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov also praised Trump's "common sense" approach and accused European countries of seeking to prolong the conflict by propping up Zelenskiy "with their bayonets in the form of peacekeeping units". Starmer said the leaders on Sunday also agreed to work to ensure Kyiv is at the table of any peace talks and boost the country's own defence capabilities. "Europe must do the heavy lifting, but to support peace in our continent, and to succeed this effort must have strong US backing," Starmer told a news conference. An emotional documentary about the execution of a Texas death row prisoner has made producer Maya Gnyp one of Australias best chances of winning an Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards on Monday. Its a really, really exciting time, Gnyp said from Los Angeles. You never really know whats in store for a film. Australian producer Maya Gnyp, who is nominated for best short documentary for I Am Ready, Warden. Credit: Getty Images You make it over many, many years, [so] its humbling, and were just very thankful to be here. Gnyp, who is best known for the documentaries In Bob We Trust and Mystify: Michael Hutchence, has been nominated with American director Smriti Mundhra for best documentary short for I Am Ready, Warden. Musical theatre superstar Lin-Manuel Mirandas first work, the acclaimed In The Heights, is set to take over Melbournes Comedy Theatre in August. With music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, In The Heights was critically acclaimed on its 2005 premiere in the United States, and won four Tony Awards including best musical. Miranda went on to write the cultural phenomenon Hamilton, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2016. In the Heights during its season at Sydney Opera House. Credit: Daniel Boud In The Heights is a hip-hop-driven musical that tells the story of a tight-knit community in the Dominican American neighbourhood of Washington Heights, Manhattan. While its a Latinx-specific story, director Luke Joslin says it transcends any one culture. Its a real story about real people on a real street, he says. Its about family, community, dreams. And its a great reminder of whats important. LM: Hes ordained in 1961 and he begins abusing kids almost immediately. He was appointed to Mildura and he abused kids in Mildura. When the bishop is informed of this, he sends Ridsdale to counselling. But nothing happens. Hes not sent to police, and he continues to abuse. After that he goes to Swan Hill and abuses several children there, before he is moved on once more. Among other places, he goes to St Alipius to Apollo Bay to Inglewood, where his abuse became ever more devastating. It just keeps going on and on like that for decades. Fitz: Leaving much the same trail of destruction in every parish? Louise Milligan: Fathers and mothers and teachers [of abused children] did warn the church hierarchy, but they were rebuffed, and they were sent away, and they were dismissed. Credit: Simon Schluter LM: Yes. Theres this grim map of the western districts of Victoria which stretches all the way out to the South Australian border, down to the Great Ocean Road through all these tiny little towns. By the time he got to Mortlake in 1981 he says in his own words that he was absolutely out of control. The principal at the local school, who was a nun, estimated he abused every single boy in a class. In that one diocese there were so many other abusive priests and brothers. I remember about the time of the royal commission, there was a class photo of boys at a school where Ridsdale was based for a time with a ring of paedophile Christian Brothers, and there were 13 kids from that class photo who were dead. So many kids who were victims of Ridsdale and those other men during those years went on to suicide, drank themselves to death, became drug addicts, died before their time. Fitz: What was Ridsdales modus operandi? I was absolutely shocked to find that among his victims was a four-year-old, while other victims were in their late teens. But with the sheer number of victims he had, there cant have been a lot of long-term grooming going on. LM: His offending ran the gamut. In some cases it really was the classic grooming, going further and further with vulnerable victims and this-is-our-little-secret sort of thing. But in other cases, like one fellow I spoke to only recently who had been at Swan Hill, it was really violent. He describes being hit across the face and slapping him really hard on the ear and then Ridsdale would get very violent with him, like, for instance, if he couldnt sexually penetrate him. Ridsdale would just abuse anyone he could, mostly boys, but sometimes girls, too. Every time authorities were about to catch up with him, he was simply moved. I mean, in one parish he actually left in the middle of the night because the cops told him that they were investigating. The bishop again sent him for counselling, but then he was appointed to another parish. As the royal commission said, this showed extraordinary disregard for the children. The bishop had been approached by the police, Ridsdale has fled in the middle of the night, and the bishop just bunged him into another parish. Loading Fitz: But this gets to the heart of it, Louise. In any other job in Australia, through all the professions and trades, and going from Macquarie Bank to Maccas to Bunnings to the back of Bourke, any employee who had accusations of that kind put against their name by police would be immediately suspended until such times as their names were cleared. In fact, in all of those places, just the hint of such an accusation would set off every alarm in the joint: handle with care, proceed carefully, on the mere chance of guilt do not let them do any more damage. But this is the church, ostensibly there to look after the weak and vulnerable, first and foremost, and instead of reining him in, they continued to cut him loose! LM: And this, in turn, is the heart of the horror. One of the things that many of the church witnesses said in the royal commission, the senior priests, was words to the effect of that times were different then, and we didnt have the same understanding then as we do now of child abuse. Its true that we didnt have the same understanding of the lifelong psychological effects of child abuse. However, all of those things were crimes on the statute books, and in fact, sodomy with a child had been a capital offence. Theres no suggestion that it wasnt something that was considered absolutely terrible, but it was just swept under the carpet. Fitz: And it was all to protect the church? LM: Absolutely. Fitz: But heres the other thing I dont get. It is one thing for the church to protect itself. As appalling as that is, I can at least understand that. But what I dont get is when he goes into a small community and commits his atrocities, cutting a swath of abuse through classes like an evil bowling ball, there was no father or mother or grandfather or fellow teacher who blew the whistle? LM: But thats not true, Peter! The point is that fathers and mothers and teachers did warn the church hierarchy, but they were rebuffed, and they were sent away, and they were dismissed. Perhaps the most devastating case is a young boy called Paul Levey, whose father agreed to allow Ridsdale to bring him to live with him in the presbytery at Mortlake at St Colmans. Ridsdale had the young boys camp bed set up right next to his own bed. There were multiple people in that community who were extremely concerned about this, and Paul Leveys own mother, Beverley, was truly alarmed, and people were writing to the bishop. But nothing was done to stop it. Levey was abused and the effect upon him was just so enormous. I spoke to an official in the Catholic Church who said a bishop asked Pope John Paul what he should do about this Ridsdale situation, and that Pope John Paul turned his back on him and walked away. Fitz: Do you believe that? LM: I absolutely believe it because the person who told me is a very staunch Catholic. So I dont have any reason to disbelieve that account. Its another example of how, structurally, the whole system was designed to protect the abusive priests and not the children. In fact, the royal commission heard from the bishops including Anthony Fisher, whos now the archbishop of Sydney and Archbishop Mark Coleridge at Brisbane that the history of abuse in the Australian church was a catastrophic failure by the Catholic Church to protect the children. Fitz: At least the Catholic Church has expressed remorse for what Ridsdale did, yes, and has taken steps to ensure it never happens again? LM: Its a complicated answer, because yes, the Catholic Church has expressed remorse about what happened. But on the other hand it continues to fight very hard in some civil cases of survivors seeking compensation for what Ridsdale and many others did. They have repeatedly sought permanent stays to stop victims of paedophile clergy from suing. A bishop has also successfully argued in the High Court in another case of a paedophile priest that priests are not employed by the diocese; that, essentially, in laymans terms, they are employed by God and therefore the diocese is not vicariously liable. The bottom line is that despite all the learnings of the royal commission, despite all the law reform that happened as a result of the royal commission, the Catholic Church and to be fair other institutions, come up with other technical defences to stop survivors from suing successfully. Loading PF: Even when, in cases like Ridsdale, their own man was a monster, and they did nothing to stop him. LM: I know what youre saying. The other day, I did actually post that Ridsdale was a monster. But the thing is, he wasnt a monster. He was a very sick man. I dont think the fact that he was so sick excuses him in any way, but the real horror is that he was enabled by people who werent sick and who werent sex offenders. So I feel like those people are just as culpable as him because they knew how evil he was, or at least they had a pretty good idea of it, and they should have inquired more. Brisbane residents are being warned to prepare for a rare direct hit from Tropical Cyclone Alfred as it continues its southerly journey off the Queensland coast. As of early Sunday afternoon, the category 2 storm was about 370 kilometres north-east of Bundaberg and moving south at about 10km/h. It was expected to continue moving south to south-east. Bureau of Meteorology Brisbane manager Matthew Collopy said daily rainfall of up to 600 millimetres was possible from late Wednesday, putting the south-east at risk of potentially deadly flooding. Modelling shows Tropical Cyclone Alfred making a hard turn towards the south-east Queensland coast on Tuesday. Credit: Bureau of Meteorology Collopy said the heaviest falls would be at the southern end of the system as it crossed the coast, with a tropical cyclone warning expected to be issued as soon as Monday. Police have charged a man with murder following the shooting death of a woman in Toowoomba on Wednesday. The 29-year-old was charged following three days of investigations into the death of 27-year-old Kara Jade Weribone in North Toowoomba. A police spokesperson said the man was arrested in Roma at 11.35am on Saturday and had since been charged with murder with reckless indifference. Kara Jade Weribone died in a shooting incident at North Toowoomba on Wednesday. He was expected to appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday. This is it. The excise tax exemption on pickup trucks is now gone thanks to the effectivity of the Capital Market Efficiency Promotions Act ... By Jonathan McCambridge, PA Taoiseach Micheal Martin should use his face to face meeting with US President Donald Trump to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, an opposition TD has said. Sinn Fein TD Louise OReilly said that what happens in the Oval Office in front of the cameras would only make up a small part of the Taoiseachs visit to the US to mark St Patricks Day. Government minister Michael Moynihan said continued Irish engagement with the US was important following the heated exchanges between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Friday. Taoiseach Micheal Martin arriving for a Cabinet meeting at Parliament Buildings, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Martin has been invited to the White House on March 12th. Sinn Fein has said it will not be travelling to the US in protest against Mr Trumps threat of mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, but has said that the Taoiseach should meet the president. Ms OReilly told the RTE The Week in Politics programme: For the vast majority of Irish people, what we want to see is Micheal Martin using the bilateral engagement that he has to speak up in favour of Irish unity, the Good Friday Agreement and protection of peace, to speak up for the Irish diaspora and in particular the undocumented Irish living in America, to speak up for the people of Gaza and Ukraine, and to speak up for FDI and those trade links around tourism and jobs and those long-standing links that have been there for decades. She added: It is important not just what happens in front of the cameras, that is only a small part. There will be engagements with the State Department, there will be direct engagement with the president, and the Taoiseach needs to use those engagements to highlight those things that are important to the people of Ireland. I do believe when we hear Trump talking about the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians that actually yes, Micheal Martin should use every opportunity to speak up for the people of Gaza and to speak up for the people of Ukraine. The Taoiseach is not among European leaders gathering in London on Sunday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine, but will be taking part in an EU leaders summit later in the week. Mr Moynihan, Minister of State for Disabilities, said the Taoiseach was being kept updated on all developments. He said: Every European leader is very much focused on the enormous challenges and the flux in which the world finds itself. The European leaders meeting is on Thursday and there will be serious discussions. But serious discussions will continue, today, tomorrow and right through because of developments and a sense of trying to bring peace to Europe but also to try to find something that will be positive and long-lasting. He added: I think it is very important we engage (with the US) in a meaningful way. Tanaiste Simon Harris has said he wants to see an increase in defence spending. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA. We have an opportunity on March 12 for the Taoiseach to meet the President of the United States. There is huge amount of commonality between us. We have to make sure we continue engagement with the United States. It is one of our major trading partners, it is a huge economic stability for us, not just from foreign direct investment, but also investment into the United States. We have to make sure that we look at the ties that bond Ireland and America over the centuries but also to make sure we have economic bonds as well. Mr Moynihan was also asked about Irelands defence spending. The programme for government pledges to increase it from 1.35 billion to 1.5 billion euros by 2028, but Tanaiste Simon Harris has said he would like to see that doubled. The Fianna Fail minister said: At the moment the policy that is underpinning the Government is the programme for government. I think there will be huge engagement in light of what is happening in the world to make sure that we are protected in terms of cyber, in terms of other issues. The programme for government underpins what we are going to spend but I am sure there will be high level engagement not just with Government but across politics and society as well about further spending. James Cox Fianna Fail TD Malcolm Byrne has said the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) will outweigh the negatives if Ireland embraces the technology. Speaking in a recent Dail debate on AI, the Wicklow-Wexford TD said the notion that people's jobs would be replaced by AI was misguided. However, he believes people should be trained to integrate AI into their work. In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Mr Byrne said: "The point I make is, it's not that robots are going to replace humans, but workers who use AI will replace workers who don't. "Our challenge as a society is to have the debate around when and where we can use AI, but also how AI can eliminate a lot of mundane tasks and help improve health outcomes, decision-making, and efficiency. "This is a transformational technology that is going to impact everything from agriculture to education to transport. That means the debate has to happen across all sectors." Mr Byrne's Fianna Fail colleague, Niamh Smyth, was recently named as Irelands first AI minister. He welcomed the appointment but added that he feels there should be a whole-of-government approach to AI. Malcolm Byrne said there should be a whole of government approach to AI. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Images Mr Byrne also proposed the establishment of an AI Oireachtas committee. "There are two sides to any new technology. With artificial intelligence, yes, there are going to be challenges, and yes, there are threats. "There are also incredible opportunities, particularly in areas like healthcare, where AI is already being used. In radiography, for instance, by using AI alongside the human eye, it becomes far more effective at detecting tumours or problems in X-rays. "In healthcare, it will assist with the diagnosis of patients and also play a role in the development of new drugs. It presents incredible opportunities. "Even in terms of planning, AI can analyse vast amounts of data to ensure that we target resources far more effectively." Mr Byrne added that while he is optimistic about AIs potential, it is important to ensure that its rollout does not create a digital divide. "By nature, I am an optimist, and I think we've got to look at what the possibilities of this new technology are to improve all of our lives. It is important that we don't allow a digital divide to develop in how we roll out AI products and the use of AI." He added that guardrails will be needed at both a national and EU level. Mr Byrne is also set to introduce a Bill that will make it an offence to use an individual's voice, image, or likeness without their consent. Some people expect that in the lifetime of this government, we may attain artificial general intelligence. "The European Union has made a good start with the AI Act, which has now come into force, setting out general guardrails. However, I think it is also important that we have broader societal debates around how we can use this technology safely and for everyone's benefit. "Some people expect that in the lifetime of this government, we may attain artificial general intelligence, which essentially means that robots or AI systems will be able to carry out tasks of human complexity as well as a human can. "Scarlett Johansson is currently taking a case against OpenAI, and there was also the rather shocking Trump Gaza video this week. I found it both horrific and a foretaste of what could be to come. "In one sense, it is grotesque, and if we don't put in place necessary guardrails, AI can be used to mislead people." Despite the many risks posed by AI, Mr Byrne believes it will be transformative in a positive sense. "We have to put measures in place to tackle that, but we must also look at the innovative possibilities. "If AI helps us to eradicate diseases, ensure resources are used more effectively, and eliminate mundane aspects of many daily jobs, it is truly transformative." Police responded to 941 Spring Creek Road in reference to a person shot.Police determined that the shooting occurred at a business in the 4300 BLK of Ringgold Road. Based on statements provided by the victim and a witness it is believed that the man was carrying a .22 pistol on his person and adjusted his clothing at which time the pistol fell to the floor causing a round to discharge into his right leg. He drove himself to the emergency room and provided the pistol to police for examination. Police did observe that one shell casing in the revolver had been fired. The party was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and discharged from the hospital A concerned father asked police to check on a party after being unable to reach him for two months. Officers were unable to contact anyone inside the apartment. East Ridge Police assisted East Ridge Fire in confronting a male who had started a fire under a bridge. The male was cooperative and moved along. A traffic stop was initiated on a party following an LPR hit for a wanted person. She was then transported to jail and served with two East Ridge warrants Assault and Interference with 911. A man was taken into custody and transported to the Hamilton County Jail for three Forfeiture Capias through the City of East Ridge. The original charges for the warrants were Possession of Methamphetamine for Resale, Possession of Schedule I and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Police responded to an Unconscious Person complaint and located the subject unresponsive, but breathing, in her residence. Officers administered one dose of Narcan and provided immediate care until EMS arrived. Officers located four burnt straws consistent with illegal narcotic use. The drug paraphernalia was seized and placed in the ERPD Property and Evidence for destruction. The party was transported to a local hospital by EMS for further care. Police responded to a domestic disorder at this residence and heard sounds of an active assault inside the home. Officers forced entry into the back door of the residence and arrested a man for Domestic Assault and Child Abuse. The victim and her child left the area with a family friend and the suspect was transported to the Hamilton County Jail. Police responded to this residence on the report of an unconscious person. Police located the individual and provided immediate care until EMS personnel arrived on scene. No suspicious activity was noted at the residence. A man was taken into custody by the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department after he was found to have active warrants through the City of East Ridge. The subject was transported to the Catoosa County Jail and a hold was faxed to the jail. A female called the 911 Dispatch stating her boyfriend kicked her out of her black Honda sedan and he had a firearm with him. The female caller stated her name and her boyfriends name. The dispatcher heard yelling, then the phone hung up. Police immediately checked the area, but they did not locate the vehicle or the subjects. LPR data was also checked. The 911 call was made from a blocked phone number, and a location could not be established. The information for the incident was BOLOd to the surrounding jurisdictions. At this turning point for our country, our president seems to be changing sides. Of course he has never in his history opposed Russian dictator Putin. We might consider here lessons from the current book "Alexi Navalny Patriot a Memoir," available at public libraries. Reading his simple, straight-forward text is like having a conversation with an everyman, me or you. He writess about his interesting life, sometimes daily, always with a sense of humor. The reader does not need to know that the late Alexi is probably the greatest Russian hero activist of the modern era, having fought to the death the dictator Putin's devastation of his country. Alexi was neither saint nor sinner, prince nor pauper, philosopher nor politician. Like us he was a common man who chose to fulfill the duty of a citizen, in fact a branch of government. He stood publically for what was right. This quote from Alexi is an important opportunity for our thoughtful consideration at this difficult time. "The only thing we should fear is that we will surrender our homeland to be plundered by a gang of liars, thieves, and hypocrites. That we will surrender without a fight, voluntarily, our own future and the future of our children." * * "Alexi Navalny Patriot a Memoir"; Alexi Navalny; 2024; publisher Alfred A. Knopf; First Edition; pages 421-422. Rebecca Rolston Raymond Hixson * * * Dear Rebecca from Hixson, I do not believe that you could be more wrong with your observation of what occurred in White House meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's Zyllenskyy . What I witnessed was a foreign leader who thought he could get in front of the world's press and lecture the President of the US on how to handle a deal he is trying to broker to end war. The ,"Rude" person was Vlodimir and not Trump or Vance. He never publicly thanked us for the work being done on his behalf or for the 60+million dollars of support provided. I say let's just not give him anymore $$ and see how he does. We call that "tough love" as opposed to your Trump "hate". Don Howard Hixson * * * In typical Democrat manner, Ms. Raymond spews outright lies and attempts to distract unknowing readers with irrelevant misinformation. She failed to mention Zelensky met with Democrat legislators at 11:30 a.m., just prior to his meeting at the White House. Those Democrats advised him not to sign the agreement to mine rare earth minerals in order to repay a portion of the $390+ billion dollars of assistance previously sent to Ukraine. During his White House meeting, Zelensky was full aware that Ukraine being involved in an agency business relationship with the United States would cause an immediate end to the war with Russia. Putin is in a stalemate situation and the war has become unpopular with the citizens of Russia who are also frustrated with their deteriorating economy. Democrats who either directly or indirectly benefited from the previous aid want the conflict to continue. The White House meeting was ended by President Trump promptly after Zelensky, in his native tongue, referred to Vice President J.D. Vance at a Bitch on an open microphone. When Zelensky returns to Ukraine and more of their citizens die, I hope they will become aware of his rejection to end conflict. Make no mistake, Zelensky and the Democrats dont want an end to the conflict. Michael S. Glenn, Sr. Soddy Daisy * * * Ms. Raymond, Thank you for your letter. You were totally correct! It was a total embarrassment for our country. It was an ambush from a rude and arrogant man and his minions. The world is watching and most of it is just as appalled as you and I are. Vicki Hill Hixson * * * Ms. Raymond described the recent White House meeting correctly and accurately, very much unlike the inaccurate and downright absurd response from the Trump supporters. It is obvious that Trump and Vance are in support of Putin and in some way are bound to benefit from Putin's invasion of Ukraine. It is appropriate that Americans should be appalled and outraged at this latest display of stupidity and powerplaying on the part of the Musk-Trump "administration." Tim McDonald * * * The only rude and inept display came from the comedian Zelensky during the Oval Office fiasco that was supposed to be for signing of a mineral deal for both countries. This would have benefited both countries. Americans would be paid back some of our taxpayers money and Ukraine would be able to rebuild their economy and infrastructures. Zelensky did indeed meet with Democrats prior to the Oval Office meeting and he was encouraged to goad President Trump and it has now been reported that he wasnt going to sign the deal beforehand. Even Marco Rubio has stated there were two previous opportunities to sign the deal, but Zelensky wanted it to be in front of cameras at Washington. Having watched a televised interview with Ukrainian born Congresswoman Victoria Spartz yesterday (Sunday), she stated that indeed Zelensky called VP Vance a bitch in his Russian language on a hot mic. She also said Zelensky was very corrupt and that Zelensky is not going to stop the war. Zelensky has even stated just after meeting with the UKs Keir Starmer that the war will last a very, very long time. Zelensky only wants more billions of USA taxpayers money. Since his country has been given $350 billion so far in aid and out of his own mouth he doesnt know what happened to $100 billion dollars. Lets find that Ukrainian prosecutor that Joe Biden bragged about getting fired and see if he can shed some light on the money laundering in Ukraine. We all know that politicians and oligarchs are getting rich off USA taxpayers money. Democrats have let their TDS get in the way of facts. Just a little research will show what Zelensky has done to Russian speaking Ukrainians in the Donbas region and how they have destroyed churches and more in that area. Im not taking up for Putin either as he is a war criminal and invaded Ukraine only to be a dictator and regain some of the old country just like he did with Crimea under Obama. President Trump campaigned and has repeatedly said he wants to stop the killings and end the wars both in Ukraine and with the conflict with Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. What have the Democrats offered to end this war. Absolutely NOTHING! Democrats have had 3-1/2 years to do something prior to President Trump. Not once has it been reported that I know of that Joe Biden spoke to Putin about ending the war. All Biden could muster was Dont, Dont, Dont like that was going to stop Putin. It is the incompetence and failures of the Biden administration why Trump has inherited the foreign policy disasters from Democrats, and now he, Trump, is going to do something. I have yet to hear any solutions coming from the Democrats. All they know how to do is belly ache about Trump and his ideas. I am personally glad the public was allowed to see just what Zelensky is and his stance on continuing the war. Zelensky disrespected President Trump, Vice President Vance, those present in his cabinet and the entire American nation with his arrogance, smirking, eye rolling and interruptions during the conversation. Plus, he dresses just a notch above Fetterman. No Respect! Thank goodness we dont have the Harris/Walz knuckleheads serving up Obamas 4th term. WWIII would be right around the corner and we taxpayers would still be giving billions away. Arch Tinker * * * AS usual the liberal Dem come out like squawking geese, as President Trump tried to end the ongoing war in Ukraine their president tried to dictate conditions to our president, I am sure that he was briefed by the outgoing administration on how to approach President Trump, but unlike Past President Biden, this President does not lay down for anyone. There is a new sheriff in town and his name is Trump! Rick Genter Home Opinion President Trump is about to end the Department of Education. Good. President Trump wants to abolish the Department of Education. Sounds outrageous to some. Writing for The Hill, Justin Hawkins notes, The Trump administration is reportedly preparing an executive order that could eliminate or roll back significant parts of the Department of Education, a move that has already received significant criticism from Trumps political opponents. Hawkins also says, Regardless of whether you support such programs, the Constitution does not allow for the vast majority of what the Education Department does today. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The White House declares: President Trumps Department of Education canceled $881 million in unnecessary contracts that were not benefiting students, including a $4.6 million contract just to coordinate Zoom and in-person meetings. I interviewed Dr. Paul Kengor on a radio segment and asked him about the presidents plan to abolish the Department of Education. Kengor is a bestselling author on American politics and history, as well as a professor of history and political science at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Kengor reminded our listeners that the Department of Education is a relative Johnny Come Lately. It was only established by President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s: Americans think it was created not in 1978, but 1778 as if the founders were talking about it in the Federalist Papers. Kengor, added, When Ronald Reagan, just months after that, talked about eliminating it, they treated Reagan as if he was some sort of domestic terrorist. Somebody who was out of his mind. Eliminate the Department of Education? Thats the craziest thing Ive ever heard. Kengor has called the department a menace and a force of destruction. Kengor answers the common question, What will happen if this federal agency were to be abolished? He observes, People will fund education the way theyve always done at the local level, at the state level. The Constitution does not mention education per se. In my Foundation of American Liberty series of documentaries on our nations Judeo-Christian roots, the late Dr. Walter Williams of George Mason University made an interesting observation. Williams, a syndicated columnist, stated, The founders thought that education was very, very important, but they gave the federal government no authority to deal with education that is, education was mostly a state function. And if you look at James Madison and others who wrote in the Federalist Papers, trying to get the colonies to ratify the United States Constitution, James Madison and other founders had a very limited view of the federal government. In fact, in Federalist Paper 45, James Madison, who was trying to explain whats in the Constitution, said that the powers that we left to the federal government are few and defined, and mostly restricted to external affairs. In 1789, Americas founders passed the Northwest Ordinance, so that as new territories became new states, they would follow a common template. In Article III, they mentioned education. Americas founding fathers wrote, Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. They didnt intend to banish Christianity in the schools but to encourage it. And these schools were voluntary. In fact, most of the education at that time was conducted by churches or in home settings. The Bible was the chief textbook in one way or another. And back then, society was much more literate than we are today. Reagan warned about education that removed God. Dr. Kengor wrote an article about the 40th president and some remarks he made about education at Georgetown in 1988 at its 200th anniversary. Said Reagan, At its full flowering, freedom is the first principle of Western society And yet freedom cannot exist alone. And thats why the theme for your bicentennial is so very apt: learning, faith, and freedom. Each reinforces the others; each makes the others possible. For what are they without each other? Reagan went on to say, Learning is a good thing, but unless its tempered by faith and a love of freedom, it can be very dangerous indeed. The names of many intellectuals are recorded on the rolls of infamy, from Robespierre to Lenin to Ho Chi Minh to Pol Pot. He went on to say that the twin beacons of faith and freedom have brightened the American sky. Why is modern education so vacuous for so many? I believe for too long we have forgotten the biblical counsel that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. President Trump points out that we pay more for education for each pupil than do other industrialized nations. We are first in spending, but far down the list in results. No wonder people could well ask: Is the Department of Education a part of the solution or a part of the problem? Home Opinion Revival: Why the Gods Generals model is dangerous Many debates have been had over the origins of revival. Prominent Second Great Awakening revivalist Charles Finney contended that revival consists in the return of the church from her backslidings, and in the conversion of sinners. While other revivalists like Jonathan Edwards would agree, the means for achieving this phenomenon is hotly contested. In the same paper, Finney argued that revival was merely the product of employing the appropriate means but Jonathan Edwards argued that revival was entirely up to the will of God. In the charismatic world, there is still another position on revivals origins. Many charismatics believe that revival often coalesces around gifted vessels of God. A popular book series by Roberts Liardon entitled Gods Generals seems to further this narrative. When charismatics think of revival, they often think of a man or woman of God; those generals who were specially chosen (or who attained a high enough level of spirituality) to bring the thing we so dearly treasure. According to the Gods General view of revival, a man or woman who has sought God will have the ability to bring revival to a church or region, provided the church or region is prepared and will accept them. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe The Hebrides Revival had Duncan Campbell, the Brownsville Revival had evangelist Steve Hill, the Toronto Blessing had Randy Clark, the Argentine revival had Carlos Annacondia, and the Lakeland Revival had Todd Bentley. Many charismatics, rightly or wrongly, have discerned a pattern: revival seems to follow a general. Why the Gods Generals model is dangerous While its certainly true that God uses people, even deeply flawed people (just ask Moses, Abraham, David, Peter, and Paul), Scripture demands a high standard of moral character for those in leadership in Gods Church. For most charismatics and Pentecostals this is not news. While many may be unfamiliar with the depth of sin in the lives of many of these men, they are probably generally aware that many of these generals failed in many ways. But God uses broken people, or so goes the common rejoinder. The net result is that we lower the standard of leadership in the church to make room for these gifted but broken vessels. We Pentecostals desire revival so much that we will let anyone have influence as long as theres revival. Never has this phenomenon been more evident than in the case of Todd Bentley. Bentley led the Lakeland Revival in 2008 and has since been accused of rather heinous sins, including allegedly sexually preying upon his interns. In fact, the Lakeland Outpouring ended in response to the implosion of Bentleys marriage and subsequent remarriage to an intern with whom he had an inappropriate relationship. Subsequently, Bentley was judged to be disqualified from public ministry according to a panel of charismatic leaders assembled for the purpose of adjudicating the matter. All of these events have made me ask the question: What wouldnt the charismatic world put up with for the sake of revival? The danger of general-centric revival As much as I long for true revival, it seems that there is a large and growing trail of bodies behind many of these revivalist movements primarily because they give grace and mercy to the general at the expense of their prey. The predictable result is that genuine sins are covered up in order to protect the movement and safeguard the revival. The victims and their pesky advocates are considered to be the accusers of the brethren. This perverse system has nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. Contrast this with the Asbury Revival or the numerous revivals sweeping across college campuses right now. Who is the general leading these moves of Gods Spirit? Whose gross sin and sexual predation needed to be swept under the rug for this move of God to continue apace? As far as I know, there is no broken but gifted vessel at the center of these revivals because they arent centered around generals, theyre centered around Jesus. Sure, there are leaders there must be. But you have to do some digging to find out who they are. The revivals arent centered around these charismatic personalities, and that is key. This isnt to say revivals led by an evangelist are wrong. Ephesus had a revival that was largely centered around Pauls preaching, after all. The point is that when we believe that we need revival so badly and only special kinds of people can bring it for us, we will be tempted to lower the standard of leadership in order to accommodate the gifted celebrity at the expense of the faith of countless people. Revival as distraction Finally, I believe the preoccupation with revival has caused some Pentecostals and charismatics to neglect the foundational teachings of Christ. Loving your neighbor, caring for the orphan and widow, sharing the Gospel with the guy in the grocery store, and loving your family well seem utterly pedestrian compared to the allure of changing history by being part of the next great awakening. As a leader in my life often says, greatness is just goodness done daily. This means that sometimes the Kingdom of God advancing is pedestrian. After all, if revival leaves devastated families in their wake because those involved in them are too exhausted to be emotionally available for their spouses and children, is it really the Kingdom of God at work? If Finney is right that revival consists in the return of the Church from her backslidings, and in the conversion of sinners[,] then it is antithetical to the spirit of revival to lower the standard of righteousness for our leaders and to allow the pursuit of revival to keep Gods people from leading whole and godly lives of sweet devotion to the Lord and each other. Home News Christian couple sentenced to 5 years in prison over alleged attempted conversions released on bail A Christian couple in Indias northern state of Uttar Pradesh, who were sentenced to five years in prison for alleged attempted conversion, have been released on bail. Christians maintain that the evidence presented in court did not substantiate the charges of conversion, but their acquittal is expected to take a long time. The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court granted them bail last month, and they exited prison weeks later, reported the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Authorities convicted Jose and Sheeja Pappachan on Jan. 22 under Uttar Pradeshs anti-conversion law, the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, and imposed fines of 25,000 rupees (roughly $300) each. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe During the trial, officials claimed the couple orchestrated large-scale inducements to convert low-caste Dalit residents, specifically during an event on Christmas Day in 2022. The police relied on eyewitness accounts and a complaint filed by a state legislator from the Bharatiya Janata Party. Prosecutors also invoked sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. In defense statements presented in court, Jose and Sheeja said they only promoted education, organized community meals and distributed Bibles without compelling anyone to change their beliefs. They also denied luring participants with financial benefits. The couple maintained that they merely urged participants to avoid alcohol and to engage in childrens education. While CSW is glad that Jose and Sheeja Pappachan were granted bail so soon after their conviction, the couple will have to continue to fight for their acquittal, said CSW President Mervyn Thomas. In many cases, this process can take years due to the poorly defined nature of these laws, often prolonging the suffering of those who have been falsely accused, he explained. CSW called on authorities in Uttar Pradesh to take swift action to process the cases of all those currently facing charges of forced conversion, and ultimately to acquit them in recognition of the unconstitutionality of the anti-conversion law. Despite the constitutional protection of freedom of religion, 12 Indian states have enacted anti-conversion statutes, officially aimed at preventing forced conversions. However, these laws broadly define prohibited activities, placing nearly all forms of outreach or evangelism under legal scrutiny. Currently, at least 80 Christians remain in prison in Uttar Pradesh alone on similar charges. The couple represents one of the first reported instances where individuals were convicted and imprisoned under this legislation for alleged coercive conversion. A.C. Michael, a national coordinator for the Delhi-based group United Christian Forum, has monitored multiple cases involving Christians accused of forcibly converting others. He told UCA News previously: The conviction for a suspected attempt to convert will not stand the scrutiny of a higher court. The Uttar Pradesh anti-conversion law, amended in 2024, allows third-party involvement in suspected conversion matters, whereas earlier provisions restricted complaints to alleged victims or their immediate relatives. The UCF documented over 800 incidents of threats or attacks against Christians across India last year. Christians represent about 2.3% of Indias population, while Hindus constitute around 80%. Home News Christian group IJM works with Thai authorities to rescue 260 trafficking victims from scam compounds Some 260 workers from 19 countries have been released from human trafficking scam compounds in Myanmar, reports International Justice Mission, a Christian non-governmental legal rights organization. Hundreds more are expected to be freed from other compounds in the near future. Scamming complexes are known for forcing trafficking victims into work under grueling conditions, alongside suffering physical violence and ongoing surveillance, according to a Feb. 25 update by IJM Australia on LinkedIn. An IJM Thailand report says that ethnic militias freed the victims in the southeastern town of Myawaddy in Myanmar before handing them over to Thai authorities near Mae Sot, on the border of the two countries. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe This is the beginning of one of the largest releases of victims from the scam compounds in Myanmar, with hundreds or thousands expected to be freed in the coming weeks. Were grateful for the Thai government and the nonprofit organizations we partner with, who have been working tirelessly to support survivors of forced labor in online scam operations, said Andrew Wasuwongse, country director of IJM Thailand. IJM Thailand worked with Thai authorities and local nonprofit organizations to mobilize a team of workers to aid the victims on Feb. 22. This included identifying the workers as trafficking victims by supporting Thai Government multi-disciplinary teams and helping to provide translation services. A total of 258 victims were identified at the time of publication under Thailands National Referral Mechanism. Wasuwongse also commended the Thai governments decisive action in cracking down against the scam compounds. This includes cutting off the supply of electricity on the Thai-side of the compounds and the internet link to the properties used by the gangs in Myanmar. We urge the Thai government to maintain the electricity and internet cuts and expand enforcement to include likely illegal internet connections, including the use of internet signal repeaters, he added. These actions will strengthen Thailands commitment to cracking down on the criminal scam syndicates that have been operating with impunity for too long." The rescued victims were from countries across Asia and Africa, including the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and as far away as Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Brazil. Trafficking victims, numbering in their thousands, are enticed to the scam centers by traffickers falsely promising high salaries, according to IJM Thailand. These jobs are depicted as white-collar roles in Bangkok or the nearby region but the victims are forced to cross the border into Myanmar and exploited in hard working conditions. IJMs offices in Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia work with government agencies and embassies to rescue and care for survivors, alongside supporting cross-border investigations into the human trafficking networks. As many as 500 individuals have been helped since 2021. This article was originally published at Christian Daily International Home News The origins and use of the word 'church' The word "church" in common language has many meanings depending on the context. This is the story ... Origin of the English word 'church' The English word "church" itself is Anglo-Saxon in origin. The word first appeared in Anglo-Saxon translations of the Gospels as "chyrcan" and then in the Wycliffe Bible as "chirche" and the word developed into the modern English word church. It is Germanic and might come from Gothic. It is related to "Kirche" in German, 'Kerk' in Dutch, 'Kirk' in Scots and similar words in Scandinavian languages. It seems to be etymologically derived from the Greek 'kyriakos oikos' which means 'house of the Lord,' so it might well always have had the nuance of a building. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe Origin of the biblical term The use of the word church in the Bible was to translate the Greek word . This word can be transliterated into the Roman alphabet as ekklesia, and it came into Latin as ecclesia. The Latin word ecclesia gives us the English word ecclesiastical, but also the word for church in some other languages such as eglise in French, iglesia in Spanish, and eglwys in Welsh. The Greek word ekklesia was not invented by Christians. The word was originally a secular word used for a gathering of people, such as a crowd, or an assembly or group called for a particular purpose. In Greek society an ekklesia was often the town council composed of local Greek freemen, where slaves, non-Greeks and women were not allowed to join. The word ekklesia was used by Greek-speaking Jews for their gatherings. It was used about a hundred times in the Septuagint (often abbreviated as LXX), which was the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures from the third century BC. The word ekklesia was used to translate the Hebrew (qahal), which is usually translated into English as assembly or gathering, first in Deuteronomy 4:10. The person who spoke or preached to the ekklesia was called the ekklesiastes, which became the title in Greek of one of the books of the Septuagint, which is a book we still call Ecclesiastes as a result. The "ekklesia of the LORD" was the assembly of Israel. Later the word synagogue came to be used as well, and then instead. Christian context Later, the early Christians, who used Greek as their lingua franca and were steeped in the Septuagint, naturally continued to use the word ekklesia for their gatherings, and so it appears in their writings. St. Matthew used the word three times, once in Matthew 16:18, and twice in Matthew 18:17. In these places, William Tyndale in his translation of the New Testament in 1526, preferred to use the word congregation. The Geneva Bible changed that to "Church," and this was also used in the King James Version, which established the current use of the word. Even in the New Testament the Greek word ekklesia is used in secular, Jewish and Christian contexts. In Acts 7:38, ekklesia refers to Israel and is most often translated "congregation." When the word is used in the secular context in Acts 19:32 to refer to a local crowd, it is translated in most English Bible translations as assembly. The rest of the time when the word is used for a Chistian group, it is translated in most English Bibles as church. St. Paul uses the term over 60 times. It might be that in Galatians 3:28, when St. Paul wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (NKJV), he was contrasting the membership criteria of a Greek ekklesia with a Christian church. St. James seems to have preferred the word synagogue in James 2:2, where it is usually translated as assembly or meeting, although Darby kept the word synagogue in his translation. In the epistles we see the word ekklesia, referring to a Christian community in a certain place. So, in Colossians 4:15 we read of the church which met in a house, then in 1 Corinthians 12:28 St. Paul outlines different roles that people can have in the church. In Ephesians 5:25, St. Paul writes about Christ who loves the Church, and here he means all Christians. So, in the New Testament context, the church had the idea of either a local Christian community in a particular place, or the collective community of all Christians everywhere. Over time the word church stretched and extended its semantic range to have other associated meanings not found in the Bible. Church services Over the centuries the word church also came to refer to the acts of religious service, which a church community held. So, when people talk of "going to church" or "attending church," they mean attending the act of religious service. Church buildings At first these Christian churches met in people's houses, barns or in caves. Only in later centuries as Christianity was established and free from persecution, did these church communities build their own places of worship, which later came to be known as churches themselves. Some church congregations meet in schools, village halls or other places which are not church buildings dedicated for Christian use. Conversely, sometimes a church building might not even have a church congregation anymore. There is a British organization called the Friends of Friendless Churches, which sounds like an oxymoron, but it exists to look after redundant places of worship, and plays a role in preserving ecclesiastical heritage. Church universal In theology "the Church" is the entire body of all Christians regardless of age and denomination, sometimes called "the Church universal." This might refer to all Christians living in the world today, or might be broader as the entire body of Christians from all time whether living and dead. Sometimes people distinguish between the Church Militant, being all Christians alive on Earth now, and the Church Triumphant, being those who have "gone to glory." It was only after the Reformation when other Christian church organizations arose that the word Church was also applied to a denomination, such as the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, and later others like the Elim Pentecostal Church and the United Reformed Church. Often when the press and media refer to discussions and changes in "the Church," it is actually shorthand for the Anglican Church or the Catholic Church. Spelling convention In writing the convention is usually that when church is spelled with a lowercase letter c, it refers to a local church congregation where "a church" is a single group of Christians in one place. However, when Church is spelled with an capital letter C it refers to a larger collective group, such as the Church of England, or the Church universal of all believers. Usually it is clear in context, but not always. Moreover, the distinction of a lowercase c or uppercase C is a convention in written English, but it is lost when the word is heard or spoken. How the word developed The word church has become a prefix, and we can use the words churchgoer, churchyard, churchwarden, churchman and churchmanship. The word church has also become a verb, and you can be churched or even de-churched. There is even a ceremony called churching, where women are blessed after childbirth. The Book of Common Prayer includes a service for the Churching of Women. Churchmanship Some people talk of churchmanship to refer to the style of governance and management used by their style of church. People talk of "High Church" to mean churches with an emphasis on ceremony, liturgy and tradition, sometimes in the Anglican context also called Anglo-Catholic. In contrast "Low Church" refers to churches whose structure and service are simpler, less formal and a greater emphasis on Scripture, often more Evangelical. High Church to Low Church is a spectrum and the terms are typically used by Anglicans, and sometimes Catholics and occasionally in other traditions. It is also a matter of perspective and depends on what you are comparing to. The term "Broad Church" refers to the idea of being supportive of different styles of churchmanship within the same denomination. The phrase "broad church" is also used in British English for any group, organization, or political party, such as the Conservative Party, which includes and tolerates a wide set of opinions, by analogy to the breadth of views in the Church of England. In many parts of Wales and rural England, the words "church" and "chapel" have come to be used as labels for types of churchmanship. A person who is described as "church" or who attends "church" is usually Anglican, while a person who is "chapel" or attends "chapel" is a non-conformist, typically Baptist, Methodist, Independent or Congregationalist. In England and Wales, just the use of the phrase "I am going to chapel" is recognized as an indicator that the person is not from the Established Church. In Scotland, people might use the word "Kirk" instead of church. Alternatives to the word 'church' The word church has sometimes been used beyond the Christian context by way of analogy. The Church of Scientology has no connections with Christianity at all, but the use of the word Church gives it a sound of religious respectability. Due to misunderstandings and confusion, some Christian traditions have deliberately tried to avoid the word church. For some people the use of the word church as a building and as a denomination were unhelpful and unbiblical, and this encouraged the use of alternative phraseology. The early Quakers called themselves Friends who met as "societies," their buildings were called "meeting houses," and their organization is called the Society of Friends. They referred to traditional places of worship not as churches, but as steeplehouses. John Wesley and the early Methodists met in "societies," and their buildings were called "chapels," and they referred to their organization as "the Connexion." John Nelson Darby preferred to use the word "assembly" in his translation of the Bible, which is why Brethren talk about an assembly, typically meeting in a Gospel Hall or Mission Hall. Likewise, one Pentecostal grouping is called the Assemblies of God. Christadelphians refer to their meetings as ecclesias. Some Fresh Expressions of church might prefer to refer to themselves as a house church, or prefer not to use the word at all, and call themselves a congregation, a gathering, a fellowship or a worshiping community, if that is more helpful in their context. Some purists lament the use of the word church beyond its biblical use. However, the nature of language is that languages change, words gain different meanings, and the meaning of any word is dependent upon its context. One solution in English is to simply keep the word church and add in a clarifying word to disambiguate the meaning. So, we can refer to a church congregation, a church service, a church building, a church denomination and the Church universal. This article was originally published at Christian Today The parents of Abyesh Thulung sued Akron Public Schools over the 11-year-old boy's death. Courtesy of The Sweeney Law Firm AKRON, Ohio The parents of an 11-year-old Akron boy said in a lawsuit that their son took his own life after getting relentlessly bullied at school and that the school officials did nothing to stop it. Instead, Akron Public Schools suspended Abyesh Thulung, who died by suicide on the first day of his suspension, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court by Abyeshs parents, Kumari Gurung and Hem Thulung. The lawsuit accuses the school system, the National Inventors Hall of Fame Middle School and several employees of wrongful death, civil rights violations, negligence and failing to report child abuse, among other claims. The family believes this was an avoidable tragedy if Akron Public Schools had just followed their bullying policies, said Sean Sweeney, an attorney representing Abyeshs parents. Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Akron Public Schools communications director Stacey Hodoh for comment. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge John Adams. Abyesh was born in a Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal, immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was 2 and became a U.S. citizen in 2023. He was an honor roll student at Findley Community Learning Center. Abyesh Thulung, 11, was an honor roll student. Courtesy of The Sweeney Law Firm He started his fifth-grade year in 2023 at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Middle School, a school that focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Abyesh was proud and full of hope when he started his middle school journey at a STEM school, optimism that was systemically and repeatedly destroyed by certain other APS students when they singled him out for repeated attacks based on his Asian heritage and Nepali/Bhutanese national origin, the lawsuit said. He was immediately bullied at the school and online, the lawsuit said. One classmate repeatedly used an ethnic slur against him, the lawsuit said. Abyesh went to the nursing clinic 11 times that year, four times for physical injuries suffered during assaults by classmates, the rest for stress-induced headaches and stomach aches, the lawsuit said. Abyesh and his mother also reported the incidents to school officials. The lawsuit said officials took no actions to discipline the students who intimidated Abyesh, according to the lawsuit. Things escalated in early 2024, according to the the filing. On Feb. 2, Abyesh was given a detention because he grabbed the collar of one of the bullies and pulled her out of her seat after she uttered an ethnic slur at him, the court document says. School officials didnt tell his mother about the racial slur, the lawsuit said. Over the next two weeks, Abyesh got into fights with some of the students who berated him. One of the fights left Abyesh with a bloody nose, according to the lawsuit. Other students werent punished for the fights, according to the lawsuit. After a fight in March, his mother reported the issue. School officials moved Abyeshs classroom seat next to one of the tormentors and mandated that he complete a worksheet about making better choices, the lawsuit said. On March 20, 2024, Abyesh again reported that he was being bullied and that students called him racial slurs, according to the lawsuit. School officials suspended him for two days, the lawsuit said. When told of the suspension by a teacher, Aybesh cried out that he was going to run away and hurt himself, the lawsuit said. The teacher never told his Abyeshs parents that he mentioned self-harm, according to the lawsuit. The next day, Abyesh took his own life, according to the lawsuit. After his death, some of the students who bullied Abyesh celebrated in social media posts, the lawsuit indicates. Attorneys for the family wrote in the lawsuit that when they tried to get information from the school district, they were given only partial records and were told that the school had deleted surveillance video of the interactions with other students that led to his suspension, according to the lawsuit. The school district had not provided the attorneys with his full educational record nearly a full year later, the lawsuit said. Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here. FILE - Vivek Ramaswamy speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Santander Arena, Oct. 9, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) AP COLUMBUS, OhioSince Vivek Ramaswamy launched his campaign for governor on Monday, hes touted a plan to pay Ohio teachers based on merit as a way to improve the states education system. The Columbus-area Republicans tactic of singling out teachers comes as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have moved to fire thousands of federal workers, who Trump has said need to be held accountable for being crooked and dishonest. Ramaswamy, who initially co-chaired Musks Department of Government Efficiency initiative (or DOGE) before launching his gubernatorial campaign, hasnt gone as far as Trump in vilifying teachers. Hes framed his plan as a way to reward the states best educators. But Ramaswamy has also said that Ohio needs to fix its public schools by, among other things, getting better teachers. Were not attracting the very best anymore because there is no meritocracy in compensation, he said at a Columbus-area campaign rally Monday. If we restore meritocracy in our schools, Ohio will become the magnet for the nation of the best educators across the country. Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, the states largest labor union for teachers, said those comments, along with Trumps demonization of federal workers, show they are similarly out of touch. Elon Musk and the DOGE people just are trying to go in and take a sledgehammer to the federal workforce without having any understanding of what federal workers and individual departments do, DiMauro said in an interview. Now, youve got another politician in Vivek Ramaswamy that that doesnt have any clue about the reality of whats happening in our classrooms. But yet, he somehow thinks that he has the answer, and hes gonna impose some failed experiment -- and do it under the guise that somehow teachers arent doing a good job. The head of another prominent Ohio teachers union -- Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers expressed similar sentiments. In a statement, Cropper said Ramaswamys merit-pay proposal, along with other GOP-authored education reform bills in the state legislature, shows that there is still a faction of politicians in Ohio who are intent on exploiting political issues to attack the rights of public employees. Unlike some other occupations, in teaching there is no single, objective metric that could be used to fairly determine merit pay, Cropper continued, And the current chaos in the federal government workforce which Ramaswamy whole-heartedly supports illustrates the danger of relying on bad data, or no data at all, to determine who gets fired, hired, promoted, or fairly compensated. But Ramaswamy, in an interview, disputed that he is trying to create division between voters and public-sector workers. To the contrary, I want to create unity, he said, adding that his merit-pay proposal is designed to create unity around the idea of achievement for our students. During a Columbus-area campaign rally last Monday, Ramaswamy struck a similar tone but added a vaguely threatening caveat. Im not looking to pick a fight with the teachers unions. Im not looking to pick a fight with anybody, Ramaswamy said. But I will do whatever and I mean whatever is required to stand for the achievement of our students, because we owe that to the next generation. Criticism of taxpayer-funded public employees, as well as waste, fraud and abuse from within government, is a time-honored campaign tactic that both Republican and Democratic politicians have used, said Tom Sutton, a political science professor at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. However, Republicans such as Trump are more overtly critical of public-sector workers, deriding them as unelected bureaucrats who need to be cast out in order to improve government. Democrats, meanwhile, more often focus on the positive side of the argument such as then-Vice President Al Gores Reinventing Government initiative in the 1990s, which sought a government that works better, costs less, and gets results Americans care about. So far, Ramaswamys arguments in favor of teacher merit pay have been closer in style to the latter, Sutton said. Terry Casey, a longtime Republican political consultant, said that Ramaswamys focus on the positive rewarding teachers who do well shouldnt be likened to Trumps targeting of federal workers. The generalization that this is exactly parallel to the goals of DOGE and getting rid of excess federal employees is literally apples and giraffes as a comparison, Casey said. Its a bit surprising, Sutton said, that Ramaswamy hasnt used the same waste, fraud, and abuse rhetoric used by Trump and Musk, now the sole head of the Department of Government Efficiency following Ramaswamys departure as the initiatives co-chair. However, Sutton added, it also shows a recognition that, unlike the federal government, Ohios state government has been controlled by Ramaswamys fellow Republicans for the past 15 years. In addition, Sutton said, Ramaswamy who previously cofounded and led both an investment firm and a pharmaceutical company is taking the same approach toward teacher pay that many corporate CEOs do that recruiting talent is vital to the success of a company. If you are in an industry thats highly competitive, seeking talent -- as he has been in tech -- you got to use dollars as a part of what you do to attract the best people, Sutton said. Its something that makes sense to the general public -- or certainly your voters. So I think hes smart to be taking this kind of tactic. Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as food stamps are now known, continues to victimize beneficiaries. Multimillion-dollar fraud and theft have victimized too many lower-income Ohio families and individuals who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly known as food stamps) for their food purchases. Often recipients first sign of trouble is at the cash register when they arrive with a full cart of groceries and are told their SNAP account is empty. Increasingly sophisticated thieves, some based hundreds of miles away, are using computer programs, phishing emails, scam calls, skimmers and other means to get their hands on SNAP recipients electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card and pin numbers -- which allow them to help themselves to benefits unless SNAP recipients have acted first to freeze their cards or block out-of-state use. (More on how to do that below.) The gains can be substantial. Earlier this year, in Ohios largest-scale prosecution of alleged SNAP theft, Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Hafedh Al Gahim and his Buffalo Discount Corp. were indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand jury on four felony counts for the alleged 2023 thefts of more than $125,000 from Ohio SNAP beneficiaries. Leading the investigation was the Ohio Investigative Unit of Ohios Public Safety Department. So far, Al Gahim, who is in his early 50s, has missed two court appearances in Cleveland -- for his Feb. 3 arraignment on the first indictment and last Mondays arraignment on a reindictment on the same felony charges of grand theft, telecommunications fraud, money laundering and illegal use of SNAP benefits. Warrants for his arrest were issued both times. But $125,000 could be seen as but a drop in a bigger bucket. Before federal reimbursement funds ran out when that provision in federal law wasnt renewed, Ohio recipients, alone, were reimbursed nearly $17 million in stolen SNAP benefits from June 2023 until January 2025. Thats per state Rep. Tristan Rader of Lakewood, citing Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) numbers. Rader is working on a package of legislation that, among other measures, would likely seek to authorize and fund ODJFS for its estimated nearly $5 million share of adding chips to Ohio SNAP EBT cards -- an upgrade that could immediately defeat much of todays SNAP thefts. Rader also is working on a possible law under which Ohio could reimburse SNAP thefts until card security is upgraded. Right now, a lot of the burden of helping families victimized by SNAP theft is falling on food banks trying to make sure kids and seniors dont go hungry. There are, however, a number of immediate ways individuals can and should protect themselves -- and help law enforcement identify thieves into the bargain. It starts with downloading the secure ConnectEBT APP that ODJFS has developed and that can connect directly to an individuals official SNAP account so the APP can be used to check balances and for other purposes. Eric Wolf, enforcement commander at the Ohio Investigative Unit that investigated the alleged Brooklyn, N.Y., SNAP theft, told our editorial board that the APP can also be used to block out-of-state use, and to lock, and then unlock, say at checkout, the users account. The Mobile ConnectEBT APP can be found for download at: https://tinyurl.com/bdvka4ze. Wolf says ODJFS also offers YouTube videos to walk beneficiaries through the steps of how to download and use the APP. See: Bing Videos One advantage of using the APP to regularly check balances is also that SNAP beneficiaries may learn of thefts more quickly -- an advantage law enforcement could use in trying to track thieves and recover purloined funds. For those still flummoxed about how to download and use the APP, its also possible help can be found at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, which now offers a one-stop Community Resource Center at 15500 South Waterloo Road in Cleveland, or call (216) 738-2067 for information. The Resource Center is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 8:30 am to 6 p.m., Thursdays from 8:30 am to 7 p.m. and on Fridays by appointment only from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Protecting from SNAP fraud starts with individuals protecting themselves. That includes never giving out EBT numbers or PIN numbers over the phone or by email, and by controlling access to your own benefits through use of the ODJFS Mobile ConnectEBT APP. And at a state and national level, it means enhancing EBT cards with chip technology or tap-to-pay technology. The level of ongoing fraud suggests such measures should become a priority for Ohio and for Congress. About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization. Have something to say about this topic? * Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication. * Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street ahead of a summit of European leaders, on March 1, 2025, in London. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer greeted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a warm embrace on Saturday after the Ukrainian leader flew to London for talks following his clash at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump. In an extraordinary Oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump threatened to withdraw support for Ukraine, three years after Russia invaded its smaller neighbor. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Zelenskyy and Trump on Saturday and called for calm in an interview following Friday's White House clash. In London, a crowd cheered as Zelenskyy arrived for talks with Starmer at his Downing Street office before a summit of European leaders that the Ukrainian president will attend on Sunday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. "I hope you heard some of that cheering in the street. That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you ... and our absolute determination to stand with you," Starmer told him. Starmer told Zelenskyy he had "full backing across the United Kingdom." "We stand with you and Ukraine for as long as it may take," Starmer said. Zelenskyy said on Saturday he had "important and warm" talks with Starmer, with a discussion on strengthening Ukraine's position and obtaining reliable security guarantees. "During our talks we discussed the challenges standing before Ukraine and all of Europe, coordination with our partners, concrete steps to strengthen Ukraine's position and ending the war in a just fashion, with reliable security guarantees," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Other European leaders also issued messages of support for Zelenskyy and Ukraine after his meeting with Trump, highlighting differences between traditional allies the United States and Europe over the war since Trump returned to office. Senior Russian politicians have reacted with glee to what they see as Zelenskyy's White House humiliation, saying the Ukrainian leader got what he deserved and that U.S. military aid to Kyiv must now be cut. A change in popularity among hedge fund investors for stocks could signal where they're headed in the months to come, and there are some that may be poised for future gains, according to Goldman Sachs. The bank analyzed the holdings of 695 hedge funds with $3.1 trillion of long and short equity positions at the start of the first quarter this year, based on the latest regulatory filings. Goldman then detected several Russell 1000 stocks that saw the largest increase in number of hedge fund owners during last quarter. "Historically, stocks with the largest increase in the number of hedge fund investors ("Rising Stars") have typically gone on to outperform sector peers during the quarters following their rise in popularity," analyst Ben Snider wrote in a recent note. Here are some names that appeared on Goldman's latest Rising Stars list. Robinhood saw the third largest increase in the number of hedge funds owning the financial services platform's stock at 23. That brought the total number of hedge funds owning it to 66, as of Dec. 31. While shares closed the week lower on the heels of the Securities and Exchange Commission ending its investigation into its crypto arm last Monday, they've still massively outperformed the broader market this year, recording a year-to-date gain of 34.5% compared with the S & P 500's 1.2% increase in the period. Over the past year, Robinhood has soared around 210.6%. More than half of the analysts covering Robinhood on Wall Street are bullish, with 12 out of 19 having a strong buy or buy rating, according to LSEG. Its roughly $70 average price target also implies more than 40% from Friday's close. Shares of Coupang have also meaningfully outperformed the S & P 500 this year, jumping 7.8% year to date. The South Korean e-commerce stock has also surged about 30% in the last year. Last quarter, the name saw 19 more hedge funds owning it, which put its total hedge fund ownership at 64. Like Robinhood, most analysts have taken a bullish stance on Coupang, as 12 out of 15 have a strong buy or buy rating. It also has a consensus target of around $29, which implies 23.6% from Friday's close. Deutsche Bank is one of the firms that has grown more optimistic on the stock's performance. Last Wednesday, Deutsche upgraded shares to buy from hold and increased its price target to $28.50, reflecting more than 20% upside ahead. That call sent shares 3.5% higher during that day's session. Electric vehicle-maker Tesla also made the list, seeing 17 more hedge funds own the stock in the period ended Dec. 31. With that change, 101 total hedge funds own the stock. While shares have fallen more than 27% in 2025 and most of its postelection gains have been lost, the stock has still climbed around 45% in the last 12 months. Palestinians sit at a large table surrounded by the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings as they gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, on the first day of Ramadan in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on March 1, 2025 Abdel Kareem Hana | AP Photo Israel stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of "additional consequences" if Hamas doesn't accept a new proposal to extend a fragile ceasefire. Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the existing ceasefire agreement and said its decision to cut off aid was "cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack" on the truce, which took hold in January after more than a year of negotiations. Both sides stopped short of saying the ceasefire had ended. The first phase of the ceasefire, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday. The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout and a lasting ceasefire. Egypt, which has served as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the closure and accused Israel of using "starvation as a weapon." Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for the immediate implementation of Phase 2 of the existing ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that under the existing agreements Israel could resume fighting after the first phase if it believed negotiations were ineffective. He said the ceasefire would only continue if Hamas kept releasing hostages, telling his Cabinet that "there will be no free lunches." He said Israel was "full coordinated" with President Donald Trump's administration. There was no immediate comment from the United States on the proposal announced by Israel or its decision to cut off aid. Hundreds of aid trucks have entered Gaza daily since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. But residents said prices doubled on Sunday as word of the closure spread and people raced to stock up. "Everyone is worried," said Sayed al-Dairi, a man living in Gaza City. "This is not a life." Fayza Nassar, a woman living in the heavily destroyed urban Jabaliya refugee camp, said the closure would exacerbate already dire living conditions. "There will be famine and chaos," she said. "Closing the crossings is a heinous crime." Israel says it has U.S. backing Israel said the new proposal, which it said came from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, called for extending the ceasefire through Ramadan the Muslim holy month that began over the weekend and the Jewish Passover holiday, which ends on April 20. Under that proposal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, Netanyahu said. Hamas warned that any attempt to delay or cancel the ceasefire agreement would have "humanitarian consequences" for the hostages and reiterated that the only way to free them was through implementing the existing deal, which did not specify a timeline for freeing the remaining captives. Hamas has said it is willing to free the hostages all at once in Phase 2, but only in return for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. An Egyptian official said Hamas and Egypt would not accept a new proposal aimed at returning the remaining hostages without ending the war. The official noted that the agreement had called on the two sides to begin negotiations over Phase 2 in early February. The official, who was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said mediators were trying to resolve the dispute. Ceasefire has been marred by disputes Under the first, six-week phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces pulled back from most of Gaza and Israel allowed a surge of humanitarian aid to enter. But the first phase was marred by repeated disputes, with each side accusing the other of violations. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military said had approached its forces or entered areas in violation of the truce. Israel carried out an airstrike on Palestinians who it said were planting an explosive device in northern Gaza near the border on Sunday. Gaza's Health Ministry said two men were killed in the strike and that Israeli fire killed two other people elsewhere. Hamas paraded the captives some of whom were emaciated before crowds in public spectacles that Israel and the United Nations said were cruel and degrading. It initially returned the wrong set of remains instead of those of a mother who was killed in captivity along with her two young children. Hamas said Israel's aid suspension was another violation, saying the ceasefire and aid deliveries were supposed to continue during negotiations over Phase 2. Israel was accused of blocking aid throughout the war U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for newly confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on Jan. 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Crowds gathered in a Vermont town on Saturday to protest Vice President JD Vance's visit to a local ski resort, the day after his explosive Oval Office clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Protesters lined a main thoroughfare in Waitsfield, Vermont, located near the Sugarbush Resort where Vance and his family were vacationing. They held signs that said, "Vance is a traitor go ski in Russia," "Trump serves Putin" and "Vance disgraces our country," among other fiery messages. A small group of protesters also gathered at the Sugarbush Resort, though a spokesperson for the resort said it was largely a "smooth day overall" at the slopes. "There were a handful of protestors at the resort throughout the day, but all were peaceful and none were disruptive," said John Bleh, a public relations and communications manager for the resort. The demonstration was planned ahead of the Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting to "protest the destructive and illegal actions of the Trump/Vance administration," according to an announcement posted by the Mad River Valley chapter of the activist group Indivisible. But many signs expressed support for Ukraine and rebuked Trump and Vance's treatment of Zelenskyy. The clash erupted Friday at the White House when Zelenskyy visited Washington, D.C., to complete a deal to give the U.S. access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine as part of a broader effort to end the three-year-old war, which started when Russia invaded its neighbor. The meeting at the White House devolved into a tense shouting match, with Trump and Vance accusing Zelenskyy of not being grateful enough for U.S. support for Ukraine. Trump told Zelenskyy he was "gambling with World War III" if he did not reach a peace deal. Ahead of Vance's visit, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement on Thursday welcoming the vice president and his family to the state. "I hope Vermonters remember the Vice President is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful," the Republican governor said in a statement. "Please join me in welcoming them to Vermont, and hoping they have an opportunity to experience what makes our state, and Vermonters, so special." Vance's team didn't immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the protests. CNBC's Dan Mangan contributed to this report. watch now Over the last few years, a new class of big-cap stocks have stolen the attention of investors and day-traders. Nvidia , Tesla and Palantir often lead the market's daily trading volume. Exchange-traded funds that give investors the opportunity to double, or even triple, bets on these stocks have also grown into a larger share of the market. In 2016, leveraged and inverse ETFs were 2% of the ETF market. Now, they represent almost 8% of ETF assets, and like the hot tech stocks they track, they are often among the most traded ETFs, placing in the top 20, sometimes even top 10, in daily trading dollar volume. With three-quarters of the trading action in these ETFs coming from retail investors, investing experts worry about the risks not being understood well enough. "You get explosive upside but also explosive downside," as index fund legend Charley Ellis recently put it during an appearance on CNBC's "ETF Edge." Being able to buy a double-leveraged, single-stock Nvidia ETF does not only mean you can gain twice as much on Nvidia shares over a short amount of time, a day or less. When the stock goes down, you lose twice as much. And the longer a leveraged or inverse ETF is held, the bigger the divide between the underlying stock and the ETF performance. With Nvidia down 10% year-to-date, and Tesla down over 20% year-to-date, this is an important risk factor to understand. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Capturing the attention of investors all over the world. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Taking the short side with leverage. Douglas Yones, CEO of Direxion, told Bob Pisani on CNBC's "ETF Edge" last week that these ETFs will continue to attract attention in the current market environment. "There are market-moving headlines happening two to three times a day. And so, the volatility is going up, not down," he said. But Yones stressed that before trading these ETFs, investors need to learn about how these ETFs work. "You need to understand daily leverage. You need to understand the daily reset," Yones said. Direxion's website warns that "investing in the funds involves a high degree of risk." But despite the warnings on websites and the disclosures, not everyone is getting the message. "The challenge I have is that many folks are not visiting the website of an asset manager, or they're not visiting our website, where we have education content," said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi. "They're just going onto their brokerage account or on their phone even, and just buying something because it is a single-stock leverage ETF, and thinking they're going to get two times the return of Nvidia when Nvidia reports results today. It's a little bit more complicated than that." Many investing pros do believe leveraged ETFs can have a place, but only for a short time in a given portfolio. "Every investor that's using these should know exactly how they work, and they should be looking at them every single day," Yones said. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra, in the foreground, and the Xiaomi 15 in the background. "Xiaomi has been hugely successful of building its brand with affordable technology and but now it's moving up the value chain as it moves more into premium devices and that's well-suited to the European market where we see an affluent audience," Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC. Both devices are powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, one of the latest processors. The 15 Ultra model also comes with a higher spec camera and bigger display. The Xiaomi 15 starts at 999 euros ($1,047) and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra starts at 1,499 euros ($1,571). The Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Ultra are the most recent pair of smartphones from the Chinese technology giant sporting the latest chips and boosted cameras. They were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. BARCELONA Xiaomi launched its latest flagship smartphone on Sunday continuing its push into higher-end devices as it seeks to challenge market leader Samsung. In 2024, Xiaomi's global smartphone shipments grew 15.4% year-on-year, outpacing rivals including Samsung and Apple, according to the International Data Corporation. The company's worldwide market share rose to 13.6% from 12.5% in 2023. Xiaomi started up in 2010 selling low-to-mid price smartphones at very cut-throat prices. Since then it has expanded overseas, placing a big emphasis on its European foothold. Xiaomi has also built a portfolio of connected devices from TVs to smartwatches. Last year, the business jumped into the electric vehicle space with the SU7, as it looks to diversify beyond consumer electronics. It even brought the car to the Mobile World Congress in 2024, displaying the vehicle at the company's large booth and creating a buzz. Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for data and analytics at IDC, said the EV has given a boost to Xiaomi's brand. "They are using the car as leverage to build on their brand which I think is a clever idea," Jeronimo said. "They will grab a lot of attention with the car even if it's not going to be available in Europe, but it's that kind of innovation. And consumers understand that a brand that can build a car can also continue doing very good phones." A recent recovery in the smartphone business, combined with the success of the electric vehicle so far, has helped fuel a nearly 300% rise in Xiaomi's stock in the last 12 months. Xiaomi's shares, which are listed in a Hong Kong, hit a record high this week. The firm is hoping to continue that momentum with the latest smartphones and the launch of the SU7 Ultra, a high-performance version of its electric car that was launched on Thursday. Still, the company is facing a big challenge in the smartphone space at trying to eat continued share away from Samsung, especially with other Chinese brands like Oppo on its heels. "The problem is the premium space is now unbelievably crowded, and although all Android phone makers aspire to take share from Apple, the reality is if you're going to grow in Android, you need to take it from another Android player. So that means for Xiaomi, they need to be eroding Samsung's share," CCS Insight's Wood said. "But unfortunately, you've got 2 other big Chinese players in Oppo and Honor who are very very hungry to build share." The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra on display at the Xiaomi store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Feb 27, 2025. Xiaomi's first luxury model, the SU7 Ultra, will be officially launched on the evening of February 27. BARCELONA Xiaomi plans to begin selling its electric vehicles outside of China "within the next few years," company President William Lu said on Sunday. Lu made the announcement at Xiaomi's product launch at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. While there were no concrete timelines, his comments underscore the Chinese technology giant's ambitions in the global EV market to take on players like Tesla . "I cannot share too many details but I am so excited to tell our global users that Xiaomi will be releasing EVs for the sale in global markets within the next few years," Lu said. This week, Xiaomi launched its first premium EV in China called the SU7 Ultra, which starts at 529,000 Chinese yuan ($72,627). Lu said the car racked up 15,000 orders in 24 hours and will be on display at the company's booth at MWC. Egypt has completed its Gaza reconstruction plan, which aims to ensure Palestinians remain in their homeland, and will present it at the emergency Arab summit on March 4, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Sunday, March 2.Arab nations, having swiftly rejected US President Donald Trumps proposal for American control over Gaza and Palestinian resettlement, are now rallying to counter the plan through diplomatic channels.Trumps announcement on February 4, during a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas, has sparked outrage across the Arab world and disrupted long-standing US diplomatic efforts centered on a two-state solution.Abdelatty emphasised that Egypts reconstruction initiative will not be solely an Egyptian or Arab effort but will seek international backing and funding to ensure its successful execution.We will hold intensive talks with major donor countries once the plan is adopted at the upcoming Arab Summit, Abdelatty said at a press conference alongside European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica.He underscored Europes critical role, particularly in financing and supporting economic recovery in the war-ravaged enclave.On the ceasefire agreement, Abdelatty reiterated Egypts commitment to securing and advancing negotiations for the second phase.The first phase has concluded successfully, and now we must shift to discussions on the second phase, which is key to sustaining the ceasefire, he stated.Naturally, it will be difficult, but with goodwill and political determination, it can be achieved.Following the Arab Summit, Egypt will participate in an urgent ministerial meeting in Saudi Arabia under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where foreign ministers will push for the summits resolutions to be presented on the global stage.We will ensure that the results of the Arab summit are presented to the world in the best possible way, Abdelatty added. Its not the first time Mike Myers has swiped an impression from Dana Carvey. Myers Austin Powers baddie Dr. Evil was a stolen version of er, a loving homage to? Carveys impression of Lorne Michaels, complete with pinkie finger extended to the corner of his malevolent grin. The unauthorized copy caused the two Waynes World stars to be estranged for years, though all comics will reconcile if they get enough cash from Uber Eats. Don't Miss So it wasnt a complete surprise when Myers, returning to SNL for the first time since 2015, snuck into Saturday nights cold open to appear as Elon Musk, a character that Carvey performed in another sketch less than 10 episodes ago. Carvey gets the flu, cant travel for SNL field trips and this is how his old buddy Myers treats him? Play Myers is an all-time SNL great so its a bummer that his return to the show couldnt have been inspired. He latches on to a few of Musks idiosyncratic mannerisms but the attempt at a South African accent is a swing-and-a-miss. Listen and youll hear a mishmash of his SNL boy in the bathtub Simon, his Gong Show host Tommy Maitland and a hint of Fat Bastard. Its Musk as Mike Myers characters in a blender. I prefer Carveys Musk, if only because he did a better job of capturing the moguls manic energy. But if Im being fair, Carveys impression isnt much better than Myers, a work-in-progress hybrid that sounds like Hans and Franz meets Paul McCartney. Carvey knew it wasnt his best work. I cant do Elon Musk very well, he said on his Superfly podcast. But I can do something that sounds not like anything. He has an incredible accent South Africa via Canada via Pennsylvania. Its almost like, its a little bit of Australian in there, a little bit of British, but hes not totally that. Advertisement Advertisement Heres another way to know Myers missed the mark at least as of Sunday morning, an otherwise active Musk hasnt tweeted a word about the impression. That wasnt the case when Carvey came bouncing onto the Studio 8H stage, a mocking that clearly got under Musks skin. Dana Carvey just sounds like Dana Carvey, the former SNL host complained on his Twitter. No such criticism of Myers impression (not yet, anyway), signaling that Saturdays latest jab didnt leave a mark. And whats the point if you cant get under the skin of the rich and powerful? By getting the DOGE daddy to grouse about the sketch, Carvey wins the Musk mocking match. What is the truth of the explosive exchange between Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump and J D Vance? Did Ukraine's president deliberately set out to wind up The Donald as payback for apparently cosying up to his sworn enemy, Vladimir Putin, as some have claimed? Did it suit him politically to scupper this 'rare minerals' deal with America, since it had become clear the US security guarantees he wanted were not going to be forthcoming? Or was the whole thing an elaborate ruse by Trump, just another negotiating tactic to squeeze Zelensky further on the deal? Might it even have just been a bit of good old-fashioned Trump showmanship for the benefit of the Maga fanbase, as evidenced by his remark at the end of the altercation: 'This is going to be great television'? Who knows. Certainly, Zelensky is a man exhausted and hardened by three years of brutal war against a relentless oppressor. US Vice President J D Vance speaks during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, DC on Friday Perhaps he just took umbrage at being patronised by two puffed-up popinjays who clearly thought they had him over a barrel and expected him to grovel accordingly. Big mistake: this is a man who, when Russian tanks threatened to roll into Kyiv in 2022, responded to Joe Biden's offer of a US-backed evacuation with a defiant 'I need ammunition, not a ride'. As Putin has discovered time and again, Zelensky does not lack balls. This sets him apart from Trump, who's someone who doesn't see the point of fighting for anything, unless there's a payday at the end of it. Let's not forget, he thinks the answer to the conflict in Gaza is to turn it into the Middle Eastern equivalent of Sunset Strip. For him, it's not about right or wrong, it's just about the bottom line. And the bottom line here is that Zelensky is not providing enough of a return on America's investment. It's time for a hostile takeover. That's why Trump spent the previous week talking down the Ukrainian leader's stock: excluding him from initial peace talks with Russia, calling him a 'dictator', blaming Ukraine for starting the conflict, glossing over Russia's long list of war crimes, mocking his approval ratings. America even sided with Russia at the UN, opposing a resolution supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity. Not content with humiliating him on the global stage, the first thing Trump did when the Ukrainian president arrived for their meeting was take him down personally, mocking him for his outfit (a perennial theme on Russian social media bot sites), noting sarcastically: 'Oh look, you're all dressed up!'. Then, one of the client journalists that now make up the remaining rump of the White House Press corps, pressed the point by asking why he wasn't wearing a suit, or if he even owned one. An uncomfortable looking Zelensky answered in his broken English, to self-satisfied chuckles from Trump and Vance. It was almost as if Trump had brought Zelensky there as a final part of his plan to discredit and humiliate him in front of the world, including and perhaps especially Putin. Indeed, afterwards, the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X: 'The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is 'gambling with WWIII.' Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump shake hands during their meeting at the White House on Thursday Given all that, under the circumstances I think Zelensky showed a positively zen-like level of restraint. As for the accusations by Trump supporters that he provoked Trump and Vance by being combative and confrontational on several issues, it's hardly Zelensky's fault if Trump is so thin-skinned he can't cope when someone challenges him or points out factual mistakes. Nor is it Zelensky's problem that Trump surrounds himself with sycophants. It's never good when politicians do this, and in Trump's case he's clearly forgotten what it's like to have a conversation with someone who is not prepared to instantly bend the knee. Not, it must be said, that this was a problem when he met Sir Keir Starmer, who is no stranger to the bending of knees but on Thursday, he practically prostrated himself. His was a masterclass in how to appease the giant orange toddler who now rules the Free World. As well as some vigorous hand-pumping and much mutual appreciation, there was a carefully staged 'surprise': a letter addressed to Trump from King Charles ('a beuddiful man, a wonnerful man'), which Starmer delivered with suitable reverence. 'Am I supposed to read it right now?' asked Trump, to the general hilarity of the assembled company. 'Please do,' replied Starmer, placing a companionable hand on the President's shoulder. It was, of course, an invitation for a second state visit, which Starmer was at great pains to underline is 'unprecedented', 'truly historic', adding that His Majesty wants to make this one 'even better' than the last one. Naturally, Labour (and its panting cheerleaders) have hailed the exchange as an unmitigated triumph, even though less than a year ago the vast majority, including and especially Foreign Secretary David Lammy, would have been howling for a boycott. Indeed, it was Lammy who, before Trump's first State visit in 2019, penned a furious article for Time magazine denouncing him as a 'tyrant in a toupee'. What's perhaps more worrying is how questionable that 'triumph' now looks and how premature the decision to make King Charles roll out the red carpet for Trump seems in the light of Trump's behaviour. Witnessing the greedy look in Trump's eyes as he accepted 'on behalf of our wonderful first Lady', it had the desired effect. That invitation is catnip to a man like Trump, the kind of thing that validates his own opinion of himself as the greatest president that ever lived. Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands at Downing Street yesterday To have not one, but two British monarchs grovelling at his feet will thrill him to the core. But should the invitation stand? Did Trump know it was forthcoming? Did he use the prospect of a deal to help secure it? Did he wait until it was in the bag to deliver the coup de grace on Zelensky? I don't know. All I know is that what happened to Zelensky in the Oval Office was a degrading spectacle for all concerned, but especially for a man who, while controversial for some, is nevertheless a far better and more noble human than his opponent, Putin. He, and the people of Ukraine who have suffered so much, deserve better than to be treated like this. Which is why Starmer was right to seize the initiative and invite Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday, and why it is even more encouraging that the King will receive him at Sandringham today. Starmer may have jumped the gun with the state visit; but at least this sends a clear signal to Washington: the special relationship is the special relationship; but Britain never has, and never will, give in to bullies. So much for the 'art of the deal' - Just giving the enemy what they want is a sell-out By Bob Seely Watching the meltdown in the White House as both US Vice-President JD Vance and President Donald Trump turned on Volodymyr Zelensky my jaw dropped. Disbelief quickly turned to sadness for I'd just returned from the country Trump and Vance are so keen to sell down the river, Ukraine. Americans may be bored of this war so are many Europeans but take it from me, the people most tired of it are Ukrainians. Weary and exhausted, they are desperate for peace. They have lost their brothers, fathers and children to Putin's savage armies. This is a nation that is grieving even as it fights for survival. Almost all have stories of pain but also defiance. Only this week in Kyiv, I had lunch with a soldier who told me how he led the assault to retake a village to save the life of his best friend. He expelled the Russian invaders but found his friend murdered by Russian troops. For Ukrainians, peace happens when an invader stops invading and when killers stop killing. It was the American founding father Thomas Jefferson who said: 'The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.' Patience and fortitude are strengths, not weaknesses. The air raid sirens in Kyiv last week and the glide bombs hitting Ukrainian towns show the truth of what is happening. Putin doesn't want 'peace', he wants to destroy Ukraine and kill those who stand in his way. All eyes will turn to London for the Ukraine summit today. International meetings have become ten-a-penny in recent years, but London will be one of the most consequential in the modern era. European nations must urgently decide if they want to defend Ukraine, but also if they want to defend each other should the US fail to guarantee Nato's collective defence. We live in dangerous times. Let's be clear, President Trump's anger at Zelensky was an act of bullying cowardice. For JD Vance, a man I respected after his brilliant speech to European leaders last month, to stick the boot in the way he did was vile. This was a set-up, a pre-arranged mugging and it should chill Europeans to the bone. To tell Zelensky, 'come back when you are ready for peace' was an insult not only to the Ukrainian president but to his people. So what do Ukrainians think? I contacted several last night. A friend from Kharkiv who had accompanied me recently to the front line where we had sat under camouflage netting while Russian drones circled overhead, said the immediate effect will be to rally around the flag and the president. However, Kharkivites, my friend added, would not understand Trump's words. This Friday alone, ten drones hit their city. When Trump makes a moral equivalence between Russia and Ukraine, it causes tangible pain for people under attack by one major country only to be betrayed by another. Others believe that the pro-Russian faction around Trump is now dominant. Their plan was to turn Zelensky into a lame duck prior to the London meeting. Friday's Oval Office meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump resulted in a furious row that shook the world During the bust-up, President Trump declared his counterpart was 'not ready for peace' while claiming Ukraine is 'gambling with World War Three' Following his visit to the White House, Zelensky has refused to be pressured into apologising over his clash with Trump But what of the man savouring all this, whom Trump seems in thrall to, Vladimir Putin? He knows that wars are won not by troops alone, but by using all the tools of state power: political, economic and espionage. Let's remember that Russia is expert in subversive warfare. Putin, the former KGB man, knows it well. Along with damaging the Western alliance, Putin will now work to divide the Ukrainian people. Ukraine has achieved remarkable things, but like any society, there are fractures and vulnerabilities, which Putin will exploit. Putin will also work to end Ukrainian mobilisation to ensure it cannot defend its borders. He will demand elections to cause chaos. He is already funnelling money to plausible, corrupt election candidates via Russian oligarchs or spy agencies. Russian disinformation troll farms will go into overdrive. He will unleash false flag assassinations of senior military commanders or political leaders. Putin will sabotage Ukrainian supply dumps while he rearms. In short, Putin will rely on the short-termism of Trump and his cheerleaders in Europe to do more damage. They will be his 'useful idiots', to quote Vladimir Lenin. Trump seems blind to the Russian dictator's desire for his global legacy to be the creation of an illiberal Russia as the leader of a global, anti-Western alliance. Putin seeks the destruction of Ukraine and the reconquest of Soviet territory and his crowning achievement will be the breaking of Nato and Western power. I wish I could say he was failing. However, all is not lost. Much will happen behind the scenes over the next two days. Europe, led by the French and British, will try to rescue the liberal world order. Starmer needs to remember that his role is to lead our nation and defend our alliances, not to fight against them as a Left-wing lawyer with anti-British pet causes. Let's be clear, supporting Ukraine is not an act of virtue signalling but part of our national defence. Helping them to hold the line is the least bad option to defend us and our Nato allies in the Baltic and Scandinavia from the Russian bear. The loss of Ukraine will mean mass murder, mass immigration and little short of panic in eastern Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that talks between the US and Russia gave him 'hope' that 'problems' such as the Ukraine conflict can be solved Pictured on February 23: Ukraine uses searchlights to detect Russian drones flying over the country's capital city, Kyiv The war between Ukraine and Russia has led to an estimated one million people either dead or wounded The London conference will begin to reshape the fate not only of Ukraine, but the continent. Sclerotic Europe has been woefully slow to recognise the new Russian threat and to defend itself. Meanwhile, Trump, the man who started the abandonment of Afghanistan, may be about to do the same in Ukraine. His 'art of the deal' is to ignore his allies, give the enemy what it wants and pretend it's a victory. That's not a deal but a sell-out. Zelensky is not perfect, no leader or nation is. But when confronted by good and evil, right and wrong, he has got those calls right. His is a clarion voice of a people fighting for their existence against a brutality that belongs in the Middle Ages. He is on the right side of history. Trump, thus far, is not. Zelensky stands up to a murderous dictator. Trump fails to do so. Zelensky knows that to give up is to lose all. Trump gets easily bored. The US president, to his credit, returned the bust of Winston Churchill to the Oval Office. The bronze face of our wartime leader was seen glowering at the ignoble spectacle before him last Friday. Perhaps Trump should remember one of the great man's famous sayings: 'Never, never, never give up.' Zelensky, to his credit, knows the truth of that. Trump, to his shame, does not. In his raw unapologetic glory, this was classic Trump the dealmaker By Nile Gardiner Donald Trump's historic confrontation with Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday was visceral and explosive. The extraordinary exchange between the US President, his Vice-President and the Ukraine leader stunned the assembled media and sent shockwaves across the world. I suspect that millions of Americans, however, were applauding Trump's approach. The American people like to see presidents stand up for their country, something there was far too little of from Joe Biden and Barack Obama, two of the weakest and most clueless US leaders of the modern era. The Oval Office clash should not have come as a surprise. President Zelensky entered the White House in a clearly combative mood, perhaps seeing himself as a smaller Ukrainian version of Jake La Motta, the boxer immortalised in Martin Scorsese's cinematic masterpiece Raging Bull. But President Trump struck back with a ferocity worthy of Rocky Balboa, and clearly emerged as a fighter who commands the ring. After all, this was a president who made a stunning political comeback last November, winning the White House for a second time against all odds. Trump is tough, and when he feels that America is being disrespected, as he did last week, he punches back hard. American Vice-President DJ Vance suggested Ukrainian Zelensky express more gratitude to the US Zelensky cut his visit to the White House short on Friday following the fiery bust-up with Trump Vice-President JD Vance did the same, recommending Zelensky to express more gratitude for the hundreds of billions of dollars of US assistance for Ukraine. Vance is not shy about forcefully telling European leaders what he thinks as seen at the Munich Security Conference when he condemned the creeping intolerance of free speech on the continent and he certainly did not hold back speaking to Ukraine's leader. There have been howls of outrage across Europe in response to Trump and Vance's approach towards Zelensky. Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, declared 'that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge'. This is completely empty and reckless talk. The reality is that the EU appeased the Kremlin for decades, buying Russian energy in vast quantities and in so doing fuelling Vladimir Putin's military machine. It practically funded the invasion of Ukraine and has demonstrated rank hypocrisy over the war, while offering no clear solution. The EU of course is a paper tiger and has no military power, and its member states are completely dependent upon the US security umbrella provided by Nato. Putin is a tyrant who does not fear the pen-pushing bureaucrats in Brussels. But he is wary of the armed might of the world's superpower. Trump was elected to look after the interests of the American people, and certainly not the indulgent welfare-obsessed Europeans, who have grown fat on US military protection while refusing to take responsibility for their own security. His meeting with Zelensky was a powerful demonstration of his 'America First' approach. Trump is being entirely consistent in his foreign policy. He said before the election he was sceptical of the war in Ukraine and this scepticism was on display in the White House in all its raw, unapologetic glory. And he is by no means a lone voice on this side of the Atlantic. Volodymyr Zelensky was warmly greeted by Keir Starmer with a hug outside Downing Street earlier today The British Prime Minister is hoping to act as a bridge between Donald Trump and his European counterparts The vast majority of Americans want to see an end to the war in Ukraine. With over $30 trillion of debt, and a rising threat from Communist China as well as the spectre of a nuclear-armed Iran the US is sorely stretched on the world stage, and is not in a position to afford several more years of military assistance for a war that doesn't concern its geopolitical priorities. The US has already given close to $200 billion of assistance to Ukraine, including $67 billion of military aid, nearly the same as the whole of Europe combined. I do not believe that Trump's intention was to humiliate Zelensky. He and the American people have every sympathy for the plight of the courageous Ukrainians who have fought with tremendous bravery against the barbaric and brutal Russian invasion. Nor does he underestimate the immense threat that Putin's Russia poses to Europe and the free world. In fact, a key goal of the Trump presidency is to greatly strengthen the Nato alliance to ensure the Russians do not attempt to attack the Baltic states. But Trump wants to secure peace as swiftly as possible, and has offered Ukraine an outstanding partnership to mine its rare-earth minerals, which is the best long-term guarantee of Ukraine's security, with a direct American stake in the country's future. Zelensky's best move would be to accept the US offer and move forward with ending the war. He did not show, however, any willingness to do so during his White House meeting with Trump. This was a major mistake on his part, and the clash looked petulant and reckless in the eyes of many Americans, including multiple members of Congress. Crowds gathered in Boston, Massachusetts, in support of Zelensky and Ukraine today The main message of the protest: 'Peace cannot be achieved at the cost of justice or freedom' Vladimir Putin launched his attack on Ukraine a little over three years ago Zelensky's entire strategy going into this meeting looked off-kilter and poorly thought out. Even his own Washington Ambassador looked despondent as the discussion became more intense, with her head in her hands. His adversarial approach was markedly different to that of French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who both held successful, even 'bromantic', meetings with the US president last week. Zelensky's stoney tone was a mistake and he faced a gladiatorial Trump in return, who responded to what he saw as slights and insults to the American people, who have already demonstrated tremendous support for Ukraine in their hour of need. Trump the deal maker was also in action, pressuring the Ukrainian leader to come to an agreement with the US, with a clear-eyed strategy of ending the war behind it. This is how he has delivered results in his decades as a successful entrepreneur, and during his first term in office. Trump, whom I first met in the White House in 2019, is a formidable negotiator with a sharp vision of where he wants to take his country. America wants the best possible outcome for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. But at the same time Zelensky must demonstrate a willingness to work closely with Washington on a strong economic partnership as part of a negotiated settlement that best secures Ukraine's future and deters Russia from launching another invasion. Britain is said to be a divided and unhappy country but yesterday evening I felt blessed to be British. The spectacle of the King welcoming Volodymyr Zelensky to Sandringham, after the doubtless exhausted Ukrainian President had flown by helicopter from London, moved my heart. It was a generous, courteous and kindly act. As the visit had been arranged at the last moment, there is no doubt that King Charles wanted personally to show solidarity with Zelensky, who was so vilely abused by President Trump and his venomous deputy, JD Vance, on Friday. Like most people, the King was evidently appalled by the orchestrated humiliation of Zelensky by the two thugs in the White House and wanted to demonstrate his moral support. Zelensky may be an imperfect politician, but he is a brave man who leads a country ravaged by a war in which many thousands of its people have been killed. It was truly sickening to watch him being hounded by these pampered bullies secure in the Oval Office, so far from danger. Thank God, I thought to myself when the King shook hands with Zelensky outside Sandringham House before their private meeting, that our head of state is a decent and reasonable man and not a mercenary braggart incapable of observing basic civilities. To be fair, I had a similar reaction when I saw footage of Sir Keir Starmer embracing Zelensky outside No 10 on Saturday afternoon. For all our Prime Ministers many shortcomings, he showed human feeling for a visibly stricken Zelensky. And yet theres no denying the PM has put the King in an awkward position by extending an invitation to Trump for an unprecedented second state visit to Britain. Admittedly, Buckingham Palace had accepted the ill-conceived plan, offering a night at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland, the country where Trumps mother was born. King Charles gives Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a particularly warm welcome at Sandringham today Is Sir Keir now regretting his eager invitation, which was delivered in person to Trump last Thursday in what seemed an undignified and ingratiating manner? He has saddled the King with a task to which no one other than Trump himself is now looking forward. Charless private distaste for Trump may surpass that of the late Queen. According to a book by my colleague Craig Brown, a few weeks after Trumps state visit in 2019 she confided to a lunch guest that she had found him very rude. She reportedly particularly disliked the way he couldnt stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting. Doubtless the long-suffering Queen diplomatically kept her feelings to herself when in the presence of Trump. His frequent extolling of her is surely genuine. He is too much of an egotist to have divined what she really thought of him. The Kings own opinion of Trump may be glimpsed in his decision not to attend the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral along with Trump and others last December. Rather than travel to Paris himself, he delegated the first post-US election meeting between the Crown and the then president-elect to Prince William. King Charles, a fervent believer in man-made climate change, may not have been eager to rub shoulders with the bombastic, bouffant-haired climate-change denier. In the event, poor Prince William was patronised by Trump in his ghastly, overbearing way. By contrast, the Kings positive views about Zelensky are clear. He met the Ukrainian President when he visited Britain in February 2023, and told him: Weve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long. As heir to the throne, Charles felt freer to talk about political issues than he does as monarch. After Russia seized Crimea in 2014, he caused a rumpus when a private remark about Vladimir Putin doing just about the same as Hitler became public. Three years ago he described Russias invasion of Ukraine as a brutal aggression. So his sympathies are clear though as King he is rightly careful not to appear political and the enthusiasm for Zelensky is sincere. One thing is certain: he wont feel the same enthusiasm for Trumps state visit, assuming it goes ahead. Where do we go from here? The hurriedly arranged summit of European leaders in London yesterday endorsed the proposal that a group led by Britain and France will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting with Russia, as the Prime Minister put it, and then discuss that plan with the United States. 'Like most people,' says Mail columnist Stephen Glover 'the King was evidently appalled by the orchestrated humiliation of Zelensky by the two thugs in the White House and wanted to demonstrate his moral support.' Most of the world looked on horrified as Donald Trump publicly berated Zelensky in the Oval Office Trump's vice-president JD Vance also weight in on the Ukrainian president In other words, one way or another the US is bound to remain involved, not least because it is hard to see how Ukraine could ever be safe without its support. However detestable Trump may be, before long Zelensky will have to return to the White House and do business with him. Next time he should insist on having an interpreter by his side. The truth is that his English, though workable, is not good enough for him to converse with aggressive interlocutors, such as Trump and Vance, speaking in their own language. If hed had an interpreter on Friday, he would not have been treated as he was. Tirades of Trumpian abuse would have been slowed down by the process of translation. Even more important, with such assistance he would have been able to express himself more precisely, and therefore have been less liable to misunderstanding. I dont know whether yesterdays London summit will lead to the end of war in Europe. Its not clear that the Russians want to make peace or, if they do, whether their terms will be acceptable to Zelensky and the government of Ukraine. Nor can anyone in the world confidently predict how the mercurial Trump will behave. Despite his unforgivable treatment of Zelensky on Friday, its not impossible that he will start acting like a rational person though one shouldnt depend on such a transformation lasting for long. What I am certain of is that we should be eternally grateful that Trump isnt our head of state and that the one we have is decent and sane, and asked the beleaguered Zelensky to his country home to offer him some human sympathy. Stormzy collaborated with the chain in January, revealing his go-to order He's the darling of the UK rap scene after shooting to fame 10 years ago and winning millions of fans along the way with his philanthropic pursuits alongside chart-topping hits. However, the tide may be turning on Croydon-born Stormzy, 31, who has suffered career and reputation blows in recent months. When he broke onto the scene in 2014, he quickly became one of the most famour faces in grime, propelled by his relationship with presenter Maya Jama, who was also establishing herself as a golden girl within showbusiness. However, the rapper has run into some stumbling blocks after his A-list relationship ended - with a rebrand attempt that has been dubbed an 'expensive error' and an endorsement deal that has turned thousands of his own fans against him. Once one of the most revered artists currently making music in the UK, Stormzy now finds his face plastered on sneering posters being plastered around London as he's accused of 'selling out' - and has reportedly gained an embarrassing new nickname along the way. Stormzy had a meteoric rise to fame in 2014, starting out as an independent artist and releasing his debut album through his #Merky Records, before signing to Warner and later being poached by Universal Records in 2020 for 10 million. Gang Signs and Prayer, released in 2017 sold 310,000 copies, followed by his most popular album to date, Heavy is the Head, which sold 320,000 albums worldwide in 2019. His first EP, Dreamers Disease, earned him a MOBO Award for Best Grime Act. Universal signed Stormzy so he could help the relaunch of its Def Jam label, which was once home to Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys - with his name considered a dead-cert success at a time when everything he touched turned to gold. Stormzy appears to be loosening his grip over his fans following a change in musical style and a brand deal with McDonald's (seen on stage during Glastonbury Festival in 2019) However, it has recently been reported that the rapper's switch to the gospel sound has fallen somewhat flat, leaving bosses at Universal reeling. A source told MailOnline: 'What Universal hadn't expected was that in his first album for them, Stormzy would insist on dropping his trademark hard rapping style and instead attempt to sing his way through an album of Christian-influenced songs. 'People are now calling him the Cliff Richard of hip hop. 'His new album was expected to provide the perfect launch pad for Universal's new Def Jam label, but its poor performance is now being blamed for the decision in recent weeks to make big job cuts at the label.' Expectations were high after both his rap albums had gone platinum, but This Is What I Mean, a gospel-led sound, only sold 60,000 copies, dwarfed in comparison to his previous projects. Meanwhile, Stormzy's most recent single, Backbone, in collaboration with Chase and Status, sold 400,000 copies and shot to number one - in a signal that fans want him to stick to his musical roots. TikTok user @ainyainz shared an image of a Stormzy poster in north London, which appears to be defaced with the writing 'sellout' Fans branded the 31-year-old rapper a hypocrite after teamed up with McDonald's towards the end of last month Pictured: Behind the scenes images of Stormzy's orchestral version of 'Firebabe' at Abbey Road Studios in London Fans of his earlier British rap felt alienated by the latest gospel led album and slammed the artist for doing, 'The exact opposite of what we wanted from him'. The Croydon-born rapper's current woes don't end with his musical re-styling - as an endorsement deal with McDonald's has also landed Stormzy in hot water with his fans. McDonald's announced the collaboration - The Stormzy Meal, which includes nine chicken nuggets, fries, BBQ dips, a Sprite Zero, and an Oreo McFlurry or apple pie - at the end of last month. In response to the collaboration, fans have accused the rapper of 'selling out' and abandoning his philanthropic principles by signing a deal with the fast food giant. Many fans also took issue with his choice of partnership after critics of Israel began a movement to boycott McDonald's when its Israeli franchise pledged to feed the IDF for free amid war with Hamas. Fans have blasted the British rapper on social media after he allegedly deleted a post from a year ago (pictured) Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged Stormzy to sever his ties with McDonald's (pictured together at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, London, 2017) The rapper's latest album, which traded grime for gospel, sold less copies than his previous releases Fans shared a screengrab of a post shared on Stormzy's Instagram in 2023 which read: 'I hope everyone is good, some fleeting thoughts. '1. Free Palestine. 2. In the future, if there is ever a clear injustice in the world no matter how big or small, 100 times out of 100 I will always be on the side of the oppressed. Unequivocally. As I always have been.' The post has since vanished from his page, though it is unclear when or why it was removed. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also waded in, branding the partnership 'hugely disappointing.' Corbyn publicly urged Stormzy to sever ties with McDonald's, releasing an open letter through the Peace & Justice Project. 'Stormzy's decision to partner with McDonald's allows them to culture-wash their reputation as caterers of genocide in Gaza,' it reads, before calling on him to 'stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people' by ending his deal. The letter also encouraged fans to write directly to Stormzy's management team, urging him to drop McDonald's. Fans took to X to share their thoughts on the decision, with many criticising the business move. Meanwhile, a billboard of Stormzy's McDonald's campaign in north London, shared by TikTok user Ainy, who goes by @ainyainz, was defaced with the words 'sellout'. Following the backlash, Stormzy took to Instagram to set the record straight and denied the allegations that he deleted a pro-Palestine post from Instagram for the partnership 'The people of north London have spoken,' Ainy added in the caption. Stormzy broke his silence days later and denied allegations that he deleted the post for the McDonald's partnership. He said he did not delete the post but archived it along with many others on his page and insisted that he doesn't work with brands who tell him what to do. The rapper wrote: 'Hey guys, I wanted to address some twisted narrative that has been circulating online this past week. 'Firstly, I didn't archive the post where I came out in support of Palestine for any reason outside of me archiving loads of IG posts last year. 'In that post, I spoke about #FreePalestine, oppression and injustice and my stance on this has not changed. 'The brands I work with can't tell me what to do and don't tell me what to do otherwise I wouldn't work with them. 'I do my own research on all brands I work with, gather my own information, form my own opinion and come to my own conclusion before doing business.' The 31-year-old said he felt the need to put out a statement because people were 'hurt' by the news circulating. He went on: 'I'm writing this because I know there are people out there who have supported me and rooted for me who are genuinely confused and hurt by what they think has happened and I want to give those people clarity, so I hope this helps. 'I understand it must feel disappointing and disheartening when it seems like someone you've championed has compromised their beliefs for commercial gain, but this isn't the case here. 'Social media and the internet quickly pass judgment without full context. While I want to continue to be open and honest, I prefer not to respond immediately to every misunderstanding or clear up every false narrative that surrounds my name. Lots of love, Stormz.' Calabria and Sardinia are among the areas offering cash incentives to families Abandoning the rat race and escaping to Italy to live out one's days in the sunshine is the dream of many - even more so if there's a cash incentive to do it. Now the stunning European nation, which is visited by 57 million tourists from around the world every year, is offering families 23,000 to move to the idyllic regions of Sardinia and Calabria - but there's a catch. The offer is a move from the Italian government to repopulate areas of the nation that are seeing populations decline due to an exodus of young Italians moving to larger cities or overseas for work - meaning the towns from which they hail are somewhat left behind. In response to the decline, the government is inviting overseas citizens to move to Italy - but they will only receive the 23,000 if they choose to live in one of nine small villages with a population of 2,000 people or fewer. While some might be put off by the idea of living in a sleepy Italian village, others may be enticed by the cash incentive and stunning scenery. One of the areas on offer is the scenic southwestern area of Calabria, where families are being given the five-figure sum to move to one of nine villages and call the close knit community their new home. Other options include Presicce-Acquarica, the 'heel' of Italy's 'boot' where those seeking a new start in life are being offered almost 25,000 to up sticks and make Italy their permanent residence. And finally Sardinia is one option for people who fancy a change of pace. Italy is visited by more than 57million people each year but now the government are trying to encourage people to stay longer than just a couple of weeks Applicants must be no older than forty and move within 90 days of acceptance of their application. And there's another condition - anyone moving over to the Mediterranean country will have to either start a new business that benefits locals or fill an in-demand job that the local community are struggling to do. Those who do fit the criteria can opt to receive the money as a lump sum or in monthly instalments. Suggestions for businesses they can choose to establish include hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants and shops. According to LBC, Councillor Gianluca Gallo said small towns 'are the true identity of the territory' and is desperate to stop them declining. He added: 'We want to make demand for jobs meet supply, thats why weve asked villages to tell us what type of professionals theyre missing to attract specific workers. 'Weve had a huge interest from villages and hopefully, if this first scheme works, more are likely to follow in coming years.' Calabria is offering almost 25,000 for people to move over but expats must make the area their permanent residence and start a business Similar conditions must be followed for expats choosing one of the other areas on offer. For Presicce-Acquarica, there is 25,000 up for grabs which families can use to start their new lives - but they must ensure the town is their primary residence. After just 60 births compared to 150 deaths last year, the town is also offering a grant of 1,000 or 828 for each newborn baby to entice families to bolster the falling population. On the island of Sardinia, young Italians have left in droves to start a new life or find better employment opportunities elsewhere, but to counter the population decline, the picturesque island is offering 12,418 to encourage people over. However, successful applicants must move to a municipality with fewer than 3,000 residents, use the funds to buy or renovate a home and become a full-time Sardinian resident within 18 months. 'We have created the conditions for young people to decide to stay and (develop) the economic fabric of the most fragile territories,' the Sardinian President Christian Solinas said in a press release according to the Independent. 'There can be no growth without a real enhancement of the territories, of the interior and most disadvantaged areas, which must pass through new policies for their repopulation.' For Presicce-Acquarica, expats are being offered a grant of 1,000 or 828 for each newborn baby to entice families to bolster the falling population A total of 105million has now been set aside for the project in a bid to rejuvenate the area. This is not the first time Italy has used cash incentives to encourage people. In 2023, Sicily began auctioning off abandoned houses with a 1 starting bid to regenerate the village. A host of plucky Americans decided to take the plunge and move out there and one, Meredith Tabbone, 43, from Chicago bought a property that had no electricity or running water and had a roof thick with asbestos. Although bids started at just 1 but she threw in a random offer of 4,400 and found out she was the successful buyer months later. It cost Meredith 750 (661) to hire a team to remove the roof in an environmentally-safe way. Meredith then bought the empty home next door for 27,000 - and spent 46 months and 210,000 knocking them together to build a 3,000sqft four bed getaway. She plans to stay in the house part-time - and calls it her 'extended vacation home'. Since then, Meredith has bought two guest houses in the same village for 28,000 in total, and a disused building for 58,000 which she's turning into a gallery and cafe. The moment a pregnancy test reveals a thin blue line is a poignant one for any couple hoping to start a family and it was no different for Sascha Bailey and his girlfriend Lucy Brown. It was shortly before Christmas when they realised they were going to be parents. 'We were thrilled,' says Sascha, son of the renowned photographer David Bailey and his fourth wife and model Catherine. 'It was something I'd always wanted, so it was special. We were both emotional.' As well they might be, for the pair and 30-year-old Sascha in particular has overcome a great deal of tumult to get to this point. Just over two years ago, this handsome, rakish-looking young man was so deeply traumatised that he was on the verge of taking action that would have decisively ended any chance of fatherhood. Struggling in a toxic marriage, and wrestling with the legacy of past trauma, he had become fixated on changing gender as a solution to his despair. Sascha Bailey with his girlfriend Lucy Brown, who is expecting a baby 'It was a way of killing myself without dying, because I was so unhappy with my life,' as he memorably told the Mail in a brave and unflinchingly honest interview last year. Only through intensive therapy and the unwavering support of 34-year-old Lucy, whom he met in the midst of what he now calls 'losing his mind', did he see his obsession for what it was the desperate cry for help of someone battling deep-rooted issues that had nothing to do with his biological sex. Had that not happened, in time he would have started on the hormone therapy he had already been prescribed. And that would in turn have irreparably damaged his fertility. 'Thank God I didn't,' he says now. 'I actually always wanted to be a father but, at one point, it felt like there weren't many options left for me. 'So to have left the marriage and permanently taken away that future option, when I was so young as well...' He trails off, his emotion unmistakable. It is one reason he is giving this interview, despite the backlash that he endured when he spoke to the Mail last year in the midst of his recovery, warning against the rush to medicalise those particularly children who express uncertainty about their gender identity. He did so with great sensitivity, emphasising that he was sharing his experience in the hope of giving another perspective on why becoming, as he put it, 'someone new' might prove so attractive to a vulnerable person. His reward? To be trolled by online bullies, to find social invitations withdrawn, and even to prompt discomfort among friends, made uneasy by his candour on a subject that has intensified the culture wars. As he told me last year: 'It's almost like society has a gun to its head. You are either for it or you're transphobic; there's no middle ground.' So despite the fact he had spoken movingly about wanting to end his own life, it was his outspokenness on trans issues that invited the most criticism. 'I saw some old friends recently and, without asking me how I am, they jumped to the issues of the trans community,' he says. 'I'm the bad guy. Why? At no point did I say that anyone should be stopped from doing something that is right for them the end goal is for everyone to be happy. It was just sounding caution. The only really hardline opinion I have is about prescribing hormones to kids, which I think is completely inappropriate and makes no sense to anyone who thinks about it for more than a second.' Sascha with his estranged wife Mimi Nishikawa in 2017. He is still technically married to her, but doesn't know where she is If the 'end goal' is indeed happiness, then Sascha certainly seems to be on his way there. 'I'm still recovering in many ways from what I went through, and I'm still going through therapy. But I am so much stronger,' he smiles. And he's palpably thrilled to finally be able to publicly share his news after attending the nerve-shredding 12-week scan last month. 'The baby's very healthy. The guy said it's a very beautiful baby and has great legs,' says Sascha with a grin. 'It's too early to know the sex yet, although we're going to find out,' adds Lucy, a statuesque and beautiful blonde, who confides that, while excited, she also can't help but worry about what lies ahead. 'I'm still a bit of a teenager in my head. I'm all 'I need to call my mum', and now that's going to be me,' she laughs. 'You'll be fine,' Sascha reassures her. The conversation seems so wholesome and, indeed, 'normal' that it is hard to imagine Sascha was recently so unhappy that he genuinely wanted to die, or kill off the man he was. 'Looking back at it now, I was in quite a dissociative state,' he reflects. 'I think another force almost took control of me, in a sense, and pushed me towards leaving in whatever way I could.' The story of what Sascha would now call his breakdown seems, initially, a world removed from the glamorous one in which he grew up, one of three siblings born to David and Catherine. Raised in bohemian middle-class privilege, the family flitted between homes in West London and their country estate in Devon, where David's third wife, supermodel Marie Helvin, was among their visitors. Educated privately at a special school for dyslexics, Sascha initially found work as a model, then, at 19, met Mimi Nishikawa, a charismatic Japanese lawyer 20 years his senior, and married her three months later, despite the misgivings of friends and family. After a spell in London the newlyweds moved to Mimi's native Tokyo, where the marriage became increasingly toxic, which he feels added to a legacy of trauma he endured from being sexually abused as a child, the details of which he cannot disclose. Unhappy and isolated, he became reliant on Valium to get through the day, and at one point tried to take his own life. It was then, in the autumn of 2022, that the idea of changing sex started to crystallise in his troubled mind. 'I'd already been thinking about it and it's an idea that just grew,' he says. Sascha as a young boy with his parents David and Catherine Bailey in 1999 This possible 'solution' was reinforced on the chatrooms that Sascha had been frequenting, where changing sex was talked about as a means to a new life. He emphasises that at no point did he officially join the 'transmaxxing community' an internet subculture where males investigate transitioning to females to cash in on the perceived benefits of womanhood, set out in a manifesto written by the movement's anonymous Swedish leader Vintologi. However, he was certainly drawn to a culture where transitioning is seen as a way of solving problems, particularly for those who don't believe they conform to traditional societal expectations. As someone who had struggled to identify with male role models as a child, something about it chimed. 'You're being told everything about you boils down to this one thing that is wrong, and if you can fix this one thing everything will be perfect,' Sascha says. 'For many men the pressure of having money, providing, being strong and tough is not something they can do or is necessary, but the perception sticks.' Within weeks of making his decision, it took a mere ten-minute appointment with a private doctor in Japan to be 'diagnosed' as transgender, referred to a surgeon and sent away with HRT patches. He didn't begin using them immediately as things became untenable in his marriage in October 2022, which led to him fleeing his Tokyo home with little more than the clothes on his back and boarding a flight to London, where he could get a second month's supply from the NHS before beginning treatment. Back in the sanctuary of his family who were, he insists, nothing but supportive he got in touch with Lucy, a friend that he had connected with through Instagram and met previously a couple of times. 'I didn't really have anyone to talk to, so I messaged Lucy. And then we met up, and things just went from there,' he says. At this point, Sascha admits he was still horribly confused and had only taken the hormones he had been given because of his anxiety about being unable to continue his prescription. 'And thank God for that, as Lucy massively helped me snap out of my thinking. She helped me see myself from the outside. 'She kind of laughed about it, not in a horrible way, but when you realise that what you're doing is silly, it becomes impossible to carry on doing it.' Lucy, meanwhile, says that she instinctively knew that the trauma with which Sascha was grappling was not rooted in gender dysphoria. 'I can't really explain it, but I suppose I had known other trans people, and they had just not presented in the same way,' she says. Her approach was to try to talk Sascha through his thought process. She recalls: 'Things like, so what procedures exactly are you going to go through? And what kind of relationships do you want to have afterwards? 'And when he said women, I asked him what kind of women he thought would relate to him as a transwoman? 'It was just getting him to step back and think about it in real terms rather than purely fantastical ones.' She also asked him if he was ready to embrace the impact on his fertility. 'And when confronted like that, I realised I wasn't,' Sascha says. 'In the end, I guess she really grounded me.' Perhaps they grounded each other. Privately educated Cambridge graduate Lucy admits that she was something of a rebel who liked to push boundaries one reason that, in her 20s, she took a job working for a production company called Rebel Media, who had been employed to follow the then English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson and film him on his travels. Photographer David Bailey with his son Sascha at the Royal Academy Of Arts summer exhibition preview party in 2018 'It doesn't mean I had the same beliefs, everyone just assumed that,' she says. 'In fact, I was interested to see the conversations he was having.' She left Rebel Media in 2018 after a fall-out with Robinson who she emphasises she has 'no time for' and is now writing a book about her time on what she calls 'the Right-wing front line'. 'I still get trolling and hate mail from the far-Right,' she confides. She was also recently evicted from her flat-share after her flatmates googled her, told her she was hateful and asked her to leave. 'So I think we'd both had quite mad lives when we met,' she says. Sascha, too, is writing a book about his experience, which also investigates the ongoing culture war between the gender-critical and trans-activists communities, and which he will be releasing a chapter at a time on his social media feeds. Beyond this, though, he admits he is at something of a crossroads in his career. Having worked in the art world, curating exhibitions and creating one of the first platforms for artists to create NFTs (non-fungible tokens, which are digital collectibles often tied to pieces of online art), he has latterly been ostracised by the art community. 'The fashion world and the art world, I think, are forever closed off because of everything I've spoken about,' he says. 'In Japan, I was having meetings relating to big brands like Pokemon, and I've come back here, and that's all gone. 'It's a weird thing to be back at the starting point, but I've come to terms with that. I have no regrets. I'm glad that I spoke out.' In time, he plans to start an online tech venture. 'The great thing about that space is that no one can cancel you from it,' he says archly. For now though, both Sascha and Lucy want to focus on the exciting months ahead, and find a permanent home to raise their new baby, who is due in August. At some point he would love to propose, although he's currently restrained by ongoing issues with his estranged wife Mimi, to whom he is still technically married, but doesn't know where she is. Luckily both his and Lucy's family are thrilled about the impending arrival and have been a huge support. Lucy has met her new in-laws on several occasions, while Sascha's siblings, and older sister Paloma in particular, are delighted at the thought of new cousins for her own offspring. They'll find out the sex at a later scan and have already settled on names 'Ava' for a girl, 'Wolfgang' for a boy, which Sascha's mother had wanted to call him until it was vetoed by his father. 'We don't mind either way a healthy baby is all we ask for,' says Sascha. A gift that, for a brief and ghastly time, this delightful young father-to-be nearly denied himself. People across the nation tuned in to watch the 2025 BRIT Awards last night, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite star. However, despite huge names like Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX attending the event, those who tuned in were left slightly distracted by a mystery guest - a woman dressed as a horse. The mysterious attendee donned a draped red dress, later changing into a black frock, and an eerily realistic horse head mask, complete with ears. Throughout the ceremony, she was filmed sitting at a table beside Danny Dyer, prompting host Jack Whitehall to chat to Danny, questioning why he had brought along a horse as his date. It was later revealed that the masked woman was HorsegiirL, a Berlin-based DJ who wears an equine mask in public and keeps her real identity and name as secret. She has previously described herself as 'half-horse, half-human' who had been 'discovered by Whitney Horston at a harvest fest' as a teenager. According to Horse And Hound, she represents 'a new wave of electronic artists that prioritise the fun and kitschy, that counters the more serious approach that often permeates the electronic music scene'. She rose to fame in 2023, thanks to her track My Barns My Rules going viral on TikTok. The Happy Hardcore-style track features the hook: 'Long mane, big hoof, shiny coat, whats new?'. A guest at Saturday night's Brit Awards, dressed as a horse, was later revealed to be Berlin-based DJ HorsegiirL (pictured) The musician (pictured at the Brit Awards in London) rose to fame in 2023 when her track My Barn My Rules went viral on TikTok Dazed labelled the track the 'song of the Summer'. A member of the Live From Earth Klub, an independent label and artist collective that started as a left-wing YouTube channel, HorsegiirL has become increasingly well-known due to TikTok. Her fans, known as Farmies, have since grown in number, with many attending her sold out parties in cities like Sydney, London and New York. According to GlamCult, HorsegiirL is a breath of fresh air, thanks to her irreverent attitude in an industry that can take itself too seriously. Speaking to the outlet, the musician shared her philosophical perspective on rest and art. She said: 'I recently returned from a holiday in Ecuador where I did a lot of stargazing and grazing. 'We are on this earth with very limited time. Some humans Ive met believe rest is only necessary to be more productive again. 'To me, rest is the time I spend really consciously existing in the here and now. Reflecting, recharging, and realigning but also putting into perspective how fragile and beautiful life is once you stop taking it all in.' IN ACTION: HorsegiirL has kept her real identity a secret, and always wears a mask when appearing in public Speaking to Vice last year, she explained why she believes happy hardcore has become increasingly popular in recent years. She said: 'I would say in club spaces, the happy part, the euphoric part, was completely gone for a long time. At least in European clubs. It was very dark and very monotonous and very anti-vocals, the only time you would hear vocals and more of a euphoric chord feel was maybe in house music. So for a long time, in harder-style dance music, it was very dark. And people maybe were missing this happy feeling. So, its kind of a return. 'I really strongly disagree with the notion that high art, good art, in any form has to be serious and super intellectual.' Her irreverent style was on full show last night, as she stole the show at the Brits with her mysterious appearance. However, while many viewers were left baffled, fans of the DJ took to social media to solve the mystery. One wrote: 'straight people dont know who horsegiirl is im literally shaking and crying'; 'WHAT IS HORSEGIIRL DOING SAT WITH DANNY DYER WHAT THE HELL'. Another said: 'the way people arent understanding horsegiirl at the brits.. please shes not a furry shes just protecting her privacy and its a persona let her LIVEE'; 'obsessed with horsegiirl committing to the bit' And a third added: 'horsegiirl sat next to danny dyer is a generational moment'; 'WHYYYY have they sat danny dyer and horsegiirl next to eachother im cackling'. Some people watching the Brit Awards found it hysterical that the mystery DJ (pictured, right) was seen sitting next to actor Danny Dyer (pictured, left) Viewers of the 2025 BRIT Awards were left slightly distracted from the huge stars and electric performances, after spotting a long face in the crowd on Saturday night 'Danny Dyer definitely thinks HorsegiirL is Megan Thee Stallion'; 'them sitting danny dyers next to horsegiirl at the brits i am screaming,' said another. Meanwhile, a further added: 'not a fan of all the horsegiirl disrespect on my timeline'; 'whoever sat danny dyer next to horsegiirl needs an award themselves'. And another wrote: 'if a see one more tweet asking whys there a horse there am gonna go feral bc that is HORSEGIIRL put some respect on her name'. It's not the first time that HorsegiirL has hit the headlines, after Radio 1 DJ Arielle Free was suspended after slamming one of her hits back in 2023. The incident saw a worse for wear Arielle being pulled off air by Charlie Hedges during her live Dance Anthems broadcast, after she told Charlie she 'hated' the song she had just played - HorsegiirL's track My Barn, My Rules. Charlie then told Arielle to put down the mic, 'have some respect' and get out of her DJ booth. All had seemed well at first when Arielle came on the show and said to Charlie: 'Hi, yeah I sound great don't I? as Charlie laughed, because Arielle was losing her voice. 'You've sounded better,' Charlie responded. 'But it's OK.' Seeming out of sorts, Arielle insisted: 'Well this is what happened. You play on Friday and you play on Saturday and then your voice just goes.' She then suddenly added: 'Can I be honest with you Charlie?... I expected better of you... ' with Charlie interjecting: 'What? To sound better, like you?' Arielle said back: 'I don't like this song,' referring to My Barn, My Rules, causing Charlie to reply: 'Oh really?' And her followers were quick to take to social media to set the record straight on HorsegiirL's talents, while praising whoever had sat the DJ next to Danny Arielle admitted: 'I hate it!... before interrupting further to say: 'I'm sorrrryy.' An outraged Charlie said: 'Sorry I'm taking your mic down, it's my show Arielle, have some respect please. See you later. Get out of here,' ordering her out of the DJ booth. A spokesman for Radio 1 told MailOnline: 'Whilst we would not comment on individual matters, we have strict codes of behaviour for staff and presenters, and any breaches are taken extremely seriously.' Arielle was subsequently taken off from hosting the radio station's early breakfast show the following week. The 2025 BRIT Awards ceremony was hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, marking his fifth time at the helm of the event, after having previously presented the show in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Tonight will see Hollywood's biggest names take to the red carpet as they attend the industry's most prestigious awards ceremony - the Oscars. However, an actress who appeared in one of the nominated films will be missing from the list of guests. Soheila Golestani, 44, was the leading lady in The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which aims to shine a spotlight on the moral corruption and tension in Iranian society. The picture is up for the international gong - but has been nominated as a German, rather than Iranian, film. Because of her role in the movie, Soheila has been banned from leaving her Tehran home, and is facing charges of 'spreading corruption on earth and propaganda against the regime' at Iran's Revolutionary Court, reports the Times. The punishment she could be facing is a year in prison and 74 lashes. It wouldn't be the first time Soheila has seen the inside of a cell: two years ago, she was held in Evin prison, which is used to incarcerate political prisoners, and which has made headlines due to footage showing inmates being tortured, interrogated for hours on end and repeatedly threatened with execution. She was held at the facility after posting a video in solidarity with the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, which took place in the country after the death of Mahsa Amini, who died while in custody in September 2022. In the video, Soheila (alongside other actresses) removes her hijab - which is compulsory in Iran - before staring into the camera lens. Actress Soheila Golestani (pictured) will be absent from the Oscar's ceremony tonight, as she cannot leave Tehran Last May, after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi, her co-stars and the film's director, Mohammad Rasoulof, fled Iran when the curfew was briefly lifted. But Soheila was unable to flee, as she was undergoing surgery. Speaking about it, the actress told the Times: 'I got stranded because of my operation. But leaving your home and land is a personal decision, as unique to each person as their fingerprints. And I wanted to stay and face the impact of what I had done and my right to do it.' Discussing her absence from the film circuit, she said it would have been an 'amazing opportunity' to attend the Oscars, but that she was was to see the movie earn 'prestige and visibility'. The actress added that the cast and crew in attendance would be 'like my presence there'. Director Mohammad Rasoulof - who has been incarcerated previously due to his work - had been facing an eight-year custodial sentence before he fled Iran, because of the picture's critique of the Iranian regime. In The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Soheila plays the role of Najmeh, a woman who is married to a regime official called Imam. After being promoted to an investigator, one of Imam's duties is to sign death warrants, despite them not being supported by any evidence. This causes Najmeh to feel conflicted: on the one hand are the benefits of the promotion, like a bigger income, however, on the other hand are the issues caused by the regime, like the protests on the streets. The film's director Mohammad Rasoulof (pictured, centre) holds portraits of Iranian actors Missagh Zareh (left) and Soheila Golestani (right) while attending the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 (also seen are actresses Masha Rostami and Setareh Maleki) Soheila Golestani (pictured, left) is seen in a scene from The Seed of the Sacred Fig alongside Mahsa Rostami and Setareh Maleki The filmmakers had to take precautions while shooting exterior scenes to avoid detection by the authorities (pictured Mahsa Rostami, left, and Soheila Golestani in a scene from The Seed of the Sacred Fig) According to Soheila, she experienced 'conflicting feelings' while performing in the film, adding that it was 'like nothing I had ever experienced'. Despite it being a dangerous project to be part of, she says she agreed to the role 'because of the importance of making such a film at such an important time in our history and social environment'. In addition, she said, was the opportunity to play a 'real female character' - something which has been absent so far from Iranian screens. The production took a number of precautions to ensure they would be safe shooting exterior shots. For example, they had two scripts - the version they were shooting, and an officially approved version that they could switch to if encountering anyone. Speaking to Channel 4 about how the crew had avoided detection from the authorities when filming outdoors, director Mohammad Rasoulof said: 'A funny thing was that the story of the film involves a religious family which at a glance looks very much like the families shown in state television programmes. So when people saw the group at work they assumed it was a state project and people started swearing at the actors, saying "Shame on you for working with the regime,".' The film, which won the special jury prize at Cannes, is, according to its director 'about surrender'. He told Channel 4: 'It's about the people who work in authoritarian systems, who have human characteristics and features, but become part of the machinery of suppression.' Film has become an important part of the resistance, with the director telling the Times: 'Making underground films has become something of a culture in Iran for directors like me who dont want to submit to censorship. Every time we have to find a new way to do it as they [the regime] work out the ways we have used before.' Portraits of Iranian actor Missagh Zareh (pictured, left) and Iranian actress Soheila Golestani (pictured, right) are displayed during a photocall for The Seed of the Sacred Fig at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 However, the danger inherent in making such work means that those involved can face harsh punishments. Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled Iran on foot through the mountains, told the Times he is 'very worried' about Soheila, because she is under pressure trapped in Iran. However, he added, she has 'no regrets'. The director said everyone made a decision when they agreed to work on the production to be prepared for any consequence. The regime's response to the picture, whether it is a 'violent reaction or silence', is the least important thing, according to the director. The Seed of the Sacred Fig has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The King appeared to be in high spirits as he was photographed attending church today in Norfolk. King Charles, 76, is thought to have made the trip to St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham solo, as he was snapped without Camilla. Despite the cold weather, the monarch was seen smiling as he was greeted by Canon Paul Williams upon his arrival. The royal opted for a long dark coat for his outing this morning, pairing it with grey trousers, and brown shoes. His appearance at church comes ahead of a meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which is set to take place later today. The meeting follows a brutal bust-up between Donald Trump and Zelensky, which the Ukrainian insists he will not apologise for. It won't be the first meeting between Zelensky and King Charles: the two met in February 2023 at Buckingham Palace, before speaking again last Summer at Blenheim Palace during the European Political Community summit. The president described his time with the King in February as a 'truly special moment for me, for our country'. King Charles was pictured attending church in Sandringham today (pictured, left) ahead of his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured right: Canon Paul Williams) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured, left) during his fiery meeting with President Donald Trump (pictured, right) Relating to the King's time in the RAF amid a campaign to secure jets from the UK, he quipped 'in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king'. He will be travelling to Sandringham to meet Charles, after attending a crunch summit of world leaders at Lancaster House. Zelensky's appointment with the monarch follows his highly publicised meeting with Donald Trump, during which the US president launched an astonishing tirade against him. As a result of the fractious engagement, a number of people are now calling for Trump's State Visit to be cancelled. The shouting match when President Trump and Vice-President JD Vance ganged up against Ukraines leader to accuse him of gambling with World War Three came just hours after Sir Keir Starmer invited Trump for an unprecedented second ceremonial visit to the UK on behalf of King Charles. Politicians and military leaders called for the arrangements to be put on hold until Trump has made assurances about Ukraines security in the face of Russias aggression, with royal experts warning that a visit now risked embarrassing the monarch. Trump told Mr Zelensky he had not been grateful enough for US support, before ordering him to leave the White House. After Trump was handed the state visit invitation on Thursday, he said it would be an honour, adding that Charles was a beautiful man, a wonderful man. The monarch (pictured, left) was snapped being greeted by Canon Paul Williams (pictured, right) as he arrived at church earlier today However, a source close to the President last night warned it would be very unwise for the UK to rescind the invitation. They added: The best path forward would be for Sir Keir to persuade President Zelensky to apologise to President Trump and the American people. President Trump thinks King Charles is a wonderful man and is very much looking forward to seeing him and other senior members of the Royal Family when he makes his historic trip. But shadow home affairs minister Alicia Kearns last night said: State visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour. 'No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the USs commitment to her allies is assured. His Majesty should not have to carry the weight of Keirs diplomatic failings. She called the Oval Office clash a degrading spectacle and performative bullying for a US audience by Mr Trump, adding: Zelensky is fighting for the survival of his people: an innocent people being murdered by, a barbaric imperialist and dictator. However the Trump source said recalling the invitation would be very unwise unless the UK wants to undo all the goodwill generated by the Prime Ministers trip. During the visit, Trump is expected to be invited to address both Houses of Parliament an honour he was denied on his previous trip in 2019. But last night one MP predicted a sea of empty seats in protest. No date has yet been set for the state visit and many sources said it should be put off until the UK and US saw eye-to-eye on Ukraine. Former Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood, a joint British-American national, said: It would be inappropriate to place the King in the position of hosting the President if US foreign policy shifts away from its long-standing support for Ukraine and toward alignment with Russias security objectives. Dickie Arbiter, who was a spokesman for the late Queen, said: Its difficult to rescind an invitation to an alleged ally of Britain. I feel the only option is to stall until such time the Government feels is right. Ex-MI6 head Richard Dearlove, agreed: They dont have to arrange the state visit straight away. They have got to let the dust settle. 'If Trump is that enamoured of the royal family... there is opportunity to try to rebuild bridges. Former Tory leader Michael Howard said it would be extraordinarily difficult for the King given Mr Trump and Mr Vances disgraceful behaviour, but added: Sometimes we have to do things we dont like to try to gain things for our country. 'Weve got to see if we can moderate the behaviour of this dreadful administration. [The state visit] may be one of the ways we can exert a smidgen of influence. Speaking inside Number 10, the Prime Minister firmly reassured the Ukrainian president: 'Let me just say that you're very, very welcome here in Downing Street' The Ukrainian President's furious bust-up with the US President has sent diplomatic ripples across the world Labour peer George Foulkes said the visit should be postponed after Trumps outrageous behaviour, adding: The diplomatic thing would be for the King to find himself busy for the next few months. Former Army commander Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, said: The insensitive, cowardly and arrogant approach of Trump and Vance and their apparent appeasement of Putin is a huge concern. 'I am sure the King will not want to entertain [Trump] who currently appears to be on the side of evil rather than good. But constitutional expert Sir Vernon Bogdanor, said: The meeting should go ahead. It would be an unprecedented snub to cancel it and would damage our interests. Last night No10 insisted the state visit would go ahead saying: The only serious route to a secure, sovereign Ukraine is for all allies across the US and Europe to come together in action, not words. Robert De Niro's legendary New York City restaurant Tribeca Grill closed last night after hosting celebrities including Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez and Paul McCartney for 35 years. Located on Greenwich Street in the heart of the Tribeca neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan, Tribeca Grill was opened in 1990 by De Niro, 81, and restaurateur Drew Nieporent, 69. Other partners involved when the restaurant first opened included famous faces Sean Penn, Bill Murray, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ed Harris and Christopher Walken. Other famous faces who ate at the grill during it's three and a half decades, include Naomi Campbell, Billy Crystal, Mick Jagger, and Paul McCartney. Even Nelson Mandela attended a dinner there when he was in the area to be honoured by the UN. It was De Niro who approached seasoned restauranteur Nieporent - who already had one dining spot in Tribeca - to ask if he wanted to open another one. De Niro lived just a few blocks away from Nieporent's three-star eatery called Montrachet. He explained how the actor would come in, and sit 'with his back to the room', at the furthest table. Keira Knightley (pictured in 2014) is photographed at the celeb-loved location during that year's Tribeca Film Festival Felicity Jones (pictured in December 2019) is also among the famous faces who have been to the eatery Katie Holmes attends the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival Jury Lunch at Tribeca Grill Loft on April 25, 2019 in New York City According to Nieporent, the Raging Bull star was then, and remains now, 'a man of very few words'. Nieporent told the Times that after the actor asked him about opening a place together, the two of them - accompanied by De Niro's then girlfriend model Toukie Smith - went to look at the building the Taxi Driver star was thinking of buying. He was planning to install the restaurant on the ground floor, taking up a massive 7,000sq ft. Meanwhile, the eatery would also have the basement, as well as a private dining room upstairs, next to a small cinema. The other space was to be taken up by film industry people, with the Weinstein brothers buying a floor and Steven Spielberg still 'in the building', according to Nieporent. When the grill opened, the Tribeca area - an old commercial district full of warehouses and industrial buildings - was still undergoing gentrification, a process which started in the 1960s, when artists started to move there due to the lower living costs. It has now become one of the most expensive places in the city, with rent reportedly costing a median $8,295 per month (according to RentEasy). After De Niro snapped up the building, he and Nieporent bought the bar from restaurant Maxwell's Plum - which had itself been NY's hottest eatery during its heyday in the 1960s and 70s. Model Emily Ratajkowski attends WrapWomen 2019 Power Women Breakfast New York at Tribeca Grill in New York City Robert De Niro and Nelson Mandela at a dinner in honour of the late president of South Africain May 2005 Billy Crystal (pictured left) and Robert De Niro attend the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival Jury Lunch at Tribeca Grill Loft on April 25, 2019 Following a few private parties, the grill was opened up to the public in 1990. Nieporent told the Times that some 'rougher' characters turned up to the eatery in the early days, assuming the food would be Italian. 'De Niro wannabes,' he explained, adding that 'the Tribeca Grill was like an American restaurant, which was, believe it or not, a little unusual in 1990'. During the first year, they hosted a party for Nelson Mandela, who would then return in 2005. Throughout its 35-year run, the restaurant was loved by staff, some of whom worked there for decades, with their children then taking up employment there too. But despite its popularity, Tribeca Grill was badly affected by Covid, with Nieporent saying they 'got [their] a** kicked during' the pandemic. After that, it never fully recovered. In addition, he explained, the dining scene in New York has changed, expanding to Brooklyn and Queens. 'There are so many restaurants,' the restauranteur said, explaining that to survive for three decades, you have to 'change somewhat generationally'. Priyanka Chopra and Robert De Niro attending a lunch event at the venue in April 2017 A view of actor Robert De Niro's Tribeca Grill restaurant on October 25, 2018, in New York City Actor Christopher Walken modelling Willi Smith clothes to celebrate Willi Smith Day at the Tribeca Grill in 1990 Whoopi Goldberg and Robert De Niro are pictured chatting to one another while at a 2018 event at the celeb-loved venue He added that while they still have the custom of the parents, that reach hasn't expanded to include their children. The final Saturday night saw the restaurant packed, according to the Times, which reported that former staff as well as diners came to visit during its final days. According to the restaurants managing partner, Marty Shapiro, one server (who is now a teacher) had flown to NY from Seattle. Shapiro, who has been with Tribeca Grill since it opened in 1990, explained what an institution it had been for some people. He said: 'So many people had their first date here, got married here, celebrated kids birthdays.' Charles Spencer has discussed why he wrote his memoir, A Very Private School, in an interview. The book, which was published last year, details the sexual abuse he and other boys experienced at Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire in the 1970s. Writing the tome was so traumatic that Earl Spencer had to undergo residential treatment after its completion, going to a facility abroad for PTSD, saying he was 'overwhelmed by the tale that I felt compelled to tell'. Discussing why he wrote the book in an interview with the Times, the 60-year-old said his goal had been to create a truthful about that time period. He explained: 'It [the book] is not born of self-pity, nor is it an attempt at revenge, but it is instead my best attempt at laying down a clear and honest record of a time and a place where very bad things happened far too often.' Since the release of his memoir, Charles says he has received 'many dozens' of letters from people around the world, who detailed the 'appalling suffering' inflicted on them by teachers when they were children. He also discussed how the parents of children abused at boarding school were not aware of what was happening. Talking about his own circumstances, he explained: 'My father was a very trusting sort of man, whom I believe understood that boarding school was tough, but he did not suspect how deviant it could also be. Meanwhile my mother was not overly engaged in the institution to which my background demanded I be committed. She visited Maidwell for an hour the February before I went there.' Earl Spencer (pictured while appearing on ITV programme Lorraine) went to a facility for residential treatment for PTSD after writing the book Furthermore, he said, none of the boys who told him about undergoing abuse at Maidwell ever told their parents - explaining that they didn't think to do so. 'I believe this is because, being so young, we had so little context to our lives,' he said. 'We did not know what was happening to us was wrong.' In addition, Earl Spencer said, there was an 'understanding' that they were lucky to be attending the prestigious school - at a great financial cost to their parents, so complaining would have appeared 'very ungrateful'. The memoir tells how a predatory assistant matron described as a 'voracious paedophile' preyed on Charles and other young boys, grooming and then abusing them in their beds. He also claims John Porch, the 'terrifying and sadistic' head teacher of the prep school, inflicted brutal beatings on the children and seemingly gaining sexual pleasure from the violence. Porch has since died. Speaking at the Hay literature festival last June, Earl Spencer claimed a school master who allegedly abused him and was 'very violent' lives close to his estate, Althorp House. He also knew where a female member of staff at the boarding school - who he accuses of abuse - lives, adding: 'I'm sure justice may well catch up with her quite soon.' The earl said: 'There are two [staff members] that are still alive I had to give them false names [in the book] because the lawyers were worried about it. Charles (pictured with his father Earl Spencer) said the older man 'did not suspect how deviant' boarding school could be A Very Private School (pictured) by Charles Spencer was the author's 'best attempt at laying down a clear and honest record of a time and a place where very bad things happened far too often' 'I wasn't there's nothing in that book that I cannot corroborate with various witnesses. 'One of them was a very abusive master who hated me and was very violent with me'. He claimed the master did not live very far from his home, but added: 'I don't want to see him.' The historian inherited Althorp, he and the late Princess of Wales's childhood home, in 1992. He lives on the 13,000-acre estate in Northamptonshire with his wife, Countess Karen Spencer, and their 11-year-old daughter Charlotte Diana. Because of his own experience, the earl has warned children as young as eight should never go to boarding school. Speaking on Lorraine Kelly's show ahead of the book's release last March, he said: 'When I went for my first night at this school I had never stayed away from home without a family member and the horror of it I had nightmares for six months before going because I couldn't aged seven and then eight get it into my head that this was going to be the case. 'But being sent at seven or eight is terrible and I remember there was one boy who went when I was there and he was looking for his parents the first day. Diana Spencer and her brother Charles Spencer at their home in Berkshire in 1968 - before he went to boarding school A young Earl Spencer, three, is pictured with his sister, Diana, in 1967 before he was sent to boarding school 'They hadn't told him they were going to leave him at the school. So he thought he was going on a trip with his parents and then he started looking for them but they had gone. They had gone home and he wasn't going to see them for five weeks. 'I think being sent away at a very delicate age such as seven or eight is really I don't support that at all. 'I have seven children and two of them have chosen to go to boarding school in their mid-teens. And that is fine - their decision. And if they decided it wasn't for them, they knew there was an exit plan.' Earl Spencer also believes due to his young age, he was less likely to report the abuse to an adult once it started. He said: 'I think kids at that age, no matter their background, have no context for their life, they just think this is what their parents expect and this is the framework they have been given. I found with all my friends none of them told their parents.' He continued: 'And I must say another thing, coming from the rather uptight background that a lot of us came from back in the 70s we didn't have conversations with our parents on deep levels. 'In fact one of my friends said his abiding memory of being sent to this place aged eight was how strange it was to be in a car with his father because they had never had a conversation before.' Maidwell Hall is ten miles from Althorp House, the family seat of the Spencers, where Diana is buried. A feeder for elite private schools including Eton and Winchester, it only admitted boys until 2010 and currently charges fees of up to 31,700 a year. Earl Spencer, who joined the school in 1972, recalls how boys were told to refer to all female staff as 'Please' instead of 'Miss' a rule that was meant to instil good manners, but which Earl Spencer believed was 'deeply odd'. Earl Spencer's comment on the topic of boarding schools came after Maidwell Hall announced it had reported itself to the local authority designated officer. In a lengthy statement the school said: 'It is sobering to read about the experiences Charles Spencer and some of his fellow alumni had at the school, and we are sorry that was their experience. 'It is difficult to read about practices which were, sadly, sometimes believed to be normal and acceptable at that time. 'Within education today, almost every facet of school life has evolved significantly since the 1970s. At the heart of the changes is the safeguarding of children, and promotion of their welfare. 'Although we have not directly received any claims from ex-pupils, considering what has been reported, the school has followed the statutory process and made a referral to the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer). 'We would encourage anyone with similar experiences to come forward and contact either Maidwell Hall, the LADO or the police.' Haley Mlotek married her high school sweetheart - the love of her life - on a cold day in December 2015. Theyd got together when she was just 16; had their first chaste kiss in a hotel elevator during a school trip to Europe. And, though they had broken up once or twice over the years - 'all those people, we thought, mustve known something we didnt', she says - theyd always returned to each other. However, within months of getting married for practical reasons, the cracks started to show. Arguments, small and not so small, would erupt out of nowhere. And Mlotek confesses she grew curious about what she might have missed during the 12 years theyd dated and then lived together. 'I had never dated as an adult,' she says, 'and all my practice flirting was mostly contained to either my imagination or to developing an exceptionally friendly and sweetly persuasive demeanor in all my customer service jobs.' Could opening up her new marriage save it, she wondered. Mlotek confesses she grew curious about what she might have missed during the 12 years she and her husband had dated and then lived together Her year of marriage wasn't what she had imagined when she was dressing up as a child In her new book, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, the Canada-based writer describes discovering how very wrong that thought proved. In the year that I was married, she writes, I made friends with a woman I admired a lot. She was younger and smarter: more education, more experience, much longer and far better hair.' This woman, like Mlotek, had fallen in love as a teenager and was now engaged to her sweetheart. But, unlike Mlotek, their relationship was open - both partners dated other people. During one particular evening - over wine and long, intimate conversations - this sophisticated and brave, novel and classic woman told Mlotek about a new man she was seeing. Mlotek's curiosity was piqued. I want something like that, she thought. A boyfriend.' I didnt mean something as literal as wanting the man she was dating, she adds, but when she suggested it I thought the same thing.' With her new friends blessing, Mlotek started texting the man, while immersing herself in this new world of ethical non-monogamy - a lifestyle choice built on communication and consent, that comes with its own very particular lexicon. In her new book, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, the Canada-based writer describes discovering how very wrong that thought proved The film Vicky Cristina Barcelona depicts a polyamorous relationship between Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson 2019's Marriage Story told the heartbreaking story of a relationship breaking down Your 'anchor partner' for instance, is the most important person you're involved with. A 'polycule' is a network of interconnected relationships. And partners can do some 'jealousy work' to help them manage entirely natural feelings that arise when involved in a polycule. This evolved language, combined with open and honest communication, could, she believed, offset the illicitness of sleeping with a man who was not her husband. I read The Ethical Slut. I learned so many new words. An entire vocabulary existed, and I believed that if you somehow used them correctly, any bad feeling could be made to evaporate. No one had to be jealous, I learned, and any hurt incurred could be healed. The rules that my husband and I had set for our open marriage were right, I thought at the time. They followed what I believed was the logic of what I had read. Disclosures and decorum, in equal measure - no lies, but also, no unnecessary detail. But the complicated arrangement - combined with intense feelings that could not be controlled with an evolved set of 'rules' - could not last. She writes: The suspicion creeped in as I watched, like an outsider, five lives fold into each other with too much intensity too soon. My new friend and I; my husband and hers; our boyfriend. We delighted in our evolved approach as to who we were to each other. By the time I realized this was a bad idea it felt too late to stop. 'I had wanted to date as an adult, and now I was,' she writes. 'Now I knew how it felt to start wanting someone who wanted me in the same way; now I knew how quickly I would lose control of how much we wanted each other.' She describes a night, a few months into this new relationship, that she realized it was completely out of her control. On a date with her lover, she packed a small bag, knowing she would spend the night with him. But he didnt show, and as her cellphone battery began to die, Mlotek felt a rising sense of panic. Once he arrived he was distant, she writes. He didnt want to talk. When the official part of the night ended he didnt want to come with me to the after-party, walking away when it was time to get in the cab. At the bar I texted, again and again, until my phone died at the same rate as my dignity. She felt she couldnt go home - having told her husband she would be out all night. Haley is seen in this 2018 photo that she shared to her Instagram And when her lover eventually appeared, she writes, he was violent - he hurt me in a way he never had in private. My arms bent behind my back at the wrong angle, my elbows held up like they didnt come attached to my shoulders. Yet she felt powerless to fight back. At his house, the violence continued. Wait, she said. Wait, wait, wait. We didnt wait. Mlotek admits that, even then, she craved to hear that he wanted her, needed her, loved her. I was too afraid to admit,' she writes, 'that I wanted a feeling more than I wanted anything else. That I wanted it so badly but somehow not badly enough to do anything smart or kind for everyone involved and leave my marriage To know when it was time to say goodbye, and to trust that we would have the chance to try again with other people. I guess now Ive broken up with someone, I said to my husband as we walked home together one night a few weeks later. I guess you have, he said. Her husband moved out 13 months after their wedding day, and they were divorced later that year. But, for all the pain, she admits she wouldn't change a thing. 'I would do it all again,' she writes, 'which is not the same as saying I will. 'When I think about everything I can remember - as many memories as I can hold at once, and then the ones that come up later, surfacing when I least expect them - I know I would do it all exactly the same, with all the same answers. 'I would say yes, say more, say never, say no.' No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce by Haley Mlotek is published by Viking Britain's illegal vape hotspots have been revealed in new datawith a staggering 1.2million danger devices, valued at 9million, seized in 2024. That's the equivalent to two every minute, representing a 44 per cent increase on last year. The damning figures fly in the face of the Government's drive to ban disposable vapesand highlight the UK's growing vape black market. Illegal vapes can contain nicotine levels higher than the legal limit in the UK, potentially causing illness, or unknown added chemicals that may be toxic. The London Borough of Hillingdon topped the list for total seizures in 2024, with 484,954 vapes confiscatedan increase of 116 per cent compared to 2023. Essex ranked second for total devices seized, with 333,600 confiscatedbut was the fastest growing market, with a 14,000 per cent increase in illegal vapes seized. Industry experts attributed this to Hillingdon's proximity to Heathrow airport, making it a key entry point for such devices. Overall, the borough accounted for two in five of all vapes seized by authorities across the UK in 2024. Your browser does not support iframes. Liverpool ranked third nationally, with 29,180 vapes seized last yeara near 50 per cent increase on 2023. In Wales, Newport, Northeast of Cardiff, was identified as that nations illegal vaping hub, with over 20,000 vapes seized, accounting for 70 per cent of Waless total. For Scotland, Renfrewshire Councilhome to Glasgow Airportrecorded the highest number of illegal vapes confiscated, with 3,814 seized. Ben Johnson, chief executive of vaping business Riot Labs, said the Government should introduce a licensing scheme for the devices. This would mean only authorised retailers could sell them to the public, to curb the rise in black market sales. 'The bottom line is, the illegal vape black market is booming due to a lack of enforcement and the Government's ongoing attempts to use prohibition, which is only fuelling the problem. Prohibition does not work,' he said. 'Vapes have a vital role to play in the Government's smoke free ambitions, helping millions of adult smokers quit.' Dan Marchant, chief executive of the Vape Club, which carried out the report, added: 'Innocent Brits who are using vapes as a legitimate tool to quit are being exploited by the black market, and more has to be done to protect them. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. 'Dangerously high nicotine levels and contaminated products are reaching consumers due to this illicit activity.' The warnings come as the Government plans to ban single use vapes from June this year in an effort to reduce youth vaping. The latest NHS data shows that one in four children has tried vaping, while one in 10 uses vapes regularly. Among 16- to 17-year-olds, the rate rises to one in six. Disposable vapes are by far the most commonly used form of the device, with as many as 70 per cent of children who vape using them. Unlike refillable 'pen' or 'box' style vape devices, which retail from about 20, disposables can be purchased for as little as 3. This, campaigners say, makes them particularly attractive to younger people. And like most vapes, they contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. While vapes were initially touted as a 'safer' alternative to tobacco, public health experts have become increasingly concerned that youngsters who have never smoked are using electronic cigarettes or vapes. NHS Digital data, based on the smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England survey for the year 2021, showed 30 per cent of children in Yorkshire and the Humber have used a vape Multiple shocking cases have emerged of collapsed lungs, fainting or vomiting ominous green liquid, linked to heavy vaping among youngsters. And, disturbingly, there is evidence children as young as four are being hospitalised due to damage caused by vapes. NHS England has said doctors have seen a 733 per cent surge in children and teenagers being admitted for vaping-related disorders since 2020. In 2023, 11 were nursery school-age and 12 were aged 10 to 14. The NHS has historically recommended vapes to help people quit smoking, one of the biggest causes of illness and death in the UK. Around 76,000 people die every year from smoking-related health problems, including heart disease, strokes and cancer. E-cigarettes are far less harmful than traditional smoking and can help people quit smoking for good according to the health service. Experts say some signs a vape may be illegal include if the volume of e-liquid being over 2ml, a nicotine level is higher than 20mg/ml, packaging that doesnt show the nicotine warnings required by law, packaging in a foreign language and a lack of an ingredient list. A Mother's Promise by Renee Salt with Kate Thompson (Seven Dials 20, 304pp) Never again was the worlds solemn vow, after the unspeakable horror of what the Nazis called the final solution the genocide of the Jewish people was at last known. Yet never again rings hollowly at a time when anti-Semitism is on the increase and Jews are being starved in brutal captivity by Islamist terrorists. Renia after the war as a young mother with her own little daughter That is why we need the testimonies of those able still to remind us what happened in the Holocaust. Coming so soon after thousands of candles were lit on January 27 for those murdered, A Mothers Promise by Renee Salt is deeply moving and essential reading. Renee was born Rywka (or Renia) Berkowicz in Poland in 1929. Her family was prosperous, middle-class, elegant, cultured; the little girl loved the lavish family gatherings in an area where Jews, Poles and Germans lived peaceably side by side. That is, until 1935, when rumblings of Jew-hatred began. By 1939, the warm extended-family celebrations would stop. Right at the beginning of her story, before the details of oppression and suffering begin, Renia establishes what she stands for: I am 95 years old at the time of writing and I am a witness to history a survivor of the Holocaust, and this book is my attempt to make sense of a story which, at times, I can scarcely believe happened to me. But it did Some of the pages that follow are drenched in horror but, every so often, a little light of hope and humanity shines out. There is love, too, believe me, so much love. Thank goodness for those simple words, because Renias story like so many other Holocaust memoirs, from Eli Wiesel to Edith Eger leaves faith in humanity teetering on the edge of an abyss. When the Nazis invaded Poland, Renias family, like all the others, lost everything; the synagogues were closed or destroyed and Jews were stripped of all their rights, and, with terrifying speed, Renias family, like thousands of others, was forced into the ghetto. Here its essential to praise the powerful structure of this book, which adds so greatly to its cumulative effect. Throughout, Renias recollections are printed in italics, and between those passages the writer Kate Thompson provides an excellent, beautifully written historical narrative, setting Renias story in context as well as distilling many of their personal conversations. The trust and affection between the two women gives every page extraordinary emotional depth. Holocaust survivor Renee Salt with Kate Thompson Eight of her family were living in one room in the horrendously overcrowded and squalid Zdunska Wold ghetto when 11-year-old Renia was forced to work long hours in a factory making garments for the German army. But starvation, exhaustion and terror were nothing compared with the unforgettable horror of seeing her little sister snatched away by the Nazis, one of several hundred other children taken to the Kulmhof death camp and never seen again. The agonies pile up: a ten-hour journey in a stifling cattle truck to the Lodz ghetto, overcrowding, the desperate scrabble for half a cabbage, terror alternating with tedium. Then, when Renia is 15, the transports to Auschwitz begin. In the darkness of the cattle truck, Renia was comforted to be with her parents, and tried to concentrate on the feeling of holding my mothers hand in mind. It was like holding on to life. But, on arrival, Renia watches her beloved father jump down from the train and disappear from her life forever. Bewildered Renia and her mother Sala shuffle forward in the queue for selection, not knowing that the shiny boots of the SS man at the top belong to the notorious Dr Josef Mengele. He directs those who look unfit for work to the left, to die immediately. Mother and daughter clutch hands, but Renia is sent to the right and her mother to the left. Then a miracle. Renias mother has already lost one daughter and isnt going to let it happen again, so she darts to Renias side and gets away with it. To this day Renia cannot fathom how. A Mother's Promise is available now from the Mail Bookshop Existence in the hell-hole of Auschwitz should by now be known to every decent person. The unbearable cold, bare feet and hands, rags to wear, lice, starvation, beatings, slave labour, stink, death through it all Sala keeps her daughter going. Her devotion offered her a reason to live. But Sala is injured, ill and weak, and when they are both transported to Bergen-Belsen, they are separated in the chaos. After two days of searching the camp, Renia finds her mother, barely alive, and hears her whispered instruction, Do not cry when I die. Ten days after British troops liberate the camp, Sala Berkowicz dies at the age of 42, one of an estimated 14,000 there for whom the end of the war came too late. Renias own plunge into near-death illness, her recovery, gradual discovery that some of her extended family were still alive, and the most wonderful, extraordinary love story leading to life in England all this keeps you on the edge of your seat with pity, horror and excitement. I dont want to give spoilers away because I want you to read this beautiful, uplifting testimony. But one depressing fact is worth noting: two or three times during her work as a Holocaust educator, Renia Salt has actually been challenged by students who told her she was wrong and the whole thing never happened. SNL's Micheal Che made a dig at his own network after MSNBC star Joy Reid's show was cancelled, joking that his status as a black anchor meant he'd be fired next. 'This week, MSNBC fired its only non-white primetime host,' Che said, in reference to Reid's firing. 'And Lester Holt announced he is stepping down as the anchor of NBC Nightly News.' A picture of Che hosting the Weekend Update flashed on screen and he joked: 'Well, NBC, only one more to go, baby!' Saturday Night Live is broadcast by NBC. Reid, who previously filled the 7pm slot with The ReidOut, became a prominent weekday host in 2020. Three other non-white hosts were also demoted by MSNBC. Jonathan Capehart, Katie Phang and Ayman Mohyeldin all lost primetime shows, but will remain with the network in less prestigious timeslots. Holt is remaining as host of Dateline, but the timing of his announcement coupled with the MSNBC drama has raised uncomfortable questions for executives about the departure of non-white talent. Status News reported that Reid's constant progressive, anti-Trump rants unsettled MSNBC bosses. They want the network to remain liberal during the second Trump administration, but in a more subtle way. As the first and only Black Weekend Update Host, Che, following Holt's departure and Reid's firing, is now one of the few non-white anchors left at NBC. Che was not the only one bashing the network for the controversial move, as longtime MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said that it was a 'bad mistake.' SNL's Michael Che took aim at NBCUniversal news group, who screens SNL, over the firing of two prominent non-white news anchors and even wondered if he might be the next to go while he hosted the comedy show's Weekend Update Joy Reid hosted The ReidOut on MSNBC and became a prominent weekday host. Her show was cancelled on Monday coupled with the news she wouldn't be taking a position elsewhere in the network A picture of Che hosting the Weekend Update flashed on screen and he joked: 'Well, NBC, only one more to go, baby!' Maddow expressed her affection and admiration for her former co-host as the show came to an official end on Monday. 'Joy Reids show, The ReidOut, ended tonight. And Joy is not taking a different job in the network. She is leaving the network altogether and that is very, very, very hard to take,' Maddow told the outlet. She furthered that she had 'learned so much from her' and loved 'everything about her.' 'I do not want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC, and personally, I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door,' she added. Maddow described the slashing of two non-white hosts in primetime as 'indefensible' and noted that anchor Katie Phang will also be losing her weekend time slot as MSNBC closes its Miami operation. She divulged that the staffing changes were among some of the 'most experience' and 'most talented.' Maddow has been lashed as a greedy hypocrite by some critics. They say the host - MSNBC's top star - should resign in solidarity if she's really that outraged by the firings and demotions. Maddow earns $25 million a year from her show, which she usually hosts just one night a week. Che and Maddow's criticism of NBCUniversal News Group, which screens SNL and MSNBC, comes as Trump himself slammed the network's parent company Comcast's chairman-CEO Brian Roberts. Trump labelled Roberts a 'lowlife' and 'mentally obnoxious racist' who 'should have been "canned" long ago.' Maddow described the slashing of two non-white hosts in primetime as 'indefensible' and said Reid's firing was a 'bad mistake' Trump was also a target on SNL last night during a skit about his Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky 'This whole corrupt operation [of MSNBC] is nothing more than an illegal arm of the Democrat party,' Trump wrote on Truth Social last week. 'They should be forced to pay vast sums of money for the damage they've done to our Country. Fake News is an UNPARDONABLE SIN!' Trump was also a target on SNL last night during a skit about his Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Che's co-host Jost asked 'let's see how it went,' referring to the peace talks televised from the White House on Friday. A quick clip rolled of Trump yelling at Zelensky for not surrendering to Russia, which Jost sarcastically summed up as, 'Pretty good.' Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. B.T. writes: In January last year, my wife and I were scheduled to fly to Heathrow from Newark in the US but BA cancelled our flight. In August, I received an email from BA about a payment to us. I'd received no such payment. I was told it had been made to my Revolut account. Until then, I had never even heard of Revolut. I have phoned and emailed BA, but they just reply payment has been made. I am having no success in getting them to understand. Concerns: The compensation payment was made to fraudster Tony Hetherington replies: You will have heard of the movie Snakes On A Plane. Well, you have just opened a can of worms on a plane. Armed with your signed authority, I asked BA for a copy of whatever claim it received for compensation following your cancelled flight. And I asked for the sort code and account number at Revolut that you were said to have supplied. BA's response was to call you to discuss 'your claim'. The caller insisted you filed a claim last August. Your whole point, of course, was that you made no such claim. I contacted BA again, reminding the airline that I had asked for a copy of whatever claim you were supposed to have made. And this time I raised the possibility that a fraud was going on, using your name. BA's response was a bit of a brush-off, telling me that its customer relations team was going ahead with your payment the same payment BA already sent months ago to Revolut! So I pressed the airline again. I reminded BA that you had made no claim. In fact, BA had approached you last August, sparking this whole affair. And again, I asked BA to produce the claim that you supposedly made, or to tell me if it now accepted that it had been defrauded. The airline refused to give me details of the Revolut account to which it sent the compensation payment, citing confidentiality. And this refusal was key. BA had your signed consent to let it hand over the bank details. The only reason to refuse would be that BA was gradually accepting the account was not, in fact, yours. Giving me the Revolut account details would be a breach of the fraudster's privacy! And if this were true, then it raised an even bigger question: How did the fraudster gain access to passenger records from the cancelled flight, including enough of your personal information to allow the crook to open the account at Revolut? Was this an inside job? Was BA hacked? Or did the entire passenger list leak from sources at the airport in the US? BA told me its customer relations team was waiting to hear from you so it could pay you. But you told me that the last you had heard from the airline was that it was reviewing the matter and would call you the following week, which of course it did not. I had to remind BA that the heart of the matter was that I wanted an explanation for the payment it made to Revolut in your name not just to make it pay all over again to the real you. After six weeks of enquiries, I told BA very bluntly that it had become clear that we were staring a fraud in the face, and that its passenger list had leaked. Two things then happened. The first was that 1,040 landed in your bank account. This is your compensation that was already paid to the Revolut account. And the second thing that happened was that the airline finally admitted that it had indeed been defrauded. In a very brief statement, the airline told me: 'This matter has been referred to the police.' What remains to be seen now is the scale of the fraud. Were claims made in the names of other passengers? And how did crooks get hold of the flight details? Is this a one-off or something far bigger and well organised? One way or another, BA is in for a bumpy ride. Cashing out: Bank staff accepted immediately something had gone seriously wrong Cynergy lacking, er, synergy Ms C.B. writes: Last June, I deposited 25,000 into a Cynergy Bank fixed rate bond. It matured on December 27 and I wished to transfer my money and interest to my original bank account, but apparently the company's app is not fully functional and I was unable to do this. Tony Hetherington replies: You told me that the bank advised you to make the transfer online, but you ran into a fresh problem with this. You telephoned Cynergy Bank but you were told you had failed security checks. You tried again and managed to pass security, but when you explained that you wanted your money, you were told to try the online transfer route again. You did and it failed again. The bank told you there might be a problem with your stored details. You were asked to email basic information such as your date of birth, address and so on, but when you did this, you received no reply. You complained and were told to expect a reply within eight weeks. Meanwhile, your savings had been transferred to an account earning just one per cent interest. When I contacted Cynergy Bank, staff accepted immediately something had gone seriously wrong. The bank told me: 'Unfortunately, Ms B experienced difficulties accessing her funds following the maturity of her fixed rate bond, compounded by communications delays. We sincerely apologise for this shortfall in service.' Your 25,000 has now been released with 88 of backdated interest, at the 4.92 per cent your bond was earning, and a further 200 as an apology. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2015, more than 2,400 companies were listed on the stock market. Today, there are barely 1,400. Some firms have collapsed, some have delisted but most have been taken over. Across the globe, eagle-eyed predators are sizing up UK businesses, spotting a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bag themselves a bargain. Interest stems from Indian billionaires, Asian conglomerates, Gulf-based financiers and deep-pocketed Americans. But they all recognise something home-grown institutions seem to have overlooked, that the UK is stuffed full of exciting businesses, which are far too cheap. The trend has set alarm bells ringing in the City, in government and among millions of individual investors. But for money-seeking market-watchers this sorry state of affairs begs one obvious question: who will be next? Of course, no one knows for sure but, across the market, a number of companies stand out as potential bid candidates. Some are multibillion-pound giants. Others are tiddlers. But in every case, their share price fails to reflect their inherent value, making them ideal prey for canny acquirers. ITV, B&M and Finseta are among the firms being sized up by eagle-eyed predators Filtronic Spun out of Leeds University in 1977, Filtronic was an electronics pioneer from the start. The group listed on the stock market in 1994, expanded rapidly and by the height of the dotcom boom its shares had soared to more than 4. They then fell to earth, slumping to below 30p and barely moving for years. But the group persevered, quietly developing top-tier radio-frequency products used by industries from aerospace to quantum computing. That perseverance paid off and last year, Elon Musk came a-calling. The US billionaire chose Filtronic as a strategic partner for SpaceX, his galaxy-bound venture recently valued at $350 billion (275 billion). Besides striving to boldly go where no man has gone before, SpaceX operates Starlink broadband, providing high-speed internet services via satellite to users around the world. Filtronic signed an initial contract with Musk last April but he keeps coming back for more, with a new deal signed only last month. Filtronic shares have more than doubled to 1.04 since last year but the group is still valued on the stock market at less than 250 million, a minor morsel for an ambitious technology company or private equity house. B&M Value retailer B&M has issued two profit warnings since January, boss Alex Russo is leaving early and the future looks uncertain. B&M's range is huge, from lino flooring to Lego and frozen peas to puppy treats. But sales have been weak for a while, the group fell out of the FTSE100 last December and the shares have tumbled from more than 6.40 to 2.76. B&M was acquired by Simon, Robin and Bobby Arora in 2004, when there were just 21 stores. The three brothers built the business into a retail success story, with more than 1,000 sites here in Britain, but Simon left in 2022, Robin is no longer involved and Bobby declared last year that he would step down in 2025, earlier than planned. What better timing for a bid? B&M is admittedly a hefty mouthful, valued on the stock market at almost 3 billion, but the group is relatively cheap compared with peers and a determined predator could find plenty to chew over at the current price. ITV Amid persistent talk about potential takeovers, one name crops up more than any other, ITV. As Britain's biggest commercial channel, ITV is home to some of the nation's favourites, from Coronation Street and Emmerdale to The Bill and Love Island. But the group has expanded into a global production business, making programmes for customers including the BBC, Netflix and Disney. Best-sellers range from high-brow quiz show University Challenge to Jilly Cooper's rompathon Rivals, for Disney+. But ITV shares have slumped from 2.80 in 2015 to 71p today. Results for 2024 will be unveiled this week and are unlikely to set pulses racing. In the long-term, however, ITV could prove a jewel for a patient or deep-pocketed suitor, with some analysts suggesting that the Studios business alone is worth more than the entire 2.7 billion valuation of the group. Ocado In 2021, when we thought online shopping would dominate our lives forever, Ocado shares topped 27. Today, they are 2.63. Formed by a trio of Goldman Sachs bankers in 2000, Ocado has consistently disappointed investors and last week was no exception. Shares fell by 20 per cent as boss and co-founder Tim Steiner unveiled higher than expected losses of 340 million for 2024 and said the group would remain loss-making until 2026. The business is best known as an upscale online supermarket, a pioneer back in the day, now forced to compete with the grocery big boys. But Ocado does have another string to its bow, however, licensing its top technology to retailers around the world. The division has taken years to develop but is now gaining partners, from Coles in Australia to Auchan in Poland. That growth, combined with the core UK business, could make Ocado an appealing target for private equity. Valued at 2.3 billion, the group is not cheap but the tumbling share price makes this firm vulnerable. Finseta Foreign exchange specialist Finseta is growing fast and expects to continue in that vein. The group's technology allows customers to hold accounts in several currencies and make overseas payments with ease. Chief executive James Hickman recently told investors that sales grew 26 per cent last year to 11.3 million, earnings rose 18 per cent to 2 million and regular customers now exceed 1,000. Confident about the future, Hickman is expanding overseas and expects progress to continue. Finseta's share price, however, has tumbled from 58p in 2021 to 30p today. With brokers suggesting the stock is worth double its current value, this smart fintech firm could easily be snapped up. And don't forget my previous Midas tips well worth revisiting Joanne Hart is the Mail's shares guru with the golden touch Diageo Drinks giant Diageo spent years as a stock market darling, particularly during the pandemic, when the shares topped 40. With a stable of top brands, spanning Guinness, Johnny Walker, Tanqueray gin and Smirnoff vodka, Diageo seemed unstoppable. But the group has struggled under chief executive Debra Crew and investors have been unimpressed, chasing Diageo shares down to 21.62. Midas recommended Diageo shares in 2017, when they were just over 23 so today's price is disappointing but could entice an opportunist. Abstinence may be a growing trend among the young, but Diageo owns a number of non-alcoholic brands too and its top-quality tipples remain popular worldwide. The company is valued on the market at 48 billion, so any bidder would need deep pockets but Diageo would almost certainly deliver long-term rewards. Boku By 2028, forecasters estimate there will be about 900 billion mobile phone payments a year, worth more than 7 trillion. Aim-listed Boku helps to make these payments possible and customers read like a roster of the world's best-known technology giants, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, Sony and China's Tencent. The company's technology allows consumers to pay for music, games and films on their phones and create digital wallets to store money. Midas tipped Boku at 59p in 2020, since when the group has come on by leaps and bounds. Yet Boku shares have fallen by 20 per cent over the past year to 1.57, valuing the business at 466 million. At this level, they remain far cheaper than American peers, making the company highly attractive to any US buyer looking for cut-price, world-beating technology. RWS Andrew Brode took over translation specialist RWS in 1995, floated the business in 2003, stood as chairman for 20 years and remains a board director, with 24 per cent of the shares. That holding served Brode well for many years. RWS is one of the world's foremost translation and patent businesses, with customers including Coca-Cola, Honda and the US Navy. But conditions have been difficult in recent years, there have been several profit warnings and RWS shares have slumped from 7 to just 1.22. Brode, now 84, has also experienced disappointment at Learning Technologies Group (LTG), which he has chaired for more than a decade. The stock had declined sharply in recent years and Brode, a 14 per cent shareholder, recently accepted a takeover from US private equity firm General Atlantic. His capitulation may tempt bidders to look more closely at RWS. Midas recommended the shares many moons ago at 48p so investors are still in the money. But RWS has been through the mill and a predator may think now is just the time to swoop. Macfarlane Glasgow-based packaging group Macfarlane joined the stock market in 1973 and has been through many ups and downs since. But resilience has been a hallmark of the business, not least under Peter Atkinson, at the helm since 2003. Unveiling 2024 figures last week, Atkinson admitted that conditions have been challenging but the group still delivered rising profits, an increase in the dividend and a growing pipeline of new business. Midas recommended the stock at 27p in 2012 so long-term investors have done well but the shares have been unloved lately, falling from 1.40 to 1.03 since last spring. At this level, they are looking cheap and could tempt a buyer looking beyond the short term. Cohort Defence company Chemring saw its share price rocket after US private equity firm Bain made a 1.1billion bid for the company. Neither side has formally commented but market watchers are already wondering who might be next and Cohort has been mentioned more than once. Midas tipped the shares at 5.29 in 2022, since when they have more than doubled to 10.80. The performance follows a period of strong growth, with boss Andy Thomis recently reporting better-than-expected first-half profits, a record order book and real confidence in the medium term. Cohort works closely with the Ministry of Defence so investors may think the business would be protected from overseas offers. But others in the sector have been snapped up all too easily. How our foresight has paid off in recent months A dozen Midas tips, across a range of industries, have either been acquired or received a bid approach in the past three months and every single offer is backed by overseas cash. In each case, however, foreign bidders are prepared to pay far more for these businesses than they are valued on our own stock market a signal that overseas firms believe more in UK plc than home-grown investors do. Eight of the 12 are funded by bargain-hunting private equity or specialist investment groups. Digital training firm Learning Technologies Group (LTG) tops the chart, tipped at 20.25p in 2014 and acquired for 1 by US financiers. LTG was trading at just 75p before they pounced. Marine technology firm Windward, recommended last summer, at 1.03 and succumbed to a 2.15 approach on Christmas Eve, while GP surgery owner Assura was tipped just two months ago. Last month, US firm KKR unveiled a 1.6 billion bid, valuing each share at 48p. The offer was rejected but watch this space. Digital specialist Team Internet was tipped at 51p in 2017 and changed its name from CentralNic in 2023. Stockholm-based Verdane made a 1.25 offer in January and are mulling a formal approach. Only one bid has come in below the Midas recommendation price. Infrastructure group BBGI was tipped at 1.66 in 2021 but last month agreed to be taken over by a Canadian pension fund for 1.47 per share. When people talk to me about Isas, they tend to mean cash or stocks and shares versions or occasionally Junior or Lifetime Isas. But there is a fifth, unloved, type of Isa that almost everyone has ditched or forgotten about the Innovative Finance (IF) Isa. I think that's a shame. IF Isas may have flaws but I've been earning double-digit tax-free returns in mine. They allow you to lend to individuals, companies or developers bypassing the traditional banks to offer loans directly. As with all types of Isa, any returns are tax free. You can invest up to your full allowance of 20,000 in a tax year. The loans are typically made by several individuals clubbing together, so are sometimes known as crowdfunding or peer-to-peer (P2P). They tend to be riskier than other types of Isa because if a borrower defaults, you may not get your money back. That means you must be careful about which projects you choose to fund and do your homework first. It also means that for most people, an IF Isa should only be used for part of your tax-free saving. However, the upside of taking on more risk is that you tend to be rewarded for it. I am among just 17,000 people who have taken out an IF Isa compared to 3.9 million with stocks and shares and 7.1 million with cash versions. I prefer IF Isa and P2P products backed by physical assets such as property development, infrastructure or land purchases, because if the lender defaults there is an asset that can be sold to recoup the debt. Innovative Finance Isas allow you to lend to individuals, companies or developers bypassing the traditional banks to offer loans directly One IF Isa I hold is with Shojin, a P2P company that lends to developers that are building or renovating mid-market residential blocks, generally valued at 10 million to 100 million. They tend to be in major cities or commuter belts and the returns are usually between 14 and 20 per cent. Money is lent to individual developers for specific projects rather than being spread across various ventures. So if one project fails you could lose your money, whereas if it were spread across various projects you would be less exposed. However, if the risk were spread the returns would also be lower. I have money in three projects all of which are on track to make some decent cash and, naturally, all of my investments combined only make up a small proportion of my overall portfolio. I also invest in a non-Isa P2P product called Blend Network. Their loans currently give an average 10 per cent return. Because these are not within an Isa, there is tax to pay so the real return is closer to 8 per cent. Again, there is risk involved as they also lend to individual projects. However, in five years I have had no losses. But I'm gradually moving money from that into Isa-wrapped investments. I'll start with Folk2Folk, which has been operating since 2013 and does similar loans to Blend but within an Isa. Rates start from 8.75 per cent. Folk2Folk started by enabling people within a 40-mile radius of Launceston in Cornwall to lend to others who were purchasing land, growing a business or developing buildings. Managing director Rory Warren says: 'We typically offer a loan to value of up to 60 per cent which gives extra security and we only lend to UK businesses.' He admits that they sometimes have loans where there are delayed interest payments or loans that have gone over maturity, which they actively manage. In those instances, borrowers pay a higher rate of interest to compensate investors. To date, they have had no capital losses. Folk2Folk's minimum investment is 20,000. 'We do that to ensure a committed investor base of high net worth and sophisticated investors,' says Warren. Around 65 companies are authorised to offer IF Isas, but only 40 currently market them. Most of the products are either crowdfunding or P2P lending. Personally, I'm more interested in asset-backed peer-to-peer lending. Crowdfunding can be lucrative but, in my view, it's a lot riskier and demands more research on the part of the investor. UK defence firms must not be abandoned to unsuitable overseas predators, senior military figures, industry veterans and politicians warned this weekend. Fears over the sale of some of Britain's leading defence firms to US private equity barons have surfaced as Hampshire-based defence giant Chemring is being targeted by vulture capitalists. US private equity firm Bain Capital has tabled a 1.1 billion bid for the 119-year-old defence group, raising concerns that the UK sector will lose another company to foreign owners. Former stalwarts including Cobham, Ultra Electronics, Laird and Meggitt have been sold off in recent years. The mooted Bain deal was branded a 'classic case of buy, strip and flip', by Lady Nadine Cobham, daughter-in-law of Sir Alan, the founder of the aerospace manufacturer, which was taken over by US private equity outfit Advent International in 2019. She was referring to the private equity business model of buying businesses as cheaply as possible, stripping their assets and selling them on at a profit as quickly as possible. Bemused: Lord Heseltine was a Conservative Defence Secretary The UK is rushing to rearm itself along with the rest of Europe as the US military support that has been in place since the Second World War looks significantly less certain under President Donald Trump. Critics say selling off key defence businesses to US buyers is inadvisable at a time when the UK needs to bolster its home-grown industry. Lord Heseltine, a Tory peer and Defence Secretary under Margaret Thatcher, said this weekend 'no other country would allow this', including the US. He said Government should make more use of 'golden shares'. These are stakes in firms considered vital for national security, such as BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, that are held by Government and allow Ministers to block undesirable takeovers. Heseltine added that any bid for Chemring should be 'properly scrutinised' by Ministers under the National Security and Investment Act. Admiral Lord Alan West, former head of the Royal Navy, said he had 'concerns' about the looming takeover of another British defence business. He added that the sector is 'particularly attractive and vulnerable' to foreign raiders. 'We need to think and look carefully at what we allow to happen in that area and maintain the right sovereign capability. 'We should be ensuring that as much of the defence money we've got is being spent in this country helping create new jobs.' The boss of Rolls-Royce, Tufan Erginbilgic, said Ministers might need to act if there was a risk that an overseas takeover would not be positive for Britain or that a new owner would not invest here. He said in some cases, deals might be beneficial 'but there may be some other examples where that is not the case and that is where the Government should step in and decide'. The control of Britain's defence industry has been brought into sharp focus by Keir Starmer after the Prime Minister unveiled plans last week to raise spending on the armed forces. It comes amid fears Trump could withdraw US military protection after he criticised Europe's perceived reliance on American firepower. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said 'too many' of the UK's defence assets had been sold off already. 'Our current production capability would have seen us lose the Second World War. 'We should be looking to ramp up our security production,' the MP said. 'The stock market is there to raise capital but it's not working. So instead, companies sell themselves to Americans to access US capital. We must block these deals and help these companies.' Neither Bain nor Chemring has as yet commented officially on the bid speculation. Founded in 1905, Chemring made equipment to change UK street lighting from gas to electric, before becoming a defence engineering specialist. Today, it has customers across the world, including the RAF. Lady Cobham said Bain was only interested in a takeover of Chemring 'for its own financial reward' and that it would not act 'for the benefit of the employees or the wellbeing of the company.' Britain risks losing its leadership in the nuclear race to manufacture small modular reactors (SMRs) unless the Starmer government speeds up its decision-making, the boss of Rolls-Royce has warned. Tufan Erginbilgic, who has seen a rapid rise in the engineer and aircraft engine maker's share price since joining, said: 'There's no other private company in the world that has the capabilities of Rolls-Royce, therefore we should be the leader in micro reactors. Britain's process needs to deliver without delay now.' Britain's Energy Department, led by Ed Miliband, has insisted on an open auction for next generation micro nuclear reactors, backed by nuclear power licensing authorities. But long delays are conceding the lead to rivals such as Hitachi-GE and Canada's Westinghouse. Fired up: Tufan Erginbilgic has turned around the engine-maker in just two years Demand for SMRs is set to soar as Silicon Valley embraces the idea to keep energy-hungry data centres needed for processing the artificial intelligence revolution running. Rolls-Royce has been pioneering SMRs for more than a decade using the same nuclear-powered turbines deployed in submarines. The Government has contributed 210 million to this. But Erginbilgic said: 'Britain must speed up if the supply chain capacity and export opportunity isn't to go elsewhere.' Rolls-Royce shows what's possible to Unilever and BP Several of the biggest beasts of UK corporate life were in the limelight this week, writes Alex Brummer. The contrast in leadership styles and outcomes could not be starker. The slow pace of change at Unilever saw the chief executive Hein Schumacher thrown overboard in record time for an energised, Argentine-born replacement Fernando Fernandez. The long-awaited capital markets day at BP, designed to signal a rapid change of direction, did nothing to curb the unrest among investors with activist Elliott leading the charge against an ineffectual board, led by chairman Helge Lund. In contrast, one doesnt have to look very far to see the benefits of regime change. Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic demonstrated what transformation can do for investors, workforce confidence, shareholders and, most important of all, for UK plc. The latest financial results, accompanied by an upgrade of prospects, saw shares hit a record having climbed by more than fivefold over the last two years. Yet, not long ago, amid Covid, Rolls looked in danger of being renationalised when airlines stopped flying. Tufans mobilisation of a highly skilled workforce, giving it focus, purpose and alignment with management goals has worked. Equally promising is the prospect for exploiting its small modular reactor technology at a time when data centres put enormous pressure on power grids. The Czech Republic is showing faith in what Rolls can do, and others will follow. Investors are enjoying a dizzying journey fuelled by a restoration of the dividend and a 1billion share buyback. Think what might be possible at Unilever and BP. > Read more: Rolls-Royce powers change Revenge is a dish best served cold, so the saying goes but in the case of Nell Daly it comes steaming hot. The 49-year-old American set up Revenge Capital, a venture firm, in April last year after being told by an ex-boyfriend that as a therapist and single mother of three she was destined to live from 'pay cheque to pay cheque'. 'He didn't last very long,' she says. Her answer to her ex was to set up a fund backing female entrepreneurs, which has been launched in the UK. On a mission: Nell Daly set up Revenge Capital after being told that she was destined to live from 'pay cheque to pay cheque' She believes revenge is a powerful emotion that can spur women to achieve success, saying: 'Many entrepreneurs who are successful are out for revenge. They have an edge, an anger to prove somebody wrong.' Revenge Capital has raised 50 million. It is backed by Mayfair Associates, run by financier Andrew Antonio. The aim is to offer funding to those who have traditionally struggled to access start-up capital, namely women and ethnic minorities. 'There is not enough liquidity for female founders in the UK,' says Daly. Women receive only 1.8 per cent of start-up capital in the UK, according to business magazine Forbes. Daly argues: 'Let's flip it imagine if men only received 1.8 per cent of funding and women got the rest.' Daly is commanding and charismatic or as she puts it: 'I don't do boring.' Data from US venture firm First Round Capital shows that backing women can be profitable, with firms that have a female founder giving a 63 per cent higher return on investment than those run by men. So far the company's investments include a buzzy margarita brand called Pimentae and a hip homeware online marketplace named Glassette, founded by the TV presenter Laura Jackson. March 1, 2025: Ukrainian forces expect to receive up to three million drones this year, including 30,000 of the long-range Deep Strike mode. Currently Ukrainian troops are receiving 200,000 drones a month. Most of these drones are the FPV/First Person Viewing model that allows the operator to see where the drone is going. Another surveillance drone records the attack by an FPV drone which destroys itself along with its Russian target. Ukraine constantly adds new models to its drone force. One of the latest is the Pelko jet-propelled drone. This one has a range of 700 kilometers and can move, for a short period, at 700 kilometers an hour. Cruising speed is about half the top speed. These long-range drones are built at a cost of less than $5,000 each. Attacks on Russian fuel storage sites and refineries have cause fuel shortages for some Russian front line troops. Because drone operators and their assistants operate from bunkers, they suffer few casualties. This makes it possible for women soldiers to operate drones. Women also serve on the front lines as snipers and medical personnel. Public opinion is hostile to women getting killed in combat, even though many women volunteer for these assignments. About 200 female soldiers have been killed so far, Women currently comprise ten percent of Ukrainian military personnel. Some drone operators work from civilian vehicles because they have to move their drone control equipment to different points on the front line to stay within radio range of their drones. In some sectors of the front drones inflict 90 percent of the casualties, but overall drones are responsible for about 60% of Russian casualties. Last year Ukraine established the Unmanned Systems Force or USF. Ukraine built 1.5 million drones in 2024 and a smaller number in 2025 because more long range drones were needed. This organization does not control the drones Ukrainian forces use regularly, but instead develops new drone models and organizes mass production for those new models that are successful. NATO countries are also producing drones and sending them to Ukraine. Drones have been an unexpected development that had a huge impact on how battles in Ukraine's current war are fought. Drones were successful because they were cheap, easily modified, and expendable. The longer range drones enable Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia. These attacks now include drones dropping guided bombs from one kilometer altitude. This way the bombs can glide for long distances and strike Russian targets unexpectedly. All this has been catastrophic for Russia, which denies that the Ukrainian drones are doing much damage and insists that most are shot down. The truth, as revealed by satellite photos, and FPV videos released by Ukraine and some Russian soldiers shows major damage inside Russia. On the internet, WhatsApp sometimes shows these attacks in real time. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces are sending in quadcopter drones controlled by soldiers using FPV goggles to see what the day/night video camera on the drone can see. Most FPV drones carry half a kilogram of explosives, so it can instantly turn the drone into a flying bomb that can fly into a target and detonate. This is an awesome and debilitating weapon when used in large numbers over the combat zone. If a target isnt moving or requires more explosive power that the drones can supply, one of the drone operators can call in artillery, rocket, or missile fire, or even an airstrike. Larger, fixed wing drones are used for long range operations against targets over a thousand kilometers inside Russia. A major limitation to the expansion of drone operations was the need for trained drone operators. These operators need dozens of hours of training before they are able to start operating these drones, and even more hours of actual use before they are able to make the most out of the system. These small drones are able to complete their missions most of the time, whether it is a one-way attack or a reconnaissance and surveillance mission. The recon missions are usually survivable and enable the drone to be reused. All these drones are constantly performing surveillance, which means that both sides commit enough drones to maintain constant surveillance over a portion of the front line, to a depth, into enemy territory, of at least a few kilometers. This massive use of FPV-armed drones has revolutionized warfare in Ukraine and both sides are producing as many as they can. Earlier in the Ukraine War Russia used Iranian Shahed-136 drones that Iran sold for about $200,000 each. Ukraine demonstrated that you could design and build drones with similar capabilities at less than a tenth of what the Shahed-136 cost. The Iranian drone was more complex than it needed to be and even the Russians soon realized this and turned from the Shahed-136 for more capable drones they copied from Ukrainian designs or original Russian designs. Ukrainian drone proliferation began when many individual Ukrainians, or small teams of them, designed and built drones. The drones served as potential candidates for widespread use and mass production. This proliferation of designers and manufacturers led to rapid evolution of drone capabilities and uses. Those who could not keep up were less successful in combat and suffered higher losses. Each month several hundred thousand drones are built in Ukrainian factories or home workshops, Military leaders in other nations have noted this and are scrambling to equip their own forces with drones. Not having enough of these to match the number the enemy has in a portion of the front means you are at a serious disadvantage in that area. These drones are still evolving in terms of design and use and are becoming more effective and essential. One countermeasure that often works for a while is electronic jamming of the drones control signals. Drone guidance systems are constantly modified or upgraded to cope with this. Most drones have flight control software that sends drones with jammed control signals back to where they took off from to land for later use. The jammers are on the ground and can be attacked by drones programmed to home in on the jamming signal. Countermeasures can be overcome and the most popular current one is to control a drone via a fiber optic cable. Despite being a successful high-tech operation, American air forces, especially the Navy and USAF, frequently have trouble adjusting to changes they do not agree with. When the Cold War ended in 1991 the air force was still largely thinking about continuing to operate as they had done in the Cold War, but the technology and tactics of warfare were changing. The post-Cold War enemy no longer consisted of large, organized forces spread over huge areas. The enemy was increasingly irregulars who were harder to spot from the air. The air force reluctantly adapted, in part because the army and CIA adopted new reconnaissance and surveillance techniques like drones and persistent surveillance. This pattern is returning as the air force reorganizes after the decade of heavy combat and big budgets the war on terror produced. Now the air force is turning its attention to a near-peer opponent in the form of a rapidly expanding and modernizing Chinese military. Unexpectedly the Ukraine War emerged first with Russia and Ukraine fighting each other. Ukrainians had the advantage of material and intellectual support from NATO countries. In the end the winner of any stage of the war was the side that was the most resourceful and innovative. This process has been present in warfare for centuries but during the last century the changes and innovations came so quickly that the process was visible. This disrupted the long-established missions each of the military services had established. Israeli forces are now using a variety of drones in combat that are similar to what the Ukrainians are using. The United States is equipping its infantry with more drones for reconnaissance and attack. American troops began using drones over twenty years ago and are now using more of them because of the heavy usage in Ukraine. NATO countries are producing drones and sending them to Ukraine. Drones have been an unexpected development that had a huge impact on how battles in the Ukraines current war are fought. Drones are successful because they are cheap, easily modified, and expendable. Two yoga 'enthusiasts' who organised a festival described as the place where 'fitness and holistic therapies meets glittery festival antics' have left clients and traders owed thousands. In what has now been dubbed by some of their disappointed followers as the 'UK's Fyre Festival', Roman and Ella Wroath first founded their business Soul Circus Limited back in 2016. Described as a festival that was 'both revitalising and energising in equal measure', as well as a weekend to 'recalibrate' and 'put yourself back together', many yoga and wellness devotees flocked to the event year after year. In 2018, they held their first Soul Circus festival in the Cotswolds and continued to promote the event with 'the most sought after' instructors and practitioners in the industry for the next five years. But as the date for their sixth festival in 2024 rolled around things began to go awry, with SoulCircus attendees old and new told the date was changed and later cancelled - with some not receiving any notification from the business at all. There was a lack of consistency when it came to refunds and rolled over tickets from the offset, with some not offered the latter while others believed the 2025 event was still on until they found out Soul Circus was being liquidated. Some yogis even took to social media to inform others they had travelled to the wellness weekend in August and were greeted by an empty field and a confused farmer. And when some asked for refunds Soul Circus LTD contested their chargebacks, with director Roman even going as far as to threaten harassment reports and legal action when contacted by disappointed festivalgoers. Roman and Ella Wroath (pictured) - the organisers of Soul Circus - which has been dubbed by some clients as the 'UK's Fyre Festival' Many believed the 2025 event was still on until they found out Soul Circus was being liquidated (Pictured: Ella and Roman Wroath laughing on a yacht) Slide me A before and after comparison showing what the field looked like (Pictured left: Soul Circus when it went ahead in a previous year, right: The empty field clients found in 2024) And to add insult to injury for those who are scrambling to get their money back - the two yogis continue to have an active yachting company Galaxia International, according to Companies House. Described as an 'eBrockage' and an 'eMarina' introducing 'waves of change', the company has previously organised events in the sunny Costa del Sol. When MailOnline visited the business website, of which Roman Wroath is a director and Ella is formerly a director - it reads 'new website coming soon'. Despite the information on Companies House, Ella's LinkedIn stated that she is currently the founder of Galaxia International, as well as the founder and director of Soul Circus LTD. However the Soul Circus website tells a very different story - completely wiped from the face of the internet. Tickets for Soul Circus 2025 were also being advertised on the site until December 4 of last year. It is also understood that while the pair are currently in the UK, they do have a residence in Portugal. Soul Circus recorded an increasing loss year on year, with their latest 2023 filing showing a shareholder deficit of 259,994. The true scale of how much the pair owe to traders and customers alike is set to be laid out in a statement of affairs. A statement of affairs is a document published by Companies House detailing a company's assets and liabilities during the insolvency process. All the while, festivalgoers such as single mother, Helen Holland and Lianna Greene have been waiting well over a year for their refunds, spending 225 and 1,395 on tickets respectively. For 45-year-old Ms Greene the Soul Circus festival was meant to be a surprise get-away for one of her closest friends, as she bought nine tickets at a discount for the entire group - with a couple of bottles of prosecco thrown in with her order. But just four weeks before they were due to set off on the relaxing and holistic weekend she received an e-mail from Soul Circus saying the event had been cancelled. The e-mail which was sent on July 5th extended an apology from the firm to their 'cherished community' saying that it was with 'heavy hearts' the festival had been cancelled due to 'a dramatic rise in operational costs'. Mr Wroath at the luxurry Octant Hotel in Portugal - which costs upwards of 200 per night for two adults Festivalgoers attending a yoga session at Soul Circus festival in 2023 - the year before the 2024 event 'We refuse to deliver anything less than the exceptional experience you deserve, leading us to this decision,' the statement read. 'We kindly ask you to please allow us some time and space to work through the current situation and we will provide further information in the next 45 - 60 days.' Due to the short notice, Ms Greene couldn't cancel the AirBnB so the group decided to have a quiet weekend in Gloucestershire for her friend's birthday, as she patiently waited for her lump sum to be refunded. After a lot of chasing and 'back-and-forth', the Hertfordshire woman eventually received a Google form where they could request a refund from Soul Circus. But when she logged into her online portal via the festival's website it suggested she wasn't owed a single penny, so she submitted a charge back with Barclaycard. By this point she had given her friends the money for their tickets back leaving herself out of pocket by 1,395 because she believed she would be refunded. But the company contested the charge - suggesting she ordered tickets on a sale or return basis for Rise Festival in Ibiza - an entirely different event she had never attended or purchased tickets for. 'For me to pay everybody back, I was putting myself at risk if Barclaycard wouldn't budge,' she told MailOnline. 'After investigating, I feel I am in a predicament, I have just found out the company is trying to go into liquidation and you're kind of wondering if I will get the refund. 'I have got real mixed emotions because we were doing something nice for our friend, which on paper seemed like it was going to be amazing. Some yogis even took to social media to inform others they had travelled to the wellness weekend in August and were greeted by an empty field and a confused farmer last Summer (Pictured: Ella Wroath) A large welcome sign seen in 2023 welcoming yogis to the well-being event 'But the fact people can just run away with people's money whilst everyone has paid into a festival that didn't happen and have been fobbed off. 'This is our hard earned money and our downtime which is special to all of us - so the fact they are able to just get-away with it, is just beyond words really.' She added: 'The way the whole thing has been handled is really inappropriate. It sits really uncomfortably to be honest.' Single mother Helen Holland, 36, previously had a 'very positive' experience attending the holistic festival in 2022, so didn't think twice about handing over 225 for a ticket. But the event that for her was based on 'community and connection' turned into a disaster in 2024, leaving her out of pocket and her once happy memories soured. The yoga teacher from Hertfordshire was offered to roll over her ticket when the event was cancelled in 2024, but opted for a refund. Ms Holland said: 'They asked the whole time for patience and asked people to give them time to sort everything out, and being the trusting person I am, I believed them and waited for them to get in touch.' However neither Soul Circus or its directors got in touch with the single mother, who found out there was a form to apply for a 'discretionary refund' via a friend. In 2024 Soul Circus changed their Terms and Conditions page six separate times, according to their website's data history. The field nestled in the Cotswolds should have been teeming with yogis but instead customers were greeted by a confused farmer and an empty field Attendees enjoying a yoga lesson at a Soul Circus festival that went ahead in 2023 Companies can give refunds at their own discretion when they are not legally obligated to give customers their money back. If a festival or event is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances customers have the right to a full refund, except in specific instances outlined in the terms and conditions under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. On September 12, 2024 the following line had been added to the terms and conditions page: 'If Soul Circus agrees to a discretionary refund, [the] refund will be provided within a 12-month period.' By this point the event, which was due to take place in the August, had already been cancelled with many people still waiting on their refunds. 'I don't think people should be able to treat others like that especially in the name of being health and looking out for each other, it makes it that little bit extra more sore,' Helen said. 'Anybody believed that they would stick to their word have obviously been stung quite badly.' Now the single mother has become 'very wary' of parting with any money, adding: 'As time goes on I just feel disappointed. 'I feel incredibly frustrated that they can get away with behaving that manner, and a complete lack of empathy for anyone else 'It makes me wary of companies in the future - and it's just left me feel sad to be honest. 'Seeing their posts online - it just feels like they are sat on a yacht somewhere drinking away everyone's money.' A landscape picture showing tents and fesitvalgoers at Soul Circus when it went ahead ain 2022 A light up van and decoration at Soul Circus festival 2023 - the year prior to the cancelled event But it wasn't only customers who were left out of pocket, herbal tea business Mother Cuppa and its owner Candice Mason almost went bust when Roman and Ella's firm charged her new company twice for a pitch - and refused to provide a refund. The 42-year-old first contacted Roman in November 2023 enquiring about prices for a stand at the festival in the hopes of growing her clientele and thus her business. She wanted to pay her 600 in staggered payments but was charged the full amount, with the additional instalment plans still being taken from her account during the Christmas period in 2023. She told MailOnline: 'I kept emailing him, saying, you need to stop the instalment payments and refund me the additional payments back - but he failed to do that. 'It continued to take the instalment payment from my bank accounts and for seven months I emailed asking for the refund for the duplicate payments.' The entrepreneur claims Roman tried to liaise a phone call between herself and his wife Ella, which left her confused: 'I didn't need a phone call just need[ed] my money refunded. I want[ed] my money back.' 'My business was only a year old when I booked it and I didn't have a lot of money, so it was a big risk to book things like that.' She added: 'It caused me cash flow problems, I borrowed from my mum for my business and it really broke my confidence and trust.' Down by 1,200 in total, Candice said she was ignored for weeks as a time, whilst claiming that when Roman did eventually reply and allegedly told her she would not get her money back and that she could not cancel due to the terms and conditions. She later began court proceedings against Soul Circus Ltd in July, where neither Ella or Roman attended any of mediation or court hearings. Their response to the court proceedings referenced Soul Circus's terms and conditions. Down by 1,400 in total, Candice Mason (pictured) said she was ignored for weeks as a time, and had to take the duo to small claims court in an attempt to get her money back Despite a court county judgment (CCJ) being placed against Roman and Ella's company Soul Circus LTD, Candice (Pictured) has not had her money back The judge later ruled in Candice's favour ordering Soul Circus's directors - who were not present to pay her the 1,200 plus court fees totalling to 1,491.16. Despite a court county judgment (CCJ) being placed against Roman and Ella's company Soul Circus, the duo have still not paid Candice her money back. In December, Candice e-mailed Roman informing him she was due her money, in line with the CCJ: 'I wasn't going to let this drop, it was a lot of money for me. 'I got a sh***y reply that basically said along the lines of "I'm going to liquidate the company. You're going to get instructions from the insolvency people".' MailOnline has also seen correspondence where Roman threatened Candice with defamation after she contacted him asking for a refund. She was also never informed by Soul Circus that the event was no longer going ahead despite never officially cancelling her space 'I am really angry and it takes quite a lot to make me angry. Its the audacity of it, that is not a professionally run operation and he is not a professional person,' she said: 'It's left me feeling bitter and twisted.' 'The money I lost was a months worth of stock - I didn't have enough money to stock, he caused me a massive problem. 'It's left me feeling like I can't trust events companies in that way anymore. I don't want to do them anymore. I was so stressed at one point. 'And the fact the whole event is geared around well-being, mental well-being within the industry and this is so anti-that this experience. 'He's completely taken the p**s because he's picking and choosing which bank to argue with or not. I cannot believe he's been allowed to have another business.' Due to Candice taking the pair to small claims court, there is currently a county court judgement (CCJ) against Soul Circus Limited. Helen Holland and Lianna Greene (Pictured with red hair with friends in Gloucestershire after the festival was cancelled) have been waiting well over a year for their refunds, spending 225 and 1,395 on tickets respectively Soul Circus contested Lianna's (pictured with red hair on the failed SoulCircus weekend) charge - suggesting she issued tickets on a sale or return basis for a Rise Festival in Ibiza - an entirely event she had never attended or purchased tickets fo A CCJ is a court order to pay a debt or compensate someone, and it can in some cases impact your credit rating. However Roman and Ella Wroath are no strangers to CCJs having previously had one placed against them personally for not paying rent to their previous landlord. The individual, who wishes to remain anonymous, told MailOnline the duo almost left their family on the brink of financial ruin during the height of COVID. The Wroaths began renting the London flat at 2,275-a-month in October 2019, initially 'pushing' for a two-year contract, which was whittled down to 12 months. The landlords assumed they had done everything right, conducting the proper checks on the couple, who passed with flying colours. They claim to have noticed some 'red flags' a couple months in due to alleged minor damage and noise complaints from neighbours, but the situation went completely awry in March when COVID-19 hit. They alleged: '[Ella] called my husband in tears and we bought it because they said ~: "Oh, we've lost everything. We can't pay the rent. We want to go".' However the Wroaths were in the middle of their year-long contract, and were obligated to pay until they managed to find someone else to take over their contract. They even tried setting up a payment plan for Ella and Roman, but no payments had come through and the pair had stopped responding, with the landlords later realising the duo had abandoned the property. 'After several months we came to realise that they had no intention to pay. It was thousands of pounds by then and we realised we were in deep trouble,' they said. 'There's no way I could get a job in lockdown because everybody was being laid off or on furlough.' They added: 'The stress was so much that I was covered in psoriasis. I couldn't even open my eyes. Now those who have been wronged by SoulCircus and its directors Ella and Roman have formed a group created by Jeni, who was a loyal attendee of Soul Circus festival (Pictured: The festival in 2023) 'My entire body was covered. I'm still suffering from it. And honestly, we thought we were going to be financially ruined' Eventually they took the Wroaths to court, but due to COVID-19 a process that should have taken four to six months ended up taking three years, meaning the landlords had to part with even more money. Despite being ordered in March 2023 by the court to pay their landlords a sum of 9,874.16 they did not do so before the 30-day deadline, meaning this CCJ is currently still on the Wroaths credit record. After causing their landlords significant stress, they paid the full amount ordered by the courts via an instalment plan. 'Every month when the money come through we were surprised It was a bittersweet satisfaction because it had taken so long - and the fact that the responsibility of doing all the work is on the victim,' they said. 'Make no mistake they were living the best life, while we were the ones who were at home worried about money, not sleeping, dealing with psoriasis and and ill health 'It also meant that we didn't enjoy our life, it sucked out all the joy. We could have spent time with our elderly parents and been with them. 'We could have been with my father-in-law who died from a sudden fall, but instead we were busy doing all the paperwork and speaking to lawyers.' They added: 'The [flat] was going to be an investment for my future and it turned out to be a complete disaster.' 'We sold it. We haven't made much money on it, but just the relief of not having to deal with that nonsense was enough for us.' Recalling the ordeal, they said they ultimately 'felt betrayed' tearfully adding: 'I think what's most hurtful is that they just don't care. 'Even to this day I must say I have lost my faith in human beings. 'It's broken something inside of us and it's very sad, because we always been really good people. Even now I just don't look at people the same way.' Now those who have been wronged by Roman and Ella have formed a group created by Jeni, who was a loyal attendee of Soul Circus festival, as they all attempt to try and get their money back as the company begins its liquidation process. The group now has around 237, some who have received their refunds, many who are still out of pocket and some, who haven't been notified about the company going into liquidation despite technically being creditors. Jeni wanted to cancel her tickets after being 'very annoyed' that the 2024 dates had been changed last minute - little did she know she would have to fight tooth and nail for almost a year for 198 back. Their previous landlord has also come forward to MailOnline to tell how they were left on the brink of financial ruin due to the duo's refusal to pay the rent for their London flat, leaving them out of pocket to the tune of five figures (Pictured: Soul Circus Festival in 2023) After receiving no money she claimed a charge back in August, which did not land in her account until December due to their being a contest from Soul Circus LTD Jeni told MailOnline 'I suppose it shocked me that they weren't forthcoming with a refund because they had made the error. 'Its a massive juxtaposition that a well-being festival that's focus on wellness and well-being and health has been so detrimental to so many peoples.' MailOnline attempted to contact Ella and Roman Wroath for comment but they did not reply. We have also approached Galaxia International, Soul Circus LTD and the Financial Ombudsman for comment. Companies House and the Insolvency Service declined to comment. Detective Superintendent Gary Miles, speaking on behalf of Action Fraud, said: 'Action Fraud can confirm that it received NFRC240906895001 on 18 September 2024. It was assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) at the City of London Police but has not been passed to a police force for investigation. 'It will continue to be reviewed against new information received from Action Fraud reports. Over 850,000 reports are made to the NFIB every year and not all cases can be passed on for further investigation. 'Reports are assessed against a number of criteria, but unfortunately not every case of fraud will be sent to police forces for investigative opportunities. There are different ways a report can be dealt with when it cannot be passed to a police force. 'These include the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit NECVCU) helping victims to reclaim monies lost. 'Reports are vital in helping the police develop intelligence and take disruptive activity to prevent other people from falling victim, such as taking down websites, telephone numbers and email addresses linked to fraud. 'Action Fraud can also confirm it received another report, NFRC250107146858, on 29 January 2025, which is currently being assessed by the NFIB.' It is understood that neither Action Fraud nor the NFIB have investigative powers. A retired FBI agent now believes a spate of disturbing crimes in a South Florida community could all be connected and the culprit is still at large. The incidents, all occurring in 2007 at the Boca Raton Town Center Mall, include the murders of Randi Gorenberg, Nancy and Joey Bochicchio, and the kidnapping of a woman and her toddler. Retired FBI Agent John MacVeigh, who worked these cases for ten years, described the horrific nature of the crimes to Fox News Digital and said he thinks the perpetrator is still on the loose. Randi Gorenberg, 52, was last seen leaving the mall on March 23, 2007. Shortly after, gunshots were reported, and Gorenberg's body was found at Governor Lawton Chiles Memorial Park, having been thrown from a moving vehicle. MacVeigh noted evidence suggested she resisted her attacker. 'It does appear that she resisted at some point,' MacVeigh told Fox. 'She was shot and basically thrown out the car while the suspect drove away.' Less than five months later, on August 7, 2007, a woman, who has remained anonymous, and her two-year-old child were kidnapped from the same mall's parking lot. A series of disturbing crimes rocked a South Florida community eighteen years ago at the Boca Raton Town Center Mall Randi Gorenberg, 52, was killed in 2007 about half an hour after she went shopping at the Boca Town Center Mall MacVeigh described the play-by-play of the incident: 'She puts her son from the passenger side into the center car seat. She walks around to the trunk. She opens the trunk. She puts the stroller in. She walks back around. As she opens the door to get in the driver's seat, the suspect had already jumped in the back passenger seat. Now, you're talking seconds so he had to be extremely close to her.' The suspect then forced her to drive to an ATM and withdraw $600. In an unusual turn of events, the kidnapper returned the mother and son to the mall, blindfolded and handcuffed her, and then fled. MacVeigh called the abduction 'blatant and bizarre', emphasizing the unusual decision to return the victims to the scene. Just four months later, Nancy and Joey Bochicchio were targeted at the same mall on December 12, 2007. Investigators believe they were abducted from the parking lot, forced to withdraw $500 from an ATM, and then murdered. Their bodies were discovered in their car, still running, in the mall parking lot. MacVeigh believes Nancy Bochicchio resisted, attempting to free her daughter before they were both shot. 'Nancy resists. She breaks her handcuffs. We do believe that she tried to get Joey out of the car, and then he turned around and shot both of them,' MacVeigh said. Now a private investigator, MacVeigh told Fox Digital that he sees clear patterns linking these crimes. He believes the suspect targeted and sought to control women, pointing to the repeated use of restraints like blacked-out swim goggles. Nancy and Joey Bochicchio were found dead at the Boca Raton Town Center Mall in 2007 Despite a task force being formed and later disbanded, and despite extensive investigation involving thousands of interviews and the collection of DNA evidence, the cases remain unsolved. Pictured :Nancy and Joey Bochicchio were seen on surveillance footage before their murders The bodies of Nancy and Joey Bochicchio were found bound and shot in their SUV (pictured) in the parking lot of the Town Center at Boca Raton 'It's just so hard to believe that it's not the same person,' MacVeigh said. 'Three of these incidences in the same area, and very similar. Here you have a very affluent mall and, you know, you are targeting people that you suspect have money.' The timing of the attacks - all in broad daylight within a similar timeframe further strengthens his conviction that the crimes are connected. Despite a task force being formed and later disbanded, and despite extensive investigation involving thousands of interviews and the collection of DNA evidence, the cases remain unsolved. 'We sent agents to the mall because they were interested in trying to find out if maybe it was somebody that had worked there,' MacVeigh said. 'We issued subpoenas, and we went door to door. It was pretty overwhelming because you don't realize how many people work at that mall. And I think the number when we were done was somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000,' he added. A composite sketch of the suspect, based on the kidnapping victim's description, proved too generic to be of much use. 'You and I could both be that composite. I mean, it's just you have a hat on with glasses and all you're seeing is the bottom part of the face,' MacVeigh explained about the drawing's details While two persons of interest were identified in the Bochicchio case, no arrests have been made. Surveillance video from March 23, 2007, shows Randi Gorenberg's Mercedes-Benz SUV pulling into a hardware store about two miles from where her body was found A composite sketch of the suspect, based on the kidnapping victim's description, proved too generic to be of much use One of the kidnapping involved a pair of goggles. Cops shared a photo of them MacVeigh remains convinced that the same individual committed all three crimes. 'It's not a small little coincidence. There's not... one or two small things. This is an accumulation of things,' he said. The Boca Raton Police Department has acknowledged the possible link between the Bochicchio murders and the carjacking on their website. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Detective William Springer is the lead detective on the Gorenberg case. Last year he spoke with WPTV and said: 'Are they all three connected? There's a possibility,' Springer said. 'I mean, you look at the odds of, what's the possibility of three people being taken from the mall in the same year?' He says he's kept an open mind about who is responsible but continues to come back to looking at the similarities in the cases. Retired FBI Agent John MacVeigh spoke to Fox News about the cases Detective Springer has previously spoken about the possible links in the cases Nancy and Joey Bochicchio. MacVeigh believes Nancy resisted, attempting to free her daughter before they were both shot 'The one (theory) I keep coming back to is that they're all three connected, that whoever was doing it had picked the Town Center mall as a place where there's a great hunting ground for victims,' Springer said. 'If you want to look at similarities, there was no apparent sexual assault or attempted sexual battery of any of the victims,' he added. 'Randi could have been just a learning experience,' Springer said. 'Maybe he had everything set to do that and then it fell through. So, then he thought, 'Well if I take a woman with a little child, I can control them a lot easier than I could a single woman who's probably going to fight.'' MacVeigh warns that despite increased security at the mall, the perpetrator likely remains free and that these cases must be solved to bring justice to the victims' families. Now, Instagram is filled with photos of people who have spent too long trying to look their best. But pride in one's appearance, including when such preening gets a bit too much, is definitely not just a modern phenomenon - as one popular Instagram account reveals. Hot Victorians, which was set up by US-based British man Aaron Radford-Wattley six years ago, has more than 140,000 followers who delight in pictures of attractive men of the past. The single image that testifies to the page's explosion in popularity is that of 'unbelievably classically handsome' Illinois doctor Arthur Leslie Shidler, which has attracted nearly 85,000 likes and hundreds of adoring comments. Other photos show strutting gymnasts, a mystery couple in a clinch and hirsute sailor. Mr Radford-Wattley, who lives in the US, told MailOnline: 'I set it up in the summer of 2019 just on a whim. I thought it would be funny. 'I thought there must be an account already but there wasn't so I thought I would create one myself. It snowballed from there.' The 40-year-old's aim was to divert the 'male gaze' away from women and onto men, hence why Victorian ladies are few and far between on his account. He sources his photos from user submissions, online archives and his personal collection. His images have proved so popular that he was approached by publisher Quercus to write a book. Hot Victorians: Meet Your Dream Man From the Past, it is set to be released later this year. Taken in 1883, this picture shows doctor Arthur Leslie Shidler. Born in Lakeville, Indiana, in 1860, he practiced in Illinois. The medic died aged just 38 or 39 in 1899. Mr Radford-Wattley said the image is one of his two all-time favourite pictures he has posted on his Instagram account. Although some have claimed the image is AI-generated, he insists it isn't. 'He is just unbelievably classical handsome,' he said. One commenter agreed, saying: 'Hot damn!' This image, which received more than 4,000 likes on Instagram, allegedly shows members of the St Petersburg Bodybuilders Club. It's the men on either end that stand out with their fearlessly proud poses. One commenter said on Instagram: 'The one on the far left is giving the one on the far right a run for his money...& reputation' A mystery man and woman in a clinch back in the early 1890s, when public romantic acts would have been considered scandalous. Mr Radford-Wattley said: 'I love how we view our Victorian ancestors as these stiff and prudish figures, but behind closed doors and back alleys... my, my! This Royal Navy sailor posed for a photograph in his straw hat more than a century ago, either during the reign of King Edward VII or the final years of his mother, Queen Victoria This working man standing at an anvil with hammer in hand as he shapes a horseshoe was snapped by American photographer Summer A. Smith in 1859 or 1860 This 'hot felon' was Norwegian convict Gortz Birger Adolfsson Hinderfors. He was a repeat offender, having been arrested several times for theft and fraud. This mugshot is from 1908. He was described as being 6ft tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes and multiple scars on his face This striking man was photographed with a snake on the Caribbean island of Martinique in around 1900. The serpent looks as though it was killed before being pictured There's nothing like a long, hot shower. This is what this man is seen enjoying in an ingenious 'rib cage' shower, also known as a needle bath. It was designed in the 1880s and remained popular into the early 1900s. The photo was taken at the Royal Baths in Grand Central Hall, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Described as a 'gorgeous hunk of vintage beefcake' by Mr Radford-Wattley on his Hot Victorians account, this was wrestler Karl Pospischil, from Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic. The photo was taken in 1912. Popischil was just 5ft 8in but weighed a hefty 216lb (around 15.5stone) This photo of a strapping lifeguard was taken on Brighton Beach in New York in 1901. One commenter noted that he had 'Freddie Mercury' vibes, while another joked: 'Well, hello sailor' This stylish man's photo was taken at the turn of the 20th century. It is from a collection of photos by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. He prepared albums of photos of African Americans in Georgia that were exhibited in Paris in 1900 This 'handsome' cowboy featured on a postcard in the early 1900s. More than a century on, he proved popular online This dashing man was English writer and scientist Edward Heron Allen. The polymath was photographed in the late 1880s. He died in 1943. He is particularly none for translating the works of Omar Khayyam, an Iranian polymath who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries A Turkmen rider photographed in the early 1900s. Turkmen are native to Central Asia and largely live in what is now Turkmenistan, as well as regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan This photo of stylish Japanese civil rights activist and dentist Oda Nobuyoshi proved popular when it was posted in June 2020. His intense stair and disheveled appearance is what stands out. Mr Radford-Wattley said the image is another favourite of his. 'He's just very hipstery and cool looking,' he said Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist and diplomat. He was part of the team that made the first crossing of the interior of Greenland in 1888. His photo received more than 10,000 likes on Instagram California residents are fuming over a proposed luxe camping resort with high-end camping trailers, tents and pools planned for a beloved trail in Napa. The sprawling plans for The Grange Campground have sparked fury among residents along the upscale community's Silverado Trail, who have collected more than 1,000 signatures to fight the project. Among their concerns is the routine flooding that happens on the land and the air pollution that will choke the air from dozens of the resort's firepits. 'With plans for 100 onsite trailers and tents, we fear this development will compromise the safety, tranquility, and environmental integrity of our beloved region,' Kate Reilley wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to fight the campsite. 'As stewards of Napa's natural wonders, we are committed to protecting the area's character and ensuring responsible growth that benefits both residents and visitors.' The Grange Campground, operated by outdoor lodging company AutoCamp, plans to offer a range of 'accessible and affordable' lodging, in addition to serving as a community hub, according to the project's website. In a statement to ABC7, The Grange Campground said: 'The [project] is being proposed by a group of local business owners committed to enhancing Napa's hospitality offerings. AutoCamp, a recognized leader in the outdoor hospitality industry, has been selected as the operator for the planned project. 'The local development team, in collaboration with AutoCamp, has engaged with community members and heard strong interest from residents and business owners in bringing a high-quality outdoor lodging experience that offers a unique and differentiated way to stay in Napa.' Resident of California's Napa Valley (pictured here) are up in arms over a proposed campsite resort that would be built on a beloved trail The Grange Campground plans (rendered here) to offer a range of 'accessible and affordable' lodging, in addition to serving as a community hub, according to the project's website Justin Newberry, the creator of the Change.org petition to fight the project, wrote that they believe the development (rendered again here) will 'primarily benefit tourists, not local Napans' It further added that 'experts' have evaluated the project over the past two years and 'affirmed that it is designed to be safe, beneficial, and [a] well-integrated addition to the community.' 'Every AutoCamp location is thoughtfully designed, sustainably built, and managed with meticulous care and oversight. This commitment to excellence has fostered strong relationships with communities across the country, and we are excited for the opportunity to contribute positively to the City of Napa,' the statement concluded. The Grange Campground Project did not immediately respond to the DailyMail.com's request for comment. Despite the resort's assurances, Justin Newberry, the creator of the Change.org petition to fight the project, wrote that they believe the development will 'primarily benefit tourists, not local Napans.' Main concerns revolve around the future of their residential area, and the likelihood of increased traffic, noise pollution, air pollution an increased strain on local resources as well as an increased risk of wildfires from grills or burning pits. And beyond that, there are fears that this precedent will welcome further developers to commercialize the landscape of Napa. 'What will happen when/if the Glamping establishment no longer exists? Will a hotel or other commercial establishment be built?' the petitioners asked. 'We believe that immediate action must be taken to address these concerns to ensure the well-being of our residents, the protection of wildlife, and the preservation of our environment,' they added. The plans for The Grange Campground have sparked fury among residents (pictured) along Napa's Silverado Trail, who have collected over 1,000 signatures to fight the project The Napa City Council met to discuss the matter on Tuesday where many frustrated residents voiced their concerns again to the council board One resident, Judi Buffington, has a property next door to the proposed campsite grounds and showed ABC7 a series of photos displaying a history of flooding on the land. 'The property floods periodically anything we have a really rainy season,' Buffington told the outlet. 'It floods and that means that the mobile units that they have, [will] have to be moved out and it's a two-lane major highway.' Increased traffic is also a major concern for locals, who have witnessed several accidents along the road. One neighbor wrote on the movement's website Bad for Napa: 'Traffic on Silverado Trail is already a serious issue, and now they're proposing to add what is essentially a 100-room hotel on one of our busiest streets. This will only make an already difficult situation worse for everyone.' '[It is] one of the busiest and most dangerous roads here in Napa County,' added another resident Kelly Carlson said. 'I worked on an ambulance for 10 years and the fatalities and injuries accidents you see on Silverado Trail and where the proposed project is going, they won't be able to put a left hand turn lane.' Buffington, and many of the other concerned locals, are also seriously worried about the potentially catastrophic consequences of each camper being allowed grills and access to scores of firepits. 'I don't understand how they can propose fire pits in an area like that. The mitigation that they are proposing for the 100 fire pits is that everybody will have a fire extinguisher,' Buffington said. Another neighbor said: 'Given the frequent accidents and the constant threat of fires, how can we, in good conscience, accept this?' 'The property floods periodically anything we have a really rainy season,' resident Judi Buffington said. 'It floods and that means that the mobile units that they have, [will] have to be moved out and it's a two-lane major highway' Main concerns revolve around the future of their residential area, and the likelihood of increased traffic, noise pollution, air pollution, an increased strain on local resources, as well as an increased risk of wildfires from grills or burning pits 'Imagine the danger and choking air pollution from 100 fires burning every night. We can't afford to put our city at such extreme risk,' one local wrote, according to the movement's site. The Napa City Council met to discuss the matter on Tuesday where many frustrated residents voiced their concerns again to the council board. More than 60 comments were given during the meeting, with many residents taking the opportunity to oppose the project in the meeting. But before the comments came pouring in, developers and AutoCamp proposed solutions to their concerns that seemingly fell on deaf ears. They suggested traffic solutions such as only allowing right turns in and out, adding an eight-foot paved shoulder and allowing for cars to wait in line to enter on the driveway to avoid blocking the roadway. During their presentation, a representative of AutoCamp said that they would enforce 'strict' quiet hours and noise policies, only compressed wood products to limit smoke production would be allowed for firepits and 'strict fire prevention protocols' and 'emergency preparedness training' would be implemented. 'This is a first for Napa, so the concerns and questions are real,' one board member pointed out. After the six-hour-long meeting, the council denied the motion from AutoCamp by 3-2 despite concessions. One local wrote on the petition that the project was 'criminal.' They said: 'This is three blocks away from my home that I purchased in a residential zone' As for the residents opposed to the project, a GoFundMe to support the anti-campground movement has currently raised $17,800 And even after offering another concession restricting firepits and prohibit wood burning, AutoCamp was still denied. The council said they want to keep the floodplain in its 'natural state,' and suggested moving the tents off the area and replacing them with picnic benches. The project's representatives then offered to take plots off of the floodplain in the winter months and introduce a left-turn lane before their motion was denied yet again. Not giving up, the AutoCamp camp also offered to lower the total maximum number of guests again. In the end, the council offered to postpone the meeting or allow the applicants to reapply for consideration Pictured: Another rendering of the proposed project In the end, the council offered to postpone the meeting or allow the applicants to reapply for consideration. Currently, it remains unclear if a follow-up meeting has been scheduled or if The Grange Campgrounds Project will reapply. As for the residents opposed to the project, a GoFundMe to support the anti-campground movement has currently raised $17,800. 'This is three blocks away from my home that I purchased in a residential zone!' one local wrote. 'I will fight this including going door to door to stop this nonsense. You will ruin what makes Napa one of the last places that isn't commercialized.' When Samantha Mesher bought two guinea pigs home for her daughters they instantly fell in love and were over the moon - until tragedy struck just weeks later. The mother-of-two found the pets dead in the bottom of their cage, with blood coming from one of their mouths, leaving the family 'traumatised'. Ms Mesher, from Taunton, Somerset, had bought the guinea pigs from Pets at Home. They abruptly died from suspected Streptococcus, commonly known as Strep. The pet shop has since been forced to stop selling the animal due to an outbreak of disease. She bought the pets from a Taunton branch and her daughters, aged four and 11, loved them instantly, she told MailOnline. Within weeks the guinea pigs, named Coco and Fudge, dropped dead, leaving the children devastated. It was meant to be a nice thing having guinea pigs but it's really tainted it for them, Ms Mesher said. Fudge the guinea pig (pictured) suddenly dropped dead. She was found in her cage with blood and mucus foaming at the mouth and nose Samantha Mesher bought two guinea pigs from Pets at Home in Taunton, Somerset who abruptly died from suspected Streptococcus, commonly known as Strep Ms Mesher bought Fudge as a replacement for their previous guinea pig Coco, who also died within weeks The mother-of-two bought the pets from a Taunton branch and her daughters, aged four and 11, loved them instantly' Animals are meant to teach children at a young age of life and death, and it could be a good thing, but not within the space of a week, and then another week having two guinea pigs dying. It's been really traumatic for them as children, you expect for them to at least have a few years to love and care for an animal, not to constantly see one dying. Coco, who was bought as a pair, used to be 'dominant' with her other furry friend, before she suddenly became really skinny. She stopped eating. She rapidly declined, and we saw that she couldn't breathe. So she was just gasping for air. She had mucus and things coming out of her mouth and her nose. Streptococcus Streptococcus, commonly known as Strep, is a common type of bacteria that affects both animals and humans. It is more common in animals and can can cause life-threatening pneumonia in guinea pigs and dangerous infections in other animals. Symptoms may include coughing, vomiting, extreme weakness, stiffness, muscle tremors, seizures, intense pain, and possibly bleeding from the nose or bloody diarrhea. A vet will generally prescribe a course of antibiotics as treatment. Advertisement My daughters were absolutely crying. After taking her to a Pets at Home vet, the mother was told that her guinea pig was a runt of the litter and that some are born with conditions which may only be noticeable weeks later. She was later told the animal had possible bronchitis or anorexia. However, Ms Mesher remains doubtful. 'I didn't realize a guinea pig could have a mental health condition,' she said. Strep is definitely what she had. She was then advised to buy another guinea pig so Coco's partner was not left alone. We were told to buy a guinea pig there and then, and then come home, clean the cage out fully, with all the sprays and everything I'd bought from pets at home, redo the cage and then introduce a new guinea pig. So we did that. I cleaned the cage top to bottom, so it wouldn't have any of the old guinea pig smells. But the original guinea pig would not go anywhere near Fudge. She was almost cornering her in the cage. A week later, we were stroking the guinea pigs in the morning, and we noticed the new guinea pig had a nose bleed. So we thought that's really odd. The girls went to school. An hour later I went and checked and she was dead in her cage with blood and mucus foaming at the mouth and nose. It was absolutely awful. I was just so shocked and angry. My youngest daughter is four and I didn't tell her that the second one had died because she was in floods of tears. But my eldest daughter is 11, and she's absolutely been distraught. The mother anxiously waited to receive advice from Pets At Home, who said they had contacted customers who purchased guinea pigs with 'detailed advice and guidance' The children were in 'floods of tears' when their beloved pets passed away Following the death of her two guinea pigs the mother was told to purchase another pet as a replacement. I felt like for them it was almost like returning a broken t-shirt,' she said The mother returned to the pet shop and asked for an autopsy but was told the animals are prone to respiratory issues. In the next breath I was told "do you want to take the guinea pig home and bury it?" which I was annoyed about, Ms Mesher said. She was also told she should purchase another pet as a replacement, and she soon purchased Pepper. I felt like for them it was almost like returning a broken t-shirt. It was just go and pick another one. And that's all. They were just like 30 commodities for them.' The mother remains concerned for Pepper and her other guinea pig Oreo's health. Pets at Home, which has over 471 stores across the country, have stopped selling the pets after Strep was found among the animals. A Pets at Home spokesperson told MailOnline they are 'confident' the outbreak has been 'isolated and fully managed' and that they will be 'resuming the sale and adoption of guinea pigs very soon'. Despite the heartbreak of losing their second guinea pig, the family soon bought another, named Pepper A vet's report suggested that Coco was suffering from potential bronchitis or anorexia. But Ms Mesher is certain it was strep Strep can cause life-threatening pneumonia in guinea pigs and dangerous infections in other animals. Symptoms may include coughing, vomiting, extreme weakness, stiffness, muscle tremors, seizures, intense pain, and possibly bleeding from the nose or bloody diarrhea. Human cases of the disease are rare, although it can be spread from animals to humans. Some customers who purchased guinea pigs from the chain have been contacted by the chain with detailed advice and guidance. Pets at Home previously said they had identified a small percentage of cases of infection in their guinea pig population resulting from streptococcus equi zooepidemicus. Pet welfare is always our top priority and as a precautionary measure we have taken swift and immediate action to temporarily pause the sale or adoption of guinea pigs,' a spokesperson said. We will be contacting customers directly who have purchased a guinea pig from us recently with detailed advice and guidance. However, if you have immediate concerns, please contact your local Pets at Home or veterinary provider for further advice. Strep is 100% what they both had, Ms Mesher added. But weve never been asked to return the two guinea pigs which we had. When I asked Pets at Home why they didnt tell me to return them, they asked for proof of purchase and vet notes. I found it was almost like rubbing salt in the wounds by making me prove that Id bought these guinea pigs. A Pets at Home spokesperson said: 'We know how difficult it is to lose a beloved pet and are in contact with Ms Mesher. 'Unfortunately, it isnt possible to retrospectively determine if their specific illnesses were connected to streptococcus equi zooepidemicus. 'However, a refund has been provided to cover the costs for Coco and Fudge, and we have also offered to provide a free consultation and check-up for Oreo and Pepper to ensure they are both happy and healthy.' As the head of the Catholic Church, you would think most popes would have spent their whole lives in service of their faith. But for a very small minority, their early careers were much less orthodox. While most of the pontiffs that have previously been elected as pope had already served as cardinals, their journey to reach this role is not always straight forward. For some who grew up during the second world war, the pursuit of the Catholic faith was hampered by the closure of religious buildings and even arresting its leaders. For others, their need to make ends meet meant taking on more day-to-day jobs, which may now seem trivial given their newfound fame. Here MailOnline takes a look at the secret lives of some extraordinary popes before they became one of the most recognised public figures in the world. St Peter's Square and St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, where the pope resides Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel to begin the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict after he stepped down in 2013 Pope Francis - Nightclub bouncer When elected in 2013, Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was the first pope from outside Europe in 1,300 years. He was born on December 17, 1936. He was one of five children of an Italian immigrant railway worker and his wife. During his young adult life he worked as a nightclub bouncer and trained as a chemical technician before joining the elite Society of Jesus after being inspired by a priest. At the age of 32, he became a Jesuit priest in his own right. Within four years, he was leading the local Jesuit community and in 1998 he was appointed archbishop of Buenos Aires. He was chosen as Pope Benedict's successor on March 14, 2013. The German pontiff's shock resignation the previous month triggered the first conclave since 2005, following the death of John Paul II. Pope Francis waves from the Popemobile on his way to attend the Via Crucis on Copacabana Beach during World Youth Day celebrations on July 26, 2013 Pope Benedict - member of the Hitler Youth German born Pope Benedict grew up at his family home in the southern German village of Marktl, close to Austria. Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, he was required to join the Hitler Youth aged 14 while growing up in Nazi Germany. At 16, he was conscripted into anti-aircraft work and drafted into the army at 21, according to the Washington Post. But, he deserted the German army in April 1945, in the waning days of the war, and was briefly held as a prisoner-of-war by the Allies. His history was a sensitive and controversial issue for the Catholic Church, which had historically come under criticism for its neutrality during the Second World War. Benedict had explained that he was forced to join the Nazi youth organization and that a kind Math teacher helped him to avoid attending meetings. During a rally in New York in 2008, Benedict told a youth rally that his teenage years had been 'marred by a sinister regime'. He told his young audience: 'My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought it had all the answers. 'Its influence grew infiltrating schools and civic bodies as well as politics and even religion before it was fully recognised for the monster it was. It banished God and thus became impervious to anything true and good. Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd gathered in St Mark's Square while crossing the square on an electric car on May 7, 2011 Pope Francis, left, embraces Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, at the Vatican, on June 28, 2017 Benedict followed in the footsteps of John Paul when he was elected the 265th leader of the Church on April 19, 2005. He was the oldest pope elected in 275 years and the first German in nearly 1,000 years. In 2013 he became the first pontiff in 600 years to resign and left at a time when the Catholic Church was steeped in sexual abuse and pedophilia scandals. His dramatic decision paved the way for the conclave that elected Pope Francis as his successor. Pope Benedict died on December 31 in the Vatican after a long battle with illness. Pope John Paul - Nazi chemical factory worker The 264th Pope of the Catholic Church, Karol Jozef Wojtya, was born on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, near Krakow. His father was a non-commissioned officer in the Polish army and his mother died in 1929 when he was eight. In 1938, he began studying philosophy and literature at the university in Krakow which the Nazis closed when they invaded in 1939. To escape death or deportation, Wojtyla worked in a quarry and later took an office job. In 1941 his father, the last member of his immediate family, died. Pope John Paul II pictured with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace After deciding to become a priest, Wojtyla continued working in the quarry by day but studied secretly in the evenings with the Krakow cardinal because the Nazis had closed the seminaries. He was moved to a factory owned by chemical firm Solvay - which was supposedly considered essential to the Nazi's war efforts - where he continued reading and writing religious teachings. In 2002, the pontiff later visited a basilica at a religious sanctuary in Krakow where he spent much of his youth. 'I used to come here, especially during the Nazi occupation, when I worked in the nearby Solvay' chemical plant and quarry, the pontiff recalled. 'Every day I walked this road, coming to work ... in wooden shoes that one used to wear in those days. 'How could one imagine that this man in wooden shoes would one day be consecrating the Basilica of Divine Mercy?' Wojtyla was ordained in 1946 at the age of 26 and went to Rome for advanced studies. In 1948, he returned to Poland. He became Poland's youngest bishop at 38, was promoted to Archbishop of Krakow in 1964 and made cardinal three years later by Pope Paul VI. Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyla after being named at the head of the Catholic Church as Pope John Paul II Shadows are cast on a marble statue of late Pope John Paul II outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome On October 16, 1978, Wojtyla was elected the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years and, at 58, the youngest Pope for more than a century. John Paul was the subject of a vicious attack in St Peter's Square, in May 1981. The Pontiff survived being shot hit four times with a poisoner tipped umbrella by Mehmet Ali Agca. The Turk was caught and later confessed to the crime, initially claiming Bulgaria's Soviet secret service, guided by the KGB, had orchestrated the plot. John Paul, who died in 2005, later pardoned Agca and even visited him in his jail cell to show his forgiveness. A loving couple living in a quiet West Country town have revealed how they kept their biblical disease secret out of shame for nearly 30 years. Dan and Babs Izzett feared they would become outcasts if anyone got to know they were suffering from one of the most feared and misunderstood illnesses known to mankind - leprosy. When the couple were diagnosed all they could think of was the gruesome scenes from the Hollywood classic Ben-Hur which showed lepers with blistering and decaying flesh. Mr Izzett, 77, said: 'I thought of myself ringing a bell, shouting leper, leper, leper and being rejected and removed from my community. 'I was in complete shock, I thought it would be the end of our lives together, just the word leper strikes fear into people.' But the couple live quietly in a smart five-bedroomed detached house in the countryside just outside Taunton. Their friends and neighbours know that they have leprosy - everyone has got used to it. The disease means Mr Izzett has no feeling in his limbs which led to him losing his right leg when he stood in a basin of boiling water. A natural story-teller, the father-of-two tells with some relish how his arm was gnawed by a rat as he was sleeping and he didn't feel a thing. Dan and Babs Izzett pictured) feared they would become outcasts if anyone got to know they were suffering from one of the most feared and misunderstood illnesses known to mankind The couple kept their disease secret for almost 30 years but now their neighbours and friends all know Mr Izzett is unsure how he caught leprosy but it was while he was very young and growing up in Zimbabwe, at that time still Rhodesia. During his national service medical in 1967 a doctor queried the brown marks on his backside, the first signs of leprosy on his skin. Mr Izzett said he'd never seen them, the doctor wasn't worried and it wasn't until he finished his time in the army that he investigated further. Looking through an old-fashioned magnifying glass, a dermatologist diagnosed a fungal infection and gave him some cream before he headed off into the African bush to work on a major civil engineering project. On 16 October 1969 Mr Izzett met the love of his life, who was working as a doctor's receptionist in the town of Rusape. They were married the following August and, in the November, Mr Izzett's body became covered by an angry rash. The young married couple, both Christians, had their first shock when a doctor diagnosed syphilis. 'We knew it couldn't be,' said Dan. 'We were both virgins when we got married. I took the view that you only give it away once and I wanted to save it for my wife.' Mr Izzett is unsure how he caught leprosy but it was while he was very young and growing up in Zimbabwe, at that time still Rhodesia Blood tests confirmed the diagnosis and for two years Mr Izzett was given drugs for a sexually transmitted disease he didn't have. Not surprisingly, they didn't work. He was sent to see a consulting physician who noticed Mr Izzett had no feeling above his knees and elbows and over 70 per cent of his face. Mr Izzett said: 'That triggered a memory. I went to technical school when I was about 13 and I can remember being burned and getting splinters in my hands and never feeling anything. 'I remember the consultant saying: 'I don't know what's wrong with you' but then he had an idea for another test. He took a scrape of skin from my forehead and sent it away to be analysed. 'Not long after that I had a phone call to go and see a doctor at the Ministry of Health in Harare. 'I'll never forget it,' he said: 'We know what's wrong with you.' I said: 'Is it syphilis' and he replied: 'No, it's Hansen's disease.' 'I said: 'What the hell is that?' and he said the words lepromatous leprosy. I had the highest level of bacilli (bacteria) they had ever seen. 'My life flashed before me for a second. The first vision I had was being draped in sackcloth with a bell and walking outside city walls calling leper, leper leper. The couple have dedicated their lives to changing the stigma about leprosy around the world 'We just recently watched the movie Ben-Hur so there were fresh pictures in my mind. I'd been to Sunday school and read bible stories about lepers. Ignorance builds ghost stories, doesn't it?' The doctor reassured Mr Izzett that medical science had come a long way in 2,000 years and there were drugs that would mean he could live a normal life. Mr Izzett said: 'When I got home I had to tell Babs, I offered to have our marriage annulled, that seemed the most honourable thing to do. I didn't know what else to do. 'She said: 'No way, I love you. We made a commitment before a congregation of people and before God, that we'd be together until one of us died.' And that was it, we stayed married. 'But we were now dealing with something that was one of the most horrific things you've ever heard. The worst fate declared on anybody.' Mrs Izzett, 75, recalled: 'I was in absolute shock. We'd recently seen Ben Hur. and I thought, oh, they're going to take him away. I'm not going to be allowed to see him. It's going to be the end of our lives together. 'That was my first reaction. Funnily enough, I didn't think of myself at all, I was just so worried we would be apart.' Mr Izzett did his research as he started on a course of drugs to eradicate the mycobacterium bacilli that had been slowly multiplying in his body for more than 20 years. Mr Izzett lost a finger through infection and in 1980 he lost his right leg after stepping into boiling water, the nerves under his skin unable to detect the water temperature. He's currently on his 29th prosthetic leg and is expecting a new one soon He discovered that leprosy is hard to catch, that 95 per cent of people are immune to it. The couple were advised to live their lives as normal and hope that Babs wasn't one of the five per cent that could catch it. They had a son Bruce and then during her second pregnancy with another son Christopher, Mrs Izzett developed brown patches on her legs, arms and face. When she accidentally burned her arm and didn't feel the pain she went to her doctor who confirmed the couple's worst fears - she had caught the disease. 'Babs caught leprosy from me before I was diagnosed,' said Mr Izzett. It was exactly seven years since their wedding day - no coincidence that the incubation period for leprosy is seven years. Their two sons were healthy and with the help of antibiotics the Izzetts were able to get on with their lives, keeping their leprosy a closely guarded secret from everyone except family. Mr Izzett said: 'We knew there would be prejudice and stigma. The doctors said get on with your life as normal but don't tell anybody. That was the big thing. 'We knew there was total ignorance about leprosy - we had been ignorant ourselves. So we kept it secret for 28 years.' Once a leprosy patient starts the drug treatment they are non-infectious within 48 hours but the Izzetts knew they would be ostracised from their community if their secret got out. Mr Izzett lost a finger through infection and in 1980 he lost his right leg after stepping into boiling water, the nerves under his skin unable to detect the water temperature. He's currently on his 29th prosthetic leg and is expecting a new one soon. After helping to build some of Africa's biggest dams, Mr Izzett left civil engineering in 1981 and became a Pentecostal Church minister still in Zimbabwe where he and Babs were approached by the Leprosy Mission charity that helps millions of people worldwide suffering from the disease. Mr Izzett said: 'They told us it's not often that we have a Caucasian with leprosy but it's a Caucasian and his wife and they're not poverty stricken or destitute. We want your testimony. 'Well, we were scared. To start with we said no way, after all those years keeping it a secret. But they persuaded us and we prayed and finally we agreed to do it - to tell the world starting with our own church congregation. 'All anyone knew was that Dan and Babs were going to give their testimony but they didn't know what we were going to tell them. They knew I had one leg and funny hands but that was about it. 'Every man and his dog were there. People drove hours to hear Dan and Babs' testimony. I told them I had Hansen's disease, only one women in the congregation knew what that was, I could see the shock on her face, 'Then we told them it was leprosy, my knees were knocking together, I didn't know what to expect. Oh my goodness me, I was scared that day. 'But we went and stood by the door at the back of the church and every single one of them hugged and kissed us as they left. 'People asked us why haven't you told us before and we said we were afraid of being rejected and ostracised by society,' Since that day in 1999 the couple have dedicated their lives to changing the stigma about leprosy around the world. They have visited more than 20 countries to tell their story and have the fridge magnets and souvenirs to prove it. The couple retired to Somerset to be near their grown-up sons and are 'Oupie and Nono' to six grandchildren. The pair have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds and only last week were invited to the House of Lords to tell their story and break the stigma of leprosy. Their message doesn't always get through. Mr Izzett said: 'We were in Switzerland on a tour speaking about leprosy. I gave my business card to a woman, she looked at it and said: 'You leper?' 'When I said I was, she handed me the card back, holding onto it by the tiniest corner. We tried not to laugh but for us it was hysterical, she thought by taking my card she would catch leprosy.' Mr Izzett served on the Leprosy Mission International Board based in the UK and the American Leprosy Missions Board. But at 77 he's decided to start taking it easy. That ran out October year ago. And I don't do any more boards. I'm bored with boards.' Mr Izzett gets told off by his loving wife and members of the Leprosy Mission for saying 'I'm a leper, rather than: 'I'm a leprosy sufferer. I had leprosy and I still suffer from the consequences of it.' But he doesn't care. 'It doesn't bother me,' he said. I use it for effect but that's what I am - a leper.' There's nothing quite like the feeling of wind rushing through your hair as you sail high above the ground. For just a few minutes, ziplines offer people the chance to understand what it means to be free, soaring through the air as birds do. But this transcendental experience can quickly take a turn for the worse. Ill-fitting harnesses, poor safety checks or plain old rotten luck can lead to severe mishaps that put lives at risk. Here, MailOnline looks at the close shaves people have had with ziplines. Moment boy crashes into lake after zip line harness breaks in Mexico An adult male can be seen sliding up next to the child and guiding him along the way when the safety belt suddenly snaps The man comes to a full stop and several people in the background scream before the recording ends This frightening 2023 incident was caught on video by the then-six-year-old Cesar Moreno's family and shows zip lining 40 feet above the artificial lake at Amazonian Expedition in Fundidora Park in Mexico's Nuevo Leon region. An adult male can be seen sliding up next to Moreno and guiding him along the way when the safety belt suddenly snaps. The man comes to a full stop and several people in the background scream before the recording ends. Local cops said at the time that Cesar did not suffer any injuries, and was able to walk out with his family after being checked over by paramedics. But the boy's sister, Nataly Moreno, revealed on Facebook that a Good Samaritan jumped into the lake to save her little brother from going under and nearly drowned while doing so. But her brother and boyfriend rushed into the lake and brought them to safety. She alleged that Fundidora Park did not have the necessary staff in attendance to rescue her brother and the man who attempted to help him. 'The park does not have people trained for this type of situation, none were there to help get him out of the water,' Nataly Moreno said. 'Terrible park, it's incredible how disastrous things can happen in the blink of an eye. I only thank God that my Cesar is well.' Horrifying moment 10-year-old boy falls 20 feet from zip line The ride takes him around one curvature while his legs are seen dangling Seconds later, a dip in the ride causes the boy to lose his grip on the harness, which was reportedly not properly secured Horrifying surveillance footage of the September 2019 incident shows the boy holding on to a harness of the 'Sky Rider' at the Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park in Lakeland, Florida. The ride takes him around one curvature while his legs are seen dangling. Seconds later, a dip in the ride causes the boy to lose his grip on the harness, which was reportedly not properly secured. He is then seen crashing down to the concrete floor of the indoor ride as several people, including employees, rush over to check on him. The boy, who survived the ordeal, was motionless as a woman, believed to be his relative, is seen kneeling over him. According to a lawsuit filed by the boy's family, the incident was a result of operator error. The suit also says that the boy fell 'more than 20 feet' and suffered 'significant injuries'. The victim has recovered from his injuries and is now back in school. Tourist left hanging in midair after zip line stops working Shocking footage shows the girl trying to rock back and forth to move along the zipline cable, with her inching forward very slowly on the Flying Fox zipline on Nusa Penida Shocking footage shows the girl trying to rock back and forth to move along the zipline cable, with her inching forward very slowly on the Flying Fox zipline on Nusa Penida, a small island located near the southeastern Indonesian island of Bali. Meanwhile the girl's terrified and reportedly crying mother, alongside several British tourists, watched on in horror from below as the girl is hanging 330ft over the ocean. Nusa Penida's police chief told local media shortly after the 2024 incident that the 'foreign child' was stuck on the zipline for about three minutes before she managed to rock herself to the other side. The girl was not injured. 'The opposing wind direction and light body [didn't] make the roller move,' he added. Child runs into sloth while zip lining through Costa Rican rainforest The boy, who has not been named, was zooming through the forest canopy with a guide at Go.Adventure Arenal Park, which is on the slopes of Arenal Volcano, when he bumped into the unexpected obstruction The boy is going so fast he is unable to slow down before he hits the animal, which brings him to an abrupt stop The child can be heard saying 'I just clocked it straight in the face' after the head-on collision The boy, who has not been named, was zooming through the forest canopy with a guide at Go.Adventure Arenal Park, which is on the slopes of Arenal Volcano, when he bumped into the unexpected obstruction in March 2022. In video taken by the guide, the child can be seen colliding head-on with the slow-moving animal, which had somehow managed to climb from the trees onto the zip wire. In the footage the man can be heard telling the child 'no brake' at as they set off on the ride. They quickly pick up speed before the sloth comes into view. The boy is going so fast he is unable to slow down before he hits the animal, which brings him to an abrupt stop. The child can be heard saying 'I just clocked it straight in the face' after the head-on collision. After a moment to gather their bearings the guide untangles the boy and the sloth and the furry animal begins to walk down the line, even appearing to wave at the pair as it goes. Worrying moment rope wraps woman's neck at Eden Project ride Claire Hatch, 37, had taken her family to the Cornwall attraction to celebrate the 13th birthday of daughter Madi in August 2016 and took her son on the Gravity Swing But a rope she claims was not attached properly became wrapped around her neck as she rode the zipwire, then leaving her suspended in the air Claire Hatch, 37, had taken her family to the Cornwall attraction to celebrate the 13th birthday of daughter Madi in August 2016 and took her son on the Gravity Swing, which sends thrill-seekers plunging from a height of 65ft. But a rope she claims was not attached properly became wrapped around her neck as she rode the zipwire, then leaving her suspended in the air. She then had to wait 45 minutes for an on-site paramedic - and then as long again for an ambulance - before being freed from the ride and going to hospital for treatment. Writing on Facebook at the time, she said: 'The one girl on her own supervising the swing, whose job it was to make sure everything was safe, forgot to tie back one of the ropes. 'So as we swung back down for the second time the rope caught around my neck. It was only me being yanked backwards that saved me from being very seriously hurt, or worse.' She added: 'I was told by a member of staff that a paramedic was on site and would be there very quickly. Forty five minutes later a man wearing a uniform in a paramedic car arrived. 'After he began examining me without putting gloves on first, then putting the wipes with blood on into the staff room bin, it was questioned if he was actually medically trained. 'He rudely told us that he was a retired paramedic and that everyone calls him a paramedic because that's how they've always known him and that's what it says on his car. 'Over an hour and a half after I was taken off of the swing, an ambulance was called and I was taken straight to hospital. Horrific moment trainee firefighter falls after zip wire snaps Frightening video footage captured the moment a fire department cadet suffered a 19-foot ball after his zipline cable broke and sent him crashing to the street He started to descend on the zip line and other cadets in the background cheered him on before the cable suddenly split Frightening video footage captured the moment a fire department cadet suffered a 19-foot ball after his zipline cable broke and sent him crashing to the street during a voluntary training exercise in Brazil in February 2024. The man, whose name has not been released, could be seen on the video wearing a safety harness around his waist as he received instructions while he climbed out of a window of a building in Brasilia, the nation's capital. The victim the stood on the ledge and supported himself by placing his hands over the base of the window. He started to descend on the zip line and other cadets in the background cheered him on before the cable suddenly split. The man fell face first into street below and lay motionless before the video recording abruptly came to an end. The cadet received medical aid on the scene from his classmates and was rushed to a local hospital where he was treated for arm and rib pain and a head gash, according to Brazilian news outlet G1. Transport for London has been slammed after a series of fake anti-Israel adverts were plastered on a tube carriage. The vile posters purport to be adverts from Monday.com, work-management platform that is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. The advert is in the same style as Monday.com's genuine adverts and states: 'Monday.com for whatever you run. Even An apartheid state.' It then lists 'Genocide', 'Ethnic Cleansing' and 'Cultural Erasure' as projects run by different users, along with their status of 'Needs attention', 'On track' and 'At risk'. The anti-Israel ads were reported to UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) by a Jewish mother who spotted it on a Victoria line tube. She said they made her 'feel physically sick' and slammed TfL for its handling of the situation, claiming 'they shouldn't have been there in the first place'. Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, contacted TfL on February 22 calling for the adverts to be removed. She then received confirmation three days later that the adverts were being taken down. It comes amid near-record levels of anti-semitic attacks on British Jews across the country, with 3,528 anti-Semitic incidents taking place in the UK during 2024. Transport for London has been slammed after a series of fake anti-Israel adverts (pictured) were plastered on a tube carriage Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, contacted TfL on February 22 calling for the adverts to be removed. She received confirmation three days later that the adverts were being taken down The woman who reported the adverts told Caroline that seeing support for Hamas' 'hatred of Jews on a London train made me feel physically sick'. 'It should not require an objection from me for these to be removed. They shouldn't have been there in the first place,' she added. Caroline said that TfL had written to UKLFI stating: 'Please be rest assured, these advertisements, have not been endorsed or sanctioned by TfL. 'Our Staff and Contractors, are currently working across the Network, to have this flyposting removed immediately.' Caroline told MailOnline that she believes criminal charges should be brought against the perpetrators if they are ever found. She said: 'They could be charged with a breach of the Town and Country Planning Act, section 224(3), since it is a criminal offence to display adverts on a moving vehicle without the consent of the owner. 'I hope that TfL will find the perpetrators.' Monday.com was also made aware of the fake ads on social media - before they had been removed by TfL - and emphasised the company was 'in no way connected to this act'. A protester holds reading 'Coexist' during a demonstration in central London, on November 26, 2023, to protest against antisemitism People hold up placards and Union flags as they gather for a demonstration organised by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism in London in April 2018 They wrote on X: 'It is important for us to clarify that what you saw is a distortion of our campaign and monday is in no way connected to this act. 'Monday in no way supports this message, and we are actively working with the vendors to remove the defaced signage. 'If you have any further information about the carriage number or tube line this would really help us speed up the process.' A UKLFI spokesperson said: 'These fake anti-Israel adverts seem to be a perennial problem on the London transport system, whether on tubes or at bus stops. 'They need to be removed as quickly as possible. TfL should also try harder to prevent them being put up in the first place.' A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism added: 'It is right that TfL has apologised and is working to remove these odious 'advertisements'. 'Monday.com is a tech company, not a political player. 'An overwhelming majority of British Jews 92% believe that claims that Israel is an apartheid state risk inflaming antisemitism, according to our polling. Anti-Semitism remained 'significantly higher than it had been prior to the Hamas terror attack', the report concluded (pictured: Orthodox Jewish men pass police officers as they patrol around Stamford Hill in October 2023) 'When posters like these are displayed on our public transport, it makes Jews feel unwelcome. Transport networks must remain vigilant and remove any unauthorised displays quickly.' A TfL spokesperson said: 'This poster was not authorised by TfL or our advertising partners and we have instructed our teams and contractors to remove any that are found on our network.' Figures from last year showed there were 3,528 anti-Semitic incidents in the UK during 2024, the second-highest total ever recorded. The year showed an 18 per cent fall on levels seen in 2023, which witnessed an orgy of vile anti-Semitism in the months after Hamas's October 7 assaults. But charity the Community Security Trust (CST), which compiled the figures, said it showed the 'lasting impact' of the conflict in the Middle East. Brazen thieves are stealing millions of dollars of designer shoes in train heists in the California and Arizona deserts. A string of ten heists have occurred since last year targeting BNSF freight trains resulting in the theft of about $2million worth of Nike sneakers, some of which had not yet been released on the market. An indictment filed on February 11 accused Noe Cecena-Castro and ten other defendants of possessing over $440,000 worth of Nike shoes, which had been stolen from a BNSF train in North Arizona on January 17. The case was the latest in the string of thefts from the trains where Cecena-Castro and the ten other defendants allegedly worked together in a plan to obtain and sell on more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes. Many of the pairs were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4's, which are set to be made public on March 14 and are expected to retail at $225 per pair, the Los Angeles Times reported. El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel is believed to have been behind the heist and nine of the 11 defendants were identified as Mexican nationals without legal status in the US. Criminal organizations such as these often cut the trains air hoses - which can derail the trains typically travelling up to 70mph - which causes the trains to come to an emergency stop. Once stopped, often within the deserts away from towns or cities, those aboard the train will break into the containers and unload the cargo, according to the Arizona District Attorney's Office. An indictment filed on February 11 accused Noe Cecena-Castro and ten other defendants for possessing over $440,000 worth of Nike shoes, which had been stolen from a BNSF train in North Arizona The case was the latest in the string of thefts from the trains where Cecena-Castro and the ten other defendants allegedly worked together in a plan to obtain and sell on more than 1,900 pairs of unreleased Nike shoes Another crew will then drive cargo vehicles to pick up the stolen goods and the items are then sold online.The number of thefts last year increased by 40 percent from 2023, with at least 65,000 railroad cargo thefts, according to the Association of American Railroads. The trade group also said that the thefts are expected to have cost the nation's largest rail companies more than $100million. That figure is derived from not just the costs of insurance claims for stolen goods but the need to repair or replace damaged infrastructure, invest in new anti-theft technology, manage operational delays and allocate additional resources to fight such thefts. Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk's CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona, told the LA Times that the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by confederates working at warehouses or trucking companies. If not, they will find trains with high-security locks and cut them with saws or bolt cutters, according to a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in affidavits filed in federal court. Cases such as these have only increased recently. On November 20, another BNSF train came to an emergency stop in Arizona and authorities discovered around 180 pairs of then-unreleased Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers valued at $41,400, according to court documents. Another, on December 6, found $48,000 worth of then-unreleased Nike Dunk Low Midnight Navy sneakers where four people were charged with possessing or receiving goods stolen form interstate shipment, according to court documents. In April and June, $346,200 worth of then-unreleased Nike Air Jordans were recovered after two BNSF trains were burglarized, and two other cases resulted in the theft of $612,000 worth of Nikes and eight arrests, according to court documents. Many of the pairs were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4's, which are set to be made public on March 14 and are expected to retail at $225 per pair Another BNSF train came to an emergency stop in Arizona and authorities discovered around 180 pairs of then-unreleased Air Jordan 11 Retro Legend Blue sneakers valued at $41,400 On December 6, found $48,000 worth of then-unreleased Nike Dunk Low Midnight Navy sneakers where four people were charged with possessing or receiving goods stolen form interstate shipment A spokesperson for BSNF, Lena Kent, told DailyMail.com that the train company 'has robust protocols' and their police is 'focused on preventing these incidents'. 'We work hard to protect our customers' freight from pickup to delivery and have security measures in place to help ensure these goods arrive safely,' Kent said. 'We are working with federal, state, local, and tribal police departments to coordinate our approach to disrupting criminal activity and arresting offenders.' 'It's essential that the entire criminal justice system, including policymakers, district attorney and judges, focus on this crime trend and help ensure these criminals are held responsible and prosecuted. 'These are not victimless crimes, particularly when many of these packages include much-need medicine, food and critical supplies necessary for everyday life.' Railroads estimate that one in ten thefts result in some kind of arrest. The number of thefts last year increased by 40 percent from 2023, with at least 65,000 railroad cargo thefts The alleged ringleader in the June heist, Felipe Arturo Avalos-Mejia also known as Pollo, was said to have used scouts to find trains to target and supplied vehicles for the paid burglary crews before orchestrating the sale of the goods, according to court documents. He was believed to have been working out of Los Angeles for 11 years. On June 20, law enforcement and Homeland Security searched 11 residences and 16 storage units and arrested 43 suspects. The search recovered around $3million worth of stolen merchandise which were believed to have been stolen from BNSF trains. BNSF police contacted San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies for help responding to a burglary on January 10, according to a news release obtained by the LA Times. On their way to the train line, reporting authorities saw an unmarked box truck driving through Wonder Valley. They conducted a traffic stop and found $18,000 worth of Nike shoes that were stolen from the train, according to a criminal complaint. Jose Villalobos-Infante, 45, and Oscar Sosa, 28, were both arrested and were allegedly on their way to Los Angeles with the stolen goods, the complaint said. Villalobos-Infante and Sosa both pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree burglary and grand theft. Five days later, another freight train burglary took place in Amboy, California, where police were called to once again. In April and June, $346,200 worth of then-unreleased Nike Air Jordans were recovered after two BNSF trains were burglarized, and two other cases resulted in the theft of $612,000 worth of Nikes and eight arrests This burglary resulted in authorities chasing after an unmarked white van. The van got stuck on a sand berm and two occupants of the vehicle ran, sparking a helicopter chase. Two boys, 16 and 17, were caught and arrested. The same night, another vehicle believed to be related to the crime was pursued but the driver fled on foot. Investigators recovered 218 cases of Nike products worth $418,000, the Sheriff's department told the LA Times. March 1, 2025: Currently, Russia still controls the Crimean Peninsula in southern Ukraine. Because of the continued Ukrainian missile and drone attack, the Russian ship repair activities in Crimea have been shut down. Ukrainian airborne and naval drones destroyed most of the Black Sea Fleet over a year ago. Since then these Ukrainian drones have dominated the Black Sea, while Russias remaining ships remain stuck in ports over a thousand kilometers from Crimea. Russia is determined to remain in Crimea but Ukrainian drones have made that increasingly unlikely as it is out of supply due to Russian land, air and sea transportation being blockaded. Russia seized Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Ever since then Ukraine has been struggling to get it back. In 2014 Ukrainian military officials admitted that there was no way for Ukraine to take back Crimea. The Crimean Peninsula is separated from Russia by the 4.5 kilometer-wide Kerch Strait. Maximum depth of the strait is 18 meters and Russia eventually built a large bridge across it. Russia has known nothing besides failure in the Black Sea since the 2022 war started. Ukrainian naval drones have been quite successful in attacking and sinking or disabling Russian navy ships. So far there have been several dozen attacks which resulted in damage to over a dozen ships, several of which were constructive total losses, and the sinking of a cruiser along with over a dozen smaller ships. The longest range raids have been against targets in the Kerch Strait including the eighteen kilometer long Kerch Strait bridge, which has been repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian naval drones. As of late 2024 the bridge was once again partially repaired after being unusable and under repair for months. When repairs are finished, the Ukrainians will attack it again. The Kerch Strait bridge is a vital supply line for Russian forces in the Crimean Peninsula. Sending supplies by sea is no longer practical because of the risk of attack by Ukrainian naval drones. This leaves the Kerch Strait bridge and, when that is out of commission, the only supply route is a road from Russia that is within range of Ukrainian UAVs and artillery rockets, which can attack supply movements at any time. Major problems with the Kerch Strait bridge began shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. A suicide bomb attack October 8th, 2022, on the Kerch Strait bridge was apparently one of several attack plans developed by Ukrainian and British special operations personnel. This planning began back in April and several plans were developed. One involved cruise missiles hitting concrete pillars supporting the bridge. A similar attack plan called for divers to approach at night and place explosives on these pillars. In both cases the key central span would be destroyed and cut road and rail traffic for months while repairs were made. The Russians were aware of this vulnerability and, soon after their 2022 invasion, defenses around the central span were increased to defeat or disrupt missile or underwater attack. This did not deter the Ukrainians who continued to consult with their British counterparts on other plans for destroying key portions of the bridge. In 2019 the railway link across the new Kerch Strait bridge connecting Russia with Crimea was opened for service. This enabled the bridge to move 13 million tons of freight and 14 million passengers a year. The bridge cost nearly $4 billion and was mainly a prestige and diplomatic project as it enables Russia to control the Sea of Azov. In April 2018 Russia declared that the Sea of Azov, reached from the Black Sea via the 4.5-kilometer-wide Kerch Strait, was now under Russian control. The Crimean Peninsula, when it was part of Ukraine, was separated from Russia by the Kerch Strait. Maximum depth of the strait is 18 meters and there had long been talk of building a bridge between Crimea and the Kerch Peninsula, which the Russians claim is now and always been part of Russia. After Russia seized Crimea in 2014, proposals that a bridge be built turned into reality. The Kerch Bridge opened in March 2018, at least the highway part, the sturdier railroad part took longer to complete. With that Russia declared the Sea of Azov under Russian control and no foreign ship could enter with Russian permission. The Russians seized ships trying to reach the Ukrainian ports of Berdiansk and Mariupol that are on the shore of the Sea of Azov. Russia was putting these two ports out of business. Ukraine accused Russia of violating international law as well as a 1990s Russia-Ukrainian treaty that prohibited the seizure of Crimea or building the bridge and restricting access to the Sea of Azov. The problem with the bridge is that it only allows about 30 percent of the large bulk carrier ships that visit Ukrainian and Russian ports to get into the Sea of Azov. Taking down that portion of the bridge would reopen the Sea of Azov to large ships. The October 8th, 2022, dawn attack on the bridge was only partially successful. This attack involved a special bomb weighing several tons carried by a truck crossing the bridge. It was a suicide mission for the driver and the explosives went off short of where they were intended to detonate for maximum damage. It is unclear if this was a driver error or timing error on the detonator. If the bomb had gone off at another point, three deck sections would have dropped into the water rather than one. With one span down the Russians were able to make temporary repairs and resume limited vehicle traffic within a day. The explosion did ignite adjacent railroad cars carrying fuel. The light from these fires could be seen from a long distance. The fire weakened the structure but the Russians were unsure of how much. They continued running normal rail traffic. Fully restoring the highway span is taking longer, limiting vehicle traffic until it was completed. If three deck spans had gone into the water, vehicle traffic would have been halted for weeks and limited traffic only for months. Russian leader Putin was furious about this attack and regarded it as yet another unpredictable and effective Ukrainian innovation that Russian forces were unable to cope with. If the railroad portion of the bridge collapsed, Russia was one step closer to losing Crimea to the advancing Ukrainian forces. The rail line just to the north of the two road lines was much more important as only it could carry the vast quantities of fuel required by Russian aircraft based in the Crimea, plus the supply and armored vehicles in the Kherson area to the north. The Russians had declared the bridge essential for the defense of Crimea and the support of military operations north of Crimea. At the time of the bridge attack the Ukrainian offensive was making progress in capturing all the Russian occupied territory north of Crimea. Once that was done, the only supply route into Crimea was the Kerch bridge. The Ukrainian advance also brought Ukrainian HIMARS trucks close enough to launch attacks on the Kerch bridge with their GMLRS missiles that have a range of eighty kilometers. In southern Ukraine the Ukrainian August 2023 offensive to cut off Russian land access to Crimea had some success. Ukrainian forces moved past the Russian improvised field fortifications that initially slowed down the offensive. The Kerch Strait bridge was recently disabled by several Ukrainian attacks by air and sea. Ukrainian special operations troops have been carrying out raids into Crimea and Ukrainian missiles and guided bombs destroyed Russian air defense systems and other military targets there. In September 2023 Ukraine used a British Storm Shadow air launched missile to destroy the Crimea headquarters of the Black Sea fleet. Over a hundred naval officers were killed, including several admirals. This further weakened the Black Sea fleet, which had already suffered heavy losses from a variety of Ukrainian weapons, including naval and aerial drones, as well as some anti-ship missiles. Some of the naval drones were modified to operate effectively while underwater. The British/French Storm Shadow missile has a range of over 5oo kilometers and effective countermeasures to deal with Russian air defenses. Previously Storm Shadow and land based missiles were used to destroy most of the air defense systems in Crimea and Russia was having problems obtaining and installing new SAM systems. The September 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive involved destroying a large number of Russian air defense systems and Russia did not have the resources to quickly replace those losses. All this had made it increasingly difficult to protect warships and support vessels. Russia has sent in reinforcements from the Baltic and Northern fleets but the Black Sea Fleet is still understrength and suffering losses, especially for ships based in Crimea. Ukraine also launched attacks on Russian ships at the Russian naval base at Novorossiisk, which is east of Crimea and a major commercial port for oil exports as well as other goods. As naval bases in Crimea came under increasing attacks, Russia moved most of its remaining warships and support ships to Novorossiisk. Now Ukraine is attacking Russian ships at Novorossiisk using unmanned speed boats carrying up to half a ton of explosives. Most of these attack boats were intercepted and sunk but some got through. Similar attacks were made against the Kerch Strait bridge, damaging the bridge and reducing traffic on a vital link with Crimea. By October 2023 the growing number of Ukrainian attacks on Crimea forced most of the Russian Black Sea Fleet to move. The Ukrainians used various types of missiles as well as aerial and naval drones carrying explosive warheads to destroy military targets, including bases, ports, headquarters and airfields. While civilian targets were spared, the military facilities are a major source of employment. When these facilities were damaged, destroyed and shut down, the civilians left. Ukrainian forces were getting close to the narrow isthmus that connects Crimean to the mainland. The civilians are leaving and not many civilian visitors are arriving. As the situation in Crimea deteriorates, corruption by local officials makes matters worse. By the end of 2023 the Black Sea had become a dangerous place for Russian ships of any type. Chinese investors in Australian property are expected to go on a buying spree over the next four weeks before foreigners and international students are banned from purchasing real estate. The Federal Government's ban on foreigners buying existing properties comes into effect on April 1 and will continue until March 31, 2027. International students and temporary migrants on a 457 working visa will be banned from buying an existing property but they will still be allowed to buy a new build. Fiona Yang, the executive partner of the Plus Agency which markets Australian property to Chinese customers, is expecting a flurry of foreigner buyer activity until the end of March. 'The ban will drive a surge in foreign buyers in early 2025, so you will have a significant increase in transactions as they want to catch the last train,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'They worry that this is their last chance to buy.' Permanent residents still able to buy both existing and new homes. Ms Yang is expecting real estate agents to use the Australian government's changes as a marketing tool to scare them into buying 'before it's too late'. Chinese investors in Australian property are expected to go on a buying spree over the next four weeks before foreigners and international students are banned from purchasing real estate 'Now, it is true the letter of the law doesn't ban purchasing of new homes, but many buyers only see the headline,' she said. 'Also, many unscrupulous agents are using the ban as a selling point to urge buyers to move quickly.' China was the biggest source of residential real estate investment during the September quarter of 2024 with $400million of asset purchases approved in Australia, data from Treasury's Foreign Investment Review Board showed. During the same three-month period, investors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Singapore each bought $100million worth of Australian property. Juwai IQI co-founder and group managing director Daniel Ho said a slowdown in the Chinese property market was making Australia's ever-appreciating real estate a more attractive option. 'China's slower economy is behind some of these (property purchases),' he said. Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy told the Senate economics committee last week he was expecting the Chinese property market to further weaken throughout 2025 as the economy slowed. 'We expect growth to ease this year as the structural weaknesses in the Chinese property sector continues alongside weak consumer demand,' he said. Fiona Yang, the executive partner of the Plus Agency which markets Australian property to Chinese customers, is expecting a flurry of foreigner buyer activity until the end of March Mr Ho said Chinese investors also want their children to study in Australia and are buying real estate in the hope they can turn their student visas into permanent residency. 'They are purchasing for their children who they expect to attend school in Australia, or for themselves in advance of obtaining permanent residency,' Mr Ho said. 'High school students in China may spend 65 to 77 hours a week studying, including school hours and homework, and some parents would rather their children have a more Australian-style childhood. 'They want their children to also have friends, to do sports, to learn to swim.' Foreigners coming to Australia to study are allowed to buy real estate in the country but must sell within six months of leaving. Mr Ho said foreigners were becoming more drawn to Australia as they are uneasy at a perceived anti-China sentiment behind US President Donald Trump's protectionist trade and investment policies. 'With the political uncertainly in the United States, Australia looks like a much friendlier country,' he said. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Clare O'Neil earlier this month announced a two-year ban on foreigners buying existing homes and a crackdown on land banking. Juwai IQI co-founder and group managing director Daniel Ho said a Chinese property market slowdown was making Australia a more attractive place to buy real estate The government is under pressure to stop the soaring price of Australian property, which has all but destroyed the ambitions of average wage earners from buying a home in cities. 'The ban will mean Australians will be able to buy homes that would have otherwise been bought by foreign investors,' they said. 'Until now, foreign investors have generally been barred from buying existing property except in limited circumstances, such as when they come to live here for work or study.' The ban has been implemented via a ministerial regulation initiated by Dr Chalmers, and it would need to pass both houses of Parliament to become a permanent measure. Houses most of Australia's capital cities are beyond the reach of an average-income earner on $102,742 and apartment prices in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have soared by double-digit figures during the past year. Units in Sydney are beyond the reach of a typical worker unless they buy a small apartment in an outer suburb. A shocking report has revealed the alarming number of homeless children dying on Australian streets each year, but frontline workers are not surprised, admitting it happens 'all the time'. Queensland's Child Death Review Board said kids were being lost across a residential care system that has 'forgotten how to care'. An example reported by Daily Mail Australia was of a young boy who lived out of a cardboard box with no food or clean clothes before dying on Queensland's streets. Karyn Walsh is the Chief Executive Officer of Micah Projects, a not-for-profit organisation that provides a range of support and advocacy services to individuals and families in Brisbane. Ms Walsh said the example of the boy dying in the Queensland streets was not only tragic but a more common problem than most Australians realise. 'Unfortunately, these things happen all the time,' Ms Walsh told Daily Mail Australia. 'Children have very traumatic lives when they're homeless, and we need to be paying attention, and learning, to situations where there's premature child death. 'There are kids that are dying because of poverty and homelessness because they've got no secure housing. Getting better housing for young people is critical.' Kim McLoughry, of Regional Youth Support Services, says domestic violence is what puts most kids on the streets A young boy lived in a cardboard box before dying on the streets. His story is not unique, frontline workers say (stock image) The Queensland child's death was among 70 identified in the Child Death Review Board's annual report that Greens MP Max Chandler said showed the system was 'completely broken'. 'This should not be happening in a wealthy country like Australia,' Mr Chandler said. 'Stories like this boy's are not unique, and they are a result of a completely broken housing, homelessness and child support system.' The biggest cause of child homelessness across the country appeared to be domestic violence. The Western Australia Ombudsman revealed that the percentage of investigable child death reviews associated with domestic violence in WA for the period of June 30, 2009 to June 30, 2024 was 73 per cent. The Queensland boy had been exposed to domestic violence and abuse and was exploited by adults. Kim McLoughry is the Chief Executive Officer of Regional Youth Support Services on the NSW Central Coast. She's been working with disadvantaged youths for more than 30 years, and she told Daily Mail Australia that government funding was a big problem. The main cause of homelessness is domestic and family violence, housing instability and methamphetamine use according to a new report (pictured, tents in Brisbane) 'We're seeing homeless young people every day with our service which is really sad,' she said. 'Ten years ago we used to have 15 transitional units. So, if a young person was in trouble we could put them in short-term transition with the intention of getting them through to independent living and finished school. 'Today, very sadly, we have one transitional unit for accommodation to support kids.' Link2home is the NSW homelessness information and referral telephone service. Figures released to NSW parliament last August revealed the average call waiting times to Link2Home had blown out from seven minutes and 10 seconds to 38 minutes and 48 seconds. The number of calls to Link2home from 2023 to 2024 had soared from 54,777 to 86,842 a 59 per cent increase. 'Link2Home is definitely overwhelmed, which would be an understatement at the moment,' Ms McLoughry said. 'We've had experiences where we've been told that there are no places for young people needing help with Link2Home.' Karyn Walsh says once kids become homeless it's very hard for them to get out of their situation Ms McLoughry said it was frustrating to see young homeless people not getting a great response because government services were under resourced when it came to child protection. 'I've worked in my agency for more than 30 years and I have not seen a single kid commit suicide who has had support from our service,' she said. To this day, the most tragic child death Ms McLoughry had witnessed was the 2011 murder of two-year-old Tanilla Warrick-Deaves who was bashed to death by her mother's partner Warren Ross. 'That could absolutely happen again today,' Ms McLoughry said. 'That case was well-known to several government authorities and the dogs were rescued from the house by the RSPCA but, sadly, within seven days the little toddler was found dead due to domestic violence. 'The dogs got out, but she didn't. It's quite disturbing when you see a protection system for animals working better than one supposed to save our kids.' Ms McLoughry and Ms Walsh said more government funding would make a huge difference, as young men were being overlooked when it came to domestic violence. 'A civil and caring society is about how we treat out children. It horrifies me when you see priorities given to other areas that aren't fundamental to Australia,' Ms McLoughry said. 'There's not enough resources put into children who need protection.' Ms McLoughry said she had a case recently where a young person wanted to get out of a domestic violence situation. A social worker rang the father to see what was happening at home. 'Dad was the recipient of Centrelink benefits on behalf of that child and he was also the perpetrator of crime against that child and because he said it was fine and she could come back home, she was denied access into the rent choices program,' Ms McLoughry said. 'Therefore, she stays locked into domestic violence. 'Parents are getting an income benefit of the child staying at home so they will block the child from leaving even when there's good evidence of domestic violence.' Ms Walsh said the Commonwealth and state governments needed to prioritise child homelessness because it was hard to get out once trapped on the streets. 'The impacts of intergenerational poverty and homelessness are a really big issue in Australia,' Ms Walsh said. 'The consequences are they end up in all sorts of trouble when they're young people. 'Child protection systems need to rethink how they work in Australia. People can't get housing now. They're living in motels at rates that we've never seen before.' A luxury mansion block has been invaded by drug addicts and homeless people who sleep in the hallways and leave their syringes on the stairs. The front door of the block, in central Bournemouth and just yards away from the grave of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, has been broken down nine times in the last year as addicts batter their way into their homes. Home to 27 flats, the people who live there say it has made their lives 'absolute hell' as they are forced to pay out thousands of pounds as they try to secure the building in vain. Terrified residents regularly come home to find their once-plush homes peppered with needles and users urinating in the carpets. And even calls to police can't force action as the local force told powerless tenants that trespassing onto someone's private property is a 'civil' matter and not a criminal offence. David Parchot, who has had a flat in the for the last nine years, said 'residents have had to come home to the carpet peppered with used needles and drug addicts using cocaine'. The retired teacher added: 'They have also urinated on the carpet and just outside the entry door and use our power points to charge their phones. A man who broke into the building passed out hunched over after taking drugs in the hallway Needles and syringes are littered across the carpet where elderly and sick residents now live in fear Homeless people have broken down the door nine times in the last year to sleep in the main entrance 'We have been terrorised in our own homes with no one to turn to. It's been absolute hell.' Residents said this 'horror story' started when one was rented out - 'albeit unawares' - to a female drug dealer last year. She and her boyfriend would have shady characters traipsing through the building at all hours, one neighbour said, with some deciding to set up camp in the entrance way. Even after the drug dealer finally left, people have continued to break into the building. Homeless people in the area have been known to 'try their luck' on buildings by testing doors, and this former hotel half a mile from the seafront has 'become a favourite'. Although the hallway is usually occupied by one homeless person at a time, there have been as many as four huddled together and can be 'aggressive'. Richard, who has lived in the block for nearly 30 years, said 'initially it was just one woman, and then there were two women, then there were two men, then there were four or five of them'. Between them, they have snorted cocaine, injected heroin and smoked crack at the bottom of the stairs. The alleged drug dealer who first let these people into the building left rubbish and detritus inside her flat when she finally left Needles, lighters, spoons and tobacco contributed to the filth she left behind One resident said he heard her fight with her partner where a gun was threatened but no police came to their assistance The alleged dealer's son was the first person to use the hallways as a place to sleep after he was refused entry into her property, one resident said When the 'intimidating' intruders were initially asked to leave by residents they were often told: 'It's nothing to do with you. We're not doing anyone any harm. F**k off'.' Mr Parchot said that 'of course they are doing enormous harm!' Anxious tenants - some of whom are elderly, vulnerable or are suffering from health conditions - have said they are not able to sleep from fear and are 'terrified' to come home, not knowing what they are going to face. Ollie, a 21-year-old-student, said that he would has started to use the back entrance 'especially when I brought my girlfriend over because it seemed more safe.' 'I wouldn't bother going downstairs because I knew they were there.' The Bournemouth University undergrad said that he had seen 'a bloke outside with a crack pipe in his hand and a jet lighter' and when they blaze up indoors it makes the building smell 'awful'. 'I have come home to see a girl bleeding all over - I don't know what happened but that's the kind of people who come here,' Mr Parchot said. Residents will wake up to intoxicated people passed out on their front steps also St Peter's Graveyard, where Mary Shelley is buried, is said to be a hotspot for drug dealing and is only a stone's throw away from the apartment building Richard said he saw the drug dealer fighting with her boyfriend across the road one day when 'we heard the guy say "I suppose you're going to shoot me next"'. We phoned the police but they still didnt come, even with the mention of a gun,' the retired cinema manager said. Mr Parchot said they feel 'abandoned' by the police and that 'the law on trespass is not fit for purpose'. 'The police have the powers to move on drug addicts and homeless people from shop doorways, but they will not act to remove them if they decide to invade people's homes,' the 65-year-old said. St Peter's Graveyard, which is only a stone's throw from the apartment building, is said to be 'rife' with drug dealers taking advantage of the mausoleum. Richard said the local authority had cleared the shrubbery some years ago which had helped 'but now they're all back again.' Mr Parchot added: 'What is being done to address these issues by our elected representatives? 'And where are the police in all of this, a 'force' supposed to protect the law-abiding citizen?' The intruders were often seen bringing their belongings with them and one time tried to store four people's worth of bags in a hallway cupboard Dorset Police responded that 'if someone is a suspected drug user, they would generally need help from support services that offer access to accommodation and support for rehabilitation.' They added that 'the responsibility for homelessness is a matter for the local authority'. But when contacted about the intrusions into the building, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said that this was a matter for the police. Mr Parchot said the state had 'failed abysmally' in maintaining its care systems, for both law-abiding citizens and those in need of support. He said he was consoled before with the 'reassurance that at least it was out there and not inside our home' but now there was no way to escape the 'nightmare'. 'Sure, the police say that it's fine if they're on the ground floor, but what happens if they then start trying people's doors?' Ollie asked. 'This was everybody's fear, that somebody was gonna come home one day and find their door smashed open,' Richard said. 'This was everybody's fear, that somebody was gonna come home one day and find their door smashed open,' Richard said He added: 'One police woman said if you can get photos of them doing the drugs that can help the police evict them but she then also said not to go near them because of the needles. 'I asked her "how am I supposed to do both?" - she couldn't answer that one.' Mr Parchot said it was 'ironic' when the police finally did show up because the female drug dealer had called the cops saying she was unsafe. He said: 'When they first showed up, I assumed that it was because they had accumulated enough evidence of her criminal activities to arrest her. 'On the contrary, apparently it was in response to an anxious call they'd received from her earlier on and were concerned about her welfare.' Although he believed it was right 'such people are treated compassionately' but the hypocrisy of their pleas going unanswered had 'wreaked havoc in the lives of so many living in our building'. 'Where were the police when we made our desperate calls for help? One resident said this man is known locally to break into people's homes and sleep there 'We are people who have worked hard all our lives, contributed to society in a worthwhile way and paid our taxes, including Council Tax which funds the emergency services including the police.' Mr Parchot said there was a wider issue stemming from the 'horror and despair' at the deterioration of Bournemouth town centre. Highlighting the number of homeless people on the streets 'who ask for money every time you leave the building', he said 'they can be quite aggressive if you don't give any'. 'I actually feel safer in Streatham than in the centre of Bournemouth. 'Bournemouth is fast acquiring a reputation nationally as a place synonymous not so much with beautiful beaches as with drug addiction and packs of drug addicts roaming what was once a lovely town.' Mr Parchot said they used to have 'such an impressive high street' with the likes of Beales, House of Fraser, Debenhams and M&S. 'But they're all gone and been taken over by drug addicts and homeless people,' he lamented. 'I do regret buying a flat in the centre of Bournemouth but I never imagined it would turn out like this.' Have you been a victim of deepfake porn? Get in touch sophia.stanford@mailonline.co.uk A young woman has told how her whole world collapsed after her best friend stole her images and shared a deepfake porn video where she was the main character. Jodie, not her real name, was left crying on the floor of her room after she received a tip-off that explicit images of her were being used on a porn site. The poster - who later was revealed as her BBC music prodigy pal - said these images made him 'so horny' and offered to supply more photos of Jodie if others would create more deepfakes. The vile attack is one of a rising tide of devastating online sexual violence, with experts saying that AI software is leaving young women defenceless. Now specialists warn that shock figures uncovered by MailOnline revealing the extent of deepfake porn across the UK are just 'the tip of the iceberg' - and many others will unknowingly be victims of the foul practice. Children as young as 14 were found to have been targeted by the sick violation, as reports show 99.9 per cent of victims are women. And a private members bill has been introduced in the House of Lords to criminalise the creation and solicitation of the 'degrading and depraved' AI images. Jodie battled with the police for them to take the perverted violation seriously, who have since apologised for how they handled her case. 'There was a total lack of compassion and consideration and care throughout the whole process,' Jodie said. 'I wanted a restraining order but they said I'm not the only job they have to do. It was such a horrific experience, it has led to real trauma.' This is the picture that helped Jodie solve who was creating deepfake porn of her - one she had taken with her best friend and not posted anywhere Jodie tracked down who made the deepfake porn by analysing the photos the AI had used - one was a shot not shared on social media and was with her best friend Alex Woolf. 'My whole world was crushing down on me when I realised who had done it,' Jodie said. Woolf, who had a double first from the University of Cambridge, was someone she 'loved and trusted, he knew everything about me, our families were intertwined'. A BBC Young Composer of the Year winner, he had even played the piano at Jodie's grandmother's funeral, who had 'joked that he was my future husband'. She said: 'You think people who do this are freaks and nerds but they're just people we know and live with and work with.' Jodie had previously confronted him over 'creepy' reddit posts on an anoymous account but Woolf just replied: 'You wish I was that obsessed with you'. In 2021, he admitted to 15 charges of sending messages that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing nature over a public electronic communications network. 'I broke down crying when the police called me, it broke my heart,' she said. 'Part of me really wished that it was all a big misunderstanding and there was another reason. Your browser does not support iframes. Woolf was described as a 'teddy bear' and 'everything you could want in a guy friend', often posting about women's rights on social media 'It tore my family apart, our brothers were best friends as well.' Her story comes as MailOnline can reveal that UK police forces hold 81 reports of deepfake porn in the last two years against people as young as 14-years-old. And the number is far below the reality - as some police forces did not hold the data and others refused to give accurate figures, including the Met. Professor Clare McGlynn, who specialises in the legal regulation of pornography, sexual violence and online abuse, said the police reports 'represent the tip of the iceberg'. She says that thousands of people use the websites every day. Conservative peer Baroness Owen, who is leading the charge with the Data (Use and Access) Bill says police reports show 'there are huge numbers of women having their consent violated without their knowledge'. Jodie said this figure 'is not a sign that this abuse isnt happening, its a sign of how broken the system is'. Without sufficient laws to protect women online, 'victims are left in limbo, while those responsible face no meaningful consequences' and the 'true scale of the problem is hidden'. The musical prodigy had won BBC's Young Composer of the Year in 2012 and was frequently creating and performing his music If people don't know that it is illegal, many will not bother going to the police, and those who do will often be told that there's nothing the cops can do without a suspect - 'thats exactly what happened to me,' Jodie said. When she first went to City of London police, a middle-aged, balding cop took no notes and she was later told by an officer that no crime had been committed. If she wanted the videos removed, she would have to ask the porn website herself, they insisted. 'All I could think was - is he delusional to think that I want to go back and look at each photo of me like that and trawl through the website?', Jodie said. Detective Chief Superintendent, Head of Specialist Operations at City of London Police, Mandy Horsburgh has since apologised for 'any distress to the victim in our initial assessment and response' when contacted by MailOnline. They added: 'We have reviewed our procedures since this incident in 2021 and cases, such as this, are allocated to specialist officers for assessment and investigation where appropriate. We will take every opportunity to learn from this and will conduct a review of the circumstances of this case and make any further improvements where necessary.' Jodie later tried again with the Metropolitan Police, this time specifically asking for a female police officer who she gave a file of evidence with details across several years to review. She said: 'It took a lot of strength, it was really traumatising having to go back'. Out of 20 women posted on the site, Jodie either knew or tracked down 18 of them -the final two still have no idea their images have been shared. After the initial interview, Jodie said every phone call from the police came from a withheld number and often at random times, including late at night. Woolf attended an awards ceremony in July 2021 - a month later he was sentenced to a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years She was told she couldn't have a liaison officer because they believed there was no risk of threat or harm but then she had no one to contact when she saw the missed call and could only hope she would catch them the next time they rang. She felt that the handling process was not treated with the sensitivity it required if it might have been considered as a sexual offence. The Metropolitan Police admitted in response to these claims that they 'haven't always got it right' and will 'continue to learn from our past mistakes and ensure victims are at the forefront of everything we do'. The failure of the police to recognise the horror of this sex crime was mirrored by the law, which had nothing to pin Woolf down with other than a misuse of a communications device. After insisting she needed to share her experience, Jodie cried when she read her impact statement to the court about how much this had destroyed her. So did her parents, as well as his. 'I'm convinced the magistrates were tipped by the emotion because without it I don't think they would have understood how awful it was'. Jodie said Woolf showed no emotion. He has since told the BBC he is 'utterly ashamed' of his behaviour and he is 'deeply sorry' for his actions. 'I think about the suffering I caused every day, and have no doubt that I will continue to do so for the rest of my life,' he added. UK police forces hold 81 reports of deepfake porn in the last two years against people as young as 14-years-old despite websites having millions of users 'There are no excuses for what I did, nor can I adequately explain why I acted on these impulses so despicably at that time.' He denied any involvement in the harassment Jodie faced before this. Woolf was given a 20-week prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to pay each of his victims 100 in compensation, as well as 85 in court costs and a 128 victim surcharge. With the money, Jodie bought an oil painting of a naked lady - 'it felt like I was taking my power back,' she explained. Woolf was also ordered to complete a 40-day rehabilitation programme and 40 sessions with a sex offender programme as well as 180 hours of unpaid work. But because deepfakes were not a crime at the time, Woolf is not on the sex offenders list and Jodie believes he has been able to continue working with his music and teaching children privately. Varinder Hayre, district crown prosecutor at the CPS, said Woolf's behaviour was 'severely depraved and reprehensible' with a 'drastic impact on his victims'. While Jodie was lucky in the sense that she discovered the photos and was able to uncover the perpetrator, the majority of victims won't know deepfake porn will exist of them. Vicki Pattison discovered deepfake porn made of the Geordie Shore star online when researching for her documentary Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape Charities have reported hundreds of thousands of 'nudify' images are being made every month but Freedom of Information requests made by MailOnline have shown that at least 81 reports of deepfake porn were made to the police in the last two years. Experts say most women are not even aware they are victims and others may have issues around reporting to police. Some police forces also did not hold the data and others refused to give accurate figures, including the Met. The ones who did reply exposed a bleak rift that shows most victims don't know they will have had perverted images made of them. South Wales experienced the worst wave of deepfake porn abuse, with Heddlu Gwent Police revealing there had been 28 reports made, the highest number across police forces in Britain. In 21 of these instances, women were the victim. The age of offenders ranged from 12 to 50, with the youngest victim at 14. There were a variety of outcomes to these reports including charges, evidential difficulties, and no suspect identified. In West Yorkshire, there were 17 reports, five of which were made about children under the age of 15. In five cases, a suspect was identified. In Lancashire, there were seven reports and four in Leicestershire. In Scotland, a guardian of a 15-year-old girl had reported a digitally altered image of her daughter that was on another person's phone and had been shown to others. In another instance, a guardian of a 21-year-old woman said they were aware of online content featuring her image which had been digitally altered. In the last report made to Scottish police during the last two years, a man had recognised digitally altered images of a woman known to him online. In Surrey, there were four reports in the last two years in regards to the taking, making or distribution of indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children, malicious communications and harassment. None led to charges. Despite these disconcertingly low figures, last year it was revealed that at least 50 Telegram bots were built to 'remove clothes' or create sexual scenarios from supplied images, which was shown to have more than four million 'monthly users' combined. Telegram was host to four million 'monthly users' that would use nudify bots although these are believed to only represent a portion of what is available on the app The reported bots were English-language bots and so were believed to only represent a small portion of the deepfake scene on Telegram. The year before that, a popular deepfake porn website hosted on Google had 17million hits a month and charged users $5 to download nude videos of celebrities. And Revenge Porn Helpline have reported that they have seen a 400 per cent increase in cases reported to them since 2017 about deepfake abuse. Professor Clare McGlynn said the police reports 'represent the tip of the iceberg'. She said: 'We know that thousands are using nudify apps and visiting deepfake websites everyday. 'Many women do not know they have been deepfaked, and if they do, many do not want to report to the police as they fear not being taken seriously. 'They may not know who the perpetrator is. They perhaps also fear what the perpetrator will do if they report. Professor Clare McGlynn said that the number of reports made to the police are just the 'tip of the iceberg' Professor McGlynn, who has also been working closely with writing new legislation, added that these reports nonetheless show 'that for some women and girls, when they find out, they do want to seek justice through the criminal justice system.' Sophie Compton, director of Another Body and co-founder of #MyImageMyChoice, similarly said these reports were a 'fraction' of the abuse that is taking place. As well as the 600,000 photos processed of women on one 'nudify' app they monitored in the first three weeks of it's launch, they said there were 'thriving forums and online marketplaces targeting British women and celebrities'. 'This is why alongside adequate criminal legislation that sends a clear message that this practice is not acceptable, we urge the government to ensure we get regulation that enables us to shut down sites dedicated to this practice.' The Director of End Violence Against Women Andrea Simon added that 'the prevalence of this abuse is hard to measure'. She explained that 'most victims are unaware of the abuse, may feel worry or shame about coming forward or unsure of where or how to report it, or may be dismissed by the police when they do report'. For those who do discover these images, she said it can have 'a traumatic and long-lasting impact on victims, their mental health, careers and their relationships.' A young woman shared on her Facebook how 'AI has gotten so so scary' when she was sent a deepfake pornographic image of herself that was 'extremely graphic and has very much upset me and made me feel violated' 'There are very few protections in place to prevent this abuse and hold perpetrators accountable.' A report in 2019 showed that 96 per cent of all deepfakes found online are of non-consensual sexually explicit images, and 99.9 per cent of those are depicting women. Ms Simon believed that the threat of deepfake abuse forces women to 'self-censor' and has a 'chilling effect on our freedom of expression. Women and girls have the right to be safe online.' 'I hate to think where else my pictures have ended up on the internet,' Jodie shared. 'If you're a normal person why would you have any idea?' But Jodie believes these deepfakes are just 'scratching the surface of what technology can do. That's why I want a robust law to protect us.' Lady Owen, who became the youngest recipient of a life peerage in 2023, said: 'It is vital that the Government takes a strong position in standing up to those who abuse women in this appalling way'. Lady Owen shared that she was 'delighted' with the House voting for the amendment, adding that 'a woman's consent should be the only requirement' The House recently voted to increase the maximum sentence of deepfake abuse from an unlimited fine to imprisonment in the third reading of the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The importance of having jail time would deter abusers from thinking they are 'untouchable' and would 'show how seriously, as a society, we take this form of digital violence against women', Lady Owen believed. As well as increasing the sentence, they overwhelmingly supported calls to remove the 'reasonable defence' excuse. The controversial amendment would have required the victim to prove the perpetrator had intended to cause them harm, distress or humiliation, or to gain sexual gratification. Campaigners said that this would have protected abusers' rights to freedom of expression and failed to properly protect women from their image being used against them. Lady Owen shared that she was 'delighted' with the House voting for the change, adding that 'a woman's consent should be the only requirement'. The Government were forced to accept another amendment that would criminalise the solicitation of sexually explicit images of someone without their consent, blocking a loophole where people in the UK could ask someone abroad to make a deepfake image. The Data (Use and Access) Bill is set to head to the House of Commons for consideration from MPs. 'We are at the precipice of a new age of extreme misogyny', Baroness Owen said But experts have argued that although a law is crucial to protect women, responsibility also lies with Big Tech. Ms Simon said these corporations will 'only act if strong measures are put in place requiring them to address and prevent it' and the government needed to 'ensure tech companies are held accountable'. Professor McGlynn added that nudify apps are still easily accessible online and Google has 'facilitated this by highly ranking search terms relating to nudify and deepfaking'. She also said that 'Instagram continues to profit from deepfake sexual abuse by advertising nudify apps'. The National Police Chiefs' Council acknowledged that deepfakes 'disproportionately affect women and girls' and are 'deeply pervasive and can have a traumatic impact on victims'. They wanted victims to know that these are 'serious crimes' and should feel 'confident' reporting to the police. They admitted that 'tech-enabled crimes continue to evolve at pace, and policing alone cannot keep people safe online'. The council believed that 'companies are held to account for the role they should play in removing harmful content from their platforms'. Greater education on consent and healthy relationships was vital 'to stop this harmful behaviour from developing in the first place', they added. For Taiwan, the cutting of an undersea communications cable, and live-fire shooting drills involving dozens of Chinese warplanes off the island's coast this week were just the latest scary omens from Beijing. But Taipei's biggest fear - a full-blown assault by its mighty neighbor - could come faster than they imagined, says a shocking new report on China's recent diplomatic gains on the world stage. Researchers at Australia's Lowy Institute have shown that the number of governments that support China's bid to 'reunify' with Taiwan, including through military means, has jumped to 89 in recent months. That amounts to nearly half the membership of the United Nations, a testament to China's prowess at using its Belt and Road investment scheme to enlist cheerleaders, especially among developing nations in the global south. The report comes amid deepening divisions between the western countries that have long advocated for Taiwan's self-rule, as Donald Trump's America pulls back from its European allies. Analysts increasingly question whether US President Trump would defend Taiwan from any Chinese assault, or trade away the self-governing island's autonomy in a grand bargain with Beijing. They cite Trump's willingness to reverse decades of US foreign policy, by pulling support for Ukraine and vaunting a peace deal that could cement Russia's land grab from its smaller neighbor. The stakes don't come higher: many see the South China Sea as the world's most dangerous flashpoint, where fighting could quickly spiral into a nuclear face-off between Washington and Beijing. Taiwanese military helicopters fly above Taipei city, as worries over the future of the self-run island deepen US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping keep their cards close to their chests when it comes to Taiwan Jack Burnham, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said China's success at persuading nations to back its reunification efforts was part of a broader to drive to eclipse the US as the world's leading power. 'The growing trend of countries supporting all measures for unification represents Beijing's efforts to embed its preferences into international law,' Burnham told DailyMail.com. It's also a 'tactical measure to prepare for a possible crisis or military contingency over Taiwan,' he added. Communist-run China sees self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be part of the country, and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this goal. Many Taiwanese see themselves as part of a separate democracy, although most support maintaining the status quo where Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te has vowed to 'resist annexation or encroachment'. The Lowy Institute last month released a first-ever data set detailing every UN member's position on the governments in Taipei and Beijing, showing that China's claims on the island were quickly gaining traction. Researchers found that nearly three quarters of the world's governments now back Beijing's position that Taiwan is part is China. Many of them go further, says Benjamin Herscovitch, a former Australian defense official, and others in the study. Fully 89 countries - 46 percent of UN members - give China a free hand when it comes to 'national reunification'. Some 53 countries in Africa, where China directs much aid and investment, have greenlighted 'all efforts by the Chinese government' toward reunification - a phrase understood to include military force. People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces in Hong Kong as China regained control over another piece of its historic territory Taiwanese soldiers in live-ammunition artillery training along the island's China-facing western coast Fighting over Taiwan could quickly spiral into a nuclear face-off between Washington and Beijing Herscovitch says China's diplomatic gains are 'sobering' for Taiwan, as they show that 'nearly half of UN member states have, intentionally or not, formally endorsed a PRC takeover of the island'. China's most strident backers are found across Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and Latin America. They're mostly countries of the global south, such as South Africa, Egypt and Pakistan, where China has financed huge mining, port, transport, and other infrastructure projects. In a recent example, Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake issued a joint statement during a visit to China in January, using the same language in support of 'all efforts' toward reunification. Chinese firms have invested in two key ports in Sri Lanka. The level of support China has achieved globally would help it dodge UN sanctions in response to any unprompted invasion of Taiwan. It would also leave Western officials struggling to impose their own network of trade curbs against Beijing than was the case with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Western countries in March 2022 got 141 of 193 UN members to sign on to a UN General Assembly resolution demanding Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine. Any comparable vote on a China-Taiwan conflict could well get a much lower tally. China has ramped up its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, and President Xi Jinping has reportedly asked his generals to prepare to retake the island of 24 million people as soon as 2027. Taiwan on Wednesday condemned China for provocative behavior, after spotting 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out drills with Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait area, close to major population centers and key ports. Taiwan's coast guard on Tuesday detained a Chinese-crewed cargo ship suspected of severing of an undersea communications cable off the island's southwest coast - the fifth case of sea cable malfunctions this year for Taiwan. A joint China-Russia naval joint drill in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, showcased Beijing's growing might at sea Taiwan has stepped up its military training drills as fears of a Chinese armed assault intensify Trump was asked by reporters about Taiwan at the White House this week. He said: 'I never comment on that.' Former US president Joe Biden vowed to defend the territory. But the US is not under any treaty obligations to do so, and his successor Trump appears less willing to bankroll a war in Asia in pursuit of his 'America First' policy. When asked by reporters about it this week, Trump replied: 'I never comment on that. I don't want to ever put myself in that position.' Bonnie Glaser, a foreign policy expert at the German Marshall Fund think tank, says Trump's policy reversal on Russia and Ukraine 'should not be seen as a precursor for his policy toward Taiwan'. 'There are important differences. China is not Russia. Taiwan is not Ukraine,' Glaser told DailyMail.com, adding that only the owner of a 'crystal ball' could predict Trump's coming diplomatic moves. Polling from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows that US voters would support sending arms to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, but oppose deploying US forces and risking a war with China. War games exercises run by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) showed that the US and its allies could derail an amphibious Chinese assault on Taiwan - but not without taking heavy losses themselves. Fighting would claim some 10,000 casualties on all sides, CSIS projected. The US would lose 10-20 warships, two aircraft carriers, 200-400 warplanes and some 3,000 troops in just the first three weeks of fighting. It remains unclear how such a battle would play out, but analysts fear it could lead to implicit or explicit Chinese nuclear threats, bringing the world closer to the terrifying use of doomsday weapons. Amitav Acharya, an American University professor and author of The Once and Future World Order, says fears of China's growing diplomatic clout are overblown, as even Beijing's new backers are taking a wait-and-see approach. 'If Taiwan declared independence first, it will be subject to Chinese invasion. And many countries may accept it,' Acharya told DailyMail.com. 'But if China outright invaded Taiwan before it declared independence, most countries will not support China.' A young mum-of-three started her shift at Bunnings thinking it was just like any other day - before she experienced a life-changing medical crisis. Annmaree Patten Lucas, 33, was rushed to hospital after collapsing with low blood pressure at a Bunnings warehouse in Narrabri, north-western NSW, last Wednesday. A follow-up MRI revealed she had suffered a stoke at work. She was rushed to Tamworth Hospital to receive treatment for multiple clots in her brain including a larger one that had caused the embolic stroke. Annmaree's sister, Sherylee Lucas, said doctors couldn't explain why the young mum had the stroke but that she had been experiencing numbness down the left side of her body on and off for two months before it happened. Moments before the stroke, Annmaree felt a sharp pain in her left arm and collapsed, her sister said. Sherylee told Daily Mail Australia the family was still in shock. 'We were in such disbelief and were all so frightened as she is still at high risk of having another stroke,' she said. Annmaree Patten Lucas and husband Darren (pictured on their wedding day) need help after she suffered a shocking stroke while at her shift at Bunnings last week Jesse, 13, Callum, 11, and Aleira, nine, are struggling as their mum recovers from a stroke Annmaree now needs 24-hour care because she is unable to stand for long periods of time. She can't work and faces a long recovery process. Her doctors have advised that she will need a minimum of three months to heal and regain her strength. Annmaree and her husband Darren share three young children, 13-year-old Jesse, 11-year-old Callum and nine-year-old Aleira. Sherylee is now the primary carer for the kids as Darren is often away for work for extended periods, and the family relies on his income. 'I'd give anything to be home with my wife, supporting her and to be there for my children,' Darren said. The family is raising money on GoFundMe to help them cover expenses for the three months Annmaree can't work. 'The three children are struggling, not understanding why their once energetic happy-go-lucky mum is sleeping and weak all day,' Sherylee said. 'I just want my sister back where she is at her best, happy and smiling. 'This has taken a toll on her entire family we are all trying to take in turns watching her when we can and to help with cleaning and cooking for the children.' Annmaree (pictured with her family on her wedding day) is still mobile but with support and needs 24-hour care because she is unable to stand for long periods of time She was working at Bunnings Warehouse when the stroke took place Associate Professor at Monash University Monique Kilkenny said Australians needed to take the threat of stroke more seriously. 'Around the world, a stroke occurs in every 1 in 4 people in their lifetime. Right now in Australia, there are over half a million people who have experienced a stroke,' Professor Kilkenny said. The Stroke Foundation revealed last year that only 62 per cent of Australians could identify at least one sign of a stroke. One of the most common signs, facial droop, was not widely recognised. Other key signs of a stroke include arm weakness, speech difficulties, and sudden vision or balance problems. Critics of California's shelter system dub it the 'homeless industrial complex,' but Sergio Perez, who was until recently a Los Angeles city accountability chief, has another name for it. He calls it a 'very expensive merry-go-round'. A shocking new study by CalMatters reveals the true scale of California's shelter system, which is bigger than was widely understood. Since 2018, the news site found, at least $1 billion of tax dollars has flowed to projects for the homeless. But these epic handouts solve nothing. The number of emergency beds has more than doubled from 27,000 to 61,000 in that time. Yet there are still three times as many homeless people as there are shelter beds across the Golden State. Researchers lifted the lid on a mismanaged, graft-ridden enterprise - a gravy train of funders, officials, shelter owners and charities that perpetuates the homelessness crisis as it gobbles up more public money. The homeless themselves are the real victims. They languish in moldy shelters, where stabbings, sex crimes, harassment, and child abuse too often hurt their already-struggling occupants. Dennis Culhane, an expert on homelessness, says an over-reliance on shelters and other Band-Aids are California's 'big failure', as so few users end up with a permanent roof over their heads and a shot at rebuilding their lives. 'The shelters are not a solution,' Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania social scientist, told CalMatters. Homeless people unpack to bed down for the night at a HOPE of the Valley shelter in Sylmar Rhonda Almquist found herself among the ranks of California's homeless after the death of her husband saw her life unravel into fentanyl addiction 'We have every reason to believe that if we scaled up income support and provided rental assistance, we would probably see the homeless numbers cut in half.' Del Seymour, a Vietnam War veteran who founded Code Tenderloin, a self-help charity, says liberal policies in San Francisco have only worsened his city's scourge of homelessness and addiction. 'We've got to quit trying to be Mother Teresa,' the 77-year-old told DailyMail.com. Sergio Perez bemoans the 'very expensive merry-go-round' for California's unhoused 'Because of its passions for equity, acceptance and sanctuary, the city became a magnet for people suffering from addiction.' The dad-of-two says progressive policies in California's cultural hub have spurred a 'three-fold increase in addiction and homelessness' that's made it the 'zombie apocalypse' seen on its streets today. Locals rail about the open-air drug market on Sixth Street, where addicts and prostitutes are seen slipping needles into their necks, ankles, or anywhere with a vein. 'We deal with one person one day, but then it's three more people coming in the next,' said Seymour. 'We can't solve the problems as fast as they're coming in.' California's unhoused end up stuck in shelters, or the street, for years. Fewer than one in four residents who pass through the system each year move into permanent homes, well below targets set by public agencies. Brian Samaniego, a homeless drug addict, has lived at a shelter in Salinas run by SHARE Center for the past year. He's filled out 22 apartment applications for three case managers, but still cannot see light at the end of the tunnel. The problem of flagrant drug use on the streets of downtown San Francisco looks like it's getting worse A woman naps inside the homeless shelter at Pier 80 in San Francisco, one of California's worst-affected cities Homeless drug addicts make life intolerable for some of San Francisco's 809,000 long-suffering residents A homeless encampment in Oakland, California Your browser does not support iframes. 'They sold me a fairy tale, that it was going to be real quick when I got here,' the 53-year-old told CalMatters. 'It's not people that are failing the programs, it's the programs that are failing the people.' Catherine Moore beat the odds by making it into a subsidized apartment of her own after spending a decade on the streets, in jail, temporary digs, and then a city-funded shelter in Anaheim. The 54-year-old describes an arduous struggle to escape the system, where she's battled her addiction to meth and endured everything from sexual harassment to cockroaches and bloody bathrooms. 'The shelter is a volunteer jail,' Moore told CalMatters. 'The only difference is there are more standards, and you have more rights as a person in jail. That's horrible, isn't it?' Nonprofit groups such as SHARE Center run most of California's tax-funded shelters. Organizers say they're constantly grappling with a high turnover among low-paid staff, slow government payments, unrealistic budgets, addiction and mental health crises and a lack of affordable housing. Researchers uncovered shocking examples of graft throughout the shelter system. In Salinas, staff at one brand-new shelter grabbed the best donations for themselves and helped friends and family jump the line for housing, internal emails revealed. Oakland's Bay Area Community Services saw revenue explode by 1,000 percent in a decade to $98million in 2023, even as staff there faced allegations of fraud and inappropriate relationships with clients. A Salvation Army homeless shelter in Los Angeles, part of what critics have dubbed the state's 'homeless industrial complex' California governor Gavin Newsom helps cleanup a homeless encampment along a freeway in San Diego A person is arrested in San Francisco as cops boost efforts to clean up the city Likewise in LA, Special Service for Groups, a nonprofit, brought in $170million in 2023, a nine-figure jump since 2017, again despite complaints and lawsuits over violence and sexual misconduct. Court filings also show how a major nonprofit hired Ronald Evans as a security guard at a shelter in South LA despite him being convicted of second-degree attempted murder and robbery in the 1990s. Evans was just three months into his new shelter job when, in a single day, he got drunk and sexually battered three different women living at the shelter, according to court records and victims' testimony. One of the women said in court that she was thrown out of the shelter after reporting what happened. 'You are one of the worst type of predators,' another victim told Evans after his conviction. She called him a 'snake' who devoured 'what little bit of existence that I was holding onto'. Reports also revealed stabbings at shelters in the Bay Area, child abuse in Fresno, and black mold in Oakland. Amid such shocking conditions, the annual death rate in shelters tripled between 2018 and the middle of last year. More than 2,000 people died, official sources show, nearly twice as many fatalities as California's jails saw over the same period. California's homelessness crisis is the worst in the US, with roughly one-third of the country's population of unhoused people - a fact attributed to the eye-watering cost of housing in the state. A 2023 count found that more than 180,000 people in were homeless in California, including 123,000 people who were living outside on the streets in tents, trailers, cars and makeshift shelters. A user downtown in the stupefied, drug-addled position known as the 'fentanyl fold,' an all-too-common sight in San Francisco A so-called 'triage center' recently launched to fast-track San Francisco's troubled addicts into rehab 'We have been too permissive we need them cleaned up,' says California Governor Gavin Newsom Inside A Bridge Home interim housing for the homeless in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles The crisis is self-evident on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other big cities, where encampments spring up across sidewalks, housing wretches festering in addiction and mental health problems. California Governor Gavin Newsom this week unveiled $920million in extra funding for homelessness, while warning cities and counties that they could lose out on future payouts if they don't start making a dent on the crisis. Officials have begun cracking down on homelessness with tougher anti-camping policies following the US Supreme Court's ruling last year that cities can criminalize unhoused people for sleeping outside - even when there are no shelter spaces available. 'We want to see results. We have to address unsheltered homelessness, encampments and tents,' Newsom told reporters. 'We have been too permissive we need them cleaned up. We're providing unprecedented support, now we need to see unprecedented results.' DailyMail.com reached out to the nonprofits mentioned in this article for comment. Electrical retailer Currys have scrapped advice to customers to use a sex toy on their commute after a warning from police that doing so could be illegal. The high street giant this week launched a collection of sex toys for sale in its stores for the first time, with ten different products available, as well as massage oil, lubricant and a specialist toy cleaner. But Currys raised eyebrows after advertising one of its products as ideal for 'spicing up your morning commute' with its seven settings offering everything from a 'gentle tease' to 'euphoric vibrations'. Sexual wellness experts told MailOnline the marketing 'blunder' for the 30 toy was 'poor' and 'irresponsible' that risks turning sexual wellness into an 'over-sexualised gimmick'. The retailer now been forced to scrap the advice after police warned the company could be encouraging criminal activity. The description for Currys' So Divine Pearl Remote Control Love Egg revealed the silicone product has three speeds, runs on two AAA batteries and is 'splashproof'. However it was the suggestions for how the love egg might be put to use that proved problematic. Police told MailOnline that using the toy during commutes could break the law. Electrical retailer Currys have scrapped advice to customers to use the sex toy on their commute after a warning from police that doing so could be illegal The product description originally advised customers they could use the toy to 'spice up' their commute - something which could be illegal Overt use of any sex toy on public transport would be an offence as it would 'outrage public decency', while covert use could also be an offence if the user's behaviour 'caused alarm or distress to other passengers'. And driving safety experts added that drivers should avoid 'any behaviour that could distract a driver'. Jessica Watson, Co-Founder of sexual wellness brand Gloriah, told MailOnline: 'The rise of mainstream retailers entering the sexual wellness space reflects a positive shift in reducing stigma, but Currys' marketing blunder highlights a much deeper issue - the over-sexualisation and trivialisation of intimate wellness. 'Sexual wellness products exist to support self-care, confidence, and overall well-being - not to be mocked or, worse, marketed in a way that promotes illegal activity. As a menopause-focused brand, we've seen firsthand how intimate care is a fundamental part of health, not a punchline. 'Retailers have a responsibility to market these products with education, inclusivity, and respect. 'This misstep not only undermines the legitimacy of the category but risks setting back the progress made in normalising conversations around sexual health. 'The demand for these products is growing, but without proper positioning, we risk turning an essential wellness movement into nothing more than a gimmick.' Holly Jackson, co-founder of women's sexual wellness platform SheSpot, added: 'This shift is exciting, but it's just as important that retailers do it right. They should be stocking only body-safe, high-quality products so people can shop with confidence. Currys raised eyebrows after advertising one of its products as ideal for 'spicing up your morning commute' with its seven settings offering everything from a 'gentle tease' to 'euphoric vibrations The new description changed 'on your commute' to 'on the go' 'With sexual wellness being a highly unregulated space, and with so many low-quality products out there that aren't body-safe, there's an even greater need for retailers to be responsible in sourcing and educating on product uses. 'Sexual wellness is a sensitive category, and retailers entering the space need to approach it with care. It's essential they provide clear, accurate information to help customers make informed choices. The toy's description originally read: 'Take things from mundane to magical with this So Divine Pearl Love Egg. It's remote controlled, so you can go for a solo ride or hand the reins over to your partner. 'With 3 speeds and 7 patterns to choose from you can always find one that fits the occasion. From a gentle tease to euphoric vibrations. 'The discreet design and whisper-quiet operation opens up a world of possibilities. 'Whether it's adding a spark to your bedroom or spicing things on your commute. 'Its body-safe silicone is comfy and easy to clean. And when it runs out of steam, just pop in a fresh pair of AAA batteries.' After MailOnline raised the issue with Currys, the description was updated to replace 'on your commute' with 'on the go'. A spokesperson for Currys said: 'Since reviewing the product description, we have updated it to ensure there is no further risk of misinterpretation of how the product could be used.' A woman has claimed her abusive ex-partner might have been involved in the disappearance of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence. The man, whose identity is unknown, supposedly admitted knowing what happened to the 34-year-old who vanished without a trace from her home in the Heworth area of York on March 18, 2009. The horrific claim was made during an episode of the Answers for Claudia podcast, which is hosted by journalist Tom McDermott in conjunction with Claudias mother Joan Lawrence. It hears from a woman - using the pseudonym Lucy - who was previously in a relationship with an abusive partner. She claims that on one night during a heated argument, her partner threatened to 'get the gypsies to feed her to the pigs...just like what they did with Claudia Lawrence'. Lucy also told the podcast that she is adamant her ex is the same person as someone caught on CCTV standing near Claudia's house on the evening of her disappearance. The footage shows a dark figure loitering around the entrance of an alleyway behind Claudia's house - looking like he was waiting to meet someone. The images, which were timestamped around 7.15pm on March 18, appear incredibly grainy and the man's features are almost impossible to make out. Although Lucy claims the figure had an identical walk as her partner. Claudia Lawrence was 35 when she was reported missing after failing to turn up for work at York University on March 18, 2009 Claudia's father, Peter (pictured together), died in 2021, never knowing what happened to his daughter Her mother, Joan, continues to hold onto hope that the truth will come out, as she is 'haunted every day' by not knowing what happened to her daughter Lucy told the podcast she made the shocking revelation after being shown the CCTV by her niece. 'I had a look at it and I thought "Oh my God that's him walking",' she said. 'That's how he walked. It's like a proper step. Whereas I like shuffle a bit more, he's got a slight stoop. That's how he would stop exactly. He's got grey hair as well. When asked by the podcast producer if she was sure the man in the video was also her ex-partner, she replied: 'Yes, 100 per cent the same person.' Later in the episode, Tom tells Joan about Lucy's claim, which she seems reluctant to believe. After Tom explains her account, Joan tells him: 'Yeah but this woman says it's her husband and somebody else said it was [inaudible].' Questions over who the identity of the mystery man has never been confirmed, with detectives still believing that establishing his identity could help solve the case. Lucy had another compelling account that linked her ex-partner to Claudia's disappearance. Following enquiries, police were able to uncover this CCTV footage of a man standing near Claudia's house on the morning of her disappearance The footage showed a dark figure can be seen loitering around the entrance an alleyway behind Claudia's house - looking like he was waiting to meet someone She explained that she was about to buy a flat and had agreed to sign over the rights to her partner, with the promise they would sell the property in five years and share the money. But Lucy wanted their agreement in writing, which angered her partner and he accused her of not 'trusting' him. 'He got very cross and he was in the hallway. He got me by the scruff of the neck and pinned me against the wall,' Lucy told the podcast. 'He said: "Sign the f***ing documents otherwise I will get the gypsies to come and get you. They'll feed you to the pigs. "There won't be any evidence left of you because the pigs eat everything including the bones, just like what they did with Claudia Lawrence." 'And he stood back as if to say "I shouldn't have said that". 'And I just went "Oh my God, I'm off" and out the door I went.' The supposed slip up from her partner has baffled Lucy ever since - and is unable to think of any reason for bringing Claudia up, unless he knew her in some way. An aerial view of the house of missing Claudia Lawrence on Heworth Road Police officers outside the home of missing university chef Claudia Lawrence in Heworth, York 'I just thought why. Why bring her name into it? It was documents I was singing. What does Claudia have to do with these documents? 'And why say that to me? Unless he knew something about her. 'Why mention her? I didn't know Claudia Lawrence. As far as I knew he didn't know Claudia Lawrence. 'Because he just threatened me like he usually does, but this time he mentioned her name and that's made me think he's got something to do with it. 'You know when you get a belly drop and a panic. I thought "Oh my God, he's quite capable because of what he's done to me".' A second chilling incident came when Lucy needed her passport from her partner's safe and managed to find the key to open it. Inside, alongside her passport, she found a collection of what appeared to be women's jewellery. When Lucy questioned her partner about it, he became defensive and refused to tell her who the jewellery belonged to. The last definite sighting of Claudia had been the day earlier, after she left work, and called her parents at around 8pm later that evening 'He seems to keep sentimental things from his exes. There was a bracelet in there and two necklaces in there. 'At the time I didn't know anything about it, but when I left, I think there's a possibility that something in there belongs to Claudia.' Lucy described one of the necklaces to Claudia's mother Joan, who believes it sounded like something her daughter would have worn. Lucy claims she went to North Yorkshire Police with her account and spoke to detectives during a meeting at a police station. She later repeated her account to officers six months later and was told she wouldn't hear back about how they would use the information. Lucy claims this is the last time she heard from police. Claudia was last seen on March 18, 2009, when she walked home from work. Later that evening she called her father Peter and then her mother Joan. Claudia was said to have sounded normal and relaxed during the call, during which they watched and spoke about the TV programme Location, Location, Location. She had told her mother she was going to sleep early because her car was in the garage and she would need to walk to a work - a 45-minute journey. Ms Lawrence (pictured) was 35 when she mysteriously vanished after failing to turn up for work at the University of York on March 18 2009 Claudia's mother Joan Lawrence has previously said she has been in a 'living nightmare' following disappearance 15 years ago The next day she did not turn up to her 6am shift at the university canteen. But when her father forced himself in the next day, it seemed as though she had left for work - her used breakfast plates were in the sink, and her chef's whites, rucksack and mobile phone were all missing. It is believed that North Yorkshire Police has made 12 arrests since Claudia's disappearance, but no names of those questioned have been confirmed. These included a 59-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder in May 2014, as were three men in their 50s in the York area the following April. A file on four men held on suspicion of murder was sent by North Yorkshire Police to the Crown Prosecution Service in September 15, but the CPS decided in March 2016 that the suspects would not face charges. The search for Claudia was launched after her friend grew worried when she did not turn up at her local pub The Nag's Head. Friends informed Claudia's father Peter the next day when she still failed to answer any calls. Peter visited her home in the Heworth area of York to find she was nowhere to be seen. Five weeks after she was reported as a missing person, the case was escalated to a suspected murder investigation - despite her body never being found. CCTV footage of Claudia on her way home from work on the day of her disappearance Police officers enter a terraced property in East Parade, Heworth, York as part of the investigation into Claudia Lawrence's disappearance in 2009 Claudia's mobile phone - a silver Samsung D900 - and her blue and grey Karrimor rucksack which had her chef's whites were missing when police searched her house, suggesting she had left for work on the morning of March 19. These items were also never found. The last message Claudia sent before her disappearance was at 8.23pm on March 18, around the time she was speaking to her parents. The final text she received was on the same night at 9.12pm from a friend in Cyprus. Her phone was then deliberately turned off at around 12.10pm on March 19. Claudia's Vauxhall Corsa, which was being repaired at a garage at the time of her disappearance, was also examined by police for clues. They found an Embassy Regal cigarette butt in the ashtray and forensic tests showed that the DNA profile belonged to a male. It was also believed to have come from a left-handed smoker. Police hoped that running a DNA match could aid them in getting to the bottom of the case. But despite still periodically running checks through the national DNA database, they have never been able to identify the smoker. The search for Claudia was launched after her friend grew worried when she did not turn up at her local pub The Nag's Head (pictured) An aerial view of Claudia Lawrence's house which is just metres away from the Nags Head pub Claudia was not a smoker, but it is understood she had no issue with friends and family smoking while in the car. Senior investigating officer at North Yorkshire Police, Wayne Fox, told The Times last year that 'all those known to have been in contact with the car assisted the inquiry and are eliminated on the basis of DNA recovery'. A motorist reported seeing a man and woman arguing outside the University of York campus at around 6.10am on March 19 - Claudia's shift was supposed to start at the university's Goodricke College at 6am. The witness told police the couple had been arguing next to a parked car which had the passenger-side door opened. Just half an hour before, at around 5.35am, a cyclist also reported a sighting of a couple near the electricity substation at Melrosegate bridge, which is on Claudia's route to work. It was said the man had been smoking a cigarette in his left hand, suggesting there could be a link to the cigarette butt found in Claudia's car. Despite several high-profile appeals by the police, the man has never been traced. The mystery man was described as being 5ft 6in tall, wearing combat trousers and a dark hooded top which covered his face. In 2021, a search was carried out at Sand Hutton Gravel Pits, near York Police officers searching the land at Sand Hutton Gravel Pits near York in connection with Claudia Lawrence's disappearance The woman, who could have been Claudia, was described as being shorter with dark blonde hair, wearing a white t-shirt, overcoat, jeans and white trainers. It is believed if information were to come forward about the identity of the smoker, it could be a crucial point in solving the case. Then, in 2014, police released CCTV footage of what they thought could be 'highly significant' in the case. It showed a vehicle near Claudia's house on the morning of March 19. The video revealed an old-style silver Ford Focus driving along Heworth Road around 5.42am. It was seen braking as it approached Claudia's house. Police also attempted to trace the owner of white Vauxhall Astra which was also caught on CCTV on the evening of March 18. The car was parked opposite the road from Claudia's house, by a Costcutter shop and local chippie, at 9.01pm and remained there for at least 30 minutes. Detectives tried to track down the owners of the cars, releasing the footage in an appeal for information, but the vehicles were never tracked down. A detective investigating Claudia's disappearance holds a bag identical to the one that was missing from her house after she vanished CCTV footage of a car, believed to be a Ford Focus, near the chefs home on the day she vanished in March 2009 Police activity around Claudia's case increased again in 2021 when the force spent two weeks searching a lake and nearby woods just outside York but hopes of a breakthrough were later dashed. Teams of police experts, search dogs, divers and forensic archaeologists spent two weeks scouring a lake and nearby woods for potential spots where her body could have been left but nothing was found. That same year, Claudia's father Peter Lawrence died aged 74. At the time of his illness, he was adamant investigators should continue looking for his daughter whatever happened to him. Retired solicitor Mr Lawrence had tirelessly campaigned for information to try to find his daughter and had battled for legislation to help families in similar positions. Mr Lawrence received an OBE for helping to shape the 2017 Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act, known informally as Claudia's Law. The law, known informally as Claudia's Law, created a new legal status of guardian of the affairs of a missing person, allowing someone to act in their best interests after they have been gone for 90 days or more. The new legislation means families can oversee the financial and property affairs of their missing loved one, if the person has been missing for 90 days - lessening what can be a huge burden at a traumatic time. Thousands of first-time buyers face a tense few weeks of praying they get the keys to their new home before being clobbered by stamp duty from April 1. The countdown to March 31 will be all the more stressful for those would-be homeowners waiting to complete a move around London, where many starter homes teeter on the brink of the tax increase. And, despite properties in the capital having an average price tag of 548,393, there are five boroughs where flats sneak in just under the 300,000 stamp duty threshold. In October last year, the Chancellor Rachael Reeves decided not to extend the freeze on stamp duty thresholds, meaning a return to the levels in place before the 2022 mini-budget. Movers currently pay stamp duty if their property costs more than 250,000. But from April 1, buyers will have to pay a 2 per cent charge on all home purchases priced from 125,000 to 250,000. The changes will be harder for first-time buyers who currently pay no stamp duty on properties up to 425,000 and five per cent on everything above. This threshold falls to 300,000 after March 31. The Kent town of Ashford just 39 minutes by train into London - is proving particularly popular with first-time buyers at the moment, with small homes being snapped up in less than a month. Terraced houses, sold through Purplebricks, are taking an average of 29 days to go from being listed to being sold subject to contract (SSTC). The average terraced home in the town costs 278,407. And, flats in Sutton are also moving fast too. Properties sold through Purplebricks in the south London borough are going from listed to SSTC in an average of 56 days. Your browser does not support iframes. The countdown to March 31 will be all the more stressful for those would-be homeowners waiting to complete a move around London, where many starter homes teeter on the brink of the tax increase In October last year, the Chancellor Rachael Reeves decided not to extend the freeze on stamp duty thresholds, meaning a return to the levels in place before the 2022 mini-budget Flats in the area, where trains into central London take just 33 minutes, average 292,897. In 2024, a third (33 per cent) of adults aged 18 to 24 still lived with their parents. This may be no surprise given the average age of a first-time buyer in the UK is 33 years and eight months. There were 293,339 first-time buyers in the UK in 2023, down 21 per cent from 369,870 first-time buyers in 2022, suggesting it is becoming increasingly hard to secure that first set of door front keys. The average property price for a first-time buyer in 2023 was 288,136 while the average first-time buyer deposit was 53,414, equating to 19 per cemt of the total purchase price. Jo Pocklington, Managing Director of Purplebricks Mortgages said: 'While the stamp duty changes on April 1 might put off some first-time buyers looking to buy in or around London, there are still plenty of potential starter homes within an easy commute of the big city.' Using House Price Index and Purplebricks data, Britain's biggest online estate agent has compiled a top 10 areas where first-time buyers can secure a small home in or around London, which may not be liable for stamp duty fees after March 31. Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent and is just a 53-minute train ride from the heart of London. The average price for a terraced home is 295,402, meaning it is a very serious location for first-time buyers to consider if they have to make it into a London office at least a couple of times a week. According to Purplebricks data, terraced homes in Maidstone are on the market for just under four months, averaging 110 days from listing to SSTC. Currently on the market with Purplebricks is a Victorian terraced house in Allen Street priced at 280,000. The two-bed property, which is just a short walk from Maidstone town centre and stations, boasts two reception rooms, an upstairs and a converted cellar. This two-bed property, which is just a short walk from Maidstone town centre and stations The plush property boasts two reception rooms, an upstairs and a converted cellar Basingstoke & Deane While Basingstoke and Deane may be 50 miles outside London, commuters can still reach the capital in under an hour by train. Terraced homes in the Hampshire district average 294,587, which is still crucially lower than the April 1 stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers. And, these terraced properties are moving fast, with the average time spent on the market less than two months or 51 days from being listed to SSTC. Currently on the market is a 1820s end-of-terrace in Pyotts Hill area of Basingstoke comes with a 300,000 price tag, which is bang on the stamp duty threshold. The charming period property is on the edge of the historic village of Old Basing, which is part of a conservation area due to the historic brick-built homes. Currently on the market is a 1820s end-of-terrace in Pyotts Hill area of Basingstoke comes with a 300,000 price tag, which is bang on the stamp duty threshold The charming period property is on the edge of the historic village of Old Basing, which is part of a conservation area due to the historic brick-built homes Ashford Ashford offers a slower pace of home life with the convenience of a 38-minute train ride in the capital and direct trains to Paris in under two hours. Smaller homes in the Kent town - formerly the UK's Eurostar primary hub - are proving particularly popular, with terraced properties being snapped up in under a month. The average terraced home costs 278,407 and these ideal starter homes go from being listed to SSSTC in an average of 29 days, according to Purplebricks data. A contemporary three-bed townhouse on the market is just a short walk from Ashford International Station and is on the market for 300,000. This contemporary three-bed townhouse on the market is just a short walk from Ashford International Station The home is a stylish, modern setting and is on the market for just 300,000 Witham The Essex town of Witham is a good spot for London commuters with Greater Anglia trains into Liverpool Street in 43 minutes. The typical terraced home in this rural town asks for a price of 284,917. A modern three-bed home, near Witham station, is currently on the market for 300,000. A modern three-bed home, near Witham station, is currently on the market for 300,000 The typical terraced home in this rural town asks for a price of 284,917 Braintree Despite being another location more than 50 miles outside London, Braintree is commutable by train in just over an hour. Terraced homes in the Essex town steeped in medieval history cost around 275,466, and tend to sell in under four months, or 117 days from being listed to SSTC, according Purplebricks data. At the moment, a three-bed semi-detached home, located between the town centre and Braintree Shopping Outlet village, is on the market for 295,000. At the moment, a three-bed semi-detached home, located between the town centre and Braintree Shopping Outlet village, is on the market for 295,000 Terraced homes in the Essex town steeped in medieval history cost around 275,466, and tend to sell in under four months Rochester Rochester is about 30 miles southeast of London and takes a little over half an hour to get you into the capital by train. The historic town, which has Saxon and Roman heritage, is a popular spot for tourists visiting both Rochester Castle and the Cathedral. The average terraced house in the town costs 271,459 and properties tend to be on the market for little over three months, or 98 days from being listed to SSTC, according to Purplebricks data. A three-bed semi-detached terrace in the 'Troy Town' area of Rochester comes with a price tag of 225,000 - well under the 300,000 stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers. This three-bed semi-detached terrace in the 'Troy Town' area of Rochester comes with a price tag of 225,000 Ready to be kitted out with furniture, it is up for well under the 300,000 stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers Milton Keynes Built in the 1960s, Milton Keynes quickly became one of the UKs 'New Towns' to relieve housing congestion in London - it was granted 'city status' in 2022. Situated in Buckinghamshire, the modern city is 50 miles outside London but the fast train allows commuters to zoom into London in just half an hour. The latest data shows that the average price of a terraced house in 'MK' is just 267,470 and these starter homes are taking an average of 73 days to go from being listed to SSTC. On the market now is a three-bed family home in the Bradville area of the city with a price tag of 270,00. On the market now is a three-bed family home in the Bradville area of the city with a price tag of 270,00 The latest data shows that the average price of a terraced house in 'MK' is just 267,470 and these starter homes are taking an average of 73 days to go from being listed to SSTC Luton Luton, in Bedfordshire, is 32 miles north of London with a commuting time of just 25 minutes by train. First-time buyers can call a terraced home their own for around 260,099 and these properties tend to shift in just over two months, or 65 days from listing to SSTC, according to Purplebricks. A three-bed 'doer-upper' period property is on the market for 250,000 with Purplebricks. This three-bed 'doer-upper' period property in Luton is on the market for 250,000 with Purplebricks First-time buyers can call a terraced home their own for around 260,099 and these properties tend to shift in just over two months Sutton The borough of Sutton has been part of London since 1965 and is just 13 miles from the centre of the capital, which can be reached by train in around half-an-hour. Sutton is an appealing location for first-time buyers looking to avoid stamp duty after April 1 because the average flat costs 292,897. Flats in the area are on the market for less than two months, or 56 days from being listed to SSTC, according to Purplebricks data. Just 0.4 miles from the station and in a quiet cul-de-sac, is a one-bed maisonette on the market for 300,000. Just 0.4 miles from the station and in a quiet cul-de-sac, is a one-bed maisonette on the market for 300,000 Flats in the area are on the market for less than two months, or 56 days from being listed to SSTC, according to Purplebricks data Croydon Croydon's reputation for crime has improved over the last decade as the area has become more attractive to city workers thanks to 12-minute train links into London Bridge. The average flat price is 297,175 and properties spend an average of four months on the market, or 111 days from being listed to SSTC, according to Purplebricks data. A second-floor two-bed flat near Croydon University Hospital is on the market for 290,000. A second-floor two-bed flat near Croydon University Hospital is on the market for 290,000 March 2, 2025: China is building a large amphibious fleet in an effort to threaten Taiwan with a convincing capability to seize this wayward Chinese province. The new ships include 41,000-ton Type 076 LHD amphibious assault ships. These are larger than the previous Type 075 LHDs. The 076 is a drone carrier, the first ever. The 076 is also an amphibious assault ship that carries 1,200 combat troops and several dozen trucks and combat vehicles. The troops are put ashore with two dozen helicopters while two aircushion vessels bring the vehicles ashore. The first Chinese LDS were the Type 075. In early 2025 China put into service the fourth of eight 37,000-ton Type 075 LHDs that can use helicopters to get troops ashore. Construction on the first LHD began in 2011 and was in sea trials by August 2020. The first LHD entered service in 2021, the second and third in 2002. The forth is nearing completion. The Chinese LHD is 237m long and 35m wide. Air defense consists of two 30mm CIWS Close in Weapons Systems and two HQ-10 SAM Surface to Air Missile launchers. There is a crew of 1,100 sailors and capacity for carrying up to 1,200 troops who are put ashore using about 20 transport helicopters and a few landing craft. There is a well dock in the rear for loading Type 726 air-cushioned landing craft as well as conventional landing craft. The vehicle deck carries an undetermined number of trucks, ZBD05 amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicles and ZTD05 amphibious light tanks. Vehicles can also be driven on or off the LHDs via ramps, like a Roll On-Roll Off or RO-RO vehicle transport. This ship is designed to carry 30 helicopters of various types. China does not have any heavy lift helicopters or tilt wing transports like those that operate off American amphibious ships. China also lacks VTOL/Vertical Take Off and Landing warplanes like the F-35B or the earlier Harrier. China is currently using the 13-ton Z-8 naval helicopter transport on amphibious ships. The Z-8 is based on the French Super Frelon. The Z-8 can carry 20 or more troops and also be armed with missiles, rockets and machine-guns. China has a growing number of helicopter gunships and these have been seen practicing operations from warships. China is also introducing a copy of the American 11-ton SH-60 naval helicopter. The Type 75 is similar to the eight American 41,000-ton LHD helicopter carriers that are capable of carrying up to twenty F-35B fighters. The design of these American mini carriers was influenced by the earlier eight Wasp class LHDs. The last of these amphibious assault ships, the Makin Island LHD-8, entered service in 2009 and was followed by two more that had some drastic modifications that led them to be designated LHAs because they were a bit larger at 45,000 tons and did not have the internal dock for landing craft. The additional space was devoted to more fuel, weapons storage and aircraft maintenance. The LPDs tend to carry twelve 21-ton V-22s tilt-rotors aircraft, eight AH-1 helicopter gunships, ten F-35B Vertical Take Off and Land or VTOL stealth fighters, four 33-ton CH-53K, and 4 Navy CH-60 helicopters. In both cases, actual air combat elements, the term for the reinforced combat aircraft deployed on these vessels, may vary depending on the mission. The LHA-6 is being built with these new VTOL aircraft, tiltrotors, and helicopters in mind. Meanwhile, China was scaling up. As of early 2021 they have six Type 071 class amphibious ships in service. The first one arrived for duty in 2007 and by the time the second one entered service in 2011 the Chinese apparently realized they would need more than the four they originally planned to build. Meanwhile, China is also expanding its marine infantry force from three to seven brigades, each with over 5,000 troops. The 071s are Landing Ship Dock or LPD type vessels and were the largest ships in the Chinese Navy until the first aircraft carrier entered service in 2013. But while Chinese aircraft carriers are still a work in progress, work was quickly found for the LPDs right away. This makes Chinese neighbors uncomfortable. These LPDs are 210m long, 25,000-ton amphibious ships with a flight deck for up to four helicopters and a flooded well in the rear for landing craft. It normally carries four hovercraft in the well and two smaller landing craft suspended on davits. The ship can carry up to 800 troops and up to 20 armored vehicles. Max speed is 46 kilometers an hour with cruising speed 33 kilometers an hour. At that speed, a Type 071 can stay at sea for up to 60 days. The 071 class ships are similar to the American 25,000-ton San Antonio class and the French 21,500-ton Mistral class. The 071s have the smallest crew at 120 compared to 180 in the Mistral and 396 for the San Antonio. Type 071 armament consists of a 76mm gun, four 30mm anti-missile autocannon, and four 18 tube decoy/chaff dispensers for anti-missile work. Each 071 is believed to cost about $300 million, less than half what a San Antonio or Mistral cost. The Type 75s appear to have the same four 30mm autocannon plus two HHQ-10 anti-aircraft missile launchers. These have a range of about six kilometers. Now that it is clear that China will soon have eight LPDs plus eleven of the larger Type 75s. These ships will be crucial in establishing and supplying small outposts in the South China Sea and elsewhere off the Chinese coast where there are more disputed islands. The recent appearance of 071s in the Indian Ocean indicates Chinese amphibious ambitions have a very long reach indeed. When not being the intimidator, the 071s stand ready to help out in natural disasters in the region. In both cases the 071s show countries in the region that China now has a large fleet and can be your friend or the neighbor who quickly and unexpectedly invades you from the sea. The Chinese Navy has been seen exercising with LHDs with civilian ferries and Roll On-Roll Off or Ro-Ro ships. Construction of these ships was subsidized by the government with the understanding that these vessels were not part of the navy reserve fleet of support ships, which includes cargo and troops and fuel transports. Another recent development is a barge that carries a 130 meter long road platform that can be used on coastal areas that lack beaches but are close to roads. The new Chinese landing barges can approach these areas once Chinese commandos or paratroopers have seized a small portion. The barge gets close enough to the coastline for its road platform to be shoved or carried forward somehow to plop down near a coastal road. As anyone who has had the misfortune of dealing with civil service bureaucracy will know, it can be a complicated endeavour. There is the jargon, the minutes that bleed into hours spent on hold on the phone and, of course, the endless form-filling. But mastering this red tape - particularly in relation to Britain's bloated benefits system - can apparently also present extraordinarily lucrative business opportunities. Just ask Charlie Anderson, a YouTube blogger who says her chronic arthritis and fatigue has rendered her unable to work. Thanks to her lengthy experience with the welfare system, she is extremely proficient at filling out forms used to claim the Personal Independence Payment [PIP] allowance disability benefit. So adept has she become in applying for this taxpayer-funded help that she has taken to explaining the 'tricks of the trade' to any prospective benefits claimant - for a hefty fee, of course. A mother-of-four who almost died after undergoing a botched cosmetic surgery abroad is believed to be the first Brit to sue their Turkish doctor, MailOnline can reveal. Sara Platt, from Bridgend, South Wales, was left in so much pain she 'wanted to die' and was later hospitalised with psychosis after a Turkish surgeon attempted to perform a loose skin removal for her stomach as well as a breast uplift and implant. Although at least 28 British people have died - and many more left seriously injured - by dodgy Turkish treatments since 2019, Ms Platt claims to be the first to sue their surgeon. The mother, who has set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with her legal battle, first flew to Turkey in 2021 to reduce the size of her stomach after experiencing stage 5 endometriosis and undergoing steroid therapy. She lost 12 stone but the surgery left her with excess skin, causing sores and an unpleasant smell, and constant skin infections. Unable to afford the expensive private skin removal treament in the UK, she returned to Turkey in February 2023, where it cost 15,000 compared to 33,000 at a private UK facility, she claimed. It was on her second trip where her bungled surgery left her on the brink of death. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: 'I don't want this happening to another person. So this is why I'm taking it the full way. 'I also want to show the Turkish surgeon that they can't get away with it. There's too many people that have had their lives totally changed for the worse. I was left with three days to live. I suffer with nightmares every night. I've got extreme PTSD.' 'If somebody touches my stomach straight away, I can feel pain and that's going to be with me forever.' Sara Platt (pictured), from Bridgend, South Wales, was left in so much pain she 'wanted to die' following botched surgery When Ms Platt returned to Turkey, she said she was 'naive' and 'desperate' and was also told by the surgery, which had numerous five-star reviews, she could recover in the country's sun. Following her skin removal operation, she was left 'rotting' in agony in a dingy hotel with brown liquid seeping from her body and a chunk of fat left in the middle of her chest. Nine days later the same Turkish surgeon decided to perform another procedure, 'to fix his mess,' she said. She was left awake and screaming in pain while the surgeon took off a 'big chunk' of fat and skin, with only local anaesthetic used. She says she remains haunted from the experience, where she felt like her skin was on fire, after the surgeon used a 'burning tool'. The mother received a fit-to-fly certificate and returned home, where she was treated at Morriston Hospital in Swansea. She spent eight weeks at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery and has since had 10 corrective surgeries on the NHS, including a skin graft on her stomach. 'I'd done my full research and even flew out to make sure I was making the right choice. I visited the clinic and met the surgeon twice. I really trusted this man and he nearly killed me.' The mother is taking legal action against the surgeon and hopes his licence will be revoked. As part of the court proceedings she will have to be examined by Turkish doctors. 'Going back scares the absolute life out of me,' she said. 'I can't even think about Turkey. It brings back so many bad memories and feelings even though I haven't got that open wound now on my stomach, I can still feel that. I'm very scared about my PTSD. Ms Platt returned to Turkey for an excess skin removal operation but was left with severe scarring She paid 15,000 for the skin removal procedure in Turkey but ended up needing 10 corrective surgeries on the NHS As well as being left with scars the mother of four said she has suffered from PTSD following surgery 'But I know I've got to do it because I can't let them win. Ms Platt has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of flights and accommodation, whilst she undergoes an 'intimidating, exhausting, and financially draining' legal battle. She said she will pay back the NHS for her surgeries if she receives compensation. The mother added she wants to raise awareness of the dangers of surgery 'that are often hidden behind appealing prices, celebrity endorsements, and glamorous marketing'. She said: 'I don't care if I don't get a penny. It's the fact that I need justice and I want to stop the surgeon from doing it to anybody else. 'I'm trying to raise awareness. I'm trying to advocate against the bad surgeons in Turkey.' The surgeon has been contacted for comment. According to the Foreign Office, 28 Brits have died after having cosmetic surgery in Turkey since 2019. A British woman died after undergoing Brazilian butt-lift surgery in Turkey, an inquest heard in November. Hayley Dowell suffered medical complications at a private clinic after her surgeon left half way through the operation, a coroner was told. Turkish clinics offer packages including VIP airport transfers in 'luxury vehicles' and 5-star hotel stays with breakfast. But at least 28 Brits have died from dodgy surgeries since 2019 A variety of procedures not offered in the UK are carried out by surgeons in Turkey The 38-year-old Briton went under the knife and had a Brazilian butt-lift (BBL), a tummy tuck, and liposuction - a package that costs more than 7,000 - in October 2023. She was thought to be one of six Britons who died in Turkey in 2023 following medical procedures. Meanwhile, in August, a British woman said she was trapped in the country after suffering from serious complications from botched cosmetic procedures, including two bouts of sepsis. Cennet Lo, a 28-year-old mother of one, flew to Bodrum in April to receive a tummy tuck, liposuction and Brazilian butt lift. Four months later she remained in Turkey in recovery after her cosmetic procedures went catastrophically wrong, with the mother claiming she woke up mid-surgery. Detectives have charged aa 29-year-old man with murder after allegedly killing a young mother in a daylight shooting west of Brisbane. Kara Jade Weribone, 27, was shot at a home on Christmas Street in North Toowoomba, southeast Queensland, at about 1.50pm on Wednesday. Ms Weribone, from nearby Wilsonton, was found critically injured at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds. She was rushed to Toowoomba Hospital, where she later died. Two men were treated at the scene - one aged in his 50s with a head injury and another man for emotional distress. Acting Detective Inspector Brian Collins earlier said three 'associates' of the woman were taken into custody. The 29-year-old man was arrested in Roma, 350km northwest of Toowoomba, at 11.35am on Saturday. He is set to front in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on March 3. Kara Jade Weribone, 27, was shot at a home on Christmas Street home in North Toowoomba Paramedics are seen treating a man at the scene of the daylight shooting A man at the scene of the shooting is seen on a stretcher Ms Weribone had recently celebrated her son finishing primary school. 'My big baby graduated primary school tonight. So proud of you,' she wrote alongside a photo of her son holding an award. Ms Weribone's death comes after her brother Nicholas died in November. The young mum is being mourned by friends and family on Thursday. 'I'm trying so hard to keep it together but this is hurting me that you're really gone baby sis,' one relative wrote. 'Really never wanted to say goodbye to you yet. Can't believe this.' One neighbour said she heard gunshots and ran outside, and saw Ms Weribone lying on the footpath. There were unconfirmed reports that the woman was shot multiple times with a .22 calibre rifle. The young mum-of-three died in hospital after she was shot just before 2pm on Wednesday Police are seen at the scene of the fatal shooting in Toowoomba The 'extremely alarming' incident unfolded less than 150 metres from Holy Name Catholic Primary School. Police said there is 'nothing to indicate' the shooting was domestic violence related and do not believe it was drug-related. West Street between Mort and Bridge Streets remained closed for much of Wednesday afternoon with residents ordered to stay indoors. Anyone with dashcam footage of the West Street and Christmas Street area between 1pm and 2.30pm on Monday have been urged to come forward. One of the country's most controversial principals dobbed herself in to the education department after roasting her teachers for knocking back shots of Fireball whiskey at a staff party on school grounds. Tracey Brose last week informed parents and students at Tamborine Mountain State High she would not be returning to the school following an extended period of personal leave. The decision comes amid ongoing revelations about Ms Brose's interactions with staff and the wider school community during her high-profile 22-year stewardship. Although Ms Brose led the school to great academic heights throughout her reign, she has been at the centre of a string of lengthy scandals over the past decade. She first made national headlines in 2016 after she sued a group of her students' parents for defamation after being labelled an 'evil, nasty, horrible woman' on social media. The award-winning educator had initially sought $1.2million in damages but was ultimately awarded just $6000 from parents Donna and Miguel Baluskas - and later claimed her action had never been financially motivated. 'I don't need money, I don't need damages, I need her (the judge) to say this is not okay and needs to stop,' she said following the 2020 decision. Despite finding in Ms Brose's favour, the judge overseeing the case criticised the career educator for offering 'contrived' evidence and compiling 'a calculated assessment of the assets' of her critics ahead of the action. Tracey Brose (pictured) claimed she was defamed after she was suspended from her position at the Tamborine Mountain State High School on Queensland's Gold Coast in 2016 Mrs Brose spent more than $600,000 fighting the lengthy defamation battle, which drove the Balukas' into bankruptcy and cost them their house. The extraordinary four-year row began when eight parents from Tamborine Mountain, the only state high school in the small Gold Coast hinterland community of just 7000, wrote defamatory comments on a Change.org petition regarding Mrs Brose. At the peak of the legal tussle, Mr Balukas, whose son was expelled from the school for making a comment on a school bus, smashed up the principal's home, with Ms Brose's husband allegedly forced to pull a knife on him in defense. While Ms Brose eventually returned to work at the school, she was forced to take leave again early last year after her husband - a fellow teacher - suffered a serious injury before announcing her resignation this month. Her leave coincided with a separate and unrelated incident in which she apologised for blasting her school's teachers for drinking on school premises during a daytime Christmas party after the academic year wrapped in 2023. According to emails obtained by Brisbane's Courier-Mail newspaper, she apologised to her staff for her 'unprofessional, irrational and unacceptable' response, conceding she had 'ruined [the] Christmas lunch and celebrations'. Ms Brose told her teachers in the email that she had reacted angrily because she had been worried they might face disciplinary action over the party - and she couldn't bear the thought of her 'beloved staff' getting in trouble for breaching school rules. She went on to reference her own suspension almost a decade ago and, while the reasons behind it have never been made public, she acknowledged the experience was almost enough to make her quit the profession. Donna and Miguel Baluskas (pictured) spent four years battling Ms Brose in court before they lost the defamation case and their house amid a mountain of legal fees 'I was triggered by the thought of any of my staff facing suspension,' she explained in her email flowing the Christmas party blow up. 'I barely survived suspension, most people never return to teaching. 'It (her reaction) was an emotionally reactive fear situation. Not for me - I'll take any bullets - but for my beloved staff. You are my family, the people I care about and work with every day. 'I have the ability to see through space and time to see how one little thing could have effects well into the future (that) no-one can foresee and that's where my brain went and there was no coming back and no rational responses once there. 'It was sheer fear, I needed to fix and protect you and was overwhelmed with anger and emotion. I was angry at me but directed (it) at staff sadly in many cases.' Ms Brose blamed her own 'poor leadership and management' for the contentious reaction and added she understood previous Christmas celebrations 'may have involved the private and discreet consumption of alcohol'. However, she said she did not know that drinking Fireball shots had become a 'tradition' and had been worried they were being consumed 'early in the day' and offered in the school's administration block. Ms Brose reportedly left her job in early 2024 after she apologised for a furious outburst over a staff Christmas party at Tamborine Mountain State High School (pictured) '(I'm feeling) humiliated, embarrassed and an immense and overwhelming sense of loss of respect, failure as a leader and very little dignity, and sorrow for the hurt I have caused the very people I was fearful and panicked I needed to protect,' she wrote in the email obtained by the Courier-Mail. She added that she accepted 'full responsibility' for the tense falling out and referred the incident to the state's education department, along with a suggestion that she face disciplinary action over the tirade. Documents obtained by the Brisbane newspaper suggested that Ms Brose was also being investigated after a formal complaint was received about an unspecified incident. It is not known if the matter related to the Christmas party or another issue. Ms Brose could not be contacted for comment. The Queensland Department of Education told Daily Mail Australia it was unable to discuss the matters. 'The Department holds all principals, teachers and school staff to the highest possible standards,' a spokesperson said. 'We are unable to provide further information for confidentiality reasons.' There was panic in New York's Times Square on Saturday afternoon after a person was stabbed in broad daylight close to where a march in support of Ukraine was taking place. There were thousands of people including tourists and protestors in the area at the time the stabbing occurred at around 3pm on West 47th Street. The NYPD confirmed officers were looking for a 20-year-old Asian male, about 5 foot 5 inches who was wearing a black puffer jacket. No details were released as to the identity of the victim or what happened in the moments before the stabbing. The person's condition was unclear Saturday evening. Demonstrators were gathered to rally in support of Ukraine commemorating the third anniversary of Russia's invasion. Waving Ukrainian flags and holding banners with messages like 'Russia is a terrorist state' and 'Stand with Ukraine,' protesters called for continued global support. There was panic in New York's Times Square on Saturday afternoon after a person was stabbed in broad daylight at close to where a march in support of Ukraine was taking place The NYPD confirmed officers were looking for a 20-year-old Asian male, about 5 foot 5 inches who was wearing a black puffer jacket There were thousands of people including tourists and protestors in the area at the time the stabbing occurred at around 3pm on West 47th Street Protesters joined together in song, waving Ukrainian flags, including one held by dozens of people. The city is home to the largest Ukrainian community in the US, with around 150,000 Ukrainian New Yorkers. The demonstration took place one day after President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky clashed in an explosive manner during meeting in the White House's Oval Office. During the diplomatic blowout broadcast around the world, Trump claimed his Ukrainian counterpart was 'gambling with World War Three'. The demonstration took place one day after President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky clashed in an explosive manner during meeting at the White House A person holds the Ukrainian flag as the anthem of Ukraine is sang as members of the New York Ukrainian community and supporters gathered in Times Square on Saturday A person holds a sign as members of the New York Ukrainian community and supporters gather in Times Square New York City is home to the largest Ukrainian community in the US, with around 150,000 Ukrainian New Yorkers Demonstrators were gathered to rally in support of Ukraine commemorating the third anniversary of Russia 's invasion Ukrainian soldiers were also present at the rally in Times Square Protesters joined together in song, waving Ukrainian flags, including one held by dozens of people President Donald Trump ended up shouting at Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in an extraordinary Oval Office meltdown on Friday The Ukrainian leader was also accused of not being thankful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his vice president JD Vance, after he attempted to question some of their claims. The spat has shaken the foundations of NATO, with European allies rallying to Ukraine's side, while Trump's American backers have insisted he was standing up for their country's interests. Media reports on Saturday suggested Trump considered cutting off all aid to Ukraine following their clash. President Donald Trump has declared that the 'invasion' of the United States is over and the border is now 'closed to all illegal immigrants' after mass ICE arrests. In a post to his Truth Social page, Trump said that in the last month his administration had recorded the lowest number of immigrants trying to enter the country ever. Trump said in total there was 8,326 apprehensions by Border Patrol at the Southern Border. He added that these people 'were quickly ejected from our Nation or, when necessary prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America.' The commander-in-chief added: 'This means that very few people came The Invasion of our Country is OVER. 'In comparison, under Joe Biden, there were 300,000 Illegals crossing in one month, and virtually ALL of them were released into our Country. 'Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. 'Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.' In a post to his Truth Social page, Trump said that in the last month his administration had recorded the lowest number of immigrants trying to enter the country ever Trump vowed during his campaign to remove criminals from the country, labeling some migrants as the 'worst of the worst' His statement came after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirsti Noem announced that the administration had arrested 20,000 illegal aliens in one month. Noem touted that as a 627 percent increase in monthly arrests, compared to President Biden. She said: 'President Trump and this Administration are saving lives every day because of the actions we are taking to secure the border and deport illegal alien criminals. 'Hundreds of thousands of criminals were let into this country illegally. We are sending them home, and they will never be allowed to return.' Trump's stance is that all migrants in the US, without documentation, are criminals because they illegally entered or illegally remained in the country. He vowed during his campaign to remove criminals from the country, labeling some migrants as the 'worst of the worst'. As his administration continues ramping up its crackdown on illegal immigration, some long-evading, at large fugitives are getting taken in after decades of delays. This week, Ivan Oramas and Santos Maradiaga-Villalta were both arrested by immigration arrests, after over two decades on the lam. Trump said in total there was 8,326 apprehensions by Border Patrol at the Southern Border News of their arrest was circulated Thursday in an internal immigration memo noting recent enforcement actions made by President Donald Trump's administration. Oramas, 61, is a citizen of Cuba with a rap sheet including convictions for sexual battery and aggravated assault. His sexual battery case caused serious injury, according to his charges in the file. ICE Houston nabbed Oramas this week, enforcing a deportation order first handed down in October 200321 years overdue. Maradiaga-Villalta, a 40-year-old alien from Honduras, has convictions for smuggling aliens into the U.S. He was arrested recently by ICE in Phoenix. His first deportation order dates back to January 2006, a 19-year lapse in action. Ivan Fabian Oramas, 61, was originally ordered to be deported in October 2003, over 21 years ago. Above is his mugshot from a Florida state sexual offender database ICE Phoenix recently arrested Santos Maradiaga-Villalta, 40, who was issued a removal order in 2006, when he was then 21. He had prior convictions for alien smuggling Among the other criminals that surfaced in this week's federal data were Guatemalan national Alexis Aquirre-Velasquez, 37, who was ordered out of the U.S. 12 years ago. He was charged with four counts of indecent liberty with a child and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Recently, White House officials revealed to DailyMail.com that north of 6,000 migrants were deported in Trump's first two weeks. Migrants have also been airlifted to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as wella location that is expected to hold approximately 30,000 aliens as ICE facilities reach their limits. A New York City math teacher has been arrested after authorities found him with at least 1,000 photos and videos of child pornography - including some featuring children as young as three. Ross Lanvin, 41, allegedly used a fake name to create a Google account to store his growing collection between September 2021 and this past December, federal prosecutors claim. That month, Google flagged about 150 images and 90 videos containing explicit images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - which then sent the files to federal investigators. Authorities soon learned that the Google account in question - under the name 'Ryan Ryan' - was verified with a phone number belonging to Lanvin, and that multiple IP address that were used to access the burner account also belonged to Lanvin. It was even linked to several accounts, including one belonging to an rlanvin@schools.nyc.gov, and was previously used to look up lesson plans and teaching resources, according to the criminal complaint. Once, Lanvin even used Google's AI chatbot Gemini to find math problems to put on a quiz, and in May, the Google account was accessed from the a New York City Department of Education device, prosecutors say. At the same time, Lanvin also allegedly used the Google account to search for 'gay teen boys' and browse a porn site. When authorities then searched Lanvin's apartment, they allegedly found more videos on his iPad, including one showing an approximately six year old boy lying down on a bed, fully nude with his hands behind his head, and a video of an adult man manipulating a six year old boy in to different positions as he penetrates the boy. Ross Lanvin, 41, is facing two counts of possession of child pornography, including images and videos of prepubescent minors and minors who had not attained 12 years of age Lanvin eventually confirmed the account was his and admitted to accessing child pornography, federal prosecutors say. He is now facing two counts of possession of child pornography, including images and videos of prepubescent minors and minors who had not attained 12 years of age. Those charges come with a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars. 'As alleged, Ross Lanvin, who had close contact with students as a teacher at a public school in Manhattan, possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography,' Acting US Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement. 'Together with our partners at the NYPD and Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigations for the NYC School District, we will continue to work to root out those who possess child pornography, especially when those individuals work in positions that give them access to childrensome of the most vulnerable members of our community.' Lanvin was most recently listed as a sixth-grade math teacher at MS 256 Lafayette Academy in New York's Upper West Side, the New York Post reports. He apparently worked at the school from August 2020 through last year. The outlet had found a video on the school's Instagram page from March 2023 captioned 'Mr. Lanvin,' which allegedly showed the teacher on stage at an event getting a plate of whipped cream smashed in his face by the school principal and student. That video seems to have since been taken down. But another video from the event, seen by DailyMail.com, showed him speaking to a female student as someone else read the rules for the Pi Day event. A video posted on the Lafayette Academy's Instagram page showed him speaking to a female student at a Pi Day event in March 2023 Lanvin was most recently listed as a sixth-grade math teacher at MS 256 Lafayette Academy in New York's Upper West Side Records obtained by the Post show Lanvin has been on the city Department of Education payroll since 2016 and still has active licenses for grades one through six as well as bilingual education. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education told the Post the charges against Lanvin were 'extremely concerning.' She said he has now been 'reassigned away from students pending the outcome of the arrest. 'If convicted, we will pursue termination,' she said. Lanvin was released from custody on February 18 on a $75,000 bond and is due back in court this month. DailyMail.com has reached out the Department of Education and the Lafayette Academy for comment. A US fuel supplier has dramatically cut ties with the American military following Donald Trump's shouting match with Volodymyr Zelensky. In a strongly worded statement, Haltbakk Bunkers said it made the decision due to Trump and JD Vance's surreal spectacle with Ukrainian President Zelensky. It said it will no longer supply American military ships in Norway or those docking in Norwegian ports because it has a 'moral compass'. 'The United States is excluded based on their behaviour towards the Ukrainians,' it said, encouraging others to follow suit. Zelensky's furious bust-up with the US President yesterday sent diplomatic ripples across the world. Now the UK Prime Minister is acting as a bridge between the American premier and his European counterparts - with Zelensky calling their meeting 'meaningful and warm' today in huge contrast to what went down in the Oval Office. Haltbakk Bunkers praised President Zelensky and said in a statement: 'We have decided to immediately STOP as fuel provider to American forces in Norway and their ships calling Norwegian ports. 'No Fuel to Americans!', concluding their statement with the slogan 'Slava Ukraina' in support of Ukraine. It referred to the televised event as the 'biggest s***show ever presented live on TV' and said 'it made us sick', according to the UK defence journal. Haltbakk Bunkers supplies fuel to vessels calling at Norwegian ports, including NATO and allied forces. The American leader yesterday led an unprecidented humiliation of the war-time premier alongside attack dog VP JD Vance, later declaring that his counterpart was 'not ready for peace' Zelenskyy arrived at Downing Street for talks with PM Keir Starmer Volodymyr Zelensky reunited with Keir Starmer as he travelled to London for crunch talks with EU leaders President Trump is said to be considering halting military aid to Ukraine as early as today after their explosive showdown on Friday. The Washington Post quoted a senior White House official as saying that such a decision would halt billions of dollars of radars, vehicles, ammunition, and missiles awaiting shipment to the war-torn nation. Crowds gathered outside of No.10 today to show their support for the war-stricken leader, who appeared in his trademark black polo emblazoned with the Ukrainian military trident. In a very telling move, Sir Keir chose to walk towards Zelensky to greet him, instead of letting the war-time President come to him. He then warmly hugged him in greeting and they shook hands for the cameras before heading inside. After just over an hour of crisis talks, Zelensky left Downing Street with Sir Keir walking him to his car and waving him goodbye as the Ukrainian President departed in his motorcade. Speaking inside Number 10, the Prime Minister firmly reassured the Ukrainian president: 'Let me just say that you're very, very welcome here in Downing Street. 'And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. I hope you heard some of that cheering on the street. The Ukrainian President's furious bust-up with the US President sent diplomatic ripples across the world Speaking inside Number 10, the Prime Minister firmly reassured the Ukrainian president: 'Let me just say that you're very, very welcome here in Downing Street' Britain's Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with you - unwavering determination - and to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace.' He continued: 'A lasting peace for Ukraine based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine - so important for Ukraine, so important for Europe and so important for the United Kingdom. 'So I'm much looking forward to our discussions here this afternoon - thank you very much for making the time to come.' Zelensky praised Britain and King Charles for being 'such big support from the very beginning'. He added: 'We're happy and count on your support and really really have [been] such partners.' Zelensky duked it out with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office over the conditions of a possible ceasefire with Russia. Tempers flared on all sides, with Trump threatening to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky didn't agree to his peace terms. He and Vance also repeatedly accused Zelensky of not being grateful for America's sustained military support of Ukraine, which has totaled to roughly $100 billion according to one recent estimate. Meanwhile, Zelensky showed pictures of the devastation of his country to Trump while also arguing he had thanked the American people for their aid. Trump and his vice president JD Vance, berated Zelensky for being 'disrespectful' and not thanking the US enough for its support. Today, the Ukrainian leader replied to every post from world leaders expressing solidarity with him with 'thank you very much for your support' to the glee of many social media users watching on. The yelling match was unlike anything ever seen publicly in the Oval Office. And it played out on TV screens across the world. Trump and JD Vance even tried to slam the President for not wearing a suit in the Oval Office - despite Elon Musk sporting very casual outfits when he has been snapped in that room. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hugs Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he leaves 10 Downing Street The American leader yesterday attempted to lead an unprecedented humiliation of the war-time premier alongside attack dog VP JD Vance, declaring that his counterpart was 'not ready for peace'. He accused Zelensky of 'gambling with World War Three' as they abandoned plans to sign a minerals deal which would have given further US support in exchange for access to Ukraine's natural resources. The Ukrainian abruptly left the White House following the war of words. This morning Zelensky took to X, formerly Twitter, to make his appreciation for America clear as the country tries to minimise fallout from the diplomatic furore. He said: 'America's help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals. 'It's crucial for us to have President Trump's support. He wants to end the war, but no one wants peace more than we do. We are the ones living this war in Ukraine. It's a fight for our freedom, for our very survival.' Sir Keir Starmer spoke with Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron following his Downing Street love-in with Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. It is understood the calls took place after the PM insisted Ukraine had 'full backing across the United Kingdom' in a Number 10 meeting with the country's president. Sir Keir also told the Ukrainian leader that Britain stands with his nation 'for as long as it may take' - and embraced him several times on camera. It comes as world leaders are due to hold crunch talks on Ukraine's future in London on Sunday - with Zelensky also set to meet King Charles. At Lancaster House, a mansion near Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister is expected to urge the 18 countries in attendance to follow the UK in answering the US's calls to boost defence spending. Sir Keir, who has now called Trump twice in two days, is seeking to act as a bridge between Europe and America and keep NATO together. It follows his successful flattery campaign at the White House on Thursday when he met Trump to discuss plans for Ukraine's future. The summit comes after several days in which the foundations of the transatlantic Nato alliance have been shaken. A clash between Mr Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, in which the US President claimed his counterpart was 'gambling with World War III'. While European allies rallied to Ukraine's side, Trump's administration has made it clear privately it wants a public apology from Zelensky to mend relations, Bloomberg has reported. President Zelensky waves goodbye to Keir Starmer following their love-in at Downing Street on Saturday Starmer steps out of 10 Downing Street with President of Ukraine Zelensky after their meeting Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shake hands during a joint press conference on Thursday Media reports from the US suggested Trump considered cutting off all aid to Ukraine following their clash. During the diplomatic blowout broadcast around the world, Trump claimed his Ukrainian counterpart was 'gambling with World War Three'. The Ukrainian leader was also accused of not being thankful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his deputy JD Vance. In contrast with the terse exchange in the Oval Office, Zelensky praised his meeting with the British Prime Minister on Saturday as 'meaningful and warm'. Sir Keir, who usually stands at the doorstep of No 10 to greet world leaders, walked towards Mr Zelensky to meet him as he arrived. They then shared a hug before approaching the famous black door of No 10 together. A group of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators could be seen outside the gates of the street, and were heard to cheer as Mr Zelensky's convoy drove by. 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and how much they support Ukraine,' Sir Keir later told Mr Zelensky at the top of their meeting in Downing Street's White Room. It comes as NATO chief Mark Rutte warned Zelensky on Saturday that he needs to find a way to restore his relationship with President Donald Trump. 'It is important that President Zelensky finds a way to restore his relationship with the American President and with the senior American leadership team,' Rutte told the BBC. He described the meeting at the White House as 'unfortunate'. Emmanuel Macron welcomes Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he arrives for a meeting with European leaders on Ukraine on February 17 Zelensky is seen arriving at Downing Street for talks with PM Keir Starmer Trump shakes hands with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a meeting in the Oval Office The Ukrainian President's furious bust-up with the US President has sent diplomatic ripples across the world (pictured: Starmer and Zelensky at No 10 today) Rutte's dire warning came after Zelensky duked it out with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office over the conditions of a possible ceasefire with Russia. Tempers flared on all sides, with Trump threatening to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky didn't agree to his peace terms. He and Vance also repeatedly accused Zelensky of not being grateful for America's sustained military support of Ukraine, which has totaled to roughly $100 billion according to one recent estimate. Meanwhile, Zelensky showed pictures of the devastation of his country to Trump while also arguing he had thanked the American people for their aid. The yelling match was unlike anything ever seen publicly in the Oval Office and it played out on TV screens across the world. The Ukrainian abruptly left the White House following the war of words, and later refused to apologise. However, speaking inside Number 10 on Saturday, Sir Keir firmly reassured the Ukrainian president that the UK will continue to support his country. He said: 'Let me just say that you're very, very welcome here in Downing Street. 'And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. I hope you heard some of that cheering on the street. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy leaves after meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street in London Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hugs Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he leaves 10 Downing Street 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with you - unwavering determination - and to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace.' He continued: 'A lasting peace for Ukraine based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine - so important for Ukraine, so important for Europe and so important for the United Kingdom. 'So I'm much looking forward to our discussions here this afternoon - thank you very much for making the time to come.' Zelensky praised Britain and King Charles for being 'such big support from the very beginning'. He added: 'We're happy and count on your support and really really have [been] such partners.' Starmer and Zelensky are among the leaders who will gather in London on Sunday to consider how to strengthen Ukraine's current position. BBC Political Editor Chris Mason said: 'Having met and got on with President Trump on Thursday Sir Keir is attempting to act as a bridge between Washington and Kyiv and Washington and Europe. But the Western alliance is fracturing before our eyes.' Zelensky talks with US President Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Offic Zelensky's plane was seen on the tarmac at London Stanstead Airport on Saturday morning This morning former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that the NATO could be at risk of losing the US if it does not feel Europe is 'pulling its weight'. The Tory MP told the Today programme: 'From Europe's point of view there is an even bigger priority than the future of Ukraine, which is the future of NATO. And there is a simple message from what happened yesterday and that is that we can't take that for granted. 'The 2.5 per cent of GDP increase in defence spending this week is extremely welcome from Keir Starmer but it won't be enough and we need all European N countries to be spending much closer to the 3.4 per cent of GDP that America is spending before America feels that Europe is pulling its weight. 'And if we don't do that, if America feels unfairly treated, we can see the fireworks and the sort of things that we'll be putting at risk. So right now that is a very, very big priority behind the scenes - to make sure that America remains anchored in the Western alliance.' Mr Hunt, who passionately spoke in defence of Ukraine while shadow Chancellor last year, said that this weekend's summit could be a critical moment for relations with the US. He continued: 'Keir Starmer could still be Prime Minister when Donald Trump leaves the White House - what he will want to know and be sure of is that Nato also survives with him. And that's why what Europe does next is very very important. 'If Europe wants a seat at the table it needs to bring something to the table. And really the only two things that we can bring in this situation are an increase in defence spending and an offer to help police a ceasefire. 'We can get round the table - it's been a very, very bumpy start but that's part of this president's negotiating style. But what we need today is cool heads, a little bit of time and then to get back to the negotiations.' Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky embrace after speaking to members of the media following a presentation of Ukrainian military drones in Kyiv in January Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands during a bilateral meeting at 10, Downing Street on July 19, 2024 Pictured: During a joint press conference between Trump and Starmer on Thursday Responding to Friday's spat, a No 10 spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister has tonight spoken to both President Trump and President Zelensky. 'He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine. 'The Prime Minister looks forward to hosting international leaders on Sunday including President Zelensky.' The statement from Downing Street followed a show of unity from Europe's political leaders, supporting Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen were among the leaders to express solidarity with Zelensky. Zelensky pointedly thanked dozens of allies on social media, a day after Trump and JD Vance accused him of not being sufficiently grateful. Meanwhile in Moscow, the country is delighting in Trump's televised spectacle - with newscasters and public figures joyfully reveling in the war leader's humiliation. Trump points as he speaks to reporters as he prepares to depart the White House in Washington Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House Pictured: Chairs stand empty at the site of the planned agreement signing for a minerals deal 'The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office. And @realDonaldTrump is right: The Kiev regime is 'gambling with WWIII,'' wrote Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Medvedev on X. Medvedev, now Putin's deputy on the Russian security council, said Russia had nothing to fear from Europe's leaders as he added in another statement that Putin is now the leader of the free world. He mocked: 'Europe is a feeble, grumpy old woman who desperately needs the tutelage of the US.' Aleksandr Kareyevsky, a TV host on the Rossiya 24 channel, said the meeting 'looks more like a public flagellation for Zelensky' and something that 'no one expected from the U.S. president.' Another gleefully added: 'Historic scandal, diplomatic train wreck, horrifying spectacle, Zelensky's fail. This is how world media describe the meeting between Donald Trump and the head of the Kyiv regime in the White House. 'This is news story number one. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. Instead of filing the deal, they got into an enraging verbal brawl. Then Zelensky was shown to the door.' Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Luigi Mangione can't get any visits from friends and family for at least a month after a 'race riot' erupted at the Brooklyn jail where both are being housed. In the latest episode of DailyMail.com's podcast The Trial of Diddy, federal prison consultant Sam Mangel said the Metropolitan Detention Center was placed on lockdown since last week after 'more than 40' people were involved in a melee. While high-profile inmates like Combs, Mangione and Sam Bankman-Fried were not housed at the area where the incident occurred, the entire Brooklyn facility was placed on 'modified operation' for at least the next month. 'He's locked down now, at least 23 out of 24 hours,' Mangel told the Daily Mail of Combs. 'I'm sure they allow him out at least three times a week for a shower, maybe to make a phone call, but that's about it. So he's being fed in his cell, it's a six by nine cell with a little slat for a window. 'If he wants to exercise in his cell, he can read in his cell. There are no TV's and that's where he is and will be for the next month other than legal visits. I know my client as well as other clients. I work closely with another consultant that is actually a Mangione's consultant. They're clamoring for legal visits because it's the only time that they can get out of their cells to see people, interact with people in a more open environment.' Officials with the Federal Bureau of Prison confirmed to DailyMail.com that 'multiple' inmates 'were observed fighting' at the Brooklyn facility on February 22. The Trial of Diddy: Listen now wherever you get your podcasts Combs has been in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest last September 'Responding employees isolated and contained the incident and at no time was the public in danger,' BOP spokesman Donald Murphy told the DailyMail.com podcast. MDC, which houses more than 1,600 inmates, is notorious for it's 'deplorable conditions. In 2019, the prison made headlines after inmates suffered days without heat or power during severe winter conditions. Diddy has been locked up at MDC since he was arrested last year on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. He's been denied bail multiple times. Combs has vehemently denied all of the allegations since they first came to light and pleaded not guilty after charges were initially filed. Speaking on the latest episode of The Trial of Diddy, Mangel said Combs and Mangione are housed in a general population area. 'They're not on a floor that would be susceptible to the riots,' Mangel said. 'They're on a floor with other high profile individuals that the last thing they want to do is get involved in the riots. Diddy is currently locked up at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of his trial on May 5 'So they're on a truly segregated floor from everybody else. Now, they are punished the same as everyone else in the facility. unfortunately, while fortunately why they might be safer.' Officials with the Federal Bureau of Prison said there were injuries during the February 22 incident. 'Multiple incarcerated individuals were medically assessed and treated for minor injuries at the facility,' Murphy said. 'Two incarcerated individuals sustained injuries requiring outside medical treatment.' Murphy refused to comment on the injuries sustained by the inmates involved in the fight. He added no jail employees were injured. Mangel said his sources in the federal jail said more than 40 prisoners were involved in the melee, adding race riots are becoming more common. 'The facility can't afford to have a high profile, certainly any inmate, but in this case, a high-profile inmate get injured from another inmate.,' Mangel said. 'And because the MDC is a dangerous place, obviously, look what happened last Friday, not only from a PR point of view, they're terribly understaffed, there's a lot of racial tension, a lot of gang tension, a significant number of illegal immigrants are held there.' Prisoners are so far still allowed visits from their attorneys but visits from family and friends have been placed on pause at MDC, BOP officials said. Combs attends a pre-trial conference in his sex trafficking case with his attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Anthony Ricco in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2024 Mangel said inmates are typically allowed out in the general population form 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.. With the lockdown, inmates are now confined to their tiny cells 24 hours a day. Mangel said one of his clients, who is also housed on the same floor as Combs, have had interactions with the disgraced Bad Boy mogul. The prison consultant said Diddy has been seen playing a card game of spades and board games with other inmates. 'It was around holiday time, so I believe he was as depressed as any other guy that was there that couldn't be with their family because obviously you have restricted visits and how long can be with someone and how many visitors can come in,' Mangel said. 'So it is a depressing time, but he was as friendly and congenial as everyone else on that floor. I'm sure he laughed at times. 'It's not a funny situation to be in, but they all look around and say, in their opinions, a mockery of justice it is that they are here. because it hasn't sunk in yet, they're all still pre-sentenced, pre-trial, so there's a lot of optimism still that they can hold.' Although Combs is still awaiting trial and has denied all of the charges, Mangel said hiring a prison consultant like him would be wise to prepare for the worst case scenario. Mangel said if Combs were to be found guilty, the 'safest' place to house a high-profile inmate would be the U.S. penitentiary in Tucson, Az where he would have the 'opportunity to live his life'. Mangel said USP Tucson has a dedicated area for prisoners convicted of sexual offenses that has a higher level of protection. 'If I were consulting him, should he be found guilty, I would be working with his legal team to get him to the best facility based upon his sentence,' Mangel said. 'The strategy is to get him the most amount of freedom as quickly as possible is something that I would want to work with him. But first and foremost, if found guilty, where to get him to a place that he's safe, that his family knows he's safe, so that he can then institute whatever strategies we can put into place for him given those circumstances.' Search for The Trial of Diddy on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts now. March 2, 2025: The Russian navy has about 130 hydrographic research ships. All but fifteen of them are short range vessels for mapping offshore waters no more than a hundred kilometers from the coast. If Russia is involved in another naval war in the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, or the Black Sea and Baltic Sea, the hydrographic research vessels will provide Russian ships with more accurate information about the local weather and the underwater topography. Russia is preparing for future wars after it lost control of the Black Sea to Ukraine, a nation without a fleet. Russias most recent naval war was in the Black Sea and it was a disaster. The Black Sea Fleet was largely destroyed by Ukrainian aerial and naval drones. Ukraine has a miniscule fleet consisting of coastal and riverine patrol boats. What Ukraine does have is imagination and resourcefulness the Russians lack. Ukraine quickly adapted their drones to take on warships and destroyed most of the Black Sea Fleet. The remnants of that fleet fled to distant ports in the Sea of Azov, over a thousand kilometers from Ukraine. Before the Ukrainian War, Vladimir Putin believed that Russia must dominate the Black Sea and enable Russian warships and commercial transports to exit the Black Sea and enter the Mediterranean Sea, to demonstrate Russian naval power and increase maritime trade with foreign nations. Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Before that Russia fought a brief war with Georgia in the Caucasus and gained control of most of Georgias Black Sea coast. These moves were apparently prompted by the 2013 Russian formation of a Mediterranean Squadron from ships of the Black Sea fleet. In 2015 Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war on the side of the pro-Russian Assad government. This enabled Russia to build its Hmeimim Air Base in Syrias Latakia province near the Mediterranean coast. Russia also improved the nearby Tartus naval base it leased from Syria. This serves as a base for ships of the Russian Mediterranean Squadron. In North Africa Russia took control of the Al Jufra Air Base in Libya. This was to serve as a military base for further Russian activities in Africa. In late 2024 Russia lost Hmeimim and Tartus as the Assad clan, long a Russian ally, was driven out of Syria. The Assads found refuge in Russia. The Russian ships left Tartus as the Syrian government cancelled the 49 year Russian lease on Tartus and Hmeimim. This change means Russia no longer has much naval power in the Mediterranean and dares not try to send any ships back into the Black Sea, mainly because Turkey invoked clauses of the 1936 Montreux Convention that enables Turkey to halt warship access to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean via the narrow Turkish Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. Turkey invoked the Montreux Convention after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Russia lost control of the Black Sea after it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Ukraine used drones armed with explosives to destroy or damage over a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet warships. The surviving Russian ships fled to distant areas of the Black Sea to escape these novel but very effective Ukrainian attacks. Even in the new, more distant bases, Black Sea Fleet ships were still attacked by new, longer range Ukrainian naval attack drones. This was humiliating for Russia, which lost control of the Black Sea to Ukraine, a country without a fleet. The Ukrainians continue to use their drones against surviving Russian warships and now commercial ones. Ukrainian drones now block Russian tankers and commercial vessels from leaving or entering the Black Sea. The mighty Soviet Navy, the second largest in the world, fell apart after 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved and the Russian Federation could not afford to provide crews and fuel for its hundreds of ships. In 1991 the Soviet Fleet had over 500 major warships including 109 nuclear subs and nearly as many older nuclear subs retired but still afloat because Russian could not afford to safely scrap them. There were a thousand smaller patrol craft and support ships, most of which could be sold for scrap. The Kommuna escaped this carnage because it was a salvage and rescue ship and in good shape. Less than two decades after the Soviet Union disappeared, the Russian Federation navy had about a hundred major warships in service and what little money there was for buying new ships went to build a dozen or so new nuclear powered SSBN ballistic missile submarines and diesel-electric or nuclear attack submarines. There was still not enough money to send ships to sea for long periods. During the 1990s the navy was forced to retire most of its ships, including nearly 200 nuclear submarines. The nukes were a potential hazard already because some had already sunk off the north coast without regards to what impact the maritime nuclear power plants would have long-term. This prompted Western nations to spend nearly $20 billion in the 1990s to safely decommission the Russian nuclear subs. As of 2025 Russia is depending on its large fleet of hydrographic research vessels to map the waters around Russia so that a new Russian fleet has detailed knowledge of areas where battles might take place. Rising above the humiliation of the Black Sea Fleet defeat is a very high priority. Sixteen passengers and crew on a cruise ship from Sydney have been injured after hitting rough waters on what was supposed to be a peaceful voyage around New Zealand. The cruise ship Crown Princess was in the midst of a two-week round trip when it was slammed by wild winds as the liner changed course near Milford Sound on the south-west of New Zealand's South Island last week. Footage recorded in the ship's kitchen showed the chaos as it began to be bombarded by high seas and listed to one side, sending workers scrambling to find something to cling on to. Kitchen staff then had to brace for the next big lurch as passengers in the cafe and restaurant rooms desperately grabbed onto whatever they could for stability. Phone footage posted to social media showed plates, pots and pans smashing to the ground and food careening across the kitchen floor as the cruise liner endured the brunt of a fierce storm. The swimming pool spilled over each time the ship tilted. 'The tables and chairs went sliding across the room, and a girl went sliding on her chair over towards the pool,' one passenger said. Another passenger said he was 'walking along doing my lap and all of a sudden I realised the boat was on an angle'. SIxteen passengers and crew on a cruise ship from Sydney were injured when they hit rough waters in New Zealand. Damage in the kitchen is pictured The onboard swimming pool (pictured) spilled over each time the ship tilted 'I had to hang on!' he said, appearing more amused than frightened by the experience. In the cruise ship's gift shop, perfume and skincare products flew off the shelves, glass displays fell apart and designer bags were scattered on the ground, 9news reported. Princess Cruises said crew responded quickly to the situation and at no point was the safety of the ship compromised. A former BBC chief has said the Corporation was 'manipulated by terrorists' after the production company behind a Gaza documentary admitted it had paid the family of a senior Hamas official. Danny Cohen, the former controller of BBC1, laid criticism at the Beeb and called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to ensure an independent inquiry is held into the failings of the documentary and the 'wider systemic issues of anti-Israel bias'. It comes after the broadcaster aired a programme called Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone which, it was later revealed, featured a 14-year-old boy named Abdullah, the son of a senior Hamas official. The corporation revealed on Thursday night that the boy's mother was paid by Hoyo Films 'via his sister's bank account' for his involvement in the documentary which, as previously reported, could prompt a counter terror police probe. The revelation prompted a coalition of politicians and campaigners to demand counter-terror police investigate whether licence-fee cash ended up in the bank accounts of terrorists. The Culture Secretary organised an emergency meeting with the BBC's chair, Samir Shah, to discuss the organisation's 'serious failings' and demanded that 'no stone is left unturned' in a fact-finding review ordered by the BBC's Director General. Now, Mr Cohen, former director of BBC Television from 2013 to 2015, has called for an inquiry as he accused the BBC of being 'manipulated by terrorists'. He told the Times: 'Given the scale of the BBC's failings, it feels absolutely appropriate for the culture secretary to ensure this happens. Counter terror police could launch a probe after the production company behind a BBC documentary admitted it had paid the family of a senior Hamas official. In a statement the national broadcaster revealed that the boy's mother had been paid 'via his sister's bank account' for his involvement in the documentary 'The ultimate failing here is by the BBC's leadership. They should not be allowed to just investigate themselves the journalistic failings of this programme are part of a wider system failure at the BBC.' The broadcaster published an apology and documentary and admitted that 'serious flaws' had been identified 'in the making' of the programme. A BBC spokesperson added: 'During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC, about any potential connections he and his family might have with Hamas. 'Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy's father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact. But this has done little to allay outrage as campaigners demand 'arrests' are made if it is found the BBC paid money to terrorists. Lord Ian Austin, a former Labour MP who now sits as an independent peer, told the Daily Mail: 'Surely those who oversaw the making of this program should be sacked for the very serious professional and moral failings. 'The Met must immediately investigate whether the BBC allowed public money to end up in the hands of terrorists. 'There must be an independent enquiry into how this documentary was made and if anyone is found responsible for paying or overseeing the payment of license-fee money to Hamas they should face the full force of the law.' The row over the BBC's documentary, Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, spilled on to the streets of the capital on Tuesday evening as anti-Hamas protesters arrived outside Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London The senior Hamas officials son was featured heavily in the documentary and even narrated it Politicians and campaigners said heads must roll after the corporation admitted 'serious flaws' in the documentary's production. Those under the spotlight include head of BBC current affairs Joanna Carr, along with commissioning editors Gian Quaglieni and Sarah Waldron, who were all directly involved in the programme. Further up the management chain, the highly paid chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, Deborah Turness, also faces questions. Alex Hearn, Co-Director of Labour Against Antisemitism, added: 'Counter terrorism police must now investigate what happened and if necessary arrests should be made. A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'A national treasure has become a national embarrassment. 'The BBC has now admitted that licence fee funds were paid to the family of a senior Hamas official. 'It has not yet been able to rule out that further payments to Hamas were made as it continues to investigate where hundreds of thousands of pounds went. 'Clearly, those responsible must lose their jobs. 'We are among those who have reported the BBC to Counter Terrorism Policing, which is now investigating. Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, has now asked Peter Johnston, the director for editorial complaints and reviews who carried out the investigation into Russell Brand's behaviour, to lead a fact-finding review of the episode. A BBC spokesperson said: 'BBC News has conducted an initial review on the programme "Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone". 'Today the BBC Board was updated on that work. It has identified serious flaws in the making of this programme. Some of these were made by the production company, and some by the BBC; all of them are unacceptable. BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation's reputation. We apologise for this. 'Nothing is more important than the trust that our audiences have in our journalism. This incident has damaged that trust. While the intent of the documentary was aligned with our purpose to tell the story of what is happening around the world, even in the most difficult and dangerous places the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations. 'Although the programme was made by an independent production company, who were commissioned to deliver a fully compliant documentary, the BBC has ultimate editorial responsibility for this programme as broadcast. 'One of the core questions is around the family connections of the young boy who is the narrator of the film. During the production process, the independent production company was asked in writing a number of times by the BBC, about any potential connections he and his family might have with Hamas. 'Since transmission, they have acknowledged that they knew that the boy's father was a Deputy Agriculture Minister in the Hamas Government; they have also acknowledged that they never told the BBC this fact. It was then the BBC's own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired. 'Hoyo Films have told us that they paid the boy's mother, via his sister's bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration. While Hoyo Films have assured us that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift, the BBC is seeking additional assurance around the budget of the programme and will undertake a full audit of expenditure. We are requesting the relevant financial accounts of the production company in order to do that. 'Given the BBC's own failings, the Director-General has asked for complaints on this matter to be expedited to the Executive Complaints Unit, which is separate from BBC News. Alongside this a full fact-finding review will be undertaken; the Director-General has asked Peter Johnston to lead this work. 'Peter Johnston, the Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews, is independent of BBC News and reports directly to the Director-General. He will consider all of the complaints and issues that have been raised. He will determine whether any editorial guidelines have been broken; rapidly address the complaints that have been made; and, enable the BBC to determine whether any disciplinary action is warranted in relation to shortcomings in the making of this programme. This will include issues around the use of language, translation and continuity that have also been raised with the BBC. 'We have no plans to broadcast the programme again in its current form or return it to iPlayer and will make a further assessment once the work of Peter Johnston is complete.' Statement from the BBC Board on Monday said: 'The BBC Board met today. The subject matter of the documentary was clearly a legitimate area to explore, but nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism. While the Board appreciates that mistakes can be made, the mistakes here are significant and damaging to the BBC. 'The Board has required the Executive to report back at the earliest opportunity on the outcomes of the work the Director-General has commissioned.' Israel has backed a US proposal to extend the ceasefire in Gaza through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel accepted the proposal from US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. It said: 'Israel adopts the plan of the US president's envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary truce for the periods of Ramadan due to end in late March and Pesach, the eight-day Jewish Passover to be observed in mid-April.' The first phase of a ceasefire that took effect on January 19 expired on Saturday. A second phase of that deal was supposed to secure the release of dozens of hostages still in Gaza and pave the way for a more permanent end to the war. According to Netanyahu's office, Witkoff tabled this temporary extension as a stopgap after concluding that Israel and Hamas were at a negotiating impasse and could not immediately agree on the terms of a permanent ceasefire. The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas' 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage. On the first day of Witkoff's proposal, half of the hostages held in Gaza - both alive and dead - would be released, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's office said Israel accepted a proposal to extend the ceasefire in Gaza It came from US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff People hold Israeli flags as a convoy carrying the coffins of Shiri, 32, and her two children Kfir, 9 months old, and Ariel, 4, of the Bibas family, who were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz It added that the remaining hostages will also be released after a permanent ceasefire was agreed. Witkoff made the proposal to extend the current ceasefire after realising more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem earlier on Saturday said the group rejected Israel's 'formulation' of extending the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, but did not explicitly mention Witkoff's plan. Netanyahu's office said Israel would immediately conduct negotiations on Witkoff's plan if Hamas agreed to it. 'According to the agreement, Israel can return to fighting after the 42nd day if it feels that the negotiations are ineffective,' Netanyahu's office also said, accusing Hamas of violating the deal. Both sides have been trading accusations of violating the truce. Two Palestinian officials familiar with the negotiation told Reuters that Israel refused to enter the second phase of the agreement or start negotiations about it. Palestinians gather around a fire, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, February 26, 2025 The rubble of destroyed buildings is seen, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, February 26, 2025 Instead, Israel requested an extension of the first phase, conditioned on the handover of a number of alive prisoners and bodies for each week of extension. Hamas, however, rejected and insisted on adhering to the agreement, entering the second phase, and obliging Israel to what was agreed upon. On Saturday, Hamas's armed wing posted a video showing Israeli hostages still in its custody in Gaza and stressed that the remaining hostages can only be freed through a swap deal as stated in the phased ceasefire agreement that began on January 19. Talks about the ceasefire have been ongoing, most recently in Cairo, but have not led to an agreement. A White House correspondent who was previously dragged for her 'inappropriate' work outfits hit out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following his heated exchange with US President Donald Trump. Natalie Winters, the co-host of Steve Bannon's War Room on Rumble, took aim at the Ukrainian leader on Saturday by sharing photos of herself in a short, tight-fitting red dress. 'I really don't care, do you?' she wrote, making an apparent reference to a jacket First Lady Melania Trump wore during her husband's first term when they went to visit immigrant children in Texas with the phrase printed on the back. Winters then tagged the Ukrainian president in her post. It came just one day after Zelensky and Trump got into a shouting match on-camera in the middle of the Oval Office, leaving Ukraine's future in doubt as the country fights for its life. During the tense exchange, Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky did not agree to his peace terms. He also accused Zelensky of not being grateful for the aid the United States has already provided in its war. 'You're gambling with World War III,' Trump bellowed Zelensky at one point. Zelensky held his own, even showing Trump photos he brought of the devastation to his country, and arguing he had thanked the American people. Natalie Winters, the co-host of Steve Bannon 's War Room on Rumble, took aim at the Ukrainian leader on Saturday by sharing photos of herself in a short, tight-fitting red dress 'I really don't care, do you?' Winters captioned her photos, tagging the Ukrainian leader Both men were tense and on the defensive as they repeatedly tried to talk over one another. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., seated to the side in the Oval Office, buried her face in her hands. The U.S. has given billions to the Ukraine for its fight against Russia, and the two world leaders had met to sign a deal that would give the US access to some of Ukraine's rare earth minerals as part of a repayment plan. That trillion dollar deal was not inked, as the meeting dissolved into chaos when Vice President JD Vance suggested Ukraine and Russia agree to a diplomatic solution to end the violence - like a ceasefire. 'I'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country, Mr. President [Zelensky]. Mr. President, with respect. I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,' the vice president said. Zelensky then replied by asking Vance - who last April voted against a package with $61 billion in aid for Ukraine in the Senate - if he had ever been to the war-torn country. At that point, Vance accused the Ukrainian president of bringing dignitaries on a 'propaganda tour.' The comments were a reference to a controversial jacket First Lady Melania Trump wore during her husband's first term The two were visiting migrant children in Texas when the First Lady donned the jacket reading, 'I really don't care, do u?' 'Do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?' Vance berated him. Zelensky tried to respond, but that only got Trump's ire up. 'Don't tell us what we're going to feel, because you're in no position to dictate,' he said. 'You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,' Trump told Zelensky, after last week calling him a 'dictator' and blaming Ukraine for starting the war. 'You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now You're gambling with the lives of millions of people,' he continued. 'You're gambling with World War Three. You're gambling with World War Three, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country this country that's backed to you far more than a lot of people say they should have. 'Have you said thank you once, this entire meeting,' Vance said next in the tag team pile-on. 'You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October,' he noted, characterizing Zelensky's trip to an ammunition factory. I said it a lot of times, the Ukrainian leader shot back. Winters' post came just one day after Zelensky and Trump got into a shouting match on-camera in the middle of the Oval Office , leaving Ukraine 's future in doubt as the country fights for its life As the argument came to an end, Trump seemed to suggest the spectacle served a purpose for him. I think it's good for the American people to see what's going on,' he said. 'I think it's very important. That's why I kept this going so long.' Once the cameras were off, Zelensky was sent to a holding room in the West Wing. He and Trump did not meet again. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who were in the Oval Office meeting, then went and told Zelensky his meetings at the White House were over, a White House official said. The Ukrainian president was later seen walking walk out of the West Wing and slip into his SUV, which drove away under a flood of camera lights. Meanwhile, Trump took to Truth Social to share his thoughts. 'Its amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved,' the president wrote. 'Because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.' Doctors have slammed Labor's $644million promise of 50 more urgent care clinics if it wins the coming election, saying there is no sign they provide 'value for money'. The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) - the peak body for general practitioners - has again raised concerns about one of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's major election ploys. 'We are now seeing more than $1billion will be spent on setting up these clinics, and we still have no sign of an evaluation to show whether they are providing value for money, or helping people keep away from hospital,' RACGP president Dr Michael Wright said on Sunday. 'The urgent care clinic model that has been rolled out in Australia hasn't been properly evaluated, and there have been concerning reports about costs being at least four times higher than GP services.' Dr Wright added that 'without an evaluation of the urgent care clinic model, there is no evidence that it is a solution'. 'We do not support ongoing investment without the evidence that it works,' he said. The Labor government has already opened up 87 of the urgent care clinics during its first term in office, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the 50 extra clinics would take pressure off health costs. 'If you provide more bulk billing doctors in more suburbs and towns, it means less stress for families, and it means less pressure on household budgets,' he told Sky News on Sunday. Doctors have slammed Labor's $644million promise of 50 more urgent care clinics if it wins the coming election, saying there is no sign they provide 'value for money'. Stock image 'When we take that pressure off family budgets, we also take pressure off emergency departments.' But Dr Wright disagreed. 'The best solution to increase access to urgent care and ease pressure on our hospitals is funding existing general practices to expand their current services, including for more after-hours services,' he said. 'This will result in better health outcomes, as people will be able to access urgent care from their usual practice, which has their medical history, and supports their continuity of care.' He said Labor's plan did not make economic sense. 'Spending millions setting up new clinics is not value for taxpayers' money,' he said. 'There are reports that each visit to an urgent care clinic costs approximately $200 per head.' Dr Wright added that, while 'this is cheaper than a visit to a hospital emergency department, it's far more expensive than if the patient is treated by a GP, which for a standard consult costs a little over $42.' Of the 50 new clinics, 14 are expected to be built in NSW, 12 in Victoria, 10 in Queensland, six in Western Australia, three each in South Australia and Tasmania, with the ACT and the Northern Territory also getting an extra facility each. 'This announcement of 50 additional urgent care clinics, if we are re-elected, will provide the urgent care people need - and all you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card,' Mr Albanese said. Anthony Albanese (pictured) says 'if we are re-elected, will provide the urgent care people need - and all you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card' Royal Australian College of GPs president Dr Michael Wright (picture) says 'the best solution to increase access to urgent care ... is funding existing general practices' Dr Wright, though, questioned how the clinics would be staffed. 'Workforce issues must be front of mind at all times,' he said. 'We know that some urgent care clinics are closing due to an inability to find staff. So, given the workforce pressures that already exist, I struggle to see how more urgent care clinics across every state and territory are going to find available and willing staff. 'The RACGP remains concerned these new clinics will capture our limited general practice workforce away from regular GP clinics, where they are needed most.' 'The concept sounds great in theory, but these clinics can create confusion for the public, and, concerningly, can disrupt the care people usually receive from a regular GP who knows them. 'This means that care becomes fragmented, as the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.' Around 6,000 people could lose their jobs as Czech car making giant Skoda is set to make drastic cuts to keep up with an expensive electric vehicle rollout. The car manufacturer hopes to boost their electrical vehicles sales by eight per cent, amid a global drop in demand. The costly roll out of electric cars could see penny-pinching across the business, with up to 15 per cent of their 41,000 employees globally out of jobs. A worldwide lack of demand has hit the electrical vehicle industry and in November the boss of Ford's UK arm warned that Britain's car industry is in crisis because of insufficient demand. But Skoda is looking to continue its 'electric evolution' by selling a fully electric Octavia compact hatchback. The Czech manufacturer already boasts a fleet of fully electric vehicles, including the Enyaq and Enyaq Coupe SUVs, and Elroq crossover. Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer told Automobilwoche, a German automotive newspaper, that job cuts will occur because of natural fluctuation. He said it would 'do Skoda good' to introduce another battery electric vehicle and the Octavia could be a top seller. Around 6,000 people could lose their jobs as Czech car making giant Skoda makes drastic cuts to keep up with an expensive electric vehicle rollout The car manufacturer hopes to boost their electrical vehicles sales by eight per cent, amid a global drop in demand Skoda is looking to continue its 'electric evolution' by selling a fully electric Octavia compact hatchback A Skoda Auto spokesperson told MailOnline: 'The company has been continuously managing personnel levels to maintain needed competitiveness of our plants in the Czech Republic, for many years. 'Part of this is the program we communicated last year for reducing indirect staff by 15 percent by 2028 by utilising natural demographic turnover.' News of the potential job losses come days after an Audi mega factory in Belgium closed, as tanking demand for electric vehicles saw 3,000 jobs cut. The closing Audi factory in Brussels was billed as the 'cradle' of the German carmaker's electric drive. Audi first said it would restructure the plant in July, with suggestions that it was considering an early end to production there sparking huge protests in the following months. Audi said a global fall in demand for high-end electric SUVs had tanked demand for its Q8 e-tron, to which the site was exclusively dedicated. Production boss Gerd Walker said the closure was 'painful' and it was the 'toughest decision' he has made in his career. In the UK a Renault and Dacia showroom in Doncaster will shut. And in November, Luton's 120-year-old Vauxhall factory announced plans to close, with Stellantis blaming government EV sales targets for the decision to shutter the factory. The same month, Lisa Brankin, the chairman and managing director of Ford UK, called for the government to urgently introduce 'incentives' such as tax breaks to convince drivers to switch away from petrol and diesel. In November, Luton's 120-year-old Vauxhall factory announced plans to close She said Ford has invested 'significantly' in the production and development of EVs, with 'well over' 350million invested around electrification in the UK, adding: 'So we kind of need to make it work.' Although electric vehicle sales have slumped, the cars are more reliable than traditional cars and vans with petrol and diesel engines, researchers from the University of Birmingham and the London School of Economics found. Their analysis found that battery electric vehicles not only had a lower likelihood of failure, but also a comparable lifespan to traditional cars and vans. Scottish university students were caught using artificial intelligence to cheat in assessments in more than 1,000 academic misconduct cases last year. The shocking figures released by Scottish universities show a 700 per cent rise in the use of AI from 131 incidents in 2022-23 to 1,051 in 2023-24, fuelling growing concerns about the technology. Scottish Conservative education spokesman Miles Briggs, who obtained the data through freedom of information laws, said the trend was hugely worrying and warned that it was likely to be the tip of the iceberg. While AI can make universities more efficient by tackling administrative tasks in a fraction of the time it would take hard-pressed staff, there are concerns about students using the likes of ChatGPT for plagiarism. Abertay University in Dundee introduced unacceptable AI use as a misconduct category in 2023 and last year upheld 342 complaints. Stirling University, which also added a specific AI category to its procedures ahead of 2023-24, has since upheld 200 complaints. Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, dealt with 116 incidents in 2023-24 and 113 cases were upheld at Glasgow Caledonian. The University of Glasgow had 130 reports last year, with 86 resulting in a penalty, although these cases were not necessarily due to AI misuse alone. The shocking figures released by Scottish universities show a 700 per cent rise in the use of AI from 131 incidents in 2022-23 to 1,051 in 2023-24 (Stock Image) While AI can help universities by tackling administrative tasks in a fraction of the time it would take hard-pressed staff, there are concerns about students using it for plagiarism (File image) Some Scottish universities such as Stirling University, have added a specific AI category to its procedures ahead of 2023-24 (File image) At the University of Edinburgh, 78 students were penalised for academic misconduct involving the misuse of AI last year. Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh upheld 42 cases last year, while there were 38 at the University of St Andrews, 21 at the University of Aberdeen, eight at Strathclyde University and seven at the University of the Highlands and Islands. Napier University in Edinburgh said it had no recordings of AI incidents in the academic years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24, while Queen Margaret University in the capital and Dundee University both said they dont distinguish AI misconduct from other disciplinary cases. Mr Briggs, a Lothian MSP, told The Scotsman: These figures show AI is tearing through universities and causing a significant headache for lecturers. The fact that more than 1,000 cases have been investigated and proven in the space of a year is hugely worrying, and likely only the tip of the iceberg. AI is obviously here to stay and we have to live with it, but universities need support in tackling what is effectively cheating. If Scottish universities are seen as vulnerable to students using AI to replace thinking or hard work of their own, it will be hugely damaging for the sectors reputation internationally. Scottish Conservative education spokesman Miles Briggs (pictured) said 'AI is tearing through universities and causing a significant headache for lecturers' Concerns have been raised over the impact the use of AI in Scottish universities, and what it could mean for their international reputation (File image) A recent focus group for the Scottish Qualifications Authority found that many teachers and lecturers believed there needed to be an overhaul of assessments in schools and colleges as a result of the rise of AI. A survey of 1,000 undergraduates at British universities indicated that there had been an explosive increase in the use of generative AI in the last year, with 88 per cent of respondents saying they used tools such as ChatGPT for their assessments, up from 53 per cent in the previous 12 months. A spokesman for Universities Scotland said: Universities will always take cases of academic misconduct seriously in line with their own codes of practice, and this includes students who utilise AI inappropriately to complete their assignments. The use of AI offers both risks and opportunities to universities, and institutions should embrace change as students begin to reach for AI, while recognising it can be prone to errors, should only be used appropriately, and should not be solely relied on for information. The world's tallest roller coaster has met its dramatic end in a controlled implosion after nearly 20 years of operation, marking the conclusion of a resilient ride that stood tall despite its troubled history of mechanical issues and occasional lawsuits. Kingda Ka, the world-famous roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, has officially died early Friday morning after a controlled implosion turned the tallest and second-fastest coaster on Earth into a fragmented pile of steel. Brian Bacica, the park president, referred to the demise of the self-proclaimed 'King of Coasters' as a 'change important to our growth and dedication to delivering exceptional new experiences,' People reported. The beloved steel-structure succumbed to several explosions and crumbled into a pile of memories surrounded by a cloud of smoke, marking the end of an era for thrill-seekers across the globe. 'It's one of the first things you see when you drive in. Before you even get to the park you can see it,' Matt Kaiser, the American Coaster Enthusiasts regional representative told Phillyburbs.com. 'It brings in people from all over the world. It's iconic.' The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office shared a warning on Thursday, informing residents in the Jackson Township community that they may hear 'a series of rapid explosions.' 'The noises may be startling, but please don't be alarmed,' the warning read. 'Keep pets indoors if they are sensitive to loud sounds. If you or someone you know is affected by loud noises, take necessary precautions.' Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, has officially died early Friday morning after a controlled implosion It's death marked the conclusion of a resilient ride that stood tall for nearly 20-years of operation, despite its troubled history of mechanical issues and occasional lawsuits The beloved steel-structure succumbed to several explosions and crumbled into a pile of memories surrounded by a cloud of smoke The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office shared a warning the day before demolition, informing residents in the Jackson Township community that they may hear 'a series of rapid explosions' Just before 7am Friday morning, an ear-piercing horn blared out loud enough to be heard from the theme park's parking lot to drivers along Route 537. Park-goers and locals looked upwards towards the towering green arch of the coaster as it appeared to stand with the clouds, reflecting sunlight from above. In a matter of a second, a thunderous-sounding boom claimed the life of Kingda Ka just two months shy of its 20th birthday. Shocking aerial footage captured the moment multiple explosions at the base of the coaster triggered its backwards collapse, sending it crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust as it shattered into thousands of green-steel pieces. 'It's hard to overstate how much this ride meant to me as a kid growing up in New Jersey. I was 11 years old when Kingda Ka first opened, and 30 when I rode it one last time on its final day,' John Wiley, a Glen Ridge resident, told Phillyburbs.com. 'It represented a level of ambition in engineering and scale that few parks in this part of the world can stomach anymore,' he added. 'I hope that whatever replaces it lives up to that legacy.' Kingda Ka was born back in 2005 during the midst of a decades-long battle between theme parks across the country, as each park attempted to break records with the development of the 'next best thing' in thrill rides. Kingda Ka was born back in 2005 during the midst of a decades-long battle between theme parks across the country, as each park attempted to break records with the development of the 'next best thing' in thrill rides Riders were catapulted up to speeds of 128mph before reaching the thrilling 456-foot tall drop. If you were brave enough to open your eyes, you were able to take in the acres of suburban New Jersey that surround the park Shocking aerial footage captured the moment multiple explosions at the base of the coaster triggered its backwards collapse, sending it crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust as it shattered into thousands of green-steel pieces The very last piece of track was finalized in January of 2005 and from that point on, adrenaline-junkies were strapped into a bright-orange shoulder harness as they anxiously awaited the 30 seconds of complete thrill 'That was the age of giant rides. They were trying to go bigger, better and faster,' Dave Hahner, a historian with American Coaster Enthusiasts, told the outlet. 'There were no limits to the records they would try to break, and Kingda Ka was the pinnacle of that.' The very last piece of track was finalized in January of 2005. From that point on, adrenaline-junkies were strapped into a bright-orange shoulder harness as they anxiously awaited the 30 seconds of complete thrill. As the coaster sat on its neon-green track awaiting take-off, riders were reminded to keep their 'arms down, head back' and of course, 'hold on.' In what felt like an eternity - but was really only 10 seconds - the coaster would slowly reverse a few feet before an electrical-sounding hiss would notify riders that the launch system was ready to go. A second later, riders were catapulted up to speeds of 128mph before reaching the thrilling 456-foot tall drop. If you were brave enough to open your eyes, you were able to take in the acres of suburban New Jersey that surround the park. 'The launch felt like it was forever,' Christine Shenkman, a Brick resident, told Phillyburbs.com. 'But when the train hit full speed and headed up, my mind wondered, "where is the top of this thing? Are we going to space?"' In a matter of a second, a thunderous-sounding boom claimed the life of Kingda Ka just before 7am Friday morning - two months shy of the ride's 20th birthday Riders were hit with a smaller, 129-foot hill upon their descent back to Earth. Then, the telltale hiss sound would erupt, letting the thrill-seekers know that the ride had come to an end Despite its resilience, the iconic coaster faced nearly 20-years of troubles - mechanical issues that would close the attraction for months at a time, several lawsuits and even being hit by a lightning strike Riders were hit with a smaller, 129-foot hill upon their descent back to Earth. Then, the telltale hiss sound would erupt, letting the thrill-seekers know that the ride had come to an end. 'And just like that, we were back at the station and unloading - but forever changed,' Shenkman added. Kingda Ka proved to be its own separate beast, attracting millions of ride-lovers from all over the world to travel to the northeastern state to get a 30-second taste of pure adrenaline. 'Overnight, Great Adventure became a worldwide destination. New Jersey was at the center of the amusement park of the world,' Wiley said. 'Most coaster fans would agree it was a flawed ride and, clearly, the economics weren't working,' he added. 'But it's launch was unlike anything else.' Despite its resilience, the iconic coaster faced nearly 20-years of troubles - mechanical issues that would close the attraction for months at a time, several lawsuits and even being hit by a lightning strike. After Six Flags and Cedar Fair merged last year, executives determined that Kingda Ka was the most problematic ride in the park - noting how its launch system became unreliable and therefore, made the ride too expensive to maintain. 'They wanted to push the envelope. They wanted a record-breaker at Great Adventure,' Hahner told the outlet. 'But there are a lot of technical problems, a lot of repairs and, of course, they have to make it safe,' he added. 'And unfortunately, there were a couple of incidents involving these types of rides.' In 2019, Dr. Christopher Fabricant, a physician of Red Bank, filed a lawsuit claiming the coaster risked 'whiplash type injuries,' after his experience led to spinal injuries, Phillyburbs.com reported. Fabricant claimed that during a ride on Kingda Ka, he suffered 'severe and permanent damage to his neck and spine.' The lawsuit also claimed that employees never warned the doctor, who is six-foot-two, that a person his size 'was not a candidate for safely riding.' The document also alleged that the safety harness can cause 'crushing injuries.' More recently, a Cedar Point theme park guest in Ohio filed a lawsuit after a metal bracket that fell off a similarly designed ride to Kingda Ka struck her in the head, leading to traumatic brain injury. Brian Bacica, the park president, referred to the demise of the self-proclaimed 'King of Coasters' as a 'change important to our growth and dedication to delivering exceptional new experiences' Although the name of the ride replacing the world's tallest roller coaster in 2026 has yet to be announced, it is said to be just as thrilling After Six Flags and Cedar Fair merged last year, executives determined that Kingda Ka was the most problematic ride in the park - noting how its launch system became unreliable and therefore, made the ride too expensive to maintain In 2019, Dr. Christopher Fabricant, a physician of Red Bank, filed a lawsuit claiming the coaster risked 'whiplash type injuries,' after his experience led to spinal injuries The case was settled last year, according to Cleveland.com. The woman required $10 million in lifelong care. Kingda Ka's demolition was announced last November as part of the corporation's $1 billion investment into its theme parks, People reported. 'We understand that saying goodbye to beloved rides can be difficult and we appreciate our guests' passion,' the president said at the time of the announcement. Although the name of the ride replacing the world's tallest roller coaster in 2026 has yet to be announced, it is said to be just as thrilling. According to Bacica, an 'all-new, multi-record-breaking launch coaster' that will be a 'must-ride attraction sure to capture fans' imaginations' will eventually take Kingda Ka's place. A psychologist was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a convicted murderer in prison. The 31-year-old professional is said to have been caught with the inmate during therapy sessions at HM Prison Swinfen Hall in Staffordshire. She has also been investigated over allegations that she smuggled drugs and phones into the site, which houses more than 600 inmates. The forensic psychologist contractor has been accused of committing misconduct in public office, The Sun reports. The inmate in question was just 19 when found guilty of murder in 2022. The 31-year-old professional is said to have been caught having intercourse with the inmate during therapy sessions at HM Prison Swinfen Hall in Staffordshire She has also been investigated over allegations that she smuggled drugs and phones into the site, which houses houses more than 600 inmates. Pictured: HM Prison Swinfen Hall He and a friend were sentenced to life imprisonment and told they must each serve a minimum of 25 years and six months The two got sentences of 21 years for attempted murder and eight years for causing grievous bodily harm with intent. These were to run concurrently. Police launched a murder investigation in 2020 after a 23-year-old was fatally stabbed at a shopping centre in Harrow, North West London. Officers identified the duo after they found evidence which included a lock knife and a machete sheath. Prison sources told the newspaper jail workers found guilty of inappropriate relationships with prisoners can be locked up themselves. A Prison Service spokesperson told the newspaper 'A third-party contractor working at HMP Swinfen Hall was arrested in November last year. 'It would be inappropriate to comment further due to ongoing investigations.' MailOnline has approached the police for comment. This is the startling moment a freak earthquake sent Australia's north-east into convulsions and left shocked residents 'scared' and confused amid the rare seismic activity. Geosciences Australia said it detected the earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 shortly after 9.30pm, with the North Queensland city of Townsville seemingly the hardest hit. Thousands of Queenslander reported experiencing the quake across a massive stretch of the country's northern coastline, with tremors felt from the harbour city of Mackay to tropical Cairns more than 600km away. At least 4,000 homes lost power as the seismic waves rippled across the state but, fortunately, no significant damage or injuries were reported. Nevertheless, the unusual earthquake, which struck at a depth of 10km, left many residents feeling uneasy. 'Such a strange feeling to suddenly have this weird force racing beneath you, making your home shudder, and then some kind of explosion,' one wrote online. 'We went outside, not sure what had happened and neighbours were out there too.' 'A really weird feeling, the house and ground shaking. Loud sound around and above us,' another said. An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 was reported shortly after 9.30pm in Townsville British business executive Brenn Clinton said his daughter, who was holidaying in Townsville, was forced to evacuate her hotel amid the rumble. 'My daughter's just FaceTimed, she's just been evacuated from her hotel due to an earthquake, in North Australia, [which has] never experienced at earthquake before,' he said. Footage shared of the shake showed several homes being rattled by the event. In one clip, a young woman had just left her home when the earthquake hit. Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Dr Phil Cummins told the ABC the epicentre was between 20km and 30km southwest of Townsville. He also addressed the 'explosion' noises those close to the epicentre reported. 'If you're very close to the earthquake, the seismic waves are very impulsive, they arrive very quickly, altogether in one big burst and there's a lot of high frequency energy,' Dr Cummins said. 'Once the waves propagate a certain distance, they tend to get more spread out and have lower frequencies, there's more of a rolling, maybe rumbling motion.' The town's disaster management centre - which has already faced flooding and a cyclone this year - worked until midnight but did not declare an emergency. A young woman is seen leaving her home shortly before the earthquake Townsville City Council acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said the disaster management centre worked until midnight but did not go into emergency management. 'For me and I'm sure everyone else in the community, it took everyone by surprise,' Townsville City Council acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said. 'Certainly not what we were expecting on a Saturday night, following a massive rain event two weeks ago.' Those in need of assistance were instructed to contact their local authorities. Plans to give staff the right to ignore bosses' messages outside of working hours are set to be dropped by the government this week. The proposal to grant workers a 'right to switch off' formed a central part of Sir Keir Starmer's manifesto vow to establish a 'new deal for working people'. But the policy will be scrapped to reduce the impact on businesses that are preparing for tax increases starting next month as a result of Rachel Reeves's Budget last autumn. Labour had vowed to copy countries such as Belgium, Ireland, and France which allow workers to avoid emails, texts and phone calls received out of hours, without fear of reprisals. They wanted to introduce the policy following the surge in home-working to prevent Brits' homes becoming '24/7 offices'. However, on Tuesday ministers will confirm that the policy has been dropped from the Employment Rights Bill when they table a series of amendments. While it did not appear in the bill going through parliament, the government had committed to implementing it in the future. The decision has been taken by Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves over concerns the provision would have been too much of a burden on businesses. The proposal to grant workers a 'right to switch off' formed a central part of Sir Keir Starmer's manifesto vow to establish a 'new deal for working people' Businesses are preparing for tax increases starting next month as a result of Rachel Reeves's budget last autumn Ms Reeves is seeking to boost business confidence and economic growth after her tax-raiding budget in October triggered a collapse in businesses' confidence in Britain. A government source told The Times: 'The right to switch off is dead. We have to lower business compliance costs as much as possible. 'Growth that puts money in people's pockets is the number-one priority of this government's "plan for change". That means making Britain the best country in the world in which to do business and a key part of that is removing unnecessary barriers.' Labour's 'New Deal for Working People' being pushed by Deputy PM Angela Rayner while in opposition had already received criticism, with businesses warning against burdening firms with more red tape and stunting economic growth. The original concept had already been rebranded as 'Labour's plan to make work pay' in May and reworded a commitment on ending zero-hours contracts to ending 'exploitative' zero-hours contracts. Ms Rayner has agreed to the move, although it is unclear how supportive she is. Other changes to the bill include a 'lighter touch' approach towards probation periods another concession to business leaders. The government will also signal a preference to set probation periods at nine months rather than the six demanded by union leaders. Labour's 'New Deal for Working People' being pushed by Deputy PM Angela Rayner while in opposition had already received criticism Rises in the National Minimum Wage and Employer National Insurance contributions next month will squeeze the finances of all companies (file photo) Probation is viewed by employers as a vital protection that allows businesses to hire staff while knowing they can be easily dismissed if they are unable to deliver. More than 850 companies responded to a consultation last Autumn about Government proposals on changing workers rights but major changes are not expected to be introduced until autumn 2026. Rises in the National Minimum Wage and Employer National Insurance contributions next month will squeeze the finances of all companies. But many of Labour's landmark employment reforms will still be going ahead. Zero-hour contracts will be limited and the introduction of day-one protection against unfair dismissal will remain in place as currently staff can only bring Employment Tribunal claims after two years. Entitlement to bereavement leave, paternity leave and parental leave from day one in a job will also be be introduced. A government source added: 'It's important that our changes to the Employment Rights Bill work for businesses.' MailOnline has contacted Labour for comment. The United States will deploy nearly 3,000 additional troops to its border with Mexico, bringing the total number of active-duty personnel there to around 9,000, the US military said on Saturday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission, the Pentagon said. The forces will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks. Border security is a key priority for President Donald Trump, who declared a national emergency at the US frontier with Mexico on his first day in office. The new troops will 'reinforce and expand current border security operations to seal the border and protect the territorial integrity of the United States,' the Pentagon said. The Stryker unit 'will not conduct or be involved in interdiction or deportation operations,' it said, but rather will assist in detection and monitoring, administrative duties and transportation and engineering support, among other tasks. The Strykers are medium-armored wheeled personnel carriers carrying up to 11 soldiers and typically equipped with a machine gun or grenade launcher. They have been used in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan reports The Washington Post. The vehicles will likely be moved to the border by rail and truck and will initially be sent to Arizona. The United States will deploy nearly 3,000 additional troops to its border with Mexico bringing the total number of active-duty personnel there to around 9,000, the US military said Saturday The forces will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks Trump's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has ordered elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission, the Pentagon announced Troops from the aviation unit will meanwhile 'assist in the movement of personnel, equipment, and supplies; and provide aerial medical evacuation capabilities,' NORTHCOM explained. 'These deployments will bring additional agility and capability to further efforts to stop the flow of illegal migrancy and drugs at the southern border,' its commander, General Gregory Guillot said. The deployment is said to have been planned since January. 'Approximately 2,400 soldiers from elements of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 4th Infantry Division in Colorado' will be sent to the border, along with 'approximately 500 soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade,' US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) said in a statement. The 9,000 troops at the southern border, include 4,200 deployed under federal orders and about 5,000 National Guard troops under the control of governors. President Trump is determined to expand the military's role in his effort to shut down the border and send detained migrants back to their home countries. The administration launched what it cast as a major effort to combat illegal migration that has included immigration raids, arrests and deportations. Trump on Saturday hailed his administration's border security efforts, posting on his Truth Social platform that 'the Invasion of our Country is OVER.' 'Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants. Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation,' the president wrote. Members of the National Guard and state police take part in 'Operation Northern Border' in the vicinity of the Rio Bravo in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The operation has resulted in 746 arrests and 11,861 kilos of drugs seized, in addition to the discovery of border tunnels Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with an Army soldier while visiting the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park,, New Mexico last month The Strykers have been used in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, pictured above in a 2014 photo The vehicles will likely be moved to the border by rail and truck and will initially be sent to Arizona In a post to his Truth Social page, Trump said that in the last month his administration had recorded the lowest number of immigrants trying to enter the country ever. Trump said in total there was 8,326 apprehensions by Border Patrol at the Southern Border. He added that these people 'were quickly ejected from our Nation or, when necessary prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America.' Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth visited the southern frontier at the beginning of last month, stressing how 'all options are on the table' and vowing that 'we are going to get control of this border.' He warned drug cartels that 'all options are on the table,' after Trump signed an executive order in January that said they 'constitute a national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.' Hegseth also said that 'any assets necessary' from the Defense Department will be used to support 'the expulsion and detention of those in our country illegally,' including the US base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. In a post to his Truth Social page, Trump said that in the last month his administration had recorded the lowest number of immigrants trying to enter the country ever Trump unveiled a surprise plan last month to hold up to 30,000 migrants at the base -- a facility notorious for abuses against terror suspects detained after the September 11, 2001 attacks. US forces have held dozens of people there in recent weeks, many of whom have since been deported. During Trump's first term around 8,000 troops were sent to the border but their role was largely to string up miles and miles of razor wire while providing other logistical support to CBP. Military personnel have been sent to the border almost continuously since the 1990s to help address migration, drug trafficking and transnational crime. An embattled celebrity pastor is facing even more allegations that he sexually assaulted men as he accuses one of his alleged victims of trying to defame him. TD Jakes, 67, the senior pastor of Dallas megachurch The Potter's House, filed a defamation lawsuit against Duane Youngblood, 58, for claiming on a podcast last year that the megachurch leader tried to corner him and involuntary kiss him more than 40 years ago. But now others, including Youngblood's brother Richard, are coming forward with their own allegations that Jakes sexually assaulted them as Youngblood seeks to get the suit dismissed. Among those who filed affidavits in support of Youngblood are Timothy Anderson, 57, of Florida. He claims that he shared a room with Youngblood when they both attended a conference Jakes was hosting in 1996. Anderson said Jakes had just asked him to move to Dallas to serve as a youth pastor, and he shared that request with Youngblood - whom he knew through the Higher Ground Always Abounding Organization, where he served as a youth evangelist for about four years. But during the conference, Youngblood warned him to be careful of unwanted advances from Jakes as he shared what he allegedly experienced, according to the affidavit obtained by the Christian Post. Still, Anderson said the chance to work for Jakes felt like the opportunity of a lifetime and he launched at the opportunity, even though he would make one-third of the salary he was netting as an evangelist. TD Jakes, 67, the senior pastor of Dallas megachurch The Potter's House, has been hit with even more allegations that he sexually assaulted men He explained that Jakes also promised he would be able to supplement his income by taking on assignments outside of his youth pastor duties. 'I arrived in Dallas, eager to work alongside Bishop Jakes and excited about the future,' Anderson said in the affidavit. 'However, my first encounter with him in his new mansion, when I was tasked with assembling furniture, set the tone for a new kind of discomfort. 'While I had hoped to discuss ministry with him, to learn from him as a mentor, something unexpected happened. At one point, he went into the bathroom and when he returned, passed by me naked,' Anderson claimed. 'I was stunned. I turned away, trying to downplay the situation in my mind. This was Bishop Jakes after all - this opportunity was a dream come true, or at least, that's what I kept telling myself. 'I didn't want to make things awkward. I didn't want to be seen as homophobic or judgmental. I told myself that I couldn't let a single uncomfortable moment ruin this chance to learn from one of the greatest preachers of my generation.' But more and more uncomfortable situations arose, until one day Jakes tried to kiss him, Anderson alleged. He recounted how he was offered an opportunity in Japan, but Jakes allegedly told him he couldn't go because it would interfere with his duties at The Potter's House. He filed a defamation lawsuit against Duane Youngblood, 58, for claiming on a podcast last year that the megachurch leader tried to corner him and involuntary kiss him more than 40 years ago Duane (right) is now trying to get the case dismissed, as his brother, Richard (left) wrote an affidavit alleging Jakes tried to sexually assault him too Anderson said that when he reminded the bishop that he agreed to let him supplement his income with other preaching assignments, Jakes made it clear he needed to choose between working as a youth pastor or going back to being an evangelist. The choice was so overwhelming, Anderson said he began to cry. 'I knew from my past experiences - experiences that have caused so much pain - that this wasn't just a decision about ministry or a job. It was about power, control and manipulation,' he wrote in the affidavit. 'The more I thought about it, the more I broke down emotionally. 'I paced his office trying to make sense of everything, trying to breathe through the overwhelming sadness. As I walked back and forth trying to process what was happening, Bishop Jakes stood up, grabbed a box of tissues and walked toward me. 'His words were cold, calculated: "It sounds like you have a decision to make." 'And then, in a move that left me paralyzed with confusion, he grabbed me and tried to kiss me,' he alleged. 'My mind was racing. Jakes, seen with Steve Harvey in 2009, claimed the allegations of him sexually assaulting the brothers decades ago were an attempt at extorting him and defamatory 'Emotionally distraught, I pushed him away and tried to regain some control over my emotions.' But Anderson said he continued to cry, hoping that Jakes would show him compassion - something he says never came. 'The tissues were placed in front of me like a symbol of my brokenness and I told him how much I loved him, how difficult this decision was for me. I was trying to hold onto whatever shred of dignity I had left. 'But his response was chilling. He reminded me again that it was his ministry, his leadership and that if he gave me what I wanted - my chance to go to Japan - then I wouldn't understand the principles of authority.' Two weeks later, though, Anderson said he made the 'difficult decision to return to evangelism.' Richard had claimed the megachurch pastor preyed upon him when they shared a hotel room Dustin Pusch, an attorney representing Jakes, denied the claims as he branded Anderson a 'unreliable ally' of the Youngbloods. 'In a desperate attempt to avoid accountability for his knowingly false accusations and to distract from his reprehensible conduct, Mr. Youngblood has enlisted felons, family members and other completely unreliable allies to lob yet more false accusations at Mr. Jakes,' he said in a statement to the Dallas Morning News. Duane's brother, Richard, had also claimed that Jakes sexually assaulted him once when they were sharing a hotel room. '[Jakes] secured a room with two beds in it, and we went to the room for the night. That night, while I was laying in my bed, I felt Elder Jakes climb into my bed,' Richard alleged. 'He pressed his body against mine and asked, 'Youngblood, do you feel that?' He was referencing his erection that he was pressing against my backside. 'I got up out of bed in complete shock as he also [got] up from the opposite side and met me. He grabbed me by my arms and pulled me to him and started trying to kiss me. At this point, I cannot believe what is happening to me.' Both men are now supporting Duane Youngblood against Jakes' claims that he defamed the pastor when he spoke out in an October podcast interview with Larry Reid that Jakes assaulted him when he was 18 or 19 years old. He claimed that the attack came after he had been speaking with Jakes for around two hours at the home of an elderly female clergywoman, when Jakes then tried to kiss him. Jakes said the allegations have caused his wife of 43 years pain The next morning, Youngblood claimed Jakes called his home and, while 'sitting in a bathtub', intimated that he wanted a relationship. 'He says to me, without any hesitation, "there's three things I need you to do. The first one is, when I come to Pittsburgh, you're going to be the only person I sleep with,"' Youngblood claimed to Reid. 'The second one is, you can't sleep with anybody else because I don't want to give my wife anything. And thirdly, I will take care of you the rest of your life.'' 'I got up out of bed in complete shock as he also [got] up from the opposite side and met me. He grabbed me by my arms and pulled me to him and started trying to kiss me. At this point, I cannot believe what is happening to me.' Jakes denied the initial allegations that gave rise to his defamation claim and those of the brothers. He branded their claims a 'campaign of lies' and said the brothers were trying to extort $6 million from him, and insisted he has never 'harbored carnal desires for these men.' 'The pain it has caused my wife of 43 years and my five children, whom I have always loved, nurtured, and provided for, is simply too much to bear,' the bishop claimed. 'Every person has a breaking point. I have reached mine. I authorized this lawsuit because I can no longer remain silent.' Jakes, seen with radio host Charlamagne Tha God, said in an affidavit that he 'never tried to corner, grab, or kiss any teenagers' The pastor had also claimed that Richard is just seeking revenge for not supporting his younger brother when he was being prosecuted for sex crimes - an allegation Richard denies. 'I never wavered in my account of the incident in the EconoLodge in Westover, WV' he claims. 'The fact that I shared what happened with a church elder immediately after the incident... shows that I was not fabricating this decades later for personal gain. 'If my intentions were deceitful, why would I have confided in others at that time.' A paedophile who moved to the UK after his conviction has been allowed to stay in the country after a judge ruled blocking him would violate his human rights. The 44-year-old criminal, named only as OS, was convicted for a sex attack on a girl aged under 16 in 2009. He served three years in a US jail before being deported to Jamaica in the Caribbean. But following his deportation, the convicted paedophile continued to pursue young girls, according to The Sun, and ultimately married a girl who he met when she was just 15. The Home Office said 'it is in the public interest' for criminals to be removed from the United Kingdom The pair had a baby when the girl was 24 before she moved to Britain in 2015 without him. Now, a judge has ruled that OS can join the woman and his child in the United Kingdom - because blocking the paedophile from living with his family would violate his human rights. OS had initially failed to disclose his conviction for sex abuse against a child but later confessed and won an appeal thanks to the European Convention on Human Rights. Senior Tory MP Sir Alex Shelbrooke said the Government 'must address the ECHR'. The Home Office commented: 'We remain resolute in ensuring there are no barriers to deport foreign criminals, as it is in the public interest for them to be removed swiftly.' Forget the mighty Big Mac - McDonald's has an even bigger beef on its hands after the irate residents of one of the country's poshest suburbs launched legal action against the fast food giant. Annoyed locals in Kew, in Melbourne's inner-east, have taken the burger chain to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a bid to prevent it opening a 24-hour drive-through in their high-end neighbourhood. Although the restaurant has been operating at its High Street location in Kew for 30 years, its trade has been restricted between 1am and 6am. The local City of Boroondara council knocked back McDonald's requests to extend its hours in both 2008 and 2011 amid objections from locals, who fear the ever-present smell of frying oil and noise created by late-night customers will ruin the suburb. All that changed last May when the council granted an amendment to the outlet's planning permit allowing it to operate during that five-hour window as a driving-through-only restaurant. Neighbouring residents, who share a fence with McDonalds, have objected to the additional hours and lodged an appeal with VCAT, raising a string of concerns about noise, odour, litter and safety. Maria Koci told Melbourne newspaper The Age that she could already hear every order being placed in the drive-through from inside her bedroom, including responses from employees confirming a customers request. While she said she had come to terms with that annoyance, she feared there would be no respite from hearing hungry motorists' orders if the outlet was to extend its drive-through hours 24/7. The popular fast food restaurant has been operating at the location High street location for 30 years and are restricted between 1am and 6am Neighbouring residents, who share a fence with McDonalds, have objected to the additional hours and lodged an appeal with VCAT, raising a string of concerns about noise, odour, litter and safety 'As much as it can be a little bit frustrating [at the moment], there is an end to it,' Ms Koci said. 'You adjust your life around what is ... [but] now, theres going to be no reprieve.' Ms Koci said fellow residents, who moved in after the outlet opened, were already forced to keep their windows shut during the day because the ever-present smell of burgers and fries cooking. 'Look, its not one of those smells where you go, "Oh, Im going to be sick", but its not nice either,' she said. At a VCAT hearing this month, barristers representing both McDonalds and the residents argued over whether the change to the operating hours should proceed. McDonalds is arguing that the extension of its trading hours is appropriate because the area in Kew was rezoned from residential to commercial in 2017. Barrister Susan Brennan, SC, representing McDonalds, added that none of the residents had previously raised any formal complaints about the smell from the restaurant. The McDonalds drive-through in Kew is surrounded by houses McDonalds is seeking an amendment to allow it to operate 24/7 'One has to ask whether the problems are truly as bad as being suggested if the smell of the food has never been raised,' she said. However, Barrister Alex Gelber, representing the residents, said a proper balance had already been struck between the two parties wishes with the 1am closing time and that the status quo should be retained. 'If the tribunal finds the McDonalds is inflicting unacceptable amenity, the tribunal ought not to extend that further into the night,' he said. The matter will return for further hearings later this year. Millions of Aussies are bracing for severe gale-force winds, daily rainfall totals of up to 600mm, major flooding and huge tides with Tropical Cyclone Alfred set to make landfall within days. New modelling has predicted the cyclone is expected to hit Brisbane on Thursday as it slams ashore and creates havoc in south-east Queensland and north-east NSW. Premier David Crisafulli has warned residents in the region to prepare for the worst and do 'everything they can' to stock up on supplies before the cyclone makes landfall. The category two system is expected to make landfall between Bundaberg in Queensland and northern NSW but the weather bureau says it's hard to pinpoint exactly when or where it will cross the coast. Thomas Hinterdorfer, of Higgins Storm Chasing said the last time a tropical cyclone made landfall as a categorised system in south-eastern Queensland was in March 1992. That one, Severe Tropical Cyclone Fran, led to beaches being closed on the Gold Coast and Sunshine coasts, and train services cancelled in Brisbane. Across the state, coastal towns were flooded, trees were uprooted and power was knocked out. Thirty-three years on, Queenslanders hope history won't be repeated, but lifeguards have already closed dozens of beaches from Agnes Water in Gladstone down to Currumbin on the Gold Coast on Sunday in anticipation. Millions of people are bracing for severe gale-force winds, heavy rain and huge tides as Tropical Cyclone Alfred is set to make landfall (pictured: Townsville in recent weeks) The cyclone is headed for Brisbane on Thursday as it slams ashore and creates havoc in south-east Queensland and north-east NSW. Picture: Higgins Storm Chasers Authorities have already closed down dozens of beaches from Gladstone to the Gold Coast. Pictured are surfers watching the massive swells at Point Cartwright on the Sunshine Coast The state has been battered by high winds and massive wave swells over the past few days, with Great Keppel Island's Hideaway resort evacuated last Thursday. The category two system, which has been producing wind gusts of 220km/h in the Coral Sea, is forecast to move southward 'roughly parallel' to the Queensland coast on Sunday, before moving to the south-east on Monday. 'Alfred is then expected to slow down and is likely to turn westward from Tuesday, moving back towards the southern Queensland coast,' the Bureau of Meteorology said. As of Sunday morning, Alfred was moving over the Coral Sea about 510km east of Rockhampton and is expected to cause strong to gale-force winds around K'gari (Fraser Island) in the afternoon. 'Severe coastal hazards are likely for southern Queensland and north-east New South Wales,' the bureau said. 'A large and powerful to potentially damaging easterly swell as well as abnormally high tides are forecast about exposed southern Queensland beaches, possibly extending to northern New South Wales from Monday.' Cyclone Alfred is also threatening to derail the AFL's season-opening clash between reigning premiers Brisbane Lions and Geelong at the Gabba scheduled for Thursday night. 'We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days and be in step with government advice,' an AFL spokesperson said. Residents is south-east Queensland have been urged to prepare. 'There is a real chance of ... the cyclone crossing the coast in the southern part of the state,' Premier Crisafulli said. 'This is not a frequent occurrence and there may be Queenslanders who can be forgiven for thinking that this is something that doesn't occur. A Bureau of Meteorology weather map shows with south-east Queensland and north-east NSW is in for in the coming days Millions of Aussies have been to prepare for the worse as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approaches 'Well, history shows that it does. 'That's why we are taking that precautionary approach and asking people to do everything you can to get ready, things like making sure that you've got tinned food.' Authorities are also preparing for the worst case scenario. 'We've spoken to those telcos about making sure that they have back-up power sources if we were to lose power, for example, because we have seen in previous events, how critical telecommunications is and how vulnerable some of those towers are to a lack of power,' Premier Crisafulli said. 'The Queensland Fire Department is in the process of pre deploying some assets, and making sure that we have the best and brightest ready to respond, and I talk about teams like the swift water rescue team, but indeed, all of those officers.' Bribie, Moreton and North and South Stradbroke islands are expected to cop the brunt of the cyclone first. 'It's these islands that present a risk to the disaster management system, and as a result of asking our local government, our district disaster teams, to do specific planning around the islands,' Acting Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy said. 'To those communities on the islands, I ask you to stay in contact early with the messaging, because I ask you to think about the risk for you and make a decision as to whether or not you should leave those islands and when you should leave those islands, because that window to leave the island will close later in the week, should this system turn west.' Queensland has been battered by high winds and massive wave swells over the past few days, with Great Keppel Island's Hideaway resort evacuated last Thursday. BoM map pictured North Queensland has been hammered by wild weather this year, with winds and heavy rain wreaking havoc earlier this month (pictured: Townsville on February 10) Mr Hinterdorfer said the models they were using suggested Alfred would track west to Queensland throughout the week. 'Nothing before Tuesday says a landfall is expected, but then from Wednesday onwards, it gets a little bit more interesting with the model scenarios as they're currently playing out,' he told the Courier-Mail. 'There's definitely the possibility of it from probably Wednesday onwards or midweek onwards, several models have that scenario at the moment, but of course, we need to let them play out a little bit more just before we hard lock it.' On Sunday morning, Mr Hinterdorfer warned south-east Queensland and north-east NSW residents to be prepared for landfall. 'It's been 33 years since a tropical cyclone has made landfall as a categorised system in south-eastern Queensland,' he wrote on Facebook. 'And it looks like that streak or drought is about to come to an end ... all model guidance continues to suggest that Tropical Cyclone Alfred is forecast to make landfall over south-east Queensland next week.' Tropical Cyclone Alfred is sitting about 750km north-east of Mackay and producing wind gusts of 220km/h, creating massive swells right down the Queensland coast. Pictured is Point Cartwright on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday The Bureau of Meteorology encouraged residents and communities on the Queensland and northern NSW coasts to stay informed with the latest tropical cyclone information and forecast tracks on its website in the coming days. Queensland's south-east is forecast to be lashed with 150mm of rain if Alfred makes landfall as expected. The Gold Coast is expected to see more than 200mm over the coming days. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has pulled more than $600,000 in funding from Stonewall, a controversial LGBTQ+ British lobbying group that has long relied on American financial support for its international programs. The cuts, part of a broader review of overseas aid expenditures under President Donald Trump's administration, are said to have jeopardized Stonewall's financial stability while also raising grave concerns about the future of LGBTQ+ rights initiatives worldwide. 'We are seeing an unprecedented political backlash against the principles of inclusion,' warned Stonewall CEO Simon Blake, addressing the crisis head-on. 'The work to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality has never been more important, and Stonewall is rising to meet the challenge.' The ramifications of USAID's funding freeze are already proving catastrophic. Stonewall, which has been a leading voice for LGBTQ+ rights for decades, is now bracing for a massive internal restructuring, with reports suggesting that as many as half of its staff could be laid off in the coming months. Blake confirmed that only roles with dedicated funding would be protected, fueling speculation that key projects in Eastern Europe, a region where Stonewall has been instrumental in combating anti-LGBTQ+ violence - may now collapse entirely. News of the reported cuts to Stonewall comes after it was revealed the group was becoming increasingly more reliant on taxpayers' money as its overall finances suffer, prompting calls for public bodies to end their support for it. USAID has pulled more than $600,000 in funding from Stonewall, an LGBTQ + British lobbying group 'The work to advocate for LGBTQ+ equality has never been more important,' Stonewall CEO Simon Blake said Over the past three years, the US has provided Stonewall with more than $600,000 of aid American funding to Stonewall came from US taxpayers money through the Global Equality Fund (GEF) - an initiative overseen by the US State Department, designed to support LGBTQ+ rights worldwide. Over the past three years, the US has provided Stonewall with more than $600,000 of aid. Stonewalls annual reports show a steady rise in GEF funding: $173,000 in 2021-22, $257,200 in 2022-23, and $294,000 in the most recent accounts. But in Stonewalls financial statements also show that its deficit more than doubled, from $550,000 to $1.1 million, in the last fiscal year. The fund has also not publicly released its financial records since 2015, raising questions about the openness of its operations. Over the last decade the group has been involved in various controversies around trans issues, including over claims that children as young as two can be transgender. It was also attacked by one of its founders, Simon Fanshawe, on its 'extreme notion of self-identification' allowing anyone to declare themselves as the opposite sex without having to provide evidence. Stonewall reported a deficit of more than $1.1 million as its income fell while it was forced to use up half of its reserves British charity Stonewall could be forced to cut half of its staff after Donald Trump axed its foreign aid support It's been reported Trump's move to remove Stonewall's support via the Global Equality Fund could see half of the staff at the charity losing their jobs The charity has additionally come under fire for its schemes that charge companies and the public sector for advice on how to become more inclusive. Its 'Workplace Equality Index' tells employers how they measure up on 'lesbian, gay, bi and trans inclusion' compared to others. The Bank of England, it has been revealed, submitted a 103-page application to make it on to Stonewall's list of 100 top employers, boasting that it used the term 'birthing parent'. With USAID's abrupt pullback, the financial stream has now been abruptly severed, leaving Stonewall scrambling to secure alternative sources of funding. The withdrawal of American support for Stonewall comes under Trump's 'America First' strategy, which prioritizes domestic interests over foreign commitments. Trump has sought to clampdown on the cash being supplied to trans rights groups, as part of the president's crackdown against the ideological movement. The president has long been a vocal critic of overseas spending, repeatedly emphasizing the need for a full-scale review of US foreign aid programs. The pulling of aid to such a charity comes as Trump has sought a return to a strict binary definition of gender in the United States, issuing an executive order that states the country only has two genders - male and female. The Trump administration is ending nearly all foreign assistance programs operated by the United States Agency for International Development People hold placards and shout slogans as they gather outside of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to support employees who are cleaning out their offices (pictured on Friday) Stonewall is now increasingly reliant on taxpayers money as its overall finances suffer with USAID cutting its share (pictured: Members take part in Pride in London parade in 2015) Despite the financial crisis, Stonewall remains defiant. The organization says that while the funding cuts present a major obstacle, they will not deter the fight for global LGBTQ+ equality Despite the financial crisis, Stonewall remains defiant. In a statement to the BBC, the organization made it clear that while the funding cuts present a major obstacle, they will not deter the fight for global LGBTQ+ equality. 'Many charities in the UK are facing tough choices for a range of reasons, including the economic environment. Stonewall is no different,' the statement read. Blake doubled down on the organization's commitment to global advocacy, emphasizing that Stonewall will continue working with its partners to mitigate the impact of USAID's withdrawal Although the UK government is continuing to pour millions into LGBTQ+ and gender-related initiatives, the US withdrawal signals a shift away from global equality projects and one that could embolden anti-LGBTQ+ movements worldwide. Among the projects affected is the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which had previously received $40,000 in USAID funding for gender identity seminars. This sum has now been axed, with little explanation as to why such cultural initiatives were ever linked to US humanitarian relief efforts in the first place. While Trump's administration maintains that the review of foreign aid is necessary to align spending with national interests, activists argue that the cuts to LGBTQ+ funding are not just about economics but political. Saturday Night Live lampooned the infamous Oval Office spat that took place one day earlier by bringing in a chainsaw-wielding Mike Myers to portray DOGE head Elon Musk. The show's iconic cold open featured a political sketch that riffed off the made-for-TV White House showdown between President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Comedian James Austin Johnson took on the part of Trump, opening the show with: 'I'd like to welcome President Zelensky here to this incredible trap. 'It's going to be a big, beautiful trap, and we're going to attack him very soon for no reason, right?' Mikey Day took on the role of Zelensky, alongside Bowen Yang who portrayed an overzealous Vice President JD Vance. Johnson's Trump made jokes over the Zelensky's outfit inside the Oval Office, saying: 'Who shows up to the White House in a t-shirt and jeans like a garbage person.' Right on cue, Mike Myers appears as Elon Musk in the background, wearing his signature 'tech support' t-shirt and black jeans while revving a red chainsaw. The power saw was similar to the one Musk appeared on stage with at CPAC last month. As part of the shows cold opening, a tongue-in-cheek voice over kicked off proceedings as it described the meeting between the two as going 'really, really well' Bowen Yang portrayed an overzealous Vice President JD Vance during the cold opening SNL's Trump hilariously adds: 'Elon we love your outfit, very official and very respectful. And I love when he gets that chainsaw right to my head.' Fake Elon then jokes that the Oval Office belongs to him before breaking out in shouts of 'legalize comedy'. The work of DOGE is then pointed out, with Johnson saying: 'Theyre doing mass firings in the government. 'We love mass firings because you dont have to know what any of their names are or what exactly they do.' Myers' Musk responds: 'I mean, were not going to get it perfect, you know, we are firing the non essential employees, like air traffic controllers.' The show then ripped into some of the employees of DOGE who have been unmasked as being as young 19 years old. Fake Trump wheels out one DOGE 'employee' known as 'big balls', who tells the office: 'This week I fired a black general a woman admiral. It was awesome! 'And in addition to DOGE, weve started another initiative called the Department of Undoing Child Health care and Education, or DOUCHE.' Myers rips on a red chainsaw, similar to the one Musk appeared on stage with at CPAC last month Zelenskyys White House meeting with Trump and Vance pic.twitter.com/l7T2GCvVJW Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) March 2, 2025 The yelling match that unfolded on Friday was unlike anything ever seen inside the Oval Office Myers as Musk hilariously responds: 'DOUCHE is going to be epic! DOUCHE is going to really clean everything out well.' Fake Trump then caps off the cold open by announcing he would releasing the Epstein Files. 'And to cap off an amazing week, were going to finally release the Epstein Files. Yes, America is going to see all the names, from A to S. No T,' he insists. The show also included Shane Gillis in his second time hosting, alongside musical guest Tate McRae. Gillis had previously hosted the show last year after being ousted from SNL in 2019 over racist and homophobic remarks. Myers had replaced his longtime SNL castmate, and fellow Wayne's World star, Dana Carvey in being Musk. Carvey took up the role after Trump won last year's election. The real Musk had posted on his platform X criticizing Carvey's portrayal of him at the time, writing: 'Dana Carvey, just sounds like Dana Carvey.' The show ripped into some of the employees of DOGE who have been unmasked as being as young 19 years old Myers had replaced his longtime SNL castmate, and fellow Wayne's World star, Dana Carvey in being Musk Myers appeared with a chainsaw, much like Musk did at CPAC after being gifted one by Argentina's President Javier Milei, seen here in the background The yelling match that SNL poked fun at what was unlike anything ever seen publicly in the Oval Office. And it played out on TV screens across the world. The fallout of the incident has left Ukraine's future in doubt as the country continues to fight Russian forces, with Zelensky asked to leave the White House shortly after. After the cameras left the Oval Office, Zelensky went to a holding room in the West Wing. He and Trump did not meet again. On Friday night, Zelensky said he wanted Trump to be 'more on our side' and refused to apologize for the Oval Office incident in an interview with Fox News. He was asked point blank by Bret Baier if he owed Trump an apology and twice filibustered before refusing and instead attempting to be gracious and added 'I'm not sure we did something bad.' 'We're thankful to Americans for all your support, you did a lot, I'm thankful to President Trump and Congress' bipartisan support. The fallout of the incident has left Ukraine's future in doubt as the country continues to fight Russian forces 'You helped us a lot from the very beginning, you helped us to survive. We are strategic partners.' When asked again, he refused again and tried to explain his own position. 'We have to be honest and we have to be direct with each other. Nobody wants to finish more than we because we are in this war, in this battle for freedom for our lives,' he said. He said he needs Trump to be 'on the same side' and needs him to stop Vladimir Putin. 'I want President Trump to be more on our side,' he said when Baier asked if he felt it was okay for Trump to be 'in the middle' of negotiations. One of Australia's most notorious jails has been returned to state ownership after a scandal-plagued seven years of being run by a US private prisons company. Parklea Correctional Centre in western Sydney had been managed by the Australian arm of US-based private prisons operator MTC since 2018. Among the scandals under its management, a man was charged with the murder of his cellmate in March 2024, inmates were charged after they climbed onto the roof in July 2021, and riot squads had to be called in February 2022. It is one of largest jails in the country, with a capacity for more than 1,500 inmates, and employs more than 400 people. Those well-paid jobs are to be secured as Parklea returns to NSW government management. MTC's existing $1.4billion contract - which ends in March 2026 - will be extended by six months to allow time for the transition to occur by October 2026, the NSW government said on Sunday. 'We've had a strong line against privatisation since we were elected two years ago and we've done it based on evidence, not based on feelings or ideology, but based on facts,' Premier Chris Minns told reporters. 'When it comes to fundamental, frontline basic services, they need to be provided by NSW government employees.' The management of Parklea Correctional Centre by the Australian arm of US-based private prisons operator MTC was marred by a riot on the roof in 2021 (pictured) Guards search for contraband at the notorious Parklea prison in western Sydney 'It's the best way of ensuring the taxpayers get value for money where there's not a contract in place and a middle man is looking to see how the services are interpreted.' Mr Minns also hailed 'the common sense ... operating model not based on a profit motive' as a win for hundreds of essential workers in western Sydney. It will be the second NSW prison to return to public ownership after Corrective Services NSW takes over the management of Junee Correctional Centre in April following a 16-month transition. The NSW public sector is responsible for about 10,000 inmates across 31 prisons. The Premier noted the profile of inmates in custody had substantially changed over the past 15 years with more hardened offenders in the system. He said a focus on rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates into the community would be best managed by experienced government staff rather than a profit-driven private operator. Parklea employees have gone on strike several times in recent years to ensure safe working conditions. A parliamentary inquiry uncovered reports of guards being stabbed, gangster-run fight clubs, tobacco smuggling, an inmate found dead after being shackled to his bed and another inmate who set a fire causing $8million in damage. NSW Premier Chris Minns (pictured) says 'when it comes to fundamental, frontline basic services [like prisons], they need to be provided by NSW government employees' Parklea (pictured) is one of largest jails in the country, with a capacity for more than 1,500 inmates, and employs more than 400 people The Public Service Association welcomed the move after it had been in protracted contract negotiations with MTC, which it previously blamed for failing to protect officers at Parklea. 'Corrective Services is an integral part of the criminal justice system. It's no different to the police or the courts. It plays a pivotal role in that system,' the union's Stewart Little said. 'You would not countenance for a moment privatising police or the courts. Why on earth would we do that to a correctional centre?' MTC also runs a detention centre housing refugees on Nauru in a $2.3billion contract with the federal government. President Donald Trump claimed 'either Joe or Hunter' Biden left cocaine in the White House as he vowed to open an investigation. The drug had been found in a locker near the Oval Office on July 2 2023 while the Biden family - including Hunter - were spending the weekend at Camp David. It prompted an evacuation of the White House, and triggered an 11-day investigation once it was identified as the illicit drug. But no suspects were ever named. Now, Trump said he is convinced either 'Joe or Hunter' misplaced the drugs. 'That was such a terrible thing because, you know, those bins are very loaded up with... and they're not clean and they have hundreds and even thousands of fingerprints,' he told The Spectator World's Ben Domenech. 'And when they went to look at it, it was absolutely stone cold, wiped dry. You know that, right?' 'By the way, and I have to tell you, I think I'm going to look into that because ... bad stuff happened there.' President Donald Trump claimed 'either Joe or Hunter' Biden left cocaine in the White House as he vowed to open an investigation The drug had been found in a locker near the Oval Office on July 2 The lockers leading to the West Wing are not assigned to specific personnel, a source familiar with the setup told DailyMail.com. Instead, guests visiting the White House can choose a locker to use and then take a key. The same source also said that someone taking a tour was the likeliest culprit because anyone with any familiarity of the White House would know that there's a bathroom steps away where the contraband could have been flushed. A Secret Service investigation into the drugs was closed in less than two weeks due to a 'lack of evidence' as security footage was not able to determine the owner. 'Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered,' it said in a statement. The agency added that the cocaine was sent for 'destruction' on July 14, just one day after the probe wrapped up. A damning report from Real Clear Politics later claimed former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle reportedly knew the cocaine would bring a media firestorm with it due to the Hunter's widely chronicled drug use. The former first son had written an entire memoir detailing his hourly need for crack cocaine, which he has said he became sober from in 2019. First daughter Ashley Biden also struggled with drug use and has been to a rehab facility. Trump said he is convinced either 'Joe or Hunter' misplaced the drugs The former first son had written an entire memoir detailing his hourly need for crack cocaine, which he has said he became sober from in 2019 The Real Clear Politics article claimed that vault supervisor Matt White received a call from Cheatle or someone speaking on her behalf, asking him to destroy the baggie because agency leaders wanted to close the case. But under protocol, the Secret Service has to maintain evidence for a period of up to seven years, a source told the outlet. Three sources also told Real Clear Politics that while no fingerprints were detected, the FBI lab found some DNA material. Sources said the agency ran the DNA material against national criminal databases and 'got a partial hit,' meaning that the DNA matched a blood relative of the person whose DNA was left on the bag. 'The Congressional oversight committees need to put White under oath and confirm the "partial hit,"' a source told RCP. 'Then the FBI needs to explain who the partial hit was against, then determine what blood family member has ties to the White House or what person matching the partial hit was present at the White House that weekend.' But the Secret Service has pushed back on the claims, saying the cocaine investigation was handled properly. 'This is false,' spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told DailyMail.com. 'The US Secret Service takes its investigative and protective responsibilities very seriously.' 'There are retention policies for criminal investigations and the Secret Service adhered to those requirements during this case,' he added. Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other top officials wanted the cocaine discovered at the White House to be destroyed before further testing could take place, a damning report claims House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, also revealed last month that he had to close a congressional investigation into the matter due to interference by the US Secret Service. 'I had to abandon the probe I led into the cocaine I found at the Biden White House because the Secret Service destroyed the little plastic bag that contained the cocaine a few days after it was discovered,' the Congressman wrote in his new book All the President's Money: Investigating the Secret Foreign Schemes that Made the Biden Family Rich. 'And the tapes in the White House - amazingly - did not show the particular location of the discovery.' Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson claimed the explosive Oval Office clash between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky was 'staged' for maximum political effect. Appearing on CNN's morning panel, Carlson did not hold back as she called the heated exchange between the world leaders a deliberate spectacle aimed at captivating the American public and reinforcing Trump's nationalist agenda. 'I felt like it was completely planned, Abby,' Carlson told CNN anchor Abby Phillip. 'I mean, even Trump said this was great TV, and it's sort of like he let the cat out of the bag.' Carlson said she believed Trump and Vice President JD Vance orchestrated the dramatic standoff, ensuring that their tough stance on Ukraine's military funding would dominate social media and conservative media outlets. Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson has claimed the explosive Oval Office clash between President Donald Trump, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was 'staged' for maximum political effect. 'If you go on any social media, you're seeing people say, "Yay, we got America back again, make America great again." And I was asking, how does this make America great again?' she asked, questioning the true motives behind the fiery exchange. Carlson's claim comes just days after the stunning public confrontation unfolded at the White House. What was supposed to be a tense but diplomatic meeting to discuss a Ukrainian minerals deal quickly spiraled into chaos, with Trump accusing Zelensky of 'gambling with World War Three' and Zelensky warning the U.S. would 'feel it in the future' if it cut off support. Trump, who has long expressed skepticism about continuing military aid to Ukraine, hammered Zelensky for what he saw as a lack of gratitude, a sentiment echoed by Vice President JD Vance. Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson has claimed the explosive Oval Office clash between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance , and Ukraine 's President Volodymyr Zelensky was 'staged' for maximum political effect Trump accused Zelensky of 'gambling with World War Three' and Zelensky warned the US would 'feel it in the future' if it cut off support 'Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,' Vance told Zelensky. 'You should be thanking the president for bringing an end to this conflict.' The exchange became so heated that Zelensky was told to leave the White House, forcing the cancellation of a planned press conference and putting on hold a U.S.-Ukraine deal on rare minerals that had been widely anticipated. Carlson's bold assertion that the blow-up was 'staged' raises serious questions about Trump's motivations, but she believes the president, himself a former reality TV star, deliberately engineered the confrontation for maximum public impact. 'Trump and Vance know they're playing to the American public more than anything else,' Carlson remarked. 'I felt like it was completely planned, Abby,' Carlson told CNN anchor Abby Phillip, left. 'I mean, even Trump said this was great TV, and it's sort of like he let the cat out of the bag.' Carlson, once a loyal Fox News figurehead, has become one of the few high-profile conservative voices willing to challenge Trump's actions head-on The exchange became so heated that Zelensky was told to leave the White House, forcing the cancellation of a planned press conference and putting on hold a U.S.-Ukraine deal on rare minerals that had been widely anticipated 'This is different than being tough on crime or tough at the border. This is like, okay, I guess we're not going to give $350 million to Ukraine anymore. But what about U.S. security?' If Carlson's theory were to be true, it would mean the US president and vice president deliberately undermined an ally in wartime for political gain. The stakes of the meeting were monumental - with $350 million in US aid and a critical minerals deal hanging in the balance, yet as Carlson points out, Trump himself admitted that it was all just 'great TV.' Carlson, once a loyal Fox News figurehead, has become one of the few high-profile conservative voices willing to challenge Trump's actions head-on. Donald Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from Volodymyr Zelensky as Keir Starmer insisted 'nobody wants to see' rowing in the Oval Office. In an interview ahead of a crucial summit with Mr Zelensky and European leaders in London, the PM said he 'trusted' the US president and believed he wants a 'lasting peace'. Sir Keir said he was trying to act as a 'bridge' to resolve the differences and had 'hit the phones' in the wake of the extraordinary bust-up in Washington. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America. Sir Keir suggested that 'a coalition of the willing' would have to guarantee any settlement on the ground, hinting that hopes of the US providing a security backstop have dwindled. Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Giorgia Meloni are among those assembling in London to consider how to shore up Nato and the continent's defences from Russian aggression. The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match between Mr Trump, his vice president JD Vance and Mr Zelensky. Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from the Ukrainian amid threats to pull the plug on US military support. In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president's support for Ukraine as 'crucial'. There have been calls for Mr Trump's invite for an unprecedented state visit to the UK to be withdrawn, although No10 is adamant that will not happen. Sir Keir said this morning that it was a 'matter for the King'. European leaders have been voicing solidarity with Mr Zelensky, who was warmly embraced by Sir Keir in Downing Street last night, as they try to find a way of repairing relations. Keir Starmer told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America Volodymyr Zelensky was warmly embraced by Keir Starmer in Downing Street last night (pictured), as they try to find a way of repairing relations with the US The summit in London today was already planned before the extraordinary on-camera slanging match between Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance and Mr Zelensky (pictured) Badenoch condemns humiliation of 'hero' Zelensky... but says his english might have contributed to tensions Kemi Badenoch condemned the 'humiliation' of Volodymyr Zelensky today following his clash with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, the Tory leader said her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian president. However, she dismissed the idea that he was 'ambushed' - suggesting that misunderstandings were fuelled by english not being his first language. 'Honestly, my heart went out to President Zelensky. I watched it and I couldn't believe what was happening, he was being humiliated,' Ms Badenoch said. 'I don't think we should conduct these sorts of difficult conversations in front of the cameras and we have to remember that President Zelensky is a hero, he is the person who represents that strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people.' She added: 'I don't think it was an ambush, I think that both parties are working for their respective national interest, and they seem to be speaking at cross-purposes. 'I think sometimes having English as a second language is not necessarily helpful. During all the trade negotiations I had as trade secretary, most of the eastern European countries had an interpreter there.' Ahead of the European leaders' summit, she said: 'If we don't have an American security guarantee within Nato, if we lose them, we're going to be spending a hell of a lot more (on defence). 'We need to make sure that America does not disengage, it is in their interest for peace now, if we all get dragged into an escalation, America will get dragged into it eventually.' Advertisement They are also racing to fill the potential gap in European defences from the abrupt withdrawal of the world's largest military and economic power. Sir Keir said he was 'rolling up my sleeves' rather than 'ramping up the rhetoric' in response to the scenes in Washington. 'I was in my office, and nobody wants to see that. Later that day, I then picked up the phone to President Trump, and I picked up the phone to President Zelensky, because, to my mind, focus has to be a lasting peace in Ukraine,' he said. He added: 'Look, nobody wants to see that. Clearly, you know, there's a lot of tension. The cameras were on.' Sir Keir continued: 'My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. 'We've now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we'll discuss that plan with the United States.' The PM said he 'felt uncomfortable' watching the Oval Office footage but added: 'The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. 'The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. 'Because my reaction was we have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.' Of Mr Trump, the premier added: 'I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.' Sir Keir said: 'What I am clear about is that if there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again. 'That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there's a deal it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.' A security guarantee from the Americans is the subject of 'intense' discussion, Sir Keir said. He added: 'For me, the components of a lasting peace are a strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength; to negotiate a European element to security guarantees, and that's why I've been forward-leaning on this about what we would do; and a US backstop. 'That's the package, all three parts need to be in place, and that's what I'm working hard to bring together.' Pressed on why trusts Mr Trump, he said: 'Because I've spoken to him a number of times. I've got to know him. I've had extensive discussions with him and I believe his motivation is lasting peace.' He added: 'If the central question you're putting to me is do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes. 'But, also, take a step back, the relationship between the US and the UK is the closest relationship of any two countries in the world, our defence, our security, our intelligence, are bound up one with another in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the world.' Asked if he would trust Vladimir Putin, he said: 'Well, no, I wouldn't trust Putin, which is why I want a security guarantee. 'I wouldn't trust him not to come again, because he's proven that he will come again. He's already done it and we know what his ambitions are.' Sir Keir is positioning himself as a bridge between Europe and Mr Trump after his successful visit to the White House last week. In the opulent surroundings of Lancaster House, near Buckingham Palace, the PM will urge the 18 countries in attendance to boost defence spending. He is expected to tell leaders they are 'at a turning point', and must recognise the 'brutal reality' and start taking action instead of making 'carefully crafted speeches'. In comments briefed ahead of the summit, Sir Keir said: 'Today I will reaffirm my unwavering support for Ukraine and double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position. 'In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees alongside continued discussions with the United States. 'We have an opportunity to come together to ensure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine that secures their sovereignty and security. Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security and secure our collective future.' Sir Keir pledged this week to raise the UK's defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, slashing the aid budget to free up the funding. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also expected to cut 5billion from welfare and allow the 28billion national wealth fund to be invested in defence projects. The summit comes after several days that saw the foundations of the Nato alliance - that has helped avoid world war for 80 years - shaken. The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President accusing his counterpart of 'gambling with World War Three' after Russia invaded. It resulted in Ukraine's president being kicked out of the White House and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support put on ice. Mr Trump said he would not be welcome until he was willing to talk about 'peace'. Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting. European leaders have rallied in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, while Sir Keir has repeatedly spoken to both presidents over the phone. The PM welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday in a meeting described as 'meaningful and warm' by the Ukrainian leader. The two men embraced as they met, and again later as they parted, and Sir Keir took the unusual step of walking Mr Zelensky to his car, instead of waving him goodbye from the front step of No10. France's Emmanuel Macron (pictured on his own trip to Washington last week) and Italy's Giorgia Meloni are among those assembling to consider how to shore up Nato and the continent's defences from Russian aggression Ms Reeves has signed a loan agreement worth 2.26billion with her Ukrainian counterpart, to pay for further military support and the rebuilding of Ukraine in future. The UK hopes to recoup the costs from frozen Russian assets locked in bank accounts across Europe. Mr Zelensky is expected to meet the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk this evening after attending the summit. The embattled Ukrainian leader meets Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US president's support. Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump last night for the second evening in a row, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, as he seeks to be a bridge across the Atlantic and smooth out the ongoing division between Western allies. Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, told the BBC he urged Mr Zelensky to repair his relationship with the US president in a Friday-night phone call, as the alliance's members 'need to stick together' against Russia. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned in a Telegraph newspaper article that America's commitment to Europe 'cannot now be taken for granted', after urging Sir Keir to push for 'concrete' pledges during the summit. Donald Trump is said to want a public apology from Volodymyr Zelensky after their explosive White House row - amid mounting public calls for the US president's state visit to the UK to be cancelled. Mr Trump is reportedly demanding his Ukrainian counterpart makes the first move to restore relations following their fractious Oval Office dispute on Friday night that sparked demands for his promised British trip to be axed. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street the following day and made clear Britain's ongoing backing for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion - as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced 2.26billion of new funding. The British PM had been a guest at the White House on Thursday, appearing to get on well with President Trump while handing over an invitation from King Charles for a state visit to the UK. Sir Keir is now among those leading attempts to build bridges between the US and Ukraine, heading pressure on Mr Zelensky to 'patch things up'. But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared the Ukrainian PM should 'apologise for turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became'. Mr Zelensky is today scheduled to be welcomed by the King in another UK show of support for Ukraine in defiance of the US position made clear by Mr Trump and his Vice-President JD Vance. Sir Keir last night spoke with both Mr Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, after the PM insisted Ukraine had 'full backing across the United Kingdom' in a Number 10 meeting with Mr Zelensky. Donald Trump (right) laid into his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky (left) during talks between the two presidents at the White House on Friday Mr Zelensky was then welcomed the following day by Sir Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street A summit of world leaders is today being held in London - pictured in talks on February 24 are (left to right) Ursula von der Leyen, Volodymyr Zelensky, Justin Trudeau and Antonio Costa Sir Keir also told the Ukrainian leader that Britain stood with his nation 'for as long as it may take' - and embraced him several times on camera. Yet the PM also told Mr Zelensky he needed to 'patch things up' with the US president following their very public fall-out, according to the Telegraph. The US government has privately suggested wanting a public apology from Mr Zelensky, Bloomberg reported European officials were saying. The Conservatives' shadow home affairs minister Alicia Kearns last night said that Mr Trump's proposed state visit to the UK, as offered by Sir Keir on the King's behalf at their White House meeting on Thursday, should now be rescinded. She said: 'State visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour. 'No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the USs commitment to her allies is assured. 'His Majesty should not have to carry the weight of Keirs diplomatic failings.' But her party leader Kemi Badenoch today hit back at such a suggestion. The Conservatives' shadow home affairs spokesperson Alicia Kearns has called for US President Donald Trump's proposed state visit to the UK to be called off A spokesman for the Tory leader said: 'Personal views of individual MPs are not official Conservative Party positions. 'In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs. 'As Kemi said on TV this morning, it is imperative that the UK remains close to America and they dont disengage from NATO if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.' World leaders are due to hold crunch talks on Ukraine's future in London today, at Lancaster House, a mansion near Buckingham Palace. The PM is expected to urge the 18 countries in attendance to follow the UK in answering the US's calls to boost defence spending. Sir Keir, who has now called Trump twice in two days, is seeking to act as a bridge between Europe and America and keep NATO together. The meeting brings together leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as Turkey, NATO and the European Union. Sir Keir said ahead of the talks: 'Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security, and secure our collective future.' British Prime Minister SIr Keir Starmer (right) hosted Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky (left) at 10 Downing Street on Saturday Sir Keir welcomed Mr Zelensky outside No. 10 before holding talks inside The meeting came after the tense clash between Volodymyr Zelensky (left), US President Donald Trump (centre) and US Vice-President JD Vance (right) at the White House on Friday Downing Street has urged a 'strong lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace' and said leaders would discuss 'next steps on planning for strong security guarantees'. The summit comes amid growing fears over whether the United States would continue to support NATO. The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President claiming his counterpart was 'gambling with World War III'. Mr Trump's administration has made it clear privately it wants a public apology from Zelensky to mend relations, Bloomberg has now reported. Media reports from the US suggested Trump considered cutting off all aid to Ukraine following their 45-minute televised confrontation. The Ukrainian leader was accused of not being thankful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his deputy Mr Vance. In contrast with the terse exchange in the Oval Office, Mr Zelensky praised his meeting with Sir Keir on Saturday as 'meaningful and warm'. Sir Keir, who usually stands at the doorstep of No. 10 to greet world leaders, walked towards Mr Zelensky to meet him as he arrived - the pair then shared a hug before approaching the famous black door together. Sir Keir Starmer told Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain stood with his nation Ukraine 'for as long as it may take', three years into Russia's invasion of the country Sir Keir embraced Mr Zelensky in Downing Street and later accompanied him to his car A group of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators could be seen outside the gates of the street, and were heard to cheer as Mr Zelensky's convoy drove by. Sir Keir later told his guest: 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and how much they support Ukraine.' Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned Mr Zelensky that he needed to find a way to improve his relationship with Mr Trump. He described Friday's White House meeting as 'unfortunate', as he told the BBC: 'It is important that President Zelensky finds a way to restore his relationship with the American President and with the senior American leadership team.' Describing his own discussions with Mr Zelensky, Mr Rutte added: 'I said, "I think you have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration. That is important going forward."' After the Washington DC flare-up between the US and Ukrainian presidents, Sir Keir emphasised a different tone as he welcomed Mr Zelensky on Saturday. He told Mr Zelensky: 'Let me just say that you're very, very welcome here in Downing Street. 'And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. I hope you heard some of that cheering on the street. French president Emmanuel Macron previously met Donald Trump in Washington last week Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has been scheduled to meet King Charles on Sunday 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with you - unwavering determination - and to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace.' He continued: 'A lasting peace for Ukraine based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine - so important for Ukraine, so important for Europe and so important for the United Kingdom. 'So I'm much looking forward to our discussions here this afternoon - thank you very much for making the time to come.' Mr Zelensky praised Britain and King Charles for being 'such big support from the very beginning'. He added: 'We're happy and count on your support and really really have [been] such partners.' In an earlier response to Friday's White House argument, a No. 10 spokeswoman had said: 'The Prime Minister has tonight spoken to both President Trump and President Zelensky. 'He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine.' The statement from Downing Street followed a show of unity from Europe's political leaders, supporting Ukraine. Sir Keir Starmer (left) and Volodymyr Zelensky (right) met at 10 Downing Street on Saturday Photos of their London encounter were shared by the Ukrainian president's press service Mr Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen were among the leaders to express solidarity with Mr Zelensky. And Sir Keir today said he hoped a European 'coalition of the willing' would come together to support Kyiv. He also insisted any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine again. Sir Keir told the BBC: 'In other words, we've got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward leaning. 'The UK and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US.' A teenage girl is 'lucky to be alive' after she was repeatedly stabbed in an alleged 'frenzied' revenge attack. Addisyn Tibos, 14, and a friend were on the way to see a movie at Melbourne's Pacific Epping shopping centre last Friday night when a 17-year-old girl allegedly lunged at her in the outdoor food court. The girl allegedly stabbed a security guard in the abdomen during the altercation with a black-handled knife allegedly concealed in her hoodie. The girl then allegedly chased down Addisyn and stabbed her more a dozen times. Addisyn suffered 11 wounds to her abdomen and lower body, a punctured lung and collapsed spleen. Her family revealed how close they came to losing her after doctors found three more wounds to her back. 'It's honestly a miracle,' sister Tayissa Tibos, 19, told Daily Mail Australia. 'If it wasn't for her best friend being there to help fight off her attacker she wouldn't be here. Addisyn Tibos, 14, suffered up to 14 wounds to her abdomen, back and lower body Her older sister described Addisyn (together above) as 'such a kind, loving, caring human' who 'didn't deserve this' Addisyn was on her way to watch a film with a friend when she was allegedly set upon 'Normally people can die off one wound, she's survived 14.' Ms Tibos claimed the alleged assault was the culmination of months of alleged taunting by the older girl. '(Her alleged attacker) was definitely looking for a fight and with this day and age it would've happened 100 per cent. But no way did we think a knife fight,' she said. Ms Tibos confirmed there had been an argument between Addisyn and the 17-year-old's sister months ago. She claimed the fight had resulted in relentless threats against Addisyn and a torrent of abuse online. Addisyn's alleged attacker faced a children's court hearing on Saturday charged with a series of offences, including intentionally and recklessly causing serious injury, recklessly causing injury, affray, assault with weapon and unlawful assault The court heard that the girl was on bail when the alleged attack unfolded and had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and autism, the Herald Sun reported. Defence lawyer Andrew Rankin said his client confronted Addisyn because she claimed Addisyn had assaulted her sister and was 'continuing to boast about it', the Herald Sun reported. Addisyn's family claimed the alleged attack followed months of taunting Ms Tibos (left) said Addisyn (right) is still in hospital while doctors drain a punctured lung of blood The 17-year-old does not reportedly have any substance abuse issues. She remains in custody and will reappear in court on March 21. Addisyn underwent surgery on Saturday night. Doctors continued to drain blood from her punctured lung on Sunday. The family have confirmed the 14-year-old is awake and alert in hospital and can talk, but has difficulty standing for long periods of time. The 14-year-old has been able to talk and remain awake in hospital, though she has struggled to walk around '(Addisyn) is just such a kind, loving, caring human,' Ms Tibos said. 'She's still a baby, she has so much growing to do in life, she didn't deserve this.' Ms Tibos and a close family friend posted a fundraiser online, aiming to help the family cover Addisyn's medical costs. 'This family would never ask for help as they are hard working independent people but her eldest daughter and I want to do this to help them with bills and medical bills and she will have to take time off work,' the page states. Gene Hackman's friend has said there are 'so many pieces of the puzzle' after the star was found mummified with his wife following their mysterious deaths. The Hollywood legend, 95, and his spouse, Betsy Arakawa, 63, were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26 with one of their dogs. Two days after the shocking discovery, police announced that they believe Hackman died on February 17, after finding that was the day his pacemaker stopped recording his heartbeat. Their friends and family have been left plagued with questions as to how the couple died. Doug Lanham, 76, a friend of Hackman's in Santa Fe, told The Sunday Times: 'There's so many pieces of the puzzle that don't equate to who they are.' Mr Lanham co-owns the local restaurant Jinja, which the Hackmans invested in. They became business partners for several years until Lanham bought them out in around 2017. Gene Hackman (left) and his wife Betsy Arakawa (right) were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26 with one of their dogs Doug Lanham (right), a friend of Hackman (second left), said there are 'so many pieces of the puzzle' after the couple were found mummified Hackman and his wife spent their final years out of the spotlight in Santa Fe, Mexico Mr Lanham previously said he couldn't fathom any deliberate action involved in their deaths, due to their love of their three dogs, one of which was found dead near Betsy's body. He added that neither had ever mentioned suicide in his presence though he had not seen them since before the Covid-19 pandemic, during which Hackman became increasingly reclusive. The French Connection actor's body was found in the mudroom with his sunglasses nearby - causing police to speculate that he had 'suddenly fallen'. The Oscar winner's wife was found lying on her side in the bathroom near a space heater. Police also speculate that she too 'abruptly fell to the ground,' according to the affidavit. The spilled pill bottle was found near Arakawa, who was found with signs of decay, including body decomposition and bloating to her face, hands and feet. Her husband had similar decomposition. The couple's dog was also found deceased in a closet near Arakawa. A learner driver of a 70,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost V12 was stopped by police - and found to be behind the wheel of the pricey vehicle with absolutely no insurance. Spotting the very noticeable luxury car in the Whitechapel area of east London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, stunned officers pulled the driver over on Thursday. But after chatting to the motorist, the cops from Tower Hamlets Police discovered that not only did they have no insurance - they only had a provisional licence too. The expensive vehicle, produced in 2012, boasts a smooth, powerful V12 engine, with the Ghost model a classic Rolls-Royce creation, first made in 1906. The Rolls-Royce was quickly seized from where it was stopped on Stepney Way - just outside the old outpatients department of the Royal London Hospital, now vacant after it moved sites in 2012 - and the driver was sent to court. Pictures from Tower Hamlets Police posted on X on Thursday evening show the matte finish, black car - complete with personalised number plate - loaded on to the back of a police tow truck for sending to the pound. Despite the good condition the vehicle looked to be in, the grill at the front of the car was found to have a dent in it, on further inspection. In the caption of the force's social media post, a Tower Hamlets Police spokesperson said: 'One rather expensive car off to the pound and driver off to court.' A learner driver of a 70,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost V12 was stopped by police - and found to be behind the wheel of the pricey vehicle with absolutely no insurance. It was loaded on to the back of a police tow truck (pictured) for sending to the pound Spotting the very noticeable luxury car in the Whitechapel area of east London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, stunned officers pulled the driver over on Thursday - and found the motorist had no insurance and only a provisional license. Despite the good condition the vehicle looked to be in, the grill was found to be dented (pictured), on further inspection They added: 'Officers spotted this Rolls-Royce in Whitechapel. 'Driver stopped and spoken to and after a few enquiries it was identified that the driver only had a provisional licence and no insurance either.' Analysis of the number plate by MailOnline shows the vehicle is taxed until April and has its MOT due in November. It meets ULEZ emissions standards. Commenters on the post by Tower Hamlets Police were shocked at the seizure of such an expensive vehicle - and were suspicious of the fact a driver without insurance and a full licence was able to drive it. One commented: 'Next look into how they were able to afford that car.' Another, who seemed to know the area well, said: 'Driving a motor like that on a provisional and no insurance in and around that area is just madness!' Someone else said cynically: 'They'll worm their way out of it like every other wealthy person.' One stated: 'Solo driving on a provisional and no insurance in Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)'s day and age is insane.' In the caption of a post on X by Tower Hamlets Police on Thursday evening (pictured), a spokesperson for the force said: 'One rather expensive car off to the pound and driver off to court' Commenters (pictured) on the post by Tower Hamlets Police were shocked at the seizure of such an expensive vehicle They were also suspicious (pictured) of the fact a driver without insurance and a full licence was able to drive it One said cynically: 'They'll worm their way out of it like every other wealthy person' Last August, the Metropolitan Police seized around 60 supercars in just week across central London - amounting to a value of around 6million. The dedicated operation, run with Westminster City Council and the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), saw cars including a Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McClaren and Bentley seized, mostly due to the driver not being insured. It came as residents in the Westminster area complained of anti-social behaviour by drivers of luxury cars, who would often pass through at high speed. Five arrests were made during that week. MIB's head of enforcement Martin Saunders said at the time: 'Our message is clear: high-value cars are not exempt from insurance requirements.' When approached for comment by MailOnline about the seizure of the Rolls-Royce in Tower Hamlets, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: 'Weve nothing further to add to our local teams tweet.' Professor Richard Scolyer will undergo surgery as he prepares for what could be the final stage in his brave fight for life. The 2024 Australian of the Year, 58, was diagnosed with an 'incurable' grade four brain cancer in June 2023 after he suffered headaches and seizures while on holiday. His cancer, a glioblastoma, is often referred to as 'the worst' sort of cancer because of its aggressive nature, with most sufferers surviving less than a year after diagnosis. The bulk of the tumour was stripped shortly after the diagnosis. Then followed a series of experimental therapies based on his own melanoma research, including immunotherapy, 'debulking' surgery and a 'cancer vaccine' . In May last year, the University of Sydney professor declared that he had been cancer-free for nearly 12 months. But five months later, the decorated scientist revealed a recent MRI had shown an area of concern. On Monday, Professor Scolyer will undergo surgery at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown to 'explore' the changes in his brain. Professor Richard Scolyer discovered he had a brain tumour in 2023 beginning a major health battle Professor Scolyer and his colleague Professor Georgina Long were jointly announced Australians of the year in 2024, in recognition of their ground-breaking work studying skin cancer If it is indeed a recurrence of the tumour, surgeons will work to remove as much of it as they can without affecting the professor's brain function. 'Obviously I'm worried it's a recurrence,' Professor Scolyer told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'It's not my area of expertise to interpret radiology or even manage this sort of disease long term, but I know the natural history of this disease is that most people get a recurrence.' While initially optimistic he and his expert peers would find a treatment to reverse the aggressive cancer's incurable reputation, Professor Scolyer said he statistically may only have another three to six months to live. 'I feel more accepting that it is incurable now than I did at the start. I feel very fortunate that I've lived as long as I have, but whether that's just luck or related to this previously untried treatment, no one knows,' he said. He admitted he's struggled emotionally since the recent scan but vowed to continue fighting. 'The opposite is that I feel very fortunate to have the life that I've led. 'I'm not ready to go. I'll keep fighting on,' he said. Professor Scolyer became the world's first brain cancer patient to have pre-surgery combination immunotherapy, which helps teach the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. He and his colleague Professor Georgina Long, who are co-directors of the Melanoma Institute Australia, were jointly awarded Australian of the Year in 2024 for their ground-breaking study into the skin cancer. Professor Scolyer has widely shared his battle online to raise awareness of treatment options and progress being made on new methods. The 57-year-old father-of-three is headed back for surgery after a concerning discovery last year Professor Scolyer posted two scan images last year of the potentially recurred tumour, with the most recent on the right After his initial brain scan Professor Scolyer said he knew its revelation of an area of light, cloudy matter in the top-right corner of his skull was concerning. 'I'm no expert in radiology, but in my heart I knew it was a tumour,' he said. The discovery spurred him to consider whether his research into melanoma might be relevant to treating his own brain cancer. 'It didn't sit right with me, to just accept certain death without trying something. It's an incurable cancer? Well bugger that!' Around 300,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with glioblastoma each year. Freed British hostage Emily Damari waved her wounded hand defiantly as she went into surgery to treat the horrific injuries inflicted by Hamas. Emily, 28, lost two fingers and had shrapnel wounds in her leg when she was shot at point blank range before she was kidnapped on October 7. The Tottenham Hotspur fan has revealed she endured 'intense pain' after a medic in Gaza told her he was 'Dr Hamas' - before cruelly sewing the nerves in her hand together. She was operated on beside a corpse and then left with a huge, open 'festering' wound. Her mother, Mandy, 63, said it was a 'miracle' she didn't contract a life-threatening infection in the tunnels. But after being released in the ceasefire deal in January, Emily smiled and made the rockstar symbol with her injured hand. It saw her become a symbol of defiance and she repeated the pose as she went into surgery last week. Speaking from Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv, Emily said: 'I have fully embraced my hand, my pain, and my scars. To me they represent freedom, hope and strength. 'My recovery will take time and my hand will never fully recover. 'But the intense pain I had for a year and a half due to the nerves being sewn together after my first operation in Shifa Hospital in Gaza is now no longer with me. Emily Damari waved her wounded hand defiantly as she went into surgery to treat the horrific injuries inflicted by Hamas Emily, 28, lost two fingers and had shrapnel wounds in her leg when she was shot at point blank range before she was kidnapped on October 7 2023 Al-Qassam Brigades hands over three Israeli hostages, including Emily, to Red Cross at al-Saraya as part of a first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal on January 19 2025 Emily Damari's defiant fingerless hand has become a resistance meme 'The large scar that was caused by an open, festering, wound that did not heal for four months because of the conditions of the tunnels I was held in, is now looking better. 'After my recuperation, with the help of physiotherapy, I hope to be able to use my hand much more effectively than was previously possible, before the surgery.' Emily was taken from her home in Kfar Aza on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas stormed the kibbutz, killed her friends, executed her dog, blindfolded her and took her into Gaza in her own car. The same bullet that killed her beloved pet hit her in the leg. She was then taken to Al Shifa Hospital and wheeled into an operating theatre beside a corpse. A Palestinian medic walked in and told her: 'Hi, I'm Dr Hamas,' Emily revealed on Instagram yesterday. She said: 'I remember myself sitting in Shifa on October 7, looking at a small window that was there, when I felt my hand was dismembered and my leg shot from the bullet that hit my Chucha, my beloved dog - the most precious thing I had in 11 years. 'Out of madness I didn't even have time to think about it. After all, I was kidnapped to Gaza together with two good friends, my neighbor was murdered. 'I left my mother and brother with his wife and daughters and was thinking who knows what will happen to them? 'And then this moment came - they put me in an operating room with a corpse in front of me. I saw the blue sky that should have been grey on a day like this. I asked God to watch over me. Emily with her mother Amanda at an undisclosed location in Israel on January 19, 2025 after a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange Emily shared a picture of the surgery to her hand on her own Instagram page The surgeons used the rockstar sign, which has become a symbol of defiance Emily has undergone a series of complex operations on her hand and leg to correct complications from the wounds she sustained The Tottenham Hotspur fan has revealed she endured 'intense pain' after a medic in Gaza told her he was 'Dr Hamas' - before cruelly sewing the nerves in her hand together The only medicine Emily received in captivity was an out-of-date bottle of iodine and a solitary bandage during 471 days in captivity 'Then I woke up when Dr Hamas informed me that I no longer have two fingers, and the leg wound remains open with four stitches instead of 16. 'Today, after 17 months, my moment has come to replace Shifa with Sheba and finally receive proper treatment. 'I am at peace with my injury, really at peace. I know there is more recovery ahead of us, but this time I am surrounded by family and friends that I love and that is what is important. 'I am proud of my disability, and with it I will win.' She then finished with a Hebrew Bible quote: 'Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.' The only medicine Emily received in captivity was an out-of-date bottle of iodine and a solitary bandage during 471 days in captivity. The Red Cross is still yet to visit a single hostage in the Strip. Fellow captive Romi Gonen, 24, is a trained medic and helped treat Emily's wound as they remained together for most of their 15 months in captivity. They were kept in 'cruel and horrific' conditions, spending weeks on end underground with no sanitation or access to clean water. But, compared to the men who were freed weeks later, Romi and Emily appeared relatively healthy when they were released on January 19 after 471 days in captivity. Emily reunited with her mother after 471 days being held captive by Hamas Emily uses a phone with her mother, Mandy, after being held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack by Hamas Emily is pictured embracing a relative welcoming her at the Sheba medical centre in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, on January 19 2025, following her release Emily pictured with her mother Amanda, who fought tirelessly to free her daughter Images of the male hostages' gaunt bodies horrified the world with chilling similarities to Holocaust survivors. Emily said: 'It was shocking but not surprising to see how emaciated some of the other hostages were when they came out. 'Hamas has created hell on Earth, the conditions down there are unimaginable.' Emily's mother, Mandy, 63, said her daughter had been 'sewn up like a pin cushion' by Hamas. 'It is nothing short of a miracle that she did not contract a life-threatening infection,' she said. Mrs Damari revealed in a phone call to Sir Keir Starmer last month that Emily had been held in UNRWA facilities in Gaza prompting the UK to put its funding to the UN agency under review. Emily is now fighting for the release of the remaining 59 hostages which include her close friends from Kfar Aza, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, both 27. She said: 'Although my injuries were not simple, I know that there are others still in captivity who are in much worse shape than I am, physically and mentally. 'Every remaining hostage must come home without any further delay.' Donald Trump was widely credited for securing a ceasefire deal that had eluded his predecessor Joe Biden for over a year. But after completion of the first phase to release 33 hostages, the IDF must agree to withdraw from Gaza and Hamas relinquish power for the second phase to release those who remain. It is feared it will not hold. Urging diplomats to uphold the deal, Emily said: 'I want to thank President Trump again for securing the deal to get me home. 'Please help us to bring home Gali, Ziv and all of the remaining hostages as well, before it is too late for all of them.' Emily has been invited to No10 and to watch her beloved Tottenham Hotspurs play in the UK but said she will do so only once everyone is home. 'After I recover from my surgeries, and after the remaining hostages are all released, I will be so excited to come back to Britain,' she said. 'I have so many people that I want to thank personally for helping me get my life back'. A Czech crowdfunding campaign has successfully raised over 2.3million to buy a Black Hawk helicopter for Ukraine's military, marking a remarkable example of civilian support for Kyiv's fight against Russia. The initiative, 'Darek Pro Putina' which translates to Gift for Putin, saw contributions from over 20,500 donors, surpassing its financial target and securing a UH-60A+ Black Hawk for Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence. The helicopter is set to be delivered this month, bolstering Kyiv's aerial capabilities as the bloody war with Russia drags into its third year after the initiative began in November 2023. The campaign's website, emblazoned with the slogan 'Cest Mir Nova Nadeje' - Honour Peace New Hope - states 'We did it! The Czechs are sending a Black Hawk helicopter to Ukraine. We managed to get a cheaper and newer machine that Ukraine needs. Let's finish what we started together and send Cestmir to fight against the dark Empire'. Following the successful fundraiser, the Czech Republic has become the first country whose citizens have financed the purchase of a helicopter for the Ukrainian army through donations. The campaign's success highlights the growing role of grassroots movements in providing military aid to Ukraine, with European civilians now helping supply advanced equipment once thought to be the domain of national governments. The UH-60 Black Hawk, developed by American firm Sikorsky Aircraft, is one of the most widely used military helicopters in the world. The A+ variant features upgraded engines, avionics, and defensive systems, making it well-suited for high-risk operations. The Black Hawk also comes equipped with advanced defensive measures, including infrared jammers, chaff and flare dispensers, and radar warning systems to protect against missile threats - essential in Ukraine's contested airspace. A Czech campaign raised over 2.3million to purchase a Black Hawk helicopter for Ukraine's military The helicopter is set to be delivered this month, bolstering Kyiv's aerial capabilities as the bloody war with Russia drags into its third year after the initiative began in November 2023 The UH-60 Black Hawk, developed by American firm Sikorsky Aircraft, is one of the most widely used military helicopters in the world Powered by twin General Electric T700-GE-701C turboshaft engines, the helicopter can reach speeds of 183 mph and has a range of 320 nautical miles. It can transport up to 11 combat-ready troops or carry 9,000 pounds of cargo via sling load, making it an invaluable asset for troop deployments and medical evacuations. Kyiv's helicopter fleet has been severely depleted by Russian airstrikes, with NATO intelligence estimating that over 30 Ukrainian helicopters, mostly older Soviet-designed Mi-8s and Mi-24s, have been destroyed since 2022. The arrival of the Black Hawk will significantly strengthen Ukraine's intelligence and special forces, which have conducted daring cross-border raids into Russia. The aircraft's speed and resilience make it a vital tool for rapid-response missions, extraction operations, and high-risk infiltration behind enemy lines. 'This helicopter brings NATO-level capabilities to our forces, something we desperately need,' a senior Ukrainian military official said, speaking anonymously due to operational security concerns, as per Bulgarian Military. The Gift for Putin initiative is part of a broader trend of European civilian-led efforts to arm Ukraine. While Poland and Lithuania have previously raised funds for drones and medical supplies, the Czech project marks a significant escalation - crowdfunding a high-value military asset. The campaign raised over 2.3million, reflecting growing public frustration with Russia's continued aggression. The move also complements formal military aid, such as the 48billion US-assistance package approved in April last year. Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova praised the effort, saying: 'This campaign strengthens Ukraine's defenses while allowing our military to maintain its own readiness.' The arrival of the Black Hawk will significantly strengthen Ukraine's intelligence and special forces, which have conducted daring cross-border raids into Russia Russia has condemned the initiative with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling Western civilian fundraising for Ukraine a 'dangerous escalation' that fuels the conflict The aircraft's speed and resilience make it a vital tool for rapid-response missions, extraction operations, and high-risk infiltration behind enemy lines However, acquiring the Black Hawk wasn't simple. The US, which tightly controls the export of military equipment under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), has not directly supplied Ukraine with Black Hawks. Experts believe the helicopter was sourced from a secondary market, possibly from a NATO country or a civilian operator in Europe, and then upgraded to military-grade A+ specifications. The Gift for Putin organisers have also allocated extra funds for maintenance and pilot training, but sustaining the Black Hawk in combat conditions may require additional NATO backing. Unsurprisingly, Russia has condemned the initiative. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Western civilian fundraising for Ukraine a 'dangerous escalation' that fuels the conflict. Russian forces have aggressively targeted Ukraine's air assets using Lancet loitering munitions and S-400 missile systems. While the Black Hawk is equipped with countermeasures, its survival on the battlefield will depend on Ukraine's ability to protect its helicopters from Russian air defenses. Despite the risks, campaign organiser Martin Pospisil sees the project as a symbol of defiance: 'This isn't just about military hardware. It's about showing solidarity and proving that ordinary people can make a difference in this war.' As the Black Hawk enters service with Ukraine's special forces, its impact on the battlefield could be profound - delivering troops, striking Russian positions, and proving that Europe's civilians are more committed than ever to helping Ukraine win. Vladimir Putin unleashed a missile strike to 'sink' a cargo ship amid unconfirmed Russian claims it was carrying British weapons for use by Ukraine. Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles hit the Panama-flagged container ship MSC LEVANTE F - reportedly Swiss-owned - soon after it arrived in Odesa on March 1, after making a stop in Turkey. Two port workers were believed to have been wounded in the strike, which also damaged infrastructure, Ukrainian reports said. The report of the attack comes as British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer today hosts Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders to discuss the future of the wartorn nation following the Ukrainian president's televised spat with US president Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. Russian Telegram channel TalipoV [sic] Online Z claimed that the vessel was loaded with drones and weaponry that had been collected from a NATO based in Turkey before being transported to Odesa in Ukraine. However, the channel is run by pro-Putin, Crimea-based blogger Oleksandr Talipov, who was charged with 'nation-based enmity against Ukrainian citizens' and hate speech by Ukrainian prosecutors in 2022. Tapipov said: 'It was established that in Turkey the ship loaded additional containers of two colours on board - red and yellow - which contained British sea drones and weapons from the Turkish NATO base. 'Upon arrival at the port of Odesa, the ship was hit by two missiles at berth number two at 18:00. The container ship MSC LEVANTE F carrying yellow and red shipping containers that a Russian Telegram channel claimed contained 'British sea drones and weapons from the Turkish NATO base' - a claim directly challenged by the Ukrainian vice prime minister Oleksii Kuleba who said that the vessel was carrying 'completely civilian cargo' People run in fear after a loud explosion was heard by the sea port in Odesa on March 1 - believed to by the Russian strike on the container ship MSC LEVANTE F Russian Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missiles (pictured here at the Army 2019 International Military Technical Forum in Patriot Park in Alabino, Moscow region) of the type reportedly used to sink the container ship MSC LEVANTE F 'After the strike detonations began, the cargo was completely destroyed, the ship sank.' Another pro-war Telegram channel Soprotivlenie claimed that the cargo ship was carrying other Western military cargo, including 'radars and launch containers of ATACMS missiles' supplied by the US. A picture purportedly shows the containers visible on the vessel in Odesa shortly before it was hit. However no proof was given on entire Telegram channel that the ship contained any military cargo, nor showed evidence of the extent of damage to the MSC LEVANTE F following the attack. Ukrainian vice prime minister Oleksii Kuleba challenged the Russian account and said that the vessel was carrying 'completely civilian cargoes'. The container ship was struck as it prepared to unload, according to the Russian report. A strike on the 482ft MSC LEVANTE F was confirmed by Odesa region governor Oleg Kiper. 'The enemy fired a ballistic missile on Odesa,' he said. 'The attack damaged port infrastructure and a civilian vessel under the flag of the Republic of Panama owned by a European company.' Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba said a second ship was also hit, the Sierra Leone-flagged SUPER SARKAS. A huge plume of smoke billows into the air in Odesa following a large explosion on March 1, captured by many users on social media The attack comes as British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer today hosts Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders to discuss the future of the wartorn nation A picture purportedly shows the containers visible on the vessel (back of shot, behind the cranes) in Odesa shortly before it was hit Russian president Vladimir Putin has drastically ramped up military spending over the last year, increasing the military budget by a higher percentage than the rest of Europe combined The MSC LEVANTE F pictured at Asyaport on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey - it's location before heading to the Ukrainian city of Odesa A Russian Iskander-M mobile short-range ballistic missile launcher pictured at a field show in 2019 - the type reportedly fired at the container ship MSC LEVANTE F Both 'damaged' vessels had completely civilian cargoes, he said. The Kyiv Independent reported: 'No information was immediately available as to what the vessel was carrying, or the extent of the damage.' At least 20 foreign merchant ships have been damaged in previous strikes by Russia, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. In July last year, the MSC LEVANTE F, which can carry approximately 13,634 tons, made the first call by an MSC container ship to Odesa since the start of the war in February 2022. Before sailing to Odesa, the container ship docked at Asyaport, near Tekirdag, on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. The MSC - Mediterranean Shipping Company - brand is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Rachel Reeves has moved to pump billions of pounds more into boosting the UK's defences as the Nato crisis deepens. The Chancellor is changing the remit of the 27.8billion National Wealth Fund so it can be spent on defence. Previously public-private investment vehicle has been focused on infrastructure projects such as green energy schemes. Meanwhile, the government is trying to ease the pressure on the public finances by cutting welfare. Some 5billion of savings are being pencilled in, with the long-term sick set to face more work conditions. The move is designed to avoid deep cuts or more tax rises in the Spring, after higher borrowing costs and stalling growth dealt huge blows to Ms Reeves' plans. The UK and European allies are scrambling to make a step change in military capabilities as the US distances itself from the Ukraine war. Keir Starmer announced last week that the UK will be spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027, with the aid budget being slashed to free up the money. Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured last night) is changing the remit of the 27.8billion National Wealth Fund so it can be spent on defence How Nato countries' spending compares as a proportion of GDP Ms Reeves signed a multi-billion pound UK-Ukraine bilateral loan agreement yesterday, marking the first time money from sanctioned Russian assets will be used for military purposes. Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would use the 2.26billion loan to manufacture weapons in Ukraine. He wrote on X: 'The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine. I thank the people and government of the United Kingdom for their tremendous support from the very beginning of this war.' European officials are said to be developing proposals for a new funding mechanism based on looser debt rules. Ms Reeves told the Sunday Times that 'the world has changed and we have to keep up with that'. 'The importance of hard power, of securing our defence is clearly more important today than it has been for a long time,' she said. 'Given the circumstances we face, we couldn't carry on spending what we were on defence and being able to say that we were comfortable with that.' Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall teed up the welfare curbs today, which could cause unrest on Labour benches. 'For too long, millions of people have been locked out of work, and we've been left with a spiralling benefits bill which is far higher than in many comparable countries,' she told the Sunday Times. 'This is terrible for people, for businesses, and our economy. Years of drift and mismanagement have trapped people on benefits, denied them the support they need and damaged their living standards, health and life chances.' This is the moment undercover police dressed as Power Rangers arrest a suspected thief at a Brazilian carnival. The cops mingled with other revellers in fancy dress including Robins and Batmans to apprehend and cuff their man. Around half a dozen officers including a policewoman pinned him to the ground near Ibirapuera Park in the city of Sao Paulo. Onlookers applauded and filmed the police as they laid out seven mobile phones on the ground in front of him which he is said to have stolen with an accomplice from partying locals and tourists. The officers then marched him away, barefoot and wearing just a pair of shorts, to a waiting patrol car so he could be taken to a nearby station for formal identification and fingerprinting. Guilherme Derritte, Sao Paulo state's Public Security Ministry, published footage of the arrest yesterday afternoon on his official site on X and said: 'This guy didn't count on the support of our Civil Police Power Rangers and our military police officers in a beautiful team effort. 'The carnival cry became the the cry of relief of a population that can no longer stand impunity. 'Another one handed over to the courts and seven mobile phones recovered.' The cops mingled with other revellers in fancy dress including Robins and Batmans to apprehend and cuff their man Onlookers applauded and filmed the police as they laid out seven mobile phones on the ground Around half a dozen officers including a policewoman pinned the suspected thief to the ground near Ibirapuera Park in the city of Sao Paulo The officers then marched him away, barefoot and wearing just a pair of shorts, to a waiting patrol car so he could be taken to a nearby station for formal identification and fingerprinting Police were today trying to track down a second man described as an accomplice who managed to flee before he could be held. It is the second year running undercover police wearing fancy dress have been used to identify and apprehend criminals targeting carnival-goers in Sao Paulo. Officials said nearly 900 mobile phones were stolen during pre-carnival events in the Brazilian state last weekend. On Valentine's Day a Peruvian police officer dressed as a capybara carried out a drugs raid. Video footage showed the giant rodent swooping on a suspected drugs trafficker in the southern American country's capital city Lima. He was seen barging into the house, tackling the man to the ground and putting him in handcuffs. During the raid more than 1,700 packages of cocaine and marijuana were found. The bizarre clip ended with the capybara posing for the photo with the suspect and the mounds of drugs laid out on a table. The operation was carried out by Peru's Escuadron Verde - a specialist anti-drugs unit that often disguises its officers in fancy dress for festivities such as Valentine's Day, Halloween and Christmas. They have previously donned Spiderman, Captain America, Thor and Black Widow costumes to carry out drugs raids. The capybara or greater capybara is the largest living rodent, native to South America. Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz have welcomed their first child. The former political staffer took to Instagram on Sunday night to announce the birth of their baby boy, along with a photo of the little bundle of joy asleep in a hospital crib. Another photo showed the baby's tiny fingers wrapped around his mum's hand. 'Last night we welcomed our little boy into the world,' Ms Higgins' post read. 'A huge thank you to the amazing nurses and doctors for their care and kindness. 'We're both looking forward to getting to dote on the newest member of the family forever grateful for all the love and support we've received.' The baby's name is yet to be revealed. The post was quickly inundated with messages from well-wishers, including four-time Olympic swimmer Leisel Jones, The Block judge Shayna Blaze, Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Marie Claire editor Georgie McCourt. Brittany Higgins welcomed her baby boy into the world on Saturday night A second photo shows showed the baby's tiny fingers wrapped around his mum's hand Ms Higgins and her husband married in a lavish wedding on the Gold Coast last June - 18 months after Mr Sharaz popped the question in Byron Bay on New Year's Eve 2022. They announced they were expecting their first child a month after the nuptials. 'Can't wait to meet you! Beyond excited to welcome a new member to our little family,' Ms Higgins posted last July. 'Your parents are already obsessed with you and you aren't even here yet.' In October, Ms Higgins shared a series of photos of her blossoming baby bump at her French chateau in France. She revealed the first half of her pregnancy had been 'acutely stressful' after receiving worrying news about her unborn baby. That stress came after a defamation trial brought by her former boss, Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds, on top of the recent death of her grandmother. 'A fortnight ago, David and I had the shock of our lives after the midwife told us halfway through my second trimester my blood test had raised some red flags,' Higgins wrote at the time. Brittany Higgins shared a series of photos of her blossoming baby bump in October 'Our baby had a high probability of a genetic disorder - which wouldn't have mattered to us - but scarily could mean he may be incompatible with life outside of the womb. 'After an amniocentesis and a seemingly never ending wait our prayers were answered. Our little guy is perfectly fine and healthy. 'My mind can't help but drifting back to that waiting room in the hospital, full of pregnant women, who were all having the same test as us and whether they had been so fortunate.' In December 2023, the couple fled Australia for a new life at their taxpayer-bankrolled French chateau - a year after Higgins was awarded more than $2.4million from taxpayer funds for her loss of earning capacity, legal costs, medical expenses, domestic assistance and $400,000 'for hurt, distress and humiliation'. The payout by the Albanese government was for her treatment in Canberra after her alleged rape by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in Parliament House in 2019. Less than a year later, the couple were forced to put their three-bedroom mansion in Lunas, a tiny village 100km east of Bordeaux on the market to defend the defamation case brought by Senator Reynolds and returned to Australia. Brittany Higgins & David Sharaz have welcomed their first child almost nine months after tying the knot The chateau is expected to be sold at a massive loss and is still on the market, six months after it was put up for sale, even after the price was slashed last year. Daily Mail Australia recently revealed that the couple are likely to set up a new home in Melbourne with their new baby. It's understood they're hoping to buy in the well-heeled, family-friendly suburb of Malvern East. Higgins has set her sights on Malvern East because her best friend, lobbyist Emma Webster, who supported Higgins daily during the defamation trial, lives there. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has sparked suggestions he branded US Vice-President JD Vance a 'b****' during their explosive White House row. Viewers of the televised 45-minute dispute - with US President Donald Trump at the centre - believe he muttered the insult under his breath. Mr Zelensky is said to have uttered 'Suka, blyat' in response to Mr Vance criticising him for an alleged lack of respect, during Friday evening's confrontation. The slang phrase, also spelled as 'cyka', is variously said to translate in English as 'son of a b****', 'b**** f***', 'f***ing hell' or 'f*** you, b****'. The Ukrainian president was seen crossing his arms in dismay as both Mr Trump and Mr Vance laid into him, before Mr Zelensky was sent on his way from the Washington DC summit sooner than scheduled. The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President claiming his counterpart was 'gambling with World War III'. Mr Trump's administration has made it clear privately it wants a public apology from Zelensky to mend relations, Bloomberg has now reported. Media reports from the US suggested Trump considered cutting off all aid to Ukraine following their very public clash. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky (left) was involved in an argument at the White House with US President Donald Trump (centre) and US Vice-President JD Vance (right) Mr Trump welcomed Mr Zelensky on Friday but their meeting ended sooner than scheduled Volodymyr Zelensky was pictured setting off from the Washington DC summit an hour early The Ukrainian leader was accused of not being grateful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his deputy Mr Vance. Mr Zelensky was then warmly welcomed the following day at Downing Street by Sir Keir Starmer, with the Prime Minister assuring him of ongoing UK support. The US President had been accused of acting like a bully at the White House when he told his Ukrainian counterpart to accept a deal with Russia 'or we are out'. Video footage of Mr Zelensky's response to Mr Vance's comments has gone viral online, with many suggesting he swore under his breath in disgust. Among those posting on X, formerly Twitter, was a much-shared user saying: 'Zelenskyy called JD Vance a "B***" in Ukrainian.' Replies included remarks such as 'This is the least diplomatic exchange ever', 'I like him more and more' and 'Harsh but fair'. Other viewers have speculated that Mr Zelensky was expressing general frustration rather than directing his words at Mr Vance, with one saying: 'It'd be more of an observation than calling him anything.' Another wrote: 'If he said that, it can simply be swearing out of anger, which is understandable.' Donald Trump (right) laid into his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky (left) during talks between the two presidents at the White House on Friday Speculation is raging over whether Volodymyr Zelensky (left) swore during his meeting with US President Donald Trump (centre) and US Vice-President JD Vance (right) Sir Keir had been a guest at the White House on Thursday, appearing to get on well with President Trump while handing over an invitation from King Charles for a state visit to the UK. The PM is now among those leading attempts to build bridges between the US and Ukraine, heading pressure on Mr Zelensky to 'patch things up'. But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declared the Ukrainian PM should 'apologise for turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became'. Mr Zelensky is today scheduled to be welcomed by the King in another UK show of support for Ukraine in defiance of the US position made clear by Mr Trump and his Vice-President JD Vance. Sir Keir last night spoke with both Mr Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, after the PM insisted Ukraine had 'full backing across the United Kingdom' in a Number 10 meeting with Mr Zelensky. Sir Keir also told the Ukrainian leader that Britain stood with his nation 'for as long as it may take' - and embraced him several times on camera. Yet the PM also told Mr Zelensky he needed to 'patch things up' with the US president following their very public fall-out, according to the Telegraph. The US government has privately suggested wanting a public apology from Mr Zelensky, Bloomberg reported European officials were saying. British Prime Minister SIr Keir Starmer (right) hosted Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky (left) at 10 Downing Street on Saturday Sir Keir welcomed Mr Zelensky outside No. 10 before holding talks inside The Conservatives' shadow home affairs minister Alicia Kearns last night said that Mr Trump's proposed state visit to the UK, as offered by Sir Keir on the King's behalf at their White House meeting on Thursday, should now be rescinded. She said: 'State visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour. 'No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the USs commitment to her allies is assured. His Majesty should not have to carry the weight of Keirs diplomatic failings.' But her party leader Kemi Badenoch today hit back at such a suggestion, with a spokesman for the Tory leader saying: 'Personal views of individual MPs are not official Conservative Party positions. 'In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs. 'As Kemi said on TV this morning, it is imperative that the UK remains close to America and they dont disengage from NATO if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.' World leaders are due to hold crunch talks on Ukraine's future in London today, at Lancaster House, a mansion near Buckingham Palace. The PM is expected to urge the 18 countries in attendance to follow the UK in answering the US's calls to boost defence spending. US President Donald Trump (right) clashed with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky Also attacking Mr Zelensky at the White House was US Vice-President JD Vance (pictured) Sir Keir, who has now called Mr Trump twice in two days, is seeking to act as a bridge between Europe and America and keep NATO together. The meeting brings together leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as Turkey, NATO and the European Union. Sir Keir said ahead of the talks: 'Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security, and secure our collective future.' Downing Street has urged a 'strong lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace' and said leaders would discuss 'next steps on planning for strong security guarantees'. The summit comes amid growing fears over whether the United States would continue to support NATO. The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President claiming his counterpart was 'gambling with World War III'. Mr Trump's administration has made it clear privately it wants a public apology from Zelensky to mend relations, Bloomberg has now reported. Media reports from the US suggested Trump considered cutting off all aid to Ukraine following their 45-minute televised confrontation. Sir Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelensky that Britain stands with his nation Ukraine 'for as long as it may take', three years into Russia's invasion of the country The Ukrainian leader was accused of not being thankful enough for US military aid by both the US president and his deputy Mr Vance. In contrast with the terse exchange in the Oval Office, Mr Zelensky praised his meeting with Sir Keir on Saturday as 'meaningful and warm'. Sir Keir, who usually stands at the doorstep of No. 10 to greet world leaders, walked towards Mr Zelensky to meet him as he arrived - the pair then shared a hug before approaching the famous black door together. A group of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators could be seen outside the gates of the street, and were heard to cheer as Mr Zelensky's convoy drove by. Sir Keir later told his guest: 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and how much they support Ukraine.' Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned Mr Zelensky that he needed to find a way to improve his relationship with Mr Trump. He described Friday's White House meeting as 'unfortunate', as he told the BBC: 'It is important that President Zelensky finds a way to restore his relationship with the American President and with the senior American leadership team.' Describing his own discussions with Mr Zelensky, Mr Rutte added: 'I said, "I think you have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration. That is important going forward."' A summit of world leaders is today being held in London - pictured in talks on February 24 are (left to right) Ursula von der Leyen, Volodymyr Zelensky, Justin Trudeau and Antonio Costa Photos of Sir Keir Starmer's welcome for Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street in London on Saturday were shared by the Ukrainian president's press service After the Washington DC flare-up between the US and Ukrainian presidents, Sir Keir emphasised a different tone as he welcomed Mr Zelensky on Saturday. He told Mr Zelensky: 'Let me just say that you're very, very welcome here in Downing Street. 'And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take. I hope you heard some of that cheering on the street. 'That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with you - unwavering determination - and to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace.' He continued: 'A lasting peace for Ukraine based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine - so important for Ukraine, so important for Europe and so important for the United Kingdom. 'So I'm much looking forward to our discussions here this afternoon - thank you very much for making the time to come.' Mr Zelensky praised Britain and King Charles for being 'such big support from the very beginning'. He added: 'We're happy and count on your support and really really have [been] such partners.' Mr Zelensky was welcomed on Saturday by Sir Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street In an earlier response to Friday's White House argument, a No. 10 spokeswoman had said: 'The Prime Minister has tonight spoken to both President Trump and President Zelensky. 'He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine.' The statement from Downing Street followed a show of unity from Europe's political leaders, supporting Ukraine. Mr Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen were among the leaders to express solidarity with Mr Zelensky. And Sir Keir today said he hoped a European 'coalition of the willing' would come together to support Kyiv. He also insisted any ceasefire had to be underpinned by the US to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine again. Sir Keir told the BBC: 'In other words, we've got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward leaning. 'The UK and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this and that is why President Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the US.' European leaders are arriving in London ahead of a crucial summit to forge a Ukraine strategy after the extraordinary White House bust-up between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. Italy's Giorgia Meloni was greeted warmly by Keir Starmer outside the famous black door of Downing Street. As they sat down for bilateral talks inside, the PM insisted that they approached issues from the 'same mindset'. Ms Meloni said she believed they could both help build 'bridges' with the US. The leaders - including Mr Zelensky - are assembling to consider how to shore up Nato and the continent's defences from Russian aggression. The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match between Mr Trump, his vice president JD Vance and the Ukraine president. Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from Mr Zelensky amid threats to pull the plug on US military support. In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president's support for Ukraine as 'crucial'. Italy's Giorgia Meloni was greeted warmly by Keir Starmer outside the famous black door of Downing Street As they prepared for bilateral talks, the PM insisted that they approached issues from the 'same mindset' Ms Meloni said she believed they could both help build 'bridges' with the US Ms Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate' There have been calls for Mr Trump's invite for an unprecedented state visit to the UK to be withdrawn, although No10 is adamant that will not happen. Sir Keir said this morning that it was a 'matter for the King'. Ms Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate'. She said: 'We are all very committed about a goal that we all want to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. 'I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. I think on this the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building.' European leaders have been voicing solidarity with Mr Zelensky, who was warmly embraced by Sir Keir in Downing Street last night, as they try to find a way of repairing relations. In an interview earlier this morning, the PM said he 'trusted' the US president and believed he wants a 'lasting peace'. Sir Keir said he was trying to act as a 'bridge' to resolve the differences and had 'hit the phones' in the wake of the extraordinary bust-up in Washington. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America. Sir Keir suggested that 'a coalition of the willing' would have to guarantee any settlement on the ground, hinting that hopes of the US providing a security backstop have dwindled. Keir Starmer told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America Volodymyr Zelensky was warmly embraced by Keir Starmer in Downing Street last night (pictured), as they try to find a way of repairing relations with the US The summit in London today was already planned before the extraordinary on-camera slanging match between Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance and Mr Zelensky (pictured) Badenoch condemns humiliation of 'hero' Zelensky... but says his english might have contributed to tensions Kemi Badenoch condemned the 'humiliation' of Volodymyr Zelensky today following his clash with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, the Tory leader said her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian president. However, she dismissed the idea that he was 'ambushed' - suggesting that misunderstandings were fuelled by english not being his first language. 'Honestly, my heart went out to President Zelensky. I watched it and I couldn't believe what was happening, he was being humiliated,' Ms Badenoch said. 'I don't think we should conduct these sorts of difficult conversations in front of the cameras and we have to remember that President Zelensky is a hero, he is the person who represents that strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people.' She added: 'I don't think it was an ambush, I think that both parties are working for their respective national interest, and they seem to be speaking at cross-purposes. 'I think sometimes having English as a second language is not necessarily helpful. During all the trade negotiations I had as trade secretary, most of the eastern European countries had an interpreter there.' Ahead of the European leaders' summit, she said: 'If we don't have an American security guarantee within Nato, if we lose them, we're going to be spending a hell of a lot more (on defence). 'We need to make sure that America does not disengage, it is in their interest for peace now, if we all get dragged into an escalation, America will get dragged into it eventually.' Advertisement They are also racing to fill the potential gap in European defences from the abrupt withdrawal of the world's largest military and economic power. Sir Keir said he was 'rolling up my sleeves' rather than 'ramping up the rhetoric' in response to the scenes in Washington. 'I was in my office, and nobody wants to see that. Later that day, I then picked up the phone to President Trump, and I picked up the phone to President Zelensky, because, to my mind, focus has to be a lasting peace in Ukraine,' he said. He added: 'Look, nobody wants to see that. Clearly, you know, there's a lot of tension. The cameras were on.' Sir Keir continued: 'My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. 'We've now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we'll discuss that plan with the United States.' The PM said he 'felt uncomfortable' watching the Oval Office footage but added: 'The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. 'The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. 'Because my reaction was we have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.' Of Mr Trump, the premier added: 'I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.' Sir Keir said: 'What I am clear about is that if there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again. 'That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there's a deal it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.' A security guarantee from the Americans is the subject of 'intense' discussion, Sir Keir said. He added: 'For me, the components of a lasting peace are a strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength; to negotiate a European element to security guarantees, and that's why I've been forward-leaning on this about what we would do; and a US backstop. 'That's the package, all three parts need to be in place, and that's what I'm working hard to bring together.' Pressed on why trusts Mr Trump, he said: 'Because I've spoken to him a number of times. I've got to know him. I've had extensive discussions with him and I believe his motivation is lasting peace.' He added: 'If the central question you're putting to me is do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes. 'But, also, take a step back, the relationship between the US and the UK is the closest relationship of any two countries in the world, our defence, our security, our intelligence, are bound up one with another in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the world.' Asked if he would trust Vladimir Putin, he said: 'Well, no, I wouldn't trust Putin, which is why I want a security guarantee. 'I wouldn't trust him not to come again, because he's proven that he will come again. He's already done it and we know what his ambitions are.' Sir Keir is positioning himself as a bridge between Europe and Mr Trump after his successful visit to the White House last week. In the opulent surroundings of Lancaster House, near Buckingham Palace, the PM will urge the 18 countries in attendance to boost defence spending. He is expected to tell leaders they are 'at a turning point', and must recognise the 'brutal reality' and start taking action instead of making 'carefully crafted speeches'. In comments briefed ahead of the summit, Sir Keir said: 'Today I will reaffirm my unwavering support for Ukraine and double down on my commitment to provide capacity, training and aid to Ukraine, putting it in the strongest possible position. 'In partnership with our allies, we must intensify our preparations for the European element of security guarantees alongside continued discussions with the United States. 'We have an opportunity to come together to ensure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine that secures their sovereignty and security. Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security and secure our collective future.' Sir Keir pledged this week to raise the UK's defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, slashing the aid budget to free up the funding. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also expected to cut 5billion from welfare and allow the 28billion national wealth fund to be invested in defence projects. The summit comes after several days that saw the foundations of the Nato alliance - that has helped avoid world war for 80 years - shaken. The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President accusing his counterpart of 'gambling with World War Three' after Russia invaded. It resulted in Ukraine's president being kicked out of the White House and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support put on ice. Mr Trump said he would not be welcome until he was willing to talk about 'peace'. Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting. European leaders have rallied in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, while Sir Keir has repeatedly spoken to both presidents over the phone. The PM welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday in a meeting described as 'meaningful and warm' by the Ukrainian leader. The two men embraced as they met, and again later as they parted, and Sir Keir took the unusual step of walking Mr Zelensky to his car, instead of waving him goodbye from the front step of No10. France's Emmanuel Macron (pictured on his own trip to Washington last week) and Italy's Giorgia Meloni are among those assembling to consider how to shore up Nato and the continent's defences from Russian aggression Ms Reeves has signed a loan agreement worth 2.26billion with her Ukrainian counterpart, to pay for further military support and the rebuilding of Ukraine in future. The UK hopes to recoup the costs from frozen Russian assets locked in bank accounts across Europe. Mr Zelensky is expected to meet the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk this evening after attending the summit. The embattled Ukrainian leader meets Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US president's support. Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump last night for the second evening in a row, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, as he seeks to be a bridge across the Atlantic and smooth out the ongoing division between Western allies. Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, told the BBC he urged Mr Zelensky to repair his relationship with the US president in a Friday-night phone call, as the alliance's members 'need to stick together' against Russia. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned in a Telegraph newspaper article that America's commitment to Europe 'cannot now be taken for granted', after urging Sir Keir to push for 'concrete' pledges during the summit. A wealthy Utah mom accused of murdering her husband after a night of whiskey-fueled sex was devastated her secret lover was scared of her after she told him about the bloodbath, a court heard. Jennifer Gledhill's alleged calls with her unidentified lover were shared at a bail hearing Friday, Fox13 reported. Gledhill, 42, is accused of the September 2024 shooting of Matthew Johnson, 51, as he slept at their $1 million home in Cottonwood Heights, near Salt Lake City. He was father to Gledhill's three young children. 'Right before [Gledhill] reported Matthew missing, [her lover] recorded a phone call with the defendant,' prosecutors said. 'In the phone call, the [Gledhill] apologizes for telling [her lover] about what happened, she tells him to not think of her as a monster and to remember her who she was before she opened her mouth.' Prosecutors then began quoting Gledhill verbatim, including references to Johnson in the past tense before he'd been reported missing. 'I think that the fact that you got scared of me, that part like broke my heart because I was like "wow if you think I could even heard a fly," she said. 'Like he just, he is, he's not a person. He wasn't a person anymore he wasn't Matt anymore.' But far more chilling words were to follow, the hearing was told. Prosecutors revealed the shocking phone call Jennifer Gledhill (pictured) made to her lover confessing that she killed her husband Jennifer Gledhill, 42, was arrested in early October after her husband Matthew Johnson, 51, vanished and was later charged with his murder Gledhill's secret lover, whose name has never been shared, told her that he was frightened by what she confessed. He asked how she would feel if the roles were reversed, which she responded, 'not if I deserved it.' 'I always preach that I was like the queen of hearts in my past lives because I'm like "Off With Their Heads.",' Gledhill is then said to have bragged. 'I'm like if we could just round up the scum of this Earth and put them on an island or just kill them all I could shipshape this country back into a good place,' Gledhill said. He is said to have been shot dead as he slept and his body has never been found. Attorneys for Gledhill, who denied murder at a hearing last month, claim the newly-released phone calls were taken out of context. Gledhill's defense attorney argued the conversation was taken out of context, but Judge Adam Mow denied her bail, Fox13 reported. Johnson was reported missing on September 23. Gledhill was arrested after her unnamed lover, whose name has never been released, told police that she'd told him about killing her husband. In a police interview after her October 3 arrest, Gledhill claimed to have separated from Johnson - only to spend the evening of September 20 talking and drinking liquor with him. Gledhill debuted a new look at an earlier hearing where she pleaded not guilty to murdering her estranged husband Johnson's remains have yet to be found, and Gledhill pleaded not guilty to the charges Police claim the mom-of-three opened fire on Johnson as he slept at their $1 million home (pictured) in Cottonwood Heights, a suburb of Salt Lake City Gledhill is said to have killed Johnson after he accused her of an affair during an argument that culminated in a night of whiskey-fueled sex and his killing She said they then had sex that night, and 'informed (the officer) due to the intoxication from the whiskey she had a hard time recalling the events that took place after her and Matthew had sex', the search warrant said. Gledhill said Johnson 'became upset' during their evening together, but could not recall why. Her unnamed lover told police Johnson was upset at discovering his wife had been cheating on him. Gledhill went on to offer conflicting excuses for bruises found on her body, it is claimed. She told cops Johnson 'struck her several times' with a closed fist, leaving her bruised on her arms, hands, face and legs. Her secret lover - whose name has not been released - said Gledhill told him she got the bruises 'from moving Matthew's body and cleaning the mess in the house.' Gledhill's parents Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill have also been charged in the murder after police revealed that witnesses saw them cleaning her house The man contacted police after Gledhill allegedly confessed to the murder, which led to her arrest. Gledhill's parents Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill have also been charged in the murder. Police revealed that witnesses saw them cleaning her house for five hours following the alleged murder. Gledhill's mother was even suspected of buying a new mattress for her daughter to replace the one Johnson is said to have bled out over after being shot dead. Israel is suspending the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza, it announced today, over a dispute around the timing of the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Artillery fire and an airstrike was reported in the territory as the Israeli government and Hamas hit an impasse over how to proceed with their fragile ceasefire. Hamas remain the de facto governing body in Gaza, but have indicated a willingness to cede control to a Palestinian unity government As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel gave its backing to an extension it said was put forward by Donald Trump's US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. Hamas has repeatedly rejected an extension, instead favouring a transition to the truce deal's second phase, which would see the release of all remaining hostages and a more permanent end to the fighting in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. 'Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that, from this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be suspended,' his office said in a statement. 'Israel will not accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas persists with its refusal, there will be other consequences,' it added. Hamas slammed the move, saying in a statement that the 'decision to suspend humanitarian aid is cheap blackmail, a war crime and a blatant coup against the (ceasefire) agreement'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that Israel is suspending the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza Palestinians are seen living among the rubble of destroyed houses in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 16, 2025 As the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire drew to a close, Israel gave its backing to an extension it said was put forward by Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff (pictured), which would cover the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover Gaza's civil defence agency, meanwhile, reported that 'artillery shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks' targeted areas east of Khan Yunis city, in the southern Gaza Strip. Approached for comment, the Israeli army said it was looking into the matter. The army also said it had conducted an air strike in northern Gaza targeting suspects it said had 'planted an explosive device in the area' near its troops. Following the announcement of the aid suspension, Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri wrote on X: 'No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage.' Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose party is crucial to keeping Netanyahu's government in power, welcomed the decision to suspend aid. Stopping aid 'until Hamas is destroyed or completely surrenders and all our hostages are freed is an important step in the right direction', he said on Telegram, calling for a renewed fight 'until total victory' against Hamas. 'We have remained in government to ensure this,' he added. According to the Israeli statement, the truce extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza freed on the day the deal came into effect, with the rest to be released at the end if an agreement was reached on a permanent ceasefire. Following the announcement of the aid suspension, Netanyahu spokesman Omer Dostri wrote on X: 'No trucks entered Gaza this morning, nor will they at this stage' People embrace in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as Palestinian prisoners arrive on a bus after they were released from an Israeli jail as part of a hostages for prisoners swap on February 27, 2025 People hold Israeli flags on February 26, 2025 as a convoy carrying the coffins of Shiri Bibas, 32, and her two children Kfir, 9 months old, and Ariel, 4, who were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack Hamas called on 'mediators and the international community to pressure' Israel to 'put an end to these punitive, immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip'. Its spokesman Hazem Qassem later said Israel 'bears responsibility for the consequences of its decision on the people of the Strip and the fate of its prisoners'. A senior Hamas official had earlier told AFP the Palestinian militant group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase. Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said Sunday that proceeding to the second phase was 'the only way to achieve stability in the region and the return' of the hostages. Under the first phase, Hamas returned 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight others, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners. Of the 251 captives taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead. More than 15 months of war created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the UN repeatedly warning the territory was on the brink of famine before the ceasefire allowed a surge of aid to enter. But Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday dismissed warnings of famine in Gaza as a 'lie'. 'With regards to this starvation [claim], that was a lie during all this war. That was a lie,' Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem. The rubble of destroyed buildings is seen, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, February 26, 2025 US president Donald Trump caused controversy after reposting an AI-created vision of his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip, featuring a Gaza full of sleek glass skyscrapers and sandy tourist beaches The AI video of Mr Trump's vision for Gaza also includes a giant golden statue of the President The suspension of aid comes as Palestinians in Gaza, alongside much of the Muslim world, mark the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, during which the faithful observe a dawn-to-dusk fast. The war has ravaged the vast majority of Gaza and killed more than 48,388 people there, mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry, figures the UN has deemed reliable. It began with Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Washington announced late Saturday it was boosting its military aid to Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was using 'emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance'. A fresh search for doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 off Australian waters 'could turn catastrophic very, very quickly', experts have warned. Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers, including six Australians, vanished after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014. Previous searches have scoured 200,000 square kilometres of ocean to no avail. Now, a much-anticipated third search effort is underway in a previously unprobed 15,000 square kilometre stretch of the Indian Ocean about 1,500km of the coast of Perth. US-British robotics firm Ocean Infinity have their vessel, Armada 7806, poised in the area waiting to dispatch their autonomous undersea drones to the sea floor six kilometres below. The drones will scan the sea floor, report anomalies, and are capable of taking images which can be sent back to searchers on board the vessel. It's believed the company will hone in on a zone near the previously scoured 'seventh arc', where the plane is expected to have lost fuel, informed by further data analyses by independent researchers in the past ten years. The Malaysian government announced it had signed a 'no find, no fee' agreement last December for Ocean Infinity to undertake a search of the area. Ocean Infinity's Armada 7806 is bobbing in the Indian Ocean as efforts get underway to recover the wreckage of MH370 Former Australian naval officer Peter Waring said he hopes the search isn't a 'false dawn' Former Australian naval officer Peter Waring said the technology being used in the search was top of the line. 'What these new Ocean Infinity vessels represent quite frankly, is as big a transition in maritime technology as the movement from sail to steam in the 1800s,' he told 60 Minutes. 'It is a giant leap in, in maritime technology.' However, the technology can only get searchers so far in the open ocean, where where waves as high as 20 metres have been recorded in the new search area. 'There's absolutely no shelter out there and there's nowhere to hide,' Mr Waring warned. 'You're six or seven days away from the nearest port, which is Perth. 'These are dangerous conditions, if something goes wrong, it will turn catastrophic very, very quickly.' This is Ocean Infinity's second effort to find the wreckage after a failed attempt in 2018. The 'seventh arc' (pictured) is where experts believe the plane could have reached before running out of fuel and been forced into the water Experts fear the conditions in the Indian Ocean could make recovery crews' work difficult. Pictured are searchers in 2014 'We've been here before, there's been lots of searches in the past,' Mr Waring said. 'There's been lots of promises made and I'm really hoping this time that we find the aircraft and that we can put it all to rest. 'This is a mystery that really tears at the fabric of reality, and maybe it'll stitch it back together again slightly. Deep sea explorer and electrical engineer Craig Wallace also warned the about the gruelling conditions. 'The Indian Ocean that they're working in is, is among the worst in the world,' he said. 'They've recorded wave heights of 20 meters, so 60 feet. It's extreme conditions and there will be a lot of times where they simply cannot launch or recover the vehicle.' With the aid of autonomous underwater drones, recovery crews hope to scour the sea floor Ocean Infinity are believed to have identified their search area based on the estimated location of the seventh arc, the aircraft's performance characteristics and the weather along the flight paths on the night and morning of March 8, 2014. The recovery experts will also factor in satellite data and oceanographic modelling of the probable travel paths of the 37 salvaged aircraft components which have washed up as far away as Mauritius and Madagascar. Former RAAF and Qantas pilot Mike Glynn suggested other data relied upon in the investigation was misleading. He said the methodology, developed by a retired aerospace engineer, relied on anomalies in radio signals measured in what's known as weak signal propagation reporter tracking. 'The theory says if you track all links with anomalies in them, you can track where the aircraft went, but you can't,' he told the Australian. 'These links are tens of thousands of kilometres long and there's no identification of the aircraft that went through. All you get is an anomaly in the signal which can be caused by a lot of things.' He said the Malaysian government was hopeful the theory equated to evidence that would bring them closer to the wreckage of MH370. 'It's absolutely not and it will lead to another [search] failure,' Mr Glynn said. Mr Glynn believes Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah originally planned a mass murder-suicide for the flight. At the present stage, jurisdiction over found wreckage is unclear. Previous searches have covered some 200,000 square kilometres already since 2014 The Ocean Infinity vessel sailed toward their believed search site in February, though its exact location has not yet been disclosed Experts hope analysis of black boxes in the wreckage could reveal the plane's final moments. 'Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin,' Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke told a press conference in December. 'We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families.' Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, has washed up along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean. Loke said the proposal to resume the search in the southern Indian Ocean came from exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which had conducted the last search for the plane that ended in 2018. Anthony Albanese has defended his purchase of a $4.3million clifftop mansion which triggered furious backlash amid the cost-of-living and housing crisis. Struggling Aussies erupted when news broke last September of the Prime Minister's new five-bedroom waterfront property at Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast, which he bought with his fiancee Jodie Haydon. Mr Albanese was grilled about his property portfolio addition by Karl Stefanovic during a wide-ranging interview which aired on 60 Minutes ahead of the coming federal election, which will be held on or before May 17. He also candidly shared plans about his wedding to Ms Haydon and the major role his beloved cavoodle Toto will play. The couple have been together since 2020 and began dating 18 months after his first marriage to former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt ended. During a one-on-one chat with the Prime Minister, Stefanovic asked whose 'harebrained' idea it was to purchase the Copacabana home. Mr Albanese, who turned 62 on Sunday, insisted that the decision was a personal rather than a political one, citing the need for a fresh start. 'Look, Jodie and I are getting married,' he began. Toto will play an important role when Anthony Albanese marries Jodie Haydon later this year The Prime Minister looks forward to fresh start six years after his marriage to Carmel Tebbutt (pictured together) ended 'What you don't do is move into the family home where Carmel and I raised Nathan (their son) together as a family. 'And guess what Karl, at some stage I won't be Prime Minister into my eighties and therefore, we have bought a place close to where Jodie grew up, where her family are all based.' He added that his fiancee was a proud 'Coastie'. 'It was very much a personal decision, not a political one. And I think Australians get that,' Mr Albanese added. He was unfazed when asked about the out of touch perception the property splurge sparked. 'I'm pretty resilient, Karl, and if you're worried about every bit of criticism that was out there, then life would be much more difficult than it is,' he replied. The couple also opened up about their nuptials later this year, where Toto will be the ring bearer. Sitting down for a separate interview with the couple, Stefanovic cheekily offered to be the MC at the reception. The Prime Minister and fiancee Jodie Haydon (pictured together) gave interviewer Karl Stefanovic an insight into their relationship The PM says his $4.3million clifftop mansion purchase on the NSW Central Coast was a personal decision rather than political 'How much do you charge?' Ms Haydon asked. Stefanovic replied: 'Mates rates. I'm prepared to look at it.' Mr Albanese suggested: 'Maybe you can DJ?' When the couple were asked about their wedding song, Ms Haydon said it hadn't yet been decided but confessed she was a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. 'Born in the USA?' Stefanovic asked before he was quickly shut down by Mr Albanese. 'Wrong vibe, I think,' he replied, referencing US President Donald Trump. Mr Albanese disagreed with suggestions he should have gone to the US and visited Trump by now. 'I'll deal with him the way I deal with other world leaders, respectfully,' he said. 'Donald Trump has a different perspective from mine, that's very clear. 'But we have so much in common. 'The trade relationship is very important and the AUKUS security arrangements are so important.' Jodie Haydon (pictured with her fiance Anthony Albanese last Sunday) revealed she never imagined she's ever become Australia's First Lady Ms Haydon revealed she never imagined she would one day become Australia's First Lady. 'Absolutely not,' she said. 'I think many of my other single girlfriends and I thought we would end up like the Golden Girls one day, we'd all live together up the coast, and that would be life. 'So on these trips that we do, I actually take them quite seriously, because you know that you are also representing Australia in those moments.' Ms Haydon also revealed that her fiance is 'a little OCD' and that the state of the bathroom sink often causes arguments. 'When things start to migrate over (to Mr Albanese's side), I know when I've gone too far,' Ms Haydon said. Mr Albanese interrupted: 'I completely have to be organised, things done in a certain way. 'It's not clean - but it's not my fault.' The Prime Minister pictured with breakdancer 'Raygun' at a charity cricket match at Kirribilli House last week He remains hopeful of a second term in office, despite the polls suggesting otherwise. 'I won't die wondering,' Mr Albanese said. 'I'm determined to win. 'But down the track, it is absolutely delightful to meet someone who you want to spend the rest of your life with. We're best friends as well.' European leaders scrambled to forge a Ukraine strategy at a crisis summit today after the extraordinary White House bust-up between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. After embracing Mr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London, the PM told him 'we are all with you' and urged the gathering to step up to a 'once in a generation moment'. Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni were present as Britain, France and Italy look set to take key roles in a 'coalition of the willing' to enforce any peace deal with Russia. The leaders - also including Germany, Canada, Poland, Denmark and Sweden - are expected to signal a ramping up of defence spending. Sir Keir has been warned they must recognise the 'brutal reality' of the US pulling back from military guarantees. 'In my conversations in recent days, we agreed a group of us will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then discuss that with the US and take it forward together,' he said. Ukraine's allies need to also continue their support in the moment, Sir Keir stressed. 'Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression,' he said. The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance. Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from the Ukrainian president amid threats to pull the plug on US military support. In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president's support for Ukraine as 'crucial'. However, the UK's ambassador to Washington, Lord Mandelson has warned he will need to take a different approach in a 'reset' to get the alliance 'back on the same page'. The New Labour architect suggested Mr Zelensky should 'commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow'. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has been trolling the woes of Nato by jibing that US policy now 'largely coincides with our vision'. Keir Starmer embraced Volodymyr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London as they try to repair alliances in the wake of the debacle Front row, left to right: Finland's President Alexander Stubb, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Poland's PM Donald Tusk. Centre row from left: Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez, Denmark's PM Mette Frederiksen, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Antonio Costa, Canada's PM Justin Trudeau and Romania's interim President Ilie Bolojan. Back row from left: Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Netherlands PM Dick Schoof, Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Norway's PM Jonas Gahr Store, Czech Republic's PM Petr Fiala, Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni and Turkey's foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The PM told the gathering they must step up to a 'once in a generation moment' Keir Starmer shook hands with Emmanuel Macron on the steps of Lancaster House in London as they look to shore up Nato and the continent's defences from Russian aggression Sir Keir and Mr Macron are thought to be taking the lead on drawing up new proposals for guaranteeing any peace deal with Russia The summit - also being attended by Mr Zelensky - was already planned before the on-camera slanging with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance The summit in London today was already planned before the extraordinary on-camera slanging match between Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance and Mr Zelensky (pictured) Sir Keir and Giorgia Meloni met for the second time in the day, after holding talks in No10 this morning Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has joined the gathering of leaders in London this afternoon Nato chief Mark Rutte arriving for the summit in Lancaster House today There have been calls for Mr Trump's invite for an unprecedented state visit to the UK to be withdrawn, although No10 is adamant that will not happen. Sir Keir said this morning that it was a 'matter for the King'. Speaking to broadcasters outside Lancaster House, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine must have the 'means to fortify and protect itself' in economic and military terms. She added that 'therefore the focus is not only on the military supply but also for example securing their energy system'. She also revealed she will present 'a comprehensive plan to rearm Europe' on Thursday. Ms Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate'. She said: 'We are all very committed about a goal that we all want to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. 'I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. I think on this the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building.' European leaders have been voicing solidarity with Mr Zelensky, who was warmly embraced by Sir Keir in Downing Street last night, as they try to find a way of repairing relations. In an interview earlier this morning, the PM said he 'trusted' the US president and believed he wants a 'lasting peace'. Sir Keir said he was trying to act as a 'bridge' to resolve the differences and had 'hit the phones' in the wake of the extraordinary bust-up in Washington. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America. Sir Keir suggested that 'a coalition of the willing' would have to guarantee any settlement on the ground, hinting that hopes of the US providing a security backstop have dwindled. Pro-Ukraine demonstrations were taking place outside Downing Street today Danish PM Mette Frederiksen was embraced by Sir Keir at the summit today Polish PM Donald Tusk is among the leaders at the summit today Earlier, Italy's Giorgia Meloni was greeted warmly by Keir Starmer outside the famous black door of Downing Street As they prepared for bilateral talks, the PM insisted that they approached issues from the 'same mindset' Keir Starmer told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America Badenoch condemns humiliation of 'hero' Zelensky... but says his english might have contributed to tensions Kemi Badenoch condemned the 'humiliation' of Volodymyr Zelensky today following his clash with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, the Tory leader said her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian president. However, she dismissed the idea that he was 'ambushed' - suggesting that misunderstandings were fuelled by english not being his first language. 'Honestly, my heart went out to President Zelensky. I watched it and I couldn't believe what was happening, he was being humiliated,' Ms Badenoch said. 'I don't think we should conduct these sorts of difficult conversations in front of the cameras and we have to remember that President Zelensky is a hero, he is the person who represents that strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people.' She added: 'I don't think it was an ambush, I think that both parties are working for their respective national interest, and they seem to be speaking at cross-purposes. 'I think sometimes having English as a second language is not necessarily helpful. During all the trade negotiations I had as trade secretary, most of the eastern European countries had an interpreter there.' Ahead of the European leaders' summit, she said: 'If we don't have an American security guarantee within Nato, if we lose them, we're going to be spending a hell of a lot more (on defence). 'We need to make sure that America does not disengage, it is in their interest for peace now, if we all get dragged into an escalation, America will get dragged into it eventually.' Advertisement They are also racing to fill the potential gap in European defences from the abrupt withdrawal of the world's largest military and economic power. Sir Keir said he was 'rolling up my sleeves' rather than 'ramping up the rhetoric' in response to the scenes in Washington. 'I was in my office, and nobody wants to see that. Later that day, I then picked up the phone to President Trump, and I picked up the phone to President Zelensky, because, to my mind, focus has to be a lasting peace in Ukraine,' he said. He added: 'Look, nobody wants to see that. Clearly, you know, there's a lot of tension. The cameras were on.' Sir Keir continued: 'My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. 'We've now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we'll discuss that plan with the United States.' The PM said he 'felt uncomfortable' watching the Oval Office footage but added: 'The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. 'The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. 'Because my reaction was we have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.' Of Mr Trump, the premier added: 'I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.' Sir Keir said: 'What I am clear about is that if there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again. 'That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there's a deal it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.' A security guarantee from the Americans is the subject of 'intense' discussion, Sir Keir said. He added: 'For me, the components of a lasting peace are a strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength; to negotiate a European element to security guarantees, and that's why I've been forward-leaning on this about what we would do; and a US backstop. 'That's the package, all three parts need to be in place, and that's what I'm working hard to bring together.' Pressed on why trusts Mr Trump, he said: 'Because I've spoken to him a number of times. I've got to know him. I've had extensive discussions with him and I believe his motivation is lasting peace.' He added: 'If the central question you're putting to me is do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes. 'But, also, take a step back, the relationship between the US and the UK is the closest relationship of any two countries in the world, our defence, our security, our intelligence, are bound up one with another in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the world.' Asked if he would trust Vladimir Putin, he said: 'Well, no, I wouldn't trust Putin, which is why I want a security guarantee. 'I wouldn't trust him not to come again, because he's proven that he will come again. He's already done it and we know what his ambitions are.' Lord Mandelson told the ABC news channel that Mr Zelensky must 'give his unequivocal backing to the initiative that President is taking, to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine'. 'I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow,' he said. Sir Keir is positioning himself as a bridge between Europe and Mr Trump after his successful visit to the White House last week. Sir Keir pledged this week to raise the UK's defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, slashing the aid budget to free up the funding. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also expected to cut 5billion from welfare and allow the 28billion national wealth fund to be invested in defence projects. The summit comes after several days that saw the foundations of the Nato alliance - that has helped avoid world war for 80 years - shaken. Ms Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate' The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President accusing his counterpart of 'gambling with World War Three' after Russia invaded. It resulted in Ukraine's president being kicked out of the White House and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support put on ice. Mr Trump said he would not be welcome until he was willing to talk about 'peace'. Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting. European leaders have rallied in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, while Sir Keir has repeatedly spoken to both presidents over the phone. The PM welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday in a meeting described as 'meaningful and warm' by the Ukrainian leader. The two men embraced as they met, and again later as they parted, and Sir Keir took the unusual step of walking Mr Zelensky to his car, instead of waving him goodbye from the front step of No10. Ms Reeves has signed a loan agreement worth 2.26billion with her Ukrainian counterpart, to pay for further military support and the rebuilding of Ukraine in future. The UK hopes to recoup the costs from frozen Russian assets locked in bank accounts across Europe. Mr Zelensky is expected to meet the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk this evening after attending the summit. The embattled Ukrainian leader meets Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US president's support. Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump last night for the second evening in a row, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, as he seeks to be a bridge across the Atlantic and smooth out the ongoing division between Western allies. Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, told the BBC he urged Mr Zelensky to repair his relationship with the US president in a Friday-night phone call, as the alliance's members 'need to stick together' against Russia. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned in a Telegraph newspaper article that America's commitment to Europe 'cannot now be taken for granted', after urging Sir Keir to push for 'concrete' pledges during the summit. Pope Francis has weighed in on the recent Zelensky and Trump clash in a heartfelt statement he shared on X from his hospital room in Rome. The pontiff, 88, wrote: 'I pray for you, too. I pray above all for peace. Let us pray for martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan, and Kivu'. In his Sunday Angelus, the Pope also urged the world to 'judge our neighbour with charity', adding: 'From here, war appears even more absurd'. He wrote: 'Jesus asks us to train our eyes to observe the world well and to judge our neighbour with charity. Only with this caring gaze that does not condemn can fraternal correction become a virtue'. The posts comes just days after US President Donald Trump abruptly halted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and kicked President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the White House after a blistering Oval Office shouting match between the two leaders. Friday proved an extraordinary day at the White House, which saw Zelensky walk out of the West Wing and slip into his SUV following an explosive encounter with the president. He was driven away under a flood of camera lights and left dozens of unanswered questions. Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine completely if Zelensky did not agree to his peace terms. He also accused Zelensky of not being grateful. The Pontiff, 88, on Sunday prayed for peace in Ukraine in a post to X President Donald Trump (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office at the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC Zelensky stormed out of the White House following an explosive encounter with the US president Zelensky held his own, even showing Trump photos he brought of the devastation to his country, and arguing he had thanked the American people. The yelling match was unlike anything ever seen publicly in the Oval Office. And it played out on TV screens across the world. 'You're gambling with World War III,' Trump bellowed Zelensky at one point. After the contentious meeting Trump announced he had asked Zelensky to leave. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: 'Its amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved. 'Because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.' The shocking development comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House this week in an attempt to gain some sympathy for Ukraine from Trump. It's not immediately clear how the dramatic fallout will affect peace talks. The Pope's urge for peace follows him being put on a ventilator after suffering an 'isolated' breathing crisis on Friday evening. He did not suffer any new respiratory attacks on Saturday and remained in a stable condition, the Vatican announced in its evening update. 'The Holy Father's clinical condition remains stable,' a statement read. People shelter from the rain as they pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pontiff has been hospitalised since February 14, in Rome, March 1, 2025 Francis had suffered a coughing fit late on Friday in which he had inhaled vomit before doctors put him on a non-invasive mechanical ventilation Christ the Redeemer shows a picture of Pope Francis projected on the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 27, 2025 'He is alternating between non-invasive mechanical ventilation and long periods of supplemental high-flow oxygenation, maintaining a good response to gas exchange. 'The Holy Father does not have a fever and shows no leukocytosis [high white blood cell count]. 'His haemodynamic parameters have always remained stable; he has continued eat on his own and has regularly undergone respiratory physiotherapy, in which he cooperates actively. He has not experienced any further episodes of bronchospasm. 'The Holy Father remains alert and oriented. He received the Eucharist on Saturday afternoon, then devoted himself to prayer. 'The prognosis remains guarded.' Saturday evening's update came just hours after the Vatican announced that Francis had coffee for breakfast and read the morning newspapers in a promising statement. The Pontiff had been put on non-invasive mechanical ventilation on Friday by doctors at Rome's Gemelli Hospital after suffering a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit. The incident resulted in the 'sudden worsening of the respiratory picture.' Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on non-invasive mechanical ventilation. The Pope remained conscious and alert at all times and co-operated with the manoeuvres to help him recover. He responded well, with a good level of oxygen exchange and was continuing to wear a mask to receive supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said. Hollywood star Randy Quaid claims Gene Hackman and his wife were 'murdered' - just like he says Heath Ledger was. Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, were both found dead in the $3.8 million home in separate rooms by a caretaker around 1.45pm in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday. Since then, conspiracies as to how they died have swirled, despite their cause of death still being unknown and authorities saying there are no indications of foul play. Quaid, 74, took to X on Saturday afternoon to share his wild theory on how he thinks the Oscar-winner and his wife died, calling them 'murder victims.' 'Gene Hackman and his wife are murder victims, some scum bags did it and staged it. Stop talking about the films he is in, this is how they get away with murdering famous people!,' the National Lampoon's Vacation actor wrote. 'Fake News starts generating film clips. How is it possible I know at least 6 people who have died like Carradine, Hackman, Ledger?' Ledger, 28, died in January 2008 in his New York apartment after ingesting a cocktail of prescription drugs, including painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. Quaid, the older brother of Dennis Quaid, who has long been known for his outlandish statements, then went on to tweet: 'I should become a special FBI agent to these investigations of Hollywood Murders! 'I already have some good leads on who killed Gene Hackman,' he wrote, but did not share his theories. Hollywood star Randy Quaid claims Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, are 'murder victims.' (Pictured: Hackman and Arakawa in 2003) Quaid, 74, who has long been known for his bizarre commentary, said the couple were 'murdered' like Heath Ledger was. (Pictured: Quaid in 2020) This is not the first time Quaid has brought this eerie theory to light, as he and his wife, Evi Quaid, have previously referred to the suspected 'murderers' as 'the Hollywood Star Whackers,' Vanity Fair reported in 2011. Journalist Nancy Jo Sales took a look at the couple's lives, as they told her that the 'Whackers' are the same people who might have 'killed' Ledger and late actor David Carradine. The Kung Fu Killer star died in June 2009 from asphyxiation after he was discovered hanging in a hotel room in Bangkok. His death was ruled an accident. The couple also told Sales that they believe the 'Whackers' set up Robert Blake over the murder of his second wife, and have looked to target other high profile celebrities, including Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan. The pair were suspected of living in their Toyota Prius at the time, as Sales, who saw the crammed vehicle, recalled: 'The car smelled of fast food and dog pee and Randy's cigars. I asked the Quaids if they were living in their car. "Only on nights when we're too terrified to leave our stuff or don't feel secure," Evi said. '"We used to have a Mercedes. This whole ordeal has forced us to become incredibly green."' Quaid and his wife also have a lengthy criminal history, as they were arrested in 2009 for leaving a hotel in Santa Barbara without paying. A year later, the couple were arrested again for squatting in their former home in Montecito, California. Ledger, 28, died in January 2008 in his New York apartment after ingesting a cocktail of prescription drugs , including painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. (Pictured: Ledger in 2006) The property owner's representative provided documents that showed his client had bought the home in 2007 from a man who had purchased it from the Quaid's several years earlier. A contractor showed police more than $5,000 in damages to the guest house, which he alleged was caused by the couple. In 2015, they were nabbed once again while they tried to cross into the United States from Canada after failing to appear in court. The couple were arrested on fugitive charges related to their 2010 trespassing allegation. Evi, a film director from New Jersey, told the outlet that she and her husband suspected they were being followed by the 'Whackers' as well. 'They're hunting us. It's really happening. They've got us in a spiral. "Don't let up on 'em. Drive 'em off the road. Starve 'em to death.",' Evi said at the time. Quaid and his wife Evi are seen being escorted from Santa Barbara County court in April 2010 after being arrested for for squatting in their former home in Montecito, California Quaid, the older brother of Dennis Quaid, is seen in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie in 1989 with Chevy Chase 'She was slapping her hands together for emphasis. "Pull their money out of their bank accounts".' Two days after Hackman and Arakawa were discovered, police announced that they believe The French Connection actor died on February 17, after finding that was the day his pacemaker stopped recording his heartbeat. Investigators probing their deaths soon found a prescription bottle, surrounded by pills on the countertop in the actor's home. Three medications were removed from the home, including Diltiazem, a blood pressure medication; a thyroid medication, and Tylenol, according to Huffington Post, which cited a search warrant. Santa Fe Sheriff Adam Mendoza told the Today Show on Friday that the prescription bottle 'is something of concern.' Mendoza said the medication has been passed onto the medical examiner's office to help them make a cause of death determination. It could be months before the toxicology results come back. 'Were looking at that specifically and other medications, of course, that were possibly in the residence,' he told Today. 'But were hoping [the report] comes sooner than later so we can answer some of these questions and hopefully itll help us in our investigation to help determine the matter and cause of death.' Police do not suspect foul play, despite the front door being found 'ajar.' There were no signs of forced entry into the home. (Pictured: Police surrounding their home on Thursday) Hackman was found in the mudroom with his sunglasses nearby - causing police to speculate that he had 'suddenly fallen.' His wife was discovered lying on her side in the bathroom near a space heater. Police also speculate that she too 'abruptly fell to the ground,' according to the affidavit. The spilled pill bottle was found near Arakawa, who was found with signs of decay, including body decomposition and bloating to her face, hands and feet. Her husband had similar decomposition. The couple's dog was also found deceased in a closet near Arakawa. Police do not suspect foul play, despite the front door being found 'ajar.' There were no signs of forced entry into the home. 'I think I'm pretty confident that there is no foul play just based on the lack of evidence,' Mendoza later told Today. 'But, of course, we're not ruling that out.' Suspicions that the couple and their pooch died from a gas leak have been ruled out by the Santa Fe Fire Department, according to Chief Brian Moya. Officials said that there was no trace of the deadly gas in the bodies of the couple, and that there was still no official cause of death. Kemi Badenoch has urged the government to 'prepare for the worst' by hiking defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2029. The Tory leader urged Keir Starmer to seek 'peace through strength', saying that was the only thing Russia respected. Ms Badenoch also suggested that Volodymr Zelensky's Oval Office spat with Donald Trump might have been fuelled by a language barrier. The PM announced last week that the UK will be spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027, with the aid budget being slashed to free up the money. He also voiced an ambition to hit 3 per cent in the next Parliament. The move sparked the resignation of one of his closest allies, development minister Anneliese Dodds, from Cabinet. However, many military figures have been warning Sir Keir must go further, with the US pushing for a level nearer 5 per cent - although that is far more than America itself spends. Speaking on the BBC 's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show this morning, the Tory leader said her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian president after his 'humiliation' in the White House Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ms Badenoch said: 'We Europeans must prepare for the worst. Our motto must be peace through strength. 'It is now abundantly clear all Nato allies must rapidly increase their defence spending. 'The UK should commit to raising defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of this Parliament. 'The Prime Minister will have our support in taking the difficult decisions required to make this happen.' Speaking on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show this morning, the Tory leader said her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian president after his 'humiliation' in the White House. However, she dismissed the idea that he was 'ambushed' - suggesting that misunderstandings were fuelled by english not being his first language. 'Honestly, my heart went out to President Zelensky. I watched it and I couldn't believe what was happening, he was being humiliated,' Ms Badenoch said. 'I don't think we should conduct these sorts of difficult conversations in front of the cameras and we have to remember that President Zelensky is a hero, he is the person who represents that strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people.' She added: 'I don't think it was an ambush, I think that both parties are working for their respective national interest, and they seem to be speaking at cross-purposes. Ms Badenoch also suggested that Volodymr Zelensky 's Oval Office spat with Donald Trump might have been fuelled by a language barrier 'I think sometimes having English as a second language is not necessarily helpful. During all the trade negotiations I had as trade secretary, most of the eastern European countries had an interpreter there.' She added: 'I'm not necessarily sure that we should be doing more than the set piece bits on camera, I don't think that was helpful. 'But we need to make sure that we can get the conversations back on track. It is critical that Ukraine is at the table for any negotiation.' The unique charm of rowhouses, Craftsman-style homes, and Victorians is fading beneath a coat of gray in gentrifying neighborhoods across the US. In some areas, the rapid 'grayification' of homes is dramatically transforming the visual landscape. In Washington, DC, for instance, red-brick rowhouses and colorful murals have steadily been replaced by monochromatic facades. A Washington Post analysis found that gray homes are increasingly common in gentrifying DC neighborhoods, coinciding with rising home prices, noise complaints, and the displacement of Black residents. Newly built or renovated homes are replacing vibrant shades of red, yellow, and brown with muted tones like Shark Fin and Deep Space. The study, which used Google Street View, grouped exterior colors into broader categories to track the shift. Academics note that gray, modern homes often signal wealth and luxury. These neutral tones are seen as status symbols, reflecting both meticulous upkeep and an appeal to specific buyers. 'It all comes down to this perception of wealth and luxury, this idea that neutrals indicate status - painted brick takes more to upkeep than regular brick,' Libby Rasmussen, a color enthusiast who lives in DC and owns a home decor company, told the Post. 'If you have a light-gray or white house, it signals you can afford to keep it clean.' DC's transformation is particularly noticeable in Ward 5, including Eckington, where warm browns and reds have largely been supplanted by grays, blacks, and whites. In gentrifying urban areas, the charm of historic homes is being replaced by gray exteriors A Washington Post analysis found the shift correlates with rising home prices, noise complaints, and Black displacement While this trend has predominated in Northwest Washington, it's now spreading to Wards 7 and 8, fueled by new developments. Scholars connect this shift to broader themes of post-racial urbanism, where a minimalist aesthetic is meant to be inclusive but often erases cultural and historical identities, catering instead to affluent newcomers. 'The concept of a post-race America is tied up in these aesthetics. It's sort of a "Everyone is welcome here, and no one should feel uncomfortable if the aesthetic is uniform." Gray is a way to flatten difference,' said Brandi T. Summers, an associate professor of African American and African diaspora studies at Columbia University. 'But when you create an aesthetic that is supposed to be minimalist and monocultural, it extinguishes difference. It doesn't allow different people from different cultures to actually be different.' DC's real estate market has embraced the trend, with agents advising sellers to repaint their homes in neutral tones to attract buyers. Sales analyses reveal that homes with the updated gray aesthetic often sell for significantly higher prices than those with original colors and designs. Nationwide, the preference for darker, muted exteriors has been growing, according to surveys from platforms like Zillow. This shift accelerated during the pandemic, as buyers increasingly sought homes as retreats. In DC, noise complaints in gentrified neighborhoods highlight a preference for quieter, more controlled environments. Gray homes, often seen as symbols of wealth and luxury, are becoming dominant in neighborhoods like Ward 5 on DC, and the trend is spreading. This trend is also seen in other cities like San Francisco, where gray exteriors are linked to broader socioeconomic changes Real estate markets encourage this aesthetic, as homes with neutral tones tend to sell for higher prices The trend isn't limited to the nation's capital. In San Francisco, known for its colorful Victorian homes, the rise of gray exteriors has sparked backlash. In historically Latino neighborhoods like the Mission District, residents view the shift as symbolic of deeper socioeconomic changes. Studies have even linked the spread of gray homes in the Mission District to increased police activity and immigration enforcement. Similar trends have emerged in cities like Nashville and Chicago, where older homes are being renovated or replaced to fit contemporary tastes. With exterior design trends shifting in 15-year cycles, the gray-home movement may be peaking. But its likely successors - black-and-white contrasts or deep charcoal hues - suggest that the monochromatic aesthetic will continue. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a pubgoer died in an alleged 'one-punch attack' near a Wetherspoons bar on a busy London high street. Police and paramedics raced to Lewisham High Street, southeast London, at 8.39pm last night after reports of an assault. A 63-year-old man with life threatening injuries was found at the scene and rushed to hospital where he sadly died. His family have now been informed. The Metropolitan Police believe the victim may have been attacked following a disturbance at The Watch House pub - a Wetherspoons branch. Officers arrested a 42-year-old man nearby the scene on suspicion of murder. The suspect is now being held in custody at a south London police station whilst the force carry out their investigation. Multiple bus routes were impacted and the southbound section of Lewisham High Street was closed. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a pubgoer died in an alleged 'one-punch attack' near a Wetherspoons bar on a busy London high street Police and paramedics raced to Lewisham High Street, southeast London, at 8.39pm last night after reports of an assault A 63-year-old man with life threatening injuries was found at the scene and rushed to hospital where he sadly died. His family have now been informed The Metropolitan Police believe the victim may have been attacked following a disturbance at The Watch House pub - a Wetherspoons branch Detective Chief Inspector Craig Magee, from the Met's Specialist Crime Command, said: 'This tragic incident happened in a busy part of south-east London. We would like to hear from anyone who was in Lewisham High Street or at The Watch House pub and has information about what happened. 'We have spent the night at the scene and there will be an increased police presence in the area today while we continue to gather evidence. 'I recognise the concern a crime of this nature causes. We have a suspect in custody, and based on the enquiries carried out so far, we do not believe there to be any risk to the wider community.' The Met Police are appealing for anyone with information or who witnessed the attack to come forward. Anyone with information that could assist the investigation team is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 6267/01Mar. To remain anonymous contact the independent charity on 0800 555 111. Wetherspoons declined to comment. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski called herself 'sick to my stomach' over what she called a Trump administration turn toward Russia as the explosive Oval Office meeting shocked allies and raised fears Moscow would double down on its tactics. Murkowski, a centrist Republican who voted to impeach Trump, condemned the angry clash between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on X, even as fellow Republicans like Secretary of State Marco Rubio heaped praise on Trump for upholding his 'America First' policy. European allies were huddling this weekend, amid fears that Trump's angry statement could trigger a withholding of $4 billion security funding for Ukraine that Trump could freeze. 'This week started with administration officials refusing to acknowledge that Russia started the war in Ukraine. It ends with a tense, shocking conversation in the Oval Office and whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine,' wrote Murkowski, in some of the most critical comments of Trump from any prominent elected Republican over the war. 'I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world,' she added. Her comments came as Murkowski greeted Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race races and dog teams for the annual race. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (l), tore into the apparent policy shift after Friday's car crash White House meeting with President Zelensky. ''I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin , a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world,' she said Her remarks came as other Republicans considered Ukraine hawks, such as Trump loyalist Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) joined Trump in going after Zelensky. Graham, who was at the White House Friday during the showdown, called it a complete utter disaster" and said Zelensky was disrespectful to Trump. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is now discussing a 'coalition of the willing,' and says Britain and France will seek to negotiate a cease fire plan with Russia that they would then present the U.S. Murkowski called the pivot a 'threat to democracy and U.S. values' Murkowski spoke about the 'shocking' blowup in the Oval Office A verbal spat between Ukrainian President Zelensky and Vice President JD Vance kicked off an angry Oval Office meeting Murkowski is a senior figure in the GOP who voted to impeach Trump, but she is an outlier among a party that has swerved to support him despite past bipartisan support for Ukraine's war effort He is also backing up Zelensky, telling the BBC, 'Im clear in my mind he does want lasting peace, he does want an end to the fighting in Ukraine.' Moscow continues to celebrate the latest U.S. posture, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov now saying the administration 'is fast changing all foreign policy configurations' and that 'this coincides with our vision in many ways.' The Apprentice star Luisa Zissman has been involved in an extraordinary bust-up with a YouTuber after he tried to fly a drone over her country estate. The mother-of-three, 37, confronted the content creator known as 'H Audit' after he travelled to her sprawling Grade II-listed property because he 'found it online' and liked 'the beauty of it'. 'H Audit' sits on his bike on a gravel path as a clearly upset and agitated Luisa pleads that her 'life is very private'. But he insists 'I'm not going to fly it from here, I'm just going to go down the track' before she says he is on her private property. In a jawdropping video posted on H Audit's social media channels, Luisa threatens to 'get the gun and shoot your drone down' if he goes ahead. 'I will shoot your drone,' she says. 'We have a gun, we have a gun licence. We shoot deers, we shoot foxes, we shoot rabbits. And drones. Because you are flying your drone over my private property.' Asked by the YouTuber if she has done it before, Luisa says: 'No one has been stupid enough to come fly a drone... but yeah Ian [the estate manager] has actually shot a drone before. Apprentice star Luisa Zissman has been involved in an extraordinary bust-up with a YouTuber after he tried to fly a drone over her country estate The mother-of-three, 37, confronted the content creator known as 'H Audit' after he travelled to her sprawling Grade II-listed property because he 'found it online' and liked 'the beauty of it' The Apprentice runner-up took to Instagram yesterday following the expletive bust-up where she posted a picture of herself taking part in clay shooting with the caption 'come to mumma' 'He is not in, Ian's our estate manager who is probably getting the gun now. So if you want your expensive drone shot down, go ahead and fly it and we will shoot it.' Luisa threatens to carry out a citizens arrest and detain him as things become more heated saying: 'I'm about to kick you off your bike.' She then moves into his path as he tries to edge further up the track and grabs hold of his handlebars. An angry Luisa yells: 'Yeah, I'm restricting your movement. I'll f***ing take your bike.' H Audit says he will call the police as he points and shouts for everyone to 'get off me now'. The Apprentice runner-up took to Instagram yesterday following the expletive bust-up in which she made a series of allegations. She claimed H Audit did not post the full footage in which she alleged he shoved her with his bike on her estate that 'clearly' has two signposts stating it is private property. 'How someone can trespass onto MY property and then be upset when I stand up for my property and privacy blows my mind,' she wrote. 'And how anyone can defend his antagonistic actions, trespass and blatant disregard of the law needs to get in the bin.' Luisa took part in the ninth series of The Apprentice where she finished runner-up to Leah Totton in the final Luisa Zissman attends the 26th National Television Awards at The O2 in London -- September 9 2021 In a defiant defence of her actions, she said she was always on 'high alert' having previously having to deal with death, acid attack, and kidnapping threats. 'For some jumped up little p**** to come and try and gain entry to film my property is horrific,' she said. Luisa later posted a picture of herself taking part in clay shooting with the caption 'come to mumma'. A police patrol car with blue flashing lights and a siren blaring is seen in another video pulling up outside the home. A police officer talks to H Audit at the roadside and warns him Luisa has alleged he assaulted before he makes a counter allegation. He then warns the YouTuber he is 'under suspicion of an allegation' and will be 'coming to the police station' after he refused to provide the cop with his details. It is unclear when the fracas took place but the videos were posted onto social media yesterday. H Audit has more than 50,000 followers across his YouTube, Tik Tok, Facebook, and Instagram accounts where he posts videos of himself in confrontations with members of the public about flying his drone. MailOnline has contacted Essex Police for comment. Boston's progressive Democrat mayor has been criticized for offering condolences to a knifeman shot dead by an off-duty police officer while trying to stab two. Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu offered her condolences to the family of the unnamed attacker gunned down at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant in the city Saturday. Boston police said two people ran into the Chick-fil-A in Copley Square while being chased by a man with a knife who was attempting to stab them shortly before 5:30 p.m. ET, reported NBC 10. An off-duty cop was inside the restaurant and identified himself to the attacker, then told the man to drop this knife before firing his weapon. 'The officer then instructed the man to drop the weapon, to which he did not comply,' Boston police Commissioner Michael Cox said. 'The officer then discharged his weapon to stop the threat and the armed man was struck. He was then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced [dead]. The officer was transported to a hospital for evaluation, but at this time, there are no other reported injuries.' Critics have slammed Wu for immediately offering her sympathy to the family of the attacker - who has not been identified - during a press conference Saturday night. 'My condolences and all of our thoughts are with the family of the individual whose life has been lost,' she said. Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu (pictured) offered her condolences to the family of a man who was killed by police while attempting to stab two people An off-duty police officer shot and killed a knife-wielding attacker inside a Chick-fil-A (pictured) on Saturday 'I am also thinking of all the people who were impacted here today in one of the busier parts of the city with this tragedy. I'm glad the officer is safe and very grateful for a quick response from all of our first responders.' Social media users were shocked that Wu's first comment on the incident was to offer sympathy for the knife-wielding attacker. 'An off-duty police officer in Boston saved lives on Saturday by neutralizing a knife-wielding maniac who chased two people into a Chick-fil-A. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reacted by bizarrely giving condolences TO THE ATTACKER. Democrat leaders treat criminals as victims,' one person said. 'The Boston Mayor is offering her condolences to the family of the victimswait never mind shes offering condolences to the person who tried to MURDER people. WTF??' said another. Others slammed Wu for not thanking the officer who stopped the attacker or explicitly addressing the bystanders he was trying to stab. 'These so called political leaders are despicable. How about thoughts and prayers for the cop and his family who acted bravely to save our citizens,' one person said. 'They tell you who they really care about... certainly NOT the tourists visiting Boston nor the victims of the attempted stabbings,' said another. 'Seriously?!?!?! Smfh! How about showing concern for the people who this individual tried to attack & were in fear for their life! Maybe if this idiot DIDN'T TRY STABBING A BUNCH OF RANDOM PEOPLE he would still be alive,' a third person said. Wu is set to testify before Congress on March 5 about Boston's approach to immigration enforcement. Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan has gone after Boston and its leaders for refusing to cooperate with their mass deportation efforts. 'The police commissioner of Boston [Michael Cox]. You said you'd double down on not helping law enforcement officers with ICE. I'm coming to Boston and I'm bringing hell with me,' Homan said on February 23. Wu hit back at Homan's warning against the city's police commissioner calling him 'clueless.' 'Its pretty clueless for someone to be insulting our police commissioner,' Wu said at an event on Monday. 'We want to be sure to say Boston is welcoming and safe for everyone.' Wu reiterated this message Tuesday morning during an appearance on a Boston Spanish-language radio station. In Spanish, she told WNUR 1600 AM listeners that Boston is safe for immigrant communities, the Boston Globe reported. She also said the city has not seen more ICE activity under the second Trump administration when compared to previous years. Mayor Wu hit the headlines in late 2023 after hosting a 'no whites' Christmas party for 'electeds of color' in the city that some critics branded racist. DailyMail.com contacted Mayor Wu's office for comment on Saturday's condolences. Elon Musk has sparked fear into the heart of the European establishment after he spoke out in support for the United States leaving both the UN and NATO. The tech billionaire made the remarks in a post on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday evening. Gunther Eagleman, a political commentator with 1.3 million followers, who describes himself as a 'Proud America First MAGA Patriot', wrote 'It's time to leave NATO and the UN' in an X post on March 1. That message was reposted by Musk, the leader of Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who simply added 'I agree'. Musk also today reposted a tweet by Republican congressman Thomas Massie, the representative for Kentucky's forth congressional district since 2012, which called NATO 'a Cold War relic that needs to be relegated to a talking kiosk at the Smithsonian'. Musk's approving post comes in the wake of calls by other Republican lawmakers to reconsider the country's NATO membership. Utah senator Mike Lee, a longstanding NATO critic, has called the organisation a 'cold war relic' and argued that it offers a 'great deal for Europe' but a 'raw deal for America'. Musk's role as a key player in the new administration means that his endorsement of the anti-NATO position could spell trouble for the North Atlantic alliance. Billionaire Elon Musk reposted a message calling for the US to leave NATO and the UN, adding 'I agree' Having set about slashing US government agency spending, the SpaceX CEO - a key player in the Trump administration - could now use his influence to help dismantle the US's alliances with their European partners. Pictured: Musk (left) wielding the chainsaw gifted to him by Argentina President Javier Milei (right) President Trump has so far avoided actively calling for the US to exit from NATO, but has repeatedly berated his fellow European allies to increase their defence spending Donald Trump has so far avoided actively calling for the US to exit from NATO, but in the aftermath of his second election victory he has consistently painted it as a one-sided relationship. He told reporters that he doubted the value of spending money on NATO - since the US was protecting NATO members but they were 'not protecting us'. Indeed, there is clear momentum within the White House towards an isolationist, 'America First' position and the president has repeatedly berated his fellow NATO allies for not increasing their defence spending quickly enough. The US president's team told European officials in December that the bloc would have to more than double its spending target of two per cent - a target which over a quarter of its members were on course to fail to meet. Trump called for European nations to up their military budgets to 5 per cent of GDP - far higher than the US's own defence spending. The 45th and 47th US president also said in February 2024 that he would encourage Russia to do 'whatever the hell they want' with any of the 32 NATO member states who failed to meet such ambitious defence spending targets. However, even back in Mr Trump's first term there were multiple signs that the real estate mogul was ready to resort to more drastic measures. Senior officials in the initial Trump administration said that their boss spoke numerous times in private over the course of 2018 about his desire to withdraw from NATO, The New York Times reported. Musk's post comes in the wake of calls by other Republican lawmakers to reconsider the country's NATO membership, including Utah senator Mike Lee, a longstanding critic who has called it a 'great deal for Europe' but a 'raw deal for America' In a recent post on X, Utah senator Mike Lee said 'It's time to exit NATO' in response to another post about NATO members 'not paying your fair share' Musk also reposted a tweet by Republican congressman Thomas Massie, the representative for Kentucky's forth congressional district since 2012, which called NATO 'a Cold War relic that needs to be relegated to a talking kiosk at the Smithsonian' Meanwhile in the period around a NATO summit meeting the same summer he reportedly told his top ranking national security officials that 'he did not see the point' of the North Atlantic alliance - which he portrayed as a 'drain' on the US. In public Mr Trump's team, including then defence secretary Jim Mattis and national security adviser John Bolton, sought to play down the president's negative feelings about NATO, fearing that talk of a withdrawal could see Washington's influence in Europe dwindle while emboldening Vladimir Putin. NATO, the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere, was founded with three key goals in mind. The first was to stop the spread of Communism, the second to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and thirdly to encourage European political integration. The North Atlantic Treaty was signed on April 4 1949 and included the famous Article 5 which promises a commitment to mutual defence: 'an armed attack against one or more of them shall be considered an attack against them all'. After his recent meeting with the US President, British PM Sir Keir Starmer confided in aides that Mr Trump had apparently confirmed he was still committed to Article 5. However it is not only NATO that is in Musk's crosshairs - as his X post makes clear, he also supports the US leaving the United Nations, an institution he has had several high profile personal run-ins with. Back in October 2021 Musk said he was willing to sell $6 billion of Tesla stock if the United Nations official who said that just 2 per cent of the entrepreneur's income could help solve world hunger could back up the claim. The SpaceX boss also wants the US to leave the UN - an institution he has had several person run-ins with In 2021, United Nations World Food Programme head David Beasley claimed that the UN could save 42 million people from starvation with $6billion - approximately 2 per cent of Musk's wealth at the time Musk agreed to fund the $6billion as long as the UN could explain exactly how they would spend the money. They did - but the billionaire never paid Musk agreed to fund the $6billion as long as the UN could explain exactly how they would spend the money. They World Food Programme took Musk at his word and issued a report three days later itemising how the cash would be spent - but the funds never materialised. In his dislike of the UN Musk is again aligned with the inner sanctum of Trump's team, many of who have spoken out against the international body. Utah senator Mike Lee decried it as 'a platform for tyrants and a venue to attack America and her allies.' Last month Donald Trump described the UN as 'not being well run' and called for a review of UNESCO, the UN cultural agency. Mr Trump told reporters: 'It [the UN] has got great potential and based on the potential we'll continue to go along with it, but they've got to get their act together. 'It's not being well run, to be honest and they're not doing the job. 'A lot of these conflicts that we're working on should be settled, or at least we should have some help in settling them. We never seem to get help. That should be the primary purpose of the United Nations.' An Alabama man who was seen emotionally pleading for help to find his missing wife on TV has allegedly admitted to strangling her to death. Stephen Miller Sr, 64, reported his wife of 30 years Gloria Miller, 57, missing on February 24, Dothan police said in a press release, then he was arrested the very next day and charged with her murder. Miller Sr reported that his wife 'suddenly disappeared' from their home on February 22 and pleaded on local news for help in finding her. He appeared on TV while on the phone in an apparent attempt to track down the woman he's now said to have admitted killing. Miller Sr was joined by her family, who also called for help in finding her. Her brother, Sidney Whitaker told WDHN prior to the alleged confession: 'This is not normal at all. She hangs around the house, she doesn't venture away from the home, she pretty [much] hangs around the house all the time.' Miller's sister said she usually gets a phone call from her every day, which she did on Saturday afternoon, but no one had heard from her since. The family furthered that she doesn't often leave the house, but if she did, she typically drives her car to the store. But her car was still at the home and Miller was nowhere in sight. Her phone and wallet were found around five miles from the couple's home outside of Porter Square Mall. As the investigation into her disappearance began, however, it was revealed that Miller Sr had been the one to place those items outside of the mall before it was turned into one of the local businesses. Stephen Miller Sr emotionally pleaded for help on local news TV to find his wife Gloria Miller, but was arrested the very day after he reported her missing and was charged with her murder Miller Sr, 64, reported his wife of 30 years Gloria, 57, missing on February 24. According to the DPD, early on in the investigation several indicators of foul play were discovered Eventually during the investigation, Miller Sr allegedly admitted that on the day of her disappearance the two had a physical altercation which ended in his strangling her until she was lifeless According to the DPD, early on in the investigation several indicators of foul play were discovered. Eventually during the investigation, Miller Sr allegedly admitted that on the day of her disappearance the two had a physical altercation which ended in his strangling her until she was lifeless. According to Dothan Police Lieutenant Ronald Hall, Miller Sr allegedly 'loaded her body in the bed of his pickup truck, he took her down the road a few miles where he concealed her on the edge of the roadway.' Hall said that Miller's admission came as 'his facts were not adding up, and he basically knew that he had no choice,' Law & Crime reported. Her body was found underneath a bridge in a dry creek bed in Geneva County at around 7.30pm on Tuesday, and Miller Sr was charged with one count of murder. 'There's a monster underneath him and I didn't realize that monster was in him,' Whitaker said after learning of his sister's death. 'For him to come over to my place, after he had already committed this crime and me having no knowledge of it, he was very deceptive,' Whitaker added. 'There was no other reason he would have took her personal items up to Porter Square Mall and dropped them off to make it appear that she lost them there or had been abducted from here.' Her body was found underneath a bridge in a dry creek bed in Geneva County at around 7.30pm on Tuesday, and Miller Sr was charged with one count of murder Miller Sr was joined by her family, who also called for help in finding her. Her brother, Sidney Whitaker said: 'This is not normal at all. She hangs around the house, she doesn't venture away from the home, she pretty [much] hangs around the house all the time' Miller Sr allegedly 'loaded her body in the bed of his pickup truck, he took her down the road a few miles where he concealed her on the edge of the roadway' But the couple's violence, however, was not completely out of the blue. In January, Miller Sr had filed a protection order against his wife and claimed she had pushed him, gotten into his face, and threatened to 'destroy him.' Miller Sr said his wife had a history of 'mental abuse' and had been placed in a mental hospital. His protection order was dismissed upon his request once he had written to the judge claiming they had decided to get counseling and go to a doctor for her medication. In July of last year, he filed a similar protection order after he claimed Miller had threatened to kill him, their son, and their son's ex-wife. This order was also dismissed upon Miller Sr's request. Miller's family have said that their toxic relationship is what resulted in her death. 'I told them, you just have to separate. One go one way and the other go the other way,' Miller's sister, Debra Whitaker, told WDHN. Lieutenant Hall said: 'There is a history of domestic violence between them. I don't know exactly how many reports. But there are reports that have been filed by each of them claiming allegations against each other.' Miller's family, however, remain confused as to how the situation could have ended how it did. According to the family, they always had martial issues, but their concerns grew after she told them she was afraid Miller Sr was going to kill her. 'In about the last two to three months she started telling me "I'm afraid he's trying to kill me,"' Debra Whitaker said The couple's violence, however, was not completely out of the blue. In January, Miller Sr had filed a protection order against his wife and claimed she had pushed him, gotten into his face, and threatened to 'destroy him.' Miller Sr is being held in Houston County Jail. He was originally placed on a $1.5 million bond, according to DPD. Jail records show he is now being held with no bond 'Well, if that was even the case, why wouldn't he just divorce her instead of killing my sister. Just divorce and walkway,' Sidney Whitaker said. Miller's daughter also attempted to file a restraining order against her, and claimed she had came at her with a knife and harassed her family for years. The order was denied. 'All the allegations were completely false. He literally dismissed it and laughed her out of the courtroom,' Whitaker said. However, the family revealed that Miller had been concerned for her life months before her murder. According to the family, they always had martial issues, but their concerns grew after she told them she was afraid Miller Sr was going to kill her. 'In about the last two to three months she started telling me "I'm afraid he's trying to kill me,"' Debra Whitaker said. The family said that long before she feared for her life, they had encouraged her to file for divorce. Miller's brother said he talked to her about it, but felt she stayed with Miller Sr over money. 'Any of the assets, he didn't want her to have any of them,' he said. Miller Sr is being held in Houston County Jail. He was originally placed on a $1.5 million bond, according to DPD. Jail records show he is now being held with no bond. Keir Starmer today played down the prospect of Donald Trump's state visit invite being withdrawn in the wake of his spat with Volodymyr Zelensky. The PM stressed that the invitation was a 'matter for the King' but swiped at people 'trying to ramp up the rhetoric' over the White House chaos. No10 sources were adamant that there is no chance of the visit being axed, despite a furious backlash at the 'humiliation' of the Ukraine president in the Oval Office. Sir Keir handed Mr Trump a letter from King Charles offering him the unprecedented honour when he made his own trip to Washington last week. The US president is known to be an admirer of the Royal Family, and the state visit was seen as a major tool in Sir Keir's diplomatic armoury. Keir Starmer today played down the prospect of Donald Trump's state visit invite being withdrawn in the wake of his spat with Volodymyr Zelensky No10 sources were adamant that there is no chance of the visit being axed, despite a furious backlash at the 'humiliation' of the Ukraine president in the Oval Office (pictured) Sir Keir has been gathering leaders from Europe - and Canada - in London today as they try to respond to the increasing volatility of ties with the US Sir Keir told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: 'I'm not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake in Europe.' He told the same programme that the clash in the Oval Office made him feel 'uncomfortable' but he decided to 'roll up my sleeves' rather than 'ramp up the rhetoric' in response. Shadow minister Alicia Kearns had told the Mail on Sunday that 'state visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies'. 'No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the US's commitment to her allies is assured,' she said. However, a spokesman for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch effectively disowned the remark saying the views of individual MPs are not the position of the party. 'Personal views of individual MPs are not official Conservative Party positions,' the spokesman said. 'In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs. They added that Mr Badenoch believes it is 'imperative that the UK remains close to America and they don't disengage from NATO if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine'. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Prime Minister should use Mr Trump's visit to leverage security guarantees from the US. Asked whether he thinks the visit should be called off he said: 'No, I don't. 'What we've said in the Liberal Democrats all along is that the state visit should be used to secure guarantees for Ukraine.' Sir Keir has been gathering European leaders in London today as they try to respond to the increasing volatility of ties with the US. After embracing Mr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London, the PM told the gathering they must step up to a 'once in a generation moment'. Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni also received a warm welcome, as Britain, France and Italy look set to take key roles in a 'coalition of the willing' to enforce any peace deal with Russia. The leaders are expected to signal a ramping up of defence spending with Sir Keir urging them to recognise the 'brutal reality' of the US pulling back from military guarantees. A spokesman for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured) effectively disowned a remark from shadow minister Alicia Kearns that the state visit should not happen if the US is not a steadfast ally The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance. Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from the Ukrainian president amid threats to pull the plug on US military support. In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president's support for Ukraine as 'crucial'. However, Mr Zelensky did not respond to throw questions over whether he was willing to say sorry. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has been trolling the woes of Nato by jibing that US policy now 'largely coincides with our vision'. The family of a father-of-four who died after falling from a cliff on holiday in Benidorm, Spain, still want answers, saying there has been 'zero investigation'. Nathan Osman, 30, of Pontypridd, south Wales, was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in September last year - less than 24 hours after deciding last-minute to go on his first ever holiday abroad with friends. But his family do not believe his death was investigated thoroughly enough - saying Mr Osman's bank cards were used the day after he died and that they worry there were other people involved in his death. His sister Alannah Hughes and brother Lee Evans are due to fly to the Spanish resort town today for a scheduled meeting with authorities there - out of pure frustration, but also to hand over evidence they themselves have gathered. Mr Evans told the BBC the family have been 'totally abandoned' - but they will not give up until they know the truth: 'There's been zero investigation and we are fighting for answers.' After a drinking outing with friends on September 27 - the first day of the long weekend break he had spontaneously joined his mates on - the tired father-of-four walked back to the hotel alone to sleep. But the next morning, his bed had not been slept in - and an off-duty police officer found his body, at the foot of a remote cliff in Benidorm's outskirts, later that day. Mr Evans said his brother had no reason to do the hour-long walk there, in the opposite direction to his hotel, alone. He instead believes his brother was taken to the cliff, either by taxi or against his will. Nathan Osman (pictured), 30, of Pontypridd, south Wales, was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in September last year - less than 24 hours after deciding last-minute to go on his first ever holiday abroad with friends At an inquest into Mr Osman's death in October last year, senior coroner Graeme Hughes heard the man suffered traumatic brain injuries after falling from the cliff. Mr Hughes told the brief hearing at Pontypridd Coroners' Court he had reason to suspect the father's death was violent, in that he received traumatic injuries from a fall. He then adjourned the hearing, so further investigations could take place, with no date set for it to resume on. Offering his condolences to Mr Osman's loved ones, the senior coroner added that because the death happened abroad, there might be some delay. But the family have now said Spanish authorities did not follow up on attempts to use the Welshman's bank cards the day after he died. And in an even more crushing development, Mr Osman's sister Ms Hughes said they recently received a file from the Spanish authorities which was empty, calling the case closed. From their own efforts, the family have worked out Mr Osman was on a video call to a friend that night, until his phone died. They have found CCTV footage of him on the promenade in the popular tourist town in which he does not seem drunk. After a drinking outing with friends on September 27 - the first day of the long weekend break he had spontaneously joined his mates on - the tired father-of-four (pictured with his children) walked back to the hotel alone to sleep Mr Osman's relatives have even gone as far as to find other people who might have captured him on their CCTV - but they have refused to hand the tapes over unless requested by Spanish police themselves. The 30-year-old's parents Elizabeth and Jonathan said it has been agony not knowing the answers to what happened in the hour or two before their son died. They are still so confused about how it could have even happened, Elizabeth said: 'Nathan wasn't a drunkard who'd go out and forget about everything. Nathan was really with it.' Jonathan said the authorities had done 'nothing', which showed 'a total disregard for [Mr Osman's] life'. Spanish authorities have agreed to meet the family, who have now reached boiling point with their frustration about the investigation, for a face-to-face meeting about the worries the relatives have. There, the family will also hand over the evidence they have managed to gather themselves about what happened after Mr Osman left his friends and before he died. His brother Mr Evans said they will not give up until they know the truth. In the tributes they paid to him in October last year, the family said his loved ones were 'utterly devastated and heartbroken': 'Nathan was the most doting partner to Katie, the mother of his four children. At an inquest into Mr Osman's death in October last year, senior coroner Graeme Hughes heard Mr Osman (pictured) suffered traumatic brain injuries after falling from the cliff 'This tragic accident has left Katie and his four children to live the rest of their lives without him. 'Nathan's children were his absolute world and he lived and breathed for them. He was an incredible father and made so many wonderful memories that his children will cherish forever. 'Nathan was the most loyal person, a faultless son, a caring brother, a fun loving uncle and a true friend to anyone that was lucky enough to know him. 'His smile and his big brown eyes were infectious. He was the kindest of souls and his legacy will live on through his four beautiful children. 'Nathan enjoyed spending mornings at the beach with his children and partner. They loved exploring, being outdoors and going for hikes.' They continued: 'His Sundays were spent at Nanny Mo's and then at his parent's home to enjoy as many cooked dinners as he could handle. 'He enjoyed time at the gym with his brothers, spending time with his sister and catching up with friends. 'He took great pleasure in spending time with his many nieces and nephews and making them laugh. He wanted the utmost best for everyone he knew and would give help to anyone in need.' From their own efforts, the family have found CCTV footage of him on the promenade in the popular tourist town in which he does not seem drunk. Pictured: File photo of Benidorm They issued a warning to others too: 'The family really want to emphasise the importance of not walking home alone and to always stay with a friend or family member. 'Regardless of how you may feel in the moment, please don't take for granted your own safety.' A fundraising page set up to bring Mr Osman's body home from Spain raised more than 23,000, paying for his repatriation, funeral, headstone, keepsakes for his children to remember him by and mortgage payments for the family. A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.' Police in Benidorm did not respond to the BBC's request for comment. Police have launched a hunt for thieves suspected of stealing a Paddington Bear monument from his creator's home town. A sculpture of the popular character written about by Michael Bond and featuring in a recent trilogy of hit films was unveiled last October in Newbury, Berkshire. Yet now that figure of Paddington has vanished - leaving behind only a coat still lingering on the seat, just yards from a poster promoting the bear's latest movie. Paddington In Peru, with Ben Whishaw back as the voice of the title character and Oscar winner Olivia Colman as the villain, was released in cinemas last November. It follows previous big-screen adaptations whose stars included Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Bonneville and Dame Julie Walters. Marmalade sandwich-loving Paddington, who first appeared in books written by Bond in the 1950s, was named after the London station where he was discovered - wearing a tag that urged: 'Please look after this bear.' That same railway terminus now has a statue in his honour, but others have been erected elsewhere across the country. Paddington Bear's fond place in UK hearts was symbolised by his appearance in a sketch alongside the late Queen Elizabeth II as part of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022. Police previously posed alongside a statue of Paddington Bear in Newbury, Berkshire The monument was unveiled amid promotion for the movie Paddington In Peru Thames Valley Police are now investigating after the figure of the bear himself disappeared Yet after police posed alongside the bench tribute to Paddington when it was unveiled last year, officers are now peering into who might be behind its disappearance. Newbury was the birthplace of Paddington author Bond, who died in June 2017 aged 91. The monument showcased there five months was one of dozens installed across Britain as part of what was called the 'Paddington Visits' trail. And the Newbury link to Paddington's creator was highlighted by local officials, with West Berkshire councillor Louise Sturgess calling it an 'extra special connection'. Ms Sturgess, the local authority's portfolio holder for economic development and regeneration, said at the time: 'We're really, really pleased to be able to bring him home - who doesn't love Paddington?' Other places where versions of the bear popped up - in promotion of the latest film update - included Land's End in Cornwall and a Sunderland shopping centre. Yet Newbury was the only location given permission to keep its Paddington permanently - leaving locals now shocked by the sudden loss. A gazebo was raised to conceal the bench as the police probe got under way. Only the outer coating has been left behind on the bench in the town centre in Berkshire And in a statement shared on Facebook, the local force said: 'Thames Valley Police are currently investigating the theft of the Paddington Bear statue from his bench in Northbrook Street, Newbury. 'The investigation is being managed by the local Neighbourhood team who are currently out exploring CCTV opportunities. 'At this stage it appears the theft has occurred overnight and we encourage any witnesses to the theft to come forward and contact the police or equally anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity. 'You can also contact the police anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800555111. Please contact us on 101, TVP ref 43250102626.' A young child was severely injured after he was thrown from a horse when a smirking woman spooked the creature by pulling its tail. Disturbing footage capture the moment Meri Fuerte's five-year-old son was bucked from a horse along a trail in Daly City, just south of San Francisco, on February 23. Fuerte's family was on an outing at Ocean View Stables when the stranger startled the horse, according to KTVU. Video showed Fuerte's son riding the animal with the help of an aide as they passed the woman and a man standing along the trail. Then the woman walked behind the boy's horse and pulled it's tail, causing the boy to be flung off the steed. She could be seen smirking at her callous act of cruelty as the horse began to buck and disaster ensued. Fuerte told the local news station the pair of strangers laughed about what happened, then walked away without being stopped. She said her son suffered a fractured leg and a severe hematoma from the fall, and his medical bills are stacking up. Ocean View Stables filed a report with the police and told KTVU the family never told them the boy was hurt. A five-year-old boy was bucked from a horse after a smirking woman spooked the creature by pulling its tail The pair of strangers laughed about what happened, then walked away without being stopped 'They denied all medical intervention, and said the child is okay. So in that situation we ask 'Do you want to get back on' that's always the cowboy way of doing it, you wanna get back on. 'They said yes, so the child got back on,' said Barn Manager Caroline Reed. 'From the time that it happened until the family ended up fully leaving was about an hour, and during that hour the entire hour that child was running around our property. 'We have the footage of that, him playing with his sister. There was no limp in these videos.' Video showed the boy walking with his sister after the incident, but Fuerte said he didn't display any signs of being injured until later. Family members shared the footage of the incident on social media to ask for helping finding the woman. 'This lady out of nowhere thought it was funny to pull the horse tail while kids were riding on it and ran away after doing that. Now my cousin is unable to walk from the pain and he has bruises all over his body,' one family member said. The tail yanking woman has yet to be publicly identified, but KMPH reported she was eventually arrested. Meri Fuerte's son was riding the animal with the help of an aide as they passed the woman and a man (pictured) standing along the trail She said her son suffered a fractured leg and a severe hematoma from the fall, and his medical bills are stacking up Fuerte told the outlet she was frustrated to learn that the woman was released a few hours later after posting bail. 'I also didn't think it was fair that she made bail in three hours and lived her life free, knowing that she could have caused the death of a person,' she said. The single mother said she is worried the woman won't receive any punishment. She has had to take time off work to make sure her son stays off his leg so he can heal. DailyMail.com has contacted the Daly City Police Department and Ocean View Stables. A pensioner has been left terrified of debt collectors banging on his door after a 1 parking ticket turned into an ongoing three-year nightmare. Retired Jaguar Land Rover worker Michael Nichols mistyped part of his car number plate into a parking machine at Sheldon shopping precinct in Coventry Road, Solihull, in December, 2022. A ticket was processed nonetheless and the 71-year-old displayed it correctly. But weeks later he received a 100 charge from operator Euro Car Parks and, despite his family's protests that he had already paid, he was told his debt had increased to 170. The first letter said the 100 demand would be reduced to 60 if he paid by January 27, 2023. Although Mr Nichols tried repeatedly to explain the error to Euro Car Parks and prove he had paid for the space, he received another letter reinstating the 100 fine, with the company saying the discounted amount 'no longer applied'. The matter was then picked up by bailiff companies who sent letters to Mr Nichols's home address for an 'unpaid parking charge', now at a staggering 170. 'I park there quite a lot. We normally go to the cafe and have a bacon sandwich. Just one digit was wrong but the ticket was paid,' Mr Nichols said. Retired Jaguar Land Rover worker Michael Nichols (pictured), 71, mistyped part of his car number plate into a parking machine in Coventry Road, Solihull, in December, 2022 Still in possession of the ticket (pictured), Mr Nichols maintains that he took it and placed it in the car The retired forklift driver said he now lives in fear and obsessively double-checks every step of the procedure when parking anywhere (Pictured: Mr Nichols with a letter demanding 100) The retired forklift driver said he now lives in fear and obsessively double-checks every step of the procedure when parking anywhere. 'We get a knock on the door and we don't know who it will be. These people are demanding 170. It has affected my confidence. It has been horrible. It was 2022 and it's now 2025.' And the financial effect has not been insignificant. 'We can't afford this, we are only on basic pensions,' Mr Nichols said. Still in possession of the ticket, he maintains that he took it and placed it in the car. But the ongoing ordeal has impacted his and his wife's enjoyment of life. 'It has frightened my wife to death, she doesn't want to go anywhere. Two weeks ago we wanted to go to Stratford-upon-Avon but she said no because of the parking. 'She's frightened about parking anywhere now. We don't go out as much and she's still worried that bailiffs are going to knock on the door. 'I would like an apology for the stress caused over the last two years. It's wrong.' The first letter from Euro Car Parks (pictured) said the 100 demand would be reduced to 60 if he paid by January 27, 2023 Apart from one interaction with Euro Car Parks in 2022, Mr Nichols's daughter has been unable to speak to a company representative to make her father's case (Pictured: Mr Nichols) Apart from one interaction with Euro Car Parks in 2022, Mr Nichols's daughter Tracy Lake said she had been unable to speak to a company representative to make her father's case. 'As soon as he got the penalty notice he spoke to me and I have been trying to help ever since,' said Ms Lake, a solicitor. 'He has evidence that he paid for their parking. He displayed the ticket but the penalty notice is for a failure to display a valid ticket because it had the wrong registration.' In 2020, The British Parking Association's code of practice confirmed that parking operators should group keypad entry mistakes into major and minor errors. Typing in the wrong digit or putting numbers or letters in the wrong order, where the correct registration is still recognisable, would constitute a minor error. The Association said: 'If a typing error such as this leads to a penalty charge notice [PCN] being issued and the motorist appeals, the PCN must be cancelled at the first stage of appeal.' On its website, Euro Car Parks states it is 'proud' to be a British Parking Association-approved operator. Ms Lake said: 'The people we have ended up dealing with don't understand the issue. Their raison d'etre is to collect money and use aggressive means. 'The phone number you are given is to press one to make a payment. They make it very difficult to get in contact. 'Euro Car Parks sends the first few letters then assigns it to a debt collection agency. 'They are doing this to lots of people, particularly vulnerable people like the elderly who don't have the means to defend themselves.' MailOnline tried approaching Euro Car Parks for comment but an automatic operator does not connect callers to a human and no press contact could be found. A Michigan teenager claims she was told to 'go back to your country' by her teacher after she refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Danielle Khalaf, 14, said the alleged incident took place on January 10 at East Middle School in Plymouth, when she chose to stay seated during the pledge. The Arab-American eighth-grader said she was soon reprimanded by her teacher, Cari Soranno, who branded Danielle's actions 'very disrespectful.' 'I decided I wanted to sit down because I didnt feel comfortable standing, because of whats happening in Palestine,' Danielle told 7 News Detroit. 'After the pledge was over, the teacher addressed the class and said that anyone that was sitting down was being very disrespectful to soldiers, to America.' After class ended, Danielle decided to go to her teacher and explain why she chose not to stand, but that's when she claims the situation got worse. According to the teen, her teacher told her: 'Since you live in this county and enjoy its freedom, if you don't like it, you should go back to your country.' Danielle then ran out of the classroom, crying, and went to the counselor's office. 'It was traumatizing, it hurt, and I know she could do that to other people,' the student added. Danielle Khalaf, 14, claims she was told to 'go back to your country' by her teacher at East Middle School in Plymouth, Michigan after she remained seated during the Pledge of Allegiance After class ended, Danielle decided to go up to Ms. Soranno and explain why she chose not to stand, but that's when she claims the situation got worse. (Pictured: East Middle School) Her father, Jacob Khalaf, said the educator has since admitted to the statement, but he wants the school to take further action. 'Their only solution was to put my daughter in a different class as opposed to doing anything with the teacher; they wouldnt tell us what type of disciplinary action, if any, was taken,' he said. 'I think the teacher needs to be removed.' Danielle and her father joined the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) for a press conference on Thursday to address her story. 'As a father, it was heartbreaking to see my daughter come home in tears because of what she had to deal with in school,' Jacob said at the conference. 'Danielle was exercising her constitutional right when she chose to remain seated during the Pledge of Allegiance. Instead of respecting her decision, the teacher humiliated her in front of her classmates and peers. 'And made a deeply offensive comment, essentially telling my daughter that she does not belong to this country. My daughter, an American citizen, being told she does not belong to this county,' he added. The ACRL, a non-profit group 'committed to protecting the civil rights of Arab Americans through education and advocacy,' also sent a letter to the Plymouth-Canton Community School District Board of Education to request 'investigation and accountability' regarding the alleged incident. In the letter, the organization wrote that the teacher's alleged comment to Danielle 'was not only discriminatory and deeply offensive but also created a hostile learning environment' for her. Her father, Jacob Khalaf, said the educator has since admitted to the statement, but he wants the school to take further action They also noted that after Danielle's experience, she was 'provided immediate support' by other school staff members, including one who is Palestinian herself. 'Additionally, a Palestinian staff member, Mrs. Sater, helped validate the student's experience,' the letter continued. ACRL said that what Danielle says she experienced is a direct violation of her First Amendment rights. The ACRL has also filed a formal complaint with the Department of Civil Rights and sent a list of demands to the school district. Among those demands, the group has asked the district to conduct a 'thorough' and 'transparent' investigation into Ms. Soranno's conduct, 'impose appropriate disciplinary measures' on her if the allegations are true, and issue a formal and public apology to Danielle and her family. They also asked the district to 'enforce mandatory cultural sensitivity and anti-discrimination training' to all staff, 'review and strengthen district policies' that refer to steps that have to be taken in 'reporting and addressing discriminatory conduct,' and to 'guarantee ongoing emotional and academic support for Danielle,' according to the letter. Plymouth-Canton Schools told the outlet that 'discrimination in any form is not tolerated' in the school district, but 'because this is a personal matter,' they can not share details about Ms. Soranno - who was named in the non-profit's letter. 'The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our top priority. We want to be clear that discrimination in any form is not tolerated by Plymouth-Canton Community Schools and is taken very seriously. P-CCS remains committed to fostering an environment where all students, staff, and community members feel safe, respected, and valued,' the district said. 'It was traumatizing, it hurt, and I know she could do that to other people,' Danielle recalled 'The district became aware of this incident after it occurred. As with all complaints, an investigation was conducted, and appropriate action was taken in alignment with district policies and procedures. Because this is a personnel matter, we are unable to share specific details regarding the employee involved. 'To support those affected, the district facilitated restorative practices between the teacher and students to address any harm and foster understanding. Mariam Charara, the Executive Director of ACRL, said: 'Based on what Danielle is letting us know, is that the administration had restorative practice in the classroom with the teacher and the other students, but the only person that wasn't in the classroom was Danielle herself.' As of Sunday, Ms. Soranno's LinkedIn page appeared to be deactivated. DailyMail.com contacted the Plymouth-Canton Community School District Board of Education and the ACRL for comment. A woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a four-year-old girl died in a house fire this afternoon. Police and fire crews were called to the terraced property, in Gateshead Close, Manchester, at around 12.35pm today. They quickly extinguished the blaze and the girl, who had suffered serious injuries, was taken to hospital by paramedics. But tragically she could not be saved and died of her injuries a short time later. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said a 44-year-old woman who was known to the child was arrested on suspicion of arson with the intent to endanger life. 'There is no wider threat to the community,' the spokesman said. Evidence of smoke damage could be seen on upstairs windows of the red-brick house today. Police at the scene on Gateshead Close in Manchester after a four-year-old girl died in a house fire Evidence of smoke damage could be seen on upstairs windows of the red-brick house today Crews were quickly able to extinguish the fire and bring out the girl, who sadly did a short time later A police cordon remains in place and specialist officers were also on the scene conducting inquiries A police cordon remains in place and specialist officers were also on the scene conducting house-to-house inquiries. Ben Levy, area manager for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said crews from four stations attended the blaze. 'I want to pass on the condolences of everyone at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to the family and friends of the young girl who tragically lost her life following this incident,' he said. 'Our thoughts are with them during this sad and difficult time.' Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley, from Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team, said her officers would leave 'no stone unturned' as they investigate the circumstances of the blaze. 'This awful incident has seen the tragic death of a young girl,' DCI Whalley said. 'I would like to send my condolences to her friends and family. Numerous emergency services attended the scene and all did their utmost to save her. 'A woman has been arrested and she is known to the child. There is no wider threat to the community and no one else is currently being sought in connection with the investigation. 'These tragic incidents will of course naturally cause concern, but I want to reassure the public that we are fully investigating all circumstances of the fire, and will leave no stone unturned as we carry out this work.' The senior officer also appealed for anyone with information to get in touch via 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers. President Donald Trump isn't the first to lose his temper with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House. More than two years prior to their historic meltdown inside the Oval Office, President Joe Biden became furious with Zelensky during a phone call, believing the US hadn't been duly thanked for its military aid. NBC News reported that Biden called Zelensky in June 2022 to inform him that $1 billion in military aid had been approved for Ukraine. However, before Biden could finish, Zelensky began listing additional requests for help. Frustrated, Biden responded by reminding Zelensky of the U.S.'s generosity and the tireless efforts of his administration and the military to support Ukraine. Raising his voice, Biden added that Zelensky should show more gratitude. Fast forward to Friday, when Trump abruptly kicked Zelensky out of the White House following a fiery shouting match between the two leaders. Tensions had been building between Trump and Zelensky, much like the strain that had developed between Biden and Zelensky in 2022. On Friday, Trump abruptly kicked Zelensky out of the White House following a fiery shouting match between the two leaders In June 2022, President Joe Biden became furious with Zelensky during a phone call. Biden and his aides had grown frustrated by Zelensky's public focus on what he hadn't received, despite the extensive efforts to assist Ukraine. Although Biden's 2022 phone call didn't escalate into an intense confrontation, the underlying frustration was evident. In recent weeks, tensions between Trump and Zelensky had also been rising. Trump had called Zelensky a 'dictator,' accusing him of holding on to power without calling elections. Zelensky, in turn, accused Trump of living in a 'disinformation space.' Trump later backtracked, claiming he couldn't recall making the statement when questioned at a news conference before meeting Zelensky. A key difference between the two confrontations is that after Biden's 2022 call, Zelensky expressed remorse, saying in a videotaped message: 'I had an important conversation with U.S. President Biden today. I am grateful for this support.' However, Friday's Oval Office encounter was far more dramatic. Following the explosive meeting, Zelensky walked out of the West Wing, slipping into his SUV under a barrage of camera flashes, leaving behind a host of unanswered questions. The unusual scene left Ukraine's future uncertain as the country continued to fight for its survival. Tempers flared during the Oval Office shouting match. Trump threatened to withdraw U.S. support for Ukraine entirely unless Zelensky agreed to his peace terms. He also accused Zelensky of ingratitude. During their Oval Office discussion, Trump threatened to withdraw U.S. support for Ukraine entirely unless Zelensky agreed to his peace terms. He also accused Zelensky of ingratitude Following the explosive meeting, Zelensky slipped into an SUV under a barrage of camera flashes, leaving behind a host of unanswered questions Zelensky stood his ground, even showing Trump photos of the devastation in Ukraine and insisting that he had expressed gratitude to the American people. The confrontation was unlike any public meeting ever seen in the Oval Office, broadcast around the world. 'You're gambling with World War III,' Trump bellowed at Zelensky during the exchange. Both leaders were tense and repeatedly tried to speak over each other. Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, sitting to the side, buried her face in her hands. After the shouting match, Trump announced that he had asked Zelensky to leave. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: 'Its amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved. 'Because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I dont want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.' Once the cameras left the room, Zelensky was escorted to a holding room in the West Wing. He and Trump did not meet again. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Zelensky that his meetings at the White House were over, according to a White House official. The scheduled lunch between the two leaders was canceled, and reporters saw the uneaten meal left in the hallway outside the Oval Office. The planned press conference was also called off. Zelensky left the White House about two hours after his arrival, and soon after, he posted his own message on social media. He wrote: 'Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. 'Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.' Elon Musk has lashed out a Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian President's explosive row with Donald Trump in which he told him to make a deal with Russia 'or we are out'. Zelensky met with the US President and his VP on Friday in the Oval Office during what was supposed to be a prelude to both leaders signing a minerals deal Kyiv hoped would secure future support for the US. However, the meeting quickly turned sour as Zelensky clashed with Vice President JD Vance, who criticised the Ukrainian President for not thanking President Trump. The outbursts from both leaders ended up with an afternoon press conference being cancelled prematurely. The Ukrainian President was then told to leave the White House and made a swift exit into his car from the West Wing. Now Elon Musk, who has become one of President Trump's most influential senior advisors since he took office in January, has weighed into the argument between the two world leaders. Taking to his own social media site, X, Musk responded to a post by Benny Johnson suggesting that American's believe the US is helping Ukraine too much. Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky clashed in the White House on Friday Key Trump ally Elon Musk has now weighed in on the argument between the two world leaders Mr Johnson wrote: 'More people now think the U.S. is helping Ukraine too much - up from 7% to 41%. 'On top of that, trust in Zelensky fell from 72% to under 48% 'America first.' Musk quoted the post and wrote: 'Zelensky damaged himself severely in the eyes of the public. Just a fact.' In another scathing post, Musk called Zelensky's strategy for the ongoing conflict with Russia 'cruel and inhumane.' 'What I said over 2 years ago was that Ukraine should seek peace or suffer severe loss of life for no gains. The latter was Zelensky's choice,' Musk wrote. 'Now, he wants to do that again. This is cruel and inhumane.' In extraordinary scenes which were broadcast across the world, a tense war of words unfolded after Zelensky asked JD Vance a question which sent him into a fit of rage. Speaking a calm manner, Zelensky had asked: 'What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about? What do you mean?' In a furious tirade, Vance spat back: 'I'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country. 'Mr President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Elon Musk has been a close advisor to President Trump since he took office in January The billionaire has been speaking out about various political leaders at summits and rallies Elon Musk took to his social media platform X to criticise the Ukrainian leader 'Right now you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the President for trying to bring an end to this conflict.' The argument continued to escalate as the two sides talked over each other and the pitched battle intensified. 'Have you ever been to Ukraine that you see the problems we have?' Zelensky asked Vance, who last April in the Senate voted against a package with $61 billion in aid for Ukraine. 'I have been to I've actually, I've actually watched and seen the stories, and I know what happens is you bring people. You bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr President,' Vance shot back. Then Trump jumped in to defend his vice president. 'You've allowed to be in a very bad position, and it happens to be right about that. You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now.' 'I'm not playing cards,' Zelensky responded, speaking over him. 'Have you said thank you once?' Vance blasted Zelensky at one point in the conflagration. 'Just say thank you,' Vance told him. 'I said it a lot of times,' Zelensky responded. The talks soon turned sour after a seemingly-innocuous moment where Zelensky spoke earnestly to JD Vance, with Trump quietly nodding along behind him The furious bust-up has sparked fierce tensions across the globe after the US leader led an unprecedented humiliation of the war-time premier alongside VP JD Vance Zelensky's first words had been: 'Thank you so much, Mr President, thank you for the invitation'. Vance appeared to be seeking gratitude for the massive infusion of military aid. It is not the first time that Elon Musk has voiced his disapproval of the Ukrainian President. Last month, he suggested Volodymyr Zelensky runs a 'fraud machine feeding off the dead bodies of soldiers'. Writing on his X platform, he said: 'In reality, he is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election. I challenge Zelensky to hold an election and refute this. He will not.' Trump's ally then added: 'President Trump is right to ignore him and solve for peace independent of the disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.' While Musk did not elaborate on what he meant by this, his comments appear to echo Trump's accusation that Zelensky wanted to 'keep the gravy train' of foreign aid running with the war. Prior to meeting the Ukrainian President, Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on his Ukrainian counterpart, blaming him for the war on his country despite Russia being the aggressor. Zelensky in turn accused the US President of falling for Russian fake news. Trump hit back by labelling Zelensky 'a dictator without elections' - despite the Ukrainian leader winning more than 73 per cent of the vote in Ukraine's 2019 presidential election and only pausing elections because of the war. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at 10 Downing Street, London yesterday Chancellor Rachel Reeves signs a loans deal to Ukraine alongside President Zelensky and the Prime Minister Both Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have given their backing to Volodymyr Zelensky The tension then erupted in front of the world media, leaving question marks about the future of US - Ukraine relations. Mr Trump is reportedly now demanding his Ukrainian counterpart makes the first move to restore relations following their fractious Oval Office dispute on Friday night that sparked demands for his promised British trip to be axed. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street the following day and made clear Britain's ongoing backing for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion - as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced 2.26billion of new funding. Sir Keir last night spoke with both Mr Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, after the PM insisted Ukraine had 'full backing across the United Kingdom' in a Number 10 meeting with Mr Zelensky. Greeting him later at No 10, and referring to the cheers of supporters who gathered outside Downing Street, Sir Keir said: 'I hope you heard some of that cheering in the street, that is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you and Ukraine and our absolute determination to stand with you unwavering determination.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly releasing more than 2billion from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's military the first time money generated from the appreciation of such assets will be used for military purposes. She and the Ukrainian finance minister will sign a 2.26billion UK-Ukraine bilateral loan agreement, the Sunday Times reported. She is also poised to change the remit of the 27.8billion National Wealth Fund previously reserved for infrastructure projects so it can be spent on supporting the British defence sector. Keir Starmer tonight insisted Europe must be ready to take on more burden as allies struggled to respond to Donald Trump's extraordinary bust-up with Volodymyr Zelensky. Speaking after a crisis summit in London, the PM said the world was at a 'crossroads in history' and he wanted to forge a way forward that could be presented to the US. Positioning himself as a bridge to the White House, Sir Keir told a press conference that he still regarded America as a 'reliable ally'. 'We agree with the president on the urgent need for a durable peace... now we need to deliver together,' he said. However, he stressed that any deal must have 'strong US backing' with 'every nation contributing in the best way it can'. The comments came after European leaders spent hours trying to thrash out a strategy after the grim scenes in the Oval Office on Friday night. After embracing Mr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London, the PM told him 'we are all with you' and urged the gathering to step up to a 'once in a generation moment'. Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni were present as Britain, France and Italy look set to take key roles in a 'coalition of the willing' to enforce any peace deal with Russia. The UK and Paris have both pledged to provide troops on the ground if necessary. But there still appear to be huge obstacles - not least that Russia has yet to agree to beginning talks with Ukraine, and the US envisages formal ceding of territory while many European states regard that as unacceptable. The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance. On another frantic day of diplomacy: The UK's ambassador to Washington, Lord Mandelson has warned Mr Zelensky should 'commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow', despite concerns that Vladimir Putin will simply use a pause to re-arm and try again. Sir Keir has insisted Europe must recognise the 'brutal reality' of the US pulling back from military guarantees and ramp up defence spending. The PM announced a deal that will allow Ukraine to use 1.6billion of export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, to be made in Belfast. Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from the Ukrainian president amid threats to pull the plug on US military support. In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president's support for Ukraine as 'crucial'. The Kremlin has been trolling the woes of Nato by jibing that US policy now 'largely coincides with our vision'. Speaking after a crisis summit in London, Keir Starmer said the world was at a 'crossroads in history' and he wanted to forge a way forward to present to the US Keir Starmer embraced Volodymyr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London as they try to repair alliances in the wake of the debacle Front row, left to right: Finland's President Alexander Stubb, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Poland's PM Donald Tusk. Centre row from left: Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez, Denmark's PM Mette Frederiksen, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Antonio Costa, Canada's PM Justin Trudeau and Romania's interim President Ilie Bolojan. Back row from left: Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Netherlands PM Dick Schoof, Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Norway's PM Jonas Gahr Store, Czech Republic's PM Petr Fiala, Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni and Turkey's foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The PM told the gathering they must step up to a 'once in a generation moment' Keir Starmer shook hands with Emmanuel Macron on the steps of Lancaster House in London as they look to shore up Nato and the continent's defences from Russian aggression Sir Keir and Mr Macron are thought to be taking the lead on drawing up new proposals for guaranteeing any peace deal with Russia Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, greets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as she arrives for a summit on Ukraine at Lancaster House in London, Sunday, March 2, 2025 The summit in London today was already planned before the extraordinary on-camera slanging match between Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance and Mr Zelensky (pictured) Sir Keir and Giorgia Meloni met for the second time in the day, after holding talks in No10 this morning Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has joined the gathering of leaders in London this afternoon Nato chief Mark Rutte arriving for the summit in Lancaster House today There have been calls for Mr Trump's invite for an unprecedented state visit to the UK to be withdrawn, although No10 is adamant that will not happen. Sir Keir said this morning that it was a 'matter for the King'. Mr Zelensky and King Charles have been photographed side-by-side at Sandringham this evening. Both were smiling as they shook hands and posed for pictures outside the royal estate, with Charles patting Zelensky's arm. A military helicopter carrying Zelensky was seen flying low and descending over Sandringham at around 5.25pm. Local people, some holding Ukraine flags, gathered outside the estate to try to witness the arrival of Mr Zelensky in Norfolk for his meeting with the King. 'The president was warmly received, and the meeting lasted just under an hour', the Palace said after the meeting. A helicopter could be seen departing the Sandringham estate in Norfolk at 6.35pm, following the meeting between the King and Mr Zelensky. Mr Zelensky tonight said that the peace summit in London 'was dedicated to Ukraine and our shared European future'. 'We feel strong support for Ukraine, for our people both soldiers and civilians, and our independence,' he said in a tweet on X. The Ukrainian President added: 'Together, we are working in Europe to establish a solid foundation for cooperation with the United States in pursuit of true peace and guaranteed security. Europe's unity is at an exceptionally high level, one that has not been seen in a long time. 'We are discussing with our partners security guarantees and the conditions for a just peace for Ukraine. A series of important meetings and decisions are being prepared for the near future. 'I am grateful to all our friends and partners for their efforts in bringing about a stable and guaranteed peace in Ukraine. Joint strength can protect our future.' Zelensky and the King were smiling as they shook hands and posed for pictures outside the royal estate, with Charles patting Zelensky's arm during the greeting Mr Zelensky headed for an audience with the King at Sandringham this evening, in another show of solidarity A military helicopter could be seen flying low and descending over the estate at around 5.25pm In what amounted to a plea to Mr Trump, Sir Keir said today the US was a 'reliable ally' and the plan he wanted to develop 'will work with the US and will have US backing'. 'To support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing,' he said. 'We're working with the US on this point after my meeting with President Trump last week, and let me be clear, we agree with the President on the urgent need for a durable peace, now we need to deliver together. 'Finally, we agreed that leaders will meet again very soon, to keep the pace behind these actions and to keep working towards this shared plan. 'We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.' Asked at the press conference whether there is now a real prospect of Britain being at war with Russia, Sir Keir said: 'The reason I've been forward-leaning on this is because I want to avoid conflict, because I do not want conflict in Ukraine, in Europe I want stability in the United Kingdom. 'The way to ensure that stability is to ensure that we are able to defend a deal in Ukraine, because the one thing our history tells us is that if there is conflict in Europe, it will wash up on our shores. 'Already, in the last three years, what's happened in Ukraine has had a massive impact on many working people back here in the United Kingdom because their bills have gone up, their energy bills have gone up. There's been an instability in our economy caused by that conflict, so we are not unaffected.' talian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets with Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street, in London, Britain, March 2, 2025 The PM added: 'Of course, our own security and defence depends on the defence and security of Europe. So every step I am taking is in order to preserve peace, to avoid conflict, because the safety and security of the British people is my number one duty and responsibility, and I take it very seriously.' Kicking off the behind-closed doors talks at Lancaster House, Sir Keir told fellow leaders: 'In my conversations in recent days, we agreed a group of us will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then discuss that with the US and take it forward together.' Ukraine's allies need to also continue their support in the moment, Sir Keir stressed. 'Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression,' he said. Speaking to broadcasters outside Lancaster House, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine must have the 'means to fortify and protect itself' in economic and military terms. She added that 'therefore the focus is not only on the military supply but also for example securing their energy system'. She also revealed she will present 'a comprehensive plan to rearm Europe' on Thursday. Giorgia Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate'. She said: 'We are all very committed about a goal that we all want to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. 'I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. I think on this the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building.' German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that a focus for allies will be to ensure that Ukraine has a strong army when the war there is over so that it can defend itself against any future aggression. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that a focus for allies will be to ensure that Ukraine has a strong army when the war there is over so that it can defend itself against any future aggression Pro-Ukraine demonstrations were taking place outside Downing Street today Danish PM Mette Frederiksen was embraced by Sir Keir at the summit today 'The basis of everything will be a strong army,' Scholz said. The Chancellor added that a halt in fighting could be a starting point for potential peace talks for Ukraine. 'It would be very helpful if the bombing were to stop...That would also be the starting point for talks that can then continue,' Scholz told journalists after a meeting of European leaders in London. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that no one in the West has any intention of capitulating to Putin's 'blackmail and aggression.' 'The best way to discourage Putin and other aggressors is to build our own strength, and the best way to convince President Trump to want to strengthen cooperation with Europe, and not weaken it, is our European strength. Everyone will want to work with a strong partner,' Tusk told Polish reporters. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country had 'an important role to play' after attending the summit with other leaders. 'Canada has been one of the strongest countries in support of Ukraine from the very beginning, for over 10 years now we've been training Ukrainian defence forces,' Mr Trudeau said. Polish PM Donald Tusk is among the leaders at the summit today Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (pictured left with Mr Zelensky) said his country had 'an important role to play' after attending the summit with other leaders He added: 'We're going to continue to be there to support Ukraine as necessary with whatever it takes for as long as it takes. 'Ukraine is not just defending its own territories, it is defending the very principles and values that underpin all of our democracies.' Mr Trudeau also said that Canada will 'continue to be there' for Ukraine. He also did not rule out putting Canadian boots on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force, saying: 'Everything is on the table.' European leaders have been voicing solidarity with Mr Zelensky, who was warmly embraced by Sir Keir in Downing Street last night, as they try to find a way of repairing relations. In an interview earlier this morning, the PM said he 'trusted' the US president and believed he wants a 'lasting peace'. Sir Keir said he was trying to act as a 'bridge' to resolve the differences and had 'hit the phones' in the wake of the extraordinary bust-up in Washington. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America. Sir Keir suggested that 'a coalition of the willing' would have to guarantee any settlement on the ground, hinting that hopes of the US providing a security backstop have dwindled. Earlier, Italy's Giorgia Meloni was greeted warmly by Keir Starmer outside the famous black door of Downing Street Badenoch condemns humiliation of 'hero' Zelensky... but says his english might have contributed to tensions Kemi Badenoch condemned the 'humiliation' of Volodymyr Zelensky today following his clash with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, the Tory leader said her 'heart went out' to the Ukrainian president. However, she dismissed the idea that he was 'ambushed' - suggesting that misunderstandings were fuelled by english not being his first language. 'Honestly, my heart went out to President Zelensky. I watched it and I couldn't believe what was happening, he was being humiliated,' Ms Badenoch said. 'I don't think we should conduct these sorts of difficult conversations in front of the cameras and we have to remember that President Zelensky is a hero, he is the person who represents that strength and resilience of the Ukrainian people.' She added: 'I don't think it was an ambush, I think that both parties are working for their respective national interest, and they seem to be speaking at cross-purposes. 'I think sometimes having English as a second language is not necessarily helpful. During all the trade negotiations I had as trade secretary, most of the eastern European countries had an interpreter there.' Ahead of the European leaders' summit, she said: 'If we don't have an American security guarantee within Nato, if we lose them, we're going to be spending a hell of a lot more (on defence). 'We need to make sure that America does not disengage, it is in their interest for peace now, if we all get dragged into an escalation, America will get dragged into it eventually.' Advertisement They are also racing to fill the potential gap in European defences from the abrupt withdrawal of the world's largest military and economic power. Sir Keir said he was 'rolling up my sleeves' rather than 'ramping up the rhetoric' in response to the scenes in Washington. 'I was in my office, and nobody wants to see that. Later that day, I then picked up the phone to President Trump, and I picked up the phone to President Zelensky, because, to my mind, focus has to be a lasting peace in Ukraine,' he said. He added: 'Look, nobody wants to see that. Clearly, you know, there's a lot of tension. The cameras were on.' Sir Keir continued: 'My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone. 'We've now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we'll discuss that plan with the United States.' The PM said he 'felt uncomfortable' watching the Oval Office footage but added: 'The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not. 'The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards. 'Because my reaction was we have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.' Of Mr Trump, the premier added: 'I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.' Sir Keir said: 'What I am clear about is that if there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again. 'That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there's a deal it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.' A security guarantee from the Americans is the subject of 'intense' discussion, Sir Keir said. He added: 'For me, the components of a lasting peace are a strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength; to negotiate a European element to security guarantees, and that's why I've been forward-leaning on this about what we would do; and a US backstop. 'That's the package, all three parts need to be in place, and that's what I'm working hard to bring together.' Keir Starmer told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America Pressed on why trusts Mr Trump, he said: 'Because I've spoken to him a number of times. I've got to know him. I've had extensive discussions with him and I believe his motivation is lasting peace.' He added: 'If the central question you're putting to me is do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes. 'But, also, take a step back, the relationship between the US and the UK is the closest relationship of any two countries in the world, our defence, our security, our intelligence, are bound up one with another in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the world.' Asked if he would trust Vladimir Putin, he said: 'Well, no, I wouldn't trust Putin, which is why I want a security guarantee. 'I wouldn't trust him not to come again, because he's proven that he will come again. He's already done it and we know what his ambitions are.' Lord Mandelson told the ABC news channel that Mr Zelensky must 'give his unequivocal backing to the initiative that President is taking, to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine'. 'I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow,' he said. Sir Keir is positioning himself as a bridge between Europe and Mr Trump after his successful visit to the White House last week. Sir Keir pledged this week to raise the UK's defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, slashing the aid budget to free up the funding. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also expected to cut 5billion from welfare and allow the 28billion national wealth fund to be invested in defence projects. The summit comes after several days that saw the foundations of the Nato alliance - that has helped avoid world war for 80 years - shaken. Ms Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate' The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President accusing his counterpart of 'gambling with World War Three' after Russia invaded. It resulted in Ukraine's president being kicked out of the White House and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support put on ice. Mr Trump said he would not be welcome until he was willing to talk about 'peace'. Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting. European leaders have rallied in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, while Sir Keir has repeatedly spoken to both presidents over the phone. The PM welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday in a meeting described as 'meaningful and warm' by the Ukrainian leader. The two men embraced as they met, and again later as they parted, and Sir Keir took the unusual step of walking Mr Zelensky to his car, instead of waving him goodbye from the front step of No10. Ms Reeves has signed a loan agreement worth 2.26billion with her Ukrainian counterpart, to pay for further military support and the rebuilding of Ukraine in future. The UK hopes to recoup the costs from frozen Russian assets locked in bank accounts across Europe. Mr Zelensky is expected to meet the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk this evening after attending the summit. The embattled Ukrainian leader meets Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US president's support. Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump last night for the second evening in a row, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, as he seeks to be a bridge across the Atlantic and smooth out the ongoing division between Western allies. In an interview with Le Figaro newspaper, President Macron also suggested that European countries should raise their defence spending to between 3 and 3.5 per cent of GDP to respond to Washingtons shifting priorities. Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, told the BBC he urged Mr Zelensky to repair his relationship with the US president in a Friday-night phone call, as the alliance's members 'need to stick together' against Russia. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned in a Telegraph newspaper article that America's commitment to Europe 'cannot now be taken for granted', after urging Sir Keir to push for 'concrete' pledges during the summit. A woman who was found dead after being brutally assaulted has been named - as police reveal two men have been arrested amid a murder probe. Police were raced to Gomer Road in Townhill on Thursday and tragically found the body of Leanne Williams, 47. The force, who found Leanne dead around 2pm, said a post-mortem identified significant injuries consistent with assault. South Wales Police's Major Crime Team quickly launched a murder investigation, seeing two men arrested who still remain in custody. Detective Superintendent Mark O'Shea, said: 'This tragic news has come as shock to the local community and of course is devastating for her family who we are supporting. 'We have a team of officers working around the clock on this investigation and I can confirm that we have two men in police custody - at this time we aren't looking for anybody else. 'We are piecing together Leanne's last known movements from 6pm on Monday, February 24, to 2.20pm the following Thursday when she was found by officers. 'Anyone who lives in or who has travelled through Gomer Road or surrounding areas during this time are asked to check their private CCTV or dashcam footage for anything that may be relevant. Pictured: Leanne Williams, 47, who was found dead in her home in South Wales by police on Thursday, 27 February Gomer Road in Townhill, Swansea, where Ms Williams lived, her body was found at around 2pm 'It doesn't matter how insignificant it may seem. 'We particularly want to hear from people who knew Leanne and who have not yet spoken with officers. 'The community will have noticed police activity in the area and this is to reassure residents who we know are concerned and to speak to them to see if they have information which may assist us.' A police cordon remains in place at the address on Gomer Road. Nearly 250 Scottish civil servants are able to dodge the SNPs crippling tax regime by basing themselves elsewhere in the UK. The Scottish Government has confirmed 241 of its employees do not pay the Scottish rate of income tax because their main residence is not in Scotland. Among them are staff on six-figure salaries who will save thousands of pounds a year by not being subject to the UKs highest taxes, despite working for the Scottish Government. They include seven members of the senior civil service, where salaries range from 100,000 to 185,000. Currently, everyone earning more than 28,850 pays more income tax in Scotland than in other parts of the UK. A Scottish civil servant earning 100,000 would reduce their tax bill by 3,332 a year by having their main residence in other parts of the UK, rising to a 6,713 saving for someone on 175,000. Tory MSP Jamie Greene said: It should be a source of embarrassment to the SNP government that a significant number of their own staff are saving cash by not paying Scottish tax including several in the higher pay brackets who are considerably better off as a result. Many hard-working Scots, who are forced to pay more under the SNP, wish they were in a similar position. Scotlands top civil servant Permanent Secretary John-Paul Marks confirmed that 3 per cent of his staff do not pay the Scottish rate of income tax What incentive is there for Scottish Government staff to relocate to Scotland when it means handing over more of their pay? You have to wonder how many other well-paid executives choose not to relocate to Scotland because of its harsh taxation system. Workers pay income tax based on their main place of residence, meaning those who work in Scotland and live elsewhere in the UK can save significant sums. Scotlands top civil servant Permanent Secretary John-Paul Marks confirmed that 3 per cent of his staff do not pay the Scottish rate of income tax in a letter to Mr Greene following up on questions about the issue during a public audit committee meeting last month. As of September 2024, of the 241 government staff involved 55 were in C1, C2, or C3 pay bands, where the average salaries are between 75,000 and 85,000, meaning they stand to save between 1,982 and 2,582 by declaring their main residence in other parts of the UK. All of those who do not pay Scottish income tax have their main residence in either England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In his letter, Mr Marks said a number of the individuals may have been in the process of relocating to Scotland or may have already done so but the Scottish Government has not received an updated tax code. He also said there are some instances where Scottish Government workplaces are not in Scotland, such as its London base. Scottish staff are choosing to live in cities such as London - rather than Scotland Mr Marks said: There is an expectation individuals will relocate to Scotland if employed by us, however this is not a legal requirement unless there is an occupational reason to reside within a certain travelling distance of the workplace. Employees are required to attend their work location in Scotland as required for business need. If they commute a longer distance, that is a personal choice and at their own expense. Scots taxpayers have an S tax code prefix to identify them as a Scottish resident. But the growing tax gap with the rest of the UK has led to concerns higher earners will find ways to avoid paying the increased rates in Scotland. Holyroods finance committee has said it is strongly of the view that more detailed research is needed on behavioural responses to tax policy in Scotland. A government spokesman said: The rate of income tax is determined by domiciliary status. Some Scottish Government roles are based outside Scotland, with staff based in London, overseas, or offshore in marine seafaring roles. More than 145 crew members serving on Britains elite multi billion pound submarine fleet have been sacked in the last six years for failing drugs tests. The highly trained Royal Navy submariners were found positive for a variety of banned or illegal substances including cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, and steroids. Another prohibited narcotic found during the series of random unnannounced tests was was benzodiazepine, a drug for treating anxiety and insomnia. According to figures released by the The Ministry of Defence 146 men and women tested positive between 2018 and 2023. In 40 cases the crew members were actually serving on a submarine at the time. The UKs nuclear submarines have been based at Faslane Royal Navy base near the Firth of Clyde, about 25 miles from Glasgow, since the 1960s. The MoD said no drugs were actually found in searches of its submariners or in their quarters and there is no suggestion crew members were dealing on board. Its believed the majority of drug taking happens while members are on shore leave or having returned home after a lengthy spell at sea. Its believed some of those who failed the tests were working on Britains Trident missile fleet The large number of positive tests has raised major security concerns given that submarine crew members are on the frontline of Britains defence. Its believed some of those who failed drugs tests were working on Britains 15 billion Trident missile fleet, which provide a continuous round the clock nuclear deterrent. One is always out on patrol, ready to strike in the event the UK faces a nuclear attack or other extreme military crisis. A submarine normally carried around 130 crew members at any one time including a doctor and three chefs. Philip Ingram, a former British Military Intelligence colonel said yesterday: Operating complex equipment or weapons with illegal substances in your system is recklessly dangerous and shows that those taking them do not care about themselves or their colleagues Unfortunately, with the proliferation and normalisation of drugs in society, many young personnel will abuse them, especially after long sub patrols. Stopping this is down to self-discipline, education and leadership. The MOD insist the armed forces have a zero-tolerance policy towards drugs with the vast majority of those who test positive immediately dismissed. They say hundreds of random checks are carried out every year. 'Some submariners are targeted if there is information that person is using drugs. The tests normally involve a crew member giving a blood or urine sample. Yesterday a Royal Navy spokesperson said: The misuse of drugs is not tolerated. Anyone found to have misused drugs faces severe consequences, including discharge from service. 'We maintain a comprehensive programme of compulsory random drug testing. Our people are also required to complete regular mandated training on substance misuse. The Royal Navy operates a fleet of 10 submarines, all powered by on-board nuclear reactors. Four - The Vanguard class - carry Trident nuclear missiles. First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Ben Key The MOD do not say how long submarine crew are at sea at any one time However some deployments can last for anything between three and five months. The profile of the Navys submarine fleet was raised in 2021 by the hit BBC crime drama Vigil, starring Suranne Jones and Martin Compston, in which a member of the fictional crew was killed in an apparent drugs overdose while the vessel was at sea. The Navy also published a report last year admitting that female submariners had suffered misogyny, bullying and unacceptable behaviour from male colleagues. First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Ben Key said at the time: Poor practices and behaviours in the past should never have been considered acceptable, and they have no place today. We must institute a culture that does not allow space for this behaviour to exist and we must deal with perpetrators swiftly, which we have now done. A new submarine fleet is to be built in a joint project involving the UK, Australia and the USA which will replace the current Astute class in the late 2030s. Last Wednesday, John Swinney summoned members of the media to his first press conference in Bute House. The First Minister was announcing a new initiative to bring Scotland together. From a man who has dedicated his life to tearing Scotland apart, dividing us by loyalty to one flag or another, this was weapons-grade chutzpah. Theres no cheek like bare-faced cheek, as my dear old granny used to say. Theres a hard and fast rule in Scottish politics: if you want to do nothing, set up an initiative; if you want someone else to do nothing, set up a review. Swinneys new initiative will take the form of a summit, which is when you do nothing but with bottled water and a name plaque on the table in front of you. For what noble cause will the First Minister be gathering his parliamentary rivals and the great and the good of civic Scotland? Halting the decline in education and closing the unjust attainment gap? John Swinney 'wants to establish a political cartel,' writes Stephen Daisley Ending the indignity of elderly and infirm patients languishing in A&E for 12 hours at a time? Helping the desperate and dependent to escape becoming yet another statistic on Scotlands drugs death toll? No. The First Ministers initiative will aim to unite against the rise of the far-Right. He proposes mobilising mainstream Scotland to work together, for decency, democracy and respect. The leaders of all six parties represented in the Scottish parliament, plus senior figures from the trades unions, religious groups and NGOs will be convened to agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country. Swinney was not speaking about proscribed organisations that incite violence, but instead about Reform, a lawful and democratic political party. The First Minister urged common purpose between those of us who are repulsed by the politics of Farage, whom he charged with leading the argument which has been hostile to migration and I think that is based on a fundamentally racist view of the world. Be in no doubt about what is going on here. The First Minister wants to establish a political cartel in which rival parties collaborate to shut a common competitor out of the electoral marketplace. He is suggesting that this cartel include not only trades unions, which have a tradition of political partisanship in this country, but also religious and voluntary institutions, which on the whole do not. Swinney likens his initiative to civic Scotlands crusade for devolution. Given Holyroods dismal reality, its not an example I would pray in aid, but it was at least a single-issue campaign rooted in a broad-based community consensus. What Swinney is agitating for is a partisan operation against, at best, one section of the ideological spectrum, and, at worst, a specific political party and its leader. This raises process questions. Will any NGO which receives Scottish Government funding be invited to participate in this endeavour, and what influence does the First Minister think that financial relationship might have on their decision whether to take part? What is the criteria for a political party or ideology to become the subject of an initiative? The Labour Party spent years mired in the fetid swamp of antiSemitism. Neither the SNP nor the Scottish Government pressed for the same kind of alliance against Labour or Left-wing Jew-hatred. Of course, this initiative isnt about tackling what Mr Swinney believes to be extremism or racism. It is about a series of polls which have indicated that Reform is on course to win seats at next years Scottish parliament elections. It is also about a liberal establishment increasingly alarmed by the emergence of alternative politics, as represented by the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States, the ascendancy of Alternative fur Deutschland and other far-Right parties on the continent, and the growing salience of anti-immigrationism and anti-multiculturalism in British politics. I imagine there is much common ground on these issues between the First Minister and me. The politics of Reform and the personality of Nigel Farage are not to my tastes at all, and while a political correction was inevitable after years of progressive elites propelling the debate far to the Left, the backlash could prove to be more injurious to democracy than what it is lashing back against. Nonetheless, I am unnerved by the zeal of self-described democrats for finding exemptions whenever their opponents get too popular. Not every Right-wing populist is a fascist. Not every anti-liberal X account is a bot, a Russian agent or a spreader of misinformation. The far-Right and its issues are doing well in the polls because there is a constituency out there for what they have to say and few if any mainstream parties prepared to act on voters concerns. Swinneys initiative looks like a desperate bid by a frightened establishment to shore up its defences against the rougher edges of democracy. It is a Scottish iteration of the cordon sanitaire that used to be common in European nations with a nascent far-Right. Try asking political liberals on the continent how that worked out for them. They can point you to the heaving benches of populists and nationalists in their respective parliaments. When you impose a cordon sanitaire against a lawfully constituted, democratic party, it is ultimately their voters you are calling insanitary. Reform is going to win seats next year. Nothing its detractors say or do is going to stop that. It is a populist insurgency, which means its momentum can only be halted by internal division, betrayal of its mission, or the emergence of a better organised rival. Swinneys initiative would almost certainly help rather than hurt Farages party with Scottish voters. For one, Scots are a thrawn people, and being scolded on their inappropriate voting habits will irk some into backing Reform out of sheer bloody-mindedness. For another, the sight of the most powerful people in the land teaming up to hobble Reform will only illustrate Farages contention that political elites are hell-bent on maintaining their grip on power, democracy be damned. There is a danger of Swinney neglecting the lesson of Better Together. That alliance between Labour and Conservative politicians might have saved the Union, but for many Labour voters it represented a betrayal of the partys values, and drove them into the arms of the SNP. An anti-Farage Better Together, in which bitter foes abruptly link arms and pursue a shared agenda, could have a similar effect. The Scottish parliament has gone a quarter-century with only Left and Centrist politics getting a look in. At the first sign of this closed shop being opened up, the First Minister is calling for the Holyrood ruling class to band together to maintain an ideological monoculture. But these indications of support for Reform originate in the polls and results from local elections. They reflect the electoral thinking and behaviour of the public... they are citizenship in action. Swinney might believe himself to be safeguarding democracy but he is in fact objecting to its outcomes. His initiative isnt a summit against extremism. Its a woke Nato in which Scotlands progressive establishment would agree to stick up for one another in the face of a common enemy: the voters. The Vatican have this evening issued a fresh update on the health of Pope Francis after a peaceful night for the Pontiff in hospital. On Pope Francis's sixteenth day of treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for pneumonia in both lungs, the Holy Father has not required any 'mechanical ventilation,' say the Vatican. The 88-year-old had been placed on non-invasive ventilation on Friday evening by doctors after suffering a coughing fit during which he inhaled vomit. 'Today, too, the Holy Father's clinical condition has remained stable,' read tonight's update from the Vatican. 'The Pope has not required non-invasive mechanical ventilation, but only supplemental high-flow oxygenation. He does not have a fever. 'Given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains guarded. 'This morning, the Holy Father participated in Holy Mass, together with those who have been caring him for him during these days of hospitalisation. Afterward, he alternated rest with prayer.' After Friday's worrying update concerning a 'sudden worsening of the respiratory picture,' news that the Pope had been able to drink coffee and read the morning papers on Saturday morning came as a promising sign - something he repeated this morning. On Pope Francis's sixteenth day of treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital for pneumonia in both lungs, the Holy Father has not required any 'mechanical ventilation,' say the Vatican (pictured December 31) A doctor was pictured shutting the blinds of a ward where Pope Francis is believed to be receiving treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Sunday Crowds today continue to gather around a statue of Pope John Paul II, situated at the hospital where the current Pontiff is receiving treatment In another update, the Vatican announced that the Pope received a visit from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra at the hospital in which he continues to receive treatment. Pope Francis too made a return to X today to thank well-wishers for their prayers and wish his best to Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Kivu. It had been reported earlier this week that the Pontiff is continuing his daily contact via phone call with Gaza's only Catholic church despite his illness. 'I would like to thank you for your prayers, which rise up from the Lord from the hearts of so many faithful from many parts of the world,' read his first post on X today. 'I feel all your affection and closeness and, at this particular time, I feel as if I am "carried" and supported by all God's people.' The Pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into pneumonia in both lungs. Cardinals continue to host a daily prayer service at St Peter's Square to pray for the health of the Pope The Pope pictured in Octover 2022 Dr John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, described the 'isolated spasm' which the Pontiff suffered on Friday as 'extremely concerning.' 'I think this is extremely concerning, given the fact that the Pope has been in the hospital now for over two weeks, and now he's continuing to have these respiratory events and now had this aspiration event that is requiring even higher levels of support,' he said. 'So given his age and his fragile state and his previous lung resection, this is very concerning.' Doctors have not described Francis as being in 'critical condition' for four days now, with his current condition said to be 'stable.' Well-wishers around the world continue to pray the Pope's good health, with a daily vigil service going ahead at 8pm (GMT) each evening at St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. At every service, Cardinals have read the Rosary Prayer with thousands gathering in the square to pray and sing hymns together. Crowds have also been congregating outside the ward where Francis is receiving treatment in Rome, placing flowers and praying around a statue of the late Pope John Paul II which has been illuminated while the current leader of the Catholic Church battles his illness. Neighbours living near a Manchester home that went up in flames killing a four-year-old girl have told of the horrific moment fire crews stormed the blazing building. Emergency services were called to the fatal fire in Gateshead Close, near Rusholme, Manchester, at around 12:35pm today, as a 44-year-old woman, who knew the dead child, has been arrested on suspicion of arson. Neighbours told the Mail that they saw smoke billowing out of a top floor window shortly before emergency services arrived. One woman, whos house is in a neighbouring street, said she was alerted by the sound of sirens and fire engines arriving at the scene. 'I looked over and saw smoke coming from one of the top floor windows,' she said. 'I saw four of five firemen run around the back but then they went around the front and I could hear them banging the door in. 'I dont know who lives at the house but to know a child has died is awful.' Police and fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze at the terraced property and the girl, who had suffered serious injuries, was taken to hospital by paramedics. But tragically she could not be saved and died of her injuries a short time later. Police on Gateshead Close near Rusholme, Manchester after a four-year-old girl died in a house fire Smoke damage could be seen on upstairs windows of the red-brick terraced house today Emergency crews were quickly able to extinguish the fire and bring out the four-year-old girl, who sadly did a short time later One man who lives on Gateshead Close said a woman and a girl lived together at the address. 'Ive been living here around three years,' he said. 'They were already living here when I moved in, but I dont know them.' Around the back of the house all the windows on the top floor had been opened up and a charred and blackened window frame was visible. On the outside back wall someone had written in graffiti: 'You are loved.' But it was unclear if this had recently been put there or had been daubed onto the wall before the tragedy. A forensic team could be seen working inside the upstairs of the house and one fire appliance remained parked in the road this afternoon. Church-goers from the close by Celestial Church of Christ, had earlier rushed out into the road to help and later said prayers for the girl. A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said a 44-year-old woman who was known to the child was arrested on suspicion of arson with the intent to endanger life. Ben Levy, area manager for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said crews from four stations attended the blaze A police cordon remains in place and specialist officers were also on the scene conducting house-to-house inquiries A woman, who was known to the child, has been arrested on suspicion of arson 'There is no wider threat to the community,' the spokesman said. A police cordon remains in place and specialist officers were also on the scene conducting house-to-house inquiries. Ben Levy, area manager for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said crews from four stations attended the blaze. 'I want to pass on the condolences of everyone at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to the family and friends of the young girl who tragically lost her life following this incident,' he said. 'Our thoughts are with them during this sad and difficult time.' Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley, from Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team, said her officers would leave 'no stone unturned' as they investigate the circumstances of the blaze. 'This awful incident has seen the tragic death of a young girl,' DCI Whalley said. 'I would like to send my condolences to her friends and family. Numerous emergency services attended the scene and all did their utmost to save her. 'A woman has been arrested and she is known to the child. There is no wider threat to the community and no one else is currently being sought in connection with the investigation. 'These tragic incidents will of course naturally cause concern, but I want to reassure the public that we are fully investigating all circumstances of the fire, and will leave no stone unturned as we carry out this work.' The senior officer also appealed for anyone with information to get in touch via 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers. A private school once attended by Suella Braverman is facing closure because of Labours 20 per cent VAT on fees. St Hildas Prep School for Girls in Bushey, Hertfordshire, is said to be expecting a six-figure loss this year and has announced it will consult on a possible closure as soon as this summer. The 17,000-a-year school is getting hammered by the 20 per cent rate of VAT on fees, the loss of 80 per cent business rates relief and an increase in National Insurance contributions from April. The school is also contending with shrinking pupil numbers, with the number of girls on the school roll due to fall below 100 next year, 40 below capacity, The Sunday Telegraph reported. It is the latest victim of Labours tax raid on private education - which critics condemn as a tax on ambition - with nearby Immanuel College Prep also consulting on closure due to financial pressures. Ms Braverman, the former home secretary, told the Telegraph: I was lucky enough to spend a few years at St Hildas school in the late 1980s. Many aspirational and hard-working parents sent their children to this excellent school. Labours plans will just force another good school to close, placing unsustainable pressure on state schools and harming the education of every child.. A private school once attended by Suella Braverman (pictured) is facing closure because of Labours 20 per cent VAT on fees Multiple schools have been forced to shut their doors following Chancellor Rachel Reeves (pictured) announcement that VAT would be introduced on top of private school fees in the autumn budget The prep school, which was founded in 1918, charges 17,272 annually for the upper school, and 16,375 for the junior school. It also runs a nursery which costs up to 102 per day. St Hildas was previously described as a a buzzing, nurturing school punching well above its weight by the Good Schools Guide. In a letter sent to parents, St Hildas said: The financial difficulties facing St Hildas are substantial and the school is currently operating at a significant loss with the estimated loss for this financial year being 165,000 and the estimated loss for the next financial year being 235,000, before any consideration of salary increases. This is clearly not sustainable. It added: Coupled with falling pupil numbers, the school is also facing significant financial challenges, including the implementation of VAT on school fees from January 2025, the increase in employer National Insurance contributions and the removal of 80pc business rates relief from April 2025. On Monday, the Aldenham Foundation, which runs the school, published a letter admitting it was assessing the viability of the nursery as well. The girls school is the tenth to announce its closure or potential closure since the new year. A string of schools have been forced to shut their doors following Chancellor Rachel Reevess announcement that VAT would be introduced on top of private school fees in the autumn budget. The VAT plans came in place from January 1 this year, while private schools that are charities will lose charitable business rates relief from April 2025. St Hildas Prep School for Girls in Bushey, Hertfordshire, is said to be expecting a six-figure loss this year and has announced it will consult on a possible closure as soon as this summer Last week, the 185-year-old The Royal School in Haslemere, Surrey, announced it would shut at the end of the academic year. A Treasury spokesman said: Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise 1.8bn a year by 2029-30 to help deliver 6,500 new teachers and raise school standards, supporting the 94pc of children in state schools to achieve and thrive. Karl Mahon, bursar and clerk to the governors at Aldenham, told the Telegraph: The decision to enter into conversations about possible closure has not been taken lightly. The outcome remains subject to consultation with staff. The Foundation has considered carefully the option to move to co-ed however, clear advice was received from a leading expert in late 2021 and again in 2025 that over half of the existing parents would not have joined St Hildas had it been co-ed. A mother shot a prosecutor a filthy look and shook her head as a court was told how she and her girlfriend beat her toddler daughter to death, before blaming her five year-old son for the killing. Janae Perez, 25, and her girlfriend of four years, 33-year-old Ashleigh Utley, appeared in court for the first time on Friday after they were accused of starving and abusing their four children, including three-year-old Sarai Perez Rivera. 'This case involves the starvation and murder of the defendants three-year-old daughter,' prosecution attorney Erika Candelario said. Perez, Sarai's mother, was seen in court shaking her head as the charges were read out loud before she shot a nasty look to the court upon mention of the alleged 'beating' of her children. 'As well as the starvation, beating, and restraint of at least two other children in the care of both defendants,' Candelario continued. Perez's daughter Sarai died in June of last year, she was found by police in their family home in Kapolei. Lieutenant Deena Thoemmes of the Honolulu Police Department said they found the little girl 'malnourished and pulseless with ashen skin and bruises to her legs, hips, arms, face, back and head.' Police said Perez blamed her daughter's death on Sarai's five-year-old brother, but court documents obtained by Hawaii News Now detailed all of the children's abuse. Janae Perez was seen shooting the court a nasty look as she appeared alongside her girlfriend for the first time on Friday as their charges were read out loud for the murder of three-year-old Sarai Perez Rivera Lieutenant Deena Thoemmes of the Honolulu Police Department said they found the little girl 'malnourished and pulseless with ashen skin and bruises to her legs, hips, arms, face, back and head' Perez, 25, and her girlfriend of four years, 33-year-old Ashleigh Utley, appeared in court for the first time on Friday after they were accused of starving and abusing their four children, including three-year-old Sarai Perez Rivera The documents said Perez and Utley denied physically beating the children but instead punished them by feeding them 'fish and sauerkraut.' Police, however, interviewed Sarai's eldest sibling who said he was repeatedly hit with a belt by his mother. Thoemmes furthered that 'Janae and Ashley would primarily hit the children with their hands, sticks, paddles, slippers and belts to all parts of their body.' The six-year-old said his sister was making noises he described as 'weird' and 'suffering' on the day she died. Sarai's five-year-old brother told police he didn't harm her that day, but said she had gone 'up,up' to see Jesus and asked if Jesus had food in heaven because his mother said he does not have food. Lt. Thoemmes said: 'Through the investigation, it was learned that Janae and Ashley limited Sarai and her siblings intake of water and food. Janae and Ashely did not allow them to eat often and only allowed them to drink eight ounces of water a day.' Videos on their pair's cellphones, obtained by police, showed videos of Sarai in distress and of the children barricaded in their bedrooms. 'There was also disturbing video of Sarai crying and in severe discomfort and distress, saying that she had to use the bathroom and that she was thirsty,' Thoemmes said. 'In response, Janae repeatedly yelled and swore at her.' Sarai's five-year-old brother told police he didn't harm her that day, but said she had gone 'up,up' to see Jesus and asked if Jesus had food in heaven because his mother said he does not have food Lt. Thoemmes said: 'Through the investigation, it was learned that Janae and Ashley limited Sarai and her siblings intake of water and food. Janae and Ashely did not allow them to eat often and only allowed them to drink eight ounces of water a day' Police also interviewed the child's grandmother, who said she had confronted her daughter about the alleged abuse and contacted Child Welfare Services. Her grandmother told Honolulu Civil Beat: 'I did see something. I did say something. But the problem is that it didn't matter. It didn't work because no one listened.' It was determined that Sarai had died from the combined effects of dehydration and starvation. Thoemmes said that their home had 'sufficient food to feed their children, but they chose not to.' According to the outlet, Sarai was pronounced dead eighteen minutes after arriving at the hospital. She was found to have suffered extreme pain, mental distress and exposure to domestic violence as well as having been deprived of food, clothing, medical care, education and found to have been given dangerous drugs, Honolulu Civil Beat reported. 'Defendants, the state will note, are also facing enhanced sentencing given the torture circumstances by which the minor victim died and the fact that she was under the age of 8,' prosecution said. A neighbor of the family told Island News that she had heard the children crying above her but hadn't seen them since living in the complex. Lt. Thoemmes said that their home had 'sufficient food to feed their children, but they chose not to' Perez and Utley were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, first degree attempted assault, multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, persistent non-support and hindering prosecution in the first degree 'I remember hearing them multiple times just cry upstairs, but that's it,' neighbor Alexis said. 'I saw them all just sitting right here actually and I didn't realize how many kids were actually above me.' 'Some of them were crying. Some of them didn't really know what was going on,' she continued. 'Just pure sadness. I hope that she gets the justice that she needs. And the other children, I hope that they're taken care of now,' she concluded. Perez and Utley were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, first degree attempted assault, multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, persistent non-support and hindering prosecution in the first degree. They are both being held in the Women's Community Correctional Center in Hawaii, their next court appearance was not immediately available. Police are pleading for the public's help after a university student vanished when he was walking home from the pub - and hasn't been seen since. Sebastian, 21, was last seen leaving the Black Horse Pub in Chippenham at about 11.30pm on Thursday, February 27, and was captured on CCTV heading towards Lovers Walk. He is then thought to have headed south along Avon Valley Walk towards his home address in Notton, Wakefield. Sebastian is described as being white and around 5ft 10ins tall. The 21-year-old is also said to have a slim build with blonde/brown hair and a long fringe. On the evening of his disappearance, he was seen wearing a grey jumper, blue jeans, a beige fur lined jacket and white Adidas trainers with a Velcro strap across the top. Police have now launched an urgent public appeal for information on Sebastian's whereabouts, and those with camera footage that could help are being told to get in touch. They are also urging people to call 999 if they see the University of the West of England student. The new CCTV footage shows Sebastian heading towards Lovers Walk after leaving the Black Horse Pub in Chippenham at about 11.30pm on Thursday, February 27 Sebastian is described as being white, around 5ft 10ins tall, slim build, with blonde/brown hair with a long fringe He was last seen wearing a grey jumper, blue jeans, a beige fur lined jacket and white Adidas trainers with a Velcro strap across the top - as captured in this doorbell footage Chief Inspector Ben Huggins is at the forefront of the search and has called for public assistance. He said: 'Seb has now been missing since late on Thursday evening and we and his family are extremely worried about him. 'Finding him is a Force priority and we are utilising extensive resources to locate him, including exploring different routes he may have taken. Sebastian's outfit on the night he went missing looked like this, except he also had a grey jumper on 'Volunteers from other agencies are also heavily involved in the search and I would like to thank them for their efforts. 'I also ask that members of the public don't fly any drones near them to ensure that they are able to conduct their searches effectively. 'Sebastian's family are being supported by specially trained officers. 'If you see Sebastian, or know anything about his whereabouts or disappearance, please report it on 999 quoting log 141 of February 28.' Two passengers were arrested after trying to force their way onto a plane at Miami International Airport on Sunday. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said the passengers - one man and one woman - were late to their flight to Mexico. They got into a fight with airport staff and threw coffee into one workers face while trying to get on the plane, reported NBC Miami. Video shared on social media showed cops tackling the man to the ground as they arrested him outside the gate - and he was eventually hauled off to a cop car. A second video revealed the female passenger was grabbed by an officer and forced to sit down while the other cops arrested the man. Cops have not released the names of the passengers or specified what charges they face. On Wednesday, mass brawl involving men, women and children erupted at Atlanta Airport departure gate. Video showed a dozen people throwing hands during chaotic scenes at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the Georgia capital. Two passengers were arrested after trying to force their way onto a plane at Miami International Airport on Sunday They got into a fight with airport staff and threw coffee into one workers face while trying to get on the plane The passengers can be seen punching and kicking each other close to what appeared to be the Spirit Airlines departure gates at one of the airport terminals. Several people stood on the chairs to launch an attack from above, while others grappled on the ground below. It's unclear what caused the fight or how it was resolved. Atlanta Police Department told DailyMail.com they sent cops to the scene but the crowd had dispersed by the time they arrived. Several bystanders caught the brawl on cellphone camera from different angles, and shared videos online which attracted more than half a million views. One angle shows the carnage from afar, with several people standing to watch the drama unfold. Youngsters can be heard shouting at each other as they hit out. Most were wearing hoodies and tracksuits, and several were wearing face coverings. Most of the male passengers fought on the ground, while several females stood on chairs and kicked out at them from above. On Wednesday, mass brawl involving men, women and children erupted at Atlanta Airport departure gate The passengers can be seen punching and kicking each other close to what appeared to be the Spirit Airlines departure gates at one of the airport terminals Another angle shows one girl leaping onto the chairs before kicking and punching at a boy below, while he in turn attacks another person. It's unclear whether the passengers involved knew each other before the fight broke out. The chaos appears to have cleared the area as only those involved in the brawl can be seen in the departure lounge. Other passengers can be seen scurrying past the camera in a bid to escape the violence. DailyMail.com has contacted Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for comment. by Marie Snyder I recently watched the lovely film, A Real Pain, about two cousins (played by Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) who travel to Poland to visit their departed grandmothers home. In the first 20 minutes of the movie were shown two dramatically different personalities, both neurotic in their own way, but one more inward and the other laser focused on other people. Its in our vernacular to understand the characters as introverted and extraverted, but there is still disagreement over what that means and, more importantly, what to do with that information. I think weve veered off course since Jungs Psychological Types, now over a century old, the precursor to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and more recently the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or Big Five. There are lots of other personality inventories like John Hollands six Personal-Orientation types, Arthur Brooks mad scientists, cheerleaders, poets, and judges, and Martin Seligmans top five strengths, but MBTI and FFM seem to have sticking power. We automatically notice the similarities and differences between ourselves and others, which can become shortcuts to establish a connection and a sense of identity; despite the questionable validity of the inventories over these hundred years, they can provoke acceptance of ourselves and others if used wisely. NOTICING PATTERNS Jung explains his interest in typology from sheer observation of a pattern: I have long been struck by the fact that besides the many individual differences in human psychology there are also typical differences. Specifically, he noticed two general attitudes and four functions. With attitudes of extraversion or introversion, the fate of one individual is determined more by the objects of his interest, while in another it is determined more by his own inner self. Of the functions, one tends to dominate to become the overriding principle for a person: Sensation establishes what is actually present, thinking enables us to recognize its meaning, feeling tells us its value, and intuition points to possibilities as to whence it came and whether it is going in a given situation. Its a matter of recognizing our leaning towards a way of being thats more comfortable to us: Just as the lion strikes down his enemy or his prey with his forepaw, in which his specific strength resides, and not with his tail like the crocodile, so our habitual mode of reaction is normally characterized by the use of our most reliable and efficient function, which is an expression of our particular strength. However, this does not prevent us from reacting occasionally in a way that reveals our specific weakness. SHORTCUTS: Type and Neurodiversity Typology merely collects a group of noticed or self-reported traits under a chosen term. A type can be a quick way to understand ourselves and others, but, like any label, including some in the DSM, it has limitations. As with other labels created from a checklist, having a recognizable term can give us a useful illusion of certainty about ourselves. People who first get diagnosed with ASD or ADHD as adults, sometimes feel a sense of relief from suddenly understanding why they do what they do. Its just how they are. Knowing Im ASD helps to understand why I hyperfocus, like on issues like this, but I still have to find ways to remember to eat. A label of introverted can help us understand someones need for solitary time as a matter of fact, not an aberration or something to fix. Another benefit is the support groups possible to help feel that sense of understanding from people with similar traits. But it can be a limited relief. Aspects of our personality arent our fault, so we neednt feel guilty about them, but theyre still our problem. We still have to find ways to interact with others who might be radically different, but imagine if everyone understood that some differences could be more innate and work together to find ways to bring out the best in each of us. Jung said sticking labels on people is nothing but a childish parlour game; Bessel van der Kolk calls labels in the DSM, little crutches that never quite capture what somebody is suffering from, and Hannah Gadsby said labels stop people from being curious about people who are different. A set of initials cant capture all of who we are. Its like when we memorize a mnemonic in order to remember a ton of content but then forget to be able to expand on that when asked more in depth questions. Were stuck with an acronym for a list of words that can lose any nuance, which is a devastating way to perceive another human being. Difference is a problem when others wont adapt. In the right company, perceived shortcomings can be the norm or even celebrated. Recognizing peoples more innate traits can be useful to adjust accordingly, but can be dismissive if were reduced to a label. Jung explains, Classification does not explain the individual psyche. Nevertheless, an understanding of psychological types opens the way to a better understanding of human psychology in general. If an understanding of type is useful, does it matter which terms and inventories we use?? TIMELINE OF INVENTORIES A couple decades before Jung, in 1903, Alfred Binet noticed people generally lean towards introspection or externospection and in 1909 Heymans & Wiersma rated 2,500 people on distinct traits of passionate, choleric, sentimental, nervous, phlegmatic, sanguine, apathetic, and amorphous, clearly taking a page from Alcmaeon of Crotons four humours from 2,500 years ago. In 1936, Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert catalogued 18,000 terms and deemed 4,500 stable traits, using military personnel to be able to monitor their temperament over weeks to attempt greater accuracy. Much of the tests and studies in the 40s and 50s focused on reducing Allports categories to the fewest categories possible to describe a personality without losing any nuance. In 1943 Raymond Cattell got the basic traits down to a set of 35 clusters of related terms with 16 key clusters in a questionnaire of 164 statements to determine if someones lively, bold, dominant, sensitive, vigilant, private, warm, reasoning, perfectionistic, abstract, open, rule-conscious, self-reliant, apprehensive, driven, or stable. These traits could be further grouped and placed in opposition to one another, which is not dissimilar to Myers-Briggs four continuums that was first published the following year as the MBTI: extraverted-introverted, feeling-thinking, intuitive-sensing, and judging-perceptive. Then, in 1961, Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal just focused on one side of the schema with five core traits: surgency, agreeableness, dependability, emotional stability, and cultured. The beginning of the FFM can be seen here, further solidified into NEO: Neuroticism, Extroversion, and Openness, by Paul Costa and Robert McCrae in 1978, with agreeableness and conscientiousness added in 1983 for the more common acronym, OCEAN. They aimed for the most enduring emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles. In 1990, Lewis Goldbergs model was similar, but he aimed to get the 240 questions from the NEO test down to 100 questions. After years of knowing myself in MBTI terms, as an INTP, I did three FFM tests so see the similarities, expecting to find low extraversion, high openness, low agreeability, and medium conscientiousness. Two of the tests produced similar results but no more could be accessed without paying for a report. The third test was much more in-depth for free, but the score was markedly different, revealing a lack of consistency and validity in these random online tests. Then I hunted down the NEO-PI-3 but was dissuaded by the $700 price tag. The closest version I found provided similar results except agreeableness was much higher. Unlike the other tests, this 120 question test looked at morality and altruism in this category instead of just cooperativeness. A 2010 study had a more thorough look at the variety of FFM tests out there and also found that scales of the same construct were only moderately correlated across tests: Even among proponents of a five-factor structure, there are different views concerning the facets that constitute each factor. Some argue that the FFM is significantly more valid than the MBTI, which is curious to me: The tests and terms are very similar (and equally problematic), and what even is validity in this context? EVIDENCE FOR VALIDITY? Jung pointed out the problem of the connotation of words changing over time and place: To observe and recognize the differences gave me comparatively little trouble, the root of my difficulties being now, as before, the problem of criteria. How was I to find suitable terms for the characteristic differences? Here I realized for the first time how young psychology really is. It is still little more than a chaos of arbitrary opinions and dogmas. The terms thinking and feeling spark an image that isnt captured in the original conception of those functions. Similarly, in the FFM, who wants to be called neurotic? Jung also recognized the implicit bias in the creation of the terms: Had I myself chanced to possess a different individual psychology, I should have described the rational types in the reversed way. We have to be aware of this potential bias in all these inventories and look at the reasoning behind the categories, not just the labels. A couple of Youtuber-doctors referred to the MBTI as grossly simplifying and astrology yet called the FFM actual science despite that several studies show them to be very similar. A 1994 study compared scores on the MBTI and NEO-PI and found significant correlations. Another in 1996 found moderate to strong correlations, and again in 2003 with the NEO-PI-R, indicating specifically, Correlational analysis of the personality measures showed that NEO PI-R Extraversion was correlated with MBTI Extraversion-Introversion, Openness was correlated with Sensing-Intuition, Agreeableness with Thinking-Feeling and Conscientiousness with Judging-Perceiving, replicating the findings of McCrae and Costa (1989). However, a couple books came out denouncing the MBTI in 2004 and 2018, and then a 2022 study suddenly found very little relationship between test scores on the MBTI and the NEO-PI-R, and says the MBTI has long gone out of fashion with personality researchers. So curious! But even if they were markedly different, that doesnt put one in line with astrology. A quick scan of a collection of terms used for each side (or the factor and its negation) taken from a variety of tests over time, make the correlation of at least one side very obvious. The tests ask similar questions and feed us back a label for those traits, which is dramatically different from creating a personality description based on our date of birth. Some theories aim to find the most enduring traits, but with any self-assessment test, does that necessarily prove these are enduring traits, or could it point to an enduring self-image? Jung suggested the traits are naturally occurring but with the potential for change. McCrae and Costa assumed these traits are biologically based tendencies that persistently influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and are likely 40% genetic. However, we like to see ourselves as consistent, which might provoke a bias in that direction. If some terms are perceived negatively, people might see themselves a little more positively, clicking on enjoying parties like introversion is a bad thing. What kind of experiment can possibly weed out that confound? Getting friends and relatives to assess participants as well as a self-assessment could be affected by the others also changing over time, if theyre even still in contact. Another criticism suggests that the ends of the continuum of the MBTI arent competing functions since people between each end (e.g. Thinking or Feeling) could be more similar than within them, but that would also apply to the FFM. It applies to the ends of a gender continuum as well, but that doesnt negate the possibility that they are different ends. Jung noted, Investigation of the individual psychologies that fall into one group or the other will at once show great differences between individuals who nevertheless belong to the same group. Its just a starting point of identity, not the final analysis. Over time, theories have tried to find the best names for the categories, but also the best possible number of categories, from 6 to 4,500 then back down to 16 to 8 and to 5. They have also searched for the minimum optimal number of test questions. Interestingly, a more recent test has doubled the number of terms, and the TIPI has it down to just ten questions, overtly acknowledging we can just look at the terms without the test to find where we fit. The big problem with the MBTI is that its presented as a predictive tool to assess an optimal career direction using a fallacy of affirming the consequent (because most architects are INTJs, doesnt mean INTJs will enjoy architecture). They found a way to cash in on it that eventually people discovered doesnt work in the real world, but that doesnt mean the test cant tell us something about ourselves. Profit seems to be the corrupting influence. In The Hope Circuit, Seligman complained that there isnt any financial incentive to create therapies because they cant be patented, and now he sells test results on his VIA site. And I kinda wonder a bit about that $700 cost of the NEO-PI-3 test compared to free online MBTI tests now being overtly but questionably debunked. But anyway I defend the MBTI when approached with a Jungian intention because the FFM presents half the continuum of each trait (introvert, sensing, thinking, and perceptive) as necessarily lacking starting with Tupes and Christals early FFM in 1961. The chart below indicates five major turns in categorization from the 1920s to 1990s. Ive indicated who used which terms with numbers, capitalized the terms they use, and all other words are descriptors on one end or another. Some have capitalized words indicating two ends of a continuum, but others just focused on the better end and left the negations nameless. I cant help noticing that the terms on one side get increasingly negative over time. It started as a way to recognize and accept our differences, and it seemed to turn into the complete opposite: a way to measure ourselves against the right type of personality. One critic suggests the MBTI made it more positive so people would prefer that test, but their test came out before that shift. ACCEPTANCE USING INVENTORIES WISELY We want to feel like were okay, feel seen, and belong. Sometimes people like using personality inventories to develop a sense of connection with others from finding their closest Pokemon or Disney character match. But more often we seem to use these tests to grab on to some innate personality buried within in order to weed out ourselves from the multitude of influences over us. Were trying to find our immutable core. The test itself seems unnecessary with an understanding of the ends of each continuum and a modicum of introspection to get us on the right track. We do belong, and understanding differences is useful to fill in gaps in our own perceptions and abilities. We need extraverts to cajole us to the party and introverts to make sure we dont overstay our welcome, and we need thinking types to play devils advocate so agreeability doesnt enable bad policy. Anthony Stevens sees typology as not a constraint but a liberation, for it can open up new navigational possibilities in life. For Jung, although parts of our temperament innately lean to a dominant function, the goal isnt for that to endure, but to change. If we only do whats comfortable, then our weaknesses get weaker. Once were at a point of stability, we can focus on exploring the less comfortable arenas. Jungs concept of individuation at midlife (which he starts at 35) is to gradually shift our leaning towards the less dominant side in order to get a wider perspective of the world and the self. In order to do that, we first have to develop profound self-acceptance and understanding of one another. Jung also recognized that understanding difference is key to healthy relationships. I have had to treat innumerable married couples and have been faced with the task of making husband and wife plausible to each others.There are active natures and passive naturessome persons are reflective and others are unreflectivemany apparently passive natures are in reality not so much passive as given to forethoughtBut I soon discovered that the hesitation of the one was by no means always forethought, and that the quick action of the other was not necessarily want of reflection. The hesitation equally often arises from a habitual timidity. Recognizing these differences in each other can be important. Maybe your partners not willfully ignoring a mess, but actually doesnt see it. Maybe they find it painful to be around many people in a way that wont change by dragging them to more events in an ad hoc attempt at exposure therapy. Being open to these maybes can potentially save a marriage. The belief that we have innate differences can help us to better accept who we are and encourage us to be more open to a wider variety of types of people instead of suggesting people are weird because theyre unique or unfamiliar. More important than the exact right names of terms or numbers of terms or numbers of questions, the inventories can be useful to learn about our more natural differences in order to understand and accept ourselves and one another. Its not an exact science with proof that were forever exhibiting these traits, but we do notice them. The labels dont tell us who we are with the kind of certainty some are hoping for, but they might help us feel more a little less alone as ourselves, giving us permission to unmask and openly be ourselves. A former public schoolboy international arms dealer could escape extradition thanks to astonishing Government delays and his poor mental health. Father-of-two Guy Savage, 56, is said to have brazenly described himself as the Lord of War as he masterminded multi-million-pound shipments of M16 assault rifles and silencers hidden in crates. Armed Metropolitan Police officers arrested him in a swoop on his 1million suburban home in Pinner, north London, 14 years ago. They shot out the tyres of his Mercedes and set neighbours net curtains billowing with stun grenades. A judge swiftly granted a US extradition request on 21 charges which included breaches of rules on exporting firearms and fraud in relation to four entries on shipping documents said to be designed to disguise unlawful activity. There were claims that 500 assault rifles had been found in Savages home and nearby business, and that weapons he supplied ended up in Iraq and the Middle East. He could be jailed for 20 years and fined millions. But 14 years on the ex- pupil of 26,000-a-year Highgate School and former Home Office adviser remains free living in a 650,000 detached house in Uxbridge, west London. Extradition bids stalled amid claims Savages mental health was worsening with the Home Office blaming everything from elections to Brexit and the pandemic for their failure to get him to America to face trial. Guy Savage is said to have brazenly described himself as 'the Lord of War' At Westminster Magistrates Court, London, on Thursday, his barrister Ben Cooper applied for the extradition order to be discharged because of the unprecedented delays. Any of the home secretaries in office in the interim should have acted on the extradition, it is claimed. Savage denies smuggling weapons to Iraq and the Middle East, and maintains guns at his properties were lawfully held and export licences properly issued. He describes the US charges as simple regulatory offences designed to protect American business interests. His alleged gun-running is said to have taken place between 2003 and 2008, by which time multiple militias were killing each other and British and American soldiers in Iraq. At the time Savage was chief executive officer of Sabre Defence Industries UK and of Sabre Defence Industries US. The Home Office argues that he had asked for delays while he sought mental health treatment. At Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, on Thursday, his barrister Ben Cooper applied for the extradition order to be discharged because of the 'unprecedented' delays (stock image) Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said he hoped to rule on the case by the end of the month. Savage had advised ministers on firearms policy, despite being convicted of possessing and selling prohibited pump action and semi-automatic rifles. In 1996 he won a legal fight to continue selling firearms despite saying the hysteria of the parents of the children shot dead at Dunblane had ruined his business. In a 2004 email found by US prosecutors, Savage wrote: This Iraq situation has companies banging on our door for M16s because we are the only supplier outside the US. A source told the Mail he called himself the Lord of War after the 2005 film starring Nicolas Cage as a ruthless arms dealer, adding but he was operating in north London, not some camp in Afghanistan. Five prisoners have been charged with serious assault after they allegedly attacked three officers during a desperate plot to escape custody. The pack of male inmates allegedly attempted to overpower the officers while trying while trying to break out of the the Richlands watchhouse, in southwest Brisbane, shortly before 6pm on Sunday. Queensland Police claimed the group initially set upon an officer when their evening meals were brought into their cell before trying to bust out. One of the men then allegedly tried to take the officer's keys while others concentrated their efforts on busting down the cell door, which had already been tampered with. Two police officers and a watchhouse officer allegedly sustained injuries in ensuing melee as the prisoners tried to flee. The area was eventually locked down before specialist police were called in to re-secure the facility. All five prisoners were charged with serious assault of an officer and escaping lawful custody. News of the attempted escape comes just days after two officers were allegedly stabbed with a syringe at Redcliffe watchhouse, northeast Brisbane. Specialist officers are seen at Richlands watchhouse following an alleged escape attempt on Monday night The alleged effort followed news of two officers being allegedly stabbed with a syringe at Redcliffe watchhouse (pictured) The male and female officers, who will undergo infectious disease testing, were allegedly attacked about 11am on Thursday. Queensland Police claimed a prisoner had hidden the needle while taking a shower but it is unclear how the alleged assault unfolded. Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior condemned the alleged attack and called for officers to be better protected. '(To be) stabbed with a syringe is not only a heinous act of violence but also puts them at potential risk of disease and trauma,' he told News Corp. 'The safety of our police should always be paramount and it gives me no joy to say I feared this type of incident would occur in a watchhouse. I will say again police watchhouses are not prisoner daycare. 'My thoughts are with the injured officers and their families. The trauma and anxiety they will go through over the next few months will be horrific. 'The Police Union will do whatever we can to assist them. I genuinely hope they can recover and feel confident to return to work at some stage.' A sprawling search is underway for a missing two-year-old boy who disappeared while playing in his yard in broad daylight. Dane Paulsen was last seen playing in the yard near milepost 21 on Siletz River Highway, aka Route 229, in Siletz, Oregon, around 4:25 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. At the time of his disappearance, Dane was wearing a gray fuzzy hoodie with ears, black pants, and blue-and-white shoes. He has brown hair and green eyes. Authorities identified a late '90s gold-colored station wagon as a vehicle of interest, as a car matching that description was seen in the area before the boy went missing. Lincoln County Sheriff Adam Shanks told KATU that investigators are currently working in operational periods, with further updates expected late Sunday afternoon. Approximately 100 to 150 community volunteers have searched a large area surrounding the property, and authorities continue to follow up on tips related to the vehicle of interest. In response to inquiries about why an Amber Alert has not been issued, Shanks stated: 'Based on the information available at this time, the only information our investigators have is a vehicle of interest (no license plate or further details) seen in the area prior to the child's disappearance. He continued: 'However, there is no confirmed link between this vehicle and Dane Paulsen's disappearance.' Dane Paulsen was last seen playing in the yard in Siletz, Oregon, around 4:25 p.m. on Saturday The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office reports Dane was last seen playing near milepost 21 on Siletz River Highway, also known as Oregon Route 229 Pictured: A view of Siletz, Oregon where Dane was last seen The search continued on Sunday with about 100 volunteers from Lincoln, Benton, and Lane counties, plus a canine specialist from Polk County. At 10am Sunday, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office issued an update urging community volunteers to avoid the primary search area, which stretches from the Steel Bridge to Huhtala Road. Officials have confirmed they were conducting methodical searches of the primary area, utilizing drones, tracking dogs, watercraft, and human behavior tracking resources. Community volunteers were asked to gather at the Elks Campground, where they will receive direction from the park host. Multiple agencies - including the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, Siletz Valley Fire, Oregon State Police, Newport Police Department, Lincoln City Police Department, and Lincoln County SAR - are actively involved in the search. The FBI is also assisting in the investigation. The search effort includes both ground personnel and aerial drones equipped with cameras and thermal imaging technology. Additionally, marine deputies from Lincoln and Clackamas County Sheriff's Offices are assisting along the Siletz River. Authorities urge anyone with information about Dane's disappearance or the vehicle of interest to contact the Tip Line at 541-265-0669 or the non-emergency dispatch at 541-265-0777. Kamala Harris has shut down speculation she was set to make a surprise guest appearance at Sunday night's Oscars with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her 'watch party' from home. The former vice president was named earlier on Sunday as a guest at the 97th annual celebrations, with whispers she was set to lead a segment paying tribute to the Los Angeles firefighters who valiantly fought devastating wildfires in January. But her husband, Doug, put those rumors to rest just an hour before the ceremony was due to kick off with a post to X captioned: 'Oscars watch party prep.' The photo featured a make-up free Harris pouring Doritos into a bowl, with her hair swept back in a bun and wearing a black sweater. She was all smiles in the photo, which appeared to be taken in the couple's kitchen. Hollywood bible Deadline had reported Harris' supposed presence Sunday afternoon, citing a federal source who said beefed up security at the event was in part due to her appearance. The ceremony is set to honor firefighters and workers who helped battle deadly wildfires that swept Los Angeles in January and destroyed huge swathes of the city. Harris was previously a Democrat senator for California. The photo featured a make-up free Harris pouring Doritos into a bowl, with her hair swept back in a bun and wearing a black sweater. She was all smiles in the photo, which appeared to be taken in the couple's kitchen Firefighters pose on the red carpet as the 97th Academy Awards kicks off at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles She's also rumored to be considering a future run to become Governor of California, so could well lead the Oscars' segment on the fires. Locals say security at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre, where the 97th Oscars are held, is at an all-time high. All vehicles wishing to pass the security cordon have to let sniffer dogs inside, one cop was overheard saying. A huge convoy of black minibuses filled with elite private security was also seen being let into the compound. One federal official working the event told Deadline: 'We live in a new evolving security environment. 'The expected attendance of the former vice president is a major factor in the added security.' The fed added that there weren't any credible threats to the event and that the huge security presence was a precautionary one. Los Angeles Police Department have refused to comment on the dramatic surge in security, which Deadline reports is unusual. Harris is pictured with Doug Emhoff at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena on February 22. Tonight's Oscars visit will be her highest-profile appearance since leaving Washington DC in January A security drone is seen flying through the air ahead of Sunday night's ceremony A large decorative Oscars statuette is pictured on the red carpet of Sunday's 97th Academy Awards ceremony The Oscars, which are run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are due to be screened from 7pm ET Sunday. In recent years, Oscars bosses have been accused of fixating on niche woke films that push a progressive message over crowd-pleasing blockbusters. This year's show is being hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien, who is known to avoid political jokes. But that will likely do little to silence President Trump, a former reality star who has been outspoken in his condemnation of the ceremony on multiple occasions. Last year he suggested host Jimmy Kimmel was the worst in the show's history. Favorites to sweep the awards include heartwarming prostitute romcom Anora and The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody as a brutalist architect. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told civilian Pentagon employees to reply to a new Elon Musk email he called 'just a pulse check' directing them to list five things they did last week. He gave the order in an online video posted on Musk's X site telling roughly 950,000 civilian employees of the Pentagon he was directing them to respond. That comes a week after Hegseth and multiple others cabinet secretaries told their employees to hit 'pause' after Musk's original Saturday post telling them to send an email by a midnight Monday deadline or face getting fired. 'I am now directing each member of the department's civilian workforce, just civilian, to provide those five bullets on what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week to reply to that email and CC their immediate supervisor,' Hegseth said. 'It's a simple task, really, as Elon said, as the president recognized in our first cabinet meeting just a pulse check Are you there? out to DOD civilians,' using Musk's phrase. That is how Musk described the email, after the federal Office of Personnel Management said in its own email that it was voluntary, but President Donald Trump said people who didn't respond could get fired or 'semi fired.' Trump then repeated the threat in his first cabinet meeting last week, where Musk spoke first while most members of the cabinet stayed silent. 'Maybe they're going to be gone, maybe they're not around, maybe they have other jobs, maybe they moved and they're not where they're supposed to be,' Trump speculated about the government-wide emails. 'A lot of things could have happened.' Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Pentagon employees to reply to an email seeking a message summing up five things they did last week 'Right now we're trying to find out who those people are that haven't responded.' Those who don't would be 'on the bubble', Trump said. Hegseth said the Pentagon employees would get an email soon laying out the steps 'that they need to take in order to comply with this initiative, and then the reports will be consolidated internally within the department to comply with the OPM directive.' 'It's really simple and straightforward, the directive to civilian employees will be clear: reply to the email, CC your supervisor, provide, without any classified or sensitive information, basic topics of what you did last week.' He said the department 'will take that into consideration as we make sure we're being as focused and as tailored as possible in looking at how we streamline our workforce to both meet the fiscal demands at the moment, but also ensure we have the strongest, most viable fighting force in the world.' Elon Musk has minimized the email as a 'pulse check,' although Trump said people who respond could get fired Hegseth's post on X got a nod from Elon Musk Musk's original email was titled 'What did you do last week?' Musk was also threatening to force out people who refuse to return to the office The move drew pushback from employee unions Laid-off USAID employees were spotted carrying out boxes and bags of personal belongings after being given just 15 minutes to retrieve them at USAID headquarters on Thursday That line suggests that the emails, will, in fact, be used to somehow determine which workers are the most useful, after agencies with Musk's prodding began laying off thousands of employees, with a memo last week spelling out an even larger Reduction in Force. Mass layoffs inside the U.S. Agency for International Development led to tears and anguish on the sidewalk outside the building last week, as workers and laid off employees were told to clean out their desks within 15 minutes. Some federal employees have speculated that Musk's terms of young engineers who Trump calls 'geniuses' plan to use Artificial Intelligence to sort through the responses rather than going through the effort of reading millions of responses. An email from 'HR' that went out to federal employees Friday told them to compile a similar response each week. The latest round of firings came Thursday at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which monitors oceans and the air and tracks deadline storms that have been hammering the U.S. coast with greater frequency. Texas Rep. Keith Self became the latest lawmaker to face down angry constituents at a town hall in his red state district. Musk, who once again got needled on Saturday Night Live for being Donald Trump's 'boss', reposted Hegseth's video. 'Much appreciated @SecDef Hegseth!' with a saluting and American flag emoji. Angela Rayner was facing humiliation last night after it was reported that the right to switch off will be dropped from the workers rights bill. The French-style plan would have made it illegal for employers to expect their staff to be contactable outside working hours. But Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are said to have raised concerns about the burden on business. The policy - which was championed by Angela Rayner - formed a key part of Labours manifesto commitment to a new deal for working people. Countries such as France, Belgium and Ireland already allow workers to avoid emails, texts and phone calls received out of hours. Ministers are expected to formally drop the plan, which wasnt included in the employment rights bill, on Tuesday, the Sunday Times reported. They had committed to implementing the measure in the future, but it is expected to be axed when the Government tables amendments to the bill next week. Mr Reynolds and Ms Reeves are said to be concerned that the plans would have dented economic growth and placed further burdens on businesses following her tax-raiding budget. Angela Rayner suggested the policy to make it illegal for employers to contact their employees outside of work hours Rachel Reeves and Johnathan Reynolds were concerned that the plans would have dented economic growth A government source told the paper: The right to switch off is dead. We have to lower business compliance costs as much as possible. Growth that puts money in peoples pockets is the No 1 priority of this governments plan for change. That means making Britain the best country in the world in which to do business and a key part of that is removing unnecessary barriers. Ms Rayner, who led Labours workers rights programme while in opposition is said to have agreed to the move after the plans had already been watered down. A commitment to ending zero hours contracts was changed to the less stringent exploitative zero-hours arrangements. The plans are opposed by businesses, with the Federation of Small Businesses warning in January that companies would stop hiring and sack workers. Businesses are facing increases in the national minimum wage and national insurance for employers next month. However, unions back the plans and will be furious about any attempt to dilute them further.In other changes, the Government will set probation periods at nine months, rather than the six demanded by union leaders. There is no set maximum at present. Labour's 'New Deal for Working People' being pushed by Deputy PM Angela Rayner while in opposition had already received criticism Day-one protections against unfair dismissal and policies about paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will remain, while zero-hours contracts are curtailed and union power increased, however. The reforms are not expected to be implemented until autumn 2026 at the earliest.A Government source told the paper: Its important that our changes to the employment rights bill work for businesses. That is why we have engaged with so many employers to shape this legislation and make improvements that reflect our partnership with businesses across Britain. We are bringing forward a new generation of workers rights, helping to raise living standards and grow the economy, because we know that workers who are looked after are more likely to stay in their job and are more productive, creating the right conditions for businesses to grow. Last night a Labour source said that while ministers wouldnt table an amendment on the right to switch off on Tuesday, this did not mean it would not be introduced in the future. They said that the position remained that the Government would be able to introduce the policy through other means, including a statutory Code of Practice alongside the Employment Rights Bills passage. Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is 'ready to sign' the minerals deal with America that was put on hold after his stormy meeting with Donald Trump. Speaking to reporters at Stansted Airport before he left the UK, Zelensky said he 'just want[s] the Ukrainian position to be heard' when he was asked about the disastrous meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday. 'We want our partners to remember who the aggressor is in this war,' he told reporters. 'We need peace, not endless war,' he added on Telegram this morning, following a landmark summit in London with Ukraine's European allies over the weekend. 'In the near future, all of us in Europe will shape our common positions - the lines we must achieve and the lines we cannot compromise on,' he added. 'These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States.' Assurances from Europe on security will go some way towards mending the rift between Washington and Kyiv, after Zelensky was harangued by his allies in the Oval Office on Friday. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain, France 'and others' would work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which they would then put to Washington. And French President Emmanuel Macron, flying back from the summit, told Le Figaro newspaper that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial one-month truce 'in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure'. Starmer and Macron have said they are prepared to deploy British and French troops to Ukraine to help preserve any truce. With no guarantee of US involvement, 'Europe must do the heavy lifting', Starmer said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens to questions during a meeting with members of the media on the outskirts of London, Britain, March 2, 2025 Speaking to reporters at Stansted Airport before he left the UK, the Ukrainian president was asked if could stand down in the event his country becomes a Nato member Zelensky added: 'I have said that I am exchanging for Nato membership, then it means I have fulfilled my mission. NATO means I have fulfilled my mission' Offering diplomatic assurances, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said that the truce on air, sea and energy would enable allies to verify whether Russia would be willing to end the war with Ukraine. He added that he believed that a dialogue between Trump and Zelensky could be re-engaged - a message mirrored by Britain's U.S. ambassador, Peter Mandelson, who said on Sunday there was a need for a 'very radical reset' in relations, and that Zelensky and Trump should seek dialogue. Ukraine's European allies have signalled their willingness to support a truce in an effort to win back U.S. support for a lasting peace deal. Macron suggested that European countries should raise their defence spending to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent of GDP to respond to Washington's shifting priorities and Russia's militarisation. And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for the United States and Europe to show Putin 'that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression'. On Sunday, Trump dismissed concerns over his closeness with Russia, saying the United States should worry 'less' about Putin and more about domestic crime. But allies have watched nervously as the leaders moved towards a critical minerals deal without security guarantees for Ukraine. The signing of the deal, which would see the U.S. and Ukraine create a joint fund granting the U.S. access to Ukraine's natural resources, was cast aside after Friday's disastrous meeting between Donald Trump, JD Vance and Zelensky. 'You're gambling with millions of people You're gambling with World War Three,' Trump said in front of reporters on Friday, urging Zelensky to make a deal or else the US 'are out'. Keir Starmer embraced Volodymyr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London as they try to repair alliances in the wake of the debacle Front row, left to right: Finland's President Alexander Stubb, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Poland's PM Donald Tusk. Centre row from left: Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez, Denmark's PM Mette Frederiksen, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Antonio Costa, Canada's PM Justin Trudeau and Romania's interim President Ilie Bolojan. Back row from left: Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Netherlands PM Dick Schoof, Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Norway's PM Jonas Gahr Store, Czech Republic's PM Petr Fiala, Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni and Turkey's foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being 'disrespectful', and he and the US president claimed Zelensky had not been thankful enough for US military aid. Trump later told reporters the meeting with the Ukrainian president 'didn't work out exactly great', adding that his counterpart wanted to 'fight, fight, fight' while the US was 'looking to end this death'. The minerals deal reportedly involves no security guarantees by the US to Ukraine, which has been a key demand by the war-torn country so far. The deal, which would allow the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, could be worth a trillion dollars, according to Trump. A defiant Zelensky also insisted that he won't step down in the wake of the disastrous meeting with Trump, but claimed he is 'exchangeable' for Ukrainian membership of NATO. Republicans like US senator Lindsay Graham had urged Zelensky to step down following the White House bust-up, but Zelensky hit back: 'I can give [Lindsay Graham] citizenship of Ukraine and he will become a citizen of our country. 'And then his voice will start to gain weight, and I will hear him as a citizen of Ukraine on the topic of who must be the president. The president of Ukraine will have to be chosen not in Lindsay Graham's home but in Ukraine,' he told Sky News. When the Ukrainian president was asked if he could stand down in the event his country becomes a Nato member, he replied in Ukrainian via a translator: 'I am exchangeable for NATO.' Zelensky added: 'I have said that I am exchanging for Nato membership, then it means I have fulfilled my mission. NATO means I have fulfilled my mission.' Despite his extraordinary White House bust-up with US President Trump, Zelensky also said Ukraine was 'grateful to the people of the US'. 'We are grateful to all the societies in the countries that support us. We are very thankful,' he continued. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that a focus for allies will be to ensure that Ukraine has a strong army when the war there is over so that it can defend itself against any future aggression This comes after European leaders from 18 countries scrambled to forge a Ukraine strategy at a crisis summit yesterday following the disastrous meeting between Trump and Zelensky. European powers must realise it is 'time to act' as they stand at a 'crossroads in history', Sir Keir Starmer said following the summit after telling leaders: 'This is a once-in-a-generation moment for the security of Europe and we all need to step up.' After embracing Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London, the PM told him 'we are all with you' and urged the gathering to step up to a 'once in a generation moment'. Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni were present as Britain, France and Italy look set to take key roles in a 'coalition of the willing' to enforce any peace deal with Russia. The leaders - also including Germany, Canada, Poland, Denmark and Sweden - are expected to signal a ramping up of defence spending. Before arriving in London, French president Emmanuel Macron suggested in an interview with a French newspaper that he and Starmer are proposing a 'truce in the air, on the seas and energy infrastructures' that would last a month. There would be no European troops in the coming weeks and troops would only be deployed on the ground at a later stage, he said. The question, Macron said, is 'how we use this time to try and get an accessible truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a deployment.' Macron also suggested that European countries should increase their defence spending to about 3 to 3.5 per cent of their GDP. France's defence spending is at roughly 2.1 per cent, according to data from 2023. Speaking to broadcasters outside Lancaster House, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine must have the 'means to fortify and protect itself' in economic and military terms. The EU commission president added that 'therefore the focus is not only on the military supply but also for example securing their energy system'. Von der Leyen also revealed she will present 'a comprehensive plan to rearm Europe' on Thursday. She called for an increase in defence spending among European countries and said that Ukraine should be turned into a 'steel porcupine' that would be 'indigestible for potential invaders'. Giorgia Meloni said that in a 'precious moment' it is 'very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate'. She said: 'We are all very committed about a goal that we all want to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. 'I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. I think on this the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building.' German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that a focus for allies will be to ensure that Ukraine has a strong army when the war there is over so that it can defend itself against any future aggression. 'The basis of everything will be a strong army,' he said. The Chancellor added that a halt in fighting could be a starting point for potential peace talks for Ukraine. 'It would be very helpful if the bombing were to stop...That would also be the starting point for talks that can then continue,' Scholz told journalists after a meeting of European leaders in London. talian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets with Minister Keir Starmer at Downing Street, in London, Britain, March 2, 2025 Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that no one in the West has any intention of capitulating to Putin's 'blackmail and aggression', adding that Europe had 'woken up'. 'The best way to discourage Putin and other aggressors is to build our own strength, and the best way to convince President Trump to want to strengthen cooperation with Europe, and not weaken it, is our European strength. Everyone will want to work with a strong partner,' Tusk told Polish reporters. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country had 'an important role to play' after attending the summit with other leaders. 'Canada has been one of the strongest countries in support of Ukraine from the very beginning, for over 10 years now we've been training Ukrainian defence forces,' Mr Trudeau said. NATO chief Mark Rutte pointed to promises from more European countries to 'ramp up defence spending', while insisting that Washington remained committed to the transatlantic alliance. Rutte did not name which countries promised to ramp up their defence budgets. The defence spending of European allies has long been talked about by Trump, who said many were missing their NATO spending target of two per cent of their GDP. Last week, Starmer announced that the UK would increase its defence spending to 2.5 per cent of its GDP, slashing the aid budget, with plans to increase military spending to three per cent soon after. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also expected to cut 5billion from welfare and allow the 28billion national wealth fund to be invested in defence projects. Meanwhile, Zelensky last night said that the peace summit in London 'was dedicated to Ukraine and our shared European future'. 'We feel strong support for Ukraine, for our people both soldiers and civilians, and our independence,' he said on X. The Ukrainian President added: 'Together, we are working in Europe to establish a solid foundation for cooperation with the United States in pursuit of true peace and guaranteed security. Europe's unity is at an exceptionally high level, one that has not been seen in a long time. 'We are discussing with our partners security guarantees and the conditions for a just peace for Ukraine. A series of important meetings and decisions are being prepared for the near future. 'I am grateful to all our friends and partners for their efforts in bringing about a stable and guaranteed peace in Ukraine. Joint strength can protect our future.' Meanwhile, Sir Keir unveiled a four-step plan discussed by leaders at the meeting, including a pledge to 'develop a coalition of the willing' to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee a peace settlement. The Prime Minister announced a 1.6 billion finance deal which will allow Ukraine to buy more than 5,000 missiles, following the gathering at Lancaster House. The PM told the gathering they must step up to a 'once in a generation moment' Speaking after a crisis summit in London, Keir Starmer said the world was at a 'crossroads in history' and he wanted to forge a way forward to present to the US Sir Keir told the press conference that 'every nation must contribute' in the best way it can and a number of 'important steps' were agreed. He said: 'First, we will keep the military aid flowing and keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine now. 'Second, we agreed that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must be at the table. 'Third, in the event of a peace deal, we will keep boosting Ukraine's own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion. 'Fourth, we will go further to develop a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace. 'Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that can't mean that we sit back. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency. The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. Europe must do the heavy lifting.' Sir Keir also stressed that 'if you want to preserve the peace, you have to be prepared to defend the peace'. He added: 'I want to avoid conflict. I do not want conflict in Ukraine, in Europe and certainly not in the United Kingdom. 'I want stability in the United Kingdom. The way to ensure that stability is to ensure we are able to defend a deal in Ukraine. Because the one thing our history tells us is that if there is conflict in Europe it will wash up on our shores.' Sir Keir suggested that 'a coalition of the willing' would have to guarantee any settlement on the ground, hinting that hopes of the US providing a security backstop were dwindling. Zelensky also met with King Charles after the summit, with his helicopter touching down at Sandringham at around 5.25pm on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived at Sandringham to meet King Charles after the White House bust-up with Donald Trump and JD Vance A military helicopter could be seen flying low and descending over the estate at around 5.25pm Both were pictured smiling side-by-side as they shook hands. Charles was even seen patting Zelensky's arm as they posed for pictures outside the estate. 'The president was warmly received, and the meeting lasted just under an hour', the Palace said after the meeting. A helicopter could be seen departing the Sandringham estate in Norfolk at 6.35pm, following the meeting between the King and Zelensky. Sir Keir played down the prospect of Trump's state visit invite being withdrawn in the wake of his spat with Zelensky. John Swinney, Scotland's First Minister, was among those urging for a withdrawal of the invitation. He said the offer should be rescinded unless Trump's administration gives 'full scale backing' to Ukraine, the Daily Mirror reports. The PM stressed that the invitation was a 'matter for the King' but swiped at people 'trying to ramp up the rhetoric' over the White House chaos. No10 sources were adamant that there is no chance of the visit being axed, despite a furious backlash at the 'humiliation' of the Ukraine president in the Oval Office. During his trip to the White House last week, Sir Keir presented the US President leader with a letter from the King inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit. President Trump was hosted by the late Queen in 2019. Other second-term US presidents such as George W Bush and Barack Obama are usually only invited for tea or lunch. The US president is known to be an admirer of the Royal Family, and the state visit was seen as a major tool in Sir Keir's diplomatic armoury. King Charles previously praised the 'determination and strength' of the Ukrainian people in a message marking the second anniversary of Russia's invasion in February 2024. Zelensky and the King were smiling as they shook hands and posed for pictures outside the royal estate, with Charles patting Zelensky's arm during their greeting King Charles III meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on March 2, 2025 Charles III said he was 'greatly encouraged' by the efforts of the UK and its allies in supporting Ukraine 'at this time of such great suffering and need'. He said: 'The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods enters a third, tragic, year. 'Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely. 'Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression. I have felt this personally in the many meetings I have had with Ukrainians since the start of the war, from President Zelensky and Mrs Zelenska, to new army recruits training here in the United Kingdom. 'I continue to be greatly encouraged that the United Kingdom and our allies remain at the forefront of international efforts to support Ukraine at this time of such great suffering and need. 'My heart goes out to all those affected, as I remember them in my thoughts and prayers.' Zelensky met Charles on his first visit to the UK after Russia invaded his country in 2023, calling the audience a 'truly special moment for me, for our country'. The two met again in July 2024 at Blenheim Palace. When Kris Jenner was looking for an agent to list her Hidden Hills mansion, famous from 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians,' she turned to the biggest name in the celebrity real estate business: Tomer Fridman. Fridman is the Beverly Hills-based realtor responsible for the exclusive listing from the Kardashian family matriarch. The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion recently hit the market at a whopping $13.5 million. Fridman has long worked with the Jenner-Kardashian clan and is a longtime real estate agent and broker with Christie's International Real Estate Southern California. Jenner purchased the 8,860-square-foot home, which sits on over 1.5 acres, in 2010 with her then-husband Caitlyn Jenner. It's easily recognizable due to its famous black and white checked foyer, multiple fireplaces and built in frozen yogurt machine. The family's reality show was filmed in the home for many seasons over its run on the E! network, but it has been sitting empty since the crew grew up and started moving to nearby Calabasas to buy their own mansions. 'I think in this case the house is a celebrity. I think that's the rarity here,' Fridman told DailyMail.com. 'It's a very beloved home that a lot of us grew up watching.' Fridman added that he thinks the value of the 'iconic' home is higher due to its 'pedigree.' The famous family's foyer is black and white checked 'It's so important because it's part of not just pop culture history, but it's part of all of us growing up and watching the evolution of a specific family and the evolution of a house,' he said. 'The house didn't look like that initially. It's come through so many iterations and evolutions and designs and re-dos. It's a really iconic house in and of itself, regardless of the occupants.' Not anyone can view the house though - so keen Kardashian fans likely won't be getting a tour if they cold call. Everyone who does a walkthrough is vetted and the buyer is likely to be someone who 'collects' prestigious homes, a fellow celebrity, or a very successful business person. Fridman has had celebrities, captains of industry and business people look at the house - as well as families. 'We're having families look at it. Whether they run a billion dollar company or they're a celebrity, it's a family home, whatever family means to someone,' he said. Jenner purchased the 8,860-square-foot home, which sits on over 1.5 acres, in 2010 with her then-husband Caitlyn Jenner Celebrity agent Tomer Fridman has long worked with the Jenner-Kardashian clan Fridman didn't tell potential buyers the history of the home, but says everyone he has showed it to so far immediately recognizes where it's from. 'Prior to going on the market we had a handful of VIP clients go in that had been looking in the area and the price range. 'And people were in shock because they immediately know what home they're in,' he said. The feedback has been tremendous because prior to listing Jenner hired celebrity designer Ryan Saghian to furnish it and bring it up to date. 'It looks even better than it did on TV and even better than the photos,' Fridman told DailyMail.com. The bedrooms are spacious The stunning dining area One of the home's living rooms The home's kitchen is featured in many episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians He says while his high-profile clients require discretion and sometimes plenty of selling restrictions, Jenner didn't have any hard rules for new owners. In fact, after a lengthy discussion, her famous frozen yogurt machine stayed, and the new owners can take it or leave it. 'I actually wanted the yogurt machine to stay. It was a conversation. And I think A, it's charming. And B, who doesn't want frozen yogurts?' Fridman said. 'I think it's amazing.' Of course you have to wonder about the vibe of a home that housed so many (very public) memories for the famous family. 'It's very glamorous, but it's so warm,' he said. 'It honestly just envelops you. It feels really elegant and really approachable at the same time. Which is such a balance. It's very difficult to balance those two.' For Fridman, who balances around 35 to 40 homes on the market on any given day, the house is beautiful, without or without its history. 'The landscaping is unbelievable. The privacy factor, the layers of landscaping, the yard is sensational. It's like a park,' he said. 'It's not just a show place. You can go and make dinner in the kitchen.' The landscaping and pool is beautiful The pool also features a jacuzzi The home was featured on the family's reality show for decades Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner (pictured with Kris) lived in the home as teenagers He landed the deal with Jenner after years of loyal friendship, and says discretion and trust are key to getting a deal like that. Fridman also brokered the $20-million sale of a Hidden Hills home to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. He has bought and sold homes for a slew of celebrities including Adele, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Jessica Simpson and Justin Bieber. Over his 20-year career, Fridman has totaled over $8 billion in career sales. On working with someone of Jenner's caliber, he says it's in the details. 'You have to perform on every single deal. Whether it's a celebrity client, high network client, or just like you're representing your mom or your cousin or your sister. You have to be very meticulous about the details. You have to think 20 steps ahead on everything,' he said. 'Especially with delicate situations like this, where sometimes you have to be extra discreet in terms of showcasing a really important property. You have to know your audience and what's appropriate.' Once known primarily as a quaint Danish-inspired village, Solvang is steadily earning a reputation as 'California's Denmark of America' a burgeoning wine region rivaling Napa Valley. Though the charm of the city - and the entire Santa Ynez Valley - has been recognized since the 1950s, and the 2004 film Sideways thrust the local wineries into the spotlight, the region remains a hidden treasure to many, even within California. But it may not be hidden much longer, as tourism in the Valley has seen a steady rise over the past few years, peaking before the pandemic in 2019. After a period of 'revenge travel' in 2021 to 2023, the region continues to thrive despite competition from international destinations. With ideal weather and an increase in high-end experiences, the valley has attracted a wealthier clientele. 'We are becoming more elevated,' Shelby Sim, President and CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley told DailyMail.com. 'We have six Michelin-recognized restaurants here now. Who would have thought?' To accommodate this growing interest, Solvang and the surrounding valley are witnessing a wave of development. Several hotels are currently under construction, housing projects are in progress, and new restaurants continue to emerge. Visitors enjoy top-tier wines at lower prices with less congestion compared to Napa Known for its Danish-inspired village, Solvang gained attention after the 2004 film Sideways Several hotels are currently under construction, housing projects are in progress, and new restaurants continue to emerge amid a wave of development Investment in revitalization efforts has also allowed the area to attract more diverse audiences, hosting major events such as a Pride parade and a Juneteenth festival. 'We've made a lot of effort to invite other audiences that we didn't normally have traditionally,' Sim said. Solvang, meaning sunny fields in Danish, was founded in 1911 by Danish Americans who bought 9,000 acres of the former Jonata Ranch to preserve their culture. They established Atterdag College in 1914 and built Bethania Lutheran Church in 1928, shaping the towns Danish identity. One of the region's most distinctive features is its geography. Unlike most mountain ranges in North America, the Santa Ynez Valley's mountains run west to east, creating diverse microclimates. This results in seven distinct American Viticultural Areas (a designated wine grape-growing region also known as an AVA) within a mere 25-mile stretch. The valley successfully cultivates an impressive 88 grape varieties, with local wineries receiving high scores from top wine critics such as James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast. 'Our mountain range creates incredible microclimates that go from the ocean into the inland,' says Sim. 'We have seven distinct wine regions all within 25 miles of each other.' Solvang and Santa Ynez Valley are gaining recognition as a top wine destination, rivaling Napa Valley Despite world-class offerings, Solvang remains relatively undiscovered due to its distance from major cities Despite its world-class offerings, Sim said Solvang remains relatively undiscovered due to its location Despite its world-class offerings, Sim said Solvang remains relatively undiscovered due to its location. Situated between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, the valley is farther from major urban centers compared to its competitors Napa and Sonoma to the north, and Temecula to the south. Additionally, neighboring Santa Barbara, with a larger marketing budget, often overshadows Solvang's presence on the tourism scene. However, those who do make the journey are rewarded. Visitors can experience top-tier wines at a fraction of Napa's prices, enjoy stunning landscapes, and avoid the congestion often associated with more mainstream wine destinations. 'The wine is the same, we are half of the price of Napa, and we don't have any traffic,' Sim emphasizes. With increased investments, an evolving tourism landscape, and a reputation for producing high-quality wine, Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley region are poised to become one of California's premier wine destinations. The Solvang wineries have also served as a celebrity wedding hot spot. In 2022, Sarah Hyland, best known for her role in Modern Family, and her partner Wells Adams from Bachelor in Paradise, got married at Sunstone Winery in Solvang. President of Sunstone Winery, Teddy Cabugos, said that's Solvang's status as a hidden treasure is slowly but surely being repealed The latest: Sarah Hyland and boyfriend Wells Adams are married, as the Modern Family beauty, 31, and the Bachelor in Paradise personality, 38, exchanged vows Saturday at the Sunstone Winery near Santa Barbara, California President of Sunstone Winery, Teddy Cabugos, said that's Solvang's status as a hidden treasure is slowly but surely being repealed. When asked about the town's status as the New Napa Valley, Cabugos said: 'I think it's just more people are discovering that we actually have some of the best wines in the world.' 'We believe that not only are we the new Napa, but Santa Barbara County and the Santa Ynez Valley specifically is finally getting the recognition it deserves, as far as wines go.' He also said what separates Solvang and the rest of Santa Ynez from Napa is that they're known for more than just wine. 'I believe Napa isolates you to just wine. They've done a great job branding that. But here, you're surrounded by world-class hiking, horseback riding, fine dining you can incorporate all of that into your valley experience,' said Cabugos. 'I believe down here in Santa Barbara County is the real wine country.' Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, have taken several getaway trips to the Santa Ynez Valley over the years. Shortly after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States in Washington, D.C., the former president and first lady flew to warmer and more inviting surroundings. Departing from Joint Base Andrews, the couple set their sights on California's picturesque Santa Ynez Valley. New hotels, housing projects and restaurants are under construction to accommodate growing interest 'We are becoming more elevated,' Shelby Sim, President and CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley told DailyMail.com. 'We have six Michelin-recognized restaurants here now. Who would have thought?' A horse-drawn trolley takes tourists down the street in Solvang The Bidens have not disclosed their plans for where they will reside after leaving the White House, but they have long owned two homes in Delaware one in Rehoboth Beach and another in Wilmington. However, speculation is growing about their potential move to Santa Ynez Valley. Shelby Sim believes the Bidens are considering settling down in the area. 'He and Jill visited last summer, so this marks his second visit in less than a year,' Sim told PEOPLE. 'Rumor has it he's considering purchasing a home in the area.' The Bidens also share a close connection to the region through Joe Kiani, a prominent Democratic donor and friend who, according to Politico, has previously hosted the couple. With increased investments, an evolving tourism landscape, and a reputation for producing high-quality wine, Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley are poised to become one of California's premier wine destinations. As the region continues to gain recognition, it is only a matter of time before this 'hidden treasure' fully emerges on the global wine map. As interior design trends are shifting once again, designers revealed to DailyMail.com the common mistakes being made in homes and how to fix them on a budget. Jarret Yoshida, a Brooklyn interior designer based in New York City, found one of the most important elements to designing a home is finding choices that are considered timeless. He shared one of his key rules: 'If there isn't a historical reference for an aesthetic, I'm hesitant to use it for anything larger than a pillow.' Yoshida added: 'Regarding countertop design, choosing edge profiles that nobody saw 50 years ago [such as] waterfall edge counters... they're already on their way out and it's gonna be hell to try and make those look classic.' His advice was to go for natural stones, regardless of color, and that typically the backsplash and cabinetry choice is what ends up dating the space. 'Nature is never dated,' he added. 'Sometimes the edge profile might have been a little aggressive for the moment, but that's something that you could cut off site and replace for far less than getting a whole new slab.' In the same vein, one of the biggest qualms designers seemed to have with design mistakes is the idea of following trends. Jay Britto of Britto Charette based in Miami said: 'When people follow trendy interior designs, it's the quickest way to date a home. That's because it creates a longevity issue with the trend lasting anywhere from a couple of years to five at the max.' 'Nature is never dated,' Jarret Yoshida said, referring to countertops such as the soapstone marble one pictured. 'Sometimes the edge profile might have been a little aggressive for the moment, but that's something that you could cut off site and replace for far less than getting a whole new slab' Yoshida added: 'Regarding countertop design, choosing edge profiles that nobody saw 50 years ago [such as] waterfall edge counters [pictured]... they're already on their way out and it's gonna be hell to try and make those look classic' Britto emphasized that the quick trend turnover also makes for a costly design choice. As the trend dies, in order to refresh your home, it's time for a whole new look. 'We work with our clients to use classic design principles and to select special and collectible pieces instead of what's trendy,' he added. 'Otherwise, our client will have spent a lot of money creating an interior design that's just going to have to be redone in a few years' time.' Laura Hodges of Laura Hodges Studio emphasized that trends are also not a 'one size fits all' solution for interior design choices. 'I think a lot of times people see things on Instagram or on Pinterest and they just incorporate this idea, this trend, this design style into a home that maybe doesn't really fit, or it doesn't even fit their lifestyle,' she told DailyMail.com. Hodges believes in the importance of tailoring a space to the architecture of the home, not forcing a trend onto the space. 'A lot of homes have more architectural interest than people give them credit for,' she added. 'Instead of necessarily saying, "Oh, we need to do something in this room," it's like, "There's a lot of beautiful natural light coming from that window, and we can place furniture in a certain way." You don't necessarily have to create something and force it.' Jay Britto said: 'We work with our clients to use classic design principles and to select special and collectible pieces instead of what's trendy. Otherwise, our client will have spent a lot of money creating an interior design that's just going to have to be redone in a few years' time' 'Instead of necessarily saying, "Oh, we need to do something in this room," it's like, "There's a lot of beautiful natural light coming from that window, and we can place furniture in a certain way." You don't necessarily have to create something and force it,' Laura Hodges said 'If it's sparse and has no personality and looks like every other home that you might see on Instagram, that's where sort of start to feel like I'm not sure this is right. I think the best designed homes reflect the people who live there,' Hodges said. A living room such as this one could be anyone's and looks similar to those often seen on social media Trends can offer great inspiration for design choices, and shouldn't be shunned entirely, but the designers encourage homeowners to only take certain ideas from the trends instead of making a carbon copy. The key difference is to tailor the space to your own personality as well as the canvas at your disposal. Hodges said that what can typically happen for the trendy, cookie cutter home design is the lack of personality lends a hand in dating the home. 'If it's sparse and has no personality and looks like every other home that you might see on Instagram, that's where I sort of start to feel like I'm not sure this is right. I think the best designed homes reflect the people who live there.' Personality incorporated into design was a key component in unique design choices for Yoshida. He found one of the mistakes made in design is buying from one store - solely. Yoshida found too often it lacks individuality and can make your home 'look like a showroom for that brand, not an expression of your interests and preferences'. He also believed in shopping vintage, antique or second-hand, finding all new furniture can often 'lack character' and make your home 'look like a staging project'. Hodges echoed this sentiment, finding often it can also be a cheaper option, and added: 'What makes a home feel timeless is a curated and layered feeling where not all furnishings are from the same manufacturer or retailer and that you impart a sense of your own character that feels like a true reflection of your style.' Yoshida found too often it lacks individuality and can make your home 'look like a showroom for that brand, not an expression of your interests and preferences.' He also believed in shopping vintage, antique or second-hand, finding all new furniture can often 'lack character' and make your home 'look like a staging project' Hodges added: 'What makes a home feel timeless is a curated and layered feeling where not all furnishings are from the same manufacturer or retailer and that you impart a sense of your own character that feels like a true reflection of your style' Yoshida, himself, finds a 'perfect home' to be one of his 'red flags' within his own personal life. 'If someone has a home that always looks perfect, I know it isn't a match for me. I find that [the person] values control and objects over feelings and considerations of others. I find this too challenging to maneuver around on a daily basis,' he said. 'In concept, they're my dream partner, since the house looks magazine ready. But the reality of execution comes at a cost that is so taxing that it isn't tenable, for me.' The concept of the 'uninviting' or maybe 'perfect' home was also a point for Hodges, who said that this can often manifest in homes without a personal touch. 'I think that when it's done well, it obviously looks beautiful in photographs and that sort of thing. But it can be something that isn't necessarily as welcoming if a person doesn't necessarily feel like they can sit down, right?' she said. 'In the 80s, a lot of people had these living rooms that were covered in plastic, or they were the space that people weren't really supposed to use. And so, they kind of remind me of that feeling, like it's pristine and beautiful. It's gorgeous, but can I sit in that chair?' Another issue that Hodges has run into among the trendy home designs is the idea that what is seen online will appear just the same in your home. Just as she found taking in the architectural individuality of your home important, she equally believed that the photographs and expectations from social media often don't always produce the same result. Nakashima inspired wood coffee table from the 60s, clean minimal sectional custom designed by Jarret Yoshida Designs in Belgian linen to be a sleeper for two, Thai ikat and French jacquard woven medallion fabric for pillows; taking eclectic items, some updated for contemporary times 'It's your own house, different natural light, different artificial light. It's important to make sure that it's done for you, for your home,' Hodges said Hodges said: 'I think that when it's done well, it obviously looks beautiful in photographs and that sort of thing. But it can be something that isn't necessarily as welcoming if a person doesn't necessarily feel like they can sit down, right?' 'Choosing paint colors based on Instagram or Pinterest or whatever everybody else thinks are right for paint colors is not something that you can choose based on seeing it in somebody else's house,' she said. 'It's your own house, different natural light, different artificial light. It's important to make sure that it's done for you, for your home.' Hodges highly recommended finding samples and sticking them to your wall first, and 'not just choosing things because it's out there and that's what everybody else did'. Fruit salads will never be the same again thanks to scientists who have developed bananas that dont go brown and mushy after being peeled. British experts have altered the fruits genetics so it remains firm, fresh and yellow for about 24 hours after opening, even when sliced, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. No more slimy, brown bananas! said Gilad Gershon, chief executive of Tropic, the Norwich-based biotech company behind the breakthrough. He added: Our variety stays fresh for at least 12 hours after peeling and slicing, and after 24 hours displays 30 per cent less browning. The bananas have the same taste, smell, sweetness and texture, the same everything we know and love, except the flesh doesnt go brown as quickly. That means you can add them to fruit salads and cut-fruit products, opening up a huge new market for bananas. The company has worked out how to target the genes responsible for production of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which causes the browning, and disable them. The technique is different to genetic modification as it makes precise changes to an organisms existing genes without the introduction of foreign genetic material. Tropic already has the go-ahead to sell the bananas in the Philippines, Colombia, Honduras, the USA and Canada, where it will launch later this month. British experts have altered the genetics of a banana so it remains firm, fresh and yellow for about 24 hours after opening The company has worked out how to target the genes responsible for production of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which causes bananas to brown, and disable them But British banana-lovers will have to wait a while longer possibly until mid-2026 before they can try the trailblazing fruit as the sale of gene-edited plants and their fruits is banned here. However, the Precision Breeding Bill, introduced under the Conservatives and currently in its final stages in Parliament, will pave the way for them to be sold in the UK. It is expected to be passed later this year. Tropic is also working on a project aimed at slowing down the ripening of bananas, so they stay green longer. That will cut waste, as for every ton that makes it to the shops, two tons are declared inedible. Mr Gershon explained: Bananas are picked when they are green, very like tomatoes. What were doing is knocking out the genes that are responsible for the production of ethylene, a plant hormone which helps change the peel colour from green to yellow by breaking down chlorophyll. If bananas can stay greener for longer, you can harvest them later, ship them for longer, and reduce packaging and chilled transportation costs. The company is also working on developing bananas resistant to diseases which have already wiped out several varieties. Eyal Maori, Tropics chief scientific officer and co-founder, said: Bananas are the worlds most-loved fruit but are suffering from many challenges in terms of production and shipping globally. Bananas are sterile they dont produce seeds and cant be bred or hybridised in the same way as an apple or orange. Our technology is ensuring that we can continue to enjoy bananas for generations to come. Were innovating to produce bananas that can protect themselves naturally against these diseases, using their natural defence mechanisms to improve disease resistance and increase yield. Mr Gershon added: We are making very specific and subtle changes to what is already within the banana DNA to bring about beneficial traits. These types of changes occur naturally and happen over time what were doing is like evolution on fast-forward. Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more Beauty besties, listen up because we have some exciting news! Finally, the wait is over, and viral SPF brand Naked Sundays is coming to a whopping 700 Ultas nationwide. Thats right! You are about to be able to snag Alix Earles favorite tinted sunscreen foundation inside one of the biggest beauty retailers ever. Naked Sundays The suns rays are no match for this SPF! Cult-favorite SPF brand Naked Sundays is finally coming to an Ulta near you. The beauty brand is known for their stellar sunblock products from face tints to lip balms. Several celebrities including Khloe Kardashian and influencer Alix Earle are avid fans of the brand and now you can shop their affordable products in store AND online! Shop If you are not familiar with the social media-famous brand, let us introduce you. Naked Sundays is shaking up the makeup world with unique sunblock products, from moisturizers to lip balms. If there is one thing you should never skip out on, it is UV protection, which is why we can not wait for shoppers to experience the Naked Sundays difference for themselves. Take your skin on vacation with Naked Sundays incredible SPF products! Keep reading to explore our favorite products (including Khloe Kardashians' favorite bronzing drops!) in preparation for your in-person shopping that is soon to come. Not sure which Ulta to shop at? 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The cleaning and organisation expert from south Wales described her time on the show as 'great fun'. Despite being filmed, the cameras didn't bother Heidi because she used to work as a performer in holiday camps and she actually 'really enjoyed that aspect of it'. Heidi also revealed to MailOnline how there were 'invigilators' on set to ensure the competition was run fairly. Heidi Phillips, pictured right, tested her logic and problem solving skills on the programme hosted by Lee Mack Her episode aired back in January and she managed to make it as far as the 30% question after using her pass at 35% Heidi also revealed to MailOnline how there were even 'invigilators' on set to ensure the competition was run fairly She said: 'Obviously because it's a proper competition there's an invigilator, is that the word... the one who checks everything is done properly? 'She came out and explained that, yes, it's a game show, but it is obviously a competition. So this is how it works, this is how the questions work. 'Please make sure that while you're actually answering questions in that 30 seconds, you are only looking at your tablet or you're looking forward because if you do end up winning the money, we play back the show to check that you're not looking at other people's tablets. 'So it's all really set out that you're playing a game, that youre doing a competition thats also a game show. So you know the two different aspects.' During The 1% Club, contestants are presented with a question that only a certain percentage of the public got right. They are given 30 seconds to write down their answer and those who get it wrong are out. Aptly, the final question is one that just 1% of the public answered correctly. Heidi shared that she found Lee's sense of humour 'hysterical' and added: 'He just really quick-witted, but he comes across as really nice and really friendly. He was just really funny.' She was the first person Lee spoke to during the instalment when he opened up with, 'Give me a cheer if you're so confident of doing well tonight that you've already made plans for the cash'. Heidi raised her hand, prompting Lee to ask, 'Heidi how are you?' before joking with her. Heidi shared that she found Lee's sense of humour 'hysterical' and added: 'He just really quick witted, but he comes across as really nice and really friendly. He was just really funny.' She was the first person Lee spoke to during the instalment when he opened up with, 'Give me a cheer if you're so confident of doing well tonight that you've already made plans for the cash' Heidi raised her hand, prompting quiz show presenter Lee to ask, 'Heidi how are you?' before joking with her It took four and a half hours to film the episode, and Heidi, who was allocated seat 12, explained how the contestants were given a break around halfway through. Heidi discovered applications for the show were open when she was scrolling on Facebook, 'I knew I'd be able to do it and I just knew it would just be something fun to do you know a new experience,' she said. The 49-year-old shared that she had been a fan of the show and had watched all of the previous series. 'I've always watched the show, I've watched the last three series, so I knew what the show was about. 'And I really enjoy actually playing it. I enjoy playing it more, so now I've done the show, I play it more kind of seriously now as well.' After filling in an application form and submitting a video, Heidi was invited to an online audition over Zoom where she took part in a 1% Club style quiz. She prepared for the show by watching previous episodes and even treated herself to a new outfit for her appearance on screen. 'The night before I watched a couple of old episodes, I watched some the morning of the show. I suddenly thought even though I've watched all three series, I suddenly thought great, I need to just familiarise myself again,' Heidi recounted. It took four and a half hours to film the episode, and Heidi, who was allocated seat 12, explained how the contestants were given a break around half way through She added: 'Then there's the fun side of it. I went out and bought a new outfit, some new makeup, you know, that sort of thing. Did my hair on the morning, bit of jewellery, just to enjoy the experience as well.' Though Heidi didn't win, she had big plans for the cash prize and and had told producers how she hoped to spend the 1,000 on 'food gadgets for my new food combo TikTok'. 'And if I won the 100,000. I would spend the money on releasing a song about my trifle sandwiches,' she added, referring to an inside joke she shares with friends. As for tips for those wanting to apply for the show, Heidi said: 'You just wanna get yourself across in your video. So just be yourself. They want personalities. So don't worry about stumbling.' The 1% Club airs Saturdays on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX. The Apprentice contestant Jonny Heaver has revealed 'what has happened to his face' after being bombarded with questions by BBC fans. Jonny, 23, who is one of the current budding entrepreneurs taking part in the 19th series of the programme, opened up about it all in a recent TikTok video after many had questioned him about it. The tutoring company owner, who has never addressed it before, was asked on the social media platform: 'What happened to your face?' In the six minute clip, Jonny admitted that he was reluctant to speak about it, but decided that now is the right time to do so. Jonny, originally from Kent, said: 'It's something that's obviously about me that makes me different, and we're all different in our different ways. 'I do think you guys have got the right to know now, hopefully you've built your idea of me, beyond what I look like by this point. The Apprentice contestant Jonny Heaver has revealed 'what's happened to his face' after being bombarded with questions by BBC fans The 23-year-old (pictured) took to his TikTok account to talk about 'That's why I've been uming and aring if I should do it or not. 'In addition to that, I don't want a sob story. I don't want people to like me, and support me because of what I've been through.' Jonny then revealed that it is a birth mark. He continued: 'Basically when I was born with a giant melanocytic naevus covering half my face and head, so all over. 'There was a slight risk as a baby that it was Malignant, which basically means that it could be cancerous. 'So mum and dad made the really difficult decision at the time to remove some, hence my scaring.' The surgery was obtrusive and made his eye droop down, as well as cause pain with other things such as ingrown eyelashes. The reality star has had skin grafts and tissue expansion, to make his eye a better shape. Jonny, 23, who is one of the current budding entrepreneurs taking part in the 19th series of the programme, opened up about it all on a recent TikTok video Jonny said: 'So that's why I've got the scarring as well as my birth mark.' The entrepreneur said he deals with pain, including blood shot eyes, which can be brought on by things such as the wind, pollen and sunshine. Despite all the hard times, the star has a positive outlook on it all. Jonny: 'I have been through a lot of surgery in my life, but I think it's made me stronger. Since a baby, I've had on and off surgery all my life. 'I cope with pain. That gives me grit and determination.' He also went on to say: 'Hopefully I'm bucking that trend and showing people we're all beautiful and we're all unique. 'We can go for these reality shows, big series, even if you do have a facial difference, or difference whatever that is. 'People are all born with differences, mine is a birth making covering my face, other people it could be a physical attributes somewhere else on their body. 'A speech thing, anything, we've all got things that make us different, that's what makes us exciting as humanity.' Many rushed to the comments section to share the love Jonny. One said: 'You don't owe anyone anything, good luck in the show.' Another added: 'You will inspire so many people! Fair play dude! Hope you go far on The Apprentice.' A third chimed in: 'I think you're fabulous Jonny, rooting for you.' 'Never noticed how you look like at the end you are genius humble human being that's what matters,' a fourth commented. A fifth said: 'You're my favourite this season!' Jonny set up his business Achieve Tutoring while studying at university, which has 482 followers on Instagram. It is known as a five star agency with over 220 clients and 8,500 sessions. Speaking ahead of his stint on the BBC show, the tutor explained why he thinks that he's in with a shot at winning the show. Jonny said: 'I believe I deserve Lord Sugar's investment not only because I run a successful company in a massive and growing market, but also because, like Lord Sugar, I have faced setbacks in my life and have channelled them into opportunities. 'I think Lord Sugar has done the same, which would make us a strong team.' The Apprentice airs on BBC One. Shane Gillis was slammed online for his 'horrendous' Saturday Night Live monologue this weekend - even by some viewers who normally enjoy his work. In 2019, Gillis was hired as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, only to be fired when old jokes resurfaced of him mocking gay people and people of Asian descent. He was defended by iconic Saturday Night Live alum Norm Macdonald - who himself had been fired from the show for his OJ Simpson jokes - and ultimately made a triumphant return last year to host the program. Although he was warmly received during his first outing on the sketch show, his latest monologue drew a tepid response from the studio audience. When his material making fun of Joe Biden was met with a mild laugh, the comic said: 'Look, I get it, youre pretty liberal here.' He nervously made his way through the monologue, at one point awkwardly saying: 'All right, I dont know how to get out of this joke.' Shane Gillis was slammed online for his 'horrendous' Saturday Night Live monologue this weekend - even by some viewers who normally enjoy his work Early in the monologue, Gillis ribbed US President Donald Trump for his 'fifth grade level ideas,' like renaming the Gulf Of Mexico or annexing Greenland. 'Now I want Greenland. I never even thought about Greenland. Now its all I think about,' he quipped to a tepid response from the audience. He then turned his attention to the other side, saying: 'My favorite thing about Biden was, anytime he was given a speech, in between teleprompters his face would go back to being dead,' along with an impression of Biden. When that line drew only a lukewarm laugh, Gillis acknowledged that 'youre pretty liberal here' and joked that the crowd's politics made them feel 'powerful like a Sith.' He then informed the crowd he was 'going to lose you even more' before beginning a politically incorrect bit about white boyfriends asking their girlfriends whether they had ever been intimate with a black man before. Gillis' then took aim at the new Ken Burns documentary about the Civil War, joking that his work causes women to 'fall asleep immediately.' He vamped: 'Thats a Cosby tip for you: Who needs roofies when we have Ken Burns presents the history of the buffalo on PBS?' As he continued his bit about the documentary, he wound up lingering on historian Shelby Foote's contribution, spinning his wheels until he ultimately admitted to the audience: 'All right, I dont know how to get out of this joke.' Although he was warmly received during his first outing on the sketch show, his latest monologue drew a tepid response from the studio audience He nervously made his way through the monologue, at one point awkwardly saying: 'All right, I dont know how to get out of this joke' Many viewers were scathing about the monologue on X, formerly Twitter, with one saying: 'I didnt laugh one time,' and another said: 'that was rough' Gillis had his defenders as well, some of whom reacted to the monologue with crying laughing emoji as another said 'Soo good!' and another said he 'crushed it' Many viewers were scathing about the monologue on X, formerly Twitter, with one saying: 'I didnt laugh one time,' and another said: 'that was rough.' 'Nerves get all of us,' one wrote sympathetically as another called the monologue 'pretty bad' and yet another joked that he 'bombed bigly.' 'That may have been the worst monologue of all time,' one viewer marveled as another dismissed the jokes as 'Unfunny to the extreme.' 'I love Shane, but this monologue just isn't up to par with his his typical standup,' one fan opined, while another concurred: 'As a fan of his comedy, this is painful to watch.' 'Love Shane, but this is bad lol,' another viewer wrote on X, saying the monologue felt 'Like he's making it up as he goes,' and adding: 'Great he nerds out to Civil War docs, but to spend 3 minutes out of 8 on it doesn't make sense.' Gillis had his defenders as well, some of whom reacted to the monologue with crying laughing emoji as another said 'Soo good!' and another said he 'crushed it,' with another theorizing: 'It must pain the snl libs to have Shane Gillis on there.' The Doctor Who series two trailer was released on Sunday evening and revealed some huge surprise guest stars. The highly-anticipated second season launches on Saturday April 12 on BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK. Audiences will join The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) on an epic quest to get Belinda back to Earth. But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-traveling TARDIS team must face great dangers, ferocious enemies and wilder terrors than ever before. Featured in the trailer is a first look at iconic special guest stars including presenter and former X Factor star Rylan, 36, who will play himself, the co-host of the Interstellar Song Contest. Also featured is actor Alan Cumming, 60, who voices the villainous cartoon character, Mr Ring-a-Ding. The Doctor Who series two trailer was released on Sunday evening and revealed some huge surprise guest stars Audiences will join The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) on an epic quest to get Belinda back to Earth Additional guest stars who can be spotted in the trailer, adventuring with the Doctor, Belinda and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), include Anita Dobson, Bonnie Langford, Jemma Redgrave, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Christopher Chung, Evelyn Miller, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Dray and Jonah Hauer-King. Rylan said upon the announcement: 'As a massive Whovian, getting the call to be in Doctor Who was a call I've always dreamed of getting. 'The episode is all my favourite things about the show with an added song contest set in space. It really is a dream come true. 'I can't wait for everyone to see it. It really is going to be out of this world.' The trailer comes after it was reported that Doctor Who is set to air 'a ridiculous Eurovision-themed episode' which could be the most expensive instalment to date. The sci-fi series, fronted by Ncuti as the fifteenth Time Lord, is gearing up to screen the episode to coincide with the competition. This year's Eurovision competition will take place in St Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland from May 13 - 17. Writer Juno Dawson has claimed the episode is set to be 'mahoosive' as there's 'no limit to the imagination.' Featured in the trailer is a first look at iconic special guest stars including presenter and former X Factor star Rylan, 36, who will play himself, the co-host of the Interstellar Song Contest Also featured is actor Alan Cumming, 60, who voices the villainous cartoon character, Mr Ring-a-Ding The highly-anticipated second season launches on Saturday April 12 on BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK The trailer comes after it was reported that Doctor Who is set to air 'a ridiculous Eurovision-themed episode' which could be the most expensive instalment to date A source told The Mirror: 'Think Eurovision in space. There will be singing and there will be competition. Hey, there might even be a cameo for Graham Norton! Anything is possible.' Juno added: 'It's the most ridiculous episode they've ever done - and the most expensive.' She continued: 'There's no limit to the imagination on the show. I think it's the best show ever made. Just you wait. This episode is mahoosive.' It comes amid the news that Doctor Who is reportedly facing the axe, while lead actor Ncuti is thought to be on the verge of quitting. The long-running sci-fi show has suffered a huge drop in ratings of late, with fans said to be fed up of the injection of woke storylines. The actor, 32, joined the show in 2023 after Jodie Whittaker bowed out as the Time Lord, but it's rumoured that he's set to walk away from the BBC show after just two seasons. According to reports, a decision of the show's future will only be decided by bosses once Ncuti's second series hits screens later this year. It is thought that Ncuti has already filmed his regeneration exit scene, with crews allegedly fearing that this could spell the end of the series after a whopping 62 years. A source told The Sun: 'Ncuti doesn't want to be tied to the series beyond this and plans to relocate to Los Angeles with several Hollywood projects standing by for him. 'His team also see a lot of fan backlash from the series, and don't want the perception of him still being The Doctor to get in the way of any future work.' They continued: 'The show has been poorly managed in recent years and there's a lot of people who've been working on this show for years and now being cast aside due to poor leadership.' The insider added that people had warned that the episodes were becoming 'too caught up on an agenda' rather than focusing 'telling a story', with those people apparently being 'shouted down' and 'ignored.' The sci-fi series, fronted by Ncuti as the fifteenth Time Lord, is gearing up to screen the episode to coincide with the competition It comes amid the news that Doctor Who is reportedly facing the axe, while lead actor Ncuti is thought to be on the verge of quitting MailOnline has contacted representatives of BBC and Ncuti for comment. According to the publication, Ncuti's first series attracted between '2.25million and 3.18million viewers', much less than previous series'. Ncuti was the first black actor to take on the leading role as The Doctor, after Jodie made history as the first permanent female Time Lord in 2017. He became a household name when he starred as gay teenager Eric Effiong in the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education. Jack Whitehall is facing backlash after making a shocking joke about Sean 'Diddy' Combs while hosting the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening. The 36-year-old comedian was in charge of entertaining the audience at London's O2 Arena, with the event being streamed live on ITV. During the show, Jack made a controversial joke after JADE's performance, referencing Diddy's 'white party,' which left many viewers horrified. Fans took to X to share their shock, as they wrote: 'Diddy & Kanye jokes??? what is wrong with jack ?? so unfunny #BRITs2025;' 'Jack making a Diddy joke I can't... I hate him maybe;' 'Diddy joke? Stop booking Jack Whitehall for things PLEASE it's not 2013 anymore #BRITs2025;' Jack Whitehall is facing backlash after making a joke about Sean ' Diddy ' Combs while hosting the BRIT Awards on Saturday evening During the show, Jack made a controversial joke after JADE's performance, referencing Diddy's 'white party,' which left many viewers horrified Diddy is set to go on trial on sex trafficking charges in May this year. One of his alleged underage sexual assault victims claims they were at his 1998 white party 'Jack Whitehall making a Diddy joke was so tasteless and tone deaf. #BRITs2025;' 'Jack u were funny up until the Diddy joke nobody laughed #BRITs2025;' 'Jack Whitehall how dare you mention Diddy in the same sentence as Jade #BRITs2025 #BRITs;' 'Why did Jack have to mention Diddy;' 'That performance by Jade was incredible and quickly ruined by Jack Whitehall joking about P Diddy #BRITs;' 'Jack Whitehall mentioning the Diddy white party on British TV this guy does not care #BRITs2025 #BRITs.' Diddy is set to go on trial on sex trafficking charges in May this year. One of his alleged underage sexual assault victims claims they were at his 1998 white party. The 36-year-old comedian was in charge of entertaining the audience at London's O2 Arena, with the event being streamed live on ITV Fans took to X to share their shock over his comments The rapper, 55, has been repeatedly refused bail after pleading not guilty to three felony counts. He is at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he has been since he was arrested on 16 September last year. Jack kicked off his commentary at the 2025 awards ceremony by walking through the audience and roasting the celebrity attendees, leaving them all open-mouthed. He took aim at YouTuber KSI, 31, in a never-ending list of jibes, mocking him for his debut as a guest judge on Britain's Got Talent, stepping in for Bruno Tonioli while he filmed in the US. Jack savagely said that KSI judging talent was 'like Stephen Hawking judging Strictly Come Dancing' before taking aim at his music, which he said was 'past its Prime' - a reference to his viral drinks company. Jack quipped: 'The guy that will have a go at literally anything - YouTuber, rapper, boxer, energy drink Willy Wonka, rapper - yes, his drink is Prime and his music is slightly past its prime, KSI!' Later on, Jack also commented on KSI being nominated for Song of the Year at the BRITs for his single Thick Of It, first saying it was his favourite track before giving it the classic Britain's Got Talent red buzzer rejection. He then joked: 'I listen to Kendrick Lamar and I think I couldn't do this, but I listen to your stuff and I think ''oh yeah I could do this''.' Jack kicked off his commentary at the 2025 awards ceremony by walking through the audience and roasting the celebrity attendees, leaving them all open-mouthed Jack certainly didn't stop there as he also delivered a swipe at KSI's Britain's Got Talent co-star Simon Cowell. Simon, 65, has become known for his changing appearance and has shared his regrets over his extensive use of Botox, with Jack poking fun at this while hosting. He made a brutal joke about 'wiping the smile off Simon Cowell's latest face' as he roasted the music mogul, who wasn't even in attendance at the BRITs. Jack didn't shy away from bringing up Stormzy's controversial partnership with McDonald's, which saw him slammed by fans as the fast food giant is currently facing calls for boycotts over its links to Israel. Addressing the headline-making collaboration, Jack said: 'In the 90s, you'd find your rappers doing drive-bys; this one you can find at the drive-thru. 'Nominated for two Brit Awards this evening we didn't send him a limo tonight, we Deliverooed him here, it's Stormzy. 'The grime scene's Ronald McDonald. He's loving it.' In another humorous joke, Jack remarked that there were some 'competition winners' as well as actual celebrities in the audience, before the camera panned to Nick Grimshaw. He took a series at vibes including roasting KSI's 'talents', saying him judging Britain's Got Talent is 'like Stephen Hawking judging Strictly Come Dancing' Jack also delivered a swipe at KSI's Britain's Got Talent co-star Simon Cowell's changing appearance Jack didn't shy away from bringing up Stormzy's controversial partnership with McDonald's in another brutal jibe As the radio host laughed, Jack quipped: 'Look, he's just so happy to be here!' Jack also referenced Gary Barlow's son Daniel going viral for his extremely tall height and savagely compared Sam Ryder's look to that of a drug dealer's. He also took aim at ITV's under-fire presenters including Gino D'Acampo and Phillip Schofield in another unfiltered remark. 'ITV had so many of its presenters cancelled this year, they had to come crawling back to an ex,' he commented. The funnyman also threw shade at Coldplay - who are nominated for Group of the Year and Song of the Year - as he called them 'public school Nickleback'. Jack was back hosting the BRIT Awards this year after Roman Kemp took on the leading role during the 2024 ceremony. Many fans were upset Roman wouldn't be back hosting once again after they hailed him as a huge success. Jack previously hosted the ceremony four times but hasn't been at the helm since 2021 as a result of his busy schedule. Just weeks after being shot in the face, Christy Carlson Romano is coping with humor and gratitude as she moves forward with life. On Saturday, the 40-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a fun clip, joking that she's milking her injury to get out of responsibilities and do as she pleases. She also updated her 765K followers on her condition, revealing that she is 'feeling more grateful' after 'unsafe firing' of a gun resulted in her sustaining multiple painful injuries. In the skit, the star joked that she was entitled to eat the final remaining Oreos in the pack because of her suffering. She also quipped that an imaginary car-accident could not be her fault due to her serious injury. 'It's been 3 weeks since I got shot in the face and my life has changed profoundly,' the Even Stevens actress penned in the caption. 'I am feeling more grateful than I've ever felt in my life and I'm healing really well. 'Every day, to me, is a gift. I used to be so closed off about sharing the things in my life I loved out of fear of being judged. Now I just don't care.' Just weeks after being shot in the face, Christy Carlson Romano is coping with humor and gratitude as she moves forward with life; seen November 2024 On Saturday, the 40-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a fun clip, joking that she's milking her injury to get out of responsibilities The Kim Possible star revealed that she shocking event has emboldened her to live life more fiercely and fearlessly express herself as she learns to prioritize her happiness. She added: 'I'm going to share more about my hobbies, passions, comedy, family, just stuff that I care about. It might be me singing in the car, it might be my obsession with skincare and beauty, or fashion, or cooking, or me just acting like a total weirdo with my husband. If it brings me joy and it's not hurting anyone, I'm doing it.' Tagging her husband, actor Brendan Rooney, she penned, 'Like I told you @thebrendanrooney I got shot, and I'm gonna eat all the damn Oreos, wherever and whenever I want!' The Echo star sustained the eye injury on Saturday, February 8 while celebrating her husband's 42nd birthday firing at a clay pigeons at a local shooting range. At one point, a loose round from another party struck her resulting in her immediately being hospitalized. In a previous post, the star explained that she had been 'hit in 5 places, one was less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye.' The Connecticut native who shares Isabella, eight, as well as five-year-old Sofia with Rooney added that it is 'too risky' to undergo surgery at this time, but she is just 'grateful to be alive' following the ordeal. 'Unfortunately a fragment got lodged behind my eye and it is too risky to remove surgically at this time. Doctors will continue to monitor me (I can see normally at the moment),' she said. Carlson Romano concluded: 'With everything that happened, all I can think about is how grateful I am to be alive. I love my daughters, husband, family, and friends so much. I saw my life flash before my eyes and I'm telling you, hug the people around you every chance you can. Life can change in an instant.' She also updated her 765K followers on her condition, revealing that she is 'feeling more grateful' after 'unsafe firing' of a gun resulted in her sustaining multiple painful injuries In the skit, the star joked that she was entitled to eat the final remaining Oreos in the pack because of her suffering 'I am feeling more grateful than I've ever felt in my life and I'm healing really well,' she said. 'Every day, to me, is a gift' The Echo star sustained the eye injury on Saturday, February 8 while celebrating her husband's 42nd birthday firing at a clay pigeons at a local shooting range At one point, a loose round from another party struck her resulting in her immediately being hospitalized The Connecticut native who shares Isabella, eight, as well as five-year-old Sofia with Rooney added that it is 'too risky' to undergo surgery at this time'; seen March 2024 Prior to revealing her injury, the actress asked her fans to pray for her. 'Asking for prayers tonight. More to come,' she wrote in her Instagram stories. In a video shared on social media, the Big Hero 6 voice actor assured her fans she was 'safe.' She pointed to the most visible injury but then indicated the fragment behind her eye and another one in her forehead. Wendy Williams former longtime producer Suzanne Bass is speaking out about the embattled stars controversial guardianship after reconnecting with her for the first time in years. Bass took to Instagram on Thursday to share an update on Williams, 60, who has been under court-appointed guardianship since 2022 following an alleged diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia. In a short video filmed while walking her dog, Bass didnt hold back, calling Williams guardianship horrible and terrifying. Im gonna be honest, I hadnt heard from Wendy in years until last week, Bass said in the clip. My phone rang, and it was Wendy. I cried, she cried. Despite Williams legal and health battles, Bass reassured fans that the former talk show host sounds fantastic and the best she has sounded in years. However, Bass revealed she has since been learning every day about Williams ongoing struggles, saying, this horrible guardianship shes in it is horrible and its terrifying. And so, #FreeWendy all the way, all day. Wendy Williams former longtime producer Suzanne Bass is speaking out about the embattled stars controversial guardianship after reconnecting with her for the first time in years Bass took to Instagram on Thursday to share an update on Williams, 60, who has been under court-appointed guardianship since 2022 following an alleged diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia The emotional update has reignited concern among fans, many of whom have long questioned the control over Williams affairs. This comes shortly after she revealed she has been outside only twice in 30 days. Last year, her care team revealed her diagnosis; however, Williams has vehemently disputed that she has dementia. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Williams is battling to end her guardianship and has signed an affidavit asking a judge to end the arrangement, according to TMZ. Her court-ordered guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has been in charge of her well-being and finances since 2022. Sources told the outlet that she will be reevaluated by a doctor, who was picked by her legal team, next Tuesday to determine if she has 'regained [the] capacity' to function without her guardian. Insiders also told the outlet that her legal team private counsel she hired to end her guardianship after firing her court-appointed attorney last month will reportedly file an emergency order to force a judge to look into ending the guardianship. Details about how Williams - who was seen showing off a fresh new look in Miami on Sunday - came to have so little freedom of movement at her assisted-living facility recently came to light. Sources claimed to TMZ on Monday that she had been moved to a more restrictive memory unit at the facility after she allegedly got drunk at a restaurant on the premises. DailyMail.com has attempted to reach Williams' guardian for comment. Last year, Bass opeend up aboout her feeling of Williams makign a return to TV. In a short video filmed while walking her dog, Bass didnt hold back, calling Williams guardianship horrible and terrifying' Bass revealed she has since been learning every day about Williams ongoing struggles, saying, this horrible guardianship shes in it is horrible and its terrifying. And so, #FreeWendy all the way, all day' Despite Williams legal and health battles, Bass reassured fans that the former talk show host sounds fantastic and the best she has sounded in years' While reflecting on the 'huge void in both daytime TV and pop culture' since Williams' long-running was canceled after 13 seasons in 2022, Bass told People that it seems 'impossible' for the former broadcaster to make a 'comeback' to daytime television. 'It makes me very sad,' she confessed. 'I do know it takes time to diagnose conditions like this... I'm saddened by it all.' In addition to her own disappointment, she pointed out that 'people are constantly saying, 'Wouldn't it be great if Wendy makes a comeback?'' 'I'm more sad about her health, not that she can't make a comeback. To have this sort of diagnosis, there's some finality to it,' the Emmy Award-winning producer added. Bass recalled some instances and early signs that Williams was struggling during her talk show, which ran from 2008 to 2022. 'You can go back and see the show, and there's really long periods of quietness where she's not speaking,' Bass recalled. 'And you're thinking 'What's happening? There were early signs [of something wrong] where you're grasping for words, having a hard time collecting your thoughts and remembering things. Maybe that's what was happening back then.' Since leaving the show, Bass says she has only been in contact with Williams a few times since The Wendy Williams Show ended. During their most recent conversations, Bass said the best-selling author struggled to 'remember things' during their calls. 'The last few times I spoke with Wendy, I remember thinking that she reminded me of my mom,' she said. 'My mom has Alzheimer's. Dementia is a form of it in her case.' Morgan Freeman will honor the late Gene Hackman during the 97th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, after the latter's tragic death at age 95. On Saturday, a relative of the 87-year-old actor revealed to TMZ that he will be speaking about his Unforgiven co-star in a special slot during the in memoriam segment. Freeman and Gene acted together in the 1992 classic film, which earned the late actor his second Oscar award. Eight years later, they once again joined forces on 2000 thriller, Under Suspicion one if his final films before stepping away from Hollywood in 2004. The source claimed that the late actor's family will not attend the ceremony. Gene and his wife Betsy Arakawa's 'mummified' remains were found by two maintenance workers on Wednesday at their $3.3 million mansion in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The couple was reportedly found with bloating on their face and signs of mummification in their limbs, with pills strewn nearby. One of their three dogs, a German Shepherd, was also found deceased while the other two were roaming around the property. Morgan Freeman will honor the late Gene Hackman during the 97th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, after the latter's tragic death at age 95; Freeman seen Janaury 2025 On Saturday, a relative of the 87-year-old actor revealed he will be speaking about his former co-star in a special slot during the in memoriam segment; Hackman seen January 2003 According to an official's search warrant, 'the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.' On Friday, Santa Fe officials claimed that data from Genes pacemaker indicated its last recorded activity was on February 17, leading investigators to believe that was the date of his passing. While toxicology reports are still pending, the medical examiner confirmed that both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide exposure. The local Sheriff's Department has said they do not believe foul play is involved. The French Connection star, who had a net worth of approximately $80M, spent the last two decades away from the spotlight. After retiring from the industry in 2004, he left Hollywood behind, trading the glamour of the City of Angels for a peaceful life in New Mexico where he had lived until his passing. During a now eerie interview with CNN in 2004, the late actor confessed that he was afraid of ever loosing his life as he wanted to be a provider for his family. 'I try to take care of myself,' he told the outlet at the time. 'I don't have a lot of fears, I have the normal fear of passing away. 'I guess we all think about that, especially when you get to be a certain age. I want to make sure that my wife and my family are taken care of. Other than that, I don't have a lot of fears.' The Superman actor had three children from a previous marriage, Christopher Allen, 65 and Elizabeth Jean, 63, as well as Leslie Anne, 58. Freeman and Gene acted together in the 1992 classic film, Unforgiven Gene and his wife Betsy Arakawa's 'mummified' remains were found by two maintenance workers on Wednesday at their $3.3 million mansion in Santa Fe; seen November 1991 Gene seen with wife Betsy and his two daughters Leslie and Elizabeth in October 1996 Officials claimed that data from Genes pacemaker indicated its last recorded activity was on February 17, leading investigators to believe that was his date of death; seen December 2001 The 97th Academy Awards are honoring the best films of 2024, with the star-studded ceremony being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Conan O'Brien, 61, is making his debut as Oscars host, after joking: 'I only agreed to host so that I could get invited.' This year's ceremony has an unusually unsettled field in many of the most high-profile categories, including best picture and most of the acting categories. Emilia Perez leads the nominations this year with 13, including for best picture, actress (for Karla Sofia Gascon), supporting actress (for Zoe Saldana), director (for Jacques Audiard), adapted screenplay and original song. The Brutalist landed in second place with 10 nominations, including for best picture, director (for Brady Corbet), actor (for Adrien Brody), supporting actor (for Guy Pearce), supporting actress (for Felicity Jones), and original screenplay. Gene Hackman's health was 'really slipping' in the months prior to his death, according to family friends. The 95-year-old actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, February 26. On Friday, their friends, married couple Daniel and Barbara Lenihan and their son Aaron, opened up about the Unforgiven star's health and said that it had been declining 'in recent times.' Daniel told PEOPLE that Hackman was 'essentially kind of home-bound,' and Barbara claimed the Oscar winner had 'quit riding his bike through the neighborhood' about a year ago. Aaron also added that Arakawa had been doing her best to keep her husband 'active and engaged.' About the late couple, he said she 'was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and as healthy as possible,' adding that Hackman did puzzles and yoga via Zoom every single day. Gene Hackman 's health was 'really slipping' in the months prior to his death, according to family friends; pictured March 1993 in Los Angeles The 95-year-old actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found dead in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home on Wednesday, February 26; pictured January 2003 in Beverly Hills Barbara also told the outlet that Arakawa was 'in perfect health' and 'was so fit.' Aaron whose family had known Hackman and Arakawa for over 30 years said that the pair 'were one of the tightest couples I've seen.' He said: 'They seemed like real life partners, really, really close to each other, and they were both incredibly kind. And they were reserved, but they were real, [and] a lot of fun.' Barbara added: 'Gene was as proud of Betsy as she was of him. 'She had been a concert pianist. Over at their houses, she had a special building, a studio that half of it was her grand piano [and] another half was Gene's art studio.' Investigators have suggested that Hackman was likely to have been dead for nine days prior to the discovery of his body as his pacemaker was last operational on February 17. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters: 'I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life.' Arakawa was found dead in the bathroom, next to a space heather and an open bottle of pills, according to an affidavit obtained by the outlet. On Friday, their friends opened up about the Unforgiven star's health and said that it had been declining 'in recent times.' they said Hackman was 'essentially kind of home-bound and claimed the Oscar winner had 'quit riding his bike through the neighborhood' about a year ago Aaron also added that Arakawa had been doing her best to keep her husband 'active and engaged.' About the late couple, he said she 'was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and as healthy as possible,' adding that Hackman did puzzles and yoga via Zoom every single day; pictured March 1994 in Los Angeles The longtime family friends of the couple said that the pair 'were one of the tightest couples I've seen'; pictured alongside daughters Leslie and Elizabeth in October 1996 in Beverly Hills Her body showed signs of 'mummification' and Hackman's body showed similar 'obvious signs of death.' The pills were identified as an unspecified thyroid medication, Tylenol and the high blood pressure medication, diltiazem. Mendoza said it remains unclear who died first, explaining that it is 'a very hard thing to determine.' Initial concerns that the couple may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning was ruled out after the compound was tested, Mendoza said on Friday. No foul play is suspected and toxicology results remain pending. Oscars night is when the stars want to look their very best, so everything from intense workout regimes to Botox is pulled out of the bag. And prior to tonights 97th Academy Awards ceremony, a new trend in their bid for perfection has emerged micro-dosing with trendy weight-loss jabs. Oscars night is when the stars want to look their very best as it is widely understood to be the biggest night of the year for movie, fashion and pop culture fans Prior to tonight's 97th Academy Awards ceremony, a new trend in their bid for perfection has emerged micro-dosing trendy weight-loss jabs such as Ozempic The red carpet has arrived ahead of tonight's event; film stars and celebrities walking along it will want to look good for the paparazzi The practice involves taking low doses of obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic to lose just enough weight to fit into a designer gown but not so much that they look gaunt. Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr Babak Azizzadeh said: Celebrities use these medications to lose a few pounds and fit into an outfit and not look puffy. But the pharmaceutical industry and doctors have warned against using the powerful medications originally developed to treat obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Fellow plastic surgeon Dr Kelly Killeen added: Until we can be assured that bouncing on and off these medicines is not causing people harm, I dont support it. The Last Showgirl (15) Rating: By tomorrow morning, we will know who the big winners have been at the Oscars, but one of the surprise losers is already clear. The Last Showgirl may have picked up nominations at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Baftas, but when it came to the Academy Awards there was nothing, despite raw and bravely revealing turns from Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis and the fact its directed by Gia Coppola, granddaughter of Francis Ford, niece of Sofia... and Hollywood royalty. Its a shame because its a good and quietly touching film. Admittedly, it takes a little while to settle down as we get used to Coppolas use of hand-held cameras, naturalistic sound and an Anderson seemingly stripped of all make-up, but were there well before the big moment around which the whole film pivots. The Razzle-Dazzle, a classic Las Vegas stage show which has kept Shelly (Anderson) in rhinestones, double denim and fast cars for more than 30 years and which once employed her hard-drinking, older friend Annette (Curtis) as a dancer too, is to close after a 38-year run. Its younger dancers, the likes of Jodie (an excellent Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) have two weeks to look for new jobs, but Shelly is distraught. The Razzle-Dazzle has been her life and while her estranged adult daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd), can dismiss it as a stupid nudie show she believes it is high art, a link not just to the great cabaret clubs of Paris but to theatre itself. Nevertheless, she prepares to audition for the first time in decades and to lie about her age. Im 36, she announces in the heartbreaking opening, no, Im 42 sorry, Im nervous. But its obvious to everyone that Shelly, like Anderson, is in her late 50s. Pamela Anderson in The Last Showgirl. Despite missing out on the Academy Awards, it is a good and quietly touching film Jamie Lee Curtis plays Annette in the film directed by Gia Coppola. It admittedly takes a while to get used to Coppola's use of handheld cameras Anderson is seemingly stripped of all make-up in the film. On a deeper level it is about ageing, dreams and female relationships On one level, this is a film about the end of a Las Vegas era, an age of long-legged showgirls and sparkling headdresses. But on a deeper level, its about ageing, dreams and female relationships, not just between biological mothers and daughters but the workplace version too, where the older women take care of their younger colleagues. Until they dont, of course. That all said, look out for Dave Bautista, who is a quiet revelation as Eddie, the shows supportive stage manager and Shellys long-standing admirer. The underlying story may be a little thin, but this ageing showgirl has clearly got some decisions to make. Fans of the late actor Gene Hackman have memorialized him at one of his go-to restaurants in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Hackman died in February at the age of 95, along with his wife Betsy Arakawa, who was 65. In the wake of his death, the Hollywood icon's admirers have taken to Jinja Bar & Bistro to pay their respects, leaving notes and flowers. Owner Doug Lanham, who was a dear friend of Hackman's and former business partner, told TMZ the Superman star would sometimes drop in for a bite or to pay patrons' tabs. He co-owned the eatery with Lanham before selling his stake several years. Fans of the late actor Gene Hackman have memorialized him at one of his go-to restaurants in Santa Fe, New Mexico; pictured in 2005 In the wake of his death, the Hollywood icon's admirers have taken to Jinja Bar & Bistro to pay their respects, leaving notes and flowers Lanham also shared that Hackman's talents extended beyond the silver screen; he was also a prolific painter whose works line the walls of Jinja. Another one of the star's frequented restaurants was Harry's Roadhouse, where one of his visit's was featured on the Food Network. 'I've known Gene and his wife for over 30 years. He was a beloved, beloved regular of ours,' owner Kathleen O'Brien, 61, told DailyMail.com. O'Brien said the Oscar winner was 'never presumptuous' was 'always kind and very generous, always quick to smile and make a wry joke.' She added, 'We were always giving them the space to be very private people.' O'Brien recalled the 2008 moment when Hackman visited the restaurant as celebrity chef Guy Fieri was filming a segment for Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. 'That was crazy. They were taping and Gene happened to be coming into the restaurant for a business meeting for a book he was writing,' she said. 'One of Guy's assistants came running into the kitchen as they were shooting, and said, "Guy, Gene Hackman is here!" 'Guy Fieri ran right out of the kitchen and grabbed Gene and they sat down at the counter and had a conversation for 45 minutes,' she remembered. Another one of the star's frequented restaurants was Harry's Roadhouse, where one of his visits was featured on the Food Network Hackman happened to visit the roadhouse restaurant in 2008 while celebrity chef Guy Fieri was filming a segment for Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives Investigators are pictured at Gene and Betsy's $3.3 million Santa Fe mansion on Thursday morning Gene and Betsy were found dead in separate rooms of their $3.3 million Santa Fe mansion on Wednesday, February 26. Based on his pacemaker, which was last active on February 17, investigators believe Hackman had likely been dead for nine days prior to the discovery of his body. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters: 'I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life.' Arakawa was found dead in a bathroom, next to a space heater and an open bottle of pills including thyroid medication, Tylenol, and blood pressure medication. Daniel Lenihan, a friend of the couple, told People this week that prior to their deaths Betsy had been 'trying to keep [Gene] as active and engaged and as healthy as possible,' adding that Hackman did puzzles and yoga via Zoom every daily. Demi Moore has garnered her very first Oscar nomination after overcoming 'bigoted' and 'anti-Demi' power players following her debut in the industry 40 years earlier. The actress, 62, scored her first Academy Award nod in January for her critically-acclaimed performance as Elisabeth Sparkle in the body horror film The Substance (2024). It is Moore's very first Oscar nom despite starring in a number of movies throughout her decades-long career in Hollywood such as St. Elmo's Fire (1985), Ghost (1990), A Few Good Men (1992) and Indecent Proposal (1993). Demi's former director, Roland Joffe, opened up to Page Six about the star's path to her Best Actress nod ahead of the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, March 2. He notably directed Moore in the 1995 movie The Scarlet Letter - which was an adaptation of the 1850 novel of the same name written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and also starred Gary Oldman. Joffe recalled that an editor for an East Coast publication had told him insiders in the industry were less than thrilled that he had cast Demi in the lead role of Hester Prynne. Demi Moore, 62, has garnered her very first Oscar nomination after overcoming 'bigoted' and 'anti-Demi' power players following her debut in the industry 40 years earlier; seen in February in L.A. According to Roland, the editor had informed him at the time 'people felt that Demi had not earned the right to such a plum classic American role and suggested some other expected names' for the role instead. The director was also told that he would 'regret' casting Moore in the historical drama. A few years earlier, the actress had posed naked on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991 while pregnant with her daughter Scout. Joffe expressed that the editor - whose name was not disclosed - 'suggested that Demi's appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair, nude and pregnant, and the sensuality of her performances somehow disqualified her as a serious actress.' One year after The Scarlet Letter was released, Moore starred in the 1996 movie Striptease. The premise is: 'A stripper and single mother gets dragged into a dangerous situation after a congressman takes a fancy to her,' per IMDB. Demi reportedly received $12.5 million for her role in the film - but she soon garnered backlash. Joffe expressed, 'The anti-Demi feeling at the time was a sour mixture of jealousy at her physical freedom and jealousy that she had become the highest paid female star.' The actress scored her first Academy Award nod in January for her critically-acclaimed performance as Elisabeth Sparkle in the body horror film The Substance (2024); seen in February accepting a SAG Award for Best Actress Demi's former director, Roland Joffe, opened up to Page Six about the star's path to her Best Actress nod ahead of the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, March 2; Joffe seen in 2018 in Paris According to Roland, the editor had informed him at the time 'people felt that Demi had not earned the right to such a plum classic American role and suggested some other expected names' for the role instead Last year, Moore also reflected on becoming the highest paid female actress at the time due to the payday for Striptease. While talking to the New York Times for its The Interview podcast, the actress stated, 'Well, with Striptease, it was as if I had betrayed women, and with G.I. Jane, it was as if I had betrayed men. 'But I think the interesting piece is that when I became the highest-paid actress - why is it that, at that moment, the choice was to bring me down?' She continued, 'I don't take this personally. I think anyone who had been in the position that was the first to get that kind of equality of pay would probably have taken a hit. 'But because I did a film that was dealing with the world of stripping and the body, I was extremely shamed.' Demi later added, 'And it's no different than when I did the cover for Vanity Fair pregnant. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal, why women when they were pregnant needed to be hidden? 'Why is it that we have to deny that we had sex? That's the fear, right, that if you show your belly, that means, "Oh my gosh, you've had sex."' Demi is up for an Academy Award for Best Actress, along with Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez), Mikey Madison (Anora) and Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here). Joffe expressed that the editor 'suggested that Demi's appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair, nude and pregnant, and the sensuality of her performances somehow disqualified her as a serious actress' Joffe expressed, 'The anti-Demi feeling at the time was a sour mixture of jealousy at her physical freedom and jealousy that she had become the highest paid female star'; Moore seen in Striptease (1996) Joffe stated, 'I will defend Demi to the death, and I have been very upset that she doesn't get the reputation she deserves, she's an Academy standard actress.' The filmmaker - who has directed other movies such as The Killing Fields and The Mission - added, 'I've always said that working with her was an absolute joy.' Earlier this year in January, Demi won a Golden Globe for Best Actress - and gave a moving speech as she recalled how a producer had once called her a 'popcorn actress' in the past. Producer Andy Vajna is rumored to have made the comment, but Joffe shared that he did not believe it was Vajna - who passed away in 2019. While accepting the Golden Globe, Moore added she felt 'this wasn't something that I was allowed to have, that I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn't be acknowledged.' 'And I bought in, and I believed that, and that corroded me over time, to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it, maybe I was complete, maybe I've done what I was supposed to do.' She recalled, 'And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out of the box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you're not done...' The actress concluded with, 'I had a woman say to me, "Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick."' Joffe stated, 'I will defend Demi to the death, and I have been very upset that she doesn't get the reputation she deserves, she's an Academy standard actress'; seen with Golden Globe in January On stage she referenced to The Substance and said, 'When I started the journey of this film, I could never imagine being here. This is so far beyond anything that I could have hoped for' 'And so today,' Moore continued, 'I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me and for the gift of doing something I love and being reminded that I do belong. Thank you so much.' Last month, the beauty also received the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. On stage she referenced to The Substance and said, 'When I started the journey of this film, I could never imagine being here. This is so far beyond anything that I could have hoped for.' Most recently, Demi also won a SAG Award for Best Actress and called the honor both 'extraordinary' and 'meaningful.' Later she also added, 'I am so so grateful that I have continued over these so many years to be able to try and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, but to be able to keep going.' Towards the end, Moore emotionally expressed, 'That little girl who didn't believe in herself. The words are kind of beyond me, so I'm just gonna to have to just say thank you.' Sources told Page Six that as the actress aged, she struggled to get cast in more projects, with one telling the outlet: 'Demi didn't get offered roles for many years - you just have to look at her IMDB page to see that.' Before taking on her role in The Substance, Demi had thought her Hollywood career was 'complete.' Before taking on her role in The Substance, Demi had thought her Hollywood career was 'complete'; seen with Critics Choice Award in February She touched on the topic while accepting the Maria Manetti Shrem Award for Acting during the SFFILM Awards in San Francisco in December. The star expressed, 'I've had a very long career, but I haven't really ever been part of the conversations that allowed me to be part of [awards shows] and to really receive the love and celebration of my work. I'm really just so humbled. 'At the beginning of 2022, I had a moment where I was at an event and I felt I didn't belong. I didn't know why I was there. I wanted to be invisible and I couldn't figure out how to get out.' She added, 'And I thought, "You know what? Maybe my time doing this is complete. Maybe I've done everything I was supposed to do." Two weeks later, the script for The Substance came across my desk.' She also recently opened up to Backstage about receiving her very first Oscar nomination and said, 'This is the biggest award for our industry; and in a way, it's kind of everything and nothing'; seen in 2024 in Georgia Demi admitted she had been 'almost ready to step away' but told the crowd that she was grateful she chose not to. She also recently opened up to Backstage about receiving her very first Oscar nomination and said, 'This is the biggest award for our industry; and in a way, it's kind of everything and nothing. 'That's a weird thing to say, but it's because it does, in some ways, mean everything; but at the same time, at ground zero, you dont make choices based on that being the goal,' Demi explained. 'That's the way for it not to work out. When you stay on a path that's authentic to you and you're doing meaningful, memorable work - speaking for myself, at least - that's my drive.' Madeline Holtznagel cut a stylish figure as she touched down in Sydney on Sunday with her billionaire boyfriend Justin Hemmes. The 27-year-old model looked every inch the fashionista as she exited a private airport in a chic mini-dress that clung to her pregnant frame. Madeline accessorised the cream number with a beige tote and a Chanel bag that retails for around $17,000. She added to the look with a pair of designer shades, also from the French fashion house. Meanwhile, pub baron Justin, 52, looked every inch the frequent flyer in a black polo paired with matching casual slacks. The It couple appeared in good spirits as they said goodbye to friends and were met by their ground transport to ferry them back to their multimillion dollar compound. Madeline Holtznagel cut a stylish figure as she touched down in Sydney on Sunday with her billionaire boyfriend Justin Hemmes The 27-year-old model looked every inch the fashionista as she exited a private airport in a chic mini-dress that clung to her pregnant frame In November an insider confirmed the exciting news of Madeline's pregnancy to Daily Mail Australia and revealed a friend of Justin's recently moved out of his Vaucluse mansion to make room for their growing family. Justin, who has a net worth of $1.39billion, already has daughters Alexa and Saachi with his ex-girlfriend Kate Fowler, from whom he separated in 2018. The business mogul then began dating Madeline the following year, when the model was 22 and he was 47. They have been spotted out together in recent months looking as loved-up as ever, recently attending Pilates queen Bernadette Fahey's wedding to Jordan Sukkar. Justin and Madeline quietly began seeing each other in 2019, a year after his debut on the Financial Review Rich List with an estimated net worth of $951million - which has since risen to $1.39billion. Though they generally keep their romance under wraps, the couple are often seen disembarking from his sea plane after enjoying luxurious family holidays with his two daughters. The couple have gone from strength-to-strength since going public and even sparked engagement rumours in June 2023. Eagle-eyed fans noticed Madeline was wearing a ring on her wedding finger as they questioned whether Justin had popped the question. Madeline accessorised the cream number with a beige tote and a Chanel bag that retails for around the $17,000 She added to the look with a pair of designer shades, also from the French fashion house She tied her locks back into a bun and wore a neutral makeup palette for the flight Pub baron Justin, 52, looked every inch the frequent flyer in a black polo paired with matching casual slacks In November, an insider confirmed the exciting news of Madeline's pregnancy to Daily Mail Australia and revealed a friend of Justin's recently moved out of his Vaucluse mansion to make room for their growing family The business mogul began dating in 2019 Madeline the following year, when the model was 22 and he was 47 Though they generally keep their romance under wraps, the couple are often seen disembarking from his sea plane after enjoying luxurious family holidays with his two daughters Justin is considered Australia's hospitality king, with more than 80 venues and billions in assets with names like the Ivy, Queen Chow and Establishment under his purview as CEO of Merivale Madeline is the younger sister of fellow Aussie model Simone Holtznagel, who welcomed her first child, a daughter called Gia, in March last year, with her now-ex-boyfriend Jono Castano The couple have gone from strength-to-strength since going public and even sparked engagement rumours in June 2023 A picture showed her sporting the jewellery as she cuddled up to Justin while enjoying a bowl of Udon noodles together at a restaurant in Japan. But the bling appeared to be an emerald and diamond promise ring, and another photograph showed her wearing a different ring on the same finger as she posed for a selfie. In August, Madeline also made a rare public post about Justin as she took to Instagram to mark his 52nd birthday. She shared a series of romantic selfies of them both and gushed over her partner in the caption. In one picture, Madeline flashed a huge smile as she sat on Justin's lap while he lovingly gazed at her. Justin is considered Australia's hospitality king, with more than 80 venues and billions in assets with names like the Ivy, Queen Chow and Establishment under his purview as CEO of Merivale. He is the only son of Merivale Group founder and nightclub mogul John Hemmes and Justin took over the business after his father's death in 2015. Madeline is the younger sister of fellow Aussie model Simone Holtznagel, who welcomed her first child, a daughter called Gia, in March last year, with her now-ex-boyfriend Jono Castano. Bryce Dallas Howard marked her father Ron Howards birthday with a heartfelt tribute, celebrating the Hollywood icon whos just a Tony Award away from EGOT status. The Jurassic Park star, 43, took to Instagram on Saturday, sharing a touching snapshot of the father-daughter duo at a gala. In the photo, both flash warm smiles at the camera as Bryce leans her head against her dads shoulder. 'I love you so much Dad, more than words can say,' she wrote. 'Happy Birthday @realronhoward!' Bryce, whose own birthday falls just a day later on March 2, is the eldest of Howards four children with his wife of 49 years, Cheryl Alley. She grew up alongside her twin sisters, Jocelyn and Paige, 40, and younger brother, Reed, 37. Bryce Dallas Howard marked her father Ron Howards birthday with a heartfelt tribute, celebrating the Hollywood icon whos just a Tony Award away from EGOT status The Jurassic Park star, 43, took to Instagram on Saturday, sharing a touching snapshot of the father-daughter duo at a gala While Hollywood was always in her blood, Ron made sure Bryce didnt jump into acting too soon. Though he gave her walk-on roles in Parenthood, Apollo 13, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he insisted she wait until adulthood to pursue acting professionally. At 22, she made her official debut in M. Night Shyamalans 2004 thriller The Village, launching a career that would make her a star in her own right. The star has made a name for herself as a director, earning praise for her work on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. She has also directed documentaries and is set to helm the upcoming Flight of the Navigator reboot. Bryce and her husband, actor Seth Gabel, have been married for 19 years and share two children: 18-year-old son Theodore Norman and 13-year-old daughter Beatrice Jean. Meanwhile, Ron revealed that he was related to his Andy Griffith Show co-star Don Knotts as he shared a throwback photo on Instagram over the past weekend. The Oscar winner, 70, notably starred as Odie in the beloved sitcom which aired on CBS from 1960 through 1968. Bryce, whose own birthday falls just a day later on March 2, is the eldest of Howards four children with his wife of 49 years, Cheryl Alley She grew up alongside her twin sisters, Jocelyn and Paige, 40, and younger brother, Reed, 37 He played the son of the Griffith's character Andy Taylor - the sheriff of a fictional town named Mayberry. Knotts portrayed deputy sheriff Barney Fife which garnered him five Emmy wins. In the image, Howard could be seen posing with Andy and Don (who is known for starring on Three's Company) as they paid him a visit on set of his 1996 film Ransom starring Mel Gibson and Rene Russo. The trio flashed cheerful smiles towards the camera as they posed for the 'fun' snap together. In the caption, the filmmaker explained that his former castmates 'surprised me with a visit to the set of #Ransom in #Queens. It was recently confirmed that Don and I were actually distant cousins!' Demi Moore put on a classy display as she stunned at Chanel's 16th Annual Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner in Beverly Hills on Saturday. The star, 62 - who overcame 'bigoted' and 'anti-Demi' power players to secure her first Oscar nod - joined other celebrities at the glitzy event, such as Heidi Klum and Kim Kardashian. Moore garnered her first Academy Award nomination for her performance in the body horror film The Substance - with the ceremony set to take place on Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theater. Demi turned heads as she paused for a brief photo session at The Polo Lounge located at the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel. She donned a chic, black tweed blazer that was fitted to her frame and contained an ornate, white floral trim on the front as well as the pointed collar. The beauty slipped into a pair of matching shorts that had a hem that stopped just above her knees. Demi Moore, 62, put on a classy display as she stunned at Chanel's 16th Annual Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner in Beverly Hills on Saturday Moore additionally wore a pair of open-toed, black pumps that were secured with straps that wrapped around her ankles. The actress opted for minimal accessories and added a pair of silver floral earrings as well as a flashy ring on her right hand. She easily carried a light gray Chanel purse in her hand to hold a few items she needed at the star-studded dinner. Her long, dark locks were parted in the middle and cascaded down straight past her shoulders. Demi's makeup was classically done for the evening, and comprised of a layer of mascara to her lashes as well as a shimmering shadow around her eyes. A pink blush was added to her cheekbones for a radiant glow, while a glossy tint was worn on her lips for a finishing touch. The Ghost star flashed a cheerful smile as she showcased her look upon arriving to the event just one day before the 97th Annual Academy Awards. Moore has notably received her very first Oscars nomination, despite her decades-long career which began in the 1980s. Moore garnered her first Academy Award nomination for her performance in the body horror film The Substance - with the ceremony set to take place on Sunday, March 2 at the Dolby Theater She donned a chic, black tweed blazer that was fitted to her frame and contained an ornate, white floral trim on the front as well as the pointed collar The actress opted for minimal accessories and added a pair of silver floral earrings as well as a flashy ring on her right hand Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Karla Sofia Gascon (Emilia Perez), Mikey Madison (Anora) and Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here) are also competing in the same category. With the awards season in full swing, Demi has already garnered a number of honors including a Golden Globe, Critics Choice and SAG Award for her role as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance. Her former director, Roland Joffe, recently opened up to Page Six about the star's path to her Best Actress nod ahead of the 2025 Oscars. He previously directed Moore in the 1995 movie The Scarlet Letter - which was an adaptation of the 1850 novel of the same name written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and also starred Gary Oldman. Joffe recalled that an editor for an East Coast publication had told him insiders in the industry were less than thrilled that he had cast Demi in the lead role of Hester Prynne. According to Roland, the editor had informed him at the time 'people felt that Demi had not earned the right to such a plum classic American role and suggested some other expected names' for the role instead. The director was also told that he would 'regret' casting Moore in the historical drama. A few years earlier, the actress had posed naked on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991 while pregnant with her daughter Scout. With the awards season in full swing, Demi has already garnered a number of honors including a Golden Globe, Critics Choice and SAG Award for her role as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance; seen in February accepting a SAG Award for Best Actress Demi's former director, Roland Joffe, opened up to Page Six about the star's path to her Best Actress nod ahead of the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, March 2; Joffe seen in 2018 in Paris Joffe expressed that the editor - whose name was not disclosed - 'suggested that Demi's appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair, nude and pregnant, and the sensuality of her performances somehow disqualified her as a serious actress.' One year after The Scarlet Letter was released, Moore starred in the 1996 movie Striptease. Demi reportedly received $12.5 million for her role in the film - but she soon garnered backlash. Joffe expressed, 'The anti-Demi feeling at the time was a sour mixture of jealousy at her physical freedom and jealousy that she had become the highest paid female star.' Last year, Moore also reflected on becoming the highest paid female actress at the time due to the payday for Striptease. While talking to the New York Times for its The Interview podcast, the actress stated, 'Well, with Striptease, it was as if I had betrayed women, and with G.I. Jane, it was as if I had betrayed men. 'But I think the interesting piece is that when I became the highest-paid actress - why is it that, at that moment, the choice was to bring me down?' She continued, 'I don't take this personally. I think anyone who had been in the position that was the first to get that kind of equality of pay would probably have taken a hit. 'But because I did a film that was dealing with the world of stripping and the body, I was extremely shamed.' According to Roland, the editor had informed him at the time 'people felt that Demi had not earned the right to such a plum classic American role and suggested some other expected names' for the role instead Joffe expressed, 'The anti-Demi feeling at the time was a sour mixture of jealousy at her physical freedom and jealousy that she had become the highest paid female star'; seen in February in L.A. Demi later added, 'And it's no different than when I did the cover for Vanity Fair pregnant. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal, why women when they were pregnant needed to be hidden? 'Why is it that we have to deny that we had sex? That's the fear, right, that if you show your belly, that means, "Oh my gosh, you've had sex."' Joffe stated, 'I will defend Demi to the death, and I have been very upset that she doesn't get the reputation she deserves, she's an Academy standard actress.' The filmmaker - who has directed other movies such as The Killing Fields and The Mission - added, 'I've always said that working with her was an absolute joy.' Earlier this year in January, Demi won a Golden Globe for Best Actress - and gave a moving speech as she recalled how a producer had once called her a 'popcorn actress' in the past. Producer Andy Vajna is rumored to have made the comment, but Joffe shared that he did not believe it was Vajna - who passed away in 2019. Last month, the beauty also received the Critics Choice Award for Best Actress. On stage she referenced to The Substance and said, 'When I started the journey of this film, I could never imagine being here. This is so far beyond anything that I could have hoped for.' 'But I think the interesting piece is that when I became the highest-paid actress - why is it that, at that moment, the choice was to bring me down?' she asked; seen in February with Critics Choice Award On stage she referenced to The Substance and said, 'When I started the journey of this film, I could never imagine being here. This is so far beyond anything that I could have hoped for' Most recently, Demi also won a SAG Award for Best Actress and called the honor both 'extraordinary' and 'meaningful.' Later she also added, 'I am so so grateful that I have continued over these so many years to be able to try and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, but to be able to keep going.' Towards the end, Moore emotionally expressed, 'That little girl who didn't believe in herself. The words are kind of beyond me, so I'm just gonna to have to just say thank you.' Sources told Page Six that as the actress aged, she struggled to get cast in more projects, with one telling the outlet: 'Demi didn't get offered roles for many years - you just have to look at her IMDB page to see that.' Before taking on her role in The Substance, Demi had thought her Hollywood career was 'complete.' She touched on the topic while accepting the Maria Manetti Shrem Award for Acting during the SFFILM Awards in San Francisco in December. Before taking on her role in The Substance, Demi had thought her Hollywood career was 'complete' The star expressed, 'I've had a very long career, but I haven't really ever been part of the conversations that allowed me to be part of [awards shows] and to really receive the love and celebration of my work. I'm really just so humbled. 'At the beginning of 2022, I had a moment where I was at an event and I felt I didn't belong. I didn't know why I was there. I wanted to be invisible and I couldn't figure out how to get out.' She added, 'And I thought, "You know what? Maybe my time doing this is complete. Maybe I've done everything I was supposed to do." Two weeks later, the script for The Substance came across my desk.' Demi admitted she had been 'almost ready to step away' but told the crowd that she was grateful she chose not to. Heidi Klum made a stunning appearance at Chanel's 16th annual pre-Oscar Awards dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday evening. The 51-year-old German supermodel who is married to 35-year-old musician Tom Kaulitz slipped into a long-sleeved mini dress from the iconic fashion house for the starry occasion. The figure-hugging look boasted sat trim details, including a ruffled bow at its asymmetric, skin-baring neckline. Klum showed off her endless legs in sheer pantyhose, rounding out the look with pointy-toe black heels. And the America's Got Talent judge vamped up her hairstyle, swapping out her signature bangs for a teased mane that fell to one side. She looked typically gorgeous in a full face of immaculately applied makeup that included a smokey eye, soft blush, and warm-toned pink lipstick. Heidi Klum made a stunning appearance at Chanel's 16th annual pre-Oscar Awards dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday evening To complement her look, Heidi carried a small, quilted, black leather Chanel handbag. Other attendees at the swanky event included Kim Kardashian, Demi Moore, and Lily-Rose Depp. While the Chanel dinner went on as scheduled, some Oscars parties have been scrapped due to the Los Angeles wildfires that swept through the city in January. Despite the 2025 Oscar bosses' refusal to cancel Hollywood's biggest night altogether, select private celebrations have not followed the typical itinerary. Over 100,000 Los Angeles residents were forced to flee their homes and dozens were confirmed dead as a result of the unprecedented infernos, which began with the Palisades Fire on January 7. The Eaton Fire burned over 14,000 acres while the Palisades Fire scorched nearly 24,000 acres. Angelenos are still grappling with the aftermath of the infernos, and subsequently, some talent agencies decided against hosting extravagant parties. The 51-year-old German supermodel slipped into a long-sleeved mini dress from the iconic fashion house for the starry occasion The figure-hugging look boasted sat trim details, including a ruffled bow at its asymmetric, skin-baring neckline The America's Got Talent judge vamped up her hairstyle, swapping out her signature bangs for a teased mane that fell to one side United Talent Agency has shuttered its pre-Oscar party, opting to make fire relief donations instead, according to a report from The Sun. Similarly, William Morris Endeavor also nixed its usual soiree that's usually thrown at a private estate. Alternatively, the agency still haf a small gathering at Chateau Marmont Hotel to honor its nominated clients. Creative Artists Agency also scaled back, recognizing talent including Ariana Grande and Demi Moore at the novel, members-only club The Living Room on Friday evening. Additionally, the agency donated to SoCal Fire Fund for wildfire relief efforts. Lupita Nyong'o cut a stylish figure when she joined the starry guest-list at the Chanel and Charles Finch pre-Oscars dinner on Saturday. Held at the famous Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, the glittering event drew a parade of top names including Kim Kardashian, Demi Moore and Elle Fanning. Among the celebrities was Lupita, 42, who won her own Oscar in 2013 for her supporting performance in the drama 12 Years A Slave. During her latest public appearance, she draped herself in a trendily sheer black gown that fell to the floor and hinted at her lithe frame. Her frock featured period touches, including the buttons leading up to its collar, as well as the puffed out sleeves that culminated in long cinched-in cuffs. Gathering her hair into an updo, the Black Panther actress highlighted her luminous complexion with makeup including deep pink lipstick. Lupita Nyong'o cut a stylish figure when she joined the starry guest-list at the Chanel and Charles Finch pre-Oscars dinner on Saturday Below the waist, her dress was adorned with sparkly fringe, heightening the air of showbiz glitz that characterized the look. Whilst at the fete, she could be seen mingling with her friend Nana Mensah, an actress and filmmaker who has been in such projects as 13 Reasons Why. A cavalcade of stars paraded into the party at the Polo Lounge that evening, including such names as Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis' daughter Lily-Rose Depp. Elle posed with her sister Dakota, whilst Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough also made her presence felt along with Jeff Bezos' fiancee Lauren Sanchez. Oscar nominees Sebastian Stan and Adrien Brody, Netflix heartthrob Rege-Jean Page and beloved character actor Jeff Goldblum were also on hand. This past year, Lupita starred in in the horror film A Quiet Place: Day One and also had a leading voice role in the DreamWorks CGI animated film The Wild Robot. She is not in the running for Oscars glory on Sunday, but the category that got her the gold in 2013 - best supporting actress - is one to watch this year. Ariana Grande is nominated for her performance as Glinda in Wicked, as is Monica Barbaro for playing Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. Held at the famous Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, the glittering event drew a parade of top names including Kim Kardashian, Demi Moore and Elle Fanning Whilst at the fete, she could be seen mingling with her friend Nana Mensah, an actress and filmmaker who has been in such projects as 13 Reasons Why Felicity Jones is also competing for that prize thanks to her role in the historical drama The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce. So is Zoe Saldana, one of the stars of the Spanish-language musical Emilia Perez that also prominently features Selena Gomez and Karla Sofia Gascon. Showbiz icon Isabella Rossellini, daughter of Old Hollywood siren Ingrid Bergman and pioneering Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, is also competing for the prize. She has been nominated for her turn as a nun in Conclave, which boasts a formidable cast including Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow. Georgia Love has broken her silence days after announcing her split from husband Lee Elliot. The Bachelorette star shared a simply message to Instagram Stories on Sunday, thanking her fans for reaching out with kind words. 'Thank you for your kind messages' the 35-year-old posted, alongside an image of a serene sea view. Georgia and Lee, who first met on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette, announced their separation with identical posts to Instagram last week. 'After nine wonderful years together, including four as husband and wife, [we] have made the incredibly difficult decision to lovingly part ways,' they wrote. 'Our relationship has been so special and we will always cherish the memories, love, and laughter we've shared. Georgia Love (pictured) has broken her silence days after announcing her split from husband Lee Elliot 'There is no drama, no bad blood. Just two people who have grown in different directions while still holding deep respect and care for each other. 'We remain friends and we'd really appreciate our privacy as we navigate this next stage. Thank you.' Georgia and Lee have fuelled rumours they had split for some time as it had been more than four months since they were seen together. They pair spent Christmas apart with their respective families before Georgia jetted off to New York City for a holiday without Lee. They were also both spotted without their wedding bands, which led to a wave of speculation online which suggested they had ended their relationship. It seemed the pair were still living under the same roof at their marital home in Melbourne as recently as Saturday. Georgia was spotted making a trip to a nail salon before she headed to the home to prepare for a drinks night. The former reality TV star was not wearing her wedding ring during the outing and had been seen without the diamond sparkler for months. Georgia and Lee (bot pictured) who first met on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette, announced their separation with identical posts to Instagram last week 'Thank you for your kind messages' the 35-year-old posted, alongside an image of a serene sea view Shortly after, Lee returned home driving a tradesman's ute while wearing a bright yellow uniform. Last month, a source told Daily Mail Australia the pair were well and truly over after spending Christmas and the new year apart. 'The time apart could be good for them and I think they both have had an opportunity to see what life would be like if they did [officially] separate,' they said. The source added Lee 'has always supported Georgia following her dreams' and 'I think whatever happens, they will remain friends in the long term'. 'Everyone, including them, is hoping they make things work and I guess that's why they have been so reluctant to address anything officially,' they said. Fans on Instagram continued to press Georgia about her husband's whereabouts while she was away in New York. She had not confirmed a split or a trial separation at the time, but simply said he was 'at home' while she was living it up in the states for New Year's Eve. 'Where is Lee?' one user asked in her comments section, adding a sad-faced emoji. The couple married in 2021 at the Frogmore Creek Winery outside Hobart, followed by an outdoor reception at the Shene Distillery 'He's at home, I'm here visiting my friend,' Georgia replied, adding she was 'incredibly tired of this question'. One follower asked, 'Oh, you've split up with Lee?' which prompted another to reply: 'Poor Lee.' 'Why?' Georgia bluntly answered. The pair met and fell in love on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette, which saw Georgia, a former TV news reporter, choose tradie Lee as her winning suitor. They married in 2021 at the Frogmore Creek Winery outside Hobart, followed by an outdoor reception at the Shene Distillery. The lovebirds had been due to marry in Italy the year prior, but were forced to cancel due to Covid travel restrictions. The following year, they moved into their $1.3million townhouse in Melbourne's upmarket suburb of Hampton East. It comes after Georgia was allegedly spotted with a mystery man on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula last month. The pair met and fell in love on the 2016 season of The Bachelorette (pictured), which saw Georgia, a former TV news reporter, choose tradie Lee as her winning suitor A source told Daily Mail Australia they witnessed 'love blossoming in broad daylight' between Georgia and her alleged new beau during an outing in the small town of Rosebud. The source claims the couple were displaying a certain 'chemistry' on the outing. 'They looked very much newly acquainted,' the insider said. 'There was clearly nervous energy and chemistry between them,' they added, when asked if the two could have been just friends. Meanwhile, a close friend of Lee's offered their assessment as to why the four-year marriage failed. 'Georgia has probably grown tired of coming second to his friend group,' they told Daily Mail Australia. 'He loves to go out with the boys.' They added the split was a shame as they believed the couple were a perfect match. 'In my opinion, Georgia seemed like a good match [for Lee],' they said. 'With her being quite ambitious and her priorities also not being with settling down, that seemed like a good partner for Lee.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Georgia Love for comment. Married At First Sight's Morena Farina has revealed she was pushed to her limits before Sunday's dramatic commitment ceremony, threatening to call the police after producers allegedly tried to force her to stay on the show. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the 57-year-old DJ claimed she was 'ready to walk' weeks ago but was pressured into staying after a late-night intervention from production bosses. 'They were holding me against my will. I told them, 'I'm going to call the police - give me my phone,' Morena said. 'They put their hands up and acted innocent, saying, "No, no, no, we haven't touched you."' Despite being prepared to leave, Morena was convinced to stay after a conversation with the show's top executives. 'I had the big boss on the phone for a long time,' she revealed. Married At First Sight's Morena Farina (pictured) has revealed she was pushed to her limits before Sunday's dramatic commitment ceremony, threatening to call the police after producers allegedly tried to force her to stay on the show Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the 57-year-old DJ claimed she was 'ready to walk' weeks ago but was pressured into staying after a late-night intervention from production bosses 'They told me, "Are you really going to let Tony get away with everything he's done to you? You know he's married. He wanted his wife to come into the experiment. 'He thinks you're too old, calls you a sl**, even headlocks you."' Morena eventually agreed to attend one final Commitment Ceremony - but with conditions. 'I told them, "I'm not speaking to the experts. They've never had my back. I just need to confront Tony,"' she explained. 'They said, "Done. You can make a grand entry when Tony is on the couch and rip into him."' Sunday's episode saw Morena storm onto the set while Tony is on the couch, delivering a brutal takedown of her on-screen husband before dramatically walking out for good. 'I slammed the door so hard the whole set trembled,' she recalled. 'Tony was stunned. The entire cast was in shock.' During the fiery confrontation, Morena exposed multiple secrets about Tony's behaviour in the experiment, including his alleged desire to bring his estranged wife onto the show. Morena eventually agreed to attend one final Commitment Ceremony, but with conditions. Pictured with Tony 'I told them, "I'm not speaking to the experts. They've never had my back. I just need to confront Tony,"' she explained. 'They said, "Done. You can make a grand entry when Tony is on the couch and rip into him."' The experts are pictured 'He suddenly changed his story and said it wasn't about my age - it was because he wanted a baby,' Morena said. 'I grabbed his hand and told him, "Tony, if you wanted a baby, I would have let you go. I would never stop you."' However, she later claimed that Tony's own cousin had told her he was infertile. Morena also revealed the shocking tactics used behind the scenes, claiming she was 'locked in a tent for hours' before filming dinner parties and commitment ceremonies. 'They either freeze you or overheat you. They do it so you can become aggressive. You get soft drink and junk food, and that's it,' she said. She added that some cast members, including Tony, were given preferential treatment, with her husband allegedly being allowed to return home to Wollongong every weekend. Morena insisted her frustration on-screen was a result of the conditions she endured. Morena insisted her frustration on-screen was a result of the conditions she endured. 'Every day, Tony told me he was repulsed by me. He didn't want to be there. He was only in the experiment for exposure,' she alleged 'Every day, Tony told me he was repulsed by me. He didn't want to be there. He was only in the experiment for exposure,' she alleged. 'I threw up every day. The stress was unbearable.' The reality star also revealed she had no regrets about leaving the show. 'They didn't show my story. I don't care that I was made the villain. But I refuse to be defeated,' she said. Dame Emma Thompson pulled out all the stops at the Carnival of Venice as she donned a dramatic period gown. The British actress and screenwriter, 65, turned heads in the Italian city for the festival - which is known for its elaborate masks, stunning costumes, and vibrant festivities. Emma stepped out with her husband Greg Wise, who also got into the spirit of the festival. The Love Actually star donned an elaborate red, white lace and gold corseted gown, complete with a matching handbag and a white cape. She sported a white Baroque wig and also wore a gold theatrical mask - which had cream and light pink feathers attached. Emma finished off her extravagant look with a pair of white lace gloves and gold platform heels, as well as a dainty red choker necklace. Dame Emma Thompson pulled out all the stops at the Carnival of Venice as she donned a dramatic period gown Emma stepped out with her husband Greg Wise, who also got into the spirit of the festival Her husband, actor and film producer Greg, 58, joined in on the fun as he sported a cream jacquard print Baroque Venetian coat. He paired the jacket with a black ruffled collar shirt and grey satin knee-length capris, as well as black tights and Baroque loafers. Greg also wore a white period wig to complete his ensemble, as well as a bejewelled hat. The pair were seen out walking the streets of Venice in their incredible costumes, as the sun shone down. They posed for snap on one of the city's iconic bridges, as well as stopping to take photos with fans. The Carnival of Venice runs every year in the lead-up to Lent, beginning every year two weeks before Ash Wednesday and finishing on Shrove Tuesday. According to the event's website the carnival first took place in the 11th century, when it lasted for two months of revelry, but fell into decline in the 18th century. It was revived in 1979 and mask-wearing revellers parading around Venice and enjoying live music are now a staple of the Venetian year. The British actress and screenwriter, 65, turned heads in the Italian city for the festival - which is known for its elaborate masks, stunning costumes, and vibrant festivities She sported a white baroque-style wig and also wore a gold theatrical mask - which had cream and light pink feathers attached The Love Actually star donned an elaborate red, white lace and gold corseted gown, complete with a matching handbag and a white cape Her husband, actor and film producer Greg, 58, joined in on the fun as he sported a cream jacquard print Baroque Venetian coat He paired the jacket with a black ruffled collar shirt and grey satin knee-length capris, as well as black tights and Baroque loafers Emma finished off her extravagant look with a pair of white lace gloves and gold platform heels They posed for snap on one of the city's iconic bridges, as well as stopping to take photos with fans Emma wore a dainty red choker necklace and was spotted smiling as she enjoyed the festival The pair were seen out walking the streets of Venice in their incredible costumes, as the sun shone down Emma's appearance come after she said she believes men have more chance of succeeding in the film industry because women are 'not allowed to fail.' The celebrated actress has enjoyed an illustrious career on stage and screen since rising to prominence in 1987 TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Fortunes Of War. But Emma believes there is a notable lack of support and exposure for women's voices within the film industry. 'It would be great if the film industry would allow women to fail - that would be great, and to try again,' she said. 'Men can fail time and again, yet they still get work, I just dont understand it. The Carnival of Venice runs every year in the lead-up to Lent, beginning every year two weeks before Ash Wednesday and finishing on Shrove Tuesday According to the event's website the carnival first took place in the 11th century, when it lasted for two months of revelry, but fell into decline in the 18th century It was revived in 1979 and mask-wearing revellers parading around Venice and enjoying live music are now a staple of the Venetian year Emma's appearance come after she said she believes men have more chance of succeeding in the film industry because women are 'not allowed to fail' The celebrated actress has enjoyed an illustrious career on stage and screen since rising to prominence in 1987 TV dramas Tutti Frutti and Fortunes Of War But Emma believes there is a notable lack of support and exposure for women's voices within the film industry 'Women fail once and then it's, "oh well you don't get to do this again". That would be good.' Emma was recently seen on the set of the upcoming Apple TV+ series Down Cemetery Road for the first time, as she transformed into private detective Zoe Boehm. The actress looked worlds away from her usual self while filming scenes for the latest drama, which was penned by Slow Horses writer Mick Herron. Her grey hair was styled into a spiky fashion as she sported some dramatic smoky eye makeup to embody the edgy character. Lily James cut a trendy figure in a leather trench coat as she attended the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week on Sunday. The actress, 35, looked incredible as she sported a floor length brown coat which she layered over a pair of black and white trousers. She added inches to her statuesque frame by slipping into a pair of towering metallic stilettos. To accessorise, Lily kept it simple with a black crossbody bag and styled her blonde tresses straight. Lily finished her ensemble with a pair of tinted oval sunglasses and a simple gold chain necklace. Keeping her outfit at the center of attention, Lily kept her outing relaxed and opted for a natural makeup look. Lily James cut a trendy figure in a leather trench coat as she attended the Giorgio Armani fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week on Sunday The actress, 35, looked incredible as she sported a floor length brown coat which she layered over a pair of black and white trousers Her stunning ensemble comes after she ensured all eyes were on her as she shared clips from her sun-soaked getaway on Instagram on Thursday. She showcased a series of stunning moments from her vacation, where she appeared to be fully embracing the laid-back beach lifestyle. In one captivating shot, Lily wowed in a selfie as she donned a skimpy black bikini that gave a glimpse of her incredible figure. She went makeup-free for her beach outing, letting her tousled waves flow freely as she swung on a beachside swing. Adding a touch of adventure to her trip, Lily was also seen catching waves in an impressive surfing clip. The shot captured her riding a board across the ocean in a tiny two-piece as she navigated the water. Away from the beach, Lily shared a fun snap of her in a bathroom towel as she brushed her teeth with a grasshopper on her mirror. She then shared an image of herself reclining in a green floral dress, wearing black sunglasses while lounging at beach club. She added inches to her statuesque frame and slipped into a pair of towering metallic pointed stilettos To accessorise, Lily kept it simple with a black crossbody bag and styled her blonde tresses straight Lily finished her ensemble with a pair of tinted oval sunglasses and a simple gold chain necklace Keeping her outfit at the center of attention, Lily kept her outing relaxed and opted for a natural makeup look Her stunning ensemble comes after she ensured all eyes were on her as she shared clips from her sun-soaked getaway on Instagram on Thursday She showcased a series of stunning moments from her vacation, where she appeared to be fully embracing the laid-back beach lifestyle The montage also featured her riding a quad bike along the beach, enjoying dinner with friends, and taking in breathtaking views and sunsets from her trip. It comes after Lily looked giddy as she hopped in the back of a taxi with Glen Powell after a pre-BAFTA party last week in London. The Mamma Mia actress and the actor, 36, both attended the Charles Finch & Chanel BAFTA Party at Loulous in Mayfair. Glen chivalrously gave Lily his grey suit jacket as she strolled to the waiting car with the garment over her shoulders. Georgia Harrison has opened up about how her new romance with City worker Jack Stacey has been helping her learn to trust again. The reality star famously dated Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear, but was left devastated after he secretly filmed them during an intimate moment and shared the video online. After being found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photos and films, Georgia's ex Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison in March 2023. He was released in January. Georgia, 30, has now told The Sun that the ordeal almost broke her - however meeting her boyfriend Jack, 32, last July has helped her begin the process of healing. 'I've never felt so safe,' she said, as she revealed that Jack has no connection to the showbiz world - nor any desire to. Georgia said that Jack has been a huge support to her through her activism after she became a political campaigner to fight revenge porn incidents. Georgia Harrison has opened up to The Sun about how her new romance with City worker Jack Stacey has been helping her learn to trust again The reality star famously dated Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear , but was left devastated after he secretly filmed them during an intimate moment and shared the video online (Bear seen at court in March 2024) 'He takes it all with a pinch of salt - he's not a bit interested in fame but he supports me, it doesn't scare him,' she said. 'Jack's been so supportive, he's so proud. He's told everyone about it. I've been through a lot but it all led me to meeting him. He's my biggest supporter. In January, Georgia revealed her hunky boyfriend on Instagram, sharing a gallery of loved-up snaps of the pair on holiday in Columbia. The reality TV star revealed in October that she had sparked up a relationship with someone who is not in the public eye. Previously Georgia, who found love again eight months after dating Anton Danyluk on Love Island All Stars, had kept her new man's identity covered as she posed for photos hiding his face. Now the Celebrity SAS winner looks happier than ever as she posed for cosy snaps with her new boyfriend Jack while on holiday as she gushed that she was happy her year ended with him. She wrote: 'Feliz ano nuevo 2024 has been a roller coaster but none of that matters because it ended here with you. ' 'Colombia is incredible couldn't recommend it more sending so much love to you all. Trust the process , it's coming'. Georgia, 30, has now told The Sun that the ordeal almost broke her - however meeting her boyfriend Jack, 32, last July has helped her begin the process of healing 'I've never felt so safe,' she said, as she revealed that Jack has no connection to the showbiz world - nor any desire to In January, Georgia revealed her hunky boyfriend on Instagram, sharing a gallery of loved-up snaps of the pair on holiday in Columbia Discussing her new man, she previously told The Sun that he is 'out of the public eye', explaining: 'It's really refreshing and he's very grounded.' 'It's not something I've been shouting from the rooftops yet but it's going really, really well, and I'm really enjoying my time with him.' Adding that she feels she can be 'completely and utterly myself' when she's around him, Georgia concluded: 'For the first time in a while, I've met someone that I do think is a really good person and I enjoy being around.' Georgia's last known relationship was a brief fling with Anton Danyluk, whom she met on Love Island: All Stars in January. They split in April. Prior to that, she admitted that she had also dated Jake McLean, who died in a car accident in 2022. Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison in March 2023 after secretly filming them having sex and posting it online (Stephen pictured last year) Georgia was recently crowned champion of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins alongside pro boxer Lani Daniels and revealed the gruelling experience helped her overcome trauma. Experts gushed the pair had 'outshone the men' as they were the last two standing following gruelling weeks of SAS winter warfare training. Georgia told The Mirror: '[The experience] made me a lot stronger and it was almost like an actual turning point in my life to really overcome all the trauma and challenge I've been through the year before'. She continued: 'I'm like 'Right this is my time to come back fighting, come back stringer and move into a whole new era of my life''. Pete Wicks reportedly left a BRITs afterparty early after attending the same bash as his ex Maura Higgins on Saturday night - just weeks on from their messy breakup. MailOnline revealed the I'm A Celeb and Strictly stars' romance was over on Valentine's Day, as Maura lashed out by claiming Pete was 'probably cheating' when asked where he was as she celebrated her single status at London hotspot Sheesh. The exes were both among those who attended the star-studded BRIT Awards at The O2 in London. Maura took to the red carpet in a completely sheer black gown, while Pete was joined by the Irish star's rival Olivia Attwood - after the pair announced a joint podcast. The close proximity continued later in the evening as they all headed to the same after party, Universal at 180 Strand, with Pete and Olivia arriving arm-in-arm. The Mirror report Maura partied until the end at the party while Pete was seen leaving early. Pete Wicks reportedly left a BRITs afterparty early after attending the same bash as his ex Maura Higgins on Saturday night - just weeks on from their messy breakup MailOnline revealed the I'm A Celeb and Strictly stars' romance was over on Valentine's Day, as Maura lashed out by claiming Pete was 'probably cheating' A source told the newspaper: 'Pete and Maura were both at the afterparty but were very separate. 'Pete was there fleetingly at the beginning, but Maura was there until the end at 2am-ish. 'She was partying with I'm A Celebrity pals Danny Jones and Oti Mabuse. She was having a good time with TikTok star Luke Hamnett.' The insider added that Pete stayed close to his pal Olivia Attwood while he was there. A representative for Pete has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. Maura was dealt a fresh blow as she was sat just metres away from her ex Pete at the ceremony. Pete made light of Maura's cheating comment as he spoke to MailOnline on the red carpet on Saturday. Speaking about his best friend Sam Thompson, Pete told MailOnline: 'It's hard for Sam tonight because I've got a new work wife. But, he's not far away, he's over there actually.' He added: 'It is a little bit weird because it feels like I am...' The exes were both among those who attended the star-studded BRIT Awards at The O2 in London and then the same Universal afterparty at 180 Strand A source said: 'Pete was there fleetingly at the beginning, but Maura was there until the end at 2am-ish' 'Cheating?' Olivia interrupted as they both broke out into fits of laughter, before she added: 'Not the first time, I might add.' 'Because... I have never done that,' Pete said. Pals of Pete previously told MailOnline he was never unfaithful to Maura during their romance and has been left hurt by her 'cheating' accusations. Maura arrived on the red carpet in a sheer floral gown that left her sensational figure on full display and boasted black pipe detailing to accentuate her curves. Opting to forgo a bra underneath the fitted number, Maura preserved her modesty with several strategically-placed intricate embroidered flowers. However, as the TV star posed up a storm on the red carpet, she made sure to flash a cheeky glimpse at her lacy black thong underneath. She gave herself several extra inches with a pair of black high heels and kept her accessories simple to allow her show-stopping outfit to have all the attention. TRESemme products were used to style her brunette hair in a dramatic up do, with several strands slicked to resemble a flower and completed the look with full face of glamorous makeup. MailOnline exposed the secret rift between Olivia and Maura last year. It came as Olivia accused 2019 Islander Maura, of using the 'same script' including her reasons for entering the ITV2 dating show 'revenge on an ex.' Maura ensured all eyes were on her on Saturday night as she donned one of her raciest looks yet to the BRIT Awards 2025 Pete looked typically dapper in a fitted black suit and a matching collared shirt, left half unbuttoned to show off his tattoos. Perhaps as a means of revenge, Pete arrived at the awards ceremony with pal Olivia as his date, who has long been rumoured to be feuding with Maura Her comments came as Maura starred on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, two years after Olivia had to suddenly leave the Australian jungle due to medical reasons. While in January, Olivia insisted to MailOnline: 'Without sounding arrogant, I don't feel like I'm in competition with anyone. 'I am relentlessly insane, no one can outwork me. They can try but they won't succeed.' The 2025 BRIT Awards ceremony was hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall, marking his fifth time at the helm of the event, after having previously presented the show in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Actor David Krumholtz had a very serious reaction to a very popular drug: marijuana. The Numb3rs star, 46, started using marijuana again after 'a long break' and soon became 'a daily smoker.' He then developed a rare condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). 'It's rare, [but] it's becoming more and more prevalent yearly like, numbers are doubling every year,' he shared with Page Six at a screening of Riff Raff. He said there are 'a lot of theories' as to what has caused a spike in CHS, which only affects 'daily long-term users of marijuana,' but he thinks cannabis companies are to blame. 'Essentially, they messed up weed,' Krumholtz said. 'They made it too strong, and they don't know why it's happening.' In the United States, cannabis is legal in 39 of 50 states for medical use and 24 states for recreational use. Actor David Krumholtz had a very serious reaction to a very popular drug: marijuana. Seen here in February Krumholtz won critical acclaim for his role in Oppenheimer The Oppenheimer actor said the brain has, 'cannabinoid receptors' and 'you can blow out the receptors, like blowing out an engine, making it that every time you smoke pot not every time, but if you smoke it enough you get wildly, dangerously nauseous.' CHS 'leads to repeated and severe bouts of vomiting, which 'only occurs in daily long-term users of marijuana,' according to Cedars-Sinai. Krumholtz said he experienced the side effect of 'hyper-nausea.' 'I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I almost died a couple of times,' he said, adding that he was 'serious.' 'I have unpaid emergency room bills up the wazoo. It's really bad, It's really dangerous. It's as serious as a heart attack. It's horrifying for those that suffer from it.' He said he thinks 'no one talks about' the dangers of weed 'because it's the friendly drug, it's the drug that doesn't kill you.' But, he very solemnly added, 'It's a very addictive drug and now that it's super strong, it's really addictive.' Ideally, Krumholtz would like the public to be more aware of the sometimes fatal CHS. The Numb3rs star, 46, started using marijuana again after 'a long break' and soon became 'a daily smoker.' Seen here in 2025 Krumholtz played mathematical genius and college professor Charlie Eppes for six seasons on Numb3rs Krumholtz also appeared alongside Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Leviitt in 10 Things I Hate About You Krumholtz no longer smokes pot as a result of his experiences with CHS. 'I would love to see every legal cannabis store be required to have a pamphlet,' he said. 'An optional pamphlet that says, "Hey, if you start feeling nauseous, stop because there is nothing that works except stopping."' Last fall, the 10 Things I Hate About You actor told The New York Times that he'd spend 10 hours a day in hot baths in an attempt to relieve the symptoms of CHS. 'I had numbness in my extremities, pain in my chest and my blood pressure skyrocketed,' he said. He believes weed would have eventually killed him if his dream role in Oppenheimer hadn't come along. The role in the Oscar winning film inspired him to quit smoking weed for good. Now Krumholtz is waiting for his next big role and is trying not to lose hope as 'no one' is 'banging on the door.' Seen on the poster for the film You Stupid Man 'The hardest part of being in the film that won everything and made $1 billion is that you go into this place of expectation,' he told The Hollywood Reporter. 'Its righteous expectation, but the problem is when it doesnt pan out or it isnt panning out, you start to really lose your shit and fall into resentment.' Krumholtz added: 'So I cant let that happen because, ultimately, it hurts me and it hurts my acting and it hurts my family. 'So I am trying to be as patient as possible, but theres no one banging at the door, currently. Bethenny Frankel looked absolutely radiant while enjoying some fun in the sun after an eventful few days in Miami, which included getting stood up for dinner. Despite getting left hanging by TikToker Alix Earle, earlier this week, the reality TV star, 54, appeared in high spirits as she enjoyed a drink under a red and white striped umbrella on the beach. The Real Housewives of New York City alum opted to showcase her toned physique in a sexy white one-piece, which she paired with a black belt from Moschino, a floppy hat and oversized sunglasses. She completed her effortlessly chic ensemble with a necklace, stud earrings, a stack of gold bangles and a colorful cover-up. Frankel has been documented her latest getaway on social media, including finally meeting Earle, 24, after the popular influencer was a no-show to their plans to dine together. On Saturday, the mother-of-one and Earle met up 'do-over' after the lifestyle personality accidentally stood up Frankel. Bethenny Frankel looked absolutely radiant while enjoying some time in the sun after an eventful few days in Miami, which included getting stood up for dinner To make up for her mistake, Earle gifted Frankel a large bouquet of white and red roses. Confirming there was no hard feeling between them, Frankel shared a video with Earle holding up the floral arrangement with the caption: 'Should we forgive her?' Earle and her boyfriend Braxton Berrios were suppose to join Frankel for dinner, but never showed up. Frankel proceeded to dine at Carbone Miami by herself, where she enjoyed some garlic bread, spicy rigatoni, a salad and spinach. After dinner, Frankel shared a video of herself in the car with the caption: 'POV: a 20 something year old influencer named Alix stood you up when you could have stayed home in pajamas.' Underneath the post, Earle jokingly commented: 'I always had a bad feeling about her.' Frankel replied to her comment with three red heart emojis. On Friday, Earle spoke about her challenging week in a TikTok video just days after her podcast, Hot Mess, was dropped by Alex Coopers network. Despite getting left hanging by TikToker Alix Earle, 24, earlier this week, the reality TV star, 54, appeared in high spirits as she enjoyed a drink under a red and white striped umbrella on the beach Frankel has been documented her latest getaway on social media, including finally meeting Earle, 24, after the popular influencer was a no-show to their plans to dine together 'This week has been like, meh,' she admitted. 'Obviously, there's been a lot of chatter online this week about me and work. And I also have no idea what's going on.' Earle also spoke about feeling 'feeling pretty sick' after returning from a trip to Aspen and being very 'in and out of it' over the past few days. The University of Miami grad rose to fame on social media by posting 'Get Ready With Me' videos on TikTok. She has since landed splashy brand deals with Tarte, Rare Beauty, GrubHub and more. On Saturday, the mother-of-one and Earle met up 'do-over' after the lifestyle personality accidentally stood up Frankel Confirming there was no hard feeling between them, Frankel shared a video with Earle holding up the floral arrangement with the caption: 'Should we forgive her?' In a separate video, she explained that she mixed up which day she was suppose to meet with Frankel and admitted that the error made her feel 'terrible.' 'Okay guys, I'm not going to ditch her tonight,' she joked, before explaining what happened. Earle said after accidentally confirming plans for Thursday, not Saturday, she received a text from Frankel saying where she was seated in the restaurant. 'I literally felt like my heart fell into my stomach she said upon getting the message. Immediately, she called Frankel and explained she messed up and thought the dinner was for Saturday. 'I text her a million times after, I'm feeling so anxious, I've never felt worse!' she told her followers. 'I felt so so bad.' Despite her fears, Earle said Frankel was very understanding and happy to meet up with her for dinner just a few days later. Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were all smiles as they arrived for a day of family fun at a paintball park called Combat Paintball Park in Castaic near Los Angeles on Sunday. Garner, 52, who displayed her intense fitness routine on social media recently, looked ready for action, wearing a dark gray sweatshirt and light blue wide leg jeans. The Alias star was seen carrying a face mask and paint ball weaponry as they entered the field of play. Her chestnut locks were pulled back in a high ponytail and she wore sunglasses atop her head and she appeared to be wearing minimal makeup for the adventure. Affleck, 52, looked ready for action in a sage green jacket and faded jeans. He also carried a face mask and what appeared to be a brown camo jacket in one arm with another green camo covering over his right shoulder. Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were all smiles as they arrived for a day of family fun at a paintball park in Los Angeles on Sunday. The pair appeared to be gearing up for a game with their child Fin, 16, and son Sam 13. They are also parents to Violet, 19, who is a student at Yale University. Although they separated in 2015 after 10 years of marriage and finalized their divorce 2018, Garner and Affleck have remained friends for the sake of their kids. Earlier in the day, the Oscar winner was seen picking up Garner and taking her to his house ahead of the family activities. Affleck is getting ready to debut his latest project in Austin, Texas at the end of the week. The Accountant 2, was scheduled to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival on Saturday, before opening in theaters in April. The actor and producer reprised his role as numbers savant and hitman Christian Wolff in this adventure, where he attempts to solve the murder of a US Treasury chief. The 2016 thriller, The Accountant, was an global hit, garnering more than $155 million worldwide. The title character is autistic and Affleck said for this latest venture, 'I felt even more prepared and educated, and I had a deeper affinity for the character, adding, 'I'm keenly aware of the fact that you kind of have to earn another movie.' The pair appeared to be gearing up for a game with their child Fin, 16, and son Sam 13. They are also parents to Violet, 19, who is a student at Yale University Affleck was seen arriving at his house earlier in the day with Garner ahead of the afternoon's activities. Although they separated in 2015 after 10 years of marriage and finalized their divorce 2018, Affleck and Garner have remained friends for the sake of their kids Meanwhile, Ben's ex Jennifer Lopez wore a gold gown to the CAA Pre-Oscar Party at The Living Room in LA on February 28 'The worst pitfall is to store a bunch of your good ideas for the next installment. If you don't create an interest demand the first time out there, you're just going to be playing that to an empty house.' Garner has been working on season two of the hit Apple TV+ mystery series The Last Thing He Told Me which has been in production since November 2024. In a statement released when the second season was confirmed, Garner said, 'I'm thrilled to get to tell more of Hannah's story I couldn't have said yes more quickly to Season 2!' Apple has not yet announced a release date for the new episodes. Meanwhile, Lopez is 'still in shock' over the death of Jesus Guerrero. The 55-year-old star has taken to Instagram to pay a heartfelt tribute to the hairstylist, who recently passed away aged 34. Alongside a black-and-white photograph of the celebrity hairstylist, Jennifer wrote: 'Jesus 'It's no surprise your mother gave you the name Jesus. You were gentle and kind and loving, quiet and unassuming, but so powerful, and your presence was felt the minute you walked into any room. You never demanded the spotlight. You never needed to make a sound to be recognized, your heart and your talent did that as effortlessly as you artistry did. I've been having trouble putting the words together the last few days. The truth is I'm still in shock that such a beautiful young life has come to an end. It seems senseless and unfair. 'I know your family is brokenhearted as am I and everyone else who knew you. Your spirit moved on to the next phase beyond this life but I know wherever you are there is beauty and light. And the beauty and light you left here will live on forever. Rest in peace, sweet angel [broken heart emoji] (sic)' Jesus worked with a host of big-name stars during his career, including Jennifer, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Charli XCX, Camila Cabello, and Dua Lipa. Scott Barnes, Jennifer's make-up artist, has also taken to social media to pay tribute to the celebrity hairstylist. Alongside a tribute video, Scott wrote Instagram: 'I can't believe I was just working with him in Dubai and now he's gone. Many prayers to his family during this time.' Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt is reportedly in advance talks with the BBC to replace Gregg Wallace as host of MasterChef. The chef, 51, is set to step into the role alongside remaining judge John Torode, 59, following Gregg's exit last year amid his 'sexual misconduct' probe. In January, food critic Grace Dent started filming Celebrity MasterChef alongside Torode, however The Sun reports that it remains to be seen if she will continue in the role. A source told the publication: 'Matt rose to the challenge of coming into Saturday Kitchen after it was previously hosted by another big name in the world of food, James Martin'. 'He managed the feat of making it his own and almost making viewers forget who his predecessor was now Beeb bosses, and the show producers Banijay, will be hoping he can work the same magic on MasterChef'. Before adding: 'Nothing is set in stone, of course, and the result of investigations into Greggs behaviour have yet to fully conclude. But since MasterChef is such a huge show with a massive following, the Beeb are keen to have everything lined up ready'. Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt is reportedly in advance talks with the BBC to replace Gregg Wallace as host of MasterChef The chef, 51, is set to step into the role alongside remaining judge John Torode , 59, following Gregg's exit last year amid his 'sexual misconduct' probe (Gregg Wallace pictured) MailOnline have contacted the BBC and Matt Tebbutt's reps for comment. Tebbutt has presented BBC's Saturday Kitchen since 2016 and has also appeared as a judge on Great British Menu and Channel 4's Drop Down Menu. It comes following reports that the show had been pit on ice amid allegations that Wallace had indulged in sexist banter and harassed contestants. He denies any wrongdoing. When the scandal broke in November, a series of amateur MasterChef was all but complete. Chef Anna Haugh stepped in for the last few filming days alongside Torode. That show has now been edited and is ready for broadcast on BBC One. It usually goes out between February and April, but has yet to be scheduled for release. Sources say the BBC feel they have no option but to wait for the outcome of an inquiry into what went on, which is being conducted by lawyers at the firm Lewis Silkin. They did not want to scrap the show, as it would have punished those who took part. It was not possible to edit out Wallace's contributions, as he tastes the dishes alongside Torode and also chats to contestants. In January, food critic Grace Dent started filming Celebrity MasterChef alongside Torode, however according to reports, it remains to be seen if she will continue in the role A source said: 'Matt rose to the challenge of coming into Saturday Kitchen after it was previously hosted by another big name in the world of food, James Martin '. 'He managed the feat of making it his own and almost making viewers forget who his predecessor was, now Beeb bosses will be hoping he can work his magic on MasterChef' Lawyers are still interviewing everyone from former contestants to the crew and of course Wallace himself. Word is that he has yet to give his account. Then they will report to production company Banijay and the Beeb, with the findings expected to be made public. The Corporation will then decide if it can be shown. A planned celebrity Christmas MasterChef was scrapped. It was announced the father-of-three would be stepping back from the BBC show amid an investigation into his conduct. It later emerged that 13 individuals, including Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark , had reportedly accused him of 'wrong' and 'sexualised' behaviour during filming across a range of shows over a 17-year period. Three days after the announcement, the presenter landed himself in more trouble when he declared that his accusers were 'middle-class women of a certain age' and claimed that 'absolutely none' of the staff on his other shows had complained about him. Afterwards, Wallace released a somewhat red-faced apology, stating: 'I wasn't in a good headspace when I posted it. I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion.' Wallace stepped back from MasterChef amid an investigation into his conduct over a period of 17 years At least 13 people have made formal complaints against Wallace, with others alleging inappropriate behaviour on social media Lawyers, meanwhile, said it was entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. The Mail understands that the 'review' into Wallace's behaviour on MasterChef is due to have been concluded by the end of February, but that he has yet to be interviewed by the external team in charge of it, who were commissioned by production company Banijay. A spokesman for Banijay said the investigation is still ongoing and there was no 'date for issue' at this stage. Sources told the Mail's Alison Boshoff that while he has been spending time with his family, he's also been focusing on his business Gregg Wallace Health. 'That's his main other thing outside of the TV presenting,' says one source. A TV source added: 'He's basically got to wait until this investigation is concluded, so there is not a lot he can do until that's done. So, he is in a bit of a hiatus at the moment and a bit of limbo. He is waiting to see. 'He's used to working. MasterChef is pretty much a year-round, full-time job. So, he is used to doing that. But he has just got to wait for this investigation to run its course. 'I think he has come to the realisation over time that it is serious stuff.' Zoe Kravitz and Noah Centineo are continuing to spark romance rumors after leaving a party together in West Hollywood. In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Big Little Lies star, 36, and actor, 28, best known for his starring role in To All the Boys I've Loved Before, were seen exiting the same small bar/club around 2:20 a.m. According to eyewitnesses, the rumored couple did leave in the same car. The pair's sighting comes on the same day her ex-fiance Channing Tatum, 44, went public with his new romance with Australian model Inka Williams at a pre-Oscars party in Los Angeles, hosted by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Kravitz and Centineo refrained from engaging in any PDA and it is unknown if their relationship is romantic or platonic, at this time. Earlier this month, Kravitz and Centineo were also seen hanging out in New York City. Zoe Kravitz and Noah Centineo fueled romance rumors after leaving a party together in West Hollywood, four months after her split from ex-fiance Channing Tatum In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Big Little Lies star, 36, and 28-year-old actor, 28, best known for his starring role in To All the Boys I've Loved Before, were seen exiting the same small bar/club around 2:20 a.m. Meanwhile, Tatum and his new girlfriend were first spotted at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel back in January. According to DeuxMoi, Channing's new flame is around '25 years old and about half his height.' The brunette beauty, who was born in Melbourne and raised in Bali, balances her successful modelling career with her fashion brand She Is I. Inka previously discussed growing up in Bali, telling by charlotte it made her a 'very compassionate person.' 'I feel so connected to the culture and energy of this island. Its so sacred and deep. I think thats reflected in my day-to-day life and way of living,' she said. Inka also explained how modelling from such a young age helped her 'build resilience and strength.' Kravitz and Tatum were romantically involved for three years and engaged for one, before they called off the wedding at the end of October. The split was a particular shock for the couple, as they had not only gotten engaged, but Channing had been spotted with fresh ink of Zoe's initials on the back of his hand in September. According to eyewitnesses, the rumored couple did leave in the same car The pair's sighting comes on the same day Tatum, 44, went public with his new romance with Australian model Inka Williams at a pre-Oscars party in Los Angeles, hosted by Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Kravitz and Centineo refrained from engaging in any PDA and it is unknown if their relationship is romantic or platonic, at this time The former couple were last pictured together on Channing's Instagram page in a post from September 3, which showed Zoe apparently snoozing on her then-fiance's shirtless chest as he snapped a selfie of the two. In his caption, the Deadpool & Wolverine actor serenaded his love as he promoted her thriller Blink Twice. 'This little sweet. She So tired bro. Every time I wondered if shed break. She just kept going and going and going,' he gushed. 'Always on the dig for truth. She pourd every single ounce of her into this film. Im so proud to stand ten toes down for her, this film and everyone in it. forever. Knowing what it took to make it. No one will ever know.' Kravitz and Tatum were romantically involved for three years and engaged for one, before they called off the wedding at the end of October; seen in August 2024 The split was a particular shock for the couple, as they had not only gotten engaged, but Channing had been spotted with fresh ink of Zoe's initials on the back of his hand in September; seen in August He concluded on a sweet note, adding, 'Thank you for finding me and seeing me. I got you forever. Me and you back to back against it all. Ill never blink. Lets go.' The former A-list couple's last in-person sighting appears to have been on October 6, when they were seen on a date night at a production of the play Picture Day at Coffey Street Studio in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood. The two were there in support of her Blink Twice actor Levon Hawke, who was making his directorial debut with the show. At the time, a source told People that the couple looked 'cozy and cute together' while hanging out with Levon and his sister, Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, before heading to a bar to party with the cast and crew. Ariana Grande wore quite the unusual dress to the Academy Awards on Sunday. The actress had on an pale pink strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline. The frock was different because as it came in at the waistline it came out in stiff scalloped edges over her hips. This portion of the dress appeared to defy gravity. The semi-sheer skirt portion in a sparkly champagne color fell down to the floor, hiding her shoes. An hour earlier on the carpet was Ariana's boyfriend and Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater. And just after her came Cynthia Erivo who was in all black as she flashed her long nails. It is a big night for the former child star as she is nominated for Best Support Actress for her role in Wicked. Grande will also be performing a song with Erivo. Scroll down for a list of nominees... Ariana Grande wore quite the unusual dress to the Academy Awards on Sunday. The actress had on an pale pink strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline The frock was different because as it came in at the waistline it came out in stiff scalloped edges over her hips. This portion of the dress appeared to defy gravity. The semi-sheer skirt portion in a sparkly champagne color fell down to the floor, hiding her shoes An hour earlier on the carpet was Ariana's boyfriend and Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater Oscars bosses have made a major break from tradition by scrapping live performances of Best Original Song nominees for the first time since the 1940s. The Academy Awards, set to take place on Sunday, will not feature the usual musical performances from artists nominated in the category meaning nominees such as Sir Elton John, 76, and Selena Gomez, 31, will not perform their tunes during the ceremony. In January, Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Janet Yang, 72, the Academy's president, confirmed the Best Original Song presentation would 'move away from live performances' and instead focus on the songwriters. Bill and Janet said in a statement: 'We will celebrate their artistry through personal reflections from the teams who bring these songs to life. 'All of this, and more, will uncover the stories and inspiration behind this year's nominees.' This is why fans love her; she took a selfie with the ladies She will sing at the show Here she did an interview on the carpet The moments are expected to include an opening performance by Wicked stars Grande, 30, and her 37-year-old co-star in the musical, Erivo And just after her came Cynthia Erivo who was in all black as she flashed her long nails Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and Grande as Glinda Upland They added this year's Oscars will still feature 'powerful musical moments that connect film's rich history to its bold and inspiring future'. The moments are expected to include an opening performance by Wicked stars Grande, 30, and her 37-year-old co-star in the musical, Erivo. Oscars' chiefs decision to ditch live performances of Best Original Song nominees has sparked frustration among fans, many of whom have taken to social media to express their disappointment. One asked on X: 'Why are we doing this?', while another on the platform said: 'Why does the Academy hate fun and happiness?' A third commented: 'It seems like all tradition and routine are being thrown to the wind.' Yet another critic chipped in: 'The last few years, some of the songs have been a major highlight of the night. Just make them fun.' Despite its beauty, Mauritius honours its painful history of slavery annually on Abolition Day As I dived into an ambitious itinerary on my fourth visit to Mauritius, checking into the breathtaking island's luxury hotels, savouring world-class gastronomy, and admiring its storied landscapes, beaches, lagoons and reefs, I also had a rare chance this time to reflect on the country's early beginnings, marked by suffering and social upheaval. In fact, it is impossible to understand Mauritian history, dominated by the Arabs, Dutch, English and French, without delving into its past of slavery. Located on the east coast of Africa, 702 miles east of Madagascar, the island traces its provenance to its discovery by Arabs and Malays in 1507. The Portuguese arrived in 1510, bestowing upon it the moniker 'CirnA'. By 1598, the Dutch wrested control of the island, renaming it 'Maurice' after their head of state, the Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau. Mauritius' magnetic draw among rapacious foreign invaders was hardly surprising, given its plentiful natural resources and breathtaking beauty. No wonder Mark Twain famously said that Mauritius was "created first and then Heaven copied after it!" However, slave trading marked its ugly presence on the island in the 1640s when the Dutch ushered in the first lot of slaves. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, some 27 million Africans were forced onto ships and transported across the Atlantic to work on lush Mauritian sugarcane fields. By the 17th century, the country was teeming with slaves from Madagascar, Africa, India and Java, who worked in Dickensian conditions, abused and exploited. However, after centuries of slavery and international resistance, in 1834, the British Empire proclaimed the abolition of the slave trade following the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. On 1st February 1835, Mauritius was declared free of slavery. Planters were compensated with two million pounds for their slave loss, and eventually, Mauritius gained independence in 1968. To commemorate the abolition of slavery, celebrated as 'Abolition Day', the island nation organises a series of activities each year. This year, which marked the 190th anniversary of the practice, was both a poignant and joyous occasion, as dignitaries acknowledged the island's fraught past and the sacrifices made by its people. At the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Le Morne Brabant, a towering mountain serving as a powerful symbol of the struggle against slavery and the enduring impact of this dark period on the island's societies, I watched a moving wreath-laying ceremony conducted by Mauritian Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, attended by international delegates, celebrities and global media. In his address, Dr Ramgoolam highlighted the significance of honouring the abolition of slavery, emphasising the need to remember history, promote social justice and strengthen national unity. "This commemoration is not just about remembering our history; it is a call to action to ensure that the values of freedom, dignity, solidarity and justice continue to guide our nation," he said. The island's legacy of slavery and its lasting impact, he added, remained one of the most painful chapters of history. At Aapravasi Ghat, another UNESCO Heritage Site and an immigration depot in Port Louis, where thousands of Indian slaves landed in the nineteenth century, another poignant celebration took place. A symbol of Indo-Mauritian ties, the depot includes a rice store, a military hospital complex, a civil hospital and a museum. It also records Mahatma Gandhi's work on the abolition of slavery and his visit to Mauritius in 1901 on his way back to India from South Africa. The ceremony at Aapravasi Ghat was marked by the presence of international dignitaries, top ministers, renowned human rights advocates, activists and international media. This offered me a deep dive into Mauritius' fraught past and what shapes it today. Next, I attended a thought-provoking conference, Routes of Enslaved Peoples: Resistance, Liberty and Heritage Project, which acknowledged the commemoration of 190 years of slavery in Mauritius. Premised on the theme Resistance, Liberty, Heritage in the Western Indian Ocean, it was held at the University of Mauritius in RAduit, the island's first university. International delegates and authors listened in rapt attention to Mauritian President Dharambeer Gohul, who shared that the occasion "marks a pivotal moment in our ongoing journey to understand, reconcile and learn from shared histories of slavery and its enduring legacy". At the Pamplemousses Slave Heritage Trail, another heritage site, descendants of indentured slaves gathered to pay tribute to their ancestors. Stephan Karghoo, Director at the Nelson Mandela Centre for African Culture in Mauritius, noted that Abolition Day celebrates the nation's ancestors in the most meaningful way. THE HEARTFELT HONOUR With several misty eyes among the assembled guests, the event also served as a catharsis for the descendants of slaves, whose ancestors played a pivotal role in Mauritius' nation-building. As I mingled with them, listening to their forefathers' tales of remarkable fortitude, I could not help but be moved by the fact that many of them today occupy positions of power as ministers and top bureaucrats, a development only an inclusive nation like Mauritius could have fostered. Populated by Indians, Creoles, Africans and Dutch, the country today resembles a colourful mosaic of nationalities, forming a progressive nation. The binary echo chambers of social media and the legacy press media circus all resonate with contradictory information that belies the dualistic nature of war. The most worrying part of the matter is that the leftists in Europe have latched on to their side, and the right in the USA have latched on to another side of the Ukraine conflict. Essentially, this means that identity politics is now splitting NATO, and the Western allies are in disarray between the woke leftists and the Americans on the right. Of course, there are subtle nuances to the various factions with many on the right in Europe falling in line with the left, but for a long time now, in Europe and the UK, the right has been indistinguishable from the left within socialism. This has not been the case in the USA, where there is a vast divide between the two factions. One essential point to make within this farcical merry-go-round is that wokism worked; it caused huge disunity and disarray within Western nations, and it demoralised large swathes of the populace to a point where the external enemies of old were not as potent as the internal enemies. Ideological subversion, the importation of woke Marxist theory, has been an incredible success in destroying and destabilising the alliance of the West, and the winners of this psychological and ideological propaganda indoctrination war are now chuckling into their supper with jubilation. To this end, if there is a hot war soon, the enemies of the West will have a serious advantage disunity. This is why they imported woke theory into the Western countries in the first place, why every part of the Wests education system, judiciary, state, military and media are now generationally indoctrinated, and irredeemably infected. This is why, in the UK woke judges will not allow the deportation of foreign rapists, killers, murderers and drug lords, this is why members of the Labour Party throw out portraits of Winston Churchill from Downing Street replacing with communists of the past. This is why now the globe is at a profound impasse, where a truly divided West has no direction and is playing into the hands of its enemies with internal division and self-hatred. Maybe the future really does not need us any more all of us. Taiwan is a small cookie crumb for China, the big piece of cake is Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. China is planning a special operation that would absorb Australia and the surrounding islands into its growing empire. Live fire drills by the Chinese communist navy in the Tasman Sea off the coast of Eastern Australia are a small indication of the aspirations of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). The distance to Australia from Chinese water is negligible, and to have three Chinese naval vessels called Task Group 107 including a Jiangkai-class frigate, a Renhai-class cruiser and a Fuchi-class replenishment vessel conducting exercises in Australian waters is a contentious and ominous augur. Chinese media has celebrated the move as a show of Chinas supreme power, boasting that Australia could be taken in less than two weeks. Once Australia is absorbed into Chinese control, New Zealand and Tasmania would also be integrated within a day or so as they are tiny islands, like Taiwan. China has proven how weak Australia is to a full invasion, especially as Canberra did not even realise until it was too late that the Chinese flotilla were in Australian territorial waters. The vast landmass of Australia is mostly uninhabited, which leaves it a sitting duck to an enemy landing party. The incursion into Eastern Australian waters is proof that China is planning something in the future. As of 2024, the PLAN is the second-largest navy in the world by total displacement tonnage at 2 million tons in 2024, behind only the United States Navy (USN) and the largest navy globally by number of active sea-going ships (excluding coastal missile boats, gunboats and minesweepers) with over 370 surface ships and submarines in service, compared to approximately 292 ships and submarines in the USN. LINK An International Womens Day exhibition entitled Fragments of Palestine is being hosted by Derrys Eden Place Arts Centre, housed in Pilots Row community centre in Derrys Bogside. Speaking to The Derry News, Judi Logue, the Centres co-ordinator described Fragments of Palestine as a multi-media exhibition by artists from across the island of Ireland. It was created in response to The Beautiful Resistance Tour 2024' - a philosophy promoting life and inspiring hope as well as offering possibilities through performing and visual arts, culture and education, she added. In May last year we had the privilege of hosting the Derry leg of the Beautiful Resistance Tour. Hearing the philosophy of this powerful movement of change and how the arts have enriched the lives of so many who participate in the Alrowwad Arts and Cultural Centre in the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, a number of artists got together with us and came up with the idea of having a group exhibition for International Womens Day 2025. Portrait of Bisan by Devin Kane. This exhibition will also include a number of postcards which will be sent to the Alrowwad Centre in Bethlehem with love from our Arts Centre here in Derry. The launch of Fragments of Palestine will take place on Monday, March 3, 2025, at 7.00pm, in Eden Place Arts Centre; the exhibition will continue until March 28. Viewing times are from Monday to Thursday, from 10.00am to 8.00pm. For more information contact: info@edenplaceartscentre.com. Destined the learning disability support organisation based in Derry are the new owners of Framed to Perfection, the picture framing business that was established by Paul McGilloway who recently retired. Destined has re-located the business to its North West Learning Disability Centre at 1, Foyle Road and intends to operate the business as a social enterprise that will re-invest all profits to provide services for people with learning disabilities. Paul has provided training to Destined staff over the last months as part of the handover of the business and Destined is fortunate that some of his staff transferred with the business as well. The business will be formally launched by the Mayor Councillor Lilian Seenoi Barr on Tuesday, March 4 at 1.00pm in Destineds premises in an event that will include speakers including Amanda Johnston, Social Enterprise NI, Brian ONeill, Enterprise NW and Paul McGilloway. Charlene Keenan, Destined General Manager speaking before the launch said: This is a very important initiative for Destined as it will allow us to provide training and employment opportunities for our members in a supportive environment and in these times of austerity for community and voluntary organisations it will provide a welcome revenue stream to support our activities. Commenting on the impact of the new social enterprise, Brian O'Neill, Director of Development and Enterprise at Enterprise North West, said: "We are delighted to congratulate Destined on the launch of their new social enterprise. Having worked closely with them over the years, we have seen first-hand their commitment to making a real difference in the community. This new initiative is a testament to their hard work, innovation and commitment to creating lasting impact. We wish them every success in this exciting new chapter." Paul McGilloway, who will be one of the speakers at the launch, said: Its been a privilege to serve the people of Derry and the North West area for 40+ years of providing picture framing to the most loyal of customers. Hoping now you can still support the people at Destined as they carry the mantle in the picture framing for all. Amanda Johnston (Head of Business Development) Social Enterprise NI welcomed this fantastic news by Destined. She said: It is brilliant to see that the diversification of their business is by taking over/purchasing another established business, which has a defined market and customer base. Rather than starting something from scratch, that isnt a tried and tested business model. This sends out great messages to other sectors showing how striving the social enterprise sector is. The Mayor of Derry, Cllr Lilian Seenoi Barr offered her congratulations to everyone at Destined on their acquisition of Framed to Perfection. She said: The move means the public in the North West can continue to avail of the beautiful handmade gifts and framing service they provide following the recent retirement of Paul McGilloway. It will also allow members of Destined to be part of this thriving and popular local business and will create a much-needed revenue stream to allow them to continue the key work they do in empowering people with learning difficulties and promoting social inclusion. Good luck to everyone at Destined in their new venture and to Paul in his deserved retirement. A man is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after he was stabbed in Belfast. An 18-year-old man has been arrested over the incident, which occurred on Saturday evening. A PSNI spokesperson said: At around 7.35pm, it was reported that a man in his 50s was assaulted at the corner of Agincourt Avenue and Ormeau Road by another male. It was reported the male was stabbed once in the shoulder and was taken to hospital for his injuries. His condition is described as serious but stable at this time. An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. He remains in police custody at this time. Inquiries are continuing and police would appeal to anyone with any information in relation to the assault to contact them on 101, quoting reference number 1406 of March 2. Tonys Pizzeria in Park Street Dundalk has won the title of Pizza of The Year for the second year in a row and Takeaway Team Of The Year at the Irish Takeaway Awards 2025. The award ceremony, organised by NI Media, took place on Monday. Vincent Del Duca along with his family and staff celebrated their achievement as a team with representatives from other takeaways across the whole of Ireland. Taking to Facebook the local takeaway expressed their delight: This recognition is another proud moment for us that keeps our hard working team striving to be better each year. Thank you to our wonderful customers, the other half of our team that kept the shop open while we celebrated the awards, everyone that supports us and those who voted for our small family business, it really means a lot. Read Next: Dundalks water woes solved? Uisce Eireann's new filter trial significantly reduces discolouration Tonys Pizzeria is a family-owned local takeaway in Dundalk that has been providing the town with delicious food and wonderful customer service for the past 13 years. You can find out more about Tonys Pizzeria on their website www.tonyspizza.ie or on their social media pages. Louth Fianna Fail Senator Alison Comyn has called for urgent consideration of a second railway station in Drogheda to accommodate the towns rapidly growing population and alleviate mounting commuter congestion. Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Comyn requested a debate on the matter with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and urged that plans for a north-side station be revisited. Drogheda currently relies on a single railway station located on its south side, which she said is struggling to meet demand. According to Senator Comyn: If you are not there by 6.45 a.m., there is not a hope of any parking, she stated, highlighting the increasing difficulties faced by daily commuters. With approximately 7,500 new houses planned for the north side of Drogheda, pressure on public transport infrastructure is set to escalate further. The senator highlighted that the idea of a north-side train station was originally included in a local area plan but was later removed. She is now calling for its reinstatement and a fresh examination of its feasibility. Senator Comyn suggested that the most suitable site for the proposed station would be along the planned third phase of the Port Access Northern Cross Route (PANCR), commonly known as the PANCR road. With the second phase of this road project now underway and nearing construction readiness, she argued that the third phase presents an ideal opportunity to incorporate a rail tunnel and station infrastructure. Read Next: Over 2 million paid out in vacant property grants for refurbishments in Louth She further argued that a northern rail station there could act as an entire transport hub for that part of the county. I could envisage traffic coming from Slane, Castlebellingham, Dunleer and from all that part of the county to park and ride there and get the train across to the other side, she said. We are told it is coming down the track pardon the pun that we will be in the Fairer Fares Scheme. That has been long delayed. It is about time Drogheda was seen as a proper commuter hub for the north east. In response, Leader of the Seanad, Fine Gaels Sean Kyne said: Senator Comyn spoke about a second railway station for Drogheda. Again, she might make that case tomorrow during the Private Members' business motion put forward by her party. If not, she might consider raising it on the Commencement debate. Drogheda is one of Ireland's largest towns and many people have advocated for it to have city status. I am sure the Senator will continue that fight, as well as for its inclusion under the fairer fares scheme, in the House. Funding has been awarded to two projects in Louth by Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), the body working on behalf of Irelands 31 local authorities to protect and restore good water quality, it was announced today. In Louth the following projects were awarded funding: Carlingford Tidy Towns- Carlingford River Basin 010 Hydrological Assessment (40,701.28). Blackrock Tidy Towns- Restoration and rehabilitation of Hamilton Marsh, Blackrock, Co. Louth (10,580). Overall, 1,047,265.26 has been awarded across 54 projects in 24 counties under the Community Water Development Fund Open Call 2025. Under the fund local communities and groups were invited to apply for financial assistance to support the delivery of projects and initiatives to enhance local water bodies and benefit water quality and biodiversity. Since 2018, on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, LAWPRO has made over 3.7m available through this funding scheme to communities, assisting in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive through Irelands Water Action Plan. The funding provided annually has also increased significantly during this period, from 185,800 in 2018 to over 1 million in 2025. Types of projects approved for funding under this years open call include: River conservation, restoration and rehabilitation initiatives. Nature-based solutions projects. Preparation of reports: feasibility studies, habitat management plans, ecological surveys, and hydromorphology studies. Minister of State with responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher OSullivan TD welcomed this announcement: This funding, of over 1 million, is an investment in the protection and restoration of good water quality nationwide. The Community Water Development Fund provides vital support to the tremendous efforts of local communities and voluntary groups around the country who work hard to raise awareness of their local rivers, lakes, streams and biodiversity. Each and every project supported plays a part in achieving our collective goal to improve water quality under the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Commenting on the 2025 fund, Director of Services for LAWPRO, Anthony Coleman said: Im delighted to announce over 1m in grants under the Community Water Development Fund 2025, our largest fund to date supporting local community driven projects in Louth and nationwide that will go towards improving water bodies. "LAWPRO was set up to coordinate and support efforts to achieve good water quality and these types of projects are at the heart of what we do. Community engagement is fundamental in dealing with local issues and the fund empowers groups to take action to benefit their local water bodies and the surrounding environment. Providing financial support to community groups to develop and grow is an important step in achieving water quality. As well as the Community Water Development Fund, LAWPRO also supports community groups and organisations through its Catchment Support Fund and Small Grants and Events Scheme. Launched in 2024, the Catchment Support Fund awarded 500,000 last year towards the core running costs of non-governmental organisations working in the area of water quality. Whereas the Small Grants and Events Scheme allows community groups to apply for funding to cover small scale initiatives and events related to water quality. Full details of grants awarded and for more information on the work of LAWPRO visit: www.lawaters.ie Want to be part of the biggest celebration of the year? Louth Volunteer Centre is calling on enthusiastic volunteers to help make this St Patricks Festival a fantastic experience for everyone. Been toying with the idea of volunteering for a while, perhaps an unfulfilled new years resolution? Heres your perfect chance! One of the best days of the year to volunteer, St. Patricks Day is a time for ceol, craic, parades, music, dancing, and plenty of laughter. Whether youre a seasoned volunteer or trying it for the first time, this is the perfect chance to dip your toe into volunteering on this special day. Previous years volunteers loved being part of the St. Patricks Day celebrations, with the amazing energy on the day and seeing so many people come togetherwhether locals or visitors. The best part can be seeing children's faces light up as the floats passed by. Its a reminder why volunteering can be so rewardingyou get to make a difference while having fun. Volunteering for St. Patricks Day is a great way to: Get involved in your local community Meet new people and make new friends Have fun while making a difference Experience the festival from a whole new perspective Celebrate the best of where we live and the best aspects of Ireland Kayleigh Mulligan, Louth Volunteer Centre Manager, shared her thoughts on the event: "St. Patricks Day volunteering is a fantastic way to experience the festivals inclusive and fun atmosphere. Its a brilliant opportunity to connect with others, celebrate together, and contribute to the community in a meaningful way." Louth Volunteer Centre welcomes all volunteers, including its established Community Volunteers and especially anyone new interested in joining this flexible and rewarding programme. Louth Community Volunteers is designed to support one-off events, festivals, and community needs. Its perfect for those who want to give back without the pressure of a regular commitment. Louth Volunteer Centre sends updates by text about events in your area, and you can choose when and where to get involved. To find out more call or drop into the Louth Volunteer Centre offices: Dundalk Office - 042 9392934; Ardee - Ardee Library - 086 022 6577; Drogheda Office - Bolton Street 041 9809008. Celebrate St. Patricks Day together sign up today and be part of something special! The final episode of an Irish true crime documentary series, airing next week, will feature the murder of Cork woman, Olivia Dunlea. The series, entitled Maru Inar Measc, is a three-part documentary by Midas Productions for TG4, which shines a light on the impact that fatal crimes have on society, local communities and on the victims families. Midas Productions and TG4 have also produced a podcast of the same name, which runs alongside the TV edition and explores the societal impact of each case. Episode three of the television series will look at the murder of Ms Dunlea, a 36-year-old mother of three, who was murdered in Passage West on February 17, 2013, by her boyfriend of just eight weeks, Darren Murphy. Playschool teacher Ms Dunlea was a playschool teacher and local volunteer, who originally hailed from Ballintemple. She was the eldest of three daughters and had a very close relationship with her sisters, so much so that her sister Anne had moved to the same estate in Passage West prior to her death. The day before her death, Ms Dunlea collected Anne from the hospital, who had just given birth to a new baby, and brought her home. She was due to go out that evening with Mr Murphy to the Rochestown Inn, telling Anne that she would be back the following morning to help with her newborn. That night, Mr Murphy and Ms Dunlea spent the evening as arranged at the Rochestown Inn, before taking a taxi back to her house at around 1am. Fire Not long after this, neighbours reported a fire at Ms Dunleas address, which was later found to have been set by Mr Murphy, who had lit two separate fires within her home, both in her bedroom and kitchen. Inside the home, Ms Dunlea was found dead in her bed, having been stabbed by Mr Murphy six times. Throughout their short relationship, Mr Murphy had displayed obsessive traits, and was at times reported to have been seen sitting in his car outside her house in the middle of the night. This documentary explores the dangers of stalking and the rising numbers of femicide cases in Ireland, and how murder cases like this are dealt with in the judicial system. Although Mr Murphy presented a different version of events to investigating gardai, CCTV footage soon showed his story had holes, leading to his subsequent arrest. Justice Despite this, the case was not clear-cut, with Ms Dunleas family waiting seven years to get justice for her murder. Murphys defence team leaned on the defence of provocation to seek the lesser sentencing of manslaughter, claiming Ms Dunlea had provoked him into killing her. Following three trials and two appeal hearings, Mr Murphy was sentenced to life imprisonment for the second time in this case. Now, 12 years later, Mr Murphy is entitled to apply for parole. The episode, airing on TG4 on March 5 from 9.30pm, will feature interviews with Ms Dunleas family, including her daughter, Megan, who will be speaking about her mothers death for the first time. A Cork TD has welcomed the news that 8m has been awarded in grants for the refurbishment of vacant properties across the county. The vacant property refurbishment grant was introduced to help bring derelict buildings back to life as affordable homes. Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central Colm Burke said it is vital that we get the best use of existing housing stock. He said: Thats why the Government introduced funding to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use and make these an affordable option for those seeking to buy their own home. He added that the vacant property refurbishment grant has proven very successful since its launch, with more than 11,300 applications received and over 7,700 approved as at the end of December 2024. Applications Some 400 applications are being received monthly, with nationwide interest in the grant and applications being registered across all local authorities. Mr Burke explained: By repurposing the buildings that we already have, we are boosting available accommodation whilst also rejuvenating the towns and urban centres we know and love. In Cork, 8m in grants have been drawn down, which is a considerable increase since the scheme was established, and I am expecting there to be a continued increase in the number of grants paid in 2025. Fine Gael are committed to helping more people in Cork own their own home and increasing supply is key to achieving that. This grant helps bring buildings back into use and breathes new life into our communities. A Cork TD has said it is deeply concerning that the HSE are telling public representatives that they cannot answer parliamentary questions due to a shortage of administrative staff as a result of the Pay and Numbers strategy. Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould contacted the HSE with six questions about the National Ambulance Service after a person working there got in touch. Half of the questions were answered, and showed that nine staff left the ambulance service in 2024 for reasons other than promotion, transfer, or retirement due to age or illness; services are responding to 17% more calls than two years ago, but have not seen a staff increase to match; and staff must use their own phone while working, with no reimbursement for credit. However, half of the questions were not answered, with the same response given by the HSE to each: In relation to the specific information you have requested, there is no service plan or operational reason for the creation of such reports. In the context of the impact of the recruitment pause in 2023 and the employment ceiling arising from the HSE Pay and Numbers Strategy 2024, there are no clerical administrative staff available to undertake this work. Unanswered The unanswered questions included how many shifts longer than 12 hours were undertaken by paramedics in the National Ambulance Service in each of the past six months, and exactly how many staff have been working in the service and how many calls have been responded to each year for the last 10 years in Cork. Unions representing health-sector staff have been calling the Pay and Numbers strategy a recruitment embargo by another name since it was implemented in July of last year. However, the HSE previously told The Echo that the strategy was welcomed and a positive step. Mr Gould told The Echo: I submitted these questions because a member of the ambulance service contacted me. That the HSE are now telling me they cant answer them because of the recruitment embargo is ridiculous. Accountability and transparency must be at the core of the work of public bodies. This is never more important than in our health service. If the public do not know what is happening in the health service, they cannot trust it. That is the reality. This is an important cornerstone not just of our democracy, but of our public services. A Leaving Cert students sexual assault approximately 10 years ago, which she called a slow-motion horror, resulted in the assailant getting a suspended jail sentence following a one-week remand in custody. Prosecution barrister Imelda Kelly said the injured party did not want to be identified, but had no issue with the identification of Ruairi Kennedy, aged 28, formerly of Glanmire, County Cork, who has been working overseas for several years. He pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to the sexual assault. Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of two and a half years, backdated to when Kennedy went into custody on February 19, but the balance of which has now been suspended. Judge Boyle accepted that this was a sexual assault carried out by an 18-year-old on another 18-year-old and that he immediately expressed remorse for his actions. The injured party said: The night you attacked me shattered my life in ways I could never have imagined. After what you did to me, everything I had worked for, every dream, every goal was destroyed. Retelling my trauma became its own form of torment, a never-ending cycle of pain that left me gasping for relief, but none came. I felt like I was living in a nightmare that wouldnt end, a slow-motion horror I couldnt escape. You were someone I trusted You abused that trust. Testified Detective Garda Craig Peterson testified that the victim woke to find the defendant with his hand inside her clothes, near her vagina but not inside, and she brushed his hand away, fell back to sleep, and the next morning she told her mother, brother and a friend what happened. Alice Fawsitt, senior counsel, submitted that: They had both been at an 18th birthday party. They had a lot to drink. There was weed consumed and four of them went back to her house. He is now married, living and working outside of Ireland now. He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault. There was phone communication between the defendant and her [the injured partys] brother, in which he apologised for what he had done. And he apologised to her by Facebook message to her brother. In a letter, the defendant said: I realised how serious this was the next morning. I felt disgusted. I felt too ashamed to look at her in the eye. I was drunk, but that is no excuse. I felt scared of myself to think of what I could do. I am not asking for forgiveness. I just want my apology to be heard. Cork TD and Sinn Fein defence spokesperson Donnchadh O Laoghaire has said the Tanaiste and minister for defence Simon Harris needs to make sure that Ireland has a modern Defence Forces that is fit for purpose. Last week, Tanaiste Simon Harris outlined that Irelands military spending should reach the highest possible level of around 3bn annually in the coming years. Speaking in the Dail, Mr O Laoghaire raised the issue of the crisis in the Defence Forces, due to what he said was Government underfunding. The truth on the ground, though, is that our Defence forces is in a precarious position, because of Government underfunding. We currently have less than 8,000 in the permanent Defence Forces, well below establishment, not to mind the 11,000 recommended under stage two of the commission on the future of defence forces. Morale is appallingly low... in recent weeks, we have heard a lot of big speeches and announcements, lofty promises and big commitments. Attention Mr O Laoghaire added: I welcome that the Defence Forces are finally getting some attention. I live in a city with a large amount of Defence Forces personnel, between Collins Barracks and Haulbowline, and in talking to them, they have heard this all before. They have heard big talk and small follow through. The reality is big speeches wont put boots inside the barracks door, only proper resourcing and resolving the terms and conditions and income of Defence Forces personnel will do that. The men and women of the Defence Forces deserve better than what they have seen from the last government. Our Defence Forces are effectively at rock bottom in terms of morale, and seriously struggling in terms of recruitment and retention. Mr O Laoghaire also raised with the Tanaiste the issue of health and safety measures in the Air Corps and the multiple reported cases of long-term medical conditions, that former Air Corps personnel believe are connected to exposure to hazardous chemicals. The Cork apprenticeship community gathered in Cork College of FET Bishopstown campus recently to celebrate the Generation Apprenticeship talent in Cork. Nominees and award winners from recent national apprenticeship competitions were invited to the campus, along with their employers, to celebrate their achievements. Cork apprentices had been nominated for the Apprentice of the Year competition, which ran in November and across a range of categories, including hairdressing, electrical, property services and manufacturing engineering. It was a special night for the McGivern family. Brother and sister Dale and Claire McGivern were both nominated for Apprentice of the Year. Dale has just completed his electrical instrumentation apprenticeship, while Claire is in the final year of her auctioneering and property services apprenticeship. Also celebrating were Cork companies that were nominated for being a workplace champion. This award recognises supports given to apprentices by their employers during their off-the-job training. Lorraine Powell, Stryker, who wjo a Workplace Champion award, and Valerie Cowman, manager, Cork College of FET Bishopstown campus, at the Cork College of FET Bishopstown campus for a celebration of Generation Apprenticeship talent in Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan. Special celebrations were in order for Stryker, who won two Workplace Champion Awards: for Lorraine Powell, who won the Equality and Diversity Workplace Champion accolade, and for Mick Dreelan, who won an Enabler/Supporter Workplace Champion Award. Speaking on the night, Valerie Cowman, campus manager Cork College of FET Bishopstown, said: Apprenticeship is a fantastic way to earn as you learn and develop your skills in your chosen field. All of you here today have shown excellence in your chosen apprenticeship. To be nominated for these awards is an honour in itself and shows your skill in your chosen craft as well as leadership, creativity and problem-solving skills. You are ambassadors for yourself, your employer and Generation Apprenticeship and show the very best of the education and training system. A gulf has emerged between Europe and the US over Ukraine, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris said he will be bringing a proposal for a package of 100 million in financial assistance for non-lethal military support for Ukraine to cabinet this week. During an appearance on RTEs This Week programme, Mr Harris said Ireland and Europe will continue to stand with Ukraine following a public Oval Office row between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Unsettled Mr Harris said he had a deep sense of being unsettled when he saw the exchange. He said: There is only one aggressor here and the aggressors name is Putin. There arent two equal people and I dont like any attempt to portray what is happening to Ukraine as some sort of squabble between neighbours. There is a country that was living peacefully in Europe that has been brutally and illegally invaded by Russia. Ireland will stand with Ukraine, so will Europe, and this week at cabinet I will bring specific proposals to provide more financial assistance from Ireland to Ukraine in a practical way. It is fair to say a gulf has emerged between the United States and European Union in terms of this issue. That wasnt just seen in the Oval Office last week, though that was a very tangible way of seeing it, it was also seen at the UN General Assembly where the United States of America voted with Belarus, Russia and North Korea and not with their European allies. I think that does give you a sign of the gulf in terms of approach that has developed. But what is within the control of the European Union and Ireland is providing practical assistance to Ukraine. What we are seeing in our nearest neighbour the United Kingdom today is a practical way of bringing together nations who share a view. British prime minister Keir Starmer is hosting a number of European leaders in London on Sunday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Cabinet Ms Harris said his plan for additional non-lethal military support will be brought to cabinet on Tuesday. He said: That will basically involve providing money that will be used to purchase things like armoured vehicles, that can assist in demining and cyber protection measures, non-lethal use of military equipment. Separate but linked to that will be the European Council meeting later in the week where the European Union will decide a package of support that it wishes to put in place, and Ireland will obviously have to contribute to that as well." Sovereign country Whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, in terms of the defence of a sovereign country, the largest country on the continent of Europe. This is a time to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN charter, stand up for freedom, stand up for a countrys sovereignty. Mr Harris was asked if he would support Mr Trump being officially invited to Ireland. He said: Presidents of the United States, and indeed leaders from around the world, are always welcome in Ireland. We always take the approach you are better to engage with people where you have points of difference rather than take yourself off the pitch. Details of a new proposal for a reduced wind farm on a site overlooking Gougane Barra, one of Corks most visited tourism destinations, have been revealed at an information evening in the nearby Gaeltacht village of Beal Athan Ghaorthaidh. The wind farm, comprising three 169m high turbines, is proposed to be located on a site at Curraglass by Wingleaf Ltd, a company whose directors are Michael and David Murnane. The company had previously attempted to get planning permision on the same site for a windfarm of seven turbines measuring 178.5m from base to the highest point, but this was refused by Cork County Council before being successfully appealed to An Bord Pleanala. Review A local community organisation, Coiste Forbartha Bheal Athan Ghaorthaidh, successfully sought a judicial review on the grounds of visual amenity concerns given the sites attraction for visitors. The application went back to ABP and was eventually refused on these grounds in May, 2024. Our consultants are working on preparing a planning application, said James Crowley, the projects community liaison officer in advance of the community information meeting this week. Details about the project were uploaded to the website, www.curraglassinfo.com, on the same day with the aim of informing the local community about the proposal. As well as the reduced number of turbines, down from seven to three, and their reduced height, from 178.5m to 169m, The website also contains information about a proposed community benefit fund which mentions the figure of 88,000 per year for 15 years to be shared with local groups based on the projected power output of the site. It also suggests that households within a kilometre of the windfarm would receive 1,000 per year. Stipulation Mr Crowley said payment was a stiplulation of the Renewable Energy Support Scheme, and acknowledged that in the event the scheme went ahead, the question of how the fund was split would be determined by a local committee including community representatives. As there are no houses within 1km of the site, that committee could determine that the limit be extended or the money could go into a fund for local groups or for the development of energy efficiency projects locally, he said. Niall O Luasa, the owner of Ostan Guagan Barra and spokesman for the campaign to oppose the previous proposal, spoke to The Echo about the proposed development and its impact on the community. Theres a feeling of general disappointment for the community, having to start again, here we go again, will this continue for the next generation, will we have to keep doing this? A planning application has yet to be submitted for this proposal and its not clear yet whether there will be a campaign to oppose it similar to that which was mounted for the previous proposal for seven wind turbines. A young man who carried out a brutal beating of another man in an unprovoked attack in Ballincollig was given a three-year suspended sentence after a week remanded in custody pending sentence. This was a very nasty assault where the injured party was scared for his wellbeing, said Judge Sinead Behan. He did not taunt these men or doing anything to upset them. Judge Behan imposed the suspended sentence on 21-year-old Lee Kelly Obei, of Innishmore Grove, Ballincollig, Co Cork, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. The judge noted that he paid 10,000 compensation, came from a decent background, and that this was out of character for him. The defendant said he felt deeply ashamed, had no excuse for how he had let himself and his family down, and wants to build a future he can be proud of. This was a very serious case, Judge Behan said. He was subjected to a brutal beating. These matters weigh heavily. It was an early plea. He paid a sum of 10,000. While it is not possible to buy ones way out, it is indicative of remorse and it came from his limited resources. He is a young man on the cusp of going one way or another. In the circumstances, I will impose a three-years suspended sentence. Pleaded guilty Lee Kelly Obei pleaded guilty to committing a violent disorder with other persons at Oriel House Hotel, Ballincollig, Co Cork, on March 12, 2023, and a second charge of assault causing harm to the injured party, who was aged around 20. Detective Garda Alan Johnson testified that the injured party was effectively blindsided by a punch from Lee Kelly Obei on the night. The victim did not have an opportunity to defend himself from the blow and he was then dragged outside the premises by the defendant and others. Judge Behan was informed through a victim impact statement that the injured party suffered physical and psychological injuries as a result of the assault. A second man previously got a suspended sentence on the single charge of engaging in a violent disorder on the night. By Jonathan McCambridge, PA A gulf has emerged between Europe and the US over Ukraine, Tanaiste Simon Harris has said. Mr Harris said he will be bringing a proposal for a package of 100 million in financial assistance for non-lethal military support for Ukraine to Cabinet this week. During an appearance on RTEs This Week programme, Mr Harris said Ireland and Europe will continue to stand with Ukraine following a public Oval Office row between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Mr Harris said he had a deep sense of being unsettled when he saw the exchange. He said: There is only one aggressor here and the aggressors name is Putin. There arent two equal people and I dont like any attempt to portray what is happening to Ukraine as some sort of squabble between neighbours. There is a country that was living peacefully in Europe that has been brutally and illegally invaded by Russia. Ireland will stand with Ukraine, so will Europe, and this week at Cabinet I will bring specific proposals to provide more financial assistance from Ireland to Ukraine in a practical way. It is fair to say a gulf has emerged between the United States and European Union in terms of this issue. That wasnt just seen in the Oval Office last week, though that was a very tangible way of seeing it, it was also seen at the UN General Assembly where the United States of America voted with Belarus, Russia and North Korea and not with their European allies. I think that does give you a sign of the gulf in terms of approach that has developed. But what is within the control of the European Union and Ireland is providing practical assistance to Ukraine. What we are seeing in our nearest neighbour the United Kingdom today is a practical way of bringing together nations who share a view. British prime minister Keir Starmer is hosting a number of European leaders in London on Sunday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Ms Harris said his plan for additional non-lethal military support will be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday. He said: That will basically involve providing money that will be used to purchase things like armoured vehicles, that can assist in demining and cyber protection measures, non-lethal use of military equipment. Separate but linked to that will be the European Council meeting later in the week where the European Union will decide a package of support that it wishes to put in place, and Ireland will obviously have to contribute to that as well. Simon Harris was asked whether he would support US president Donald Trump being invited to Ireland. Photo: Carl Court/PA Whatever the cost is, the cost of not paying it is much more significant in terms of the security of the European Union, in terms of the defence of a sovereign country, the largest country on the continent of Europe. This is a time to be on the right side of history and to actually stand up for the UN charter, stand up for freedom, stand up for a countrys sovereignty. Mr Harris was asked if he would support Mr Trump being officially invited to Ireland. He said: Presidents of the United States, and indeed leaders from around the world, are always welcome in Ireland. We always take the approach you are better to engage with people where you have points of difference rather than take yourself off the pitch. Sunday, March 2, 2025 Many years ago, I lived next to a man named Smart Polite. Most people in the area called him by his initials, SP. The neighborhood was extremely violent so almost all of the residents there owned guns, which they used to protect themselves and their families. There was one mean guy in particular that everyone steered clear of. He was widely known to be armed to the teeth and he constantly threatened people. After a while, everyone realized that the status quo was unsustainable. The neighborhood had become so saturated with guns that no one felt safe. The violence even started to spill over into some nearby counties. The local sheriffs office offered the communitys members a deal. His force would beef up its presence and offer round-the-clock security in exchange for people handing over their weapons. SP, who had a large cache of guns, reluctantly took the deal and surrendered his weapons to the sheriffs staff. Nearly everyone else followed suit. I had already moved to a different part of the country when this arrangement between law enforcement and the residents occurred. But I learned through some of my contacts there that it didnt take long for SP to realize the terrible mistake he had made by relinquishing his guns. The sheriff had somehow made a side deal with the neighborhood bully that allowed him to keep his ammunition. Realizing that everyone was defenseless, the tyrants threatening behavior quickly escalated. He had always had a particular antipathy toward SP and he began to terrorize him relentlessly. Naturally, SP turned to the sheriffs office for relief. To his horror, he mostly received tepid responses. Adding insult to injury, the sheriff soon began asking him to pay even for the ineffective security his office was providing. Part of the compensation demanded was going to be in the form of surrender of some personal assets, since the small business SP ran had almost collapsed due to lack of patronage. SP is a fictional character that I concocted. His names, Smart and Polite, symbolize the Ukrainians that I got to know quite well during my time in the country as a student. Ukrainians are some of the most intellectually gifted and courteous people I have ever been associated with. The sheriffs broken promise to SP exactly mirrors the situation that Ukraine finds itself in today. Once upon a time, there existed something called an international community. The sheriff in that world, the U.S., together with some of its close allies, persuaded Ukraine and a couple of other countries to give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances. The promise was that if they came under attack at any point in future, officers would be sent to help defend and protect them. The agreement, known as the Budapest Memorandum, was part of the broader nuclear nonproliferation effort that was supposed to keep the world safe. Actually, this was a worse deal than the one SP was offered because in Ukraines case, it was coerced into handing over its arsenal to the neighborhood bully, Russia. As happened in the fictional neighborhood, Russia soon attacked the newly vulnerable Ukraine. When it eventually tried to completely subjugate Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. did provide some assistance to help Ukraine defend itself. But in the three years that it has been raging, the war has been broadly described as a proxy conflict between democracy and autocracy. It has never been about the explicit obligation that the U.S. and its allies assumed to help protect Ukraine, when necessary, as stipulated in the Budapest Memorandum. That vagueness, in my view, has been quite deliberate. It is a way for the U.S. to avoid taking direct responsibility for Ukraines protection. That has created a vacuum, which has been filled with all kinds of erroneous information about America spending too much money on a country in which it has no national interests. Quite astonishingly, the Ukrainians themselves, for whatever reason, have not put a lot of emphasis on that security assurance they were given three decades ago. They largely make the same case about fighting to preserve democracy to safeguard the security of the wider Europe and, by extension, America. Those expressed high ideals have mostly fallen on deaf ears in the streets of America and elsewhere. I think the Ukrainians have been way too polite when it comes to demanding what they were promised. If I were in their position, I would be shouting from the rooftops, day and night, reminding everyone about the agreement that led to the disposal of their nuclear arsenal. Instead, the Ukrainians have simply gone about their business of self-defense with unparalleled gallantry and tremendous dignity. In his recent Wall Street Journal article, Casey Michel warned against the continued dismissal of Ukrainian concerns about Russian revanchism. He recalled how one former White House national security adviser characterized Ukrainians as whiners for constantly worrying about their security in that violent neighborhood. The official is said to have even claimed that the U.S. knew what was in Ukraines long-term interest better than the Ukrainians themselves did. That arrogance has been on full display in the last three years not only here in America, but globally. There are tens of thousands of armchair pundits across the world who seem to know what is better for Ukraine, and call the Ukrainians foolish for not submitting to Putins demands to avoid getting killed. The right to self-determination appears not to matter at all to these all-knowing characters. Michel cautioned in his article that the Trump administrations current policy on the war could lead to a re-nuclearization of Ukraine. He is saying exactly the same thing that I have been thinking these past few weeks as I have listened to President Trump and his top officials blame President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his people for starting the war with Russia. That blatantly false assertion and utter disrespect clearly demonstrate that in the current global environment, wealth and military power, in the form of possession of the deadliest of weapons, are the only things that can guarantee any nations sovereignty. North Korea is one of the poorest countries in the world but no one will touch it because it has nuclear weapons. I would be shocked if, behind the scenes, the Ukrainians were not already beginning the process of nuclearizing. Michel cited a poll that shows three-quarters of Ukrainians supporting acquisition of nuclear weapons. He went on to say that It wouldnt take much for Kyiv to jump-start its program, returning to nuclear status in a few months. I fully agree with his assessment. If anyone can build nuclear weapons quickly, it is the Ukrainians. When I was a student at Donetsk National Technical University, I had a Ukrainian classmate called Kyrmayev. I have sat in many classrooms in different continents and I can say without hesitation that Kyrmayevs mind is the sharpest I have ever encountered. He liked going toe-to-toe with professors. We had one highly esteemed electrical engineering professor who was a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. He taught such high-level stuff that half the time, the entire class, with the exception of Kyrmayev, had no clue what he was talking about. Kyrmayev not only understood everything he said, but he frequently challenged him. Sometimes they argued for several minutes about obscure scientific theories while the rest of us, including the Soviet students, just sat back and enjoyed the show. Of course we had no idea what the banter was about, but we loved it nevertheless. While Kyrmayevs intellect may have been off-the-charts, the Ukrainians, in general, are supremely intelligent people. The ingenuity they have displayed during the past three years, building all kinds of sophisticated drones and other home-made weapons to defend themselves against the armed-to-the-teeth bully, is testament to that fact. It was a great privilege to have that opportunity to sit alongside them in various classrooms in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Donetsk for six years. A world filled with many nuclear-armed countries is obviously not good for anyone. But in life, sometimes people have to do what they have to do. The sheriff failed SP rather badly. The U.S. is doing even worse. It is blaming the victim and insulting him on top of it. Can anyone blame Ukraine if it decides to reacquire nuclear weapons?